Chemosynthetic cold-seep vestimentiferan tubeworms and vesicomyid clams inhabiting oceanic basaltic rock have been discovered on the Gorda Escarpment sector of the Mendocino transform fault 73 km west of Cape Mendocino, northern California. The sparse cold-seep animals are "biomarkers" that identify zones of focused fluid venting from a methane gas horizon seismically imaged as a bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) within sediments on the southern flank of the escarpment. This is the first example of a methane-based cold-seep community on exposed oceanic basement rock within an area dominated by transform tectonics. This discovery extends the range of known environments in which the subsurface flow and venting of methane-rich fluids are linked both with geological activity and chemosynthetic communities. Observations by remotely operated vehicle of the distribution of the animals, sediment, basaltic talus, and basement outcrop delineate a large slump headscarp that channels subsurface fluid. Seismic surveys of the southern flank of the Mendocino transform fault (the Vizcaino block) define a BSR hosted in the thick sedimentary sequence that projects to the wall of the Gorda Escarpment at the same depth as the chemosynthetic community. The well-defined BSR in the marine sediment of the Vizcaino block results from an accumulation of methane gas possibly capped by methane hydrate. The isotopic composition of Mg-calcite found along the headscarp (δ 1 3 C = -65‰; δ 1 8 O = 4.8‰) is consistent with fluids derived from dissociated methane hydrate. We propose that the tectonic uplift along this transform margin has resulted in the lateral, northward movement of methane from the Vizcaino sedimentary sequence to the east-trending wall of the north-facing Gorda Escarpment.


This article examines the medieval carved stone fragment found in the course of archaeological excavations from a stable boys' house in the third bailey of the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Viljandi (Estonia), which was built during the Middle Ages. It is likely that the piece of carved stone ended up in the layer of ruins when the buildings in the third bailey were demolished. Based thereon, no conclusions can be drawn about the original location of the carved stone – it may have been brought from somewhere in the vicinity. However, based on the place it was buried it is clear that the stone was carved before the second half of the 16th century. The carved stone fragment is a wedge-shaped piece of light grey limestone-like stone, which is few centimetres thick, 6–9 cm long and 5–8 cm wide, with carved profiling still visible on its sides. This mineralogicalpetrographical picture of carved stone fragment is characteristic of alkali volcanic rock trachyte, and considering the relationships of main minerals, it is more precisely characteristic of porphyritic sanidine trachyte from the Drachenfels Hill in Germany. Carved stone fragment is extremely small and seriously damaged, but the fine profiling is clearly visible. It is more likely that it comes from a small form. Since, in the Estonian context, this is a rare material, it is more believable that was a precious, rather than a mundane, object. First off, one would assume that it was a sacrament niche, but naturally there are other possibilities.


Excerpt] Migration is a major policy concern for EU Member States and the issue is generally dealt with at both national and European level. While Member States have put in place specific regulations such as entry conditions or programmes for categories of workers, the overall architecture of migration-related policies presents a huge challenge for policymakers. In recent months, the significant inflow of refugees from third countries has profoundly changed the situation in Europe. Most EU countries are facing the arrival of an unprecedented number of refugees and have been grappling with how to respond in a comprehensive and coordinated way to the immediate needs of asylum seekers and the longer-term issues of integration. Furthermore, the challenges of labour shortages and demographic change in Europe call for comprehensive policies that will take into account the effects of immigration on host countries and on the refugees and migrants themselves. This report examines how policies in the areas of migration, the labour market and integration are coordinated within Member States, with a specific focus on the role of the social partners and local-level initiatives.


In 2014, two groups of scientists published open letters on the efficacy of brain-training interventions, or "brain games," for improving cognition. The first letter, a consensus statement from an international group of more than 70 scientists, claimed that brain games do not provide a scientifically grounded way to improve cognitive functioning or to stave off cognitive decline. Several months later, an international group of 133 scientists and practitioners countered that the literature is replete with demonstrations of the benefits of brain training for a wide variety of cognitive and everyday activities. How could two teams of scientists examine the same literature and come to conflicting "consensus" views about the effectiveness of brain training? In part, the disagreement might result from different standards used when evaluating the evidence. To date, the field has lacked a comprehensive review of the brain-training literature, one that examines both the quantity and the quality of the evidence according to a well-defined set of best practices. This article provides such a review, focusing exclusively on the use of cognitive tasks or games as a means to enhance performance on other tasks. We specify and justify a set of best practices for such brain-training interventions and then use those standards to evaluate all of the published peer-reviewed intervention studies cited on the websites of leading brain-training companies listed on Cognitive Training Data (www.cognitivetrainingdata.org), the site hosting the open letter from brain-training proponents. These citations presumably represent the evidence that best supports the claims of effectiveness. Based on this examination, we find extensive evidence that brain-training interventions improve performance on the trained tasks, less evidence that such interventions improve performance on closely related tasks, and little evidence that training enhances performance on distantly related tasks or that training improves everyday cognitive performance. We also find that many of the published intervention studies had major shortcomings in design or analysis that preclude definitive conclusions about the efficacy of training, and that none of the cited studies conformed to all of the best practices we identify as essential to drawing clear conclusions about the benefits of brain training for everyday activities. We conclude with detailed recommendations for scientists, funding agencies, and policymakers that, if adopted, would lead to better evidence regarding the efficacy of brain-training interventions.


Knowledge of the differences in radiated susceptibility (RS) testing in anechoic (AC) and reverberation chambers (RC) is essential for analysis of the susceptibility of electronic systems to microwave radiation. We have studied microwave field-to-wire coupling for some basic wire geometries above a ground plane in ACs and RC. Results for receiving parameters such as the antenna receiving cross section /spl sigma//sub w/ and the effective antenna length of the wire, h/sub e/, are presented. The ratio between the maximum and average values of /spl sigma//sub w/ may exceed 15 dB in the AC, the average being equal to /spl sigma//sub w/ measured in the RC. Large variations in /spl sigma//sub w/ show that the outcome of an RS test in an AC may depend strongly on the direction and polarization of the incident field. For a realistic RS test in ACs only a few angles of incidence can typically be afforded, implying a substantial risk for undertesting. Furthermore, /spl sigma//sub w/ measured in the RC follows a /spl chi//sup 2/-distribution with two degrees of freedom. The measurements in the AC do not follow the same distribution.


We use microprobe Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy to study the Fermi surface and band dispersion of the CuO2 planes in the high temperature superconductor, YBa2Cu4O8. We find a strong in-plane asymmetry of the electronic structure between directions along a and b axes. The saddle point of the antibonding band lies at a significantly higher energy in the a direction (pi,0) than the b direction (0,pi), whereas the bonding band displays the opposite behavior. We demonstrate that the abnormal band shape is due to a strong asymmetry of the bilayer band splitting, likely caused by a non-trivial hybridization between the planes and chains. This asymmetry has an important implication for interpreting key properties of the Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) family, especially the superconducting gap, transport and results of inelastic neutron scattering.


In this paper we will discuss how positive psychology can contribute to the design of digital games and in particular training applications like Serious Games. While digital games have been known for their ability to deeply immerse users, stimulate the senses and tap into a broad range of emotions, it has proven rather challenging to use them as a vehicle for pedagogy. Relevant research is still at its infancy and many of the mechanisms that foster knowledge creation and enhance learning need to be mapped out before scripted in the game. The theory of psychological flow and the role of positive emotions in broadening people's thought-action repertoires bring some practical insights and pave the path for tackling some important design questions. Yet there are still major challenges and uncharted waters to be explored in order for the technology to deliver what has been promised.


This dissertation is aimed at deeply understanding and analysing the root cause of incapability of the execution of the court which has definitive legal decision (incracht decision). In addition, it will be focused on analysing and developing an otimal model of legal execution in frame work of creating justice-based legal certainty. To manifest the above objective, it uses doctrinal and non-doctrinal approaches. In doctrinal approach, it will use statute and case approach by using primary and secondary legal materials, such as acts, court decisions. While the non-doctrinal approach applies socio-legal approach by focusing on primary legal materials which stemmed from interview with judges and advocates. The result of this research shows that the root cause of the failure of the implementation of the execution is caused by: (i) the different of legal interpretation on the legal substance of the existing norms; (ii) the lack of legal awareness, and even tends to the absence of the goodfaith among of the disputants; (iii) the lack of commitment of the chief justice at the district courts; (iv) inconsistence of legal politic of Indonesian Supreme Court; (v) the existence of legal mafia; (vi) there is political, economic and social influences; (vii) supporting infrastructure and facilities. At the end, this research proposes some strategic steps in optimising the implementation of legal execution, that are: (i) harmonising legal rules, particularly which related to process of execution; (ii) developing and strengthening legal culture; (iii) improving and strenghtening public control to ascertain the consistence of the Inodnesian Supremen Courts's legal-political commitment in implementing the process of execution; (iv) improving credibility and professionality of judges; (v). Developing mediation; and (vi) strengthening supporting infrastructure and facilities of legal execution.***


Research in science education has recognized the importance of teaching atomic structure within a history and philosophy of science perspective. The objective of this study is to evaluate general chemistry textbooks published in Turkey based on the eight criteria developed in previous research. Criteria used referred to the atomic models of Thomson, Rutherford and Bohr and twenty-one textbooks (published between 1964 and 2006) were analyzed. Results obtained showed that none of the textbooks explained satisfactorily that: a) Thomson's experiments on cathode rays were conducted to clarify the controversy with respect to the nature of cathode rays, that is, charged particles or waves in the ether; b) The rivalry between Rutherford's hypothesis of single scattering based on a single encounter and Thomson's hypothesis of compound scattering led to a bitter dispute; c) Bohr had not even heard of the Balmer and Paschen formulae for hydrogen line spectrum when he wrote the first version of his article; and d) Bohr's model was based on an inconsistent foundation in which he 'grafted' Planck's 'quantum of action' on to Maxwell's electrodynamics. Some textbooks explained satisfactorily that: a) Rutherford's model of the atom had to compete with that of Thomson; and b) Bohr's main objective was to explain the paradoxical stability of the Rutherford model. It is concluded that the inclusion of historical reconstructions of atomic structure in Turkish general chemistry textbooks can provide students with a better appreciation of the dynamics of scientific progress.


Perspectives on Ontology Learning brings together researchers and practitioners from different communities − natural language processing, machine learning, and the semantic web − in order to give an interdisciplinary overview of recent advances in ontology learning. Starting with a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical foundations of ontology learning methods, the edited volume presents the state-of-the-tart in automated knowledge acquisition and maintenance. It outlines future challenges in this area with a special focus on technologies suitable for pushing the boundaries beyond the creation of simple taxonomical structures, as well as on problems specifically related to knowledge modeling and representation using the Web Ontology Language. Perspectives on Ontology Learning is designed for researchers in the field of semantic technologies and developers of knowledge-based applications. It covers various aspects of ontology learning including ontology quality, user interaction, scalability, knowledge acquisition from heterogeneous sources, as well as the integration with ontology engineering methodologies.


SUMMARY Because of a numb er of exceptional properties over mineral oil, ester fluids are now being used in more medium and large power transformers. At the same time, there are significant differences in the dielectric & thermal properties and other material parameters, between mineral oil and ester fluids, which need to be considered in the design, manufacture, retro – filling, and service of these transformers. This paper presents results of investigations, calculations, and measurements made to identify the special material characteristics that need to be considered when designing the core and windings of these transformers. The paper also presents the factors that must be considered in the selection, design, and determination of the voltage and current ratings of bushings and tap – changers to be used in ester fluid – filled power transformers. In addition, the paper identifies properties of ester fluids that would require different procedures in the processing of the fluid during manufacture and impregnation of the solid insulation in the transformer. The factors that should be considered when an old mineral oil – filled power transformer is to be retro – filled with an ester fluid are presented. These allow the transformer to benefit from the advantages of the ester fluid but not negatively impact its performance and reliability during future years of service. During transformer service, some oil quality parameters of ester fluids; such as power factor, acidity, interfacial tension, etc, do not reflect the same correlation to fluid dielectric or thermal performance as they do in mineral oil. Also, some diagnostic parameters which determine the condition of the solid insulation in a mineral oil - filled power transformers will need to be considered differently in relationship to the different properties of ester fluids. Finally, the paper presents how the advantageous property of longer life of cellulose in ester fluids could be evaluated and benefited from, resulting in more optimized design of ester fluid – filled power transformers.


Technetium-99m galactosyl-neoglycoalbumin ([Tc] NGA), a labeled analog ligand to the hepatocyte-specific receptor, hepatic binding protein (HBP), was prepared and tested for labeling yield, stability, biodistribution, toxicity, and dosimetry. The ligand was synthesized by the covalent coupling of a carbohydrate bifunctional reagent, 2-imino-2-ethyloxymethyl-1-thiogalactose, to human serum albumin. Testing in mice and rabbits revealed the product to be nontoxic and apyrogenic. Technetium labeling yields in excess of 95%, by the electrolytic method, did not alter the molecular weight profile of the neoglycoalbumin. The NGA-bound activity remained stable for at least 4 hr. Biodistribution studies in rabbits demonstrated the liver as the single focus of tracer uptake. Dosimetry was based on kinetic studies in three baboons. Absorbed doses to liver, small intestine, urinary bladder wall, and uterus were 0.089, 0.28, 0.56, and 0.88 rad/mCi, respectively. Total body, lens of the eye, red marrow, ovaries, and testes were less than 0.06 rad/mCi. High liver specificity imparted by receptor binding combined with high labeling yield, stability, acceptable dosimetry, and safety provide [Tc]NGA with the attributes required for routine clinical assessment of hepatocyte function.


Over the last few years, the use of mobile phones, computers and the Internet, has experienced unprecedented development in Africa. The rapid adoption of these technologies by Africans and their proliferation on the continent have sparked a vast literature and ideas that take for granted the entry of Africa into the "global village" and the use of ICTs as a  means for the continent to escape marginalization and poverty. The proponents of this point of view almost always point to a number of "social and economic transformations" which, according to them, are the result of the use of ICTs. Based on a literature review, statistics, and conversations, this article scrutinizes the so-called "transformational" character of ICTs in Africa. It underscores the limits of the changes observed, and concludes that Africans remain essentially  receivers and passive consumers of technological productions and innovations made elsewhere.


Operating a personal computer requires more than just dealing with the PC itself. As anyone with even a modicum of computer experience can attest, there are all types of hardware devices which you must become familiar with disk drives, printers, monitors, and sound cards, just to name a few. And, naturally, each is fraught with its own set of bugs and snares. PC Hardware Annoyances, the latest installment of O'Reilly's highly successful Annoyances series, aims to optimize these peripheral systems by offering easy fixes to their most annoying traits. With over 40 titles to his credit, author Stephen Bigelow identifies all those annoyances that make you cringe in frustration. Then, through the use of snappy, entertaining, and practical solutions, he shows you how to clear each obstacle one step at a time. After that, the rest is up to you. Designed for PC users of all levels, this handy guide doesn't bore you with long dissertations on the workings of the technology at hand. Instead, it offers straightforward, easy-to-understand troubleshooting solutions. For maximum ease of use, PC Hardware Annoyances is broken up into several broad hardware categories. They include desktops, laptops and PDAs, graphics, sound, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, network, and printers and scanners. And while you may not use each of these accessories currently, chances are it's only a matter of time before you'll need their technological services whether it's for work or recreation. What makes PC Hardware Annoyances especially timely is the growing trend among computer owners to simply upgrade their PCs as they age, rather than replacing them altogether. With peripheral devices becoming increasingly affordable, there's no reason not to. But as with any do-it-yourself project, trouble lurks around the corner if you don't have the right guide. Having difficulty setting up your color inkjet printer? Trying to burn a music CD? Is your modem misbehaving? The remedy: PC Hardware Annoyances, of course!


This article revisits the concept of modulation in Gilles Deleuze's Postscript on Control Societies, in which he announces control societies as the new paradigm succeeding Michel Foucault's disciplinary society. Deleuze characterises this shift in terms of a shift from 'moulding' to 'modulation', namely from a form-imposing mode to a self-regulating mode. The concept of modulation is crucial to Deleuze's reinterpretation of the history of philosophy, where he employs it to turn against, for example, Aristotle's hylomorphism and Kant's transcendental categories. The role of modulation in Deleuze's thought in general, and in the article on control societies in particular, reveals an aporia concerning the consistency of this concept: isn't the idea of control societies a realisation of Deleuze's philosophy? On the other hand it urges us to consider how modulation is realised through digital technologies, which occupy a central role in his article on control societies, and are further taken up by contemporary media theorists such as Alexander Galloway and Antoinette Rouvroy. This article attempts to address these two questions by looking again at the work of Gilbert Simondon, whose concept of modulation was an inspiration to Deleuze. For Simondon, the concept of modulation is closely related to technology, a dimension not sufficiently explored by Deleuze. By exploring Simondon's 1961 paper 'Amplification in the Process of Information', this article elaborates on the concept of modulation, in relation to technical amplification and individuation. It attempts to show that how modulation can also be understood as a way to resist the tendency of 'disindividuation' in control societies, and that the 'modulative' mode of control societies is only one possible outcome from the philosophical concept of modulation. It concludes with a concrete practical example from within the development of alternative social networks.


The University of Huddersfield Press, re-launched in 2010, is an open access publisher of peer reviewed journals, monographs and sound recordings. The research to inform this thesis was conducted between 2011 and 2015. The primary research question of this thesis and accompanying business plan is to demonstrate how the University of Huddersfield Press can establish a viable and innovative business model. Subsidiary research questions are to establish how the output of the Press will contribute to and enhance the University's strategic objectives and to indicate how the Press, as an open access publisher, can contribute to the world of scholarly communication by increasing the literature on New University Presses. As such, a number of chapters have been published as journal articles. The thesis introduces the University of Huddersfield Press before setting out the motivation, background and focus of the study. The rise of New University Presses (NUPs), the open access movement, the role of the repository and the library as publisher are examined and placed in context to the Press.

The four cases studies included in this thesis are not multiple case studies, rather they are embedded units of analysis in a single practice based case study, which allows the reader to follow a number of different reading paths. The case studies use observation, in depth investigations and a personal account of the author's work in developing the Press, which will give new insight into open access publishing by NUPs.

The first case study presents data and findings regarding the Press monograph publishing imitative. It draws on external literature and reflections of experience of the Press in order to derive lessons for best practice on future management of the Press. The second case study takes an in depth look at journal publishing within the Press. It looks at how the Huddersfield Open Access Publishing (HOAP) Project was used to launch a number of successful journals using the institutional repository and has helped to build the reputation of the Press in the University and wider community. Lessons learned are examined in order to recommend a more sustainable future for the Press. The third case study involves one of the journals to be published by the Press, Fields: journal of Huddersfield student research. It outlines the rationale for Fields in an institutional context, including the process of setting up an online, open access, multidisciplinary journal for student research. Year one of the project, which saw the journal go from proposal to fully fledged publication, is analysed and lessons learned are discussed. The final case study investigates Huddersfield Contemporary Records (HCR) and presents a case study of music publishing within the University. This case study stands independently and therefore begins with a review of the literature specifically on music industry issues pertinent to HCR. The case study includes a suggested business model and workflow for future releases.

The thesis analyses the results and findings from the case studies in order to suggest a viable and innovative business model for the Press. This addresses questions of sustainability, arising from the case studies. The thesis develops Hahn's programme and publication level business planning in library publishing before providing evidence of the reputational value of the Press to the University of Huddersfield. This is practically demonstrated in the Business Plan, which outlines the future for the Press for the next five years. The accompanying business plan will help to shape future thinking regarding this form of publishing.


The University Writing Center (UWC) at St. Thomas University (STU) is closely connected with the university's English: Professional Writing program, as many of the UWC's tutors either major or minor in the program. One of the program's goals is to provide students with opportunities for growth and professional development in fields related to writing, and one way the program achieves this goal is through a professional writing internship. Many of the Professional Writing students have opted to use their internship to work at the UWC. These interns have shown how a writing center can be a site where tutors grow in many professional directions and where tutors can see first-hand returns from the amount of time and effort they invest into their positions. The goal of this article, then, is to briefly describe the STU Professional Writing internship program and show how it provides our UWC tutors with a variety of professional development opportunities inside and outside of our center.


Molecular electronics offers many possibilities for the development of electronic devices beyond the limit of silicon technology. Its basic ideas and history are reviewed, and a central aspect of the delocalization of electrons across molecules and junctions is examined. Analogies between key processes affecting steady-state through-molecule conduction and equilibrium geometric and spectroscopic properties of paradigm molecules, such as hydrogen, ammonia, benzene, and the Creutz–Taube ion are drawn, and the mechanisms by which control can be exerted over molecular-electronic processes during biological photosynthesis are examined. Ab initio molecular dynamics and simulations of conductivity are then presented for carbon nanotube flanged to gold(111), and device characteristics are calculated for a molecular shift register clocked by two gold electrodes.


The development of next-generation smart nanocarriers that can be tailored for specific applications requires precise control over physiochemical properties, yet modulation of nanostructures solely through synthetic routes is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. In this work, co-assembly of two degradable glucose-based amphiphilic block polymers is demonstrated as a means to control nanoparticle size, surface charge, and stimuli-responsive properties, allowing optimization of these constructs for cytosolic drug delivery applications. Polymeric particles with varying weight fractions of carboxylate- and histamine-modified poly(DL-lactide)-b-poly(D-glucose carbonate)s (PDLLA-b-PDGC) were obtained with diameters ranging from ca. 30 nm to 3 μm and zeta potential values ranging from ca. −35 mV to −1.6 mV in nanopure water. Histamine moieties imparted pH-responsive behavior due to protonation below pH 7, whereas the carboxylates imparted colloidal stability and anionic character. Blending the acid- and histamine-functionalized polymers produced co-assemblies with different pH-dependent surface charge profiles. In particular, co-assemblies with 60 wt% histamine-modified PDLLA-b-PDGC (fhistamine = 0.6) swelled upon acidification from physiological pH (7.4) to endolysosomal pH (5.5), which is anticipated to enable drug release within endolysosomal compartments. The accessible procedures presented here for engineering highly tunable nanoparticles from glucose-based, functional, degradable polymers offer versatile strategies for accelerating the development and clinical implementation of such stimuli-responsive, tailored nanocarriers.


The evidence of ongoing globalisation processes increases the value of human capital as the most essential factor of public economy; thus offering priority to human capital, consisting of knowledge, abilities and skills, against material or financial resources. Recently accumulation of non-material assets (scientific achievements, the increasing level of education) is gaining priority. The accumulated human capital is an important factor of the individual's income and employment-related perspectives. Investment in higher education, as the basic form of human capital, offers both personal and public benefits. Within modern economy environment investment in human capital is increasing. At the state level human capital effects economic growth, increases advantageous national competitiveness. The article presents the development of human capital within the theory of economic thought. Human capital developed from the perspective of both the individual's living costs necessary for ensuring his living and working conditions, and the statements that human capital is a self-investment by acquiring and accumulating new knowledge and skills and thus establishing a new value added both from the individual and public perspective. The results of investigation have shown that stages of evolution of the concept of human capital and contents are distinguished within the context of the world economy development. The concept of human capital has finally formed in the sixties-seventies of the 20th century. Education is a factor of the modern knowledge economy development which enhances economic growth due to the increase in labour productivity, faster assimilation of technological changes (new technologies). In the country where major investment in human capital is made growth intensity of the gross domestic product (GPD) increases.


Aeolian dust modelling has improved significantly over the last ten years and many institutions now consistently model dust uplift, transport and deposition in general circulation models (GCMs). However, the representation of dust in GCMs is highly variable between modelling communities due to differences in the uplift schemes employed and the representation of the global circulation that subsequently leads to dust deflation. In this study two different uplift schemes are incorporated in the same GCM. This approach enables a clearer comparison of the dust uplift schemes themselves, without the added complexity of several different transport and deposition models. The global annual mean dust aerosol optical depths (at 550 nm) using two different dust uplift schemes were found to be 0.014 and 0.023—both lying within the estimates from the AeroCom project. However, the models also have appreciably different representations of the dust size distribution adjacent to the West African coast and very different deposition at various sites throughout the globe. The different dust uplift schemes were also capable of influencing the modelled circulation, surface air temperature, and precipitation despite the use of prescribed sea surface temperatures. This has important implications for the use of dust models in AMIP-style (Atmospheric Modelling Intercomparison Project) simulations and Earth-system modelling.


Slaves were imported to the Cape from 1658 to 1808. The majority of the captives lived in Cape Town and many other slaves lived on farms. Added to this captive population were political exiles. In 1712, 23 slaves and exiles gathered at Constantia, a renowned wine farm, to run away. Since the holding was an important homestead, one would expect that this escape would have been reconstructed in the histories of the farm and slavery at the Cape. At the time, the escape raised sufficient alarm among authorities to warrant a copy of the judicial record be entered into the daybook of the Dutch East India Company (hereafter referred to as the Company).1 However, it would appear that the non-participation of the farm's captives lessened the apparent significance of the desertion and distracted historians from engaging with the dynamics surrounding the plot and with the escapers' eventual dash to freedom. Carefully planned to succeed, the escape failed and the trial of the runaways who were captured brought the desertion into the historical record. To date, the brave hopefuls, their risky strike at liberty, and the disruption they caused at Constantia one spring day have received minimal scholarly attention.2 To address this oversight, the following account will provide as full details of the escape as possible.


Poyang lake of Jiangxi province, China, is the biggest wetland of China. It is one of the largest bases of the migrant birds especially in winter. The nature ecosystem of the region has relationship with the birds' activities, and vice versa. Research of the birds is one of the important ways for knowing the ecosystem. We attempt to set up a system of surveillance and estimation of the bird types and amounts from video. The background of the landscape is the wild field, mainly including lake, grass, and sky. The video camera is the handy one. Because of the wild birds such as the Cygnus's nature, they are likely settle in a large amount in the lake bay and are far away from the observers. The amount may be over 10,000 that the view of field has to pan slowly in the horizontal to capture all of them. So we have to face up with the problem of the moving background together with the small and crowd objects. In this paper we propose a method based on adaptive filtering and morphological algorithm for moving object detection. It aims at relevant low complex of the computation and also robust for most scenes. Firstly the camera motion is eliminated using motion compensation. The predict frame is estimated from the last frame, and difference image is obtained by filtering of the predicted frame and the current frame. The pixels of the moving objects show high values. The distribution of the difference is modeled as a Gaussian function and a segmentation threshold is calculated adaptively according to the distribution function. Then the segmented moving pixels are detected and dilated to construct approximate parts of objects. At last, motion directions and speeds of the moving parts are computed by matching them of the sequent frames and be used to cluster the parts into objects. The experiment shows the efficiency of this method.


A transformation operator is constructed for the calculation of the modal power distribution changes caused by abrupt inhomogeneity in multimode fibers. Simplification and practical applicability of the analysis are achieved by using the mode-continuum approximation. Thus, the model enables taking into account the fiber inhomogeneities of the following types: fiber lateral offset, core diameter mismatch, numerical aperture difference, and joints of fibers with different index profiles. The admission of an arbitrary refractive index profile, input modal power distribution, and parameters of fiber mismatch is an advantageous feature of the model. The operator is applied to calculations of power loss at joints between different multimode fibers, and the results of the calculations are shown to be in a good agreement with experimental data.


Protecting the right of the local community/country to use their own genetic resources available in a particular area is an important element of environmental and biodiversity conservation. However, one of the main biodiversity conservation challenges in Southern peripheral countries is biopiracy. Community based ecotourism (CBET) is a well-established concept and its implementation is an important component for many regional development strategies. This research argues that though CBET which originated as a Western concept was successfully applied in number of projects, it generates biopiracy challenges in its implementation since CBET operates within different geo-political, economic and cultural contexts. This research examines such challenges in CBET initiatives in the Sinharaja world heritage site, Sri Lanka. A qualitative-inductive research methodology has principally guided this research to examine the socio-cultural, socio-economic and geo-political context of biopiracy issues. A total of 293 participants have informed this research including 193 interviews (115 individuals, and 15 different focus-groups totalling 78 people) and 100 questionnaire respondents. A critical discourse analysis (CDA) method is used to examine both primary qualitative data collected through participant and direct observation, interviews and secondary data. One of the main findings is that despite plans being developed at a community level, in wider context, biopiracy challenges related to superimpose capitalism contest the CBET ideologies. Superimposed capitalism results in individualistic and competitive behaviours that undermine collaborative and responsible community approach. Presently, smuggling out of Wallapatta plant (Gyrinops walla) and gathering Spotted towfinger gecko (Cyrtodactylus triedra) an endemic nocturnal reptile species, have become profitable in Sinharaja world heritage site and a growing number of biopirates venture into here. Local community of this site take risks in forest genetic resources smuggling because it provides them with the means of earning much money within a short period. Regardless of all prevalent laws and regulations against bioprospecting, biopiracy, biological resource and wildlife smuggling, authorities have still failed to control these activities in this site because of the support given to bio-pirates by the local community. The research concludes that CBET is an appropriate pathway for tourism development in Sri Lanka but recognition of biopiracy issues associated with superimposed capitalism is required and needed to be addressed. A well-defined monitoring system and an effective legal framework to control adverse effects are important for achieving CBET goals while confronting biopiracy. Keywords: Biopiracy, Community based eco-tourism, Superimposed capitalism


Investigation into leadership styles is a widely debated and researched issue in the
educational context. Nevertheless there is scant empirical research on leadership styles of
middle managers in secondary school. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim to
identify the leadership styles of school middle managers in secondary school in the district of
Sabak Bemam. The descriptive study comprised 125 teachers (here after refers as middle
managers) from five secondary schools in Sabak Bemam district were randomly selected.
The study employed a mixed method research design where data were collected via
questionnaire survey and in- depth semi- structured interviews. The questionnaire used was
the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), adapted from Bass & Avolio (1992). A
total of ten respondents were randomly selected from five secondary schools in the interview
session. The quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) 17.00 version while the qualitative data were analysed deductively and inductively
based on the research questions posed in this study. In order to see the types of leadership
styles by middle managers in secondary schools, a frequency, percent, mean, standard
deviation and T- test were used to test the data. The main findings of the study show that
Transactional leadership style was the most preferred leadership style among school middle
managers. Then it is followed by Transformational leadership style and Laissez- faire
leadership style. Findings also indicated that there were no significant differences in
leadership styles between male and female school middle managers in secondary schools.
The analysis also revealed that there was no significant difference in leadership styles
between novice and experienced school middle managers. Nevertheless, the findings revealed
that there was a significant difference in the mean score for Laissez- faire leadership style
between novice and experienced school middle managers. The findings imply that
educational leaders especially middle managers need to be aware on their leadership styles as
it is help to leader to build a good relation with the followers and retain a productive
workforce. The overview of the evidence and findings of the study are used for some
suggestions and recommendations for the future research.


The economics of Leon H. Keyserling influenced the Roosevelt era in terms of housing, agriculture, labor, and antitrust legislation. During the Truman era, discussed herein, Keyserling was influential as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, stressing long-term growth, general and selective fiscal, monetary, and interest rate policies, and the view that economic growth, equity, and welfare are tied together via a full employment goal. Thus he was a liberal Keynesian and a pragmatist realizing that the keys to prosperity were consumption (wages) and investment (profits).


The inside scoop on a leading-edge data storage technology The rapid growth of e-commerce and the need to have all kinds of applications operating at top speed at the same time, all on a 24/7 basis while connected to the Internet, is overwhelming traditional data storage methods. The solution? Storage Area Networks (SANs)--the data communications technology that's expected to revolutionize distributed computing. Written by top technology experts at VERITAS Software Global Corporation, this book takes readers through all facets of storage networking, explaining how a SAN can help consolidate conventional server storage onto networks, how it makes applications highly available no matter how much data is being stored, and how this in turn makes data access and management faster and easier. System and network managers considering storage networking for their enterprises, as well as application developers and IT staff, will find invaluable advice on the design and deployment of the technology and how it works. Detailed, up-to-date coverage includes: The evolution of the technology and what is expected from SANs Killer applications for SANs Full coverage of storage networking and what it means for the enterprise's information processing architecture Individual chapters devoted to the storage, network, and software components of storage networking Issues for implementation and adoption


This paper reports on the seasonal changes of standing crop and production in habitats used by a high-density population of giant tortoises on Aldabra atoll. The study had two main aims: first to investigate the primary production of a raised coral atoll (to our knowledge the first such study) and secondly to provide base data for a study of the interactions of a large reptilian herbivore (the giant tortoise) with its food supply and environment. Environmental heterogeneity made it necessary to measure separately the standing crop and the above-ground net production of different components of the vegetation; these components were usually single species or small groups of species of plants. Measurements of these components were then combined with cover data for the same components in selected places to illustrate the seasonal and spatial variability of primary production on Aldabra. Standing crop biomasses were estimated from harvest samples. Methods for production estimates varied with the component studied, but included harvest difference methods, repeated clipping of the same plots and direct measurement of leaf turnover rates on marked shoots. These methods are compared where appropriate. Net annual above-ground production varied between plant types from 3165 kJ per square metre of plant for \`tortoise turf' to 47700 kJ m $^{-2}$ for Cyperus ligularis, a robust perennial sedge. Total above-ground annual net production of different habitat types (bare ground and rocks between plants being taken into account) varied from 9100 kJ m $^{-2}$ in a thinly wooded area with high tortoise turf cover (\`open mixed scrub') to 28 200 kJ m $^{-2}$ in an area of thick scrub forest (`groves'). The seasonality of production and standing crop also varied considerably between habitats, owing to the role of different components of the ground layer and shrub cover. These results are discussed in terms of the roles of environmental and structural heterogeneity in setting primary production and of the tortoises themselves in their interactions with the vegetation via trampling and grazing. The effect of this heterogeneity on sampling strategies and results is also assessed.


We study the impact of diverse beliefs on conduct of monetary policy. Individual belief is modeled by a state variable that defines an individual's perceived laws of motion. We use a New Keynesian Model that is solved with a quadratic approximation hence individual decisions are quadratic functions. Aggregation renders the belief distribution an aggregate state variable. Although the model has standard technology and policy shocks, diverse expectations change materially standard results about a smooth trade-off between inflation volatility and output volatility. Our main results are summed up as follows: (i) The policy space contains a curve of singularity which is a collection of policy parameters that divides the space into two sub-regions. Some trade-off between output and inflation volatilities exists within each region and some across regions. (ii) The singularity causes volatility of variables to be non monotone in policy parameters. Policymakers cannot assume a more aggressive policy will change outcomes in a predictable manner. (iii) When beliefs are diverse a central bank must also consider the volatility of individual consumption and the related volatility of financial markets. We show aggressive anti-inflation policy increases consumption volatility and aggressive output stabilization policy entails rising inflation volatility. Efficient central bank policy must therefore be moderate. (iv) High optimism about the future typically lowers aggregate output and increases inflation. This "stagflation" effect is stronger the stickier prices are. Policy response is muted since the effects of higher inflation and lower output on interest rates partially cancel each other. Effective policy requires targeting exuberance directly or its effects in asset markets. Central banks already do so with short term interventions. (v) The observed high serial correlation of 0.80 in policy shocks contributes greatly to market volatility and we show that a reduction in persistence of central bank's deviations from a fixed rule will contribute to stability. (vi) Belief dispersion is measured by cross sectional standard deviation of individual beliefs. An increased belief diversity is found to make policy coordination harder and results in lower aggregate output and lower rate of inflation. Bank policy can lower belief dispersion by being more transparent.


The present essay tries to explore the construction of the female body in the Ethiopic (Ge'ez) version of the hagiography of Saint Mary of Egypt. This text is unusual for Ethiopian hagiographical tradition in terms of its organization and content. A careful reading of this symbolic text reveals multiple visions of women that often contradict the image the hagiographers wished to portray. This absurdity of the text is both the crux as well as source of the amazing characterizations of women, heroic as well as ordinary. Elevated and debased at once, the text is a paradox whose allure is the truth of female holiness.


Here we demonstrate that changes of the North Atlantic subtropical high and its regional rainfall pattern during mid‐Holocene precessional changes and idealized 4xCO2 increase can both be understood as a remote response to increased land heating near North Africa. Despite different sources and patterns of radiative forcing (increase in CO2 concentration versus changes in orbital parameters), we find that the pattern of energy, circulation, and rainfall responses in the Northern Hemisphere summer subtropics are remarkably similar in the two forcing scenarios because both are dominated by the same land‐sea heating contrast in response to the forcing. An increase in energy input over arid land drives a westward displacement of the coupled North Atlantic subtropical high‐monsoon circulation, consistent with increased precipitation in the Afro‐Asia region and decreased precipitation in the America‐Atlantic region. This study underscores the importance of land heating in dictating remote drying through zonal shifts of the subtropical circulation.


This study is to examine the labor requirements associated with different cropping systems in Ghana in order to guide the prioritization of investments in mechanization in the country. First, major cropping systems are identified in the country by adopting the cropping pattern approach of Ruthenberg (1983), who defined farming systems according to the leading crop activities. Second, labor requirements and costs of production of crops in the various systems are examined at various levels of substitution of either herbicides or animal and mechanical traction for labor. We found that the total labor requirements varied among cropping systems. The requirements were particularly high in the two cocoa cropping systems in the forest zones. The requirements were particularly high for land preparation and crop maintenance. Looking across crops, land preparation and crop maintenance took the largest share of labor for cassava, yam, and maize. Rice, on the other hand, required large shares of labor for land preparation and harvesting. When all the systems are considered together, however, crop maintenance required more labor than land preparation. In response to apparent unavailability and cost of labor, farmers are increasingly demanding mechanical traction for land preparation in Ghana. The benefits of mechanizing land preparation depend on both the system and the type of crop cultivated. Mechanization of land preparation for cassava in the vegetable belt, for instance, is more labor saving and cost effective than m Mechanization of land preparation for cassava in cereals belt. Within systems, there is also variation across crops. Where mechanization is not feasible for land preparation or not yet adopted for other field operations such as weeding, an alternative and common substitution for labor in crop production is herbicides. Herbicides are used to clear land for planting as well as to control weeds in standing crops. We found that where herbicide was used, its application reduced labor requirements for land preparation significantly. Selective herbicides were used to control weeds in all the crops examined and in all the belts except the vegetable belt. They also reduced labor use for weeding drastically.


This thesis analyses the relationships that exist between the coach, the parent
and the athlete within the context of age-group swimming. The interest in this
area grew from the researcher's own experiences as a swimmer, a parent of
swimmers and a swimming coach together with the underlying belief that the
three members or what Byrne (1993) terms the 'sporting triangle' approach
swimming experiences with different needs and wants. If other members of
this sporting triangle fail to recognise or understand these needs then conflict
may arise which could detract from the positive sporting experiences of the
young swimmer. Because of the dearth of literature concerning relationships
between all three members of this triad the literature review provides an
overview of literature concerning the coach's, parent's and swimmers' roles
and their relationships with one or more members of the sporting triangle.
The importance of the context in which swimming takes place is also
recognised and the age-group swimming structure within the United Kingdom
is discussed. The research was carried out within two swimming clubs which
were at participation level of competition. Within each club the field work
involved observations followed by in-depth interviews with three swimmers
and their parents together with the Chief Coach. The selection of the families
was based around Hellstedt's (1987) model of the coach-parent-athlete
triangle. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach and
Goffman's (1984) dramaturgical approach, alongside role theory and the
notion of 'positioning' (Giddens, 1984; David and Harre, 1990) provided the
basis for the reflexive pluralist methodology employed. The findings confirmed the complexity of the relationships within the triad
together with the importance of the context in which social interaction takes
place. The continual tension that exists between structure and agency was
highlighted and seen as something that must be both understood
(theoretically) and addressed (empirically) in any attempt to understand social
interaction. The resulting data also confirmed that members of the 'sporting
triangle' do not come to a swimming situation value free but bring with them a
variety of expectations, needs and wants. As a result the need for strong
lines of communication between all three members of the triad is recognised.
Finally recommendations are made for policy and practice which it is hoped
will ensure that young athletes' sporting experiences are positive.


Pulses play important roles in providing proteins and essential amino-acids, and contribute to soils' nutrients cycling in most smallholder farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These crops can be promoted to meet food and nutrition security goals in low-income countries. Here, we investigated the status of Kersting's groundnut (Macrotyloma geocarpum, Fabaceae), a neglected pulse in West Africa. We explored its diversity, the production systems, the production constraints and farmers' preferences in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted in 39 villages with 86 respondents grouped in five sociolinguistic groups. Our results indicated that Macrotyloma geocarpum was produced in three cultivation systems: in the first system, farmers grew Kersting's groundnut in fields, mostly on mounds or on ridges; in the second system, farmers grew it as field border; and in the third system, no clear tillage practice was identified. The main constraints of those farming systems included: difficulty to harvest, the lack of manpower and the damage due to high soil humidity at the reproductive stage. A total of 62 samples were collected and clustered in six landraces based on seed coat colors including cream, white mottled with black eye, white mottled with greyed orange eye, black, brown mottled, and brown. All six groups were found in the southern-Sudanian zone whereas only white mottled with black eye and black colors were found in the northern-Sudanian zone. The white mottled with black eye landrace was commonly known and widely grown by farmers. Farmers' preferences were, however, influenced by sociolinguistic membership and the most preferred traits included high yielding, drought tolerance, and resistance against beetles. These findings offer an avenue to develop a relevant breeding research agenda for promoting Kersting's groundnut in Burkina Faso and Ghana.


Inorganic/organic (hybrid) complementary electrochromic devices (ECDs) of the type [transparent conducting oxide (TCO)//inorganic counter electrode/hydrophobic electrolytic membrane/polymeric working electrode//TCO] were assembled. The working electrodes consisted of spin-coated polymer films prepared by moderator-controlled in situ oxidative chemical polymerisation of 3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene (EDOT). Thin, galvanostatically deposited Prussian Blue (PB) films were employed as counter electrodes. Besides F : SnO2 (FTO)/glass and Sn : In2O3 (ITO)/glass, a flexible ITO/PET film was alternatively used for materials deposition. In order to attain the maximum device performance, the PB charge capacity was monitored and adapted to the capacity of the EDOT polymer films. The two electrochromic electrodes were separated by a novel hydrophobic polymer electrolyte based on a gel of 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMI-TFSI) and poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) as the salt. The influence of two parameters—ITO sheet resistance and the PMMA content in the electrolyte—on the final device properties was investigated. The ITO sheet resistance value proved to be crucial for the switching kinetics. The variation of the weight ratio of PMMA in the electrolyte showed that the effect on the kinetics is small whereas the change in absorbance is highly affected. The properties of the complementary glass-based devices were eventually compared to the corresponding plastic-based electrochromic elements. First attempts to scale up the technology were made for flexible 12 × 15 cm2 (active area) devices.


Although there has been much interest in scaling laws for wireless networks, most work has focussed on characterizing throughput and delay in power-constrained networks. Energy-constrained networks have not received much attention. Previous work on energy-constrained networks was based on models that ignored interference. In this work energy-constrained networks are studied, taking interferences into account. The number of bits per unit energy is introduced, a quantity that measures performance of a wireless network in terms of energy consumption. Scaling laws for the number of bits per unit energy are analyzed on a extended random wireless network using the physical model. An upper bound is given and it is shown that it is achievable. The tradeoff between the number of bits per unit energy and the average bit delay is characterized. Finally, it is shown that there is no tension between the throughput and the number of bits per unit energy, i.e.\ they can be simultaneously optimized.


Computation on large-scale data spaces has been involved in many active problems in computer vision and pattern recognition. However, in realistic applications, most existing algorithms are heavily restricted by the large number of features, and tend to be inefficient and even infeasible. In this thesis, the solution to this problem is addressed in the following ways: (1) projecting features onto a lower-dimensional subspace; (2) embedding features into a Hamming space.

Firstly, a novel subspace learning algorithm called Local Feature Discriminant Projection (LFDP) is proposed for discriminant analysis of local features. LFDP is able to efficiently seek a subspace to improve the discriminability of local features for classification. Extensive experimental validation on three benchmark datasets demonstrates that the proposed LFDP outperforms other dimensionality reduction methods and achieves state-of-the-art performance for image classification. Secondly, for action recognition, a novel binary local representation for RGB-D video data fusion is presented. In this approach, a general local descriptor called Local Flux Feature (LFF) is obtained for both RGB and depth data by computing the local fluxes of the gradient fields of video data. Then the LFFs from RGB and depth channels are fused into a Hamming space via the Structure Preserving Projection (SPP), which preserves not only the pairwise feature structure, but also a higher level connection between samples and classes. Comprehensive experimental results show the superiority of both LFF and SPP. Thirdly, in respect of unsupervised learning, SPP is extended to the Binary Set Embedding (BSE) for cross-modal retrieval. BSE outputs meaningful hash codes for local features from the image domain and word vectors from text domain. Extensive evaluation on two widely-used image-text datasets demonstrates the superior performance of BSE compared with state-of-the-art cross-modal hashing methods. Finally, a generalized multiview spectral embedding algorithm called Kernelized Multiview Projection (KMP) is proposed to fuse the multimedia data from multiple sources. Different features/views in the reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces are linearly fused together and then projected onto a low-dimensional subspace by KMP, whose performance is thoroughly evaluated on both image and video datasets compared with other multiview embedding methods.


Although plants are generally attacked by a community of several species of herbivores, relatively little is known about the strength of natural selection for resistance in multiple‐herbivore communities—particularly how the strength of selection differs among herbivores that feed on different plant organs or how strongly genetic correlations in resistance affect the evolutionary responses of the plant. Here, we report on a field study measuring natural selection for resistance in a diverse community of herbivores of Solanum carolinense. Using linear phenotypic‐selection analyses, we found that directional selection acted to increase resistance to seven species. Selection was strongest to increase resistance to fruit feeders, followed by flower feeders, then leaf feeders. Selection favored a decrease in resistance to a stem borer. Bootstrapping analyses showed that the plant population contained significant genetic variation for each of 14 measured resistance traits and significant covariances in one‐third of the pairwise combinations of resistance traits. These genetic covariances reduced the plant's overall predicted evolutionary response for resistance against the herbivore community by about 60%. Diffuse (co)evolution was widespread in this community, and the diffuse interactions had an overwhelmingly constraining (rather than facilitative) effect on the plant's evolution of resistance.


Two coherent light beams can couple in any absorbing material owing to a light-induced modulation of the material's dielectric constant. In photorefractive crystals the coupling caused by these absorption gratings appears in addition to any electro-optic coupling, complicating the interpretation of data. However, in contrast with the electro-optic gratings formed by charge diffusion, absorption gratings do not necessarily vanish as the beam-crossing angle approaches zero if there is more than one absorbing level. We show that a plot of the coupling strength of the absorption gratings versus the beam-crossing angle is characterized by only three parameters, independent of the number of absorbing levels. We use absorption gratings with a two-level model to determine experimentally some important crystal parameters, including the relative density of donors and acceptors in a barium titanate crystal. Our values agree with those obtained from measurements of the bulk light-induced absorption of the crystal.


Supergene alteration in the Aguablanca Ni-Cu-(PGE, platinum group elements) magmatic sulphide deposit (SW Spain) has formed distinctive soil profiles overlying the gabbroic host rocks. These profiles have subsurficial clayey horizons exceptionally enriched in Ni and Cu even in areas distant from the orebodies and the related gossan outcrops. A preliminary study of the mineralogy in these profiles including bulk analyses by electron microprobe (EMP) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), showed that outstanding base-metal contents are retained by sheet silicates. Lizardite and clinochlore are the most remarkable Ni and Cu scavengers (up to 44 wt% NiO and 9 wt% CuO), with smectite, vermiculite and corrensite playing a subordinate role in this retention (up to 4 wt% NiO and 3 wt% CuO). These results suggest that Ni and Cu could be within the structure of these sheet silicates, but transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging has revealed that Ni, and especially Cu, also occur as discrete metallic particles. Notable differences are detected in the redistribution of base-metals among the major carriers after sulphides dissolution in supergene conditions. Copper is largely retained as native particles in sheet-silicates, particularly in chlorite, whereas Ni is largely bound to the structure, especially in serpentine. This reflects variable metal-retention mechanisms by sheet silicates at Aguablanca, related not only to the host phases but also to the low-temperature conditions in the deposit. Detailed analysis and imaging of the individual Ni-Cu-bearing phases were used to evaluate these retention processes.


HIF-1 is closely involved in various biological processes, including angiogenesis, energy metabolism, and cell survival. HIF-1 consists of an oxygen-sensitive HIF-1alpha and oxygen-insensitive HIF-1beta. Oxygen-sensitive HIF-1alpha is subjected to post-translational modifications such as hydroxylation, ubiquitination, and acetylation, which are related to the regulation of its stability. In this present study, we found that the ectopic expression of SUMO-1 increased HIF-1alpha stability by the co-transfection study with HIF-1alpha and SUMO-1. Furthermore, the ectopic expression of SUMO-1 enhanced the transcriptional activity of HIF-1alpha. In the subsequent immunoprecipitation assay, SUMO-1 was co-immunoprecipitated with HIF-1alpha, implying that HIF-1alpha is covalently modified by SUMO-1. Thereafter, using a series of lysine mutants in the ODD domain, we found that HIF-1alpha was sumoylated at Lys(391) and Lys(477), suggesting that sumoylation at these two lysine residues enhances HIF-1alpha stability by possibly modulating other post-translational modifications. Altogether, we demonstrate that HIF-1alpha is upregulated through SUMO-1 modification at Lys(391)/Lys(477) residues, which may stabilize HIF-1alpha and enhance its transcriptional activity.


In this paper, we assess the impact of the arrival and expansion of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining highly detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of Airbnb activity in the city. These include i) panel fixed-effects models with neighborhood-specific time trends, ii) an instrumental variable shift-share approach in which tourist amenities predict where Airbnb listings will locate and Google searches predict when listings appear, and iii) event-study designs. For the average neighborhood in terms of Airbnb activity, our preferred results imply that rents have increased by 1.9%, while transaction (posted) prices have increased by 5.3% (3.7%). The estimated impact in neighborhoods with high Airbnb activity is substantial. For neighborhoods in the top decile of Airbnb activity distribution, rents are estimated to have increased by 7%, while increases in transaction (posted) prices are estimated at 19% (14%).


* Contains unit-by-unit lesson notes, interleaved with the relevant Students' Book pages * Notes include suggestions on how to handle the material, answer keys to the practice exercises, tapescripts of the listening materials and ideas for extra activities such as games * Follow-up sections give suggestions for extra language practice which may be set for homework * At appropriate places in the lesson notes, an alternative procedure is suggested for presenting language to more able students * Photocopiable tests are provided at the end of every five units * An alphabetical list of vocabulary and expressions, with phonetic transcriptions, is included * Answer keys to the Photocopiable Tests, the separate Test Book, and to the Language Booster exercises are also provided


To determine the prevalence rate and the potential risk factors of pressure ulcers (PUs) among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) departments of the government hospitals in Palestine.

 A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study was carried out in five government hospital intensive care units in four different Palestinian cities between September 27, 2017, and October 27, 2017. The data of 109 out of 115 (94.78%) inpatients were analyzed. The Minimum Data Set (MDS) recommended by the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) was used to collect inpatients' information.

 The result of the analysis showed that the prevalence of pressure ulcers in the ICU departments was 33%, and the prevalence of PUs when excluding stage one was 7.3%. The common stage for pressure ulcers was stage one. It was also determined that the most common risk factors for the development of pressure ulcers were the number of days in the hospital, moisture, and friction.

 According to the recent studies in the Asian States, the prevalence of pressure ulcers in Palestine is considerably higher than in China and Jordan. However, it is still lower than the prevalence reported in comparable published studies in Western Europe. Increasing the staff's knowledge about PUs screening and preventive measures is highly recommended in order to decrease the burden of PUs.


Biofuel is gradually being adopted as alternative to fossil fuel in the use for automotive, thermal and power generation. The Nigerian Policy on biofuel introduced in 2007 expresses the national biofuel production programme. However, problems associated with production and uses arise from the effects on arable land and staple foods, which if diverted for production, have vast diverse effects, depending on the people, environment and pathway of production. Since there are reported activities in biofuel feedstock as well as bio-ethanol and biodiesel productions in some parts of Nigeria, the geographical zones were selected and the production sites defined. The communities around the production sites were sampled with a questionnaire to obtain perceptions of the effects. The perceptions were statistically analyzed to derive the effects for each zone and to check for significant (p<0.05) difference in the effects. Results showed varying effects of biofuel production in and across the zones.

 Key words: Biofuel, feedstock, local communities, environment, policy.


The dissertation "Archaeological area of Classe: memory and identity of a buried place" introduces a strategic and global masterplan to set a new dialogue between the ancient traces of the Ravenna's harbour and the system of fascinating Early Christian basilicas. The area stretches from the recent artificial network of canals (Fiumi Riuniti) to the well-known Saint Apollinare in Classe basilica. The shape of the area appears to be a narrow -but too long- "corridor", restricted between the sprawled urban fabric of the Classe town and the wide plain fields. Since the Sixties of the last century, the attention on the well-celebrated harbour of Ravenna, built by the emperor Augustus, became more intense due to the archaeologists' noteworthy findings. Specifically, their surveys discovered the ruins - actually characterised by a maximum rise of 50 centimetres - of warehouses, workshops and markets as well as the most entirety of three basilicas erected outside the defensive walls. Therefore, her thesis focuses on these discoveries, with particular attention to the well-preserved basilica of Saint Severo, and its nearby monastery, Saint Ruphilii, built at a later time and whose plan is barely appreciable since the archaeological surveys are still ongoing. As a matter of fact, when one addresses to a design project in an archaeological area the state of the art is none other than a "no-finished building site", as pointed out effectively by Francesco Venezia. The position of the ensemble, situated alongside the "moenia" (Engl. "defensive walls") offers the starting inspiration for the overall design project, which would recreate the distinctive inner and outer patterns conveyed by the presence of the walls. To be more precise, the title of the thesis "ad moenia" (Eng. "close to the walls") expresses the main purpose of the project. The palimpsest of Saint Severo is located far from the ruins of the harbour, resulting as hidden frame in the fields, that actually means it is situated approximately one metre behind the current level zero. Therefore, the nowadays condition does not express anymore how the three basilicas magnificently emerged from ground, that at the time of the construction did not consist in a such fertile field, rather in gentle sand dunes. The visitors, hence, enter in the area walking alongside the re-evoked traces of the walls, marked by a wooden pavement that extends till the long gallery pavilion, or visitor-centre. The access to the archaeological area is also guaranteed by a rectangular frame along which a promenade permits a higher point of view on the ruins as well as few points through which going down to the archaeological site. The purpose of the project is a critic re-construction of the basilica's profile through the proportions of the golden geometry, that regulated both the plan and the elevation of the building. Avoiding the philological sense and the use of original materials, the author succeeded in restoring a possible skyline of "Civitas Classis" and that spatial quality of a perfect interbreeding between the Latin and the Byzantine features. A repetition of wooden columns, two full length horizontal truss structures and two x-lam walls in correspondence to the main facades are the main structural elements which support the cover of zinc sheets, finely pierced where the arched-windows allowed the external light to reflect on the gold mosaics. Such a wooden structure provides the huge spatiality of the basilica in which the exhibiting apparatus presents the different spaces and their role in the liturgy to the visitor. Some fragments, consisting of mosaics, half columns, marble transennas, become hence elements of the spatial narration. The basilica and the monastery are juxtaposed, so in-between them a longitudinal path connects the opposite side of the frame. Having limited information about the monastery, the project's aim has been to make its typology clearer, that corresponds to emphasize the distinction between the courtyard and the system of rooms faced on it. Precisely, a wooden platform on the inside, which fills all the spaces in-between the ruins, and a sand-grave pavement for the courtyard.


How do resolution frameworks affect the private restructuring of distressed banks? We model a distressed bank's shareholders and creditors negotiating a restructuring given asymmetric information about asset quality and externalities onto the government. This yields negotiation delays used to signal asset quality. We find that strict bail-in rules increase delays by worsening informational frictions and reducing bargaining surplus. We characterize optimal bail-in rules for the government. We then consider the government's possible involvement in negotiations. We find this can lead to shorter or longer delays. Notably, the government may gin from committing not to partake in negotiations.


In the current debate on present and future biofuels policy, sustainability issues play an important role. In this perspective, we discuss a number of factors in the framing of the biofuels sustainability debate, and describe their role over the last 25 years or so in which biofuels have been on the political agenda. Our first conclusion is that biofuels policy is related to several underlying objectives, such as climate change, security of supply and other drivers. Therefore, the policy will structurally need to be monitored in its impacts, in order to keep these impacts in concordance with these objectives. In the long term, biofuels policy might be substituted by instruments that more directly relate to the objectives. Second, current sustainability issues concerning biofuels relate to either the production chain or to the regional system in which biofuels compete for land. Finding suitable indicators and setting up monitoring schemes are key challenges. Furthermore, a safeguarding scheme needs to meet two conflicting requirements: on the one hand it is important to implement it over many regions and many sectors (including non‐energy), but on the other hand the problem requires implementation in the short term. Starting with monitoring only may cause an issue of legitimacy. Finally, we propose some elements for a robust development strategy. This includes pushing forward with a sustainability safeguarding scheme, within the given constraints. During the start‐up period of such schemes, non‐certified biofuels and feedstock might be discouraged, simultaneously stimulating production initiatives operating under certification. © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd


Missing values are common in data analysis and present a usability challenge. Users are forced to pick between removing tuples with missing values or creating a cleaned version of their data by applying a relatively expensive imputation strategy. Our system, ImputeDB, incorporates imputation into a cost-based query optimizer, performing necessary imputations on-the-fly for each query. This allows users to immediately explore their data, while the system picks the optimal placement of imputation operations. We evaluate this approach on three real-world survey-based datasets. Our experiments show that our query plans execute between 10 and 140 times faster than first imputing the base tables. Furthermore, we show that the query results from on-the-fly imputation differ from the traditional base-table imputation approach by 0--8%. Finally, we show that while dropping tuples with missing values that fail query constraints discards 6--78% of the data, on-the-fly imputation loses only 0--21%.


The purposes of this study were to identify sources of self-confidence in athletes within the sport-confidence framework of Vealey (1986, 1988), develop a reliable and valid measure of sources of sport-confidence, and extend the conceptual framework of sport-confidence to include sources and test predictions within the expanded model. In Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the study, the preliminary conceptual basis for sources of sport-confidence was developed and initial psychometric evidence supported the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Sources of Sport-Confidence Questionnaire (SSCQ) with 335 college athletes. In Phase 4, a confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized nine-factor structure of the SSCQ using 208 high school basketball players as participants. The theoretical and practical significance of certain sources of confidence in building stable and enduring self-confidence and motivation in sport are discussed based on the study results.


Research ethics extends beyond obtaining initial approval from research ethics boards. The previously established person-oriented research ethics framework provides guidelines for understanding ongoing ethics throughout the tasks of a research project, in a variety of research contexts. It focuses primarily on the relational and experiential aspects of research ethics, organized around five guideposts: (1) focus on researcher-participant relationships; (2) respect for holistic personhood; (3) acknowledgment of lived world; (4) individualization; and (5) empowerment in decision-making. Given the widespread impact of dementia and the ethical challenges dementia research presents, conducting meaningful, ethical research is of high importance. This review explores this person-oriented framework in the context of dementia by examining existing literature on ethics practices in dementia research. We use a critical interpretive literature review to examine publications from 2013 to 2017 for content related to the five guideposts of person-oriented research ethics. While there is much literature addressing the relational and experiential aspects of research ethics, there is a lack of unanimous conclusions and concrete suggestions for implementation. We compiled practical recommendations from the literature, highlighting tensions and suggesting furthering evidence-based ethics research fieldwork to construct an accessible, easy-to-use set of guidelines for researchers that will assist in putting person-oriented research ethics into practice in dementia research.


Endothelial cells play multiple roles in pathophysiologic processes and are increasingly being recognized as target cells of gene therapy. Lentiviral vectors derived from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 have an ability to infect both dividing and nondividing cells and currently receive a great deal of attention as an innovative tool for transduction of target cells. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the efficacy of a lentiviral vector for transducing human liver endothelial cells (HLECs) in vitro. For the present study, a pseudotyped lentiviral vector encoding a green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene, LtV-GFP, was generated by means of FuGENE 6 method and allowed to infect HLECs. Approximately 95% of HLECs were positive for GFP expression after LtV-GFP infection at a multiplicity of infection of 10. Notably, LtV-GFP transduced HLECs had stable and long term GFP expression, showed gene expression of endothelial markers including CD 34, factor VIII, flt-1, KDR/flk-1 and HGF, and maintained in vitro angiogenic potential in a Matrigel assay to the same extent as primarily cultured HLECs. These findings provide evidence that lentivirus based gene delivery is an efficient tool for transduction of endothelial cells that could be considered for cell and gene therapies and hybrid artificial organs.


Polysaccharide-peptide (PSP) is a protein bound polysaccharide isolated from the Cov-1 strain of Yunzhi and made from modern alcohol extraction techniques. Each capsule contains 0.34 grams of PSP. Experimental in-vitro and in-vivo studies have shown PSP inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells including P338 leukemia cells, S 180 cells, Ehrlich ascites, and stomach and lung cancer cells. It also inhibits the growth of some tumors such as the lymphatic tumor of human skin tissue cells. In addition, PSP affects the immune system of mice by stimulating the production of α-interferons, increasing the phagocytic index and metabolic rate of the reticuloendothilial system and by raising the HC 50 (median hemolytic dose), IgG and PFC (plaque forming cell) values. Human in-vivo experiments have also shown PSP can modulate the immune system by helping to prevent and partly eliminate the side effects of radiation and chemotherapeutic agents used by cancer patients.


The objective of the present study was to determine whether the duration of disease has any influence on the prevalence of glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GADA) in Brazilian patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and variable disease duration. We evaluated 83 patients with T1D. All participants were interviewed and blood was obtained for GADA measurement by a commercial radioimmunoassay (RSR Limited, Cardiff, UK). Four groups of patients were established according to disease duration: A) 1-5 years of disease (N = 24), B) 6-10 years of disease (N = 19), C) 11-15 years of disease (N = 25), and D) >15 years of disease (N = 15). GADA prevalence and its titers were determined in each group. GADA was positive in 38 patients (45.8%) and its frequency did not differ between the groups. The prevalence was 11/24 (45.8%), 8/19 (42.1%), 13/25 (52%), and 6/15 (40%) in groups A, B, C, and D, respectively (P = 0.874). Mean GADA titer was 12.54 +/- 11.33 U/ml for the sample as a whole and 11.95 +/- 11.8, 12.85 +/- 12.07, 10.57 +/- 8.35, and 17.45 +/- 16.1 U/ml for groups A, B, C, and D, respectively (P = 0.686). Sex, age at diagnosis or ethnic background had no significant effect on GADA (+) frequency. In conclusion, in this transversal study, duration of disease did not affect significantly the prevalence of GADA or its titers in patients with T1D after one year of diagnosis. This was the first study to report this finding in the Brazilian population.


Background—This study was designed to determine whether overexpression of the enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) could enhance angiogenesis by reducing levels of the endogenous nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Methods and Results—In DDAH1 transgenic (TG) and wild-type mice (each n=42), the role of DDAH overexpression on angiogenesis was studied by use of the disk angiogenesis system and a murine model of hindlimb ischemia (each n=21). After surgery, animals were treated with either PBS or the NOS inhibitors ADMA or N&ohgr;-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; each 250 &mgr;mol · kg−1 · d−1) by use of osmotic minipumps (each n=7). L-NAME was chosen to study an inhibitor that is not degraded by DDAH. Neovascularization in the disk angiogenesis system was impaired by both NOS inhibitors; however, TG animals were resistant to the effects of ADMA on neovascularization. Similarly, TG mice were more resistant to the inhibitory effect of ADMA on angioadaptation (angiogenesis and arteriogenesis) after hindlimb ischemia, as assessed by fluorescent microsphere studies and postmortem microangiograms. Enhanced neovascularization and limb perfusion in TG mice were associated with reduced plasma and tissue ADMA levels and enhanced tissue NOS enzyme activity. Conclusions—We describe a novel mechanism by which DDAH regulates postnatal neovascularization. Therapeutic manipulation of DDAH expression or activity may represent a novel approach to restore tissue perfusion.


Probiotics and prebiotics may have the potential to maintain a stable equine gut microbiota during abrupt dietary changes thus possibly limiting gastro-intestinal tract upsets and reducing the incidence of colic and laminitis. This study investigated the effect of synbiotic (probiotic and prebiotic) supplementation on faecal microbiome structure, faecal pH and hay intake during an abrupt change from hay to grass and vice versa. On day 0 ponies were abruptly changed from a grass to hay diet. The experiment consisted of 3, 14-day periods where eight ponies were fed hay or grass ad lib, 100 g concentrates/day, and 25 ml molasses/day. The control (n=4) and treatment (n=4) groups received 0 g and 17 g of synbiotic supplement/day, respectively. The supplement provided 7 g of live yeast S. cerevisiae equivalent to 7x1010 CFU, 3 g of fructooligosaccharides, and 2 g of yeast cell walls (mannooligosaccharides and β-glucans). At the end of period one ponies were abruptly changed from hay to grass and then back to hay at the end of period two. Faecal samples were collected on days 1-3, 7 and 14 post abrupt dietary changes. Genomic DNA was extracted, 16S libraries were generated prior Illumina next generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene. Biostatistical analysis was conducted using 16S metagenomics pipeline in QIIME v1.9.1. Bacterial phyla with a relative abundance (RA) of more than 0.03 % (n=14) and genera with RA more than 0.3 % (n=26) were analysed using repeated measures ANOVA in Genstat 19th (VSN International) after square root (sqrt) transformation and visual assessment of residual plots. The statistical model tested the effect of day, treatment and pony on the RA of microbial taxa, faecal pH and hay intake for each period and for all 3 periods combined. Synbiotic supplementation increased the RA of the first most abundant phylum Bacteroidetes (P=0.009) and decreased the RA of Synergistetes phylum (P=0.035). Moreover, synbiotic decreased the RA of Actinobacteria (P=0.04) and unassigned genus from Lachnospiraceae family (P=0.048) in period 1. In period two, synbiotic increased the RA of the first most abundant genus belonging to the order Bacteroidales. There were no effects of synbiotic supplement on faecal pH or hay intake (P >0.05). Bacteroidetes, the phylum associated with positive energy balance. Synbiotic maintained higher levels of Bacteroidetes post dietary change, thus appears to support a more stable microbial structure.

This dataset contains the following:
1) Biom table summary "biom_table_summary.txt"
2) Master run log in QIIME version: 1.9.1 "log_20171006123815.txt"
3) Filtered BIOM table (minimum sequence count: 5000) "table_even5000.biom.gz"
4) Rarefied BIOM table (sampling depth: 5000) "table_mc5000.biom.gz"
5) OTUs relative abundance at phylum taxonomic level for each sample in .biom and .xlsx formats "table_mc5000_sorted_L2.biom", "table_mc5000_sorted_L2.xlsx"
6) OTUs relative abundance at class taxonomic level for each sample in .biom and .xlsx formats "table_mc5000_sorted_L3.biom", "table_mc5000_sorted_L3.xlsx"
7) OTUs relative abundance at class taxonomic level for each sample in .biom and .xlsx formats "table_mc5000_sorted_L4.biom", "table_mc5000_sorted_L4.xlsx"
8) OTUs relative abundance at family taxonomic level for each sample in .biom and .xlsx formats "table_mc5000_sorted_L5.biom", "table_mc5000_sorted_L5.xlsx"
9) OTUs relative abundance at genus taxonomic level for each sample in .biom and .xlsx formats "table_mc5000_sorted_L6.biom", "table_mc5000_sorted_L6.xlsx"
10) README file


This paper is the second in a series of two papers addressing the influence of priors in antidiscrimination law. The first paper, Hidden Priors, argued that Bayesian probability theory could harmonize two divergent strands of scholarship on the systemic disparate treatment theory of discrimination. This Bayesian approach challenges the conventional use of statistical evidence in systemic discrimination cases. Critically, the Bayesian approach acknowledges the operation of prior information about the likelihood of unlawful discrimination when evaluating statistical evidence. While a handful of scholars have contemplated a transition to a Bayesian antidiscrimination law, there has been no scholarly treatment of the second-order questions raised by the recognition of Bayesian priors. These second-order questions were highlighted at the conclusion of Hidden Priors. They include hard, but not intractable, questions such as: Whose priors matter? How should priors be incorporated into civil litigation procedures? And, what are legitimate sources of priors? The lack of attention to these questions may explain the stubborn refusal of courts, litigants, and employment law scholars to acknowledge the role of priors in systemic discrimination cases. This second article in the series is meant to spur a healthy scholarly discussion of the second-order questions, even if it cannot provide definitive answers to them. This article argues that the procedural devices of our civil litigation system – though imperfect – are actually well-suited to properly allocate responsibility among legislatures, appellate judges, trial judges, and fact-finders for estimating the prior likelihood of discrimination. This article demonstrates that, once acknowledged, priors can be transparently managed by thoughtful implementation of these procedural devices.


The bright star Delta Sco has been considered a typical B0-type object for many years. Spectra of the star published prior to 1990 showed no evidence of emission, but only of short-term line profile variations attributed to nonradial pulsations. Speckle interferometric observations show that Delta Sco is a binary system with a highly-eccentric orbit and a period of ~10.6 years. Weak emission in the Ha line was detected in its spectrum for the first time during a periastron passage in 1990. Shortly before the next periastron passage in the summer of 2000, the binary entered a strong Ha emission and enhanced mass-loss phase. We monitored the spectroscopic development of the Be outburst from July 2000 through March 2001. In this paper we present results from our spectroscopy, refine elements of the binary orbit, and discuss possible mechanisms for the mass loss.


The unofficial guide to becoming an ISK billionaire in EVE Online Overview Immerse yourself in the EVE Universe and amass untold wealth Get a jump start in the EVE economy and be immediately competitive in any ISK making career Filled with screenshots and tables that walk you step-by-step through your career from start to finish. In Detail New Eden, a universe of beauty, destruction and unlimited potential. Take on the role of a capsuleer and forge a story and empire that spans vast regions of space that is uniquely your own. But in order to forge your story and empire, it takes ISK and lots of it. The ISK Making Guide to EVE Online teaches you the inner workings of each ISK making career choice. Learn the tricks of the pros and avoid the hidden pitfalls that await you at every turn. Learn from the experience of a seasoned EVE veteran. Starting with the more easily accessible career choices and moving on to the careers only available to the experienced capsuleers, this book takes you step-by-step as your story unfolds. Help determine the path of EVE by taking on careers like Mining and Manufacturing, the backbone of New Eden or help your empire rise above the rest by Running Missions for the corporations of your empire. The ISK Making Guide to EVE Online gives you a jump start and walks you through every ISK making career choice. What you will learn from this book Understand the workings of the EVE economy and EVE as a whole Progress through the career of a miner and provide the raw materials for the industry of EVE Where to find and pick agents for mission running to increase standing and to receive really cool rewards Grow a manufacturing empire from producing basic ammo and modules to the most advanced ships in EVE Fight the Sansha pirates that threaten New Eden while earning ISK and other rare rewards Take hold of every little advantage and turn it into huge profits on the markets of EVE Find friends, form corporations and forge alliances Approach A game strategy guide that focuses solely on maximising your in game earning. Who this book is written for Whether you are new pilot plugging into your first capsule or have years of experience in EVE, this book is for you. No prior knowledge of EVE Online required.


Abdominal surgery for hernia repair is based on the implantation of a synthetic mesh in the defect area which aims at reinforcing the damaged wall. This clinical intervention is common in today's society and, in unfavorable cases such as obese patients or patients with large defects, could lead to a number of problems that reduce the quality of life of patients. The most common problems are the appearance of fibrosis, the hernia recurrence and occurrence of abdominal discomfort due to poor compliance between the host tissue and the prosthesis. Currently, surgeons have no definitive and universally accepted guidelines for the selection of the appropriate prosthesis for each patient and type of defect. Therefore, the choice of one or another mesh, and their placement in case of anisotropic meshes, is a decision to be taken by the surgeons according to their experience. This thesis aims to study the abdominal hernia surgery from the continuum mechanics point of view. However, for the supply and validation of the generated models, it is necessary to perform an experimental study in an animal model. Since this is a multidisciplinary problem, the study approached was developed in collaboration with the Translational Research Group in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering at the University of Alcala de Henares (Madrid). The final goal of hernia surgery is that the prosthesis ensures adequate tissular integration, being capable, among other things, to reproduce the mechanical behaviour of the healthy abdominal wall and to absorb the stresses due to the physiological loads to which the abdomen is subjected. Therefore, in addition to addressing the study in animal models to analyze the integration on the wall, the mechanical modelling of the abdominal wall and the biomaterials used in hernia repair is essential. For this, the construction of an ``in silico'' model of the human abdomen has been developed. Due to the diversity of commercial products on the market, this thesis focusses on the study of three representative prostheses, specifically Surgipro, Optilene and Infinit. These meshes are characterized by different geometric parameters and are made of different materials. In this work, the mechanical properties of the prostheses have been determined experimentally and different constitutive models, that reproduce the patterns of the mechanical behaviour observed in both, the abdominal muscle and implanted biomaterials, have been proposed. Specifically, the numerical modelling of the response of the abdominal muscle, including both active and passive responses, and prostheses have been approached within the framework of the nonlinear hyperelasticity in large deformations. The latter approach of this thesis aims to model, using the finite element method, the mechanical response of the wall with the implanted mesh. A complete model of the human abdomen has been defined from nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. This complete model allows differentiating the main anatomical units of the abdomen and it is used to simulate the passive and active responses. Furthermore, this model allows the study of the response of the healthy wall and the analysis of the final mechanical response of the herniated human abdomen to the placement of different prostheses. In summary, this thesis establishes a methodology to the automation of computational models for personalized surgical procedures in order to select the most appropriate mesh for each patient as well as the appropriate placement on the defect in the case of anisotropic prostheses.