We study the problem of fast and efficient classification of sequential data (such as time-series) on tiny devices, which is critical for various IoT related applications like audio keyword detection or gesture detection. Such tasks are cast as a standard classification task by sliding windows over the data stream to construct data points. Deploying such classification modules on tiny devices is challenging as predictions over sliding windows of data need to be invoked continuously at a high frequency. Each such predictor instance in itself is expensive as it evaluates large models over long windows of data. In this paper, we address this challenge by exploiting the following two observations about classification tasks arising in typical IoT related applications: (a) the "signature" of a particular class (e.g. an audio keyword) typically occupies a small fraction of the overall data, and (b) class signatures tend to be discernible early on in the data. We propose a method, EMI-RNN, that exploits these observations by using a multiple instance learning formulation along with an early prediction technique to learn a model that achieves better accuracy compared to baseline models, while simultaneously reducing computation by a large fraction. For instance, on a gesture detection benchmark [ 25 ], EMI-RNN improves standard LSTM model's accuracy by up to 1% while requiring 72x less computation. This enables us to deploy such models for continuous real-time prediction on a small device such as Raspberry Pi0 and Arduino variants, a task that the baseline LSTM could not achieve. Finally, we also provide an analysis of our multiple instance learning algorithm in a simple setting and show that the proposed algorithm converges to the global optima at a linear rate, one of the first such result in this domain. The code for EMI-RNN is available at: https://github.com/Microsoft/EdgeML/tree/master/tf/examples/EMI-RNN


PURPOSE Gene fusions are established oncogenic drivers and emerging therapeutic targets in advanced colorectal cancer. This study aimed to detail the frequencies and clinicopathological features of gene fusions in colorectal cancer using a circulating tumor DNA assay. METHODS Circulating tumor DNA samples in patients with advanced colorectal cancer were analyzed at 4,581 unique time points using a validated plasma-based multigene assay that includes assessment of fusions in FGFR2, FGFR3, RET, ALK, NTRK1, and ROS1. Associations between fusions and clinicopathological features were measured using Fisher's exact test. Relative frequencies of genomic alterations were compared between fusion-present and fusion-absent cases using an unpaired t test. RESULTS Forty-four unique fusions were identified in 40 (1.1%) of the 3,808 patients with circulating tumor DNA detected: RET (n = 6; 36% of all fusions detected), FGFR3 (n = 2; 27%), ALK (n = 10, 23%), NTRK1 (n = 3; 7%), ROS1 (n = 2; 5%), and FGFR2 (n = 1; 2%). Relative to nonfusion variants detected, fusions were more likely to be subclonal (odds ratio, 8.2; 95% CI, 2.94 to 23.00; P < .001). Mutations associated with a previously reported anti–epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) therapy resistance signature (subclonal RAS and EGFR mutations) were found with fusions in FGFR3 (10 of 12 patients), RET (nine of 16 patients), and ALK (seven of 10 patients). For the 27 patients with available clinical histories, 21 (78%) had EGFR monoclonal antibody treatment before fusion detection. CONCLUSION Diverse and potentially actionable fusions can be detected using a circulating tumor DNA assay in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Distribution of coexisting subclonal mutations in EGFR, KRAS, and NRAS in a subset of the patients with fusion-present colorectal cancer suggests that these fusions may arise as a novel mechanism of resistance to anti-EGFR therapies in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.


This thesis is concerned with the measurement of the characteristics of nonlinear systems by crosscorrelation, using pseudorandom input signals based on m sequences. The systems are characterised by Volterra series, and analytical expressions relating the rth order Volterra kernel to r-dimensional crosscorrelation measurements are derived. It is shown that the two-dimensional crosscorrelation measurements are related to the corresponding second order kernel values by a set of equations which may be structured into a number of independent subsets. The m sequence properties determine how the maximum order of the subsets for off-diagonal values is related to the upper bound of the arguments for nonzero kernel values. The upper bound of the arguments is used as a performance index, and the performance of antisymmetric pseudorandom binary, ternary and quinary signals is investigated. The performance indices obtained above are small in relation to the periods of the corresponding signals. To achieve higher performance with ternary signals, a method is proposed for combining the estimates of the second order kernel values so that the effects of some of the undesirable nonzero values in the fourth order autocorrelation function of the input signal are removed. The identification of the dynamics of two-input, single-output systems with multiplicative nonlinearity is investigated. It is shown that the characteristics of such a system may be determined by crosscorrelation experiments using phase-shifted versions of a common signal as inputs. The effects of nonlinearities on the estimates of system weighting functions obtained by crosscorrelation are also investigated. Results obtained by correlation testing of an industrial process are presented, and the differences between theoretical and experimental results discussed for this case;


Over the past thirty years, the practices of everyday life have become increasingly infused with and mediated by software and captured in code. Software is increasingly embedded into objects and systems as a means to enhance and manage usage and to link together disparate and distanciated parts of an infrastructure, enabling new and refined processes. In some cases, such as air transportation, this embedding has become so pervasive and vital that if the software crashes one part of the system grinds to a halt, subsequently disrupting other aspects of air travel. In this article, we examine one part of this system, the profiling and screening of passengers, to argue that the use of software has engendered a new form of governmentality — mundane management — that is having a profound effect on the operation and regulation of air travel. The development of distributed information systems has enabled governments and air travel businesses to capture, cross–reference and regulate the ongoing status of individuals in ways that were previously difficult, if not impossible. By linking these capta together, a dense rhizomic assemblage of power/knowledge is being created; what is at best oligoptic (partial and selective) in nature is becoming more panoptic (all–seeing ). This is especially the case given the trend towards increased granularity (resolution) and uniqueness (unique identification based on biometrics) of capta, and the fact that capta stored are unlikely ever to be deleted. These systems are not without their problems, particularly with regard to civil liberties. However, new procedures and technologies have largely been greeted by the public with ambivalence or welcomed, rather than resisted.


Sisimiut, the second largest settlement of the country is the northernmost town with an ice free harbour. It is very important for the fishing industry of the country. Its harbour consists of two main quays, the Atlantic and the Fisher. These facilities have been outstripped due to the rapidly increase in number of calls and volume of TEU per year mainly during 2004 to 2006. With this reasoning, a need of an extension of the harbour has become real, and this Thesis is going to start its study with the analysis in two different fields: on-shore and off-shore.

The on-shore is mainly studied to characterize the rock mass structure and its material. The structure of the rock mass is needed for tunnelling operations, which are going to provide a space used as a warehouse, by Royal Greenland. This has been studied on-site and its safest orientation was 172o clockwise from the North. The material found in the area has been Charnockite (which is similar to granite).

The off-shore part of study includes an extraction of sediment samples and a scan of the sea bed. The first operation has been carried out by a mechanic grab and has ended up with an asymmetric distribution of sediments in Sisimiut Bay. In the front coast, very muddy sediments are accumulated, which entailed shallow depths. On the contrary, in the coastline where the current harbour lays nowadays, larger depths have been found as well as a more rocky sea bed.

Continuing this first interpretation, a numerical analysis of the wave dynamics, generated by wind, with a fetch of around 400 km is set-up. For its computation, the worst case of water level has been implemented together with the worst wind direction and the worst speed acting constantly during 24h in the whole domain. The main significant results have been: Significant Wave Height≈2.3 meters and Mean Wave Period≈8 seconds. The wave direction tends to lead the wave trains to the innermost part of the Bay.

In the last part of this Thesis, the Final Design, the best location for the extension is thought to be in the Atlantic and Fisher quay, distributing the total berth length into two different parts. On one hand, the Atlantic quay is thought to be focused just on container cargo handling. Its extension will increase more than 1.5 times the area of the current quay. On the other hand, the Fisher quay is going to be divided in two different alienations, the first one for the trawlers cargo handling, which will double its actual surface, and the other one, totally new, for passenger ships calls, extending an open berth along the coastline to the left. Finally the anchorage area has not represented a problem due to sufficient space on the Bay, or in unexpected conditions, placed off-shore.


Concentrations of soil arsenic (As) in the vicinity of the former Złoty Stok gold mine (Lower Silesia, southwest Poland) exceed 1000 μg g(-1) in the area, posing an inherent threat to neighboring bodies of water. This study investigated continuous As mobilization under reducing conditions for more than 3 months. In particular, the capacity of autochthonic microflora that live on natural organic matter as the sole carbon/electron source for mobilizing As was assessed. A biphasic mobilization of As was observed. In the first two months, As mobilization was mainly conferred by Mn dissolution despite the prevalence of Fe (0.1 wt % vs 5.4 for Mn and Fe, respectively) as indicated by multiple regression analysis. Thereafter, the sudden increase in aqueous As[III] (up to 2400 μg L(-1)) was attributed to an almost quintupling of the autochthonic dissimilatory As-reducing community (quantitative polymerase chain reaction). The aqueous speciation influenced by microbial activity led to a reduction of solid phase As species (X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy) and a change in the elemental composition of As hotspots (micro X-ray fluorescence mapping). The depletion of most natural dissolved organic matter and the fact that an extensive mobilization of As[III] occurred after two months raises concerns about the long-term stability of historically As-contaminated sites.


This paper describes a GaN monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) cascode feedback amplifier design which achieves up to 8 W of output power and greater than +51 dBm OIP3 across a 250-3000-MHz decade bandwidth. The LNA also achieves 20 dB of flat-gain across the band. The design was fabricated with a 0.25-μm GaN HEMT technology with an fT ~ 50 GHz and a BVgd >; 60 V. A 40-V 750-mA high-bias LNA design achieves an OIP3 of 51.9 dBm, P1dB of 38.5 dBm, and NF ~ 3 dB at 2 GHz . A 40-V 500-mA medium-bias LNA design achieves a lower NF ~ 2.5 dB , an OIP3 of 48.4 dBm, and a P1dB of 36.8 dBm at the same frequency. At an optimum low-noise bias of 20 V and 300 mA, a NF ~ 0.96 dB, an OIP3 of 43.4 dBm, and a linear P1dB of ~32.2 dBm was also obtained. The combination of high OIP3 and low NF from these GaN MMIC LNA designs exceed that achieved by many state-of-the-art PHEMT, HBT, and HFET technologies for decade-BW MMIC amplifiers operating in the popular wireless and wire-line S- and C-band frequency ranges. The linear GaN LNA performance demonstrated here can enable new generations of software-defined and reconfigurable radios which require ultra-linearity over multiple octaves of bandwidth.


The latest images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft have scientists stunned – not only for their breathtaking views of Pluto's majestic icy mountains, streams of frozen nitrogen and haunting low-lying hazes, but also for their strangely familiar, arctic look.


Abstract Objective: To determine if correlations exist between employment status and sexual functioning in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Descriptive cross-sectional. Setting: Community. Participants: One hundred and forty-six English-speaking, community dwelling adults, without other neurological or psychiatric disorder that could impact outcome and (1) enrolled in TBI Model Systems sexuality study database or (2) admitted to Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago with primary diagnosis of TBI between 2004–2006. Main outcome measures: Employment status, annual income, Derogatis Interview for Sexual Functioning Self Report (DISF-SR) sum and sub-scale scores, Global Sexual Satisfaction Index (GSSI). Results: No significant difference was found in GSSI scores between employed, unemployed or students/volunteers (p = 0.20); however, lower income marginally correlated with lower GSSI scores (p = 0.09). Marginally significant lower DISF-SR Sexual Cognition sub-group (p = 0.09) scores were found in unemployed vs. employed. Lower annual income also correlated with lower DISF-SR sum scores (p = 0.06), Sexual cognition/fantasy (p = 0.07), Orgasm/ejaculation (p = 0.003) and Sexual drive and relationship (p = 0.01) scores. Conclusions: Lower quality sexual functioning and satisfaction was present in persons with TBI and concomitant unemployment or lower annual income. Efforts are needed to increase awareness amongst the TBI population and rehabilitation professionals of the potential impact unemployment or financial stress has on sexual functioning and satisfaction.


The Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program was established at the University of Arizona in 1976 as part of the Women's Studies Department and the Southwest Institute for Research on Women. WISE offers a wide range of programs for both K-12 and university students, including mini-STEM conferences, academic and career preparation programs for college students, for-credit internships and student engagement opportunities, scholarships, and much more! Visit the WISE website here [1].


The Arctic Guide presents the traveler and naturalist with a portable, authoritative guide to the flora and fauna of earth's northernmost region. Featuring superb color illustrations, this one-of-a-kind book covers the complete spectrum of wildlife—more than 800 species of plants, fishes, butterflies, birds, and mammals—that inhabit the Arctic's polar deserts, tundra, taiga, sea ice, and oceans. It can be used anywhere in the entire Holarctic region, including Norway's Svalbard archipelago, Siberia, the Russian Far East, islands of the Bering Sea, Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, and Greenland. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, size, habitat, range, scientific name, and the unique characteristics that enable these organisms to survive in the extreme conditions of the Far North. A color distribution map accompanies each species account, and alternative names in German, French, Norwegian, Russian, Inuit, and Inupiaq are also provided. Features superb color plates that allow for quick identification of more than 800 species of plants, fishes, butterflies, birds, and mammals Includes detailed species accounts and color distribution maps Covers the flora and fauna of the entire Arctic region


This GSoD In Focus aims at providing a brief overview of the state of democracy in Africa and the Middle East at the end of 2019, prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, and then assesses some of the preliminary impacts that the pandemic has had on democracy in the region in the last 10 months. Key facts and findings include: Africa • In 2019 alone, 75 per cent of African democracies saw their scores decline, and electoral processes in Africa have failed to become the path for political reform and democratic politics. The reasons are many, including weak electoral management and executive aggrandizement. • The key challenges to democracy brought about by the pandemic involve the management of elections, restrictions on civil liberties (especially freedom of expression), worsening gender equality, deepening social and economic inequalities, a disruption to education, deterioration of media integrity, disruption of parliaments and an amplified risk of corruption. These challenges exacerbate and accelerate long-standing problems in the region. • Despite the challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic might galvanize governments to reinforce public health and social protection mechanisms, rendering the state more able to cushion the impact of the crisis, and enhancing its legitimacy. The Middle East • The Middle East is the most undemocratic region in the world. Only 2 out of 13 countries in the region are democracies. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the economic and social problems of the region, which could exacerbate the pre-existing democratic challenges. • Freedoms of expression and media were severely curtailed in many countries in the region prior to the pandemic. In some cases, COVID-19 has aggravated this. Countries have closed media outlets and banned the printing and distribution of newspapers, under the pretext of combating the spread of COVID-19. This has restricted citizens' access to information. • Migrant workers and internally displaced people have been disproportionally affected by COVID-19. A significant proportion of the infections in the region have been in impoverished migrant and refugee communities. In the Gulf region, curfews and lockdowns have resulted in many migrants losing their livelihood, right to medical attention and even repatriation. Migrants have also faced discrimination often being held in detention centres, in poor conditions, as part of governmental efforts to curb the number of COVID-19 infections among citizens. The review of the state of democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 uses qualitative analysis and data of events and trends in the region collected through International IDEA's Global Monitor of COVID-19's Impact on Democracy and Human Rights, an initiative co-funded by the European Union.


Targeting CD47 and CD20 to stimulate macrophage phagocytosis was effective in preclinical xenograft models of canine lymphoma in mice. This immunotherapeutic strategy has the potential to benefit companion animals and to inform future targeting studies in humans. Cancer immunotherapies hold much promise, but their potential in veterinary settings has not yet been fully appreciated. Canine lymphomas are among the most common tumors of dogs and bear remarkable similarity to human disease. In this study, we examined the combination of CD47 blockade with anti-CD20 passive immunotherapy for canine lymphoma. The CD47/SIRPα axis is an immune checkpoint that regulates macrophage activation. In humans, CD47 is expressed on cancer cells and enables evasion from phagocytosis. CD47-blocking therapies are now under investigation in clinical trials for a variety of human cancers. We found the canine CD47/SIRPα axis to be conserved biochemically and functionally. We identified high-affinity SIRPα variants that antagonize canine CD47 and stimulate phagocytosis of canine cancer cells in vitro. When tested as Fc fusion proteins, these therapeutic agents exhibited single-agent efficacy in a mouse xenograft model of canine lymphoma. As robust synergy between CD47 blockade and tumor-specific antibodies has been demonstrated for human cancer, we evaluated the combination of CD47 blockade with 1E4-cIgGB, a canine-specific antibody to CD20. 1E4-cIgGB could elicit a therapeutic response against canine lymphoma in vivo as a single agent. However, augmented responses were observed when combined with CD47-blocking therapies, resulting in synergy in vitro and in vivo and eliciting cures in 100% of mice bearing canine lymphoma. Our findings support further testing of CD47-blocking therapies alone and in combination with CD20 antibodies in the veterinary setting. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(12); 1072–87. ©2016 AACR.


The human body is constantly changing. Scientific evidence shows that alveolar bone undergoes changes after extraction. These changes continue as time of edentulousness progresses. These changes continue occurring even after prosthesis is inserted.Different methods for the assessment of alveolar bone height have been commonly used in practice out of which the panoramic radiograph is excellent for visualization of general structures of the face. The aim of this study is to compare the bone levels in dentate and edentate areas of the mandible with orthopantogram. A retrospective study done in the Department of Prosthodontics, Saveetha Dental College. Data was collected from a total of 86000 patients who visited Saveetha dental college between Jun,2019 to March,2020. Out of this, OPG of 40 patients in the age group of 35-50 years and who fell in Kennedy's Class 1 classification of mandible were retrieved for the study. The OPG was analysed in ImageJ software. The bone height was measured from the inferior border of the mandible and the crest of the ridge in edentulous areas; the inferior border of the mandible and the alveolar crest in the dentulous areas. The height was obtained in pixels from the software which was later converted into distance in millimeter (mm). The data obtained was tabulated in SPSS for windows, version 20. Paired t-test was done to determine difference in the bone levels of dentate and edentate regions.The paired samples t-test revealed statistically significant difference between dentate and edentate regions in both males (P=0.000) and females (P=0.000). The correlation between dentate and edentate regions for males and females was also statistically significant with P=0.011 and P=0.000 respectively. Pearson correlation was done between gender and difference in bone levels in dentate and edentate regions was not statistically significant with P=0.342. However, Pearson correlation was done between age and difference in bone levels in dentate and edentate regions was statistically significant with P=0.031. The present study was conducted to understand the correlation between bone levels in the dentate and edentate areas of patients with Kennedy's class 1 mandible. Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that there is significant difference in the bone levels of dentate and edentate areas in both male and female patients.


Correspondence to Dr Jennifer A Cuthbert; jennifer.cuthbert@ utsouthwestern.edu ABSTRACT Objectives: To demonstrate the survival benefit from sustained virological response (SVR) in a safety net hospital population with limited resources for hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy. Design and setting:We conducted a retrospective study at an urban safety net hospital in the USA. Participants and intervention: 242 patients receiving standard HCV therapy between 2001 and 2006. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Response rates, including SVR, were recorded for each patient. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of SVR and 5-year survival. Results: A total of 242 eligible patients were treated. Treatment was completed in 197 (81%) patients, with 43 patients discontinuing therapy early—32 due to adverse events and 11 due to non-compliance. Complications on treatment were frequent, including three deaths. SVR was achieved in 83 patients (34%). On multivariate analysis, independent predictors of a decreased likelihood of achieving SVR included African–American race (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.54), genotype 1 HCV infection (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.50) and the presence of cirrhosis (OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.58). Survival was 98% in those achieving SVR (median follow-up 72 months) and 71% in non-responders and those discontinuing therapy (n=91, median known follow-up 65 and 36 months, respectively). On multivariate analysis, the only independent predictor of improved survival was SVR (HR 0.12, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.52). Both cirrhosis and hypoalbuminaemia were independent predictors of increased mortality. Conclusions: Treatment before histological cirrhosis develops, in combination with careful selection, may improve long-term outcomes without compromising other healthcare endeavours in safety net hospitals and areas with financial limitations.


Cooke was commissioned by the French arts organisation Diaphane to research and document an aspect of Picardy in northern France of his choosing. Constrained by time, Cooke elected to analyse and document the course of the River Somme as an archetypal contemporary landscape linked geologically to the Solent and the riparian riverscapes of southern England. The body of images from which he selected his contribution to the resulting exhibition was developed during an intensive week-long journey on the Somme. Though the Somme has a particular significance with reference to World War One, rather than focusing on the valley as a memorial site revisited and understood through a series of monuments and bridges, Cooke's focus was on capturing the physical and geological qualities of the river, its landscape and modern life on, and at, the water's edge. This project, comprised of colour and black and white medium format photographs, formed the basis for the body of work inRiparian. It was first shown at the Galerie Nationale de la Tapisserie in Beauvais in France in 2008 and in Brighton in the UK under the titleEntre-deux. The exhibition marked an exchange of three French and three UK photographic artists from the regions on either side of the English Channel (Claire Dignocourt, Benjamin Teissedre and Adriana Wattel from France, and Jim Cooke, Nigel Green and Liz Hingley from the UK). The title of the exhibition had a particular resonance, with each artist recording specific themes or places in their non-domicile country.


The convergences of Web-ready mobile tools and applications have changed how we interact with our physical and virtual environments. Web-ready mobile devices (particularly smartphones, but tablets and Wi-Fi ready MP3 players are also on the increase) have supplanted the traditional desktop computer. According to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, a February 7, 2011, press release noted that "Smartphone manufacturers shipped 100.9 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2010...PC manufacturers shipped 92.1 million units" (IDC). For the first time ever, smartphones have outsold traditional desktop computers. This is telling on several levels, the most salient being that our mode of interaction with information in any form (play, work, school, homework, etc.) has shifted from a static environment (wired computer) to a highly mobile one. We are moving (literally!) to on-the-go computing and manage a great deal of our everyday affairs via mobile handheld devices.


MoSe2 represents important layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) that have high electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). A key issue to achieve excellent electrochemical properties of MoSe2 is to synthesize nanostructures that are composed of few-layered MoSe2 with abundant exposure of active edge sites. Nanoflowers of layered materials are promising building blocks for photocatalysis due to their large specific surface area and a wealth of exposed edge sites. In this work, free-standing colloidal MoSe2 nanoflowers, with a size of 250 nm, were synthesized by employing a quick and nontoxic phosphine-free solution-processing approach. Oleic acid (OA), 1-octadecene (ODE) and 1-octylamine (OLA) were primarily used as solvents to control the morphology of MoSe2 nanostructures. Experimental results revealed that the shape evolution of MoSe2 nanostructures started with a first fast precipitation of amorphous materials followed by crystallization of a few layers of nanosheets. The prepared MoSe2 nanoflowers demonstrated excellent HER activities with low overpotentials and small Tafel slopes, and the chronopotentiometry responses revealed good stability, making them promising materials for the electrocatalytic HER.


Questions as to whether public investment in international agricultural research is a 'Good Thing' or not may best be addressed using two arguments: (1) justifications based on whether or not past investments have yielded substantial benefits to societies and the resource-poor; and (2) that future investments need to be made as effectively and efficiently as possible, which means they must be targeted as closely as possible. A major component of any impact assessment framework that aspires to comprehensiveness is information on the location of different agricultural systems and pertinent characteristics of the resource-poor who operate them. Given the importance of livestock to the diets and incomes of poor farming households, and the predicted increase in demand for livestock products throughout the developing world over the next few decades, understanding how livestock fit into these systems, and how these systems may evolve in the future, is critical. This is especially true in Africa, where approximately 27% (162 million people) of the world's poor livestock keepers live. In this paper, we further develop a global livestock production system classification put forward by Seré and Steinfeld in 1996. These livestock systems fall into four categories: landless systems, livestock only/rangeland-based systems (areas with minimal cropping), mixed rainfed systems (mostly rainfed cropping combined with livestock) and mixed irrigated systems (a significant proportion of cropping uses irrigation and is interspersed with livestock). We then describe a method for mapping the classification, based on agro-climatology (length of growing period), land cover, and human population density. We conclude with a discussion of how the maps could be refined, and indicate their potential use in a range of different policy and research and development applications. # 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


As competition motivates firms to exploit their core competencies, outsourcing takes on greater significance. Increased reliance on supplier capabilities and technologies, however, increases the impact that supplier selection and assessment can have on the buying firm and in particular, its performance. While prior studies of supply management provide considerable evidence of the criteria used by firms to select and assess suppliers, they provide little insight into the relationships between selection and assessment and the buying firm's performance. This research describes an empirical study of attitudes towards supplier selection and assessment of American and European companies and their impact on business performance. Results illustrate that while both American and European managers consider objective selection and assessment criteria such as cost and price to be more important than subjective criteria such as supplier commitment, it is the more subjective criteria that have a greater impact on firm performance. Moreover, while for American companies there are strong relationships between attitudes towards supply management and performance, similar relationships do not appear to hold for European companies.


Medical Education provides an authoritative medium for the rapid publication of high quality research papers and review articles in the field of medical education throughout the world. All topical issues of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education are covered, including selection of entrants, teaching methods, assessment technique, curriculum reform, and the training of medical teachers. The Journal provides a link between the large number of bodies and individuals involved in medical education throughout the world, and it seeks to ensure that changes are made on the basis of informed decision.


Seydou DRAME

Is a Burkinabe journalist and a ClERRO (Inter-Afr can Cente for Rural Radio Studies) graduate who has devoted his working of to the promotion of agricultural information. He is a bout to publish

a paper on information and the rural population, based on his eight years of experience in the field.

'Rural radio has to be learned in the field - not in an office or a classroom', says Seydou Drame, a presenter with Burkina Faso's Rural Radio Service. However he does not deny the value of his own training. Rather he feels it was because of that training that he came to understand later on that country people in Africa are too often considered as pupils, when in fact they make excellent teachers.

The Burkina Faso radio clubs are dead and buried. They were born in 1975 and died in 1983. They are missed by many as an innovative method of extension work in the community and their demise is seen as a fatiure. But for me the end of the radio club was a natural event, as inevitable as a ripe fruit falling to the ground. The clubs disappeared simply because they had accomplished their mission.

A short history demonstrates how this came about. When the drought was at its worst and the country's agriculture sorely needed to be put back on its feet, the authorities decided it was time to give the small farmer the education he had lacked hitherto. The radio club broadcasts took on the role of professional training, the peasant farmers became attentive pupils, and the presenters were the schoolmasters relaying the lessons to be heard in groups by the rural people. The first attempts were aimed solely at cotton growers. So successful were they in their training (work schedules, manure, pesticides, harvest, storage, etc) that yields increased and the farmers grew rich-with the help of price increases on the world market. Having a radio was one of the first signs of their increased purchasing power, so tints success brought with it an end to the communal radio classrooms.

LEARNING NEW WAYS

Not belonging to a radio club does not mean that the peasant farmer will no longer listen to the advice from the agricultural services. The challenge is for the presenters to devise new means of getting their message across.

Thursday is the day for rural radio broadcasts in Burkina Faso. The farmer gets on his bicycle and rides off to his field with a hoe, some water and his radio which will keep him company as he works. But the farmer will not hear everything, so it's up to us to get his attention.

It is all the more up to us to make an effort, since now our listeners have a free choice of station. lf we bore him he can turn to Radio Malt, Radio Benin, or Africa 1. The radio monopoly on air space is a thing of the past now, and radio communication is exactly the same for Burkina Faso as it is for the rest of the free world, so we have to be less boring and more creative. They want to hear music, everyday sounds, lively reporting, and accurate and truthful information that they can relate to their own situations. lt is no longer enough for a presenter to read the bulletins provided by the agricultural serviced; presenters must know what they are talking about.

This freedom of choice has also opened up the outside world to the peasant farmer and proved that the universe no longer stops at the village boundary. The Yatenga peasant knows that there are people like him living in countries where it actually rains all the time. Radio is his ear on the outside world and we have to take advantage of this opportunity to bring him additional messages - even messages from Europe, if there is somebody there who can provide useful information in a language he can understand.

ELECTRONIC PALAVER TREE

As a result of this evolution, Burkina Faso is now starting to develop local radio presented by the very people it serves. With the freedom to listen came the right to speak, and it has been seized with such enthusiasm that the airwaves have become a sort of latterday 'palaver'tree.This springs out of the recognition of the value of South-South communication;we are discovering the need for a peasant-peasant dialogue.

It may appear at first sight that this near take-over by the rural folk excludes outside input. On the contrary, rural radio Journalists have discovered that it is a wonderful opportunity to understand what makes the peasant farmer tick, and what kits information needs are. We must take our full part in this dialogue. How can we complain of changes which we ourselves helped to bring about? Why are we afraid of the listeners taking over the microphone?

So once agate it is for us to change, to adapt, and to find a new way of addressing an audience which we have created. And then, why should the voice of the peasant farmers not be heard by his urban cousin? City-dwellers need that input in their lives as much as those who live in the country need education.'

The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily those of CTA


Limited information exists on the relation between the capacity of mangrove seedlings to oxidise the rhizosphere and their differential waterlogging tolerance. Laboratory experiments were conducted to estimate radial oxygen loss (ROL) by the entire root, the area of oxidising sites (AOS) on the root surface, root porosity (POR), and the internal diffusive resistance in the ground tissue of seedlings of six mangrove species that show a differential response to flooding. Radial oxygen loss was extremely low in all viviparous seedlings (0.7-1.5 μmol O2 per cm2AOS per day). Differential tolerance of species coincided with the degree of porosity (14.8-45.7%) and the ability of seedlings to develop barriers to oxygen leakage on the root surface. The percentage area of lacunae in the ground tissue of seedlings of the four viviparous species revealed a constriction of the air flow path at the hypocotyl junction. These findings suggest that: (i) the differential tolerance to waterlogging in mangrove seedlings is not simply based on their ability to oxidise the rhizosphere; (ii) the high diffusive resistance in the hypocotyl junction is likely to affect root aeration when the plant's access to air is limited by partial or total submergence; and (iii) waterlogging tolerance is probably a function of the strategy by which roots conserve oxygen to maintain aerobic metabolism for longer periods during submergence. Implications of these findings in seedlings are discussed in relation to other anatomical and morphological adaptations to waterlogging in mature mangroves.


Cerebral cavernous angiomas consist of well-circumscribed collections of thin-walled sinusoidal vascular channels lacking the intervening brain tissue. They are present in 0.4-0.8% of the population, and can occur in a sporadic or familial form. Most common symptoms are seizures, hemorrhage, and focal neurological deficits. The annual bleeding rate of the patient is reported to be 0.25%-20%. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful diagnostic tool with a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. Microsurgical excision of the lesion is a good treatment choice for cavernous angiomas in the brain, even in the brainstem. Although stereotactic radiosurgery may reduce the incidence of rebleeding and the frequency of seizures, its indication should be carefully investigated because of the relatively high rate of radiation-induced side effects. Less frequently, cavernous angiomas can be located at the extra-axial regions of the head, which include the cavernous sinus, the orbit, and the cranial nerves. Cavernous angiomas in the cavernous sinus pose a neurosurgical challenge due to the high vascularity and involvement of the neurovascular structures, and stereotactic radiosurgery is considered as an additional option. Surgical resection is recommended for symptomatic cavernous angiomas in the orbit; however, the rate of complications after resection is not necessarily low for cavernous angiomas within the apex. Venous angiomas are anomalies of normal venous drainage, which show characteristic appearance of the drainage system in the late phase of angiography (caput medusae). They are found either alone or in combination with other vascular malformations. Conservative treatment is recommended except for patients with a large hematoma or with a coexisting cavernous angioma.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our study was to describe perioperative kinetics of procalcitonin (PCT) in patients undergoing aortic surgery, to compare the kinetics in the open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair and aortobifemoral bypass for aortoiliac occlusive disease (AIOD), and to evaluate the ability of PCT to detect intestinal ischaemia.

METHODS
A prospective non-randomized observational cohort study in 80 patients (62 men and 18 women) undergoing elective aortic surgery was performed. Serum PCT was measured at baseline and defined intraoperative and postoperative timepoints up to postoperative day 7. MRI contrast-enhanced imaging was used to detect intestinal ischaemia.

RESULTS
The comparison of the AAA and AIOD cohort did not show any significant difference in PCT levels. Patients with intestinal ischaemia had higher serum PCT at multiple timepoints postoperatively. The most accurate timepoints for early diagnosis were postoperative day 3, followed by 24 h after declamping of the vascular reconstruction, and postoperative day 7. The sensitivity and negative predictive values were 100% in all mentioned timepoints. However, event at the best timepoint the specificity was 89% and the positive predictive value 43%.

CONCLUSIONS
Procalcitonin levels in the postoperative period at proper timepoints might help to detect postoperative intestinal ischaemia. The limitation of this marker is its low specificity for intestinal ischaemia and low positive predictive value. The highest value of this marker is that it can rule out this complication because normal PCT levels mean that intestinal ischaemia is very unlikely.


After joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in December 2001, China was given 5 years to completely open up its banking market for international competition. Chinese banks have been renowned for their mounting nonperforming loans and low efficiency. Despite gradual reforms, the banking system is still dominated by state ownership and encapsulated monopolistic control. How to raise efficiency is a key to the survival and success of domestic banks, especially the state-owned commercial banks. Two important factors may be responsible for raising efficiency: ownership reform and hard budget constraints. This article uses a panel data of 22 banks over the period 1995 to 2001, and employs a stochastic frontier production function to investigate the effects of ownership structure and hard budget constraint on efficiency. Empirical results suggest that nonstate banks were 8–18% more efficient than state banks, and that banks facing a harder budget tend to perform better than those heavily capitalized by the state or regional governments. The results shed important light on banking sector reform in China to face the tough challenges after WTO accession.


We introduce DOSE - Dynamically Optimized Sequential Experimentation - and use it to estimate individual-level loss aversion in a representative sample of the U.S. population (N = 2,000). DOSE elicitations are more accurate, more stable across time, and faster to administer than standard methods. We find that around 50% of the U.S. population is loss tolerant. This is counter to earlier findings, which mostly come from lab/student samples, that a strong majority of participants are loss averse. Loss attitudes are correlated with cognitive ability: loss aversion is more prevalent in people with high cognitive ability, and loss tolerance is more common in those with low cognitive ability. We also use DOSE to document facts about risk and time preferences, indicating a high potential for DOSE in future research.


A conventional Mercury sample return mission requires significant launch mass due to the large AV required for the outbound and return trips and the large mass of a planetary lander and ascent vehicle. It is shown that solar sail spacecraft can be used to reduce lander mass allocation by delivering the lander to a low, thermally safe orbit close to the planetary terminator. In addition, the ascending node of the solar sail spacecraft parking orbit plane can be artificially forced to avoid out-of-plane maneuvers during ascent from the planetary surface. Propellant mass is not an issue for spacecraft with solar sails, and so a sample can be returned relatively easily without resorting to lengthy, multiple gravity assists. A 275-m2 solar sail with a sail assembly loading of 5.9 g/m2 is used to deliver a lander, cruise stage, and science payload to a forced sun-synchronous orbit at Mercury in 2.85 years. The lander acquires samples and conducts limited surface exploration. An ascent vehicle delivers a small cold-gas rendezvous vehicle containing the samples for transfer to the solar sail spacecraft. The solar sail spacecraft then spirals back to Earth in 1 year. The total mission launch mass is 2353 kg, launched using a Japanese H2 class launch vehicle, C3 = 0. Extensive launch date scans have revealed an optimal launch date in April 2014 with sample return to Earth 4.4 years later. Solar sailing reduces launch mass by 60% and trip time by 40%, relative to conventional mission concepts. In comparison, mission analysis has demonstrated that solar-sail-powered Mars and Venus sample returns appear to have only modest benefits in terms of reduced launch mass, at the expense of longer mission durations, than do conventional propulsion systems.


Based on 17 months ethnographic research carried out in a medium sized village in North West Rajasthan, this thesis explores the relationship between status, security and social change in a context of extreme economic uncertainty. Through changes in tenancy laws, the redistribution of land after the abolition of Zamindars in the 1950s, the withdrawal of high castes from the village, success through affirmative action policies, and caste mobilisation via Sanskritisation an extended family of the untouchable leatherworking caste Meghval in the village of Mudharamsar have risen to be the new village elites. Their unusual position as wealthy landowners and political agents has caused conflicts, alternative commensalities, and 're-traditionalised' practices amongst other villagers. This was further exacerbated by the temporary closure of mines in the area that provided the bulk of employment for other villagers causing many of the lower castes to search for alternative means of income and status-making. Some returned to their traditional caste occupations, others organised as a 'labour class' and Meghvals drew on kinship obligations in search of solidarity and security. I argue that social mobility and change amongst the rural poor involves both confluence and variance of what Betielle (1974) termed the 'ideas of caste' and the 'interests of class' underpinning agrarian relations. In doing so, I extend Beteille's analysis to situate my informants' ideas of caste, class and religion within their broader interests in constructing, claiming and using identity and status as mechanisms for coping with economic uncertainty, social change and inequality. I highlight the contradictions between normative ideals concerning caste, kinship and religion on the one hand, and changing class and power relations on the other. I am concerned to look at the spaces between these oppositions wherein alternative discourses and identities are generated, which at times bring unlikely actors together and at others reaffirm pre-existing relations.


Site-Specific Irrigation Management (SSIM) can be defined as irrigation management (depth, timing) based on
crop need to defined sub-areas of a field referred to as management zones. Implementation of SSIM will require additional
irrigation system hardware, labor, and information on soil and/or plant water status in each management zone. Costs
associated with these additional requirements will need to be offset by increased receipts from improved crop yield and quality
in order for the technology to be adopted by producers. The potential for SSIM to increase crop yield, quality, and economic
return has not been evaluated in field studies. Crops such as potatoes, for which yield and quality are highly sensitive to soil
water availability, are most likely to show an economic benefit from site-specific irrigation management. A two-year field
study was conducted to evaluate the potential for SSIM to increase yield and quality of potatoes relative to Conventional
Uniform Irrigation Management (CUIM). Near real-time soil water content was used to schedule irrigations under both
irrigation management treatments. Field average water application was nearly the same for the irrigation management
treatments, 503 mm (19.8 in.) in 2001 and 445 mm (17.5 in.) in 2002. In both study years, tuber yield distributions trended
4% greater under site-specific irrigation management but were not significantly different (p < 0.05). Total tuber yield per
unit of water applied from irrigation and precipitation was 4% greater in 2001 and 6% greater in 2002 under SSIM. Based
on a local tuber quality adjusted potato processing contract price structure, the trend in gross income averaged across the
field site was $159/ha ($65/acre) greater with SSIM. This increase in gross income is likely about half the actual cost of
commercial site-specific irrigation technology. The required 3- to 5-year crop rotation for potato disease management means
that the site-specific irrigation system needs to be mobile or an economic benefit must also be realized from other crops in
the rotation. The economic benefit of SSIM needs to be increased or realized for other crops in the rotation for it to be an
economically viable technology in potato production systems in Idaho.


Within cognitive science, two approaches currently dominate the problem of modeling representations. The symbolic approach views cognition as computation involving symbolic manipulation. Connectionism, a special case of associationism, models associations using artificial neuron networks. Peter Gardenfors offers his theory of conceptual representations as a bridge between the symbolic and connectionist approaches. Symbolic representation is particularly weak at modeling concept learning, which is paramount for understanding many cognitive phenomena. Concept learning is closely tied to the notion of similarity, which is also poorly served by the symbolic approach. Gardenfors's theory of conceptual spaces presents a framework for representing information on the conceptual level. A conceptual space is built up from geometrical structures based on a number of quality dimensions. The main applications of the theory are on the constructive side of cognitive science: as a constructive model the theory can be applied to the development of artificial systems capable of solving cognitive tasks. Gardenfors also shows how conceptual spaces can serve as an explanatory framework for a number of empirical theories, in particular those concerning concept formation, induction, and semantics. His aim is to present a coherent research program that can be used as a basis for more detailed investigations. (Less)


This paper contrasts the Guyana-Venezuela maritime incident that occurred on October 10 th 2013 with the Guyana- Suriname maritime incident that occurred on June 3 rd 2000. It examines several issues to determine whether the actions by the Venezuelan Government to detain the seismic research vessel RV Teknik Perdana which was in disputed waters at the time of the incident can be justified under public international law. First, the different factual backgrounds between the two events are discussed. Next, the legal implication of the different Maritime zones where the two incidents occur is examined. This is followed by a discussion on the use of force in the Guyana-Venezuela incident versus the threat of force in the Guyana-Suriname incident. The Applicability of UNCLOS and its Dispute settlement mechanism to the disputes is also analysed and finally, the applicability of customary international law principles of equidistance or equitable principles to resolve the dispute are discussed. Also, the possibility of Guyana and Venezuela entering into a joint unitisation agreement is examined.


Abstract Corruption and trust are two important determinants of the quality of public sectors. Empirical studies in different literatures suggest that corruption and trust have effects on factors such as economic growth, the quality of democratic institutions, life quality, the size and effectiveness of the public sector and much more. The purpose of this special issue – one that goes to the heart of the comparative policy ethos which is central to the journal's mission – is to draw on a number of country examples to shed light on the state of the literature on the connection between corruption and trust. The aim is to show that these two concepts are highly relevant to each other, and that their interconnections are important to understand the public sector consequences of corruption and trust. By focusing on these concepts, we hope that this special issue can pave the road for further comparative research.


Microplastics have raised many concerns because of their potential negative impacts on the environment. Identifying the sources of microplastics release to the environment is a challenging subject. Synthetic textiles, such as machine woven carpets, are highly capable to propagate and emit microplastics, especially fibers. While the carpet cleaning service has experienced a fast growth due to urbanization and its impact on life style, there is a lack of information on the number and the size of fibers, which are released during the washing process. In this study, we characterized the microplastic fibers in the wastewater of two carpet-washing workshops in the cities of Ahwaz and Sari in Iran. Three replicates of 10 L-samples were taken from the wastewater of washing and drying stages. All samples were passed through sieves of 500, 300 and 37 μm. The residues were washed with 1 L distilled water and poured into clean glass bottles. Then, the samples were passed through 25 μm filter paper. The remained materials on the filter were examined using a stereo microscope. Shapiro-Wilk and Levin tests were applied to test the normality and homogeneity of data. One-way ANOVA test was used to investigate the differences in size of microplastic fibers and independent t-test to determine the difference between the total number of the released microplastic fibers and the ones at each stage in the cities. More than 3097 and 1824 microplastic fibers per square meter of carpet (equal to 81 and 48 microplastic fibers per liter of wastewater) were counted in the workshops in Ahwaz and Sari, respectively. The shares of microplastic fibers in the size of ≥500, 300-500 and 37-300 μm were 18.4%, 24.6%, 57% in Ahwaz and 14.4%, 28.8%, 56.8% in Sari, respectively. The number of released microplastic fibers per liter of wastewater of carpet washing workshops is much higher than the number of fibers in the raw wastewater entering Sari WWTP, which was 4.9-12 microplastic fibers per liter. The washing of machine woven carpets is an important emission source of microplastic fibers especially with the size of less than 300 micron. The number of released microplastic fibers depends on the type of washing and drying practices. It is expected its emission load will sharply increase in future due to the booming growth in demand for these kinds of reasonably priced floor covers.


We are using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to study neuropsychiatric disorders associated with 22q11.2 microdeletions (del), the most common known schizophrenia (SZ)-associated genetic factor. Several genes in the region have been implicated; a promising candidate is DGCR8, which codes for a protein involved in microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis. We carried out miRNA expression profiling (miRNA-seq) on neurons generated from iPSCs derived from controls and SZ patients with 22q11.2 del. Using thresholds of p<0.01 for nominal significance and 1.5-fold differences in expression, 45 differentially expressed miRNAs were detected (13 lower in SZ and 32 higher). Of these, 6 were significantly down-regulated in patients after correcting for genome wide significance (FDR<0.05), including 4 miRNAs that map to the 22q11.2 del region. In addition, a nominally significant increase in the expression of several miRNAs was found in the 22q11.2 neurons that were previously found to be differentially expressed in autopsy samples and peripheral blood in SZ and autism spectrum disorders (e.g., miR-34, miR-4449, miR-146b-3p, and miR-23a-5p). Pathway and function analysis of predicted mRNA targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs showed enrichment for genes involved in neurological disease and psychological disorders for both up and down regulated miRNAs. Our findings suggest that: i. neurons with 22q11.2 del recapitulate the miRNA expression patterns expected of 22q11.2 haploinsufficiency, ii. differentially expressed miRNAs previously identified using autopsy samples and peripheral cells, both of which have significant methodological problems, are indeed disrupted in neuropsychiatric disorders and likely have an underlying genetic basis.


This thesis examines the representation of masculinity in the work of three contemporary male crime writers – George Pelecanos, Henning Mankell and Ian Rankin. It considers whether or not the feminist movement, and the resultant deconstruction of gendered identity, has had an impact on the work of male authors. As the topic of masculinity becomes increasingly visible both within sociological discourse and popular culture, have male writers sought to critically engage with their own gender roles or are they more concerned with propagating hegemonic norms? Crime fiction has a history of accommodating revisionist, feminist projects but is there similar space in the genre for male writers to create viable, non-phallic detective heroes? By focusing on writers of three different nationalities – Pelecanos is American, Mankell is Swedish and Rankin is from the UK – the thesis examines the interaction between masculinity and national identity, and compares the extent to which American, Swedish and British masculinity can be viewed as being 'in crisis'. Chapter I provides a theoretical outline, discussing the academic approach to Men's Studies, before addressing the specific issue of the representation of gender within the crime fiction genre. Chapters II, III and IV focus on a close reading of the texts of Pelecanos, Mankell and Rankin, respectively.


Throughout his two-term presidency, Dwight D. Eisenhower faced the challenge of managing a period of peacetime prosperity after more than two decades of depression, war, and postwar inflation. The essential issue he addressed was how the country would pay for the deepening Cold War and the extent to which such unprecedented peacetime commitments would affect the United States economy and its institutions. William M. McClenahan, Jr., and William H. Becker explain how Eisenhower's beliefs and his experiences as a military bureaucrat and wartime and postwar commander shaped his economic policies. They explore the macro- and microeconomic policies his administration employed to finance the Cold War while adapting Republican ideas and Eisenhower's economic principles to new domestic and foreign policy environments. They also detail how Eisenhower worked with new instruments of government policy making, such as the Council of Economic Advisors and a strengthened Federal Reserve Board. In assessing his administration's policies, the authors demonstrate that, rather than focusing overwhelmingly on international political affairs at the expense of economic issues, Eisenhower's policies aimed to preserve and enhance the performance of the American free market system, which he believed was inextricably linked to the successful prosecution of the Cold War. While some of the decisions Eisenhower made did not follow conservative doctrine as closely as many in the Republican Party wanted, this book asserts that his approach to and distrust of partisan politics led to success on many fronts and indeed maintained and buttressed the nation's domestic and international economic health. An important and original contribution, this examination of the Eisenhower administration's economic policy enriches our understanding of the history of the modern American economy, the presidency, and conservatism in the United States.


Local search methods are useful tools for tackling hard problems such as many combinatorial optimization problems (COP). Experience from mathematics has shown that exploiting regularities in problem solving is beneficial. Consequently, identifying and exploiting regularities in the context of local search methods is deemed to be desirable, too. Due to the complexity of the COPs tackled, regularities might better be detected and learned automatically. This can be achieved by means of machine learning techniques to extend existing local search methods. Learning requires feedback, but in the context of local search methods, instructive feedback is not available. Instead, evaluative feedback can be derived from the cost function of COPs evaluating single solutions, for example. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a machine learning technique that only needs evaluative feedback. A particular RL method is called Q-learning. The present thesis attempts to develop learning local search methods in a general and practical manner. One possibility to enhance local search methods with learning capabilities is by using RL methods. The direct application of existing RL techniques for extending existing local search methods is enabled by the concept of a local search agent (LSA). The advancement of a trajectory-based local search method can be regarded as the interaction of a virtual agent whose states basically consist of solutions and whose actions are composed of arbitrary hierarchical compositions of local search operators. The resulting LSA using RL can then be called a learning LSA. The changes in cost for each move of a learning LSA can be used as reward. Based on these, returns can be computed such that maximizing the return reflects the goal of finding a global or a very good local optimum. The hierarchical structure of LSA actions allows to use so-called ILS-actions. ILS-actions coincide with the application of one iteration of the well-known Iterated Local Search (ILS) metaheuristic. The advantage of this metaheuristic and this kind of action is that only solutions from the subset of local optima -- which must contain any acceptable solution -- are considered and thus introduces a search space abstraction which in turn can improve performance. A learning LSA that employs ILS-actions iteratively will visit local optima in a guided and adaptive manner. The resulting theoretical framework is called Guided Adaptive Iterated Local Search (GAILS). In order to evaluate randomized GAILS algorithms, empirical experiments have to be conducted. Each GAILS algorithm thereby consists of three, mainly independent parts. The first part comprises the actions of a learning LSA which are specific to a problem type. The LSA actions being arbitrary hierarchical compositions of local search operators are implemented through basic local search operators. The second part represents the RL techniques used, which in turn transparently use actions and hence are problem type independent. The third part consists of the function approximators used by RL techniques. The function approximators only require as input a vector of real-valued features and this way are independent from the first two parts. Empirical experiments can be supported by providing a framework that can decouple these three main parts in any GAILS algorithm program instantiation, thus allowing for an arbitrary reuse and combination enabling rapid prototyping. The GAILS implementation framework is such an application framework which is designed to rapidly implement learning LSAs reflecting the separation of a learning LSA into its three main parts. It provides generic interfaces between components of the three parts and this way provides for a separation of problem type specific states from search control. It also provides for a separation of search control from the state of the search control unit. Hierarchically built actions are mapped to object hierarchies. Two GAILS algorithms according to Q-learning algorithm Q(0) and Q(λ) that are based on ILS-actions were developed, built and compared to corresponding standard implementations of the ILS metaheuristic. These so-called Q-ILS algorithms were tested for two problems using different function approximators. The results showed that learning useful policies and transfer of what was learned across multiple problem instances, even of different sizes, is possible and useful.


[1] A benthic boundary layer tripod supporting six current meters and three profiling acoustic backscatter sensors (ABS) documented storm and swell conditions during the fall of 1996 at a depth of 13 m on the inner shelf off Duck, North Carolina. Sediment concentration was higher in the wave boundary layer (WBL) during storm conditions but higher ∼40 cm above the bed (cm ab) during swell conditions. To test the applicability of a diffusive balance during storm versus swell, ABS data were used to invert the vertical diffusion equation and solve for eddy diffusivity from 1 to 50 cm ab. During the storm period, diffusivity derived from the ABS up to ∼40 cm ab agreed well with viscosity derived above the WBL from observed current profiles and from the Grant-Madsen-Glenn (GMG) model. During the swell period, diffusivity derived from the ABS up to ∼40 cm ab did not agree with observed mean current shear above this level nor with the GMG model. Diffusivity did agree with viscosity derived from shear stress due to waves within the WBL extrapolated to a height greater than the modeled WBL. We speculate that during swell conditions, shedding vortices enhanced mass and momentum exchange, extending the eddy viscosity associated with waves above the predicted WBL; during storm conditions, strong currents prevented vortices from penetrating beyond the predicted WBL. Rouse diffusion models with two- and three-layered eddy diffusivity and combined diffusion-advection models with one and three-layer were applied to the observational data set. During the storm the two- and three-layered Rouse models including multiple grain sizes and bed armoring reproduced the observed concentration well. During swell (weak current conditions) all the models considered underpredicted the observed concentration if applied with a standard WBL thickness. To correct this, enhanced vertical exchange was represented by a thickened WBL whenever mean currents were weak relative to the estimated jet velocity associated with wave-induced vortex shedding. The two-layer Rouse model then reproduced the concentrations observed during swell remarkably well. This implies that mean sediment suspension dominated by wave-induced advection may still be approximated by a diffusion-like process under some circumstances.


Title of Document: Texture optimization of soy protein isolate post high-moisture extrusion as an alternative dietary protein source Haiqin Ge, Master of Science, 2011 Directed By: Y. Martin Lo, Ph.D. Nutrition and Food Science Soy protein isolate (SPI) has been used as an alternative protein source in texturized meat analogs due to its high protein content and health benefits. Twin-screw highmoisture extrusion was capable of texturing and shaping SPI into fibrous slabs similar to that of cooked skinless chicken breast yet harder and more rubbery due to significant post-extrusion moisture loss. The texture of extruded SPI was further optimized in the present study to reduce hardness and rubberiness. The combination of acetic acid treatment under pH 4.5 at 65°C for 50 min with addition of 0.1% (w/v) mixture of cornstarch and xanthan gum at a 3:2 (w/w) ratio yielded a tender SPI meat analog with desirable color closest to that of cooked skinless chicken breast. A novel vegetarian nugget based on the modified SPI meat analog was formulated and received consumer acceptance superior to commercial counterparts in its texture without detectable soy flavor. Texture optimization of soy protein isolate post high-moisture extrusion as an alternative dietary protein source


BACKGROUND: Arable crops in temperate climatic regions such as the UK and Ireland are subject to multitude of pests (weeds, diseases and vertebrate/invertebrate pests) that can negatively impact productivity if not properly managed. Integrated pest management (IPM) is widely promoted as a sustainable approach to pest management, yet there are few recent studies assessing adoption levels and factors influencing this in arable cropping systems in the UK and Ireland. This study used an extensive farmer survey to address both these issues. RESULTS: Adoption levels of various IPM practices varied across the sample depending on a range of factors relating to both farm and farmer characteristics. Positive relationships were observed between IPM adoption and farmed area, and familiarity with IPM. Choice of pest control information sources was also found to be influential on farmer familiarity with IPM, with those who were proactive in seeking information from impartial sources being more engaged and reporting higher levels of adoption. CONCLUSION: Policies which encourage farmers to greater levels of engagement with their pest management issues and more proactive information seeking, such as through advisory professionals, more experienced peers through crop walks, open days and discussion groups should be strongly encouraged.


Hygiene sanitation well as examination of Escherichia coli and Rhodamine B in the street food at Elementary School Village Timbang Deli District Medan Amplas in 2013. Street food sold at Elementary School Village Timbang Deli District Medan Amplas had a lot of varieties, street food vendors vend their merchandise on the roadside and most of it was processed by individual and should fulfill health requirement. This research aimed to know about hygiene sanitation well as the content of Escherichia coli and Rhodamine B in the street food sold at Elementary School Village Timbang Deli District Medan. The design of this research was descriptive which is to see the representation of hygiene sanitation, laboratory test to determine the content of Escherichia coli and Rhodamine B in the street food. The results showed that the street food hygiene sanitation doesn't fulfill health requirement based on Permenkes RI No. 942/Menkes/SK/VII/2003 which includes, food handlers, equipment used, presentation manner, facilities vendors and there is one person vendors using food ingredients that dosen't registered in Depkes RI and doesn't have expiry date. The laboratory test showed that 9 of 10 samples contained Escherichia coli. They were Es Jagung, 3 Air Es, Tahu Bakar, Es Buah, Mie Goreng, Lontong, Telur Dadar Gulung, while one sample which didn't contain Escherichia coli was Bakso Kuah Kari. It also showed that all the samples didn't contain Rhodamine B. The samples were 2 saos, Somboi, Kerupuk Berwarna Merah, Tahu Bakar, Es Berwarna Merah, were eligible health based Permenkes RI No. 239/Menkes/PER/V/1985. Based on this result, street food vendors were expected to maintain hygiene sanitation when processing or preparing food. Dinas Kesehatan Kota Medan needs to hold counseling or supervising for street food hygiene sanitation that fulfill the health requirements. Keywords: street food, hygiene sanitation, Escherichia coli, Rhodamine B


Abstract. The BEP, acronym for BIM Execution Plan, consists of the information management plan created by the design team to illustrate how to meet the requirements defined in the Employer's Information Requirement (EIR).The big amount of data will have to be organized a priori both for the professionals who will use that piece of information and for the stakeholders who will have to receive only the right information and use specific worksets. Just at this stage, the heart of the BIM method, there are different advantages compared to the traditional process, in which these informational steps were omitted, causing errors, delays and therefore an increase in active and passive costs. This paper explores the methodology applied to the mapping process of the management of a recovery site. For a better understanding of the result achieved, the stages of the process have been explained, from the acquisition of data, through the scan to BIM process up to the construction phases. In addition, the phases (Identify BIM goal and uses, Design BIM Project Execution Process, Develop information exchange) and the steps (Investigation, Identification and Strategy) necessary to achieve the objective have been analyzed. This is the Lean construction and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), methodologies and systems that allow the improvement of the building process thanks to data sharing and communication between stakeholders before work begins so as to eliminate any possible delay.


In this study, an attempt is made to analyze the extent of the smear zone caused by mandrel driven vertical drains, employing the cavity expansion theory for soft clay obeying the modified Cam-clay model. The predictions are verified by large-scale laboratory tests, where the extent of the smear zone was estimated based on the indications, such as the pore pressure generated during mandrel driving, change in lateral permeability, and the water content reduction. This study reveals that the radius of smear zone is about 4 — 6 times the equivalent vertical drain radius, and the lateral permeability (inside the smear zone) is 61 — 92% of that of the outer undisturbed zone. Finally, the predicted size of the smear zone using the undrained cavity expansion solution is incorporated in the finite-element code PLAXIS to study the performance of a test embankment selected from the Sunshine Motorway, Queensland, Australia. A good agreement between the predicted values and field measurements was found.


This thesis develops the theory of Legendre foliations on contact manifolds by associating a contact metric structure with a contact manifold and investigating Legendre foliations on the resultant contact metric manifold. The contact metric structure introduces a metric for the Legendre foliation which enables us to study the curvature properties of a Legendre foliation, furthermore when this metric is bundle-like we have a semi-Riemannian foliation. Hence we can define a semi-Riemannian Legendre foliation and study its properties. We use the invariant II as denned by Pang to define a family of contact metric structures for a non-degenerate Legendre foliation and from this family we pick out a unique contact metric structure, the canonical contact metric structure. Furthermore a canonical contact metric structure is identified for a flat Legendre foliation and shown to be a Sasakian structure. Under some circumstances a Legendre foliation on a contact metric manifold has a second Legendre foliation, the conjugate Legendre foliation, associated with it. We investigate the conditions for the existence and the properties of the conjugate Legendre foliation. By using a definition similar to that of a Legendre foliation on a contact metric manifold we conclude this thesis by denning a complex Legendre foliation on a complex contact metric manifold and beginning an investigation of its properties.


The potentially attractive exploitation of Ambient Intelligence (AmI) seeks improving performance and quality of life of people inside workplaces (e.g., offices, manufacturing work centers, homes). To succeed at making the implementation of AmI fruitful it is important to understand and objectively quantify the logical relationship among the following relevant elements: AmI key enabling technologies, AmI features, basic workplace functions or tasks, and performance measures of the activities of the workplace. Such relationships are fully characterized by ill-structuredness, subjectivity and vagueness. In this article we structure these ill-defined relationships and offer a generalized conceptual model as a foundation for understanding and objectively quantifying such relationships. We then propose fuzzy numbers as an adequate means for expressing the vagueness that is inherent with the subjective nature of the AmI features, technology impacts and characteristics, and relationships with workplace performance measures. The fuzzy numbers are adequately employed through the Analytical Hierarchically Process (AHP) in the form of a Fuzzy-AHP model. We give some example applications from a manufacturing system workplace. The results of the AmI technologies – performance measure assessment frameworks – can be used as a guide in designing smart workplaces and as a valuable insight in adopting the most significant AmI technologies.


A method for increasing the precision and sensitivity of the quantitative evaluation of fast aspheric surfaces through the null screen method is presented. This consists of applying small displacements to the cylindrical null screen along the optical axis. These movements allow a scan of the image spots over zones that with the analysis of a single image are more difficult to evaluate. The precision of the test is increased due to a greater density of sampling reducing the numerical errors during the integration. Results of the evaluation of an elliptical concave mirror on axis show that the numerical integration errors can be reduced from 20% for short paths to 80% for larger integration paths.


Introduction Haemoglobin is a key determinant of maximal oxygen uptake. This study's objective was to assess total haemoglobin mass (tHb-mass), as well as blood volume and morphological indices in athletes training different sports disciplines. Material and methods This study was conducted on 176 endurance and non-endurance athletes (males and females). tHb-mass, blood volume (BV), plasma volume (PV), and red cell volume (RCV) were determined by optimized carbon monoxide rebreathing method. Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), haematocrit (Hct), red blood count (RBC) were also determined. Results In endurance sports, gender regardless, no significant differences in relative mean values of tHb-mass (12.8–13.1 g/kg – males; 10.4–10.6 g/kg – females), BV (90.8–94.0 ml/kg – males; 82.7–86.9 ml/kg – females), RCV (36.6–38.0 ml/kg – males; 31.1–31.5 ml/kg – females) or of PV in males (54.2–56.4 ml/kg) were observed. The above indices' relative values, gender regardless, were significantly lower in judo (11.2 ±0.7 g/kg, 81.8 ±5.9 ml/kg, 48.6 ±4.5 ml/kg and 33.1 ±2.0 ml/kg – males; 9.3 ±0.7 g/kg, 74.3 ±5.6 ml/kg, 46.4 ±4.0 ml/kg and 27.9 ±2.1 ml/kg – females) compared to endurance sports (p < 0.001). No substantial differences were observed in morphological blood indices in males, whereas this differentiation was found between certain sports in female athletes. Conclusions The lack of differences in tHb-mass, BV, PV and RCV in endurance sports and presence of this differentiation between various sports shows that the types of training might affect levels of mentioned indices. Measurements of tHb-mass and BV parameters prove Hb, Hct and RBC to have limited value for haematological status evaluations.


The purpose of the study is to determine the most important diagnostic criteria for distinguishing preperimetric glaucoma from perimetric glaucoma on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of structural changes and indicators of ocular blood flow. 90 eyes, including 30 eyes with preperimetric glaucoma, 30 eyes with perimetric glaucoma, and 30 normal eyes were analyzed in the present study. The average thickness of the ganglion cell complex (avgGCC), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and choroidal thickness (CT) were measured using RTVue-100 spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Standard automated perimetry (SAP) was performed on Humphrey perimeter (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). Ocular blood flow parameters were measured by color Doppler imaging (CDI) and pulsed-wave Doppler (PWD). Corneal compensated intraocular pressure (IOPcc) and corneal hysteresis (CH) were determined using Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA). Perfusion pressure (PP) was studied by means of measuring intraocular pressure (IOP) and arterial blood pressure (BP) immediately before OCT scanning. As a measure of the parameter importance in distinguishing groups, a value of the adjusted standardized statistic of the Mann-Whitney test (z-value) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were applied. The result shows that the difference between perimetric and preperimetric glaucoma could be characterized by 4 important diagnostic criteria: RNFL (AUC 0.93; z-value 5.75), peripapillary choroidal thickness, or pCT (0.7; 2.69), the end-diastolic blood flow velocity in the nasal short posterior ciliary arteries (0.7; 2.55) and CH (0.68; 2.41). In conclusion, RNFL, pCT, CH and the end-diastolic blood flow velocity in the nasal short posterior ciliary arteries are the most important parameters in distinguishing preperimetric glaucoma from perimetric glaucoma; and that should be considered when monitoring the disease.


Shape adaptable hydrogel actuators, capable for changing their shapes in response to single or multiple thermo/other external stimulus, are considered as new emerging smart materials for a broad range of fundamental/industrial research and applications. This review mainly focuses on the recent progress (particularly over the past 5 years) on such thermo-responsive hydrogel actuators. Recent fundamental advances and engineering applications in materials design/synthesis/characterization, distinct actuation mechanisms, and intriguing examples of these hydrogel actuators of single or dual stimuli are selectively presented. Specific or general design principles for thermo-induced hydrogel actuators are also provided to better illustrate the structure-property relationship. In the end, we offer some personal perspectives on current major challenges and future research directions in this promising field. Overall, this review discusses current status, progress, and challenges of hydrogel actuators, and hopefully will motivate researchers from different fields to explore all the potentials of hydrogel actuators.


The aim of the present paper is to contribute to the literature on plurals by showing that, cross-linguistically, not all plurals are unmarked semantically. Focusing on Arabic, where the plural comes in many guises, and proposing different syntactic positions for its different manifestations, I show that, while classifying plurals (broken and sound plurals) allow an inclusive reading ( one or more ), counting plurals (plural of the singulative and double plurals) do not: they tolerate only exclusive readings ( more than one ). I then show that classifying plurals in Arabic allow inclusive readings in environments that favour number neutrality (modals, negation, etc.) and argue that, in these contexts, plurals denote kinds (in the sense of Carlson 1977 and following Grimm 2013 for English plurals). Such plural nominals do not presuppose the existence of any particular referents: they are weakly referential and that is why they allow inclusive readings.


Photograph of an unidentified orchard and garden in Corpus Christi, Texas around the time of a hurricane in 1919. The garden is not flooded at time of photograph. Flowers are visible in foreground, strawberries to left, and about ten different kinds of trees including pepper and acacia. River is visible from back door looking north.


The purpose of the current study was to gather data on the attitudes and smoking habits of university students. Data were collected from 250 undergraduates dealing with various aspects of smoking behavior. There were 80 smokers and 170 nonsmokers, including 21 former smokers. In addition to demographic information, participants were assessed with respect to chronic self-destructiveness, locus of control, and hypergender ideology. Findings indicated significant positive relationships among willingness to date, marry, live with, and have sex with a smoker. Hypermasculinity was positively related to chronic self-destructiveness. Hyperfemininity was not related to chronic self-destructiveness. Nicotine dependence was also positively related to chronic self-destructiveness, but unrelated to hypergender ideology. Scores on the Chronic Self-Destructiveness Scale predicted regular smoking for both men and women. Implications of the results in terms of smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs are discussed. ********** Cigarette smoking has been recognized for decades as a serious addiction. It has been labeled as an epidemic by some researchers (e.g., Leventhal & Cleary, 1980; Rowe, Chassin, Presson, Edwards, & Sherman, 1992; Rowe, Chassin, Presson, & Sherman, 1996). Cigarette-related deaths are the most preventable of all causes of death (Barton, Chassin, Presson, & Sherman, 1982; Chassin, Presson, Pitts, & Sherman, 2000; Fearnow, Chassin, Presson, & Sherman, 1998; Orlando, Tucker, Ellickson, & Klein, 2004; Viswesvaran & Schmidt, 1992). Smoking is related to a host of medical problems, including diseases of the heart, lungs, breasts, prostate, pancreas, and kidneys (Conrad, Flay, & Hill, 1992; DeBernardo et al., 1999; Ernster, 1986; Godin, Valois, LePage, & Desharnais, 1992; Guilford, 1972; Helvig, Sobell, Sobell, & Simco, 2006; Leventhal & Avis, 1976; Leventhal & Cleary, 1980; Segall & Wynd, 1990). It is also implicated in sexual and reproductive problems. The link between smoking and erectile dysfunction has been well-documented (Dinsmore, 1996; Tengs & Osgood, 2001). Smoking has also been implicated in women's fertility problems and early onset of menopause (Center for Disease Control, 2001). It has been estimated that more than forty-eight million people in the United States smoke (Cohn et al., 2000). More than half of smokers are women (Everett et al., 1999). It has also been estimated that one quarter of all adolescents smoke (Everett et al., 1999). Other statistics have shown that nearly half a million lives are lost each year as a result of cigarette smoking (Buchhalter & Eissenberg, 2000; Tucker et al., 1995). More recent evidence confirms that between one-quarter and one-third of all deaths in America can be attributed to cigarette smoking (Helvig et al., 2006). Even nonsmokers are affected by this public health crisis (Everett et al., 1999; Glantz & Jamieson, 2000; Norman, Ribisl, Howard-Pitney, & Howard, 1999). Researchers have estimated that over fifty thousand nonsmokers are killed each year by secondhand smoke (Glantz & Parmley, 1991; Taylor, Johnson, & Kazemi, 1992). Smoking causes more deaths than the combination of homicides, suicides, and fires (Moskal, Dziuban, & West, 1999). Many early studies of smoking only examined males (Baer, 1966; Jacobs & Spilken, 1971), but researchers now include women in their studies. This is because increases in smoking and decreases in smoking cessation have more often been reported among adolescent and adult females than their male counterparts (Gottlieb, 1983; Moskal et al., 1999; Page & Gold, 1983; Sorensen & Pechacek, 1987; Spielberger, Jacobs, Crane, & Russell, 1983). This may be because cigarette advertisements are more often targeted toward women than men in recent decades compared to prior years (Zinser, Kloosterman, & Williams, 1991). …


The assumption that cognitive processes are independent of handedness was questioned. Five experiments with left-handed and right-handed participants centered on investigating recognition memory for the orientation of heads. Their results provided consistent evidence of a general contralateral handedness effect: Left-facing heads are more likely to be remembered correctly by right-handed participants, whereas right-facing heads are more likely to be remembered correctly by left-handed participants. Motor imagery and hemispheric differences explanations were compared. The results supported the hypothesis that the effect is a consequence of differences between handedness groups in terms of specific patterns of underlying motor activation rather than in terms of more general differences in function between cerebral hemispheres. The possibility of a chiral psychology of cognition that takes note of a person's handedness is considered.


Dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and diabetes are frequent in patients on highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) and especially in patients with lipodystrophy, and may lead to atherosclerosis. This study described the metabolic alterations associated with lipodystrophy in adults on chronic HAART in Kenya. The prevalence of dyslipidaemia amongst the study participants was (211) 79.6%. Elevated total cholesterol was found in 129, high low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in 107, low High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in 110 and high triglycerides in 131 participants. Lipodystrophic patients were more likely to have dyslipidemia than normal lipids (55.4 versus 35.1%, p = 0.007 OR 2.2 CI 1.3 to 4.6) with 57, 45.9, 65.9 and 45.2% having elevated total cholesterol, elevated LDL-C, elevated triglycerides and low HDL-C, respectively. Hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia were significantly associated with lipodystrophy (OR 3.8 CI 2.3 to 6.4; p = 0.000) and (OR 1.94 CI 1.2 to 3.2; p = 0.008), respectively. The odds of lipodystrophy was 2.913 times higher for patients with elevated triglycerides than for those with normal triglycerides (p < 0.001). Sixty-four (24.3%) participants had dysglycemia, with 3.5% having diabetes and 20.8% having impaired fasting glucose (IFG). Among patient with lipodystrophy, 69.8% had normal fasting glucose, 25.1% had IFG and 5.1% were diabetic. Lipodystrophic patients were not more likely to have abnormal blood sugars than normal blood sugars (p value 0.125).


AIMS
Many lymphoma patients have both macroscopic tumors and single-cell manifestations of their disease. Treatment efficacy could, therefore, depend on the radionuclide used. The aim of this study was to investigate dosimetry at a cellular level for three isotopes of radioiodine.

METHODS
Cells were assumed to be spherical with radii of 6.35, 7.7, and 9.05 microm corresponding to the dimensions of the Raji cells. The radius of the nucleus was assumed to be 75% of the cellular radius. The electron energies were 18, 28, and 190 keV, corresponding to the mean electron energy per decay for (125)I, (123)I, and (131)I, respectively. S-values for different activity distributions were simulated using Monte Carlo and dose-volume histograms as well as absorbed doses, and absorbed dose rates were calculated.

RESULTS
(125)I gives the highest absorbed dose (approximately 4-40 times that of (131)I), whereas (123)I will give the highest absorbed dose rate (approximately 100 times that of (131)I). Under the given assumptions, the absorbed dose at this level is more dependent on the size of the cells than on whether the radioimmunoconjugate is internalized.

CONCLUSIONS
This enquiry showed that both (123)I and (125)I have greater potential than (131)I for the treatment of leukemic spread in patients with lymphoma.


Herein, we present the direct modification of glucose, an abundant and inexpensive sugar molecule, to produce new sustainable and functional polymers. Glucose-6-acrylate-1,2,3,4-tetraacetate (GATA) has been synthesized and shown to provide a useful glassy component for developing an innovative family of elastomeric and adhesive materials. A series of diblock and triblock copolymers of GATA and n-butyl acrylate (n-BA) were created via Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Initially, poly(GATA)-b-poly(n-BA) copolymers were prepared using 4-cyano-4-[(ethylsulfanylthiocarbonyl)sulfanyl] pentanoic acid (CEP) as a chain transfer agent (CTA). These diblock copolymers demonstrated decomposition temperatures of 275 °C or greater and two glass transition temperatures (Tg) around −45 °C and 100 °C corresponding to the PnBA and PGATA domains, respectively, as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Triblock copolymers of GATA and n-BA, with moderate dispersities (Đ = 1.15–1.29), were successfully synthesized when S,S-dibenzyl trithiocarbonate (DTC) was employed as the CTA. Poly(GATA)-b-poly(nBA)-b-poly(GATA) copolymers with 14–58 wt% GATA were prepared and demonstrated excellent thermomechanical properties (Td ≥ 279 °C). Two well-separated glass transitions near the values for homopolymers of n-BA and GATA (∼−45 °C and ∼100 °C, respectively) were measured by DSC. The triblock with 14% GATA exhibited peel adhesion of 2.31 N cm−1 (when mixed with 30 wt% tackifier) that is superior to many commercial pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs). Use of 3,5-bis(2-dodecylthiocarbonothioylthio-1oxopropoxy)benzoic acid (BTCBA) as the CTA provided a more efficient route to copolymerize GATA and n-BA. Using BTCBA, poly(GATA)-b-poly(nBA)-b-poly(GATA) triblock copolymers containing 12–25 wt% GATA, with very narrow molar mass distributions (Đ ≤ 1.08), were prepared. The latter series of triblock copolymers showed excellent thermal stability with Td ≥ 275 °C. Only the Tg for the PnBA block was observed by DSC (∼−45 °C), however, phase-separation was confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for all of these triblock copolymers. The mechanical behavior of the polymers was investigated by tensile experiments and the triblock with 25% GATA content demonstrated moderate elastomeric properties, 573 kPa stress at break and 171% elongation. This study introduces a new family of glucose-based ABA-type copolymers and demonstrates functionality of a glucose-based feedstock for developing green polymeric materials.


The article presents the results of research concerning AlCu4MgSi alloy ingots produced using horizontal continuous casting process under variable conditions of casting speed and cooling liquid flow through the crystallizer. The mechanical properties and structure of the obtained ingots were correlated with the process parameters. On the basis of the obtained results, it has been shown that depending on the cooling rate and the intensity of convection during solidification, significant differences in the mechanical properties and structure and of the ingots can occur. The research has shown that, as the casting speed and the flow rate of the cooling liquid increase, the hardness of the test samples decreases, while their elongation increases, which is related to the increase of the average grain size. Also, the morphology of the intermetallic phases precipitations lattice, as well as the centerline porosity and dendrite expansion, significantly affect the tensile strength and fracture mechanism of the tested ingots.


This paper introduces a GIS-based tool designed to assess centrality and connectivity in urban public transport networks. Despite some recent progress and supportive rhetoric by policy makers, the public transport systems of large Australian cities remain characterised by market shares significantly below those in most developed cities outside the US. Public transport users and experts have long lamented that sizeable proportions of Australian metropolitan areas have no access to high-quality public transport services and where they do, these services only cover a limited range of possible destinations. Public transport thus largely fails to live up to a 'go anywhere, anytime' principle that would make it more competitive with car travel. The spatial network analysis of public transport systems endeavours to identify and visualise strengths and weaknesses of geographical coverage, network connectivity, competitive speed and service levels in a coherent mapping exercise. It is closely linked to the movement and activity centre networks promoted as redevelopment corridors and nodes in recent metropolitan strategies such as Melbourne 2030 and Perth's Network City, and can thus serve as a communicative tool for transport and land use planners, urban designers and community advocates. The model was first developed in 2006 for Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs in a project initiated by seven local councils and convened by the Metropolitan Transport Forum. In 2007, as part of an ARC Linkage grant on Transit-Led Development in a New Rail Corridor, it is being applied to the entire Perth metropolitan area to conduct a before-and-after assessment of the impacts of the Perth to Mandurah railway opening later in the year.


We present quantum simulations of a vibrating hydrogen molecule H-2 and address the issue of electron correlation. After appropriately setting the frame and the observer plane, we were able to determine precisely the number of electrons and nuclei which actually flow by evaluating electronic and nuclear fluxes. This calculation is repeated for three levels of quantum chemistry, for which we account for no correlation, Hartree-Fock, static correlation, and dynamic correlation. Exciting each of these systems with the same amount of energy, we show that the electron correlation can be revealed with the knowledge of quantum fluxes. This is evidenced by a clear sensitivity of these fluxes to electron correlation. In particular, we find that this correlation remarkably enhances more electronic yield than the nuclear one. It turns out that less electrons accompany the nuclei in Hartree-Fock than in the correlation cases.