The embargo on touching in museums is increasingly being brought into question, not least by blind activists who are calling for greater access to collections. The provision of opportunities to touch could be read as a potential conflict between established optic knowledge and illicit haptic experience, between the conservation of objects and access to collections. Instead I suggest that touch is not necessarily other to the museum; rather, the status of who does the touching and knowing is crucial and not the use of touch per se. It is expert territory and vested academic interests that are at stake here. Using Bruno Latour's (1993) conceptions of hybrid networks and purified zones of academic practice, I then explore what the unacknowledged existence of touch means for museums and for notions of authority more generally. I suggest that if the apparent boundaries of disciplines are unconvincing in practice, then the possibility of expert knowledge is seriously undermined. Blind people's demand for access through touch is not then a challenge of one paradigm to another but implicitly questions the accreditation of authority itself. As such it forms part of a wider institutional shift with regard to expertise and an increased need for negotiating between different conceptual frameworks. The ocularcentric bias of museums is increasingly being questioned by blind and visually impaired visitors who emphasize touch as a learning and aesthetic experience. This challenge is contentious not least because it ostensibly brings the individuals' rights of access into direct conflict with museum conservation. I argue that concerns over conservation can, however, mask and serve to legitimate preconceptions about who should have access to collections; what counts as damage or dirt; and the means by which art and artefacts can be understood or enjoyed. It is expertise rather than the conservation of objects which is at stake. This article suggests that in campaigning for access through touch, blind people physically move beyond the barriers which reserve contact for the museum elite and simultaneously establish the viability of learning in a way that is not sanctioned by the art historical community. Thus resistance to touch in museums is not so much a concern for preservation as a defence of territory and expertise.


Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), or prion diseases, are a family of inevitably fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting a variety of mammalian species. These diseases include scrapie in sheep and goats; bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, "mad cow" disease) in cattle; chronic wasting disease (CWD) in North American deer, elk and moose; transmissible mink encephalopathy; and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD, sporadic, familial and variant forms) and kuru in humans. These diseases are characterized by long incubation periods, spongiform degeneration of the brain and accumulation of an abnormally folded isoform of the prion protein, designated PrPSc, in brain tissue (Prusiner 1998).

CWD and scrapie are the only TSEs that appear to be environmentally transmitted. Therefore, this chapter focuses primarily on these two TSEs. Scrapie has been known in sheep for at least 250 years (McGowan 1922). Most clinically infected sheep exhibit the obvious feature of excessive rubbing and scratching of the skin; the term "scrapie" derives from this symptom. The peak incidence of scrapie occurs in sheep three to four years of age although the earliest cases are seen at 18 months and the latest in animals older than 10 years (Dickinson 1976). The origin of the scrapie agent is unknown, but a familial pattern exists in natural sheep scrapie suggesting that genetics and, possibly, vertical transmission are important. Scrapie has a world-wide distribution and has been documented wherever sheep are raised, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand.

CWD was first identified at a Colorado research facility in 1967 (Williams and Young 1980) and has since been identified in captive cervid populations in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Oklahoma, New York, Nebraska, Montana, Minnesota, Kansas and Alberta (Fig. 1⇓). In the free-ranging cervid population, CWD has been found in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Utah, South Dakota, Saskatchewan, New Mexico, Nebraska, Illinois, …


This review summarizes the state of research on the causes of preterm birth, potential targets for prevention, and translational challenges and opportunities. Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide, but current interventions to prevent prematurity are largely ineffective. Preterm birth is increasingly recognized as an outcome that can result from a variety of pathological processes. Despite current research efforts, the mechanisms underlying these processes remain poorly understood and are influenced by a range of biological and environmental factors. Research with modern techniques is needed to understand the mechanisms responsible for preterm labor and birth and identify targets for diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. This review evaluates the state of reproductive science relevant to understanding the causes of preterm birth, identifies potential targets for prevention, and outlines challenges and opportunities for translating research findings into effective interventions.


Short text messages, a.k.a microposts (e.g., tweets), have proven to be an effective channel for revealing information about trends and events, ranging from those related to disaster (e.g., Hurricane Sandy) to those related to violence (e.g., Egyptian revolution). Being informed about such events as they occur could be extremely important to authorities and emergency professionals by allowing such parties to immediately respond. In this work we study the problem of topic classification (TC) of microposts, which aims to automatically classify short messages based on the subject(s) discussed in them. The accurate TC of microposts however is a challenging task since the limited number of tokens in a post often implies a lack of sufficient contextual information. In order to provide contextual information to microposts, we present and evaluate several graph structures surrounding concepts present in linked knowledge sources (KSs). Traditional TC techniques enrich the content of microposts with features extracted only from the microposts content. In contrast our approach relies on the generation of different weighted semantic meta-graphs extracted from linked KSs. We introduce a new semantic graph, called category meta-graph. This novel meta-graph provides a more fine grained categorisation of concepts providing a set of novel semantic features. Our findings show that such category meta-graph features effectively improve the performance of a topic classifier of microposts. Furthermore our goal is also to understand which semantic feature contributes to the performance of a topic classifier. For this reason we propose an approach for automatic estimation of accuracy loss of a topic classifier on new, unseen microposts. We introduce and evaluate novel topic similarity measures, which capture the similarity between the KS documents and microposts at a conceptual level, considering the enriched representation of these documents. Extensive evaluation in the context of Emergency Response (ER) and Violence Detection (VD) revealed that our approach outperforms previous approaches using single KS without linked data and Twitter data only up to 31.4% in terms of F1 measure. Our main findings indicate that the new category graph contains useful information for TC and achieves comparable results to previously used semantic graphs. Furthermore our results also indicate that the accuracy of a topic classifier can be accurately predicted using the enhanced text representation, outperforming previous approaches considering content-based similarity measures.


This study provides an overview of aircraft cabin safety communications in Australia, in terms of effectiveness, passenger attitudes to such communications and opportunities that exist for improvement. Most passengers agreed that paying attention to cabin safety communications is important. However, results revealed that behaviours do not always match this perception. Perceived relevance of safety information and frequency of travel were found to be significant factors affecting passenger attitudes and behaviours. High levels of message recognition, combined with excessive levels of confidence in personal ability to perform safety actions may be key drivers of reduced perceptions of relevance. Passenger attention levels to safety communications were found to be generally low. Of all communication types tested, the safety briefing was most prone to perceptions of reduced relevance through repeated exposure, while very low attention levels and perceptions of content establish safety cards as being generally ineffective. Analysis identified that low levels of passenger attention to safety communications results from overconfidence, superficial familiarity with messages, issues relating to the way safety content is presented, perceptions of substitutability between the card and briefing and social norms present in the aircraft cabin. A framework for cognitive processing of cabin safety communications is presented. The framework identifies that passenger behaviours may be negatively influenced by perceptions that it is socially undesirable to pay attention to safety information. Changing normative and attitudinal beliefs represents the greatest opportunity to improve communication effectiveness. Key opportunities are identified to improve cabin safety through enhancement of communications. These recommendations include tailoring communications to the needs of specific passenger profiles, providing additional information to passengers, improved design guidelines, regular content variation and use of communications specialists in safety media design.


Purpose: This paper aims to model and optimize the closed loop supply chain for maximizing
the profit by considering the fixed order quantity inventory policy in various sites at multiple
periods.
Design/methodology/approach: In forward supply chain, a standard inventory policy can be
followed when the product moves from manufacturer, distributer, retailer and customer but the
inventory in the reverse supply chain of the product with the similar standard policy is very
difficult to manage. This model investigates the standard policy of fixed order quantity by
considering the three major types of return-recovery pair such as commercial returns, end- ofuse
returns, end –of- life returns and their inventory positioning at multiple periods. The model is
configured as mixed integer linear programming and solved by IBM ILOG CPLEX OPL studio.
Findings: To find the performance of the model a numerical example is considered for a
product with three Parts (A which of 2nos, B and C) for 12 multiple periods. The results of the
analysis show that the manufacturer can know how much should to be manufacture in multiple
periods based on Variations of the demand by adopting the FOQ inventory policy at different
sites considering its capacity constraints. In addition, it is important how much of parts should be
purchased from the supplier at the given 12 periods Originality/value: A sensitivity analysis is performed to validate the proposed model two parts.
First part of the analysis will focus on the inventory of product and parts and second part of
analysis focus on profit of the company. The analysis which provides some insights in to the
structure of the model.


Agricultural producers are faced with a range of conditions that influence their profitability, from weather variability to weed, insect, and disease pressure. Adoption of new production methods to address these conditions can produce higher or lower yields, as well as differing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fiber quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of row spacing, herbicide technology, and tillage on fiber quality attributes, quality price difference, ginning percentage, and net returns above variable treatment costs (NR) using data from a field experiment conducted in Alabama from 2004 to 2006. Treatments included nontransgenic, glyphosate-tolerant, and glufosinate-tolerant cotton varieties; conservation tillage and conventional tillage; and standard row (102-cm) and narrow row (38-cm) spacing. Ordered multinomial mixed logit models were used to evaluate fiber quality attributes, quality price difference, and ginning percentage, and a linear mixed model was use to evaluate NR. Fiber quality attributes were most commonly impacted by variety and tillage. Across all fiber quality attributes, nontransgenic and glufosinate-tolerant varieties had a higher probability of producing premium cotton than the glyphosate-tolerant variety due to premiums from micronaire, strength, and uniformity values. Conservation tillage systems had a higher probability of higher values for color grade, staple, and uniformity. Glyphosate-tolerant cotton and cotton grown in a conventional tillage system were more likely to have higher ginning percentages. Spacing and variety were influential in determining NR. These results indicate the importance of considering, not only seed cotton yield, but also fiber quality and ginning percentage when making production decisions.


The influence of pre-weaning immunocastration on the growth, incidences of reaction to vaccination, serum testosterone concentration and slaughter performance of ram lambs was determined and compared to that of physically castrated lambs. Immunocastration was performed using two doses of 2 mL Improvac® administered subcutaneously in the shoulder, alternating sides per vaccination, using a Sterimatic® needle guard system. The first vaccination was administered to 50 lambs with an average weight (± SD) of 16.0 ± 3.05 kg, and the second vaccination was carried out six weeks later, when the lambs weighed on average (± SD) 20.5 ± 4.11 kg. An additional 50 lambs were physically castrated using elastrator bands at the same time as the primary vaccination given to the immunocastrates. Data were collected during four sessions over the 25-week period, at time points which fitted into the normal management activities of the commercial operation (Weeks 1, 6, 16 and at slaughter). During these sessions, all lambs were weighed, and blood samples were collected from immunocastrates. The immunocastration injection site was also scored for adverse reactions. Immunocastration was successful in preventing testosterone secretion for the duration of the trial and no differences were reported regarding weight gain or slaughter performance between the treatments. The Sterimatic® and Stericap® system, as used in this study, proved to be an easy-to-use and safe system for the commercial administration of Improvac®, with no adverse reactions to vaccinations recorded at the injection sites. Pre-weaning immunocastration in lambs is thus possible, and the growth rate, carcass weight and carcass fatness of immunocastrates are similar to that of elastrator-castrated lambs.


China has no lack of entrepreneurs, market demand, or wealth, but can the country succeed in its quest to become the world's innovation leader? For nearly 40 years, the government has been establishing research programs and high-tech zones, encouraging domestic firms to boost their innovation capacity, and helping colleges and universities flourish. Recently it declared its intention to transform China into "an innovative society" by 2020 and a world leader in science and technology by 2050. But against the government's intentions and resources run some powerful currents. Communist Party representatives must be present in companies with more than 50 employees--a requirement that constrains competitive and entrepreneurial behavior. And many Chinese companies have found that the rewards for incremental improvements are so vast that there's little incentive to pursue breakthroughs. Certainly, China has shown a potential for innovation and has the capacity to do much more. But will the state have the wisdom to lighten up? INSET: Creating Leaders Through the Liberal Arts.


Abstract The cloud of skepticism around mobile devices and their use in education is rapidly dispersing. Educators have come to embrace mobile devices as powerful tools that enable continuous, lifelong learning. The type of mobile device makes little difference to the educational process since all types have capabilities that enhance learning. Hence, adopting a BYOD/BYOT (Bring Your Own Device/Technology) policy in the classroom can shift the focus from the device to the learning outcomes. Device neutral assignments are assignments and lesson plans that can be completed on any device. It comes as a solution for the multi platform challenge in a BYOD policy. This action research is intended to examine how Device Neutral Assignments can be used to integrate mobile learning into English Language classes where students are using their own mobile devices. Some language assignments were redesigned according to DNA guidelines. Description the assignments is provided along with the results and observations of the completed assignments.


Current state-of-the-art medical deformable image registration (DIR) methods optimize a weighted sum of key objectives of interest. Having a pre-determined weight combination that leads to high-quality results for any instance of a specific DIR problem (i.e., a class solution) would facilitate clinical application of DIR. However, such a combination can vary widely for each instance and is currently often manually determined. A multi-objective optimization approach for DIR removes the need for manual tuning, providing a set of high-quality trade-off solutions. Here, we investigate machine learning for a multi-objective class solution, i.e., not a single weight combination, but a set thereof, that, when used on any instance of a specific DIR problem, approximates such a set of trade-off solutions. To this end, we employed a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to learn sets of weight combinations for three breast DIR problems of increasing difficulty: 10 prone-prone cases, 4 prone-supine cases with limited deformations and 6 prone-supine cases with larger deformations and image artefacts. Clinically-acceptable results were obtained for the first two problems. Therefore, for DIR problems with limited deformations, a multi-objective class solution can be machine learned and used to compute straightforwardly multiple high-quality DIR outcomes, potentially leading to more efficient use of DIR in clinical practice.


This works focuses on the challenges posed by benchmarking private equity performance and the solutions that have evolved in practice. The paper puts the practical approaches used by investors into four general categories, and describes the relevant characteristics that distinguish each category, the typical circumstances in which they normally arise, and the areas in which each presents opportunities for improvement. The authors' perspective is neutral as to which method is preferred or superior, recognizing that each one presents particular advantages and challenges. The intent is to demonstrate the relationship among the different approaches that eventually should rest on similar underlying principles of objectivity, efficiency, and transparency. The intended audience includes institutional asset owners with significant allocations to private equity, that need to adequately measure the value added to their portfolio by direct and fund investment, as well as investment managers who need to track how the performance of their strategies and implementations compares to that of their peers. TOPICS: Private equity, performance measurement Key Findings ▪ Analyze the ways the investment industry has evolved to tackle the challenges with private equity benchmarking in practice. ▪ Reduce the reliance on subjective measures like appraisal values and heuristic groupings, and focus on objective measures like cash flows, transacted values, and efficient benchmark portfolios. ▪ Evolve beyond static measures of performance to those that suggest the confidence intervals that differentiate between skill and luck.


Two square $0,1$ matrices $A,B$ are a pair of Lehman matrices if $AB^T = J+dI$, where $J$ is the matrix of all $1$s and $d$ is a positive integer. It is known that there are infinitely many such matrices when $d=1$, and these matrices are called thin Lehman matrices. An induced subgraph of the Johnson graph may be defined given any Lehman matrix, where the vertices of the graph correspond to rows of the matrix. These graphs are used to study thin Lehman matrices. We show that any connected component of such a graph determines the corresponding rows of the matrix up to permutations of the columns. We also provide a sharp bound on the maximum clique size of such graphs and give a complete classification of Lehman matrices whose graphs have at most two connected components. Some constraints on when a circulant matrix can be Lehman are also provided. Many general classes of thin Lehman matrices are constructed in the paper.


Ecosystems are complex dynamic systems that form highly structured biotic and abiotic interactions. One common approach for studying ecosystems is to consider the structure based on thermodynamics and to use energy transfers between components to investigate the resultant network in terms of its throughflow, storage, and organizational properties. Energy is continually input into an ecosystem in the form of light energy, and some energy is lost with each transfer to a higher trophic level. There are many physical, chemical, and biological limitations to the effectiveness and energy transfer between components of an ecosystem in nature. A water reservoir called Rawal Lake in sub-tropical forest ecosystem in the Margalla Hills of Islamabad forms the domain of this study. The main objectives of this study are: 1) to identify the species present in the Rawal Lake ecological network, 2) to summarize what is known about the energy flows on the basis of the food consumption, and 3) to build a model that represents its dynamics. Ecosystems are impacted by growing anthropogenic interventions, and water resources in particular face many potential threats from climatic events like flooding, droughts, etc., which can result in structural and functional changes in different living and nonliving interactions. This study catalogues the potential threats/ risks to these systems due to climate change or other disturbances. A linear donor controlled ecological network model has been developed to analyze the resilience of the aquatic ecosystem due to these external threats.


Quantifying the trophic dynamics of invasive species in novel habitats is important for predicting the success of potential invaders and evaluating their ecological effects. The North American pumpkinseed sunfish Lepomis gibbosus is a successful invader in Europe, where it has caused negative ecological effects primarily through trophic interactions. Here, we quantified variations in the late summer trophic niche of pumpkinseed during establishment and integration in the mainstem of the Guadiana river, using stomach content analyses over a period of 40 years. Pumpkinseed showed a shift from trophic specialization during establishment to trophic generalism during integration. These results were concomitant with an increase in diet breadth that was accompanied by higher individual diet specialization particularly in large individuals. Irrespective of their drivers, these changes in trophic niche suggest that the potential ecological effects of pumpkinseed on recipient ecosystems can vary temporally along the invasion process.


This study concerns with the adsorption of pathogenic substances on highly blood-compatible titania and the adsorption mechanism. Titania was prepared through a sol-gel procedure by hydrolyzing tetraethylorthotitanate and calcining up to 705°C for 3 h. Pore size distribution and surface charge density were measured as a function of calcining temperature. Adsorption of bilirubin, as a typical pathogenic substance, as well as albumin on the titania powder was studied. Bilirubin was adsorbed either in 4 to 8-nm pores or on the surface with a higher positive charge. Thus, either entrapping bilirubin in the pores or electrostatic interaction between bilirubin and titania surface was effective for the adsorption of bilirubin. The titania powder adsorbed a greater amount of bilirubin than the anion-exchange resin used in clinics, hence they have potential for blood purification therapy.


How fast is open access growing? Is this fast enough? Why or why not? What are the impacts of currently evolving open systems? For instance, are overall costs being reduced for scholarly libraries? Is global access to scholarly information increasing? What about in the Global South? What is the impact in this region of increasing adoption of the author-pays system?


Literature means the expression of thought in language, where by "thought" he means the ideas, feelings, views, reasoning, and other operation of the human mind. It adds the readers' knowledge and experience about life. That is the reason why the writer of this thesis analyzes literature especially novel focused on cunning as the topic of this study.
The object of this study is the whole events in the novel "Call Back Yesterday". It is focused on Clare's cunning. The purpose of study is to analyze and describe Clare's cunning, the reasons and the end in making use of her cunning. This study uses the descriptive research because there is no treatment as in experimental research. This research just describes and interprets what exist with respect to condition in a situation. The data are carefully examined for the intention of this study. In these study uses objective approach because the writer of this thesis doesn't need studying the author's life, background of the work or the society; however, just analyzing the work itself.
The result of the study shows that Clare's cunning toward Oriel is by told Oriel that Devil was seduced her in Hayfield when they met the night before, toward Devil by showed from Oriel's father that Oriel was engaged with a millionaire man from Africa and will married. The reason of Clare's cunning is make Oriel and Devil had parted in bitterness and misunderstanding. The last, the end of Clare's cunning toward Oriel and Devil is when Clare is a Devil's wife. Clare's being lonely and unhappy. Therefore, Clare died with tragic.


We study the consequences of age-dependent preferences for economic growth and structural change in a two-sector model with overlapping generations and non-dimishing returns to capital. Savings and accumulation rates depend on the relative price of services consumed by old agents and on the intergenerational distribution of income. The feedback effects originating in preferences and income distribution yield three possible long-run growth outcomes: sustained endogenous growth, decumulation traps, and bounded accumulation. In the endogenous growth scenario, the transition features rising savings and accumulation rates accompanied by distributional shifts in favor of young workers, growing employment and rising prices in the service sector. Traps are triggered by initially low capital in manufacturing and low employment in services. Bounded accumulation yielding zero long-run growth in per capita incomes is induced by preferences, not by diminishing returns to capital.


The period from the 1960s to the 1990s was one of great political change in Malta. Up until its independence in 1964, Malta had been under foreign domination, and this new political direction meant change in the way the Maltese saw and governed themselves. Theatre during this period expressed this emerging new identity. Looking at theatre and political protest during this period reveals that in contrast to the more politically engaged post-independence theatre, recent Maltese theatre is relatively unchanging, perhaps due to a more general decline in political involvement.


Is it wise to try to block a speech by Christopher Monckton? Are there other options? Monckton, a well known climate change sceptic, was invited to speak at Notre Dame University in Fremantle on 30 June. Some supporters of mainstream climate science opposed allowing him this speaking opportunity. Monckton's critics claim he is unqualified and has no credibility on climate change, making his speaking engagement an embarrassment to the university. The trouble is, this seems like censorship. This is a recurring dilemma. Should those with outrageous or even dangerous views be offered platforms to speak? Or should Holocaust deniers, supporters of paedophilia, critics of vaccination, advocates of racial inequality and climate sceptics be censored in some way? It is useful to examine the issue from three perspectives: the arguments for free speech, pragmatism, and alternative options


The hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is activated in various types of cancer including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. It has been shown that extremely low oxygen tension (below 1% O2) is found in tumor tissue including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells (PDAC) and increases the invasiveness of PDAC. To investigate the contribution of the Hh pathway to hypoxia‐induced invasiveness, we examined how hypoxia affects Hh pathway activation and the invasiveness of PDAC. In the present study, three human PDAC lines were cultured under normoxic (20% O2) or hypoxic (1% O2) conditions. Hypoxia upregulated the transcription of Sonic hedgehog (Shh), Smoothened (Smo), Gli1 and matrix metalloproteinase9 (MMP9) and increased the invasiveness of PDAC. Significantly, neither the addition of recombinant Shh (rhShh) nor the silencing of Shh affected the transcription of these genes and the invasiveness of PDAC. On the other hand, silencing of Smo decreased the transcription of Gli1 and MMP9 and PDAC invasiveness. Silencing of Gli1 or MMP9 decreased PDAC invasiveness. These results suggest that hypoxia activates the Hh pathway of PDAC by increasing the transcription of Smo in a ligand‐independent manner and increases PDAC invasiveness. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 1144–1150)


Precipitable water vapor (PWV) measurements derived from the datasets of a single standalone GNSS receiver was conducted in Davao City, Philippines (7 o 4'N, 125 o 36'E) for the years 2013 to 2016. The primary goal of the study is to monitor the variability of the GNSS-PWV estimates during heavy to torrential rain events. Several papers have made case studies on precipitation and atmospheric water vapor and most studies have supported the existence of the positive correlation between PWV and rain. These studies implied that a better analysis of the distribution of water vapor is a key factor to better understand the initiation of precipitation and provide more accurate forecasts of such events. In the present study, time series plots were made to provide a better picture of the variability of PWV for each rain event. It can be observed that while moderate rain follows small variations in PWV, heavy to torrential rains usually follows a peak in PWV. A time lag of approximately 2-8 hours is observed between the two peaks. Intense to torrential rains would always be followed by a decrease of about 5-10 mm in PWV. In addition, a build-up of PWV is observed prior to intense to torrential rain. However, the maximum PWV value that precedes each rain event varies depending on the season and no cut-off value of PWV had been noted that predicts the occurrence of heavy to torrential rain events.


Abstract The nature of microscopic particulates in meteoric and accreted ice from the Vostok (Antarctica) ice core is assessed in conjunction with existing ice-core data to investigate the mechanism by which particulates are incorporated into refrozen lake water. Melted ice samples from a range of ice-core depths were filtered through 0.2 μm polycarbonate membranes, and secondary electron images were collected at ×500 magnification using a scanning electron microscope. Image analysis software was used to characterize the size and shape of particulates. Similar distributions of major-axis lengths, surface areas and shape factors (aspect ratio and compactness) for particulates in all accreted ice samples suggest that a single process may be responsible for incorporating the vast majority of particulates for all depths. Calculation of Stokes settling velocities for particulates of various sizes implies that 98% of particulates observed could 'float' to the ice–water interface with upward water velocities of 0.0003 ms–1 where they could be incorporated by growing ice crystals, or by rising frazil ice crystals. The presence of particulates that are expected to sink in the water column (2%) and the uneven distribution of particulates in the ice core further implies that periodic perturbations to the lake's circulation, involving increased velocities, may have occurred in the past.


Agri-environmental schemes have been introduced in numerous countries to combat biodiversity loss in agrarian landscapes that are important for both food production and biodiversity. The successful operation of such schemes depends strongly upon trust between actors involved, as well as trust in institutions that govern these schemes. However, the interplay between interpersonal and institutional trust in the context of collective action for agri-environmental management is not well understood. To address this question, we explore the case of agri-environmental management in the province of Drenthe (in The Netherlands), where a new policy model was implemented. This case shows how both institutional design and institutional performance critically influence trust dynamics. Under the old policy model, farmers struggled with auditing and control, which fostered mistrust and hampered collective action. Under the new model, a landscape approach, more responsibilities were delegated to farmers, and more room was created for interaction, which fostered trust both between actors and in institutions. Based on our findings, we conclude that institutional designs that reflect trust in the actors can foster interpersonal and institutional trust that, in turn, facilitates collective action. However, old arrangements can also create path dependencies that limit trust development and impede collective action for agri-environmental management.


Recent developments on the wireless communication technology have brought much innovativeness to make wireless access networks, e.g. WiMAX systems, to be able to compete with the wired access networks with much more bandwidth. QoS service provisioning is an important issue for deploying such networks. The IEEE 802.16d standard has specified the services should be provided at the medium access control (MAC) layer in WiMAX networks. However, it has left a wide space for research to develop and implement those specified services. In this paper, the issue of differentiated service provisioning will be addressed with the non-real-time polling service in WiMAX systems. The proposed solution has been designed to have an ability to accommodate integrated traffic in the networks with effective scheduling schemes. A series of simulation experiments have been carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheduling algorithm. The results reveal that the proposed solution performs effectively to the integrated traffic composed of messages with or without time constraints and achieves proportional fairness among different types of traffic.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) represent a disease spectrum. Caregiver burden in subtypes of FTD has not yet been directly compared with those patients who have co-existent FTD and ALS (ALSFTD).

METHOD
Perceived caregiver burden was evaluated using the short Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) in patients with behavioral-variant FTD (bvFTD, n = 21), semantic dementia (SD, n = 18), and ALSFTD (n = 15) at the initial clinical presentation and follow-up assessments. The Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) and the Motor Neuron Disease Behaviour Scale (MiND-B) were also used. Linear mixed effects models examined longitudinal changes on the ZBI, M-ACE, and MiND-B across groups.

RESULTS
Burden at baseline was highest for the bvFTD group. Longitudinally, perceived burden increased for the SD and ALSFTD groups whereas in bvFTD, the level of burden which was high at baseline and remained high with disease progression. The severity of abnormal behaviors at baseline, as assessed by the MiND-B, correlated with baseline levels of caregiver burden and further accounted for 23% of the variance in caregiver burden at clinical follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS
The trajectory of perceived burden differs across the FTD-ALS spectrum, with SD and ALSFTD caregivers demonstrating an increased burden that develops over time, compared to a persistently high level for bvFTD caregivers, evident throughout the disease course. The evolution of burden in these three syndromes likely reflects the initial presentation and clinical characterization that develops with time. Psycho-education programs for caregivers, which provide better coping strategies for challenging behaviors, may reduce levels of burden experienced with disease progression.


Supply chain management (SCM) research has tended to focus on the planning and management of a broad range of activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and management of logistics. However, the domain is increasingly recognising the significance of coordination and collaboration between channel partners. As such, there is a need to better understand how channel partners make decisions; and in particular, whether there is an alignment in the expectations of these partners. In this study we use an agency theory approach to explore the relative importance of various supply chain components to reveal the decisionmaking trade-offs that occur when buyers evaluate the services of a third party logistics provider. Our research approach overcomes many of the limitations seen in previous studies that rely on simple rankings by survey respondents through the direct identification of the customer's utility for different service provider attributes. The results confirm the importance of various performance-level attributes and point us towards a new set of higher order capabilities based on professionalism and proactive innovation. Disciplines Business | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication Details Coltman, T., Gattorna, J. & Keating, B. (2007). Alignment of buyer and supplier expectations in the transportation and logistics service industry. Thirty-Sixth Annual Supply Chain Management Educators Conference Pennsylvania: Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. This conference paper is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/2968


We present a general model of bidding behavior in wildlife corridor auctions. Given (i) some spatial configuration of landowners in a landscape, (ii) the landowners' opportunity costs, and (iii) the value of establishing the corridor, our model predicts individual landowners' bids, overall participation rates in the auction, as well as the expected net benefits to the conservation agency. We find that market efficiency of the auction increases in the number of potential corridors. We use simulations to compare a benchmark auction with two policy scenarios in a hypothetical landscape. In one scenario, members of a winning corridor receive an agglomeration bonus. In the other scenario, we buy out a pivotal landowner (one that is part of many potential corridors) prior to the auction. Given equal budgets for the agglomeration bonus and the buyout policy, an agglomeration bonus is less efficient than a buyout for conservation agencies facing low budgets, and vice versa. A risk-averse conservation agency is however always better off using a buyout policy.


Most fungi that cause human infections are free-living saprobes and only accidental pathogens. The most prevalent mycoses are caused by fungi that are either members of the normal human microbiota, such as species of Candida and Malassezia, or ubiquitous, exogenous fungi that are highly adapted for survival on the human host, such as species of Aspergillus and Cryptococcus. This article will summarise the aetiology, risk factors and clinical manifestations of the most common mycoses. Strategies for their diagnoses include traditional methods of microscopy and culture, as well as the detection of fungal antigens and antifungal antibodies, fungal deoxyribonucleic acid and structural components. Because both infectious fungi and their human hosts are eukaryotes, they share many cellular processes and macromolecules. Consequently, it is difficult to identify targets for antifungal drugs that do not inflict collateral damage on the patients.

Key Concepts

Superficial and cutaneous mycoses are among the most common of all communicable diseases.
Geophilic and zoophilic dermatophytes usually cause acute, inflammatory lesions that respond to topical treatment within weeks and rarely recur. Conversely, anthropophilic dermatophytes tend to cause relatively mild, chronic lesions that may require months or years of treatment and frequently relapse.
Subcutaneous mycoses may be caused by dozens of environmental moulds associated with vegetation and soil. These fungi are usually acquired by contamination of minor wounds. The infections are generally chronic and rarely spread to deeper tissues.
The endemic mycoses (coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, blastomycosis and paracoccidioidomycosis) are caused by dimorphic environmental moulds and associated with distinct geographic regions.
More than 90% of endemic mycoses are caused by inhaling airborne conidia, and, in immunocompetent persons, the infections are asymptomatic or self-limited; however, latent, viable fungal cells may persist and subsequently reactivate to cause overt disease. Risk factors for the manifestation of disease include compromised cell-mediated immunity, genetic predisposition and male gender.
Opportunistic mycoses are caused by globally distributed fungi that are either members of the human microbiota or ubiquitous environmental fungi. These mycoses have the highest global mortality.
Innate immune responses (e.g. neutrophils, monocytes) provide crucial protection from systemic candidiasis, invasive aspergillosis and mucormycosis.
Most patients with HIV/AIDS develop mucosal candidiasis (e.g. thrush, oesophagitis). Those with CD4+ counts less than 100 cells μL−1 are at risk for invasive fungi, such as Cryptococcus, Aspergillus and others.
Effective treatment of invasive mycoses relies on rapid identification of the fungus, administration of the appropriate antifungal drug and management of any underlying disease or condition.

Keywords:

mycosis;
infectious fungi;
yeast;
mould;
clinical mycology;
medical mycology


This paper develops and estimates a model of the time at which market participants expected the French franc to be devalued relative to the German deutschemark during the early years of the European Monetary System. The model assumes that the expected time of exchange rate realignment is determined by the time at which foreign exchange reserves in the Banque de France first fall below a critical threshold level, and that reserves are a Brownian motion process with a drift that depends on current economic conditions. Thus, the probability distribution for the time of the next realignment is an Inverse Gaussian distribution. The empirical analysis uses the term structure of forward exchange rate premia to form indicators of perceived probabilities of realignment over various time horizons. The model fits quite well, especially prior to the March 1983 realignment. The estimation suggests that the expected timing of realignments was quite sensitive to the level of reserves in France and to factors that affect the mean rate of change of reserves.


This thesis investigates the problems of describing and analysing music that is composed for, and presented from, a fixed medium, and diffused over loudspeakers with minimal intervention, especially where such music resembles everyday sounds as much as it does traditional musical material. It is argued that most existing theories of acousmatic music are closely tied to prescriptive rather than descriptive concerns, and concentrate upon intrinsic aspects of acousmatic music to the detriment of its extrinsic potential. In contrast to such approaches a method of description based upon an ecological theory of listening which accounts for the relationship between structured information and the perception of events is proposed. This descriptive approach is used as the basis for analysing acousmatic pieces, revealing a complex interpretative relationship between listener, piece and environment. Such an approach, it is argued, accounts for those aspects of acousmatic music excluded by most current approaches, but more importantly provides a theoretical framework. within which descriptions may be arrived at which avoid the prescriptive bias of exisiting theories. The perspective provided by this analytical approach is reinterpreted through a critical approach to aesthetics, showing how acousmatic music can be seen as both autonomous and mimetic and how the dialectic between these two aspects is potentially critical of our relationship with the world. The relationship between musical techniques, materials and technology is discussed in response to this perspective showing how acousmatic music might be regarded as part of a broader aesthetic context. In conclusion, it is argued that acousmatic music does not merely challenge the view that music is primarily self-referential, but also that it reaffirms the possibility that music may be both intrinsically and extrinsically significant.


Double curved geometries including hyperbolicparaboloids (hypars) have become a trend in contemporary architecture. However, most of the constructed architectural examples of the hypars are static and cannot offer any form variability. In this paper, a 2-DOF 8 R linkage mechanism is introduced to buildtransformable hypar structures. It is inspired from the basic design principles of Bennett linkage. By its distinctive connection details and additional links, this novel mechanism can change its form fromplanar geometries to various hypars. The paper begins with the brief summary of the applications of hypar structures in architecture. Secondly, main principles and deficiencies of the Bennett linkage are presented. According to these deficiencies, structural synthesis of the novel mechanism is considered. Finally, advantages and potential uses of the proposed novel mechanism are explained.


The paper examines the factors affecting motivational level of Library staff in CSIR, Ghana. The main objective of the study was to identify the factors affecting the motivation of Library staff at CSIR. The nature of this study was descriptive cum survey type. Population of this study included all the Library staffs CSIR in Ghana. For choosing the sample from this population, purposive sampling type was used. All the 54 Library staffs within the CSIR were selected for the study. A questionnaire was used as research instrument for collection of data. The data obtained were tabulated and analyzed by using statistical techniques of means, standard deviation, correlation and multiple regression. On the basis of analysis it was concluded that, recognition and work condition are the most important motivating factors for Library staff in the CSIR of Ghana. It is recommended that other material rewards apart from the Best Worker Award be instituted to recognize the Library staff for their contribution to research in Ghana. Moreover, various aspects of work conditions of the Library staff such as salary, health insurance, accommodation and other facilities need to be improved.


Liquid storage tanks are essential facilities in lifeline and industrial systems. To ensure liquid tightness, serviceability is the prime design concern for these structures. While there have been major studies on the behavior of steel tanks, little attention has been paid to the behavior of rectangular concrete tanks. In this study, the dynamic response of concrete rectangular liquid storage tanks is investigated. In the current design practice, the response of liquid and tank structure is determined based on rigid tank wall and the lumped mass approach. However, the results of analysis show that the flexibility of tank wall increases the hydrodynamic pressures as compared to the rigid wall assumption. Also, recent studies show that the lumped added mass method leads to overly conservative results in terms of base shear and base moment. In addition, in spite of advanced analysis techniques available for dynamic analysis of liquid storage tanks such as finite element method and sequential coupling analysis procedure, there is a need to develop a simplified analysis method for practical applications.

In this thesis, a simplified method using the generalized single degree of freedom (SDOF) system is proposed for seismic analysis of concrete rectangular liquid containing structures (LCS). Only the impulsive hydrodynamic pressure is considered. In the proposed method, the consistent mass approach and the effect of flexibility of tank wall on hydrodynamic pressures are considered. Different analytical methods are used to verify the proposed model in this study. The comparison of results based on the current design practice, the analytical-finite element models and full finite element model using ANSYS® shows that the proposed method is fairly accurate which can be used in the structural design of liquid containing structures.

Parametric studies on seismic analysis of concrete rectangular LCS using the generalized SDOF system are carried out. Five prescribed vibration shape functions representing the first mode shape of fluid structure interaction system are used to study the effect of flexibility of tank wall and boundary conditions. The effect of flexibility of tank wall, the amplitude of hydrodynamic pressure, the added mass of liquid due to hydrodynamic pressure, the effective heights for liquid containing system and the effect of higher modes on dynamic response of LCS are investigated. In addition, the effect of variable size of tanks and liquid depth are studied. The contribution of higher modes to the dynamic response of LCS is included in the proposed model. A design procedure based on the structural model using the generalized SDOF system is proposed in this study. Design charts and tables for the added mass of liquid due to impulsive hydrodynamic pressure and the corresponding effective heights are presented. The proposed design procedure can be used for engineering design applications.


This monograph investigates the morpho-syntactic and other properties of clitic pronouns in Greek and offers a grammar of proclisis and enclisis in light of Chomsky's (1995, 2001a, 2005) Minimalist Program. It explores the nature of clitics as syntactic topicalizers which are probed by structurally higher verbal heads to which they move and into which they incorporate morpho-syntactically. A theory is advanced according to which cliticization derives from syntactic agreement between (the phi-features of) a clitic pronoun and a phase head, v* in the case of proclisis and CM in the case of enclisis. Incorporation of the clitic into its host is argued to depend on two factors, i.e. the fact that the clitic only contains a subset of the features of its host, and the fact that the edge of the host is accessible. Also, the syntax of strong pronouns and their relation to clitics, of negated imperatives, of surrogate imperatives and of free clitic ordering in Greek enclisis are also discussed. This monograph would appeal to syntacticians and morphologists as well as to those interested in Greek and more generally in clitic syntax.


This Essay explores an overlooked way to use the remedy of disgorgement in torts, contracts, and regulation. It begins with a reminder that disgorging net gains does not force the liable actor to take a loss; by definition, it allows him to break even. As a matter of incentives, it places him in a sort of equipoise. This equipoise effect has a logical upshot that might seem counterintuitive: Substituting disgorgement for any other remedy, part of the time, can emulate the incentive effect of using that other remedy all of the time.In theory, then, courts or regulators can sometimes substitute disgorgement for compensatory or expectation damages without undoing the benefits of harm internalization. This flexibility may prove especially useful in contexts where harm can be hard to measure. The accuracy of such emulation will depend on certain ideal conditions, however, and circumstances such as information costs will affect whether the approach is feasible and attractive.


This article describes the curriculum activities in one child-centered, developmentally appropriate child care facility preschool classroom. In particular, it explains how activities are selected according to children's needs, interests, and abilities, and how the activities address the core competencies mandated by the public school system in kindergarten. This emergent or "grassroots" curriculum (Cassidy & Lancaster, 1993; Cassidy & Myers, 1987) is based on specific observations made of individual and small groups of preschool children. Teachers in this classroom of 3- to 5-year-olds use daily planning to respond to observed behaviors, and then facilitate learning and development for each individual child. Since this child care facility is located in the state of North Carolina, the authors delineate which competencies from the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Kindergarten (North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction) are addressed through the activities.


It is often very difficult for surrogates to make appropriate decisions on behalf of incompetent patients, and the substituted-judgment standard (SJS) is one of several principles designed to provide guidance in this task. Typically, this principle is said to direct the surrogate to make the decision (about medical treatment) that the patient would have made, had the patient been competent to do so. I argued in an earlier article that this emphasis on hypothetical decisions the patient might have made in other circumstances is apt to yield trouble, and that these problems can be avoided by altering the structure of the principle. In a nutshell, my revised version of the SJS instructs the surrogate to use a practical syllogism to work out a decision by reasoning from what is known about the patient's goals and values (along with relevant facts about the medical situation). Although one's initial reaction to this may be that it is not significantly different from what the SJS has been saying all along, it turns out that the syllogistic approach eliminates an undesirable influence of depression, denial, and other factors. The response to my paper from Smith and Nunn challenges this proposed revision and raises questions about certainty and the autonomy of patients. My agreement with these commentators is extensive enough to suggest that my original article was unclear. I wish to clarify my position and comment on some of the issues raised in response to it.


We assessed the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) asso- ciated with a series of putative risk factors. We studied 140 patients (90 women) with MS (mean age, 42.1 years; SD=10.2 years; disease duration, 10.9 years, SD=7.5 years) and 131 sex- and age-matched controls. Using a structured questionnaire, we collected information related to demographic data, socio-eco- nomic status, education, ethnicity, changes of domiciles, migration, occupation, environmental, nutritional and hormon- al factors, exposure to various bacterial and viral agents, vacci- nations, and family history of diseases. In multiple logistic regression analysis, we found independent risk factors of MS to be: familiarity for MS (OR=12.1; 95% CI, 1.3-110.7), autoimmune diseases (OR=3.8; 95% CI, 2.0-7.1) and migraine (OR=8.7; 95% CI, 1.0-75.4); comorbidity with autoimmune disease (OR=6.8; 95% CI, 1.4-32.0) and migraine (OR=13.5; 95% CI, 1.5-116.6); and vaccination against measles (OR=92.2; 95%, 12.1-700.2). Familial susceptibility to MS, autoimmune diseases and migraine, and vaccination to measles are associated with an increased risk of MS. The data collected in this study are confirmatory and support the hypothesis that etiology of MS constitutes the effect of interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors. However, the relatively small number of cases and controls prevents firm conclusions.


We present the progression of developments necessary to scale the ISAM landsurface model from single nodes and small clusters with unusually largeper-node memory to much larger systems with more common configurations. These efforts include load balancing, conventional library-based output parallelization to reduce memory load, and parallel-in-time data input. On Hopper, a Cray XE6 machine, the result was strong scaling from 256 cores to 16k coreswith an efficiency of 32.9%. On Edison, a Cray XC30 machine, the code strong scales from 256 cores to 16k cores with an efficiency of 51.4%. These large-scale gains, and the associated performance increases at smaller scale, enable greater scientific productivity for the users of ISAM and open the possibilities of increased resolution in time and space and greater physical fidelity for the simulated processes while remaining computationally feasible.


Exact calculations of the $B$-phase collective-mode frequencies in a magnetic field are presented, and they provide new information about the effective mass, the pairing interaction, and the Landau parameters. The calculation of the Zeeman splitting for the 2+ mode (real squashing mode) is consistent with the zero-field frequency and agrees quantitatively with the measurements of Avenel et al., for a range of values of ${m}^{*}$ which includes some, but not all, of the differing experimental results for this important parameter.


An efficient bit allocation algorithm based on a novel view synthesis distortion model is proposed for the rate-distortion optimized coding of multiview video plus depth sequences in this paper. We decompose an input frame into nonedge blocks and edge blocks. For each nonedge block, we linearly approximate its texture and disparity values, and derive a view synthesis distortion model, which quantifies the impacts of the texture and depth distortions on the qualities of synthesized virtual views. On the other hand, for each edge block, we use its texture and disparity gradients for the distortion model. In addition, we formulate a bit-rate allocation problem in terms of the quantization parameters for texture and depth data. By solving the problem, we can optimally divide a limited bit budget between the texture and depth data, in order to maximize the qualities of synthesized virtual views, as well as those of encoded real views. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm yields the average PSNR gains of 1.98 and 2.04 dB in two-view and three-view scenarios, respectively, as compared with a benchmark conventional algorithm.


This working paper examines how innovations in transparent packaging, specifically cellophane, in the mid-twentieth century United States helped retailers to create full self-service merchandising systems, including selling perishable food. While self-service stores began appearing in the late 1910s, self-service was initially applied only to grocery and dry goods, such as canned foods and a box of breakfast cereals. It was not until after World War II that the majority of American grocers adopted self-service to meat and produce sections. Business historians have explored the development of this self-service merchandising from the perspectives of marketing strategies, store operations, and relationships between customers and store clerks. However, the significance of the development of cellophane as a new packaging material, and the role of packaging manufacturers in promoting self-service, has yet to be analyzed. This working paper fills this void by showing that the expansion of self-service operation and the increasing use of transparent packaging had a significant impact not only on how consumers purchased foods but also on how they understood food quality.


Currents through the pacemaker channels in the membrane of sino-atrial pacemaker cells set the rhythm for cardiac action potentials, thereby driving the heartbeat. Mysteriously, though, the embryonic heart begins beating even before the pacemaker channel becomes functional. Méry et al. expressed enhanced yellow fluorescent protein under the transcriptional control of the α isoform of myosin heavy-chain kinase (α-MHCK) in cultured embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived cardiomyocytes (which form three-dimensional structures called embryoid bodies that contain cells with the different cardiac phenotypes) and thereby identified a population of pacemaker cells. The pacemaker cells showed spontaneous spikes in intracellular calcium concentration. In day 9 embryoid bodies, calcium spikes persisted after exposure to 140 mM KCl (to depolarize the cell and abolish the membrane potential) or in the presence of pharmacological blockers of the pacemaker channel, whereas at day 11 the blockers slowed, and 140 mM KCl abolished, calcium spikes. Overexpression in pacemaker cells of calreticulin, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium-binding protein, reduced embryoid body beating and calcium spikes, as did expression in pacemaker cells of antisense to the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R). Expression of IP3 phosphatase inhibited calcium spiking in pacemakers, as did microinjection of antibody to the type I IP3R or exposure to an IP3R inhibitor. Thus, the authors conclude that, early in embryogenesis, cardiac pacemaker activity depends on IP3-dependent shuttling of calcium out of and into the ER. A. Méry, F. Aimond, C. Ménard, K. Mikoshiba, M. Michalak, M. Pucéat, Initiation of embryonic cardiac pacemaker activity by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-dependent calcium signaling. Mol. Biol. Cell 16, 2414-2423 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The Effects of Incomplete Rating Designs on Results from Many-Facets-Rasch Model Analyses Mary R. McEwen Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology, BYU Doctor of Philosophy A rating design is a pre-specified plan for collecting ratings. The best design for a ratermediated assessment both psychometrically and from the perspective of fairness is a fullycrossed design in which all objects are rated by all raters. An incomplete rating design is one in which all objects are not rated by all raters, instead each object is rated by an assigned subset of raters usually to reduce the time and/or cost of the assessment. Human raters have varying propensities to rate severely or leniently. One method of compensating for rater severity is the many-facets Rasch model (MFRM). However, unless the incomplete rating design used to gather the ratings is appropriately linked, the results of the MFRM analysis may not be on the same scale and therefore may not be fairly compared. Given non-trivial numbers of raters and/or objects to rate, there are numerous possible incomplete designs with various levels of linkage. The literature provides little guidance on the extent to which differently linked rating designs might affect the results of a MFRM analysis. Eighty different subsets of data were extracted from a pre-existing fully-crossed rating data set originally gathered from 24 essays rated by eight raters. These subsets represented 20 different incomplete rating designs and four specific assignments of raters to essays. The subsets of rating data were analyzed in Facets software to investigate the effects of incomplete rating designs on the MFRM results. The design attributes related to linkage that were varied in the incomplete designs include (a) rater coverage: the number of raters-per-essay, (b) repetition-size: the number of essays rated in one repetition of the sub-design pattern, (c) design structure: the linking network structure of the incomplete design, and (d) rater order: the specific assignments of raters to essays. A number of plots and graphs were used to visualize the incomplete designs and the rating results. Several measures including the observed and fair averages for raters and essays from the 80 MFRM analyses were compared against the fair averages for the fully-crossed design. Results varied widely depending on different combinations of design attributes and rater orders. Rater coverage had the overall largest effect, with rater order producing larger ranges of values for sparser designs. Many of the observed averages for raters and essays more closely approximated the results from the fully-crossed design than did the adjusted fair-averages, particularly for the more sparsely linked designs. The stability of relative standing measures was unexpectedly low.


In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), water resources are limited in hyper-arid regions, which are dependent on groundwater (88 percent), desalination water (8 percent) and wastewater treatment (4 percent). The management and development of these resources are essential to sustain population growth and grow the agricultural, industrial, and tourism sectors. Since the groundwater is the most valued water resource in the country, the majority of researchers are focused on the water quantity and water quality in this region in order to find the best solution to face this issue. In 1953 the Ministry of Agriculture and Water was established and assigned the mission of identifying and managing the water resources, aiming to ensure their maximum efficient development and use. The economic future of the Kingdom and the survival of the its people depend alike on the availability of water, its prudent use, and its rational development through long-term program that aim to help fulfill the overriding goal of the government, which is to establish and maintain a better life for the people of the Kingdom. Previous researchers have focused on the groundwater resources in the Saq aquifer region in northern KSA, where the depletion is the highest, during the past 10-20 years. However, most studies focused on groundwater quality, and not quantity, which is very important in the monitoring and management of water resources, but one the other side monitoring these resources are significant to sustain and develop our resources. Since the Kingdom does not have a robust database for continuous monitoring groundwater, it is critical to find appropriate scientific methods to monitor the groundwater permanently that can be used to give us a big picture in the present time and in the future to deal with this issue. Therefore, the overall objective of this dissertation was to design suitable methods for an integrated monitoring mechanism of the groundwater quantity and quality using geophysical and geochemical information of the aquifers and their water resources, hydrologic modeling, satellite Remote Sensing data, and Geographic Information systems (GIS). In order to achieve this, I combined laboratory analysis of water quality variables with modeling of the water resources patterns, and validated the findings with field-level water use and withdrawal data, to develop a suitable scenario to monitor groundwater in this region continuously. The work has been described in the following three manuscripts, as per the Graduate School Manual guidelines: MANUSCRIPT І (published in Hydrological Processes 2017). The objective of this work was to utilize month-to-month (April 2002 to April 2015) GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) data as well as applicable geologic, hydrologic, and remote sensing datasets to inspect the spatial and temporal variations in GRACE-derived terrestrial water and groundwater storage over the Saq aquifer system and to research the components (i.e., natural and anthropogenic) controlling these varieties. This study extends the investigation of the individuals who have already utilized GRACE data to monitor the Saq aquifer region (e.g., Sultan et al., 2013) by (1) using enhanced state of the art GRACE global mass concentration solutions (mascons), (2) using yields from an improved global land surface model, Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), to isolate the groundwater storage, (3) developing the area of the study zone to incorporate the Saq aquifer in the KSA and Jordan, and (4) Broadening the time traverse utilized by Sultan et al., (2013) by three years. MANUSCRIPT ІI (Submitted to Journal of Hydrology). In this manuscript, we developed and applied an integrated approach to quantify the recharge rates of the Saq aquifer system. Given the areal distribution of the Saq transboundary aquifer system, the interaction between the Saq aquifer and the overlying aquifers was also assessed. Specifically, we set out to accomplish the following: (1) examine the areal extent of the Saq aquifer recharge domains using geologic, climatic, and remote sensing data; (2) investigate the origin of, and modern contributions to, the groundwater in the Saq aquifer system by examining the isotopic compositions of groundwater samples collected from, and outside of, the Saq aquifer; and (3) estimate, to first order, the magnitude of modern recharge to the Saq aquifer utilizing data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and applying the continuous rainfallrunoff model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). MANUSCRIPT ІII (being prepared for Groundwater journal). The objective of this Chapter is to quantify the groundwater quality of the studying area by measuring the ionic compositions, the characterization of the water quality and radioactive materials by collecting samples and comparing the results with the Water Health Organization of drinking water. Since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not have a continuous water quality control system, it is essential to check the groundwater quality in the study area and make sure it is suitable for drinking and domestic uses. In addition, comparing the previous data in the same studying area with the present data to identify the differences in the groundwater quality data in between the two periods, and understanding the factors controlling the groundwater salinity and total dissolved solids distribution in order to minimize the overexploitation of freshwater resources and to maintain the livelihood of the population and public health. In conclusion, groundwater monitoring includes both groundwater quantity (e.g., groundwater level and recharge rates) and quality monitoring (analysis of selected physical and chemical variables). The purposes of groundwater monitoring are to manage and develop the policy of the groundwater resources and to predict the groundwater quality and quantity due to natural processes and human impacts in time and space. Therefore, in this situation we need to have a useful database for assessment of the current state, anticipating changes and forecasting trends in the future. My results in this dissertation will contribute to the effective and efficient utilization of the Saq aquifer water resources and will be used to promote the sustainable development of the Arabian Peninsula and Middle East's natural resources in general. The findings have been and will be shared with stakeholders and decision makers in relevant governmental agencies to develop viable management scenarios for the water resources of the Saq aquifer.


Oxygen is an important regulator of gene expression in mammalian cells, though the extent of operation and the organization of the inducible mechanisms involved are still largely undetermined. To define better the response to hypoxia, we have used differential display PCR to identify genes whose expression is induced in HeLa cells exposed to 1% oxygen. Among six genes whose induction by hypoxia was newly defined in this way, three were of known function, encoding the glucose transporter isoform 3 (Glut-3), adenylate kinase isoenzyme 3 (AK-3), and tissue factor, two were expressed sequence tags (ESTs), and one corresponded to a new sequence. One regulator of the transcriptional response to hypoxia has recently been identified as a heterodimeric DNA-binding complex termed hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), which is also inducible by the iron chelator, desferrioxamine. Of the six hypoxically regulated genes, at least four were also induced by exposure of the cells to desferrioxamine. To analyse further the mechanisms underlying induction of the genes identified in the differential display, inducible expression was compared in wild-type mouse hepatoma cells (Hepa-1), and mutant derivatives (c4) which fail to generate HIF-1, due to a functional defect in one component, HIF-1 beta. Two types of response were defined. For Glut-3 and AK-3, mutant (c4) cells showed almost complete loss of the inducible response to both hypoxia and desferrioxamine. In contrast, tissue factor mRNA was more inducible by both stimuli in c4 than wild-type cells. These studies demonstrate the critical importance of HIF-1 beta in newly recognized responses to hypoxia, and provide further evidence of the importance of this system of gene regulation in mammalian cells; they also demonstrate responses to both hypoxia and desferrioxamine which are independent of HIF-1 beta and which appear exaggerated in HIF-1 beta-deficient cells.


During the summer of 2003/04, under the auspices of the Western Australian Department of Fisheries, shark surveillance patrols were flown twice daily along 143 km of Perth metropolitan coastline from Two Rocks Beach in the north to Avalon Beach in the south. A Murdoch University observer flew with the patrol on 106 flights to complete a stratified survey of beach usage that covered all weekend days and two week days each week from November 2003 to January 2004. On each flight, instantaneous counts of beach users engaged in various activities were made over the 43 beaches in the region. Beach activities were classified as swimming, walking, sunbathing, board riding, fishing, surfski / kayaking and kite /wind surfing.

From November 2003 to January 2004, the number of beach users increased each month. There was a significant difference between usage on week days and weekends in November and December but not in January. Maximum counts were attained during the mid-morning flights on 26th December 2003 and 11th January 2004 when, respectively, there were 12 456 and 11 835 people recorded between Two Rocks and Avalon Beaches. Six beaches had consistently high numbers of people, namely, Scarborough, Port, Cottesloe, North Mullaloo, Hillarys and City Beaches.

Sun bathing, swimming and walking were the dominant activities on beaches in the Perth metropolitan region with many people engaged in these activities throughout the study area. Board riding was popular at a limited number of beaches (e.g. Scarborough, Secret Harbour and Trigg) and low numbers of people paddling surf skis / kayaks, wind / kite surfing and fishing were recorded.

Detailed temporal use patterns at hourly resolution from 06:00 to 12:00 were determined for all beaches in the central sector from Hillarys Beach to Port Beach which were flown over more frequently than the northern and southern sectors of the Perth metropolitan coastline. In general, there was a consistent pattern of increasing usage from 06:00 to 12:00, although for some activities, there were specific periods of use. For each northern and southern beach, the proportion of people engaged in the various beach activities on week days and weekends during the summer of 2003/04 was determined.


B cells exert traction forces on antigen-presenting surfaces during activation. B cells use the force B cells recognize antigens through membrane-bound antibodies that are part of the B cell receptor (BCR). Antigen recognition stimulates BCR-dependent intracellular signaling that is required for B cell activation. Noting that B cells first spread over antigen-presenting surfaces before contracting, Wang et al. used traction force microscopy to measure the displacing forces exerted by B cells on fluorescent beads coated onto antigen-containing gel surfaces of different stiffness values. The authors found that memory B cells generated greater traction forces than did naïve B cells and that the strength of these forces was correlated with increased BCR microcluster mean fluorescent intensity. In addition, B cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis exerted greater traction forces than did B cells from healthy donors, which may play a role in the enhanced activation of autoreactive B cells observed in these patients. B lymphocytes use B cell receptors (BCRs) to recognize membrane-bound antigens to further initiate cell spreading and contraction responses during B cell activation. We combined traction force microscopy and live-cell imaging to profile the origin, dynamics, and function of traction force generation in these responses. We showed that B cell activation required the generation of 10 to 20 nN of traction force when encountering antigens presented by substrates with stiffness values from 0.5 to 1 kPa, which mimic the rigidity of antigen-presenting cells in vivo. Perturbation experiments revealed that F-actin remodeling and myosin- and dynein-mediated contractility contributed to traction force generation and B cell activation. Moreover, membrane-proximal BCR signaling molecules (including Lyn, Syk, Btk, PLC-γ2, BLNK, and Vav3) and adaptor molecules (Grb2, Cbl, and Dok-3) linking BCR microclusters and motor proteins were also required for the sustained generation of these traction forces. We found a positive correlation between the strength of the traction force and the mean fluorescence intensity of the BCR microclusters. Furthermore, we demonstrated that isotype-switched memory B cells expressing immunoglobulin G (IgG)–BCRs generated greater traction forces than did mature naïve B cells expressing IgM-BCRs during B cell activation. Last, we observed that primary B cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis generated greater traction forces than did B cells from healthy donors in response to antigen stimulation. Together, these data delineate the origin, dynamics, and function of traction force during B cell activation.


The historical role of landed elites as obstacles to democratic consolidation in Latin America has been widely studied. Four decades after the onset of the third wave, however, the issue of how these elites have adapted to the new democratic context remains unexplored. The question of why these elites who supported military coups each time a government threatened their interests have mostly played by the democratic rulebook during the past four decades still needs to be answered.
 Important structural and political transformations took place in Latin America during the last half of the 20th and the first decade of the 21st century that affected agrarian elites' incentives and capacity to organize politically. The first change was urbanization, which undermined agrarian elites' capacity to mobilize the votes of the rural poor in favor of their political representatives. The second was an increase in the importance of agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange and revenue for Latin American countries thanks to the commodity boom of the 2000s. The third change was the arrival to power of left-wing parties with redistributive agendas, threatening agrarian elites' interests in the region with the highest land inequality in the world. However, the fact that these governments relied on revenues from agriculture to fund their policy agendas created tension between the leftists' ideological preferences for a more equal distribution of land and their fiscal needs.
 Dominant theories in political science suggest that democratization should lead to redistribution from the rich to the poor, as democracies represent the preferences of a wider spectrum of citizens than nondemocracies. Landowners, given the fixed nature of their assets, should be easy targets for increased taxation or expropriation. However, these theories understate landowners' capacity to organize politically and use democratic institutions to their advantage. In fact, if we look at contemporary Latin America, we see that four decades of democracy have not changed the region's extremely high land inequality.
 Agrarian elites in Latin America have deployed a variety of political influence strategies to protect themselves from redistribution. In some cases, such as Chile and El Salvador, they have built conservative parties to represent their interests in Congress. In others, like Brazil, they have invested in multiparty representation through a congressional caucus. Lastly, in other countries such as Argentina and Bolivia, agrarian elites have not been able to organize their electoral representation and instead have protected their interests from outside the policymaking arena through protests.


Multimedia is increasingly becoming a utility rather than mere entertainment. Its influence has diversified in context and deepened to a level of indispensability. Low cost video communications is one area that has attracted significant amount of consumer focus and also benefited from considerable research effort for development. Low cost video encoders enable the use of video encoding in low cost devices such as toys, low-power surveillance, wireless cameras, mobile phones and disposable video cameras; all these devices can be formed by a low cost video camera which can be supported with reduced complexity encoding algorithms. However, it is noted that there is still a notable technological gap between an ideal platform and the available solutions, mainly in the form of the encoder and decoder complexity balance and the associated design costs. Distributed Video Coding (DVC) is a new coding paradigm based on two major Information Theory results: the Slepian-Wolf (1973) and Wyner-Ziv Theorems (1976). This new video coding paradigm allows exploiting the source statistic, partially or totally, at the decoder only. A particular case of DVC is the Wyner-Ziv video coding. In this scenario, two correlated sources are independently encoded using separated encoders and the bit streams associated to each source are jointly decoded exploiting the correlation between them. Although the distributed coding study dates back to the 1970s, efforts towards developing practical solutions of Wyner-Ziv video coding are more recent. Emerging applications depicted above with encoding requirements quite different from those targeted by the MPEG-x and H.26x video coding standards have stimulated such efforts. In the MPEG-x and H.26x standards, the correlation between temporally adjacent frames is exploited through a complex motion estimation task which leads to a high complexity encoder. Since the correlation between temporally adjacent frames in Wyner-Ziv video coding is performed only at the decoder, the encoder can typically present a low complexity. This thesis proposes a solution that is well suited for this low cost video communications scenario, and fits many other potential applications too, using Wyner-Ziv video coding paradigm. The research scope of this thesis covers a number of design aspects of Wyner-Ziv coding, making significant contributions towards building a practical video codec in view of commercial developments and standardization. This includes designing novel coding frameworks, eliminating the requirements that deal Wyner-Ziv video coding impractical, enhancing the existing structures, and designing enhanced algorithms for individual functional elements within the codec framework, affecting both encoder and decoder. More specifically, design of Transform Domain Turbo Trellis Coded Modulation (TD TTCM) based Wyner-Ziv codec, feedback free Wyner-Ziv architecture and a framework where the new Wyner-Ziv and H.264 can operate together supporting the advantages of both paradigms labeled as lower encoding algorithm (Wyner-Ziv encoders) and lower complexity decoding algorithm (H.264 decoders) TD TTCM architecture is proposed as an alternative to the more common turbo coding based codec implementation to improve the coding efficiency. Moreover, the proposed architecture works in transform domain which improves the performance of the pixel based by exploiting the human visual system. The combination of transform domain jointly with TTCM codes have never been proposed in the literature before and it outperforms some of the related architectures of the state of the art. The feedback free architecture, one of the pioneering unidirectional frameworks is presented in this thesis, which enables the suppression of practically hindering reverse feedback channel. This kind of architectures brings us practical and development Wyner-Ziv video coding solutions. Finally, a novel approach for Wyner-Ziv to H.264 video transcoder is also proposed; at this point, it is proposed a framework where traditional video codecs such as H.264 and Wyner-Ziv video codec can operate together. The improvements done over the reference video transcoder make that the time delay and complexity constraints of the end user devices are not any restrictions. The efficiency and effectiveness of all proposed algorithms are verified through simulations and comparing the results with the state of the art. Moreover, this thesis have also as objectives i) perform a revision of the state-of-the-art on distributed video coding as well as identify the more prominent approaches regarding to this thesis approaches and, ii) develop and implement a owner Wyner-Ziv video coding solution as reference software where can implement the different approaches due to the does no exist any reference software or standardization.


Book synopsis: This book is a collection of essays developed from the meetings of the 'Poetics of Resistance' network in Leeds (2008) and Santiago de Compostela (2009). The volume contains contributions from an international group of researchers and cultural producers, who are committed to the activation, promotion and analysis of counter-hegemonic practices both in the development and transmission of knowledge and in the emancipatory tools of cultural production. The essays in the collection are written by scholars, activists and artists from around the world and concern subjects as diverse as poetry, film, philosophy, literary theory, plastic arts and television.
The relationship between cultural production and resistance lies at the heart of the book's concerns. Creativity and its manifestations in art, cultural production and knowledge production are a vital resource for a type of resistance that draws upon the resolve and contribution of the individual to the same degree that it emphasizes the importance of collective reflection and action. The interaction between artistic production, emancipation and resistance therefore cannot be reduced to a commitment to particular ideologies as expressed in art or writing. Rather, the poetics of resistance and emancipation are produced through the negotiation of the subjective and the collective, of reflection and action, and of cultural practices and ideologies.
The volume contains contributions in English and in Spanish.


ABSTRACT In a landmark study in 2006, Bartlett and DeSteno found that receiving help promoted reciprocal behavior and that this effect was mediated by gratitude. Recent research, however, suggested that indebtedness is more closely associated with reciprocation than gratitude. Therefore, we examined whether reciprocal behavior could (also) be attributed to indebtedness. Specifically, we attempted to replicate and extend Bartlett and DeSteno's Study 1 by additionally including a measure of indebtedness. Surprisingly, the replication was not successful. We did not find support for the idea that receiving help promoted reciprocal behavior, and neither gratitude nor indebtedness was associated with reciprocal behavior. Finally, we call for attention that the extant literature may be inconclusive regarding the presumed prosocial effects of gratitude.


This study demonstrates successive higher-order Hermite-Gaussian (HG(0,m)) mode operations in a microchip solid-state laser with a controlled off-axis laser diode (LD) pumping and generation of the corresponding doughnutlike laser beam of tunable ring diameter and orbital angular momentum, by experimentally focusing a Hermite-Gaussian mode (HGM) lasing beam into an astigmatic mode converter (AMC) with a mode-matching lens. Based on the successful generation of stable doughnutlike vortex beams by combining the LD off-axis pumping of microchip lasers and an AMC, this study proposes a design for a compact, solid doughnutlike vortex laser beam generator that combines three elements (i.e., laser cavity, mode-matching lens, and AMC) into one practical device. The desired doughnutlike vortex beam with different orbital angular momentum is easily generated by simply controlling the lateral off-axis pump position and pump beam shape on the laser crystal by numerical simulation.


The main objective of this work was to investigate relationships between the schoolenvironment and asthma and asthmatic symptoms in schoolchildren. Data on symptoms werecollected through postal questionnaires answered by 1,732 pupils in 39 randomly selectedschools, and were related to data on exposures obtained through hygienic measurements in theschools. Current asthma was more common in pupils attending a school with more openshelves in the classroom, more cat allergen in settled dust, and higher levels of formaldehyde,moulds and bacteria in the air. A follow-up study after 4 years showed that new onset ofasthma was more common in pupils who had attended a school with more settled dust, andmore cat allergen in the dust, and new pet allergy was related to higher concentrations ofrespirable dust. Among pupils without a history of atopy, new onset of asthma was morecommon in those who had attended a school with more formaldehyde or with a higherconcentration of total mould. In 1993, the Swedish ventilation standard was not reached in77 % of the investigated classrooms, and pupils attending schools where a new ventilationsystem was installed had a lower incidence of asthmatic symptoms compared to pupilsattending schools with no change of ventilation system. In a cross-sectional study amongschool employees it was found that half of the employees perceived the indoor air quality asbad, and this perception was related to higher concentrations of pollutants. The air exchangerate was the main predictor of the concentrations of pollutants in the school buildings. However, several of the pollutants that were important for asthmatic symptoms were alsorelated to characteristics of the classroom, such as fittings and furniture, and to the cleaningroutines. In conclusion, asthma and asthmatic symptoms in the pupils were related to factorsin the school environment. Settled dust, respirable dust, pet allergen, formaldehyde andmoulds were important. Several different measures should be undertaken when striving toreduce the concentrations in schools of pollutants with possible adverse health effects. Theventilation rate should be increased, the amount of fleecy or large-surface materials in theclassrooms minimised, and the cleaning of furniture and fabrics improved.


The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a central regulator of the energy status of the cell, based on its unique ability to respond directly to fluctuations in the ratio of AMP:ATP. Because glucose and amino acids stimulate insulin release from pancreatic beta-cells by the regulation of metabolic intermediates, AMPK represents an attractive candidate for control of beta-cell function. Here, we show that inhibition of AMPK in beta-cells by high glucose inversely correlates with activation of the mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, another cellular sensor for nutritional conditions. Forced activation of AMPK by AICAR, phenformin, or oligomycin significantly blocked phosphorylation of p70S6K, a downstream target of mTOR, in response to the combination of glucose and amino acids. Amino acids also suppressed the activity of AMPK, and this at a minimum required the presence of leucine and glutamine. It is unlikely that the ability of AMPK to sense both glucose and amino acids plays a role in regulation of insulin secretion, as inhibition of AMPK by amino acids did not influence insulin secretion. Moreover, activation of AMPK by AICAR or phenformin did not antagonize glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, and insulin secretion was also unaffected in response to suppression of AMPK activity by expression of a dominant negative AMPK construct (K45R). Taken together, these results suggest that the inhibition of AMPK activity by glucose and amino acids might be an important component of the mechanism for nutrient-stimulated mTOR activity but not insulin secretion in the beta-cell.


Design patterns are important in object-oriented programming because they offer design motifs, elegant solutions to recurrent design problems, which improve the quality of software systems. Design motifs facilitate system maintenance by helping to understand design and implementation. However, after implementation, design motifs are spread throughout the source code and are thus not directly available to maintainers. We present DeMIMA, an approach to identify semi-automatically micro-architectures that are similar to design motifs in source code and to ensure the traceability of these micro-architectures between implementation and design. DeMIMA consists of three layers: two layers to recover an abstract model of the source code, including binary class relationships, and a third layer to identify design patterns in the abstract model. We apply DeMIMA to five open-source systems and, on average, we observe 34% precision for the considered 12 design motifs. Through the use of explanation-based constraint programming, DeMIMA ensures 100% recall on the five systems. We also apply DeMIMA on 33 industrial components.


This textbook takes the reader from the level of microeconomics principles through to modern asset pricing theory. Yvan Lengwiler elegantly links together issues that have in the past been the territory of general economic theorists on the one hand, and financial economists on the other. In a sequence of carefully explained steps, the reader learns how the first welfare theorem is used in asset pricing theory. The book then moves on to explore Radner economies and von Neumann-Morgenstern decision theory, and this section culminates in Wilson's mutuality principle and the consumption-based CAPM. This is then put into a dynamic setting, and term structure models are introduced. The empirical shortcomings of the standard asset pricing models are extensively discussed, as is research from the last twenty years aimed at bringing theory in line with reality. The reader is brought up to date on the latest areas of concern, such as habit formation, the consequences of heterogeneity, demographic effects, changing tax regimes, market frictions, and the implications of prospect theory for asset pricing.
 Aimed at masters or Ph.D. students specializing in financial economics, the book can also be used as a supplementary text for students of macroeconomics at this advanced level and will be of interest to finance professionals with a background in economics and mathematics. It includes problems (with solutions), and an accompanying website provides supporting material for lecturers.


In this thesis molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at a fully-atomistic level have been undertaken to study the biaxiality and the structure of the liquid crystalline phase formed by the para-heptylbenxoate diester of 2.5-bis-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (ODBP-Ph-C(_7)), which is a bent-core mesogen. This has been the first time the transition between isotropic and liquid crystalline phases has been achieved using a fully atomistic (all-atom) potential. Simulations at five different temperatures covering the nematic range of ODBP-Ph-C(_7) have been undertaken to study the temperature dependence of the biaxial ordering. Ferroelectric domains have been observed in all the systems. Simulations started from the biaxial nematic phase have been performed with the partial charges turned off to study the influence of the electrostatic interactions on the behaviour of the system. A system composed of ODBP-Ph-C(_7) and the deuterated molecule hexamethylbenzoate-d10 (HMB) has also been simulated to check the validity of the (^)2HNMR method, which is often employed to study biaxiality. MD simulations at a fully-atomistic level have been also performed for the mixture of liquid crystals E7, commercialized by Merck. The nematic phase for this mixture is grown from an isotropic phase using an fully atomistic (all-atom) potential, and in order to study the temperature dependence of the order parameter simulations at six different temperatures covering the nematic range have been performed. The internal structure of the mixture, alongside some of its material properties such as rotational viscosity and flexoelectric coefficients have been studied. Finally, ab initio calculations involving several molecular fragments which are components of some of the most common mesogens have been carried out to calculate torsional energies of key dihedral angles. Subsequently, torsional energies have been fitted using a Fourier series expansion to obtain torsional parameters for an atomistic force field. These will be used in future atomistic simulations of liquid crystals.