Ein Zellularautomatenmodell zur Simulation von Fusgangerbewegung und Evakuierungen
The movement of crowds is a field of research that attracts increasing interest. This is due to three major reasons: pattern formation and selforganization processes that occur in crowd dynamics, the advancement of simulation techniques, and its applications (planning of pedestrian facilities, crowd management, or evacuation analysis).
In this thesis, a model for simulating crowd movement is developed and its characteristics investigated and compared to alternative approaches. Additionally, simulations of the evacuation of aircraft, buildings, and ships is presented.


PHP is experiencing a renaissance, though it may be difficult to tell with all of the outdated PHP tutorials online. With this practical guide, you'll learn how PHP has become a full-featured, mature language with object-orientation, namespaces, and a growing collection of reusable component libraries. Author Josh Lockhart-creator of PHP The Right Way, a popular initiative to encourage PHP best practices-reveals these new language features in action. You'll learn best practices for application architecture and planning, databases, security, testing, debugging, and deployment. If you have a basic understanding of PHP and want to bolster your skills, this is your book. Learn modern PHP features, such as namespaces, traits, generators, and closures Discover how to find, use, and create PHP components Follow best practices for application security, working with databases, errors and exceptions, and more Learn tools and techniques for deploying, tuning, testing, and profiling your PHP applications Explore Facebook's HVVM and Hack language implementations-and how they affect modern PHP Build a local development environment that closely matches your production server


This paper is about the theory of applying the law of trade dress and all the protections that come with it to stadiums, specifically to Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs. Trade dress is the version of trademark reserved for the packaging, design, or color of products. If the packaging, design, or color possesses the ability to identify the source or creator of the product, then it can create a possessory interest in the product's creator for that style of packaging, design of the product, or color used. This possessory interest is used to protect the reputation of the creator as a producer of quality products and protect consumers from confusion when they go to purchase products. During the last decade or more, sports have become big business and do not show any signs of stopping. One of the signs of this trend is the arms race that has developed for the biggest and best stadiums and facilities. Applying trade dress protection to these stadiums and facilities would protect an owner from the creation of a similar stadium or facility by a rival owner and could open up a new revenue stream by allowing that owner to use the look and design of his stadium to sell and market goods with. The application of this theory could be endless and only fully realized when it hits the free market.


Sinorhizobium meliloti is a soil bacterium able to induce the formation of nodules on the root of specific legumes, including alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Bacteria colonize nodules through infection threads, invade the plant intracellularly, and ultimately differentiate into bacteroids capable of reducing atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia, which is directly assimilated by the plant. As a first step to describe global changes in gene expression of S. meliloti during the symbiotic process, we used whole genome microarrays to establish the transcriptome profile of bacteria from nodules induced by a bacterial mutant blocked at the infection stage and from wild-type nodules harvested at various timepoints after inoculation. Comparison of these profiles to those of cultured bacteria grown either to log or stationary phase as well as examination of a number of genes with known symbiotic transcription patterns allowed us to correlate global gene-expression patterns to three known steps of symbiotic bacteria bacteroid differentiation, i.e., invading bacteria inside infection threads, young differentiating bacteroids, and fully differentiated, nitrogen-fixing bacteroids. Finally, analysis of individual gene transcription profiles revealed a number of new potential symbiotic genes.


We argue that the state-law rules governing poison pills are vulnerable to challenges based on preemption by the Williams Act. Such challenges, we show, could well have a major impact on the corporate-law landscape. The Williams Act established a federal regime regulating unsolicited tender offers, but states subsequently developed a body of state antitakeover laws that impose additional impediments to such offers. In a series of well-known cases during the 1970s and 1980s, the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, held some of these state antitakeover laws preempted by the Williams Act. To date, however, federal courts and commentators have paid little attention to the possibility that the state-law rules authorizing the use of poison pills — the most powerful impediment to outside buyers of shares — are also preempted. Our study examines this subject and concludes that there is a substantial basis for questioning the continued validity of current state-law rules authorizing the use of poison pills. The Essay shows that these rules now impose tighter restrictions on unsolicited offers than those once imposed by state antitakeover regulations that the federal courts invalidated on preemption grounds. Preemption challenges to these poison-pill rules could well result in their invalidation by the federal courts. Finally, we discuss how state lawmakers could revise poison-pill rules to make them more likely to survive a federal preemption challenge. This could be done, we show, by imposing substantial limits on the length of time during which a poison pill can be used to block tender offers. Whether preemption challenges lead to invalidation of existing poison-pill state rules or to their substantial modification, such challenges could well reshape the market for corporate control.


Public video surveillance is changing the way police fight crime and terrorism. This was especially clear in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing when law enforcement found images of the two suspects by analyzing surveillance images gathered by numerous public and private cameras. Such after-the-fact video surveillance was equally crucial to identifying the culprits behind the 2005 London subway bombing. But the rise of camera surveillance, as well as the emergence of drone-based video monitoring and GPS-tracking methods, not only provides an important boon for law enforcement, but also raises a challenge for constitutional law: As police gain the ability to technologically monitor individuals' public movements and activities, does the Fourth Amendment's protection against "unreasonable searches" place any hurdles in their way?In the 2012 case, United States v. Jones, five justices, in two separate concurrences, signaled that it does — at least when the monitoring becomes too intense or prolonged. Their suggestion, however, raises two significant problems. First, it provides no principled basis for marking the point at which public surveillance morphs from a means by which police monitor public space into a Fourth Amendment "search." Under the "mosaic theory" embraced by the D.C. Circuit, such surveillance becomes a search only when it captures enough data points from an individual's public life to construct a detailed picture (or "mosaic") of her movements and associations. But how detailed may such a picture be before it is too detailed? Do police engage in a search simply by watching someone continuously, even if they do so without drones, GPS units, or other advanced technology? Second, the concurring opinions do not explain why the Fourth Amendment, if it does cover public surveillance of this kind, does not also cover the information-collecting police do when they simply watch a pedestrian or a driver. As Justice Scalia wrote in Jones, "Th[e] Court has to date not deviated from the understanding that mere visual observation does not constitute a search." But if police collect the same information from watching a driver as they do from tracking him with GPS technology, why would their watching not also be a search?This Article proposes a solution to each of these challenges by offering a two-part definition of a Fourth Amendment "search" in a public space. Police engage in a search when they (1) not only observe, but also record, images or sounds of people or events outside police presence; or (2) magnify details on a person or documents or other items the person is carrying and thereby reveal information that would not otherwise be apparent without a pat-down or a stop and search of a person's papers or effects.This technology-based or design-based definition of what constitutes a "search" avoids the problems that arise when the Fourth Amendment analysis regarding what constitutes a "search" is based on an investigation's duration or intensity. Under the technology-based or designed-based definition, police engage in a search as soon as they begin recording remote events or magnifying otherwise invisible details, whether they have done so for two minutes or two weeks. Additionally, under this approach, Fourth Amendment constraints only apply to surveillance that goes beyond unadorned visual surveillance. This test is more workable and more in accord with Fourth Amendment logic. Recording is a search because, more than any other element of public surveillance, it allows police to engage in dragnet-style investigation of all activities in a public space. By transforming ephemeral occurrences into permanent records, recording allows government officials to search public lives frame by frame, much like they might search documents file by file. Certain types of magnification could also constitute a search because, just as a telescope focused on a home may be functionally equivalent to a home entry and search, certain types of magnification may be functionally equivalent to a physical search of persons, papers, or effects.


DDT, the first organochlorine insecticide, and pyrethroid insecticides are sodium channel agonists. Although the use of DDT is banned in most of the world due to its detrimental impact on the ecosystem, indoor residual spraying of DDT is still recommended for malaria control in Africa. Development of resistance to DDT and pyrethroids is a serious global obstacle for managing disease vectors. Mapping DDT binding sites is necessary for understanding mechanisms of resistance and modulation of sodium channels by structurally different ligands. The pioneering model of the housefly sodium channel visualized the first receptor for pyrethroids, PyR1, in the II/III domain interface and suggested that DDT binds within PyR1. Previously we proposed the second pyrethroid receptor, PyR2, at the I/II domain interface. However, whether DDT binds to both PyRs remains unknown. Here, using computational docking of DDT into the Kv1.2based mosquito sodium channel model, we predict that two DDT molecules can bind simultaneously within PyR1 and PyR2. The bulky trichloromethyl group of each DDT molecule fits snugly between four helices in the bent domain interface, while two p-chlorophenyl rings extend into two wings of the interface. Model-driven mutagenesis and electrophysiological analysis confirmed these propositions and revealed ten previously unknown DDT-sensing residues within PyR1 and PyR2. Our study proposes a dual DDT-receptor model and provides a structural background for rational development of new insecticides.


Abstract SMART (System-integrated Modular Advanced ReacTor) is an integral-type nuclear reactor for cogeneration that adopts a flow mixing header assembly (FMHA) to maintain a uniform temperature distribution in the coolant at the core inlet in the case of failure in the steam generator or reactor coolant pump. The SMART FMHA is important for enhancing thermal mixing of the coolant during a transient and even during accidents, so it is essential that the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of flow in the FMHA be understood. Scaling analysis was performed to design the experimental facility for the FMHA test through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis on the SMART prototype and experimental model. The experimental facility was designed by a linear scaling factor 0.18, and the experimental pressure and temperature conditions were 0.1 MPa and 30°C to 60°C, respectively. The experiment was performed in two ways: using FMHAs with large outlet flow hole sizes and FMHAs with small outlet flow hole sizes. In the cases of failure of one or two steam generators, the maximum temperature deviation on the side of the reactor core inlet was measured to be 1°C to 2°C, which demonstrates excellent thermal mixing through the FMHA. In particular, the FMHA with small outlet flow hole sizes tended to have better thermal mixing than the FMHA with large outlet flow hole sizes. The experimental results were comparable to those from CFD analysis.


This paper presents a deep semantic similarity model (DSSM), a special type of deep neural networks designed for text analysis, for recommending target documents to be of interest to a user based on a source document that she is reading. We observe, identify, and detect naturally occurring signals of interestingness in click transitions on the Web between source and target documents, which we collect from commercial Web browser logs. The DSSM is trained on millions of Web transitions, and maps source-target document pairs to feature vectors in a latent space in such a way that the distance between source documents and their corresponding interesting targets in that space is minimized. The effectiveness of the DSSM is demonstrated using two interestingness tasks: automatic highlighting and contextual entity search. The results on large-scale, real-world datasets show that the semantics of documents are important for modeling interestingness and that the DSSM leads to significant quality improvement on both tasks, outperforming not only the classic document models that do not use semantics but also state-of-the-art topic models.


: CO 2 is a critical and potentially limiting substrate for photosynthesis of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In addition to being a climate-warming greenhouse gas, increasing concentrations of CO 2 will dissolve in the oceans, eliciting both negative and positive responses among organisms in a process commonly known as ocean acidification. The dissolution of CO 2 into ocean surface waters, however, also increases its availability for photosynthesis, to which the highly successful, and ecologically important, seagrasses respond positively. Thus, the process might be more accurately characterized as ocean carbonation. This experiment demonstrated that CO 2 stimulation of primary production enhances the summertime survival, growth, and proliferation of perennial eelgrass Zostera marina from the Chesapeake region, which is regularly impacted by summer heat stress. The experiment also quantified the logarithmic response to CO 2 in terms of shoot proliferation, size, growth and sugar accumulation that was funda -mentally consistent with model predictions based on metabolic carbon balance derived from short-term laboratory experiments performed with other eelgrass populations from cool ocean climates and other seagrass species from tropical and temperate environments. Rather than acting in a neutral fashion or as an independent stressor, increased CO 2 availability can serve as a quantitative antagonist to counter the negative impact of climate warming on seagrass growth and survival. These results reinforce the emerging paradigm that seagrasses are likely to benefit significantly from a high-CO 2 world.


The feminization of labor in parallel with the feminization of poverty in poor countries is a controversial topic in the field of development, especially with regards to foreign-owned export-oriented manufacturing sectors (FEMS). This paper offers a critique of the dominant argument that the introduction or expansion of a poor county's FEMS will positively affect the status of women, thereby stimulating sustainable human development. I argue that intersecting oppressions (i.e. female, poor, immigrant, rural, dark skinned) are exploited and exaggerated in order to achieve economic interests. International development groups such as the World Bank have labeled FEMS in poor countries as opportunities for women to increase their independent earning power and socioeconomic status. This is based on the logic that gender equality—a factor believed to stimulate development—is only achieved through access to the formal labor sector and independent capital earnings. However, this neglects the underlying fact that for FEMS to be economically sustainable, gender inequality, as well as global economic inequality, must remain unchanged. In addition to this critique, this paper attempts to answer the following questions: What are the different ways in which poor women in the Global South are impacted by the influx of export-oriented manufacturing industries? How is gender constructed and utilized within these industries' managerial policies? What are the ensuing effects of this on the labor force?


Generative adversarial nets (GANs) are a promising technique for modeling a distribution from samples. It is however well known that GAN training suffers from instability due to the nature of its saddle point formulation. In this paper, we explore ways to tackle the instability problem by dualizing the discriminator. We start from linear discriminators in which case conjugate duality provides a mechanism to reformulate the saddle point objective into a maximization problem, such that both the generator and the discriminator of this 'dualing GAN' act in concert. We then demonstrate how to extend this intuition to non-linear formulations. For GANs with linear discriminators our approach is able to remove the instability in training, while for GANs with nonlinear discriminators our approach provides an alternative to the commonly used GAN training algorithm.


In this work, thioridazine (TR) as an important neuroleptic drug has been detected simply by an electrochemical approach using a glassy carbon electrode modified by nickel oxide nanoparticles decorated graphene quantum dot (NiO/GQD/GCE). The bare and modified electrodes were characterized using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrochemical techniques. The cyclic voltammetric studies demonstrated that the NiO/GQD/GCE has remarkably enhanced electro-catalytic activity towards the oxidation of TR in neutral solutions. The results (significant increase in peak current and a negative shift in TR oxidation potential) are related to the increase in electrode surface area and electron transfer rate along with the modifier catalytic role. The NiO/GQD modified electrode used for sensitive determination of TR by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method. The effect of experimental parameters on the obtained results was studied and optimized. The NiO/GQD/GCE modified electrode revealed a linear response in the concentration range from 2×10-9 to 200×10-9 M with a limit of detection (LOD) equal to 0.05×10-9 M (S/N=3). The sensor was applied to determine TR in serum and pharmaceutical samples, which proves this sensor is an ideal device for TR determination.


Unpolluted water maintains in solution the maximum quantity of dissolved oxygen, which is in equilibrium with the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere, When dissolved oxygen is removed from solution, an unbalance is created and the deficiency is made up by oxygen passing into solution through the water surface exposed to the atmosphere, water is influenced by physical factors such as winds and waves, and
chemical factors, such as surface active agents and oil films. This phase of the project deals with the effect of surface active agents on the reaeration process.


This paper is a preliminary report on work done to explore the use of unsupervised machine learning methods to predict the onset of turbulent transitions in natural convection systems. The Lorenz system was chosen to test the machine learning methods due to the relative simplicity of the dynamic system. We developed a robust numerical solution to the Lorenz equations using a fourth order Runge-Kutta method with a time step of 0.001 seconds. We solved the Lorenz equations for a large range of Raleigh ratios from 1–1000 while keeping the geometry and Prandtl number constant. We calculated the spectral density, various descriptive statistics, and a cluster analysis using unsupervised machine learning. We examined the performance of the machine learning system for different Raleigh ratio ranges.
 We found that the automated cluster analysis aligns well with well known key transition regions of the convection system. We determined that considering smaller ranges of Raleigh ratios may improve the performance of the machine learning tools. We also identified possible additional behaviors not shown in z-axis bifurcation plots. This unsupervised learning approach can be leveraged on other systems where numerical analysis is computationally intractable or more difficult.
 The results are interesting and provide a foundation for expanding the study for Prandtl number and geometry variations. Future work will focus on applying the methods to more complex natural convection systems, including the development of new methods for Nusselt correlations.


The space-time bit-interleaved coded modulation (ST-BICM) is an efficient technique to obtain high diversity and coding gain on a block-fading multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel. Its maximum-likelihood (ML) performance is computed under ideal interleaving conditions, which enables a global optimization taking into account channel coding. Thanks to a diversity upper bound derived from the Singleton bound, an appropriate choice of the time dimension of the space-time coding is possible, which maximizes diversity while minimizing complexity. Based on the analysis, an optimized interleaver and a set of linear precoders, called dispersive nucleo algebraic (DNA) precoders are proposed. The proposed precoders have good performance with respect to the state of the art and exist for any number of transmit antennas and any time dimension. With turbo codes, they exhibit a frame error rate which does not increase with frame length.


Abstract This article focuses on the evolving place of the US in the Central Asian arena, analysing how US interests have changed in this region since the 1990s. It studies how strategic relations were transformed around the NATO Partnership for Peace, the growing cooperation in the Caspian Sea, and the building of a regional security architecture surrounding Afghanistan. It also analyses Washington's difficulties in promoting 'civil society' and the limits of the US economic engagement in the region. It concludes that the United States must show more interest in societal development, and demonstrate its willingness to respond to Central Asian needs and perspectives.


This paper studies the empirical and theoretical association between the duration of a pegged exchange rate and the cost experienced upon exiting the regime. We confirm empirically that exits from pegged exchange rate regimes during the past two decades have often been accompanied by crises, the cost of which increases with the duration of the peg before the crisis. We explain these observations in a framework in which the exchange rate peg is used as a commitment mechanism to achieve inflation stability, but multiple equilibria are possible. We show that there are ex ante large gains from choosing a more conservative not only in order to mitigate the inflation bias from the well-known time inconsistency problem, but also to steer the economy away from the high inflation equilibria. These gains, however, come at a cost in the form of the monetary authority's lesser responsiveness to output shocks. In these circumstances, using a pegged exchange rate as an anti-inflation commitment device can create a "trap" whereby the regime initially confers gains in anti-inflation credibility, but ultimately results in an exit occasioned by a big enough adverse real shock that creates large welfare losses to the economy. We also show that the more conservative is the regime in place and the larger is the cost of regime change, the longer will be the average spell of the fixed exchange rate regime, and the greater the output contraction at the time of a regime change.


Valve analysis is a commonly used method to infer high resolution palaeoclimate records from lake sediment, which has been applied to northeastern and southeastern China (). However, limited by appropriate archive, it has not yet been applied to the Tibetan Plateau, which is recognized as an important region for the Eurasian continent and even the global climate evolution.
Lake Kusai (approximately 35.62-35.83° N and 92.63-93.25° E) is a closed basin lake situated about 4475 m a.s.l. in the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau. In 2006, a 6-m long sediment core was recovered from the shallow part, which was used for sedimentary and pollen analysis (Liu et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2012). The high sedimentation rate (ca. 1.5 cm/yr) provides us a multi-decadal scale record. However, the sediments show high resolution laminations through the whole core, which was supposed to be annual valve depositions. In 2009, two short cores were collected from the shallow and deep water region, and were used for valve analyses, showing clearly bright and dark layers (Fig. 1). Further comparison with 137Cs and 210Pb dating results confirmed that the sediments in Lake Kusai are annual valves, which may potentially fill in our knowledge gap of valve sediments on the Tibetan Plateau and acquire high resolution climate record.


Rehabilitation and preservation of historic monuments and ancient structures is attracting more and
more interest in the world. There are a certain amount of historic monuments which were built by using
brick masonry. As the development of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is getting more popular now,
applying bonded FRP to strengthen historic brick masonry monuments becomes one of the alternative
strengthening method. In the past decade, many researches have been carried out to investigate the
behaviour of bonded FRP to reinforced concrete structures. However, still a few contributions are
available concerning debonding problem on masonry. In this report, the experimental study which was
carried out by Panizza et al. (2009) about the bond-slip behaviour of CFRP and GFRP laminates on
brick masonry were briefly summarized. Based on the experimental results and the proposed bond-slip
equations, finite element analysis of the test specimens were carried out. Comparison of the results
obtained from different finite element models were made, they are: (1) coarse mesh versus fine mesh,
(2) exponential bond-slip versus bilinear bond-slip and (3) FRP with concentrated fibre property versus
FRP with distributed fibre property. The finite element results were also compared with the results
obtained from the analytical solution proposed by Yuan et al. (2004). With the stiffness of FRP assigned
as the average value of stiffness obtained from the test, the results obtained from both finite element
method and analytical solution compared well with the test results in term of both maximum load and
deflection. Parametric studies were carried out based on the analytical solution for different bond length
and width ratio of FRP to brick. It is found that the minimum required bond length for the current CFRP
and GFRP specimens studied are about 70 mm and 59 mm, respectively. When the bond length is
longer than the minimum required bond length, increasing the bond length does not increase the
maximum load capacity significant, however, the maximum deflection increases with increasing bond
length. For the current specimens studied, the width ratio of FRP to brick does not have significant affect
to the maximum load capacity and deflection, especially for specimen with lower stiffness ratio of FRP to
brick.


The cycle of events and natural processes that affect the geotechnical properties of clay sediments in a depositional basin (the 'Geotechnical Cycle') includes: deposition, consolidation/compaction, diagenesis, tectonic disturbance, weathering and erosion. Some of these processes can occur in parallel; their combined effects control the mechanical behaviour of clay sediments. Processes involved in the Geotechnical Cycle are reviewed, using case studies chosen where possible from the London Basin; examples from other depositional basins emphasize the many common elements that control the behaviour of clay sediments. A simple soil behaviour model (based on the 'sensitivity framework') is described that combines the consolidation (geological compaction) and strength behaviour of natural clays, both during loading (deposition) and unloading (erosion). This model enables the mechanical consequences of soil structure (including the effects of diagenesis) to be quantified. Its merits are that it describes real soils, thus aiding ground characterization, and also allows an assessment of such factors as sample disturbance, while providing a realistic and straightforward geotechnical framework. The effects of tectonic events on the geotechnical behaviour of clays are reviewed in the particular context of flexural slip, and its influence on stability problems. Uplift, then erosion, results in basin sediments becoming overconsolidated; the history of the London Basin is used to emphasize both what is known and, in particular, what is not known, of these phases of basin history. Following erosion, weathering processes further modify the mechanical properties of clays. The most obvious indicator of weathering is oxidation, with its associated colour changes. The depth of oxidation in the London Clay Formation is reviewed, and shown to relate to topographic position and former groundwater conditions. Finally, the sensitivity framework is used to examine the effects of weathering on the mechanical behaviour of clay, particularly the reduction of yield stress in one‐dimensional compression.


This paper reports on a novel technique to visually detect loop closings in feature-poor underwater environments in order to increase the accuracy of vision-based localization systems. The main problem of the classical visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for underwater vehicles is the lack of robust, stable and matchable features in certain aquatic environments. The presence of sandbanks, seagrass or other underwater phenomena cause the visual features to concentrate in regions heavily textured, leaving great image areas completely free of visual information. In this situation, the classical loop closing detection algorithms fail, resulting in no corrections for the SLAM system. Our novel method proposes to reinforce the loop closing detection by clustering visual keypoints present in multiple keyframes and to match features of clusters instead of features of keyframes. This new technique is assessed on the particular application of navigating an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) in marine environments colonized with seagrass or with the presence of sandbanks. Experiments conducted in several coastal zones on the Balearic Islands show a high degree of success in the visual registration of overlapping areas.


Abstract Purpose Shoulder pain and disability pose a diagnostic challenge owing to the numerous etiologies and the potential for multiple disorders to exist simultaneously. The evidence to support the use of clinical tests for superior labral anterior to posterior complex (SLAP) is weak or absent. The purpose of this study is to determine the diagnostic validity of physical examination maneuvers for SLAP lesions by performing a methodologically rigorous, clinically applicable study. Methods We recruited consecutive new shoulder patients reporting pain and/or disability. The physician took a history and indicated their certainty about each possible diagnosis ("certain the diagnosis is absent/present," or "uncertain requires further testing"). The clinician performed the physical tests for diagnoses where uncertainty remained. Magnetic resonance imaging arthrogram and arthroscopic examination were the gold standards. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LRs) and investigated whether combinations of the top tests provided stronger predictions. Results Ninety-three patients underwent physical examination for SLAP lesions. When using the presence of a SLAP lesion (Types I–V) as disease positive, none of the tests was sensitive (10.3–33.3) although they were moderately specific (61.3–92.6). When disease positive was defined as repaired SLAP lesion (including biceps tenodesis or tenotomy), the sensitivity (10.5–38.7) and specificity (70.6–93.8) of tests improved although not by a substantial amount. None of the tests was found to be clinically useful for predicting repairable SLAP lesions with all LRs close to one. The compression rotation test had the best LR for both definitions of disease (SLAP tear present = 1.8 and SLAP repaired = 1.67). There was no optimal combination of tests for diagnosing repairable SLAP lesions, with at least two tests positive providing the best combination of measurement properties (sensitivity 46.1% and specificity 64.7%). Conclusion Our study demonstrates that the physical examination tests for SLAP lesions are poor diagnostic indicators of disease. Performing a combination of tests will likely help, although the magnitude of the improvement is minimal. These authors caution clinicians placing confidence in the physical examination tests for SLAP lesions rather we suggest that clinicians rely on diagnostic imaging to confirm this diagnosis.


Uncertainty and dynamism surrounding pervasive systems require new and sophisticated approaches to defining, detecting, and handling complex exceptions. This is because the possible erroneous conditions in pervasive systems are more complicated than conditions found in traditional applications. We devised a novel exception description and detection mechanism based on "situation"- a novel extension of context, which allows programmers to devise their own handling routines targeting sophisticated exceptions. This paper introduces the syntax of a language support that empowers the expressiveness of exceptions and their handlers, and suggests an implementation algorithm with a straw man analysis of overhead.


For countries that aspire to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage, the question of how to increase funding for health is of fundamental importance; external sources such as donor funding can be unstable and unsustainable, and insurance schemes often exclude the most poor and marginalised populations. Ensuring 'health for all' requires substantial increases in funding from domestic sources in a sustainable and equitable manner.

One way of increasing revenue is through improved tax collection and larger total government budgets. Recent evidence from South Africa, Kenya and Lagos State in Nigeria, shows that it is possible to increase tax revenue without raising tax rates. What has been more challenging however, is ensuring that this additional revenue is allocated to the health sector.

This brief outlines how the countries increased tax revenue and identifies common factors across contexts. It then uses the South African experience to explore whether the health sector benefited from additional tax revenue. The brief concludes with recommendations for health sector officials about how to negotiate more successfully for additional resources to be spent on health.


How are the concepts of 'me', 'my relatives' and 'family' shaped in the specific historical practice of contemporary family histories, written by family historians about their own relatives? Object of this study is a corpus of more than 120 contemporary histories, selected at the CBG (Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie), a national desk that facilitates genealogical research in The Netherlands. The analysis of this corpus covers templates of timelines, digital influences, concepts of family, and repertoires of family historians as writers. The intertwining of classical concepts and software-terms, and the intimate relations between individuals and their technological, digital artifacts is studied here in the tradition of Bruno Latour's Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This study discloses the conceptual juggling with concepts needed in our descriptions of the past of our relatives.


Life history theory predicts long lived species to be late maturing. In reptiles, the timing of sexual maturity may be determined by either age or by reaching a threshold body size or condition. The blotched blue-tongued lizard, Tiliqua nigrolutea is a long-lived (anecdotally 30+ years) viviparous reptile, in which males reproduce annually and females breed irregularly, usually every 2-3 years in Tasmania. Age at sexual maturity is unknown, as is the timing of onset of the morphological sexual dimorphisms seen in adults (e.g. relatively broader heads in males). We have investigated the timing of the onset of both physiological and morphological sexual maturity in a cohort of juvenile T. nigrolutea and can now report on the age at which seasonal reproductive hormone axis activity, circulating sex hormone levels, sexually dimorphic morphological features (body length, head width:snout-vent length) in juveniles resemble adult proportions. We suggest a pubertal period extending over 1-2 years, particularly in males, and sexual dimorphism in the onset of both morphological and physiological sexual maturity, with males maturing at a younger age and smaller body size than females.


This paper examines how beliefs about own HIV status affect decisions to engage in risky sexual behavior using data on married males living in Malawi. Risky behavior is measured as the propensity to engage in extramarital affairs. The empirical analysis is based on panel surveys for years 2006 and 2008 from the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP). Beliefs vary significantly over time in the data, in part because of HIV testing and informational campaigns. We estimate the effect of beliefs about own HIV status on risky behavior using a panel data estimator developed by Arellano and Carrasco (2003), which accommodates unobserved heterogeneity as well as belief endogeneity arising from the dependence of current beliefs on lagged behaviors. We find that beliefs are an important determinant of risky behavior, with downward revisions in the belief of being HIV positive increasing risky behavior and upward revisions decreasing it. We modify Arellano and Carrasco's (2003) estimator to allow for underreporting of affairs and find the estimates to be relatively robust to underreporting. Using our estimates and a prototypical epidemiological model of disease transmission, we show that making individuals better informed about their HIV status, either by increasing the credibility of test results and/or increasing access to testing, would on net reduce the HIV transmission rate.


Fine leaf structures, such as leaf domatia or trichomes, are considered to affect the population abundance and diversity of foliar mites on forest trees and shrubs; however, the effect of such structures on seasonal fluctuations in foliar mite populations in forest ecosystems remains unknown. The authors conducted a 2-year survey on the outskirts of Kyoto on the mite assemblage found on Viburnum erosum var. punctatum (VEP), a deciduous shrub bearing domatia and stellate hairs, and on its seasonal fluctuations. A census was also conducted on the acarofauna on 14 sympatric tree or shrub species; these communities were then compared with those found on VEP. On VEP, fungivorous mites, Winter-schmidtiidae and Tydeoidea, showed continuous occurrence from late March to November, and phytoseiid mites were recorded from May to November. Eriophyioid mites were only found in spring and autumn. Total mite density was significantly higher on plant species with fine structures, and the acarofauna on such plants showed high similarity among seasons. Our data suggest that leaf-surface structures play important roles in structuring foliar mite communities throughout the seasons.


Abstract Strategic partnership between states is a reciprocal exchange built on mutual commitment. The significance of the United States to Lithuania is unquestionable. However, why should the U.S. care about Lithuania? The emphasis on the U.S. interests and policies allows ignoring the question about Lithuania's engagement and input into the partnership. Therefore, this article asks how does Lithuania contribute to the strategic partnership with the U.S.? To be precise, does Lithuania support and pledge its allegiance to the U.S. when this support goes beyond the limits of direct responsibilities of strategic partner, or even enters into a conflict with other important responsibilities or interests of the state?


We describe herein Diels–Alder cycloadditions enabled by the efficient ring-opening of benzocyclobutenes and benzothiophene-2,2-dioxides using a high temperature/pressure flow reactor. The resultant ortho-quinodimethanes were generated and subsequently reacted with a wide range of dienophiles to provide complex heterocyclic ring systems. The use of flow technology allowed these reactions to be completed within minutes using conventional, readily removed solvents.


Response surface methodology was undertaken to optimize the polyethylenimine-mediated transient transfection of suspension cultured HEK 293-F cells. A total of 15 combinations were designed according to Box-Behnken design to identify the effects of DNA concentration, polyethylenimine concentration and incubation time on transient transfection efficiency. The highest integral optic density of green fluorescent protein presenting r-protein yield was accessed using a DNA concentration of 1.75 µg/mL, a polyethylenimine concentration of 10.5 µg/mL, and an incubation time of 11.8 min. Analysis of variance demonstrated that the experimental values fit well with a quadratic model. The RSM-optimized transient transfection resulted in greater production of human tissue prokallikrein (TproK) than non-RSM-optimized conditions: protein yield was 32.0 mg/L and the maximum viable cell density reached 3.57 x 10 6 cells/mL in a 5 L stirred-tank bioreactor culture.


Finite mixture distributions consist of a weighted sum of standard distributions and are a useful tool for reliability analysis of a heterogeneous population. They provide the necessary flexibility to model failure distributions of components with multiple failure models. The analysis of the mixture models under Bayesian framework has received sizable attention in the recent years. However, the Bayesian estimation of the mixture models under doubly censored samples has not yet been introduced in the literature. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the Bayes estimation of the inverse Weibull mixture distributions under doubly censoring. Different priors and loss functions were assumed for the posterior estimation. The performance of the different estimators has been compared in terms of posterior risks.


Carbon nanomaterials are an active frontier of research in current nanotechnology. Single wall Carbon Nanotube (SWNT) is a unique material which has already found several applications in photonics, electronics, sensors and drug delivery. This thesis presents a summary of the author's research on functionalisation of SWNTs, a study of their optical properties, and potential for an application in laser physics. The first significant result is a breakthrough in controlling the size of SWNT bundles by varying the salt concentrations in N-methyl 2-pyrrolidone (NMP) through a salting out effect. The addition of Sodium iodide leads to self-assembly of CNTs into recognizable bundles. Furthermore, a stable dispersion can be made via addition polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer to SWNTs-NMP dispersion, which indicates a promising direction for SWNT bundle engineering in organic solvents. The second set of experiments are concerned with enhancement of photoluminescence (PL), through the formation of novel macromolecular complexes of SWNTs with polymethine dyes with emission from enhanced nanotubes in the range of dye excitation. The effect appears to originate from exciton energy transfer within the solution. Thirdly, SWNT base-saturable absorbers (SA) were developed and applied to mode locking of fibre lasers. SWNT-based SAs were applied in both composite and liquid dispersion forms and achieved stable ultrashort generation at 1000nm, 1550nm, and 1800 nm for Ytterbium, Erbium and Thulium-doped fibre laser respectively. The work presented here demonstrates several innovative approaches for development of rapid functionalised SWNT-based dispersions and composites with potential for application in various photonic devices at low cost.


In this paper we investigate the options of a network operator faced with the requirement of reducing its carbon footprint, expressed in terms of a global energy cap. First, we propose two ways to meet the energy limitations: by efficiently managing the energy consumed by the legacy networks or by installing additional capacity to the initial topology. We show the power savings that can be obtained in both cases as well as the incurred costs. Then, we identify the initial composition of the network and the available technology in the upgrade phase as the factors that have the most influence on the ability of a network to meet the energy caps. Finally, we show the intrinsic unfairness of the energy caps, which are imposed to all the networks without taking into account the differences among them. Therefore, we highlight the fundamental role of carbon markets and emission trading systems in guaranteeing a measure of fairness between the operators.


The University of Washington (UW) team reviewed the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) report entitled "Earthquake Analyses of the Alaskan Way Viaduct" and performed an independent assessment of two typical sections of the structure. Additional analyses were performed to investigate the influence of some factors that were not considered in the WSDOT report. The input motion and geotechnical characteristics assumed in the WSDOT report were consistent with the information available to the WSDOT and to the UW. However, the paucity of information available regarding the seismological risk and the subsoil conditions precluded the possibility of reliably estimating the input motion, foundation stiffnesses, foundation capacities, and potential for liquefaction. Inspection of the structural plans suggested that timber-concrete spliced piles in the section of the structure built by the WSDOT might be particularly vulnerable. The elastic dynamic models generated by WSDOT and those constructed for this study were found to give comparable natural periods in the first three modes. Those in the higher modes differed because of the disparate ways in which the structures were modelled. However, the higher modes provided only a small portion of the total response, so the differences in calculated response were small. For the WSDOT designed part of the structure, g-ratings and dynamic code ratios were established by assuming that the reinforcement would reach its yield strength. The present study found the structure to be generally weaker than did the WSDOT study. Some of the ratings showed a consistent relationship with those given by the WSDOT study, while others showed considerable scatter. Regardless of the resolution of the discrepancies, both analyses indicated that the demands on structural members would be likely to greatly exceed their capacities. The main shortcomings in the structure appeared to be inadequate confinement steel and development lengths that were too short. Because no distress was observed after the 1965 Seattle earthquake, these calculations are undoubtedly conservative. However, the response of these brittle details cannot be predicted reliably without further investigation. The University of Washington team is proposing further study to verify the seismic safety of the structure.


ABSTRACTAmbient bioaerosols in PM10 samples were measured at three sites in Corcoran, an agricultural town in the southern San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California, during fall of 2000 corresponding to the cotton harvest season. Elevated bioaerosol concentrations were measured near grain elevators (GRA site) and a cotton handling facility (BAI site) as compared to levels in a residential community (COP site), ~2 km northeast of these sources. Average endotoxin levels (13 ± 17 EU/m3) at the grain elevator site were three to eight times higher than averages at the nearby cotton-handling and residential sites. The highest level (47.6 EU/m3) at the grain elevator site was about half of the exposure limit of 90 EU/m3 set by the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety. Particle counts of fungal spore (66,333 particles/m3) and pollen grain (2,600 particles/m3) concentrations were more than double those reported in the literature. Average fungal biomarker concentrations of 170 and 131 ng/m3 for arabitol and mannitol, respectively, were 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than those from non-agricultural areas. The low correlation (r < 0.11) of three fungal markers (i.e., (1→3)-β-D-glucan, arabitol, and mannitol) with fungi counts is consistent with findings by others and indicates that these are insufficient as surrogates to represent fungal exposure. Agricultural activities contributed measureable amounts to PM10 mass and organic carbon (OC), dominated by fungal spores (i.e., 5.4–5.8% PM10 mass and 11.5–14.7% OC). The sum of fungal spores, pollen grains, and plant detritus accounted for an average of 11–15% PM10 and 24–33% OC mass. Bioaerosols can be important contributors to PM10 mass in farming communities similar to Corcoran, especially during intense agricultural activities.


The crystallisation of proteins and macromolecular complexes is an essential step for studying the three-dimensional structure of the molecular components that make up living cells. Protein crystals are formed by the self-assembly of protein molecules into an ordered, periodic lattice arrangement. Crystallisation is initiated by reducing the solubility of the protein sample by the addition of precipitating agents such as salts and polyethylene glycols (PEG). This creates a supersaturated solution from which a protein-rich phase will eventually separate. Under favourable conditions, the protein-rich phase can adopt the form of an ordered protein crystal. The most common technique used for crystallising proteins is vapour diffusion, which relies on the loss of water from the growth solution during equilibration with a reservoir of precipitant. Protein crystals can be extremely difficult to grow and often require exhaustive screening of many different parameters such as concentration and type of precipitant, pH, temperature, additives and variations in protein construct.

Key Concepts:

A detailed knowledge of the molecular structure of proteins and macromolecular complexes is essential for understanding how the molecular machinery of living cells operates.

Crystallography is the most prevalent method for studying the structures of proteins and macromolecular complexes at the heart of the cellular machinery.

Protein crystals are formed by the self-assembly of large polypeptide chains into an ordered, regular and repeating lattice arrangement of protein molecules.

Crystallisation of proteins is generally carried out by the addition of precipitating agents to the protein solution, which results in the generation of a metastable, supersaturated solution from which a protein-rich phase will eventually separate. Under favourable conditions, this protein-rich phase can adopt the form an ordered protein crystal.

Several experimental techniques are available to crystallise proteins, including vapour diffusion, microbatch crystallisation under oil, microdialysis, free-interface diffusion and crystallisation in Lipidic Cubic Phase (LCP).

The most commonly used crystallisation technique is vapour diffusion, which relies on the diffusion of water from the crystal growth solution to a precipitant reservoir.

Even the most beautiful protein crystals do not necessarily diffract X-rays. Many protein crystals suffer from disordered regions as a result of thermal or static displacement of atoms. Disorder is often a result of flexible domains in the protein that may adversely affect how the protein molecules are packaged together in the crystal.

Recombinant DNA techniques can be used to engineer protein constructs that are more amenable to crystallisation by increasing the stability and/or solubility of the protein. Additionally, the amino acid residues on the surface of the protein can be modified to alter the intermolecular surface contacts within the crystal.

Complexes of proteins bound to small molecule substrates such as cofactors or potential drugs can be crystallised. Additionally, very large complexes between multiple proteins or with other macromolecules such as RNA or DNA can be crystallised.

Keywords:

protein crystals;
protein crystallography;
protein crystallisation;
X-ray diffraction;
structural biology;
protein structure;
macromolecular complexes


Question: What are the key physiological and life-history trade-offs responsible for the evolution of different suites of plant traits (strategies) in different environments? Experimental methods: Common-garden experiments were performed on physiologically realistic model plants, evolved in contrasting environments, in computer simulations. This allowed the identification of the trade-offs that resulted in different suites of traits (strategies). The environments considered were: resource rich, low disturbance (competitive); resource poor, low disturbance (stressed); resource rich, high disturbance (disturbed); and stressed environments containing herbivores (grazed). Results: In disturbed environments, plants increased reproduction at the expense of ability to compete for light and nitrogen. In competitive environments, plants traded off reproductive output and leaf production for vertical growth. In stressed environments, plants traded off vertical growth and reproductive output for nitrogen acquisition, contradicting Grime's (2001) theory that slow-growing, competitively inferior strategies are selected in stressed environments. The contradiction is partly resolved by incorporating herbivores into the stressed environment, which selects for increased investment in defence, at the expense of competitive ability and reproduction. Conclusion: Our explicit modelling of trade-offs produces rigorous testable explanations of observed associations between suites of traits and environments.


The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is part of the payload of the 2018 ExoMars rover. The Sample Preparation and Distribution System (SPDS) of the rover will crush samples acquired from down to two meters depth under the Martian surface, and provide them to the RLS instrument in the form of flattened powdered samples. The RLS instrument will acquire a minimum of 20 points on the flattened surface of the samples. To be able to obtain the maximum scientific return from the instrument once on Mars, a simulator of the SPDS system has been built to perform a series of experiments in a representative scenario. The crushing process implies the loss of rock structure and texture and, hence, the geological context of the samples. However, qualitative analysis with the RLS simulator on powdered natural samples and rocks showed that the RLS is capable of detecting carbonaceous material occurring in trace amounts in one of the rock samples (a silicified volcanic sand), more easily than with the same analysis on bulk. Furthermore, it is shown that minor phases in carbonate cements that cannot be detected by Raman in the bulk sample can be detected in the powder, thus allowing the identification of all the carbonate phases present in the cement crust. In order to quantify the detection threshold of the instrument, further analysis on controlled samples were performed. The results with the RLS SPDS simulator showed that the instrument can reach detection thresholds down to 1 % on powdered samples. Furthermore, analysis of controlled mixtures showed that performing a very simple intensity-based statistical analysis of the spectra can provide semi-quantification of the abundance of the mineral species with quite linear calibration curves.


This paper presents new data on services trade regulation for 46 countries in 22 services sectors over 6 years (2014–2019). The data consist of qualitative information which is scored and weighted to produce composite indices. They cover market access and national treatment restrictions with respect to all GATS modes of supply, but also behind the border domestic regulation such as licensing, non‐transparent regulatory procedures and competition policy. The database is updated annually. The trade restrictiveness indices (STRIs) are significantly correlated with services trade flows, but also with the performance of the sectors subject to the restrictions including logistics performance indicators, interest spreads, density of ATMs and secure servers, broadband penetration and outcomes such as legal rights and the time to resolve insolvency.


In this study, trace amounts of aluminum in serum of dialysis patients were chelated with 2-Amino-3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propanoic acid (Histidine) and determined by electro-thermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). A fast and efficient method based on ionic liquid dispersive liquid-liquid bio-micro-extraction (IL-DLLBME) was developed for the determination of Al cation in human blood serum samples. In this work, a small amount of 1-Hexyl-3-methylimmidazolum hexafluorophosphate ([HMIM] [PF6]) as an extractant solvent was dissolved in acetone as a dispersant solvent and then the binary solution was rapidly injected by a syringe into the serum containing Al3+,Which have already in-vitro chelated by Histidine amino acid (Al-His) at pH = 6.5. After separation, the settled IL-phase was dissolved in ethanol up to 200 μL and 20 μL of samples injected into the ET-AAS by auto-sampler. Various parameters have been studied and optimized for 10 mL of sample. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor (EF), limit of detection (LOD) and working range (peak area mode) were obtained 53, 15 ng L−1 and 0.05-4.1 μg L−1 respectively. In vitro Al chelation showed that His can significantly decrease aluminum concentration in serum of dialysis patients. Validation of methodology was confirmed by standard reference material (SRM).


Motivated by the question of whether disorder is a prerequisite for localization to occur in quantum many-body systems, we study a frustrated one-dimensional spin chain, which supports localized many-body eigenstates in the absence of disorder. When the system is prepared in an initial state with one domain wall, it exhibits characteristic signatures of quasi-many-body localization (quasi- MBL), including initial state memory retention, an exponentially increasing lifetime with enlarging the size of the system, a logarithmic growth of entanglement entropy, and a logarithmic light cone of an out-of-time-ordered correlator. We further show that the localized many-body eigenstates can be manipulated as pseudospin-1/2s and thus could potentially serve as qubits. Our findings suggest a new route of using frustration to access quasi-MBL and preserve quantum coherence.


To secure sustainable and resilient food systems, new approaches, innovations, techniques, and processes are needed. In recent years, urban farming firms have been developing and experimenting with innovative approaches to expand their offerings and connect with consumers in new ways. New business models are being developed to provide functions and services instead of traditional products to meet demands from consumers, retailers, and users. As such, modular growing systems are increasing in popularity to provide fresh produce, visual appeal, transparency, and other tailor-made functions and services in so-called "growing-service systems" (GSS). Using GSS approaches, firms are developing and providing modular and small-scale farms in restaurants, residential spaces, supermarkets, and other commercial spaces, often including a large degree of automation and optimization of digital solutions to remotely control their operation. Using qualitative methods, the aim of this study is to explore and analyze the development of these novel GSS systems, highlighting different strategies, business models, motivations, and challenges. The results illustrate the divergence in approaches to GSSs for vertical farming. This includes different scales of modular units and varying business models for capturing value from the combination of products and services. All of the systems include varying degrees of automation and digitalized solutions to ensure the services are monitored, which is done to improve growing conditions and improve the experience for the users. Business-to-business systems are being developed as both market expansion and awareness-building strategies, where modular units are provided as a rental or subscription model that includes a number of services. Business-to-consumer systems are being introduced as an alternative for consumers, particularly in urban areas, to have greater control and access over growing their own fresh produce. The modules are purchased by consumers, which includes a number of ongoing services from the GSS firms. By categorizing and exploring these systems, this article offers novel insights and a first endeavor to distinguish these new GSS systems in the growing segment of urban agriculture, controlled-environment agriculture, and product-service system literature.


Sustaining agricultural systems requires the ability to predict approaching extinction. Thus a suitable model needs to generate predictability as an intrinsic attribute. Such a model should provide several featuers for managerse. It should incorporate learning about the minimum sustainable ecospheric threshold. The model requires a capability to cope with uneven system coevolution. Solutions should reveal how to maneuver parameters to achieve'favourable' system dynamics. Models based on assumptions of lienarity and randomness are not able to explain sharp changes in system behaviour and do not result in predictability. Fortunately, theories for complex nonlinear dynamical systems are emerging from mathematics and physics in applications such as ecology, economics and immunology. This paper addresses the relationships between the structural parameters of a complex three-dimensional system and the predictability of wealth and sustainability. The subsystems are agriculture, the ecosphere and industry. Their interaction is modelled by a dynamical system based on the rpedator prey paradigm. The ecosphere is considered as a living interactive system that can regenerate, reproduce and become extinct. The model explores the dynamics of the whole system as the strucutral properties of its parts coevolve over time. We demonstrate that the structural parameters may pass through bifurcation values, which not only result in new equilibria and periodic trajectories, but account for the presence of strange attractors. Most of our attention is place on exploring the conditions under which strange attractors appear and dissappear in coevolution. The presence of strange attractors connotes great uncertainty and severely limits predictability. The policy problem for sustainable agriculture is to prevent strange attractors from appearing. The results are that agricultural terms of trade and ecospheric recovery rates are partially substitutable in sustaining agriculture. Strange attractors may be avoided and replaced by predictable periodic trajectories or stable node type equilibria by equilibria by changing the rate of ecospheric recovery, or terms of trade or the productivity of the ecosphere in agricultural uses. Portraits of the trasjectories are provided to make it easier to understand the dynamics. The results suggest that sustainability is sensitive to learning processes which address these tradeoffs, the approach to minimum thresholds of persistence for the ecosphere and the mutualism in economic predation. It may be ntoed that farmers historically learned about these things through artisan apprenticeship. Just as this learning method has been replaced by social, biological and physical sciences to achieve remarkable productivity gains, so resources need to be shifted to address the co-requisite ecospheric recovery processes.


One need only listen to the political debates these days to realize that affordable housing is one of the top five issues facing this country. The magnitude of the problem is exacerbated by the legal complexities that accompany the issue. This article, entitled, "Do We Need a Right to Housing?" addresses these concerns and offers a new paradigm, one built on Rousseauean social-contract theory, in that it connects the notion of "Promise Enforcement," a theory I developed in prior scholarship, to the significant body of literature on housing rights. Rather than starting, as other articles have done, with the assumption that a right to housing is both necessary and appropriate, this article begins with no such assumption. Instead, the article attempts to answer the question posed in the title by closely examining both the nature of rights and the nature of housing. First, the article explores whether a right to housing is the best approach, as opposed to a goal or other non-entitlement policy geared toward increasing the availability of affordable housing. This portion of the article examines the power and meaning of rights in general, as well as the practical effect and feasibility of a right to housing in the United States at this time. Second, the article considers whether a right to housing, as opposed to another area of focus such as a right to a living wage or universal health care, is the best point of emphasis in the United States at this time. This portion of the article examines the special attributes associated with housing and the distinct concept of "home," as well as the some of the characteristics of both successful and unsuccessful housing. Like my other work, this article is interdisciplinary, attempting to bring together the work of philosophers and political theorists such as G.W.F. Hegel, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Jules Coleman, Bruce Ackerman, Ronald Dworkin, Robert Nozick, and Michael Walzer with some of the leading housing theorists, including Witold Rybczynski, Lewis Mumford, Chester Hartman, Florence Wagman Roisman, and Gaston Bachelard. It is my hope that the article will be of interest to policymakers and urban planners, as well as practitioners, academicians, and judges.


The effects of methamphetamine (Meth) in the periphery are not well studied and a comprehensive investigation on the effects and molecular mechanism will give insight into why Meth users are at an increased risk of infections. For this reason, we use macrophages as a model for the immune system dysregulation seen in Meth abusers and also because macrophages are a long-lived cell that HIV infects and persists in. We aimed to determine the effects of Meth on the cytokine production, histone modifying enzymes and the corresponding histone post-translational modifications, and the molecular mechanism in HIV-infected human macrophages treated with combination antiretroviral therapy. We measured a total of six histone deacetylases (HDACs) and found that Meth decreases HDAC1 but not in HIV or HIV and Meth. Combinational antiretroviral therapy also did not seem to have an effect on any HDACs measured. The decrease in HDAC1 correlated to an increase in acetylation of HDAC1 histone targets, histone 4 lysine 5 and histone 3 lysine 18. Next, we determined that Meth induces a time-dependent and concentration dependent change in cytokine expression. Furthermore, Meth generated a rapid induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines at two hours and maintained until 6 hours post exposure. Subsequently, we expanded on where Meth could be affecting the TLR9 signaling pathway to support the result of altered cytokine production by looking at DNA methylation, presence of transcription factors, and TLR9-mediated signaling mediators. In conclusion, Meth decreases HDAC1, modifies cytokine production in macrophages leading to a pro-inflammatory phenotype.


Social science climate research falls significantly short of the reflective power of feminist thought when it comes to the role of gender and its intersection with other categories of social difference and hierarchy in adaptation to climate change. This article seeks to narrow this gap by broadening the perspectives for an analysis of gender and adaptation to climate change from an intersectional and Political Ecology perspective. It argues for an multi-level framework that considers and relates three analytical levels: the political economic mechanisms of hierarchization, which shape the individual and collective scope of action through their material gender-, and class- or age specific effects, the effects of hegemonic representations and discourses, and the subject level in order to capture the identity political dynamics that contribute to unequal options for climate adaptation among subjects. It provides empirical illustrations from a case study in Mexico/Chiapas.


After World War II, Norman Lewis returned to Spain and settled in the remote fishing village of Farol, on what is now Costa Brava. Voices of the Old Sea describes his three successive summers in that almost medieval community where life revolved around the seasonal sardine catches, Alcade's bar, and satisfying feuds with neighboring villages. It's lucky Lewis was there when he was. Soon after, Spain was discovered by its neighbors in a more prosperous northern Europe, and the tourist tide that ensued flowed inexorably over the old ways of the town and its inhabitants.


This thesis analyses religious controversy in late seventeenthand early eighteenthcentury Scotland, examining both the arguments of the educated elites and those of ordinary people. Defining religious controversy as arguments between members of rival religious parties, the thesis concentrates on disputes between presbyterians and episcopalians, and within presbyterianism. In the main, these arguments did not focus on Church government, but embraced a broad range of issues, including allegations of 'persecution' (discussed in chapter two), 'fanaticism' and 'enthusiasm' (chapter three) and the reputations of rival clergy (chapter four). Incidents of crowd violence, the subject of chapter five, provoked controversy, and also promoted the objectives of the religious parties. Chapter six illustrates the significance of debates over the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant, before and after the revolution of 1688-90. Chapter seven then discusses the arguments that gave rise to presbyterian separatism in the years after 1690. As chapter eight explains, the union of 1707 proved highly contentious for presbyterians, and led to a series of political blows to the presbyterian Church. Chapter nine surveys the role in religious controversy of concerns over English theology, new philosophy and atheism. Finally, chapter ten concludes by examining the consequences of controversy for Scottish society. As well as printed pamphlets, satirical verses, sermons and memoirs by elite authors, the thesis draws on the petitions, diaries and correspondence of ordinary people, their testimony to church courts, and evidence of their involvement in crowd violence and separatist worship. Participation in controversy by ordinary men and women was widespread, and was deliberately manipulated by elite presbyterians and episcopalians, who sought to demonstrate the popularity of their parties. By 1714, the position of the established Church and the status of its clergy had deteriorated, and religious pluralism had become a permanent feature of Scottish society.


The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different footwear (bare feet, flat-soled shoes, and weightlifting shoes) on balance during a barbell back squat in novice and advanced participants. It was hypothesized that i) weightlifting shoes would increase balance performance in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions, and ii) advanced participants would demonstrate increased balance performance in the AP and ML direction compared to novice participants. 17 participants (9 novice and 8 advanced) performed 3 trials of a single squat repetition, using a 45lb Olympic standard barbell on a force plate, with bare feet, flat shoes, and weightlifting shoes. Squat 1 and 2 were used as warm-up repetitions and data was collected during squat 3 of each condition. Participants were characterized as either novice or advanced based on the number of training sessions they performed squats each week. Novice participants squatted with a barbell less than once per week, and advanced squatted with a barbell more than once per week. Balance performance was quantified by the percentage of time the centre of pressure (CoP) had the smallest displacement from the average CoP location. A chi-square test was performed to determine the statistically significant changes in CoP displacement between the 3 footwear conditions; accordingly, the post hoc significance interval was calculated to P0.0167). Using a 2-way ANOVA, no significant differences were found between novice and advanced participants' root mean square values for normalized CoP in the AP or ML directions (P>0.05). Participants during the weightlifting shoe condition were found to have better regulation of balance compared to bare feet or flat shoes conditions. Additionally, it was found that novice and advanced participants did not regulate balance differently from each other during the squat movement.


Detrital zircons in siliciclastic units of the Dalradian Supergroup yield U–Pb ages ranging from 3.2 to 0.5 Ga. Detrital zircons from the sub-Grampian Group basement and the Grampian Group are predominantly of Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic ages with Archaean grains absent or rare. In contrast, the overlying Appin, Argyll and Southern Highland groups contain a significant contribution of Archaean detrital zircon grains, some of which locally preserve evidence for late Palaeoproterozoic overgrowths dated at c. 1.8 Ga. In addition, on concordia plots Archaean grains are slightly discordant with a lower intercept at c. 1.8 Ga suggesting they were affected by a tectonothermal event at this time. Late Palaeoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic grains also show evidence for overprinting by a tectonothermal event around 1.0–0.9 Ga. These tectonothermal events occurred in the source region before accumulation of the siliciclastic detritus. The analysed samples contained no definitive evidence for having been affected by a late Neoproterozoic (Knoydartian) event or of containing detritus derived from a source showing evidence for this event. The overall age range of detritus, combined with sparse palaeocurrent data, is consistent with derivation from the Laurentian foreland, especially the Labrador–Greenland region. Archaean detritus overlaps with that of Archaean cratons, notably the Superior, whereas Palaeoproterozoic detritus corresponds to the timing of suturing of Archaean cratons by a series of orogenic belts (Ketilidian–Makkovik, New Quebec, Nagssugtoqidian, Torngat belts). Mesoproterozoic detritus is consistent with derivation from the Grenville Orogen. The presence of a series of detrital age peaks in the late Palaeoproterozoic and early Mesoproterozoic (1.8–1.5 Ga), the paucity of mid-Mesoproterozoic detritus (1.4–1.2 Ga), and evidence for a tectonothermal event between 1.0 and 0.9 Ga is typical of the geological history of the Labrador–Greenland region of Laurentia.


Probability theory is the study of random phenomena. Many dynamical systems with random influence, in nature or artificial complex systems, are better modeled by equations incorporating the intrinsic stochasticity involved. In probability theory, stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) generalize partial differential equations through random force terms and coefficients, while stochastic differential equations (SDEs) generalize ordinary differential equations. They are both abound in models involving Brownian motion throughout science, engineering and economics. However, Brownian motion is just one example of a random noisy input. The goal of this thesis is to make contributions in the study and applications of stochastic dynamical systems involving a wider variety of stochastic processes and noises. This is achieved by considering different models arising out of applications in thermal engineering, population dynamics and mathematical finance.1. Power-type non-linearities in SDEs with rough noise: We consider a noisy differential equation driven by a rough noise that could be a fractional Brownian motion, a generalization of Brownian motion, while the equation's coefficient behaves like a power function. These coefficients are interesting because of their relation to classical population dynamics models, while their analysis is particularly challenging because of the intrinsic singularities. Two different methods are used to construct solutions: (i) In the one-dimensional case, a well-known transformation is used; (ii) For multidimensional situations, we find and quantify an improved regularity structure of the solution as it approaches the origin. Our research is the first successful analysis of the system described under a truly rough noise context. We find that the system is well-defined and yields non-unique solutions. In addition, the solutions possess the same roughness as that of the noise.2. Parabolic Anderson model in rough environment: The parabolic Anderson model is one of the most interesting and challenging SPDEs used to model varied physical phenomena. Its original motivation involved bound states for electrons in crystals with impurities. It also provides a model for the growth of magnetic field in young stars and has an interpretation as a population growth model. The model can be expressed as a stochastic heat equation with additional multiplicative noise. This noise is traditionally a generalized derivative of Brownian motion. Here we consider a one dimensional parabolic Anderson model which is continuous in space and includes a more general rough noise. We first show that the equation admits a solution and that it is unique under some regularity assumptions on the initial condition. In addition, we show that it can be represented using the Feynman-Kac formula, thus providing a connection with the SPDE and a stochastic process, in this case a Brownian motion. The bulk of our study is devoted to explore the large time behavior of the solution, and we provide an explicit formula for the asymptotic behavior of the logarithm of the solution.3. Heat conduction in semiconductors: Standard heat flow, at a macroscopic level, is modeled by the random erratic movements of Brownian motions starting at the source of heat. However, this diffusive nature of heat flow predicted by Brownian motion is not observed in certain materials (semiconductors, dielectric solids) over short length and time scales. The thermal transport in these materials is more akin to a super-diffusive heat flow, and necessitates the need for processes beyond Brownian motion to capture this heavy tailed behavior. In this context, we propose the use of a well-defined Levy process, the so-called relativistic stable process to better model the observed phenomenon. This process captures the observed heat dynamics at short length-time scales and is also closely related to the relativistic Schrodinger operator. In addition, it serves as a good candidate for explaining the usual diffusive nature of heat flow under large length-time regimes. The goal is to verify our model against experimental data, retrieve the best parameters of the process and discuss their connections to material thermal properties.4. Bond-pricing under partial information: We study an information asymmetry problem in a bond market. Especially we derive bond price dynamics of traders with different levels of information. We allow all information processes as well as the short rate to have jumps in their sample paths, thus representing more dramatic movements. In addition we allow the short rate to be modulated by all information processes in addition to having instantaneous feedbacks from the current levels of itself. A fully informed trader observes all information which affects the bond price while a partially informed trader observes only a part of it. We first obtain the bond price dynamic under the full information, and also derive the bond price of the partially informed trader using Bayesian filtering method. The key step is to perform a change of measure so that the dynamic under the new measure becomes computationally efficient.


Noise limits information transfer through a single signaling pathway in a single cell to just one bit. Engineers use information theory to analyze how noise influences information transfer, for example, in telephone systems. Cheong et al. (see the Perspective by Thomas) have now applied such analysis in biological experiments by monitoring the response of thousands of single mouse fibroblasts to stimulation with various doses of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Signal transmission was surprisingly noisy, meaning that the cells could only really differentiate whether TNF was present or not. Such limitations of a single signaling pathway appear to be overcome by the cooperation of multiple signaling pathways in networks or by groups of cells collectively averaging their response to the same signal. R. Cheong, A. Rhee, C. J. Wang, I. Nemenman, A. Levchenko, Information transduction capacity of noisy biochemical signaling networks. Science 334, 354–358 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text] P. J. Thomas, Every bit counts. Science 334, 321–322 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Background We examined relationships among positive, negative, and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia and major depression with psychosis. Method Patients with schizophrenia (n = 17) and major depression and psychotic features (n = 25), with no prior psychopharmacologic treatment were assessed on scales measuring positive psychotic, negative, and depressive symptoms. Results Analyses revealed that depressive symptoms positively correlated with anhedonia/asociality and avolition/apathy in both patient groups. Positive psychotic symptoms significantly correlated with depressive symptoms in the schizophrenic group. Conclusions Several specific symptoms used in defining both depressive and negative syndrome constructs appear to be shared. The relationship between positive symptoms and depression in schizophrenia and not psychotic depression suggests the severity of depression may be involved in this relationship.


Re-identification methods often require well aligned, unoccluded detections of an entire subject. Such assumptions are impractical in real world scenarios, where people tend to form groups. To circumvent poor detection performance caused by occlusions, we use fixed regions of interest and employ codebook-based visual representations. We account for illumination variations between cameras using a coupled clustering method that learns per-camera codebooks with entries that correspond across cameras. Because predictable movement patterns exist in many scenarios, we also incorporate temporal context to improve re-identification performance. This includes learning expected travel times directly from data and using mutual exclusion constraints to encourage solutions that maintain temporal ordering. Our experiments illustrate the merits of the proposed approach in challenging re-identification scenarios including crowded public spaces.


McKinsey: How did Bombardier get where it is today? Beaudoin: As someone who has been part of the company for 34 years, I find that difficult to answer. To me, the history of Bombardier has been more like a process of evolution than any sudden change. I joined in 1963 at the request of my father-in-law, Joseph-Armand Bombardier, who founded the company in 1942 to make snow-going equipment for industrial and commercial use. Having trained as a chartered accountant, I came in as a financial controller, but after six or seven months I found myself doing just about everything. I was 25 years old. At that time, we had a new product that my father-in-law had invented, the Ski-Doo snowmobile, and the market was booming. The company was not all that big - it employed about 700 people and had about $10 million in sales - but it was successful, with profits of about $2.5 million. A year later, in 1964, my father-in-law died. My brother-in-law Germain took over from him, but left the company in 1966 for health reasons. I then became general manager. Those early years were a learning experience. The snowmobile industry was developing rapidly, and we had to put together a whole new team of people who all needed to be trained, motivated, and got up to speed. These people transformed the company. They propelled our growth so fast that sales reached $200 million by 1970. We were very profitable, too. We were the leader in the snow- mobile industry, and the prospects looked good - until the energy crisis struck in 1973. The industry sold 500,000 units in 1972; by 1974, industry sales were down to 250,000. After all the years spent building up Bombardier's workforce, resources, and manufacturing capacity, we were confronted by a shrinking market. The energy crisis pulled the rug from under our feet. We were forced to look for something else to do. There were many industries we could have entered, but we resolved to diversify only into a business where we could put the skills we had developed to good use. Bombardier Inc. was founded in Canada in 1942 as a manufacturer of snow-going equipment. It has since become a diversified global manufacturer of personal watercraft, mass transit systems, business jets, and regional aircraft. It operates manufacturing facilities in nine countries and has 40,000 employees. Its sales in 1996 were Canadian $8 billion. Over the past 10 years, Bombardier has grown by over 20 percent per annum in both revenue and earnings per share. We found our opportunity in an unexpected place. A few years earlier, in 1969, we had acquired Rotax, the company that built the engines for our snowmobiles. As we were using virtually all its capacity, and its engine was the heart of our machine, we felt that this was an activity we had to control. Part of the acquisition package was Rotax's holding company, Lohner Werke, which built trams in Vienna. We didn't really want to buy it - at the time, trams didn't seem to have much of a future - but we had no choice. As it happened, owning a piece of a mass transit business was no bad thing for us. What happened? The energy crisis got people talking about alternative and public forms of transport. Cities that already had tramway lines began to consider expanding them and replacing their old fleets. As the owners of Lohner Werke, we had some understanding of the skills required in this industry. And then in about 1974, when the city of Montreal was planning to acquire new cars for its subway system, some officials asked us if we would be interested in bidding to build the cars. They had only one bidder, and they wanted competition. In the beginning, we weren't interested. But then we thought about what we were trying to achieve: to develop a product or enter an industry that would react to an event like the energy crisis in a very different way from our main business, the snowmobile. In other words, we wanted something that would be counter-cyclical to our existing product line. …


This paper transposes dominant normative critiques with an institutionalist view of patent law by analysing how the multi-institutional setup of the patent system may determine the quality and coherence of change and decision-making. The institutional environment of the patent system makes it opaque, sticky and complex. These significant features are examined for the first time in this paper. Critical opportunities for statutorily determined decision-making are best described as learning needs, expressed through heuristics such as the person skilled in the art, inventive step determinations and prior art. These learning needs, set against the broader institutional environment, severely constrain current goals and limit future decision-making possibilities. In the case of an emerging technology such as synthetic biology, the management of learning needs is likely to lead to decisional outcomes marked by a desire for short-term gains in certainty and homogeneity, rather than substantive goals.


The Rough Guide to China is the definitive guide to this fascinating nation, with precise maps and detailed coverage of all the country's best attractions. This book will help you delve into China's greatest treasures, whether you're climbing mountains in Tibet, exploring ancient temples in Xi'an or clubbing in Shanghai. Find detailed practical advice on the best things to see and do, with up-to-date descriptions of the top hotels, restaurants and shops for all budgets. The Rough Guide to China also includes in-depth background on China's history and culture, and a language section to help you get in touch with the people. China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, and its newest great power; this book will help you understand and explore this extraordinary destination. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to China.


Inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) are a group of disorders that are often erroneously assumed to be the playing field of pediatricians only. This misconception combined with the rare nature of IEMs explains why there is often a serious delay in the diagnosis of an adult-onset IEM, which can have detrimental consequences. This review provides potential strategies to overcome this diagnostic delay. The most promising consists of stimulating critical clinical reasoning and creating awareness of the process that leads to the diagnosis of a rare disease. J Endocrinol Metab. 2021;11(3-4):65-68 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jem750


Carbon is an important candidate for light element in the Earth's core. There have been contradictory results on the stability of Fe–C compounds, such as Fe3C and Fe7C3 under the core conditions. We observed Fe3C melts incongruently to form Fe7C3 and liquid at 4200 K and 200 GPa, Additionally, it was shown that the C content of the liquid coexisting with Fe7C3 decreases and the Fe–Fe3C eutectic composition shifts toward the Fe-rich direction with increasing pressure. The present result revealed that Fe3C and Fe7C3 are plausible constituents of the inner core, with a possible layering of Fe7C3 in the central region and Fe3C in the outer region of the inner core formed during cooling of the core. We also conducted the equation of state and sound velocity measurements at high pressure and temperature by using XRD and IXS measurements at Spring-8. The results indicate that the sound velocity of the mixture of Fe-Fe3C is higher than the PREM inner core under the Earth's core conditions. Thus, it is difficult to explain that the Earth's inner core is composed of only a Fe–Fe3C mixture. Since the inner core temperature is very close to the eutectic temperature of the Fe-Fe3C system, pre-melting effect of Fe3C could be important to account for the sound velocity of the PREM inner core.


OBJECTIVES: To conceptualize palliative care and its indications in Pediatrics; to describe the difficulties involved in the delivery of such care at home for technology-dependent children; and to analyze, from a bioethical perspective, the moral dilemmas of palliative care assistance. SOURCES: A literature review of palliative care for technology-dependent children and a bioethical analysis of moral dilemmas. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: There are several obstacles to palliative care for technology-dependent children: structural difficulties at home; social isolation of both children and families; health professionals sense of disbelief regarding this type of care; an excessive number of medical devices at home; uncertainty of a terminal prognosis; physical, emotional, social, material, and financial burden for parents and family; changes in family dynamics to adjust to these children; paternalistic relationship between professionals and family; changes in family roles, with shifts in the caregiver role. CONCLUSIONS: It is essential to outline an agenda based on the premise that the medical apparatus for technology-dependent children will change the landscape of the home, and such a change might become a problem to be faced by all those living together. Based on this assumption, actions performed in a setting other than a health care facility might exert an actual protective effect on children and family, offering support in their several needs and developing a model of care delivery that includes interventions in the different levels of burden on these vulnerated and unprotected individuals.


Many small gas fields have been discovered in the west of North Shongliao Basin of China while drilling for oil. Applications and results of DTIT and GEOPET II codes indicate that the formation and distribution of these gas fields are controlled by hydrocarbon expulsion and migration from the major Qingshahou source rock. This generated most of the oil and gas at 88-50 Ma and 50-0 Ma, respectively; the ratio of oil to gas is about 70:30. Most of the separate-phase oil was expelled at 35-15 Ma, but no separate-phase gas was expelled because of total solution of generated gas in oil and in connate water. Gas dissolved in water tended to migrate from the deep source rock centre to the West Slope (shallower formations) of the basin through sandstone reservoirs and normal faults, gradually being released from solution and accumulated in traps along the migration route. Gas dissolved in oil tended to migrate to traps around the source rock centre, and was released and accumulated at the tops of oil reservoirs. The best area for prospecting for gas is between 500 m to 2000 m.


This thesis describes my explorations and reflections regarding the design of online social interaction for and with older people. In 2008 when I started my doctoral investigation only a third of people over 65 years in the UK were using the Internet. This number has now increased to half of the population of 65-75 year-olds being connected to the Internet. From 2000 onwards EU wide directives increasingly encouraged research in the development of online technologies to manage the needs of an ageing population in the EU. Alongside health-related risks, the issue of social isolation is of particular interest to be tackled, considering there is a rapid development of new forms of communication and interaction media based on online technologies that could help in maintaining contact between people. A beneficial design strategy is to involve older people in the design process to ensure that technological developments are welcomed and actually used. However, engaging older people, who are not necessarily familiar with digital technologies, is not without challenges for the design researcher.

My research focuses both on design practice (the development of artefacts) and the design process for online social interaction involving older people. The thesis describes practice-led research, for which I built the Teletalker (TT) and Telewalker (TW) systems as prototypes for experimentation and design research interventions. The TT can be described as a simple TV like online audio-video presence system connecting two locations. The TW is based on the same concept has been built specifically for vulnerable older people living in a care home. The work described involves embodied real-world interventions with contemporary approaches to designing with people. In particular I explore the delicate nature of the researcher/participant relationship.

The research is reported as four sequential journeys. The first design journey started from a user-centred iterative design perspective and resulted in the construction of a wireframe for a website for older users. The second journey focused on building the TT and investigated its use in the real world by people with varied computer experience. The third journey involved designing the TW system specifically for elderly people in a care home. The fourth journey employed a co-design approach, with invited stakeholders, to reflect on the physical artefacts, discuss narratives of the previous design journeys and to co-create new online social technologies for the future.

In summary, my PhD thesis contributes to design theory by providing: a reflected rationale for the choices of design approaches, documented examples of design research for social interaction and a novel approach to research with older people (the extended showroom). It further offers insights into people's online social interaction and proposes guidelines for conducting empirical research with older and vulnerable older people.