K-Theory was originally defined by Grothendieck as a contravariant functor from a subcategory of schemes to abelian groups, known today as K0. The same kind of construction was then applied to other fields of mathematics, like spaces and (not necessarily commutative) rings. In all these cases, it consists of some process applied, not directly to the object one wants to study, but to some category related to it: the category of vector bundles over a space, of finitely generated projective modules over a ring, of locally free modules over a scheme, for instance. Later, Quillen extracted axioms that all these categories satisfy and that allow the Grothendieck construction of K0. The categorical structure he discovered is called today a Quillen-exact category. It led him not only to broaden the domain of application of K-theory, but also to define a whole K-theory spectrum associated to such a category. Waldhausen next generalized Quillen's notion of an exact category by introducing categories with weak equivalences and cofibrations, which one nowadays calls Waldhausen categories. K-theory has since been studied as a functor from the category of suitably structured (Quillen-exact, Waldhausen, symmetric monoidal) small categories to some category of spectra1. This has given rise to a huge field of research, so much so that there is a whole journal devoted to the subject. In this thesis, we want to take advantage of these tools to begin studying K-theory from another perspective. Indeed, we have the impression that, in the generalization of topological and algebraic K-theory that has been started by Quillen, something important has been left aside. K-theory was initiated as a (contravariant) functor from the various categories of spaces, rings, schemes, …, not from the category of Waldhausen small categories. Of course, one obtains information about a ring by studying its Quillen-exact category of (finitely generated projective) modules, but still, the final goal is the study of the ring, and, more globally, of the category of rings. Thus, in a general theory, one should describe a way to associate not only a spectrum to a structured category, but also a structured category to an object. Moreover, this process should take the morphisms of these objects into account. This gives rise to two fundamental questions. What kind of mathematical objects should K-theory be applied to? Given such an object, what category "over it" should one consider and how does it vary over morphisms? Considering examples, we have made the following observations. Suppose C is the category that is to be investigated by means of K-theory, like the category of topological spaces or of schemes, for instance. The category associated to an object of C is a sub-category of the category of modules over some monoid in a monoidal category with additional structure (topological, symmetric, abelian, model). The situation is highly "fibred": not only morphisms of C induce (structured) functors between these sub-categories of modules, but the monoidal category in which theses modules take place might vary from one object of C to another. In important cases, the sub-categories of modules considered are full sub-categories of "locally trivial" modules with respect to some (possibly weakened notion of) Grothendieck topology on C . That is, there are some specific modules that are considered sufficiently simple to be called trivial and locally trivial modules are those that are, locally over a covering of the Grothendieck topology, isomorphic to these. In this thesis, we explore, with K-theory in view, a categorical framework that encodes these kind of data. We also study these structures for their own sake, and give examples in other fields. We do not mention in this abstract set-theoretical issues, but they are handled with care in the discussion. Moreover, an appendix is devoted to the subject. After recalling classical facts of Grothendieck fibrations (and their associated indexed categories), we provide new insights into the concept of a bifibration. We prove that there is a 2-equivalence between the 2-category of bifibrations over a category ℬ and a 2-category of pseudo double functors from ℬ into the double category of adjunctions in CAT. We next turn our attention to composable pairs of fibrations , as they happen to be fundamental objects of the theory. We give a characterization of these objects in terms of pseudo-functors ℬop → FIBc into the 2-category of fibrations and Cartesian functors. We next turn to a short survey about Grothendieck (pre-)topologies. We start with the basic notion of covering function, that associate to each object of a category a family of coverings of the object. We study separately the saturation of a covering function with respect to sieves and to refinements. The Grothendieck topology generated by a pretopology is shown to be the result of these two steps. We define then, inspired by Street [89], the notion of (locally) trivial objects in a fibred category P : ℰ → ℬ equipped with some notion of covering of objects of the base ℬ. The trivial objects are objects chosen in some fibres. An object E in the fibre over B ∈ ℬ is locally trivial if there exists a covering {fi : Bi → B}i ∈ I such the inverse image of E along fi is isomorphic to a trivial object. Among examples are torsors, principal bundles, vector bundles, schemes, locally constant sheaves, quasi-coherent and locally free sheaves of modules, finitely generated projective modules over commutative rings, topological manifolds, … We give conditions under which locally trivial objects form a subfibration of P and describe the relationship between locally trivial objects with respect to subordinated covering functions. We then go into the algebraic part of the theory. We give a definition of monoidal fibred categories and show a 2-equivalence with monoidal indexed categories. We develop algebra (monoids and modules) in these two settings. Modules and monoids in a monoidal fibred category ℰ → ℬ happen to form a pair of fibrations . We end this thesis by explaining how to apply this categorical framework to K-theory and by proposing some prospects of research. ______________________________ 1 Works of Lurie, Toen and Vezzosi have shown that K-theory really depends on the (∞, 1)-category associated to a Waldhausen category [94]. Moreover, topological K-theory of spaces and Banach algebras takes the fact that the Waldhausen category is topological in account [62, 70].


Elaeagnus angustifolia L. is a deciduous tree of the Elaeagnaceae family. It is widely used in the study of abiotic stress tolerance in plants and for the improvement of desertification-affected land due to its characteristics of drought resistance, salt tolerance, cold resistance, wind resistance, and other environmental adaptation. Here, we report the complete genome sequencing using the Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) platform and Hi-C assisted assembly of E. angustifolia. A total of 44.27 Gb raw PacBio sequel reads were obtained after filtering out low-quality data, with an average length of 8.64 Kb. And 39.56 Gb clean reads was obtained, with a sequencing coverage of 75×, and Q30 ratio > 95.46%. The 510.71 Mb genomic sequence was mapped to the chromosome, accounting for 96.94% of the total length of the sequence, and the corresponding number of sequences was 269, accounting for 45.83% of the total number of sequences. The genome sequence study of E. angustifolia can be a valuable source for the comparative genome analysis of the Elaeagnaceae family members, and can help to understand the evolutionary response mechanisms of the Elaeagnaceae to drought, salt, cold and wind resistance, and thereby provide effective theoretical support for the improvement of desertification-affected land.


Taraxacum Officinale
An interpretation of mitosis for the Bradford institute of health research
Installed April 2015

It is intriguing how colour can be revealed by shining light through some objects, something that is normally revealed by reflecting light off the surface, the intensive light from a obsolete X ray plate light box retrieved from Bradford Royal Infirmary not only reveals the internal structure of some objects, but creates images that are at once beautiful and fascinating.
Using seeding dandelions and other wild plants, the images created can be seen as metaphors for fertility and conception, but also of death and regeneration.
The dandelion, which forms the centre of these images, is the only flower that represents the three celestial bodies of the sun, the moon, and the stars.
The yellow flower represents the sun, the puffball the moon and the dispersing spores the stars.
It is recognized as a symbol of hope, summer and childhood, but also as a symbol of grief.
In folklore it is known as the dandelion clock; blowing on the seed head to determine what time it is,
how long you will live, how many children you will have, when you will marry.
It is also know for its medicinal properties, dandelion roots and leaves have used to treat liver problems
and dandelions boiled in water have been used to treat urinary infections, skin problems
and upset stomachs.


When are police justified in detaining someone engaging in an activity requiring a license in order to investigate whether that person, in fact, has a valid license? The answer to this question is surprisingly varied. In Delaware v. Prouse, the Supreme Court held that police officers generally need reasonable suspicion that a motorist is unlicensed before conducting a forcible stop. But the rules on other licenses vary widely. For example, in the hunting context, many courts have allowed either suspicionless stops of suspected hunters or, at most, required reasonable suspicion that a person is a hunter - not that the person is an unlicensed hunter. And in cases involving individuals carrying weapons, many courts have engaged in a formalistic inquiry that looks to whether non-licensure is an element of the offense or having a license to carry a gun is an affirmative defense. If the non-licensure is an element of the offense, some courts have required reasonable suspicion both that the person is carrying a gun and that he lacks a valid license; but most courts have held that if having a license to carry is an affirmative defense, then police may stop anyone suspected of carrying a gun until the person proves that he fits within the defense (i.e., he has a license). This Article suggests a unified framework for analyzing license-related Terry stops, and discusses how that standard interacts with the statutory structure of licensure laws. In this Article, I make two primary arguments. First, under current Supreme Court doctrine, there are only two ways to justify a forcible stop to check the validity of a license: either (1) a person must have a significantly diminished expectation of privacy by engaging in the underlying activity; or (2) officers must have reasonable suspicion that the particular individual is unlicensed. Second, I argue that (2) is true no matter how the law is structured - that is, regardless of whether non-licensure is an element of the offense or having a license is an affirmative defense. In other words, how the legislature structures a criminal statute is irrelevant for determining what truth conditions constitute "reasonable suspicion of criminal activity."My second argument leads to a major theoretical question: What is the function of the element/defense distinction in criminal procedure? I argue that the distinction serves no function in Fourth Amendment criminal procedure; the only function of the element/defense distinction is to divide evidentiary burdens of production at trial. "Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity" (or "probable cause") occurs only when there is reasonable suspicion (or probable cause) both that a person has satisfied the elements of the offense and that the person has no relevant defense making the action permissible.


We present an approach for optimizing the performance of information agents by materializing useful information. A critical problem with information agents, particularly those gathering and integrating information from Web sources is a high query response time. This is because the data needed to answer user queries is present across several different Web sources (and in several pages within a source) and retrieving,extracting and integrating the data is time consuming. We address this problem by materializing useful classes of information and defining them as auxiliary data sources for the information agent. The key challenge here is to identify the content and schema of the classes of information that would be useful to materialize. We present an algorithm that identifies such classes by analyzing patterns in user queries. We describe an implementation of our approach and experiments in progress. We also discuss other important problems that we will address in optimizing information agents.


Although the discursive construction of authority has been largely investigated for different kinds of interaction and settings, studies concerned with authority in ethnographic encounters are scarce. In the present article, I demonstrate that in this kind of encounters the mediational character of the interactants' roles and the transcendence of the co-constructed text with respect to the current event play a crucial role in the construction of authority through discourse. My data consist of two events in 1990 recorded as part of a research project on beliefs and ritual practices among the Totonac population in Eastern Mexico, as well as the corresponding field notes. While my focus is on the linguistic and discursive resources used in the recorded sessions, I demonstrate that a well-founded account also involves a previous event, in which the methodological tools and interactional dynamics were negotiated, as well as a rehearsal previous to each recording session proposed by my consultant as a means to ensure the relevance of the information and the appropriateness of its delivery.


Passivization is explained by using the formalism of combinatory logic. The agented passive is derived from the agentless as follows: a term denoting an agent is transposed into a predicate modifier and applied to the passive predicate of the agentless construction. The passive predicate consists of two parts: 1) the two-place converse of the active predicate and 2) a zero unspecified term to which the converse predicate is applied. The passive is not derived from but is related to the active. The modifier of the passive predicate is the functional counterpart of the subject in the active. The proposed hypothesis gives an adequate solution to problems arising from various types of passive constructions. Passivization and antipassivization are defined as instances of a general cross-linguistic process involving conversion.


The present work describes the simple, accurate and validated UV spectrophotometric method for determination of ceftriaxone sodium loaded in Nanoparticle formulation. The method was validated for different parameters like linearity, precision, specificity, accuracy, Limit of Detection (LOD), Limit of Quantification (LOQ) and Robustness as per ICH guidelines. A wavelength maximum of Ceftriaxone sodium in distilled water was found to be at 241 nm. The method was found to be linear in the range of 2 to 18 μg/ml with a correlation coefficient (r2) of 0.999. The accuracy of the method was studied by recovery study and % recovery was found in range of 99.27 to 100.06%. The method is simple, accurate and requires relatively inexpensive instrument. The proposed method can be successfully used for determination of Ceftriaxone sodium loaded in to Nanoparticle formulation.


This report supplements the 2001 statement by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (CDC. Vaccinia [smallpox] vaccine: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP], 2001. MMWR 2001;50[No. RR-10]:1-25). This supplemental report provides recommendations for using smallpox vaccine in the pre-event vaccination program in the United States. To facilitate preparedness and response, smallpox vaccination is recommended for persons designated by public health authorities to conduct investigation and follow-up of initial smallpox cases that might necessitate direct patient contact. ACIP recommends that each state and territory establish and maintain > or = 1 smallpox response team. ACIP and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) recommend that each acute-care hospital identify health-care workers who can be vaccinated and trained to provide direct medical care for the first smallpox patients requiring hospital admission and to evaluate and manage patients who are suspected as having smallpox. When feasible, the first-stage vaccination program should include previously vaccinated health-care personnel to decrease the potential for adverse events. Additionally persons administering smallpox vaccine in this pre-event vaccination program should be vaccinated. Smallpox vaccine is administered by using the multiple-puncture technique with a bifurcated needle, packaged with the vaccine and diluent. According to the product labeling, 2-3 punctures are recommended for primary vaccination and 15 punctures for revaccination. A trace of blood should appear at the vaccination site after 15-20 seconds; if no trace of blood is visible, an additional 3 insertions should be made by using the same bifurcated needle without reinserting the needle into the vaccine vial. If no evidence of vaccine take is apparent after 7 days, the person can be vaccinated again. Optimal infection-control practices and appropriate site care should prevent transmission of vaccinia virus from vaccinated health-care workers to patients. Health-care personnel providing direct patient care should keep their vaccination sites covered with gauze in combination with a semipermeable membrane dressing to absorb exudates and to provide a barrier for containment of vaccinia virus to minimize the risk of transmission; the dressing should also be covered by a layer of clothing. Dressings used to cover the site should be changed frequently to prevent accumulation of exudates and consequent maceration. The most critical measure in preventing contact transmission is consistent hand hygiene. Hospitals should designate staff to assess dressings for all vaccinated health-care workers. When feasible, staff responsible for dressing changes for smallpox health-care teams should be vaccinated, all persons handling dressings should observe contact precautions. Administrative leave is not required routinely for newly vaccinated health-care personnel unless they are physically unable to work as a result of systemic signs and symptoms of illness; have extensive skin lesions that cannot be adequately covered or if they are unable to adhere to the recommended infection-control precautions. Persons outside the patient-care setting can keep their vaccination sites covered with a porous dressing hand hygiene remains key to preventing inadvertent inoculation. FDA has recommended that recipients of smallpox vaccine be deferred from donating blood for 21 days or until the scab has separated. Contacts of vaccinees, who have inadvertently contracted vaccinia, also should be deferred from donating blood for 14 days after complete resolution of their complication. In the pre-event vaccination program, smallpox vaccination is contraindicated for persons with a history or presence of eczema or atopic dermatitis; who have other acute, chronic, or exfoliative skin conditions; who have conditions associated with immunosuppression; are aged < 1 year; who have a serious allergy to any component of the vaccine; or who are pregnant or breastfeeding. ACIP does not recommend smallpox vaccination for children and adolescents aged < 18 years during the pre-event vaccination program. Pre-event vaccination also is contraindicated among persons with household contacts who have a history or presence of eczema or atopic dermatitis; who have other acute, chronic, or exfoliative skin conditions; who have conditions associated with immunosuppression; or who are pregnant. For purposes of screening for contraindications for pre-event vaccination, household contacts include persons with prolonged intimate contact (e.g., sexual contacts) with the potential vaccinee and others who might have direct contact with the vaccination site. Persons with inflammatory eye disease might be at increased risk for inadvertent inoculation as a result of touching or rubbing the eye. Therefore, deferring vaccination is prudent for persons with inflammatory eye diseases requiring steroid treatment until the condition resolves and the course of therapy is complete. Eczema vaccinatum, a serious form of disseminated vaccinia infection, can occur among persons with atopic dermatitis and other dermatologic conditions. Potential vaccinees should be queried regarding the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis or eczema in themselves or any member of their household, or regarding the presence of chronic or recurrent rashes consistent with these diagnoses. Persons reporting such a rash in themselves or household members should not be vaccinated, unless a health-care provider determines that the rash is not eczema or atopic dermatitis. Before vaccination, women of childbearing age should be asked if they are pregnant or intend to become pregnant during the next 4 weeks; women who respond positively should not be vaccinated. Any woman who thinks she might be pregnant or who wants additional assurance that she is not pregnant should perform a urine pregnancy test on the day scheduled for vaccination. If a pregnant woman is inadvertently vaccinated or if she becomes pregnant within 4 weeks after smallpox vaccination, she should be counseled regarding concerns for the fetus. Vaccination during pregnancy should not ordinarily be a reason to terminate pregnancy. CDC has established a pregnancy registry to prospectively follow the outcome of such pregnancies and facilitate the investigation of any adverse pregnancy outcome among pregnant women who were inadvertently vaccinated. For enrollment in the registry, contact CDC at 404-639-8253. Smallpox vaccine should not be administered to persons with human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as part of a pre-event program because of their increased risk for progressive vaccinia. HIV testing is recommended for persons who have any history of a risk factor for HIV infection or for anyone who is concerned that he or she might have HIV infection. HIV testing should be available in a confidential or anonymous setting, in accordance with local laws and regulations, with results communicated to the potential vaccinee before the planned date of vaccination. Smallpox vaccine can be administered simultaneously with any inactivated vaccine. With the exception of varicella vaccine, smallpox vaccine can be administered simultaneously with other live-virus vaccines. To avoid confusion in ascertaining which vaccine might have caused postvaccination skin lesions or other adverse events, varicella vaccine and smallpox vaccine should be administered >4 weeks apart. Health-care workers scheduled to receive an annual purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test for tuberculosis screening should not receive the skin test until >1 month after smallpox vaccination. Persons with progressive vaccinia, eczema vaccinatum, and severe generalized vaccinia or inadvertent inoculation might benefit from therapy with VIG or cidofovir, although the latter has not been approved by FDA for this indication. Suspected cases of these illnesses or other severe adverse events after smallpox vaccination should be reported immediately to state health departments. VIG and cidofovir are available from CDC under Investigational New Drug protocols. Clinically severe adverse events after smallpox vaccination should be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Reports can be made online at https://secure.vaers.org/VaersDataEntryintro.htm, or by postage-paid form, which is available by calling 800-822-7967 (toll-free). ACIP will review these recommendations periodically as new information becomes available related to smallpox disease, smallpox vaccines, the risk of smallpox attack, smallpox vaccine adverse events, and the experience gained as recent recommendations are implemented. Revised recommendations will be developed as needed.


Amino-functionalized mesoporous silica thin films (MTFs) are produced using surface active agent F127, and then gold nanoparticles are introduced into the pore channels to prepare the Au/SiO2 nanocomposite. After assembling the gold, the amino-functionalized MTF undergoes some shrinkage but remains a periodic structure as demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The nanocomposite shows an acute characteristic diffraction peak assigned to (111) plane of the face-centered-cubic structure of gold, indicating that gold nanoparticles crystallize well and grow in a preferred orientation in the pore channels. The surface plasma resonance (SPR) absorption peak near 570 nm undergoes a red-shift accompanied by a strengthening of intensity when HAuCl4 is used to react with the amino groups on the internal pore surfaces for 4, 6, and 8 h. The simulative results are consistent with the experimental ones shows that the absorption property of the Au/SiO2 nanocomposite is influenced by the dipping time, which affects the size and volume fraction of embedded gold nanoparticles.


Recently, the Internet of Things and building information modeling (IoT-BIM) has captured attention because of its wide range of applications in multiple domains communicating across different layers. The IoT-BIM consists of three layers, namely physical, network, and application layer. This paper provides and discusses security attacks countermeasure for each IoT-BIM layer. In this paper, we discuss various state-of-the-art IoT-BIM security frameworks and propose a unified security framework for IoT-BIM networks, called "Unified Federated Security Framework". The proposed framework relies on fuzzy cognitive maps for modeling and evaluating trust relationships between the involved entities in federated identity management systems.


The Politics of Performance^ addresses fundamental questions about the social and political purposes of performance through an investigation into post-war alternative and community theatre. It proposes a theory of performace as ideological transaction, cultural intervention and community action, which is used to illuminate the potential social and political effects of radical performance practice. It raises issues about the nature of alternative theatre as a movement and the aesthetics of its styles of production, especially in relation to progressive counter-cultural formations. It analyses in detail the work of key practitioners in socially engaged theatre during four decades, setting each in the context of social, political and cultural history and focusing particularly on how they used that context to enhance the potential efficacy of their productions. The book is thus a detailed analysis of oppositional theatre as radical cultural practice in its various efforts to subvert the status quo. Its purpose is to raise the profile of these approaches to performance by proposing, and demonstrating how they may have had a significant impact on social and political history.


We report the preparation of flexible and mechanically stable antireflective organically modified silica (ormosil) coatings at ambient conditions. Thin films are obtained from colloidal suspensions of ormosil gels which are prepared using methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) monomers. The ormosil suspensions are directly applicable and suitable for the large-area deposition of nanoporous ormosil thin films. The nanoporosity of the films can be tuned by changing the monomer ratio of the starting solution. Thin films on flexible substrates retain their antireflective properties even after 100 cycles of excessive bending without a significant change in transmission. Furthermore, the films remained intact after water dripping and adhesive tape tests. In addition, thin films on glass substrates are found to exhibit antifogging properties after annealing at 600 � C for 30 min. The ease of fabrication and multifunctionality of these films make them ideal coatings for flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices, sensors, and solar cells.


The plays reviewed in this paper are those developed where Permian and older organic-rich rocks have been preserved. These have sourced approximately 60 × 109 barrels of oil equivalent in the area under consideration, in oil, gas and oil shale developments, and range in age from the Cambrian to Permian. They were deposited in marine to terrestrial environments, and their development was controlled by the evolution of life forms, changes of relative sea-level and the plate tectonic configuration of the depocentres. Clastic and carbonate reservoir distribution was controlled by tectonic phases and relative sea-level variations. Trapping is by both structural and stratigraphic mechanisms. Preservation of source and reservoir potential is dependent on a lack of intense orogenic activity and should, therefore, be sought away from zones of intense tectonism that post-date potential source rocks. Proven play types are extrapolated to under-explored areas where similar potential may exist, and the potential of methane extraction from coal beds is suggested.


To this day, polyhedral optimizing compilers use either extremely rigid (but accurate) cost models, one-size-fits-all general-purpose heuristics, or auto-tuning strategies to traverse and evaluate large optimization spaces. In this paper, we introduce an adaptive and automatic scheduler that permits to generate novel loop transformation sequences (or recipes) capable of delivering strong performance for a variety of different architectures without relying on auto-tuning, nor on pre-determined transformation strategies. We evaluate our approach using the Polybench/C benchmark suite against two modern state-of-the-art optimizers on three different architectures: An AMD ThreadRipper, an Intel Xeon Phi, and an Intel Xeon Platinum. Our results provide evidence that a set of high-level objectives backed up by an automatic adaptive scheduler (i.e., not hard-wired) is capable of achieving competitive performance, while only resorting to evaluating a handful of tuned variants.


Abstract Recent studies have shown that the total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) ratio and nitrogen oxidation state may have substantial effects on secondary metabolite (e.g., microcystins) production in cyanobacteria. We investigated the relationship between the water column TN:TP ratio and the cyanobacterial secondary metabolites geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), and microcystin using multiple years of data from 4 reservoirs located in the Midwestern United States. We also examined the relationship between water column concentrations of chemically oxidized (NO3) and reduced (NH3) nitrogen, the NO3:NH3 ratio, cyanobacterial biovolume, and associated secondary metabolites. We found that the cyanobacterial secondary metabolites geosmin, MIB, and microcystin primarily occurred when the TN:TP ratio was <30:1 (by mass), likely due to higher cyanobacterial biovolumes at lower TN:TP ratios. We also found that relative cyanobacterial biovolume was inversely related to the NO3:NH3 ratio. Both N2- and non-N2-fixing cyanobacteria seemed to produce secondary metabolites and had higher concentrations per unit biovolume when NO3:NH3 ratios were relatively low. Our data thus are consistent with the hypothesis that lower TN:TP ratios favor cyanobacterial dominance and also suggest that relatively low NO3:NH3 ratios provide conditions that may favor the production of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites. Our data further suggest that increases in the absolute concentrations of TP or NH3 (or both), causing decreases in TN:TP and NO3:NH3 ratios, respectively, may stimulate cyanobacteria having the metabolic ability to produce geosmin, MIB, or microcystins. Future studies should address how the NO3:NH3 ratio affects phytoplankton community structure and occurrence and production of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites.


The initiative to enhance financial inclusion in Indonesia has been done through Financial Digital Service (LKD) by Bank Indonesia (BI) and Smart Act Branchless Banking Service for Financial Inclusion (Laku Pandai) by Financial Services Authority (OJK). There are several factors contributing to the success of both programs. One of the most important factors is the quality of the agents in charge. In order to monitor the development progress of financial inclusion brought by both programs, LPEM FEBUI conducted preliminary research through financial service agent field survey in West Nusa Tenggara and Aceh. The programs inclusiveness, challenges faced by agents, and opportunity for service expansions are three components assessed in the study. The results depicted that, despite the leap in the number of agents, both programs so far serve mainly as complimentary service. It is also found that, although agents find sufficient profitability and sustainability, there are still notable challenges in infrastructure, funding, and technical capability which need to be addressed. Such results recommend regulator, especially BI and OJK, to put more attention on the establishment of information and training center for their agents and enhancement on digital inclusion as well as electricity coverage


Complex systems are challenging to design, particularly when they contain multi-level organizations with non-obvious relationships among design components. Here, we investigate engineering students' capacity to search for optimal nanoscale biosystem designs with stochastic component and system behaviors. The study aims to characterize information types that facilitate human learning and improve their complex system understanding and design proficiency. It is hypothesized that learning parametric system relationships and/or inter-level causal mechanisms improves design proficiency; these relationships and mechanisms are teachable through software interfaces. Two contrasting learning/design interfaces were developed that presented differing information types: an interface with performance charts that emphasized parametric relationship learning and an interface with agent-based animations that emphasized inter-level causality learning. Users improved on pre-/post-learning design tasks with both interfaces; users who demonstrated inter-level causal relationship understanding, which occurred primarily with the animation interface, had greater improvement. All users were then presented contrasting animations of systems with opposing emergent behaviors, resulting in many more participants demonstrating an understanding of inter-level causal behaviors. These findings reveal the difficulties in understanding and designing multi-level systems and that interactive software tools may convey crucial information that supports engineering design, particularly with respect to the development of reasoning skills for how system components relate across levels.


Abstract

Optofluidics is an emerging field which combines microfluidics and optics, having widespread applications in fundamental sciences as well as engineering. Among the research in the area of optofluidics, manipulation of small objects such as particles and droplets is of great interest. Precise control over the manipulation and confinement of such objects is a challenging task. Unification of microfluidics and optics opens a new way to achieve this goal with added advantages such as non-contact manipulation capability and tunability. This Ph.D. dissertation addresses optofluidic manipulation of particles and droplets based on some novel concepts.

The section on light-induced particle manipulation begins with optical trapping inside a microfluidic channel. Motivation of this study is to understand the influence of velocity profile on the trapped particle. An optical trapping experimental setup is constructed using a He-Cd laser (442 nm emission) as the trapping source. Optical trapping experiments are performed under two flow conditions. A particle trapped inside a microfluidic channel experiences a parabolic velocity profile. In the second method, particles are trapped inside a sample chamber where the trapped particle experiences a uniform velocity profile. Experiments are performed at different optical powers with particles having various diameters. Results showed that for particles having intermediate size the trapping force is higher in the case of particles trapped inside the microfluidic channel than that of a sample chamber. This is attributed to the contribution of Saffman lift force arising from the parabolic velocity gradient. Experimentally measured optical trapping stiffness is found to be in good agreement with the theoretical model.

Following that, a novel particle manipulation technique is presented. Here, microparticle adsorbed at the air-water interface is trapped and manipulated along the interface. The method relies on photoresponsive surfactants adsorbed to a gas-liquid interface that can be reversibly switched between two isomeric states (a trans state and a cis state) using light beams. The principle is based on local changes of the surface tension, giving rise to Marangoni stresses. Depending on the type of surfactant isomer in the region around the laser spot, a flow either radially inward or outward is created. For the trapping of microparticles, a 325 nm beam from a He-Cd laser is focused at the interface, which results in an inward flow directing towards the focal spot. This inward flow is utilized for trapping and manipulation of particles. Interfacial flow velocity is characterized using particle streak velocimetry. It is experimentally demonstrated that this trapping mechanism is capable of manipulating the trapped particle at lower intensity than conventional optical tweezers.

Finally, studies on light-induced droplet manipulation were conducted, utilizing the phase transition of temperature sensitive PNIPAM (Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)) polymer films. PNIPAM films are prepared on UV absorbing glass plates. Absorption of the UV light by the glass raises its temperature resulting in the phase transition of PNIPAM film from a swollen (hydrophilic) to a deswollen (hydrophobic) phase. Experiments show that PNIPAM films undergo a phase transition from a hydrophilic to a hydrophobic state at around 26oC. At the hydrophobic state, water drop placed on the substrate exhibits a contact angle of about 78o while it reduces to 53o at the hydrophilic state. Experiments are performed to drive the water drop by creating a wettability gradient over the surface by locally cooling one side of the drop. Though the drop spreads towards the colder region, due to the large hysteresis in contact angle, the receding edge of the drop is pinned at the surface.


Printing from an NTSC source and conversion of NTSC source material to high-definition television (HDTV) format are some of the applications that motivate superresolution (SR) image and video reconstruction from low-resolution (LR) and possibly blurred sources. Existing methods for SR image reconstruction are limited by the assumptions that the input LR images are sampled progressively, and that the aperture time of the camera is zero, thus ignoring the motion blur occurring during the aperture time. Because of the observed adverse effects of these assumptions for many common video sources, this paper proposes (i) a complete model of video acquisition with an arbitrary input sampling lattice and a nonzero aperture time, and (ii) an algorithm based on this model using the theory of projections onto convex sets to reconstruct SR still images or video from an LR time sequence of images. Experimental results with real video are provided, which clearly demonstrate that a significant increase in the image resolution can be achieved by taking the motion blurring into account especially when there exists large interframe motion.


The Kalman Filter is used to estimate a structural time-series model of cotton supply for 30 countries and 16 aggregated regions. Estimated short run supply elasticities with respect to the world price are presented for all 46 countries and regions. While they are broadly within the expected range in light of previous work, they indicate extensive cross-country and regional heterogeneity, as well as considerable parameter uncertainty in some cases. Finally, some proposals are made for incorporating both the core estimates and their sampling distributions into applied equilibrium models.


A dynamic software risk assessment model is presented. Analogies between dynamic financial analysis and software risk assessment models are established and based on these analogies it suggested that dynamic risk model for software projects is the way to move forward for the risk assessment of software project. It is shown how software risk assessment change during different phases of a software project and hence requires a dynamic risk assessment model to capture these variations. Further evolution of dynamic financial analysis models is discussed and mapped to the evolution of software risk assessment models. Keywords—Software Risk Assessment, Software Project Management, Software Cost, Dynamic Modeling.


An automatic coagulant dosage control technology for water purification plants was developed to deal with rapid changes of raw water quality parameters. Control logic was developed to decide coagulant dosage based on aluminum concentration in rapid mixing tank water based on results of semi-pilot scale experiments. This logic enabled quick feedback on the excess or lack of coagulant. It was found that the aluminum residual rate, which was proposed as an indicator of coagulation reactions, could be given as a function of coagulant dosage and turbidity. The effectiveness of the control logic was verified in semi-pilot scale experiments. Settled water turbidity was within ±0.5 NTU of target value even when raw water turbidity increased rapidly up to 100 NTU.


The world's best-selling grammar series for learners of English. This third edition, with answers and CD-ROM, is ideal for self-study. The book contains 100 units of grammar reference and practice materials, with illustrations in full colour and a user-friendly layout. It is ideal for learners preparing for the Cambridge Advanced, Proficiency or IELTS examinations, and is informed by the Cambridge International Corpus, which ensures the language is authentic and up-to-date. The CD-ROM includes 200 interactive exercises to reinforce the language learned in the book, plus customised tests and audio recordings to accompany the main exercises. Versions without answers and without the CD-ROM are available to purchase separately.


This paper is mainly based on field work carried out on the Messinian deposits of the Adana Basin (southern Turkey), as well as on the interpretation of seismic reflection profiles to understand 3D geometries of the basin fill. Chronostratigraphic constraints for the Messinian deposits are from micropaleontological studies on foraminifera, ostracods, and calcareous nannofossils, recently carried out on the Messinian deposits of the Adana Basin.Our results indicate that this basin developed in a marginal area strictly related to the Mediterranean realm. The Messinian deposits of the Adana Basin record all the main steps ofthe Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) that affected the Mediterranean area at the end of the Miocene.The new stratigraphic model for the Messinian deposits of the Adana Basin provided in thiswork gives new insights into both the MSC and the Taurus petroleum system. Despite their complete correspondence with the MSC, the Messinian deposits of the Adana Basin show some differences with respect to the current conceptual model for the MSC. For example, inthe current conceptual model for the MSC, only one regional erosional surface (MES) characterizes the MSC deposits. In the Adana Basin, two regional erosional surfaces, named MES1 and MES2, separate the Messinian deposits related to the MSC in Lower Evaporites, Resedimented Lower Evaporites (RLE), and upper Messinian continental deposits containinga late Lago-Mare ostracod assemblage (mainly fluvial coarse-grained and fine-grained sediments). In some places, Brecciated Limestones lie just above the MES1 and beneath the RLE. In addition, the RLE are thought to be related to the same step that brought to the Messinian halite deposition throughout theMediterranean, pointing to a hyperhaline environment. In contrast, the fine-grained deposits of the RLE of the Adana Basin show the occurrence of Parathetyan brackish ostracod fauna (early Lago-Mare ostracod assemblages), which defines an oligohalinedepositional environment for the RLE. In terms of hydrocarbon prospecting, the Messinian evaporates of the Adana Basin have been considered as a perfect seal for the active Taurus petroleum system. Our results show that due to the complex stratigraphic architecture of the basin fill and the occurrence of two regional erosional surfaces (MES1 And MES2), the Messinian evaporates are discontinuously present both in surface and in the Subsurface of the Adana Basin. However, seal properties in the Adana Basin could be found in the Lower Pliocene deep marine clays of the Avadan Formation. This work leads to suggest a new stratigraphical model for the Messinian deposits of the Adana Basin, allowing us to amend the classical scheme with respect to the Messinian, and to officially define some New formations within the stratigraphy of the Adana Basin.


Situated just south of the US border, the glass and steel metropolis of Monterrey, Mexico, was the stage for the UN International Conference on Financing for Development, held on March 18-22, 2002. The first-ever summit of its kind, the conference brought together hundreds of dignitaries, representatives from nongovernmental organizations and businesses, and leaders from international financial institutions. The main topic of discussion was how to raise the money desperately needed to alleviate poverty and promote growth in developing countries. While most observers saw the talks as a step in the right direction, concrete results of the conference were modest. The fact that a gathering of this kind even happened might be considered a success in its own right. Given the events of the past year, few would have criticized industrialized nations for overlooking their underdeveloped neighbors. However, others argue that the current threat of terrorism has made it clear that developed nations can no longer ignore those who are less economically developed. After September 11, the link between poverty and terror is undeniable. Although exploring this connection was not the aim of the Monterrey conference, the idea that aid might effect some change in this regard must have lingered in participants' minds. When UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for this meeting over two years ago, he did so in an effort to push countries toward the goals of encouraging global development and reducing poverty outlined at the UN Millennium Summit. Prior to Monterrey, interest groups with vastly different views weighed in on the conference's consensus document, the declaration that was to be adopted at the end of the conference. Recognizing the importance of this unique opportunity, interest groups expressed their hope that the conference would not be another rhetoric-filled entrenchment of the status quo. Sadly, aside from the promise of a modest increase in direct aid by the United States and the European Union, developing countries were left with little hope in the face of growing selfishness among the world's richest countries. Some might argue that the assurance of increased aid, particularly the US$5 billion pledge made by the United States to countries demonstrating effective governance and improved economic policies, is a minor miracle. However, the gap between the funds needed to address problems such as poverty, AIDS, and education and the money actually allocated to do so is growing daily. The World Bank estimates the shortage to be between US$20 billion and US$40 billion, while other sources approximate it at closer to US$100 billion. Closing this gap would require a doubling of the present amount of foreign aid given by donor countries; unfortunately, such a triumph was not achieved at Monterrey. …


A cross-sectional study with 4,964 elementary school students of the State of Santa Catarina was performed to check for the association of socioeconomic variables and exercise with overweight or obesity, the two latter diagnosed by the Body Mass Index (BMI). The outcome variables, overweight and obesity, were estimated by point prevalence and 95% confidence intervals. Prevalence ratios were obtained by the Poisson model and adjusted to per capita family income, parents ´ schooling, child´s gender and age. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 15.4% and 6.1%, respectively, similar between gender and age categories. After adjustments, variables associated with overweight and obesity were: weekly frequency of practicing sports; number of hours of sleep/night; and hours/day on the computer (weekends). Less sports practice, less hours of sleep/night and more time on the computer were associated with overweight or obesity in the students studied.


This paper presents a hierarchical stream selection approach to deal with the interference in a heterogeneous network where different cell types are coexisting with each other to increase the sum capacity. Due to the variety of the transmit powers between the macro and small cells, interference levels are different. The proposed solution hierarchically selects the strongest streams of each cell with a contribution to the sum rate, while constructing the streams via singular value decomposition (SVD). In order to reduce the interference, the channel matrices of the remaining streams are projected orthogonally to the virtual transmit channel and virtual receive channel of the selected stream. The performance evaluations are obtained by considering different locations of small cells with respect to the macro cell. It is shown that the proposed method can dynamically select more streams in heterogeneous networks and achieve higher data rates compared to the existing algorithms.


Black seed (N. Sativa L) is an oriental spice of the family Ranunculaceae that has long been rationally used as a natural medicine for treatment of many acute as well as chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease and immunological disorders. It has been used in the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, and dermatological conditions. There have been very few studies on the effects of N. Sativa as a chemoprevention of chronic diseases as well as in cancer prevention and/or therapy. Oxidative stress is a condition that underlies many acute as well as chronic conditions. The combination and role of oxidative stress and antioxidants in vivo is still a matter of conjecture. Our objective for the present study was to expose MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro (as a chronic disease example) to aqueous and alcohol extracts and in combination with H[2]O[2] as an oxidative stressor. Measurement of cell survival under various concentrations and mixtures was conducted using standard cell culture techniques, exposure protocols in 96 well plates and Fluorospectrosphotometry. Following cellular growth to 90% confluencey, exposure to water (WE) and ethanol (AE) extracts of N. sativa and H[2]O[2] was performed. Cell survival indices were calculated from percent survival using regression analysis. Results showed that the alcohol extract and its mixtures were able to influence the survival of MCF-7 cells (indices ranged from 357.15- 809.50 mug/ml in descending potency for H[2]O[2]+AE to the mix of 3). In contrast, H[2]O[2] alone reduced effectively the survival of MCF-7 cells and the least effective combinations in descending potency were AE+H[2]O[2], WE+H[2]O[2], AE+WE, and WE+AE+H[2]O[2]. Mixtures other than AE+H[2]O[2] showed possible interactions and loss of potency. In conclusion, N. Sativa alone or in combination with oxidative stress was found to be effective (in vitro) in influencing the survival of MCF-7 breast cancer cells, unveiling promising opportunities in the field of cancer chemoprevention and/or treatment.


Air transport plays a vital role in tourism because it makes long-haul destinations accessible and more frequent vacations possible. Despite its benefits, air travel extensively contributes to climate change. Behavioural change is seen as a key driver in mitigating the environmental impacts of air transport. One way to encourage behavioural change is the use of eco-labels. This paper presents the idea of introducing an air transport eco-label. It explores the idea's potential and realization through the thematic analysis of 12 interviews with airline industry experts. The results indicated a need for an air transport eco-label. It could help build awareness among air travellers by providing them with environmental information during booking, thereby making flights environmentally comparable. This would also stimulate more competition between airlines, motivating them to improve their environmental performance and creating competitive advantage for those performing better. Finally, the study found that there should be only one eco-label, which should be compulsory for all commercial flights. It should be introduced by an independent authority in order to ensure credibility and trustworthiness. This study could be a first step towards the introduction of an air transport eco-label, making the industry more sustainable.


The bacterial flagellar motor is a complex biological rotary molecular motor, which is situated in the cell envelopes of bacteria. Whereas most biological motors use adenosine triphosphate as their energy source, the rotation of the flagellar motor is driven by a flow of charged ions across the bacterial plasma membrane. The motor powers the rotation of helical flagellar filaments at speeds of up to several hundred hertz. These rotating filaments act like propellers, pushing the cells through their environment. The motors are regulated by one of the best-characterised biological signalling pathways, the chemotaxis pathway. This pathway changes the swimming pattern of the bacteria in response to changes in the concentration of external chemicals so that they move into environments, which are optimal for their growth. Other pathways can regulate the flagellar motor and the motor itself can respond to changing conditions by adapting parts of its structure.

Key Concepts:

Many bacteria swim using a small biological rotary motor which is powered by the movement of ions (H+ or Na+) across the plasma membrane.

The bacterial flagellar motor consists of a rotor which rotates against stator units that are anchored to the peptidoglycan cell wall.

Torque is generated by the interaction of the stator units, MotA and MotB (or PomA and PomB for Na+-driven motors), with FliG in the rotor.

Despite the fact that the driving ions always flow in one direction through the stator units, many flagellar motors can switch between clockwise and counterclockwise rotation.

The structure of the flagellar motor is highly dynamic, some of its components undergo rapid turnover while the motor is functioning in response to changing conditions.

A complex signalling pathway regulates the motor output in response to environmental signals ensuring that bacteria swim towards nutrient rich environments.

Keywords:

motility;
molecular motors;
nanomachines;
protein exchange;
signalling


Between Dignity and Despair draws on the extraordinary memoirs, diaries, interviews, and letters of Jewish women and men to give us the first intimate portrait of Jewish life in Nazi Germany. Kaplan tells the story of Jews in Germany not from the hindsight of the Holocaust, nor from the vantage of the persecutors, but from the bewildered and ambiguous perspective of Jews trying to navigate their daily lives in a world that was becoming more and more insane. Answering the charge that Jews should have left earlier, Kaplan shows that far from seeming inevitable, the Holocaust was impossible to foresee precisely because Nazi repression occurred in irregular and unpredictable steps until the massive violence of Novemer 1938. Then the flow of emigration turned into a torrent, only to be stopped by the war. By that time Jews had been evicted from their homes, robbed of their possessions and their livelihoods, shunned by their former friends, persecuted by their neighbors, and driven into forced labor. For those trapped in Germany, mere survival became a nightmare of increasingly desperate options. Many took their own lives to retain at least some dignity in death; many others went underground and endured the terrors of nightly bombings and the even greater fear of being discovered by the Nazis. Most were murdered. All were pressed to the limit of human endurance and human loneliness. Focusing on the fate of families and particularly women's experience, Between Dignity and Despair takes us into the neighborhoods, into the kitchens, shops, and schools, to give us the shape and texture, the very feel of what it was like to be a Jew in Nazi Germany.


: This introductory chapter takes stock of the differential state of comparative communication research and comes to the conclusion that has it made remarkable progress across the field. The chapter argues that the comparative approach provides a valuable tool for advancing our understanding of communication processes, and that it opens up new avenues of systematic research. It first provides a rationale for why we need comparative work and then moves on to discuss conventional and new definitions of comparative research. After tracing historical developments, the chapter elaborates on common theoretical and methodological approaches, discusses objects of comparative analyses and outlines the structure of the book.


The ability of overparameterized deep networks to generalize well has been linked to the fact that stochastic gradient descent (SGD) finds solutions that lie in flat, wide minima in the training loss -- minima where the output of the network is resilient to small random noise added to its parameters. So far this observation has been used to provide generalization guarantees only for neural networks whose parameters are either \textit{stochastic} or \textit{compressed}. In this work, we present a general PAC-Bayesian framework that leverages this observation to provide a bound on the original network learned -- a network that is deterministic and uncompressed. What enables us to do this is a key novelty in our approach: our framework allows us to show that if on training data, the interactions between the weight matrices satisfy certain conditions that imply a wide training loss minimum, these conditions themselves {\em generalize} to the interactions between the matrices on test data, thereby implying a wide test loss minimum. We then apply our general framework in a setup where we assume that the pre-activation values of the network are not too small (although we assume this only on the training data). In this setup, we provide a generalization guarantee for the original (deterministic, uncompressed) network, that does not scale with product of the spectral norms of the weight matrices -- a guarantee that would not have been possible with prior approaches.


BACKGROUND: Late preterm infants (LPIs) (34–36 weeks' gestation) account for up to 75% of preterm births and constitute a significant proportion of all neonatal admissions. This study assessed the impact of neonatal intensive or high-dependency care (IC) on developmental outcomes of LPIs at 3 years of age. METHODS: This cohort study included 225 children born late preterm in Northern Ireland during 2006. Children born late preterm who received IC were compared with children born late preterm who did not receive IC. Cognitive, motor, and language skills were assessed by using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition. Growth was assessed by using anthropometric measures of height and weight. RESULTS: LPIs who received IC were more often less mature (34 weeks' gestation), with lower birth weight (≤2500 g) and Apgar scores (<7 at 5 minutes) compared with the control group. They were more often born by cesarean delivery and more likely to have received resuscitation at birth. At 3 years of age, children born late preterm who received IC demonstrated similar cognitive, motor, and language skills compared with children in the control group. Measurements of growth also did not differ significantly between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having increased maternal, perinatal, and neonatal risk factors, there were no significant differences in early childhood development between LPIs who received IC and those who did not. LPIs do not receive routine follow-up after IC and this study provides useful and reassuring data for parents and clinicians on the longer-term outcome of this infant group.


The interaction of cyclosporin A and cyclosporin derivatives with cyclophilins A, B, and C has been investigated by means of fluorescence measurement techniques. Since Trp-121 of cyclophilin A is in close contact with bound cyclosporins and changes its fluorescence emission upon binding, direct estimation of Kd values for cyclosporins is straightforward in this case. Cyclophilins B and C, however, display no evident binding-dependent fluorescence changes suitable for the estimation of their binding affinities. This problem can be circumvented by measuring the variations of fluorescence emission intensities of a mixture of cyclophilin A and the fluorescence measurements unsuitable for cyclosporin binder as a function of ligand concentration. Application of a mixed-mode kinetic analysis then allows the calculation of the cyclosporin binding affinity of the second binder in the system. The dissociation constant for cyclosporin A/cyclophilin A was found to be 36.8 nM. Mixed-mode kinetic calculations yielded Kd values of 9.8 and 90.8 nM for cyclophilins B and C, respectively. The analysis was extended to noncyclophilin (weak) cyclosporin binders such as calmodulin and actin, resulting in approximate Kd values of 1.2 and 5.7 microM, respectively. Using the same approach, the Kd values of a series of different cyclosporin derivatives were determined.


The legal system in the Republic of Natalia, 1838-1845. According to Professor D. Pont law is as old as mankind itself. As soon as people are united, no matter how small the community might be, certain regulations are laid down which order people's behaviour towards one another. This statement applies to a certain extent to the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony and eventually settled in Natal. When the Potgieter trek and Maritz trek united at Thaba Nchu in December 1836, one of the first things they did was not only to elect a government, but also to make provision for a legal system. This was further extended in April 183 7 when the Retief trek arrived at Thaba Nchu. In doing so, they relied on the legal systems which were known to them since the days of the Dutch East India Company (1652-1795), of the Batavian Republic period (1803-1806) and the British legal systems of 1827 and 1834. When the Trekkers arrived in Natal, in spite of hardships brought about by the massacre of Retief and his men on 6 February 1838 at Mgungundlovo and the great massacre during the night of 16-17 February 1838 at the Blaauwkrantz and Boesmans rivers, the Voortrekkers continued not only to improve their government, but also their legal system. After victory was assured over Dingane and the Voortrekkers had settled in Natal, the legal system was improved further in spite of the fact that the Republic of Natalia existed only for a few years. Besides the Volksraad, which was not only a legislative body but also the supreme court of appeal, the legal system included the College of Landdrost and Heemraden as courts of justice, and a jury. Provision was also made for the institution of messengers of the court, an interpreter, a translator, clerks, fieldcornets, wardens, police, and jailers.


The society we live in is in constant need of information to solve its problems. The library serves as the agency responsible for the collecting, processing, managing and disseminating of this information in various formats to meet the varying needs of the users. Information may be needed for education, entertainment, socio-cultural development etc. It is therefore the duty of the librarian to ensure that there is availability and accessibility to the required information whenever it is needed. This paper looks at the nature of libraries, the structures of libraries, the literature of libraries and common problems plaguing the delivery of library services in Africa. In order for the library to take its place in information management in Africa, several solutions were suggested. These solutions include: increased funding, ICT skill acquisition, resource sharing and networking etc.


The British Library's permanent archive of 'Spiti Photographic Archive' is a substantial photographic documentation of the community of Spiti, a culturally Tibetan valley in Himachal Pradesh, North India. The earliest works included in The British Library's collection date from 1993 when the valley was opened up to outsiders and it continues to derive material from the researcher's most recent field-trips to the area (his twelfth) in the autumn of 2007.

Researcher's photographs acquired by the British Library document in intimate detail, daily life, social spaces, monastic communities, the 1996 visit of the Dalai Lama, caste roles, Spiti weddings, musicians, tourism, modernity and social change. There is a substantial holding on the Buchen, travelling religious actors unique to the Spiti valley, whose winter performances of traditional Tibetan plays have never previously been properly documented.

The British Library has purchased a substantial selection of 75 archive prints from the researcher for its permanent collection. Additionally it holds a collection of 65 other images as digital files. In total their current holding is 140 images. Each image is supported by metadata detailing locations, date, media and descriptive details of the images. The photographs of Spiti supplement the existing collection of historical works in Himachal Pradesh by Samuel Bourne and others, from the India Office archive.

Further prints will be added to the archive as funding becomes available. The holding of digital files is also being increased very substantially. Eventually a full set of contact sheets of all the material will be deposited along with the original negatives.

The archive has been financially supported by the British Library.


This study set out to compare plant function and performance of strawberry clover to that of white clover. To test this, the two species were exposed to drought for 4 weeks under controlled environmental conditions. Water stress reduced the size and dry matter of white clover leaves by more than 50%, whereas strawberry clover leaves remained unaffected. White clover photosynthesis decreased by nearly 50% under drought, accompanied by a reduction in leaf water status (water potential) by more than one third. In contrast, strawberry clover maintained a higher water status, photosynthesis and transpiration rate under drought than white clover. In addition, we observed drought-induced reductions in white clover leaf quality, including lower nitrogen levels. We conclude that strawberry clover displays drought resistance in a number of key leaf parameters. The findings suggest value in testing strawberry clover as a complement or alternative to white clover in droughtprone pasture environments.


Background and purpose: According to developments related to the relative autonomy of universities and acquired extensive powers by the board of trustees of universities of medical sciences and healthcare services in a twenty-year perspective of country and in the context of the fourth and fifth socio-economic cultural development of country, necessity of developing financial and transactional bylaw of universities of medical sciences has become increasingly clear throughout country. Materials and Methods: Grounded theory is the qualitative methodology used for this study in order to identify the threats and opportunities of new financial tax bylaw of universities and faculties of medical sciences and through the study of documents, surveys of experts and beneficiaries and elites by Delphi method. Results: Releasing potential of public administration in order to control sources and uses, increasing management confidence in documented decision making, establishing organizational concentration on controlling costs, providing conditions of decision-making according to financial reports, independency in firing and hiring manpower by adopting specific provisions and creating independency in method of keeping accounts are among the most important opportunities. While poor organizational structure, lack of knowledge and skills in the existing structure, mental processes caused by reactions and incompatibility of staff, lack of criteria and rules in selection appointment and dismissal of managers and employees, lack of discipline and proper mechanisms in order to pursue the purposes, calculating financial burden and human resources required and finally, passing through traditional thinking and management system are among the most threats. Conclusion: Considering the mentioned threats and opportunities, financial and transactional bylaw of universities and faculties of medical sciences was basically revised and modified in January 2006, and then after the case reform in July 2009 it was announced in October 2011.


Neuroimaging techniques are likely to continue to improve our understanding of the brain in health and disease, but studies tend to be small, based in one imaging centre and of uncertain generalisability. Multicentre imaging studies therefore have great appeal but it is not yet clear under which circumstances data from different scanners can be combined. The successful harmonisation of multiple Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines will increase study power, flexibility and generalisability. I have conducted a detailed study of the performance of three research MRI scanners in Scotland under the name CaliBrain, with the aims of developing reliable, valid image acquisition and analysis techniques that will facilitate multicentre MRI studies in Scotland and beyond. Fourteen healthy volunteers had two brain scans on each of three 1.5T MRI research machines in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The scans usually took place 2-3 weeks apart. Each scan was performed using an identical scanning protocol consisting of a detailed structural MRI (sMRI) and a range of functional MRI (fMRI) paradigms. The quality assurance (QA) of scanner performance was monitored in all three sites over the duration of the study using a three-part protocol comprising a baseline assessment, regular measures and session specific measures. The analyses have demonstrated that the data are comparable but also that withinand between-scanner variances are evident and that harmonisation work could enhance the level of agreement. The QA data suggest that scanner performance was similar between and within machines over the course of the study. For the structural MRI scans an optimised methodology was utilised to minimise variation in brain geometry between scanners and fit all the scanned brains into a common stereotactic space, such that repeated measures analyses yielded no significant differences over time for any of the three scanners. I examined the reproducibility of the fMRI motor task within and between the three sites. Similar results were obtained in all analyses; areas consistently activated by the task include the premotor, primary motor and supplementary motor areas, the striatum and the cerebellum. Reproducibility of statistical parametric maps was evaluated within and between sites comparing the activation extent and spatial agreement of maps at both the subject and the group level. The results were within the range reported by studies examining the reproducibility of similar tasks on one scanner and reproducibility was found to be comparable within and between sites, with between site comparisons often exceeding the within site measures. A components of variance analysis showed a relatively small contribution of the factor site with subject being the main source of variation. Similar results were obtained for the working memory


Regardless of how long you've practiced, the challenges of keeping current never stop. Now there is a source available that can assist you in wading through essential testimony of a neuropsychologist in your personal injury, medical malpractice or workers' compensation cases.Written specifically for attorneys, Neuropsychology of the Attorney is your personal guide through every aspect of the case. This book is the only available resource for assisting you through testimony by a neuropsychologist in cases involving mild head injury, traumatic brain injury, toxic exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder, hypoxia, memory or intellectual loss, and post-concussion syndrome, just to name a few.This is the book that has taught more attorneys how to work with frustrating head injury cases than any single publication ever published. Hailed for its format and coverage, Neuropsychology for the Attorney provides the legal, as well as the psychology and rehabilitation professional, with great insight into the intricacies of cases ranging from mild concussion to traumatic brain injury.This book provides even the most experienced professional with information critical to successfully serving the client. When you need full understanding of neuropsychology and how it impacts on your case when you work with a neuropsychologist when solid testimony is essential Neuropsychology for the Attorney is for you."


This study illustrates how, despite the diversity of women environmental defenders and their movements around the world, there are near-universal patterns of violence threatening their survival. Violence against women environmental defenders, often perpetrated by government-backed corporations, remains overlooked. Research on this issue importantly contributes to discussions about environmental justice because women defenders make up a large proportion of those at the frontlines of ecological distribution conflicts. Through comparative political ecology, this research analyzes cases from the Environmental Justice Atlas, an online open-access inventory of environmental distribution conflicts, in which one or more women were assassinated while fighting a diverse array of extractive and polluting projects. Although the stories showcase a breadth of places, conflicts, social-class backgrounds, and other circumstances between women defenders, most cases featured multinational large-scale extractive companies supported by governments violently targeting women defenders with impunity. Keywords : Violence, murder, women environmental defenders, EJAtlas, comparative political ecology


Utilization of plant above ground biomass has continued to be a critical yet difficult assessment in rangeland monitoring. Shrub size and woody structure further compound the measurement of shrub biomass utilization. This study was designed to determine the potential utility of low altitude/large scale (LA/LS) imagery in assessing shrub utilization. A near monoculture of Ceriotoides lanata (Pursh) J.T. Howell (winterfat) located in the western desert shrubland of Utah was used to evaluate this technique. Four, 3.1 by 3.1 m plots were identified and the shrubs within the plots were defoliated by hand-picking at about 10% intervals with imagery of the plots obtained between pickings. Imagery was obtained using a radio controlled airplane (drone) fitted with a 35 mm camera. Images were evaluated using image processing software and the resulting reflectance data correlated with defoliation percentages (weight basis) for each plot. Reflectance data from images correlated highly with defoliation percentages (r2 > 0.9). This technique of using LA/LS imagery shows promise for a quick and accurate tool in assessing utilization of shrubs. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v54i4_quilter


After decades of searching for a rapid method to estimate the N mineralization capacity of soil, there is still no consistent recommendation. It is legitimate to examine the causes for the often-conflicting results in literature. The efficacy of various references that have been used as benchmarks for assessing chemical and physical indices in the literature is critically reviewed in this paper. Gross N mineralization and consumption during waterlogged and aerobic incubations were estimated in a wide range of soils. It was found that equivalent to 17 to 90 and 23 to 59% of the mineralized N was consumed during the waterlogged and aerobic incubations, respectively. As net N production rate represents the balance between N-producing and N-consuming processes, it appears difficult to find a simple method that could be used to predict the net effect of several concurrent processes. We used the gross N mineralization as a reference criterion for N mineralization ability. Total organic N, water-soluble organic N, alkalihydrolyzable N, add-hydrolyzable N, hot salt-hydrolyzable N and N in the light organic matter fraction were assessed against this reference criterion. All indices except light fraction N were significantly related to gross N mineralization. Water-soluble organic N had the highest correlation of all the indices tested. None of the chemically hydrolyzed N fractions consistently showed closer relationships with N mineralization than total organic N, suggesting that these chemical methods are ineffective in extracting a biologically labile fraction of soil organic N.


An important class of game-theoretic incentive mechanisms for eliciting effort from a crowd are the peer based mechanisms, in which workers are paid by matching their answers with one another. The other classic mechanism is to have the workers solve some gold standard tasks and pay them according to their accuracy on gold tasks. This mechanism ensures stronger incentive compatibility than the peer based mechanisms but assigning gold tasks to all workers becomes inefficient at large scale. We propose a novel mechanism that assigns gold tasks to only a few workers and exploits transitivity to derive accuracy of the rest of the workers from their peers' accuracy. We show that the resulting mechanism ensures a dominant notion of incentive compatibility and fairness.


We use a regional model of atmospheric chemistry and transport to investigate trends in sulphur and nitrogen deposition over Europe during the first half of the 21st century. To assess changes due to climate change, the model was operated with meteorology from a regional climate model simulating present and future climates. The sensitivity of the deposition calculations to uncertainties in the climate projections was explored by using output from three different climate models. Changes in anthropogenic air pollution emissions in Europe were extracted from the gridded RCP4.5 emission inventory. The modelling systems were evaluated by comparing average modelled precipitation, deposition and concentrations over a 20-year period with observations collected around the year 2000. We conclude that the deposition of sulphur and nitrogen containing species will mainly be governed by changes in European emissions of these species over the period 2000–2050. If future emissions follow the pathway of the RCP4.5 scenario, Europe can expect significantly lower deposition of sulphur and oxidised nitrogen in 2050 compared to 2000. For reduced nitrogen, large areas of western Europe will receive considerably more deposition in 2050 than in 2000, due to feedback of decreased sulphur concentrations on the atmospheric turnover time of reduced nitrogen. Domain averaged reductions of total deposition from 2000 to 2050 are 63, 41 and 0.9% for sulphur, oxidised- and reduced nitrogen, respectively. Climate change results in decreased wet deposition of sulphur and reduced nitrogen leading to increased atmospheric turnover time of these species. Climate and emission changes lead to decreased atmospheric turnover times of reduced nitrogen but increased atmospheric turnover times of sulphur and oxidised nitrogen. These relations are likely leading to altered source-receptor relations in the future.


Objective To investigate the influence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) intake on radiographic spinal progression over 2 years in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (SpA). Methods 164 patients with axial SpA (88 with AS and 76 with non-radiographic axial SpA) were selected for this analysis based on availability of spinal radiographs at baseline and after 2 years of follow-up and the data on NSAIDs intake. Spinal radiographs were scored by two trained readers in a concealed randomly selected order according to the modified Stoke Ankylosing Spondylitis Spine Score (mSASSS) system. An index of the NSAID intake counting both dose and duration of drug intake was calculated. Results High NSAIDs intake (NSAID index≥50) in AS was associated with lower likelihood of significant radiographic progression defined as an mSASSS worsening by ≥2 units: OR=0.15, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.96, p=0.045 (adjusted for baseline structural damage, elevated C reactive protein (CRP) and smoking status) in comparison with patients with low NSAIDs intake (NSAID index<50). This effect was most pronounced in patients with baseline syndesmophytes plus elevated CRP: mean mSASSS progression was 4.36±4.53 in patients with low NSAIDs intake versus 0.14±1.80 with high intake, p=0.02. In non-radiographic axial SpA, no significant differences regarding radiographic progression between patients with high and low NSAIDs intake were found. Conclusion A high NSAIDs intake over 2 years is associated with retarded radiographic spinal progression in AS. In non-radiographic axial SpA this effect is less evident, probably due to a low grade of new bone formation in the spine at this stage.


Global Climate Models (GCMs) precipitation scenarios are often characterized by biases and coarse resolution that limit their direct application for basin level hydrological modeling. Bias-correction and spatial disaggre-gation methods are employed to improve the quality of ECHAM4/OPYC SRES A2 and B2 precipitation for the Ping River Basin in Thailand. Bias-correction method, based on gamma-gamma transformation, is applied to improve the frequency and amount of raw GCM precipitation at the grid nodes. Spatial disaggregation model parameters (β, σ 2), based on multiplicative random cascade theory, are estimated using Mandelbrot-Kahane-Peyriere (MKP) function at q=1 for each month. Bias-correction method exhibits ability of reducing biases from the frequency and amount when compared with the computed frequency and amount at grid nodes based on spatially interpolated observed rainfall data. Spatial disaggregation model satisfactorily reproduces the observed trend and variation of average rainfall amount except during heavy rainfall events with certain degree of spatial and temporal variations. Finally, the hydrologic model, HEC-HMS, is applied to simulate the observed runoff for upper Ping River Basin based on the modified GCM precipitation scenarios and the raw GCM precipitation. Precipitation scenario developed with bias-correction and disaggregation provides an improved reproduction of basin level runoff observations .


This article examines the relationship between the Faith Gospel in a Tanzanian prosperity ministry and "occult economies," described as discourses and practices relating the means of generating wealth to an occult and morally ambiguous dimension. The author argues that in addition to offering miraculous means of attaining material ends, the Faith Gospel provides ways of dealing with moral and perceived dangerous aspects of wealth and accumulation. This argument is pursued through a focus on ritualized offerings, seen as a "gift economy" along the lines described by Marcel Mauss. In offerings, coins and bills are purified and invested with complex human and divine qualities, turning them into personalized gifts rather than neutral mediums of exchange. Finally the author discusses how born-again Christians come to terms with the absence of immediate divine countergifts, in part by emphasizing the cultural value of slowness and transparency.


Abstract Objective Along with other countries having high and low-to-middle income, Mexico has experienced a substantial change in obesity rates. This rapid growth in obesity prevalence has led to high rates of obesity-related diseases and associated health-care costs. Design Micro-simulation is used to project future BMI trends. Additionally thirteen BMI-related diseases and health-care costs are estimated. The results are simulated for three hypothetical scenarios: no BMI reduction and BMI reductions of 1 % and 5 % across the population. Setting Mexican Health and Nutrition Surveys 1999 and 2000, and Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006. Subjects Mexican adults. Results In 2010, 32 % of men and 26 % of women were normal weight. By 2050, the proportion of normal weight will decrease to 12 % and 9 % for males and females respectively, and more people will be obese than overweight. It is projected that by 2050 there will be 12 million cumulative incidence cases of diabetes and 8 million cumulative incidence cases of heart disease alone. For the thirteen diseases considered, costs of $US 806 million are estimated for 2010, projected to increase to $US 1·2 billion and $US 1·7 billion in 2030 and 2050 respectively. A 1 % reduction in BMI prevalence could save $US 43 million in health-care costs in 2030 and $US 85 million in 2050. Conclusions Obesity rates are leading to a large health and economic burden. The projected numbers are high and Mexico should implement strong action to tackle obesity. Results presented here will be very helpful in planning and implementing policy interventions.


Abstract Economic growth can be seen as an effect of both fiscal policies and different legislative norms applied at national and macroeconomic level. Investments are a determining factor in the evolution of socio-economic life, influencing also the employment rate. This paper aims to identify the influence of investments on economic growth and employment using the vector autoregressive model (VAR). Based on the quarterly data from Romania, between the first quarter of 2000 and the second quarter of 2018, the Granger causality test and the impulse - response function was applied to identify the effect of the investments on the sustainable development of the Romanian economy. The results revealed that investments in Romania influence the economic growth and, implicitly, the employment. In terms of impulse – response function, a negative relationship between investment and employment was identified, which may be due to the fact that the need for human resources is no longer a priority in some sectors of activity due to technology.


In this paper, Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM) is presented as a powerful tool for quality control of microoptical components. It will be shown that not only the single-shot full field-of-view nanometer axial resolution makes DHM an ideal solution for such samples, but the DHM numerical wavefront correction formalism is perfectly adapted to provide advanced features like aberration coefficients, radius of curvature or optical surfaces roughness measurements. Both transmission and reflection configurations can be used depending of the micro-components under investigation. A transparent high aspect-ratio micro-components investigation procedure is also exposed in order to unable phase unwrapping. Each feature is illustrated with typical examples, ranging from a wide variety of micro-lenses (aspherical, cylindrical, squared) to cornercube micro-structures or diffractive elements.


Unidirectional (UD) composites are building blocks in most load bearing structural components for lightweight applications in aerospace, automotive and wind energy industries. The loss of the structural load bearing capacity is governed by the instability of the fiber breakage process in the UD composites. When subjected to increasing or repeated tensile loading along fiber direction, the first failure event within these composites occurs as discrete fibers break at weak points followed by fiber/matrix debonding due to high stress concentration caused by fiber breaks. Upon further loading, or on repeated loading, more fiber breaks occur along with other accumulated damage events such as debond growth and matrix cracking. Final failure of a UD composite occurs when a critical fracture plane is formed by interconnecting individual broken fibers and associated debonding through matrix cracking. This failure process has emerged from numerous experimental studies, which also suggest that the critical fracture plane contains only a small number of broken fibers for commonly used composites such as glass/epoxy and carbon/epoxy. However, the mechanisms underlying the critical fracture plane formation are not clear. As the first step to clarify the creation of a critical fracture plane, the conditions for connectivity of a broken fiber end with neighboring broken fibers is studied in this work. In order to investigate the local stress field surrounding the broken fiber, a finite element (FE) model is constructed in which six neighboring fibers are placed as a ring of concentric axisymmetric cylinder embedded in the matrix. The discrete fiber region is surrounded by a concentric outer cylinder ring of homogenized composite. The entire FE model is subjected to axial tensile loading. To account for the consequence of the stress enhancement at the broken fiber end, a debond crack at the fiber/matrix interface extending a short distance from the fiber end is included in the analysis. Realizing that the debond crack by itself would not connect with other fiber failures, focus of the stress and failure analysis is placed on deviation of the debond crack laterally into the matrix. For this purpose, matrix cracking in two possible modes — ductile and brittle — is considered, Energy based criteria are used to study the competition between the cracking modes and the crack path into the matrix from the end of debond to the neighboring fibers is determined. Next the failure of the neighboring fibers caused by the intense stress field accompanying the matrix cracks is studied. The conditions for generating a plane connecting the initially broken fiber end to subsequent fiber failures are finally determined. Further ongoing studies are aimed at clarifying the limiting conditions for avoiding the fiber failure criticality, and thereby improving the load bearing capacity of UD composites. The statistical considerations regarding fiber failure will also be incorporated in these studies.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Asia's trading and financial hubs have become global cities which frequently have more in common and closer linkages with each other than with their corresponding hinterlands. As this book expounds, these global cities illustrate to what extent world trends deeply penetrate and permeate the national territorial interiors and processes that were otherwise presumed to be controlled by the State.


The horticultural tree life cycle can be differentiated into two distinct growth stages – vegetative and reproductive. Unlike annual crops, horticultural tree crops enter into an annual flowering cycle once they attain the reproductive phase. Herein, they undergo various developmental changes including flowering, fruit set, fruit development, fruit ripening, fruit drop and vegetative growth. The annual crop cycle is critical for horticultural crops like Persea americana (avocado) and Macadamia integrifolia (macadamia) as their productivity depends upon successful flowering and fruit development. It is therefore important to understand flowering and the factors involved in the crop cycle in these horticultural trees. Various endogenous and exogenous factors are involved in flowering regulation. Among them a class of small non-coding RNAs known as microRNAs play a vital role. We investigated the expression of flowering-associated miRNAs in avocado and macadamia at distinctive time-points during their annual crop cycle. We looked at the expression of two miRNA that are known act antagonistically during flowering: the floral inhibitor miR156 and the floral promoter miR172, which regulates APETALA2 (AP2)-like transcription factors. Preliminary results from avocado showed no significant difference in the expression of miR156 during the crop cycle, while significant differences were observed for miR172. For both crops, abundance of miR172 was higher during flowering and initial fruiting but lower at fruit ripening and drop/harvest. These results will help us in understanding flowering regulation in horticultural trees by providing first insight into microRNAs and their putative targets in these crops.


The purpose of this study is to explore the most important findings of the empirical research conducted amongst local governments of settlements in Hungary, in order to perform a comprehensive analysis on their practices and methods regarding planning. The primary research was conducted in the spring of 2013, with respondent local governments answering relevant questions by submitting a selfadministered questionnaire. The main purpose of the questionnaire survey was to find out whether the involved parties perform actual formal strategic and operative planning activities, and what kind of management planning methods – solutions already working and widespread in the business sector – they apply within the process of planning. In this study, we attempt to conduct a comprehensive analysis on modern planning systems and to appoint the fields that need to be improved, through the results of the questionnaire survey and our own experiences.


This document reports on an assessment of the aquatic biological values of the upper Iris River, and the implications and risks associated with a proposal to discharge treated wastewater from the Cradle Valley area.

A review of existing data and literature for the area was conducted, followed by a field survey of aquatic macroinvertebrates, plants and fish. The survey was conducted at three sites in the Iris River at and downstream of the proposed discharge location, one 'reference' site upstream in the Iris, and two 'reference' sites in the adjacent Fall River.

The biological data was reviewed to assess:
- the presence of any threatened species listed under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act (TSPA, 1995) and/or the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBCA, 1999);
- the presence of any special biological values or biodiversity issues;
- the ecological condition of the stream sites;
- the presence of any other impacts or threatening processes.

The field data was also collected in such a manner as to provide a dataset as a basis for future monitoring. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative sampling methods were used.

An overall assessment of conservation status of the Iris River downstream of the proposed discharge point was conducted using three criteria identified by Dunn (2000) and now used within the development of DPIWE's framework for conservation of freshwater ecosystem values (CFEV). These criteria are:
- naturalness
- distinctiveness
- representativeness.

These criteria were used to assess the aquatic biological data and identify any risks to the aquatic environment that may result from the proposed discharge.


Abstract. Long-term studies using the RAINFOR network of forest plots have generated significant insights into the spatial and temporal dynamics of forest carbon cycling in Amazonia. In this work, we map and explore the landscape context of several major RAINFOR plot clusters using Landsat ETM+ satellite data. In particular, we explore how representative the plots are of their landscape context, and test whether bias in plot location within landscapes may be influencing the regional mean values obtained for important forest biophysical parameters. Specifically, we evaluate whether the regional variations in wood productivity, wood specific density and above ground biomass derived from the RAINFOR network could be driven by systematic and unintentional biases in plot location. Remote sensing data covering 45 field plots were aggregated to generate landscape maps to identify the specific physiognomy of the plots. In the Landsat ETM+ data, it was possible to spectrally differentiate three types of terra firme forest, three types of forests over Paleovarzea geomorphologycal formation, two types of bamboo-dominated forest, palm forest, Heliconia monodominant vegetation, swamp forest, disturbed forests and land use areas. Overall, the plots were generally representative of the forest physiognomies in the landscape in which they are located. Furthermore, the analysis supports the observed regional trends in those important forest parameters. This study demonstrates the utility of landscape scale analysis of forest physiognomies for validating and supporting the finds of plot based studies. Moreover, the more precise geolocation of many key RAINFOR plot clusters achieved during this research provides important contextual information for studies employing the RAINFOR database.