A series of five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclic silylhydrazines have been prepared from the reactions of 1,2-bis(bromosilyl)ethane and 1,3-bis(bromosilyl)propane with 1,1-dimethylhydrazine [leading to 1-(dimethylamino)-1-aza-2,5-disilacyclopentane (3) and 1-(dimethylamino)-1-aza-2,6-disilacyclohexane (4)] and 1,2-dimethylhydrazine [leading to 1,2-dimethyl-1,2-diaza-3,6-disilacyclohexane (7) and 1,2-dimethyl-1,2-diaza-2,7-disilacycloheptane (8)] in the presence of triethylamine, respectively. The compounds with endocyclic Si-N-Si units (3, 4) are found to be stable for long periods of time, while those with Si-N-N-Si units (7, 8) decompose within a few days at ambient temperature. Compounds 3 and 4 have been reacted with the Lewis acid BH3 to give the dimethylamine-borane adducts 5 and 6. All compounds have been fully characterized by spectroscopic data [IR, MS, NMR (H-1, C-13, N-15, Si-29)]. Single crystals of 5 [6] grown from the melt and studied by low-temperature X-ray diffraction analyses are orthorhombic, space group Pbca (No. 61), with a = 11.385(1) [13.300 (1)] Angstrom, b = 9.938(1) [9.837(1)] Angstrom, c = 17.156(1) [16.364(1)] Angstrom, d(calc) = 1.096 (1.081) g cm(-3), and Z = 8 [8]. In both compounds, the BH3 unit is bound to the nonsilylated nitrogen atom, indicating the reduction of the basicity of nitrogen by Si substitution. The silylated nitrogen atoms show planar coordination, while the borylated amine unit is tetrahedrally coordinated. From a comparison of the ring geometries of 5 and 6 with known open-chain structures, it appears that the C2Si2N ring system of 5 is clearly more strained than that of 6 (C3Si2N) This argument also offers an explanation for the preferred formation of the compounds 1,6-diaza-2,5,7,10-tetrasila-[4.4.0]bicyclodecane (1) and bi(1-aza-2,6-disilacyclohexyl) (2) as compared to their isomers with different ring sizes. The relative stabilities of these isomers in question have been quantified by ab initio (MP2(fc)/6-31G*) calculations of geometries and energies of the systems [(CH2)(n)(SiH2)]N-N[(SiH2)(CH2)(n)] versus the annelated molecules (CH2)(n)(SiH2)N-2(CH2)(n)(SiH2) with n = 1-3. These results show the annelated isomers (ring enlarged) to be lower in energy for n = 1 and 2, while for n = 3 the N-N bridged nonannelated isomer is preferred.


The field of sport management has expanded rapidly, and now includes various aspects of sport industry. Researchers as well as practitioners in the sport business have provided various interpretations of the concept of sport management. However, the question "what should be researched and taught in sport management" remains unanswered. The present paper attempted to reexamine the concept of sport management in order to explain the significance of its existence as a science. In order to clarify what aspects of "sport" could be the target in the field of sport management, the author reviewed the structure of the sport industry and concluded that producing sport itself(i.e., sport activities) is the center of the sport industry. The uniqueness of sport product was also examined bacause it would clarify peculiar features of sport management. As discussed in the paper, sport management can be defined as "the management of business related to the production and provision of participant sport and/or spectator sport."


Introduction Over the course of the past two decades there has been an explosion in the historical and anthropological literature on slavery and slave life, both in the Caribbean and on the North American mainland. While much of the historiography of the British West Indies in general, and Jamaica in particular, has traditionally focused on the economic and social dynamics of sugar production, many scholars have recently turned their attention to the history of Jamaica's alternative agricultural industries, particularly livestock and coffee production.1 In recent years, scholars have begun to thoroughly investigate the history of plantations organized for the production of coffee in the Spanish, French and British Caribbean A simultaneous trend has been the development of a significant body historical literature on the lives of women working on plantations. It is my hope to add to these subsets of the important and growing body of literature on Caribbean slave life by examining the lives of women on one of the few well-documented coffee plantations of Jamaica, Radnor Estate, which was (and still is) situated in the Blue Mountains of eastern Jamaica, specifically addressing what life was like for women living and working as slaves on Radnor. The primary source of evidence for the material presented here is a well-preserved estate journal, which documents the day-to-day workings of the plantation from January of 1822 to March of 1826. Through the examination of this important document, I hope to suggest how enslaved women on this plantation were negotiating gender identities given the constraints of the oppressive mode of production under which they were compelled to operate. The nature of the historical record of Radnor Plantation allows for several vectors of analysis, each of which can be considered a forum through which gender identities were defined, negotiated and redefined: labour occupation, social and biological reproduction, sexuality, health, and resistance to the oppressions of slavery. While this list does not encompass the entire extent of the terrain across which gender identities were negotiated, each of these phenomena can be analyzed through a close reading of the Radnor Plantation Book. Negotiating Gender through Plantation Work. As a primary determinant of an individual's identity, the gender category to which one is assigned defines the various roles one will play in society. Any individual can exert some degree of agency in constructing the various elements of this identity; however in most cases this will be mitigated by other social identities over which individuals have relatively little control. By its very definition plantation slavery limited the range of occupations a woman could pursue in her life. As was the case on most New World plantations, enslaved people engaged in coffee production in the early 1 9th century were assigned specific tasks to perform by plantations managers or overseers. While coffee plantations required some specialized skilled labour, most of these skilled positions went to men. Such skilled occupations included artisans, particularly masons, carpenters, sawyers and doctors. Supervisory occupations such as driver were also primarily the domains of men. While Beckles among others has argued that women who worked as domestics may have been socially or materially privileged by their occupation, the number of women so employed was relatively limited, as were the skills they would be able to acquire. It is evident that there were far fewer skilled occupations open to women under the slave regime. As the pre-emancipation division of labour was such that women performed more of what might be considered the menial plantation tasks, in the long-run their post- emancipation opportunities would be limited. Concurrently by the 1820' s the field gangs of many Jamaican estates were composed of a female majority. This seems to have been typical on plantations in the West Indies at large. …


The epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) is associated with increased proliferation of glioma cells. However, the impact of EGFRvIII on survival of patients with glioblastoma (GBM) has not been definitively established. In the present study, we prospectively evaluated 73 patients with primary GBM treated with surgical resection and standard radio/chemotherapy. The EGFRvIII was assessed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (PCR), O 6 -methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation was assessed by methylationspecific PCR, and phosphatase and tension homolog (PTEN) expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. In 14 patients of this series, who presented with tumor recurrence, EGFRvIII was determined by real-time PCR. Sensitivity to temozolomide (TMZ) was assessed in vitro on GBM neurosphere cell cultures with different patterns of EGFRvIII expression. Age 60 years or younger, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Status score of 70 or higher, recursive partitioning analysis score III and IV, methylated MGMT, and Ki67 index of 20% or less were significantly associated with longer overall survival (OS; P = .0069, P = .0035, P = .0007, P = .0437, and P = .0286, respectively). EGFRvIII identified patients with significantly longer OS (P = .0023) and the association of EGFRvIII/Ki67 of 20% or less, EGFRvIII/normal PTEN, EGFRvIII/methylated MGMT, and EGFRvIII/normal PTEN/methylated MGMT identified subgroups of GBM patients with better prognosis. In recurred GBMs, EGFRvIII expression was approximately twofold lower than in primary tumors. In vitro, the EGFRvIII-negative GBM neurosphere cells were more resistant to TMZ than the positive ones. In conclusion, in contrast with previous studies, we found that EGFRvIII is associated with prolonged survival of GBM patients treated with surgery and radio/chemotherapy. Depletion of EGFRvIII in recurrent GBMs as well as differential sensitivity to TMZ in vitro indicates that the EGFRvIII-negative cell fraction is involved in resistance to radio/chemotherapy and tumor repopulation.


Organizational scholars have recently argued that economic theories and assumptions have adversely shaped management practice and human behavior, leading not only to the incorporation of trust-eroding market-mechanisms into organizations but also unnecessarily creating self-interested behavior. A number of highly influential papers have argued that the self-fulfilling nature of (even false) theories provides the underlying mechanism through which economics has adversely shaped not just social science but also management practice and individual behavior. We question these arguments, and argue that there are important boundary conditions to theories falsely fulfilling themselves, boundary conditions that have hitherto been unexplored in organizational research, and boundary conditions which question the underlying premises used by organizational scholars and social scientists to attack economics. We specifically build on highly relevant findings from social psychology, philosophy and organizational economics to show how (1) objective reality and (2) human nature provide two important boundary conditions for theories (falsely or otherwise) fulfilling themselves. We also defend organizational economics, specifically the use of high-powered incentives in organizations, and argue that self-interest (rightly understood) facilitates in creating beneficial individual and collective and societal outcomes.


This thesis addresses topics of violence and forced internal migrants with special reference to the metropolitan area of Bogota, Colombia between 1990 and 2002. While there is much scholarly debate by historians and political scientists about conflict between the state, guerrillas and paramilitaries in rural areas, urban violence has been relatively neglected. Violence caused many people to migrate from rural to urban areas, so that, Colombia had by 2002 more internally displaced persons than any country except Sudan. The main aims of the thesis are 1) to analyse trends in violent crime; 2) to discuss citizen security strategies that were pursued between 1990 and 2002; and 3) to examine the survival strategies of forced internal migrants in Bogota comparing them to the strategies adopted by voluntary migrants and native residents.
Chapter 1 focuses on urban homicide and kidnapping. In Colombia, 40 percent of the 25,000 annual homicides were committed in the ten largest cities during the late 1990s. The problem of kidnapping is examined by analysing changes in Colombian anti-kidnapping legislation and its application and by focusing on the authors, the victims and the risk-zones involved. Chapter 2 looks at the issue of perception and fear of violent crime. The concept of risk and the subjectivity of decision-making when facing insecurity are examined. Chapter 3 investigates citizen security strategies during the administrations of Presidents Cesar Gaviria (1990-1994), Ernesto Samper (1994-1998) and Andres Pastrana (1998-2002). Chapter 4 develops an analysis of patterns of selectivity based on the notions of forced vis-a-vis voluntary migration and economic vis-a-vis non-economic migration. A research design collecting comparative data on households with diverse migration experiences residing in three locations within the metropolitan area of Bogota is applied. Chapter 5 explores the socioeconomic characteristics of forced migrants and compares them to voluntary migrants from outside and migrants who moved within Bogota.


A traffic accident on the backstage set of the television series "Arka Siradakiler" left one employee dead and two others injured. Selin Erden, an art team assistant, was standing outside with friends during a break in shooting when she was hit by a previously parked car. The driver of the vehicle, Idris F. and another assistant, Ozcan Ileri, suffered minor injuries. An ambulance was called to the scene and took Erdem to the hospital where she died from her injuries. Source : Hurriyet Daily News


With this book, Onn Shehory and Arnon Sturm, together with further contributors, introduce the reader to various facets of agent-oriented software engineering (AOSE). They provide a selected collection of state-of-the-art findings, which combines research from information systems, artificial intelligence, distributed systems and software engineering and covers essential development aspects of agent-based systems. The book chapters are organized into five parts. The first part introduces the AOSE domain in general, including introduction to agents and the peculiarities of software engineering for developing MAS. The second part describes general aspects of AOSE, like architectural models, design patterns and communication. Next, part three discusses AOSE methodologies and associated research directions and elaborates on Prometheus, O-MaSE and INGENIAS. Part four then addresses agent-oriented programming languages. Finally, the fifth part presents studies related to the implementation of agents and multi-agent systems. The book not only provides a comprehensive review of design approaches for specifying agent-based systems, but also covers implementation aspects such as communication, standards and tools and environments for developing agent-based systems. It is thus of interest to researchers, practitioners and students who are interested in exploring the agent paradigm for developing software systems.


Since, Gorgan river basin is prone to flooding, identifying areas prone to flooding is essential. The present study is a way of using hydrology model and flood risk prone areas within watershed and determining these verities of floods, i.e. to prioritize the rise in each sub-basin or hydrologic units. First, the watershed in GIS environment (GIS) software using Arc- Hydro basin was divided into the following nine, then the physical properties of basins and sub-basins was determined. With data needed for flood hydrographs design for each sub-basin and watershed through the implementation of the entire HEC-HMS model was obtained. With peak discharge under consideration based on watershed and flood index definition for the rise in this research it is proposed, in each model run the efficacy of each sub-basin is removed from the flood routing of basin process and the amount of basin output discharge without participation of the corresponding sub-basin was calculated. In this respect among sub-basins in terms of impact on the flood basin outflow, sub-basin no.W150 is more critical.


Many adolescent girls in low-income countries face the challenge of early pregnancy and lifelong dependence upon family and partners. In this paper, we review the literature on field interventions aimed at reducing early pregnancies in low-income countries and report from a randomized control trial in rural Tanzania. From an analysis of more than 3,000 essays written by adolescent girls about their hopes for the future, we find that health training and entrepreneurship training affect two key mechanisms determining early pregnancy, namely internal locus of control and economic opportunity.


We report on the small faunal assemblage from the Iron Age coastal trading station of Chibuene, situated on the coastal littoral of central Mozambique. The faunal assemblage was excavated in 1995 and contains bones from a variety of animals, including livestock, chickens, wild game animals, as well as aquatic species such as turtles and fish. Fish, turtle and shark remains dominate the assemblage. The fauna from the first and second millennium AD occupations share similarities with other contemporaneous sites to the north on the East African coast, rather than with sites located in South Africa.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the clinical and histologic manifestations of skin reactions incidentally noted in patients with stage IV melanoma who were treated with up to 9 mg/kg of a humanized monoclonal antibody reactive against human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (anti-CTLA-4) as a single agent every 3 weeks.

SETTING
Single-institution prospective study.

DESIGN
Patients treated with anti-CTLA-4 as a sole agent were prospectively referred for clinicopathologic characterization of skin reactions occurring during treatment.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Specific clinicopathologic features were determined by means of a detailed history, a physical examination, conventional histologic analysis, antibody staining, and complete blood cell counts.

RESULTS
Nine (14%) of 63 consecutive patients treated with anti-CTLA-4 as a sole agent developed skin eruptions that were attributed to anti-CTLA-4 in 8 of them. Skin lesions consisted primarily of discrete, pruritic, erythematous, minimally scaly papules that typically coalesced into thin plaques on the trunk and extensor surfaces of the extremities. Extensive alopecia was also noted in 1 patient. Histologically, a superficial, perivascular CD4+-predominant T-cell infiltrate with eosinophils in the dermis, rare dyskeratotic cells, and mild epidermal spongiosis were present. An increase (compared with pretreatment values) in the peripheral blood eosinophil frequency was observed in patients at the time of skin eruptions (P = .006).

CONCLUSIONS
Specific features of the skin eruption dermatitis with increased tissue and peripheral blood eosinophil levels in a subset of treated patients. Specific features of skin eruption associated with anti-CTLA-4 resemble those described for maculopapular reactions to medications.


Knowledge management initiatives often fail to live up to expectations and many result in
failure. Unfortunately, many knowledge management initiatives fail because they have been
introduced, simply because knowledge management has been recognised by senior management as
a "good thing" and something their competitors are undertaking. This can lead to a knowledge
manager being appointed without any clear direction and knowledge management initiatives being
undertaken without any clear purpose or measurable target criteria.
To overcome these problems, a twelve step methodology for knowledge management implementation
is presented, illustrated with a series of small case studies. Starting from a problem audit, subsequent
steps ensure a baseline measure for improvement is identified, and a comprehensive, costed solution
to a recognised problem is designed which is capable of gaining buy-in from both management and
the system users. The system is designed with user involvement and must consider the operation of
the proposed system as well as the implementation. Subsequent to the implementation, a review
process involving the identification of measurable cost-benefits can become the basis for future
expansion and roll-out of knowledge management and can become the first steps in the building of a
comprehensive knowledge environment.
The case studies illustrate the value of each step in the methodology with examples of good and bad
practice drawn from the author's previously published experiences. This paper brings the lessons
from these case studies together to form the twelve step methodology which ensures knowledge
management is implemented using sound business principles of cost-benefit analysis and return on
investment, and established engineering principles of breaking larger projects into smaller projects
carried out incrementally with testing carried out at each stage. It is recommended that companies
follow these principles and the proposed twelve step methodology in order to achieve successful
knowledge management implementation in their own environment.


Although war is horrible, many British and American women discovered during the Second World War that it could also be quite liberating. The need for men in the armed services created a tremendous demand for personnel both on the home front and in the military. Many women drove trucks, worked in factories and ran offices. Women also became ferry pilots, served in auxiliary branches of the armed services, and went overseas as medical personnel, primarily nurses. British women had their own versions of Rosie the Riveter; they also became land girls (agricultural workers) or worked in civil defense with the ARP (Air Raid Precaution) or AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service). Societal expectations for gender-appropriate behavior loosened considerably as the war went on: "women were initially resisted, then grudgingly accepted, finally taken for granted" (Ziegler 184). Jessica Swanlake, in Gravity's Rainbow, exemplifies a woman whose life is transformed, at least briefly, for the better by the social upheaval caused by the Second World War.


This paper presents a general analytical model for predicting the magnetic field of slotless permanent-magnet machines. The model takes into account the effect of eddy currents in conductive regions and notably in conductive permanent magnets without neglecting their remanent field. The modeling of this effect is important for the design of very high speed slotless permanent-magnet machines, as the power losses are linked with the frequency of the field. The model takes into account any number of layers. It implies that, for one, the fields can easily be calculated in a design including a permanent magnet and a conductive retaining sleeve. The model is applicable both to internal rotor and external rotor permanent-magnet machines. The effect of the relative permeability and of the conductivity of the permanent magnet or of the yoke on the magnetic fields is also taken into account. Any magnetization can be taken into account, in particular a Halbach type permanent magnet, or a radially magnetized permanent magnet can be considered.


e14117 Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is the target of antibody therapeutics, with cetuximab approved for use in metastatic colorectal carcinoma (mCRC) among other indications. While KRAS mutation is a negative predictor of cetuximab response, patients with wtKRAS may show low response rates through a number of resistance mechanisms. Co-expression of receptor tyrosine kinases, such as IGF1R or cMet, can confer resistance by providing alternative ways to activate tumor growth pathways. Additionally, current diagnostic assays cannot quantitate receptor or pathway activation in tissue. Characterization of these various resistance mechanisms are critical to maximizing response rates to EGFR targeted therapies.

METHODS
In order to address these issues, we used mass spectrometry to develop a multiplexed SRM (selective reaction monitoring) assay to measure levels of multiple protein targets on FFPE tumor tissue. These assays are based on the Liquid Tissue-SRM technology platform. This approach enables relative and absolute quantification of proteins and their phosphorylation status directly in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue.

RESULTS
Using these multiplexed SRM assays we measured expression of EGFR, IGF1R and cMet, in 32 colorectal carcinoma samples from the COIN trial. EGFR expression in these tumors, ranged from less than 100amol to 1,200amol/ug of tumor protein. Of particular interest was the expression of potential resistance markers. Of 32 tumors characterized, 4 tumors showed no expression of EGFR, 19 expressed either cMet or IGF1R, and 4 tumors expressed both receptors. We are continuing analysis on a second cohort of 40 tumors, and will reconcile these results with clinical outcome data. Since active EGFR is necessary for the response to these therapies, we have initiated a phospho-SRM mass spectrometry strategy to quantitate activation of EGFR, other candidate resistance receptors and signaling pathway components in these same COIN trial tissues. This data will be presented.

CONCLUSIONS
The ability to absolutely quantify and compare critical biomarkers in the same tumor cells represents a profound step forward for the diagnostic space.


Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWD) describes a suite of disease signs that affected > 20 species of asteroid since 2013 along a broad geographic range from the Alaska Peninsula to Baja California. Previous work identified the Sea Star associated Densovirus (SSaDV) as the best candidate pathogen for SSWD in 3 species of common asteroid (Pycnopodia helianthoides, Pisaster ochraceus and Evasterias troscheli), and virus-sized material (<0.22 µm) elicited SSWD signs in P. helianthoides. However, the ability of virus-sized material to elicit SSWD in other species of asteroids was not known. Discordance between detection of SSaDV by qPCR and by viral metagenomics inspired the redesign of qPCR primers to encompass SSaDV and two densoviral genotypes detected in wasting asteroids. Analysis of asteroid samples collected during SSWD emergence in 2013-2014 showed an association between wasting asteroid-associated densoviruses (WAaDs) and SSWD in only one species (P. helianthoides). WAaDs were found in association with asymptomatic asteroids in contemporary (2016 and later) populations, suggesting that they form subclinical infections at the times they were sampled. WAaDs were found in SSWD-affected P. helianthoides after being absent in asymptomatic individuals a year earlier at one location (Kodiak). Direct challenge of P. ochraceus, Pisaster brevispinus and E. troscheli with virus-sized material from SSWD-affected individuals did not elicit SSWD in any trial. RNA viral genomes discovered in viral metagenomes and host transcriptomes had viral loads and metagenome fragment recruitment patterns that were inconsistent with SSWD. Analysis of water temperature and precipitation patterns on a regional scale suggests that SSWD occurred following dry conditions at several locations, but mostly was inconsistently associated with either parameter. Semi-continuous monitoring of SSWD subtidally at two sites in the Salish Sea from 2013-2017 indicated that SSWD in E. troscheli and P. ochraceus was associated with elevated water temperatures, but wasting in P. helianthoides occurred irrespective of environmental conditions. Our data therefore do not support that widespread SSWD in species other than P. helianthoides is associated with potential viral pathogens. Rather, we speculate that SSWD may represent a syndrome of heterogeneous etiologies between geographic locations, between species, or even within a species between locations.


Linear beamformers are optimal, in a mean square (MS) sense, when the signal of interest (SOI) and observations are jointly Gaussian and circular. Otherwise, linear beamformers become suboptimal. When the SOI and observations are zero-mean, jointly Gaussian and noncircular, optimal beamformers become widely linear (WL). They become nonlinear with a structure depending on the unknown joint probability distribution of the SOI and observations when the latter are jointly nonGaussian, assumption which is very common in radiocommunications. In this context, the paper aims at introducing, for small-scale systems, third-order Volterra minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformers, for the reception of an SOI, whose waveform is unknown but whose steering vector is known, corrupted by nonGaussian and potentially noncircular interference, omnipresent in practical situations. Properties, performance, complexity, and adaptive implementation of these beamformers in the presence of nonGaussian and potentially noncircular interference are analyzed in this paper. These new beamformers are shown to always improve, in the steady state, the performance of Capon beamformer for nonGaussian/circular interference, whereas some of them improve the performance of the WL MVDR beamformer for nonGaussian/noncircular interference. These new beamformers open new perspectives for spectrum monitoring of nonGaussian signals and for radiocommunication networks using such signals.


Agent-based models of financial markets usually make assumptions about agent's preferred stylized strategies. Empirical validations of these assumptions have not been performed so far on a full-market scale. Here we present a comprehensive study of the resulting strategies followed by the firms which are members of the Spanish Stock Exchange. We are able to show that they can be characterized by a resulting strategy and classified in three well-defined groups of firms. Firms of the first group have a change of inventory of the traded stock which is positively correlated with the synchronous stock return whereas firms of the second group show a negative correlation. Firms of the third group have an inventory variation uncorrelated with stock return. Firms tend to stay in the same group over the years indicating a long term specialization in the strategies controlling their inventory variation. We detect a clear asymmetry in the Granger causality between inventory variation of firms and stock return. We also detect herding in the buying and selling activity of firms. The herding properties of the two groups are markedly different and consistently observed over a four-year period of trading. Firms of the second group herd much more frequently than the ones of the first group. Our results can be used as an empirical basis for agent-based models of financial markets.


Change detection involves comparing two images to find the differences between them. With sonar data, this can be used to identify changes to both the seafloor and objects located on it. As well as mine-hunting applications, it has been used to spot changes made to the seafloor by bottom-feeding fish, detect the effects of sediment transport on the surface topography of the seafloor, and identify changes to the water properties. The ability to perform change detection is dependent on the images from the two passes of the sonar being precisely registered (aligned). The navigation data alone is not sufficiently accurate to perform this registration. Therefore, the registration must be corrected via a data-driven approach, estimating the errors from the data itself. Registering images of a bland seafloor has been described as the worst-case scenario due to the lack of distinguishing features to match between the images. This thesis presents a number of modifications to an existing rough facet synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) simulator to allow the generation of suitable repeat-pass imagery. The implementation of the scattering model is extended to allow the temporal decorrelation of a facet between passes to be simulated. These repeat-pass images are validated against published statistical models for the coherence of two speckle images. As with any coherent imaging system, SAS imagery is corrupted by multiplicative speckle noise. Despite its random appearance, speckle is a deterministic process. If the images are aligned, then the speckle patterns in corresponding areas are coherent (assuming the temporal decorrelation is sufficiently low). This implies that the speckle patterns in two images can be used to register them. A model of the position errors caused by incorrect track information is presented, along with a block-based correlation method to estimate these errors from two images. Using these detected errors, parameter estimation can be used to find the translation and heading errors in the assumed sonar track. Bland repeat-pass images generated by the simulator are used to test the performance of this registration algorithm. It is shown to be robust against both additive noise and temporal decorrelation, and capable of detecting the track errors. Guidelines are provided for both the design of the system and the implementation of the presented algorithm in order to maximise the registration accuracy. Deputy Vice-Chancellor's Office Postgraduate Office


The paper introduces the challenges in modern workflow management in distributed environments spanning multiple cluster, grid and cloud systems. Recent developments in cloud computing infrastructures are presented and are referring how clouds can be incorporated into distributed workflow management, aside from local and grid systems considered so far. Several challenges concerning workflow definition, optimisation and execution are considered. These range from configuration, integration of business and scientific services, data management, dynamic monitoring and tracking, reusable workflow patterns, semantic search and distributed execution of distributed services. Finally, the author recommends a solution to these challenges based on the BeesyCluster middleware for distributed management of services with static and dynamic rescheduling within a market of services.


There are several methods to determine numerically modal spectrum of photonic waveguides. The problem itself can be formulated using appropriate discretisation scheme as a well-known algebraic problem of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The difficulty consists in the large matrix dimensions which requires special approach to the determination of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the sparse matrices and complicates effective calculation due to immense demands on the computer memory. Recently proposed iterative method [1] modified for the use in full vectorial formulation can be efficiently employed. The feasibility of the method together with some improvements will be presented.


Objective: To determine the effect of prolotherapy on lateral epicondylitis, and the difference of treatment effect according to the findings of ultrasonography. Method: The subjects were 84 patients who were diagnosed as lateral epicondylitis. The pain score was evaluated by using VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) before treatment and 1 month and 6 months after the 3rd injection. Ultrasonography was done to 49 patients who were suspicious of tendinous tear. Results: In the comparison of the VAS before treatment and after the 3rd injection, it was 6.790.88, 2.951.90, respectively, which demonstrated statistical significant decrease (p<0.01). We found more significant reduction of VAS in the subjects without tendinous tear (7.080.91 to 2.161.57) than those with partial tendinous tear (6.90 0.93 to 3.671.76) (p<0.01). Among 71 patients whose symptom was improved after the treatment, 57 patients (80.2%) demonstrated sustained improvement at 9 months and 14 patients (19.7%) relapsed at 9 months. Conclusion: Prolotherapy is an effective treatment method in the lateral epicondylitis of elbow. Ultrasonography could be a useful diagnostic method which could predict the effect of prolotherapy.


A novel adsorbent, Fe(III)-loaded collagen fibre (FLCF), was prepared and its adsorption behaviours to three kinds of anionic dyes, Direct Yellow 11 (DY11), Acid Yellow 11 (AY11) and Reactive Blue 19 (RB19), were investigated. It was found that the highest adsorption capacity appeared at pH 3 and that the effect of temperature was not remarkable on the adsorption of AY11 and RB19, whilst considerable on the adsorption of DY11. The maximum adsorption capacities at 313 K were found to be 431.0 mg g−1, 485.2 mg g−1 and 311.8 mg g−1 for DY11, AY11 and RB19, respectively, and the adsorption equilibrium data could be well fitted by the Langmuir model. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics could be well described by the pseudo-second-order rate model, and the adsorption capacities calculated by this model were close to the values actually determined, which implied that chemical reaction should be the rate-controlling step.


The prokaryotic communities in deep subseafloor sediment collected during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 204 from the South Hydrate Ridge (SHR) on the Cascadia Margin were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene clone sequencing and a fluorescent quantitative PCR technique. The microbial communities came from sites with contrasting geological characteristics on the SHR: sites 1244 and 1245 (located on the flank of the ridge, hydrate-rich sediment) and site 1251 (located on the slope basin of SHR, hydrate-poor sediment). The overall copy numbers of the 16S rRNA gene, and the proportion of archaeal 16S rRNA gene in all 16S rRNA gene community in sediment were larger on the slope basin than on the flank of the SHR. Archaeal community structure around the sulfate-methane transition zone at site 1251 (4.5 mbsf) was intensively investigated using two different PCR primer sets. A relatively abundant distribution of the 16S rRNA gene sequences related to mesophilic methanogen of the genus Methanoculleus was identified at a depth of 43.2 mbsf, and suggested that the methanogens occur in relatively shallow zones of sediment. This study demonstrated that the subseafloor microbial communities shown by 16S rRNA gene clone analyses were not directly associated with subseafloor methane hydrate deposits.


T/R modules are the key components for active phased array radar applications. This paper describes light-weight, temperature compensated T/R modules which have been developed at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace within the last months. The presented T/R modules are characterised by a three dimensional temperature compensation algorithm, light weight, and high efficiency, which are the main features for T/R modules used in space-borne applications. Besides highly sophisticated Gallium Arsenide monolithic microwave integrated circuits (GaAs MMICs), the key components for T/R modules, multilayer alumina (A12O3) substrate technology has been applied to reduce module size and weight. The presented T/R modules are controlled by a highly integrated digital control electronics realised in MCM-D technology, i.e. multi chip module using bare chips on alumina substrate in thinfilm technology, in which the compensation algorithm is contained, and which is able to control two T/R elements independently, each consisting of one Tx and Rx channel. Applying these technologies, small-sized and light-weight duopack T/R modules have been built-up.


This article examines the debate surrounding the responsibility to protect [R2P] with particular reference to the use of peacekeeping forces in that regard. Post-Cold War, human protection had expanded into a matter of international concern. Yet, where formerly humanitarian intervention was the mot du jour, a change in conceptual vocabulary led to the introduction of R2P and to a redefinition of sovereignty. Accordingly, the primary responsibility to protect its citizens rests with the sovereign state but, owing to international solidarity, the residual responsibility rests with the international community. Contextually, R2P is embedded in a continuum of responsibilities: prevent, react and rebuild. Proponents of the concept already see a norm in development. Still, divisions and confusion remain concerning the concept's legal basis, its scope and its parameters. This is particularly relevant in view of peacekeeping forces, which have been increasingly deployed for humanitarian purposes. Because of ill-defined mandates and an overextension of resources, however, traditional peacekeeping is no longer suitable, lacking the resources, the personnel and the necessary expertise. To be able to fulfil the goals of R2P, peacekeeping will have to be redefined and the forces equipped with more robust mandates or fail.


We discuss a virtual presenter in the form of a 3D avatar whose task it is to show users their way through a (3D model of a) public building. Our thesis is that when looking for way descriptions, seeing such a walkthrough guided by a virtual scout is easier to remember than a purely textual description or the kind of annotated floor plans used widely in today's public buildings. Furthermore, we discuss some technical aspects of how such a scout can be constructed and what underlying data and processes are needed for the automated generation of guided route descriptions. One of our main goals is to give the avatar the ability to react to the spatial environment in an appropriate manner, e.g., by pointing to relevant objects and following a path that can be easily memorized by the viewer. We introduce the concept of bounds objects useful for the computation of spatial relations and behavior activation of the virtual presenter. The final presentation is then performed by the virtual presenter moving along a path scouting the surroundings. The presenter is made sensitive to the objects in the environment, thus getting only the relevant information depending on its task and position. It will perform the task alone without system intervention, by querying the environment using the bounds concept to trigger behaviors and to establish an egocentric


Abstract. The impact of surface emissions on the zonal structure of tropical tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide is investigated for November 2004 using satellite observations, in-situ measurements, and chemical transport models in conjunction with inverse-estimated surface emissions.Vertical ozone profiles from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and ozone sonde measurements from the Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes (SHADOZ) network show elevated concentrations of ozone over Indonesia and Australia (60–70 ppb) in the lower troposphere against the backdrop of the well-known zonal "wave-one" pattern with ozone concentrations of (70–80 ppb) centered over the Atlantic . Observational evidence from TES CO vertical profiles and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 columns point to regional surface emissions as an important contributor to the elevated ozone over Indonesia. This contribution is investigated with the GEOS-Chem chemistry and transport model using surface emission estimates derived from an optimal inverse model, which was constrained by TES and Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) CO profiles (Jones et al., 2009). These a posteriori estimates, which were over a factor of 2 greater than climatological emissions, reduced differences between GEOS-Chem and TES ozone observations by 30–40% over Indonesia. The response of the free tropospheric chemical state to the changes in these emissions is investigated for ozone, CO, NOx, and PAN. Model simulations indicate that ozone over Indonesian/Australian is sensitive to regional changes in surface emissions of NOx but relatively insensitive to lightning NOx. Over sub-equatorial Africa and South America, free tropospheric NOx was reduced in response to increased surface emissions potentially muting ozone production.


For well over a century, first-year law students have typically not received any individualized feedback in their core "doctrinal" classes other than their grades on final exams. Although critics have long assailed this pedagogical model, remarkably limited empirical evidence exists regarding the extent to which increased feedback improves law students' outcomes. This Article helps fill this gap by focusing on a natural experiment at the University of Minnesota Law School. The natural experiment arises from the assignment of first-year law students to one of several "sections," each of which is taught by a common slate of professors. A random subset of these professors provides students with individualized feedback other than their final grades. Meanwhile, students in two different sections are occasionally grouped together in a "double section" first-year class. We find that in these double section classes, students in sections that have previously or concurrently had a professor who provides individualized feedback consistently outperform students in sections that have not received any such feedback. The effect is both statistically significant and hardly trivial in magnitude, approaching about 1/3 of a grade increment after controlling for students' LSAT scores, undergraduate GPA, gender, race, and country of birth. This effect corresponds to a 3.7 point increase in students' LSAT scores in our model. Additionally, the positive impact of feedback is stronger among students whose combined LSAT score and undergraduate GPA falls below the median at the University of Minnesota Law School. These findings substantially advance the literature on law school pedagogy, demonstrating that individualized feedback in a single class during the first-year of law school can improve law students' exam quality in all of their other classes. In light of the broader literature on the importance of formative feedback in effective teaching, these findings suggest that, at a minimum, law schools should systematically provide first-year law students with individualized feedback in at least one "core" doctrinal first-year class prior to final exams. Doing so would almost certainly have positive distributional consequences and improve the fairness of law school grades. It would also likely promote students' acquisition of relevant legal skills. Finally, this reform would help implement the American Bar Association's recent requirement that law schools utilize formative assessment methods in their curricula.


The terminal investment hypothesis—which proposes that reproductive investment should increase with age-related declines in reproductive value—has garnered support in a range of animal species but has not been previously examined in long-lived plants, such as trees. We tested this hypothesis by comparing relative acorn production and radial growth among 1,000+ mature individuals of eight species of California oaks (genus Quercus) followed for up to 37 years, during which time 70 trees died apparently natural deaths. We found no significant differences in the radial growth, acorn production, or index of reproductive effort, taking into consideration both growth and reproduction among dying trees relative to either conspecific trees at the same site that did not die or growth and reproduction from earlier years for the focal trees that did eventually die. Furthermore, we found no consistent trade-off between growth and reproduction among trees that died, nor did dying trees significantly alter their relative investment in reproduction even as they underwent physical decline. Trees approaching the end of their lives are often in poor physical condition but do not appear to differentially invest more of their diminished resources in reproduction compared with healthy trees.


Water is most essential natural resource for life but in absence of rain fall drought occurs whereas excess rain fall causes floods and soil erosion. In Nepal accurate information of water availability is lacking. Therefore, accurate simulation of hydrological parameter is important for water resource management. The present study has been conducted in Bagmati River Basin for hydrological simulation of runoff, one of most important parameter of hydrology using SWAT model. Input data for model as soil map, land use land cover map and meteorological parameter were prepared with the help of Arc-Gis, ERDAS and Ms-Excel software. The model was calibrated using field-measured discharge data at gauged station for six years (1997 to 2002) and validation was performed for two years (2003 to 2004). The monthly simulated runoff of the calibration and validation periods were found to match with their measured discharge value of coefficient with correlation (R 2 ) in both the cases 0.917 and 0.92 respectively. The model simulated daily runoff is corroborated by reasonably high Nash–Sutcliffe simulation coefficients of 91.54% and 77.31% respectively for calibration and validation periods. Similarly, average annual surface runoff in 1997 to 2002 and 2003 to 2004 was 831.2 mm and 922mm, i.e. 40 and 43% of precipitation respectively. Similarly, total water yield and evapotranspiration was 71% and 23% of precipitation in both time period. Such type of runoff model plays vital role for water resource management. So, this model can be further utilized as a potential tool for water resource management of spring fed River Basin in Nepal.


The unique stature of photographs as a definitive recording of events is being diminished due, in part, to the ease with which digital images can be manipulated and altered. Although good forgeries may leave no visual clues of having been tampered with, they may, nevertheless, alter the underlying statistics of an image. For example, we describe how resampling (e.g., scaling or rotating) introduces specific statistical correlations, and describe how these correlations can be automatically detected in any portion of an image. This technique works in the absence of any digital watermark or signature. We show the efficacy of this approach on uncompressed TIFF images, and JPEG and GIF images with minimal compression. We expect this technique to be among the first of many tools that will be needed to expose digital forgeries.


Non-small-cell-lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. However, chemotherapy has reached a therapeutic plateau and deals with significant toxicity. Novel anticancer treatments to neutralize specific molecules or genes involved in cancer development ("targeted-therapy") are being developed to reduce side-effects and improve outcome. The epidermal-growth-factor receptor (EGFR) is over-expressed in NSCLC and emerged as an attractive target. Two classes of anti-EGFR agents (tyrosine-kinase-inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies) have shown clinical activity, depending on EGFR mutations and expression. However, clinical outcome, including tolerability, can not always be explained by these biomarkers. Thus, the identification of novel biomarkers is a viable area of research. Germline polymorphisms can be easily assessed, and polymorphisms in EGFR, AKT1 and ABCG2 have been correlated with outcome and toxicity in NSCLC patients given anti-EGFR therapies. However, there is lack of unanimity in findings, influenced by differences in study design/analysis, and the prognostic/predictive role of these polymorphisms needs to be evaluated within prospective studies. Finally, there is a critical need to conduct more studies on the relation of genotype with drug concentration/activity.


With the use of second-harmonic generation, we report the observation of a better alignment of Langmuir–Blodgett-deposited films of 2-docosylamino-5-nitropyradine for a low number of monolayers. An estimation of the nonlinear susceptibility of the molecule is also given. We show that the refractive indices of the Langmuir–Blodgett films has to be taken into account for thicknesses greater than 25 nm.


Abstract. Road network is one of the key elements of map, and its selection effect directly determines the quality of map generalization. In the process of automatic road network selection under a large scale, it is not only necessary to consider the connectivity and integrity of the road itself, but also necessary to take account of the network characteristics and density characteristics of the road network as a whole. However, most of the existing methods cannot take into account the coordination and maintenance of the above-mentioned features, which leads to the result that the spatial distribution characteristics are easily destroyed after the selection. So an automatic selection method of road network considering structural characteristics is proposed in this paper. Firstly, road stroke connection is generated based on road semantics, geometry and topology features, and the end arc, end stroke and end mesh is identified as the objects to be removed in the selection process. Then, road stroke connection is divided into four categories according to the association characteristics of road stroke connection, and the importance of each stroke is evaluated by length, connectivity and betweenness centrality. Finally, the importance threshold (TS) of road stroke connection and the mesh density threshold (TN) are set, and the stroke connection with the least importance is gradually removed to realize the automatic selection of road network. The reliability and superiority of this method are verified by the road topographic map (1 : 10000) test of a region in Jiangsu Province.


We have investigated the texture and shell microstructure together with the individual hardness distribution patterns of recent calcitic brachiopods of the species Kakanuiella chathamensis, Liothyrella uva and Liothyrella neozelanica. One of the most distinctive features of the studied species is the number of layers that compose the shell. Kakanuiella chathamensis is built entirely of nano- to microcrystalline primary layer calcite. Liothyrella uva contains a nanocrystalline outer primary layer and an inner fibrous secondary layer. Liothyrella neozelanica is composed of three layers, a nanocrystalline outer primary layer, a columnar secondary and an innermost fibrous tertiary shell layer. Even though Kakanuiella chathamensis consists only of primary layer material we observe some textural features and a pattern in the distribution of hardness within the shell. The texture of Liothyrella uva and of Liothyrella neozelanica is significantly more defined than that of Kakanuiella chathamensis. Within the valves calcite crystal c-axes are perpendicular to and rotate accordingly with the shell vault. In contrast to the valves, a multimodal c-axis distribution pattern is present within the hinge region. The hardness distribution in Liothyrella neozelanica and Liothyrella uva is such that the outermost part of the shell is hard while the innermost shell portion is soft. In general, Liothyrella uva is significantly harder than Liothyrella neozelanica and Kakanuiella chathamensis, even though Kakanuiella chathamensis contains only primary layer calcite.


One of the most significant challenges in the design of blockchain protocols is increasing their transaction-processing throughput. In this work we put forth for the first time a formal execution model that enables to express transaction throughput while supporting formal security arguments regarding persistence and liveness. We then present a protocol in the proof-ofstake setting achieving near-optimal throughput under adaptive active corruption of any minority of the stake.


A puzzle has developed regarding class action doctrine. Courts in a number of important recent decisions have reaffirmed that classes may satisfy the predominance standard under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3) and be certified even if they contain members who have not suffered cognizable injury. This Article takes as a point of departure the assumption that certifying classes with uninjured members reflects a proper interpretation of Rule 23. It explores the implications of such a rule for three doctrines: standing, due process, and the Rules Enabling Act. Each of these doctrines gives rise to questions. For instance, why doesn't standing doctrine require that all class members suffer a legally cognizable injury? How can it be that due process rights — of named plaintiffs, absent class members, or defendants — are not violated if a class includes members who would have no basis for recovering in individual litigation? Why doesn't litigating on behalf of uninjured absent class members modify substantive rights in violation of the Rules Enabling Act?The answer to these questions may vary depending, in part, on the manner in which class proceedings will resolve the claims of the class members. For instance, litigating common issues on behalf of a class may not be objectionable, even if some of the class members' claims lack merit for individual reasons and their claims ultimately fail when the court addresses those individual issues. A more challenging situation arises if the entire case is resolved on an classwide basis — including an award of a classwide recovery — and uninjured class members are among those permitted to obtain relief. In addressing standing, due process, and the Rules Enabling Act in these contexts, this Article seeks both to clarify the relevant doctrines and to apply them in the class setting. While the analysis requires some care, we can offer a brief summary of our main conclusions. First, as to standing, some courts have suggested that only a named plaintiff needs to have standing to pursue class claims and others have indicated that all members of a potential class must have standing. The Article attempts to reconcile these apparently conflicting positions, explaining that the precedents make sense if only a named plaintiff must make an individualized showing in support of its claims whereas absent class members need merely be in the group who could potentially have viable claims.Second, as to due process rights, the Article argues that critics of class action doctrine have adopted an overly rigid approach, one incompatible with the flexible cost-benefit analysis integral to the due process standard. Appropriate balancing, this Article suggests, leads to the conclusion that, in some cases, neither certification of classes containing uninjured members nor awarding of classwide recoveries to those classes after trial deprives any litigants of the process they are due.Finally, the Article contends that the Supreme Court's recent decision in Shady Grove undermines the argument that certification of a class with uninjured members violates the Rules Enabling Act. Shady Grove appears to have held that as long as a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure addresses only the means by which claims are litigated, it does not violate the Rules Enabling Act, even if it has a significant effect on substantive rights. Merely including uninjured persons in a class — and even resolving common issues on their behalf — would seem to fit within this rule. On other hand, the Article notes that the permissibility under the Rules Enabling Act of classwide recoveries — ones that may lead to compensation of uninjured members — may depend on how Shady Grove is interpreted and then offers some suggestions for how to frame the relevant analysis.


Postprandial glucose, together with related hyperinsulinemia and lipidaemia, has been implicated in the development of chronic metabolic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this review, available evidence is discussed on postprandial glucose in relation to body weight control, the development of oxidative stress, T2DM, and CVD and in maintaining optimal exercise and cognitive performance. There is mechanistic evidence linking postprandial glycaemia or glycaemic variability to the development of these conditions or in the impairment in cognitive and exercise performance. Nevertheless, postprandial glycaemia is interrelated with many other (risk) factors as well as to fasting glucose. In many studies, meal‐related glycaemic response is not sufficiently characterized, or the methodology with respect to the description of food or meal composition, or the duration of the measurement of postprandial glycaemia is limited. It is evident that more randomized controlled dietary intervention trials using effective low vs. high glucose response diets are necessary in order to draw more definite conclusions on the role of postprandial glycaemia in relation to health and disease. Also of importance is the evaluation of the potential role of the time course of postprandial glycaemia.


This paper provides a unifying theoretical framework for stochastic optimization algorithms by means of a latent stochastic variational problem. Using techniques from stochastic control, the solution to the variational problem is shown to be equivalent to that of a Forward Backward Stochastic Differential Equation (FBSDE). By solving these equations, we recover a variety of existing adaptive stochastic gradient descent methods. This framework establishes a direct connection between stochastic optimization algorithms and a secondary Bayesian inference problem on gradients, where a prior measure on noisy gradient observations determines the resulting algorithm.


Many North American grassland bird populations appear to be declining, which may be due to changes in grazing regimes on their breeding areas. Establishment of water developments and confining cattle (Bos taurus L.) to small pastures often minimizes spatial heterogeneity of cattle forage consumption, which may lead to uniformity in vegetative structure. This increased uniformity may provide suitable habitat for some bird species but not others. We assessed how cattle use, vegetative structure, and bird population densities varied with increasing distance from water developments (0-800 m) on the Little Missouri National Grassland (LMNG) in North Dakota. Lark buntings (Calamospiza melancorys Stejneger), which are typically associated with low vegetative cover, decreased with increasing distance from water developments. Horned larks (Eremophila alpestris L.), also a low-cover associate, followed a similar but weaker trend. Densities of another low-cover associate as well as moderate- and high-cover associates were not related to distance from water. Vegetative height-density and litter depth increased by 50 and 112%, respectively, while cowpie cover and structural variability decreased by 51 and 24%, respectively, with distance from water. Confidence interval overlap was common among all measures, showing substantial variability among study sites. Our results indicate cattle use is higher closer to water developments, and this pattern may positively affect the densities of lark buntings and horned larks. The absence of density gradients in the other bird species may be due to the paucity of locations > 800 m from water on the LMNG.


Jonathan Huener. Auschwitz, Poland, and the Politics of Commemoration, 1945-1979. Ohio University Press Polish and Polish-American Studies Series. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2003. xxvii, 326 pp. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. $44.95, cloth. $24.95, paper.How was the Auschwitz legacy understood and utilized in communist Poland, and what effect have these interpretations had on the way Auschwitz has been understood since then? Answers to these questions are found in this important and insightful monograph by Jonathan Huener. A "biography of post-liberation Auschwitz" (pp. xiii-xiv), it chronicles interpretations of the concentration/extermination camp as seen at the state museum on the site, the symbol of the Holocaust for much of the world. Much of the world, as Huener demonstrates, for Poles saw the site differently from the very outset. It is this clash of interpretations of Auschwitz that has to a great extent coloured Polish-Jewish relations in more recent years. Those who wish to understand the various controversies will find this book required reading.The book consists of six chapters, an introduction, and an epilogue. The useful introduction contains a careful and up-to-date review of the statistics that concern the camp, its inmates, and victims (pp. 18-19). It also makes clear what Auschwitz actually was: a series of camps, three main and forty auxiliary, which provided inmates and victims with varied experiences and conditions. It was hardly the first, or the deadliest, of camps (one must not forget the existence of extermination camps such as Belzec, Chetmno/Kulmhof, Sobibor, and Treblinka, for which there were but a handful of survivors). That it was "the largest killing center for European Jews," however, lent it a special resonance (p. 15). Enough inmates survived Auschwitz to demonstrate the varied experience of the place, as the writings of Primo Levi, Tadeusz Borowski, and many others demonstrate. Huener rightly emphasizes that there can be no master narrative capable of encompassing the experience of Auschwitz survivors and victims.Chapters 1 through 6 shed much light on postwar Polish interpretations of the site. Already during the first years after the war, Polish survivors-political prisoners in Auschwitz-helped to set the tone of remembrance. With the support of highly placed former inmates such as Prime Minister Jozef Cyrankiewicz , they helped to make "Polish national sacrifice... the central element of Auschwitz memory, while the fate of Jews at the camp, although never explicitly denied, remained on the margins ..." (p. 35). Infused with the memories of Polish political prisoners, Auschwitz became a lieu de memoire for the Poles, embodying their experience of World War II, the German occupation and oppression. …


The structure, dynamics and flexibility of thermoalkalophilic lipases of Bacillus
stearothermophilus L1 (L1 lipase) and Geobacillus zalihae strain T1 (T1 lipase) were
successfully explored through molecular dynamics simulation (MD) technique. MD
simulations at extremely high temperature in explicit solvent were carried out to
understand how a thermoalkalophilic lipase starts to unfold at high temperature. The
simulations were performed at 400 K and 500 K in addition to a control simulation at 300
K for a total of 12.0 ns. The high stability of both global three-dimensional (3D)
structures at control simulation was confirmed by a good correlation between
crystallographic experimental and simulated B-factors. The systematic flexibility and dynamics of both systems were analyzed using the timeaveraged
root mean square fluctuations (RMSf) and the root mean square deviations (Cα-
RMSd). Both systems showed a very similar flexibility and dynamics at 300 K and 400 K
while at 500 K, L1 lipase showed more flexibility than T1 lipase. The average RMSf and
the Cα-RMSd results for both systems were in a good agreement, indicating that
thermostability was correlated with higher flexibility rather than increased rigidity in our
model systems.
Both L1 lipase and T1 lipase structures maintained their global 3D structures and did not
undergo any significant unfolding process at 400 K, while both structures lost their
structures partially at 500 K. The results clearly illustrated that the N-terminal moiety of
both model systems showed high flexibility and dynamics during thermal unfolding
simulations which preceded and followed by clear structural changes in two specific
regions; the small extra domain (consisting of helices α3 and α5, strands β1 and β2, and
connecting loops) and the main catalytic domain or core domain (consisting of helices
α6- α9 and connecting loops which are located above the active site of the enzyme).
The two domains of both systems interact with each other through a Zn2+-binding
coordination with Asp61 and Asp238 from the core domain and His81 and His87 from
the small domain via tight interactions. Interestingly, the His81 and His87 were among
the highly fluctuated residues at high temperatures while Asp61 and Asp238 did not
show any significant fluctuations. The results indicated that these tight interactions became very weak at high temperatures which presumably contributed to the
thermostability of both enzymes.
The results also suggested that the initial steps in the unfolding of a thermoalkalophilic
lipase may involve early loss of structure in the small extra domains of these enzymes
followed by core opening. Therefore, the N-terminal moiety and the small domain of
both enzymes are critical regions to thermostability and they can be a potential target for
stability enhancement.


To meet strict requirements of the information society technologies, antennas and circuit elements are becoming increasingly complex. Frequently, their electromagnetic (EM) properties cannot be anymore expressed in closed-form analytical expressions mainly because of the multitude of irregular geometries found in actual devices. Therefore, accurate and efficient (in terms of computational time and memory) electromagnetic models coupled with the robust optimization techniques, are needed in order to be able to predict and optimize the behavior of the innovative antennas in complex environments. The contribution of this thesis consists in the development and improvement of accurate electromagnetic modeling and optimization algorithms for an ubiquitous class of antennas, the planar printed antennas. The approach most commonly used to model and analyze this type of structures is the Integral Equation (IE) technique numerically solved using the Method of Moments (MoM). From the computational point of view, the main challenge is to develop techniques for efficient numerical evaluation of spatial-domain Green's functions, which are commonly expressed in terms of the well-known Sommerfeld integrals (SIs), i.e., semi-infinite range integrals with Bessel function kernels. Generally, the analytical solution of the SIs is not available, and their numerical evaluation is notoriously difficult and time-consuming because the integrands are both oscillatory and slowly decaying, and might possess singularities on and/or near the integration path. Due to the key role that SIs play in many EM problems, the development of fast and accurate techniques for their evaluation is of paramount relevance. This problem is studied in detail and several efficient methods are developed. Finally, the applicability of one of these methods, namely the Weighted Averages (WA) technique, is extended to the challenging case appearing in many practical EM problems: the evaluation of semi-infinite integrals involving products of Bessel functions. However, the development of effective analysis codes is only one aspect. At least equally important is the availability of reliable optimization techniques for an adequate design of antennas. For that purpose, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is introduced in the context of our analysis codes. Moreover, the innovative hybrid version of the PSO algorithm, called the Tournament Selection PSO, has been proposed with the aim of even further improving convergence performances of the classical PSO algorithm. Detailed theoretical description of this socially inspired evolutionary algorithm is given in the thesis. Finally, the characteristics of both algorithms are compared throughout several EM optimization problems.


Daily outputs of the CSIRO Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model (C-CAM) for the periods of 1961-1990 and 2065-2094 were used in the present study to derive changes in mean climate and in climatic variability, which were used by the stochastic weather generator LARS-WG to generate climatic change scenarios for 3 sites in southeast Australia. Climatic scenarios were coupled with the Agricultural Production System sIMulator (APSIM)-Wheat/Canola models to identify the influence of changes in climatic variability on wheat and canola production at 3 sites (Condobolin, Nhill and Wagga Wagga). Changes in climatic variability had negative effects on average wheat and canola yields at Wagga Wagga and Condobolin, and, in most cases, on the coefficients of variation (CV) of wheat yield, while the CV of canola yield experienced both positive (50% of the cases) and negative (50% of the cases) effects. Changes in climatic variability had positive (50% of the cases) or no (50% of the cases) effect on the average harvest index (HI) of wheat, whereas they had negative (33% of cases) or no (67% of cases) effect on the average HI of canola. Negative effects of changed climatic variability on the CV of HI for both crops were found. Our results demonstrate that the effects of changes in climatic variability on crop production vary across locations and impact indicators. Changes in climatic variability there- fore need to be taken into account in agricultural impact assessment.


Local opposition to day laborers is built upon a standard diagnosis of the day labor "problem" and a common approach to its "remedy." The diagnosis views day labor as a public nuisance that imposes negative externalities on a locality by disrupting normal patterns of business, traffic, and pedestrian exchange. The remedy involves the enactment of new land use regulations, known as antisolicitation ordinances, designed to remove day laborers from the street corners – thereby undermining their ability to earn a living. Such ordinances regulate immigration indirectly by criminalizing conduct engaged in disproportionately by immigrant workers. Their proliferation, in turn, has invited a specific type of legal challenge focused on the deprivation of day laborers' First Amendment right to seek work. This Article examines a pivotal struggle in the national day labor movement: the two-decade long legal campaign to contest antisolicitation ordinances in the greater Los Angeles area. It asks whether and how litigation – often portrayed as a nemesis of social movements – has advanced the day laborers' cause. What it shows is that litigation has been an indispensible social change tool in the fight for day laborers' rights, albeit one that carries inherent risk. On the positive side of the ledger, the Los Angeles day labor campaign has drawn upon strong legal capacity to mobilize a rights strategy, coordinated with grassroots organizing, against the backdrop of limited political options. It has thus avoided many of the familiar pitfalls of social change litigation in successfully challenging key ordinances. Yet, despite its success in preserving public space for day labor solicitation, the campaign's outcome rests in the hands of a federal appellate court, underscoring a fundamental social change reality: Even the most sophisticated litigation campaign ultimately hinges on the presence of sympathetic decisionmakers in the court of ultimate authority.


We investigate the role of private sector credit in shaping the severity of recessions. Using a sample of 130 downturns in 26 advanced economies since the 1970s, we assess whether the growth or level of credit is the better predictor of the severity of a recession. In addition to GDP we examine other metrics of severity, including unemployment and labour productivity. We find that a period of rapid credit growth in the immediate run-up to a recession predicts a deeper and longer downturn than when credit growth has been subdued, whether associated with a systemic banking crisis or not and whether that credit growth reflects borrowing by households or businesses. Credit growth is a more statistically and economically significant predictor of a recession's severity than the level of indebtedness, though there is some evidence that the effect of a credit boom is greater when leverage is high. A build-up in credit predicts worse recessions in terms of lower GDP per capita, higher unemployment and lost labour productivity.


In this paper a two-sector dynamic model of business fluctuations is presented. It is a disequilibrium dynamic model with two laws of evolution (dynamic laws) built into it: prices of commodities change according to the market disequilibrium of supply and demand, while quantities change according to the stock disequilibrium and the shifting of the degree of utilization of productive capacity away from its target value. Investment by firms is modelled by a nonlinear accelerator. Non linearity in the investment function makes the equilibria of the model unstable and causes growing disproportionalities between the two sectors; business fluctuations are the outcome of the switching of the system to a different regime that allows to reduce the existing disproportionality. The different regimes into which the economy may be found are a situation of overheating and one of depression. A fundamental role in the switching of the economy is played by two crucial features of the capital good sector: its limited productive capacity and the time-lag required to increase it.


Abstract. We present a global and regional multi-annual (June 1996–May 2003) analysis of cloud properties (spherical cloud albedo – CA, cloud optical thickness – COT and cloud top height – CTH) of optically thick (COT > 5) clouds, derived using measurements from the GOME instrument on board the ESA ERS-2 space platform. We focus on cloud top height, which is obtained from top-of-atmosphere backscattered solar light measurements in the O2 A-band using the Semi-Analytical CloUd Retrieval Algorithm SACURA. The physical framework relies on the asymptotic equations of radiative transfer. The dataset has been validated against independent ground- and satellite-based retrievals and is aimed to support trace-gases retrievals as well as to create a robust long-term climatology together with SCIAMACHY and GOME-2 ensuing retrievals. We observed the El Nino-Southern Oscillation anomaly in the 1997–1998 record through CTH values over the Pacific Ocean. The global average CTH as derived from GOME is 5.6 ± 3.2 km, for a corresponding average COT of 19.1 ± 13.9.


AbstractThe Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission, launched in December 2016, is designed to estimate surface wind speeds over the global tropical oceans. Nevertheless, its orbit allows the constellation to view regions up to 40° latitude. As such, it is possible that CYGNSS will provide observations of a number of low-latitude extratropical cyclones and their associated fronts. In this study, one year of simulated CYGNSS specular point locations is combined with a database of objectively identified fronts and cyclones to assess the potential efficacy of CYGNSS for observing extratropical systems. It is found that, with the exception of regions poleward of warm fronts, the subset of locations in the simulated CYGNSS dataset nearly exactly matches the distribution of wind speeds and surface fluxes across frontal zones and near cyclone centers in the reanalysis database.


Urban science seeks to understand the fundamental processes that drive, shape and sustain cities and urbanization. It is a multi/transdisciplinary approach involving concepts, methods and research from the social, natural, engineering and computational sciences, along with the humanities. This report is intended to convey the current "state of the art" in urban science while also clearly indicating how urban science builds upon and complements (but does not replace) prior work on cities and urbanization in many other disciplines. The report does not aim at a fully comprehensive synopsis of work done under the rubric of "urban science" but it does aim to convey what makes urban science different from discipline-based examinations of cities and urbanization. It also highlights novel insights generated by the inherently multidisciplinary inquiry that urban science exemplifies. The authors of the report are all based in academic or research institutions but several of them are close to practice by virtue of collaboration with NGOs and community groups and engagement with policy. The authors also represent different academic disciplines and varied traditions of scientific inquiry. The report is meant to facilitate, and hopefully also provoke, discussion among the many stakeholders for whom a scientifically based, empirically rich, and historically deep understanding of cities and urbanization is not only intellectually compelling but also socially urgent and ethically pressing. We believe that the innovative scholarship constituting urban science can importantly provide scientific leadership to support meeting the urgent challenges of global sustainable development.


Africa's Armies traces the military history of sub-Saharan Africa from the pre-colonial era to the present. Robert Edgerton begins this sweeping chronicle by describing the role of African armies in pre-colonial times, when armed forces or militias were essential to the maintenance and prosperity of their societies. During the colonial era, African soldiers fought with death-defying courage, earning such respect as warriors that they were often recruited into the colonial armies not simply to enforce colonial rule in Africa, but to fight for the European homelands as well. After independence swept through Africa, African military men seized political power in country after country, ruling dictatorially for their own benefit and for that of their kinsmen and cronies. The author describes the post-colonial civil wars that have devastated much of sub-Saharan Africa -- catastrophes marked by genocide, famine, disease, economic collapse, and steadily declining life expectancy. He closes by describing the role that Africa's military forces can and must play if the future is to bring better times to the continent's many peoples.


The RNA‐binding protein Y14 binds preferentially to mRNAs produced by splicing and is a component of a multiprotein complex that assembles ∼20 nucleotides upstream of exon–exon junctions. This complex probably has important functions in post‐splicing events including nuclear export and nonsense‐mediated decay of mRNA. We show that Y14 binds to two previously reported components, Aly/REF and RNPS1, and to the mRNA export factor TAP. Moreover, we identified magoh, a human homolog of the Drosophila mago nashi gene product, as a novel component of the complex. Magoh binds avidly and directly to Y14 and TAP, but not to other known components of the complex, and is found in Y14‐containing mRNPs in vivo. Importantly, magoh also binds to mRNAs produced by splicing upstream (∼20 nucleotides) of exon– exon junctions and its binding to mRNA persists after export. These experiments thus reveal specific protein–protein interactions among the proteins of the splicing‐dependent mRNP complex and suggest an important role for the highly evolutionarily conserved magoh protein in this complex.


This paper presents ACCORDANCE, a novel ultra-high capacity extended reach optical access network architecture based on OFDMA technology/protocols, implemented through the proper mix of state-of-the-art photonics and electronics. Such architecture is not only intended to offer improved performance compared to evolving TDMA-PON solutions but also provide the opportunity for convergence between optical, radio and copper-based access. Although OFDM has been used in radio and copper-based communications, it is only recently that is making its way into optics and is expected to increase the system reach and transmission rates without increasing the required cost/complexity of optoelectronic components. ACCORDANCE hence aims to realize the concept of introducing OFDMA-based technology and protocols (Physical and MAC layer) to provide a variety of desirable characteristics, such as increased aggregate bandwidth and scalability, enhanced resource allocation flexibility, longer reach, lower equipment cost/complexity and lower power consumption, while also supporting multi-wavelength operation. In addition, it enables the convergence of the optical infrastructure with standard wireless solutions, thus offering a way to integrate dominant wired and wireless technologies in a hybrid access network supporting seamless ubiquitous broadband services.


Damavand volcano, located in northern Iran, is a large (>400 km^3) composite cone that is currently dormant; it shows fumarolic activity near the summit but no evidence of eruption in the past 1000 yr. The volcano represents an isolated focus of magmatism of uncertain tectonic affinity, although geophysical and geochemical constraints point toward a local hotspot/plume origin, possibly associated with lithospheric delamination, rather than any association with subduction. New (U-Th)/He and ^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar geochronological constraints indicate that the present cone (Young Damavand) has been constructed over ∼600 k.y. on an older, eroded edifice of indistinguishable composition (younger than 1.8 Ma). Damavand activity has been characterized by the eruption of radially directed trachyandesite lava flows, almost exclusively from summit vents. Limited pyroclastic activity has yielded thin fallout pumice lapilli layers and a few pyroclastic flows. Only one significant pyroclastic event is recognized in the remnants of a welded ignimbrite, ponded and preserved along the Haraz River drainage.
Relatively short periods of volcanic eruptive activity were interspersed with longer periods of erosion in which volcanic products were transported, particularly as hyperconcentrated flows, into the surrounding drainage systems to be further reworked into epiclastic deposits. Occasional catastrophic events punctuated this interplay between volcanism and erosion. At least one sector collapse is signified by the presence of a large debris avalanche deposit, and the regional drainage systems appear to have been frequently dammed by incursions of volcanic material.


MapReduce has been widely regarded as a flexible, scalable, and easy‐to‐use distributed programming paradigm for big data processing such as social network data analysis on cloud computing platforms. To embrace the upcoming of big data era, many efforts have been devoted to accelerating the MapReduce performance from different aspects, especially intermediate result reusing like Dache. In this paper, we observe that existing intermediate result reusing mechanism is not efficient enough as many I/O operations are wasted. Efficient reusing of the intermediate results could potentially improve the MapReduce performance. Inspired by such fact, we propose a framework named MEMoMR (more efficient intermediate result reusing for MapReduce) by introducing a novel reusing mechanism that can substantially reduce the I/O overhead. To this end, we invent a new metadata description method and apply it in the reusing phase. We practically realize MEMoMR and evaluate its performance by implementing it in a real cluster. The experiment results show that MEMoMR can improve the system performance as high as 23.4%, comparing against Dache. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper explores contemporary trends towards participative risk regulation and considers the impacts of participative reform on policy processes and outcomes. Using the example of reform of the UK food safety regime, the paper examines whether participative reforms, in the form of stakeholder decision-making, are able to deliver their promised benefits and if not, why not. Empirically, the paper examines how UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) used a stakeholder decision-making process to manage the potential risks from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in sheep in 2002, and the initial rejection of those proposals by the European Commission. The paper finds that the potential benefits of the stakeholder process were mitigated by a number of institutional factors, including: considerable interpretative flexibility in how to represent consumer interests and the concept of precaution; restricted openness and exclusion of key stakeholders; and the impact of the supra-national regulatory context. The paper concludes that broadening participation per se does not necessarily produce more democratic or robust policy outcomes than closed processes, although it may have some limited value in improving public confidence in the regulatory regime.


Soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] are susceptible to many diseases including fungal diseases such as soybean sudden death syndrome (SDS). Several studies reported SDS resistance quantitative trait loci (QTL) on the soybean genome using different recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations and low density genetic linkage maps. High density exclusively single nucleotide polymorphisms-based (SNP-based) maps were not yet reported in soybean. The objectives of this study were (1) to construct a high density SNP-based genetic linkage map of soybean using the 'PI438489B' by 'Hamilton' (PIxH, n=50) recombinant inbred line population, and (2) to map QTL for SDS resistance using this high-density reliable genetic SNP-based map. The PI438489B by Hamilton high-density SNP-based genetic map was a high density map composed of 31 LGs, 648 SNPs, and covered 1,524.7 cM with an average of 2.37 cM between two adjacent SNP markers. Fourteen significant QTL were identified for SDS resistance using interval mapping (IM) and composite interval mapping (CIM) with LOD scores that ranged between 2.6 and 5.0. Twelve QTL were identified for foliar disease severity (FDS) and three QTL for root rot severity (RRS) of which one QTL underlain both FDS and RRS. The fourteen QTL were mapped onto ten separate chromosomes of the soybean genome. Seven of the intervals encompassing the QTL had been identified previously (on LGs C1, C2, D1b, G, L, N and O) associated with resistance to SDS but seven were novel (LGs A2 (2), B1, C2, D1a, D1b and O). We constructed the first PI438489B by Hamilton exclusively SNP-Based map and identified fourteen QTL that underlie SDS resistance including both resistances to foliar and root rot symptoms caused by Fusarium virguliforme infection. The QTL discovered here for SDS resistance could be useful to include in breeding programs in developing soybean cultivars resistant to SDS.


This work presents a clinical case, diagnosed with anxiety – panic disorder. The client is under a process of psychotherapy, more precisely cognitive narrative therapy. It s an approach that deals with narrative writing exercises that the client has to perform at home, after the therapy sessions. We discuss how it could be quite useful having a narrative mobile app to write them down. We present here these exercises and discuss how a new app could really engage and motivate even more the therapeutic change of clients doing cognitive narrative therapy. This is an interesting way to match technology and psychotherapy. To clarify what is cognitive narrative therapy and, how an app can be of such use to the work of a narrative therapist, is the main goal of this work. Cognitive narrative therapy advocates that, the more the person is aware of his five senses, his feelings and thoughts and how he can put them into narrative words and metaphors, the more his mind is free to live mentally healthy.


The Port of Seattle has instituted an agency-wide environmental protection guidelines which include the option to prepare site histories and perform chemical screening of soils prior to any major land acquisition or project development. The approach for implementing this policy has been to consider retaining a qualified consultant to survey historical documents, aerial photos and real estate records. Depending on the results, the Port's environmental staff and/or consultant may tailor a program of field testing and laboratory analysis. The results of the site history and chemical testing are analyzed in light of potential risks to worker health and safety, hazardous and solid waste regulations, potential for groundwater contamination and options for disposal of contaminated soils offsite. Various case histories are discussed.


With the Internet revolutionising the banking industry, customers nowadays expect much more from their banks, demanding more convenient, flexible, and easy-to-use financial products and services that could not be easily offered by traditional retail banking. Consequently, several new banking applications have emerged in order to cope with this demand, Internet banking (IB), as an example of these applications, is considered to revolutionise the traditional way of thinking about banking services. Despite the potential benefits offered, Jordanian bank customers are reluctant to adopt IB services. In response to this issue, this study aims to enhance the general understanding concerning the factors that affect customers' adoption of IB in a developing country of the Middle East, namely Jordan, where the results can be also applied to other developing countries in general. The main objective of this research was to investigate factors influencing the adoption of IB services by Jordanians. Two technology acceptance models, namely the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (DIT) developed by Rogers (1983), and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) developed by Davis (1989), were integrated with external variables in order to synthesize a new exploratory model; the synthesized model was then tested empirically for its predictive power. Two data collection phases were utilised: (1) quantitative data was collected in the first phase to test the research model and confirm related hypotheses using a survey questionnaire (463 respondents); and (2) qualitative data was gathered in the second phase via a semi-structured interview exercise (six participants). This phase was incorporated in order to explore bank customers' perceptions of IB influencing factors identified in the first phase, and to provide further confirmation for the research model and hypotheses. Results showed that eight factors directly determine customer intentions to adopt IB services. Those factors are: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trialability, compatibility, observability-result demonstrability, innovativeness, government support, and information about Internet banking. Accessibility and perceived financial cost were found not to be direct predictors of intention; however, the latter has emerged to affect intention indirectly through perceived ease of use. While results indicated that personal innovativeness was found to be the most influential predictor of intention to use IB, both directly and indirectly through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, perceived financial cost was the least influential factor to affect intention since it only exhibited indirect influence through perceived ease of use. Gender, age, education, occupation, and income, all proved to be influential in determining customers' intentions to use IB services. Moreover, results revealed that users of IB were significantly different from non-users in terms of their attitudes relating to all investigated variables. Overall, the results of the current study showed that the proposed model has a good explanatory power and is therefore robust in predicting customers' intentions to adopt IB in the Middle East and in other developing countries in general. This research contributes to the identification theory and practice of technology acceptance for Internet banking in five ways. Filling the gap in IB adoption literature in developing countries through examining the factors that might impede or encourage the adoption of these services among customers; developing and validating an integrated technology acceptance with a good explanatory power in predicting and explaining the potential users' behavioural intentions towards technology adoption in non-Western contexts; developing a valid and reliable instrument to measure individuals' intentions to use IT innovations; providing valuable insights into how to enhance customers' acceptance of IB services in a developing country context by indicating the relative importance of the identified influencing factors and providing a set of specific strategies in a form of practical recommendations designed to overcome the low adoption rate of IB in developing countries.


Connolly and Stavins (2015) showed that payment behavior is strongly correlated with consumers' demographic and income attributes over the 2009–2013 period. In this paper, we apply a random effects panel data model with sample selection based on Wooldridge (1995) to estimate the effect of each attribute on payment-instrument adoption and use. We find that age, education, income, and race are significant in explaining payment behavior even after controlling for all the other attributes of consumers and for payment-instrument characteristics. Most notably, the lowest-income, lowest-education, and minority consumers adopt a very limited set of payment instruments compared with their counterparts even when education and age are controlled for. These consumers also have a significantly different pattern of payment use conditional on adoption; they rely significantly more on cash and less on credit cards for their transactions. The data do not allow us to isolate supply-side and demand-side factors to explain the causes of these discrepancies. Women use significantly less cash than men, but use more debit cards, checks, and online banking bill pay, even when we control for the degree of bill-paying responsibility they have for their households. Single people use more cash, while married people use more checks. Although characteristics of payment instruments, such as cost, convenience, and security, significantly affect payment behavior, consumers' socio-demographic attributes explain most of the variation. Separating the effects of consumers' age from the effects of birth cohorts indicates that in most cases age and birth-cohort trends move together.


Investigations of how the global Cold War shaped national scientific and technological practices in fields from biomedicine to rocket science. The Cold War period saw a dramatic expansion of state-funded science and technology research. Government and military patronage shaped Cold War technoscientific practices, imposing methods that were project oriented, team based, and subject to national-security restrictions. These changes affected not just the arms race and the space race but also research in agriculture, biomedicine, computer science, ecology, meteorology, and other fields. This volume examines science and technology in the context of the Cold War, considering whether the new institutions and institutional arrangements that emerged globally constrained technoscientific inquiry or offered greater opportunities for it. The contributors find that whatever the particular science, and whatever the political system in which that science was operating, the knowledge that was produced bore some relation to the goals of the nation-state. These goals varied from nation to nation; weapons research was emphasized in the United States and the Soviet Union, for example, but in France and China scientific independence and self-reliance dominated. The contributors also consider to what extent the changes to science and technology practices in this era were produced by the specific politics, anxieties, and aspirations of the Cold War. Contributors Elena Aronova, Erik M. Conway, Angela N. H. Creager, David Kaiser, John Krige, Naomi Oreskes, George Reisch, Sigrid Schmalzer, Sonja D. Schmid, Matthew Shindell, Asif A. Siddiqi, Zuoyue Wang, Benjamin Wilson