This paper proposes a new method which combines filter bank system and adaptive filtering for the parameters estimation of the harmonics and the interharmonics of power signals. The proposed method decomposes the input power signal by designing the filter bank system. This filter bank has binary tree structure, and uses the fundamental filter banks successively in each decomposing stage. The fundamental filter bank separates the odd harmonic and the even harmonic components to reduce the spectral leakage. The adaptive filter is applied to the each harmonic component for the accurate parameter estimation. And the interharmonic component parameters are estimated through the error signal of the adaptive filter. The amplitudes and the frequency estimation of the each harmonic and interharmonic are carried out by the recursive method. To demonstrate the performance of the method, computer simulations are performed to the synthesized signals.


Leadership plays a very important role in the performance of a company. It lays down the infrastructure, policies and guidelines for the different functions of the company to perform its best. Since companies are increasingly aware of the importance of upstream and downstream organizations to their performance, companies' leaders would also like to influence companies' relationships and operations with the supply chain partners. They would like their supply chain managers to get the best contributions from the supply chain partners. This paper aims to study the role of leadership in the supply chain partnership. It examines how leadership's disposition to whether a company should develop a long-term relationship and adopt a co-operative culture with their supply chain partners would affect the interactions and the nature of goal orientations between the company and its supply chain partners. In addition, the study will analyse whether the nature of interactions and goal orientation will affect suppliers' contributions. The results of the study support that leadership has an important role to play in making the supply chain partnership effective. It affects the interactions and goal orientation between the supply chain managers and the supply partners and also the resulting outcome.


RAR1, SGT1, and HSP90 are important components of effector-triggered immunity (ETI) in diverse plants, where RAR1 and SGT1 are thought to serve as HSP90 co-chaperones. We show that ETI in soybean requires RAR1 and SGT1 but not HSP90. Rsv1-mediated extreme resistance to Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and Rpg-1b-mediated resistance to Pseudomonas syringae were compromised in plants silenced for GmRAR1 and GmSGT1-2 but not GmHSP90. This suggests that RAR1- or SGT1-dependant signaling is not always associated with a dependence on HSP90. Unlike in Arabidopsis, SGT1 in soybean also mediates ETI against the bacterial pathogen P. syringae. Similar to Arabidopsis, soybean RAR1 and SGT1 proteins interact with each other and two related HSP90 proteins. Plants silenced for GmHSP90 genes or GmRAR1 exhibited altered morphology, suggesting that these proteins also contribute to developmental processes. Silencing GmRAR1 and GmSGT1-2 impaired resistance to virulent bacteria and systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in soybean as well. Because the Arabidopsis rar1 mutant also showed a defect in SAR, we conclude that RAR1 and SGT1 serve as a point of convergence for basal resistance, ETI, and SAR. We demonstrate that, although soybean defense signaling pathways recruit structurally conserved components, they have distinct requirements for specific proteins.


Introduction: Training general practice registrars (GPRs) to meet the challenges of an ageing population is hampered by their relatively reduced contact with older patients and a paucity of suitable research to inform training models. This paper describes an exploratory factor analysis of a survey instrument assessing the attitudes of older patients to GPRs, as part of a project to address these concerns. Methods: The instrument was developed on the basis of a qualitative study and a literature review and distributed to 500 patients aged 60 years and over from 10 training practices in regional Australia. Responses to 22 of the survey's Likert scale items were examined, including inter-item correlations and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). Exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify domains of patients' attitudes. Results: The response rate was 39.2% (n=196). None of the items were redundant and the scale had appropriate levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.76). The exploratory factor analysis identified three factors. Factor one, labelled 'interpersonal trust', explained 26.2% of the variance. Factor two accounted for 11.4% of the variance and was labelled 'system trust'. Factor three, labelled 'interpersonal continuity', explained 7.5% of the variance. Conclusion: The instrument demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and three distinct factors reflecting older patients' attitudes toward GPRs, with trust appearing to be particularly important. The instrument appears effective in obtaining valid data, which should assist in developing improved training models. These findings warrant confirmation with a larger sample and exploration of adaptations of the instrument to be used in other contexts.


This thesis explores the origins, development and implementation of Q methodology and Q methodological single case (QMSC) studies. The thesis begins by first establishing the historical and methodological background from which the later procedural and theoretical discussions of these investigative approaches sprang. These discussions initially revolve around a collection of both published and unpublished works utilizing Q methodology and QMSC studies by William Stephenson, the developer and primary champion of these methodologies, and by some of his students and colleagues. The application of QMSC studies to the objective investigation of subjectivity is then established, both as utilized in studies conducted by Stephenson and as employed by other researchers in academic fields such as sociology, psychology, and political science. Through the presentation of this QMSC work, the flexibility of Stephenson's approach is demonstrated. This flexibility is a product of the methodology's ability to aid in the objective investigation of behavioral influences on an individual from the perspective of nearly any individual in essentially every field of social science, both when used alone and when combined with Q methodology and other research procedures. What is more, QMSC studies are shown to demonstrate sensitivity to the uniqueness of each case while maintaining a concern for statistical rigor. Particular attention is paid to some of Stephenson's unpublished QMSC studies. Examples of the use of QMSC by other researchers are also presented, and the current revival of interest in single case work-in fields such as the study of personality and cognitive neuropsychology is also noted. Some limitations of the research are discussed. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the significance and future potential of QMSC studies in a variety of applied and research fields—including marketing, criminal justice, and in my own work in medicine.


It has become easier for companies to operate across the borders in Europe. From being a domestic market, the Swedish grocery market is now going through an internationalisation process. A trend today is that many retailers produce their own private label.The purpose of this dissertation is to examine positioning strategies on the Swedish grocery market with focus on private label products and product range. We will compare Swedish grocery retailers with Lidl, a German grocery retailer on the Swedish market, to show the differences in their positioning strategies. The purpose is further to examine if the customers' apprehension of the stores agrees with the observed positioning strategies. No research of the Swedish grocery market regarding positioning strategies has included Lidl before. Primary data was collected through observations in the grocery stores and also through questionnaires that were handed out to the customers in the stores. The analysis, about the stores' positioning strategies, shows that the largest difference is between the two Swedish stores and Lidl. The Swedish stores offer large ranges with a small share of private label products, while Lidl offers small ranges with a very large share of private label products. The largest differences are Lidl's customers' apprehension of the stores' share of private label products The position is supposed to reflect benefits and advantages to the consumers. ICA Maxi's and Willy:s' have been able to attain a position in the consumers' mind that agrees with the observed positioning strategies, but not Lidl.


Biological invasions generally start from low initial population sizes, leading to reduced genetic variation in nuclear and especially mitochondrial DNA. Consequently, genetic approaches for the study of invasion history and population structure are difficult. An extreme example is the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Medfly), for which successive invasions during this century have resulted in a loss of 60% of ancestral genetic variation in isozymes and 75% of variation in mitochondrial DNA. Using Medflies as an example, we present a new approach to invasion genetics that measures DNA sequence variation within introns from multiple nuclear loci. These loci are so variable that even relatively recently founded Medfly populations within California and Hawaii retain ample genetic diversity. Invading populations have only lost 35% of the ancestral genetic variation. Intron variation will allow high‐resolution genetic characterization of invading populations in both natural and managed systems, although non‐equilibrium methods of analysis may be necessary if the genetic diversity represents sorting ancestral polymorphism.


Over the last three years, since the development of the Barbershop Harmony Society's "Everyone in Harmony" inclusivity and diversification initiative, barbershop singing networks have increasingly broken down systems of class, gender and race. Despite a history of conservative and traditionalist musical practice, I argue that participating in barbershop music offers singers in New Zealand opportunities to express themselves and create lasting relationships in increasingly diverse social contexts. In light of this, this thesis explores ideas of belonging, camaraderie, diversity and self-expression in barbershop music in New Zealand, through ethnographic fieldwork conducted with Vocal FX chorus, based in Wellington, New Zealand. This thesis works through these ideas in three ways: I consider historical context and discuss who gets to sing, belong or contribute to barbershop music; I then explore diversity and Māori and Pacific Island influence in barbershop in New Zealand; and I conclude with a discussion of performative emotional expression in the barbershop style, and how that contributes to free and healthy modes of self-expression in a predominantly homo-social male space. These threads combine to display how ideas of belonging – both to an ensemble and to a wider, global style of music – and camaraderie are complex and culturally nuanced concepts in barbershop music contexts. Furthermore, this research displays ways in which established socio-cultural norms in barbershop contexts can be challenged by ensembles working in this musical style. Ethnography, including personal reflection through performative auto-ethnography and memory, informs much of the thesis. I draw on conversations with singers and observations of rehearsals and contests for Vocal FX to narrate many of the ways in which barbershop music works in New Zealand.


We propose a computationally efficient algorithm for detection of multiple signals that also gives a rough estimation of their direction of arrivals (DOAs). The narrowband received signals from a uniform linear array are first filtered by a set of orthogonal filters, e.g., by a fast Fourier transformation, in order to separate the sources into multiple spatial intervals. This transformation converts the complicated multihypothesis problem of source detection and localization into multiple binary hypothesis testing problems. For an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) environment, the maximum-likelihood (ML) solution of these interrelated tests requires substantially less computational complexity than that of the multihypothesis problem. For each spatial interval, a binary test detects the presence of a single source and thus gives a rough localization. We employ generalized-likelihood ratio (GLR) tests as the detection criterion, assuming that the number of sources, their power, and the noise variance are all unknown. We also show that the optimal uniformly most powerful invariant (UMPI) detector does not exist. However, we derive a UMPI detector that uses some extra information and as a result provides an upper bound performance for evaluation of any invariant detector. Simulations illustrate that the proposed noniterative GLR test performs efficiently for various number of observed data snapshots and signal-to-noise-ratios (SNR)s, and its performance is comparable to the upper bound performance. We used the proposed algorithm for the initialization of the iterative implementation of the standard ML localization. This combination is a high-resolution localization algorithm with a low computational complexity


This paper investigates the behavior of inflation differentials between Spain and the rest of the euro area member countries. Cross country studies of inflation differentials, and in particular in the EMU, have focused on three explanations: (i) the role of tradable and nontradable sector productivity improvements, and the Balassa-Samuelson effect, (ii) the role of the demand-side effects, and (iii) heterogeneity of inflationary processes inside the EMU. First, the paper documents that, during the 2002-2006 period, inflation differentials in the tradable goods sector have been driving the inflation differentials in the headline HICP inflation. Second, the paper uses the estimates of a two country, two sector Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model with nominal rigidities in a currency union using data for Spain and the euro area, to understand the role of each feature in shaping inflation differentials. The paper finds that fluctuations in productivity improvements in the tradable sector are the most important source of headline HICP inflation differentials. Demand shocks help explain a fraction of output growth, but not of inflation dispersion. In addition, the estimated model finds no evidence that inflation dynamics are different in Spain and in the rest of the euro area.


Selfish, spoiled, and maladjusted: Stereotypes about only children live large in China, where a generation of singletons has lately reached adulthood. Children born after the introduction of the one-child policy in 1979 were called "little emperors." Now that they are grown up, China Daily has dubbed the demographic the "spoiled generation." But until recently, there was little empirical evidence to back up such claims. In a paper published online this week in Science , researchers attempt to measure the degree to which the one-child policy has shaped the personalities of Chinese 20- and 30-somethings.


Inflation risks are explicit in either (i) the nominal pricing of real payoffs in which prices are denominated in dollars, or (ii) the real pricing of nominal payoffs in which prices are denominated in consumption baskets. While the former involves over-the-counter inflation-indexed contracts of real asset market, the latter involves exchange-traded and highly liquid contracts of nominal asset market. We employ a parametric pricing model to investigate the asymmetry between these two markets. The model obtains a liquidity-free distribution of future inflation using new price data of T-note futures in nominal asset market, and implies liquidity risk premia separately for any traded contract in real asset market. These premia indicate both an underpricing for TIPS and an overpricing for inflation swaps, whose significances increase with the tenor of these assets. Such a mispricing in inflation swaps help temper a severe implied mispricing of TIPS needed to match the puzzling trade profit on the nominal-TIPS yield spread. While yields on TIPS still command a liquidity component, this finding implicates less pronounced borrowing costs to the U.S. government in issuing TIPS.


Abstract Background There is evidence for a positive relationship between cigarette and coffee consumption in smokers. Cigarette smoke increases metabolism of caffeine, so this may represent a causal effect of smoking on caffeine intake. Methods We performed Mendelian randomization analyses in the UK Biobank (N = 114 029), the Norwegian HUNT study (N = 56 664) and the Copenhagen General Population Study (CGPS) (N = 78 650). We used the rs16969968 genetic variant as a proxy for smoking heaviness in all studies and rs4410790 and rs2472297 as proxies for coffee consumption in UK Biobank and CGPS. Analyses were conducted using linear regression and meta-analysed across studies. Results Each additional cigarette per day consumed by current smokers was associated with higher coffee consumption (0.10 cups per day, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.17). There was weak evidence for an increase in tea consumption per additional cigarette smoked per day (0.04 cups per day, 95% CI: −0.002, 0.07). There was strong evidence that each additional copy of the minor allele of rs16969968 (which increases daily cigarette consumption) in current smokers was associated with higher coffee consumption (0.16 cups per day, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.20), but only weak evidence for an association with tea consumption (0.04 cups per day, 95% CI: -0.01, 0.09). There was no clear evidence that rs16969968 was associated with coffee or tea consumption in never or former smokers or that the coffee-related variants were associated with cigarette consumption. Conclusions Higher cigarette consumption causally increases coffee intake. This is consistent with faster metabolism of caffeine by smokers, but could also reflect a behavioural effect of smoking on coffee drinking.


This study highlighted the importance of determining the impact that an ineffective mode of transport has on a firm's transportation model and costs. The main focus of this study was to determine the logistics opportunity costs of using road transport within a mining firm. A case study approach was followed, as the investigation aimed to analyse a complex problem experienced by one company and present it in an easily understandable format. From the results of this study, it was apparent that the logistics opportunity costs associated with the mode of transport was substantial. This highlighted the need for firms to revise their choice of transport mode on a regular basis, as it has a major impact not only on their transportation costs, but also on their inventory holding and carbon emissions. The results also have implications for South Africa's only freight railway, Transnet Freight Rail, which should not only focus on expanding its existing capacity, but also on improving its customer service delivery whilst containing tariff increases.


Credit card fraud management is accomplished most of the times through an automated process. However, there are occasions when machines cannot evaluate the outcome of a given case with enough confidence, and therefore, human domain expertise must be used to settle those transactions. This demo paper presents the two dashboards developed for the European project SPEEDD, which have the goal to provide a better detection tool for fraud analysts, focusing mostly on fraud flagging reasons, visual display of the information, and usage of context and correlation between transactions, to help successfully closing fraud cases.


This study explored the use of mental state and emotion terms and other evaluative expressions in the story generation of 65 children (aged 2–8 years) with normal hearing (NH) and 11 children (aged 3–7 years) using a cochlear implant (CI). Children generated stories on the basis of sets of sequential pictures. The stories of the children with CI were obtained over the 5-year follow-up period. The children with NH continued to show an increased story length (number of words) with age. In the children with a CI, the increase was similar initially, but plateaued after 3 years of using a CI. In children with NH, the spontaneous use of mental state vocabulary in narratives increased significantly between the ages of three and six. The delayed use of mental state terms in the children with a CI was related to a reduced amount of linguistic production overall. The theoretical and clinical implications were discussed.


ABSTRACT The present paper provides a complete overview of the camaenid land snail fauna of the 22 largest islands along the Kimberley coast, northwesternmost Western Australia, which were surveyed between 2007 and 2010. These islands were found to harbour a total of 104 species (83 new) in 15 genera (5 new), including taxa described recently. Species were essentially delimited by means of comparative analyses of shells (size, shape, sculpture, colouration), genital anatomy (in particular penial anatomy), and genetic differentiation in a mitochondrial marker (partial 16S rRNA sequences). Additionally, the radular and jaw morphology of selected species was studied but found to provide little useful information for taxonomic purposes. Species of the following genera are treated: Amplirhagada Iredale, 1933 (22 species), Carinotrachia Solem, 1985 (2 subspecies), Kimberieymelon Köhler, 2010 (1 species), Kimberleydiscus Köhler, 2010 (1 species), Australocosmica Köhler, 2011 (6 species), Kimboraga Iredale, 1939 (4 species), Xanthomelon Martens, 1860 (1 species), Globorhagada Iredale, 1933 (8 species; the name Globorhagada being removed from synonymy of Xanthomelon), Rhagada Albers, 1860 (8 species), Retroterra Solem, 1985 (3 species), Baudinella Thiele, 1931 (5 species), Setobaudinia Iredale, 1933 (14 species), Torresitrachia Iredale, 1939 (17 species or subspecies). In addition, two new genera, Molema, n. gen. (one species) and Kimberleytrachia, n. gen. (12 species), are described. The taxa Torresitrachia umbonis Solem, 1979, T. deflecta Solem, 1979, and T. crawfordi Solem, 1979, are transferred to the new genus Kimberleytrachia. Species previously assigned to Damochlora are transferred to Setobaudinia; the former genus name likely being a junior synonym of the latter. The following species are delimited differently compared to the latest available revisions: "Xanthomelon" (now: Globorhagada) prudhoensis (E. A. Smith, 1894); "Damochlora" (now: Setobaudinia) rectilabrum (E. A. Smith, 1894); "Torresitrachia" (now: Kimberleytrachia) umbonis (Solem, 1979); Torresitrachia amaxensis Solem, 1979; T. bathurstensis (E. A. Smith, 1894). Most species were found to be island endemics. The work increases the number of known camaenids in northwestern Australia considerably and highlights the region as significant hotspot of land snail diversity.


There are many suitable recommendations for twin gestation term in the literature. In many protocols, resolution is recommended for dichorionic pregnancies around 38 weeks, at 36 weeks for monochorionic (devoid of complications) and at 32–34 weeks in cases of single amniotic chamber. The main risk associated with vaginal delivery is connected to the possibility of anoxia of the second twin. However, a cesarean delivery performed by non-cephalic presentation of the second twin is associated with increased maternal morbidity without improved neonatal outcome. The most important factors in the decision of the delivery mode include the presentation of the fetus, gestational age, and weight or the weight difference between the fetuses.


In Playing with Sound, Karen Collins examines video game sound from the player's perspective. She explores the many ways that players interact with a game's sonic aspects -- which include not only music but also sound effects, ambient sound, dialogue, and interface sounds -- both within and outside of the game. She investigates the ways that meaning is found, embodied, created, evoked, hacked, remixed, negotiated, and renegotiated by players in the space of interactive sound in games. Drawing on disciplines that range from film studies and philosophy to psychology and computer science, Collins develops a theory of interactive sound experience that distinguishes between interacting with sound and simply listening without interacting. Her conceptual approach combines practice theory (which focuses on productive and consumptive practices around media) and embodied cognition (which holds that our understanding of the world is shaped by our physical interaction with it). Collins investigates the multimodal experience of sound, image, and touch in games; the role of interactive sound in creating an emotional experience through immersion and identification with the game character; the ways in which sound acts as a mediator for a variety of performative activities; and embodied interactions with sound beyond the game, including machinima, chip-tunes, circuit bending, and other practices that use elements from games in sonic performances.


By using a modified version of the misinformation paradigm, this thesis examined a new and ecologically realistic domain for the investigation of false memories: Brands retroactively replaced in photographs. The main research questions addressed in this work was whether retroactively replaced brands in doctored photographs could influence memories for previously experienced brands. Following from this, the question of whether false brand memories would have any attitudinal or behavioural consequences for falsely remembered brands was addressed. Five experiments were carried out that included four misinformation studies (Experiments 1, 3, 4, and 5) as well as one brand norming study (Experiment 2). Whereas all four misinformation studies examined the effects of a 'brand misinformation effect', Experiment 5 went one step further and examined the behavioural and attitudinal repercussions of false brand memories. In line with previous research, the results of all misinformation studies revealed reliable misinformation effects. These effects were found in more manufactured settings in which brands were experienced as brand placements in photographs (Experiments 1 and 3) but also in settings in which participants were misled on actual past autobiographical brand experiences (Experiments 4 and 5). Furthermore, the results of this thesis suggest that false brand memories could be accompanied by preference changes. That is, the data of Experiment 5 showed that false brand memories for 'less liked' competitor brands led to a positive shift in attitudes and behaviour towards these falsely remembered brands. These findings extend the applicability of the classical misinformation paradigm by showing reliable misinformation effects in a new and ecologically relevant context – retroactively changed brands in photographs. Second, these findings show the additional consequences of false memories for a new kind of stimuli that are real and competitive in nature and are associated with participants' personal preferences. The practical and theoretical implications of misinformation-induced false memories elicited by suggestive photographs are discussed.


Doxorubicin (Dox) is an effective chemotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of various cancers. Its clinical use is often limited due to its potentially fatal cardiotoxic side effect. Increasing evidence indicates that tumour protein p53 (p53), adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), nucleoporin p62 (p62), and the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) are critical mediators of Dox-induced apoptosis, and subsequent dysregulation of autophagy. Aspalathin, a polyphenolic dihydrochalcone C-glucoside has been shown to activate AMPK while decreasing the expression of p53. However, the role that aspalathin could play in the inhibition of Dox-induced cardiotoxicity through increased autophagy flux remained unexplored. H9c2 cardiomyocytes and Caov-3 ovarian cancer cells were cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium and treated with or without Dox for five days. Thereafter, cells exposed to 0.2 µM Dox were co-treated with either 20 µM Dexrazozane (Dexra) or 0.2 µM aspalathin (ASP) daily for 5 days. Results obtained showed that ASP mediates its cytoprotective effect in a p53-dependent manner, by increasing the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and decreasing apoptosis. The latter effect was diminished through ASP-induced activation of autophagy-related genes (Atgs) with an associated decrease in p62 through induction of AMPK and Fox01. Furthermore, we showed that ASP was able to potentiate this effect without decreasing the anti-cancer efficacy of Dox, as could be observed in Caov-3 ovarian cancer cells. Taken together, the data presented in this study provides a credible mechanism by which ASP co-treatment could protect the myocardium from Dox-induced cardiotoxicity.


Articular cartilage injuries experienced at an early age can lead to the development of osteoarthritis later in life. In situ 3D printing is an exciting and innovative bio-fabrication technology that enables the surgeon to deliver tissue- engineering techniques at the time and location of need. We have created a hand- held 3D printing device (Biopen) that allows the simultaneous co-axial extrusion of bioscaffold and cultured cells directly into the cartilage defect in vivo in a single session surgery. This pilot study assesses the ability of the Biopen to repair a full thickness chondral defect and the early outcomes in cartilage regeneration, and compares these results to other treatments in a large animal model. A standardised critical-sized full thickness chondral defect was created in the weight-bearing surface of the lateral and medial condyles of both femurs of 6 sheep. Each defect was treated with one of the following treatments: (i) hand- held in situ 3D printed bioscaffold using the Biopen (HH group); (ii) pre- constructed bench-based printed bioscaffolds (BB group); (iii) micro-fractures (MF group), or; (iv) untreated (Control, C group). At 8 weeks after surgery, macroscopic, microscopic and biomechanical tests were performed. Surgical 3D bio-printing was performed in all animals without any intra- or post- operative complication. The HH Biopen allowed early cartilage regeneration. Results of this study show that real-time, in vivo bioprinting with cells and scaffold is a feasible means of delivering a regenerative medicine strategy in a large animal model to regenerate articular cartilage. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The main purpose of this investigation is to distinguish the problematic tendencies of the health insurance market development in Ukraine and the competitive positions of the leading insurance companies on it. Accordingly, the issues of complex analysis of key indicators of the insurers' competitiveness, and the issues of establishing the factors that determine the level of competition in the market become very urgent. The first 30 insurers out of 50 were taken for the study, and they received about 90% of insurance premiums for voluntary health insurance in Ukraine in 2017. The authors have made the assessment of the competitive environment of the health insurance market of Ukraine using the concentration index and the indicator of market competition, which resulted in defining the advantages and disadvantages of their application. Taking into account that the abovementioned indicators for assessing the competition in the insurance market can provide only approximate results, which indicates the inadequacy of the conclusions about the effectiveness of business processes management on it, the authors offered a scientific methodological approach to assessing the market environment with the use of an integrated indicator of the voluntary health insurance market competitiveness. Herewith, such an integrated indicator is calculated in terms of three segments of the market: sickness insurance; voluntary medical insurance (continuous health insurance); medical expenses insurance, simultaneously taking into account the behavior of two indicators – concentration and market competition. As a result of the research, it was found that the highest level of market concentration is typical for sickness insurance and it indicates a high monopoly in the market in terms of this segment. Thus, the integrated indicator allows to make a comprehensive investigation of market behavior of the market participants and to reveal the problematic tendencies of its competitive environment.


This paper outlines how sustainable development in resource-rich countries requires an 'all of government' approach as well as multi-stakeholder dialogue and partnerships between government, companies, and civil society organizations. Effective management and regulation requires many different line agencies of government to work together and in partnership with corporate and other stakeholders to achieve sustainable development. The paper focuses on the need for an agreed set of data and analysis showing the current and potential future contributions of the natural resources sector at the national and local levels. It addresses a regrettable truth that, in some countries, there is a lack of trust between different stakeholder interests, and probes how collaboration between these stakeholders can mitigate the negative impacts of resource development and enhance its potential positive contributions, particularly at the local level and where the governance context is weak. The paper identifies three important steps toward sustainable development: creating an evidence base to facilitate cross-government coordination; building trust through multi-stakeholder dialogue; and building Partnerships for Development.


Currently, the techno-economic performance of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) is not competitive with other renewable technologies. Size optimization could make a difference. However, the impact of sizing on the techno-economic performance of WECs still remains unclear, especially when sizing of the buoy and Power Take-Off (PTO) are considered collectively. In this paper, an optimization method for the buoy and PTO sizing is proposed for a generic heaving point absorber to reduce the Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE). Frequency domain modeling is used to calculate the power absorption of WECs with different buoy and PTO sizes. Force constraints are used to represent the effects of PTO sizing on the absorbed power, in which the passive and reactive control strategy are considered, respectively. A preliminary economic model is established to calculate the cost of WECs. The proposed method is implemented for three realistic sea sites, and the dependence of the optimal size of WECs on wave resources and control strategies is analyzed. The results show that PTO sizing has a limited effect on the buoy size determination, while it can reduce the LCOE by 24% to 31%. Besides, the higher mean wave power density of wave resources does not necessarily correspond to the larger optimal buoy or PTO sizes, but it contributes to the lower LCOE. In addition, the optimal PTO force limit converges at around 0.4 to 0.5 times the maximum required PTO force for the corresponding sea sites. Compared with other methods, this proposed method shows a better potential in sizing and reducing LCOE.


The incidence of Occupational Overuse Syndrome (OOS) has been increasing significantly in industrialised countries since the late 1970s. Research is revealing more about its causes, and the physiological and anatomical nature of the condition. However, little research has been done into the experience of the person with OOS as they work towards recovery. In the current study thirteen people with OOS were interviewed. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used, with the aim of gaining insights into the lived experience of OOS. Findings suggest that the experience of OOS is essentially paradoxical in nature. It comprises of four main processes 'Coming to terms with an OOS diagnosis ', 'Seeking a treatment that works', 'Trying to do the right thing' and 'Learning to co-exist positively with OOS' . These processes occur concurrently and there are many inter-relationships between them. Each of these processes involves a major paradox that the person with OOS must attempt to resolve. These all involve, in one form or another, the fundamental paradox for the OOS sufferer, that of finding a healthy balance between keeping tight control and letting go between 'working hard at getting better' and 'releasing into relaxation, acceptance and attitude change'. Implications for therapy and future research arising from these findings are suggested.


Water is at the center of a complex and dynamic system involving climatic, biological, hydro- logical, physical, and human interactions. We demonstrate a new modeling system that integrates cli- matic and hydrological determinants of water supply with economic and biological drivers of sectoral and regional water requirement while taking into account constraints of engineered water storage and trans- port systems. This modeling system is an extension of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Integrated Global System Model framework and is unique in its consistent treatment of factors affecting water resources and water requirements. Irrigation demand, for example, is driven by the same climatic conditions that drive evapotranspiration in natural systems and runoff, and future scenarios of water demand for power plant cooling are consistent with energy scenarios driving climate change. To illustrate the modeling system we select "wet" and "dry" patterns of precipitation for the United States from general circulation models used in the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3). Results suggest that popu- lation and economic growth alone would increase water stress in the United States through mid-century. Climate change generally increases water stress with the largest increases in the Southwest. By identifying areas of potential stress in the absence of specific adaptation responses, the modeling system can help direct attention to water planning that might then limit use or add storage in potentially stressed regions, while illustrating how avoiding climate change through mitigation could change likely outcomes.


I am currently in the very privileged position of having attended a lot of meetings and conferences, which interestingly enough have all had a common theme: attitude and change. These meetings have caused me to give some thought to these two small words: attitude and change. The Oxford dictionary defines attitude as "a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behaviour". Quite often, the way we feel about a situation comes from our attitude towards that situation.


This paper reports on the implementation of a guided note taking strategy to promote Thai students' understanding of electromagnetism during a lecture course. The aim of the study was to enhance student learning of electromagnetism concepts. The developed guided notes contain quotations, diagrams, pictures, problems, and blank spaces to encourage student interactive engagement with the lectures. The guided note templates were critiqued by a group of experienced university physics lecturers and piloted with graduate physics education students to check the content validity. Over 300 first year university students (aged about 18–19 years) attended lectures that did not involve guided note taking. Six hundred students participated in the guided note taking approach. Students' understanding of electromagnetism was investigated using a conceptual test. Comparison of the pre‐ and post‐test results of the two groups of students indicated that students who were involved in the guided note taking approach performed better on the conceptual test than students who were not involved in this approach. From interviews, it was found that students viewed the guided note taking approach as a supportive tool that helped them concentrate on the lecture. Promoting student involvement in the lecture class through the process of guided note taking was shown to be a meaningful learning strategy for first year university physics classes.


The paper addresses three fundamental issues under a long-run perspective : (1) growth and productivity, (2) competitiveness, and (3) income distribution. Unit labor costs (ulcs) and unit capital cost (ukcs) are calculated as the indicators of competitiveness in Thailand. Both series explain that Thailand did not gain in competitiveness during its boom period. However, during the 1997 financial crisis, when the Baht currency depreciated, both series dropped significantly. The paper also discusses the dynamics of labor share and capital share in national income as well as the functional distribution of income. Some major features of Thailands long-run economy are the following : (i) increasing average wage rates, (ii) stabilizing profit rates (slightly increasing during the boom decade after having dropped sharply during the 1997 crisis), (iii) substantially increasing capital-labor ratio, (iv) decreasing capital productivity and increasing capital-output ratio, (v) increasing labor productivity, and (vi) increasing mark-up.Functional income distribution can be determined during the periods studied. The gains in labor were greater than that of capital in the Thai economy, especially during the period of crisis when profit rates dropped substantially. The paper also documents the growth in income per capita decomposed by ranges of labor market indicators. Labor productivity is observed as the only factor contributing to per capita output. Overall, to achieve the medium to long-term growth potential projected by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), Thailand needs to improve capital productivity and increase its capital stock. This paper is organized as follows : after the Introduction, Sections II-III construct labors shares, capital share, and ulc series, and observe the long-run pattern of the variables. Section IV analyzes the determinants of long-run competitiveness and growth. The determinants include wage rate, profit rate, capital-output ratio, capital-labor ratio, labor productivity, and capital productivity. Section V observes the degree of functional income distribution including its longterm evolution during the last 20 years. Section VI computes the degree of markup, which also implies the dynamism of the monopoly power of business in the Thai economy. Section VII analyzes the sources of growth in per capita income categorized by different labor compositions. Section IX estimates the medium-term growth potential as projected by the NESDB. Section X concludes the report.


The retina is a complex neural network, responsible for breaking down
the visual scene into its distinctive features such as local contrast,
motion and color. The retinal ganglion cells form the output layer of
this network, and a typical vertebrate retina may contain more than
10 different ganglion cell types. These cells can be separated based
on their anatomical or physiological properties, and each type is
expected to relay information about distinct visual features to
specific areas in the brain. Separating these channels of information
is crucial for understanding how the visual scene is encoded, and much
effort is put into classifying retinal ganglion cells. From the different
strategies used to classify a ganglion cell, the physiological one -- based
on the responses of the cell to light stimulation -- may be the most
challenging, because physiological properties do not always discriminate
between different cell types. For the salamander, previous attempts to
classify retinal ganglion cells were based on their temporal filtering
properties, and were successful in separating ganglion cells into coarse
temporal response types. But surprisingly, only one of the types showed
tiling (a mosaic arrangement) of its receptive fields. Because tiling
is considered a strong signature of single cell types, I ask here whether
a refined classification is possible -- and whether it yields tiling by
further ganglion cell types. Spiking activity was recorded from isolated
axolotl retinas using multi-electrode arrays, and more than 200 cells could
be simultaneously recorded in a typical experiment. The retina was stimulated
with an uncorrelated noise (white-noise) stimulus, which was used to estimate
via reverse correlation the receptive field properties of the ganglion
cells. Together with the autocorrelation of the spike-trains, the receptive
field extent and temporal filtering properties were used to characterize the
ganglion cells. While a single property did not easily distinguish between cell
types, a spectral clustering algorithm  was able to classify the ganglion
cells into putative types based on a combination of their properties. The
identified types were then matched across retinas. At least two tiling types
were consistently observed across retinas, with the remaining types showing few
violations of tiling. Cell types with similar physiological properties, whose
distinction would be blurred if analyzed within a single property, could be distinguished
by a combination of properties. The results suggest that salamander ganglion cells
can be classified when their physiological features are taken in tandem, and that
tiling is a fundamental feature of ganglion cells types -- also in the salamander
retina.


Triassic strata crop out around the Sandia uplift in the Hagan basin, Placitas and Cedar Crest areas. A
uniform Triassic section of nonmarine red siliciclastics as much as 480 m thick is exposed across all three areas.
The base of the Triassic section is the Middle Triassic (Anisian) Anton Chico Member of the Moenkopi Formation,
which disconformably overlies Permian limestones of the San Andres Formation. Moenkopi strata are as much as
20 m thick and mostly grayish red/pale-red litharenitic sandstones and siltstones. They are disconformably overlain
by the Agua Zarca Formation of the Chinle Group, as much as 108 m of mostly yellowish gray sublitharenitic
sandstone and extraformational conglomerate with clasts of quartzite and Paleozoic limestone. Overlying gray and
purple mudstone dominated strata, as much as 92 m thick, may belong to the Salitral Formation. The uppermost
Triassic strata exposed around the Sandia uplift are as much as 260 m of mostly reddish brown bentonitic mudstone
assigned to the Petrified Forest Formation. A prominent, bench-forming sandstone/conglomerate unit as
much as 37 m thick at the top of the Petrified Forest Formation is the Correo Member. It is disconformably overlain
by the Middle Jurassic Entrada Sandstone. Few paleontological data are available from Triassic rocks around the
Sandia uplift, but they can be readily correlated to nearby Triassic strata on the southern ~olorado Plateau and on
the southern High Plains, principally by lithostratigraphy.


Aiming to find a program satisfying the user intent given input-output examples, program synthesis has attracted increasing interest in the area of machine learning. Despite the promising performance of existing methods, most of their success comes from the privileged information of well-designed input-output examples. However, providing such input-output examples is unrealistic because it requires the users to have the ability to describe the underlying program with a few inputoutput examples under the training distribution. In this work, we propose a querybased framework that trains a query neural network to generate informative inputoutput examples automatically and interactively from a large query space. The quality of the query depends on the amount of the mutual information between the query and the corresponding program, which can guide the optimization of the query framework. To estimate the mutual information more accurately, we introduce the functional space (F-space) which models the relevance between the input-output examples and the programs in a differentiable way. We evaluate the effectiveness and generalization of the proposed query-based framework on the Karel task and the list processing task. Experimental results show that the querybased framework can generate informative input-output examples which achieve and even outperform well-designed input-output examples.


Steve Newman of York University wrote a reply to my "Holocaust Denial Is A Form of Hate Speech", Amsterdam Law Forum, Vol. 2, No 1 (2009), pp. 33-42. The Editors of Amsterdam Law Forum invited me to write a rejoinder, answering Newman's critic. The result is this article in which I reiterate that Internet providers and web-hosting companies should abide by their own rules of conduct. If their terms of service disallow hateful messages on their servers then they should not host or provide forums for Holocaust denial. I further tell the story of Sabina Citron showing that Holocaust denial can cause people severe offence, upsetting them to the extent of loss in their self-esteem. Further, I argue that hate speech can and did translate to hate crime. Some hate mongers are not satisfied merely by the sound of their pounding words and wish to see blood. Finally, I propose ways for countering hate on the Net.


'Would Jesus kill Hitler?' is a symbolic question about the relationship between church and state. Jesus, of course, did not have occasion to answer. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer did. Bonhoeffer was a pastor, theologian, and philosopher who, while trying to 'live the life of Jesus,' conspired to assassinate Hitler.This will be the first law journal article to take Bonhoeffer as its primary subject. The article summarizes a long tradition of Christian political theory, the natural law/two kingdoms ("NL2K") tradition. The NL2K tradition runs through St. Augustine, William of Ockham, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and many others. Some argue that Bonhoeffer rejected this tradition. This article's descriptive thesis is that Bonhoeffer was part of the NL2K tradition. Also, a problem in the tradition is identified. Sometimes, the church has had too much influence on the state (theocratic Geneva and Puritan Massachusetts); sometimes, it has had too little (the antebellum South and Nazi Germany).This article describes and assesses Bonhoeffer's developments of and deviations from the NL2K tradition both theoretically and in the context of his opposition to Hitler and the Nazis. Using Bonhoeffer, this article also offers an answer to the problematic question 'how much influence should the church have on the state?' The normative thesis of this article is that the state must remain religiously neutral, but the church must oppose a state that acts illegitimately.


Depressive symptoms imply a loss of quality of life, leading to increased morbidity and mortality as well as increased costs to the healthcare system. Information on the prevalence and distribution of depressive symptoms in the population is essential in light of planning prevention and care. GEDA 2014/2015-EHIS surveyed current depressive symptoms among adults in Germany through the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). The surveyed prevalence of 10.1% indicates the widespread occurrence of depressive symptoms, regardless of an actual clinical diagnosis of depression. Prevalence for women (11.6%) is higher than for men (8.6%). Further differences exist concerning age and education as well as regional differences. The results are discussed in the light of the data available so far.


Do negative interest rates matter for bank performance? This paper investigates whether monetary policy surprises impact bank stock prices differently in times of positive and negative interest rates. The analysis controls for broad stock market movements and finds that an unanticipated downward shift in the yield curve and a flattening of the shorter-end of the yield curve resulting from monetary policy announcements reduce bank stock prices in a low and especially negative interest rate environment. The effects persist in the days after the monetary policy announcement and are larger for banks relatively dependent on deposit funding. By contrast, a surprise movement in the slope of the longer-end of the yield curve does not impact bank stock prices in a negative interest rate environment. The results indicate that when market interest rates are negative but deposit rates stuck at zero, monetary policy instruments that target the longer-end of the yield curve are less detrimental to bank performance than those that target the shorter-end of the yield curve.


In cyber-physical system (CPS), cooperation between a variety of computational and physical elements usually poses difficulties to current modelling and simulation tools. Although much research has proposed to address those challenges, most solutions do not completely cover uncertain interactions in CPS. In this paper, we present a new approach to federate simulations for CPS. A federation is a combination of, and coordination between simulations upon a standard of communication. In addition, a mixed simulation is defined as several parallel simulations federated in a common time progress. Such simulations run on the models of physical systems, which are built based on cellular automata theory. The experimental results are performed on a federation of three simulations of forest fire spread, river pollution diffusion and wireless sensor network. The obtained results can be utilized to observe and predict the behaviours of physical systems in their interactions.


Cells respond to geometrical cues, as well as to biochemical and mechanical stimuli. Recent progress in micro- and nano-technology has allowed researchers to create microbeads, micro-circular islands, and microposts, that can be used to examine the effect of geometrical cues on cellular behavior. Knowledge of changes in cell mechanics and morphology in response to geometric cues is important for understanding the basic behavior of cells during development and pathological processes. Most previous research in this area has focused on cell responses to two-dimensional planar or rectilinear structures. Very few studies have examined cell responses to three-dimensional curved structures because of the difficulty of fabricating such microstructures. Here we describe a novel method for the fabrication of convex and concave microstructures by use of a thin poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane, SU-8 shadow mask, and negative air pressure without using any complicated silicon processes. We successfully fabricated concave and convex microstructures, with base diameters of 200-300 microm and depth (or height) of 50-150 microm (aspect ratios up to 1 : 0.5), and used these microstructures to study the responses of cultured L929 mouse fibroblast cells and human mesenchymal stem cells. These cells clearly sensed the three-dimensional microscale curvature and actively "escaped" from concave patterns, but not from those which were convex. Thus, it appears that microscale concave structures suppress cell adhesion and proliferation. We hypothesized that this might relate to deformation of the plasma membrane and subsequent opening of membrane channels. We anticipate that our system will be useful for various bio-MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) applications, including formation of uniformly-sized embryoid bodies, embryonic stem cell differentiation, and the fabrication of cell docking devices, microbioreactors, and microlenses as well as cell mechanics study.


Commodity money systems, based upon gold or silver, provided relative economic stability for centuries. On the other hand, our modern paper money system, based upon unbacked government liabilities, is particularly vulnerable to abuse. The various financial crises during the twentieth century bear witness to that. This paper seeks to explain the mechanics of the former Gold and Silver Standards and provides an overview of America's experience with its bimetallic system.


In an attempt to present some unpublished historical sources of Ottoman Egypt in the seventeenth century) the discussion has been arranged in two major parts. The first part gives some historical background as well as introducing the manuscripts that are to be examined. The introduction discusses various aspects related to Ottoman Egypt such as the historical background before the seventeenth century) the work of some Arabic and Turkish chroniclers on the subject and a historical overview of the period covered by the two anony1nous chronicles) entitled Zubda ikhtisar tarikh Misr alMahriisa and the Paris Fra2"ment. The first chapter concentrates on a description of the manuscripts. It includes the general condition and contents of the manuscripts. Although the manuscripts do not present a corn prehensive picture of events in seventeenth century Egypt) they are valuable) especially in view of the dearth of other contemporary documents. The second chapter summarises the information contained in the two manuscripts. The second part of the thesis consists of the critical edition of the two manuscripts. Some notes are provided at the bottom of the text to demonstrate some linguistic characteristics of the Arabic usage of that particular period. V


At the root of particle physics is an invincible sense of curiosity. Leon Lederman embraces this spirit of inquiry as he moves from the Greeks' earliest scientific observations to Einstein and beyond to chart this unique arm of scientific study. His survey concludes with the Higgs boson, nicknamed the God Particle, which scientists hypothesize will help unlock the last secrets of the subatomic universe, quarks and all—it's the dogged pursuit of this almost mystical entity that inspires Lederman's witty and accessible history.


Objectives: To report an association of myelin-oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies with aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody–seronegative neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in adults. Methods: We describe the clinical and serologic features of 4 adult patients with an NMO/NMOSD phenotype who had antibodies to MOG. Results: Twenty-seven adult AQP4-seronegative NMO/NMOSD patients were tested for MOG antibodies. Four patients (3 male, 1 female) with severe optic neuritis and/or longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis were positive. All 4 made good recoveries with steroids or plasma exchange. Two patients experienced recurrence of symptoms when corticosteroids were withdrawn quickly but none have experienced further relapses over a mean follow-up of 12 months, although 3 patients remain on treatment. Imaging abnormalities resolved fully following clinical recovery and MOG antibody titers fell in all 4 patients. MOG antibodies were not found in 44 AQP4 antibody–positive NMO/NMOSD patients, 75 adult patients with multiple sclerosis, or 47 healthy individuals. Conclusions: MOG antibody–associated NMO/NMOSD could account for some cases thought previously to be AQP4-seronegative NMO/NMOSD. Our 4 patients appear to have more favorable clinical outcomes than those with typical AQP4 antibody–mediated disease. However, further studies of NMO/NMOSD and other demyelinating conditions are required to help clarify the diagnostic and prognostic relevance of MOG antibodies.


The use of recombinant genetic technologies for population manipulation has mostly remained an abstract idea due to the lack of a suitable means to drive novel gene constructs to high frequency in populations. Recently Gantz and Bier showed that the use of CRISPR/Cas9 technology could provide an artificial drive mechanism, the so-called Mutagenic Chain Reaction (MCR), which could lead to rapid fixation of even a deleterious introduced allele. We establish the equivalence of this system to models of meiotic drive and review the results of simple models showing that, when there is a fitness cost to the MCR allele, an internal equilibrium exists that is usually unstable. Introductions must be at a frequency above this critical point for the successful invasion of the MCR allele. These modeling results have important implications for application of MCR in natural populations.


Objective:To study the effect of bacteriophage treatment on highly virulent extraintestinal Escherichia coli pneumonia in mice and compare it with conventional antimicrobial treatment. Design:Animal investigation. Setting:University research laboratory. Subjects:Pathogen-free 8-week-old Balb/cJRj male mice. Interventions:Two bacteriophages (536_P1 and 536_P7) were isolated from sewage using strain 536, a highly virulent extraintestinal E. coli. Their in vitro and in vivo efficacy against strain 536 and a ventilator-associated pneumonia E. coli were tested. The first group of mice were infected by intranasal instillation of bioluminescent strain 536 and received 536_P1 intranasally, ceftriaxone, or control. The second group of mice was infected with the ventilator-associated pneumonia strain and received 536_P7. Adaptation of 536_P7 to this clinical isolate was also evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Measurements and Main Results:In vivo efficacy of bacteriophage and antibiotic treatment were assessed by recording bioluminescence for short-time periods and by recording body weight and survival of mice for longer periods. Both treatments improved survival compared with control (100% vs 0%), and in vivo bioluminescence recordings showed a similar rapid decrease of emitted light, suggesting prompt bacterial clearance. The majority of mice infected by the ventilator-associated pneumonia strain were not rescued by treatment with 536_P7; however, in vitro adaptation of this bacteriophage toward the ventilator-associated pneumonia strain led to isolate a variant which significantly improved in vivo treatment efficacy (animal survival increased from 20% to 75%). Conclusions:Bacteriophage treatment was as effective as antibiotherapy to provide 100% survival rate in a lethal model of highly virulent E. coli pneumonia. Adaptation of a bacteriophage is a rapid solution to improve its efficacy toward specific strains. These results suggest that phage therapy could be a promising therapeutic strategy for ventilator-associated pneumonia.


The main scope of this thesis work is to compare theoretical models with experimental observations on particle transport in particular regimes of plasma operation from the Tokamak a Configuration Variable (TCV) located at CRPP–EPFL in Lausanne. We introduce the main topics in Tokamak fusion research and the challenging problems in the first Chapter. A particular attention is devoted to the modelling of heat and particle transport. In the second Chapter the experimental part is presented, including an overview of TCV capabilities, a brief review of the relevant diagnostic systems, and a discussion of the numerical tools used to analyze the experimental data. In addition, the numerical codes that are used to interpret the experimental data and to compare them with theoretical predictions are introduced. The third Chapter deals with the problem of understanding the mechanisms that regulate the transport of energy in TCV plasmas, in particular in the electron Internal Transport Barrier (eITB) scenario. A radial transport code, integrated with an external module for the calculation of the turbulence-induced transport coefficients, is employed to reproduce the experimental scenario and to understand the physics at play. It is shown how the sustainment of an improved confinement regime is linked to the presence of a reversed safety factor profile. The improvement of confinement in the eITB regime is visible in the energy channel and in the particle channel as well. The density profile shows strong correlation with the temperature profile and has a large local logarithmic gradient. This is an important result obtained from the TCV eITB scenario analysis and is presented in the fourth Chapter. In the same chapter we present the estimate of the particle diffusion and convection coefficients obtained from density transient experiments performed in the eITB scenario. The theoretical understanding of the strong correlation between density and temperature observed in the eITB is detailed in the fifth Chapter. Being the main topic of this work, it is given more space to introduce the basic theory and to compare the simulation results with the experimental data. Impurity transport constitutes the topic of the sixth Chapter, where we demonstrate the physical mechanisms that can sustain a peaked carbon density profile in TCV L-mode plasmas. Finally, the seventh Chapter summarizes the work done with conclusions and a discussion of the possibilities to further improve the results.


Abstract A combination of different experimental techniques and thermodynamic calculations has been used to investigate the melting behaviour of an industrial iron silicate slag and mixtures of this slag with 5, 10 and 15 wt-% alumina addition. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo-optical observation were applied to monitor the solidus temperature and softening behaviour of the samples respectively. Estimation of the liquidus temperature was made using the second derivative of activation energies for viscous flow, with respect to temperature. All experimentally detected values were compared to predictions made using the FactSageTM6·2 thermodynamic package. Results show that as the slag lies in the fayalite primary phase field, the liquidus temperature decreases due to the increased alumina concentration. In the hercynite primary crystallisation phase field, however, alumina addition to the system increases the liquidus temperature. The solidus temperature does not vary significantly due to the current changes in the total alumina content of the slag.


In this paper, we will consider an $hp$-finite elements discretization of a highly indefinite Helmholtz problem by some dG formulation which is based on the ultra-weak variational formulation by Cessenat and Depr\'{e}s. We will introduce an a posteriori error estimator and derive reliability and efficiency estimates which are explicit with respect to the wavenumber and the discretization parameters $h$ and $p$. In contrast to the conventional conforming finite element method for indefinite problems, the dG formulation is unconditionally stable and the adaptive discretization process may start from a very coarse initial mesh. Numerical experiments will illustrate the efficiency and robustness of the method.


It is widely agreed that the interaction possibilities in interactive narrative are limited by the current approach to dialog creation, which typically relies on teams of scriptwriters. This paper reports on experiments testing whether authorial leverage can be increased by methods for natural language generation of dialog in a story world called Heart of Shadows. Our experiments show that (1) expert writers spend less time authoring dialogue variations by editing automatically generated content than creating it from scratch and (2) expert writers are more critical of automatically generated dialogue than amateur writers.


The thermal evolution of rocky planets on geological timescales (Gyr) depends on the heat input from the long-lived radiogenic elements potassium, thorium, and uranium. Concentrations of the latter two in rocky planet mantles are likely to vary by up to an order of magnitude between different planetary systems because Th and U, like other heavy r-process elements, are produced by rare stellar processes. Here we discuss the effects of these variations on the thermal evolution of an Earth-size planet, using a 1D parameterized convection model. Assuming Th and U abundances consistent with geochemical models of the Bulk Silicate Earth based on chondritic meteorites, we find that Earth had just enough radiogenic heating to maintain a persistent dynamo. According to this model, Earth-like planets of stars with higher abundances of heavy r-process elements, indicated by the relative abundance of europium in their spectra, are likely to have lacked a dynamo for a significant fraction of their lifetimes, with potentially negative consequences for hosting a biosphere. Because the qualitative outcomes of our 1D model are strongly dependent on the treatment of viscosity, further investigations using fully 3D convection models are desirable.


As we see in daily news coverage, the foreclosure crisis is on a national scale. Nevertheless, distinct phenomena of the crisis exist that are specific to different regions of the country, and even to different states. At the very least, our research calls for further study on state-by-state differences in mortgage-market regulation. The divergent experiences of Ohio's North Collinwood and Pennsylvania's Braddock neighborhoods are an insistent reminder to answer this call.


This study examines the metaphorical representation of the Arab uprisings in a number of Arab countries that came to be known as the Arab Spring in the editorials of two newspapers, one Persian and the other in English, namely "Keyhan" and "The Washington Post". Sixty editorials from the two newspapers were examined for the metaphorical representation of the Arab uprisings during 2011 and the possible ideologies those representations reflect. A cognitive-pragmatic approach was adopted in the analysis of the editorials to uncover any ideology embedded in the fabrics of the text. The results indicated that the newspapers cast the same events in completely different frames. It is shown that these events were mainly portrayed as a religious conflict in "Keyhan", presenting the dictators and their supporters as unbelievers and the greatest evil and the demonstrators as believers and God's soldiers. However, the same events were described by "The Washington Post" via a range of different source domains, the main ones being a journey toward democracy, a natural phenomenon and a game between political powers.


Background:
Equity in access and financing healthcare is a key determinant of population health. This study examined the socioeconomic inequality in healthcare utilization and expenditure contrasting older (60 years or more) with younger (under 60 years) population in India over two decades.
Methods:
National Sample Survey data from all states of India on healthcare utilization (NSS-HUS 1995–96, NSS-HUS 2004 and NSS-HUS 2014) and consumer expenditure (NSS-CES 1993–94, NSS-CES 1999–2000, NSS-CES 2004–05 and NSS-CES 2011–12) were used. Logistic, generalized linear and fractional response models were used to analyze the determinants of healthcare utilization and burden of out-of-pocket (OOP) payments. Deviations in the degree to which healthcare was utilized according to need was measured by a horizontal inequity index with 95% confidence interval (HI, 95% CI).
Findings:
When compared with younger population, the older population had higher self-reported morbidity rate (4.1 times), outpatient care rate (4.3 times), hospitalization rate (3.6 times), and proportion of hospitalization for non-communicable diseases (80.5% vs 56.7%) in 2014. Amongst the older population, the hospitalization rates were comparatively lower for female, poor and rural residents. Untreated morbidity was disproportionately higher for the poor, more so for the older (HI: -0.320; 95% CI: -0.391, -0.249) than the younger (-0.176; -0.211, -0.141) population in 2014. Outpatient care in public facilities increased for the poor over time, more so for the older than the younger population. Households with older persons only had higher median per capita OOP payments (2.47-4.00 times across NSS-CES and 3.10-5.09 times across NSS-HUS) and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) (1.01-2.99 times across NSS-CES and 1.10-1.89 times across NSS-HUS) than the other households. The odds of CHE were significantly higher in households with older persons, households headed by females and rural households. Both the vertical and horizontal inequities in OOP payments for hospitalization by the older population increased between 1995 and 2014.
Conclusion:
These findings can be used for developing an equitable health policy that can more effectively provide healthcare protection to the increasing older population in India.


Much research has been carried out on the analysis of chemical residue pollutants in the aquatic environment including drinking water, lakes, rivers, ground water, estuaries and coastal zones. However, few studies report the analysis of wastewater for the presence of chemical pollutants, including pesticides, even though this is an important issue because wastewater can be a major point source input of pollutants to the environment. The aim of this research was to develop an analytical method for the detection and confirmation of 13 pesticide residues in wastewater. All 13 pesticides are included on the EU priority pesticides list outlined the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Pesticides were extracted from wastewater using solid-phase extraction (SPE) on polymeric cartridges containing hydrophilic and lipophilic functional groups capable of retaining pesticides with diverse physico-chemical properties. The pesticides were eluted with organic solvent and concentrated by evaporation prior to analysis by liquid-chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) operated in electrospray ionization (ESI) mode. LC-MS/MS runs both positive and negative modes were carried out for each sample. Recovery of the 13 pesticides was typically greater than 80%. All 13 pesticides were found to be linear over the concentration range 1 to 100 ng mL−1 with linear regression values (R2) typically greater than 0.99. The limit of detection (LOD) of the method was 1 ng mL−1, except for chlorpyrifos (5 ng mL−1). 11 isotopically labelled internal standards were included in the method to improve accuracy and precision. The final method was used to analyse wastewater samples collected from seven WWTPs over a period of four months. Several pesticides were found to be present in the samples tested at each WWTP. A total of 204 samples were collected from 68 sampling events between 2011 and 2012. Exceedances were detected at each of the seven sites in this study, with diuron, atrazine and simazine most frequently occurring.


Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response, yet there is a paucity of literature on their knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in relation to the pandemic. Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Mozambique are known locally as agentes polivalentes elementares (APEs). While technical guidance surrounding COVID-19 is available to support APEs, communicating this information has been challenging due to restrictions on travel, face-to-face group meetings and training, imposed from May to August 2020. A digital health platform, upSCALE, that already supports 1,213 APEs and 299 supervisors across three provinces, is being used to support APEs on effective COVID-19 management by delivering COVID-19 sensitive SMS messages, training modules and a COVID-19 KAP survey. The KAP survey, conducted from June 2020 to August 2020, consisted of 10 questions. Of 1,065 active upSCALE APEs, 28 percent completed the survey. Results indicate that only a small proportion of APEs listed the correct COVID-19 symptoms, transmission routes and appropriate prevention measures (25 percent, 16 percent and 39 percent, respectively) specifically included in national health education materials. Misconceptions were mainly related to transmission routes, high risk individuals and asymptomatic patients. 84 percent said they followed all government prevention guidelines. The results from the KAP survey were used to support the rapid development and deployment of targeted COVID-19 awareness and education materials for the APEs. SMS messages were continually adjusted based on the KAP survey results and a series of seven COVID-19 training modules were developed and disseminated. A follow-up KAP survey is planned for November 2020. Adapting the existing upSCALE platform enabled a better understanding, in real time, of the KAP of APEs around COVID-19 management. Subsequently, supported improved delivery of tailored messages and education, vital for ensuring a successful COVID-19 response.


Background/Aim: Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) is the least common subtype of cutaneous melanoma and typically occurs on the palms, soles, and nails. Tumor characteristics and disease severity in the US population are not well understood. Our aim was to analyze the characteristics of ALM of the extremities. Patients and Methods: We queried the National Cancer Database to identify patients with the diagnosis of ALM and common malignant melanoma located in the extremities (CMME). We compared demographic, tumor, and treatment characteristics between patients with ALM and those with CMME. Statistical analysis was performed with chi-squared test and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: We identified 5,203 patients with ALM and 118,485 with CMME. When compared with patients with CMME, those with ALM were more likely to be older than 80. years at diagnosis [odds ratio (OR)=2.85, 95% confidence intervaI (CI)=2.12-3.82; p<0.001], have stage III disease (OR=4.22, 95% CI=1.47-12.16; p=0.01), and have ulceration (OR=1.52, 95% CI=1.33-1.74; p<0.001). Moreover, patients with ALM were less likely to have a mitotic count of 1/mm2 or greater (OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.48-0.67; p<0.001). No statistical difference was found for sex, lymph node involvement, regression, and use of surgery, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy between groups. Conclusion: Age, disease stage, ulceration, and mitotic count are independent factors associated with ALM. Knowledge of the disease characteristics may allow for better diagnosis and understanding of disease pathophysiology.


Feature selection for supervised learning can be greatly improved by making use of the fact that features often come in classes. For example, in gene expression data, the genes which serve as features may be divided into classes based on their membership in gene families or pathways. When labeling words with senses for word sense disambiguation, features fall into classes including adjacent words, their parts of speech, and the topic and venue of the document the word is in. We present a streamwise feature selection method that allows dynamic generation and selection of features, while taking advantage of the different feature classes, and the fact that they are of different sizes and have different (but unknown) fractions of good features. Experimental results show that our approach provides significant improvement in performance and is computationally less expensive than comparable "batch" methods that do not take advantage of the feature classes and expect all features to be known in advance.


This research was conducted to study the changing levels of oil, kernel and water on the palm fruits, palm kernel oil content on the kernel, and chlorophyll, carotene and tocols (tocopherols & tocotrienols) content on oil from oil palm plants D × P Simalungun during ripening fruits for 0 to 24 weeks after reseptic (WAR). Fruits fertilized at 0 WAR containing 81% water, 0.5% oil and not containing the kernel. Water levels declined during ripening of fruits and at 20 – 24 WAR by 27 – 36%. Levels of oil rised during ripening fruits and increased rapidly after 17 WAR, maximum oil content (51.6%) was obtained at 22 WAR, which was the optimum time for harvesting the fruits. Kernel had not formed until 4 WAR and formed in 5 WAR (0.1%), the increase occurred in the 14 – 24 WAR by 4 – 5%. Changes in fatty acid shown by the total unsaturated fatty acids (polyunsaturated) decreased, while total saturated fatty acids increased. Changes in the main fatty acids were palmitic (C16:0), linoleic (C18:2), oleic (C18:1), linolenic acid (C18:3) and stearic (C18:0). Changes in fatty acids also cause changed of iodine value. Carotene had been established at 0 WAR (73 ppm) and then continue rised to 12 MSR reach 1,301 ppm and decreased during fruit ripening at 20 – 24 WAR (703 – 598 ppm). Tocols levels continue rised and a drastic improvement occurred at 20 WAR (700.3 ppm from 353 ppm at 19 WAR). Chlorophyll content increased at 0 – 16 WAR (1.7 to 20.9 ppm), and then decreased at 22 – 24 WAR (1.1 to 2.1 ppm). Palm kernel oil content in the kernel at 7 WAR amounted to 56.2% and increased to 15 WAR (56.2 to 68.7%) but decreased at 20 – 24 WAR (54.0 to 59.9%).


Why do political parties join coalitions to support other parties' presidential candidates if presidents, once elected, are not bound to their pre-electoral pledges? This article argues that policy agreements made publicly between coalition partners during the campaign help parties pursue policy goals. However, parties cannot use pre-electoral coalitions to secure access to patronage, pork and government benefits under the control of presidents because they cannot hold presidents accountable to these agreements. Quantitative analysis of Latin American electoral coalitions demonstrates that political parties are more likely to form presidential electoral coalitions as the ideological distance between them decreases. Yet presidential electoral coalitions tend not to include non-programmatic political parties, even though such office-oriented parties are unconstrained by ideological considerations.


In contrast to other mutations, duplication leaves an easily detectable trace: a repetition. Therefore it is a convenient starting point for computing a phylogenetic network. Basically, all squares must be detected to compute all possible direct predecessors. To find all the possible, not necessarily direct predecessors, this process must be iterated for all the resulting strings. We show how to reuse the work for one string in this process for the detection of squares in all the strings that are derived from it. For the detection of squares we propose suffix arrays as data structure and show how they can be updated after the reduction of a square.


Background The world class commissioning (WCC) programme was introduced in the English NHS in 2007 to develop primary care trust (PCT) commissioning of health services. There has been limited evaluation of health commissioning initiatives over the years and in particular little is known about how commissioners interpret and implement initiatives and guidance intended to strengthen commissioning. This research explores the development and implementation of WCC and draws implications for future commissioning arrangements. Methods This research draws on interviews with key informants (n = 6) and a literature review to analyse the aims of, and stimulus for, WCC. In-depth interviews (n = 38) were conducted in three PCTs in the north of England in 2009 to analyse the interpretation and implementation of WCC. Results The aims and rationale of WCC, in particular, the specification of commissioning skills and the aspirations to improve health outcomes, were largely welcomed and supported by interviewees. However, the implementation of WCC posed a number of challenges, including: availability of resources and knowledge; lack of a supportive organizational culture and networks; and the dominance of central government control. Conclusions The findings have implications for emerging clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the English NHS. Specifically, the research highlights the need for a system-wide approach to improving commissioning, including appropriately aligned policy and objectives underpinned by a co-ordinated and supportive organizational culture.


Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review of the literature to investigate non-pharmacological interventions for individuals with young-onset dementia and examine their success. Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted. The following databases were included in our search: Ovid Medline, PsycINFO, Pubmed, CINHAL. Studies were retained if they were 1) peer-reviewed; 2) published in English; 3) focused on non-pharmacological interventions; 4)designed for persons with dementia; and 5) diagnosis before the age of 65. Results: A total of 7 articles met our inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Of those, four consisted in social programs involving the community as part of the intervention, two focused on a cognitive based intervention and one focused on a cognitive behavioral intervention. The social interventions were successful in improving the mood and well-being of participants as well as providing respite for caregivers. The cognitive interventions were successful in improving perceived functional outcomes and affective symptoms of participants. Discussion: A discussion of each intervention including their benefits for individuals with young-onset dementia and their caregivers is presented.


Abstract The equivocation of the private life of Elizabethan and Jacobean subjects with the public life of monarchy and state endowed mothers with an import, and therefore a power, not previously acknowledged. These changes provoked a fear of female disruption to patriarchal structures which found its way onto Shakespeare's stage by the representation of mothers as 'unnatural' agents of chaos, associated with witchcraft, murder, dangerous ambition, and infidelity; if not by complete absence, which "posits the sacrifice of the mother's desire as the basis of the ideal society" (Rose, 1991: 313). I suggest that in the late romances, specifically The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, Shakespeare found a form that could demonstrate the complexity of the mother's position, while still resolving the action with a satisfactory ending that presented a stable continuation of patriarchal lineage. The fathers rely on a fantasy of parthenogenesis to relocate the role of the mother in themselves, ensuring the children are free from her corruptive influence and the bloodlines are safe. However, as all themes return to maternity - chastity, fertility, lineage for example - the fantasy of eradicating the mother is shown to be limited even in the artificial realm of the romance.


OBJECTIVE
Evaluation of the clinical profile and distribution of different sub-types of amblyopia in a referral eye hospital in India.

METHODS
This was a prospective hospital-based observational study, evaluating the clinical profile of patients with amblyopia presenting to a referral strabismology practice. The examination included assessment of the visual acuity, the refractive status, the fixation pattern, the grade of binocularity, and evaluation of the associated strabismus, if any before treatment was started.

RESULTS
The average age of the patients at presentation was 7.97?6.18 years with 81 out of 683 patients (11.8%) presenting above the age of 20 years. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was less than 6/60 in the amblyopic eye in 121 out of 733 eyes (16.5%). Strabismic amblyopia was the most common sub-type of amblyopia seen (274/733 eyes, 37.38%). Though patients with anisometropic amblyopia presented at a later age (average of 10.03+/-6.92 years), they had better visual acuity, binocular functions, and centricity of fixation at all ages, relative to other sub-types of amblyopia. The BCVA did not show any co-relation with the age of presentation [co-relation co-efficient (CF) of 0.074], refractive status of the amblyopic eye (CF of 0.078), the type of amblyopia (CF of 0.196), or the type of strabismus present (CF of 0.079). However, a very significant co-relation was seen between the BCVA and the fixation pattern of the amblyopic eye (CF of 0.817).

CONCLUSIONS
Lack of knowledge and awareness about amblyopia and its appropriate timely management has been the main cause for the late presentations and significant visual impairment associated with the condition.


Obesity has been associated with both improved and impaired bone health, and other dietary factors apparently affect the nature of the association. An experiment was performed to determine whether increased adiposity induced by high dietary butter oil impairs bone structure and whether that effect is exacerbated by moderate magnesium (Mg) deficiency. Groups of 24–25 male Sprague‐Dawley rats aged 6 wk were fed dietary Mg at 250, 500, or 750 mg/kg and dietary fat at 10% (4.4% butter oil, 5.6% soybean oil) or 45% (39.6% butter oil, 5.4% soybean oil) of total energy. After 24 wk, 12 rats from each group fed high dietary butter oil exhibited increased % and g fat (determined by MRI) and g epididymal fat. Decreased plasma 1, 25‐(OH)2‐vitamin D and parathyroid hormone and bone magnesium indicated the rats fed the low‐Mg/diet were Mg‐deficient. Vertebrae trabecular amount, number, thickness, and connectivity were increased by the high butter oil feeding. Moderate Mg deficiency did not affect vertebrae micro architecture. Moderate Mg deficiency decreased femur strength (force to break), which effect, was alleviated by high dietary butter oil. Findings suggest that a rat with increased adiposity caused by high dietary butter oil is not a suitable model for the determination of whether Mg deficiency modifies impaired bone health associated with obesity.


Molecular dynamics simulations are reported for the pullout force and interfacial friction of single-and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) with interwall sp(3) bonds embedded in a diamond matrix. The van der Waals interaction and sp(3) bonding are shown to have a strong influence on friction at the nano-scale interface. Multiwall CNTs (MWCNTs) with interwall sp(3) bonding have friction stresses two times larger than either single-wall CNTs (SWCNTs) or double-wall CNTs with no sp(3) bonding for the same nominal conditions. The friction stress follows the form tau = tau(0) + mu p, where mu is a friction coefficient and p the radial pressure. The measured p compares reasonably well to estimates based on the van der Waals interaction, and we find that the MWCNTs with interwall bonding have a larger friction coefficient mu. The origin of the higher friction is postulated to arise from increased interface roughness associated with the interwall bonding. Because higher interface friction is beneficial to composite strength and toughness, nanoceramic composites composed of MWCNTs could have improved properties as compared with SWCNTs for the same fundamental interface chemistry and composite structure.


Two consecutive summer grazing studies were conducted to quantify the effect of supplementing cows with wet distillers grains (WDGS) mixed with low quality forage on 1) grazed forage intake and 2) cow and calf performance. During exp. 1, twenty-four three year old lactating cows rotationally grazed for 56 d and were assigned to one of three treatments: 1) the recommended stocking rate of 1.48 AUM/ha with no supplementation (CON1), 2) double the recommended stocking rate (2.96 AUM/ha) and supplemented 6.64 kg/hd daily of 45% grass hay and 55% WDGS (DM) to replace 50% of estimated total intake (SUP), and 3) grazing at 2.96 AUM/ha with no supplementation (2X). In exp. 2, forty two-year old lactating cows rotationally grazed the same paddocks as in exp. 1 for 56 d and were assigned to one of four treatments grazing at: 1) recommended stocking rate (1.48 AUM/ha) with no supplementation (CON2), or double the recommended stocking rate and receiving 5.8 kg/hd daily of wheat straw and WDGS mixed at: 2) 70:30 (LOW), 3) 60:40 (MED), or 4) 50:50 (HIGH). Supplemented groups were fed at 50% of estimated total intake. For both studies forage utilization was determined by clipping twenty, 1m quadrats preand post-grazing. For exp. 1, SUP cows had higher ADG (0.25 kg/d; P < 0.01) than CON1 and 2X (-0.45 and –0.52 kg/d, respectively). Calf daily gain was higher for SUP than for CON1 and 2X (1.07, 0.82, and 0.75 kg/d; P < 0.01). Forage utilization (% standing green) for CON1 was 51.1 and 68.0% less than SUPP and 2X, respectively (P < 0.01). For exp. 2, HIGH cows were the heaviest at the end of the study (P = 0.04). Forage utilization was less for CON2 than for HIGH or MED (34.4, 45.9, and 44.3%, respectively; P < 0.02), but was similar for CON and LOW (38.4%; P = 0.18). Grazing cows supplemented wheat straw and 45% or greater WDGS gained more weight. Grazing intake was reduced the most when wheat straw was 70% of the mix.


The planar near-field technique is one of the most widely used, methods for measuring electrically large, medium to high gain antennas [1, 2]. Plane rectilinear systems consist of two intersecting, orthogonal linear translation stages which produces data in a convenient regularly spaced rectilinear co-ordinate system. Although the plane rectilinear geometry is by far the most commonly encountered implementation, plane-polar [2, 3] and plane-bipolar [4] geometries can also be constructed using mechanically convenient, commercially available, positioners. Plane-polar acquisition systems typically comprise the intersection of a rotation stage mounted behind the AUT, with a linear probe translation stage acting as a radial arm. This geometry yields data tabulated in a plane-polar co-ordinate system. Although comparatively rare in industry, plane-polar systems are important because they present certain distinct advantages [3, 5]. They do however pose some unique challenges within their implementation. As with all near-field methodologies, accurate and precise probe positioning is of paramount importance to the success of the technique and comprises an important term within the facility level uncertainty budget [6, 7]. Clearly, this is equally valid for the planar-polar technique with the hybrid angular/linear positioning system presenting unique challenges to the mechanical alignment. This paper will describe newly developed mechanical and electrical alignment techniques for use with plane-polar nearfield test systems. A simulation of common plane-polar alignment errors will illustrate, and quantify, the alignment accuracy tolerances required to yield high quality far-field data, as well as bounding the impact of highly repeatable systematic alignment errors. The new plane-polar electrical alignment technique comprises an adaptation of the existing, widely used, spherical near-field electrical alignment procedure [8] and can be used on small, and large, plane-polar near-field antenna test systems.


In "From the Farm to the Table", farm families from America's heartland detail the practices and values that relate to their land, work, and communities. Their stories reveal that those who make their living in agriculture - despite stereotypes of provincialism perpetuated by the media - are savvy to the influence of world politics on local issues. Gary Holthaus demonstrates how outside economic, governmental, legal, and business developments play an increasingly influential, if not controlling, role in every farmer's life. The swift approval of genetically modified crops by the federal government, the formation of huge agricultural conglomerates, and the devastating environmental effects of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are just a few issues buffeting family farms. "From the Farm to the Table" offers a deeper understanding of how we can create sustainable and vibrant land-based communities by adhering to fundamental agrarian values.


Connector-Centric Design (XCD) is a new approach for specifying software architectures that focuses on the use of complex connectors. In XCD simple interconnection mechanisms like procedure-calls, event-buses, etc. are abstracted and components take a second place. XCD aids the clear separation in a modular manner of the highlevel functional, interaction, and control system behaviour, thus increasing the reusability of both components and connectors. As such, XCD allows designers to experiment with different interaction behaviours (connectors), without having to modify the functional behaviour specifications (components). It further allows designers to experiment with different control behaviours ("role strategies"), without modifying components or connectors.

Inspired by JML, XCD follows a formal, Design-by-Contract approach, describing behaviour through simple pre/post-conditions, which should make it easier for practitioners to use. XCD extends Design-by-Contract so as to separate contracts into functional and interaction subcontracts, and so as to allow service consumers to specify their own contractual clauses. The specifications of XCD connectors are completely decentralized (e.g., no "connector glue") to facilitate their realization and their refinement for further formal analyses.


Dimensionality reduction algorithms have played a foundational role in facilitating the deep understanding of complex high-dimensional data. One particularly useful application of dimensionality reduction techniques is in data visualization. Low-dimensional visualizations can help practitioners understand where machine learning algorithms might leverage the geometric properties of a dataset to improve performance. Another challenge is to generalize insights across datasets [e.g. data from multiple modalities describing the same system (Haxby et al., 2011), artwork or photographs of similar content in different styles (Zhu et al., 2017), etc.]. Several recently developed techniques (e.g. Haxby et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2015) use the procrustean transformation (Schönemann, 1966) to align the geometries of two or more spaces so that data with different axes may be plotted in a common space. We propose that each of these techniques (dimensionality reduction, alignment, and visualization) applied in sequence should be cast as a single conceptual hyperplot operation for gaining geometric insights into high-dimensional data. Our Python toolbox enables this operation in a single (highly flexible) function call.