Acoustic measurements in sediments can remotely provide information about their physical properties. This thesis develops methods using high-resolution marine seismic reflection data to generate accurate, precise, and repeatable estimations of the in situ seismic quality factor (Q) and velocity, within the uppermost 100 m of unconsolidated marine sediments. This was achieved using a single channel Chirp sonar (1.5-13.0 kHz) and a Boomer sonar (0.2-4.0 kHz) towed with a multi-channel streamer that provides offsets up to 80 m. These methods were applied in the Solent (Southampton, U.K.) to test empirical models that predict sediment physical properties from these acoustic properties, and in lake Windermere (Cumbria, U.K.) where the new quantitative information helps distinguish between, and identify, previously unknown glacial and lacustrine deposits. The spectral-ratio technique was used to reliably estimate Q from seismic reflection data, without assumptions on how attenuation varies with frequency. Based on empirical observations, it is demonstrated here that Q can characterise the dominant fabric of the sediment that is supporting wave-propagation - whether it is clay dominated and has a Q over 75, or coarse-grain dominated and has a Q less than 75. The Chirp source is the most effective single sonar to estimate Q, however, improved results were obtained by combining Boomer and Chirp data to examine attenuation over four octaves (0.5-8.0 kHz). Frequency-independent Q (with 95% confidence intervals) of 135 (+12; -10) was obtained for silty-clay, 63 (+10; -7) for ne-sand, and 33 (+6; -4) for gyttja. Boomer multi-channel seismic data were acquired in the Solent over a 30 m core and a sampled sand deposit, and in lake Windermere where over 150 km of survey lines were required to cover most of the lake. An optimal processing methodology was developed for high-resolution seismic data using iterative Kirchhoff prestack depth migration, Burg deconvolution and F-K filtering; velocities were derived using migration velocity analysis. Additionally, a method was developed to obtain the streamer depth profile from the surface ghost. The Solent study proved that measurements of velocity and Q together can identify unconsolidated coarse-grain sediment and distinguish between gravel, sand and silt, and differentiate between unconsolidated and over-consolidated clay sediments. In Windermere, five seismic stratigraphic sequences were identified from the depth migrated data: I - till (c. 2000-3000 m/s); II - glacio-uvial (c. 1750 m/s); III - glacio-lacustrine/lacustrine (1500 m/s + 6 s-1); IV - disturbed/slumped (c. 1500 m/s); V - lacustrine (c. 1490 m/s). A new deglacial history for lake Windermere is proposed, which has important implications on the overall character of the ice-sheet retreat in Britain after the last glacial maximum.


Corporate bond investors are compensated for liquidity and counter-party risk in the yield received in excess of the credit premium and risk-free rate. This paper shows that the liquidity premium as a hedge against uncertain future states is determined by the ratio of excess coupon payments after paying for credit protection to the capital gain realized after hedging interest rate risk. The liquidity premium increases with the time that investors must wait for compensation. The results suggest that the way in which investors receive compensation for liquidity risk is a more significant determinate of the liquidity premium than turnover.


The possible role of maternal consumption of free sugar during pregnancy in the inception of respiratory and atopic diseases has not been studied. We aimed to study the relationship between maternal intake of free sugar during pregnancy and respiratory and atopic outcomes in the offspring in a population-based birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We analysed associations between maternal intake of free sugar in pregnancy (estimated by a food frequency questionnaire), and current doctor-diagnosed asthma, wheezing, hay fever, eczema, atopy, serum total IgE and lung function in children aged 7–9 years (n=8956 with information on maternal diet in pregnancy and at least one outcome of interest). After controlling for potential confounders, maternal intake of free sugar was positively associated with atopy (OR for highest versus lowest quintile of sugar intake 1.38, 95% CI 1.06–1.78; per quintile p-trend=0.006) and atopic asthma (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.23–3.29; per quintile p-trend=0.004). These associations were not confounded by intake of sugar in early childhood, which was unrelated to these outcomes. Our results suggest that a higher maternal intake of free sugar during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of atopy and atopic asthma in the offspring, independently of sugar intake in early childhood. Higher maternal intake of sugar in pregnancy may increase the risk of allergy and allergic asthma in the offspring http://ow.ly/zehc30bFswP


In the early 1930's, as soon as TVA began planning for development of the Tennessee River, it was confronted by a malaria problem. Despite advances up to that time in knowledge concerning control of malaria, the disease still constituted one of the most important public health problems of the southeastern United States, and the relationship of impoundages and malaria was well documented. Reservoir impoundments in the region had proved in virtually every instance to be ideal breeding grounds for anopheline mosquitoes, and some had resulted in serious epidemics of malaria. The TVA project envisioned creation of a system of artificial lakes potentially totalling over 600,000 acres of water area and over 10,000 miles of shoreline. Impoundage of this magnitude in an area where malaria existed to a serious degree presented an unprecedented control problem.


Oral lichenoid reactions (OLR) and oral lichen planus (OLP) are clinically and histopathologically similar but
their therapeutic approach are different. Due to the presence of dysplasia in oral lichen planus which effects prognosis, the aim of
study was the evaluation of proliferation activity of OLPs and OLRs and their subtypes. AgNOR technique that is inexpensive and
easy to perform was used to differentiate OLPs and OLRs and their subtypes.
Materials & Methods: in this cross sectional , retrospective study, samples consisted of 45 OLPs, 30 OLRs 15 normal oral mucosa
(N) from healthy persons (as control group). The samples were stained by AgNOR technique. AgNOR dots were counted on 100
cells from basal and para basal layer . The mean AgNOR dost per nucleus were calculated. Proliferation index (number of cells with
AgNOR dots≥ 5) was also determined. Variation in size of AgNOR dots was categorized into 2 groups.
Result: There were significant differences between OLP(and its subtypes) and N and also between OLR(and erosive type) and N .
Such a difference was also between reticular OLP and reticular OLR.with regard to AgNOR count.
Conclusion: Since reticular OLP had significantly higher AgNOR count than reticular OLR in our study, we can suggest the use of
AgNOR technique for differentiation of reticular type of OLP from OLR on challenging histopathologic cases


The phenomenal growth currently being experienced in the Australian resources industry has seen unprecedented interest in the practice of fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) work practices. This study explores a number of factors that have been previously identified as having possible negative impacts on those involved in FIFO. A sample of 314 FIFO partners and 245 workers were surveyed on roster satisfaction, roster length, relationship quality, children, perceived stress and perceived social support. Resources and supports were also examined to determine awareness, utilisation and usefulness to partners and workers. This study found that overall workers were satisfied with their rosters and relationships, including those on longer rosters. Partners however, were less satisfied with rosters and relationships, particularly those who had children between six and twelve years of age, although roster length was not a factor. Children's ages did not influence partners' perceived stress however partners without children reported higher perceived stress than those with children. Less than half of the partners were aware of Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) however personal supports, such as family, friends, co-workers, and FIFO specific support websites, had a positive effect on partners' perceived stress. When compared to other resources, both partners and workers rated personal support as the most useful.

Keywords: FIFO; rosters, relationships; children; stress; support


How accurate are people when predicting whether they will vote? These self-predictions are used by political scientists to proxy for political motivation, and by public opinion researcher to predict election outcomes. Phone surveys from three elections, including one survey experiment, are analyzed to compare respondents' pre-election vote intention with their actual voting behavior using administrative records (N=29,403). Unsurprisingly, many who predict that they will vote actually do not vote. More surprisingly, many who predict that they will not vote actually do vote (29% to 56%). Records of past voting behavior predicts turnout substantially better than self-prediction. Self-prediction inaccuracy is not caused by lack of cognitive salience of past voting, or by inability to recall past voting. Moreover, self-reported recall of turnout in one past election predicts future turnout just as well as self-prediction. We discuss implications for political science research, behavioral prediction, election administration policy, and public opinion.


Osseous integration of dental implants depends on the use of proper surgical technique during site preparation, including the prevention of thermal injury to the surrounding bone. Heat generation during drilling has been reported to positively correlate with the production of forces at the surgical site. In this study, peak torque and axial load levels were measured during a drilling procedure into a polymeric material simulating the human mandible. Axial rotary milling was performed using 5 different twist drill designs (3i Irrigated Tri-Spade, 3i Disposable, Nobel-Biocare, Straumann, and Lifecore) of 15 to 20 mm in length and 2 to 2.3 mm in diameter, at a free-running rotational speed of 1,500 rpm and continuous feed rate of 3.5 mm/second, to a total depth of 10.5 mm. Ten drills representing each of the 5 types (n = 50) were subjected to 30 individual drill "pecks" and heat-sterilized every 3 "pecks" to determine the effects of cyclic mechanical and thermal loading on drill performance. Normal stress (sigma) and shear stress (tau) were calculated from the kinetic data and drill geometries. A drill efficiency coefficient (mu) was also calculated as the ratio of torsional resistance to translational resistance. Overall, the hypotheses of drill performance dependency on drill type as well as mechanical and thermal accumulated loading were tested and confirmed (P < .05). The 5 drill types produced a range of normal stresses (2.54 to 5.00 MPa), shear stresses (9.69 to 29.71 MPa), and efficiency (1.16 to 3.16) during repeated testing. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed minor deformations in the cutting edges of the tri-spade drills following testing.


Communicating Event-Loop Languages similar to E and AmbientTalk are recently gaining more traction as a subset of actor languages. With the rise of JavaScript, E's notion of vats and non-blocking communication based on promises entered the mainstream. For implementations, the combination of dynamic typing, asynchronous message sending, and promise resolution pose new optimization challenges. This paper discusses these challenges and presents initial experiments for a Newspeak implementation based on the Truffle framework. Our implementation is on average 1.65x slower than Java on a set of 14 benchmarks. Initial optimizations improve the performance of asynchronous messages and reduce the cost of encapsulation on microbenchmarks by about 2x. Parallel actor benchmarks further show that the system scales based on the workload characteristics. Thus, we conclude that Truffle is a promising platform also for communicating event-loop languages.


Against the backdrop of the uncertain and troubling history of Christian Spain at the turn of the ninth century, three comedias highlight the heroic deeds of the women of Asturias and León. In Lope de Vega's Las doncellas de Simancas, women who are to be sent as tribute to the Emir of Córdoba sever their own hands, threaten suicide, and ultimately lead the resistance against the barbaric exchange. In Las famosas asturianas, also by Lope, Sancha, selected, as well, for delivery to the Moors, shames her countrymen by appearing undressed before them but not in the presence of the Moors. Spurred by such an insult, the men fight for the freedom of their daughters. Finally, in Álvaro Cubillo de Aragón's Hechos de Bernardo Carpio, segunda parte de El Conde de Saldaña, Bernardo del Carpio's wife, Sol, leads the women of Asturias and León to battle against the French at Roncesvalles; the future of Spain belongs to them as much as it does to the men. These heroic women demonstrate the popularity of the mujer varonil, the radical shift in the perception of women in the sixteenth century, and the notion that the real strength of Spain lies in its people, including its women, rather than in its hereditary monarchy.


Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has the largest areas of permafrost terrain in the mid- and low-latitude regions of the world. Some permafrost distribution maps have been compiled but, due to limited data sources, ambiguous criteria, inadequate validation, and deficiency of high-quality spatial data sets, there is high uncertainty in the mapping of the permafrost distribution on the TP. We generated a new permafrost map based on freezing and thawing indices from modified Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperatures (LSTs) and validated this map using various ground-based data sets. The soil thermal properties of five soil types across the TP were estimated according to an empirical equation and soil properties (moisture content and bulk density). The temperature at the top of permafrost (TTOP) model was applied to simulate the permafrost distribution. Permafrost, seasonally frozen ground, and unfrozen ground covered areas of 1.06  ×  106 km2 (0.97–1.15  ×  106 km2, 90 % confidence interval) (40 %), 1.46  ×  106 (56 %), and 0.03  ×  106 km2 (1 %), respectively, excluding glaciers and lakes. Ground-based observations of the permafrost distribution across the five investigated regions (IRs, located in the transition zones of the permafrost and seasonally frozen ground) and three highway transects (across the entire permafrost regions from north to south) were used to validate the model. Validation results showed that the kappa coefficient varied from 0.38 to 0.78 with a mean of 0.57 for the five IRs and 0.62 to 0.74 with a mean of 0.68 within the three transects. Compared with earlier studies, the TTOP modelling results show greater accuracy. The results provide more detailed information on the permafrost distribution and basic data for use in future research on the Tibetan Plateau permafrost.


There is an increasing divergence of focus group practice between social researchers and commercial market researchers. This book addresses the key issues and practical requirements of the social researcher, namely: the kinds of social research issues for which focus groups are most and least suitable; optimum group size and composition; and the designing of focusing exercises, facilitation and appropriate analysis. The authors use examples, drawn from their own focus groups research experience, and provide exercises for further study. They address the three main components of composition, conduct and analysis in focus group research and also acknowledge the increasing impact the Internet has had on social research by covering the role and conduct of `virtual focus groups'.


As one of the most respected nutrition life cycle texts in the higher education market, NUTRITION THROUGH THE LIFE CYCLE, Third Edition uses current research to explain the nutritional foundations necessary for the growth, development, and normal functioning of individuals in each stage of the life span. Filled with resources to guide your study, the Third Edition brings clarity to key concepts as it draws you into the excitement of new research in eating disorders, heart disease, diabetes, and many other topics. Written by an expert author team, this text benefits from a broad range of normal and clinical nutrition expertise from registered dietitians and researchers, meant to help you understand all the major concepts!


A variety of recent experiments probing the low-temperature transport properties of quantum Hall systems have suggested an interpretation in terms of liquid crystalline mesophases dubbed quantum Hall liquid crystals. The single mode approximation (SMA) has been a useful tool for the determination of the excitation spectra of various systems such as phonons in {sup 4}He and in the fractional quantum Hall effect. In this paper we calculate (via the SMA) the spectrum of collective excitations in a quantum Hall liquid crystal by considering nematic, tetratic, and hexatic generalizations of Laughlin's trial wave function having twofold, fourfold, and sixfold broken rotational symmetry, respectively. In the limit of zero wave vector q the dispersion of these modes is singular, with a gap that is dependent on the direction along which q=0 is approached for nematic and tetratic liquid crystalline states, but remains regular in the hexatic state, as permitted by the fourth order wave-vector dependence of the (projected) oscillator strength and static structure factor.


Certain types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are associated with anogenital cancers. Chang and Laimins used microarray analysis to identify genes whose transcription is altered in response to latent HPV infection. Comparison of normal human keratinocytes (NHKs) and NHKs transfected with HPV DNA (HPV-31) showed that expression of 178 genes was increased in the HPV-31 cells, and 150 genes were repressed. The genes with increased expression did not display any obvious pattern, and many were unidentified expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The genes with decreased expression fell into three categories: (i) regulators of cell growth, (ii) keratinocyte-specific genes, and (iii) factors mediating the interferon response. The HPV-31 cells demonstrated a reduced response to interferon, indicating a functional correlation with the microarray results. Thus, microarray analysis of cells containing viral genomes points toward novel proteins involved in mediating the viral response and provides evidence for mechanisms of how virally infected cells can be prone to transformation. Chang, Y.E. and Laimins, L.A. (2000) Microarray analysis identifies interferon-inducible genes and Stat-1 as major transcriptional targets of human papillomavirus type 31. J. Virol. 74: 4174-4182. [Abstract] [Full Text]


Shungite rocks of Karelia (Russia) form a large, diverse group of black sedimentary-volcanic Proterozoic (2.0 Ga) rocks with giant elemental carbon reserves (>25 × 10 10 tonnes). The complex metamorphic history of these rocks and the unusual stuctural characteristics of shungite carbon have made it the subject of attention and controversy. The structure and microstructure of shungite carbon, subjected to contact metamorphism by intrusive dolerite sills overprinted by greenschist-facies regional metamorphism, were studied by Raman spectroscopy (RS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). The RS, TEM and SAED data have revealed the characteristic structural features of shungite acquired during contact metamorphism and eventually preserved despite the subsequent metamorphic event. The microstructure of shungite affected by the most intense metamorphic transformation of all the analysed samples is characterized by hollow nanospheres with diameters of approximately 100 nm and a wall thickness of up to 10 nm (~ 30 graphene layers). The maximum degree of structural order in this shungite was recorded by RS study (R2 ca . 0.47) at the contact with the intrusive dolerite sills.


Reducing the sac volume size of medium-/heavy-duty diesel engine injector nozzles can minimise the fuel dripping into the combustion chamber at the end of injection events, which has been linked to reduced engine-out emissions. This study demonstrates the effect of reduction in the sac volume of diesel fuel injectors utilised in medium-/heavy-duty applications on the internal nozzle flow. This is realised by comparison of two heavy-duty diesel nozzles that feature a large difference in sac volume size of almost three times. For visualisation purposes, the nozzles have been enlarged by six times, and replicas were manufactured from a transparent material. High-speed digital imaging was used to capture the instantaneous spatial and temporal characteristics of geometric as well as dynamic vortex cavitation structures. The investigation was conducted in a steady-state flow test rig for three different needle valve lifts. For all tested conditions, the flow behaviour was analysed at three distinct areas of the nozzle, these being the needle seat, the sac volume and the injection hole. Interpretation of experimental observations was supported by parallel computational fluid dynamics simulations of the exact conditions measured during the experiments. Post-processing of the captured images has revealed the ensemble – average cavitation location, its standard deviation and the cavitation structures life – time inside the sac volume. Results showed a significant dependency of the internal nozzle flow on the sac volume size and identified clear differences in the structure of the cavitation pockets inside the sac volume under certain operating conditions.


AbstractInvestigators surveyed 30 U.S. military veterans with PTSD who reported having benefited from living with a dog. The subject population included men and women aged 34 to 67, with a mean of 56.9 years (SD = 8.1), who were being treated at two Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinics. Participants received a questionnaire packet designed to assess aspects of their mental and physical health and relationship with a canine companion, which they completed at home and returned either in person or by mail. The packet consisted of the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M); Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II); Veterans Short Form Health Survey and Health Behaviors Questionnaire (SF-36); Dog Information Sheet; Dog Relationship Questionnaire; and Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale. Respondents indicated that since adopting their dog they had experienced improvement in several areas, including feeling calmer, less lonely, less depressed, and less worried about their and their family's safety. These results suggest that living with a companion dog may help relieve some of the psychological distress associated with PTSD in some veterans.


Reaction of cis-[FeH2(dppe)2] (dppe = Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2) with acids in tetrahydrofuran solution led to formation of trans-[FeH(H2)(dppe)2]+, although co-ordinated H2 was substituted for N2 or the anion of the acid in a slower process. The kinetics of the initial protonation reaction with several acids has been studied using an electrochemical procedure. The protonations are first order with respect to both the concentrations of the iron complex and the acid, with second-order rate constants (in dm3 mol–1 s–1) at 25 °C of 9.7 × 10–3 (HBF4·Et2O), 1.39 × 10–2 (CF3CO2H), 2.14 × 10–2 (CF3SO3H), 4.8 × 10–2 (HCl) and 1.48 × 10–1 (HBr). The ordering of rate constants within this series of acids is similar to that found for the reactions with cis-[FeH2{P(CH2CH2PPh2)3}]. There is a good correlation between the values of log kHX for the two complexes, which suggests a common mechanism for the formation of dihydrogen complexes in these cases. Kinetic data show that reactions of the dppe complex with all acids are faster than those of the analogous P(CH2CH2PPh2)3 compound. The reaction of cis-[FeH2(dppe)2] with deuteriated acids DX is faster than with HX, and the values of the kinetic isotope effect (k.i.e.), expressed as kHX/kDX, are 0.21 (CF3SO3H), 0.36 (HCl) and 0.55 (HBr). The inverse k.i.e. suggests that protonation occurs through a late transition state, and comparison with cis-[FeH2{P(CH2CH2PPh2)3}] and with theoretical values indicates that protonation of cis-[FeH2(dppe)2] occurs through a transition state closer to the dihydrogen complex than in the case of the related P(CH2CH2PPh2)3 compound.


OBJECTIVE
Radiological status is an important objective endpoint in the assessment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). We investigated the disease development of AS using radiological change.

METHODS
The existing radiographs (n = 2,284) of 571 AS patients attending the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases were scored retrospectively using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index. (1) Progression of disease was initially examined cross sectionally. Univariate analysis was used to examine factors associated with joint involvement. (2) Progression of disease was then examined longitudinally for patients with films at time of symptom onset. (3) Rate of progression of radiological change was calculated using longitudinal data of 2 sets of radiographs taken 10 years apart (patient number = 54). The results from this were used to extrapolate backwards to age at first radiological change.

RESULTS
(1) Progression to cervical spine disease was a function of: disease duration, severity of hip and lumbar involvement, and a history of iritis (p < 0.001). Lumbar involvement was associated with disease duration, age now, and severity of cervical and hip involvement (p < 0.001). Hip involvement was a marker for cervical disease and associated with disease duration (p < 0.001). (2) Longitudinal analysis revealed marked variation among patients with a slow general rate of progression. (3) The progression of AS over any 10 year period is linear [first 10 years = 30% (SD 0.3) of potential change, 10-20 yrs = 40% (SD 0.3) change, 20-30 yrs = 35% (SD 0.4) change (p = 0.5)]. Backward extrapolation suggests that the approximate time of first radiological change is at the age of 8 years. CONCLUSION. (1) AS is a linearly progressive disease with about 35% change every 10 years. Spinal involvement is largely an expression of disease duration while the hips become involved in about 25% of individuals and may predict a more severe outcome for the cervical spine. (2) Backward extrapolation shows that the disease process may start as young as 8 years of age. However, the time interval between the disease trigger and radiological change remains unknown.


Objectives:
The primary aim of this UK-based study was to identify core clinical competencies (skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours) for primary-care-based extended-scope physiotherapists (ESPs) working in the field of adult musculoskeletal (MSK) medicine. Although the musculoskeletal (MSK) ESP role in the UK has been in existence for over 10 years, there is no competency and curriculum framework supporting these posts. This study used a consensus-building methodology with a multidisciplinary panel of MSK experts to identify core clinical competencies for MSK ESP practice.

Methods:
Purposive sampling was used to recruit MSK ESPs and MSK medical experts from six specialist fields within medicine: rheumatology, neurology, neurosurgery, general practice, orthopaedic surgery, and rehabilitation medicine. Seventy-two experts volunteered to take part in a three-round online Delphi survey and fifty-six experts completed all three rounds. Qualitative data from the first and second questionnaire rounds were analysed using content analysis, and descriptive statistics facilitated the presentation of quantitative data.

Principal findings:
The expert Delphi panellists identified 104 core clinical competencies for primary-care-based MSK ESP practice and they reached a consensus view on 85 competency items.

Importance and Relevance:
This is the first study to have identified core clinical competencies for primary-care-based MSK ESPs. Although further work is required to validate the results of this Delphi survey, they represent a contribution to knowledge in the field of MSK ESP practice and they should assist the professional body and the health care regulator with their development of a nationally agreed competency and curriculum framework for MSK ESP practice.


There are more native speakers of Sino-Tibetan languages than of any other language family in the world. Records of these languages are among the oldest for any human language, and the amount of active research on them, both diachronic and synchronic, has multiplied in the last few decades. This volume includes overview articles as well as descriptions of individual languages and comments on the subgroups in which they occur. In addition to a number of modern languages, there are descriptions of several ancient languages.


The articles which make up this reader provide both overview and analysis of the central issues in secondary education. Focused closely upon what it means to teach and learn in the modern secondary classroom, this book provides invaluable insight into the development of secondary education today. It is an ideal introduction to the task of teachers in secondary schools. Issues covered in the book include:

the new agenda around teaching and learning

effective pedagogy

the teacher-student relationship

teaching, learning and the digital age

grouping by ability

managing the curriculum change

assessment

equal opportunities and educational change

This is the lead book in a series which bring together collections of articles by highly experienced educators which introduce, explore and illuminate the issues surrounding teaching in secondary schools. They are invaluable resources for those training to become teachers, newly qualified teachers and more experienced practioners, particularly those mentoring NQTs.


Accurate positioning in harsh environments can enable many application, such as search-and-rescue in emergency situations. For this problem, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology can provide the most accurate range estimates, which are required for range-based positioning. However, it still faces a problem in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environments, in which range estimates based on time-of-arrival (TOA) are positively biased. There are many techniques that try to address this problem, mainly based on NLOS identification and NLOS error mitigation. However, these techniques do not exploit all available information from the UWB channel impulse response. In this paper, we propose a novel ranging technique based on kernel principal component analysis (kPCA), in which the selected channel parameters are projected onto nonlinear orthogonal high-dimensional space, and a subset of these projections is then used for ranging. We tested this technique using UWB measurements obtained in a basement tunnel of Linköping university, and found that it provides much better ranging performance comparing with standard techniques based on PCA and TOA.


The present article examines spelling strategies of children of two different linguistic backgrounds, namely Luxembourgish and Romanophone. In Luxembourg, German literacy skills are acquired from grade 1 on and written French classes begin in grade 3. Luxembourgish is the language of communication, although a high number of Romanophone foreigners speak French in their daily life. In the underlying investigation, Luxembourgish (n = 202) and Romanophone (n = 44) children performed a dictation in German and French. The aim was to see whether a child's linguistic background influences spelling or whether the relative high transparency of the German writing system eliminates this linguistic difference. In French, both groups performed similarly which proposes no influence of linguistic background on spelling. In German, however, Luxembourgish children obtained higher scores than Romanophones and the latter were more affected by word frequency which suggests that they encounter more difficulties in applying more complex spelling strategies. The more transparent German writing system is not sufficient to erase the linguistic difference between the two groups.


This article situates Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughters, serialized in Cornhill Magazine between 1864 and 1866, in the context of contemporary periodical articles that represent natural history as a moral endeavor and that depict men of science as moral exemplars. Gaskell thematizes scientific morality through her naturalist-hero Roger Hamley, linking his personal excellence to his scientific gifts and thus presenting scientific ways of thinking as relevant to the "every-day" world the novel chronicles and as integral to the development of the novel's courtship plot. The article ends by briefly considering the changing place of natural history in George Eliot's oeuvre.


The Purpose of the study was the isolation and identification of Urinary tract infection (UTI) bacteria and the evaluation of their susceptibility against antibiotics. In addition, susceptibility and chemotactic behavior of isolated strains were evaluated against medicinal herbal plant extracts. To perform the study, 200 samples were collected from the patients suffering from UTI. Then, the bacterial agents were isolated and their susceptibility were assessed against gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, cephalexin, cefixime and ceftriaxone by disk diffusion method. In addition, Thymus vulgaris, Achilleamillefolium, Teucriumpolium, Origanumvulgare, Salvia officinalis, Urticadioica, Matricariachamomilla, Foeniculumvulgare, Allium ascalonicum and Cinnamomumverum were extracted using boiling water and ethyl alcohol (70%) and their antimicrobial effects were tested against isolated strains by Well Agar Diffusion method. Finally, chemotaxis behavior of some isolates evaluated against sub Arbitrary concentration of effective medicinal herbal plants. The results obtained indicated that Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria were isolated with a frequency of 80% and 20% respectively. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were predominant agents. Moreover, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, and gentamicin exhibited more effectiveness. Out of all drug plant extracts, Allium ascalonicum and Cinnamomumverum had exhibiting relatively more antimicrobial effect against urinary tract infection agents. Our finding, concerning to chemotactic behavior of motile bacterial strains indicated that both herbal medicinal plants Allium ascalonicum and Cinnamomumverum eliminated chemotactic behavior of Escherichia coli, proteusmirabilis and Enterobactersakazaki. Hence, due to increasing level of antibiotic resistant bacteria, which causing UTI, some medicinal herbal plants such as Allium ascalonicum and Cinnamomumverum could be considered as a new source of remedy for treatment of the patients suffering from the infection.


Hadron therapy is an upcoming cancer treatment modality with a potentially better spatial accuracy than X-ray irradiation. While an X-ray beam displays a exponential decay in intensity as it traverses matter, a hadron beam has depth profile with a sharp peak, at which point most particles will be stopped. The practical consequence of this behavior is that hadrons allow dose to be deposited more accurately than X-rays. Hadron therapy is therefore well suited to the treatment of tumors located close to sensitive organs. Imaging of the tumor and its surrounding tissue still heavily relies on X-ray CT (Computed Tomography). To construct a treatment plan for hadron therapy, the X-ray radiodensity map must be converted to a stopping power map for particle beams. This conversion introduces an inherent uncertainty of up to 3%, compromising the improved accuracy that hadron therapy potentially provides. Imaging in the same modality as the treatment would remove this conversion error. This thesis describes the Nikhef/KVI Proton Imager, a device built to measure the hadron radiodensity directly. To construct a hadron CT image, the Detector Research and Development group of Nikhef in Amsterdam designed a prototype setup with a GridPix as a particle tracker and a crystal with PMT as calorimeter. GridPix is a miniature drift chamber atop a TimePix 256x256 pixel chip, allowing particles to be tracked in 3D. In November 2011, the first test of the setup was conducted at the KVI proton accelerator, which proved that the concept works. The calorimeter and tracker data were successfully correlated to objects placed in the beam. The GridPix readout is limited to an event acquisition rate of 120Hz, but a rate of 2Hz was attained, chiefly due to a conservative trigger design and a suboptimal calorimeter data acquisition system. In order to increase the event acquisition rate to 120Hz, these two parts of the setup were overhauled. A new calorimeter data acquisition system can read out continuously and indefinitely, greatly enhancing the previous run length of 256 events. Readout rates up to 31kHz were obtained. A new trigger design takes into account a busy signal from the GridPix readout system, and reduces a timeout of 500ms to the approximately 10ms GridPix readout time, increasing the potential event acquisition rate to at least 100Hz. The final systems were tested in a multiday run measuring cosmics and in a short run with a frequency generator. A second test at the KVI proton accelerator should confirm the performance improvements, but has not yet been conducted.


We investigate the dynamic stability of stratified flow configurations characteristic of hydraulically controlled downslope flow over topography. Extraction of the correct 'base state' for stability analysis from spatially and temporally evolving flows that exhibit instability is not easy since the observed flow in most cases has already been modified by nonlinear interactions between the instability modes and the mean flow. Analytical studies, however, can yield steady solutions under idealized conditions which can then be analysed for stability. Following the latter approach, we study flow profiles whose essential character is determined by recently obtained solutions of Winters & Armi (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 753, 2014, pp. 80–103) for topographically controlled stratified flows. Their condition of optimal control necessitates a streamline bifurcation which then naturally produces a stagnant isolating layer overlying an accelerating stratified jet in the lee of the topography. We show that the inclusion of the isolating layer is an essential component of the stability analysis and further clarify the nature and mechanism of the instability in light of the wave-interaction theory. The spatial stability problem is also briefly examined in order to estimate the downstream location where finite-amplitude features might be manifested in streamwise slowly varying flows over topography.


This paper investigates some of the ethical issues related to being a good digital citizen and keeping users safe in an online environment. Parents and educators should teach their children about the dangers of cyberspace as well as the beneficial aspects of being able to access many resources and communicate with others. The trend toward using electronic communication devices both in and out of the school environment is one that many educators embrace, but key issues must be addressed to maintain both physical safety and good mental health.


Measurements of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) structure were performed for three years (October 2017–August 2020) at the Russian observatory "Ice Base Cape Baranova" (79.280° N, 101.620° E) using SODAR (Sound Detection And Ranging). These measurements were part of the YOPP (Year of Polar Prediction) project "Boundary layer measurements in the high Arctic" (CATS_BL) within the scope of a joint German–Russian project. In addition to SODAR-derived vertical profiles of wind speed and direction, a suite of complementary measurements at the observatory was available. ABL measurements were used for verification of the regional climate model COSMO-CLM (CCLM) with a 5 km resolution for 2017–2020. The CCLM was run with nesting in ERA5 data in a forecast mode for the measurement period. SODAR measurements were mostly limited to wind speeds <12 m/s since the signal was often lost for higher winds. The SODAR data showed a topographical channeling effect for the wind field in the lowest 100 m and some low-level jets (LLJs). The verification of the CCLM with near-surface data of the observatory showed good agreement for the wind and a negative bias for the 2 m temperature. The comparison with SODAR data showed a positive bias for the wind speed of about 1 m/s below 100 m, which increased to 1.5 m/s for higher levels. In contrast to the SODAR data, the CCLM data showed the frequent presence of LLJs associated with the topographic channeling in Shokalsky Strait. Although SODAR wind profiles are limited in range and have a lot of gaps, they represent a valuable data set for model verification. However, a full picture of the ABL structure and the climatology of channeling events could be obtained only with the model data. The climatological evaluation showed that the wind field at Cape Baranova was not only influenced by direct topographic channeling under conditions of southerly winds through the Shokalsky Strait but also by channeling through a mountain gap for westerly winds. LLJs were detected in 37% of all profiles and most LLJs were associated with channeling, particularly LLJs with a jet speed ≥15 m/s (which were 29% of all LLJs). The analysis of the simulated 10 m wind field showed that the 99%-tile of the wind speed reached 18 m/s and clearly showed a dipole structure of channeled wind at both exits of Shokalsky Strait. The climatology of channeling events showed that this dipole structure was caused by the frequent occurrence of channeling at both exits. Channeling events lasting at least 12 h occurred on about 62 days per year at both exits of Shokalsky Strait.


Students of color in higher education face myriad challenges that supersede the academic, including feelings of isolation, lack of belongingness, and overt discrimination that confer stress on top of their academic workload. One avenue to tackle these issues and reduce the negative outcomes associated with these stressors is the effective mentoring of scholars of color. Research has typically focused on African American and Latino scholars. Asian American scholars have received less attention despite studies showing high levels of anxiety, depression, isolation, and reported experiences of targeted microaggression and discrimination among this population. This article highlights the cultural issues that need to be raised and considered in the mentorship of Asian American scholars. In particular, mentors need to be aware that stereotypes of Asian Americans are pervasive, insidious, and harmful, even those that may be thought of as positive stereotypes, and to examine their own beliefs about them. Second, mentors should be aware of the cultural values that predominate in Asian American cultures-in particular, hierarchical collectivism and a high-context communication style-that may be at odds with the mentor's cultural values or pose as obstacles that negatively influence the mentoring process. Finally, broad considerations and recommendations for mentoring Asian Americans scholars are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).


Abstract A feasibility study evaluated five adapted Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) groups that were delivered to staff in a National Health Service (NHS) mental health Trust as part of a staff health and wellbeing initiative. Using an uncontrolled design typical of a feasibility study, recruitment, retention and acceptability of the groups were assessed. Effectiveness was also measured at pre- and post-therapy, and at 3-month follow-up, using quantitative methods. In addition, qualitative methods were used to explore staff experiences of the groups. Results demonstrated high levels of feasibility, and significant improvements in staff perceived stress and self-compassion at both post-therapy and follow-up. Qualitative data suggested many staff felt the groups had improved their physical and emotional health, their ability to manage stress at work and the quality of their work with patients and of their relationships with colleagues. Although Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has typically been used to help manage staff stress, these results are promising for the use of an adapted MBCT with this population. Challenges and factors contributing to these outcomes are discussed.


The bullwhip effect and production smoothing appear antithetical because their empirical tests oppose one another: production variability exceeding sales variability for bullwhip, and vice versa for smoothing. But this is a false dichotomy. We distinguish between the phenomena with a new production smoothing measure, which estimates how much more variable production would be absent production volatility costs. We apply our metric to an automotive manufacturing sample comprising 162 car models and find 75% smooth production by at least 5%, despite the fact that 99% exhibit the bullwhip effect. Indeed, we estimate both a strong bullwhip on average, production is 220% as variable as sales and robust smoothing on average, production would be 22% more variable without deliberate stabilization. We find firms smooth both production variability and production uncertainty. We measure production smoothing with a structural econometric production scheduling model, based on the generalized order-up-to policy.


The international development of human embryonic stem cell research has become closely tied to global bioethics, which places moral responsibility on stem cell researchers. This article argues that the development of bioethical regulation of human embryonic stem cell research is better understood by approaching the institutionalisation of bioethics in terms of risk perceptions of stem cell scientists. Eschewing approaches that understand bioethical risk as a mere matter of morality or as a social construct, this article emphasises the materiality and strategic reasoning of bioethical views on risks associated with human embryonic stem cell research. Such an approach allows the identification of forms of risk rooted in the everyday practice of Chinese human embryonic stem cell research, including moral risk (as a violation of cultural values), material risk (in relation to the distribution of material resources and wealth), political risk (in terms of the political economy of bioethics and public debate) and reputational risk (in terms of personal and national honour). Although this analysis builds on Tom Horlick-Jones's concept of risk signatures of new technologies, which emphasise the capacities of different technologies to engender and delimit the particular social and cultural interpretations of the risks they generate, the article reveals the existence of a certain global awareness among stem cell scientists of risk signatures. They display a creative and strategic awareness regarding the possible opportunities and constraints the risk signature of human embryonic stem cell research affords in their particular institutional context compared to those of others abroad and at home in different environments. The existence of this form of reflexivity requires recognition and methodological accommodation.


The goal of this paper is to explore ergativity in Trumai, a genetically isolated indigenous language of Brazil. The initial sections describe and analyze the alignment patterns observed in morphology and syntax, including a detailed investigation of verbal classes. Morphologically, case is ergative-absolutive, but syntactically the situation is more complex: word order and several syntactic constructions (including raising, relative and reflexive clauses) present ergative-absolutive patterns, but there are also two much less salient nominative-accusative patterns (effects in argument suppression, use of posture auxiliaries). No particular alignment is observed in other domains traditionally used to identify grammatical relations (e.g., anaphoric control of coreference). After examining arguments for O/S or A/S as subject, we reach the conclusion that Trumai lacks evidence for traditional grammatical relations. The paper concludes with a discussion of the historical sources of the patterns found in basic main clauses.


Robot Programming by Demonstration (PbD) allows users to program a robot by demonstrating the desired behavior. Providing these demonstrations typically involves moving the robot through a sequence of states, often by physically manipulating it. This requires users to be co-located with the robot and have the physical ability to manipulate it. In this paper, we present a natural language based interface for PbD that removes these requirements and enables hands-free programming. We focus on programming object manipulation actions-our key insight is that such actions can be decomposed into known types of manipulator movements that are naturally described using spatial language; e.g., object reference expressions and prepositions. Our method takes a natural language command and the current world state to infer the intended movement command and its parametrization. We implement this method on a two-armed mobile manipulator and demonstrate the different types of manipulation actions that can be programmed with it. We compare it to a kinesthetic PbD interface and we demonstrate our method's ability to deal with incomplete language.


In this paper, we present an initial study of on-line unsupervised adaptation for face verification. To the authors' knowledge this is the first study of this type. The key contributions consist of four test scenarios for the BANCA database as well as two novel adaptation strategies that use multiple user models. We show that by using multiple user models for each user, we can perform on-line unsupervised adaptation with a consistent increase in verification performance. Finally, we show that one of the proposed strategies performs better, or as well as the baseline, in four test scenarios at all adaptation thresholds evaluated. This suggests that this strategy is robust against both changing conditions and inexact thresholds.


This case style describes the ethical issues raised by allowing user in-teraction with a historical website ('Hidden Lives Revealed') on the subject of children in care, and the practical steps which need to be taken as a result by those maintaining the site.


Before taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban had developed a remarkably state-like revenue collection system throughout the country. This ICTD research explores how that came to be, and what factors shaped the various forms of Taliban taxation. Drawing primarily on fieldwork from Helmand, Ghazni and Kunduz provinces, this paper explores in depth three commonplace types of Taliban taxation: ushr (effectively a harvest tax, applied to both legal crops as well as opium), taxation on transport of goods (similar to customs), and taxes on aid interventions. The paper pays particular attention to geographic variation, exploring how and why each practice evolved differently at the subnational level.


Abstract The new natural products reported in 2017 in peer-reviewed articles in journals with good reputations were reviewed and analyzed. The advances made by Asian research groups in the field of natural products chemistry in 2017 were summarized. Compounds with unique structural features and/or promising bioactivities originating from Asian natural sources were discussed based on their structural classification.


The energy density distribution of the diffracted ultraviolet field from a phase mask used for fiber Bragg grating fabrication is efficiently analyzed at short-to-intermediate distances by application of a thin phase screen model and the angular spectrum decomposition method. A direct comparison with the results obtained from a rigorous coupled-wave model shows good agreement.


Together, the concepts of heterarchy and collective action offer potential explanations for how early state societies may have established high degrees of civic coordination and sophisticated craft industries in the absence of exclusionary political strategies or dominant centralized political hierarchies. The Indus civilization (c. 2600–1900 bc ) appears to have been heterarchical, which raises critical questions about how its infrastructure facilitated collective action. Digital re-visitation of early excavation reports provides a powerful means of re-examining the nuances of the resulting datasets and the old interpretations offered to explain them. In an early report on excavations at Mohenjo-daro, the Indus civilization's largest city, Ernest Mackay described a pair of small non-residential structures at a major street intersection as a 'hostel' and 'office' for the 'city fathers'. In this article, Mackay's interpretation that these structures had a public orientation is tested using a geographical information systems approach (GIS) and 3D models derived from plans and descriptions in his report. In addition to supporting aspects of Mackay's interpretation, the resulting analysis indicates that Mohenjo-daro's architecture changed through time, increasingly favouring smaller houses and public structures. Close examination of these small public structures also suggests that they may at times have been part of a single complex.


Trust is known to be a key component in human social relationships. It is trust that defines human behavior with others to a large extent. Generative models have been extensively used in social networks study to simulate different characteristics and phenomena in social graphs. In this work, an attempt is made to understand how trust in social graphs can be combined with generative modeling techniques to generate trust-based social graphs. These generated social graphs are then compared with the original social graphs to evaluate how trust helps in generative modeling. Two well-known social network data sets i.e. the soc-Bitcoin and the wiki administrator network data sets are used in this work. Social graphs are generated from these data sets and then compared with the original graphs along with other standard generative modeling techniques to see how trust is a good component in this. Other Generative modeling techniques have been available for a while but this investigation with the real social graph data sets validate that trust can be an important factor in generative modeling.


Health disparities in breast cancer among American Indian women include historically higher stage at diagnosis, younger age at diagnosis, higher ratios of rates of mortality vs incidence, geographic variability of incidence and mortality rates, more difficult access to breast imaging and cancer treatment, and racial misclassification in medical records resulting in underestimation of breast cancer data. This population is understudied as well as underserved and more research is needed to reveal specific causes and interventions for these breast cancer disparities. Proactive efforts may include improving access to regular screening, diagnosis and treatment, identifying high risk women for intervention, and continuing community based research and educational programs. After a cancer diagnosis, patient navigators and prompt access to up to date breast cancer therapy treatment may improve outcomes.


Airports contribute to pollution through point source and non-point source pollution, which can have negative effects on water quality and aquatic life. The purpose of our study was to determine if runoff pollution from the San Francisco airport (SFO) and Oakland airport (OAK) impacts water quality in the San Francisco Bay Area. We tested water quality at 12 sites surrounding these two airports, specifically testing for pH and the presence of specific metals and nitrates. From our results, we found that the presence of zinc, copper, chromium and nitrate increased as we got closer to the airports. The pH remained constant throughout the sites. We concluded that airport pollution is a likely source of elevated concentrations of some heavy metals and nitrates in the San Francisco Bay Area.


There is an interesting symmetry in the two leading cases concerning the legality of measures to tackle the financial crisis. In Pringle the argument was that the European Stability Mechanism was unlawful, because it concerned monetary policy and hence fell outside the competence of the Member States. In Gauweiler the converse argument was deployed, the principal contention from the Bundesverfassungsgericht being that the programme for Outright Monetary Transactions concerned economic policy, and was outside the remit of the ESCB. It was central to both claims that the measures infringed either Article 123 or Article 125 TFEU, which ensured that the state remained responsible for its indebtedness, limiting the extent to which EU institutions or Member States could provide financial assistance. The CJEU rejected the argument in both cases, and this article considers the issues raised by the Gauweiler litigation.The discussion begins with the role of the European Central Bank in the financial crisis, and the measures it adopted to restore financial balance. This is followed by analysis of the preliminary reference from the Bundesverfassungsgericht, which is set against its well-known jurisprudence on ultra vires and identity locks. The reference was especially significant given that it was the first time that the Bundesverfassungsgericht had used Article 267 TFEU.The focus then shifts to the CJEU's ruling, which followed much of the reasoning of Advocate General Cruz Villalon and rejected the central tenets of the Bundesverfassungsgericht's argument. We consider in detail the CJEU's reasoning, and juxtapose this to the Bundesverfassungsgericht's conceptualisation of the case. The central assumptions of the two courts differed, with the CJEU conceptualising the case in terms of monetary policy transmission, while the Bundesverfassungsgericht framed its reasoning in terms of the impact of OMT on interest rate spreads. It will be argued that the CJEU's reasoning is to be preferred and that its conclusion was legitimate in the light of the relevant Treaty provisions. The penultimate section of the article considers the Bundesverfassungsgericht's possible response to the CJEU's ruling. This is perforce conjecture, but it is possible nonetheless to make reasoned inquiry as to aspects of the CJEU's ruling that the Bundesverfassungsgericht might be able to accommodate, and those that it will feel more difficult to accept. The final section of the article places this inquiry into the broader context of other judicial review actions concerning the legality of measures adopted to deal with the financial crisis.


A novel whiskerless Schottky diode has been developed in which shunt capacitance is minimized by means of an etched surface channel. This structure is easily fabricated and the DC I-V characteristics areas good as those of the best available whisker-contacted devices. Preliminary RF characterization in an unoptimized mount at 110 GHz has yielded room temperature SSB mixer noise temperature of 950 K and SSB conversion loss of 6.4 dB. The diode is robust and can be operated at cryogenic temperatures. Potential applications include waveguide and planar mixers, planar arrays, multipliers, varactor tuners, and microwave integrated circuits.


- This paper proposes an algorithm to perform live migration of resources of a VM (storage and computing power) as demands rise or fall with minimal service interruption and negligible performance impact. Resources, distributed across several Nodes, are provided to users on demand. When a request for additional resource is received, the user's current node is checked to see if it can accommodate this additional request. If not, then the user's resources are migrated to another node which can satisfy the user's request. Resources are migrated by synchronizing disk contents of the user in another node, rolling back the executing processes during migration in the current node, reconnecting user to the other node and restarting process execution. Evaluation using parameters like response time, service unavailability and number of failed requests show that uninterrupted service is provided.


of the thesis (peptide cluster in the gaseous phase) In this work the formation of clusters caused by non-covalent interactions between matrix molecules and short-chain peptides (i.e. di-, triand tetra-peptides) has been investigated by using a laser mass spectrometer. After the desorption achieved by using IR laser radiation the molecules are transported with the support of a supersonic jet into the ionisation chamber. Thus their internal degrees of freedom are cooled. As a result the formation of weakly bonded clusters are observed. The formation of clusters in the gas phase consisting of peptides could be shown by using a combination of laser desorption and multi photon ionisation. Under the ionization conditions a direct ionization of these peptides is not possible because they lack an adequate chromophoric system. The cluster have been detected by mixing with several derivatives of benzoic acid and cinnamic acid, which are standard matrix substances to be used in the matrix assisted laser desorption / ionisation technique. The measurements demonstrate that the formation of peptide clusters in the gas phase are possible by applying nano-second laser pulses. Additionally the formation of protonated homogenous peptide clusters respectively heterogeneous clusters of the matrix can be observed. Besides the formation of clusters in the gas phase, a further result of this work shows the possibility of gas phase reaction in the cluster. The simple proton transfer reaction as well as reactions between then proton donator and the peptide are observed. The following results regarding the gas phase reaction with tryptophan as a proton donator show: • The separation of water from the ionised peptide-matrix-cluster shows that it is possible to observe the prolongation of the peptide chain and thus the formation of peptide bonding in the gas phase for the first time. • The relative intensity of the signals of the separation of water increases when changing from 260 nm to 290 nm. This means, that the reaction of peptide bondformation has a lower activation energy. • During the dissociative proton transfer the proton is transferred from the nitrogen of the indole ring of tryptophan to the analyte molecule. This could be demonstrated in experiments with protected derivatives of tryptophan. • Characteristic patterns of fragmentation pathway could be shown with help of mass spectra for triand tetra-peptides. Based on the results of the fragmentation reactions in many experiments between di-, triand tetra-peptides and vanillic acid as matrix, and on additional experiments with complete deuteration of the phenolic proton and the carboxylic proton of the vanillic acid it could be demonstrated that the intramolecular proton transfer is performed from the n-terminal side of the peptide chain to the c-terminal side.


This article addresses the relative absence of class-based analysis in theatre and performance studies, and suggests the reconfiguration of class as performance rather than as it is traditionally conceived as an identity predicated solely on economic stratification. It engages with the occlusion of class by the ascendancy of identity politics based on race, gender and sexuality and its attendant theoretical counterparts in deconstruction and post-structuralism, which became axiomatic as they displaced earlier methodologies to become hegemonic in the arts and humanities. The article proceeds to an assessment of the development of sociological approaches to theatre, particularly the legacy of Raymond Williams and Pierre Bourdieu. The argument concludes with the application of an approach which reconfigures class as performance to the production of Declan Hughes's play Shiver of 2003, which dramatizes the consequences of the dot.com bubble of the late 1990s for ambitious members of the Irish middle class.


Approximately 1.5 to 3.5 million Americans have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a developmental disability characterized by social communication impairments, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. In the coming decade, a half-million persons with ASD in the United States will enter adulthood. Information on the transportation needs and challenges facing this population is limited, which hinders the development of sound policies and strategies to meet those needs successfully. This paper presents the findings from a series of focus groups conducted in New Jersey with adults with ASD and their parents or guardians. The focus groups were part of a larger study that included stakeholder interviews and a survey of this population on transportation-related issues and concerns. The findings provide evidence of the vital role of transportation in the lives of persons with ASD, especially as they seek to navigate the often difficult transition to adulthood. Transportation issues of special concern among all participants included an absence of transport options, lack of familiarity with public transportation modes, and cost factors. Parents were concerned about the safety of their adult children with ASD when they used public transportation. They also described the financial and emotional implications of being the primary transportation providers for their adult children. Adult participants with ASD discussed the difficulties of relying on their families for transportation and many conveyed a desire to use public transportation or to secure a driver's license, or both, as a means to achieve greater independence and employment success.


This paper provides new evidence on workers' perceptions of the returns to job search effort using hypothetical vignettes. This allows us to overcome limitations with survey data on realized behavior in which search effort and reservation wages may be endogenous to perceived job finding rates. The perceived job finding probability is nearly linear in hours searched and only slightly concave for most respondents. While workers are over-optimistic about the probability of receiving a job offer conditional on any search, they perceive the marginal return to additional search hours as positive but comparably low. Job seekers receiving an offer, update their perceived returns upwards, while the beliefs of unsuccessful searchers regress towards the direction of the mean. We find little evidence that novel aspects of the pandemic recession have fundamentally changed workers' motivations for job search: that an existing job is expected to end or has unsatisfactory pay are the primary motives for on-the-job search. On the contrary, workers' ability to do their tasks from home is not a strong predictor of job search nor a significant motive for switching occupations. © 2022 The Author(s)


For more than 60 years, "obviousness" has set the bar for patentability. Under this standard, if a hypothetical person skilled in the art would find an invention obvious in light of existing relevant information, then the invention cannot be patented. The skilled person is defined as a non-innovative worker with a limited knowledge-base. The more creative and informed the skilled person, the more likely an invention will be considered obvious. The standard has evolved since its introduction, and it is now on the verge of an evolutionary leap. Inventive machines are increasingly being used in research, and once the use of such machines becomes standard, the person skilled in the art should be a person using an inventive machine, or just an inventive machine. Unlike the skilled person, the inventive machine is capable of innovation and considering the entire universe of prior art. As inventive machines continue to improve, this will increasingly raise the bar to patentability, eventually rendering innovative activities obvious. The end of obviousness means the end of patents, at least as they are now.


Software development projects have undergone remarkable changes with the arrival of agile development approaches. Although intended for small, self-managing teams, these approaches are used today for large development programs. A major challenge of such programs is coordinating many teams. This case study describes the coordination of knowledge work in a large-scale agile development program with 12 teams. The findings highlight coordination modes based on feedback, the use of a number of mechanisms, and how coordination practices change over time. The findings can improve the outcomes of large knowledge-based development programs by tailoring coordination practices to needs over time.


Collision dynamics of nanoparticles with a surface was studied by classical molecular dynamics simulations. Silver, nickel and silica were selected as the particle materials, and silver as the surface material. Particle sizes ranged approximately from 0.5 to 2 nm. The results indicate that particles with thermal energy at room temperature do not bounce off a surface, even when a very weak interaction potential between the particles and the surface is assumed. The loss mechanisms of the center-of-mass energy of nanoparticles colliding with a surface were also investigated. The findings indicate that energy losses to the surface and the rotational degree of freedom are important. The loss to the surface is significant when a harder particle hits a softer surface. This is because the center-of-mass energy is mainly transferred to the surface as elastic energy, and the energy is not effectively transferred back to the particle. Non-spherical silica particles were found to lose more energy than the other types of particles. This phenomenon is due to a large energy transfer to the rotational degree of the freedom upon collision.


Despite the ubiquity of U-statistics in modern Probability and Statistics, their non-asymptotic analysis in a dependent framework may have been overlooked. In a recent work, a new concentration inequality for U-statistics of order two for uniformly ergodic Markov chains has been proved. In this paper, we put this theoretical breakthrough into action by pushing further the current state of knowledge in three different active fields of research. First, we establish a new exponential inequality for the estimation of spectra of trace class integral operators with MCMC methods. The novelty is that this result holds for kernels with positive and negative eigenvalues, which is new as far as we know. In addition, we investigate generalization performance of online algorithms working with pairwise loss functions and Markov chain samples. We provide an online-to-batch conversion result by showing how we can extract a low risk hypothesis from the sequence of hypotheses generated by any online learner. We finally give a non-asymptotic analysis of a goodness-of-fit test on the density of the invariant measure of a Markov chain. We identify some classes of alternatives over which our test based on the $L_2$ distance has a prescribed power.


Timor-Leste is a post-conflict nation that marked its independence in 2002, becoming the newest sovereign state in Asia. Due to prolonged periods of armed conflict and poverty worsened by the conflict, one-fifth of the population (200,000 people) were unable to complete their basic education. Against this background, the Timor-Leste government started the Equivalency Program (EP) in 2010, an accelerated education program for youths and adults whose education was interrupted. The program offers a condensed basic education curriculum that is equivalent to primary and pre-secondary education. This paper examines the motives, experiences and circumstances of the youth and adult learners who have had the opportunity to receive second-chance education (SCE) in Timor-Leste. The study describes their life journeys in a conflict-affected environment with the goal of understanding the meaning of learning as they attend an education program. This study utilized a mixed methods approach, with life-story interviews being the primary data-collection method, complemented by focus-group interviews and a questionnaire survey. The study finds that many participants indicate a longing to learn again, primarily from an intrinsic desire to seek greater knowledge and gain self-confidence, a desire that grew with the emergence of the post-war society. Their life-stories illuminate the ordeals of losing the opportunity for schooling amidst conflict, with many despairing that they had become a 'lost generation.' EP restored their chance to attain the inner satisfaction of learning and a sense of self-worth as they gained a sense of autonomy and agency. Their desire to learn was bolstered by the post-conflict euphoria and the advent of a new society that seemed to promise a better future. This euphoria offers a momentum that can be used to achieve learning for all and promote human dignity.


A software architecture is presented for real-time exploration of volumetric data on PCbased platforms using human computer interface (HCI) technologies ranging from mousekeyboard through to multi-screen virtual reality (VR) display with motion tracking. Voxel datasets in the range of 1 GB to 100 GB are targetted, with data from the Visible Human Project being chosen for system demonstration. The architecture is modular: the base program provides efficient display of intersecting orthogonal planes; separately compiled plugin modules provide more advanced 3-D rendering including surface fitting (SF) and direct volume rendering (DVR). Real-time display is provided using OpenGL. Semi-transparent rendering is correctly supported, through currently fails within regions that contain hybrid SF-DVR rendering. Script interfaces ensure code reusability and allow it to be readily reconfigured for particular HCI operation.


This paper is concerned with curriculum renewal in departments at a South African higher education andtraining institution with a career orientated focus. The driving forces for curriculum change derive, firstly, from government documentation which itself draws on aspects of the need for new knowledge workers in industry described by Gibbons et al in 1994. The features of such workers would be their ability to apply transdisciplinary knowledge in flexible ways to solve problems. Secondly, there is a need to retain students in the system and to help scaffold their learning through providing a workplace focus and fostering learning to learn skills. In an attempt to meet these needs co-operative staff groups were set up to design interdisciplinary, work-related tasks with associated explanatory and guiding criteria. In observingand talking to staff developing these tasks, difficulties were detected in working co-operatively, moving from evaluative to learner-support criteria, integration and allowing for more learner-centred control in assessment.


Aim Species distribution models (SDMs) have been used to address a wide range of theoretical and applied questions in the terrestrial realm, but marine-based applications remain relatively scarce. In this review, we consider how conceptual and practical issues associated with terrestrial SDMs apply to a range of marine organisms and highlight the challenges relevant to improving marine SDMs. Location We include studies from both marine and terrestrial systems that encompass many geographic locations around the globe. Methods We first performed a literature search and analysis of marine and terrestrial SDMs in ISI Web of Science to assess trends and applications. Using knowledge from terrestrial applications, we critically evaluate the application of SDMs in marine systems in the context of ecological factors (dispersal, species interactions, aggregation and ontogenetic shifts) and practical considerations (data quality, alternative modelling approaches and model validation) that facilitate or create difficulties for model application. Results The relative importance of ecological factors to be considered when applying SDMs varies among terrestrial and marine organisms. Correctly incorporating dispersal is frequently considered an important issue for terrestrial models, but because there is greater potential for dispersal in the ocean, it is often less of a concern in marine SDMs. By contrast, ontogenetic shifts and feeding have received little attention in terrestrial SDM applications, but these factors are important to many marine SDMs. Opportunities also exist for applying more advanced SDM approaches in the marine realm, including mechanistic ecophysiological models, where water balance and heat transfer equations are simpler for some marine organisms relative to their terrestrial counterparts. Main conclusions SDMs have generally been under-utilized in the marine realm relative to terrestrial applications. Correlative SDM methods should be tested on a range of marine organisms, and we suggest further development of methods that address ontogenetic shifts and feeding interactions. We anticipate developments in, and cross-fertilization between, coupled correlative and process-based SDMs, mechanistic eco-physiological SDMs, and spatial population dynamic models for climate change and species invasion applications in particular. Comparisons of the outputs of different model types will provide insight that is useful for improved spatial management of marine species. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.


Rapid technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as the growing deployment of intelligent technologies in new application domains, have generated serious anxiety and a fear of missing out among different stake-holders, fostering a racing narrative. Whether real or not, the belief in such a race for domain supremacy through AI, can make it real simply from its consequences, as put forward by the Thomas theorem. These consequences may be negative, as racing for technological supremacy creates a complex ecology of choices that could push stake-holders to underestimate or even ignore ethical and safety procedures. As a consequence, different actors are urging to consider both the normative and social impact of these technological advancements, contemplating the use of the precautionary principle in AI innovation and research. Yet, given the breadth and depth of AI and its advances, it is difficult to assess which technology needs regulation and when. As there is no easy access to data describing this alleged AI race, theoretical models are necessary to understand its potential dynamics, allowing for the identification of when procedures need to be put in place to favour outcomes beneficial for all. We show that, next to the risks of setbacks and being reprimanded for unsafe behaviour, the time-scale in which domain supremacy can be achieved plays a crucial role. When this can be achieved in a short term, those who completely ignore the safety precautions are bound to win the race but at a cost to society, apparently requiring regulatory actions. Our analysis reveals that imposing regulations for all risk and timing conditions may not have the anticipated effect as only for specific conditions a dilemma arises between what is individually preferred and globally beneficial. Similar observations can be made for the long-term development case. Yet different from the short-term situation, conditions can be identified that require the promotion of risk-taking as opposed to compliance with safety regulations in order to improve social welfare. These results remain robust both when two or several actors are involved in the race and when collective rather than individual setbacks are produced by risk-taking behaviour. When defining codes of conduct and regulatory policies for applications of AI, a clear understanding of the time-scale of the race is thus required, as this may induce important non-trivial effects.

This article is part of the special track on AI and Society.


Following Macroeconomic Dimensions of Public Finance, this is the second volume of essays in honour of Vito Tanzi. It focuses on the importance of fiscal policy on the wholesale economic reforms that are sweeping the advanced, less developed and formally communist countries. Issues analyzed include: * the role of fiscal and budgetary policies in the process of reform * the impact of privatization on the exchequer and the dilemmas for social policy in times of fiscal austerity * the paradox of post-socialism and post-dirigisme that an efficient and harmonic move to a decontrolled, liberal market economy involves active state intervention * the methodological aspects relating to the proper assessment of fiscal policy mechanisms. This collection of essays contributes to the understanding of the channels and transmissions mechanisms of fiscal policies in the context of major economic reforms.


This study presents a simultaneous examination of multiple evidential bases of the validity of assessment center (AC) ratings. In particular, we combine both construct-related and criterion-related validation strategies in the same sample to determine the relative importance of exercises and dimensions. We examine the underlying structure of ACs in terms of exercise and dimension factors while directly linking these factors to a work-related criterion (salary). Results from an AC (N = 753) showed that exercise factors not only explained more variance in AC ratings than dimension factors but also were more important in predicting salary. Dimension factors explained a smaller albeit significant portion of the variance in AC ratings and had lower validity for predicting salary. The implications of these findings for AC theory, practice, and research are discussed.


European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus (EMARAV) was recently characterized from mountain ash (rowan) (Sorbus aucuparia) in Germany. The virus belongs tentatively to family Bunyaviridae but is not closely related to any classified virus. How commonly EMARAV occurs in ringspot disease (EMARSD) affected mountain ash trees was not reported and was investigated here. Virus-specific detection tools such as reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and dot blot hybridization using digoxigenin-labeled RNA probes were developed to test 73 mountain ash trees including 16 trees with no virus-like symptoms from 16 districts in Finland and Viipuri, Russia. All trees were infected with EMARAV. Hence, EMARAV is associated with EMARSD and can also cause latent infections in mountain ash. Symptom expression and the variable relative concentrations of viral RNA detected in leaves showed no correlation. Infectious EMARAV was detected also in dormant branches of trees in winter. Subsequently, genetic variability, geographical differentiation, and evolutionary selection pressures were investigated by analyzing RNA3 sequences from 17 isolates. The putative nucleocapsid (NP) gene sequence (944 nucleotides) showed little variability (identities 97 to 99%) and was under strong purifying selection. Amino acid substitutions were detected in two positions at the N terminus and one position at the C terminus of NP in four isolates. The 3' untranslated region (442 nucleotides) was more variable (identities 94 to 99%). Six isolates from a single sampling site exhibited as wide a genetic variability as isolates from sites that were hundreds of kilometers apart and no spatial differentiation of populations of EMARAV was observed.


Rocks of the SE Alaska subterrane of the Yukon-Tanana terrane (YTTs) consist of regionally metamorphosed marine clastic strata and mafic to felsic volcanic-plutonic rocks that have been divided into the pre-Devonian Tracy Arm assemblage, Silurian–Devonian Endicott Arm assemblage, and Mississippian–Pennsylvanian Port Houghton assemblage. U-Pb geochronologic and Hf isotopic analyses were conducted on zircons separated from 23 igneous and detrital samples in an effort to reconstruct the geologic and tectonic evolution of this portion of YTT. Tracy Arm assemblage samples are dominated by Proterozoic (ca. 2.0–1.6, 1.2–0.9 Ga) and Archean (2.7–2.5 Ga) zircons that yield typical cratonal eHf( t ) values. Endicott Arm assemblage samples yield U-Pb ages that range from Late Ordovician to Early Devonian and eHf( t ) values that range from highly juvenile to moderately evolved. Port Houghton assemblage samples yield similar Ordovician–Devonian ages and eHf( t ) values, and also include early Mississippian zircons with highly evolved eHf( t ) signatures.

Comparison of these age-Hf patterns with data from nearby assemblages suggests the following: (1) Results from YTTs are similar to (or compatible with) available data from rocks of the Yukon-Tanana terrane in eastern Alaska, Yukon, and northern British Columbia (YTTn) and pericratonic strata in east-central Alaska (NAa). (2) YTTs contains abundant Late Ordovician–Early Devonian magmatism that is not recorded in YTTn and NAa. (3) The eHf( t ) values from YTTs display two excursions from juvenile to evolved eHf( t ) values, which are interpreted to record cycles of crustal thinning and then thickening within a convergent margin system. (4) Available data from both YTTs and YTTn support Neoproterozoic(?)–early Paleozoic positions along the northern Cordilleran margin. (5) The Late Ordovician–Early Devonian magmatic record of the southern Alexander terrane is very similar to that of YTTs, which raises the possibility that these assemblages evolved in the same convergent margin system along the northern (Alexander) and northwestern (YTT) margins of Laurentia.

These results support a tectonic model in which: (1) YTTs formed outboard of (or northward along strike of) YTTn and NAa along the northern Cordilleran margin during Neoproterozoic(?)–early Paleozoic time; (2) initial subduction-related magmatism during Late Ordovician to Early Devonian time records a progression from crustal thinning to crustal thickening, and is preserved only in YTTs; (3) a second phase of magmatism records Middle–Late Devonian crustal thinning followed by early Mississippian crustal thickening; (4) YTTs and YTTn evolved as an intra-oceanic arc outboard of the Slide Mountain ocean basin during Carboniferous–Permian time and were accreted to the continental margin during Triassic time; and (5) YTTs is interpreted to have been displaced ∼1000 km southward, from an original position outboard of YTTn/NAa to its present position outboard of the Stikine terrane, along a sinistral fault system of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous age.


Providing detailed, constructive and helpful feedback is an important contribution to effective student learning. Quality assurance is also required to ensure consistency across all students and reduce error rates. However, with increasing workloads and student numbers these goals are becoming more difficult to achieve. An automated feedback system, referred to as the Automated Feedback Generator (AFG), has therefore been designed and developed with the aim of providing superior quality assurance and efficiency in both assessing student assignments and providing feedback. Unlike existing automated marking and feedback software, AFG aims to allow educators to perform the entire process of student feedback generation for any assessment type. The AFG system is investigated across two introductory ICT courses: general ICT and programming. The aim is to demonstrate that AFG provides a more effective means for providing student feedback than alternative manual and automated approaches. This is achieved by comparing AFG with these alternatives and demonstrating that it offers quality control, efficiency and effectiveness benefits whilst generating consistent feedback from a student perspective. An empirical approach is employed using attitudinal data. T tests are used to test hypotheses comparing three feedback generation approaches: AFG, manual and a more complex automated approach. The results show that feedback from AFG was perceived to be constructive, helpful and with error levels less than or equal to those for other course feedback approaches; students also found feedback to be consistent with that produced by the more complex alternatives.; ;


This paper introduces a new role for hydroinformatics in its sociotechnical environment. It introduces a novel and modern approach for dealing with flooding and other such destructive phenomena which have been increasing ever more rapidly throughout the world. By far the greatest toll from floods and flood-related disasters, however, is in the so-called 9developing9 world where the resources for dealing with such problems are either inadequate or non-existent, even as these are often subject to the interventions of corrupt behaviour and practices and their related dubious legal systems. The necessity of promoting the nature of the force that is required to overcome these negativities are identified as those provided by active stakeholder participation and this paper indicates how this force can be informed and motivated largely through projecting ultra-realistic dynamic and coloured illustrations within a collective social environment.


Trade economists have investigated the international trade between countries but not the transportation service provided for the trade between countries. The latter, however, can be investigated by using UNCTAD's data on seaborne trade, i.e., merchandise international trade that is transported by ship from a seaport in country A to a seaport in country B. The world's tonnage of seaborne trade is equivalent to 80 percent of the world's tonnage of merchandise international trade. In addition to transportation service, other logistics services provided for seaborne trade include commercial documentation, document transmission, global trade management system submission, partner government agency adherence service and free trade agreement adherence service.


We have explored the dynamical and mass evolution of halos driven by large-scale filaments using a dark-matter-only cosmological simulation with the help of a phase-space analysis. Since a nonnegligible number of galaxies are expected to fall into the cluster environment through large-scale filaments, tracking how halos move around large-scale filaments can provide a more comprehensive view on the evolution of cluster galaxies. Halos exhibit orbital motions around filaments, which emerge as specific trajectories in a phase space composed of halos' perpendicular distance and velocity component with respect to filaments. These phase-space trajectories can be represented by three cases according to their current states. We parameterize the trajectories with halos' initial position and velocity, maximum velocity, formation time, and time since first crossing, which are found to be correlated with each other. These correlations are explained well in the context of the large-scale structure formation. The mass evolution and dynamical properties of halos seem to be affected by the density of filaments, which can be shown from the fact that halos around denser filaments are more likely to lose their mass and be bound within large-scale filaments. Finally, we reproduce the mass segregation trend around filaments found in observations. The mass segregation has been developed because halos that formed earlier approached filaments earlier, grew efficiently, and ended up being more massive. We also found that dynamical friction helps to retain this segregation trend.


Imagine two patients, Mal and Gary, are admitted to neighboring rooms in a Boston teaching hospital. While hospitalized, they both suffer serious injuries, but the mechanisms are different: Mal's are caused by a drug interaction that her medical team knew, or should have known, would cause her injury when they delivered it to her. Gary's injuries, by contrast, were caused by a contract maintenance worker who dropped a fixture on him while attempting to make a repair in the patient's room. Both patients have a right to bring claims for the negligence that injured them. Only Mal's, however, will be framed as a medical malpractice case, while Gary's will be a framed as a garden-variety negligence claim. This essay will examine some of the ways the litigation and trial of their respective cases will differ and how it will impact their cases' outcomes.


Holes drilled into the volcanic and ultrabasic basement of the Izu-Ogasawara and Mariana forearc terranes during Leg 125 provide data on some of the earliest lithosphere created after the start of Eocene subduction in the Western Pacific. The volcanic basement contains three boninite series and one tholeiite series. (1) Eocene low-Ca boninite and low-Ca bronzite andesite pillow lavas and dikes dominate the lowermost part of the deep crustal section through the outer-arc high at Site 786. (2) Eocene intermediate-Ca boninite and its fractionation products (bronzite andesite, andesite, dacite, and rhyolite) make up the main part of the boninitic edifice at Site 786. (3) Early Oligocene intermediate-Ca to high-Ca boninite sills or dikes intrude the edifice and perhaps feed an uppermost breccia unit at Site 786. (4) Eocene or Early Oligocene tholeiitic andesite, dacite, and rhyolite form the uppermost part of the outer-arc high at Site 782. All four groups can be explained by remelting above a subduction zone of oceanic mantle lithosphere that has been depleted by its previous episode of partial melting at an ocean ridge. We estimate that the average boninite source had lost 10-15 wt% of melt at the ridge before undergoing further melting (5-10%) shortly after subduction started. The composition of the harzburgite (<2% clinopyroxene, Fo content of about 92%) indicates that it underwent a total of about 25% melting with respect to a fertile MORB mantle. The low concentration of Nb in the boninite indicates that the oceanic lithosphere prior to subduction was not enriched by any asthenospheric (OIB) component. The subduction component is characterized by (1) high Zr and Hf contents relative to Sm, Ti, Y, and middle-heavy REE, (2) light REE-enrichment, (3) low contents of Nb and Ta relative to Th, Rb, or La, (4) high contents of Na and Al, and (5) Pb isotopes on the Northern Hemisphere Reference Line. This component is unlike any subduction component from active arc volcanoes in the Izu-Mariana region or elsewhere. Modeling suggests that these characteristics fit a trondhjemitic melt from slab fusion in amphibolite facies. The resulting metasomatized mantle may have contained about 0.15 wt% water. The overall melting regime is constrained by experimental data to shallow depths and high temperatures (1250°C and 1.5 kb for an average boninite) of boninite segregation. We thus envisage that boninites were generated by decompression melting of a diapir of metasomatized residual MORB mantle leaving the harzburgites as the uppermost, most depleted residue from this second stage of melting. Thermal constraints require that both subducted lithosphere and overlying oceanic lithosphere of the mantle wedge be very young at the time of boninite genesis. This conclusion is consistent with models in which an active transform fault offsetting two ridge axes is placed under compression or transpression following the Eocene plate reorganization in the Pacific. Comparison between Leg 125 boninites and boninites and related rocks elsewhere in the Western Pacific highlights large regional differences in petrogenesis in terms of mantle mineralogy, degree of partial melting, composition of subduction components, and the nature of pre-subduction lithosphere. It is likely that, on a regional scale, the initiation of subduction involved subducted crust and lithospheric mantle wedge of a range of ages and compositions, as might be expected in this type of tectonic setting.


Many areas of the natural and social sciences involve complex systems that link together multiple sectors. Integrated assessment models (IAMs) are approaches that integrate knowledge from two or more domains into a single framework, and these are particularly important for climate change. One of the earliest IAMs for climate change was the DICE/RICE family of models, first published in Nordhaus (1992), with the latest version in Nordhaus (2017, 2017a). A difficulty in assessing IAMs is the inability to use standard statistical tests because of the lack of a probabilistic structure. In the absence of statistical tests, the present study examines the extent of revisions of the DICE model over its quarter-century history. The study finds that the major revisions have come primarily from the economic aspects of the model, whereas the environmental changes have been much smaller. Particularly sharp revisions have occurred for global output, damages, and the social cost of carbon. These results indicate that the economic projections are the least precise parts of IAMs and deserve much greater study than has been the case up to now, especially careful studies of long-run economic growth (to 2100 and beyond).


This white paper reports on ours efforts to optimize a 2D/3D astrophysical (magento-)hydrodynamics Fortran code for XeonPhi. The code is parallelized with OpenMP and is suitable for execution on a shared memory system. Due to complexity of the code combined with immaturity of compiler we were unable to stay within the boundaries of Intel Compiler Suite. To deliver performance we took two different approaches. First, we optimized and partially rewrote most of the bandwidth-bound Fortran code to recover scalability on XeonPhi. Next, we ported several critical computebound hotspots to Intel SPMD Program Compiler (ISPC), which offers performance portability of a single source code across various architectures, such as Xeon, XeonPhi and possibly even GPU. This approach allowed us to achieve over 4x speed-up of the original code on dual-socket IvyBridge EP, and over 50x speed-up on the XeonPhi coprocessor. While the resulting optimized code can already be used in production to solve specific problems, we consider this project to be a proof-of-concept case reflecting the difficulty of achieving acceptable performance from XeonPhi on a "home-brewed" application. Project ID: 2010PA1744/MagHydroBurn