The tectonic history of Kohistan, northern Pakistan, involves two collisional events. Cleavage and folding developed at 90-100 Ma along the northern suture between the Kohistan island arc and the Asian plate. At the same time there was major folding and shearing of the lower part of the Kohistan arc, approximately 100 km south of the suture. This deformation was followed by ocean subduction south of the Kohistan arc, generating the Kohistan calc-alkaline batholith, with subsequent ocean closure during the Eocene and obduction of the Kohistan arc, together with the adjacent part of the Asian plate, over the Indian continental crust. The construction of balanced cross-sections through the imbricated upper part of the Indian continental crust, in the footwall to this southern suture indicates a minimum displacement of 470 km, requiring the western Himalayan hinterland to be underlain by a large wedge of Indian middle to lower crust. There is some shortening of the overriding Kohistan and Asian plates by thrusts and shear zones, but it is insufficient to satisfy the palaeomagnetic data; there must be major crustal shortening, involving thrusts, in the Hindu Kush and Pamirs north of Kohistan. The post-Eocene thrust direction, which for most of Pakistan is towards 160°, is almost perpendicular to that immediately to the east in the Himalayan belt, generating complex refolded thrust patterns in the Hazara syntaxis and large scale folding and rapid uplift with associated brittle faulting and seismic activity adjacent to the Nanga Parbat syntaxis. These different thrust trends indicate that major thrust movement as well as the folds and deformation fabrics, cannot always be related to plate movement vectors, but are modified by, or develop from, complex rotations during place collision or from the gravitational spreading of a thickened crust. A regional approach is required to recognize and correctly attribute the various components in thrust displacements.


This paper highlights construct validity issues that can occur when researchers utilize index variables (commonly referred to as ratios) in which the denominator can become negative. These indexes are commonly used in management research, and we demonstrate that indexes constructed from data which includes negative values for the denominator lose their ordinal properties and can be difficult, if not impossible, to interpret. Further, we show that common empirical practices to resolve these issues do not solve issues of ordinality and interpretability and may lead to additional validity issues. We recommend the use of alternate measures not affected by the issues described in this article to increase the validity of future organizational research.


The internal representation of stimuli is imperfect and subject to biases. Noise is introduced at initial encoding and during maintenance, degrading the precision of stimulus estimation. Stimulus estimation is also biased away from recently encountered stimuli (adaptation). According to a Bayesian framework, one should expect bias to be greater when stimulus representation (and thus precision) is poor. We tested for this effect in individual difference measures. 101 subjects performed an on-line experiment (https://cfn.upenn.edu/iadapt). During separate face and color blocks, subjects performed three different tasks: an immediate stimulus-match (15 trials), a 5s delayed match (30 trials), and a 100ms delayed match following 5s of adaptation (30 trials). The stimulus space was circular, and subjects entered their responses using a color/face wheel. Bias and precision of responses, while accounting for random guesses, were extracted by fitting a mixture of von Mises distributions. Two blocks of each measure were obtained, allowing for tests of measure reliability. 33 subjects were excluded due to poor model fit. In the remaining subjects, average precision across all tasks was found to vary significantly between subjects (p< 0.001), but not vary as a function of task or material. Precision was a reliable subject property (r=0.67 over two measures). The adaptation manipulation induced the expected bias in responses (mean±SEM subjects: 7.7±0.5° colors, 4.2±0.6° faces). The magnitude of this bias varied between subjects, and this too had good re-test reliability (color r=0.69; faces r=0.52). Across subjects, there was a negative correlation between mean precision and bias (r=-0.29, p=0.016). While a significant correlation between face and color bias was found (r=0.40,p< 0.001), this did not account for the entire reliable variance of individual differences for the two materials. At the level of individual differences, the precision of perceptual representations negatively predicts the magnitude of adaptation bias. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


We consider the Z'/Z mass hierarchy in a supersymmetric model in which the U(1)' is broken in a secluded sector coupled to the ordinary sector only by gauge and possibly soft terms. A large mass hierarchy can be achieved while maintaining the normal sparticle spectra if there is a direction in which the tree level potential becomes flat when a particular Yukawa coupling vanishes. We describe the conditions needed for the desired breaking pattern, to avoid unwanted global symmetries, and for an acceptable effective mu parameter. The electroweak breaking is dominated by A terms rather than scalar masses, leading to tan beta ~ 1. The spectrum of the symmetry breaking sector is displayed. There is significant mixing between the MSSM particles and new standard model singlets, for both the Higgs scalars and the neutralinos. A larger Yukawa coupling for the effective mu parameter is allowed than in the NMSSM because of the U(1)' contribution to the running from a high scale. The upper bound on the tree-level mass of the lightest CP even Higgs doublet mass is about c x 174 GeV, where c is of order unity, but the actual mass eigenvalues are generally smaller because of singlet mixing.


We define strict confluent drawing, a form of confluent drawing in which the existence of an edge is indicated by the presence of a smooth path through a system of arcs and junctions (without crossings), and in which such a path, if it exists, must be unique. We prove that it is NP-complete to determine whether a given graph has a strict confluent drawing but polynomial to determine whether it has an outerplanar strict confluent drawing with a fixed vertex ordering (a drawing within a disk, with the vertices placed in a given order on the boundary).


Six hard endosperm (modified) opaque-2 (o2) corn populations from CIMMYT were compared with local corn cultivars Diente de Caballo and Mayorbela. Grain yield, days to 50% anthesis, plant and ear height, endosperm modification, and lodging were measured. Diente de Caballo was very late in flowering, whereas Mayorbela was earlier than the mean of the o2 genotypes, Diente de Caballo and Mayorbela were taller than o2 genotypes; thus they were more susceptible to lodging. Diente de Caballo was higher yielding than o2 genotypes, but Mayorbela ranked among the lowest yielders at all locations. The· magnitude of the local x genotype variance suggests that multiple location testing would be needed to distinguish between yield and degree of modification of different genotypes. Other traits studied could be tested at one location.


Two types of electrostatically actuated tensile stages for in situ electron microscopy mechanical testing of 1-D nanostructures were designed, microfabricated, and tested. Testing was carried out for mechanical characterization of silicon nanowires (SiNWs). The bulk micromachined stages consist of a comb-drive actuator and either a differential capacitive sensor or a clamped-clamped beam force sensor. High-aspect-ratio structures (height/gap = 20) were designed to increase the driving force of the geometrically optimized actuator and the sensitivity of the capacitive sensor. The actuator stiffness is kept low to enable high tensile force to be exerted in the specimen rather than in the suspensions of the comb drive. Individual SiNWs were mounted on the devices by in situ scanning electron microscopy nanomanipulation, and their tensile properties were determined to demonstrate the device capability. The phosphorus-doped SiNWs, which were grown in a bottom-up manner by the vapor-liquid-solid process, show an average Young's modulus of (170.0 ± 2.4) GPa and a tensile strength of at least 4.2 GPa. Top-down electroless chemically etched SiNWs, with their long axis along the [100] direction, show a fracture strength of 5.4 GPa.


In the Manufacturing industries making of parts are originate with design stage and where the keen attention must be focused. The end quality of final finished part eventually gets enhanced once the efficient and effective design and analysis is carried out by means of providing the better key parameters. Thus the determination of the quality of end part to be held various steps in a manufacturing becomes inevitable so as to ensure the optimal cost and quality. At the same time, it is must to analysis the thermal characteristics during the pouring and curing of molten material during preparation of hub. This research work concerned with the design and thermal analysis of apple model windmill hub. This work comprises of two sections. The first section is concern with material selection and design of the apple type wind mill hub, which is the portion of the windmill which houses the bearings and has provisions for the attachment of the blades. In that section, the parameters required were calculated for casting design such as pouring time, gate and riser and the areas of chills. In the second section, the efforts have been made to investigate the thermal characteristics of designed hub. On observing that the prevalent design results in sound casting and from the simulation made in ANSYS, it witnessed the temperature distribution in different regions of the mould helps to study the thermal stresses in different regions. With this eventual experience the suggestions is made to improve the efficiency of the design aspect to reduce unnecessary losses that leads to flawless production of wind mill hub.


Approaches to supporting creativity are diverse and numerous. Making sense of these methods, including the comparative benefits of one approach over another is highly significant to both research and practice of creative design. This paper demonstrates the benefit of conducting analyses of methods with the aid of a theory. Such an approach provides a clear basis for analysing different methods that could in turn be compared with each other. This approach is demonstrated through the critical analysis of advanced systematic inventive thinking (ASIT) – a practical method – using the C–K theory, a design theory that offers a formal model of creative thinking. The analysis uncovers a paradox in ASIT operation: being creative while 'staying in the box'. While confirming that ASIT could be perceived as an implementation of some of the C–K constructs, the analysis further resolves the paradox by explaining how creative solutions could be created with ASIT. Finally, the analysis also exposes the capabilities and limitations of ASIT as well as its directions of improvement by extending ASIT operators and applying them in a linear manner.


The Dodd-Frank Act's "skin-in-the-game" credit risk retention require- ment is the major reform of the securitization market following the housing bubble. Skin-in-the-game mandates that securitizers retain a 5% interest in their securitizations. The premise behind skin-in-the-game is that it will lessen the moral hazard problem endemic to securitization, in which loan originators and securitizers do not bear the risk on the ultimate performance of the loans. Contractual skin-in-the-game requirements have long existed in credit card securitizations. Their impact, however, has not been previously examined.This Article argues that credit card securitization solves the moral hazard problem not through the limited risk retention of formal skin-in-the-game re- quirements, but through implicit recourse to the issuer's balance sheet. Absent this implicit recourse, skin-in-the-game actually creates an incentive misalign- ment between card issuers and investors because card issuers have lopsided upside and downside exposure on their securitized card receivables. For- mally, the card issuers bear a small fraction of the downside exposure, but retain 100% of the upside, should the card balance generate more income than is necessary to pay the investors. The risk/reward imbalance should create a distinct problem because the card issuer retains control over the terms of the credit card accounts. Prior to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, the issuer could increase a portfolio's volatility through rate-jacking: when interest rates and fees are increased, some accounts will pay more and some will default. Per the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, the increased volatility benefits the issuer because of the risk-reward imbalance.Despite the problems posed by the formal risk/reward imbalance, credit card securitization avoided the excesses of mortgage securitization. The ex- planation for this is that credit card securitization features complete implicit recourse. Implicit recourse exists because credit card securitization is not about risk transfer, but instead is about regulatory capital arbitrage and creat- ing a funding and liquidity source for the issuer. The implication is that for- mal skin-in-the-game requirements alone may be insufficient to ensure against moral hazard problems in securitization. Skin-in-the-game's effectiveness will instead depend on its interaction with other deal features.


In recent academic debates, upgrading has emerged as a key way for developing countries to meet the competitive challenges of globalisation and trade liberalisation. This article draws on global commodity chains literature to comparatively explore the conditions within which upgrading occurs in two sectors: export horticulture in Kenya and textile/apparel in Tamil Nadu, India. In both sectors upgrading into new products, functions or markets has generated increased employment and sustained incomes. However, firms in horticulture and textile/apparel are governed by a small number of global buyers with demanding requirements. Firms without the linkages to these buyers or the capabilities to meet their requirements can be locked out of international markets. The article concludes that insertion into global value chains creates varying outcomes for developing country firms, both providing and circumscribing opportunities for broad-based development.


Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate whether low-dose anticholinergics combined with an α1-receptor antagonist would continue the effect of an alpha-blocker, decrease the side effects of anticholinergics, and improve the symptoms of lower urinary tract symptoms/benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH). Materials and Methods Two hundred nine men with LUTS/BPH with storage symptoms (International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] ≥12; storage symptoms ≥4) were randomly assigned in a prospective, multicentered, and single-blind fashion to either the control group (alfuzosin 10 mg, once daily) or the combined group (alfuzosin 10 mg, once daily, and propiverine 10 mg, once daily) for 2 months. IPSS, maximal urinary flow rate (Qmax), and postvoid residual volume (PVR) were used to grade symptoms, side effects, and the impact on quality of life (QoL) at the start of the study and after 1 and 2 months. Results There were no significant differences in patient background, including age, prostate size, Qmax, and PVR, between the control group and the combined group. In the combined group, the IPSS total score and the IPSS storage symptom score were significantly improved compared with the control group. The IPSS voiding symptom score, QoL, Qmax, and PVR did not differ significantly. There were no serious side effects in either group. Conclusions Management with an α1-receptor antagonist combined with a low-dose anticholinergic improved the total score and storage symptom score of the IPSS compared with α1-receptor antagonist only group without causing serious side effects. This initial combination medication can be considered an effective and safe treatment modality for LUTS/BPH patients with storage symptoms.


This policy brief covers the behaviour of intelligence agencies in cyberspace and possible normative constraints on that behaviour. Most known cyber operations by intelligence agencies are so called 'below-the-threshold' operations, and some stretch beyond what is commonly understood to be 'foreign intelligence gathering' to include covert action and influence campaigns. The digital domain facilitates new possibilities for classic intelligence tasks, but also entails new risks and (un)intended consequences such as threats to civilian use of the internet and grey zones of accountability. Importantly, the operations of intelligence services in cyberspace can have a negative impact on international peace and stability. In terms of regulation, intelligence agencies are the proverbial elephants in the room when states discuss the applicability of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to the online world. The military-dominated legal framework does not fit well with actual state practice in cyberspace. States are reluctant to discuss the specific operations of their intelligence agencies. This trend is unlikely to halt.

In order to explore the role of foreign intelligence agencies in cyberspace and the (im)possibilities of oversight and regulation thereof, we convened 15 experts in a workshop in The Hague in April 2019. The experts were all from Europe and North America and about half of the participants were (former) members of foreign intelligence agencies, both civilian and military. The other participants were academic experts and members of intelligence oversight bodies. The workshop was held under the Chatham House rule. This brief incorporates findings from the workshop, and is based in the broader research agenda of The Hague Program for Cyber Norms.


Devine (1989) has proposed a model which suggests that when individuals are required to evaluate stereotyped groups both low-prejudice and high-prejudice persons will automatically activate the pertinent stereotype content. Controlled inhibition of the content of the stereotype characterizes low-prejudice responses and distinguishes low-from high-prejudice persons. The experimental evidence Devine (1989) reports to support this model is criticized on several grounds, and a methodology that avoids these shortcomings is described. Two groups of subjects were tested, one with and one without a stereotype of the target group. The results from the group knowledgeable of the stereotype were inconsistent with Devine's (1989) model. Differences in the automatic activation of stereotype content, rather than differences in the tendency to employ strategies to inhibit stereotype content, were related to levels of prejudice towards the target group. The results from a sample of subjects not possessing a stereotype of the target group confirmed the integral role of automatic processes in prejudice. Prejudice for these subjects was related to the tendency to automatically activate negative rather than positive concepts, irrespective of their relatedness to the stereotype of the target group. The implications of these findings for Devine's (1989) model and the more general nature of the relationship between stereotypes and prejudice are discussed, and the advantages of the current methodology detailed.


The experience of the pubertaire has a central place in the treatment of the adult. It is the trace out of which the dream and the psychical work of the adolescens develop. Affirming and confirming its innovative value in the revisiting of childhood sexuality inspires images in dreams in the wake of adolescent subjectivation. This point of view justifies interventions aimed at deconstructing infantile phallic theories whose rigidity is liable to stifle the pubertaire.


Experience shows that the best technology is not always adopted. In the security arena no technology has to stand a harder challenge or has higher consequences for changing society by failure than voting technology. Best technology in voting is defined by accuracy, security, and integrity. But trust prescribes what technology we use. In practice, voting technology choices are driven by what people are politically comfortable with or by initiatives administrators can take trying out technology someone has made for them. This paper analyses how this kind of "trust" plays out: its influencers and consequences, such as a negative trust-legitimacy-participation-incentive loop. The paper then lays out problems that developers of improved systems face. The analysis is underscored by examples, especially drawing from issues faced by a recent experiment on the implementation of multiple voting systems in parallel.


Inter-organizational systems have significantly been affected by service-oriented architectures (SOA) and Web services - the state-of-the-art technology to implement SOA. SOA is said to enable quick and inexpensive changes of the IT in order to establish new business partnerships or to reflect changes in existing partnerships. However, current approaches to inter-organizational systems focus too much on existing Web Services standards and, thus, on the technology layer. In such an approach the technology drives the business. In this paper we analyze the shortcomings of this bottom-up approach. As an alternative we suggest a top-down methodology where the business requirements drive the technology. This methodology starts off with the business value perspective, leading to a business process perspective and resulting in an IT execution perspective. We do not invent any new approaches on each of these layers, rather we outline how existing approaches are used and combined into a business requirements driven approach to inter-organizational systems.


Vision-based inertial-aided navigation is gaining ground due to its many potential applications. In previous decades, the integration of vision and inertial sensors was monopolised by the defence industry due to its complexity and unrealistic economic burden. After the technology advancement, high-quality hardware and computing power became reachable for the investigation and realisation of various applications. In this thesis, a mapping system by vision-aided inertial navigation was developed for areas where GNSS signals are unreachable, for example, indoors, tunnels, city canyons, forests, etc. In this framework, a methodology on the integration of vision and inertial sensors was presented, analysed and tested when the only available information at the beginning is a number of features with known location/coordinates (with no GNSS signals accessibility), thus employing the method of "SLAM: Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping". SLAM is a term used in the robotics community to describe the problem of mapping the environment and at the same time using this map to determine (or to help in determining) the location of the mapping device. In addition to this, a link between the robotics and geomatics community was established where briefly the similarities and differences were outlined in terms of handling the navigation and mapping problem. Albeit many differences, the goal is common: developing a "navigation and mapping system" that is not bounded to the limits imposed by the used sensors. Classically, terrestrial robotics SLAM is approached using LASER scanners to locate the robot relative to a structured environment and to map this environment at the same time. However, outdoors robotics SLAM is not feasible with LASER scanners alone due to the environment's roughness and absence of simple geometric features. Recently in the robotics community, the use of visual methods, integrated with inertial sensors, has gained an interest. These visual methods rely on one or more cameras (or video) and make use of a single Kalman Filter with a state vector containing the map and the robot coordinates. This concept introduces high non-linearity and complications to the filter, which then needs to run at high rates (more than 20 Hz) with simplified navigation and mapping models. In this study, SLAM is developed using the Geomatics Engineering approach. Two filters are used in parallel: the Least-Squares Adjustment (LSA) for feature coordinates determination and the Kalman Filter (KF) for navigation correction. For this, a mobile mapping system (independent of GPS) is introduced by employing two CCD cameras (one metre apart) and one IMU. Conceptually, the outputs of the LSA photogrammetric resection (position and orientation) are used as the external measurements for the inertial KF. The filtered position and orientation are subsequently employed in the Photogrammetric intersection to map the surrounding features that are used as control points for the resection in the next epoch. In this manner, the KF takes the form of a navigation only filter, with a state vector containing the corrections to the navigation parameters. This way, the mapping and localisation can be updated at low rates (1 to 2 Hz) and use more complete modelling. Results show that this method is feasible with limitation induced from the quality of the images and the number of used features. Although simulation showed that (depending on the image geometry) determining the features' coordinates with an accuracy of 5-10 cm for objects at distances of up to 10 metres is possible, in practice this is not achieved with the employed hardware and pixel measurement techniques. Navigational accuracies depend as well on the quality of the images and the number and accuracy of the points used in the resection. While more than 25 points are needed to achieve centimetre accuracy from resection, they have to be within a distance of 10 metres from the cameras; otherwise, the resulting resection output will be of insufficient accuracy and further integration quality deteriorates. The initial conditions highly affect SLAM performance; these are the method of IMU initialisation and the a-priori assumptions on error distribution. The geometry of the system will furthermore have a consequence on possible applications. To conclude, the development consisted in establishing a mathematical framework, as well as implementing methods and algorithms for a novel integration methodology between vision and inertial sensors. The implementation and validation of the software have presented the main challenges, and it can be considered the first of a kind where all components were developed from scratch, with no pre-existing modules. Finally, simulations and practical tests were carried out, from which initial conclusions and recommendations were drawn to build upon. It is the author's hope that this work will stimulate others to investigate further this interesting problem taking into account the conclusions and recommendations sketched herein.


Objective: To calculate average savings of using health information exchange (HIE) for demographic and treatment requests for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in Western New York, specifically the Erie County Department of Health and its catchment area. Method: We conducted a mixed-method case study. Qualitative methods included interviews, document review, and workflow mapping, which were used as the inputs to identify time savings. Case rates, time savings, and salary averages were used to calculate average savings. Results: The avoided demographic information requests resulted in time and money savings (range of USD$2312–USD$4624 for chlamydia and USD$809–USD$1512 for gonorrhoea) as did avoided treatment requests (range of USD$671–USD$2803 for chlamydia and USD$981–USD$1635 for gonorrhoea). Discussion: HIE supported sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment by making it easier for public health staff to identify and act upon STI diagnoses. Availability of information online resulted in less reliance on provider offices for demographic and treatment information. Conclusion: Results indicated that using HIE to support treatment and management of STIs can save public health staff time spent on obtaining demographic and treatment information. Other public health departments could use HIE for this and other types of disease surveillance activities. Considering public health needs in HIE development and use can improve efficiency of public health services and enhance effectiveness of activities.


Genes regulated by R:FR ratio and the circadian clock in Arabidopsis thaliana Lisa F Doyle The shade avoidance response is of major adaptive significance to plants. Angiosperms in particular have developed a wide range of strategies to avoid shade. In canopy shade conditions, the ratio of red to far-red light wavelengths decreases (low R:FR ratio) this acts as a signal to instruct plants that they are in the proximity of neighbouring flora. A decrease in R:FR ratio is perceived through the phytochrome system, which results in onset of several developmental responses; such as elongation growth; that help promote escape from shade. Although much is known of the role phytochromes play in light perception and the concomitant physiological responses triggered by a decrease in the R:FR ratio, little is known of the downstream molecular components that bring about these changes. This study focuses on a small number of genes (DIN2, ENDO1 and XTH15) that whilst known to be R:FR ratio regulated, have as yet unknown roles during shade avoidance. This work demonstrates that all three genes respond with extreme rapidity and reversibility to changes in light quality conditions. The role phytochromes play in regulation of these genes is investigated. In addition a number of light regulated transcription factors, downstream of the phytochromes, are identified as intermediate regulators of these genes. As it has recently come to light that a number of R:FR ratio regulated genes are also under the control of the circadian clock the ability of this signalling pathway to influence expression of these genes was also investigated. Molecular analysis revealed that the circadian clock modulates two of the three genes examined within this study. Finally, systematic physiological characterisation of mutant and overexpressing lines was performed with an aim to determine the biological function of these genes during shade avoidance. Additionally, this study reveals that one of the genes studied; XTH15; not only exhibits R:FR ratio regulation of expression, but also blue light mediated transcriptional responses. This raises the possibility that R:FR ratio and blue light signaling pathways converge. Preliminary data suggests that XTH15 could represent a point of cross over with the phytochromes and the cryptochromes. This work, which characterises the response and potential role of three R:FR regulated genes downstream of the phytochromes, provides important and novel contributions to our understanding of the environmental regulation of plant development. Abbreviations used in this study B: Blue light CAB: Chlorophyll a/b binding protein CaMV: Cauliflower mosaic virus d: day FR: Far-red light GFP: Green Fluorescent Protein GUS: ß-glucuronidase h: Hour HIR: High Irradiance Response kDa: Kilodalton LD: Long Day LFR: Low Fluence Response LUC: Luciferase reporter gene M: Molar min: Minute mol: Mole OX: Over-expresser PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction QPCR: Quantitative RT-PCR R: Red light R:FR ratio: Red: Far-Red ratio SD: Short Day sec: Second VLFR: Very Low Fluence Response WL: White light WT: Wild-type YFP: Yellow Fluorescent Protein


Probiotics have been rapidly developed for health promotion, but clinical validation of the effects on exercise physiology has been limited. In a previous study, Lactobacillus plantarum TWK10 (TWK10), isolated from Taiwanese pickled cabbage as a probiotic, was demonstrated to improve exercise performance in an animal model. Thus, in the current study, we attempted to further validate the physiological function and benefits through clinical trials for the purpose of translational research. The study was designed as a double-blind placebo-controlled experiment. A total of 54 healthy participants (27 men and 27 women) aged 20–30 years without professional athletic training were enrolled and randomly allocated to the placebo, low (3 × 1010 colony forming units (CFU)), and high dose (9 × 1010 CFU) TWK10 administration groups (n = 18 per group, with equal sexes). The functional and physiological assessments were conducted by exhaustive treadmill exercise measurements (85% VO2max), and related biochemical indices were measured before and after six weeks of administration. Fatigue-associated indices, including lactic acid, blood ammonia, blood glucose, and creatinine kinase, were continuously monitored during 30 min of exercise and a 90 min rest period using fixed intensity exercise challenges (60% VO2max) to understand the physiological adaptation. The systemic inflammation and body compositions were also acquired and analyzed during the experimental process. The results showed that TWK10 significantly elevated the exercise performance in a dose-dependent manner and improved the fatigue-associated features correlated with better physiological adaptation. The change in body composition shifted in the healthy direction for TWK10 administration groups, especially for the high TWK10 dose group, which showed that body fat significantly decreased and muscle mass significantly increased. Taken together, our results suggest that TWK10 has the potential to be an ergogenic aid to improve aerobic endurance performance via physiological adaptation effects.


Never has the media been so critically regarded as at the present time. Documenting many areas of debate and dispute between journalists, the media, public organizations and politicians, the author identifies why conflicts will continue. Covering topics from government bias to censorship, official secrets to freedom of information and animal rights to obscenity, this highly informative work is a valuable guide to all those involved in journalism and the media.


Objective: We aimed to investigate how ordered mappings (e.g., left-to-right and right-to-left order representations) would interfere with each other. Background: Mental representations of numbers and letters are linked with spatial representation and can be changed intentionally. Method: The experiment consisted of three sessions. In the digit-alone session, two digits randomly selected from [1], [2], and [3] were shown. If the two digits were the same, participants pressed the button corresponding to the digit, and if the digits differed, they pressed the remaining button. The response buttons were ordered [1][2][3] from the left. In the letter-alone session, three different button configurations were prepared: sequential [A][B][C], reversed [C][B][A], or partially reversed [B][A][C]. The same-versus-different rules were basically identical to those in the digit task. In the mixed session, trials of the digit task and those of the letter task were randomly mixed. Results: We found that two ordinal representations did not interfere with each other when they shared the same direction of order ([1][2][3] vs. [A][B][C]), two ordinal mappings interfered with each other when they had different directions of order ([1][2][3] vs. [C][B][A]), and an ordinal mapping ([1][2][3]) was affected by a nonordinal mapping ([B][A][C]), but the nonordinal mapping was less affected by the ordinal mapping. Conclusion: The mapping between ordinal information and space can be modulated by top-down processes, and it is prone to interference depending on the nature of another coexisting mapping. Application: Our findings may be used in designing response assignments for input devices for multiple functions.


Title of Dissertation: A COGNITIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING AND DESCRIBING INTRODUCTORY STUDENTS' USE AND UNDERSTANDING OF MATHEMATICS IN PHYSICS Jonathan Tuminaro, Doctor of Philosophy, 2004 Dissertation directed by: Professor Edward F. Redish Department of Physics Many introductory, algebra-based physics students perform poorly on mathematical problem solving tasks in physics. There are at least two possible, distinct reasons for this poor performance: (1) students simply lack the mathematical skills needed to solve problems in physics, or (2) students do not know how to apply the mathematical skills they have to particular problem situations in physics. While many students do lack the requisite mathematical skills, a major finding from this work is that the majority of students possess the requisite mathematical skills, yet fail to use or interpret them in the context of physics. In this thesis I propose a theoretical framework to analyze and describe students' mathematical thinking in physics. In particular, I attempt to answer two questions. What are the cognitive tools involved in formal mathematical thinking in physics? And, why do students make the kinds of mistakes they do when using mathematics in physics? According to the proposed theoretical framework there are three major theoretical constructs: mathematical resources, which are the knowledge elements that are activated in mathematical thinking and problem solving; epistemic games, which are patterns of activities that use particular kinds of knowledge to create new knowledge or solve a problem; and frames, which are structures of expectations that determine how individuals interpret situations or events. The empirical basis for this study comes from videotaped sessions of college students solving homework problems. The students are enrolled in an algebra-based introductory physics course. The videotapes were transcribed and analyzed using the aforementioned theoretical framework. Two important results from this work are: (1) the construction of a theoretical framework that offers researchers a vocabulary (ontological classification of cognitive structures) and grammar (relationship between the cognitive structures) for understanding the nature and origin of mathematical use in the context physics, and (2) a detailed understanding, in terms of the proposed theoretical framework, of the errors that students make when using mathematics in the context of physics.


In this reply, the authors examine the madness to their method in light of the comments. Overall, the authors agree broadly with the comments; many of the issues will be settled only by future research. The authors disagree, though, that past research has proven past scoring methods—including the Torrance methods—to be satisfactory or satisfying. The authors conclude by offering their own criticisms of their method, of divergent thinking, and of the concept of domain-general creative abilities.

http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/P_Silvia_Rejoinder_2008 (MULTI UNCG AUTHORS).pdf


Preface 1. J.A. Hobson, financial capitalism and imperialism in Late Victorian and Edwardian England, Peter Cain 2. The Export of British finance, 1865-1914, Lance Davies and Robert A. Huttenback 3. Canada and Argentina: the Firsth preference of the British investor, 1904-1914, D.C.M. Platt 4. Anglo-Indian banking in British India: from the paper pound to the gold standard, Amiya Kumar Bagchi 5. The banking community of London, 1890-1914: a survey, Y. Cassis 6. The phases of hte French colonial imperialism: Towards a new periodization, J. Marseille 7. Indo-British Relations in the post-colonial era: the Sterling Balances negotiations, 1947-49, B.R. Tomlinson 8. Britain, the Sterling area and European integration, 1945-50, Scott Newton


This book contains 25 chapters bearing on detailed comparisons of some 30 creoles and their substrate languages. As the substrate languages of these creoles are typologically different, the detailed investigation of substrate features in the creoles leads to a particular answer to the question of how creoles should be classified typologically. The present chapter therefore introduces the material analysed in the chapters of this book from the point of view of language typology. I begin with a discussion of the problem of the typological classification of creole languages, and of the aims and limitations of this chapter. The bulk of the chapter provides an overview of the results of the research contained in the various chapters. First, I outline the ways in which the typological features of the substrate languages are manifested in the creoles. Second, I lay out a global picture of the variation found among creoles for various subsystems of the grammar. To a great extent, this variation reflects that displayed by the substrate languages of the creoles. Third, based on each author's proposals, I review the processes that led to such a situation and the constraints that are acting upon them. The chapter ends with my overall evaluation of the problem of the typological classification of creoles.


STORMTOOLS Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) predicts the coastal flooding damage to individual structures using coastal flooding levels, including the effects of sea level rise (SLR), provided in terms of the base flood elevation (BFE), specifications of the structure of interest (type and first floor elevation) and the associated damage functions from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS). CERI has been applied to selected coastal communities in Rhode Island, including those in Narragansett Bay and along the southern Rhode Island shoreline. Users can access the results of CERI via ArcGIS online at the CERI website. The objective of this effort was to develop, test, distribute, and evaluate a mobile phone application (App) that allows the user to assess the risk from coastal flooding and the associated damage at the individual structure level using the CERI methodology. The App is publicly available and has been developed for both iOS and Android operating systems. Environmental data to support the App, in terms of 100 y flood BFE maps, including the effects of SLR and the selected site grade elevation, are provided in the application by the URI Environmental Data Center (EDC). The user enters the location and type of the structure of interest (residential number of stories, with or without basement, pile supported or commercial building and the first-floor elevation (FFE)) and the desired SLR. The App then calculates the percent structural damage based on the specified environmental conditions and structure specifications. The App can be applied to any structure at any coastal location within the state. The CERI App development project has been guided by an Advisory Board made up of key constituents involved in coastal management and development in the state. The effort included extensive testing of the App by various user groups. The App structure makes it simple and straightforward to transfer to coastal and inland flooded areas in other locations, requiring only the specification of BFEs and grade elevations.


How do you persuade someone to buy from you just by writing to them? What does effective copywriting look like – and sound like? Write to Sell has the answers! Read this book and you'll learn: • The confidence and skills to write better copy• New ways to gain readers' attention, respect and trust• Hints and tips on turning selling skills into copywriting skills• Simple techniques to improve the readability of your copy• The impact of design and layout on copywriting• The meaning of good written English – the rules you must follow, the rules you can safely ignore "If I were starting out as a writer tomorrow, I would definitely want to read this book. I pretty much taught myself most of the tricks all those years ago – and it took me far too long! Had I read this book, it would have saved me years of trial and, for the most part, error." — Drayton Bird, the godfather of direct marketing


The Plasmodium falciparum multigene var family codes for approximately 50 variant adhesive proteins expressed in a mutually exclusive manner at the surface of infected red blood cells (iRBCs). Switching expression of var genes can lead to fundamental changes in the adhesive and antigenic properties of iRBCs. For example, a specific phenotypic switch in adhesion from CD36 to chondroitin sulphate A (CSA) is associated with malaria pathogenesis in pregnant women. The factors and DNA elements that control the expression of a particular member of the var gene family during gestational malaria remains enigmatic. Here, we report that the subtelomeric FCR3 varCSA is expressed under the control of a unique DNA element of 1.8 kb, whereas the other members of the var multigene family are flanked by common regulatory elements. The 5′varCSA‐type element is conserved as a single copy in laboratory strains and clinical isolates from Brazil and West Africa and contains two distinct repetitive elements of 150 bp and 60 bp respectively. The 5′varCSA‐type sequence tags a var gene in the 3D7 genome that is homologous to the FCR3 varCSA gene. A recombinant DBLγ domain of this var gene showed specific binding to CSA. This subtelomeric varCSA gene is transcribed in the opposite sense when compared with the usual orientation of telomere‐adjacent var genes. This unique arrangement might explain why the varCSA gene is relatively conserved in genetically distinct parasites despite being located in a highly recombinogenic chromosome compartment. The 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the varCSA‐type sequence is also transcribed in placental isolates that bind to CSA, illustrating an important role for the unique 5′varCSA‐type sequence in the regulation of var genes involved in malaria pathogenesis in pregnant women. However, this promoter is not always found to be transcribing var genes selected for expression of products that bind to CSA in vitro. Our work identifies a sequence tag for the identification of varCSA genes in placental isolates for the first time.


When the flow around a streamlined body is accelerated or decelerated,starting and stopping vortices are shed from the trailing edge of the body, respectively. In this work, the transient flow around a NACA4612 airoil profile was analyzed and simulated at Re = 1000 and α = 16◦ paying especial attention to the starting and stopping vortices shed from the airfoil. A detailed review of the underliying physics of the generation of lift was presented with focus on the importance of viscosity as the essential factor for the generation of lift. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with constant density and viscosity in an inertial frame of reference were solved with OpenFOAM using a linear upwind finite volume method (FVM) for the space discretization and the implicit Euler method for the time integration. The results were verified using the Kelvin circulation theorem. Three flow animations were prepared with the simulation results and compared with the historical flow visualizations from Prandtl.


The poor oral bioavailability of many drugs is mainly due to the poor aqueous solubility, chemical instability and pre-absorptive metabolism. Numerous approaches have been developed for enhancement of oral bioavailability and were currently in the clinical application. Even though, some drugs not meet the required clinical application due to the patient compliance and ineffective therapeutic levels. Vesicular delivery systems are considered as alternative delivery for the enhancement the bioavailability of this category of drugs. The enhanced bioavailability of the liphophilic drugs from the vesicular systems mainly due to the increased effective surface area of the drug in the presence of lipids, surfactants and co surfactants, enhanced lymphatic uptake, altered gastric motility and by virtue of their small particle size. Extensive literature is available for the properties, applications, and preparation and evaluation methods. This review mainly dealt with the reported drug loaded various vesicular systems such as liposomes, niosomes, lipid nanoparticles, self-emulsifying delivery system, nanosuspensions.


In deriving the physical properties of asteroids from their photometric data, the scattering law plays an important role, although the shape variations of asteroids result in the main variations in lightcurves. By following the physical behaviors of light reflections, Hapke et al. deduced complex functions to represent the scattering process, however, it is very hard to accurately simulate the surface scattering law in reality. For simplicity, other numerical scattering models are presented for efficiently calculating the physical properties of asteroids, such as the Lommel-Seeliger (LS) model. In this article, these two models are compared numerically. It is found that in some numerical applications the LS model in simple form with four parameters can be exploited to replace the Hapke model in complex form with five parameters. Furthermore, the generated synthetic lightcurves by the Cellinoid shape model also show that the LS model can perform as well as the Hapke model in the inversion process. Finally, by applying the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique to the parameters of the LS model, we present an efficient method to classify C and S type asteroids, instead of the conventional method using the parameters of the Hapke model.


A novel approach to generate virtual building interiors in real-time is presented. The interiors are generated in a top-down fashion using architectural guidelines. Although a building interior in its entirety may be quite large, only the portions that are needed immediately are generated. This lazy generation scheme allows the use of only a fraction of the memory that a model of the entire interior would otherwise require. Our method provides real-time frame rates, making it attractive for realtime interactive applications.Memory is controlled by deleting regions of the interior that are no longer needed. That said, any changes made in these regions will not be lost. We provide a simple and efficient method to allow changes made to the interior to persist past the life time of the regions that contain them. This allows a dynamic, consistent environment and increases control over the content by allowing developers to make changes.


Jenny is 18 when her guardian is killed and her wealthy relations the Forbes invite her to stay. Consoled by the affectionate attentions of their little girls and the charming elder son, she starts to find her feet again. Then she overhears a private conversation and realises she is in terrible danger. Terrified and bewildered, Jenny flees from the village, desperately hoping her enemies will forget all about her. But she's wrong ...


Why do our government leaders continually make decisions and craft policies that everybody knows are foolish? Because they, like the rest of us, remain trapped in foolish and unproductive habits of thinking. "You Can't Enlarge the Pie" analyzes the unspoken assumptions that lead to bad policy, wasted resources, and lost lives, and shows exactly why they're wrong. With fascinating case studies and clear, compelling analysis, it dissects six psychological barriers to ineffective government:1. Do no harm. 2. Their gain is our loss.3. Competition is always good. 4. Support our group. 5. Live for the moment.6. No pain for us, no gain for them. By freeing ourselves from the narrow way we evaluate our government leaders, we can learn to judge their performance more as that of business leaders is judged: by the overall health of their organizations.


The continuity of education after the current crisis is a major national concern. A vulnerable group that may be further marginalized in the process consists of learners in indigenous communities. Through a review of the Philippine Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), this article seeks to create space for the indigenous peoples (IP) learners toward an inclusive post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) education. Considering the pre-COVID-19 background of resources and the current epidemiological status of IP communities, the researcher presents strategies on how post-COVID-19 education can be delivered. For example, in an IP community with electricity access and low technology access but no internet and has high to moderate risk of virus infection, a combination of print modular learning and television- and radio- based learning can be adopted but not the synchronous and asynchronous learning and stagger in-person learning. This suggested option and others are offered in the paper.


The wage curve identified by Blanchflower and Oswald (1994) postulates that the wage level is a decreasing function of the regional unemployment rate. In testing this hypothesis, most empirical studies have not taken into account that differences in the institutional framework may have an impact on the existence (or the slope) of a wage curve. Using a large-scale linked employer-employee data set for western Germany, this paper provides a first test of the relevance of different bargaining regimes and of works councils for the existence of a wage curve. In pooled regressions for the period 1998 to 2006 as well as in worker-level or plant-level fixed-effects estimations we obtain evidence for a wage curve for plants with a collective bargaining agreement at firm level. The point estimates for this group of plants are close to the -0.1 elasticity of wages with respect to unemployment postulated by Blanchflower and Oswald. In this regime, we also find that works councils dampen the adjustment of wages to the regional unemployment situation. In the other regimes of plants that either do not make use of collective contracts or apply sectoral agreements, we do not find a wage curve.


DSR is one of the first routing algorithms proposed to operate in ad hoc networks. Several secure on- demand ad hoc routing protocols have been proposed based on DSR. endairA is one of the most secure ones and provides several defense mechanisms against so many types of attacks. In this paper, we improve endairA's performance in terms of processing delays of intermediate nodes by the application of TIK authentication protocol instead of digital signatures to authenticate the nodes. We also incorporate our novel tunneling prevention mechanism into this modified version of endairA to defend it against the tunneling attack. Our proposed mechanism utilizes the delays between receiving and sending control packets of endairA computed locally by all intermediate nodes. Our detailed security analysis shows that it can limit the adversary's ability to launch undetected tunneling attack to an acceptable level. Our proposal does not change the number of control packets involved in endairA and only modifies the RREP messages slightly.


The U.S. Constitution was forged out of a revolution that both rejected and embraced aspects of English legal tradition. The Takings Clause and its subsequent jurisprudential interpretation represents a rejection of what the Framers at the time and constitutional Reframers since that time viewed as central government over-reaching and improper interference with private property rights. The Framers left fully intact — and a different set of constitutional Reframers are increasingly seeking to use — the English common law doctrine of public trust to prevent private property rights from trumping the public's interest in certain resources, especially in the coastal zone. This doctrine inherently conflicts with the Takings Clause in many cases, for if a resource is protected by the public trust, then any restrictions on property made pursuant to that protection cannot result in a taking — the restrained activity was never part of the property owner's bundle of property rights to begin with. This essay highlights the inevitable legal tension between the Takings Clause and public trust doctrine and its implications for coastal zone resources in a time of climate change. The article explores three implications of the Takings Clause-public trust tension: (1) resolution of future legal controversies related to climate change along the coast; (2) a potential rebalancing of modern takings jurisprudence, which has arguably disturbed the appropriate balance between private property protections and the public good; and (3) the creation of better governance structures through institutional design enhancements and adjustments — in this case focusing on the institution that is U.S. constitutional law.


Abstract. Despite the record ozone loss observed in March 2011, dynamical conditions in the Arctic stratosphere were unusual but not unprecedented. Weak planetary wave driving in February preceded cold anomalies in the polar lower stratosphere in March and a relatively late breakup of the Arctic vortex in April. La Nina conditions and the westerly phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) were observed in March 2011. Though these conditions are generally associated with a stronger vortex in mid-winter, the respective cold anomalies do not persist through March. Therefore, the La Nina and QBO-westerly conditions cannot explain the observed cold anomalies in March 2011. In contrast, positive sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Pacific may have contributed to the unusually weak tropospheric wave driving and strong Arctic vortex in late winter 2011.


A major cause of soft error rate in CMOS circuits operating at ground level and airplane flight altitudes are secondary neutrons generated in the atmosphere by primary cosmic rays. We developed a new technique for characterization of a CMOS process with respect to single upsets (SEUs) and multiple upsets (MUs). This technique has been demonstrated for a process with gate length of 0.6 /spl mu/m. In this paper, we present measurements of the upper bound on the MU rate in the atmospheric neutron environment. The measurements were performed with the neutron beam at WNR, LANSCE, Los Alamos, NM. We studied the MU rate dependence on critical charge and supply voltage. The MU rate is given separately for the N and P type MOSFET drains. The MU rate is compared with the SEU rate. Our results demonstrate feasibility of the new technique for fast and simple characterization of a CMOS process. Implications for local redundancy and error correcting techniques are discussed.


Abstract. A significant amount of carbon is transported to the ocean as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rivers. During transport, it can be transformed through microbial consumption and photochemical oxidation. In dark incubation experiments with water from the Tana River, Kenya, we examined the consumption of DOC through microbial decomposition and the associated change in its carbon stable isotope composition (δ13C). In 15 of the 18 incubations, DOC concentrations decreased significantly by 10 to 60 %, with most of the decomposition taking place within the first 24–48 h. After 8 days, the remaining DOC was up to 3 ‰ more depleted in 13C compared with the initial pool, and the change in δ13C correlated strongly with the fraction of DOC remaining. We hypothesize that the shift in δ13C is consistent with greater microbial lability of DOC originating from herbaceous C4 vegetation than DOC derived from woody C3 vegetation in the semi-arid lower Tana. The results complement earlier findings that the stable isotope concentration of riverine DOC does not necessarily reflect the proportion of C3 and C4-derived DOC in the catchment: besides spatial distribution patterns of different vegetation types, processing within the river can further influence the δ13C of riverine OC.


A collection of photographs depicting cave exploration in Yorkshire by the Leeds Caving Club in the early 1930s and taken by Harold Wadsworth Haywood FRPS was donated to the Geological Survey of Great Britain Library by Miss Haywood in 1935. The collection consists of two large albums containing a total of 460 separate photographs. There are twenty-six pages of typescript notes, a bibliography and nine pages of hand-drawn maps and sections on the Alum Pot area by Eli Simpson.
The dates of the photographs range from 1928-1934. The images cover the Yorkshire Dales and include surface photographs of the caves and karst features, many spectacular underground shots of the caves and their formations, and pictures of members of the Leeds Caving Club exploring the caves.
Images from about thirty different caves are represented in the collection, including Lost John's Cave, Alum Pot and related caves beneath Ingleborough. Other areas in volume one include Chapel-le-Dale, Ribblesdale and Trollers Gill. In volume two images range from Barbondale in the west to Fountains Fell in the east and include Easegill, Leck Fell, Kingsdale, Simon Fell and the Birkwith area of Ribblesdale.

The albums and individual images have been digitally scanned and the resulting images will be made available to researchers and the public through a web-based exhibition on the British Geological Survey website.


The Hippo signaling pathway is functionally conserved in Drosophila melanogaster and mammals, and its proposed function is to control tissue homeostasis by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. The core components are composed of a kinase cascade that culminates with the phosphorylation and inhibition of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1). Phospho-YAP1 is retained in the cytoplasm. In the absence of Hippo signaling, YAP1 translocates to the nucleus, associates with co-activators TEAD1-4, and functions as a transcriptional factor promoting the expression of key target genes. Components of the Hippo pathway are mutated in human cancers, and deregulation of this pathway plays a role in tumorigenesis. Loss of the NF2 tumor suppressor gene is the most common genetic alteration in meningiomas, and the NF2 gene product, Merlin, acts upstream of the Hippo pathway. Here, we show that primary meningioma tumors have high nuclear expression of YAP1. In meningioma cells, Merlin expression is associated with phosphorylation of YAP1. Using an siRNA transient knockdown of YAP1 in NF2-mutant meningioma cells, we show that suppression of YAP1 impaired cell proliferation and migration. Conversely, YAP1 overexpression led to a strong augment of cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth and restriction of cisplatin-induced apoptosis. In addition, expression of YAP1 in nontransformed arachnoidal cells led to the development of tumors in nude mice. Together, these findings suggest that in meningiomas, deregulation of the Hippo pathway is largely observed in primary tumors and that YAP1 functions as an oncogene promoting meningioma tumorigenesis. Mol Cancer Res; 10(7); 904–13. ©2012 AACR.


Background An emm-cluster based system was proposed as a standard typing scheme to facilitate and enhance future studies of Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) epidemiological surveillance, M protein function and vaccine development strategies. We provide an evidence-based distribution of Strep A emm clusters in Africa and assess the potential coverage of the new 30-valent vaccine in terms of an emm cluster-based approach. Method Two reviewers independently assessed studies retrieved from a comprehensive search and extracted relevant data. Meta-analyses were performed (random effects model) to aggregate emm cluster prevalence estimates. Results Eight studies (n=1,595 isolates) revealed the predominant emm clusters as E6 (18%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 12.6; 24.0%), followed by E3 (14%, 95%CI, 11.2; 17.4%) and E4 (13%, 95%CI, 9.5; 16.0%). There is negligible variation in emm clusters as regards regions, age and socio-economic status across the continent. Considering an emm cluster-based vaccine strategy, which assumes cross-protection within clusters, the 30-valent vaccine currently in clinical development, would provide hypothetical coverage to 80.3% of isolates in Africa. Conclusion This systematic review indicates the most predominant Strep A emm cluster in Africa is E6 followed by E3, E4 and D4. The current 30-valent vaccine would provide considerable coverage across the diversity of emm cluster types in Africa. Future efforts could be directed toward estimating the overall potential coverage of the new 30-valent vaccine based on cross-opsonization studies with representative panels of Strep A isolates from populations at highest risk for Strep A diseases. Importance Low vaccine coverage is of grave public health concern, particularly in developing countries where epidemiological data are often absent. To inform vaccine development for group A streptococcus (Strep A), we report on the epidemiology of the M Protein emm clusters from Strep A infections in Africa, where Strep A-related illnesses and their sequalae including rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, are of a high burden. This first report of emm clusters across the continent indicate a high probably of coverage by the M Protein-based vaccine currently undergoing testing, were an emm-cluster based approach to be used.


Based on the Caputo definition of the fractional derivative the ground state spectra of mesons are classified as multiplets of the fractional rotation group. The comparison with the experimental values leads to the conclusion, that quarks carry an up to now unrevealed fractional multiplicative quantum number, which we call fractional hyper charge.


Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized by synovial tissue inflammation eventually leading to joint destruction with severe functional deterioration and increased mortality – the underlying pathogenesis of RA remains unsolved. The principle of new therapeutic development is to define and characterize a molecular pathway both in terms of its basic biology and also its context-dependent effects in the synovial compartment. A hallmark pathological feature of RA is a rapid influx and accumulation of immune cells such as monocytes/macrophages into the synovium. Monocytes/ macrophages are major effector cells in RA synovitis, principally acting by releasing TNF-α, IL-6 and other inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. The recruitment of effectors cells is an important step in RA progression and is mediated by chemokines and their receptors. Two pathways will be studied in this project, both with potential relevance to the accumulation and activation of inflammatory leukocytes to the synovium, namely microRNAs and sphingolipid enzymes.
MicroRNAs are a recently discovered class of post-transcriptional regulators that induce mRNA target degradation or translation inhibition. They have been shown to be involved in the regulation of the immune response and the development of autoimmunity. Of particular interest in the context of RA is miR-155, which is upregulated in RA synovial macrophages where it regulates cytokine expression such as TNF-α. Until now little was known about the role of miR-155 in regulating monocyte migration. Therefore, we sought to focus on the functional contribution of miR-155 in monocyte migration by the modulation of the expression of chemokines and their reciprocal chemokine receptors. Firstly the absolute copy numbers of miR- 155 transcripts in peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) monocytes of RA and healthy controls were assessed. To examine the role of miR-155 in monocyte migration and retention in the joint space, I overexpressed miR-155 in PB CD14+ monocytes of healthy controls and RA patients and examined the expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors mRNA levels by taqman low-density array (TLDA) and quantified the production of these chemokines in culture supernatant by multiplex assay. The role of miR-155 was investigated further using bone marrow monocytes (BMMO) from miR-155−/− and wild type (WT) mice. RA PB and SF CD14+ monocytes expressed higher copy numbers of miR-155 compared with healthy controls. RA SF monocytes exhibited the highest expression levels of miR- 155. The copy number of miR-155 expression was significantly increased in anti- citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) positive RA compared with ACPA negative RA. The RA PB monocyte miR-155 copy number correlated positively and significantly with DAS28. Overexpression of miR-155 in PB monocytes led to an increased production of chemokines (CCL3/MIP-1α, CCL4/MIP-1β, CCL5/ RANTES, and CCL8/MCP2) and a reduction in expression of inflammatory chemokine receptor CCR2 while homeostatic CCR7 was up regulated. Commensurate with this, these receptors were expressed in an opposite direction inBMMO from miR-155 deficient cells; CCR7 was significantly down regulated and CCR2 expression level was increased. These observations suggest that CCR2 and CCR7 were under the tight control of miR-155 and that this regulation is preserved across the species; together suggesting that miR-155 can act as an important regulator of these receptors. We conclude that deregulation of miR- 155 in RA monocytes contributes to monocyte retention at sites of inflammation due to induction of chemokine production and down-regulation of inflammatory chemokine receptors. Furthermore, these data imply that miR-155 levels may reflect RA disease activity and could be a potential diagnostic or clinical disease activity biomarker for RA.
Sphingosine kinases (SPHKs), SPHK1 and SPHK2, are isozymes that phosphorylate sphingosine into sphingosine-1- phosphate (S1P). S1P, a pleiotropic lipid mediator of inflammation, subsequently binds with any of the five G-protein coupled protein S1P receptors (S1PR1-5) and stimulates an array of cellular responses. Defects in
S1P/S1PRs signalling have been shown to be associated with various pathologies. Until now however, no comprehensive analysis of expression of its components in RA has been performed. My data show that S1P concentrations were significantly elevated in the serum of RA patients with active disease compared to RA patients in remission and in healthy controls. Moreover, S1P1, S1P3, S1P5 and SPHK1 were differentially regulated in RA immune cell subsets, such as neutrophils, monocytes (CD14+), lymphocytes (CD4+ and CD8+) compared to healthy controls. In addition, compared with osteoarthritis (OA) pathological control, RA synovial tissues were strongly positive for the SPHK1, S1P1, and S1P3. Interestingly, RA patients treated with biological DMARDs had attenuated levels of SPHK1, S1P3 and S1P5, but not S1P1, when compared with patients treated with conventional DMARDs. Therefore, my study warrants further investigation of the clinical significance of S1P as a biomarker for disease activity and to explore the utility of novel therapeutic tools available to modulate the SPHK/S1PR/S1P axis in RA with a view to defining new therapeutic possibilities.


Syair Kisah Perang Rokam (The Ballad of the Rokam War) is a historical syair depicting the outbreak of the anti-British resistance among the Malay folks of Serkam in the state of Malacca in 1887. The uprising of social unrest rose due to the enforcement of a new revenue system that brought repressed emotion among the people. The account of the events were transmitted orally as a local legend and later composed by a person named Encik Hasin into an oral verse form, the syair. It was then transformed into the written form based on the personal notes of Haji Omar Haji Osman, a local religious personage, teacher and also a local historian. Although, the syair encapsulates only nineteen verses, however, it manages to portray the event, criticizing both the British and the local villagers. The British were criticized for introducing such an unfavourable taxation scheme whereas the locals were criticized for their lukewarm spirit in their struggle against the colonial force. In view of this, the purpose of this paper is to introduce a syair form of historical work originated from a village milieu which was orally composed. This paper will also elaborate the folkloristic nature of the syair and its conceptual implication to the conventions of Malay syair. As a commoner's composition of poetic form originated from the village milieu, the characteristic of folkloristic features were highly visible as it was presented in the language of the everyday Malay society. Such folkloristic features could be seen in terms of words selection, sentence construction, the used of nicknames blended with the elements of humour to bring a jovial mood to the audience although there were also historical elements significantly embedded in the syair.


Improving election auditing requires improved processes. New verification schemes must not make the system less trustworthy by making it easier for people to change records or claim that equipment is not working properly. New solutions for verification must also be tested and shown to improve voting. In this
 Policy Forum, alternatives for the improvement of auditing and election equipment are discussed, as well as a call for a halt to legislative changes that will mandate untested approaches.


Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism. Edited by Margaret Lamberts Bendroth and Virginia Lieson Brereton. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2002. xv + 350 pp. $49.95 (cloth); $19.95 (paper). What is the quality of "progress" for women in American church life in the twentieth century? This is the dominant question the essays in this volume address. Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism is the culmination of a three-year program of historical research, "The Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism Project," which began in 1995 and was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The sixteen essays were first presented at a three-day conference at the University of Chicago's Cleacher Center in 1998. Building upon scholarship concerned with women's religious experience that has come to light over the past twenty-five years, sometimes referred to as the "recovery" of American women's religious history, this volume of essays challenges the dominant narrative of achievement by asking new questions, examining different historical texts, and exploring familiar historical narratives not only from the perspective of white, middle-class women, but also from the perspectives of women from varied racial and ethnic groups. The editors' brief but provocative introduction addresses interpretive issues that the essays reveal. First, what constitutes Protestant identity? More directly, what is Protestant? Additionally, Bendroth and Brereton discuss two other important themes in this volume: secularization and the intersection of feminism and Protestant women. If one comes to this volume expecting a traditional narrative, especially regarding ordination as the only means of religious empowerment and indicator of women's access to leadership, one will be delightfully surprised by more nuanced analyses. However, as the editors state, these essays raise more questions than they answer. The volume is divided into five sections: "New Dimensions of the Separate Sphere: Women and Religious Institutions," "Religion, Modernity, and the Protestant Domestic Strategy," "Constructing Women's Religious Experience," "Women and the Professionalization of Religious Work," and "Women and Modernity." Each section consists of three chapters and includes a brieF overview by the editors. As the editors contend, each essay reflects a distinctive, more original approach to topics that may have been examined previously using interpretive frameworks that are no longer salient. These essays offer "interpretive themes to guide future exploration of women's religious experience" (p. xii). For example, Susan Yohn's essay, "Let Christian Women Set the Example in Their Own Gifts: The 'Business' of Protestant Women's Organizations," addresses the need for historians to take account of this in studies of American economic history. …


The stability analysis performed at the beginning of construction, taking into account the shear test results of the foundation claystone showed insufficient safety factors against sliding. The cross-section of the dam had to be modified in order to obtain required safety factors. During excavation works, sub-horizontal clay joints were discovered in the foundation rock. Additional field investigations by boreholes and pits, together with a detailed geological mapping of the excavation resulted in a comprehensive modelling of the foundation, taking into account a number of continuous clay joints. Laboratory tests were carried out with the fill material of the clay joints and the stability analysis of the dam was revised. Foundation treatment and the instrumentation design were adapted to provide and monitor uplift reduction.


Urinary stones are an increasing clinical problem in Sri Lanka. It has
been reported that 1/10 individuals experience urinary stones, yet the
mechanisms responsible remain unknown. Bacteria have long been
recognized to contribute to urinary crystals. However, the role of
bacteria in development of urinary crystals has not been extensively
investigated. This study was carried out to investigate the association
between urinary bacteria flora and urinary crystals in patients with
symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTI). Forty five UTI suspected
patients were enrolled in the study. Mid-stream urine specimens were
collected and cultured on Hi-Chrome UTI culture media. Culture plates
were incubated at 37 ºC for 18-24 hours. Colony appearance and colony
count were recorded and this was followed by urinary crystal count by
crystal concentration technique. The Fisher's exact test was carried out
to determine the association between urine crystals and presence of
urinary bacterial flora. Out of 45 subjects, 29 were positive for urinary
crystals, where 14 were females and 15 were males. Nineteen patients
were culture positive while 18 were positive for both crystals and
culture. The patients between 30-40 years showed a higher possibility
to have urinary crystals and organisms. Predominant crystal type and
organism detected were calcium oxalate and coliforms, respectively.
Male patients in 30-40 years presented with a higher crystal
concentration compared to other males. All female patients, between
30-40 years, who were positive for coliforms and presented with higher
crystal concentration compared to other females in the study
population. A significant association (p <0.001) was observed between
presence of urinary crystals and bacterial flora in UTI suspected
patients.


We address the poor generalization of few-shot learning models for event detection (ED) using transfer learning and representation regularization. In particular, we propose to transfer knowledge from open-domain word sense disambiguation into few-shot learning models for ED to improve their generalization to new event types. We also propose a novel training signal derived from dependency graphs to regularize the representation learning for ED. Moreover, we evaluate few-shot learning models for ED with a large-scale human-annotated ED dataset to obtain more reliable insights for this problem. Our comprehensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms state-of-the-art baseline models in the few-shot learning and supervised learning settings for ED. Code and data splits are available at https://github.com/laiviet/ed-fsl.


By the end of 1987, nearly 50,000 cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) had been reported since 1981, 20,745 in the past year alone. Black and Hispanic adults and children have reported rates 3 to 12 times as high as whites. This can be largely attributed to higher reported rates in black and Hispanic intravenous (IV) drug abusers, their sex partners, and infants. In 1986, reported AIDS deaths increased adult male and female mortality in the United States by an estimated 0.7 and 0.07%, respectively, with much greater increases in selected age groups or areas of the country. The greatest variation in infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (0 to 70%) has been found in surveys of IV drug abusers, while surveys of homosexual men reveal infection rates of 20 to 50%. Infection with HIV ranged from 0 to 2.6% in limited sexually transmitted disease clinic surveys of heterosexual men and women without a history of IV drug abuse or known sexual contact with persons at increased risk. The modes of HIV transmission are now well understood, but a large amount of biologic variability in efficiency of transmission remains to be explained. The period between initial infection with HIV and the development of AIDS is variable, but the risk for disease progression increases with duration of infection.


This paper deals with the procedures followed to identify the strategies in the Nijmegen project on the use of compensatory strategies by Dutch learners of English. The project aims to shed light on the relationship between foreign language proficiency level and compensatory strategy (CpS) use. For this purpose three groups of fifteen Dutch learners of English, of three different proficiency levels, were asked to carry out four tasks. Two of the tasks comprised rather formal elicitation techniques; the subjects had to describe concrete and abstract pictures. The two other tasks, a story retell task and an oral interview, were aimed at obtaining more natural language data.To identify the CpS we make use of problem indicators such as pauses, repetitions, intonation, sighs, laughs and ongoing commentary. In addition, it was decided to collect retrospective data from the subjects on the two more natural tasks, as in these tasks CpS are particularly hard to identify, due to the relative inaccessibility of the subject's intended meaning.In this paper criticism of the use of retrospective data is discussed, as well as the conditions (as specified by Ericsson & Simon, 1984) under which retrospective data can be reliably collected. A description of our procedures goes to show that, on the whole, these conditions are met in our case. The usefulness of retrospective data is then illustrated by means of a comparative study of two identification procedures, one with and one without use of retrospective data. The results indicate that the additional use of retrospective data increased the number of identifiable CpS by 33%; raised the degree of confidence which we can put in our identification in 64% of the cases; and enabled us to discover a small number of incorrectly identified CpS. It was therefore concluded that retrospective data can be considered a reliable and valuable resource in the analysis of CpS.


Background Bivalirudin may be an effective alternative anticoagulant to heparin for use in percutaneous peripheral interventions. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of bivalirudin versus heparin as the procedural anticoagulant agent in patients undergoing percutaneous peripheral intervention. Methods For this meta-analysis and systematic review, we conducted a search in PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane for all the clinical studies in which bivalirudin was compared to heparin as the procedural anticoagulant in percutaneous peripheral interventions. Outcomes studied included all-cause mortality, all-bleeding, major and minor bleeding, and access site complications. Results Eleven studies were included in the analysis, totaling 20,137 patients. There was a significant difference favoring bivalirudin over heparin for all-cause mortality (risk ratio 0.58, 95% CI 0.39–0.87), all-bleeding (risk ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.50–0.78), major bleeding (risk ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.39–0.96), minor bleeding (risk ratio 0.66, 95% CI 0.47–0.92), and access site complications (risk ratio 0.66, 95% CI 0.51–0.84). There was no significant difference in peri-procedural need for blood transfusions (risk ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.57–1.08), myocardial infarction (risk ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.59–1.28), stroke (risk ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.59–1.01), intracranial bleeding (risk ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.29–2.02), or amputations (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.53–1.05). Conclusion Our meta-analysis suggests that bivalirudin use for percutaneous peripheral interventions is associated with lower all-cause mortality, bleeding, and access site complications as compared to heparin. Further large randomized trials are needed to confirm the current results.


Since the dawn of humanity design has influenced human life. Today, facing the depletion of the socio-ecological system, increasing complex problems threaten humanity's existence. Design has been a contributor to creating such problems, yet with appropriate tools can become a source for solutions. Design Thinking (DT) was identified as a possible approach that could contribute to Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD). The purpose of this thesis is to examine potential contributors and hindrances of the DT process with regards to SSD, and create a prototype for an integrated process that could help achieve more strategic and sustainable outcomes. With the use of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) as a lens to examine the above, along with interviews, Action Research and expert feedback, an integrated process was created. Results of the interviews and FSSD analysis helped shape two prototypes that were examined through the mentioned methods. It was indicated by participants of the Action Research and by experts that the prototype could help reach a strategic and sustainable outcome, and further refinement should be pursued. The final prototype is presented as part of the discussion, suggesting additional tools and actions that if included could create a possible Sustainable DT (SDT) process.


The design of vehicles is heavily constrained by legislation and standards. The design of the
passenger compartment presents particular challenges due to the variation and uncertainty
connected with human activity. Computer aided design systems that address the ergonomic
problems are available, but do not generally support the application of knowledge such as
standards and legislation. This paper describes the combination of two aspects of the problem
(a geometric model of the product and a knowledge base related to performance
requirements) in the field of interior packaging of cars. The geometric modelling system
handles the spatial aspects and supplies information to an appropriate expert system. The
expert system evaluates proposed designs and sends suggestions for improvements back to
the design system. The KES expert system and the .SAMMIE computer aided ergonomics
design system have been combined to investigate aspects of reach to controls, visibility of
instruments and mirror design.


BACKGROUND Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors are at risk for impaired executive function, but it is unclear how to best screen for such impairment. We sought to determine 1) the reliability of neurocognitive assessment by performance-based testing versus parent report, and 2) how the measures relate to everyday function. METHODS 256 survivors of standard risk childhood B-ALL (mean age 13.9 years at evaluation) were evaluated for executive function with three performance-based measures (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV), Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and Conners' Continuous Performance Test-II) and one parent-report measure (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)). The intra-class correlations between measures were assessed. The relation of the measures to the use of special education services and stimulants was analyzed with multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS The reliability between performance-based and parent-reported measures was poor, with the highest agreement observed between the WISC-IV Working Memory Index and the BRIEF-Working Memory Scale (kappa=0.143). The use of special education services was significantly associated with impairment indicated by the BRIEF-WM Scale (odds ratio (OR) = 5.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.97, 12.78) and the WISC-IV WM Index (OR = 3.56, 95% CI: 1.61, 7.85). Stimulant use was significantly associated with three BRIEF scales (WM, Inhibit, and Metacognition), but no performance-based measures. CONCLUSIONS Performance-based and parent-reported measures identified different ALL survivors with executive function impairment. The association between the parent-reported BRIEF measures and the use of special education and stimulants suggests that this instrument has an important value for surveillance.


Team games are complicated activities, which involve much interaction between players. Analysing these interactions is of considerable interest; however it is time consuming, error prone, and unreliable to manuallly obtain the positions of the players throughout a game. Automating this process could produce efficient and repeatable results.

Multiple object tracking in large, congested, rapidly changing, and frequently occluded domains (for example a soccer pitch) is a complex problem, particularly given the non-linear nature of each player's movements. This thesis presents a stochastic sampling based multiple object tracker, capable of tracking objects from a single camera, in the complex domain of sports games. Sports players' shapes vary dramatically, presenting challenges to existing techniques. Multi-resolution template based feature descriptors are learned from example players' shape data, providing a mechanism for identifying players' locations in images. Sports scenes are often busy, in the sense that there may be many players close to each other, causing occlusion of one or more players. the use of multiple cameras to resolve these ambiguities is investigated.

Performance evaluation of computer vision systems is an important and often understudied activity. The performance evaluation in this thesis focuses on postional performance evaluation. New metrics and statistisc are presented which provide an important insight into how well a tracking system is performing (and why it may not be).

Analysing the movements of players over time allows a behaviour model of their movements and interactions to be learned. Positional player data is represented and described using density estimation methods. An emergent appraoch to identifying players is presented. Each player's response from a set of learned Gaussian mixture models is used in a graph partitioning scheme. Thsi allows the identification of each player's 'position'. Behaviour and interaction models have potential uses for analysing tactics, identifying good or atypical players, and most powerfully to be incorporated into a multiple obkect tracking system to govern the expected dynamics of the players.


Despite sharing a common interest in addressing climate change, when it comes to commercializing technologies for sustainable energy use, China and the United States are locked in rancor. The prevailing American view is that Chinese firms, rather than innovating, compete on the basis of mimicry, technology theft, and government subsidization. This paper, while not denying the evidence for technology duplication, illuminates three additional aspects of empirical reality: Chinese industrial innovation; multidirectional learning between Chinese and non-Chinese technology firms; and complementary, tiered development across Chinese and advanced industrial commercial innovators. The existence of these cross-border collaborative phenomena, while not invalidating the additional reality of inter-state commercial rivalry, suggests that such rivalry is neither structurally determined nor all pervasive. Extensive evidence of firm-level collaboration challenges the idea that climate remediation is necessarily impeded by a structurally-determined, geopolitically-driven "tragedy of the commons."


Cytokines belonging to the RANTES/SIS family are highly induced in a number of pathophysiological processes such as autoimmune disorders, cancers, atherosclerosis, and chronic inflammation. However, apart from their chemotactic activity on monocytes and particular lymphocyte types, the biological activities in the human system of this recently discovered cytokine family are largely unknown. Here we report that one family member, described as monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), strongly activates mature human basophils in a pertussis toxin- sensitive manner. MCP-1 causes a rise in the cytosolic free calcium level in basophils and monocytes, but not in other blood leukocyte types, and triggers basophil degranulation at low concentrations (ED50 = 3-10 nM). Thus, MCP-1 is a cytokine capable of directly inducing histamine release by basophils. Furthermore, MCP-1 promotes the formation of leukotriene C4 by basophils pretreated with interleukin 3 (IL-3), IL-5, or granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor. MCP- 1-induced basophil mediator release may play an important role in allergic inflammation and other pathologies expressing MCP-1.


Mutations affecting the p53 gene are associated with many human malignancies, but little is known about changes in p53 in unknown primary tumors (UPTs), which are characterized as tumors with advanced stages of malignancy. We therefore investigated the frequency of p53 mutations in a series of 15 unknown primary tumor biopsies and eight cell lines established from UPTs. Mutations in the conserved regions of the p53 gene were verified by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of exons 5-9 and were verified by direct DNA sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products. A point mutation leading to an amino acid change in the p53 protein was found in six cases, and a mutation causing a change to termination was found in one case. A frameshift mutation was observed in one cell line. In one patient and one cell line we observed more than one mutation in the p53 coding sequence. Overall, the frequency of mutations that changed the p53 coding sequence in the UPTs we studied was 26% (6/23). Mutations were distributed in eight codons of the p53 gene. Seven of these tumors showed a reduction to homozygosity at the p53 allele, but one tumor apparently retained heterozygosity. We conclude that although UPTs represent highly metastatic advanced tumors that are expected to have a high incidence of p53 mutations, the frequency of p53 mutations is relatively low, suggesting that p53 mutations may not play a major role in the development and progression of this unique tumor type.


Nowadays, digital 3D models are in widespread and ubiquitous use, and each specific application dealing with 3D geometry has its own quality requirements that restrict the class of acceptable and supported models. This article analyzes typical defects that make a 3D model unsuitable for key application contexts, and surveys existing algorithms that process, repair, and improve its structure, geometry, and topology to make it appropriate to case-by-case requirements.
 The analysis is focused on polygon meshes, which constitute by far the most common 3D object representation. In particular, this article provides a structured overview of mesh repairing techniques from the point of view of the application context. Different types of mesh defects are classified according to the upstream application that produced the mesh, whereas mesh quality requirements are grouped by representative sets of downstream applications where the mesh is to be used. The numerous mesh repair methods that have been proposed during the last two decades are analyzed and classified in terms of their capabilities, properties, and guarantees. Based on these classifications, guidelines can be derived to support the identification of repairing algorithms best-suited to bridge the compatibility gap between the quality provided by the upstream process and the quality required by the downstream applications in a given geometry processing scenario.


This paper re-evaluates the importance of business organizational forms with regard to venture capital funds by exploring two major Asian markets, China and India. Evidence suggests that the limited partnership is the leading business form among Chinese venture capital funds. On the other hand, Indian venture capital funds are predominantly organized as private non-charitable trusts. These findings challenge the orthodox view that the limited partnership is the preferred business form for venture capital funds. Instead, Indian venture capital funds have used the trust vehicle effectively and regard it as a functional equivalent to limited partnerships. This paper argues that the choice of business form is not the sole determinant of a vibrant venture capital market due to the presence of multiple functional equivalents that can substantially satisfy the goals of investors and fund managers. This paper advocates for a more nuanced analysis that takes into account peculiar local factors when considering if a particular business form should be introduced to facilitate the development of a venture capital market.


A geological lineation analysis of Southern Italy was carried out by interpretation of ETM+ images acquired by Landsat 7 satellite. A set of 6 images, covering the southern Apennines mountain chain, characterized by several reverse-slip faults and thrusts, was geocoded and orthocorrected to produce a digital ortho-mosaic. Spatial information is crucial for the detection of geological structures; nevertheless spectral data can also be useful in the geological interpretation of optical images. In order to combine the spatial and spectral components of Landsat 7 data, panchromatic and multi-spectral images were fused in a synergetic imagery using a statistic-based fusion technique. The fused ortho-mosaic was visually interpreted on-screen using different color compositions. Edge enhancement/detection and morphological filtering techniques were applied to facilitate the recognition of linear features. The features of geological interest detected during the interpretation process were digitized using a raster-based GIS software. A vector lineation map of Southern Italy was produced. A spatial statistic analysis of the lineaments was performed to detect their frequency and main direction.