Obesity rates have doubled in the last forty years, and a major cause is the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. In this paper, we identify channels through which information – about health benefits or taste - affects beverage choice. We conduct a field experiment in a school lunchroom with 2,500 children, evaluating the impact of informational prompts on beverage choice and consumption over 2 weeks. We find that prompts alone increase the proportion of children choosing and consuming the healthier white milk relative to sugar-sweetened chocolate milk from 20% in the control group to 30% in the treatment groups. Adding health or taste messaging to the prompt does not seem to make a difference. We survey students and find that most prompts affect perceived healthfulness of the milk, but not perceived taste. Finally, we find that the prompts are nearly as effective as a small non-monetary incentive.


Children make up half of the world's refugees, yet limited research documents the views of youth about their own migratory circumstances and recommendations. This dissertation contributes new knowledge of migrant youths' views by analyzing selected secondary data from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) interviews conducted with unaccompanied children from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico in the custody of the U.S. federal government for entering the United States without the proper documents. In light of prior research focused on unaccompanied children's protection issues outside of the home, the first section of this banded dissertation analyzes interviews with unaccompanied children who disclosed child maltreatment in the home or family setting. Examination of this dataset finds that females reported higher rates of maltreatment overall, a higher incidence of multiple abuse experiences, and nearly exclusively reported experiencing sexual abuse and domestic violence, as compared to their male counterparts. Girls were more likely to disclose maltreatment as a reason for migrating, while boys were more likely to disclose abuse as a form of suffering or harm, suggesting the need for varied methods of inquiring about maltreatment, as well as acknowledgement that maltreatment revelations depend upon the interviewer's skills and not merely upon whether abuse occurred. The second section analyzes the responses of Central American and Mexican migrant children to one interview question regarding how to help youth like themselves, and identifies several implied "no-win" situations as potential reasons for the migration decisions of unaccompanied children. Furthermore, the children's responses highlight the interconnected nature of economics, security, and education as migratory factors. Children demonstrated use of political speech, primarily through negative references regarding their home country's LESSONS FROM LISTENING TO UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN iii government, president, and the police, with particular emphasis on police corruption and ineffectiveness. Their recommendations have implications for interdisciplinary and coordinated international development responses to migratory causes, and for providing youth with meaningful opportunities to contribute their views and suggestions. The third section concludes by using reflection on the research experience to examine various decision points before and during the research process. A "thesisantithesissynthesis" formula is employed to aid future researchers in predicting and resolving the research tensions discussed, and to protect the dignity of research participants, particularly when working with a vulnerable and hard-to-access population. Unaccompanied migrant children have many lessons to teach us about the gender and agebased risks they face, their recommendations for helping themselves and others like them, and research methods with young people. These lessons may not come in the manner, timeframe, or sense of logic that adults expect they should, and children may indeed view the world differently from adults. Even in this, children are trying to teach us something, if we are willing to listen. LESSONS FROM LISTENING TO UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN iv Dedication & Acknowledgements This dissertation is dedicated to the unaccompanied youth from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, who entrusted their stories to me and my exceptional UNHCR colleagues (Amelia Ahl, Elise Damas, and Aryah Somers Landsberger). I also gratefully acknowledge: Dr. Jessica Toft, an adviser of unflagging optimism; Drs. Barbara Shank and Carol Kuechler, visionary social work educators; Nicole Boehner and Leslie Vélez, UNHCR; and the 19 other members of "Cohort #1" whose humor and friendship buoy me. Finally, I am grateful to Virgil, Maggie, and Lucas, whose love, support, and patience through this process enabled me to think, study, and write. LESSONS FROM LISTENING TO UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN iv


This article presents clustering experiments on German verbs: A statistical grammar model for German serves as the source for a distributional verb description at the lexical syntax-semantics interface, and the unsupervised clustering algorithm k-means uses the empirical verb properties to perform an automatic induction of verb classes. Various evaluation measures are applied to compare the clustering results to gold standard German semantic verb classes under different criteria. The primary goals of the experiments are (1) to empirically utilize and investigate the well-established relationship between verb meaning and verb behavior within a cluster analysis and (2) to investigate the required technical parameters of a cluster analysis with respect to this specific linguistic task. The clustering methodology is developed on a small-scale verb set and then applied to a larger-scale verb set including 883 German verbs.


Photonic neuromorphic computing has gained a lot of attention for its strong potential to deliver machine learning computation capability at high bitrates (> 32 Gbps) with very low energy consumption. Reservoir computing is one of the strong candidates that delivers a huge advantage on a real hardware implementation. However, one of the challenges is that current readout systems are the bottleneck of the high-speed link involving heavy power consumption from opto-electrical conversions. In this paper, we present our design of an integrated all-optical readout system that overcomes the challenges with optical weighting elements, which works at 32 Gbps and can deliver computation capability on-chip with one final readout signal channel. We especially compare the memory capability difference between the optical readout scheme with conventional electrical readout and show that optical readout is superior. Furthermore, this paper discusses the problem of some non-volatile optical weighting elements having limited weighting resolution. As a result, our readout system can still perform very well at an low resolution (4 bit) compared to using full resolution weighting elements.


Yield testing fi nished inbreds to replace preliminary single-cross corn (Zea mays L.) yield tests will increase rate of commercial hybrid yield gains. Studies have shown that heterosis decreased 25%/50 yr, 10%/60 yr, and 35%/100 yr. Natural selection and artifi cial selection by plant breeders for adaptedness have increased parental inbred and hybrid seed yields, whereas percentage heterosis decreased. Four studies have shown inbred yields increased 1.9 to 3.5 times faster than heterosis yields. Pioneer HiBred generates 700 new inbreds tested in 6000 single-cross hybrids at 15 to 20 locations annually. Predicted, untested, newer hybrids are then made and tested extensively with commercial hybrids. Parental inbred yield testing is the next to last of several steps in hybrid development. Commercial hybrid development costs have increased logarithmically, whereas performance has increased linearly. Replacing preliminary testcross trials with fi nished-inbred yield trials is more effi cient. About 12,000 new fi nished inbreds can be evaluated annually with no testers and at least 50% fewer locations per inbred with the same testing effort as 700 new inbreds with testers. A calendar year per breeding cycle and annual production costs for 6000 hybrids will be saved. Corn yield trials detect stress susceptibility, which is more apparent in inbreds than in hybrids. Evaluation of more new inbreds will be conducive to increased genetic diversity that produces higher-yielding hybrids.


This study will, it is hoped, provide a contribution to the knowledge of the industrial geography of a small third world country, Libya, by shedding light on the location and development of its industries. Particular attention has been given to the role of the government in industrial development and industrial location, and the changes which have taken place in Libya's industrial structure and problems. The study proper begins in part one, chapter two, by examining industrial structure and location from the late Turkish period to the mid- nineteen fifties. In chapter three an attempt is made to analyse the characteristics, location and growth of the oil industry, while the main developments and changes in the industrial structure and spatial patterns from 1964 to 1971 are discussed in chapter four. The roles of the private industrialist and the government, including the latter's measures of encouragement and industrial finance, as well as its direct participation, are critically examined in chapter five. In part two, chapter six is a geographical analysis of the nature, location and regional distribution of industrial activities as they existed in Libya in 1971. Chapter seven deals primarily with the main factors which affect present industrial location as well as the relationship between industrial location in Libya and some theories of industrial location. The areal distribution and character of industry in the main cities (Tripoli and Benghazi) has been examined very closely in chapter eight. Finally, in part three, chapter nine deals with the main industrial problems, whilst some important indicators for the industrial future and concluding statements are presented in chapter ten.


— We consider the problem of distributed packet selection and scheduling for multiple video streams sharing a communication channel. An optimization framework is proposed , which enables the multiple senders to coordinate their packet transmission schedules, such that the average quality over all video clients is maximized. The framework relies on rate-distortion information that is used to characterize a video packet. This information consists of two quantities: the size of the packet in bits, and its importance for the reconstruction quality of the corresponding stream. A distributed streaming strategy then allows for trading off rate and distortion, not only within a single video stream, but also across different streams. Each of the senders allocates a share of the bandwidth available on the bottleneck communication channel to its video stream, proportionally to the importance of the video packets. We evaluate the performance of the distributed packet scheduling algorithm for two canonical problems in streaming media, namely adaptation to available bandwidth and adaptation to packet loss through prioritized packet retransmissions. Simulation results demonstrate that, for the difficult case of scheduling non-scalably encoded video streams, our framework is very efficient in terms of video quality, both over all streams jointly and also over the individual videos. Compared to a conventional streaming system that does not consider the relative importance of the video packets, the gains in performance range up to 6 dB for the scenario of bandwidth adaptation, and even up to 10 dB for the scenario of random packet loss adaptation.


The optimal age to claim Social Security benefits is often defined as that which maximizes expected lifetime benefits. Expectations are not always met however, and this optimal claim age is unlikely to be that which would have maximized lifetime benefits received by the eventual age at death. The optimal claim age then carries the potential for an opportunity loss, or the risk of receiving less than the maximum possible, which varies with age at death. This study evaluates the claiming decision by first computing and presenting the maximizing claim age for each possible death age over the retirement horizon, and then determining the actual opportunity loss for each death age for claiming at the otherwise optimal claim age. The potential for opportunity loss over the retirement horizon is then computed for the optimal claim age. If a participant can target a period within the retirement horizon for which the values total lifetime benefits higher than the remainder, the optimal claim age for that target period will entail less risk, or less potential for opportunity loss, than that for optimizing over the entire retirement horizon. Such a strategy could effectively address gaps in a retirement income portfolio.


Link prediction is an important learning task for graph-structured data. In this paper, we propose a novel topological approach to characterize interactions between two nodes. Our topological feature, based on the extended persistent homology, encodes rich structural information regarding the multi-hop paths connecting nodes. Based on this feature, we propose a graph neural network method that outperforms state-of-the-arts on different benchmarks. As another contribution, we propose a novel algorithm to more efficiently compute the extended persistence diagrams for graphs. This algorithm can be generally applied to accelerate many other topological methods for graph learning tasks.


African history tells us of a world dominated by capitalism whose supreme value is profitability; a world where profit is the unsurpassable human achievement. This political economy, quite literally, means the production and redistribution of mass violence across the continent. In such a world, all human relations have turned into merchandise. A manifestation of this appears in the attitude of "having" such that to "be" is reduced to "have." This capitalist process turns objects into nature, and nature into objects, particularly in Africa, where people have become victims of the fetish of merchandise, as well as the perpetuators.
 Analyzing the structural violence created by colonial power dynamics from a Marxian and Hegelian perspective reveals the opposite of passivity for all involved. The colonial powers searched for profit, intellectualized the necessity of profit, and formed and perpetuated a dialectic of social relations in such a way that they related to profit. These intentional activities reduced desire, joy, and fear into social relations driven by the profit motive. The legacy of these dynamics arises from history and are best understood in that context.
 Although history has a certain inertia and velocity, the movement of these issues are dialectical and leave the possibility for choice open, so various actors have taken diverse paths. Some post-colonial African leaders joined the world of profit and led their countries to violence and wars. Others resisted but were overwhelmed by the democratic dictatorship of merchandise.
 Wars and mass violence in Africa are the result of both the colonial structural violence caused by the search for profit and the choices many African leaders made to follow merchandised and clientelized types of relationships with their own people.
 The historical (Real, Retold, and Radical), genealogical, and ontological histories were the driving forces that caused the violence and resulted in contemporary African bloodshed.


Injection molded bio-alloys based on polyamide 11 (PA11), 100% bio-based plastics from inedible plants, and polypropylene (PP) mixed with the maleic anhydride-modified ethylene-butene rubber copolymer (m-EBR) were prepared using a twin-screw extruder. The mechanical properties and morphologies of the bio-alloys were investigated using flexural tests, Charpy notched impact tests, field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The bio-alloy had a flexural modulus of 1090 ± 20 MPa and a Charpy notched impact strength of 98 ± 5 kJ m−2, which is superior to that of polycarbonates. The FE-SEM observations revealed that the bio-alloy has a unique "salami-like structure in a co-continuous phase", and the TEM observations showed that some m-EBR formed 10 to 20 nm wide continuous interphases between the PP and PA11 matrices. Continuous rubber interphases played an important role in enhancing the impact strength. The bio-alloys exhibited good rigidity and excellent impact strength, making them feasible for applications in automobiles and other industries.


The paper addresses the historical growth of disyllabic stress-alternating noun-verb pairs, or 'diatones', such as record/record in Modern English. First, I describe how diatones have increased in number since their first attestation in the late sixteenth century. Next, I critically review two accounts, the prefix effect and the frequency effect, that have been proposed to explain why the diatonic stress pattern has become productive over the last four centuries. Then, I consider two phonological factors, word-final alveolar stops and consonant extrametricality, that likely contributed to the growth of diatones. After I present an investigation into the relevance of these two factors from a diachronic as well as synchronic point of view, the paper concludes that the phonological factors have always been a driving force in the development of the diatonic pattern.


Current evolutionary thinking aims to amalgamate the conjectures first set out in Darwin's The Origin of Species with modern genetics to form a unified theory of phylogenetic change that explains the mechanisms mediating the diversity of life. With the advent of molecular biology, it has been shown that the mechanics of evolution fundamentally exert their effect at the molecular level and any genetic modification ultimately becomes fixed in the host genome if the resultant phenotype allows an organism to become better adapted to its ecology. The vertebrate colour visual sensory system, and the photopigment genes that form the first step in light detection, represents an ideal model to illustrate the influence of evolution at a molecular level, which through gene loss, duplication and genome rearrangement may allow an organism to adapt to an ever changing (and spectrally unique) environment.

Key Concepts:

Modern evolutionary thought seeks to amalgamate a multitude of scientific disciplines to produce a unified theory of phylogenesis.

Evolution fundamentally exerts its influence at the molecular level of genomes, genes, RNAs and proteins.

Evolutionary mechanic is a continuous process and specific genetic changes become selectively fixed if the resultant phenotype allows an organism to be better suited to a particular environment.

Adaptive evolution is the result of an ongoing interaction between an organism's physiology, its drive to survive and reproduce and its immediate ecology.

The mechanisms that mediate molecular adaptation have permitted the multiplicity of ecological niches to be colonised by a myriad of diverse life forms.

Sophisticated sensory systems ultimately form the interface that mediates the complex interactions between organisms and varied environments.

The vertebrate visual system is a model case for determining the mechanics of adaptive evolution.

In addition to gene duplication, genome rearrangement and genetic drift, gene loss is a major player in shaping the genetic substrate on which molecular adaptation may act.

Keywords:

vertebrate;
gene;
opsin;
adaptation;
ecology;
evolution


Historically, shifting cultivation has been traced back to the neolithic period. It has undergone transitions from being a subsistence agriculture to small surpluses. Despite the global changes intruding into the socio-economic sphere of the tribal communities across Northeastern region of India, shifting cultivation continues to play an important role in providing livelihoods and food security to the rural tribal households. It seems that shifting cultivation is closely tied to the cultural identity of the tribal people. Therefore, its importance lies beyond mere economic concerns. Though with government interventions and under innovative shifting cultivation, the farmers in the region have switched to newer methods of cultivation, shifting cultivation continues parallel to sedentary cultivation accommodating at the same time the value system and needs of the tribal society. Concurrently, the Jhumias – shifting cultivators are constantly incorporating new measures into shifting cultivation to make it ecologically less destructive. Amidst changing perceptions on shifting cultivation practices, the paper tries to analyse the continuance of shifting cultivation in the region.


Tinnitus is described as an auditory phantom perception analogous to central neuropathic pain. Despite the high prevalence of this debilitating symptom, no intervention is recognized that reliably eliminates tinnitus symptoms; a cause has yet to be determined. A 65-year-old healthy man presented with a 3 year history of left-sided tinnitus. Full workup performed by the primary care physician including blood tests for electrolyte imbalance, consultations by 2 independent otholaryngologists, and imaging did not reveal abnormalities to provide etiology of the tinnitus. No other complaints were noted except for occasional minimal left sided neck pain. Cervical spine x-ray showed degenerative changes with facet hypertrophy more pronounced on the left side. Subsequently, the patient underwent diagnostic left-sided C2-C3 medial branch block, resulting in complete resolution of tinnitus for more than 6 hours. After successful radiofrequency ablation of left C2-C3 medial branches, the patient became asymptomatic. At one year follow-up, he continued to be symptom free. Sparce studies have shown interaction between the somatosensory and auditory system at dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), inferior colliculus, and parietal association areas. Upper cervical nerve (C2) electrical stimulation evokes potentials in the DCN, eliciting strong patterns of inhibition and weak excitation of the DCN principal cells. New evidence demonstrated successful transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of upper cervical nerve (C2) for treatment of somatic tinnitus in 240 patients. This case indicates that C2-C3 facet arthropathy may cause tinnitus and radiofrequency ablation of C2-C3 medial branches can provide an effective approach not previously considered.


Abstract The data set covers a 16-year period (1989–2005) of monthly small-mammal surveys and associated habitat and environmental data. Small mammals are trapped every month on all experimental plots, and both ephemeral and perennial plant cover and soil seed bank composition are measured at regular intervals. Rainfall is recorded and compiled annually (through 1998) or monthly; information on captured small mammals and on all vegetative and rainfall data is contained in associated files. These data have been applied to diverse population- and community-level analyses and remain useful for investigations of population dynamics, species interactions, and the relative influence of biotic and abiotic factors. Sampling is ongoing, and data will be added over time.


A systematic study was performed in which the effects of aberrations and apodization on the performance of a coherent optical system were investigated. The system performance was characterized by the modulus and the phase of the amplitude impulse response. The aberrations considered were defocus, spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism. The apodizer was Gaussian in amplitude transmittance. The results of the study indicate that, within certain limits, the apodizer was effective in removing the sidelobes from the aberrated amplitude impulse response. This has significant implications for the performance of coherent imaging and beam-propagation systems.


Abstract. A new size-resolved dust scheme based on the numerical method of piecewise log-normal approximation (PLA) was developed and implemented in the fourth generation of the Canadian Atmospheric Global Climate Model with the PLA Aerosol Model (CanAM4-PAM). The total simulated annual global dust emission is 2500 Tg yr −1 , and the dust mass load is 19.3 Tg for year 2000. Both are consistent with estimates from other models. Results from simulations are compared with multiple surface measurements near and away from dust source regions, validating the generation, transport and deposition of dust in the model. Most discrepancies between model results and surface measurements are due to unresolved aerosol processes. Biases in long-range transport are also contributing. Radiative properties of dust aerosol are derived from approximated parameters in two size modes using Mie theory. The simulated aerosol optical depth (AOD) is compared with satellite and surface remote sensing measurements and shows general agreement in terms of the dust distribution around sources. The model yields a dust AOD of 0.042 and dust aerosol direct radiative forcing (ADRF) of −1.24 W m −2 respectively, which show good consistency with model estimates from other studies.


Defeasible Logic Programming (DeLP) is a knowledge representation formalism that combines results from Logic Programming and Defeasible Argumentation to provide reasoning based on contradictory and potentially incomplete information. DeLP allows information representation by using weak rules and provides an argumentation inference mechanism for warranting the entailed conclusions. It is necessary to comprehend the relationships between the arguments involved in DeLP derivation to understand the reasoning process and justify the replies provided by the DeLP system. In order to reach such a degree of understanding we present DeLP Viewer, a DeLP visualization tool for representing the inference process performed by a DeLP reasoner. Albeit there are many applications designed for argumentation visualization, our proposal provides a visual representation for the underlying logic and argumentative structure behind DeLP, allowing the interactive exploration of the entire reasoning process plus the internals of the involved arguments.


"Essential Processes for Attaining Peak Performance" addresses a topic of fundamental relevance to the field of sport and exercise psychology: expert athletic performance. Recent progress in Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Biological Psychology, as well as contributions from areas such as expertise, rationality and creativity, and perfectionism are also addressed in this initial volume. Leading experts in the field were asked to provide manuscripts based on their theoretical approach and the results of their research. The contributions found in this volume reflect state of the art and controversial discussions on the topic of athletic expertise based on a particular theoretical point of view or empirical research. Chapters in this volume utilize more space than is possible in scientific journals. Additionally, the composition of the volume is designed to expose the reader to different perspectives and to allow the reader to consider a variety of subdomains within the topic of sport expertise. Thus, this volume contributes updated knowledge, a more holistic perspective on this body of knowledge, and a more comprehensive understanding of the topic of athletic expertise than is possible via journals or monographs authored by a single author.


We develop a *-continuous Kleene ω-algebra of real-time energy functions. Together with corresponding automata, these can be used to model systems which can consume and regain energy (or other types of resources) depending on available time. Using recent results on *-continuous Kleene ω-algebras and computability of certain manipulations on real-time energy functions, it follows that reachability and Buchi acceptance in real-time energy automata can be decided in a static way which only involves manipulations of real-time energy functions.


The expression of c-ets2 is rapidly induced in a variety of myelomonocytic cell lines as they differentiate into macrophages. We find that constitutive expression of c-ets2 in the M1D+ myeloblast leukemic cell line (M1ets2) is sufficient to push these cells to a more differentiated state. The expression of several differentiation-specific genes is upregulated in M1ets2 cells, including those encoding macrophage-specific lysozyme M and tumor necrosis factor alpha, which are involved in bacteriolytic and inflammatory processes, respectively. Transcription factors c-jun and junB, previously shown to induce partial macrophage differentiation when overexpressed in myelomonocytic leukemia cell lines, are also upregulated in M1ets2 cells. The upregulation of junB is the result of a direct interaction of Ets2 with ets binding sites of the junB promoter, since transient or constitutive Ets2 expression in M1D+ cells activates junB transcription via ets binding sites. In addition, transfection of a dominant negative mutant of Ets2, devoid of its transcriptional activation domain, greatly reduces transcriptional activities of the junB promoter in M1ets2 cells. Finally, unlike their parental M1D+ counterparts, M1ets2 cells secrete the macrophage colony-stimulating factor, CSF-1, and are able to phagocytize. Taken together, these results show that when the immature myeloid M1D+ cell line constitutively expresses c-ets2, these cells acquire different functions of mature macrophages.


It is suggested that adolescent mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) at a higher rate than compared to adult mothers (Deal & Holt, 1998). With early detection and proper treatment the effects that PPD has on both maternal and child wellbeing can be reduced (Lanzi et al., 2009). However, at this time the most effective intervention for treating or preventing PPD among adolescent mothers is unknown (Yozwiak, 2010). This integrative literature review was conducted in the hopes of determining an effective intervention used to either prevent or treat PPD among adolescent mothers. The literature search included a total of three strategies: electronic database, hand search, and networking, in which nine articles met inclusion criteria and were utilized in the final review. Only articles that met all of the inclusion criteria and that were from scholarly journals were chosen to be included in the review process. After reviewing the included literature, no clear themes emerged indicating the most effective interventions for reducing or treating depressive symptoms in adolescent mothers. Reviewing the findings from these studies did not produce a clear understanding of one particular intervention that can help prevent or treat PPD in adolescent mothers. However, the four studies that showed a decrease in CES-D scores all utilized a type of intervention that offered the adolescents more contact (either direct or indirect) with trained personnel. There is a lack of literature on this topic, and much more research is needed to determine the best intervention for treating and preventing PPD among these young mothers.


Oceano is management software for a eUtility infrastructure capable of providing cost-effective, autonomic resource allocation for multiple customer or application domains, in response to existent performance and availability conditions. The control layer of Oceano provides mechanisms to manage resources. This layer consists of a resource director and a set of resource managers. The resource director formulates resource configurations and coordinates their execution through resource managers. These resource managers maintain restore state and carry out detailed configuration tasks. This paper describes the Oceano resource management model and its server and application deployment resource managers. A prototype of Oceano has been developed and deployed on an 80 server platform, and has been tested with multiple domains and applications.


The pillars of contemporary theoretical physics are classical mechanics, Maxwell electromagnetism, relativity, quantum mechanics, and Boltzmann–Gibbs (BG) statistical mechanics –including its connection with thermodynamics. The BG theory describes amazingly well the thermal equilibrium of a plethora of so-called simple systems. However, BG statistical mechanics and its basic additive entropy SBG started, in recent decades, to exhibit failures or inadequacies in an increasing number of complex systems. The emergence of such intriguing features became apparent in quantum systems as well, such as black holes and other area-law-like scenarios for the von Neumann entropy. In a different arena, the efficiency of the Shannon entropy—as the BG functional is currently called in engineering and communication theory—started to be perceived as not necessarily optimal in the processing of images (e.g., medical ones) and time series (e.g., economic ones). Such is the case in the presence of generic long-range space correlations, long memory, sub-exponential sensitivity to the initial conditions (hence vanishing largest Lyapunov exponents), and similar features. Finally, we witnessed, during the last two decades, an explosion of asymptotically scale-free complex networks. This wide range of important systems eventually gave support, since 1988, to the generalization of the BG theory. Nonadditive entropies generalizing the BG one and their consequences have been introduced and intensively studied worldwide. The present review focuses on these concepts and their predictions, verifications, and applications in physics and elsewhere. Some selected examples (in quantum information, high- and low-energy physics, low-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems, earthquakes, turbulence, long-range interacting systems, and scale-free networks) illustrate successful applications. The grounding thermodynamical framework is briefly described as well.


Three targeted vehicles of varying size were measured using an optimized, practical photogrammetry technique and the results were compared to measurements acquired via total station. The photogrammetry method included the use of a field-calibrated DSLR camera equipped with a fixed 20 mm lens, retroreflective targets sized for vehicular modeling, and a CNC-machined scale bar. Eight photographs were taken from proper angles and processed using a commercially available photogrammetry package. This data was merged with the total station data using a cloud-to-cloud registration process for point-to-point comparison of positional data. The average residual between corresponding photogrammetry and total station points was 1.7 mm (N = 258, SD = 0.8 mm) with a 95% confidence limit of 3.1 mm. Considering this low residual, one of the sample vehicles was re-measured using a high accuracy FaroArm for comparison to the photogrammetry technique. The average residual between corresponding photogrammetry and FaroArm points was 1.2 mm (N = 83, SD = 0.56 mm) with a 95% confidence limit of 2.1 mm. This research shows photogrammetry can be highly accurate and efficient with proper methodology, while also expanding on the photogrammetry literature database and improving confidence in the technique. CITATION: Peck, L. and Cheng, M., "The Accuracy of an Optimized, Practical Close-Range Photogrammetry Method for Vehicular Modeling," SAE Int. J. Trans. Safety 4(2):2016, doi:10.4271/2016-01-1462. 2016-01-1462 Published 04/05/2016 Copyright © 2016 SAE International doi:10.4271/2016-01-1462 saetransaf.saejournals.org Downloaded from SAE International by Louis Peck, Wednesday, March 02, 2016


Abstract. In permafrost environments exposed to strong winds, drifting snow can create a small-scale pattern of strongly variable snow heights, which has profound implications for the thermal regime of the ground. Arrays of 26 to more than 100 temperature loggers were installed to record the distribution of ground surface temperatures within three study areas across a climatic gradient from continuous to sporadic permafrost in Norway. A variability of the mean annual ground surface temperature of up to 6°C was documented within areas of 0.5 km2. The observed variation can, to a large degree, be explained by variation in snow height. Permafrost models, employing averages of snow height for grid cells of, e.g., 1 km2, are not capable of representing such sub-grid variability. We propose a statistical representation of the sub-grid variability of ground surface temperatures and demonstrate that a simple equilibrium permafrost model can reproduce the temperature distribution within a grid cell based on the distribution of snow heights.


IS students continue to struggle to complete the programming courses often required in their course of study. In this research-in-progress, we describe how IS educators can learn about the predictors of success in programming courses and translate that knowledge into better advising for their IS students. We plan to administer an open-ended survey to IS educators, asking them what factors they believe predict success in programming principles courses. Based on their responses, we will determine if IS educator perceptions of variables predicting success in programming courses match the realities discussed in previous research. Then we plan to develop a set of guidelines so that IS educators can translate that knowledge into better advising for IS students.


Three series of severe pet food associated toxicoses were diagnosed during 2009 in Western Australia. Five cases of clinical hepatotoxicity were diagnosed in dogs fed a commercial elimination diet of camel meat and sweet potato for atopic skin disease. These dogs all had detectable blood levels of indospicine, a toxic non-protein amino acid, isolated from Indigofera linnaei, a plant grazed by camels. Histological lesions in these dogs were consistent with previously reported lesions in dogs fed horse meat concentrated with indospicine. Four dogs exclusively fed a commercial pet diet available at supermarkets presented with marked neurological signs and were diagnosed with thiamine deficiency due to sulphur preservatives in the food. Two cats exclusively fed a commercial cat food diet available at supermarkets, were diagnosed with hypercalcaemia due to excessive vitamin D. The pet food was tested, and found to have high vitamin D concentrations. This diet was exclusively fed to the cats, with no other potential source of toxicity.

Conclusion: These cases highlight that not all animals' fed a diet will develop clinical disease and that an accurate description of an animal's diet and feeding plan are a mandatory component of disease investigation. It is also possible that a significant number of pet food toxicities go unrecognized. Pet food should be considered as a potential source of toxins and a cause of clinical disease, and these cases support tighter regulation of the pet food industry.


The aim of the study was to highlight the morphological, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of soils developed on micaschists without garnet and on interfluve with plan tabular summit which dominate the landscape below 800 m above sea level in the rainforest zone of southern Cameroon. Morphologically, these lateritic soils are more than 10 m thick. They are constituted of height major horizons regrouped into indurated and loose materials. Indurated material predominates in the median part of the profiles in the form of gleabular ferruginous horizons and downstream above the water table in the form of toeslope ferruginous accumulation horizons. These horizons, which can reach 4 to 5 m thick on the slopes, are constituted mainly of goethite and hematite, these two iron oxides being always associated to kaolinite. In this mineral paragenesis, the presence of goethite is the result of the disruption of kaolinite-hematite association which characterizes the primary iron duricrust under hydratation, redox processes confirmed by Eh values between 0.09 and 0.12 volt and biological activities. The released iron may be exported and partially retained in the lower part of the interfluve and accumulate in the form of toeslope ferruginous accumulation horizons bearing goethite and in the weathering horizon where it forms iron rich nodules in the alloteritic horizon. In the loose material, composed of weathering horizons at the base of the profiles, loose clayey horizons at the surface and also fine earth between nodules, pebbles or iron duricrust blocks of the glaebular ferruginous horizons, kaolinite is the predominant mineral. Iron oxides, although weakly represented, remain in sufficient quantity to print vivid colorations to these horizons. In the profile, this results, geochemically, in the occurrence of high content, of iron, but also of aluminium and silicon, combined in the form of kaolinite, as attests by the atomic ratio S i A l generally between 0.9 and 1.3. These lateritic soils are characterized firstly by the presence of muscovite which is an indication of autochthony of soils developed on micaschists without garnet and, secondly by the abundance of impregnated ferruginous nodules in the alloteritic horizon, which marks a specific continuous nodulation different from observations already made on lateritic soils developed on other rocks in south Cameroon Plateau.


This article explores the factors behind the Irish economic renaissance of the 1990s. These include the fiscal correction of the 1980s, the availability of an ample supply of well-educated labour, a competitive exchange rate, and the inflow of EU aid. The reintroduction of 'social partnership' is credited with maintaining a moderate rate of wage inflation and facilitating the exceptional growth of employment. The dominant role played by a steady inflow of high tech FDI is acknowledged. The reasons for the Irish success in attracting foreign investment and the role of industrial policy in transforming the economy are discussed. The article concludes with an appraisal of the current concern over rising inflation and fear of a hard landing.


As the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) nears its end, questions about victimhood and restorative justice remain salient. Can the law adequately attend to victim trauma? Focusing on the remedial notion of "making whole" a victim of atrocity, this article looks to Aleksandar Hemon's first novel, The Question of Bruno (2000), to illuminate legal limitations to facilitating human recovery. Hemon is a Bosnian immigrant who departed Sarajevo in 1992 and began writing in English several years later. Exhibiting the fragmentation typical in postmodern fiction, Hemon's work can be situated in a distinct literary moment. Yet the novel also creates new narrative forms that incorporate the reader in a restorative task. While considering the gaps in the remedial procedures at the ICTY, I argue that The Question of Bruno implores its reader to reconstruct a new kind of historical record that heals, while acknowledging the liminal spaces from which many victims speak and write.


Background and purpose: Reconstruction of bone defects remains one of the most challenges encountered by orthopedic and reparative surgeons. The purpose of this study was to assess the osteogenic potential of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) and octacalcium phosphate/gelatin (OCP/G) composite in the tibia bone defects in rats. Materials and methods: This experimental study was conducted in 72 male Sprague Dawley rats. The rats were divided into experimental (OCP/G and OCP) and control groups (n=24 per group). Full thickness critical size trephine defects were made in the rat's tibial bones and filled with 6 mg of OCP and OCP/G composite in experimental groups. The control group had no intervention. On days 7, 14, 21 and, 56 after implantation, the rats were decapitated and bone samples were collected. Then, 5μm thick sections were cut and stained with H&E. Finally, the amount of newly formed bone was measured using Dunnett T3 test. Results: In experimental groups, the new bone formation was initiated at the defect margins in day 7 after implantation. During the remaining days, in addition to bone formation in deep parts of the defect, the newly formed bones were found to be more mature. In the control group, the newly formed bones were seen near to the defect margins. There were significant differences in the amount of newly formed bone between the experimental and control groups (P<0.001). Conclusion: This biomaterial could be used in the repair of long bone defects in clinical situations.


A model for analyzing issues involving monospectral target recognition is presented. These issues include modeling target detection, recognition and identification thresholds, and predicting the functional parametric dependencies of the results of observation experiments with human observers. The model makes extensive use of concepts used in information theory. An image of a scene is treated as a sample of an entire set of images of that scene. A difference measure, called the informational difference (InDif) between two image sets is defined. The main assertion is that accomplishing target recognition tasks is equivalent to setting thresholds for the InDif. The applicability of the InDif to the performance of the human visual system (HVS) is shown both analytically, in very simple situations, and in computer calculations involving noisy images. Finally, a single framework for dealing with the HVS and artificial intelligence systems in target recognition applications is shown to result naturally from the InDif formalism.


We present UV and optical spectropolarimetry of two highly polarized IRAS-selected quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), IRAS 13349+2438 and the broad absorption line QSO (BALQSO) IRAS 14026+4341. The polarization in both objects rises rapidly toward the blue, peaks near 3000 Å in the rest frame and remains nearly constant for shorter wavelengths. The rest frame optical polarized flux density spectra also increase rapidly toward the blue but then decrease dramatically below 3000 Å. This distinctive wavelength dependence of polarized flux shows that the polarization is produced by dust scattering. As for many Seyfert, radio, and hyperluminous infrared galaxies (HIGs), the lower polarization of the weak [O III] λλ4959, 5007 lines in IRAS 13349+2438 suggests that the scattering grains lie interior to or mixed with the narrow-line gas. We construct full radiative transfer models of these systems consisting of a dusty sphere of modest optical depth illuminated axisymmetrically from within by a power-law QSO spectrum. We show that this simple model successfully reproduces the qualitative polarization properties of the objects. Despite similarities to other IRAS-selected BALQSOs, our faint object spectrograph spectropolarimetry of IRAS 13349+2438 does not reveal broad absorption lines. IRAS 14026+4341 has an Al III broad absorption line in both scattered and total flux density. We discuss these two objects in terms of both orientation and evolutionary unified schemes for QSOs, BALQSOs, and HIGs.


Biased modulators show that long-term depression induced by the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor requires PLD. Modulating receptor signaling The M1 subtype of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor family of GPCRs is an important therapeutic target in the treatment of schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Specific positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the M1 receptor enhance cognition in animal models of these disorders but have limited efficacy because of other pharmacological properties. Moran et al. used biased M1 receptor PAMs that differentially affected downstream signaling to show that phospholipase D (PLD) was required for M1 receptor–mediated long-term depression in the mouse prefrontal cortex, a process implicated in the therapeutic benefits of targeting this receptor. Together, these data suggest that different PAMs could have distinct abilities to regulate cognitive function or other responses in vivo. Highly selective, positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the M1 subtype of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor have emerged as an exciting new approach to potentially improve cognitive function in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. Discovery programs have produced a structurally diverse range of M1 receptor PAMs with distinct pharmacological properties, including different extents of agonist activity and differences in signal bias. This includes biased M1 receptor PAMs that can potentiate coupling of the receptor to activation of phospholipase C (PLC) but not phospholipase D (PLD). However, little is known about the role of PLD in M1 receptor signaling in native systems, and it is not clear whether biased M1 PAMs display differences in modulating M1-mediated responses in native tissue. Using PLD inhibitors and PLD knockout mice, we showed that PLD was necessary for the induction of M1-dependent long-term depression (LTD) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, biased M1 PAMs that did not couple to PLD not only failed to potentiate orthosteric agonist–induced LTD but also blocked M1-dependent LTD in the PFC. In contrast, biased and nonbiased M1 PAMs acted similarly in potentiating M1-dependent electrophysiological responses that were PLD independent. These findings demonstrate that PLD plays a critical role in the ability of M1 PAMs to modulate certain central nervous system (CNS) functions and that biased M1 PAMs function differently in brain regions implicated in cognition.


Nova Scotia's coastal habitats and marine resources are vital to the province's economy, identity, and well-being. Increasing human populations and associated pressures, however, are threatening these resources. A key solution to mitigating these pressures is the development of marine protected area (MPA) networks. A major constraint to Canada's proposed national MPA network is the lack of designated coastal MPAs in Nova Scotia. The inclusion of human-use data is a key component of MPA design, and failure to consider these human dimensions can compromise the success of an MPA. The paucity of human-use data for coastal Nova Scotia was the impetus for a new pilot project undertaken by the Ocean and Coastal Management Division (OCMD) at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Maritimes Region. The objective of the pilot project was to map and document information on the distribution and intensity of fisheries and other coastal activities. This report evaluated the methodology used in the pilot project for collecting human-use information from Conservation and Protection (C&P) officers through semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping exercises. The evaluation considered four elements: performance of the research team, research process, interview questions, and use of C&P officers as a source of human-use information. The evaluation demonstrated that the sampling methodology for collecting human-use data from C&P officers was useful to the process. Minor adjustments to the methodology are suggested and it is recommended that a diversity of informant groups be pursued in future efforts. The OCMD also should consider alternative methodologies of participatory mapping workshops or web-based programs to improve the efficiency of data collection, and mitigate issues of data sensitivity and verification. Continued collection of human-use data in the early phases of coastal MPA planning will contribute to the success of MPA establishment on Nova Scotia's coast and the proposed national network of MPAs.


The DNA within a cell is damaged on a continuous basis by both endogenous and exogenous agents. One of the most dangerous types of damage a cell can incur are DNA Double stranded breaks (DSBs) as failure to repair these types of lesions can lead to mutations, cell death and cancer. In order to maintain genome integrity, cells have several different mechanisms to repair various types of DNA damage. BRCA1 is a tumour suppressor gene commonly mutated in many inherited breast and ovarian cancers. BRCA1 is fundamental to the repair to DNA damage especially the faithful repair of DSB by homologous recombination (HR) as loss of BRCA1 results in aberrant HR, chromosomal translocation and cancer. BRCA1 is almost always found in the nucleus bound to BARD1. BARD1 retains BRCA1 in the nucleus and enhances the E3 ubiquitin ligase function of BRCA1. The importance of BRCA1 in the repair of DNA DSBs has been extensively researched, however the role of BARD1 in repair remains unknown. Similar to BRCA1, BARD1 contains tandem BRCT domains at its C-terminus which are important for binding phosphorylated proteins involved in DNA repair. Mutations in the BARD1 BRCT domains have been discovered in a few breast and ovarian cancers which suggested that BARD1 is important in the DNA damage response (DDR) independent of its function in stabilising BRCA1. Loss of the BARD1 BRCT domains also results in a decrease in the ability of cells to carry out HR. This thesis examines the contribution of the BARD1 BRCT domains to the repair of DNA DSBs. Using homologous recombination assays and colony survival assays, Bard1 DT40 cells reconstituted with BARD1ΔBRCT showed a significant decrease in their ability to carry out HR and were also extremely sensitive to PARP inhibitors suggesting that the BARD1 BRCT domains do indeed play an important role in HR. Work carried out in this thesis suggests that BARD1 contributes to the stabilisation of the BRCA1-C complex which is important in the repair of DSBs. The BARD1 BRCT domains also showed defects in localisation and delayed recruitment to sites of damage. The defects xviii in HR and localisation seen in the absence of the BARD1 BRCT domains potentially implicate a functional role for the BARD1 BRCT domains in DSB repair. Potential BARD1 BRCT domain interacting proteins were also identified my Mass spec, which may shed some light onto the functional role of BARD1 in DNA repair.


The Visual and the Verbal Conference Contribution: Powerpoint presentation by Doris Rohr Doris Rohr's PhD research project (LICA) seeks to follow John Ruskin's method of closely observing nature. Through the practice of drawing and writing on the environment Ruskin's legacy is applied to a personal perspective. Walks along the shore of the sea provide encounter and meditation, and therefore connect with the idea of a contemporary pilgrimage.Ruskin's concept of nature is a constant reminder of beauty's fragility, as beauty is only possible considered in moral terms. Ruskin was a polymath who effortlessly combined scientific empirical understanding of the weather, mountains, plants and birds with mythological insights. This poetic and lateral understanding of nature forges connections that reductive modern approaches to science rarely permit. In my thesis I argue that the writings of WG Sebald, Robert McFarlane, and poet Kathleen Jamie, provide accounts of journeys equating to pilgrimages that encompass nature, culture and history and questions of morality. From a science perspective, Rachel Carson in The Sea Around Us (1953) establishes a form of writing that makes science accessible to non-specialists, presenting 'factual nature' in a surprisingly Ruskinian fashion, drawing myth and literature into her poetic recounting of the miracle of life forms. Hewison's suggestion ("Paradise Lost: Ruskin and Science" Time and Tide 1996; p 44) that not all might be lost of Ruskin's paradise, finds fulfilment as Carson sublimates the divided paths of myth and science, creating a new level of complementary understanding. Carson celebrates the sea as the birthplace of all origin of life, but also prophetically reminds the reader of the imminent dangers of ecological disaster (Silent Spring 1962). Ruskin foretold disaster in "The Storm-Cloud of 19th Century" – a lecture that links climate change with pollution and human corruption through greed. The corrosive quality of ill-managed relationships with the life-world, the cosmos, becomes a connective tissue to contemporary thought. It prepares the ground for Bruno Latour, who in his "Politics of Nature" (1999) proposes a radical re-evaluation of compartmentalised sciences from philosophy and economics within the pragmatic possibilities of relational moral politics. Methods of research used are: the visual (drawn and written) journal; the narrative capacity of drawing, as a translation of experience; writing as an extended form of drawing and a critical mirror, a further reflexive stage.


This is a wonderful new selection of Henry James' short stories exploring the relationship between art and life, edited by Michael Gorra. This volume gathers seven of the very best of Henry James' short stories, all focussing the relationship between art and life. In 'The Aspern Papers', a critic is determined to get his hands on a great poet's papers hidden in a faded Venetian house - not matter what the human cost. 'The Author of Beltraffio', 'The Lesson of the Master' and 'The Figure in the Carpet' all focus on naive young men's unsettling encounters with their literary heroes. In 'The Middle Years', a dying novelist begins to glimpse his own potential, while 'The Real Thing' and 'Greville Fane' both explore the tension between artistic and commercial success. These fables of the creative life reveal James at his ironic, provocative best. Henry James was born in 1843 in New York and died in London in 1916. In addition to many short stories, plays, books of criticism, autobiography and travel, he wrote some twenty novels, the first published being Roderick Hudson (1875). They include The Europeans, Washington Square, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, The Princess Casamassima, The Tragic Muse, The Spoils of Poynton, The Awkward Age, The Wings of the Dove, The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl. Michael Gorra is Professor of English at Smith College and the author of Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece (2012), a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in biography.


Abstract: This is to provide empirical evidence on the likely roles of knowledge, social networks and Information Technologies (IT) besides governance in shaping the characteristics of the current generation of youth in comparison with the oldest ones. The framework of intergenerational mobility provides promising grounds for the empirical analysis. Series of hypotheses require empirical testing under the above framework. The data are mainly time series from international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Labor Organizations and United Nations. In addition, results from previous studies assessing educational mobility and income are used. Several statistical methods provide the grounds for the testing of the retained hypotheses. The attained results show that the effects of annual demographic growth is not established clearly for all Arab countries as most economies have had immobility in demographic population growth over the period 1960-2015 but the total population of youth in the current generation is higher than the population that prevailed for the older generation. The overall openness of the Arab economies besides their democratization measured by series of indices appear to have been stable over the period 1996-2015. Other results are related to social mobility in income, education attainment and to the unemployment trends. They all show with the progress in ICTs and the increasing reliability on social media, that the current generation has more features that are different from those of the oldest generation.


The lack of information on the vertical distribution of dust, in turn, results in large uncertainties when attempting to evaluate the impacts of dust on climate processes. We analyzed over two years of LIDAR measurements from NASA's CALIPSO and CloudSat satellites to document the vertical pathways of transatlantic transport of Saharan dust. Our analysis overcomes the limitations of quantitative dust detections with passive satellite measurements over land and low clouds and provides the fine vertical resolved structures. The results show the strong seasonal shift in dust source regions and transportation pathways due to the meteorological and thermodynamical conditions, which also control the dust vertical distribution as well as the depth of the dust layer. The dust layer top descending rates of 35 m/degree in summer, 25 m/degree in autumn and spring, and 10 m/degree in winter are found, respectively, while the dust is being transported across the Atlantic. Comparison with the model simulation highlights the potentials of dust observations using CALIPSO LIDAR. The observed seasonal dependence of these pathways gives new insights into the transport of the Saharan dust and provides important guidance for simulations of the production and transport of the global dust aerosol.


Deconstructing Bruce Springsteen's album, "Nebraska," Levine demonstrates how Springsteen's songs challenge modern paradigms of crime, punishment and the American criminal justice system. Professor Levine deconstructs the message of the album by introducing the reader to the three categories of criminals who appear on the album: The enigmatic criminal; the sympathetic criminal; and the "criminal as brother." Professor Levine first examines the enigmatic criminal who materializes in Springsteen's title track, "Nebraska." This criminal shows no remorse for his crime and makes no attempt to justify or explain his actions. The enigmatic criminal demonstrates how an exploration of the criminal mindset may not yield any insight into the mysteries of senseless criminal acts, their causes, or their motivations. Professor Levine next examines the sympathetic criminal who manifests himself in three separate tracks: "Atlantic City"; "Johnny 99"; and "State Trooper." These criminals regret their wrongful acts and provide the listener with sympathetic explanations for their conduct and resulting hardships. Such explanations include a man who turns to crime because he is unable to pay his debts though legal means, a criminal whose jail sentence will cause great emotional hardship on his family, and a criminal whose actions stem from a life filled with loneliness, desperation, and despair. Though one does not excuse their conduct, one begins to understand the motivations underlying the criminal's actions. Lastly, Professor Levine examines Springsteen's portrayal of the "criminal as brother" in the track "Highway Patrolman." This criminal does not openly seek forgiveness or mitigation of his punishment through explanation. Instead, he avoids punishment from the American criminal justice system all together because the patrolman charged with pursuing him is his brother who allows him to flee the country. Professor Levine concludes that "Highway Patrolman" fuels debate over the boundaries of law, loyalty, and the complexity of striking the appropriate balance between justice and mercy.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To explore the factors that contribute to women's intention to avoid strenuous arm activity after breast cancer surgery.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING
Three hospitals located in eastern Australia.

SAMPLE
175 patients with breast cancer.

METHODS
A survey, based on Protection Motivation Theory, was used to assess whether treatment variables, demographic variables, arm advice, fear, or coping attributes predicted women's intentions to avoid strenuous arm activity.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Intention to avoid strenuous arm activity, presence of arm or chest symptoms, receipt of arm care advice, and fear of lymphedema.

FINDINGS
Seventy percent of participants reported an intention to avoid strenuous activity with their affected arm and reported more arm and chest symptoms than participants who did not avoid strenuous arm activity. Women who perceived that they were vulnerable to lymphedema and women who received advice about arm care were more likely to avoid strenuous arm activity.

CONCLUSIONS
Fear of lymphedema and receipt of arm care advice motivated women's intention to avoid strenuous arm activity.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Information about lymphedema distributed to patients by healthcare professionals should be updated to reflect evidence and address the risk of developing lymphedema relevant to the patients' surgery.


The great content diversity of real-world digital images poses a grand challenge to automatically and accurately assess their perceptual quality in a timely manner. In this thesis, we focus on blind image quality assessment (BIQA), which predicts image quality with no access to its pristine quality counterpart. We first establish a large-scale IQA database—the Waterloo Exploration Database. It contains 4, 744 pristine natural and 94, 880 distorted images, the largest in the IQA field. Instead of collecting subjective opinions for each image, which is extremely difficult, we present three test criteria for evaluating objective BIQA models: pristine/distorted image discriminability test (D-test), listwise ranking consistency test (L-test), and pairwise preference consistency test (P-test). Moreover, we propose a general psychophysical methodology, which we name the group MAximum Differentiation (gMAD) competition method, for comparing computational models of perceptually discriminable quantities. We apply gMAD to the field of IQA and compare 16 objective IQA models of diverse properties. Careful investigations of selected stimuli shed light on how to improve existing models and how to develop next-generation IQA models. The gMAD framework is extensible, allowing future IQA models to be added to the competition. We explore novel approaches for BIQA from two different perspectives. First, we show that a vast amount of reliable training data in the form of quality-discriminable image pairs (DIPs) can be obtained automatically at low cost. We extend a pairwise learning-torank (L2R) algorithm to learn BIQA models from millions of DIPs. Second, we propose a multi-task deep neural network for BIQA. It consists of two sub-networks—a distortion identification network and a quality prediction network—sharing the early layers. In the first stage, we train the distortion identification sub-network, for which large-scale training samples are readily available. In the second stage, starting from the pre-trained early layers and the outputs of the first sub-network, we train the quality prediction sub-network using a variant of stochastic gradient descent. Extensive experiments on four benchmark IQA databases demonstrate the proposed two approaches outperform state-of-the-art BIQA models. The robustness of learned models is also significantly improved as confirmed by the gMAD competition methodology.


If a concept class can be represented with a certain amount of memory, can it be efficiently learned with the same amount of memory? What concepts can be efficiently learned by algorithms that extract only a few bits of information from each example? We introduce a formal framework for studying these questions, and investigate the relationship between the fundamental resources of memory or communication and the sample complexity of the learning task. We relate our memory-bounded and communication-bounded learning models to the well-studied statistical query model. This connection can be leveraged to obtain both upper and lower bounds: we show strong lower bounds on learning parity functions with bounded communication, as well as the first upper bounds on solving generic sparse linear regression problems with limited memory.


Objective The goal was to determine the impact of flea number variation on the epizootic situation in the Jermuk region. Introduction The Jermuk region of the Zangezur mezofocus is part of the transcaucasian highland focus of plague. This enzootic area is polyvectorial. The mezofocus has rich fauna with approximately eight species of fleas: Callopsylla caspia , Ctenophthalmus wladimiri , Frontopsylla elata , Amphipsylla rossica , Leptopsylla taschenbergi , Nosopsyllus consimilis , Palaeopsylla vartanovi , and Doratopsylla dampfi . Ct. wladimiri is the most abundant. However, special attention should be paid to C. caspia and N. consimilis as they are the only vectors specific for Yersinia pestis . In these fleas, the bacteria form a plug that blocks digestion and induces starvation. Afflicted fleas bite frenziedly in an effort to feed and the pressure that results releases bacteria from the plug, infecting a new host. Fleas infected with plague during an epizootic are a serious threat to humans, especially when in contact with synanthropic rodents. A survey was conducted to catalog fleas in the foci. Methods From 2010-2016 different species of fleas were collected in Jermuk region of Vayots Dzor by combing the hair of captured rodents and processing their nests with heat and light. Flea species, and their egg-laying status, were identified by microscopic examination. Results From 2010-2015 the density of C. caspia averaged 23 per hectare. Fleas that were laying eggs were quantified via microscopy. In 2016 a drastic increase in C. caspia density was recorded; flea numbers averaged 225 per hectare. Half of these were actively reproducing (Table 1). These changes in flea numbers occurred with a stable rodent population of 60 per hectare. Conclusions Because of the drastic increase in flea density of 2016 compared to the period of 2010-2015, it is likely that diseases that depend on fleas to spread will increase in the near future in Jermuk. So, it is necessary to monitor the epizootic situation of Jermuk, as it is a popular resort in Armenia.


This article defends the view that theories of creativity should be computable and that only three sorts of algorithm can be creative. It proposes a central principle of algorithmic demands for jazz improvisation:
 a division of labor in terms of computational power occurs between the creation of chord sequences for improvisation and the creation of melodic improvisations in real time. An algorithm for producing chord
 sequences must be computationally powerful, that is, it calls for a working memory or a notation of intermediate results. Improvisation depends on the ability to extemporize new melodies that fit the chord
 sequence. The corresponding algorithm must operate rapidly in real time, and so it minimizes the computational load on working memory. The principle of algorithmic demands is supported by analysis and a
 computer model.


From Donald Trump to Lindsay Lohan to Manuel Noriega, real people who are portrayed in expressive works are increasingly targeting creators of those works for allegedly violating their "right of publicity"—a state-law tort, grounded in privacy concerns, that prohibits the unauthorized use of a person's name, likeness, and other identifying characteristics. This Article provides a new framework to reconcile publicity rights with a robust commitment to free speech under the First Amendment. After describing the current landscape in the courts, this Article scrutinizes the "educative" First Amendment theory that has motivated many of the past decisions confronting the right of publicity—a listener-focused theory that relies on the public's right to receive information. This Article then reframes the doctrine in a new way: as four distinct educative defenses that have developed to assuage concerns about publicity rights interfering with speech on matters of public concern. These four defenses might seem encouraging to those who worry that publicity rights impair expressive rights. But all too often they have instead complicated and undermined the opposition to publicity rights and, as a result, they pose an unexpected and underestimated threat to free speech. To combat this threat, this Article recalibrates First Amendment theory as it relates to the right of publicity.

To adequately protect creators and their expressive works, this Article argues that we must abandon educative models of the First Amendment and instead adopt an approach that also protects the speaker as a central part of enabling public discourse. Failure to adopt this speaker-focused theory in publicity doctrine will perpetuate confusion in the courts and state legislatures, an outcome that will have a chilling effect on creators who seek to portray real people in their work. Yet we must also recognize the interests that publicity rights can serve. As we move into an era of new technology and innovation—from "deep fakes" to nonconsensual pornography—this challenge will only intensify. To address it, courts should refer to the constitutional concept of "public discourse" when publicity rights face off against expressive rights—a concept that not only empowers free expression, but also considers the narrow interests that we should all have in preventing certain uses of our images.


In order to test the hypothesis that social parameters within carnivore societies are correlated with health status, a profile is presented of the general health, haematology and blood biochemistry of a colony of free-living feral farm cats (Felis silvestris catus). Samples and biochemical data were collected between late November and early December 1989. A higher proportion of adult males than females was found to be clinically abnormal. Social status (Central or Peripheral) had a significant effect on female mouth condition, but not on male mouth condition. Eosinophilia (34.6% of individuals), high fibrinogen levels (19.2%) and low haemoglobin levels (28.8%) were significantly more likely to occur in clinically abnormal than in clinically normal cats. Blood biochemistry varied with age and, among adults only, varied between the sexes. Haematological measurements varied significantly with age and sex. There were no haematological effects of social status in males, but in females social status affected reticulocyte, neutrophil, eosinophil and white blood cell (WBC) counts. We interpret variation in health and haematology in terms of the differences in social status and reproductive tactics.


4001 Background: Coagulation proteins are commonly activated in pancreatic cancer and are closely linked to regulation of angiogenesis. We investigated tumor cell expression of tissue factor (TF), the prime initiator of coagulation, and its association with parameters of angiogenesis, venous thromboembolism (VTE) and survival.

METHODS
Tissue cores from a bi-institutional retrospective series of patients consecutively resected between January 1994 and February 2002 and followed for a median period of 16 months were used to build a pancreatic cancer tissue microarray. TF expression was graded semiquantitatively using immunohistochemistry (IHC)(grade 0:negative, grade 1: 1- 33% positive, grade 2: 34- 66% positive and grade 3: > 66% cells positive) in pancreatic intraductal dysplasia (n=5) and resected pancreatic cancer (n=122). Study endpoints included correlation of TF with VEGF expression by IHC, microvessel density (MVD), clinical VTE and survival in resected patients. Patients with history of VTE, on anticoagulation or with inadequate follow-up were excluded from analysis of VTE outcomes (n=33).

RESULTS
TF expression was observed in all specimens with intraductal dysplasia and 108 resected pancreatic cancers (89%) but not in uninvolved pancreas. Sixty-six patients (54%) with resected pancreatic cancer were found to have high TF expression (defined as ≥ grade 2, the median score), and 56 patients (46%) had low or no TF expression. Tumors with high TF expression were more likely to also express VEGF (80% versus 27% with low TF expression, p<0.0001). Tumors with high TF expression had a higher median MVD (8 versus 5/tissue core with low TF expression, p=0.01). Resected patients with high TF expression had a VTE rate of 20% compared to 5.5% in patients with low TF expression (p=0.04). Median survival in tumors with high TF was 17.9 months versus 12.6 months in those with low TF (p=0.16).

CONCLUSIONS
TF expression appears to occur early in pancreatic cancer pathogenesis. This is the first report describing an association of TF expression with VEGF expression, increased MVD and clinical VTE in resected pancreatic cancer, confirming the linkage of thrombosis and angiogenesis. Targeting TF in pancreatic cancer could affect both neoplastic and thrombotic outcomes. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


In this paper, we examine the emergence and the sustainability of abnormal profits among businesses that were part of US public corporations between 1981 and 1994 and that reported financial results for at least six years. Our results reveal strong asymmetries between high and low performers. Overall, high performance is more stable than low performance. High performers show profits above the average a decade earlier In contrast, low performers show profits that are slightly above average a decade earlier Industry and corporate-parent effects influence high performance to a far greater degree than low performance. Low performance is dominated by business-specific effects.


We present the first hardware implementations of Diffie-Hellman key exchange based on the Kummer surface of Gaudry and Schost's genus-2 curve targeting a 128-bit security level. We describe a single-core architecture for lowlatency applications and a multi-core architecture for high-throughput applications. Synthesized on a Xilinx Zynq-7020 FPGA, our architectures perform a key exchange with lower latency and higher throughput than any other reported implementation using prime-field elliptic curves at the same security level. Our single-core architecture performs a scalar multiplication with a latency of 82 microseconds while our multicore architecture achieves a throughput of 91,226 scalar multiplications per second. When compared to similar implementations of Microsoft's Fourℚ on the same FPGA, this translates to an improvement of 48% in latency and 40% in throughput for the single-core and multi-core architecture, respectively. Both our designs exhibit constant-time execution to thwart timing attacks, use the Montgomery ladder for improved resistance against SPA, and support a countermeasure against fault attacks.


Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed in the morning and afternoon of separate days on 31 people derived from a normal population sample. Blood sugar levels were higher in the afternoon test from and including 60 minutes after the glucose load. The degree of diurnal variation was similar in men and women, but greater in the older half of the group. It was negatively correlated with the degree of obesity. The plasma insulin response was less at the 30 minute time point in the afternoon, but significantly exceeded the morning values at 120 and 150 minutes after the glucose load. Growth hormone levels were similar in morning and afternoon tests. Fasting non-esterified fatty acid levels were significantly higher before the afternoon test. The relatively impaired glucose tolerance in the afternoon is associated with a delayed insulin response to the glucose load. This seems unlikely to be the sole explanation, however, and increased non-esterified fatty acid metabolism with a consequent decrease in glucose disposal may also contribute.


During antagonistic coevolution between viruses and their hosts, viruses have a major advantage by evolving more rapidly. Nevertheless, viruses and their hosts coexist and have coevolved, although the processes remain largely unknown. We previously identified Tm-1 that confers resistance to Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), and revealed that it encodes a protein that binds ToMV replication proteins and inhibits RNA replication. Tm-1 was introgressed from a wild tomato species Solanum habrochaites into the cultivated tomato species Solanum lycopersicum. In this study, we analyzed Tm-1 alleles in S. habrochaites. Although most part of this gene was under purifying selection, a cluster of nonsynonymous substitutions in a small region important for inhibitory activity was identified, suggesting that the region is under positive selection. We then examined the resistance of S. habrochaites plants to ToMV. Approximately 60% of 149 individuals from 24 accessions were resistant to ToMV, while the others accumulated detectable levels of coat protein after inoculation. Unexpectedly, many S. habrochaites plants were observed in which even multiplication of the Tm-1-resistance-breaking ToMV mutant LT1 was inhibited. An amino acid change in the positively selected region of the Tm-1 protein was responsible for the inhibition of LT1 multiplication. This amino acid change allowed Tm-1 to bind LT1 replication proteins without losing the ability to bind replication proteins of wild-type ToMV. The antiviral spectra and biochemical properties suggest that Tm-1 has evolved by changing the strengths of its inhibitory activity rather than diversifying the recognition spectra. In the LT1-resistant S. habrochaites plants inoculated with LT1, mutant viruses emerged whose multiplication was not inhibited by the Tm-1 allele that confers resistance to LT1. However, the resistance-breaking mutants were less competitive than the parental strains in the absence of Tm-1. Based on these results, we discuss possible coevolutionary processes of ToMV and Tm-1.


Following on from Rio de Janeiro 2016, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will present a unique challenge for athletes, needing to prepare and adapt to the potential challenging environmental conditions of 20-27°C and ~73% relative humidity. It is well known that during exercise in hot and/or humid climates, able-bodied athletes experience an increase in thermal strain and a reduction in performance compared to cooler/drier conditions. Yet these conditions prove even more problematic for athletes, who as a consequence of their impairment have a dysfunctional thermoregulatory system, such as athletes with a spinal cord injury (SCI). To date, the thermoregulatory responses of athletes with an SCI have been an under-studied area of research. To gain a greater understanding of how heat balance is altered in individuals with an SCI and the thermoregulatory consequences as a result, studies need to first be conducted at rest, removing the additional metabolic heat production from exercise.

Although a large majority of athletes with an SCI compete indoors in wheelchair court sports (e.g. wheelchair basketball and rugby), exercising even in these climate-controlled environments has been shown to place these athletes under considerable thermal strain. In light of this, it is remarkable that existing research on the thermoregulatory responses of athletes with an SCI during exercise is scarce, especially studies encompassing real-world sporting environments. Athletes with high level lesions (tetraplegia, TP) are a particularly under-studied population group shown to have a greater thermoregulatory impairment than individuals with low level lesions (paraplegia, PA) during continuous exercise. Thus the aim of this thesis was to investigate the thermoregulatory responses of athletes with an SCI at rest and during real-world sporting scenarios, with specific focus on athletes with TP.

Study 1 aimed to determine how evaporative heat loss is altered, as a result of an SCI, compared to the able-bodied (AB), and the effect lesion level has on this response. The results provide evidence that in individuals with TP, even at rest, evaporative heat loss is not large enough to balance the heat load, when evaporation is the primary source of heat dissipation. Even though in individuals with PA Tgi increased by a smaller magnitude and they possessed a greater sweating capacity than individuals with TP, at ambient temperatures above Tsk latent heat loss is insufficient to attain heat balance, compared to the AB.

To investigate the thermoregulatory responses of athletes with an SCI during real-world sporting scenarios Study 2 examined athletes with TP compared to athletes with PA during 60 min of intermittent sprint wheelchair exercise on a wheelchair ergometer. The study was conducted in conditions representative of an indoor playing environment for wheelchair rugby and basketball (~21°C, 40% relative humidity). Results demonstrated that, despite similar external work, athletes with TP were under greater thermal strain than athletes with PA.

Study 3 s novel approach investigated both physiological responses and activity profiles of wheelchair rugby players during competitive match play. Despite players with TP covering 17% less distance and pushing on average 10% slower, they were under a greater amount of thermal strain than players with non-spinal related physical impairments (NON-SCI). Furthermore, this study demonstrated that players with TP that had a larger body mass, larger lean mass, covered a greater relative distance and/or were a higher point player had a greater end Tgi. These data provide an insight for coaches and support staff regarding which players may need greater attention in regards to cooling strategies or breaks in play.

The effectiveness of cooling practices currently employed by athletes with TP has not been previously investigated. Study 4 determined the effectiveness of pre-cooling, using an ice vest alone and in combination with water sprays between quarters, at attenuating thermal strain in athletes with TP. Using the activity profile data from Study 3, an intermittent sprint protocol, conducted on a wheelchair ergometer, was used to represent a wheelchair rugby match. The combination of cooling methods lowered Tgi and Tsk to a greater extent than pre-cooling only, despite neither cooling condition having a positive or negative effect on performance. Unexpectedly, the pre-cooling only condition lowered Tgi, compared to no cooling, throughout the subsequent exercise protocol, even though the reduction in Tsk was not long lasting.

This thesis provides comprehensive evidence that athletes with TP experience heightened thermal strain during both rest and real-world sporting scenarios compared to the AB, athletes with PA, and within the sport of wheelchair rugby. Athletes with TP should employ practices, such as appropriate cooling methods or alter playing tactics to reduce thermal strain and the likelihood of attaining a heat related injury.


We present analytic evaluations of some integrals needed to give explicitly the integrated real-virtual counterterms, based on a recently proposed subtraction scheme for next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) jet cross sections. After an algebraic reduction of the integrals, integration-by-parts identities are used for the reduction to master integrals and for the computation of the master integrals themselves by means of differential equations. The results are written in terms of one- and two-dimensional harmonic polylogarithms, once an extension of the standard basis is made. We expect that the techniques described here will be useful in computing other integrals emerging in calculations in perturbative quantum field theories.


Introduction Brushing teeth is one of the effective ways to clean the teeth from leftover food and dirt.  Yet, children still have lack ability on brushing their teeth and maintaining oral hygiene. This is caused by the lack of knowledge in brushing their teeth and maintaining oral hygiene.  One of the ways to increase the ability to brush the teeth and maintain oral hygiene by giving health education using simulation method. Bass modification technique was proven to be effective to maintainance oral hygiene. Nevertheless, it was not yet conducted in research design using simulation to children. There for objective of this research was to explore the effect of health education regarding tooth brush simulation method using bass modification technique on school children. Method The research used a pre-experimental design.  The samples were 29 children and they were taken using a simple random technique.  The dependent variable was simulation method while the independent variables were tooth brushing and oral hygiene.  Data collection used checklist system and observation. Data analysis used wilcoxon signed rank test. Result The results showed that tooth brushing ability (ρ=0.000), debris index (ρ=0.000), and oral hygiene OHIS (ρ=0.002) had significant influence on simulation method.  Calculus index (ρ=0.458) showed that there was no significant influence on simulation method. Discussion The conclusion was that simulation method was effective to increase tooth brushing ability and oral hygiene maintenance on school children.  The next researcher is expected to apply true experimental design of health education to assess the ability to brush the teeth and to maintain oral hygiene.


The mineral exploration industry is used to very high sample densities (100s to 1000s of samples/km2) for geochemical exploration in order to define drill targets. Lately, geoscience organizations in many countries have been geochemically mapping increasingly larger areas at progressively lower sampling densities (1 site/100 to 1 site/18 000 km2). A single ore body is too small a target and cannot be expected to be discovered at such low sample densities; indeed numerous deposits could be hidden within a 100 × 100 km grid cell. However, mineral systems, which include all geological ingredients and processes necessary for the generation of mineral deposits, form much larger targets that could be identified even at such low sampling densities. Examples from some European low density geochemical surveys where patterns emerged that may have implications for mineral exploration are shown and discussed. It is concluded that low density geochemical mapping holds great promise in the early stages of mineral exploration programmes in guiding subsequent effort into the more fertile regions. Interpretation of these maps, however, may need a different approach than that used in classical, high density mapping exercises, where only 'high values' of certain metals are the traditional target.


The stochastic nature of emergency service requests and the unavailability of emergency vehicles (ambulances) when requested to serve demands are critical issues in constructing valid models representing real life emergency medical service (EMS) systems. Such stochastic emergency facility location models has received significant attention in the last decades. In this paper, the EMS system design problem involves decisions on where each emergency response facility (ambulance station) should be located and how many vehicles should be assigned to each facility. Unlike the existing models in the literature, we locate the facilities and decide on their capacities in such a way as to ensure a reliable level of coverage, which is quantified using risk measures on random total unmet demand. We specify reliability levels of service for each demand site and also for the entire service area. We develop two stochastic optimization models under demand uncertainty; the first one includes integrated chance constraints (ICCs), whereas the second one incorporates ICCs and a second
order dominance constraint. We propose solution methods for our stochastic optimization problems and present extensive numerical results demonstrating their computational eectiveness.


We have surveyed the tandemly repeated genes encoding U2 snRNA in a diverse panel of humans. We found only two polymorphisms within the U2 repeat unit: a SacI polymorphism (alleles SacI+ or SacI−) and a CT microsatellite polymorphism (alleles CT+ or CT−). Surprisingly, individual U2 tandem arrays are entirely SacI+ or SacI−, and entirely CT+ or CT−, although the SacI and CT alleles can occur in any combination. We also found that polymorphisms in the left and right junction regions flanking the tandem array fall into only two haplotypes (JL+ and JL−, JR+ and JR−). Most surprisingly, JL+ is always associated with JR+, and JL− with JR−. Thus individual U2 arrays do not exchange flanking markers, despite independent assortment and subsequent homogenization of the SacI and CT alleles within the U2 repeat units. We propose that the primary driving force for concerted evolution of the tandem U2 genes is intrachromosomal homogenization; interchromosomal genetic exchanges are much rarer, and reciprocal nonsister chromatid exchange apparently does not occur. Thus concerted evolution of the U2 tandem array occurs in situ along a chromosome lineage, and linkage disequilibrium between sequences flanking the U2 array may persist for long periods of time.


With this new edition of Property Law and Practice (formerly Conveyancing in Practice) the author continues his aim to produce a manual for the LPC Property Law and Practice core subject which is clear and up-to-date and which concentrates on the areas of work that students would do as they enter practice.

As with previous editions, the author has fully revised and updated the text and appendices to include recent changes in practice, such as Home Information Packs and the Solicitor's Code of Conduct 2007.

Property Law and Practice provides a clear and detailed explanation of the law and practice of conveyancing and also includes: full consideration of Professional Conduct points; two case studies; and extensive appendices containing conveyancing forms and documents.


Improving the artifacts a knowledge worker uses and how he or she exercises his or her knowledge is a desire that is part of being professional, especially since we are supposed to live in a knowledge society. In the knowledge society there is a continuous structuring and restructuring, construction and re-construction and learning and re-learning going on due to implementing new information and communication technology. But many of these so called IT-projects fail in spite of management spending huge amounts of money on them. This paper focuses on and wants to create an awareness of how an artifact such as a new knowledge management system becomes a driving force behind expanding the knowledge of an anesthesist and has implications for continuous learning among a group of employees at the anesthesia and intensive care clinic. In addition to this, implementing new technology is an underestimated opportunity for learning. This paper suggests that a significant educational effort is taking place in society channelled through many these IT-projects, even when they fail.


The decision-making process in current sentencing practice is incoherent due to the arbitrary way in which different purposes of sentencing are selected. I focus on England and Wales, where judges choose between five purposes of sentencing, based on conflicting philosophies of punishment. Judges can choose to be more retributive or utilitarian, with no particular process in place for how this decision should be made. The choice affects the resulting sentence, particularly where it is a borderline case for a custodial or non-custodial sentence. This arbitrariness is problematic, as sentencing is one of the most intrusive powers of the state; such decisions should be made in a clear and coherent way. I propose a process-based model of restorative justice as a way of improving coherence in sentencing. The process of stakeholders coming together to decide what should happen following an offence can reconnect the philosophies of punishment to particular and relevant individuals. This is more coherent, as there is a clear reason why these people are making the decision about which purpose of sentencing to prefer: they are most closely connected to, and most affected by, the offence. This decision is also based on better knowledge about what happened and using a better process for developing moral ideas about what should happen, through mediated discussion. The outcome, or sentence reached, will be the optimal expression of the preferred purpose of sentencing held by the stakeholders.


This article presents the outcomes of research, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in England and informed by work in the fields of new literacy research, gaming studies and the socio-cultural framing of education, for which the videogame L.A. Noire (Rockstar Games, 2011) was studied within the orthodox framing of the English Literature curriculum at A Level (pre-University) and Undergraduate (degree level). There is a plethora of published research into the kinds of literacy practices evident in videogame play, virtual world engagement and related forms of digital reading and writing (Gee, 2003; Juul, 2005; Merchant, Gillen, Marsh and Davies, 2012; Apperley and Walsh, 2012; Bazalgette and Buckingham, 2012) as well as the implications of such for home / school learning (Dowdall, 2006; Jenkins, 2006; Potter, 2012) and for teachers' own digital lives (Graham, 2012). Such studies have tended to focus on younger children and this research is also distinct from such work in the field in its exploration of the potential for certain kinds of videogame to be understood as 'digital transformations' of conventional 'schooled' literature. The outcomes of this project raise implications of such a conception for a further implementation of a 'reframed' literacy (Marsh, 2007) within the contemporary curriculum of a traditional and conservative 'subject'. A mixed methods approach was adopted. Firstly, students contributing to a gamplay blog requiring them to discuss their in-game experience through the 'language game' of English Literature, culminating in answering a question constructed with the idioms of the subject's set text 'final examination'. Secondly, students taught their teachers to play L.A. Noire, with free choice over the context for this collaboration. Thirdly, participants returned to traditional roles in order to work through a set of study materials provided, designed to reproduce the conventions of the 'study guide' for literature education. Interviews were conducted after each phase and the outcomes informed a redrafting of the study materials which are now available online for teachers – this being the 'practical' outcome of the research (Berger and McDougall, 2012). In the act of inserting the study of L.A. Noire into the English Literature curriculum as currently framed, this research moves, through a practical 'implementation' beyond longstanding debates around narratology and ludology (Frasca, 2003; Juul, 2005) in the field of game studies (Leaning, 2012) through a direct connection to new literacy studies and raises epistemological questions about 'subject identity', informed by Bernstein (1996) and Bourdieu (1986) and the implications for digital transformations of texts for both ideas about cultural value in schooled literacy (Kendall and McDougall, 2011) and the politics of 'expertise' in pedagogic relations (Ranciere, 2009, Bennett, Kendall and McDougall, 2012a).