Robots that are able to provide services to human users in personal context are known as personal service robots. They are attracting more and more attention, as enriching and easing people's lives are their general missions. Acquisition of spatial representations is crucial for such a robot to move around in a human-shared environment, provide services and interact with the user about the environment. With methods developed in the field of
autonomous exploration it is possible for a mobile robot to build a metric representation from sensor data, while exploring an initially unknown environment. However, due to the limited perceptual abilities of the robot and dynamic changes in the environment over time, challenges still pose for robots. Besides, in order to facilitate the communication about the environment, a mapping between the spatial understanding of the user and the robot has
to be built in a service context.
To acquire a spatial representation, exploration strategies are necessary for the robot to move around in the environment and gain information from the surroundings. The term Human-Robot Joint Spatial Exploration is used for a framework that allows the human user to influence the robot's exploration of the environment and the environment representation built by the robot. By interactively gathering information, individual spatial knowledge from the user's point of view is expected to be integrated into the built environment representation. Therefore, how to make the robot interactively learn from the human user and build a spatial representation incorporating the gathered information is the central problem of this thesis. A Home-Tour is assumed as the initial scenario for information gathering. In the interactive guided tour the user presents the environment to the robot, while the robot
learns various models of the environment with the help of the user. A link between the spatial representation built by the robot and human understanding of the environment is
able to be created. The major contribution of this thesis is a framework that enables a mobile robot to inter-
actively acquire an environment representation. We first present the interactive Home-Tour scenario assumed as the starting point of the integrated solution to the central problem.
Benefits and challenges of this solution are discussed as well. Then, a hybrid person-following behavior that facilitates the joint exploration of the environment for the robot and the guide-person is described. The robot is able to choose an appropriate behavior according to strategies designed on the basis of spatial context and relative person's positions with respect to the robot. Afterwards, a metric map of the surroundings can be built by the robot during the joint exploration. Because of the guide-person perceived by the robot in the Home-Tour, the violation of the static world assumption used in the mapping process has to be pointed out. Consequently, we provide a technique to reduce the negative impact on the mapping process, resulting from the guide-person. Finally, a topological graph built upon the metric representation is discussed. Human navigation strategies and spatial
concepts achieved by the robot in the interactive learning process are incorporated in the graph-based environment representation.
Based on the idea of interactive information gathering, an integrated system is implemented. Experimental results achieved from individual modules validate their effective-
ness respectively. By means of a user study, the robustness and practicality of the system consisting of these modules are verified as a whole in real world scenarios.


This study applies institutional analysis to explore the connections between ethnicity and political choice during elections. Inquiries into the electoral politics of Fanteakwa, a multiethnic administrative district and electoral constituency in Ghana, demand that interactions between three institutions of local power be evaluated to explain when ethnicity is a significant factor in political choice. This is largely because although people determine their political allegiance on the basis of political familiarity, they also do so on the basis of economic well-being. The institutional relationships and the characteristics of the local political party, local government administration and chieftaincy define how resources are distributed, who benefits and who does not. And this in turn, drives voters, sometimes drawing on and transforming cleavages defined by ethnicity. This case study also suggests that 'locality', a subcategory of ethnicity, is a more salient factor than ethnicity in determining how individuals think about their political options in a multiethnic setting.


cooler with solar panel for residential Cooling is very important during the summer as well as in the life to maintain the food, fish, and many items at constant temperature to avoid the bad effect of viruses'. But air cooling is very important part during the summer for a man. Cooling process employs the different method to cool the air. Today air cooling methods are very expensive for AC coolers, air conditioning, fans and dehumidifiers. To running these products required Ac supply/electrical. The generation of electrical power ultimately responsible for hot and humid environments which causes global warming. Air conditionings, refrigeration, air cooling system are rapidly increased due to hot and humid conditions that provide us a relaxed and comfortable life. But these products and source are not available every time in the home and villages. DC bettery and solar power systems are more suitable for the purpose. Solar and Dc system being considered as one of the path towards more sustainable energy system. Blower motors are used in this cooler for fan and water pump which gives us cooled air. This projects and research of DC and industrial application.


The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has launched an ambitious project to develop a digital currency for use in domestic, retail transactions, and is, by far, the most advanced globally in this regard. In addition to involving a diverse set of stakeholders, the PBOC established a set of fundamental principles, including privacy, inclusiveness, and conservatism, and has articulated its progress in a public document translated into English. We maintain that although both its first principles and its conclusions drawn from the research conducted by the PBOC from 2014 to date are broadly reasonable and appropriate, the PBOC has also missed some important considerations and entertained some questionable assumptions, which many central banks around the world have also done. In this analysis, we consider the strengths and weaknesses of the digital currency proposition articulated by the PBOC as it exists today, and we propose one fundamental and specific change for the PBOC and other central banks around the world: The architecture must accommodate privacy-preserving, non-custodial wallets. With this change and a related set of minor adjustments, China has an opportunity to lead the world in the implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution that protects the authority of the central bank to implement monetary policy, preserves the role of public-sector and private-sector banking institutions, promotes the efficiency of retail transactions and businesses, satisfies regulatory objectives, and safeguards the human rights of retail consumers, including their privacy and their right to participate in the economy. We hope that the PBOC, and other central banks around the world, will have the resolve and strength of purpose to implement our proposed change and carry on with implementing a CBDC architecture that serves the interests of its users.


In eastern Ladakh, northwest Himalaya, serpentinite layers occur in close association with eclogites. The occurrence of metamorphic olivine and talc in serpentinites suggests that the serpentinization and eclogitization took place under similar conditions (600 °C, 20 kbar). The serpentinites and eclogites show similar deformation, including the direction of normal shearing. The highly refractory nature of the serpentinite protolith, as shown by the composition of bulk rocks and chromite and the concentrations of Re and platinum group elements, indicates their derivation from mantle wedge. We propose that the serpentinites formed by hydration of the mantle wedge as a result of dewatering of the subducted slab. The serpentinites then facilitated exhumation of the subducted rocks by acting as a lubricant. At shallow depths, sediments are generally considered to be the lubricant for the exhumation, but serpentinites may commonly take over this role at greater depths. Under sediment-poor conditions, serpentinites may contribute to the exhumation even at shallower depths. This may explain the close spatial association of serpentinites and partially hydrated peridotites with many well-known high-pressure to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belts worldwide.


The following excerpts are from the deliberations of a meeting of the IPS Research Committee held in London on 17-18 March 2000 to discuss the situation in the areas under the Palestinian Authority. The excerpts include a major statement by Azmi Shu9aybi, member of the Legislative Council and, until his resignation in late 1999 under pressure from Yasir Arafat, chairman of the council9s budget committee, and a long comment by Khalil Shikaki, executive director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in Ramallah. The material, which was translated by Jenab Tutunji, sheds light on the obstacles facing institution building in the Palestinian entity.


Together, the first two editions of Buzzed have sold over 120,000 copies'and now the authors have revised and updated the book to include the most recent discoveries about drugs, including new information on the energy drinks craze, prescription drugs such as OxyContin and Ambien, and the date-rape drug GHB. Scientifically accurate and easy to read, this no-nonsense handbook gives the most balanced, objective information available on the most often used and abused drugs, from alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine to heroin, Ecstasy, and methamphetamine. In both quick-reference summaries and in-depth analysis, it reports on how these drugs enter the body, how they manipulate the brain, their short-term and long-term effects, the kinds of 'high' they produce, and the circumstances in which they can be deadly. Neither a 'Just Say No' treatise nor a 'How to' manual, Buzzed is based on the conviction that people make better decisions with accurate information at hand.


Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis, affecting farm animals, wildlife as well as humans particularly in tropical areas. It is a re-emerging infectious disease caused by pathogenic leptospires. Diagnosis of leptospirosis usually depends upon demonstration of serum antibodies by serological tests. These tests are relatively not specific, sensitive and often time-consuming. Early, quick and precise diagnosis is essential so that early and specific treatment of patients can be provided and also allows for suitable control of infection to be implemented. The primary objective of this study to use a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay as a major technique to detect and differentiate pathogenic leptospires. In addition, another aim of this study was to develop a diagnostic kit based on PCR assay coupled with DNA hybridization assay. The assay used a nonradioactive leptospiral DNA probe hybridized to target leptospiral DNA in a microtitre plate for the detection of leptospiral DNA in clinical specimens. Twenty-one reference leptospiral serovars representing four species of Leptospira (L. interrogans, L. weilii, L. inadai and L. borgpetersenii) and clinical samples were examined. Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and Low-Stringency-PCR (LS-PCR) were applied to detect and differentiate the leptospires. The results from PCR-RFLP showed that restriction enzymes: DdeI, NdeII, and MspI could digest the amplified leptospiral DNA with genus specific primers G1/G2 and allowed differentiation of the leptospiral serovars and serogroups into their species level. It is seen that LS-PCR could produce serovar specific DNA fingerprintings. Nonradioactive digoxigenin (DIG)-labelled leptospiral DNA probes and dot blot hybridization (DBH) assay were successfully developed for the detection of leptospiral DNA in cultures and clinical samples. Results showed that these probes had a high sensitivity and specificity. The lowest limit of the DNA concentration in PCR-DBH assay was 10-6 μg. A new and rapid diagnostic kit was thus designed. This PCR-MHA detection method has advantages over the conventional PCR assay and DBH assay when handling a large number of samples. The procedure has fewer steps and it is fast, safe and easy to handle. Results showed it has high specificity, sensitivity and reproducibility. Furthermore, the assay could be used to detect leptospiral DNA using reagents and standard laboratory ELISA equipment. Moreover, the entire method could be completed within a day. The technique could be directly applied to clinical samples such as urine and serum for rapid diagnosis of leptospirosis. The technique used in this study will be useful for detection and identification of leptospirosis in patients. Moreover, it could also be used on farm animals for screening and detection of uninfected animals.


The purpose of this paper is to bring into focus philosophical and logical concerns relating to specific rules that govern the role of the libero in volleyball. The authors contest that the introduction of the position of the libero in volleyball may have actually undermined the continuing logic of the rules of the game. In addressing these questions the authors offer theoretically based rule-change proposals for the sport of volleyball that could be used to inform future training methods or development programmes at both the participatory and elite levels. Discussion may also inform the development of new tools of analysis (e.g. computer software) or the creation of a new breadth of match simulation resources to enhance athlete performance. These tools and devices could then be presented to volleyball coaches in an effort to resolve the issues that have come to light and further inform the philosophical and logical debates about the role of the libero in volleyball.


Drosophila provides a simple system for studying cell-cycle regulation, because a single gene encodes many of the cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (cdk). Meyer et al. and Datar et al. take advantage of this genetically tractable system to show that the CyclinD-Cdk4 complex primarily regulates cell growth and not progression into S phase of the cell cycle. Meyer et al. show that flies deficient in Cdk4 survive to adulthood but have impaired fertility. Additionally, Meyer et al. show that cdk4-/- homozygous flies are substantially smaller than heterozygotes. Datar et al. show that overexpression of both Cyclin D and Cdk4 results in hyperplasia in all tissues in which the genes were overexpressed (wing, eye, and salivary gland). Both groups show that there is a genetic interaction between the CycD and Cdk4 genes and the Drosophila retinoblastoma (Rb) gene RBF. However, both groups provide evidence that Rb is not the primary target of CyclinD-Cdk4. Meyer et al. show that mouse RB does not appear to be a substrate for CyclinD-Cdk4, but rather is phosphorylated by Drosophila CyclinE. Whereas overexpression of CyclinD and Cdk4 did counteract the effects of RBF overexpression on cell size, the CyclinD-Cdk4 overexpression was able to affect postmitotic cell size as well; RBF overexpression did not. These findings support the hypothesis that Drosophila CyclinD-Cdk4 acts through substrates other than Rb. Meyer, C.A., Jacobs, H.W., Satar, S.A., Du, W., Edgar, B.A., and Lehner, C.F. (2000) Drosophila Cdk4 is required for normal growth and is dispensable for cell cycle progression. EMBO J. 19: 4533-4542. [Abstract] [Full Text] Datar, S.A., Jacobs, H.W., de la Cruz, AF.A., Lehner, C.F., and Edgar, B.A. (2000 The Drosophila Cyclin D-Cdk4 complex promotes cellular growth. EMBO J. 19: 4543-4554. [Abstract] [Full Text]


Canada's system of industrial legality  has routinely limited the collective abilities of workers to strike. Under the conditions of neoliberal globalization, those limitations have intensified. Yet, in 1997, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (rwdsu ) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, waged a successful strike against Pepsi-Cola Canada. In addition to defeating the company, the union also expanded workers' collective rights through a successful constitutional challenge to restrictive common-law rules limiting secondary picketing. This paper examines the history of that strike, exploring the multifaceted strategies that the workers undertook to challenge the company, the state, and the existing law. It argues that workers were successful because they utilized tactics of civil disobedience to defend their abilities to picket. Recognizing that success, the paper is also critical of the Supreme Court of Canada's decision and its evolution of common-law torts to limit workers' collective action. The paper concludes by arguing that the Pepsi conflict highlights the importance of civil disobedience in building workers' movements while emphasizing the inherent limitations of constitutional challenges to further workers' collective freedoms in Canada.


Due to the huge development of technologies in past 20 years, smartphone has been through a huge evolution to be a powerful device with multi-advanced functionality. In this study, we proposed to, by utilizing the ability of CMOS camera on smartphone to capture high-quality pictures with low-light environment as the detector of fluorescence signals, to design and test a smartphone-based fluorescence detection system. Unlike the traditional fluorescence detection methods, a smartphone-based system can provide convenient, low cost and portable detection of fluorescent samples. To assist smartphone to capture clear pictures of fluorescence signal with low background noise, a portable reader that attached on the back of smartphone was designed in this study, which is a cuboid device that provides illuminance signal by using LED for exciting fluorescent samples. It also includes a plano-convex lens and a low-pass filter for the image magnification and reduce noise from surrounding light sources and light source from LED. To further improve the detection results, Noise Reduction Ensemble Averaging (NREA) algorithm was coded in Matlab to significantly enhance the fluorescence signal and reduce noise on the image results. In this study, to verify the proposed functionality of the smartphone detection system, the first experiment was conducted by using 3 different smartphone models (Galaxy S9, Pixel 3 and Oneplus One) to measure the fluorescent signal of a Nanoparticle FITC calibration slide and compare the results with the official referential results. The results from 3 smartphone models showed clear linearity that matches the referential result. To further explore the performance and detection limit of the system on fluorescent samples with lower concentrations, another 2 experiments were conducted by using FITC and Atto-550 samples as the testing objects. For FITC experiment, a 3 steps interrogation method that lowers the range of concentrations of FITC samples for 3 iterations to discover the detection limit of the system on FITC samples by using 3 different phones with different shutter times, and the detection limit is found to be 60 ppb by using Galaxy S9. For the experiment with Atto-550, hydrated and dehydrated Atto-550 samples were measured by using Galaxy S9. The results show the fluorescence signal of hydrated sample is almost unnoticeable even the concentration is 5000ppb. For the dehydrated Atto-550 samples, after 2 steps interrogation, it shows the detection limit is 7 ppb.


We examine the existence of stock market contagion effects among three groups of countries: the Euro-periphery countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain), the Euro-core countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium), and the major European Union - but not euro-countries (Sweden, UK, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark). Using daily stock market data from January 2004 till March 2013, contagion effects for the tails of the marginal distributions are present for the Pre-crisis and the Euro-crisis periods within the Euro-periphery countries and from the Euro-periphery group to the Non-Euro and the Euro-core groups. We do not find a significant change in the contagion transmission mechanism when comparing the two periods, but for the Euro-crisis periods the extreme returns have a higher magnitude. Finally, we propose a connection between extreme stock market returns, the Web Attention index and two News Flow factors. The Euro-periphery Web Attention and News Flow variables significantly affect the probabilities of extreme bottom returns for the Euro-periphery, the Non-euro and the Euro-core groups. The effect is asymmetric in most of the cases since the Euro-periphery Web Attention and News Flow factors do not affect the probabilities of extreme top returns, with a few exceptions. More Web Attention and more bad news for the Euro-periphery in times of crisis are associated with higher probabilities of extreme bottom returns within and across groups. Granger-causality tests show that the News Pessimism and the News Relevance factors exhibit a two-way causality with the stock market movements while the Web Search Volume Index (SVI) one-way Granger-causes stock markets and extreme bottom returns in the three country groups.


Abstract Two different approaches used to express the tortuosity of water pathways in a solid clay body are known: (1) a static approach based on microscopic measurement in thin sections; and (2) a dynamic approach based on 'imbibition' speed. Each is expressed by a corresponding equation. The second method has the following advantages over the first: (a) it enables the testing of a much larger volume than that observed in a common thin section; (b) it measures the effects of all particles, including the finest fragments barely visible under optical microscope which also have influence on hydraulic conductivity or the imbibition speed of water; (c) in the case of expansible clays, the magnitude of k (tortuosity of pathways including the shape of particles) can be compared with k for non-expansible clays using a non-polar liquid, e.g. tetraline; (d) the measurement of the imbibition speed into the clay aggregate through a constant area is automated. Specific properties and processes important for sealing clays are discussed in the connection with the dynamic approach.


Creative cities are seen as important sites for the generation of new ideas, products and processes. Yet, beyond case studies of a few high-profile cities, there is little empirical evidence on the link between local creative industries concentration and innovation. This paper addresses this gap with an analysis of around 1,300 UK SMEs. The results suggest that firms in local economies with high shares of creative industries employment are significantly more likely to introduce entirely new products and processes than firms elsewhere, but not innovations which are simply new to the firm. This effect is not exclusive to creative industries firms and seems to be largely due to firms in medium sized, rather than large, cities. The results imply that creative cities may have functional specialisations in new content creation and so firms are more innovative in them.


Deep neural networks often work well when they are over-parameterized and trained with a massive amount of noise and regularization, such as weight decay and dropout. Although dropout is widely used as a regularization technique for fully connected layers, it is often less effective for convolutional layers. This lack of success of dropout for convolutional layers is perhaps due to the fact that activation units in convolutional layers are spatially correlated so information can still flow through convolutional networks despite dropout. Thus a structured form of dropout is needed to regularize convolutional networks. In this paper, we introduce DropBlock, a form of structured dropout, where units in a contiguous region of a feature map are dropped together. We found that applying DropbBlock in skip connections in addition to the convolution layers increases the accuracy. Also, gradually increasing number of dropped units during training leads to better accuracy and more robust to hyperparameter choices. Extensive experiments show that DropBlock works better than dropout in regularizing convolutional networks. On ImageNet classification, ResNet-50 architecture with DropBlock achieves $78.13\%$ accuracy, which is more than $1.6\%$ improvement on the baseline. On COCO detection, DropBlock improves Average Precision of RetinaNet from $36.8\%$ to $38.4\%$.


This study uses molecular genetic markers to investigate the genetic consequences of the founding and other historic events on the Aleut gene pool. Maternal markers (mtDNA RFLPs and sequencing), paternal markers (Y chromosome SNPs and STRs), and biparentally-inherited markers (autosomal STRs, and classic genetic markers from the literature) are characterized to address the questions: 1) is there reduced genetic diversity in recently founded Aleut communities compared to the parental Aleutian Aleut population? 2) How reproductively isolated are these communities? 3) Is there symmetry in maternal versus paternal gene flow? 4) What is the genetic effect of the interaction genetic drift and gene flow? 5) Which of the three aggregates differentiates most from the parental population? Maternal markers for all Aleut populations belong to Native American mtDNA haplogroups A and D, indicating there was no non-Native female gene flow into the population, for individuals claiming Aleut maternal ancestry. In contrast, the majority of paternal markers (73% to 90%) are of non-Aleut origin, due to gene flow from Russians and other non-Aleut males. The Bering community exhibits considerably reduced mtDNA diversity, demonstrated by the fixation of haplogroup D, and gene diversity=0.29, compared to other Aleuts (St. George=0.56, St. Paul=0.72, and Aleutian Aleuts=0.77). This is likely the result of Bering experiencing a founder effect, followed by its closure from other Aleut populations after the U.S. purchase of Alaska in 1867. Meanwhile, the Pribilof communities remained in contact with the Aleutian inhabitants. The low gene diversity, however, is not demonstrated by the paternal markers for the communities (Bering=1.0, St. Paul=0.9591, St. George=0.9167, and Aleutian Aleuts=0.9565), or the autosomal markers (Bering Aleuts= 0.776, and Bering mixed Aleuts=0.882). The results indicate genetic drift may be acting on the maternal lineages, while the opposing evolutionary force of gene flow is affecting the paternal markers. Autosomal markers are intermediate, falling within the rage of other Native American and Siberian populations. This study demonstrates that due to unique historic events, the Bering community has differentiated the most from the parental Aleut population, but that St. Paul and St. George have also experienced evolutionary genetic change due to their founding.


In this honors thesis, I seek to build a definition of the sharing economy, a term still loaded with ambiguity in today's economic discourse, and so a valuable place to synthesize the vast amounts of research in related fields. By defining the sharing economy as "an economic system that is material in nature and built on networked peerto-peer interactions that leverage weak-tie relationships to facilitate collaborative consumption, where individuals are both producers and consumers of information and attention as well as goods and services, and human action is facilitated by community formation through the sharing of information in order to reach specialized audiences or markets, and where these community economic interactions are characterized by combining intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for users," I am able to explore the ways in which sharing economies inadvertently encourage a more nuanced economic perspective, and at times serve as a complement to or challenge of traditional capitalism. To work through this definition, my analysis begins by addressing the scholarly conversation up to the present, outlining the theoretical framework that serves as a foundation for academic inquiry into these economies, and ending with a case study testing Airbnb to this definition of the online sharing economy. Individuals within the online home rental platform Airbnb act as attention economists where they skillfully filter information and create multimodal appeals to best direct attention towards their own listings. Airbnb serves as an excellent example of the strength of weak ties and the ability of sharing economies to encourage human coordination and allow individuals to leverage their own social networks for intrinsic and extrinsic gain, demonstrating a larger societal shift towards methods of collaborative consumption and peer production.


The Italian Demonstration of FP7 European project GRID4EU (www.grid4eu.eu), developed by Enel Distribuzione in partnership with Cisco, RSE, Selta and Siemens, is addressing the realization of an advanced control system to increase the Medium Voltage (MV) network hosting capacity of Distributed Generation (DG), thus maximising Renewable Energy Sources (RES) integration [1]. The core of the control system is a Voltage Regulation (VR) algorithm whose main features will be presented in the paper, along with VR off-line tests results. Furthermore, the paper will present the overall system integration tests that are being carried out, starting from the description of the laboratory set up and going through the first outcomes. The laboratory set up used for the overall system integration tests allows "Hardware in the loop" testing, thanks to real time digital simulation of the real power system.


Waste management and energy systems are often interlinked, either directly by waste-to-energy technologies, or indirectly as processes for recovery of resources—such as materials, oils, manure, or sludge—use energy in their processes or substitute conventional production of the commodities for which the recycling processes provide raw materials. A special issue in Energies on the topic of "Energy and Waste Management" attained a lot of attention from the scientific community. In particular, papers contributing to improved understanding of the combined management of waste and energy were invited. In all, 9 papers were published out of 24 unique submissions. The papers cover technical topics such as leaching of heavy metals, pyrolysis, and production of synthetic natural gas in addition to different systems assessments of horse manure, incineration, and complex future scenarios at a national level. All papers except one focused on energy recovery from waste. That particular paper focused on waste management of infrastructure in an energy system (wind turbines). Published papers illustrate research in the field of energy and waste management on both a current detailed process level as well as on a future system level. Knowledge gained on both types is necessary to be able to make progress towards a circular economy.


Introduction The Olympic Games are among the largest-in-scale global media events, and have become a great social laboratory for the employment of cutting-edge communication technologies and design strategies by leading industries of the host cities as well as the main transnational global corporate bodies. Organizing an Olympic Games involves multifaceted design and media endeavors of extravagant magnitude and expenditure, aiming to re-establish the power of the Olympic institution and its inherent principles (such as humanism and internationalism) and to express and reconfigure the culture of the host city/nation in physical and conceptual terms. The Beijing Olympics are seen as an opportunity to upgrade China's global standing, and has led the city to expedite urban transformation by undertaking high-risk market-driven urban strategies, which produce a rupture with the physical and psychogeographical domain of everyday life. These spatial operations are paralleled by the frequent use of ancient Chinese iconography in the graphic design applications (emblem, torch, posters), rearticulated through the principles of contemporary design. These references to history become an ideal vehicle for expressing both contemporary Chinese nationalism and the state-corporate culture. This referential framework also fully responds to the demands of the global audience as it strives to consume the 'other' through registers of difference that often fall to stereotypical iconographies. Concurrently, the Olympic Games have become a distinctive form of the mediated public sphere for the global and national audiences. Global and local media have played a major role in articulating the collective experiences and disseminating the ideas of 'new Beijing and China' with the help of advanced communication technologies, such as mobile networks, the Internet, and the blogosphere. In our view, a combined media and design perspective is particularly relevant for investigating the overall material and immaterial environment surrounding the contemporary Olympics, an environment in which the integrated strategies of media technology and design practice are extensively utilized through global mega events and have tremendous impact on the formation of the social identities of national and global audiences. Our research is primarily concerned with a critical analysis of the key public spaces of the Beijing Olympics from the media/design perspective, focusing particularly on the complex interplay between physical and mediated spaces. For this purpose we are investigating the National stadium with particular reference to the intertwining notions of a mediated physical space/aestheticized media space. In this paper, we seek in particular to focus our attention on the theoretical and methodological aspects of our research, in order to approach Beijing's Olympic Stadium as a media space, that is to say as both a physical and a mediated space articulated through multiple and complex enterprises that unfold in a variety of spaces beyond its specific location in Beijing. Olympic Media Space through a Media Studies Perspective Media studies and the Olympics In the fields of media and communication studies, much Olympic research has been carried out so far, including political economics of the Olympic media industry; content analysis of Olympic symbols and images; audience and reception research on the effects of the Olympics on the formation of national identity; cultural analysis of the ideological and hegemonic aspects of the sporting events and so on. Since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the twofold--yet mutually interwoven--developments of the Olympics are noteworthy. At the geopolitical level, the Olympics have entered into a new stage of global society in a post-cold war era, having transformed the roles and maps of modern nation-state systems. At the level of technological development, the media-scape of the Olympics has gradually shifted from the age of network television via the period of 24-hour cable television to the era of the Internet-mediated mobile communication. …


In this paper, the potential, limitations and applicability of the High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography technique are evaluated as a luminance mapping tool. Multiple exposure photographs of static scenes were taken with a commercially available digital camera to capture the wide luminance variation within the scenes. The camera response function was computationally derived by using Photosphere software, and was used to fuse the multiple photographs into an HDR image. The vignetting effects and point spread function of the camera and lens system were determined. Laboratory and field studies showed that the pixel values in the HDR photographs correspond to the physical quantity of luminance with reasonable precision and repeatability.


There are substantial benefits to potential fitness conferred to animals that undertake migrations. However, animals must make compromises to maximize survival and compensate for the risks associated with long-distance movement. European eel (Anguilla anguilla), a migratory catadromous fish, has undergone population declines owing to changes in marine and freshwater habitat and interactions with human infrastructure, instigating research to investigate the mechanisms controlling their migration. Yellow-phase European eels from the local River Opo and silver-phase European eels transplanted from River Imsa, Norway, were implanted with acoustic transmitters and released within a network of receiver stations in the Hardangerfjord, Norway. Silver-phase eels exhibited more movement within the array than yellow-phase eels, signifying the onset of migration. Silver-phase eels moved through the fjord nocturnally, arriving at gates predominantly at night. Eels had slower rates of migration than expected based on models predicting continuous movement, suggesting that movement ceased during daylight hours. Reduced net rates of travel supported the hypothesis that eels compromise speed for safety during the early marine migration by avoiding predators and not actively migrating during daylight. The silver eels were capable of directed movement towards the ocean and were not recorded by receivers in bays or dead ends. European eels must successfully transit this coastal zone, where their residence is prolonged because of the relatively slow speeds. These results suggest that the early marine phase of the European eel spawning migration be a focal period for European eel conservation efforts.


Traditionally, performance characteristics of machines have been done by comparisons of the run time behavior of well-known applications. An alternative approach taken here consists in creating artificial kernel applications whose only task it is to determine one particular machine parameter in isolation. Findings based on this method, at first glance, may not appear as practical as those based on the former one, but are actually more fundamental and, therefore, more predictive. In this paper, memory delay times were investigated to determine the performance degradations caused by access to far-off memory sections. The elementary model chosen here assumes that the entire memory is divided into sections with different access levels depending on the respective processor's location. The properties of the different levels can be described sufficiently by two parameters, i.e. first, the size of the corresponding memory section, and second, the time that elapses before data is loaded from that section. This model makes it possible to deal with expected values for access times in dependence of the size of the accessed area. A special program associated with this problem determines a finite set of expected values, integrating hardware-produced probability density functions via Monte-Carlo integration. This set of values can also be derived theoretically from the same abscissae using hardware topology information, but allowing for free level-specific delay times. To obtain the free parameters, the theoretically gained set is best fitted to the experimental one. Theory and measurement supply impressive results. Agreement and reproducibility are excellent, at least for the Origin2000.


Between the mid-sixteenth and early nineteenth century, the Mughal Empire was an Indo-Islamic dynasty that ruled as far as Bengal in the east and Kabul in the west, as high as Kashmir in the north and the Kaveri basin in the south. The Mughals constructed a sophisticated, complex system of government that facilitated an era of profound artistic and architectural achievement. They promoted the place of Persian culture in Indian society and set the groundwork for South Asia's future development. In this volume, two leading historians of early modern South Asia present nine major joint essays on the Mughal Empire, framed by an essential introductory reflection. Making creative use of materials written in Persian, Indian vernacular languages, and a variety of European languages, their chapters accomplish the most significant innovations in Mughal historiography in decades, intertwining political, cultural, and commercial themes while exploring diplomacy, state-formation, history-writing, religious debate, and political thought. Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam center on confrontations between different source materials that they then reconcile, enabling readers to participate in both the debate and resolution of competing claims. Their introduction discusses the comparative and historiographical approach of their work and its place within the literature on Mughal rule. Interdisciplinary and cutting-edge, this volume richly expands research on the Mughal state, early modern South Asia, and the comparative history of the Mughal, Ottoman, Safavid, and other early modern empires.


In many dairy industries, but particularly those that are pasture-based and have seasonal calving, "surplus calves," which are mostly male, are killed at a young age because they are of low value and it is not economically viable to raise them. Such calves are either killed on farm soon after birth or sent for slaughter at an abattoir. In countries where calves are sent for slaughter the age ranges from 3-4 days (New Zealand and Australia; "bobby calves") to 3-4 weeks (e.g., Ireland); they are not weaned. All calves are at the greatest risk of death in the 1st month of life but when combined with their low value, this makes surplus calves destined for early slaughter (i.e., <1 month of age) particularly vulnerable to poor welfare while on-farm. The welfare of these calves may also be compromised during transport and transit through markets and at the abattoir. There is growing recognition that feedback to farmers of results from animal-based indicators (ABI) of welfare (including health) collected prior to and after slaughter can protect animal welfare. Hence, the risk factors for poor on-farm, in-transit and at-abattoir calf welfare combined with an ante and post mortem (AM/PM) welfare assessment scheme specific to calves <1 month of age are outlined. This scheme would also provide an evidence base with which to identify farms on which such animals are more at risk of poor welfare. The following ABIs, at individual or batch level, are proposed: AM indicators include assessment of age (umbilical maturity), nutritional status (body condition, dehydration), behavioral status (general demeanor, posture, able to and stability while standing and moving, shivering, vocalizations, oral behaviors/cross-sucking, fearfulness, playing), and evidence of disease processes (locomotory ability [lameness], cleanliness/fecal soiling [scour], injuries hairless patches, swellings, wounds], dyspnoea/coughing, nasal/ocular discharge, navel swelling/discharge); PM measures include assessment of feeding adequacy (abomasal contents, milk in rumen, visceral fat reserves) and evidence of disease processes (omphalitis, GIT disorders, peritonitis, abscesses [internal and external], arthritis, septicaemia, and pneumonia). Based on similar models in other species, this information can be used in a positive feedback loop not only to protect and improve calf welfare but also to inform on-farm calf welfare management plans, support industry claims regarding animal welfare and benchmark welfare performance nationally and internationally.


Eminent domain for economic development is both attractive and appalling. States need the power to condemn because so much land in America is inefficiently fragmented. But public land assembly provokes hostility because vulnerable communities get bulldozed. Courts offer no help. The academic literature is a muddle. Is it possible to assemble land without harming the poor and powerless? Yes. This Article proposes the creation of Land Assembly Districts, or "LADs." This new property form solves the age-old tensions in eminent domain and shows, more generally, how careful redesign of property rights can enhance both welfare and fairness. The economic and moral intuition underlying LADs is simple: when the only justification for assembly is over-fragmentation of land, neighbors should be able to decide collectively whether their land will be assembled. Our legal theory solution is equally simple: use property law to retrofit communities with a condominium-like structure tailored to land assembly. Let's try giving those burdened by condemnation a way to share in its benefits and to veto projects they decide are not worth their while.


Although the Greenland fish fauna has been studied for more than 200 years, new species continue to be discovered. We here take the opportunity of the International Polar Year 2007–08 (IPY) to present an updated check-list of the fishes of Greenland and discuss whether the growing diversity can be explained by global warming. A total of 269 species from 80 families are known from the Greenland Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), based on published literature and specimens in museum collections. Since the latest publication covering all known Greenland fishes [Nielsen & Bertelsen 1992], 57 species have been added. Nineteen of these (Harriotta raleighana, Centroscymnus coelolepis, Bathytroctes microlepis, Einara edentula, Ceratoscopelus maderensis, Argyropelecus gigas, Maurolicus muelleri, Polyipnus asteroides, Nansenia oblita, Melanostomias bartonbeani, Polymetme corythaeola, Coryphaenoides mediterraneus, Merlangius merlangus, Guttigadus latifrons, Entelurus aequoreus, Helicolenus dactylopterus, Epigonus telescopus, Lophius piscatorius, Linophryne bicornis) are reported here for the first time. Twenty-nine of the species were added on the basis of taxonomic revisions and/ or identification of specimens caught before 1992, whereas 28 species have been caught in Greenland waters for the first time since 1992. Ten species were new to science described since 1992. Only five of the added species are Arctic – i.e. mainly caught north of the Davis and Denmark Straits. Of the 28 species caught after 1992, five species (Maurolicus muelleri, Merlangius merlangus, Helicolenus dactylopterus, Lophius piscatorius, Entelurus aequoreus) from the southern regions (Atlantic) are mainly from shallow waters (< 400 m) and their arrival is likely to be a result of increasing temperatures. The explanation of the many new records of deep-water fishes is most likely increasing fishing efforts down to depths of 1500 m. The deep waters off Greenland (> 1500 m), however, remain almost unstudied.


We outline a procedure for using pseudorandom generators to construct binary codes with good properties, assuming the existence of sufficiently hard functions. Specifically, we give a polynomial time algorithm, which for every integers $n$ and $k$, constructs polynomially many linear codes of block length $n$ and dimension $k$, most of which achieving the Gilbert- Varshamov bound. The success of the procedure relies on the assumption that the exponential time class of $E := DTIME[2^{O(n)}]$ is not contained in the sub-exponential space class $DSPACE[2^{o(n)}]$. The methods used in this paper are by now standard within computational complexity theory, and the main contribution of this note is observing that they are relevant to the construction of optimal codes. We attempt to make this note self contained, and describe the relevant results and proofs from the theory of pseudorandomness in some detail.


Climate change may have an impact on air quality (ozone, particulate matter) due to the strong dependency of air quality on meteorology. The effect is often studied using a global climate model (GCM) to produce meteorological fields that are subsequently used by chemical transport models. However, climate models themselves are subject to large uncertainties and fail to reproduce the present-day climate adequately. The present study illustrates the impact of these uncertainties on air quality. To this end, output from the SRES-A1B constraint transient runs with two GCMs, i.e. ECHAM5 and MIROC-hires, has been dynamically downscaled with the regional climate model RACMO2 and used to force a constant emission run with the chemistry transport model LOTOS-EUROS in a one-way coupled run covering the period 1970-2060. Results from the two climate simulations have been compared with a RACMO2-LOTOS-EUROS (RLE) simulation forced by the ERA-Interim reanalysis for the period 1989-2009. Both RLE-ECHAM and RLE-MIROC showed considerable deviations from RLE-ERA for daily maximum temperature, precipitation and wind speed. Moreover, sign and magnitude of these deviations depended on the region. The differences in average present-day concentrations between the simulations were equal to (RLE-MIROC) or even larger than (RLE-ECHAM) the differences in concentrations between present-day and future climate (2041-2060). The climate simulations agreed on a future increase in average summer ozone daily maximum concentrations of 5-10 I1/4g mg -3 in parts of Southern Europe and a smaller increase in Western and Central Europe. Annual average PM10 concentrations increased 0.5-1.0 I1/4g mg -3 in North-West Europe and the Po Valley, but these numbers are rather uncertain: overall, changes for PM10 were small, both positive and negative changes were found, and for many locations the two climate runs did not agree on the sign of the change. This illustrates that results from individual climate runs can at best indicate tendencies and should therefore be interpreted with great care. ©2012 Author(s).


This article examines the potential of using ego-centered networks with a case illustration drawn from the Swiss survey Family Trajectories and Social Networks: A Configurational Perspective of the Life Course (Family tiMes). It addresses the strengths and limitations of ego-centered network analysis based on name generators by using personal networks of individuals living in Switzerland composed of alters perceived as "very important." In the first section, we put ego-centered networks into perspective with regard to other types of networks, different generators to collect them, frequent biases associated to them and their utilization in Swiss studies. In the second section, three issues are briefly explored: the composition of personal networks to assess what types of ties are especially important for individuals, the tendency toward educational homophily, and the exchanges of emotional support occurring among network members. We show how to create a typology of personal networks, measure educational homophily, compute network structure indicators, and integrate them into regressions.


Glioma is the one of the most lethal forms of human cancer. The most effective glioma therapy to date-surgery followed by radiation treatment-offers patients only modest benefits, as most patients do not survive more than five years following diagnosis due to glioma relapse (1,2). The discovery of cancer stem cells in human brain tumors holds promise for having an enormous impact on the development of novel therapeutic strategies for glioma (3). Cancer stem cells are defined by their ability both to self-renew and to differentiate, and are thought to be the only cells in a tumor that have the capacity to initiate new tumors (4). Glioma relapse following radiation therapy is thought to arise from resistance of glioma stem cells (GSCs) to therapy (5-10). In vivo, GSCs are shown to reside in a perivascular niche that is important for maintaining their stem cell-like characteristics (11-14). Central to the organization of the GSC niche are vascular endothelial cells (12). Existing evidence suggests that GSCs and their interaction with the vascular endothelial cells are important for tumor development, and identify GSCs and their interaction with endothelial cells as important therapeutic targets for glioma. The presence of GSCs is determined experimentally by their capability to initiate new tumors upon orthotopic transplantation (15). This is typically achieved by injecting a specific number of GBM cells isolated from human tumors into the brains of severely immuno-deficient mice, or of mouse GBM cells into the brains of congenic host mice. Assays for tumor growth are then performed following sufficient time to allow GSCs among the injected GBM cells to give rise to new tumors-typically several weeks or months. Hence, existing assays do not allow examination of the important pathological process of tumor initiation from single GSCs in vivo. Consequently, essential insights into the specific roles of GSCs and their interaction with the vascular endothelial cells in the early stages of tumor initiation are lacking. Such insights are critical for developing novel therapeutic strategies for glioma, and will have great implications for preventing glioma relapse in patients. Here we have adapted the PoRTS cranial window procedure (16)and in vivo two-photon microscopy to allow visualization of tumor initiation from injected GBM cells in the brain of a live mouse. Our technique will pave the way for future efforts to elucidate the key signaling mechanisms between GSCs and vascular endothelial cells during glioma initiation.


Purpose of review This review focuses on the anatomy of the Swedish new variant of Chlamydia trachomatis (nvCT). This information provides an interesting insight into the emergence of new strains (how, where, and when), and the important lessons learned are discussed. Recent findings In late 2006, the nvCT was first reported in Sweden; it carries a 377 bp deletion within its plasmid which covers the single targets originally used by Roche and Abbott diagnostic systems. The nvCT spread rapidly with thousands of falsely negative diagnoses. Genome sequencing and phenotypic characterization showed that the biological fitness of nvCT when compared with wild-type CT in vitro is unaltered. Therefore, the rapid transmission of nvCT was due to the selective advantage gained from failed diagnosis and the introduction of nvCT into a high-frequency transmitting population. The proportions of nvCT cases are now converging toward equilibrium with the wild-type CT strains. Interestingly, the nvCT remains rarely reported beyond the Nordic countries. Summary The spread of nvCT had a substantial impact on C. trachomatis identification, epidemiology, and public health in Sweden. Lessons learned from this experience include the importance of investigating the incidence and epidemiology of infection in detail, the frequent participation in appropriate quality assurance schemes, and the careful design of diagnostic assays. The nvCT presents a unique opportunity to study the spread of a single C. trachomatis strain within both the human and bacterial populations; this may substantially increase our knowledge of epidemiology and transmission of chlamydial infections, and other sexually transmitted infections.


textabstractThe first Chapter is an introduction to neurotraumatology. The incidence of severe head injury, and its financial burden to society is described. General information is provided on the currently used monitoring modalities in patients with severe head injury. Finally a description is given of the polarographic monitoring method for measuring oxygen tension in brain tissue (PbrO2) used in our studies. The study questions are specified focussing on clinical applicability of PbrO2 measurements in TBI and interpretation of findings. In Chapter 2 preliminary experience with brain tissue PO2 (PbrO2) monitoring in a group of 22 patients with a severe head injury is described. PbrO2 was measured with a polarographic microcatheter. For introduction of the catheter a specially devised intracranial bolt was used. Measurements started as soon as possible after the injury and the study protocol specified an observation period of a maximum of 120 hours post trauma. The rationale for this time period was that during the initial period after trauma low Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) values have been reported with Xe CT studies, and that vasospasm mostly occurs before day 5 after injury. Both potential ischemic phenomena are covered by the observation period chosen. During the observation period two provocation tests were included in the study protocol performed on a dayly basis. Firstly, an O2 provocation test, by increasing the fraction of inspired oxygen stepwise to 1.0, and secondly a carbon dioxide reactivity test performed by increasing the respiratory minute volume of the patient by 20%. The observation period was preliminary terminated by early death or if clinical improvement of the patient occurred to an extent that ICP monitoring was no longer considered necessary. PbrO2 monitoring was started on average 7.0 hours after trauma with a mean duration of 74.3 hours. The chapter provides an extensive description of all phenomena observed. No complications were seen related to the PbrO2 catheter. The catheters showed a zero display error of 1.2 ± 0.8 mmHg and a sensitivity drift of 9.7 ± 5.3% after the measurement period. The first approach to analyse the PbrO2 value was to average all PO2 values according to the time after injury. Using this method of analysis we observed low average values during the initial 24 hours after injury, increasing toward a peak value during the second 24 hours reaching a plateau value after 36-48 hours after injury. Beyond this time period mean PbrO2 showed no further changes.


Nearly 75 years ago, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger wondered if the mysterious world of quantum mechanics played a role in biology. A recent finding by Northwestern University's Prem Kumar adds further evidence that the answer might be yes. [9] A UNSW Australia-led team of researchers has discovered how algae that survive in very low levels of light are able to switch on and off a weird quantum phenomenon that occurs during photosynthesis. [8]


: The invasive burrowing bivalve Corbicula fluminea has an impact on ecosystem processes and on ortter dynamics in sediments. However, little is known about its effect on benthic communities especially ganic matter dynamics in sediments. However, little is known about its effect on benthic communities, especially on macroinvertebrates. In laboratory experiments, we determined the effect of naturally occurring densities of C. fluminea (1012 ind. m -2 ) on ten macroinvertebrate taxa typical for the littoral zone of Lake Constance: two species of leeches, three species of gastropods, two amphipod species, one isopod, and two taxa of insect larvae (a stonefly and chironomids). We hypothesized that these benthic organisms might prefer C. fluminea over sand in pairwise habitat-choice experiments because of structural and biotic effects of the bivalves. We distinguished between biotic effects of living infaunal C. fluminea that were either starved (only bioturbation) or fed with algae (biodeposition, bioturbation and nutrient reallocation), and we tested the importance of their structural role using C. fluminea valves lying on sand. No benthic taxa avoided areas with live C. fluminea or their valves. The detritivorous gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis and the amphipod Gammarus roeselii were found in higher numbers in areas with fed C. fluminea than in areas with sand. Starved clams were only preferred over sand by the amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus. The epifaunal taxa Erpobdella octoculata, Glossiphonia complanata (Hirudinea), D. villosus, G. roeselii (Amphipoda), Asellus aquaticus (Isopoda), and Centroptilum luteolum (Ephemeroptera) preferred areas with C. fluminea valves to areas with sand. The crustacean species and the leeches preferred valves over sand more than they preferred fed or starved living clams over sand. C. luteolum was the only taxon that responded differently to C. fluminea in the three experiments, whereas gastropods and chironomids did not show differences. We conclude that on poorly structured sediments, valves of C. fluminea, which increase the surface area and substrate diversity, could lead to an increase of most epifaunal benthic invertebrates.


The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a long-term policy horizon, the financial capital, and a vision for a sustainable knowledge-based economy. These characteristics uniquely situate it as a potential leader for sea-level rise research. Climate science is already growing, and at the center of the UAE's pivot toward climate research is a burgeoning concern for sea-level rise. Over 85% of the UAE's population and more than 90% of the nation's infrastructure is within a few meters of present-day sea-level. With its low-lying and shallow-sloping geography (about 35 cm per km), this high-value coastline, including the rapidly expanding cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Meanwhile, limited regional research and data scarcity create deep uncertainty for sea-level projections. We set out a potential roadmap for the UAE to capitalize on its strengths to create usable and relevant sea-level projections for the region. With a newly established Climate Change Research Network, the UAE government is beginning to draw together universities and research centers for "furthering effective data collection and management, and advancing policy-relevant research on climate impacts and adaptation1." By consolidating ideas from the science community within the UAE, we identify promoters and barriers to data gathering, information sharing, science-policy communication, and funding access. Our paper proposes pathways forward for the UAE to integrate sea-level science with coastal development and form best practices that can be scaled across climate science and throughout the region.


Recent publications allow us to conclude that the economic relations between Germany and Central Europe have come to the 'end of history', and nothing new will happen. However, a deeper analysis of these relationships reveals interesting new trends. Since joining the European Union the states of Central Europe have not settled for maintaining the average level of economic development, but have continued to narrow the distance between them and Western Europe, something which the global financial crisis did not prevent. Their improved economic situation also affected their relations with Germany. The latest results from the Visegrad Group states show them to be Germany's most important trading partner, and their balance of trade in goods is in a state of equilibrium, while many euro area countries have recorded high trade deficits with Germany. The aim of this report is to display the trends in trade and investment between Germany and Central Europe, based on the example of the Visegrad Group. The author will also attempt to answer the question of whether the advancing economic cooperation between Germany and the V4 countries will lead to the further modernisation of those countries' economies, or whether it will run the risk of leaving them in the 'middle income trap'.


Efficient thermal management is important in modern data centers as cooling consumes up to 50% of the total energy. Unlike previous work, we consider proactive thermal management, whereby servers can predict potential overheating events due to dynamics in data center configuration and workload, giving operators enough time to react. However, such forecasting is very challenging due to data center scales and complexity. Moreover, such a physical system is influenced by cyber effects, including workload scheduling in servers. We propose ThermoCast, a novel thermal forecasting model to predict the temperatures surrounding the servers in a data center, based on continuous streams of temperature and airflow measurements. Our approach is (a) capable of capturing cyberphysical interactions and automatically learning them from data; (b) computationally and physically scalable to data center scales; (c) able to provide online prediction with real-time sensor measurements. The paper's main contributions are: (i) We provide a systematic approach to integrate physical laws and sensor observations in a data center; (ii) We provide an algorithm that uses sensor data to learn the parameters of a data center's cyber-physical system. In turn, this ability enables us to reduce model complexity compared to full-fledged fluid dynamics models, while maintaining forecast accuracy; (iii) Unlike previous simulation-based studies, we perform experiments in a production data center. Using real data traces, we show that ThermoCast forecasts temperature better than a machine learning approach solely driven by data, and can successfully predict thermal alarms 4.2 minutes ahead of time.


Breastfeeding has many benefits to both mother and child. It also happens to have benefits to workplaces who support breastfeeding. Research shows that lack of environmental support of breastfeeding at the workplace may discourage women from exclusively breastfeeding the recommended amount of time of SIX months (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012). To investigate the management knowledge and workplace breastfeeding support services, an online survey was sent out employees in management positions at selected workplaces in Faribault, Martin and Watonwan counties in Minnesota. Of the 98 selected participants, only 16 participants completed the survey. The study aimed to discover whether there was a relationship between management knowledge of breastfeeding benefits and their workplace breastfeeding support services. The results of this study showed a moderate positive relationship between management knowledge of breastfeeding benefits and their workplace support for breastfeeding with a correlation of, r(14) = .543, p = .036. The participants scored an average of 5.2 of six questions on the knowledge portion of the survey and an average of 4.1 out of 17 on the workplace breastfeeding support services.


The Fermi space telescope has detected over 100 pulsars. These discoveries have ushered in a new era of pulsar astrophysics at gamma-ray energies. Gamma-ray pulsars, regardless of whether they are young, old, radio-quiet etc, all exhibit a seemingly unifying characteristic: a spectral energy distribution which takes the form of a power law with an exponential cut-off occurring between ~1 and ~10 GeV. The single known exception to this is the Crab pulsar, which was recently discovered to emit pulsed gamma rays at energies exceeding a few hundred GeV. Here we present an update on observations of the Crab pulsar above 100 GeV with VERITAS. We show some new results from a joint gamma-ray/radio observational campaign to search for a correlation between giant radio pulses and pulsed VHE emission from the Crab pulsar. We also present some preliminary results on Lorentz invariance violation tests performed using Fermi and VERITAS observations of the Crab pulsar.


The Arctic sea ice retreat has accelerated over the last decade. The negative trend is largest in summer, but substantial interannual variability still remains. Here we explore observed atmospheric conditions and feedback mechanisms during summer months of anomalous sea ice melt in the Arctic. Compositing months of anomalous low and high sea ice melt over 1979–2013, we find distinct patterns in atmospheric circulation, precipitation, radiation, and temperature. Compared to summer months of anomalous low sea ice melt, high melt months are characterized by anomalous high sea level pressure in the Arctic (up to 7 hPa), with a corresponding tendency of storms to track on a more zonal path. As a result, the Arctic receives less precipitation overall and 39% less snowfall. This lowers the albedo of the region and reduces the negative feedback the snowfall provides for the sea ice. With an anticyclonic tendency, 12 W/m2 more incoming shortwave radiation reaches the surface in the start of the season. The melting sea ice in turn promotes cloud development in the marginal ice zones and enhances downwelling longwave radiation at the surface toward the end of the season. A positive cloud feedback emerges. In midlatitudes, the more zonally tracking cyclones give stormier, cloudier, wetter, and cooler summers in most of northern Europe and around the Sea of Okhotsk. Farther south, the region from the Mediterranean Sea to East Asia experiences significant surface warming (up to 2.4°C), possibly linked to changes in the jet stream.


Despite the Great Recession, slightly different forms of global capitalism are still portrayed as the only game in town by the vast majority of people in power in the world today. Unbridled growth, trade liberalisation, and competition are advocated as the only or best ways of organizing the contemporary world. Unemployment, yawning gaps between rich and poor, political disengagement, and environmental devastation are too often seen as acceptable 'side effects' of the dominance of neo-liberalism.

But the reality is that capitalism has always been contested and that people have created many other ways of providing for themselves. This book explores economic and organizational possibilities which extend far beyond the narrow imagination of economists and management theorists. Chapters on co-operatives, community currencies, the transition movement, scrounging, co-housing and much more paints a rich picture of the ways in which another word is not only possible, but already taking shape. The aim of this companion is to move beyond complaining about the present and into exploring this diversity of organisational possibilities. Our starting point is a critical analysis of contemporary global capitalism is merely the opening for thinking about organizing as a form of politics by other means, and one that can be driven by the values of solidarity, freedom and responsibility.

This comprehensive companion with an international cast of contributors gives voice to forms of organizing which remain unrepresented or marginalised in organizational studies and conventional politics, yet which offer more promising grounds for social and environmental justice. It is a valuable resource for students, activists and researchers interested in alternative approaches to economy and society in a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields.


We investigated perception of words with reduced word-final /t/ using an adapted eyetracking paradigm. Dutch listeners followed spoken instructions to click on printed words which were accompanied on a computer screen by simple shapes (e.g., a circle). Targets were either above or next to their shapes, and the shapes uniquely identified the targets when the spoken forms were ambiguous between words with or without final /t/ (e.g., bult, bump, vs. bul, diploma). Analysis of listeners' eye-movements revealed, in contrast to earlier results, that listeners use the following segmental context when compensating for /t/-reduction. Reflecting that /t/-reduction is more likely to occur before bilabials, listeners were more likely to look at the /t/-final words if the next word's first segment was bilabial. This result supports models of speech perception in which prelexical phonological processes use segmental context to modulate word recognition.


The static stress changes caused by the Chi-Chi mainshock with M L =7.3 were analyzed with an elastic dislocation model in a homogenous half-space. The results show that most aftershocks in the fold-and-thrust belt might best be interpreted as the re-activation of pre-existing thrust faults triggered by the mainshock. Strike-slip motions near the terminations of the Chelungpu fault are also likely to have been enhanced by the static stress transfer. The Chukou fault, on the other hand, fell in a stress shadow; as a result, few aftershocks occurred there. The Chia-Yi earthquake sequence which occurred a month after the Chi-Chi earthquake turns out to have been an exception in this study. No evidence of static stress enhancement was found in that area. Unless the large aftershocks which followed the Chi-Chi earthquake altered the stress field and promoted failure, the time lag of the Chia- Yi earthquake might well be attributed to the influence of a stress shadow.


For the years 1911 - 1930 causes of death were registered in the parish of Bjuråker in a farming and forestry district in central Sweden as well as in two of its villages, one with a forge and another with ironworks, Strömbacka and Moviken. The average life span and infant mortality were also noted. The two villages had 600 and the rest of the parish 3400 inhabitants. The continuous industrial production required three daily eight-hours shifts and there were small or non-existent sanitary facilities. Breaks for meals were not timetabled, but you could find pauses for consumption of what you might bring from home. Daily life was characterized by poverty and many children, but there was no real starvation. As a rule the families rented a place with one room and kitchen, and they often could keep one cow. About half the earned money was used up on food. The average life span showed figures found for Sweden about thirty years earlier. Diagnoses were stated for 1146 of 1309 deceased in the parish 1911 - 1930. The remainder indudes "not known" and, for infants, "weakness". The district medical officer lived at a distance of 15 - 20 km from the villages. A general hospital 60 km away and a sanatorium 120 km away signify that diagnoses of at least tuberculosis and tumours are reliable. Not unexpectedly, tuberculosis was the most frequent cause of death (16%), a little more than in Sweden (12%) and still more than in the rest of the parish (10%). Women were more often affected than men which was also found earlier. Cancer was more frequent than in the rest of the parish and in Sweden. Like tuberculosis, there was a predominance for women. The high infant mortality differs from the findings of an other author, who found relatively low infant mortality in industrial communities. Life was hard in two small industrial villages in the province in 1911 - 1930.


In recent decades, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have pursued national water permit systems, derived from the colonial era and reinforced by "global best practice." These systems have proved logistically impossible to manage and have worsened inequality in water access. A new study conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Pegasys Institute, with support from the UK government, traces the origins of these systems, and describes their implementation and consequences for rural smallholders in five countries – Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The authors of this report propose a hybrid water use rights system to decolonize Africa's water law, lighten the administrative burden on the state and make legal access to water more equitable. This would strengthen smallholder irrigation, which is vital for boosting Africa's food production and making it more resilient in the face of worsening drought.


Aim/Purpose The primary aim of this study was to reveal the assessment tools and a theory preferred to mentor doctoral students with integrity and trustworthiness. The connection between mentors' feelings of trustworthiness and protégé success were explored. Background This study examines the concept presented in 1983, 1985, and 1996 by Kram of mentor relations (MR) theory, which illustrates that graduation rates can improve with effective mentoring. In the United States, doctoral programs have low graduation rates. Scholars and researchers agree that doctoral programs must develop ways and means to improve their graduation rates. This researcher examined an extension of Kram's mentor relations theory by employing the Mentor Integrity and Trustworthiness (MIT) theory, which depicts that mentors with a strong sense of integrity and trustworthiness provide a safe haven for protégés to succeed. As supported by Daloz, a trustworthy mentor provides a safe haven for protégés to take the intellectual risks required to produce an original contribution to the canon of scholarly knowledge in the form of a doctoral dissertation. Methodology A quantitative research methodology of data collection ensued including the researcher generated MIT scale and the mentors' perceptions of protégés' independence (MPPI) scale, a survey to establish acceptable levels of internal consistencies for items on the two scales, a supported evidence of the content validity of the two scales, the researcher's analysis of the validity of the MIT theory, and a multi-stage sampling method to recruit a research sample of 50 mentors from four universities in the eastern part of the United States from several education-related doctoral programs. The doctoral programs Validation of the Mentoring Integrity Scale 30 were diverse in terms of selectivity, type of degree, and mentors' years of experience. Contribution This research study contributes to existing literature knowledge by generating the relationship between mentors' feelings of trustworthiness and protégés' success as measured by graduation rate and the number of awards won by protégés. The validation of the mentor integrity and trustworthiness (MIT) scale and the mentor perceptions of protégé independence (MPPI) scale, and the supported evidence of content validity and reliability for both scales will deepen and extend the discussion of doctoral mentoring in higher education. Findings Results indicated that mentors' feelings of trustworthiness were correlated with the number of dissertation awards won by protégés and with graduation rates. Graduation rates and dissertation awards rates were not measured directly, but were reported by the mentors. In addition, the researcher found that mentors perceived their protégés to be independent scholars, in general, however, minimally in the area of writing the research methods section of their dissertation. Recommendations for Practitioners The researcher discussed the practical implications for mentors' professional development in trustworthiness and integrity. The researcher also provided the Right Angle Research Alignment table to help protégés organize and manage the research methods section of their dissertation. Recommendations for Researchers Researchers should continue to explore MIT theory with experimental methods to attempt to improve the internal validity of the theory. Impact on Society The researcher encourages scholars to test the MIT theory in mentoring relationships that go beyond doctoral studies such as mentoring in business and in the arts. The researcher also encourages scholars to test whether the MIT theory is relevant in other kinds of teaching relationships such as coaching and tutoring. Future Research Further research questions that arise from this study are as follows: What can mentors do to improve their integrity? What can mentors do to improve their feelings of trustworthiness? How can the MIT and MPPI instruments be refined and improved?


Since Republican Party of Minnesota v. White was decided by the Supreme Court, "merit selection" plans have been the favored method for judicial election reform over non-partisan elections. This Note will offer a survey of the reform methods and examine their flaws - specifically, the assumption that retention elections are less of a threat to judicial impartiality than elections to fill vacancies. This Note proposes that states that wish to retain some public control over the judiciary should abolish retention elections, while preserving elections to fill judicial vacancies. The theory that the method of judicial selection is more important than judicial retention methods in maintaining an impartial and qualified judiciary is not supported by evidence and should be discarded. I. INTRODUCTION Fierce debate has existed over the merits of electing judges since Georgia first started judicial elections in 1812,1 and the controversy was most recently rekindled by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's speeches on the issue following her retirement from the United States Supreme Court.2 Reformers have often advocated moving fully to the federal model, in which judges are appointed for life by the executive, but have found that in many states it is not politically tenable to abolish judicial elections entirely. Therefore, the thrust of many reform efforts has been aimed at implementing systems that retain judicial elections in a limited role, such as non-partisan elections and merit selection plans. Merit selection plans generally involve the screening of potential judges by a commission and the appointment by the governor of one of the approved judges. These judges will then periodically face retention elections - where voters either allow them to retain their seats or remove them, but do not have the option of electing someone else in their stead. This Note argues that the method by which judges are retained rather than elected has the greatest effect on judicial independence and impartiality. There is not a significant difference between the measurable qualifications of judges chosen through merit selection and judges elected in partisan or nonpartisan elections, a significant rationale for the system,3 but the particulars of the method of judicial retention used do have a significant effect on the actions of sitting judges.4 This Note will discuss the reform efforts and debate surrounding the election of judges. Part II introduces Republican Party of Minnesota v. White and provides a history of judicial elections. Parts III focuses on the arguments made for three common methods of judicial elections in the United States, using the various opinions in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White that advocate for each: Justice Antonin Scalia's defense of partisan judicial elections; Justice John Paul Stevens's and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's arguments in favor of non-partisan judicial elections; and Justice O'Connor's arguments against judicial elections in general and her suggestion that states implement merit selection plans. Part IV demonstrates that these reform efforts have not been successful because they all require judges to be subject to periodic retention elections. As this Note will argue, retention elections are a greater threat to judicial independence than any other form of judicial elections. Finally, Part V recommends that states that demand some form of judicial elections abolish retention elections and instead institute selection elections5 in order to create a more impartial and independent judiciary. II. THE HISTORY OF JUDICIAL ELECTIONS AND AN INTRODUCTION TO REPUBLICAN PARTY OF MINNESOTA V. WHITE The issue of judicial selection and retention has been a topic of debate since the American colonial era. The Declaration of Independence declared judicial independence as a founding principle of the nation and justified independence, in part, by accusing the King of making "Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices. …


The cytotoxicity of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and their binary mixtures was determined using the MTS (tetrazolium salt; Promega) in vitro assay. Cytotoxicity endpoints were investigated in human cells including; pulmonary type II-like epithelial cell lines (A549), hepatoma cell lines (HepG2) and skin fibroblasts. In order to study the cytotoxic effects of airborne formaldehyde, standard atmospheres at concentrations below 10 ppm (12.3 mg/m3) were generated using a dynamic diffusion method. Formaldehyde was bubbled through serum free culture media and cell viability was investigated after treating cells with formaldehyde air samples. HepG2 cells were found to be more sensitive (IC50 = 103.8 ± 23.6 mg/L) to formaldehyde cytotoxicity than both A549 lung derived cells and skin fibroblasts (P < 0.01). For glutaraldehyde, skin fibroblasts were found to be more sensitive (IC50 = 99.9 ± 17.2 mg/L) than A549 cells (p < 0.01). Mixtures of formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde at a specific range of concentrations, approximately 5-20% (w/w) formaldehyde, induced synergistic effects in A549 cells. Exposing of HepG2 cells with formaldehyde air samples (8.75 ppm × 4 h) reduced cell viability to less than 50% (31.6 ± 1.24%). Our findings emphasized the toxic effects of formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde and their potential toxicity interactions should be taken into consideration for occupational risk assessment of health care workers.


The recent collapse of the mortgage market revealed fractures in the credit market that have deep roots in the system's structure, conduct, and regulation. The time has come for a clear-eyed assessment of what happened and how the system should be strengthened and restructured. Such reform will have a profound and lasting impact on the capacity of Americans to use credit to build assets and finance consumption. Moving Forward explores what caused the crisis and, more important, focuses on the path ahead. The challenge remains the same as ever: protect consumers, ensure fairness, and guarantee soundness of the financial system without stifling innovation and overly restricting access to credit and consumer choice. Nicolas Retsinas, Eric Belsky, and their colleagues aim to stimulate debate based on analysis of the opportunities and challenges presented by the various components of global capital markets: financial engineering, risk assessment and management, specialization of financial intermediation, and marketing methods. The contributors uleaders in business, government, academia, and the nonprofit sector udiscuss new research and ideas about the future of credit markets, including how improvements might be shaped by industry leaders. Contributors: John Y. Campbell, Harvard University; Marsha J. Courchane, Charles River Associates; Ren Essene, Federal Reserve Board; Allen Fishbein, Federal Reserve Board; Howell E. Jackson, Harvard Law School; Melissa Koide, Center for Financial Services Innovation; Michael Lea, San Diego State University; Eugene Ludwig, Promontory Financial Group; Brigitte C. Madrian, Harvard Kennedy School; Nela Richardson, Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University; Rachel Schneider, Center for Financial Services Innovation; Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School; Peter M. Zorn, Freddie Mac


We describe three unprecedented solid-state crystal structures (1–3) involving two (1) or three (2 & 3) different components: a suitable bis-porphyrin cage, a bis-pyridyl perylene derivative that is too large to bind the cage in a ditopic manner and, for 2 and 3, a fullerene (C60 and C70, respectively). Single co-crystals of the two/three components, suitable for X-ray diffraction analyses, grew from their equimolar mixture in p-xylene solution. Remarkably, the co-polymeric 1D chains that are self-assembled in the solid state possess a metal–organic framework (MOF). The fullerene, C60 (2) or C70 (3), is included in all repeating monomeric units of the Zn(II)–bisporphyrin component, which functions as a molecular cage. The formed 1 : 1 inclusion complexes exhibit a parallel arrangement of the two porphyrin units. In turn, adjacent 1 : 1 inclusion complexes are connected through bis-pyridyl perylene ligands acting as pillars. The exo-axial coordination of Zn-centers with the nitrogen atoms of the pyridyl residues defines a new motif of perylene derivatives sandwiched between the 1 : 1 inclusion complexes. The included fullerenes C60/C70 interact with the porphyrin walls of the cages and their aliphatic spacer chains. In particular, the interactions of Zn(II)–bisporphyrin⋯C60/C70 observed in the 1 : 1 inclusion complexes were analysed using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations (PB86-D3/def2-TZVP level of theory) and Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) surfaces, and characterized by means of Bader's theory of "atoms-in-molecules" (AIM). The computation of the energetic features of the diverse noncovalent interactions including Zn–porphyrin⋯π(fullerene) and C–H⋯π(fullerene) interactions revealed their conspicuous role in the stabilization of the one-dimensional supramolecular frameworks for both solid-state crystal structures.


Abstract. Ambient aerosols are a complex mixture of particles with different physical and chemical properties and consequently distinct hygroscopic behaviour. The hygroscopicity of a particle determines its water uptake at subsaturated relative humidity (RH) and its ability to form a cloud droplet at supersaturated RH. These processes influence Earth's climate and the atmospheric lifetime of the particles. Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number size distributions (i.e. CCN number concentrations as a function of dry particle diameter) were measured close to Paris during the MEGAPOLI campaign in January–February 2010, covering 10 different supersaturations (SS = 0.1–1.0%). The time-resolved hygroscopic mixing state with respect to CCN activation was also derived from these measurements. Simultaneously, a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyser (HTDMA) was used to measure the hygroscopic growth factor (ratio of wet to dry mobility diameter) distributions at RH = 90%. The aerosol was highly externally mixed and its mixing state showed significant temporal variability. The average particle hygroscopicity was relatively low at subsaturation (RH = 90%; mean hygroscopicity parameter κ = 0.12–0.27) and increased with increasing dry diameter in the range 35–265 nm. The mean κ value, derived from the CCN measurements at supersaturation, ranged from 0.08 to 0.24 at SS = 1.0–0.1%. Two types of mixing-state resolved hygroscopicity closure studies were performed, comparing the water uptake ability measured below and above saturation. In the first type the CCN counter was connected in series with the HTDMA and and closure was achieved over the whole range of probed dry diameters, growth factors and supersaturations using the κ-parametrization for the water activity and assuming surface tension of pure water in the Kohler theory. In the second closure type we compared hygroscopicity distributions derived from parallel monodisperse CCN measurements and HTDMA measurements. Very good agreement was found at all supersaturations, which shows that monodisperse CCN measurements are a reliable alternative to determine the hygroscopic mixing state of ambient aerosols.


This dissertation is devoted to the stage history of Goethe's Faust I in Imperial Russia with the goal of initiating academic discussion of this previously ignored topic. The significance of this study lies not only in the fact that it enlarges our comprehension of the play's treatment in the Russian context, but more importantly in its direct implications for earlier studies of Russian literature in relation to Goethe's Faust. The dissertation records analytically dramatic productions of the play before 1917 and provides a bibliography of their production, performance and reception processes. The central premise of the dissertation is that theatre is a social phenomenon, informed by the contemporary setting in which it is produced and received. With this in mind, five distinctive adaptations are investigated with the goal of identifying the peculiarities of the play's treatment and highlighting the influences of the socio-historical factors surrounding it. In particular, this study considers the dependence of the adaptation on contemporary theatrical conventions and explores the relationship between theatre, culture and the state in Imperial Russia. It argues that a successful adaptation of Goethe's Faust I in Imperial Russia was delayed until the flourishing of 'directorial theatre', which in turn opened new possibilities for future theatrical explorations of the play. The analysis describes strategies of cultural appropriation and affirms the conformity and sensitivity of theatre to the state.


This paper investigates the roots of Iranian foreign policy toward Iraq and Syria after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Because of its geo-strategic location, political-cultural characteristics and energy sources, Iran is a pivotal state in shaping the international politics of the Middle East. Since the September 11th events, Iran has increasingly had impact on the issues such as regional crises in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon as well as the war against global terrorism, which are currently the most significant agenda items of international security. The author argues that Iran's foreign policy towards Iraq and Syria is primarily geopolitical, oriented at building a secure environment at its borders, for strategic-pragmatic purposes.


Since 2002, the healthcare system in Taiwan has implemented a global budgeting scheme in clinics and hospitals with an expenditure cap. The current mode of payment for medical points in Taiwan is primarily through the fee-for-service (FFS) mechanism. This payment mechanism has diminished the quality of services that clinics and hospitals provide to patients. Furthermore, FFS does not grant incentives that allow providers to invest in preventive healthcare and health promotional activities. Compared with FFS, a payment unit in the capitation mechanism is people rather than the number of patients. That is, the healthier people are, the more reimbursement providers obtain for healthcare. In general, financial risks that confront medical services are primarily assumed by healthcare providers. Therefore, medical teams have to reduce the amount of services and the density of clinical practice, such that the healthcare provider can sustain the quality of medical services. Accordingly, this study develops an approach using stochastic processes with an RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) model is utilized to proceed with the activeness analysis of patients and prognosticate whether patients will remain loyal Therefore, a proper marketing stratagem can be deliberated as a reference for managing the physician–patient relationship; at the same time, this healthcare stratagem is expected to promote the impression of hospitals and enhance management efficiency.


The existence of the retinohypothalamic pathway suggests that light may influence autonomic outflow activity. The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between the estimated iris muscle sympathetic-parasympathetic area (IRIS) ratio and the sympathetic?parasympathetic ratio (Low Frequency (LF)/High Frequency (HF) ratio). The study population consisted of 200 females and 200 males (mean age, 32.4 ± 7.1 y). The IRIS ratio was determined from digital photographs of the iris in a computer setting. The LF/HF ratio was determined from records of heart rate variability obtained using a Holter implementation. The minimum LF/HF ratio was 1.4 and the maximum 5.6 (mean, 3.0 ± 0.8). The minimum IRIS ratio was 1.4 and the maximum 4.9 (mean, 2.7 ± 0.6). A strong positive correlation was determined between the LF/HF and IRIS ratios in the entire population (r=0.825; p<0.001) and positive correlations were also observed in males and females separately. The intraclass correlation between the LF/HF and IRIS ratios was 0.836. A strong correlation exists between the LF/HF and IRIS ratios.


Chipster is an easy to use data analysis platform for bioinformatics. It provides an uniform graphical interface for over 360 commonly used bioinformatics tools including several R/Bioconductor-based tools and standalone programs (i.e. BWA, TopHat). Chipster is based on a client-server system where the user runs locally a Chipster-client that submits analysis tasks to a Chipster server. Even though Chipster is an open source tool, there is no public Chipster server that would be open for everybody. Due to that, a researcher needs to have an access to some of the existing Chipster servers to be able to use this platform. Alternatively, a researcher can set up his own Chipster server. In this paper, we describe how a Chipster server can be launched EGI Federated Could environment, that provides resources for all European researchers. With the instructions provided here, any European researcher can launch and manage his own Chipster server, suited for needs of a small research group or a bioinformatics course. The setup described here is based on a collaboration of several European instances. Chipster is developed by CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd. in Finland. European Grid Infrastructure (EGI) has fitted Chipster to cloud environment and provides the cloud computing resources. Finally, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory hosts the CVMFS server that provides the scientific tools and data sets for the Chipster servers running in EGI federated cloud.


Background: Worldwide, adolescents suffer from a disproportionate share of reproductive health problem. Throughout the world, over 14 million adolescents aged 15-19 years give birth annually. The purpose of this study was to assess the level and identify proximate and other determinants of adolescent fertility in Ethiopia. Methods: Raw data collected from all part of the country using stratified cluster sampling method by the Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey 2005 (EDHS-2005) was used. After the data for adolescents aged from 15 to 19 years were extracted from the large data set, Multivariate logistic regression model was applied to identify sociodemographic and economic determinants whereas Bongaarts model was used to determine proximate determinants fertility. Results: Of the 3,266 adolescent women, 443 (13.6%) had given birth at least once prior to the survey and 133 (4.1%) were pregnant. Of the 443 adolescents who had at least given birth, the majority (72.7%) had one child while about a quarter (23.2%) had 2 live births and the rest 1.0% gave four live births with a mean number of child ever born of 1.33±0.6. The major factors associated with adolescent fertility were age, educational status, place of residence, employment, marriage, contraceptive use and postpartum infecundability. The odds for increased adolescent fertility was significantly higher in early adolescents (AOR=7.6; 95% CI=6.0 to 9.9), had lower education (AOR=6.7; 95%CI=4.1 to10.9), among rural teens (AOR=3.6; 95%CI=1.9 to 6.9) and currently not working (AOR=1.7; 95%CI= 1.3 to 2.2) than their counterparts. The observed fertility rate of 0.52 children per woman obtained from Bongaarts model of fertility indicated about 1.98 births per woman were averted due to non-marriage, delayed marriage, contraceptive use and postpartum infecundability. Conclusion: Since adolescent fertility is felt to be a problem, concerted efforts are needed to empower adolescents to fight early marriage, promote education and encourage the utilization of family planning targeting the rural teenagers. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2010;24(1):30-38]