The performance characteristics of modern DRAM memory systems are impacted by two primary attributes: device datarate and row cycle time. Modern DRAM device datarates and row cycle times are scaling at different rates with each successive generation of DRAM devices. As a result, the performance characteristics of modern DRAM memory systems are becoming more difficult to evaluate at the same time that they are increasingly limiting the performance of modern computer systems. In this work, a performance evaluation framework that enables abstract performance analysis of DRAM memory systems is presented. The performance evaluation framework enables the performance characterization of memory systems while fully accounting for the effects of datarates, row cycle times, protocol overheads, device power constraints, and memory system organizations.
This dissertation utilizes the described evaluation framework to examine the performance impact of the number of banks per DRAM device, the effects of relatively static DRAM row cycle times and increasing DRAM device datarates, power limitation constraints, and data burst lengths in future generations of DRAM devices. Simulation results obtained in the analysis provide insights into DRAM memory system performance characteristics including, but not limited to the following observations. (1) The performance benefit of having a 16 banks over 8 banks increases with increasing datarate. The average performance benefit reaches 18% at 1 Gbps for both open-page and close-page systems. (2) Close-page systems are greatly limited by DRAM device power constraints, while open-page systems are less sensitive to DRAM device power constraints. (3) Increasing burst lengths of future DRAM devices can adversely impact cache-limited processors despite the increasing bandwidth. Performance losses of greater than 50% are observed.
Finally, this dissertation also present a unique rank hopping DRAM command-scheduling algorithm designed to alleviate the bandwidth constraints in DDR2 and future DDRx SDRAM memory systems. The proposed rank hopping scheduling algorithm schedules DRAM transactions and command sequences to avoid the power limiting constraints and amortizes the rank-to-rank switching overhead. Execution based simulations show that some workloads are able to fully utilize the additional bandwidth and significant performance improvements are observed across a range of workloads.


Some systems to measure voided volume and ow rate have been developed. Clinically, urination parameters are measured using uro owmeters that have special receivers such as cups or bowls. Since these uro owmeters were developed for clinical use, home use is dif cult and inconvenient. Many of these devices require equipment cleaning; additionally, most are too expensive for home use. To address these problems, we developed a method to measure voided volume by noncontact matrix temperature sensors that are installed under a toilet seat. The basic concept is as follows. Urine is excreted at core temperature of 37°C. The heat radiated from urine during excretion is measured by noncontact matrix temperature sensors, and the measured radiated heat is converted to urination volume. A preliminary study was conducted to estimate the voided volume using an actual toilet bowl. The noncontact matrix temperature sensors simultaneously measure the temperature of falling water at 37°C in 16 areas using a matrix of four lines and four rows. Four noncontact matrix temperature sensors were installed at the front, rear, left and right of the underside of a toilet seat. The toilet seat equipped with the four sensors was installed on a toilet bowl. The position of the falling water was xed at 120 mm from the front sensor. Water volumes of 100, 200 and 300 ml were passed vertically at ow rates of 10, 20, 30 and 40 ml/s. As a result, the surface of the toilet bowl was slightly heated from the heat of the falling water, and the toilet bowl retained the heat after the water had fallen. To eliminate overestimation of heat from the toilet bowl, we proposed two analytical methods: a bias temperature elimination method and a time limitation method. For all four ow rates, the variation of U with a proportional volume obtained by the time limitation method was smaller than that by the bias temperature elimination method.


Many physics analyses using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the LHC require accurate, high resolution electron and photon energy measurements. Excellent energy resolution is crucial for studies of Higgs boson decays with electromagnetic particles in the final state, as well as searches for very high mass resonances decaying to energetic photons or electrons. The CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) is a fundamental instrument for these analyses and its energy resolution is crucial for the Higgs boson mass measurement. Recently the energy response of the calorimeter has been precisely calibrated exploiting the full Run2 data, aiming at a legacy reprocessing of the data. A dedicated calibration of each detector channel has been performed with physics events exploiting electrons from W and Z boson decays, photons from π0 and η decays, and from the azimuthally symmetric energy distribution of minimum bias events. This talk presents the calibration strategies that have been implemented and the excellent performance achieved by the CMS ECAL with the ultimate calibration of Run2 data, in terms of energy scale stability and energy resolution.


Multilayer assemblies of two crown-type type heteropolyanions (HPA), [Cu20Cl(OH)24(H2O)12(P8W48O184)](25-) and Ni4(P8W48O148)(WO2)](28-), have been immobilized onto glassy carbon electrode surfaces via the layer-by-layer (LBL) technique employing polycathion-stabilized silver nanoparticles (AgNP) as the cationic layer within the resulting thin films characterized by electrochemical and physical methods. The redox behaviors of both HPA monitored during LBL assembly with cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy revealed significant changes by immobilization. The presence of AgNPs led to the retention of film porosity and electronic conductivity, which has been shown with impedance and voltammeric studies of film permeabilities toward reversible redox probes. The resulting films have been characterized by physical methods. Finally, the electrocatalytic performance of obtained films with respect to nitrite and nitrate electrocatalytic reduction has been comparatively studied for both catalysts. Nickel atoms trapped inside HPA exhibited a higher specific activity for reduction.


The target article claimed that although visual apprehension involves all of general cognition, a significant component of vision (referred to as early vision) works independently of cognition and yet is able to provide a surprisingly high level interpretation of visual inputs, roughly up to identifying general shape-classes. The commentators were largely sympathetic, but frequently disagreed on how to draw the boundary, on exactly what early vision delivers, on the role that attention plays, and on how to interpret the neurophysiological data showing top-down effects. A significant number simply asserted that they were not willing to accept any distinction between vision and cognition, and a surprising number even felt that we could never tell for sure, so why bother? Among the topics covered was the relation of cognition and consciousness, the relation of early vision to other modules such as face recognition and language, and the role of natural constraints.


Five reaction schemes are suggested for the initiated nonbranchedchain addition of free radicals to the multiple bonds of the unsaturated compounds. The proposed schemes include the reaction competing with chain propagation reactions through a reactive free radical. The chain evolution stage in these schemes involves three or four types of free radicals. One of them is relatively low-reactive and inhibits the chain process by shortening of the kinetic chain length. Based on the suggested schemes, nine rate equations (containing one to three parameters to be determined directly) are deduced using quasi-steady-state treatment. These equations provide good fits for the nonmonotonic (peaking) dependences of the formation rates of the molecular products (1:1 adducts) on the concentration of the unsaturated component in binary systems consisting of a saturated component (hydrocarbon, alcohol, etc.) and an unsaturated component (alkene, allyl alcohol, formaldehyde, or dioxygen). The unsaturated compound in these systems is both a reactant and an autoinhibitor generating low-reactive free radicals. A similar kinetic description is applicable to the nonbranched-chain process of the free-radical hydrogen oxidation, in which the oxygen with the increase of its concentration begins to act as an oxidation autoingibitor (or an antioxidant). The energetics of the key radicalmolecule reactions is considered.


We propose an analytical solution based on Born-approximation for diffraction analysis of relatively strong multiplexed holograms. The direct application of this method is designing holograms for multimodal multiplex spectroscopy (MMS) applications. The filter function of holographic MMS is modeled using this method and compared with the experimental results.


A combination of space-time block coding and spatial modulation (STBC-SM) has been recently proposed for multiple input-multiple output systems to obtain both spatial diversity gain and more capacity simultaneously while assuming the perfect channel state information (P-CSI) was available at the receiver. However, in practical scenarios the CSI is unknown to the receiver and should be estimated in order to detect the transmitted data in a reliable way. Therefore, channel estimation (CE) is a major challenge in designing the STBC-SM systems. In this study, the problem of CE is investigated and a new pilot-aided channel estimation (PA-CE) technique, coupled with an interpolation, is proposed for the STBC-SM systems operating in the presence of rapidly time-varying mobile channels. Several interpolation schemes such as the linear, nearest neighbour, piecewise cubic Hermite and the low-pass interpolations are applied and their performances are compared to determine the best suitable interpolation technique to be employed in STBC-SM systems. Bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed CE technique is then investigated in time-varying channels with different modulation. Moreover, the pairwise error probability of the STBC-SM scheme is derived and its average bit error probability is evaluated analytically in the presence of CE errors.


We study hedonic games under friends appreciation, where each agent considers other agents friends, enemies, or unknown agents. Although existing work assumed that unknown agents have no impact on an agent's preference, it may be that her preference depends on the number of unknown agents in her coalition. We extend the existing preference, friends appreciation, by proposing two alternative attitudes toward unknown agents, extraversion and introversion, depending on whether unknown agents have a slightly positive or negative impact on preference. When each agent prefers coalitions with more unknown agents, we show that both core stable outcomes and individually stable outcomes may not exist. We also prove that deciding the existence of the core and the existence of an individual stable coalition structure are respectively NPNP-complete and NP-complete.


It has been widely argued that the experience of watching television has altered significantly since Raymond Williams's theorisation of flow in the mid-1970s. Yet despite the rise of new technologies such as personal video recorders and on-demand services, broadcast television remains the primary way in which television is viewed in the West. This article, therefore, asks whether Williams's theorisation of flow has continued significance in understanding the nature of broadcast television in the digital era. Focusing on the broadcast junctions, identified by Williams as a fundamental part of the broadcast flow, it examines the changing ways in which broadcasters have constructed and explained the value and experience of television from the 1980s to the 2000s. In doing so, it argues that we need to be as attuned to the continuities and similarities as the differences if we are to understand the changes to television wrought by digital.


The fungicides prochloraz and tebuconazole (at concentrations of 2 µg ml-1 ) were shown to reduce the mycelial growth of Fusarium culmorum, F. avenaceum, F. poae, F. graminearum and Microdochium nivale in vitro by over 90 % compared to the untreated control. In addition, chlorothalonil inhibited spore germination of all species and pyrimethanil reduced the mycelial growth of M. nivale by over 60 % at 2 µg ml-1, although it was ineffective against the other species. In the glasshouse, prochloraz and tebuconazole were moderately effective in reducing the severity of fusarium ear blight (FEB) caused by F. culmorum and M. nivale. The fungicides gave less effective control of FEB in the field. There was a significant relationship between the incidence and severity of FEB in 1995 but there was no significant relationship between ear blight and yield in either 1995 or 1996. It was proposed that the interactions between saprophytic microflora and ear blight pathogens may account for the poor performance of fungicides against FEB in vivo. Glasshouse and laboratory studies showed that Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea and >Cladosporium herbarum reduced the severity of FEB caused by F. culmorum and this antagonism was attributable to both volatile and non-volatile antibiotic production. The saprophytic species showed inherent variability in their sensitivity to the fungicides tested in vitro and in the glasshouse. It was shown that certain fungicides (e.g. pyrimethanil) which reduced mycelial growth of the saprophytic species in vitro allowed the pathogen to grow by reducing the antagonism of the microflora species against the pathogen. This may not be true for all fungicides in practice. It was also proposed that the inefficacy of fungicides to control FEB was due to a failure of the fungicide to reach the site of infection. It was shown, using a fluorescent tracer that retention 11 of spray was influenced by cultivar, time of application and fungicide. The amount of tracer retained was significantly correlated with the number of extruded anthers of wheat. When radio-labelled prochloraz was applied to the ears of wheat, the prochloraz was retained predominantly on the outer glumes, with very small amounts being retained by the florets and rachis. There was no movement of prochloraz between tissues and the half-life of the active ingredient was 48 hours. This work illustrates the efficacy of fungicides against Fusarium spp. and Microdochium nivale in vitro, under glasshouse conditions and in the field, and provides some evidence to explain their poor performance. It is proposed that future work should investigate environmental and biological factors which contribute to ear blight epidemics, in order that a forecasting system for fungicide application can be devised. Also, studies of fungicide activity against antagonistic ear microflora species and studies of fungicide retention and penetration may help to optimise fungicide application to control this disease.


A total of 219 inpatients with a DSM‐III diagnosis of major depression, 150 women and 69 men, were followed prospectively for 3–10 years and mortality was recorded. The patients were previous participants in psychopharmacological multicenter trials, which were carried out for the purpose of comparing the antidepressant effect of newer 5‐HT reuptake inhibitors with that of the tricyclic antidepressant drug, clomipramine. The study comprised patients with a total Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score of ≥ 18 and/or a Hamilton subscale score of ≥ 9. Diagnostic classification according to the Newcastle I Scale in endogenous and nonendogenous depression was performed. The observed mortality was significantly greater than that expected. The increased mortality was essentially due to suicides and mainly found among women. Patients scored as nonendogenously depressed had a significantly higher suicide rate than endogenously depressed patients. The excess number of suicides in the nonendogenous group largely occurred within the first year of observation. No association was found between response to the antidepressant treatment in the trial and the suicide risk in the first 3 years of observation.


Abstract : Software product lines represent a new and promising approach for fielding software systems. Companies that have launched software product line efforts report significant improvements in cost savings, quality, productivity, and time to market. Technically, they report a high degree of success in developing approaches that address the software engineering and technical management of their product lines. Organizationally, these companies report success as well as challenges that they must still overcome. This technical note reports on the state of software product line practice in industry. The report uses a narrative approach, based on a composite of individual companies' experiences in implementing software product lines. The report blends a case study with the results of a product line questionnaire that was sent to organizations with meaningful product line experiences and with the results of a product line workshop held during the recent International Conference on Software Reuse.


The Kruger National Park's (KNP) adopted system of management, called Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM), originated during the Kruger National Park Rivers Research Programme (KNPRRP) of the 1990s. An important concept in SAM is the thresholds of potential concern (TPCs), representing end-points in a continuum of change. TPCs within the KNP SAM system guide management if or when reached, 'red-flagging' possible negative biodiversity impacts and catalysing consideration of management options. TPC-related monitoring generates the strategic information for ongoing evaluation, learning and adaptation within SAM. Post- KNPRRP, although river flow and water quality TPCs have been implemented partly, those designed to detect undesirable changes in biodiversity have not been implemented, until recently. This paper describes the history, rationale, application and ongoing developments associated with the KNP river TPCs over the last decade, providing some key lessons for organisations utilising SAM. The paper concludes with an overview of new thinking and future directions envisaged for the KNP river TPCs, as part of the KNP SAM system. Conservation implications: This paper documents important concepts of strategic adaptive management associated with the KNP river systems. Understanding, related to the rationale and justification for use and development or refinement of the thresholds of potential concern, lays an important foundation for ongoing work in managing these rivers adaptively.


Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is an underdiagnosed disease in the developed world. In pediatric and adult organ transplant patients HEV infection can cause chronic hepatitis, which can lead to cirrhosis. Extra‐hepatic manifestations, such as neurological symptoms and kidney injury, have been also reported in transplant patients. In this comprehensive minireview, we summarize the current knowledge on HEV infection in transplant patients, that is, its prevalence, incidence, natural history and therapy.


The induced-dipole-electric-field contribution to the refractive index at any location within a nanometer-scale dielectric is quantified by summing the electronic dipole contributions due to all the surrounding atoms in the dielectric. Using a tetragonal lattice and varying the ratio of lattice constants illustrates the important limiting chainlike and planelike behaviors. Strong polarizing effects and thus high refractive indices occur for an electric field applied along the length of a chain of atoms or applied in a planar direction to a plane of atoms. In contrast, a strong depolarizing effect and thus low refractive indices occur for an electric field applied normal to a chain of atoms or applied normal to a plane of atoms. Birefringence is increased or decreased by the simultaneous presence or absence of polarizing and depolarizing effects.


In this study, researchers devised a scheme for calibration of earth pressure cells to observe their response to various loading configurations and to recommend a procedure for field installation. Transducers designed to provide an estimate of normal stress within a soil, earth pressure cells have provided readings that conflict with known loading conditions. Initial calibration tests used hydraulic oil as the pressurizing medium in both hydrostatic and uniaxial pressure conditions, which mimic the manufacturers' procedure for pressure cell calibration. Researchers designed a new testing device to permit the application of uniaxial soil pressure to the earth pressure cells using various types of soil and load configurations. As a result of calibration tests, a field installation procedure was developed and recommended. In the laboratory, a thin-walled steel cylinder with a geotextile bottom was filled with uniform silica sand of a known density, and the earth pressure cell was placed within the sand. The entire apparatus was carried into the field and installed in the desired locations. Once in place, the steel cylinder was pulled up out of the ground, leaving the cell and geotextile behind. Preliminary field data indicate that soil calibration and placement procedure provide reasonably accurate measurements.


The overall growth in population of coastal areas in the southeastern and coastal regions of the Unites States has created a need for additional water related recreation facilities such as marinas, fishing piers, and boat launching ramps. Many of these coastal facilities are being designed and operated by individuals who may not have experience in marina hurricane design, preparation, evacuation or recovery. Additionally, newcomer boaters have little experience and knowledge of their responsibilities during hurricanes. A study of over twenty marinas after Hurricane Hugo evaluated operational and design performance of marinas and coastal structures. This study was continued during the rebuilding of the damaged facilities. A similar survey is now being used in marina planning, evaluating, designing and operating and operating marinas is suggested. Operational guidelines for marina operators to use when the hurricane poses a threat and when it actually comes ashore are presented. In addition, guidance on procedures for marina operations to prepare for hurricane evacuation and recovery are suggested.


One highly-scalable approach to content delivery is to harness the upload bandwidth of the clients. Peer-assisted content delivery systems have been shown to effectively offload the servers of popular files, as the request rates of popular content enable the formation of self-sustaining torrents, where the entire content of the file is available among the peers themselves. However, for less popular files, these systems are less helpful in offloading servers. With a long tail of mildly popular content, with a high aggregate demand, a large fraction of the file requests must still be handled by servers. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a dynamic file bundling system, where peers are requested to download content which they may not otherwise download in order to "inflate" the popularity of less popular files. Our system introduces the idea of a super bundle, which consists of a large catalogue of files. From this catalogue, smaller bundles, consisting of a small set of files, can dynamically be assigned to individual users. The system can dynamically adjust the number of downloaders of each file and thus enables the popularity inflation to be optimized according to current file popularities and the desired tradeoff between download times and server resource usage. The system is evaluated on PlanetLab.


Atmospheric concentration of CO2, which is considered as one of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs), has increased up to 398 ppmv as of 2015. CO2 concentration in atmosphere was 280 ppmv in pre-industrial era, and due to the continuous discharge, it is expected to increase up to 550 ppmv by 2050. Many of the major industrial sources of CO2 emissions are natural gas fired power plants, synthesis gas used in integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and power generation, gas streams produced after combustion of fossil fuels or other carbonaceous materials, and oxyfuels. Reactive absorption of CO2 from the industrial off gases by using chemical solvents is considered as one of the most common, efficient, and cost effective technologies utilized by the industry for CO2 capture. The captured CO2 can be stored by using the geological or oceanic sequestration approaches. As an alternative to geological or oceanic sequestration, the captured CO2 can be re-energized into CO by using solar energy and combined with H2, which can be generated from different methods, to produce syngas. The syngas produced can be further processed to liquid fuels such as methanol, gasoline, jet fuel, etc. via the catalytic Fischer-Tropsch process. In past, a variety of chemical solvents (mostly aqueous amines and there derivatives) have been used for CO2 capture from different gaseous streams via reactive absorption. Though the amines are attractive for the CO2 capture application, there are several disadvantages such as very strong corrosion to equipment and piping, high energy requirement during the stripping of CO2 and they are prone to oxidative and thermal degradation. Recently, use of aqueous potassium carbonate (K2CO3) as a solvent for the absorption of CO2 has gained widespread attention. The usage of K2CO3 has been employed in a number on industries for the removal of CO2 and H2S. Due to its high chemical solubility of CO2, low toxicity and solvent loss, no thermal and oxidative degradation, low heat of absorption, and absence of formation of heat stable salts, K2CO3 seems to be more attractive compared to the conventional amines towards CO2 capture. However, K2CO3 solvent shows slow rate of reaction with CO2 and, consequently, low mass transfer in the liquid phase as compared to the amine solvents. Hence, several investigators are focused towards improving the rate of reaction of CO2 in K2CO3 solvent with the help of different types of promoters. In this paper, the kinetics of absorption of CO2 into an aqueous K2CO3 (20 wt %) promoted by ethylaminoethanol (EAE) solution (hereafter termed as APCE solvent) was studied in a glass stirred cell reactor using a fall in pressure method. Reactive absorption of CO2 in EAE promoted aqueous K2CO3 solution (APCE solvent) was studied at different initial EAE concentrations (0.6 to 2 kmol/m3) and reaction temperatures (303 to 318 K). The reaction between the CO2 and APCE solvent was very well represented by the zwitterion mechanism. The N2O analogy was employed for the determination of H_(CO2) in the APCE solvent. The H_(CO2) was observed to be decreased by 5 and 31% due to the increase in the EAE concentration from 0.6 to 2 kmol/m3 and reaction temperature from 303 to 318 K, respectively. The D_(CO2) in the APCE solvent was also decreased by 21% due to the similar increase in the initial EAE concentration. In contrast, the D_(CO2) increased with the rise in the reaction temperature from 303 to 318 K by a factor of 1.678. The rate of absorption of CO2 in the APCE solvent was observed to increase by 35.10% and 47.59% due to the increase in EAE concentration (0.6 to 2 kmol/m3) and reaction temperature (303 to 318 K). The absorption kinetics was observed to be of overall second order i.e. first order with respect to both CO2 and EAE concentrations, respectively. The rate constant (k_2) for the absorption of CO2 in the APCE solvent was observed to be equal to 45540 m3/kmol√s at 318 K. The temperature dependency of k_2 for the CO2 – APCE solvent system was experimentally determined as: k_2 = (1.214 × [10]^18)√exp(( − 9822.7)/T). Findings of this study indicate EAE as a promising promoter for the aqueous K2CO3 solution.


The hierarchical Pitman-Yor process-based smoothing method applied to language model was proposed by Gold water and by The, the performance of this smoothing method is shown comparable with the modified Kneser-Ney method in terms of perplexity. Although this method was presented four years ago, there has been no paper which reports that this language model indeed improves translation quality in the context of Machine Translation (MT). This is important for the MT community since an improvement in perplexity does not always lead to an improvement in BLEU score, for example, the success of word alignment measured by Alignment Error Rate (AER) does not often lead to an improvement in BLEU. This paper reports in the context of MT that an improvement in perplexity really leads to an improvement in BLEU score. It turned out that an application of the Hierarchical Pitman-Yor Language Model (HPYLM) requires a minor change in the conventional decoding process. Additionally to this, we propose a new Pitman-Yor process-based statistical smoothing method similar to the Good-Turing method although the performance of this is inferior to HPYLM. We conducted experiments, HPYLM improved by 1.03 BLEU points absolute and 6% relative for 50k EN-JP, which was statistically significant.


Over the past decade, environmental and social justice activists have increasingly focused their attentions and energies on the privatization of water resources around the globe. Many of the debates and oppositional struggles surrounding this issue have focused on what has been termed the "corporate theft" of water resources. Opposition to transnational corporations like Suez, Vivendi, The Coca-Cola Company, among others, has focused on a range of issues from privatization and price gouging to bottling groundwater and environmental contamination. In this article, I focus on one small struggle for water rights in Plachimada, Kerala, India. I use the Plachimada example to argue that corporate control of resources in India must be located and analyzed within a framework that is not restricted to neoliberal globalization and transnational corporations. I suggest that the struggle of communities like Plachimada should be analyzed as part of the unfolding agrarian crisis in India. Corporate and government strategies to privatize water, along with other goods and services, have especially had a devastating effect on peasants and farmers in rural India and provide new avenues for the reconfigurations of intraand interclass conflicts between and across the rural–urban divide in neoliberal India. As academics and activists, we face the important task of combining "old" and "new" conceptual or theoretical and political concerns as we confront the exigencies and emergencies wrought by neoliberal globalization.


We describe the cloning and characterization of the first human members, hKv9.1 and hKv9.3, of the electrically silent delayed-rectifying-like K+ channel subfamily. Their modulatory effects on the electrically active subfamily member hKv2.1 are also quantified. The hKv9 K+ channels were isolated from a human lens epithelium cDNA library, but both hKv9.1 mRNA and hKv9.3 mRNA were found to coexist with the mRNA for hKv2.1 in a large number of human tissues. The hKv9.1 gene is composed of a minimum of five exons, with at least two alternatively spliced exons in the 5'-untranslated region (UTR). In contrast, the hKv9.3 gene is intronless across the coding region, 3'-UTR, and all of the analyzed 5'-UTR. Radiation hybrid mapping localized the hKv9.1 gene to 20q12 and the hKv9.3 gene to 2p24. Each electrically silent subunit, when coexpressed with hKv2.l, slows deactivation and inactivation compared with hKv2.1 expressed alone. In addition, each results in an increment in the single channel conductance.


Each semester faculty spend time creating and revising their courses. Course revision is a fact of life in education. Revisions are more commonly just general updates, like cosmetic changes, moving dates, and updating broken links. A true course revision looks at the pedagogy and structure of a course and is a process that requires time and patience. This article will look at the general process of conducting an extensive course revision and the specific strategies involved in evaluating course materials. Establishing a clear set of steps in the revision process can reduce effort and time on task. Course revision can be made easier with a little planning and preparation and having the confidence to begin. With the help of a process and some simple tools and strategies, faculty can be more effective in their teaching. To accomplish this, efficient course revision relies on a five-step process: set revision goals; review course structure, content, and assignments; integrate student feedback; record reflections, findings, and observations; and implement revisions. There are no shortcuts when looking at improving the pedagogy and structure of an online course. The result of a quality course revision should lead to increased learning opportunities for students and, hopefully, a decreased workload for the faculty. This article will also discuss a targeted style of course revision called a spotlight revision, which focuses on a single aspect of a course in order to facilitate deeper thinking in course design and pedagogy.


Black holes are everywhere in the Universe. They form when massive stars end their life in a simultaneous violent collapse and energetic explosion. Galaxies end up littered with small black holes, each roughly the mass of ten Suns. Nearly every galaxy center ends up with a single huge black hole, with the mass of a million to a billion Suns. During their lifetimes, black holes chew up their surroundings and spew out ultra-energetic beams of radiation and matter that are visible from across the Universe. In this lecture, I will discuss how black holes form, outline how we detect them, and show movies that illustrate how they work according to Einstein and state-of-the-art computer simulations. We will see that these blackest of all objects in the Universe actually shine the brightest.


We have analyzed the structure and diversity of bacterial biofilms formed on different water distribution materials in the absence and in the presence of 5 mg/L of arsenic(V). Three commercial metals (cast iron, zinc and copper) and polypropylene were used as substrata for biofilm formation. Biofilms were observed using scanning electron microscopy. Microbial ecology techniques (DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) were applied to study the bacterial community attached to each substratum. The presence of arsenic-tolerant bacteria was investigated. Microscopic observations showed that biofilm development was greater on those coupons exposed to the arsenic-containing water. The presence of arsenic also induced qualitative and quantitative changes in the planktonic bacterial community. Clustering analysis of the sessile community profiles showed that the nature of the substrata was a more important factor for the establishment of the community than the presence of arsenic in water. Culturable arsenic-tolerant bacteria were obtained from most of the biofilms. The genetic diversity of the community adapted to the presence of the contaminant was less affected by the high concentration of arsenic(V) in the culture, reflecting the presence of populations adapted to the contaminant.


We describe building an avatar-based self-report data collection tool to be used for a specific HIV prevention research project that is evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of this novel approach to collect self-reported data among youth. We discuss the gathering of requirements, the process of building a prototype of the envisioned system, and the lessons learned during the development of the solution. Specific knowledge is shared regarding technical experience with software development technologies and possible avenues for changes that could be considered if such a self-report survey system is used again. Examples of other gaming and avatar technology systems are included to provide further background.


In Scotland, PISCES stands for Promoting Inquiry Skills for a Curriculum for Excellence in Science. It is a CPD module for teachers of science, which has been developed in Scotland with the support of the S-TEAM project. However, this Handbook uses our international acronym in which PISCES stands for Promoting Inquiry in Science Classrooms in European Schools . It is, we believe, potentially equally as successful across Europe as it was designed around the idea of empowering teachers to think for themselves how to make their practice more-inquiry based, wherever they are. It is recognised that some school, social, policy and cultural environments may be more supportive of the idea of 'more inquiry-based practice' than others. PISCES empowers teachers to make small or large changes to their practice, according to those sorts of contextual factors, their own aims and how they perceive the needs of their pupils. You will note that we have been careful to use the word 'more' in 'more inquiry-based.' As befits the idea of empowerment to adapt to one's own context, there is no single model of inquiry being 'pushed' here. Indeed, we count it as a measure of success of PISCES that the teachers who have participated did very different things in making their practice more inquiry-based. Strathclyde University is a leading partner in S-TEAM. Members of Strathclyde University, along with the Development Officer for Curriculum for Excellence for East Lothian, successfully developed and delivered a pilot version of PISCES as a module to a group of East Lothian teachers, in 2010/11. The module resulted in successful 'experiments in practice' and increased awareness of the benefits of inquiry-based teaching and learning. The same group of teachers have also taken part in a follow-up course (ARIES: Advanced Resources for Inquiry and Evaluation in Science). PISCES is a high quality CPD programme, valued by teachers and supportive of their professional self-development. It can be applied to both primary and secondary teaching, in all science subjects. Pupils benefit from learning experiences, which develop scientific inquiry skills. Feedback from participating teachers has been consistently positive.


Transactions XXVIA of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of what has been achieved in astronomy during the years 2003 to 2005. The insightful and up-to-date reviews are written by the Presidents and Chairpersons of the IAU's different Divisions, Commissions and Working Groups and each focuses on a different subject area. Topics covered in this wide-ranging volume include: fundamental astronomy; the Sun and heliosphere; planetary systems sciences; stars; variable stars; interstellar matter; the Galactic system; galaxies and the Universe; optical and infrared techniques; radio astronomy; space and high energy astrophysics; and other IAU activities. The reviews are written at a level suitable for colleagues in the same field, but they will also be useful for students and researchers wishing to gain an overview beyond their own research area.


We ask why, in many circumstances and many environments, decision-makers choose to act on a time-regular basis (e.g. adjust every six weeks) or on a stateregular basis (e.g. set prices ending in a 9), even though such an approach appears suboptimal. The paper attributes regular behaviour to adjustment cost heterogeneity. We show that, given the cost heterogeneity, the likelihood of adopting regular policies depends on the shape of the benefit function: the flatter it is, the more likely, ceteris paribus, is regular adjustment. We provide sufficient conditions under which, when policymakers differ with respect to the shape of the benefit function (as in Konieczny and Skrzypacz, 2006), the frequency of adjustments across markets is negatively correlated with the incidence of regular adjustments. On the other hand, if policymakers differences are due to the level of adjustment costs (as in Dotsey, King and Wolman, 1999), then the correlation is positive. To test the model we apply it to optimal pricing policies. We use a large Austrian data set, which consists of the direct price information collected by the statistical office and covers 80% of the CPI over eight years. We run cross-sectional tests, regressing the proportion of attractive prices and, separately, the excess proportion of price changes at the beginning of a year and at the beginning of a quarter, on various conditional frequencies of adjustment, inflation and its variability, dummies for good types, and other relevant variables. We find that the lower is, in a given market, the conditional frequency of price changes, the higher is the incidence of time- and state-regular adjustment.


Modern augmented reality systems are becoming increasingly popular in different industrial sectors as augmented reality based applications can improve performance and reduce workload during operations. The efficacy of such systems, however, has not been comprehensively investigated from human factors and performance standpoints. This research explores the design, development and evaluation of augmented reality based prototype applications for two discrete domain areas which include indoor navigation (Part II) and procedural task support in nuclear power plants (Part III). augmented reality-based indoor navigation In the study, we introduced an augmented reality-based indoor navigation application that utilizes pre-scanned environmental features and markerless tracking technology to assist people to navigate in indoor environments. The application can be implemented on electronic devices such as a smartphone or a head-mounted display, providing both visual and auditory instructions. In particular, we examined google glass as a wearable head-mounted device in comparison to hand-held navigation aids including a smartphone and a paper map. We conducted both a technical assessment study and a human factors study to comprehensively evaluate the system. The technical assessment established the feasibility and reliability of the system. The human factors study evaluated human-machine system performance measures including perceived accuracy, navigation time, subjective comfort, subjective workload, and route memory retention. The results showed that the wearable device was perceived to be more accurate, but other performance and workload results indicated that the wearable device was not significantly different from the hand-held smartphone. We also found that both digital navigation aids were better than the paper map in terms of shorter navigation time and lower workload, but digital navigation aids resulted in worse route retention. These results could provide empirical evidence supporting future designs of indoor navigation systems. Implications and future research were also discussed. augmented reality-based task assistance in nuclear power plants This research illustrates the design, development and human factors evaluation of an augmented reality based procedural task guidance system, implemented on a hand-held tablet device (ipad), in order to support nuclear power plant operators with main control room operations. After conducting an extensive literature review, we detail the development stages of our new application prototype that employs marker based tracking to superimpose computer generated instructions in the live view of the operators control panel. We had hypothesized that the augmented reality-based procedures would perform better than the traditional methods currently used in nuclear power plants that include computer-based procedures and paper-based procedures . A research study was devised and carried out that compared the three methods of procedural instructions. The performance evaluation and human factors study revealed that the augmented reality based prototype solution reduced operators workload, increased operators situation awareness, made processes efficient and less prone to errors and reduced inquiry communication. The results also led us


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate changes in the age-adjusted prevalence of disability in transitional China from 1987 to 2006.

METHODS
Data from nationally representative surveys conducted in 1987 and 2006 were used to calculate age-adjusted disability prevalence rates by applying appropriate sample weights and directly adjusting to the age distribution of the 1990 Chinese population. Trends were assessed in terms of average annual percentage change.

FINDINGS
The estimated number of disabled people in China in 1987 and 2006 was 52.7 and 84.6 million, respectively, corresponding to a weighted prevalence of 4.9% and 6.5%. The age-adjusted prevalence of disability decreased by an average of 0.5% per year (average annual percentage change, AAPC: -0.5%; 95% confidence interval, CI: -0.7 to -0.4) during 1987-2006. However, it increased by an average of 0.3% (AAPC: 0.3%; 95% CI: 0.1 to 0.5) per year in males and by an average of 1.0% (AAPC: 1.0%; 95% CI: 0.8 to 1.2) per year among rural residents, whereas among females it showed an average annual decrease of 1.5% (AAPC: -1.5%; 95% CI: -1.7 to -1.3) and among urban residents, an average annual decrease of 3.9% (AAPC: -3.9%; 95% CI: -4.3 to -3.5). Despite significant declining trends for hearing and speech, intellectual and visual disabilities, the annual age-adjusted prevalence of physical and mental disabilities increased by an average of 11.2% (AAPC: 11.2%; 95% CI: 10.5 to 11.9) and 13.3% (AAPC: 13.3%; 95% CI: 10.7 to 16.2), respectively.

CONCLUSION
In China, the age-adjusted prevalence of disability has declined since 1987, with inconsistencies dependent on the type of disability. These findings call for continuing and specific efforts to prevent disabilities in China.


As opposed to standard empirical risk minimization (ERM), distributionally robust optimization aims to minimize the worst-case risk over a larger ambiguity set containing the original empirical distribution of the training data. In this work, we describe a minimax framework for statistical learning with ambiguity sets given by balls in Wasserstein space. In particular, we prove generalization bounds that involve the covering number properties of the original ERM problem. As an illustrative example, we provide generalization guarantees for transport-based domain adaptation problems where the Wasserstein distance between the source and target domain distributions can be reliably estimated from unlabeled samples.


Abstract This article focuses on the analysis by the International Court of Justice of the principle of non-intervention in domestic affairs in its judgment of 27 June 1986 in the case concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua and contrasts it with the evolution of international law and practice in this field. It is proposed that the Court's 1986 analysis not only remains of actuality today, but also constitutes a precursor to legal developments that have since taken place. This is particularly the case with regard to the relationship between the protection of human rights on the one hand and the safeguard of state sovereignty and the collective security regime on the other. The 1986 judgment helped to clarify the content of humanitarian assistance. It constituted the starting point for the development of this concept in a series of GA resolutions that were subsequently adopted. The controversial doctrine of 'humanitarian intervention', as well as state practice in violation of this principle, in no way led to modifying existing international law. Similarly, the new concept of 'responsibility to protect', which places emphasis on collective security and discounts unilateral action, has not led to the disappearance of the principle of non-intervention either.


Background: Infants with tongue and possible lip tie often have a poor latch in which there is often an inadequate seal around the breast and disorganized swallowing. As a result, many of these infants swallow air during breastfeeding. Many of these infants suffer from symptoms of reflux. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of questionnaire/intake surveys of 1,000 infants over 5 years in private surgical practice. The inclusion of these infants was determined based on painful breastfeeding, poor lip seal, infant taking H2 blockers or proton pump inhibitors. These infants underwent release of their restrictions with CO 2 laser. Results: This study shows a correlation between aerophagia in infants with short maxillary labial frenula (maxillary lip tie) and ankyloglossia and reflux. A new term has been created to describe this entity: aerophagia induced reflux (AIR). Five hundred twenty (52%) showed improvement or complete reversal of symptoms of reflux to the end point of cessation of reflux medication. Two hundred eighty-three (28.3%) had no change in reflux, and 191 (19.1%) showed post-surgical improvement in post-feed irritability and less reflux symptoms but not successfully weaned off medications. Conclusion: There appears to be a relationship between maxillary lip tie (ankyloglossia and shortened maxillary labial frenula) and AIR. Treatment of these infants with a relatively simple frenotomy procedure may reduce or eliminate reflux. As a result, many of these infants may be spared from invasive testing or medications that have been shown to have potentially significant side effects. This may change diagnostic and treatment algorithms. Int J Clin Pediatr. 2016;5(1):6-8 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/ijcp246w


ABSTRACT Rainforests provide exceptional spaces for nature-based tourism activities attracting large numbers of visitors. Simultaneously, tourism activities may create environmental, social and economic impacts that require management in order to conserve sensitive rainforest environments. Rainforest tourism constitutes a travel sector that receives growing interest worldwide. This study presents a timely review of current knowledge and research gaps in a new conceptual model to give recommendations for a future research agenda. Through a systematic quantitative review, the study identified 48 peer-reviewed journal articles addressing conservation and management topics (33), followed by visitor-related research (23), impacts (10), and finally community and stakeholder research (3) of rainforest tourism, published between 1975 and 2019. The majority of research focused on management issues relating to policy development, planning, education and conservation measures. A strong geographic bias was noted with very limited research available for rainforest regions in Africa and Asia. Future research should be concerned with expanding and linking rainforest research across countries, and filling knowledge gaps around visitor monitoring, specific impacts and causes, and the complexity of community and stakeholder involvement in managing impacts. Protocols may need to be established to facilitate the design and delivery of standardised research approaches across the globe.


We suggest a numerical algorithm for complex ray tracing. Such an algorithm is intended for the computation of a wave field in the framework of complex geometrical optics. The main advantage of the complex method is the possibility to take into account diffraction effects by use of only ordinary differential equations of geometrical optics, thus reducing the calculation time. The efficiency of the suggested algorithm is illustrated by several numerical examples that allow comparison with known analytic solutions: the field of a plane wave behind a caustic in a linear layer, uniform field asymptotics on a caustic in a linear layer, and a Gaussian beam field in a homogeneous medium. It is pointed out that the approach under consideration can be readily applied to a great variety of real wave problems that have an analytical solution: nonplane waves, nonplane-stratified media, and the like. In particular, a numerical solution for Gaussian beam propagation through inhomogeneities of Gaussian form is presented.


The Rate of Perceived Exertion scale was widely used in monitoring training session but the feasibility of this approach was not verified in skateboarding training or competition. Thus, the purpose of this brief report was the assessment of a skateboarder using the Rate of Perceived Exertion. Nine months of conditioning about a professional skater were collected after each session. The Rate of Perceived Exertion was interviewed, also, after the most important competition day. Furthermore, the internal training load was evaluated using the indication proposed in scientific community. During the first period of training, the training load was similar than the value obtained in the most official competition of the season. The mean value of Rate of Perceived Exertion collected during the training session was similar to the results declared during the competition. The value of training load in this professional skater was similar to other professional athletes. The trainer could find important practical implication such as the statement that the skater did not reach, on average, the level of overtraining. Further studies could improve the assessment using more detailed stratification about the kind of condition and about the physiological parameters.


The work presented in this thesis is largely concerned with developing a greater understanding of piston ring lubrication by measuring the thickness of hydrodynamic films developed between the piston ring and the cylinder wall of an internal combustion engine.
It begins with a review on oil film thickness (OFT) measurement methods describing how techniques have developed since the last decade and continues by describing how a well established OFT measurement method was used to gather data to compare to the OFT predictions of a computer model.
The investigation was focused on the influence of the size of the piston ring gap in the top two rings on the OFT between the piston ring and cylinder liner of a single cylinder diesel engine (Hatz lB2O). The project studied the power stroke (at 500 ATDC for the top ring and 40° ATDC for the middle ring TDC) at a range of engine speeds (1500, 2000 and 3000 r.p.m) and 50% of maximum engine load. Four sets of piston rings, with different ring gap combinations were used. A capacitance OFT measurement method was used for the experimental measurements at the University of Central Lancashire and the data collected was compared to the output of a computer model data generated by a research student at Leeds University.
The theoretical results were found to be much different to the experimental ones, both in terms of their absolute value and their characteristic behavior. The experimental results were unusually large. A review was conducted to find the reason for this. Several possible causes were identified including cylinder shape, transducer wear and transducer stability. It was concluded that experimental data could not be used to form any type of reliable comparison with theoretical oil film thickness predictions. Investigations were proposed as further work to collect data after engine modifications (re-machining of the cylinder liner and installation of a new OFT transducer), along with measurements of OFT on other similar engines for comparison.
It was concluded that although this project did not meet the expected technical aim it had value in delivering OF!' measurements on a distorted cylinder surface and in developing the research methods of the author required for the completion of the study.


ABSTRACT In academic and policy discourse, the concept of urban resilience is proliferating. Social theorists, especially human geographers, have rightfully criticized that the underlying politics of resilience have been ignored and stress the importance of asking "resilience of what, to what, and for whom?" This paper calls for careful consideration of not just resilience for whom and what, but also where, when, and why. A three-phase process is introduced to enable these "five Ws" to be negotiated collectively and to engender critical reflection on the politics of urban resilience as plans, initiatives, and projects are conceived, discussed, and implemented. Deployed through the hypothetical case of green infrastructure in Los Angeles, the paper concludes by illustrating how resilience planning trade-offs and decisions affect outcomes over space and time, often with significant implications for equity.


There is an increasing interest by the flavor industry for producing natural aroma compds. through biocatalysts. L-Phenylalanine is transformed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae into 2-phenylethanol, which has a rose-like odor. Unfortunately this product inhibits growth even at low concns. and therefore its max. concn. is 3.9 g/l. This problem of the inhibitory effect of the product on the cell can be tackled by different in-situ product removal (ISPR) techniques. The hydrophobicity of 2-phenylethanol differs from those of the precursor and culture medium. Therefore, extn. into a second org. phase seems to be an appropriate ISPR-technique. This method keeps the 2-phenylethanol concn. in the aq. reaction phase below an inhibitory level in order to sustain a high productivity of the system. In this work, three different integrated processes involving the solvent extn. of 2-phenylethanol from the fermn. broth are evaluated. The first case is a two-phase fermn., where a water-immiscible fatty acid, which shows neither a mol. nor a phase toxicity, is added directly into the reactor vessel. The inhibitory 2-phenylethanol preferably partitions in the org. phase and therefore its concn. in the aq. phase is reduced. In this way, the final concn. of 2-phenylethanol is increased up to 9.1 g/l. The second approach uses an ester as second water-immiscible phase that has more a favorable partitioning for 2-phenylethanol but reveals a phase toxicity towards the cells. Thus the yeast is immobilized in chitosan-alginate beads to protect them from the toxic extractant. The third integrated bioprocess, completely novel, uses alginate capsules that contain the extractant in the core. The capsules are added to the fermn. broth and ext. the inhibitory 2-phenylethanol while it is produced. In this way the encapsulated solvent is not in direct contact with the cells and can prevent the cells from the phase toxicity. Conclusion: Solvents that do not show a phase toxicity can be added directly into the reactor vessel, whereas solvents having a phase toxicity can be encapsulated in alginate capsules which prevent the direct contact of the cells with the solvent. [on SciFinder (R)]


ABSTRACT PKC ISOZYMES IN LUNG CANCER DEVELOPMENT AND THERAPY RESISTANCE Mahlet B. Abera Marcelo G. Kazanietz, Ph.D. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the major causes of cancer related mortality worldwide and comprises the most frequent type of lung cancers. Oncogenic alterations such as activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and KRAS have been implicated in the pathogenesis of NSCLC. Protein kinase C (PKC), a family of serine/threonine kinases that are targets of phorbol ester/diacylglycerol, has been shown to be involved in EGFR and KRAS signaling, indicating their importance in lung cancer progression. In this thesis work, we established the requirement of PKCα and PKCε in the malignancy of lung cancer in the context of EGFR and KRAS mutations. Using an isogenic model system, we found NSCLC cells that are resistant to the EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib display remarkably high levels of PKCα compared to the parental erlotinib sensitive cells. Inhibition of PKCα resulted in sensitization to erlotinib treatment and loss of gene expression associated with mesenchymal phenotype. Additionally, we showed that PKCα signaling controls activation of a key regulator of lung cancer progression, NF-κΒ. PKCα depletion by RNA interference in lung cancer cells indeed attenuates IκΒα phosphorylation, subsequent impairment of NF-κΒ translocation into the nucleus, and induction of NF-κΒ target genes in response to interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β). Finally, in the context of KRAS mutation, we presented evidence showing the requirement of PKCε signaling for the formation of KRAS-driven lung tumors in vivo. Tumor formation in the double transgenic KRASG12D;PKCε-/mice was remarkably reduced compared to KRASG12D;PKCε+/+ mice. All together, this thesis work highlights the multiple roles that PKC isozymes play in the initiation and progression of lung cancer, and suggests a potential therapeutic role for PKCα and PKCε inhibitors for prevention and treatment of lung tumors. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Pharmacology First Advisor Marcelo G. Kazanietz


INTRODUCTION
Patient anatomy, practitioner experience, and surgical approach are all factors that influence implant accuracy. However, the relative importance of each factor is poorly understood. The present study aimed to identify which factors most critically determine implant accuracy to aid the practitioner in case selection for guided versus freehand surgery.

METHODS
One practitioner's ideal implant angulation and position was compared with his achieved position radiographically for 450 implants placed using a conventional freehand method. The relative contribution of 11 demographic, anatomical, and surgical factors to the accuracy of implant placement was systematically quantified.

DISCUSSION
The most important predictors of angulation and position accuracy were the number of adjacent implants placed and the tooth-borne status of the site. Immediate placement also significantly increased position accuracy, whereas cases with narrow sites were significantly more accurate in angulation. Accuracy also improved with the practitioner's experience.

CONCLUSION
These results suggest tooth-borne, single-implant cases performed later in the practitioner's experience are most appropriate for freehand placement, whereas guided surgery should be considered to improve accuracy for multiple-implant cases in edentulous or partially edentulous sites.


3D titania photonic crystals are replicated from single gyroid structures found in the butterfly Callophrys rubi. Photonic crystals were characterised using SEM imaging, X-ray and Raman scattering and reflection spectroscopy. The overall symmetry and topology of the original single gyroid structures is replicated with high fidelity. Titania replicas display photonic responses that are thermal history dependent. Replicas treated at 700 °C, show up to 96% reflectivity at ∼505 nm, while at lower and higher treatment temperatures the photonic response was not as pronounced. Simulated band structures fitted to the observed spectral reflectivity data constrain the solid volume fractions and dielectric constants of the replicas. The titania photonic crystals were also found to be optically active, with both left- and right-handed single gyroids contributing to the chiral response. The 3D titania photonic crystals replicated here have nearly complete overlapping of partial band gaps, strongly suggesting that materials with full photonic band gaps are experimentally within reach using the general replication approach reported here.


Repositories of multimedia objects having multiple types of attributes (e.g., image, text) are becoming increasingly common. A query on these attributes will typically, request not just a set of objects, as in the traditional relational query model (filtering), but also a grade of match associated with each object, which indicates how well the object matches the selection condition (ranking). Furthermore, unlike in the relational model, users may just want the k top-ranked objects for their selection queries for a relatively small k. In addition to the differences in the query model, another peculiarity of multimedia repositories is that they may allow access to the attributes of each object only through indexes. We investigate how to optimize the processing of top-k selection queries over multimedia repositories. The access characteristics of the repositories and the above query model lead to novel issues in query optimization. In particular, the choice of the indexes used to search the repository strongly influences the cost of processing the filtering condition. We define an execution space that is search-minimal, i.e., the set of indexes searched is minimal. Although the general problem of picking an optimal plan in the search-minimal execution space is NP-hard, we present an efficient algorithm that solves the problem optimally with respect to our cost model and execution space when the predicates in the query are independent. We also show that the problem of optimizing top-k selection queries can be viewed, in many cases, as that of evaluating more traditional selection conditions. Thus, both problems can be viewed together as an extended filtering problem to which techniques of query processing and optimization may be adapted.


Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) is guided by various physical and biochemical factors. Among these factors, modulus (i.e., rigidiy) of the ECM has gained significant attention as a physical osteoinductive signal that can contribute to endochondral ossification of a cartilaginous skeletal template. However, MSCs also participate in intramembranous bone formation, which occurs de novo from within or on a more compliant tissue environment. To further understand the role of the matrix interactions in this process, we evaluated osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs cultured on low moduli (102, 390 or 970 Pa) poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (p(NIPAAm)) based semi-interpenetrating networks (sIPN) modified with the integrin engaging peptide bsp-RGD(15) (0, 105 or 210 µM). Cell adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs, as measured by alkaline phosphatase (ALP), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), bone sialoprotein-2 (iBSP), and osteocalcien (OCN) protein expression, was highest on substrates with the highest modulus and peptide concentrations. However, within this range of substrate stiffness, many osteogenic cellular functions were enhanced by increasing either the modulus or the peptide density. These findings suggest that within a compliant and low modulus substrate, a high affinity adhesive ligand serves as a substitute for a rigid matrix to foster osteogenic differentiation.


This research is based on an ethnographic study of how children in grade five choose to relate reading and writing. The two-year study, which took place in Mary Ann Wessells' grade five classroom in Stratham Memorial School, investigated how changing the classroom environment enabled the children to engage in the processes of reading and writing and make connections between learning in both areas. The data were collected through participant-observation in the room with fieldnotes, interviews with the children, and the children's writing, writing folders, reading folders and journals as primary data sources. The results of the study describe: (1) the rationale for and the changes in the classroom environment, (2) the changes in the children's writing and reading, and (3) the relationships the children establish between reading/writing particularly in the areas of genre, theme and stylistic devices. The findings suggest that when the classroom environment is changed to enable children to engage in the processes of reading and writing, the children then have opportunities to relate learning in one area with the other, reading to writing and writing to reading.


The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate instrumentation procedures of the alveolar ridge expansion technique (ARST) with or without Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) and to identify the most used instruments for successful outcome. An electronic as well as manual literature search was conducted in several databases including Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, for articles written in English up to September 2016. The question in focus was to identify the type of device for ridge expansion that is most frequently used and provides adequate bone expansion and implant success rate. To meet the inclusion criteria, the studies were analysed for the following parameters: prospective or retrospective studies, cohort or case studies/series, cases with 5 or more human subjects, type of device used for surgery, location of defect, and minimum follow up period. The frequency of osteotome usage in this study was approximately 65%, and on average, the implant success was 97%. The motorized expanders and ultrasonic surgery system are easier to use and cause less trauma to the bone compared to the traditional/conventional instruments like mallets and osteotomes. However, their cost is a limiting factor; hence, osteotomes remain a popular mode of instrumentation.


Abstract A set of fine-grained samples from a turbiditic sequence in a Southern Pyrenees foreland basin (Jaca Basin, Eocene) were studied to determine the influence of tectonics (Pyrenean Orogeny) on phyllosilicate recrystallization and infer the grade and basin maturity. The samples from four different outcrops were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and by scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with special emphasis on clay-mineral characterization (e.g. illitic phases). The analysed samples have simple mineral assemblages and consist of detrital quartz, albite and calcite, scarce clay matrix (mainly illite with chlorite), and calcite and dolomite cement. The lack of other phyllosilicates such as mixed-layer illite-smectite (I-S), pyrophyllite, Na-micas, or kaolin minerals is quite remarkable. On the SEM scale, samples (with marl composition) have poorly sorted textures and high detrital contents. In many cases they show bedding and/or cleavage, and in some cases neither is observed. Most of the clay-sized illites show very similar crystallinity and b0 values (determined by XRD) and distributions of crystallite thickness (measured by TEM) in all the outcrops, which is typical of late-diagenesis illites forming under low-pressure conditions. These illites are parallel (or subparallel) to bedding or randomly orientated. They are also characterized by disordered polytypes and low K contents. In some TEM images, a second type of illite has been observed. This secondary illite occurs parallel to cleavage, with thicker crystals (25-35 layers), K contents in the interlayer, and a 2M1 polytype. The pole figure analysis shows that most of the clays have (00l) planes parallel (or subparallel) to bedding although there are abundant clays with random orientation. There is no trend in the clay orientation/disorientation from the south to the north of the basin. All the data indicate that the strain rate associated with the Pyrenean Orogeny has not been recorded in the turbidite sequence controlling the relative orientation of clays, although anchizonal clay crystallization is favoured as a minor process.


Abstract. We examined the water balance components of an 80-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest stand in the Campine region of Belgium over a ten year period using five very different approaches; our methods ranged from data intensive measurements to process model simulations. Specifically, we used the conservative ion method (CI), the Eddy Covariance technique (EC), an empirical model (WATBAL), and two process models that vary greatly in their temporal and spatial scaling, the ORCHIDEE global land-surface model and SECRETS a stand- to ecosystem-scale biogeochemical process model. Herein we used the EC technique as a standard for the evapotranspiration (ET) estimates. Using and evaluating process based models with data is extremely useful as models are the primary method for integration of small-scale, process level phenomena into comprehensive description of forest stand or ecosystem function. Results demonstrated that the two process models corresponded well to the seasonal patterns and yearly totals of ET from the EC approach. However, both WATBAL and CI approaches overestimated ET when compared to the EC estimates. We found significant relationships between several meteorological variables (i.e., vapour pressure deficit [VPD], mean air temperature [Tair], and global radiation [Rg]) and ET on monthly basis for all approaches. In contrast, few relationships were significant on annual basis. Independent of the method examined, ET exhibited low inter-annual variability. Consequently, drainage fluxes were highly correlated with annual precipitation for all approaches examined, except CI.


In the past two decades, a great deal of information on the role of endophytic microorganisms in nature has been collected. The capability of colonizing internal host tissues has made endophytes valuable for agriculture as a tool to improve crop performance. In this review, we addressed the major topics concerning the control of insects-pests by endophytic microorganisms. Several examples of insect control are described, notably those involving the interactions between fungi and grazing grasses from temperate countries. The mechanisms by which endophytic fungi control insect attacks are listed and include toxin production as well as the influence of these compounds on plant and livestock and how their production may be affected by genetic and environmental conditions. The importance of endophytic entomopathogenic fungi for insect control is also addressed. As the literature has shown, there is a lack of information on endophytes from tropical hosts, which are more severely affected by pests and diseases. Having this in mind, we have included an updated and extensive literature in this review, concerning new findings from tropical plants, including the characterization of endophytic fungi and bacteria microbiota from several Amazon trees, citrus and medicinal plants among others.


This paper focuses on the different types of relative clauses (RCls) in Yaqui, a Uto-Aztecan language spoken in northwestern Mexico, demonstrating, on the basis of the nominalization properties exhibited by these types of construction, that they are in fact better analyzed as noun phrases headed by a nominalized verb. After reviewing the main features used in the literature to define RCls and presenting the major relativization types identified cross-linguistically, the different constructions that exist in Yaqui to relativize subject, object, indirect object, oblique and locative complements, are described. As these constructions show different nominalization properties, the nominal (non-finite) and verbal (finite) characteristics associated with the Yaqui RCls are explored in greater detail in the next section. Based on this survey of finiteness in Yaqui RCls, relativization in Yaqui is then considered as a nominalization process in which a finite verbal clause is adjusted to a noun phrase in order to be used as a modifier of the head noun. The last section provides a discussion about the connection between relativization and nominalization, and the characteristics of two different types of nominalization: lexical and clausal. Finally, the notion of referentialization, the act of referring to an entity, is proposed to refer to the nominalization function and to explain how clausal nominalization can be the basis of relativization in a large number of languages around the world, as is the case in Yaqui. Keywords: Relativization; nominalization; finiteness; referentialization


Objective: Surgical resection of a part of the intestine is a standard procedure in gastrointestinal surgery and in order to perform this type of surgery successfully, tissue blood flow must be evaluated clearly. There exists a theoretical indication that it would be possible to use infrared thermography (IRT) for this purpose. Therefore, the main objective of the study is the qualitative evaluation of the infrared thermography method as an ancillary method for determining the resection lines and forming an optimal intestinal anastomosis on the porcine model. Approach: Blood circulation rate has a close relationship with temperature difference and is also very important for identifying the resection lines on the bowel, the formation of anastomoses, and, subsequently, their adequate healing. Therefore, IRT could be helpful in determining the nonvascular part of the intestine. In order to make a qualitative evaluation of this method, the study also focuses on a comparison of IRT with the contrasting indocyanine green (ICG) imaging method, which is commonly used. Main results: The comparison of two independent imaging methods (IRT and ICG) revealed similar, but not identical, results. Subjective evaluation of the anastomosis performed by the team of three surgeons was more in agreement with the area detected by contactless thermography imaging. Moreover, the proceeding 'dynamic temperature return test', when the particular intestinal part was cooled and its subsequent temperature return was measured, revealed significant results. The time taken to return to the original intestinal temperature was greater for the devascular part of the intestine. Significance: A thermographic examination could help to detect the correct location of the intestine resection line for further/continuing anastomosis creation.


Applied behavior analysis is increasing in popularity within the culture at large, the result of which has involved several socio-political developments in the field. This paper provides an overview of J. R. Kantor's description of applied subsystems, as described in his text Interbehavioral Psychology (1958). In particular, the verification and exploitation aspects of applied subsystems are highlighted. The implications of this perspective for the discipline of behavior analysis are reviewed, and specifically, the dangers associated with an over-emphasis on application within the discipline are described. It is argued that adopting a systemic perspective highlights possible problems that may emerge within applied subsystems, whereby the development of such problems might be prevented or their impact made less severe.


During the last years, a number of novel X-ray imaging and data processing methods have been developed. This work gives an overview of some recent CT-developments: 1) High resolution CT: State of the art laboratory CT-systems are able to reach resolutions down to 0.7 µm (or even lower) and voxels sizes down to 50 nm. Several applications of high-resolution CT are presented and discussed. 2) Quantitative CT: In the beginning of industrial CT mainly images were generated for visual inspection. Nowadays software tools and methods are getting increasingly important to determine quantitative data from CT scans with reasonable accuracy. These quantitative values can be lengths, diameters, distances, fibre orientations, porosity values, parameters characterizing the 3D-microstructure, etc. 3) 4DCT or In-situ CT: Typical 4DCT and in-situ investigations include the thermo-mechanical behaviour (tension, compression, torsion at different temperatures) of materials, phase transitions, physical reactions (e.g. melting, sintering, diffusion...), chemical reactions, etc. CT is one of the most powerful methods for in-situ investigations of a material since it generates the complete 3D information without, in most of the cases, affecting the studied system. 4) Phase contrast CT: X-ray computed tomography phase imaging methods can be classified into propagation based methods, interferometric methods and other techniques. In this presentation, we compare an interferometric method based on the Talbot-Lau interferometer with propagation based phase contrast CTmethods and discuss the possibilities and restrictions. 5.) Further trends: In addition we report on further trends and methods such as XXL-CT / Robot-CT , In-line CT/High speed CT, coupling of CT with material simulation, application of new X-ray sources and detectors (e.g. photon counting detectors), application of multi-energy techniques, etc.


Wastewater discharge from urban, industrial and agricultural sources is the main cause of degradation of river water quality. Water from the Mololoa river is used for irrigation and receives discharges of wastewater from several towns and a greater volume from the city of Tepic. In order to evaluate the quality of the river water for agricultural use, 12 sampling sites were established along the river channel. Sampling was monthly from January to December 2016. Water quality was classif ied by pH, EC, ES, SAR and RSC. During the entire sampling period pH was alkaline, with an average of 7.5, minimum 6.3 and maximum 8.9, and EC was on average 304, minimum 139 and maximum 831 μS cm-1. Of the samples, 50.7% were classif ied as C1, 48.6% C2 and 0.7% C3. With the ES, 131 samples were classif ied as very good to good quality, eight as good to dangerous and one as dangerous to very dangerous. SAR values were on average 1.6, minimum 0.3 and maximum 4.4. RSC indicates that 97% of the samples are of good quality for agricultural use and 3% conditioned. In the dry season pH was alkaline with an average of 7.7, minimum 6.3 and maximum 8.9; in the rainy season it was neutral with an average of 7.3, minimum 6.5 and maximum 7.8. An increase in pH, EC, ES, SAR and RSC was obtained in the dry season, and the highest values were found in May at the La Escondida site, where all the wastewater discharges from the city of Tepic and the El Iztete landf ill are concentrated. The water of the Mololoa river at the La Escondida site is not recommended for irrigation in the month of May.


Does decentralization enhance service delivery and poverty reduction? Drawing on cutting edge research, expert contributors address this fundamental question facing policy-makers in developing as well as advanced countries. This timely book builds upon insights on the recent developments in the intergovernmental literature first outlined in the Handbook of Fiscal Federalism. New empirical evidence from across the globe is presented: policy-oriented chapters evaluate fiscal federalism with an emphasis on the effectiveness of decentralized service delivery, the decentralization process in different parts of the world is appraised, and specially commissioned research focuses on the political economy process and the outcomes of the decentralization process. The role of international agencies, as explicit donors, is examined in several chapters.


The compressive behavior of poly(HIPE) foams was studied using the developed micromechanics based computational model. The model allowed identifying the morphological parameters governing the foam compressive behavior. These parameters comprise: (i) foam density, (ii) Sauter mean diameter of voids calculated from the morphological analysis of the polydispersed microstructure of poly(HIPE), and (iii) polymer/strut characteristic size identified as the height of the curvilinear triangular cross-section. The model prediction compared closely with the experiments and considered both the linear and plateau regions of the compressive poly(HIPE) behavior. The computational model allows the prediction of structure-property relationships for poly(HIPE) foams with various relative densities and open cell microstructure using the input parameters obtained from the morphology characterization of the poly(HIPE). The simulations provide a pathway for understanding how tuning the manufacturing process can enable the optimal foam morphology for targeted mechanical properties.

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This innovative interdisciplinary study focuses on the history, science, and policy of tree planting and water conservation in South Africa. South Africa's forestry sector has sat—often controversially—at the crossroads of policy and scientific debates regarding water conservation, economic development, and biodiversity protection. Bennett and Kruger show how debates about the hydrological impact of exotic tree planting in South Africa shaped the development of modern scientific ideas and state policies relating to timber plantations, water conservation, invasive species control, and biodiversity management within South Africa as well as elsewhere in the world. Forestry and Water Conservation in South Africa shows how scientific research on the impact of exotic and native vegetation led to the development of a comprehensive national policy for conserving water, producing timber, and protecting indigenous species from invasive alien plants. Policies and laws relating to forests and water began to change in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of political and administrative changes within South Africa. This book suggests that the country's contemporary policies towards timber plantations, guided by the National Water Act of 1998, need to be reconsidered in light of the authors' findings. Bennett and Kruger also call for more interdisciplinary research and greater emphasis on integrated policies and management plans for forestry, invasive alien plants, water conservation, and biodiversity preservation.


Abstract River bank filtration (RBF) is a system that enriches groundwater resources by induced infiltration of river water to an aquifer. Problematic during operation of RBF systems is the deterioration of infiltration effectiveness caused by river bed clogging. This situation was observed in the Krajkowo well field which supplies fresh water to the city of Poznań (Poland) during and after the long hydrological drought between the years 1989 and 1992. The present note discusses results of specific hydrogeological research which included drilling of a net of boreholes to a depth of 10 m below river bottom (for sediment sampling as well as for hydrogeological measurements), analyses of grain size distribution and relative density studies. The results obtained have allowed the recognition of the origin of the clogging processes, as well as the documentation of the clogged parts of the river bottom designated for unclogging activities.


Jason Webb Yackee's thoughtful article, Controlling the International Investment Law Agency, is an important contribution to a growing literature on the question of the legitimacy of the international investment law (IIL) system, and, in particular, investor-state arbitration, which is largely the focus of his article. Rather than taking a for-or-against position on the IIL system in its present form, Professor Yackee proposes that we accept the system as it exists and analogize it "to a domestic-law administrative agency in which significant policymaking authority is transferred from political organs to expert decisionmakers who are charged" to effect "the promotion and protection of foreign investment." In viewing the IIL system through this lens, Professor Yackee argues that the system's major weakness — "the lack of sufficient mechanisms of state political control" — is laid bare, and that the state can, in his view, be reinserted to "sit at the top of the decisional hierarchy" through application of administrative-law principles. The state is "re-stated" (my word, not his) at the center of the IIL system by recognizing that the system is a political one that needs political checks, and those checks are provided by states. In Professor Yackee's view, principles of administrative law point the way to a partial solution — "the adaptation of notice-and-comment and legislative veto concepts to the dispute resolution process." The idea is that viewing the IIL system through the lens of administrative-law agency provides a potential solution to the question at the heart of the system itself: what role should the state play in IIL, especially in the investor-state context? In this response, I do three things. First, I examine whether there is a problem with the IIL system that needs an administrative-law solution. Second, I explore whether the analogy to administrative law helps solve the putative problem. Third, I offer some concluding thoughts to encourage the consideration of more than state interests in evaluating the IIL system.


Recent estimates of the world's swan Cygnus sp. populations indicate that there are currently between 1.5–1.6 million birds in 8 species, including the Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba as an honorary swan. Monitoring programmes in Europe and North America indicate that most populations increased following the introduction of national and international legislation to protect the species during the early- to mid-20th century. A switch from feeding primarily on aquatic vegetation to foraging on farmland (especially high-energy arable crops) in winter during the second half of the 20th century, is also considered a contributing factor. Trumpeter Swans Cygnus buccinator famously increased from just 69 individuals known to exist in 1935 (although small numbers were missed) to c. 76,000 at the present time, and most of the northern hemisphere swan populations have continued to show increasing/stable trends over the last 20 years. The exception to this pattern is a decline since 1995 in the Northwest European Bewick's Swan population, following an increase in its population size during the 1970s–1980s, which is now being addressed through implementation of an International Single Species Action Plan. A proposal to change enforcement regulations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in the United States is also of concern, as potentially undermining protection for Trumpeter Swans in North America, illustrating the importance of politics and legislation as well as on-the-ground measures for species conservation. Elsewhere, less is known about the trends and conservation status for swans in central and eastern Asia, though count and research programmes introduced in China, added to those underway in Japan and Korea, have recently greatly enhanced our knowledge of swan populations on the East Asian flyway. Trends for the Black Swan Cygnus atratus in Australia and for the Black-necked Swan Cygnus melancoryphus in South America are also poorly known, because of the large numbers involved for the former and a lack of coordinated counts across difficult terrain for the latter. These southern hemisphere species are considered vulnerable to water resource developments ( i.e . where diversion of water is shrinking wetlands), and to droughts associated with El Nino events and climate change. More extensive monitoring is therefore required to determine whether swan populations and species are stable, fluctuating or in decline.


Care Aims is increasingly being used as a model of care within NHS services, particularly by allied health professionals. This article reports the findings of a pilot study exploring the impact of implementing Care Aims in an integrated community health team. It describes the main findings, and discusses the factors that appeared to impact on the implementation and use of the Care Aims approach in these teams. The model has been traditionally used in uni-professional teams rather than integrated teams. This case study suggests Care Aims has potential to support integrated team working. In this study, clinicians perceived Care Aims was a model that could improve care for patients, support professionals working together and support self-management. However, it is unclear whether it was Care Aims itself or the training and discussion that took place that enabled this team to develop and agree more consistent working practices. Similar to previous studies, this study has shown how team and professional culture can influence how team members work together and provide care in an integrated way. Team and professional cultures are also shown to influence how team members approach and embrace that change. As such, Care Aims may be more challenging to some staff groups to implement.


The proliferation of composites as a structural material has increased the necessity for detection and characterization of impact damage. Impact damage, due either to mishandling or in-service environment, in the form of delaminations, matrix cracking, and fiber chopping, may be sufficient to reduce the load-bearing ability of the structure below safety limits and may still not be visible to the unaided observer. Such damage may exist on the surface of an internal cavity, which may prevent it from being viewed, or it may exist within the thickness of the structure and not be visible from either side of the laminate. Impact damage that is partially visible often extends further along and through the material than that which can be seen. Computerized methods for damage detection offer greater assessment capabilities than visual inspections and are capable of detecting subsurface or internal flaws. For these reasons, as well as the declining cost of more powerful hardware, computer sensing methods for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) have grown increasingly popular in recent years. A disadvantage of some computerized NDE methods is that vast amounts of data are generally obtained from any given test, and often it is up to the inspection conductor to interpret these results subjectively based upon prior experience. An alternative is to train the computer sensing system to analyze the huge data arrays, which it can digest more easily than can its human counterpart, and to provide objective interpretations. This paper presents the results of an experimental study in which two computer sensing techniques were used to monitor filament-wound pressure vessels during pressurization. Acoustic emission registers the sound generated by microscopic damage propagation. Video image correlation is a noncontact computer vision technique that simultaneously measures full-field in-plane surface displacements and strains, both linear and angular, with subpixel accuracy. Neural networks were used to predict the burst pressures of impacted pressure vessels based upon data obtained at less than approximately one third of the expected burst pressure for an undamaged specimen.


A continuing challenge for software designers is to develop efficient and cost-effective software implementations. Many see software reuse as a potential solution; however, the cost of reuse tends to outweigh the potential benefits. The costs of software reuse include establishing and maintaining a library of reusable components, searching for applicable components to be reused in a design, as well as adapting components toward a proper implementation. We introduce SPARTACAS, a framework for automating specification-based component retrieval and adaptation that has been successfully applied to synthesis of software for embedded and digital signal processing systems. Using specifications to abstractly represent implementations allows automated theorem-provers to formally verify logical reusability relationships between specifications. These logical relationships are used to evaluate the feasibility of reusing the implementations of components to implement a problem. Retrieving a component that is a complete match to a problem is rare. It is more common to retrieve a component that partially satisfies the requirements of a problem. Such components have to be adapted. Rather than adapting components at the code level, SPARTACAS adapts the behavior of partial matches by imposing interactions with other components at the architecture level. A subproblem is synthesized that specifies the missing functionality required to complete the problem; the subproblem is used to query the library for components to adapt the partial match. The framework was implemented and evaluated empirically, the results suggest that automated adaptation using architectures successfully promotes software reuse, and hierarchically organizes a solution to a design problem.


This paper explores the lessons learned from mentoring in radiation oncology from a remote setting. It discusses the challenges faced by mentors and mentees in maintaining effective communication, establishing trust, and fostering professional development in a virtual environment. The paper highlights the importance of leveraging available technologies and platforms to facilitate mentorship activities, such as video conferencing, online learning platforms, and virtual tumor boards. Drawing from experiences and best practices, the paper provides practical recommendations for successful remote mentoring in radiation oncology. It emphasizes the need for structured mentorship programs, clear communication channels, and goal-oriented mentoring relationships. Strategies for promoting engagement, building mentor-mentee rapport, and ensuring continued professional growth are explored.


In bacteria, gene expression is regulated primarily at the step of transcription initiation. The DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP), the central enzyme of transcription, comprises an evolutionarily conserved, 400-kDa catalytic core of five subunits (a2β β'ω). The transcription cycle begins when the σ factor associates with core RNAP to form the holoenzyme, which then locates promoters through sequence-specific interactions between elements of σ and the promoter DNA. The studies described in this chapter were performed with group 1, or primary, σ factors, which transcribe genes necessary for exponential growth under favorable conditions. The chapter focuses on cognate anti-σ/σ pairs for which structural studies have provided insights into function and regulation. A signal transduction pathway involving ECF σ factors related to Escherichia coli σE plays an important role in pathogenesis in some organisms. The evolution of structurally and functionally diverse anti-σ factors provide much more flexibility for the regulation of transcription initiation. Thus, the authors propose that the functional and structural diversity of anti-σ factors reflects the need for bacteria to relay a wide variety of environmental cues to the core transcriptional apparatus via regulation of the structurally conserved σ factors.