In this paper, a filter design approach which uses the harmony search algorithm for additive white Gaussian noise cancellation through an infinite impulse response digital filter, is described. In the digital filter design, a mitral valve Doppler signal and a 4th degree infinite impulse response digital filter were used. In order to improve the design, additive white Gaussian noise was added to the mitral valve Doppler signal at different values of signal to noise ratio which were selected as -4dB, +4dB, -2dB and +2dB. As a result, four different infinite impulse response digital filters were designed at different noise levels using the harmony search algorithm and their performances were compared with each other.


Drawing on letters, illustrations, engravings, and neglected manuscripts, Christopher Iannini connects two dramatic transformations in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world the emergence and growth of the Caribbean plantation system and the rise of natural science. Iannini argues that these transformations were not only deeply interconnected, but that together they established conditions fundamental to the development of a distinctive literary culture in the early Americas. In fact, eighteenth-century natural history as a literary genre largely took its shape from its practice in the Caribbean, an oft-studied region that was a prime source of wealth for all of Europe and the Americas. The formal evolution of colonial prose narrative, Ianinni argues, was contingent upon the emergence of natural history writing, which itself emerged necessarily from within the context of Atlantic slavery and the production of tropical commodities. As he re-establishes the history of cultural exchange between the Caribbean and North America, Ianinni recovers the importance of the West Indies in the formation of American literary and intellectual culture as well as its place in assessing the moral implications of colonial slavery.


Abstract Readers and critics alike have bickered over the verisimilitude of Gulliver's Travels since it was first published in 1726. No critical consensus has ever been reached even on some very fundamental interpreting issues. While several particulars of Swift's satire appear to have been decoded and agreed upon, such as the parody of travel literature and the attack on Walpole's corrupt administration, some others are still debated over, even after more than a century of modern criticism, such as the overall object of the universally reverberating satire and what it teaches us about Swift's own values and worldview. Fully aware of the Gulliverian critical deadlock the world is still in, we suggest in the present article that the narratorial duet Swift-Gulliver 'conspires' against readers, be they innocent (gullible) or competent (lucid): by construing the latter as a microcosm who explores the world in order to gain identity, the former stages an elaborate hoax in which a potentially paranoid narrative is cunningly brought within the boundaries of acceptable, coherent discourse, with a view to achieving his far-reaching satire.


The original blog post can be found at the Bitmovin Techblog and has been modified/updated here to focus on and highlight research aspects.


In this work a composite materials were prepared containing matrix of polymer blend (polypropylene 80% + polycarbonate 20%) reinforced by (carbon black) with different of weight fraction %. The specimen sheet, were obtained by hotcompression from extruded material, using single extruder operated at a temperature between (190-200)C o . The extrusion processes give homogeneous mixer through a regular selection of machine screw revolution per minute and temperature used in extrusion process. The weight fraction of the carbon blacks ranged from 0.0 up to 20 wt % with the polypropylene and polycarbonate blend. All samples related to, mechanical, thermal and electrical tests were prepared by single –extruder. By discharging a high voltage through the composite it was found that the resistivity of the composite decreased from (1.00E+09)-(1.00E+028). Carbon black–polypropylene and polycarbonate composites show significant differences from the neat blends measured in the frequency range. The study of physical test show that the thermal conductivity decreases with the increase of weight fraction from (0.157-0.23).


Diversity patterns are governed by a complex network of interacting factors. Studies directed to disentangle the most important factors affecting diversity have frequently shown divergent results, which has encouraged a rewarding debate about the relative importance of each factor. Scale dependency has been identified as a direct cause of at least part of such divergences. However, studies with spatially-explicit measurements at different scales are costly and therefore they are relatively scarce despite their importance. Here, we present a database to disentangle the cross-scale variation in the importance of factors affecting the diversity of epiphytic bryophyte communities in Quercus dominated forests (Quercus ilex L., Quercus pyrenaica Willd. and Quercus faginea Lam.) in the North-western region of the Iberian Peninsula. We provide species-per-site abundance information with more than 9000 entries and an environmental table containing 20 in situ measured variables at three different scales (forest, stand, and sample). The database will help to advance the research of cross-scale effects of diversity patterns while at the same time providing valuable information on the distribution of a poorly known group of organisms.


A method for measuring the axial residual stress profile in optical fibers is presented. The axial stress profile on the fiber cross section is obtained from optical retardations of rays that travel laterally through the fiber. The retardations are measured for a number of fiber orientations by rotating the fiber through 180°. The stress profile is reconstructed by performing a numerical inversion of the data. This paper describes the principle, experimental setup, and measured stress profiles, as well as measurement errors and spatial resolution. It is shown that the nonaxisymmetrical stress profile can be nondestructively measured with high accuracy by using the method.


The main purpose of this paper is to highlight the main aspects of impedance cardiography ICG method and to review the recent advances and developments in this research area. Precisely, the validation and the clinical applications of ICG are carefully demonstrated in this review. Particularly, in the validation and the recent advances in ICG, only the papers published during the last five years (from 2013 until 2017) have been undertaken.


Qualitative determination of chemical and nutritional composition of Cassia occidentalis, an underexploited crop seed in Nigeria, was carried out. Seeds of C. occidentalis were found to be rich in crude protein, carbohydrate, and mineral elements. Mineral analysis of C. occidentalis showed the seed as good source of antioxidant micronutrients such as iron, calcium, potassium, sodium and magnessium. The phytochemical screening of the seed showed the presence of carbohydrate, terpene, steroid, sugar and tannins. Alkaloids, saponnins and glycosides were absent. Although the oil has a very low peroxide value and high iodine value, it cannot be recommended for consumption because of the low yield as well as its repulsive odour. The seed, however, can serve as a cheap source of protein, energy, as well as antioxidant micronutrients supplements in both man and animal. ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY


Software activation is an anti-piracy technology designed to verify that software products have been legitimately licensed [1]. It is supposed to be quick and simple while simultaneously protecting customer privacy. The most common form of software activation is through the entering of legitimate product serial numbers by users, which sometimes are also known as product keys. This technique is employed by various software, from small shareware programs to large commercial programs such as Microsoft Office. However, software activation based on a serial number appears to be weak, as various cracks for a majority of programs are available and can be found easily on the Internet. Users can use such cracks to bypass the software activation. Generally, the verification logic for checking a serial number executes sequentially in a single thread. Such an approach is weak because attackers can effectively trace this thread from the beginning to the end to understand how the verification logic works. In this paper, we develop a practical multi-threaded verification design. We breakdown the checking logic into smaller pieces and run each piece within a separate thread. Our results show that the amount of traceable code in a debugger is reduced to a low percentage of the code -especially when junk threads with deadlocks are used -and the traceable code in each run can differ as well. This makes it more difficult for an attacker to reverse engineer the code and bypass any security check. Finally, we attempt to quantify the increased effort necessary to break out verification logic.


In this paper we study the effects of Switzerland implementing the Schengen agreement on cross-border commuting from regions of neighbouring countries. As vehicles are allowed to cross borders without stopping and residents in border areas are granted freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, commuting costs are severely reduced. Using data from the European Labour Force Survey, we estimate that the individual probability to cross-border commute to Switzerland in response to this policy has increased among inter-regional commuters in the range between 3 and 6 percentage points, according to different model specifications. Our result is particularly important due the meaningful policy implications, in a time in which the Schengen agreement is under scrutiny and at risk of termination.


Children everywhere rejoice—there may be such a thing as being too clean. According to Cecile King, Nora Sarvetnick (Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA), and colleagues, overprotection from exposure to germs might cause autoimmune diseases.

Figure

Autoimmunity (filled circles) is prevented if mice are given doses of T cells to fill their immune systems.

Autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, are generally thought to result from an overstimulated immune system. This assumption does not, however, explain why these diseases are more prevalent in sterile western societies or why they often correlate with depleted numbers of T cells. Sarvetnick and colleagues now show that the combination of a depleted and understimulated immune system leads to autoimmunity.

The authors find that a mouse model of autoimmune diabetes has just this combination. These mice make too much of the IL-21 cytokine, which promotes proliferation (like other cytokines) but not survival (unlike other cytokines). Thus, their T cells continually multiply but never fill up the immune system.

These rapidly multiplying T cells (which likely respond to self-antigens from nearby organs) caused autoimmune diabetes. But diabetes was prevented if the mice were injected either with enough T cells to fill the immune system or with bacterial proteins so that multiplying T cells expanded robustly to these non–self-antigens.

"Most people do not want to think of autoimmunity as a form of immunodeficiency," says Sarvetnick. But T cells in sanitized western children might be faced with a problem: without enough stimulation by foreign antigens to prompt T cell expansion, the T cells that do fill the immune system may have more than the normal share of autoreactive clones. So a bit of play time in the dirt might serve kids well. ▪

Reference:

King, C., et al. 2004. Cell. 117:265–277. [PubMed]


This paper addresses three questions: 1) what would have been the growth and income trajectory of Syria in the absence of war; 2) given the war, what explains the reduction in economic growth in terms physical capital, labor force, human capital, and productivity; and 3) what potential growth scenarios for Syria there could be in the aftermath of war. Estimates of the impact of conflict point to negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth of -12 percent on average over 2011-18, resulting in a GDP contraction to about one-third of the 2010 level. In post-conflict simulation scenarios, the growth drivers are affected by the assumed levels of reconstruction assistance, repatriation of refugees, and productivity improvements associated with three plausible political settlement outcomes: a baseline (Sochi-plus) moderate scenario, an optimistic (robust political settlement) scenario, and a pessimistic (de facto balance of power) scenario. Respectively for these scenarios, GDP per capita average growth in the next two decades is projected to be 6.1, 8.2, or 3.1 percent, assuming that a final and stable resolution of the conflict is achieved.


Europe Undivided analyzes how an enlarging EU has facilitated a convergence toward liberal democracy among credible future members of the EU in Central and Eastern Europe. It reveals how variations in domestic competition put democratizing states on different political trajectories after 1989, and how the EU's leverage eventually influenced domestic politics in liberal and particularly illiberal democracies. In doing so, Europe Undivided illuminates the changing dynamics of the relationship between the EU and candidate states from 1989 to 2004, and challenges policymakers to manage and improve EU leverage to support democracy, ethnic tolerance, and economic reform in other candidates and proto-candidates such as the Western Balkan states, Turkey, and Ukraine. Albeit not by design, the most powerful and successful tool of EU foreign policy has turned out to be EU enlargement - and this book helps us understand why, and how, it works.


Frederick Garber studies in a wide range of English, French, German, and American literary texts instances of the struggle for the self's autonomy during the period preceding modernism. In tracing a pattern that changes from the unsettling of bourgeois conditions in Richardson to the collapse of that challenge in the Decadents, he demonstrates that this period is characterized by a pervasive dialectic of aloofness and association.Originally published in 1982.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


ABSTRACT Background: West African immigrants in Europe are disproportionally affected by metabolic conditions compared to European host populations. Nutrition transition through urbanisation and migration may contribute to this observations, but remains to be characterised. Objective: We aimed to describe the dietary behaviour and its socio-demographic factors among Ghanaian migrants in Europe and their compatriots living different Ghanaian settings. Methods: The multi-centre, cross-sectional RODAM (Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants) study was conducted among Ghanaian adults in rural and urban Ghana, and Europe. Dietary patterns were identified by principal component analysis. Results: Contributions of macronutrient to the daily energy intake was different across the three study sites. Three dietary patterns were identified. Adherence to the 'mixed' pattern was associated with female sex, higher education, and European residency. The 'rice, pasta, meat, and fish' pattern was associated with male sex, younger age, higher education, and urban Ghanaian environment. Adherence to the 'roots, tubers, and plantain' pattern was mainly related to rural Ghanaian residency. Conclusion: We observed differences in food preferences across study sites: in rural Ghana, diet concentrated on starchy foods; in urban Ghana, nutrition was dominated by animal-based products; and in Europe, diet appeared to be highly diverse.


The Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings.
businesses or parts of businesses was approved by the Council of Ministers on February 14 1977. It fell to be transposed into national law within two years. In 1979
the Labour Government in the United Kingdom was defeated and a new Conservative Government assumed office. In 1981 the Government transposed the Directive into UK law with great reluctance. Thus a flawed European Directive was transposed into inadequate Regulations by a reluctant Government.

The advent of the Conservative party to power resulted in a change in Government policy away from partnership with the representatives of employees and employers to a policy of de-regulation and an attack on the strength of the trade unions. A series of Employment Acts during the 1980s transformed industrial relations within the country.

Within this changing environment the Acquired Rights Directive appeared as a paradox, as its intention was to increase protection available to employees in the event
of a transfer. At the same time the European Court of Justice gradually defined and widened the scope of protection offered by the Directive.

The changing nature of industrial relations in the United Kingdom has been in contrast to that of other Member States of the European Community which are studied here. These Member States are examined as a contrast to the UK approach.

Additionally the European Community has been developing its relationship with the representatives of employees and employers. There has been a process of creating a
social dialogue at Community level and the role of the social partners has been of increasing importance.

A central theme of this thesis is that it is this contrast between the approach of the Community and Member States, on the one hand, to the approach of the United Kingdom, on the other, that has contributed to the problems experienced with the Directive. It is likely that problems will also occur with the new Acquired Rights Directive unless there is a short term change of approach by the United Kingdom.

In the longer term, it is argued, there needs to be an acceptance by the Community of the diversity of the Member States so that any such conflicts can be avoided in the
future.


Presented is a newly devised static/dynamic correction approach for eigenvector expansion based reduced-order modeling (ROM). When compared to the fundamental Ritz ROM formulation, along with the static and multiple static correction ROM approaches, the technique is demonstrated to have much better performance in modeling unsteady linearized frequency-domain aerodynamics in regions of the complex frequency plane near the imaginary axis, and up to a prescribed frequency of interest. As with the static and multiple static correction approaches, the method requires a directly computed solution at zero frequency. The method then requires one additional direct solution to be computed at some nonzero frequency, which typically is the maximum frequency of interest. When compared to the multiple static corrections method, the method circumvents the necessity of having to determine each of the multiple static corrections, which require a solution to an alternate set of equations that must be formulated and which can be costly to solve for large systems. We also consider the feasibility of using a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to determine approximations for the least damped fluid-dynamic eigenvectors. We demonstrate that in certain situations these approximate eigenvectors can be used in conjunction with the static/dynamic correction ROM approach to achieve an improvement in performance over the recently devised POD/ROM method where the POD shapes alone are used as ROM shape vectors. Finally, we illustrate how the method can be coupled with a structural model to compute the Mach-number flutter speed trend for a large computational-fluid-dynamics model of a three-dimensional transonic wing configuration.


T wo recent events have forced scientists and others to confront the issue of ethical behavior in scientific work, leading some to question the validity of the body of accumulated scientific knowledge. But fraud and validity are separable matters, and it is important that the public understand the differences between them. Yes, the scientific enterprise may occasionally fall short in dealing with unethical behavior, but that has not threatened the reliability of our accumulated scientific knowledge.

The knowledge structure produced by science has a quality unique among the creations of the human species. Its uniqueness lies in its capacity to provide reliable quantitative predictions of phenomena within its own domain; no other aspect of human experience has that kind of capability. This predictive power is a consequence of the way scientific studies evolve—and science's validation processes, themselves unique, guarantee that power.

Science advances by trial and error, guided by past observations and their interpretations. Establishing the validity of each new result is essential. Some new findings, such as the measurement of a quantity predicted by a well-established theory, call for only modest efforts to establish validity. At the opposite extreme are results that challenge established concepts. Some apparently idiosyncratic ideas cannot be tested rigorously at the time when they are proposed. For example, continental drift, eventually called plate tectonics, could not be validated until many years after it was proposed. But the celebrated cases of "cold fusion" and "polywater" immediately produced major efforts at validation, because both would have been important were they correct. That stimulated many researchers to examine each and, in months, to discredit them.

In these examples, the researchers doubtless believed that their results were valid. In some recent cases, it has become clear that the scientists knew they weren't. These new cases of fraudulent research, though hardly the first, raise the question of whether the validation process that corrects honest error works as well for deliberate fraud.

When any new result is presented to a scientific community, the tacit presumption is that the presenter is honest. But whether that presumption holds or not, the result will be subject to the standard validation processes that make science work. And these processes have kept the body of scientific knowledge remarkably self-consistent. Thus, it is especially important to separate two questions: how and whether science succeeds at self-validation, and how to recognize and deal with misconduct.

The history of element 116—not 118—illustrates this. A surprising report first claimed to demonstrate the transient existence of that element. Subsequently, other investigators showed that short-lived element 116 actually exists. In the meantime, incontrovertible evidence appeared from elsewhere that the initial report had been based on phantom experiments! Here the validation process established a phenomenon independent of the malfeasance of its first claimant. This bizarre case demonstrates the importance of separating how we think about the correctness of scientific information and about the correctness of human behavior.

Procedures that test the validity of scientific information may also expose malfeasance. In the recent case at Bell Laboratories, the identity of noise distributions in two spectra, presented as independent and different, differs from inconsistencies resulting from careless error or poor experimental design. The very nature of noise implies that only by being representations of the same spectrum could two noise distributions be identical. That kind of inconsistency inevitably implies deliberate misrepresentation, but those additional implications concern personal behavior, not the correctness of the science. The fraudulent claim to have found element 116 is just as reprehensible as the fraudulent claim to have found element 118. But the procedures that make scientific results trustworthy are as robust and effective as they have been since science began.

Scientific self-correction is alive and well, and it serves to maintain the validity of the body of scientific knowledge. That process may work slowly, partly because of the procedures required for validation and partly because scientists may feel little urgency to validate a particular result. Nonetheless the validation must eventually occur if the result is to be used in building further science. It is important that, despite the furor over research misconduct, the public understand that the validation process is working as it should. Cultivating, even demanding, ethical behavior in the scientific enterprise is important for other reasons, quite distinct from our need to have confidence in the enterprise itself.


The paper re-expresses arguments against the normative validity of expected utility theory in Robin Pope (1983, 1991a, 1991b, 1985, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007). These concern the neglect of the evolving stages of knowledge ahead (stages of what the future will bring). Such evolution is fundamental to an experience of risk, yet not consistently incorporated even in axiomatised temporal versions of expected utility. Its neglect entails a disregard of emotional and financial effects on well-being before a particular risk is resolved. These are arguments are complemented with an analysis of the essential uniqueness property in the context of temporal and atemporal expected utility theory and a proof of the absence of a limit property natural in an axiomatised approach to temporal expected utility theory. Problems of the time structure of risk are investigated in a simple temporal framework restricted to a subclass of temporal lotteries in the sense of David Kreps and Evan Porteus (1978). This subclass is narrow but wide enough to discuss basic issues. It will be shown that there are serious objections against the modification of expected utility theory axiomatised by Kreps and Porteus (1978, 1979). By contrast the umbrella theory proffered by Pope that she has now termed SKAT, the Stages of Knowledge Ahead Theory, offers an epistemically consistent framework within which to construct particular models to deal with particular decision situations. A model by Caplin and Leahy (2001) will also be discussed and contrasted with the modelling within SKAT (Pope, Leopold and Leitner 2006).


In this paper, we present how real-time services are implemented in a control-channel based ring network built up of fiber-ribbon point-to-point links. Services for best effort messages, guarantee seeking messages and real-time virtual channels are supported for single destination, multicast and broadcast transmission by the network. Slot-reservation is used for the implementation of real-time virtual channels. High aggregated throughput can be achieved due to pipelining, i.e., data can be transmitted simultaneously in different segments of the ring. An analysis of worst-case latency and deterministic throughput, which are important measures for real-time service implementation, is provided. The network is analyzed for two variants of time-slot organization, one that offers higher throughput and one that offers lower latency in some situations. We also show how the network offers low-level support for parallel computing, i.e., barrier-synchronization and global reduction. The control channel is used when realizing these functions, which implies no modification of the original network architecture. Low-level support for reliable transmission is also offered in a similar manner. This includes acknowledge / negative acknowledge and flow-control.


The competitive situation for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, SME's, has become intensified during the last few years. Large customers, such as within the automotive industry, have increased the outsourcing of their manufacturing capacity and reduced the number of suppliers. At the same time the large systems integrators place demands on their suppliers to actively participate in the product development and to take full responsibility for manufacturing as well as to deliver complete systems or subsystems. Due to the limited capacity of the suppliers, in terms of the scarcity of resources and limited knowledge base, suppliers need to collaborate in networks. The purpose of this study is to identify critical factors to successful network collaborative settings. In this paper we also introduce a four dimensional tentative framework, in terms of surface of integration, the scope of integration, the time horizon of integration, and the intensity of integration. This framework can be used to analyze how well collaborative networks are developed from three aspects of corporate integration, in terms of structural design of the network, the design of the work flow in collaborative settings, and aspect of handling the psychological and social boundaries among people, that management has to handle in order to increase the degrees of network collaboration. This tentative framework is suggested as an analytical tool that can be used in order to understand how different collaborative networks are developed in terms of the network constellation, output of the collaborative process, as well as duration and robustness of the network.


Abstract The epidote-group nomenclature report by Armbruster et al. (2006) provides a clear and concise definition of the epidote group, and a set of consistent rules and naming conventions for establishing new subgroups and mineral species within what is now the epidote supergroup (Mills et al., 2009). In order to comply with these rules, it was decided to rename the already approved minerals hancockite, niigataite and tweddillite to epidote-(Pb), clinozoisite-(Sr) and manganipiemontite-(Sr), respectively. These names were already well established within the mineral community, and the renaming caused some controversy. Recent International Mineralogical Association guidelines (Hatert et al. 2013) have given priority to the historical provenance of names over nomenclature consistency. Hatert et al. (2013) state as a main principle that "retroactivity will not be applied", but that "Every change in nomenclature has to go through the CNMNC, and is examined on its own merit", thus establishing a mechanism for re-instating historical names on a case by case basis. The CNMNC (Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification Committee of the International Mineralogical Association) has therefore decided, as an exception to the main principle, to re-instate hancockite, niigataite and tweddillite. In part to maintain the historical names but, more importantly, re-establish the link between the mineral names and their structural and chemical definitions.


We introduce a graded Hopf algebra based on the set of parking functions (hence of dimension (n+1)^{n-1} in degree n). This algebra can be embedded into a noncommutative polynomial algebra in infinitely many variables. We determine its structure, and show that it admits natural quotients and subalgebras whose graded components have dimensions respectively given by the Schroder numbers (plane trees), the Catalan numbers, and powers of 3.
These smaller algebras are always bialgebras and belong to some family of di- or tri-algebras occuring in the works of Loday and Ronco.
Moreover, the fundamental notion of parkization allows one to endow the set of parking functions of fixed length with an associative multiplication (different from the one coming from the Shi arrangement), leading to a generalization of the internal product of symmetric functions. Several of the intermediate algebras are stable under this operation. Among them, one finds the Solomon descent algebra but also a new algebra based on a Catalan set, admitting the Solomon algebra as a left ideal.


The Hastings Center Guidelines on the Termination of Life-Sustaining Treatment and the Care of the Dying (1987) was the first set of consensus-based ethics guidelines to help physicians and other health care professionals provide good care when patients and families face decisions about life-sustaining treatment and end-of-life care. This groundbreaking book, whose principal author was Susan M. Wolf, was widely consulted and influential in the U.S. and internationally. It was cited by Justice O'Connor in the U.S. Supreme Court's Cruzan decision and helped shape the current ethical and legal framework for medical decision-making and end-of-life care. The revised and expanded second edition of this classic work in bioethics and health law, written by Nancy Berlinger, Bruce Jennings, and Susan M. Wolf, and published by Oxford University Press, reflects the past 26 years of empirical research and clinical innovation in palliative care, patient safety, and health care quality improvement, and features insights from more than 60 clinical experts, legal authorities, members of the disability community, and patient advocates. The new edition's broader scope covers advance care planning, chronic illness, disability, decision-making about starting, continuing, or forgoing treatment, and care near the end of life. A new section on pediatrics covers the care of infants, children, and adolescents, with attention to the implications of research findings on the neurodevelopment of decision-making capacity for decisions by older children and adolescents. The book's greatly expanded material now includes sections on neurological states, decisions about nutrition and hydration, collaboration with patients who have disabilities, and resource allocation in an era of health care reform. In addition to clarifying consensus in key areas such as surrogate decision-making and palliative care, the new edition addresses debates on physician-assisted suicide, organ donation after cardiac/circulatory death, and the minimally conscious state.Early praise for the new edition describes it as "a truly comprehensive textbook for ethical, legal, institutional, and psychosocial aspects of end-of-life care" (Robert Truog, MD, Harvard Medical School) and as "the sourcebook for how the ethics of life-sustaining treatment and care at the end of life should be taught, institutionalized and translated into clinical teaching and practice"(Kathleen M. Foley, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center).


This PhD research seeks to consider overseas investment in a new and important context: education. Estimated at approximately US$ 65 billion and representing roughly 3% of global services exports (Alderman, 2001), trade in education services is fast becoming a global business (Czinkota, 2006). In Australia, New Zealand and the United States, for example, educational service is estimated to be, respectively, the third, fourth and fifth largest service sector export (Vincent-Lancrin, 2004). The globalisation and internationalisation of higher education manifest themselves in various forms, of which transnational education or 'offshore' programmes - those taught outside of a host academic institution's country of origin - have been experiencing rapid increases over the past decade. Most of this growth, to date, has taken place through contractual arrangements such as licensing (e.g. twinning and articulation arrangements). However, there are also a substantial number of academic institutions that are currently delivering transnational education through equity modes of entry (e.g. branch campus operations). In this context, this PhD research, using universities as the unit of analysis, seeks to understand the dynamics of transnational education - how it is happening and why it is happening - grounded in the strategy and international business literatures. In particular, the research question being addressed in this study is: What resources are associated with entry mode choice for education providers entering overseas markets? Using a multi-method research design consisting of both qualitative and quantitative analysis, seven different types of resources are specifically examined in this study: Geographical experience, Industry experience, Transfer experience, Organisational culture, Financial resources, Reputation and Learning intent. Using the resource-based view (RBV) as its theoretical underpinning, this study hypothesises that the more access to these resources an education service provider might have, the more they will favour a higher level of ownership in offshore education developments. This overall hypothesis builds on the basic assumption of the RBV that organisations in possession of resources which are potential sources of competitive advantage in a target market, would favour a  mode of entry that facilitates control over and protection of the resources. This fundamental assumption of the RBV differs to that of the transaction cost approach, which typically views shared-control modes as the default mode of entry. The conceptual model developed in this study further postulates that the resource-entry mode relationship is moderated by institutional distance. The education sector in most countries is a regulated sector, where authorities monitor the quality of education. Therefore, when investing offshore, education service providers are likely to operate around some form of regulated institutional environments that are likely to affect their mode of entry decisions. From the collected 308 instances of foreign market entry of universities in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada (CA), Australia (AU), New Zealand (NZ) and Ireland (IR), analysis is conducted at both an aggregate and geographical grouping level (i.e. UK/IR, AU/NZ and US/CA). To assess the sensitivity of the obtained results, three estimation techniques are also analysed: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Tobit and Negative Binomial regressions. To further assess the sensitivity and robustness of the observed findings for the moderating role of institutional distance, three measures of distance are analysed: World Competitiveness Yearbook, Economic Freedom Index and Hofstede (1980) cultural indices. From the different groupings and estimation techniques, the empirical findings show that support is obtained for Transfer experience, but only when using OLS estimation. Mixed support is obtained for Geographical experience, Industry experience and Financial resources. The hypotheses with respect to the other types of resources are not supported. These findings suggest that, contrary to the basic premise of the RBV, a higher level of ownership might not always be the preferred entry mode in the offshore education context. The observed findings also do not support the moderating hypothesis of institutional distance on the resource-entry mode relationship. This lack of support is consistent across all three measures of distance analysed. Several possible explanations for these observed findings are conjectured in Chapter 7. These explanations are not purely theoretical conjectures but are also enriched on the basis of the interviews conducted as part of the exploratory stage of this study. The greatest takeaway from this study is that the observed findings, which do not fully conform to mainstream international business and strategic management theories, can be attributed to context/industry specific conditions. Traditional international business and strategy research has largely focused on "for-profit" firms. Given that universities are "not-for-profit" organisations, it needs to be recognised that their international operations are different from those of regular multinational firms. These findings provide initial steps in improving our understanding of the internationalisation of the education services sector.


Turbulence analysis in turbomachines is a complex task. The combination of different turbulence sources and transport mechanisms poses the question of determining adequate metrics to quantify turbulence levels and provide insight into the flow structure and its evolution. Apart from experimental measurement techniques, numerical techniques arise as a useful tool to characterize this type of flow, especially hybrid LES tech - niques that allow a highly accurate description of the transport of turbulent structures, while turbulence generation at solid boundaries is addressed using RANS schemes. In this chapter, recent developments concerning numerical simulation of rotor-stator and stator-rotor interactions in low-speed axial fans using LES techniques are presented. A post-processing framework is introduced to segregate the deterministic and turbulent components of the unsteady flow, allowing an accurate description of both phenomena. Hence, turbulent transport over the different stage rows of the axial fan can be accurately addressed. Following, LES capacities to simulate turbulence transport mechanisms such as breaking-up of turbulent eddies, stretching and dissipation of vorticity or identifica tion and convection of coherent vortices are discussed. The ability of LES computations to disclose flow turbulence in rotor-stator environments at off-design conditions is spe cially illustrated.


We show that every linear optical component can be completely described as a device that converts one set of orthogonal input modes, one by one, to a matching set of orthogonal output modes. This result holds for any linear optical structure with any specific variation in space and/or time of its structure. There are therefore preferred orthogonal "mode converter" basis sets of input and output functions for describing any linear optical device, in terms of which the device can be described by a simple diagonal operator. This result should help us understand what linear optical devices we can and cannot make. As illustrations, we use this approach to derive a general expression for the alignment tolerance of an efficient mode coupler and to prove that loss-less combining of orthogonal modes is impossible.


We studied numerically the transmission properties of the periodic array of asymmetric cross-shaped apertures in an Ag film. The relative positions of the two orthogonally oriented rectangular apertures are varied, rather than their length or width. Each transmission peak of the original symmetric cross-shaped apertures will split into two peaks in the case of the asymmetric cross-shaped apertures when the electric field is perpendicular to the long axis of the unchanged rectangular aperture. The wavelength of the shift peak has a linear relation with the asymmetry. This resonance response mainly results from the excitation of the trapped mode provided by the structural symmetry breaking. A distribution of the magnetic field and a simple Lagrange model are used to interpret these phenomena. In addition, the intensity of the transmission peaks can be tuned by changing the incident polarization angle.


In the United States and Great Britain happiness has declined during the last quarter of the century (Blanchflower & Oswald, 2004). This suggests that individual and societal happiness may not be attributable to material well-being and may affected by other factors. Previous studies have failed to adopt a holistic approach towards happiness that incorporates material, physical, social and psychological factors, and the spiritual or transpersonal dimension of being (Egan et al., 2014; Graham et al., 2017). This study aims to explore happiness in a holistic way by including measures of well-being, spiritual well-being, personality, self-actualization, self-esteem and the experiencing of weird coincidences. 126 participants completed a survey online via Survey Monkey. Well-being(PERMA) and self-actualization were significantly positively related with overall happiness. Based on our findings, personal happiness may not be attributable to material well-being and may affected by factors such as meaning and self-esteem. Future research might look at whether seeking meaning or having found meaning or both are associated with self-actualization


The X-ray Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) imaging experiment with single layer is implemented. Based on the astigmatism aberration and residual geometric aberration of a single mirror, a KB system with 16X mean magnification and approximately 0.45\circ razing incidence angle is designed. The mirrors are deposited with an Ir layer of 20-nm thickness. Au grids backlit by X-ray tube of 8 keV are imaged via the KB system on scintillator charge-coupled device (CCD). In the \pm80 \mum field, resolutions of less than 5 \mum are measured. The result is in good agreement with the simulated imaging.


Friction Modelling In Connection With Cold Forming Processes This thesis describes theoretical as well as experimental studies of friction in cold forming processes. In cold forming, a main obstacle impeding accurate prediction in numerical modelling is the lack of knowledge with regard to the friction conditions at the tool/workpiece interface. Friction has a vital influence on metal flow, form filling, strain distribution and total load as well as local tool stresses. The commonly applied Coulomb's friction model and the constant friction model are not sufficient. Although the general friction model developed by Wanheim and Bay is usually accepted as a better solution, it is still not satisfactory. Because of the complex nature of the interrelations between a great variety of parameters involved, the subject of friction modelling in cold forming remains nascent and as yet difficult to address. The literature review presented here covers: friction models applied; previous friction testing; key parameters affecting friction and facilities available at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The project tasks are outlined with relation to the observations of the review. The FEM codes DEFORMTM and SORPAS® are used in numerical simulations. Friction models are developed and implemented in FEM simulation for analysis of the plastic friction test and forming processes. Experimental investigations include the following workpiece materials: aluminium alloy AA 6082; low carbon steel W.No.1.0303 and stainless steel W.No.1.4301. Aluminium alloy is first coated with aluminate conversion coatings and then lubricated by alkaline soap, molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), alkaline soap followed by molykote grease paste, or kerosene respectively. Steel and stainless steel are first coated with zinc phosphate coatings and then lubricated by either alkaline soap or molybdenum disulphide. As processes testing friction sensitive flow, the ring-compression tests and the double cup extrusion tests are carried out. An absolute constant friction model has been proposed to separate the influence of strain hardening from friction. This model has been applied in the FEM analyses of the process tests. In the simulative testing, the compression-twist tests in open die and closed die are carried out to measure friction stress directly at varying normal pressure, surface expansion, sliding length and tool temperature etc. It is found that normal pressure and lubrication significantly influence friction stress. Although other parameters, like surface expansion, also affect friction, their influence is less significant. Comparison of theoretical and experimental analysis of the tests with friction sensitive flow and the three friction models, show appreciable differences in the results. New empirical friction models have therefore been developed, based on the results of the simulative tests. Applying these models in the FEM simulations shows that they are acceptable for direct applications. In direct process testing, the forward rod extrusion test is investigated for different reductions. Comparison of the results with the empirical friction models obtained by simulative testing shows good agreement. A new process test has been developed for the upsetting test, applying a new friction sensitive parameter, i.e. the relative shrinking ratio of the original end face. The parameter is very sensitive to friction, which has been verified by experimental studies and FEM analysis. In the new test, five different friction models have been implemented in FEM analysis of metal flow and normal pressure, showing no significant difference and resulting in the same shape of calibration curves as experimentally observed.


Lake Qarun is an inland closed basin, located about 80 Km south west of Cairo. It suffers from a serious water pollution problem which is due to uncontrolled solid and liquid domestic, in addition to agrochemical contamination and lack of sustainable wastewater management. The present study aimed to follow up the variation in the water quality of the lake Qarun through the determination of physicochemical properties of water seasonally (August 2014 to May 2015). The physicochemical parameters showed variations at different sites of Lake Qarun in four seasons. The results showed that the maximum mean value for temperature and EC was found in summer at the Main pump station. The minimum mean values of dissolved oxygen were found in summer but maximum mean values found in winter at the main pump station. On the other hand, the highest mean values of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate were found at Al-Batts drain which the most highly polluted sampling site due to agricultural and sewage wastes discharged into Lake Qarun from this huge drain.


To assess the potential for an epizootic of pneumonia to result from either natural immigration or translocation, we compared the seroprevalence to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in several populations of desert bighorn sheep in Arizona. We collected blood samples and nasal or oropharyngeal swabs from 124 desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) from 6 populations in Arizona in 2009 and 2010. M. ovipneumoniae organisms were detected by PCR in 22%, whereas antibodies to M. ovipneumoniae were detected in 47% of tested bighorn sheep. Mycoplasma antibodies were not found in 2 of 6 populations, indicating some bighorn sheep populations in Arizona are naive to this bacterium. In contrast, others had seroprevalence rates up to 80%. We were able to compare seroprevalence rates and titers over time in 9 individuals (7 individuals included in the 124 bighorn sheep sampled in 2009 and 2010, and 2 individuals originally captured in 2006). Antibody titers persisted for 12 months in individuals from the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge (n = 7) while antibody titers appeared to decline in the Kanab Creek population (n = 2). M. ovipneumoniae is present or has been present in several, but not all, populations of bighorn sheep in Arizona. The results demonstrate the importance of routine health testing for future translocation efforts to reduce disease risk for naive populations. Desert Bighorn Council Transactions 51:1–10


Cannabis (Cannabis sativa/indica), also known as marijuana, has been used for medicinal and recreational purposes for millennia. There has been a recent trend to legalize the use of cannabis, as illustrated by the recent legalization votes in numerous states in the United States and legislation in Canada to allow recreational cannabis use. With this increasing consumption of cannabis, dermatologists will see increased pressure to prescribe cannabis and will see the side effects of cannabis use with greater frequency. There are several approved medical indications for cannabis use, including psoriasis, lupus, nail-patella syndrome, and severe pain. In addition, very preliminary studies have suggested cannabis and its derivatives might have use in acne, dermatitis, pruritus, wound healing, and skin cancer. Further well-controlled studies are required to explore these potential uses. Conversely, the side effects of cannabis use are relatively well documented, and dermatologists should be aware of these presentations. Side effects of cannabis use include cannabis allergy manifesting as urticaria and pruritus, cannabis arteritis presenting with necrosis and ulcers, and oral cancers from cannabis smoke. In this review, we summarize some of the studies and reports regarding the medicinal uses of cannabis in the dermatology clinic and some of the side effects that might present more often to dermatologists as the use of cannabis increases.


After the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, hundreds of women left their countries for South Africa, some in search of adventure, others with a strong desire to help the victims of war. They came from all over the world ? from Britain and its colonies, and from pro-Boer countries in Europe. But, whatever their origins, they all came to live and work under harsh conditions in a world that was foreign to them.
Angels of Mercy tells the story of twelve of these brave women. Hailing from England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, some worked as nurses on the frontline, while others came to teach Boer children in the concentration camps. Based on personal diaries and letters and other wartime sources, this fascinating and inspiring book tells of their trials and tribulations as they dealt with the dangers of war, the extremes of the environment, and the sad eyes of the dying men under their care. Theirs are stories of compassion and courage.


Upgrading the software of long-lived, highly-available distributed systems is difficult. It is not possible to upgrade all the nodes in a system at once, since some nodes may be unavailable and halting the system for an upgrade is unacceptable. Instead, upgrades may happen gradually, and there may be long periods of time when different nodes are running different software versions and need to communicate using incompatible protocols. We present a methodology and infrastructure that address these challenges and make it possible to upgrade distributed systems automatically while limiting service disruption. Our methodology defines how to enable nodes to interoperate across versions, how to preserve the state of a system across upgrades, and how to schedule an upgrade so as to limit service disruption. The approach is modular: defining an upgrade requires understanding only the new software and the version it replaces. The upgrade infrastructure is a generic platform for distributing and installing software while enabling nodes to interoperate across versions. The infrastructure requires no access to the system source code and is transparent: node software is unaware that different versions even exist. We have implemented a prototype of the infrastructure called Upstart that intercepts socket communication using a dynamically-linked C++ library. Experiments show that Upstart has low overhead and works well for both local-area and Internet systems. Thesis Supervisor: Barbara H. Liskov Title: Professor


This paper presents a validation case study of Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) surface products where its bidirectional reflectance (BRF) measurements during the Southern Africa Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000) campaign are compared with those coincidently evaluated on the ground and from the air, using the Portable Apparatus for Rapid Acquisition of Bidirectional Observations of Land and Atmosphere (PARABOLA) and Cloud Absorption Radiometer observations, respectively. The presence of haze and smoke during the campaign provided a case study to evaluate the effect of atmospheric correction on MISR surface products. Two surface types were considered in the analyses: the bright desert-like surface of the Pan and the dark grassland that surrounds it. The results show that for the dark surface the BRF values retrieved from MISR are in good agreement, within 5%, with those obtained from field data. For the bright desert-like pan surface, better agreement, within ~10%, was found in all channels on the clear day but only in the forward scattering on the hazy day. A comparison of MISR aerosol retrievals to those obtained from three independent ground measurements suggests that, in the presence of a highly reflective surface, small uncertainties in the MISR aerosol retrievals become magnified at larger optical depths, causing errors in the surface BRF retrievals


The objective of this manuscript is to summarize studies that demonstrate that the immune system participates in the expression of opiate withdrawal. Five groups of animals were used: 1. Chronic morphine control group; 2. The immune system was ablated in morphine-dependent rats; 3. In morphine-dependent animals the immune system was ablated and followed by reconstitution of the immune system from intact normal donor animals; 4.The immune system was ablated prior to chronic morphine exposure; and, 5. The immune system in morphine-naïve animals was ablated followed by immune component reconstitution from donor animals and then exposed to chronic morphine. All of the chronic morphine exposure animals were injected with 1.0 mg/kg naloxone to precipitate the behavioral withdrawal symptoms. In the first group, naloxone precipitated the classical behavioral syndrome; in groups 2 and 4 withdrawal symptoms were significantly attenuated and eliminated in some animals; and, in groups 3 and 5 naloxone injection resulted in severe withdrawal behavior. These experiments demonstrated that the immune system participates in opiate withdrawal expression and suggest the use of immunotherapy to control the opioid epidemic.


In the past, between the years 1800 and 1950, legal education was a local, generalist, apprentice-based, non-corporate, and highly academic self-explanatory affair. Most of the legal professionals regarded themselves as involved in ex-post private law and criminal litigation/trials. Legal theory and the curriculum, correspondingly, could focus mainly on local private and criminal law contained in approximately 10.000 pages. At the start of the 21st century a number of things have changed. Around 100 specialized areas of legal theory and practice have emerged, along with millions of pages of new material. The sources of these new rules are increasingly international and regional, especially in Europe. The legal profession has also industrialized. The sole practitioner is outnumbered by legal professionals that are mass producing legal services and legislative instruments, as well as adjudicative products. Client demand has changed the emphasis to be more focused on ex ante: preventing disputes. Employers are expecting more than ever that graduates are well on their way through this increased volume of material, plus well versed in critical thinking, advocacy and research techniques. Moreover, in the countries where legal education is subsidized, universities are expected to educate more pupils for less money, plus accepting lower entry qualifications favoring historically less privileged groups. This process includes attempts, again especially in Europe, to harmonize the higher education degree structure across states. Law school traditions have not responded to these developments yet. The curriculum and teaching techniques have remained largely the same as in the 1800 to 1950 era. The time is ready to change legal education drastically. To guide and justify that change, a modern, 21st century paradigm is required, addressing what the legal profession entails, what issues the legal profession deals with and what legal competences are required, to solve legal problems cheaply, efficiently and in a client friendly manner. Such a new paradigm should also provide the necessary assessment criteria evaluating, which law graduates may be permitted access to legal practices, including the various professional bodies admission procedures but also corporate hiring practices for junior and senior positions. This article provides such paradigm. It describes and defines the legal profession along four types of legal practices that exist all over the world. It identifies the "top 55 legal issues" that are most fundamental to any legal practice. It selects 50 areas of law that are necessary for instruction in law schools. More importantly, it argues which 6 legal skills/competencies should be the guiding tool for curriculum and assessment design, as well as the criteria for recruitment, life-long learning and career development in the legal profession. Furthermore, the new paradigm for legal education integrates the global ambitions (UN, OECD, G20) in the fields of sustainable development and rule of law into the daily reality of the legal profession, legal education and legal research.


We provide a broad review of fundamental electronic properties of two-dimensional graphene with the emphasis on density and temperature dependent carrier transport in doped or gated graphene structures. A salient feature of our review is a critical comparison between carrier transport in graphene and in two-dimensional semiconductor systems (e.g. heterostructures, quantum wells, inversion layers) so that the unique features of graphene electronic properties arising from its gap- less, massless, chiral Dirac spectrum are highlighted. Experiment and theory as well as quantum and semi-classical transport are discussed in a synergistic manner in order to provide a unified and comprehensive perspective. Although the emphasis of the review is on those aspects of graphene transport where reasonable consensus exists in the literature, open questions are discussed as well. Various physical mechanisms controlling transport are described in depth including long- range charged impurity scattering, screening, short-range defect scattering, phonon scattering, many-body effects, Klein tunneling, minimum conductivity at the Dirac point, electron-hole puddle formation, p-n junctions, localization, percolation, quantum-classical crossover, midgap states, quantum Hall effects, and other phenomena.


Title of Document: AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTS OF MASTERY, SELF-ESTEEM, AND RELIGIOSITY ON RECIDIVISM AMONG EX-PRISONERS Jill Lynn Farrell, Ph.D., 2009 Directed By: Professor Doris L. MacKenzie Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice While prior research has highlighted the importance of social factors for reentry and recidivism, several criminologists have pointed out that an individual's subjective perspectives (e.g., cognitions and self-concepts) are often neglected when studying these processes. This study attempts to address this gap in our understanding of the effects of subjective perspectives on recidivism by focusing on the impact of mastery, self-esteem, and religiosity among ex-prisoners reentering the community. This analysis utilizes data from the Urban Institute's Returning Home, a longitudinal study of prisoners from three major U.S. cities as they return to their communities. This comprehensive study provides information on both social experiences and the relevant subjective perspectives both during incarceration and after release. The current study utilizes a subsample of 740 males and examines three potential effects for mastery, self-esteem, and religiosity: direct effects, change effects (from prison to the community), and interaction effects with social stressors after release. Overall, the findings suggest that religiosity, through change processes and its capacity to buffer social stressors, is an important subjective perspective for male prisoners. More specifically, ex-prisoners who experienced an increase in religiosity from prison to the community were less likely to be reincarcerated. Further, pre-release religiosity moderated the effect of post-release social stressors on reincarceration. In contrast, religiosity had a positive interaction with social stressors to affect illegal drug use after release. Mastery and self-esteem, on the other hand, do not appear to have noteworthy effects on recidivism for this group, nor do changes in these perspectives or their interactions with social stressors impact the likelihood of recidivism. The findings also demonstrate that social stressors have a robust positive effect on reincarceration and illegal drug use among sample members. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed. AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTS OF MASTERY, SELF-ESTEEM, AND RELIGIOSITY ON RECIDIVISM AMONG EX-PRISONERS


Introduction: Nowadays, intense competition and technology changes make an increasing pressure to organizations and their various ways for increasing manpower productivity. Human resources are expected at this time to have greater impact on their products and services. This is the exact thing that caused competency to become an important factor in competitive environment. Competency term is used for describing the complex of behaviors that reflect the single composition of knowledge, skills, abilities and motives that are related to organizational role. The goal of this review article was a comprehensive introduction of competency and its application in designing training programs. Conclusion: The advantage of using competency for designing training programs in one aspect is the exact diagnosis of educational needs and increasing the efficiency of education and on the other aspect is applicability of learning and avoiding from just knowledge transferring.


The chemical mechanism of a retaining beta-mannosidase from Cellulomonas fimi has been characterized through steady-state kinetic analyses with a range of substrates, coupled with chemical rescue studies on both the wild-type enzyme and mutants in which active site carboxyl groups have been replaced. Studies with a series of aryl beta-mannosides of vastly different reactivities (pK(a)(lg) = 4-10) allowed kinetic isolation of the glycosylation and deglycosylation steps. Substrate inhibition was observed for all but the least reactive of these substrates. Brønsted analysis of k(cat) revealed a downward breaking plot (beta(lg) = -0.54 +/- 0.05) that is consistent with a change in rate-determining step (glycosylation to deglycosylation), and this was confirmed by partitioning studies with ethylene glycol. The pH dependence of k(cat)/K(m) follows an apparent single ionization of a group of pK(a) = 7.65 that must be protonated for catalysis. The tentative assignment of E429 as the acid-base catalyst of Man2A on the basis of sequence alignments with other family 2 glycosidases was confirmed by the increased turnover rate observed for the mutant E429A in the presence of azide and fluoride, leading to the production of beta-mannosyl azide and beta-mannosyl fluoride, respectively. A pH-dependent chemical rescue of E429A activity is also observed with citrate. Substantial oxocarbenium ion character at the transition state was demonstrated by the alpha-deuterium kinetic isotope effect for Man2A E429A of alpha-D(V) = 1.12 +/- 0.01. Surprisingly, this isotope effect was substantially greater in the presence of azide (alpha-D(V) = 1.166 +/- 0.009). Likely involvement of acid/base catalysis was revealed by the pH dependence of k(cat) for Man2A E429A, which follows a bell-shaped profile described by pK(a) values of 6.1 and 8.4, substantially different from that of the wild-type enzyme. The glycosidic bond cleaving activity of Man2A E519A and E519S nucleophile mutants is restored with azide and fluoride and appears to correlate with the corresponding "glycosynthase" activities. The contribution of the substrate 2-hydroxyl to stabilization of the Man2A glycosylation transition state (DeltaDeltaG() = 5.1 kcal mol(-1)) was probed using a 2-deoxymannose substrate. This value, surprisingly, is comparable to that found from equivalent studies with beta-glucosidases despite the geometric differences at C-2 and the importance of hydrogen bonding at that position. Modes of stabilizing the mannosidase transition state are discussed.


Calixpyrrole-based oligomeric compounds were synthesized by "click chemistry" from the corresponding alkyne- and azide-functionalized calix[4]pyrroles. Calix[4]pyrrole 3, possessing an alkyne functional group, was prepared through a mixed condensation of pyrrole with acetone and but-3-ynyl 4-oxopentanoate. Another alkyne-group-containing calix[4]pyrrole 5 was obtained by treatment of 4'-hydroxyphenyl-functionalized calixpyrrole 4 with propargyl bromide. Tetrakis(azidopentyl)-functionalized calix[4]pyrrole 7 was synthesized by reacting NaN(3) with tetrabromopentyltetraethylcalix[4]pyrrole 6, which was prepared through a condensation reaction of pyrrole and 7-bromohept-2-one. Oligomeric calixpyrrole compounds were found to be capable of extracting tetrabutylammonium chloride and fluoride salts from aqueous media. Extraction abilities of the oligomeric compounds were monitored by NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis.


Starting from the premise that understanding the foundations of concurrent programming is key to developing distributed computing systems, this book first presents the fundamental theories of concurrent computing and then introduces the programming languages that help develop distributed computing systems at a high level of abstraction. The major theories of concurrent computation -- including the p-calculus, the actor model, the join calculus, and mobile ambients -- are explained with a focus on how they help design and reason about distributed and mobile computing systems. The book then presents programming languages that follow the theoretical models already described, including Pict, SALSA, and JoCaml. The parallel structure of the chapters in both part one (theory) and part two (practice) enable the reader not only to compare the different theories but also to see clearly how a programming language supports a theoretical model. The book is unique in bridging the gap between the theory and the practice of programming distributed computing systems. It can be used as a textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in computer science or as a reference for researchers in the area of programming technology for distributed computing. By presenting theory first, the book allows readers to focus on the essential components of concurrency, distribution, and mobility without getting bogged down in syntactic details of specific programming languages. Once the theory is understood, the practical part of implementing a system in an actual programming language becomes much easier.


Recently, there has been increased interest in the retrieval and integration of hidden-Web data with a view to leverage high-quality information available in online databases. Although previous works have addressed many aspects of the actual integration, including matching form schemata and automatically filling out forms, the problem of locating relevant data sources has been largely overlooked. Given the dynamic nature of the Web, where data sources areconstantlychanging, itiscrucialtoautomaticallydiscoverthese resources. However, considering the number of documents on the Web (Google already indexes over 8 billion documents), automatically finding tens, hundreds or even thousands of forms that are relevant to the integration task is really like looking for a few needles in a haystack. Besides, since the vocabulary and structure of forms for a given domain are unknown until the forms are actually found, it is hard to define exactly what to look for. We propose a new crawling strategy to automatically locate hidden-Web databases which aims to achieve a balance between the two conflicting requirements of this problem: the need to perform a broad search while at the same time avoiding the need to crawl a large number of irrelevant pages. The proposed strategy does that by focusing the crawl on a given topic; by judiciously choosing links to follow within a topic that are more likely to lead to pages that contain forms; and by employing appropriate stopping criteria. We describe the algorithms underlying this strategy and an experimental evaluation which shows that our approach is both effective and efficient, leading to larger numbers of forms retrieved as a function of the number of pages visited than other crawlers.


This article provides a comprehensive literature review about the post-adoption stage of social network sites (SNS) usage with the special focus on habitual use and terminating stages. The extant research has examined this topic mainly from two perspectives: namely, intentional and habitual. Findings from each of these two perspectives are synthesized and used to build a process model to better understand how different intentions and behaviors of users manifest in different stages of SNS post-adoption phase. The process model suggests that disturbances such as technical glitches and privacy leaks trigger users' awareness of the 'dark sides' of habitual SNS use . In addition, the awareness of negative impacts of addictive use, which are perceived as threats, motivates people to switch from or quit SNS. This paper contributes to SNS research by synthesizing fragmented theoretical explanations and providing a visual tool that helps researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics in the SNS post-adoption phase. Practitioners will gain insights into how to retain existing users and better manage processes related to users who wish to quit.


The nature of International Sign Pidgin has been recently described and discussed in various studies and papers (Moody 1987; Coppock 1990; Supalla 1991; Padden 1993; Scott Gibson & Ojala 1994; Webb & Supalla 1994, 1995; Allsop, Woll & Brauti 1995; Allsop 1996; Bergmann 1996). Although international sign has been used in interpreting for almost twenty years, no empirical research has described the unique phenomenon of international sign interpreting. This study analyses data samples of interpretation from spoken English into International Sign Pidgin at international conferences and sports meetings. Predominant linguistic characteristics of the target language output are identified in the first section, while the second section describes strategies that international interpreters use to manage the task of processing input while producing a comprehensible message in a partially improvised language form. Examples demonstrate how international interpreters take a free approach to interpretation, aiming for equivalence at text level in most instances. International interpreters are shown to be more than conduits, as their interpreting decisions indicate extensive use of contextual knowledge, inferencing, audience awareness, and considerations of relevance and efficiency in the process of interpretation.


An evaluation at Chilton Leys, Stowmarket comprised fifty-three trenches which were excavated between 6th and 22nd November 2012. During the course of the works a range of features of archaeological interest were uncovered, including prehistoric (Late Neolithic and Bronze Age), Roman and Anglo-Saxon material. Of less significance was a series of areas of modern features most likely associated with drainage and the construction of the A14.
The prehistoric material was focused in two main areas. The larger concentration was a series of worked flints recovered from the bases of the trenches and within deposits focused around a hollow within the south-western arm of the site (Trenches 41 and 47). This included a large
assemblage of burnt flint, evidence for blade and narrow flake-based soft hammer knapping, within deposits of either an alluvial or fluvial nature, and a similar assemblage found in two features underlying these deposits. Poorly preserved wood was also found within this material. It was sealed in places by modern deposits which was probably associated with the construction of the A14.
Further evidence of prehistoric occupation was located in the south-eastern corner of the site, in the vicinity of Trenches 51, 42 and 43. This included a pit containing a large assemblage of Late Bronze Age pottery and some postholes and features that could be indicative of Late Bronze Age occupation to the north of these features in Trench 42. Finally, a small isolated pit containing Early Bronze Age material was located in the south-western arm of the site in Trench 11. The pottery and struck flint found within it appears to be a domestic assemblage, suggesting that further features are located in its vicinity.
Material initially believed to be Iron Age, but proving in fact to be very Early Roman, was located in Trench 25 in four small postholes in pairs either side of a truncated fire-pit. Although not certain, this is likely to represent a large double-posted structure forming a focus of occupation.
The later Roman material was primarily located within two parts of the proposed development area. A pottery kiln intact from its perforated floor downwards was found in Trench 50, with its permanent kiln floor resting on what was probably a tongue support. The kiln has been tentatively
dated to the mid 1st to early 2nd century Adjacent to it was a group of clearly associated postholes, that presumably formed a structure designed to control air flow into the flue and perhaps to restrict light levels, which was necessary for temperature management.
A second area of Roman material was located at the northern end of the site. Trenches 14, 15 and 30 produced the most material of this date, with further ditches and other features occurring in the vicinity, including Trenches 16 and 17. This probably represents the edge of an area of
occupation with pits, postholes and a watering hole or well.
One large, shallow pit-like feature was perhaps a sunken-featured building (SFB) of Early Saxon date. Early Saxon burials were located in Trenches 39 and 52, with possible burials in Trench 53.
The burial in Trench 39 contained grave goods including a large sheet metal bowl or cauldron, a spearhead and a seax (a type of knife).
In between the areas mentioned lay various field systems of varying date.


Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have great promise for identifying the loci that contribute to adaptive variation, but the complex genetic architecture of many quantitative traits presents a substantial challenge. We measured 14 morphological and physiological traits and identified single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-phenotype associations in a Populus trichocarpa population distributed from California, USA to British Columbia, Canada. We used whole-genome resequencing data of 882 trees with more than 6.78 million SNPs, coupled with multitrait association to detect polymorphisms with potentially pleiotropic effects. Candidate genes were validated with functional data. Broad-sense heritability (H2 ) ranged from 0.30 to 0.56 for morphological traits and 0.08 to 0.36 for physiological traits. In total, 4 and 20 gene models were detected using the single-trait and multitrait association methods, respectively. Several of these associations were corroborated by additional lines of evidence, including co-expression networks, metabolite analyses, and direct confirmation of gene function through RNAi. Multitrait association identified many more significant associations than single-trait association, potentially revealing pleiotropic effects of individual genes. This approach can be particularly useful for challenging physiological traits such as water-use efficiency or complex traits such as leaf morphology, for which we were able to identify credible candidate genes by combining multitrait association with gene co-expression and co-methylation data.


Development of new applications of the digitally recorded LANDSAT data has surfaced questions concerning how to most efficiently analyze the data. Machine processing systems have been in use for a ntmber of years, utilizing primarily three types of classification schemes: (1) level slice, (2) Euclidean distance, and (3) maximum likelihood. All three of these have traditionally been implemented on central p rpose computers. Recently interactive special purpose computer display systems came into use. As this technology developed, it became apparent that line printer output was not adequate as a final form for the classification results. Film recorders have been developed to meet the need for hard copy pictoral output from digitally analyzed imagery. However, the film recorder has in the past only been used to generate final products. In this study a film recorder was used to actually perform the classification. The data consisted of a LANDSAT scene for eastern Montana. A histogram was produced for a portion of the scene and the analyst manually "sliced" the distribution into ranges hypothesized to represent several natural resource classes. Each numerical range of "class" was displayed as a different color. Iteratively, the ranges were modified so that the colors displayed represented a reasonable classification of the natural resources in the study area. This required approximately five hours and several iterations. Thematic maps were produced by double thresholding as well as false color comPOsites, utilzing various combinations of channels. The resulting classifications were evaluated and found to be better than t~ose done on the bulk imagery by tradit10nal photointerpretation techniques. The flassification accuracy was higher on the d~gitally processed imagery and the resolut10n was higher. Furthermore, more classes were definable when the digital data was used. . lB-25 The results of this study show that a film recorder can be used in classification of MSS data in a quasi-level slice mode. Multiple channels can be used and hard copy output can be produced. The film recorder affords the user an opportunity to utilize the digital data with more gray levels and higher resolution. The film recorder is easy to operate and does not require expertise in computer programming which limits many potential users of the digital LANDSAT data.


Written by experts in the field, this book describes the Personal Network architecture and its various components This book focuses on networking and security aspects of Personal Networks (PNs). Given a single user, the authors propose an architecture for PNs in which devices are divided into one of two types of nodes: personal nodes and foreign nodes. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the ways in which PNs can be formed in a self-organized and secure way, how they can be interconnected using infrastructure networks, how multiple PNs can be connected, and how their services and resources can be shared. In addition, the book shows how security and ease-of-use can be achieved through automatic configuration and how mobility can be supported through adaptability and self-organization. The motivations for the PN concept, the PN architecture, its functionalities and features, as well as future challenges are covered in depth. Finally, the authors consider the potential applications for PNs and briefly discuss additional support systems for PN applications. The latter includes service discovery and context information management among others. Key Features: Describes the PN network architecture and its various components in-depth Written by experts who developed this concept Discusses the newer topic of federations of PNs Considers potential PN applications, and demonstrates how applications support systems, such as service discovery and context management, can assist the applications Provides an insight into the challenges of future personal networking, architectures for PNs, potential and important solutions, and their implications This book will serve as an invaluable reference for researchers, developers, and standardization experts in mobile and wireless communication systems and services. It will also be of interest to postgraduate students in the field of telecommunications.


Keystroke privacy is critical for ensuring the security of computer systems and the privacy of human users as what being typed could be passwords or privacy sensitive information. In this paper, we show for the first time that WiFi signals can also be exploited to recognize keystrokes. The intuition is that while typing a certain key, the hands and fingers of a user move in a unique formation and direction and thus generate a unique pattern in the time-series of Channel State Information (CSI) values, which we call CSI-waveform for that key. In this paper, we propose a WiFi signal based keystroke recognition system called WiKey. WiKey consists of two Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) WiFi devices, a sender (such as a router) and a receiver (such as a laptop). The sender continuously emits signals and the receiver continuously receives signals. When a human subject types on a keyboard, WiKey recognizes the typed keys based on how the CSI values at the WiFi signal receiver end. We implemented the WiKey system using a TP-Link TL-WR1043ND WiFi router and a Lenovo X200 laptop. WiKey achieves more than 97.5\% detection rate for detecting the keystroke and 96.4% recognition accuracy for classifying single keys. In real-world experiments, WiKey can recognize keystrokes in a continuously typed sentence with an accuracy of 93.5%.


The study is a component of a larger investigation that focuses on exemplary practice in chemistry education. This case study involves an investigation of a chemistry teacher in two years intermediate education in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. The study utilized an interpretive methodology in which the questions emerged from intensive observations of chemistry lessons in classes taught by a teacher. The principal finding was that a teacher focused on teaching for understanding. Once teacher tended to emphasize whole-class activities while the other times he utilized more small-group and individualized activities. The teacher was successful in his goal of teaching for understanding because he was effective classroom manager and he had strong science content knowledge that enabled him to focus on instructional strategies that facilitated student understanding. He asked appropriate questions, responded to student questions, and used effective cognitive monitoring strategies. The teacher was able to teach effectively because he had adequate content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Researcher adopted the method of action research to class room teaching where a classroom event triggers the process of reflection followed by critical analysis of the event which leads to change and subsequent reflection to observe that change and so on. He has taken two different texts to teach students. Out of two texts, one is explaining the metallurgy of Magnesium. In that case, he was successful as a teacher when he adopted comparative method of teaching metallurgy of Magnesium rather than the traditional method of teaching. The other one is explaining the properties of Hydrogen peroxide. In this case he was successful as a teacher by adopting discussion, interaction and discussion method.


Background: Few studies have compared outcomes, return to sport (RTS), and continuation of sport (CTS) after primary hip arthroscopic surgery between matched groups of male and female athletes with a minimum 5-year follow-up. Purpose: (1) To report minimum 5-year patient-reported outcome (PRO) scores as well as RTS and CTS rates for elite female athletes undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) and (2) to compare clinical results with those of a matched control group of elite male athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Data were prospectively collected and retrospectively reviewed for elite (collegiate or professional) female athletes who underwent primary hip arthroscopic surgery for FAIS between March 2009 and March 2016. Inclusion criteria were preoperative and minimum 5-year scores for the modified Harris Hip Score, Nonarthritic Hip Score, Hip Outcome Score–Sport Specific Subscale, and visual analog scale for pain. Exclusion criteria were Tönnis grade >1, hip dysplasia, previous ipsilateral hip surgery/conditions, and those unwilling to participate. Rates of achieving the minimal clinically important difference (MCID), Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS), and maximum outcome improvement satisfaction threshold (MOIST) were recorded in addition to RTS. CTS was also recorded and defined as athletes reporting continued sport activity at a minimum 5-year follow-up after initially reporting returning to sport. Elite female athletes were propensity matched in a 1:1 ratio to elite male athletes for comparison. Results: A total of 81 hips in elite female athletes that underwent primary hip arthroscopic surgery met the inclusion criteria, and follow-up was available for 65 hips (80.2%) at a mean of 67.6 ± 6.5 months, with a mean age of 24.3 ± 6.8 years. Female athletes demonstrated significant improvements in all recorded PRO scores; achieved the MCID, PASS, and MOIST at high rates; returned to sport at a rate of 80.4%; and continued sport at a rate of 97.1%. Female athletes demonstrated lower preoperative PRO scores compared with male athletes, but postoperative PRO scores; improvements in scores; rates of achieving the MCID, PASS, MOIST; and RTS and CTS rates were similar between female and male athletes. Conclusion: Elite female athletes undergoing primary hip arthroscopic surgery for FAIS demonstrated favorable PRO scores and high RTS and CTS rates at a minimum 5-year follow-up. These results were comparable with those of a propensity-matched control group of elite male athletes.


The nanoSIMS (nanometre-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry) microanalytical platform is used, for the first time, for direct in situ visualization of medium half-life radionuclide (RN) distributions (226Ra – 1602y; 210Pb – 22.3y) in copper sulphide-bearing ore and copper sulphide flotation concentrate samples. More than 200 grains have been mapped, all with an Hyperion (H200) RF plasma oxygen ion source. Sufficient counts for masses of interest allowed the generation of maps that stand as a proof of concept for further detailed work to address the physical locations of radionuclides of main interest. The issue of potential isobaric interfering masses has been addressed and partially resolved. The distribution of the studied radionuclides, both in relation to host minerals and in relation to each other, is logical and clearly supported by well-established theories of deportment, diffusion, and redistribution. Isotope maps for 210RN (210Pb, 210Po and 210Bi) and 226Ra maps tended to show RN distribution either within minerals (evenly distributed or zoned), as 'hot spots' on grain surfaces/mineral boundaries, or between cleavage planes of micaceous minerals. NanoSIMS element mapping of radionuclides may have widespread application for the disposal and long-term storage of nuclear waste, radioisotope monitoring, forensic science, nuclear and materials science, nuclear medicine, minerals engineering, and isotope geochemistry.


It was aimed to predict the chemical (ethanol, glycerol, organic acids, titratable acidity, °Brix, sugars, total phenolic and anthocyanin content) and microbiological parameters of red, rose and white wines during their processing from must to bottling using mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy in combination with one of the multivariate statistical analysis techniques, partial least square (PLS) regression. Various spectral filtering techniques were employed before PLS regression analysis of mid-IR data. The best results were obtained from the second-order derivation for the chemical parameters except for alcohols. PLS models developed for the prediction of some of the chemical parameters have R2 values greater than 0.9, with low root mean square error values; however, prediction of microbial population from mid-IR spectroscopy did not provide accurate results. IR spectroscopic and chemical–chromatographic data were also used to investigate the differences between processing steps, and principal component analysis allowed clear separation of the beginning of the process from the rest.

Practical Applications

Monitoring of the wine process from must to final product is necessary for better control of the process and the quality. As a rapid and a minimum waste-producing technique, mid-IR spectroscopy in combination with chemometric methods could allow prediction of several chemical parameters simultaneously. Therefore, any problems that could be encountered during wine processing could be determined and interfered in a short time.


Kurt Lewin, father of social learning theory, once stated 'There is nothing so practical as a good theory'. Communities of Practice are widely recognized and promoted as vehicles for learning in and across organizations. However it has been well documented that it is easier to describe their existence than to use that knowledge to bring one into being. Various authors have explored and described factors that seem useful to make a CoP work. The context is an agricultural research-for-development organization, in which low gender capacity at institutional level had been identified as a weakness that needed addressing. The author followed step by step the advice laid out by scholars and practitioners of CoP theory to explore whether engaging in 'praxis' (i.e. the enactment of a theory) would be effective to nurture a CoP to raise gender research capacity. After 18 months of being nurtured according to theory, the CoP may be considered successful for this point in its history. It has an identity, regular meetings in which experiences are shared and problems discussed, increasing membership and a growing number of products generated by and shared among its membership. The implications of this case study are that careful study of the theory can lead to better practice and more effective learning. The steps taken to go from theory to practice, outlined in this paper, may be useful to other aspiring CoP practitioners.


Cross-aged teaching programs provide leadership experiences to youth who aim to influence children to be responsible, caring, and compassionate. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a leadership development protocol on relationship development in an established cross-aged teaching program. Method: Guided by the developmental relationships framework, "Simple Interactions" was implemented with a group of nine youth leaders. The intent was to help them improve their relationships with children in four categories (a) connection, (b) reciprocity, (c) participation, and (d) progression. Data were collected through reflection documents and focus group interviews. Results: Qualitative results explain how Simple Interactions impacted reflection and revealed strategies youth leaders used to build relationships with children. Discussion: The findings suggest that the Simple Interactions protocol may provide an innovative strategy to promote reflective practice and develop positive relationships in a cross-aged teaching program.


Artificial molecular walkers beyond burn-bridge designs are important for nanotechnology, but their systematic development remains difficult. Herein, we have reported a new rationally designed DNA walker-track system and experimentally verified a previously proposed general expulsion regime for implementing non-burn-bridge nanowalkers. The DNA walker has an optically powered engine motif that reversibly extends and contracts the walker via a quadruplex-duplex conformational change. The walker's extension is an energy-absorbing and force-generating process, which drives the walker's leg dissociation off-track in a piston-like expulsion stroke. The unzipping-shearing asymmetry provides the expulsion stroke a bias, which decides the direction of the walker. Moreover, three candidate walkers of different sizes were fabricated. Fluorescence motility experiments indicated two of them as successful walkers and revealed a distinctive size dependence that was expected for these expulsive walkers, but was not observed in previously reported walkers. This study identifies unique technical requirements for expulsive nanowalkers. The present DNA design is readily adapted for making similar walkers from other molecules since the unzipping-shearing asymmetry is common.


Some of the most important properties of ephedrine (EPH) molecule, related to its stability, reactivity and degradation have been computationally addressed in this work. The study has been performed based on the combination of classical and quantum-mechanical calculations to yield the lowest energy conformer. Furthermore, the most important intramolecular noncovalent interactions have been identified and their influence on the structural features have been analyzed. Energy and distribution of the frontier molecular orbitals have been analyzed in order to address the stability and charge transfer properties. The average local ionization energy descriptor has been used in order to identify the molecular sites that are sensitive towards the electrophilic attacks. Bond dissociation energies for hydrogen abstraction have been calculated in order to identify the sites of EPH sensitive towards the autoxidation mechanism. Interactions of EPH have been also investigated using the molecular dynamics simulations and calculations of radial distribution functions.


Garlic products are used as sources of medicine in many ways in human beings in their day today life. As a result, researchers from various disciplines are now directing their efforts towards discovering the medicinal values of garlic on human health. The main interest of researchers in the medicinal values of garlic is its broad-spectrum therapeutic effect with minimal toxicity. Garlic extract has antimicrobial activity against many genera of bacteria, fungi and viruses. Garlic contains a higher concentration of sulfur compounds which are responsible for its medicinal effects. The chemical constituents of garlic have also been investigated for treatment of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, atherosclerosis and hyperlipidaemia and highly praised by several authors. Therefore, this paper is reviewed to inspire and impress the young researchers about the medicinal values of garlic.

 Key words: Allium sativum, immunity booster, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer