Schizophrenia patients exhibited a psychological abnormal appearance when they recognized objects related to themselves. This cognitive process is associated with self-referential processing. In this study, the self-referential memory (SRM) task was performed by 18 schizophrenia patients and 18 healthy controls. In the encoding stage of the SRM task, the behavioral experiment data and electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded in three experimental conditions (self-referential condition, other-referential condition, and physical condition). For data analysis, the electrophysiological performance of the time-frequency distribution, phase lag index (PLI) strengths, phase synchronization connectivity, and brain-network properties were assessed in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls. We found that schizophrenia patients exhibited abnormal alpha oscillation characteristics at the time of 100–300 ms poststimulus during the self-referential condition, which consisted of diminished time-frequency distributions over the prefrontal, parietal, and occipital regions; lower functional connectivity strengths of the PLI in the parietal and occipital areas; higher global efficiency and the lower characteristic path length; and nodal efficiency of local areas (increased nodal efficiency in temporal regions and decreased nodal efficiency in occipital region) for dynamic network topology properties. Furthermore, the evoked power of the alpha band during the self-referential condition was significantly correlated with the SRM bias score in the patients (r = 0.595, p = 0.009). These results provided electrophysiological evidence and supported the hypothesis that an abnormal alpha rhythm might be the principal factor of dysfunctional self-referential processing in schizophrenia patients.


The tritium and radiocarbon measurements taken at the Southern Ocean GEOSECS stations were analyzed. Excess CO2 for the Atlantic GEOSECS stations 76,77,82,85,87,89,91 and for all the stations of the SOMOV-81 cruise were correlated with the radiotracer data. Radiocarbon and excess CO2 support the tritium data showing that these tracers are not homogeneously distributed in the deep-water column. The preformed radiocarbon value of the Antarctic Surface water component in the Antarctic Bottom Water was estimated to be-139.3×10^(-3).


This thesis examines the relationship between rural land management and downstream flood risk. The recent increase in flood frequency and magnitude has been hypothesised to have been caused by either climate change or land management. The theoretical basis for why these factors might increase flood risk is well known, but showing their impact on downstream flood risk remains a challenge. Field scale studies have found that changing land management practices does affect local runoff and streamflow. Upscaling these effects to the catchment scale continues to be problematic,both conceptually and, more importantly, methodologically. Conceptually, upscaling is critical. As land management may impact upon the relative timing as well as the magnitude of runoff, any changes in land management practice may lead to changes in the synchronisation of tributaries flows, either reducing or increasing downstream flood risk. Methodologically, understanding this effect requires capturing the spatial resolution associated with field-scale hydrological processes simultaneously with the
upscaling of these processes to the downstream locations where flood risk is of concern. Most approaches to this problem aim to upscale from individual grid cells to whole
catchments, something that restricts the complexity of possible process representation,produces models that may not be parsimonious with the data needed to calibrate them
and, faced with data uncertainties, provides computational limitations on the extent to which model uncertainty can be fully explored. Rather than upscaling to problems of concern, this thesis seeks to downscale from locations of known flood risk, as a means of identifying where land use management changes might be beneficial and then uses
numerical modelling to identify the kinds of management changes required in those downscaled locations. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to test an approach to understanding the impacts of rural land management upon flood risk based upon catchment-to-source downscaling.
This thesis uses the case study of the River Eden catchment (2400 km2) as a test case. Firstly the downstream flood risk problem was assessed using both gauged data and documentary evidence to investigate the historical flood record. This found the last decade does not differ significantly from previous flood rich periods, which were
defined as 1) 1873-1904; 2) 1923-1933; and 3) 1994-present. Second, the potential causes of floods within the catchment were investigated; firstly climate variability was
assessed using Lamb weather types, which found that five weather types were responsible for causing 90% of the floods in the last 30 years. Third, spatial downscaling of catchment-scale flood risk was undertaken using two methods; databased statistical analysis; and hydraulic modelling. Both approaches consider the magnitudes and the timing of the flows from each major sub-catchment. The statistical approach involved a principal components analysis to simplify the complex subcatchment interactions and a stepwise regression to predict downstream flood risk. The hydraulic modelling approach used iSIS-Flow to undertake a series of numerical experiments, where the input hydrographs from each tributary were shifted individually and the effect on downstream peak stage assessed. Both these approaches found that the Upper Eden and Eamont sub-catchments were the most important in explaining downstream flood risk. The Eamont sub-catchment was chosen for future analysis as:(1) it was shown to have a significant impact on downstream flood risk; and (2) it had range of data and information needed for modelling land use changes.
The second part of this thesis explored the land management scenarios that could be used to reduce flood risk at the catchment scale. The scenarios to be tested were determined through a stakeholder participation approach, whereby workshops were held to brainstorm and prioritise land management options, and then to identify specific locations within the Eamont sub-catchment where they could tested. There were two main types of land management scenarios chosen: (1) landscape-scale changes,including afforestation and compaction; and (2) channel modification and floodplain
storage scenarios, including flood bank removal and wet woodland creation. The hydrological model CRUM3 was used to test the catchment scale land use changes,while the hydraulic model iSIS-Flow was used to test the channel and floodplain scenarios. It was found that through changing the whole of a small sub-catchment(Dacre Beck), the scenarios of reducing compaction and arabilisation could reduce catchment scale (2400 km2) flood risk by up to 3.5% for a 1 in 175 year flood event(January 2005). Changing localised floodplain roughness reduced sub-catchment
(Lowther) peak stage by up to 0.134 m. This impact diminished to hardly any effect on peak flow magnitudes at the sub-catchment scale (Eamont). However, these scenarios
caused a delay of the flood peak by up to 5 hours at the sub-catchment scale, which has been found to reduce peak stage at Carlisle by between 0.167 m to 0.232 m, corresponding to a 5.8% decrease in peak discharge. A key conclusion is that land management practices have been shown to have an effect on catchment scale flooding,
even for extreme flood events. However, the effect of land management scenarios are both spatially and temporally dependent i.e. the same land management practice has
different effects depending on where it is implemented, and when implemented in the same location has different effects on different flood events.


The increased application of digital terrestrial microwave radio links in communication networks has renewed attention in techniques of estimating the probability of multipath fading distributions. Nevertheless, the unpredictable variation of the wireless transmission medium remains a challenge. It has been ascertained that the refraction of electromagnetic waves is due to the inhomogeneous spatial distribution of the refractive index, and causes adverse effects such as multipath and diffraction fading. The knowledge of the characteristics of such causes of these fading phenomena is essential for the accurate design of terrestrial line of sight (LOS) links of high performance and availability. Refractivity variation is random in space and time and cannot be described in a deterministic manner and has to be considered as a random variable with probabilistic characteristics. In this dissertation, radiosonde soundings data is used in characterizing the atmospheric conditions and determining the geoclimatic factor K used in predicting the distribution of multipath fading for five locations in South Africa. The limitations of radiosonde measurements are lack of time resolution and poor spatial resolution. The latter has been reduced by spatial interpolation techniques in our study, specifically, the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method. This is used in determining the point refractivity gradient not exceeded for 1 % of the time from which the geoclimatic factor is estimated. Fade depth and outage probability due to multipath propagation is then predicted from the International Telecommunications Union Recommendations (ITU-R) techniques. The results are compared with values from Central Africa. The results obtained using the ITU-R method are also compared with region-based models of Bannett-Vigants of USA and Morita of Japan. Three spatial interpolation techniques (Kriging, Thin-Plate Spline and Inverse Distance Weighting) are then used in interpolating the geoclimatic factor K in places where radiosonde data is not available. The estimated values have been used to develop contour maps for geoclimatic factor K for South Africa. Statistical assessment of these methods is done by calculating the root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean absolute error (MAE) between a set of control points and the interpolated results. The best performing method is used to map the seasonal geoclimatic factor K for the entire study region. The estimated values of geoclimatic factor will improve accuracy in predicting outage probability due to multipath propagation in LOS links in the region which is a key contribution of this work.


More recent theories of the 'revolutions' of 1989 in

the societies of Eastern and Central Europe now

suggest that the underlying dynamic was continuity

rather than disjuncture in terms of social and

political relations. Yet such theories fail to explain

the nature of and the reasons for this continuity in

terms of gender relations in the public sphere.

The thesis suggests that the clue to understanding the

nature of the gendered transformation in Poland's

public sphere in its mediated aspects between the

years 1980 and 1994 lies in the role of 'socially

inherited memory'. Socially inherited memory is the

dialectical and gendered process by which a given

society both remembers and forgets past events,

feelings, thoughts and knowledge through

representations. The key to Poland's social memory

concerns the repressed stories of political right

developed during the nation's period of identity

formation in the nineteenth century and interwar

years. Certain aspects of this social inheritance were

recalled by the Polish United Workers' Party and then

by Solidarity to legitimize their power: Because

Poland's social memory was formed around the public

exclusion of women and Poland's ethnic minorities this

resulted in the continuation of exclusionary

mechanisms and public ghettoization after World War

Two, and, in the 1980s and 1990s.

However, the evidence of the thesis also suggests that

there were sub-plots of women's resistance and

inclusion within the public sphere from at least the

nineteenth century onwards. Thus the exclusionary

impact of socially inherited memory is not an

inevitable historical process: At particular

historical moments inclusive representations of women

and ethnic minorities are recalled or reenacted in the

form of Public organisations or alternative cultural

productions.

Socially inherited memory it is suggested may provide

a useful concept for examining the (en)gendering of

the public sphere in other societies.


We present MixMeetWear, a smartwatch application that allows users to maintain awareness of the audio and visual content of a meeting while completing other tasks. Users of the system can listen to the audio of a meeting and also view, zoom, and pan webcam and shared content keyframes of other meeting participants' live streams in real time. Users can also provide input to the meeting via speech-to-text or predefined responses. A study showed that the system is useful for peripheral awareness of some meetings.


L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) has been successfully used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) for more than 50 years. It fulfilled the criteria to cross the blood–brain barrier and counteract the biochemical defect of dopamine (DA). It remarkably worked after some adjustments in line with the initial hypothesis, leaving a poor place to the plethora of mechanisms involving other neurotransmitters or mechanisms of action beyond newly synthesized DA itself. Yet, its mechanism of action is far from clear. It involves numerous distinct cell populations and does not mimic the mechanism of action of dopaminergic agonists. L-DOPA-derived DA is mainly released by serotonergic neurons as a false neurotransmitter, and serotonergic neurons are involved in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. The brain pattern and magnitude of DA extracellular levels together with this status of false neurotransmitters suggest that the striatal effects of DA via this mechanism would be minimal. Other metabolic products coming from newly formed DA or through the metabolism of L-DOPA itself could be involved. These compounds can be trace amines and derivatives. They could accumulate within the terminals of the remaining monoaminergic neurons. These "false neurotransmitters," also known for some of them as inducing an "amphetamine-like" mechanism, could reduce the content of biogenic amines in terminals of monoaminergic neurons, thereby impairing the exocytotic process of monoamines including L-DOPA-induced DA extracellular outflow. The aim of this review is to present the mechanism of action of L-DOPA with a specific attention to "false neurotransmission."


Pragmatic competence is crucial for effective communication in a second/foreign language (L2). While pragmatic competence has been shown to be learnable through formal instruction (e.g., Jeon & Kaya, 2006; Rose & Kasper, 2001), pragmatics is often neglected in L2 curricula or is given lower priority than other skill areas. Yet, pragmatic learning through crosscultural interaction capitalizing on various forms of technology has been investigated in recent studies as well as in this volume. This ethnographic case study is intended to contribute to the literature on technology-assisted pragmatic learning by examining the pragmatic development of one advanced learner of Japanese in the United States as she blogged with her peers and expert Japanese speakers in Japan. Using a sociocultural framework (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Vygotsky, 1978), we document the pragmatic awareness and production demonstrated by the focal learner to explore the potential effectiveness of pragmatics-focused instruction through blogging. Pedagogical suggestions are also offered on how to facilitate crosscultural interaction and enhance pragmatic development through telecollaboration via blogging.


The life and its biographer provide a landmark work on the cinema. Emerging from a childhood of nearly Dickensian darkness, David Lean found his great success as a director of the appropriately titled Great Expectations. There followed his legendary black-and-white films of the 1940s and his four-film movie collaboration with Noel Coward. Lean's 1955 film Summertime took him from England to the world of international moviemaking and the stunning series of spectacular color epics that would gain for his work twenty-seven Academy Awards and fifty-six Academy Award nominations. All are classics, including The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and A Passage to India. Kevin Brownlow, a film editor in his own right and author of the seminal silent film trilogy initiated with The Parade's Gone By..., brings to Lean's biography an exhaustive knowledge of the art and the industry. One learns about the making of movies as realized by a master, but also of the highly personal costs of genius. The troubled Quaker family from which Lean came influenced his relationship with his son, his brother, and his six wives. Yet he showed in his work a deep understanding of humanity. The vastness of this scholarly and entertaining enterprise is augmented by sixteen pages of scenes from Lean's color films, thirty-two pages from his black-and-white movies, and throughout the text a vast number of photographs from his life and location work.


From the Third Reich to Bosnia, nationalism - a sense of a nation's place in the world - has been responsible for much bloodshed. Nationalism may be manipulated by political leaders or governments but it springs from the people. Something in the history and environment of a national group creates it. This volume aims to locate and analyze the myth of national identity and its value in creating pride, deflecting fear or legitimating aggression. A range of essays - on Britain, the United States, Germany, Russia, Iraq, Serbia, Argentina, Australia, and India - illustrate the different manifestations of the geographical imagination across the countries of the world.


One of the distinctive features of the process approach to writing theory is its inclusion of various identifiable stages which composition undergoes, unlike the product approach which treats the act of writing with finality. The persistence of the composing process notion for multiple drafts in text creation has called for active involvement of learners as both reviewers and feedback providers. Despite the growing research in the area of writing processes, little is known about the effects of peer review on L2 writers' perceptions and linguistic development. The present study explores the effects of peer review activities on ESL composing process practice as perceived by the learners and the ways by which these activities affect students' linguistic development. Twenty nine undergraduate matriculation students at the IIUM majoring in English language and literature participated in the study. Sixteen of these students participated in the peer review activities, while the remaining thirteen formed the comparison group. A total of 130 essays (80 essays produced during peer review activities and 50 essays during the pre test and post test stages by both groups) were collected over a period of nine weeks. Peer reviews were conducted over five sessions, and first and revised drafts were produced on five different topics of expository writing genre. The students' first and final drafts, pre test and post test essays were collected and analyzed, and a post interview and a questionnaire survey were conducted. Non-participant observation was carried out to determine the types of negotiation and interaction that occur during peer review sessions. Further, students' errors before and after exposure to peer reviews were analyzed, identified
and classified. The findings indicate that the students perceived peer review as useful and effective, and that they maintained social harmony during the process of providing and getting comments and feedback. It was also discovered that the students demonstrated selectivity in incorporating peer comments and suggestions, besides displaying fewer form and content errors after the exposure to peer reviews. Peer reviews were also found to contribute to the development of learners' social skills, awareness as learners and of linguistic as well as rhetorical knowledge The study suggests that L2 learners be given more opportunities to participate in process-based composing activities. The study also suggests that there is a need for error analysis within the context of process-oriented language learning in appreciation of learners' errors as positive learning strategies and signs of learners' current language on the target language.


Photosynthetic picoeukaryotes (phytoplankton cells with a diameter smaller than 2 to 3 µm) contribute significantly to both biomass and primary production in the oligotrophic open ocean and coastal waters, at certain times of the year. The identification of these organisms is difficult because of their small size and simple morphology, therefore hindering detailed ecological studies of their distribution and role. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of oligonucleotide probes specific to algal classes or to lower order taxa in combination with fluorescent in situ hybridization and tyramide signal amplification (FISH-TSA) to determine eukaryotic picophytoplankton diversity. Target cells were detected and enumerated using epifluorescence microscopy. The sensitivity of the technique and the specificity of the probes were tested on pure and mixed picoplanktonic strains, as well as on natural samples from the English Channel. In these samples, the community was dominated by cells belonging to the division Chlorophyta. Haptophyta, Bolidophyceae and Pelagophyceae were also detected at low abundance. The FISH-TSA method is readily applicable to the study of picoplankton diversity in natural communities.


Since 1992 and the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro at the latest, the concept of sustainability has also been the focus of attention in the building industry and architecture. It requires the use of intelligent technology, innovative construction, ecological materials, and an environmental approach to energy supply. This development is especially urgent in the area of residential housing, since we now see a growing sensitivity to quality of life and accommodation. People increasingly insist on a healthy indoor climate, natural moisture exchange, thermal comfort, and freedom absence of hazardous substances. The book provides extensive and technically detailed documentation of 25 sustainable residential structures in both high-tech and lowtech domain. There is a considerable variety among the individual projects in terms of their size and the materials used. The examples are chosen from 18 different countries on five continents and come from both rural regions and urban areas.


Received: September 07, 2018 Accepted: September 15, 2018 Published: September 30, 2018 Volume: 1 Issue: 3 The lack of the proper use of technology among students of Dhofar University caught serious attention and led to this research. The main objective was to investigate the actual issue pertaining to the proper and advanced use of technological skills. Do the faculty and students realize that there is an issue? Will highlighting the issue change their attitudes and improve them in their technological skills after the practical implication of the skills taught to them? Would they continue using it further? were the main research questions of this research. A research questionnaire including both Y/N and open-ended questions was given to 21 students of Dhofar University ranging from all the different majors for an expressive feedback. The students' response was overwhelmingly positive as expected. All of them agreed that there is a lacking support from the institution and student themselves are unaware of the new technological skills hence they do not achieve international standards of a Techno-Student. In order to cope with the issue not only a solution was recommended but also 6 students from Different majors of Dhofar University were in fact taught new technological skills and applications in accordance with Bloom's Taxonomy model of learning so that they can incorporate the use of technology at each step of learning with ease, enthusiasm, full involvement and positive attitude attaining utmost creativity in their studies. KEYWORDS


Currently, several state and federal agencies are proposing upper limits on soil test phosphorus (P), above which animal manures cannot be applied, based on the assumption that high P concentrations in runoff are due to high soil test P. Recent studies show that other factors are more indicative of P concentrations in runoff from areas where manure is being applied. The original P index was developed as an alternative P management tool incorporating factors affecting both the source and transport of P. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of multiple variables on P concentrations in runoff water and to construct a P source component of a P index for pastures that incorporates these effects. The evaluated variables were: (i) soil test P, (ii) soluble P in poultry litter, (iii) P in poultry diets, (iv) fertilizer type, and (v) poultry litter application rate. Field studies with simulated rainfall showed that P runoff was affected by the amount of soluble P applied in the fertilizer source. Before manure applications, soil test P was directly related to soluble P concentrations in runoff water. However, soil test P had little effect on P runoff after animal manure was applied. Unlike most other P indices, weighting factors of the P source components in the P index for pastures are based on results from runoff studies conducted under various management scenarios. As a result, weighting factors for the P source potential variables are well justified. A modification of the P index using scientific data should strengthen the ability of the P index concept to evaluate locations and management alternatives for P losses.


This research addresses the gap in the family firms strategy literature by distancing itself from the traditional classical paradigm, which is often applied to study strategy in the family firms. It also represents the first exploratory attempt to map the strategic choices of ethnic South Asians family firms. The contributions also lie in the domain of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where abundant support has been generated for the application of formal planning in the literature. In this research, propositions were generated using the prerequisites of contrasting strategy paradigms in the context of Whittington's (1993) model of perspectives on strategy which classifies the strategy literature into four schools of thought, classical, evolutionary, processual and systemic. An additional fifth school of thought regarded as resource based view was added. The primary hypotheses aim to investigate whether firms controlled by Anglo-Saxons and South Asians differ in telation to the five schools of strategic management. A secondary hypotheses which aims to investigate if family firms can be visualised in groups following particular schools of strategy was also submitted. The research also aimed to examine the relationship between summary independent variables such as age of business, ethnic origin, turnover and schools of strategic management as a dependent variable. By investigating fast growth firms, the domaninace of the classical paradigm of strategy in enhancing the firm's performance in literature is also examined in relation to other schools of strategy.

A sample of 301 fast grwoing family firms was selected from the FAME database, and regional South Asian directories maintained by enterprise agencies using the UK SIC codes of 5139, 5134 and 7220. 76 firms agreed to participate in research. Questionnaires were filled in by the managing directors or senior managers of all the firms and in-depth interviews were conducted with 48 of them. The usable questionnaires numbered to seventy one. The questionnaire statements were developed adhering to the central premises of each school of thought. Statistical tests involved conducting hierarchical cluster analysis to group the family firms and study the commonalities amongst these firms. One way ANOVA was conducted to determine the inflcuence of ethnicity variable in each school of thought. In addition, regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between summary independent variables and schools of strategic management. This project attempts to study strategy in family firms by applying the wider dimensions of strategy management concept. The findings are contradictory to the research stream which has argued that fast growth firms are likely to follow the classical school of strategy. It is proposed that ethnic origin has an important influence in determining the dominance of a particular strategy paradigm in a firm, and that no one particular school of thought dominates the managerial thinking when the firms are grouped together. The findings also question the application of theoretical strategy models when studied in the context of real managerial world


The paper deals with a progressive method of modification of cutting tools by drag finishing process. The subject of the research is the dependence of the drag finishing time on the size of the cutting edge radius. The milling tool – solid cemented carbide mill was made on a tool grinder REINECKER WZS 60. The cutting tool was drag finished on the OTEC DF-3 TOOLS drag finishing machine. The measurements of cutting edge radius was performed on two devices: 3D optical microscope ALICONA Infinite focus G5 and contour and surface measuring machine ZEISS SURFCOM 5000. The results of the measurements are evaluated at the end of the paper.


A High Cation Exchange Capacity (HCM) montmorillonite clay has been prepared by acetate treatment of Zenith clay. The HCM has been evaluated for metal-uptake from aqueous solutions. The present data show that the cation exchange sites can play a significant role in the adsorption of metals in smectite clays. A theoretical analysis scheme has been developed which shows that permanent-charge sites can become dominant in metal-uptake by clays. In addition, it was shown that the permanent charge can influence the ionic-strength sensitivity of the Point of Zero Charge of the clay.


Human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant plasma protein in human blood, is a natural transport vehicle with multiple ligand binding sites. It, therefore, constitutes an attractive candidate for drug delivery. Targeting may occur via the most known interaction of the protein with the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). Here, we investigate another HSA delivery path, involving the transferrin receptor, and we elaborate a maghemite-HSA nanohybrid, opening up new opportunities for medical applications. Fluorescence spectrophotometric titration and size-exclusion chromatography were used to substantiate, in cell-free assays, an interaction between HSA and the transferrin receptor R1. This occurs with a dissociation constant, KD of 6.7 nM. This interaction was confirmed in HeLa cell culture where, by confocal microscopy, rhodamine-labeled HSA is shown to be internalized. HSA was then covalently conjugated onto maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) to give a NP-HSA nanohybrid. The therapeutic potential of this hybrid was demonstrated through its heating capacity in magnetic hyperthermia (MH) and near-infrared (NIR) photothermia (PT). In particular, the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) in the PT Therapy (PTT) mode, using a 808 nm NIR-LASER (1 W cm-2) and at iron concentration as low as 2.5 mM, was found to be very high, equal to 1870 W g-1 with a temperature increment of 9.2 °C. The nanohybrids incubated with HeLa cells were mainly localized at the cell surface. When the PTT mode was applied under the same conditions as in vitro, mortality was higher in HeLa cells than in fibroblasts (non-malignant cells). Cytotoxicity was checked in both cell lines without the PTT mode; the nanohybrids do not seem to affect cell viability. These results make the nanohybrids very promising agents for NIR-PT and for targeting in cancer therapy, since non-malignant cells were not damaged.


Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) are changing every sphere of our lives. It holds tremendous potential for rural development in India in the areas of agriculture, health, and education. One of the main reasons for the inequitable distribution of economic gains between urban and the rural population is the gap in access to information. ICTs can contribute in automation of Rural Banks, networking, information sharing and the provision of ICT enhanced distance learning in countryside areas. Issues such as unavailability of electricity, lack of ICTs equipment, high level of illiteracy, user acceptance and local content have to be addressed before the potential of ICTs can be achieved. The paper covers one such solution, Internet.org. By partnering with mobile operators and governments in different countries, Internet.org offers free access in local languages to basic internet services in areas like jobs, health, education and messaging. Internet.org lowers the cost of accessing the internet and raises the awareness of the internet's value. In India, Reliance network has already rolled out free services to millions of people in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, and Telangana. Apart from analyzing the effective implementation of Internet.org in rural areas the paper also draws attention to the efforts made by past and present governments of India to solve the major problems facing ICT development. Some recommendations are made as to what the government and other development agencies can do to address these challenges.


According to Roger Caillois, play is "an occasion of pure waste: waste of time, energy, ingenuity, skill, and often of money." In spite of this - or because of it - play constitutes an essential element of human social and spiritual development.In this classic study, Caillois defines play as a free and voluntary activity that occurs in a pure space, isolated and protected from the rest of life. Play is uncertain, since the outcome may not be foreseen, and it is governed by rules that provide a level playing field for all participants. In its most basic form, play consists of finding a response to the opponent's action - or to the play situation - that is free within the limits set by the rules.Caillois qualifies types of games - according to whether competition, chance, simulation, or vertigo (being physically out of control) is dominant - and ways of playing, ranging from the unrestricted improvisation characteristic of children's play to the disciplined pursuit of solutions to gratuitously difficult puzzles. Caillois also examines the means by which games become part of daily life and ultimately contribute to various cultures their most characteristic customs and institutions. Presented here in Meyer Barash's superb English translation, Man, Play and Games is a companion volume to Caillois's Man and the Sacred.


Generational conflict has attracted considerable attention in the media and within academic circles during the past decade. At the center of this collection of papers analyzing various facets of that conflict lie complex issues of generational equity--issues that will remain important for the framing of public policy during the 1990s, What do the young and the middle-aged owe the elderly? In discharging that debt, to what extent are they able to provide for their own old age in a climate of changing notions of welfare? What light do the longer perspectives of history shed on these issues? What role do kinship, gender, and economic status play? The papers commissioned by Bengtson and Achenbaum are intended to give greater analytic rigor to current debates. The volume is interdisciplinary not only by theoretical intent but by the practical imperatives of gerontology. More than a dozen sociologists, economists, historians, demographers, and policy analysts discuss the meanings and ambiguities that are inherent in terms such as "generation," "equity," "compact," "contract," and "conflict," in order to assess how relations between the age groups seem to vary from one sociohistorical context to the next. This distinguished group of contributors raises comparative issues throughout, assessing variations in generational ties by gender, race, class, and geographic location. Several project the extent to which recent changes in the political economy, public philosophy, and demographic structure of most "modern" societies presage greater conflicts, or greater consensus, in family members' relationships and social ties.


In this paper we study the simultaneous optimization of berth allocation and quay crane assignment in seaport container terminals. We propose a model based on an exponential number of variables that is solved via column generation. An exact branch and price algorithm is implemented to produce optimal integer solutions to the problem. In particular, we present several accelerating techniques for the master and the pricing problem that can be generalized to other branch and price schemes. Computational results show that the proposed approach outperforms commercial solvers. Furthermore, the developed algorithm allows for a comparative analysis between the hierarchical and the integrated solution approach that confirms the added value of integration in terms of cost reduction and efficient use of resources. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first exact branch and price algorithm for both the berth allocation problem and the berth allocation problem with quay crane assignment.


Soft soil could be found easily in Indonesia. Constructions that built on this soil; such as embankment; face some obstructions, for instance long period consolidation, difficult soil compaction, unstable slope of embankment and high settlement value for long period. Consolidation related to particle size of soil grains, soil permeability coefficient and pore size between soil particles. This research was carried out with numerical simulation and aimed to analyze the change in pore water pressures in soft soil due to embankment load. Numerical simulation was carried out by using Plaxis version 7.2. The time periods for construction and consolidation were the same with field measurement values. Total times for both stages were 102 days. Material model used were Mohr Coulomb Model and input material model that were used were the same with filed measurement values. The results showed that at the end of construction stage there always an increasement in pore water pressure (excess pore water pressure existed) and the decreasement of pore water pressure occurred in consolidation period. Excess pore water pressures of soil below embankment were at area A, depth 0,5 was -22,8093 kPa, at area B (depth 9 m) was -21,5576 kPa and at area C (depth 13 m) was -14,159 kPa.


Participation in elite-sport and education is stressful and can result in sacrificed educational attainment. A dearth of research, however, has explored the specific stressors encountered by student athletes and coping strategies used, resulting in limited knowledge of how to best support student athletes. Interviews with 20 Australian university student athletes were conducted and data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Interviewees reported encountering numerous stressors, especially relating to schedule clashes, fatigue, financial pressure, and inflexibility of coaches. Athletes identified few coping strategies but reported that support from parents and coaches was paramount. Athletes would benefit from upskilling in several areas such as effective use of time, self-care, time management, enhanced self-efficacy, and specific strategies for coping with stress. Coaches have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in facilitating successful integration of sport and education.


We expressed the M2 gene in prokaryotic cells using the pAED4 expression vector system to produce native and purified M2 protein as a candidate for universal recombinant vaccine against influenza A subtypes. The open reading frame (ORF) of avian influenza A/chicken/Iran/101/1998 (H9N2) M2 gene was amplified by 2-step RT-PCR using specific primers and pfu DNA polymerase. pAED4 was used as expression vector, purified PCR product digested by Nde I and EcoR I restriction enzymes was ligated to the same digested site in the vector using T4 ligase to form pAED4-M2. The cloned M2 gene was confirmed by PCR and restriction enzymes pattern. M2 polypeptide was produced through the expression of this recombinant expression vector (pAED4+M2) in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) strain. The expressed M2 polypeptide was analyzed on SDS-PAGE and confirmed by western blotting assay. The level of 100% homology between the N-terminal domain of H5 and H9 isolates was considerable. It seems that recombinant vaccine based on Iranian isolate A/chicken/Iran/101/1998(H9N2) M2 protein might cover all H5 and H9 circulating in Iran and neighboring regions significantly. Further research will be needed to evaluate the immunity of the expressed M2 protein in the lab animal model to check the native conformational structure of this expressed protein by challenging with other influenza isolates.


The study analyzes two sustainability frameworks and centers on community-based and people-oriented development projects, focusing on the perceptions, specific circumstances and experiences of different stakeholders involved in these projects. The significant outcome of the study is the conceptualization of a more comprehensive and unified definition of sustainability and a rating scale for evaluating and monitoring development projects' progress towards sustainability.


We present a study of the metal sites of different proteins through X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. First of all, the capabilities of XAFS analysis have been improved by ab initio simulation of the near-edge region of the spectra, and an original analysis method has been proposed. The method subsequently served ad a tool to treat diverse biophysical problems, like the inhibition of proton-translocating proteins by metal ions and the matrix effect exerted on photosynthetic proteins (the bacterial Reaction Center, RC) by strongly dehydrate sugar matrices. A time-resolved study of Fe site of RC with μs resolution has been as well attempted.
Finally, a further step aimed to improve the reliability of XAFS analysis has been performed by calculating the dynamical parameters of the metal binding cluster by means of DFT methods, and the theoretical result obtained for MbCO has been successfully compared with experimental data.


Albeit the development of the capacity to implement strategic change being a challenge to modern organizations, the studies in this area have prioritized intern issues of the organization, relegating it as a secondary plan, the contextual factors. Implementing a new strategy implies in the alignment of resources and internal capabilities to the organizational reality, adjusting them to the needs or external impositions. Thus, this study aims to identify research suggestions on strategy implementation and relate them to the characteristics of the countries belonging to the BRICS, through a systematic review. In order to meet this goal, the coevolution perspective was used to support the discussion of strategy implementation, stimulating reflections on the role of management and the environment in the context of strategic change. Academically speaking, the results point to an update on the research agenda on implementation strategy; at the managerial level, we present insights for managers of companies operating or that intend to settle in the BRICS countries.


Fossil materials record ancient life and their adapted environment. Arctic plant fossils are critical for our understanding of the Earth's paleoenvironment when high latitudes were under ice-free conditions. All Arctic plant fossils in this research are conifers, plants conducive for morphological and molecular study because of their incredible genetic stability. Miocene (15 million year old) and Pliocene (5 million year old) conifer leaves were collected from Banks Island, Canada (Williams et al., 2008). Samples were analyzed and compared with Paleocene (60 million year old) and Eocene (45 million year old) samples from Axel Heiberg Island, Canada and with modern equivalent species from Washington D.C., USA (William et al., 2008). This paper has three main sample analyses. First, Pyrolysis-Mass Spectrometry-Gas Chromatography technology was used to detect organic volatile compounds. The amounts and types of organic volatile compounds provide further insights into the molecular preservation of the Miocene and Pliocene fossilized samples. Molecular preservation from this research was compared to previous research that used Scanning Electron Microscope observations of Paleocene and Eocene transverse sections to indicate extraordinary morphological preservation (Yang et al., 2005; Yang et al., 2007). Second, Miocene and Pliocene bulk peat were cross-referenced with known species in the region to reconstruct Arctic environmental changes between 5 million and 15 million years ago. Third, the ratios of three stable compounds were analyzed as biomarkers, essentially benchmarks for plant fossil preservation. However, biomarkers were inconclusive because of complications including age, species type, and environmental conditions. Overall, our analyses provide the first assessments of molecular preservation for these rare Arctic fossils which offer unique material for further paleoclimate analysis.


For an interval $[1,N] \subseteq \mathbb{N}$, sets $S \subseteq [1,N]$ with the property that $|\{(x,y) \in S^2:x+y \in S\}|=0$, known as sum-free sets, have attracted considerable attention.  In this paper, we generalize this notion by considering $r(S)=|\{(x,y) \in S^2: x+y \in S\}|$, and analyze its behaviour as $S$ ranges over the subsets of $[1,N]$.  We obtain a comprehensive description of the spectrum of attainable $r$-values, constructive existence results and structural characterizations for sets attaining extremal and near-extremal values.


. This research deals with the arguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of shared economy in the field of passenger transport in the Czech Republic. The main purpose of the research is to compare some ridesharing platforms, namely, Uber, Liftago and Taxify and traditional taxi services regarding their starting rates and a characteristic of the cars that they use. Investigation of the topic shows that starting rates and quality of services of these platforms differ regarding the locations and ride-hailing services. Therefore, analysing various sharing economy platforms in the Czech Republic regarding transportation and finding differences among them might create value addition for sharing economy literature. In this regard, this paper applies a research technique that consists of interviews and direct observation in the provision of transport services. In the research, a primary survey was carried out; In terms of secrecy, scenarios of interviews and cover-stories were prepared to motivate respondents to more open communication. Respondents were providers of transport services in the form of classic taxis, Uber, Liftago and Taxify, the most important providers of passenger taxis in the monitored cities. The research was carried out in 2017/2018 in different cities of the Czech Republic, namely, Prague and Ostrava. The obtained data were processed in the SPSS IBM Statistics program using the methods of descriptive statistics. The results of the research show that in the analysed parameters, the ride-hailing platforms do not provide cheaper services in the monitored markets and that their prices are comparable to those of traditional providers. For this reason, travellers, users and providers of ride-hailing services can benefit from this study by considering the differences that this research proves.


In order to integrate equipment from different vendors, wireless sensor networks need to become more standardized. Using IP as the basis of low power radio networks, together with application layer standards designed for this purpose is one way forward. This research focuses on implementing and deploying a system using Contiki, 6LoWPAN over an 868 MHz radio network, together with CoAP as a standard application layer protocol. A system was deployed in the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland as an environmental sensor network, measuring streams, temperature profiles in peat and periglacial features. It was found that RPL provided an effective routing algorithm, and that the use of UDP packets with CoAP proved to be an energy efficient application layer. This combination of technologies can be very effective in large area sensor networks.


Evolution of internal concentration profiles of methanol in 2-D pore structure of ferrierite crystal was measured in the pressure range of 0 to 80 mbar with the help of the recently developed interference microscopy technique. The measured profiles showed that both a surface barrier and internal diffusion controlled the kinetics of adsorption/desorption. Furthermore, they indicated that in the main part of the crystal, the z-directional 10-ring channels were not accessible to methanol and that the transport of methanol mainly occurred via 8-ring y-directional channels. The roof-like part of the crystal was almost instantaneously filled/emptied during adsorption/desorption, indicating accessible 10-ring channels in this section. The measured profiles were analyzed microscopically with the direct application of Fick's second law, and the transport diffusivity of methanol in ferrierite was determined as a function of adsorbed phase concentration. The transport diffusivity varied by more than 2 orders of magnitude over the investigated pressure range. Transport diffusivities, calculated from measured profiles from small and large pressure step changes, were all found to be consistent. Simulated concentration profiles obtained from the solution of Fick's second law with the calculated functional dependence of diffusivities on concentration compared very well with the measured concentration profiles, indicating validity and consistency of the measured data and the calculated diffusivities. The results indicate the importance of measuring the evolution of concentration profiles as this information is vital in determining (1) the direction of internal transport, (2) the presence of internal structural defects, and (3) surface/internal transport barriers. Such detailed information is available neither from common macroscopic methods since, they measure changes in macroscopic properties and use model assumptions to predict the concentration profiles inside, nor from microscopic methods, since they only provide information on average displacement of diffusing molecules.


Objectives: In 2012, a new acute respiratory distress syndrome definition was proposed for adult patients. It was later validated for infants and toddlers. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence, outcomes, and risk factors associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome in children up to 15 years according to the Berlin definition. Design: A prospective, multicenter observational study from March to September 2013. Setting: Seventy-seven PICU beds in eight centers: two private hospitals and six public academic hospitals in Brazil. Patients: All children aged 1 month to 15 years admitted to the participating PICUs in the study period. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: All children admitted to the PICUs were daily evaluated for the presence of acute respiratory distress syndrome according to the American-European Consensus Conference and Berlin definitions. Of the 562 patients included, acute respiratory distress syndrome developed in 57 patients (10%) and 58 patients (10.3%) according to the Berlin definition and the American-European Consensus Conference definition, respectively. Among patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome according to the Berlin definition, nine patients (16%) were mild, 21 (37%) were moderate, and 27 (47%) were severe. Compared with patients without acute respiratory distress syndrome, patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome had significantly higher severity scores, longer PICU and hospital length of stay, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, and higher mortality (p < 0.001). The presence of two or more comorbidities and admission for medical reasons were associated with development of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Comparisons across the three the Berlin categories showed significant differences in the number of ventilator-free days (21, 20, and 5 d, p = 0.001) and mortality for severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (41%) in comparison with mild (0) and moderate (15%) acute respiratory distress syndrome(p = 0.02). No differences in PICU or hospital stay were observed across the groups. Conclusions: The Berlin definition can identify a subgroup of patients with distinctly worse outcomes, as shown by the increased mortality and reduced number of ventilator-free days in pediatric patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome.


A problem of interest in the power industry is the mitigation of interarea and torsional oscillations. Interarea oscillations are due to the dynamics of interarea power transfer and often exhibit poor damping when the aggregate power transfer over a corridor is high relative to the transmission strength. These oscillations can severely restrict system operations and, in some cases, can lead to widespread system disturbances. Torsional oscillations are induced due to the interaction between transmission system disturbances and turbine-generator shaft systems. The high torsional stresses induced due to some of these disturbances reduce the life expectancy of the turbine-generators and, in severe cases, may cause shaft damage. This thesis reports the development of novel control techniques for Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices for the purpose of damping power system interarea and torsional oscillations. In this context, investigations are conducted on a typical three-area power system incorporating FACTS devices. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) and fuzzy logic techniques are used for designing the FACTS controllers. Although attention is focused in the investigations of this thesis on the Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC), studies are also conducted on two other FACTS devices, a three voltage-source converter Generalized Unified Power Flow Controller (GUPFC) and a voltage-source converter back-to-back HVdc link. The results of the investigations conducted in this thesis show that the achieved control designs are effective in damping interarea oscillations as well as the high torsional torques induced in turbine-generator shafts due to clearing and high-speed reclosing of transmission system faults. The controller design procedures adopted in this thesis are general and can be applied to other FACTS devices incorporated in a power system. The results and discussion presented in this thesis should provide valuable information to electric power utilities engaged in planning and operating FACTS devices.


Telecenters, libraries, schools, and other public places where people access computer technology generally must decide which information and communication technologies (ICTs) to make available to the public. These decisions are often made based on a conception of which ICT uses are worthwhile, and often venues end up privileging instrumental uses—when people use the technology as an instrument toward productive goals—over non-instrumental uses, such as gaming or chatting. Users, on the other hand, do not necessarily make these distinctions and they switch seamlessly across multiple types of activities with technology. While public ICT providers must demonstrate good stewardship of public monies, when they privilege activities such as word processing a job application but not gaming or social networking, they constrain how people integrate technology meaningfully into their lives. This article presents the results of a study that investigated assumptions about the benefits of instrumental versus non- instrumental computer uses. Our findings indicate that people who use computers largely for non-instrumental purposes are generally as capable with the computers as those who use them for instrumental purposes, that people who largely use computers for these non-instrumental purposes are gaining skills that translate to instrumental tasks, and that dictating policy across largely software and tool-driven definitions of what constitutes "serious" or "worthwhile" uses of technology (and allocating public money to support access to such technology uses) does not match how individuals see themselves as users of these tools.


Introduction Agriculture is becoming increasingly information sensitive (Padre et al., 2003) hence access to information has become a pre-requisite and a valuable resource for agricultural development. In this context, information is needed to exploit opportunities in time, raise awareness about the potential negative impacts of current choices and to get to know about opportunities of other farmers, in order to search for better opportunities and sustainable solutions (LEISA, 2002). Success in enhancing food production, providing income and job opportunities and ensuring that the agricultural sub-sector performs its manifest functions in furtherance of rural and overall national development, depend largely on the communication system adopted to implement various agricultural programs. Newspapers tend to reach more educated, elitist audiences in many developing countries. This may not seem the quickest way, compared with radio or TV, to reach a mass audience. But newspapers and magazines do have the advantages of being more permanent, carrying more information and often being more authoritative than other media. Writing and issuing a straightforward press release remains the most effective--and economic--tool for mass communication. And the other branches of the mass media tend to feed on what they have read in the press. Newspapers and magazines can also be used to reach key groups--for example, by carrying materials which teachers can use in their classrooms or suggestions for discussions by development workers in the field. (International Mine Action Standard, 2005). Newspapers provide up-to-date information on local, state provincial, national, and world issues. They are among the most widely-read periodicals that are available and accessible to the vast majority of people of all ages and walks of life in any community. Every category of reader can find some important, current, and interesting information in newspapers. Today's newspapers use design elements that make information easily accessible to the reader. For example, important stories have large bold headlines, while 'Graphics' appear next to related stories. The most current analysis and criticism of politics, economics, health, sports, psychological and emotional issues, music, theatre, television, the fine arts, and even comics are covered by newspapers. Ola and Ojo (2007) reiterate that, "newspapers are important because they carry current information and they keep the readers informed of events and happenings within and outside their immediate environments. They are useful for education, recreation, entertainment and relaxation." News is written as a way of disseminating information to a large group of people. Reporters and editors are usually conscious of the language they use in news reportage to attract popular readership. In positioning newspapers within the news environment and establishing their academic and research viability, Cheney et al. (2006) insist that despite the growing presence of news on the Internet, radio, television, and so on, a library's current newspaper collection can continue to play a vital role in the academic community. Despite the pervasive role of the electronic media in agricultural communication and based on the recommendation of the British Cabinet Office (2002) on the necessity for a rethink of the ways in which advice and information are made available to farmers, it becomes pertinent to focus on the print media as an important source of agro-information to farmers (Padre et al., 2003). This research work therefore examined the role of two Nigerian newspapers in the dissemination of agricultural information. The foci of the research work are the amount of space allocated to the dissemination of agricultural information and the types of information published. Methodology The study was carried out using two daily newspapers (Punch and Guardian) in Nigeria. …


Abstract This article proposes a framework conceptualizing the artistic dimension of organizational performance in performing arts organizations that is grounded in empirical findings from case research in two world-renowned institutions. Thus, the framework is embedded in the specific artistic and institutional contexts it aims to represent, reflecting the real-life complexities of intertwined management and artistic practices. Using resource and competence thinking to analyze artistic processes in the performing arts, the framework captures how resources are deployed, developed and ultimately transformed to create and sustain artistic achievement. The concept entangles aspects of evaluation and strategic development, offering an alternative to mainstream management and evaluation approaches to arts management research that, by putting artistic work at the center of the inquiry, is informed by insights from the field.


The curricula of undergraduate courses have been receiving criticism due to fragmentation of knowledge. In this study, we analyze the use of pedagogical link-making in Higher Education as possibility to reduce this fragmentation. For this, we have selected six professors who teach Organic Chemistry for several undergraduate courses, three of whom with more than 60% of students approved in disciplines and three others with less than 60%. We filmed and analyzed a set of lectures aiming to identify the links made to provide continuity to the content and to help students in the knowledge building in the classroom. Data analysis shows that professors make few macro continuity links, which can be a result of the little knowledge on the curriculum as a whole. Moreover, we observed that students are more successful with professors that make more pedagogical linkmaking, leading us to argue that these links help in the understanding of the "scientific story".


Hospital Emergency Response Teams aims to provide authoritative training for hospital personnel in the emergency department, as well community-level medical service personnel, assisting them in times of disaster and emergency. Comprised of six chapters, the book covers various aspects of emergency response. Some of the aspects are the National Incident Management System (NIMS) implementation activities for hospitals and health care systems and the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) IV missions. The book also explains the implementation issues, requirements, and timelines in establishing an internal HICS IV program. It presents the assessment of likely mass casualty events and potential hospital impact. The book also features appendices for emergency response team checklists, PPE donning and doffing guide, ambulatory and non-ambulatory decontamination setup, ETA exercises, and ETA drills. The book is intended to provide understanding of emergency response to first emergency medicine professionals, first responders, security staff, community-level disaster planners, and public health and disaster management researchers. * Common sense approach shows what really works, not what is theoretically achievable * Forms, checklists, and guidelines can be used to develop concrete response plans, validate existing operations, or simply expand knowledge base * The latest from OSHA, Joint Commission and NIMS (National Incident Management System) * Cross-disciplinary author team ensures material is appropriate for all member of this important collaboration


Triassic stromatolitic dolomite from Italy preserves mineralized bacterial remains, one of the first unequivocal identifications of such structures in the geological record. They consist of empty spheroids ∼1.0 µm diameter resembling coccoid bacteria, and smaller, 150–400 nm, objects interpreted as dwarf bacterial forms, occurring within and between syn-sedimentary dolomite crystals. Moreover, gently folded sheets, 100–200 nm thick and several micrometers long, form a sub-polygonal network reminiscent of EPS (extracellular polymeric substance). Their granular-textured surfaces suggest bacterial degradation of original organic matter. These features confirm a biological origin for the stromatolites, as in modern microbial mats, and the preserved original geochemical signatures indicate early precipitation of Mg-carbonates induced through microbial sulfate-reducing metabolic activities.


This working paper empirically documents the size of (2) in the rural sector and investigates its consequences for rural development (agricultural growth, patterns of growth and rural poverty) for ten Latin American countries over 1985-2000. The paper provides econometric evidence suggesting that the structure of public expenditures is an important factor of economic development. The quantitative importance of this factor appears to be greater than the traditional factors on which the development literature focuses. In particular, expanding total public expenditures in rural areas while maintaining the existing public expenditure composition prevailing in the countries does little to promote agricultural income and reduce rural poverty.


Effects of different environmental factors (origin, climate, fertilization and soil properties) on berry nutritional quality were studied in eight forest fields of bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ) in Northern-, Mid- and Southern Norway. No clear trend between locations could be found, however untargeted multivariate analysis of metabolite profiles revealed clear segregation patterns between locations. Anthocyanin, and phenolics content, and titratable acidity were significantly affected by mineral fertilization (Mid-Norway), while organic fertilization did not show any significant effects (Northern Norway). Bilberry chemical composition was affected by harvest time point, as indicated by a potentially higher nutritional quality regarding the content of phytochemicals when harvesting at mid or towards the end of the production season (Southern Norway). Regional and annual climate had strongest impact on the nutritious content of bilberries. Significant differences were found between locations, however previous findings on increasing anthocyanin content with latitude were not confirmed due to environmental impacts confounding the population effects.


We present a study of metal-enriched halo gas traced by Mg ii and C iv absorption at z < 2 in the MUSE Analysis of Gas around Galaxies survey and the Quasar Sightline and Galaxy Evolution survey. Using these large and complete galaxy surveys in quasar fields, we study the dependence of the metal distribution on galaxy properties and overdensities, out to physical projected separations of 750 kpc. We find that the cool, low-ionization gas is significantly affected by the environment across the full redshift range probed, with ≈2 − 3 times more prevalent and stronger Mg ii absorption in higher overdensity group environments and in regions with greater overall stellar mass and star formation rates. Complementary to these results, we have further investigated the more highly ionized gas as traced by C iv absorption, and found that it is likely to be more extended than the Mg ii gas, with ≈2 times higher covering fraction at a given distance. We find that the strength and covering fraction of C iv absorption show less significant dependence on galaxy properties and environment than the Mg ii absorption, but more massive and star-forming galaxies nevertheless also show ≈2 times higher incidence of C iv absorption. The incidence of Mg ii and C iv absorption within the virial radius shows a tentative increase with redshift, being higher by a factor of ≈1.5 and ≈4, respectively, at z > 1. It is clear from our results that environmental processes have a significant impact on the distribution of metals around galaxies and need to be fully accounted for when analyzing correlations between gaseous haloes and galaxy properties.


With the emergence of Bitcoin and recently proposed stablecoins from BigTechs, such as Diem (formerly Libra), central banks face growing competition from private actors offering their own digital alternative to physical cash. We do not address the normative question whether a central bank should issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or not. Instead, we contribute to the current research debate by showing how a central bank could do so, if desired. We propose a token-based system without distributed ledger technology and show how earlier-deployed, software-only electronic cash can be improved upon to preserve transaction privacy, meet regulatory requirements in a compelling way, and offer a level of quantum-resistant protection against systemic privacy risk. Neither monetary policy nor financial stability would be materially affected because a CBDC with this design would replicate physical cash rather than bank deposits.


Pretreatment of seawater before reverse osmosis (RO) processes with dispersed air flotation involves a change in oxygen concentration in seawater. In order to understand this phenomenon, a series of experimental aeration studies was conducted. Aeration tests were performed under different operating conditions of seawater temperature, flow rate of the air and depth of the water in the aeration tank. The experimental results show that the overall mass transfer coefficient increases by increasing air flow rate. A measured increase in the overall mass transfer coefficient was observed with elevation of the temperature from 24 to 38 °C. The estimated value of activation energy of oxygen absorption in seawater is 42.5 kJ/mol. The value of the overall mass transfer coefficient is found to be affected by diffuser type and stirrer speed as these parameters influence the bubble size and the surface area available for mass transfer of oxygen from air bubbles to seawater.


Phycoerythrin (PE) spectral diversity was investigated in eastern tropical Australian waters and around New Caledonian and Fijian archipelagos. Colony sorting of filamentous cyanobacteria revealed slight differences in the PE excitation spectrum of Trichodesmium thiebautii and T. erythraeum. Spectra of PE from Katagnymene spiralis and Richelia intracellularis were examined for the first time. PE spectra of filamentous cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium, Katagnymene, and Richelia) showed a broader phycoerythrobilin (PEB) band than those of Synechococcus. The influence of PE Trichodesmium on the global spectrum of PE in natural waters was clearly visible at various stations. The PEB band was large at the surface and narrower at increased depth, suggesting a shift of the cyanobacterial community from a dominance of diazotrophic filamentous cyanobacteria to small Synechococcus. Size fractionation of water samples confirmed this. A good linear relationship was observed between PE concentration in the >10‐µm cellular‐size fraction and the abundance of filamentous cyanobacteria expressed by either trichome numbers, total trichome surface area, or total trichome volume. PE in the >10‐µm fraction is a useful tool for rapidly quantifying filamentous cyanobacteria. Neither diel variations nor photoacclimation significantly influenced the PE fluorescence excitation spectra in T. thiebautii and T. erythraeum. Using this method, we identified green colonies of filamentous cyanobacteria in deep waters (50–120 m) of the Coral Sea with a novel high‐phycourobilin PE. While morphologically similar to Trichodesmium, it possesses distinctive photosynthetic responses and could be a new species.


How does the European Union (EU) perform in international financial regulation? According to various scholars the global financial architecture has been shaped by the USA and the EU. But whereas the USA is without doubt the dominant actor or even described as hegemon in writing the rules for the global political economy and global financial markets, the EU seems to be a special kind of actor. The European Union is not only one of the biggest single financial markets in the world but also has become one of the largest financial jurisdictions in the last decade. Despite this huge market size the EU's representation in institutions of the global financial regulation is quite low. Hence the direct EU impact on global financial regulation is often seen as weak or the EU is perceived rather as a forum than an actor. Given the debate on the external actorness of the EU global financial regulation is an interesting case for evaluating the EU's actorness in fields, where the EU has competences like anti-money laundering and setting accounting standards. In the paper I applied the managed globalization doctrine in order to analyze the EU's performance in those fields. The evidence illustrates that even in the fields, where the EU have regulatory competencies, the European Union is not able or willing to shape the global regulation.


BACKGROUND:The role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to evaluate treatment response postneoadjuvant therapy for restaging esophageal cancer prior to surgical resection is uncertain. Accuracy of EUS is lower but potential to predict response to chemoradiation indicates that EUS may be helpful prior to surgery.OBJECTIVE:To determine staging accuracy of EUS after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, predictors of tumor response, and survival in locally advanced esophageal cancer.METHODS:Single-center retrospective evaluation of patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer on a prospective chemotherapy study. Patients who underwent EUS without FNA pre- and postchemotherapy were included.RESULTS:A total of 49 patients (43 men and 6 women) were evaluated with EUS pre- and postneoadjuvant chemotherapy. Forty-seven patients had tumor localized at the GE junction and two had mid-esophageal lesions. The median survival time was 53 months. Tumor and nodal staging accuracy postchemotherapy were 60% (27 of 45). T-stage accuracy postchemotherapy was superior in patients without a response to chemotherapy (95.7% vs 26.1%, p < 0.0001). More than 50% in reduction of tumor thickness postchemotherapy was associated with tumor downstage and better survival. N0 disease on final pathology was the best predictor of improved survival.CONCLUSION:Accuracy of EUS postchemotherapy is lower than initial staging accuracy; therefore the ability to predict downstaging based on EUS is marginal. Pathology N1 disease postchemotherapy is the best predictor of survival. EUS staging postneoadjuvant chemotherapy should focus on improving nodal staging accuracy with FNA.


Context: Recording of neurophysiological properties in a rodent model by stereotaxic surgery is well known, while the non-invasive method used to investigate the neurophysiological effects of studied using carbamazepine (CBZ). Aims: The effects of CBZ electrical activity of the brain recorded using a non-invasive technique and validated by an experiment involving stereotaxic surgery procedure are described in this paper. Settings and Design: To minimize painful procedures in rodents, an affordable technique was developed to record electroencephalogram (EEG) in the rodent model, and to the test drug molecules screened without giving any anesthetic agent. Methods and Materials: The present invention provides a disposable plastic foam EEG leads relates to a EEG component device for recording rat brain physiological changes in the form of EEG. This study was performed to quantify the pharmacodynamic properties of the CBZ. Rat surgery involving stereotaxic experiment used for validation process is described for the non-invasive method in this paper. Statistical Analysis Used: Paired t test used to calculate the differences in different EEG bands. Results: EEG analysis showed CBZ significantly increased in the delta and theta power and no effects on other the frequencies of the EEG. Similar observations were found in the invasive method of EEG in rats. Clinical and neurophysiological assessment using the simple, inexpensive technique of EEG observed. Conclusions: The results have shown CBZ induced a significant increase in slow activity waves represented by delta and theta waves. Administration of the carbamazepine in rats detected major neurological changes in the form of EEG and the technique of non-invasive EEG measurement found to be a useful tool to detect changes in the EEG.


We introduce an ordinal model of efficiency measurement. Our primitive is a notion of e ciency that is comparative, but not cardinal or absolute. In this framework, we postulate axioms that we believe an ordinal efficiency measure should satisfy. Primary among these are choice consistency and planning consistency, which guide the measurement of efficiency in a firm with access to multiple technologies. Other axioms include scale-invariance, which states that pounds and kilograms are treated the same, strong monotonicity, which states that efficiency should decrease if the inputs and outputs remain static when the technology becomes unambiguously more efficient, and a very mild continuity condition. These axioms characterize a family of path-based measures. By replacing the continuity condition with symmetry, which states that the names of commodities do not matter, we obtain the coefficient of resource utilization.


"Bioarchaeology and Identity in the Americas" represents an important shift in the interpretation of skeletal remains in the Americas. Until recently, bioarchaeology has focused on interpreting and analyzing populations. The contributors here look to examine how individuals fit into those larger populations. The overall aim is to demonstrate how bioarchaeologists can uniquely contribute to our understanding of the formation, representation, and repercussions of identity. The contributors combine historical and archaeological data with population genetic analyses, biogeochemical analyses of human tooth enamel and bones, mortuary patterns, and body modifications. With case studies drawn from North, Central, and South American mortuary remains from AD 500 to the Colonial period, they examine a wide range of factors that make up identity, including ethnicity, age, gender, and social, political, and religious constructions. By adding a valuable biological element to the study of culture - a topic traditionally associated with social theorists, ethnographers, and historical archaeologies - this volume highlights the importance of skeletal evidence in helping us better understand our past.


Extreme value theory provides an asymptotically justified framework for estimation of exceedance probabilities in regions where few or no observations are available. For multivariate tail estimation, the strength of extremal dependence is crucial and it is typically modeled by a parametric family of spectral distributions. In this work we provide asymptotic bounds on exceedance probabilities that are robust against misspecification of the extremal dependence model. They arise from optimizing the statistic of interest over all dependence models within some neighborhood of the reference model. A certain relaxation of these bounds yields surprisingly simple and explicit expressions, which we propose to use in applications. We show the effectiveness of the robust approach compared to classical confidence bounds when the model is misspecified. The results are further applied to quantify the effect of model uncertainty on the Value-at-Risk of a financial portfolio.


The PASTEUR4OA project analyses what makes an Open Access (OA) policy effective. The total number of institutional or funder OA policies worldwide is now 663 (March 2015), over half of them mandatory. ROARMAP, the policy registry, has been rebuilt to record more policy detail and provide more extensive search functionality. Deposit rates were measured for articles in institutions' repositories and compared to the total number of WoS-indexed articles published from those institutions. Average deposit rate was over four times as high for institutions with a mandatory policy. Six positive correlations were found between deposit rates and (1) Must-Deposit; (2) Cannot-Waive-Deposit; (3) Deposit-Linked-to-Research-Evaluation; (4) Cannot-Waive-Rights-Retention; (5) Must-Make-Deposit-OA (after allowable embargo) and (6) Can-Waive-OA. For deposit latency, there is a positive correlation between earlier deposit and (7) Must-Deposit-Immediately as well as with (4) Cannot-Waive-Rights-Retention and with mandate age. There are not yet enough OA policies to test whether still further policy conditions would contribute to mandate effectiveness but the present findings already suggest that it would be useful for current and future OA policies to adopt the seven positive conditions so as to accelerate and maximise the growth of OA.


In the Early Miocene (23–16 Ma) the Mediterranean region was different from that at present. The Mediterranean Sea was more extensive than today and it was opened to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, to the Atlantic Ocean, and to the Paratethys—the predecessor of the Black, Caspian and Aral seas—to the north. The progressive palaeogeographic evolution of the Mediterranean region, driven by plate tectonics, resulted in the modern enclosed physiography of the Mediterranean Sea. This process includes changes in bathymetry and geometry of marine basins and marine gateways. Marine gateways are oceanic passages between neighbouring basins which allow interbasinal exchange of water, heat and salt. Opening and closure of these gateways can therefore affect the ocean circulation on the regional and (or) global-scales, with a concomitant effect on climate. Changes in ocean circulation are recorded in the marine sediments, the study of which is essential to reconstruct palaeoenvironments. However, the examination of the sedimentary record is not sufficient to determine the physical processes responsible for the environmental conditions inferred, nor to assess whether the observed conditions are applicable to the entire basin or represent a local phenomenon. In this thesis I have used several regional-scale numerical models to gain physics-based insight into the role of the marine gateways of the Miocene (23-5 Ma) Mediterranean region in the palaeoceanography of the Mediterranean and Paratethys. I address first-order features such as basin temperature and salinity, basin-scale thermohaline circulation, patterns of exchange in the gateways, and sea level. By comparing model results to geological data I am able to discard previously proposed scenarios and formulate new ones. I focus on the shoaling and closure of the gateway which used to connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Indo-Pacific until the Middle Miocene. Using a regional-scale ocean circulation model, and comparing my model results to proxy data, I determine the exchange patterns between the Mediterranean and the adjacent Atlantic and Indian oceans during the different stages of closure—some of them not considered before. I also examine the interplay of the two marine corridors that connected the Mediterranean and the Atlantic during the Late Miocene. Results obtained with a regional-scale ocean circulation model show that the exchange pattern in these corridors only depends on the relative depths of the corridors. This is useful to reconstruct the sequence of events that culminated in the deposition of evaporites in the Mediterranean during the Messinian Salinity Crisis and allows me propose new model-based scenarios as to the exchange patterns in the corridors. Finally, I perform a quantitative analysis to assess the sensitivity of the Late Miocene Paratethys sea level to hydrologic budgets when the Paratethys is isolated from the Mediterranean due to gateway closure. Comparing the model results with (i) salinity estimates inferred from the geological record and (ii) Late Miocene hydrologic budgets calculated from a global climate model simulation, I exclude a 1000 m sea level drop in the Caspian Sea during the time period investigated. In the Black Sea this cannot be completely discarded.


The authors outline the application of latent class analysis (LCA) to classroom observational instruments. LCA offers diagnostic information about teachers' instructional strengths and weaknesses, along with estimates of measurement error for individual teachers, while remaining relatively straightforward to implement and interpret. It is discussed how the methodology can support formative feedback to educators and facilitate research into the associations between instructional practices and student outcomes. The approach is illustrated with a secondary analysis of data from the Measures of Effective Teaching study, focusing on middle school literacy instruction.


This paper examines the efficiency of the Palestine Security Exchange (PSE) at the weak-level for 35 stocks listed in the market by using daily observations of the PSE indices: Alquds index, general index, and sector indices. Parametric and nonparametric tests for examining the randomness of the PSE stock prices were utilized. The parametric tests include serialcorrelation test, and Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root tests. The nonparametric tests include runs test, and Phillips-Peron (PP) unit root test. The study utilized nonparametric tests for investigating the efficiency of the PSE at the weak level, especially, the results of Jarque-Bera test for normality showed that the daily returns of the PSE are not normally distributed. The serial correlation tests and the runs tests both revealed that the daily returns are inefficient at the weak-form. Also, the unit root tests (Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test and Phillips-Peron (PP) unit root test) suggest the weak-form inefficiency in the return series. However, the PSE is inefficient at the weak level; as a result, this is likely to be an evidence that the prudent investor who deals with the PSE will achieve abnormal returns using historical data of stock prices, and trading volume.


The archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus uses a catabolite repression-like system to control production of several glycoside hydrolases. To better understand this regulatory system, studies of the regulation of expression of the β-glycosidase gene (lacS) were conducted. Expression of lacS varies in response to medium composition and to mutations at an unlinked gene called car. Despite gene overlap, expression of the lacS promoter proximal gene, SSO3017, exhibited coregulation but not cotranscription with lacS. Measurements of mRNA half-life excluded differential stability as a factor in lacS regulation. Chromosomal repositioning by homologous recombination of a lacS deletion series clarified critical cis-acting sequences required for lacS regulation. lacS repositioned at amyA exhibited increased lacS expression and compromised the response to medium composition independently of lacS 5′ flanking sequence composition. In contrast, regulation of lacS by the car mutation was dependent on sequences upstream of the archaeal TATA box. Expression of a promoter fusion between lacS and the car-independent malA promoter integrated either at amyA or at the natural lacS locus was insensitive to the allelic state of car. In contrast, the promoter fusion retained a response to medium composition only at the lacS locus. These results indicate that car acts at the lacS promoter and that the response to medium composition involves locus-specific sequences exclusive of those present 5′ to lacS or within the lacS transcription unit.


Introduction To elucidate compositional changes of the sinoatrial node (SAN) with aging, the authors investigated age-related changes of elements in the SANs of Thai subjects with a wide range of ages. Materials and methods The Thai subjects consisted of 37 men and 36 women, ranging in age from 35 to 91 years (average age=67.713.3 years). The samples of the SANs were obtained by dissecting the tissue perpendicular to the terminal crest. After incinerating with nitric acid and perchloric acid, element contents were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Results Although the P content tended to decrease in the SANs with aging, there were no significant correlations between age and seven element contents, such as Ca, P, S, Mg, Zn, Fe, and Na, in the SANs. However, on the examination separated into the men and women's SANs, a significant inverse correlation was found between age and P content only in the men's SANs, but it was not found in the women's ones. Conclusion The P content of tissue is mostly determined by the nucleic acid content (DNA and RNA) and the phospholipid content of the tissue. Nucleic acids in the cell nucleus and the cytosol and phospholipids in the cell membrane are indicators of metabolically active cells. Taking into consideration, it is reasonable to presume that the P content indicates the active cell density in the SAN, i.e. the number of active cells per volume. Therefore, there is a possibility that the active cell density of the SAN decreases significantly in men with aging. Regarding the relationships among elements, extremely or very significant direct correlations were found among the Ca, P, S, and Mg contents in the SANs.


Social Web stands for the culture of participation and collaboration on the Web. Structures emerge from social interactions: social tagging enables a community of users to assign freely chosen keywords to Web resources. The structure that evolves from social tagging is called folksonomy and recent research has shown that the exploitation of folksonomy structures is beneficial to information systems. In this thesis we propose models that better capture usage context of social tagging and develop two folksonomy systems that allow for the deduction of contextual information from tagging activities. We introduce a suite of ranking algorithms that exploit contextual information embedded in folksonomy structures and prove that these contextsensitive ranking algorithms significantly improve search in Social Web systems. We setup a framework of user modeling and personalization methods for the Social Web and evaluate this framework in the scope of personalized search and social recommender systems. Extensive evaluation reveals that our context-based user modeling techniques have significant impact on the personalization quality and clearly improve regular user modeling approaches. Finally, we analyze the nature of user profiles distributed on the Social Web, implement a service that supports cross-system user modeling and investigate the impact of cross-system user modeling methods on personalization. In different experiments we prove that our cross-system user modeling strategies solve cold-start problems in social recommender systems and that intelligent re-use of external profile information improves the recommendation quality also beyond the cold-start.


Oxidative stress is identified as a major inducer of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell dysregulation and is associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The protection of RPE disorders plays an essential role in the pathological progress of retinal degeneration diseases. The pharmacological functions of fucoxanthin, a characteristic carotenoid, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, may ameliorate an outstanding bioactivity against premature senescence and cellular dysfunction. This study demonstrates that fucoxanthin protects RPE cells from oxidative stress-induced premature senescence and decreased photoreceptor cell loss in a sodium iodate-induced AMD animal model. Similarly, oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide, nuclear phosphorylated histone (γH2AX) deposition and premature senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining were inhibited by fucoxanthin pretreatment in a human RPE cell line, ARPE-19 cells. Results reveal that fucoxanthin treatment significantly inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and increased the mitochondrial metabolic rate in oxidative stress-induced RPE cell damage. Moreover, atrophy of apical microvilli was inhibited in cells treated with fucoxanthin after oxidative stress. During aging, the RPE undergoes well-characterized pathological changes, including amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition, beta-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) expression and tight junction disruption, which were also reduced in fucoxanthin-treated groups by immunofluorescence. Altogether, pretreatment with fucoxanthin may protect against premature senescence and cellular dysfunction in retinal cells by oxidative stress in experimental AMD animal and human RPE cell models.


The recognition and extraction of terms and their variants in texts are crucial processes in text mining. We use the ILC platform, an automatic controlled indexing platform, to perform these linguistic processes. We present a methodology for enhancing the recognition of syntactic term variation in English, using syntactic and morpho-syntactic features. Principal spurious variants of terms are ascribed to incorrect word dependencies. To overcome these problems, we consider each term variant as a window on the sentence and introduce two criteria: an internal syntactic criterion which checks that the dependencies between words in the window are respected, and an external criterion which defines boundaries, making it possible to ensure that the window is well positioned in the sentence. The use of these criteria improves filtering of the variants and assists the expert in validating the indexing.


This paper presents our recent progress in the modelling of automotive fuel droplet heating and evaporation processes in conditions close to those in internal-combustion engines. Three types of automotive-fuels are considered: biodiesel, gasoline and Diesel fuels. Modelling of biodiesel fuel droplets is based on the application of the Discrete Component (DC) model. A distinctive feature of this model is that it is based on the analytical solutions to the transient heat conduction and species diffusion equations in the liquid phase, taking into account the effects of recirculation. The application of the DC model to fossil fuels (containing potentially hundreds of components), however, is computationally expensive. The modelling of these fuels is based on the recently introduced Multi-Dimensional Quasi-Discrete (MDQD) model. This model replaces large number of components in Diesel and gasoline fuels with a much smaller number of components/quasi-components without losing the main features of the original DC model. The MDQD model is shown to accurately predict the droplet temperatures and evaporation times and to be much more computationally efficient than the DC model. The main features of these models and their applications to automotive fuel droplets are summarised and discussed.


We present the results of the investigation of modified polymethyl methacrylate doped with xanthene-series dyes, phthalocyanine, and chelates in the regimes of laser generation and saturated absorption. The mechanisms responsible for the lasing and the bleaching efficiencies and for the dyes' photodestruction are discussed. Experimental results are presented that confirm the appropriateness of the mechanisms and methods suggested for increasing the conversion efficiency and photostability. The results obtained lead us to formulate the basic principles for choosing the composition and the methods for synthesis of dye-doped polymer materials for high-intensity laser optics.


The Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus (De Haan, 1853) has recently established populations in the North Sea and now occurs within the native ranges of the green crab Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus, 1758). To determine potential competitive effects and to assess the progress of the invasion, species-specific population characteristics (numerical abundances, biomasses, and size distributions) of the two species around the island of Helgoland (German Bight, southern North Sea) were compared for surveys conducted in 2009 and 2014. Sampling sites were chosen based on accessibility and differed in their topography and wave exposure, which allowed testing for the influence of these factors on the establishment success of H. sanguineus. The numerical abundance and biomass of H. sanguineus increased markedly and approached those of C. maenas in 2014. At a sheltered site, H. sanguineus even outnumbered C. maenas, whereas the converse was observed at a site exposed to strong winds and waves. Although such contrasting abundance patterns between the native and the introduced shore crab may be the result of direct interference, the dominance of H. sanguineus at the sheltered site may also be explained by enhanced larval settling rates caused by odors of conspecifics. The results suggest that the invasion of H. sanguineus has not yet reached its equilibrium, and population abundances in the North Sea are expected to further increase in the future.


We examine the effect of population size on government size for a panel of 130 countries for the period between 1970 and 2014. We show that previous analyses of the nexus between population size and government size were incorrectly specified, not accounting for cross-sectional dependence, non-stationarity and cointegration as well as parameter heterogeneity. Using a panel time-series approach that adequately models these issues, we find that population size has a positive long-run effect on government size. This finding suggests that the detrimental effects of population size on government size (primarily due to a greater risk of social conflict) dominate its beneficial ones (primarily due to scale economies). We also show that population size increases government size especially in countries that are vulnerable to social conflict due to ethnic heterogeneity.