The status of faculty of color (1) has been of concern to many in American higher education since the 1960s. The consciousness provided by the Civil Rights movement of that decade led to efforts to diversify higher education at all levels, from the student body to the faculty ranks. In the proceeding decades, we have witnessed steady growth in the racial and ethnic diversity of the college student population, and recent trends illustrate unprecedented rates of growth. At the University of California, for example, just 70% of all undergraduates were white in 1984, and six years later this proportion had dropped further to less than 60% (University of California, 1991). Nationwide, college enrollments are currently 11.0% African American, 8.7% Latino, 6.1% Asian American, 1.0% American Indian, and 73.1% white (2) (Snyder & Hoffman, 2000). Similar trends of diversification among college faculty, unfortunately, have not materialized. For example, in 1983 whites still composed approximately 91% of all full-time fa culty. Ten years later the representation of white faculty had decreased by just 3 percentage points, to 88% (Carter & Wilson, 1997). The slow progress being made by higher education to diversify its faculty has been widely recognized, and much research and debate have been focused on the factors that may be stifling efforts for increasing minority representation. These factors include: a small and decreasing pool of minority PhDs (Jackson, 1991; Mickelson & Oliver, 1991; Solmon & Wingard, 1991; Turner, Myers, Jr., & Creswell, 1999; Washington & Harvey, 1989); disproportionate tenure rates and rates of pretenure departure (Finkelstein, 1984; Menges & Exum, 1983); the persistence of racist perceptions on institutional and individual levels that restrict access and impede the professional progress of faculty of color (de la Luz Reyes & Halcon, 1991; Harvey & Scott-Jones, 1985; Jackson, 1991; Turner & Myers, Jr., 2000); the devaluation of the qualifications of minority PhDs not trained in the most elite, prestigious colleges (Mickelson & Oliver, 1991); and the difficulties of surviving in a predominantly white academy due to poor mentoring, di sproportionate advising and service loads stemming from frequently being the only faculty of color in a department, an isolating work environment, and the lack of scholarly recognition given to research focusing on ethnic minority populations (de la Luz Reyes & Halcon, 1991; Frierson, 1990; Garza, 1988; Tack & Patitu, 1992; Turner & Myers, Jr., 2000; Turner, Myers, Jr., & Creswell, 1999; Washington & Harvey, 1989). Unlike these issues of recruitment and retention, which primarily focus on barriers and obstacles to faculty diversity, the value of faculty of color to higher education has not been subject to the same volume of research and debate. How do faculty of color uniquely contribute to the enterprise of American higher education? Some scholars contend that faculty of color are essential for higher education, because they provide students with diverse role models, assist in providing more effective mentoring to minority students, are supportive of minority-related and other areas of nontraditional areas of scholarship, and give minorities a greater voice in the governance of the nation's colleges and universities (de la Luz Reyes & Halcon, 1991; Green, 1989; Mickelson & Oliver, 1991; Washington & Harvey, 1989). Others view the full representation and participation of faculty of color in the academy as essential to creating diverse and pluralistic colleges and universities (Green, 1989; Turner & Myers, Jr., 2000). Wh ile contributions to mentoring, role modeling, and governance are important to note and document, continued slow growth in the proportional representation of faculty of color in an era witnessing the dismantling of race-based affirmative action in higher education suggests that their contributions need to be reconsidered from a new perspective. …


A new type of hierarchical reduced graphene oxide wrapped NiCo2S4 composite composed of a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) matrix and a hollow prism of NiCo2S4 with a typical size of 500–600 nm is developed and investigated as an anode material for Li-ion and Na-ion storage. The hollow NiCo2S4 prisms consisting of interconnected nanoparticles possess a lot of pores, providing a sufficient electrode/electrolyte contact area, as well as acting as cushion spaces for the huge volume changes during the discharge–charge processes. The three-dimensional RGO backboned matrix not only acts as a confinement layer to prevent the NiCo2S4 nanoparticles from aggregating during preparation of the material, but also functions as a physical barrier to buffer the volume change effects during the charge/discharge processes. As a consequence, the composite demonstrates excellent rate performance and cycling stability for both Li-ion and Na-ion storage. In particular, the RGO–NiCo2S4 anode exhibits an impressive reversible capacity of 903 mA h g−1 after 80 cycles at 500 mA g−1 and a high rate capacity of 489.3 mA h g−1 even at 1600 mA g−1 for Li-ion storage. Moreover, a reversible Na-ion storage capacity of 530.2 mA h g−1 with negligible fading is also achieved after 70 cycles at 50 mA g−1. When the current density is increased to 800 mA g−1, the RGO–NiCo2S4 anode still obtains a discharge capacity of 220 mA h g−1.


PURPOSE
To evaluate of the impact of uncertainty on proton plan delivery when one field per fraction treatment regimes (SFPF) are used rather than delivering all planned fields for every fraction (MFPF).

METHODS
A nominal proton treatment plan (NP) was created in Eclipse (Varian) to treat a spherical target to 54Gy using parallel-opposed fields. The fields created in the NP were applied to geometries with uncertainties introduced. Uncertainty was simulated for four scenarios: a 1cm shift in one of the fields for 10 of 30 fractions, a 5° rotation of the patient for 10 of 30 fractions, and unilateral introduction of 3cm of bone or air for 10 of 30 fractions. The full treatment was calculated using summed plans for the SFPF case is delivered and the MFPF case. The results of the SFPF and MFPF plan sums were compared to each other and the NP by calculating Dmax/min/mean along with V90,95,98,99,100%. Dmax/min/mean were also compared for an OAR placed contralateral to the introduced uncertainty.

RESULTS
The cases for 5° rotations introduced, showed no significant difference from the NP. In all other cases, the introduced uncertainty degraded the treatment delivery with the most significant difference in the target Dmin. The SFPF treatments consistently showed a decrease in Dmin compared to the MFPF treatment. For the introduction of air and bone the SFPF treatments exhibit increases of 1.5% and 20% respectively. With bone introduced, V95 and V90 suffered an additional 3% and 4% for SFPF treatments. With air introduced, dose to the Dmax, Dmin, and Dmean were increased by 14, 16, and 20% respectively for SFPF treatments.

CONCLUSION
Tumor response and minimum target dose can be correlated. In the presence of uncertainty, SFPF treatment regimes may Result in a decreased tumor response and increased OAR dose.


The solution structure of the C-terminal Domain V of the τ subunit of E. coli DNA polymerase III was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The fold is unique to τ subunits. Amino acid sequence conservation is pronounced for hydrophobic residues that form the structural core of the protein, indicating that the fold is representative for τ subunits from a wide range of different bacteria. The interaction between the polymerase subunits τ and α was studied by NMR experiments where α was incubated with full-length C-terminal domain (τC16), and domains shortened at the C-terminus by 11 and 18 residues, respectively. The only interacting residues were found in the C-terminal 30-residue segment of τ, most of which is structurally disordered in free τC16. Since the N- and C-termini of the structured core of τC16 are located close to each other, this limits the possible distance between α and the pentameric δτ2γδ′ clamp–loader complex and, hence, between the two α subunits involved in leading- and lagging-strand DNA synthesis. Analysis of an N-terminally extended construct (τC22) showed that τC14 presents the only part of Domains IVa and V of τ which comprises a globular fold in the absence of other interaction partners.


Orielton Lagoon, an enclosed estuary, was created in 1953 following the extension of a
road causeway between Midway Point and Sorell.
Over the past 30 years, decomposition of excessive macrophytic growth has been
blamed, for the periodic occurrence of unpleasant, nauseating odours. The growth of
macrophytes appears to be associated with rainfall patterns, temperature and nutrient
levels in the lagoon.
A biological survey of the lagoon indicated a highly eutrophic, hypersaline water body,
rich in phytoplankton. Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton and there was a
suppressed zooplankton population throughout the year. Average monthly chlorophyll
levels varied between 10 and 43 J.Lg/L.
The prime source of nutrients measured in 1991 was a sewage treatment plant at
Midway Point which has discharged primary treated sewage into the lagoon since
1969. Nitrate levels were similar to those in the adjacent Pittwater area but phosphate
levels in the lagoon were approximately double those in Pittwater.
Computer modelling of water movement through the lagoon was used to estimate water
exchange within the system. This highlighted the very limited water exchange with the
existing restricted outlet and demonstrated the significant additional water movement
that could be achieved by minor modification.
The study has predicted changes in water quality that would result from both increased
water flow and removal of nutrient input. To achieve a water quality similar to that in
the neighbouring Pittwater area, with a chlorophyll level between 1 and 5 J.Lg/L, both
the removal of the nutrient source and increased flushing of the system must be
undertaken.
The importance of the area as an internationally recognised wetland, important for
migratory wading birds, is a prime consideration in any management plans to improve
the water quality in the lagoon. The presence of a profitable aquacultural industry in
the adjacent Pittwater area is also important in formulating future management
practices.


Graphene nanoplatelets (GnP), conceptually described as unrolled carbon nanotubes, exhibit attractive properties including the highest thermal conductivity known and twice the surface area of carbon nanotubes. By blending with a minimal ratio of carbon nanotubes in a papermaking-like process, a thin, robust membrane is produced which can be pre-impregnated with resin and handled similarly to carbon fiber prepreg materials. This paper-like membrane can be easily and strategically inserted in traditional composite manufacturing including autoclave and out-of-autoclave processing without the introduction of additional steps or cure cycle alterations. In addition to offering thermal and electrical property enhancements similar to or surpassing those accomplished with carbon nanotubes, the graphene nanoplatelets are significantly cheaper and easier to disperse. Space application development efforts with graphene nanoplatelet membranes have included thermal management and electromagnetic environmental effects protection of composite structures, and energy storage related applications. This paper presents the results of processing and evaluation of GnP membranes for aerospace applications.


Objective: To explore Healthcare provider's perception of medications in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: It is a 4-months cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals and knowledge of medicines. The survey consisted of two-part demographic information and second part forty-nine questions divided into four domains. It included domain one: Primary or essential information about healthcare providers medication, domain two: healthcare professionals information about the drug-related problem, domain three: healthcare professionals information about drug-related cost and domain four: Healthcare providers perception of medications. All type of healthcare professionals included in the study. Medline Plus health information and DailyMed-INH elements information from National Institute of Health United State of America were used. The survey was distributed through social media by using what's App to more than one thousand healthcare professionals overall Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The survey was made in an electronic format and it analyzed domain four: Healthcare provider's perception of medications through survey monkey system. Results: The total responders were (188) Healthcare professionals. Of those 177 (95.16%) were Saudi and 9 (4.84%) were non-Saudi. The gender distribution 120 (63.83%) were females and 68 (36.17%) were males. The most of Healthcare professionals were pharmacists 93 (71.54%), followed by nurses 18 (13.85%) and physicians 15 (11.54%). The responders showed that 60 (32.26%) takes their medication without any prior information, 110 (59.14%) described drug to the person had the same disease and 130 (70.27%) use the medication without a prescription. Also, 65 (35.33%) of responders stopped their medication when they feel better and 116 (63.04%) of them completed entire medication course of therapy. The responders displayed that 119 (63.98%) believed Drug Information given by health care was not enough and 68 (36.56%) of responders thought that their medication knowledge was not enough. Conclusion: To better educate clinicians and pharmacists about medications, some professionals Should be resourced. These resources include information specific to classes of medications and medication types that have high specific potential, as well as suggestions on how to assess function and Counsel Participant's information and knowledge of Medication's Perception. Key words: Healthcare professional, Perception, Attitudes, Medications, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.


With the dramatic increase in competitiveness in college admissions evident by falling acceptance rates over time, the college planning process has become of great importance to high school students and their parents. As a result, high schools are redesigning their college counseling programs to better serve their students in this increasingly competitive environment. However, college counseling programs are just one piece of the puzzle. The parent-child relationship during the college planning process also plays an important role in achieving a successful outcome. This study presents results from a survey in which high school students answered questions in the form of messages to their parents during the college planning process. We surveyed 138 high school juniors from two private schools that differ in contextual factors (e.g., a private boarding school versus a private non-boarding parochial school). We applied the Grounded Theory coding method to code open-ended survey responses into common themes that were used to test three hypotheses regarding school-specific contextual factors and the frequency of common themes in student messages to their parents. One key result from our analysis is that students at private boarding schools are likely to express greater fear of parental control and disappointment than students at private non-boarding parochial schools. We also found that students at schools with less extensive college planning programs express greater need for parental help in the college planning process. These findings provide evidence that contextual factors are important in the college planning process and could be useful to the design of college planning programs at high schools.


BACKGROUND
Client characteristics provide useful information for designing programs that target individuals with risk factors for substance use and for determining client retention. Therefore, this study examined the profiles of clients attending a methadone clinic.

METHODS
A cross-sectional analysis of clients of a methadone clinic was conducted through a survey to obtain a profile of methadone clients.

RESULTS
Of the 51 patients who responded (response rate: 66.2%), the mean (SD) age at which they started substance use was 19.8 (5.1) years. Friends were cited as the most regular source of drugs (82.4%), and heroin was the most commonly used drug (98%). Daily substance use was reported by 72.5% of the respondents; 23.5% admitted to having stolen money to purchase drugs; 92.2% tried quitting substance use on their own and 98% stated that the main reason for registering at the clinic was that they wanted to stop their drug dependence. Approximately 60% of clients were receiving methadone doses of less than 60 mg/day.

CONCLUSION
Heroin is still the most popular drug of abuse and most clients still receive methadone doses below the recommended level, despite evidence of poor patient retention rates associated with these low doses.


The events that took place in New York City on 11 September 2001 are the background for a series of essays exploring the response of different cities at different times to natural or man-made disaster. How have cities coped with cataclysmic change in the urban fabric both physically and psychologically? How have they memorialized what they have lost, and how have they imagined their future? What have been the effects, in both the short and long term, of these efforts to rebuild the city? From the devastating earthquake that shook Lisbon in 1755 to the Great Chicago fire in 1871; from the bombing of Hiroshima to the destruction of Rotterdam and Plymouth during World War II; from the cities and towns ravaged by the Bosnian War to the symbolism of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem - this volume offers varying perspectives on how cities have responded to catastrophic disasters. Following these case studies is a history of destruction and rebuilding in Manhattan, and a reflection on the role of cities in sustaining democratic culture concludes the book. Contributors to this volume include urban theorists, architectural historians, cultural critics, architects, and a film-maker.


[1] At three successive days at the end of January 2000 the Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) airborne lidar Ozone Lidar Experiment explored mountain-wave-induced polar stratospheric clouds above the Scandinavian mountain ridge. Global analyses and mesoscale modeling are applied to explain their complex internal structure and their day-to-day variability. Depending on the synoptical-scale meteorological conditions, stratospheric temperature anomalies of different amplitude and horizontal extent are generated by the upward propagating mountain waves. Short-term excitation of about 6 hours resulted in localized stratospheric temperature anomalies directly above the mountain ridge as for 25 January 2000. In this case, the elevation of the observed clouds differed not much from the synoptic-scale clouds upstream above the Norwegian Sea. On the other hand, long-lasting flow past the Scandinavian mountain ridge formed huge 400-km horizontally extending stratospheric ice clouds in altitudes as much as 5 km above the elevation of the upstream clouds just 1 day later. Inertia gravity waves with horizontal wavelengths of about 350 km are responsible for their formation. For the first time a predicted temperature minimum far downstream of the mountains could be proofed by the observation of an isolated stratospheric ice cloud above Finland. The observed particles are classified in terms of their measured optical properties such as backscatter ratio and depolarization. In all cases, mountain waves generated ice clouds. In contrast to the nitric acid trihydrate tail of the ice cloud on 25 January the same classification results in a tail of liquid supercooled ternary solutions droplets 1 day later. The particle structure downstream of the mountains is very complex and needs detailed microphyical modeling and interpretation.


ABSTRACT Basic arithmetic forms the foundation of the math courses that students will face in their undergraduate careers. It is therefore crucial that students have a solid understanding of these fundamental concepts. At an open-access university offering both two-year and four-year degrees, incoming freshmen who were identified as lacking in basic arithmetic skills were engaged in an experimental technology-enhanced workshop designed to provide them with a deeper understanding of arithmetic prior to their initial remedial coursework. Customized online content was created specifically for this experiment, and the first implementation (n = 27) yielded statistically significant improvement, not only from pre-test to post-test, but also in the subsequent remedial course. This paper also analyses the accuracy of students' self-assessment from pre-test to post-test, as well as student attitudes about this experimental approach.


Hydrology is the science that deals with the processes governing the depletion and replenishment of water resources of the earth's land areas. The purpose of this book is to put together recent developments on hydrology and water resources engineering. First section covers surface water modeling and second section deals with groundwater modeling. The aim of this book is to focus attention on the management of surface water and groundwater resources. Meeting the challenges and the impact of climate change on water resources is also discussed in the book. Most chapters give insights into the interpretation of field information, development of models, the use of computational models based on analytical and numerical techniques, assessment of model performance and the use of these models for predictive purposes. It is written for the practicing professionals and students, mathematical modelers, hydrogeologists and water resources specialists.


A model, based on the pairwise intermolecular halogen–hydrogen (Br–H) and halogen–halogen (Br–Br) bonding, is proposed to describe the self-assembly of Br4Py molecules into two different planar structures (Phase I and Phase II). The pair bonding interactions are calculated by the density functional theory for the two-molecule and four-molecule clusters. It is shown that about 60% of bonding strength is due to the electrostatic Br(top)–Br(belt) interactions, while the remaining originates from Br–H interactions. The obtained values of pair interactions are further used for Monte Carlo calculations. The model for these calculations is proposed on a square lattice. The two main pair interactions are needed for the emergence of the Phase I ordering, while the Phase II ordering is obtained using a single interaction. The obtained results explain the emergence of both phases.


An anaerobic membrane reactor (AnMBR) treating municipal wastewater was evaluated. The experiments were performed using a pilot-scale up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor with a submerged tubular ultrafiltration membrane at a hydraulic retention time of 8 hours. The system worked at an intermittent filtration mode (4 min on/1 min off) with and without nitrogen gas bubbling during the relaxation time (IF4NP and IF4P, respectively). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal achieved by the AnMBR was 68.6% and 87.9% for IF4P and IF4NP. Nitrogen bubbling also improved the filtration performance, as the elapsed time to reach 40 kPa for IF4NP and IF4P were 443 and 108 hours, respectively. Results show that intermittent filtration combined with nitrogen bubbling during the period of relaxation was an effective operation strategy in order to minimize membrane fouling and to increase COD removal.


Contingencies of reinforcement specify how reinforcers are earned and how they are obtained. Ratio contingencies specify the number of responses that earn a reinforcer, and the response satisfying the ratio requirement obtains the earned reinforcer. Simple interval schedules specify that a certain time earns a reinforcer, which is obtained by the first response after the interval. The earning of reinforcers has been overlooked, perhaps because simple schedules confound the rates of earning reinforcers with the rates of obtaining reinforcers. In concurrent variable-interval schedules, however, spending time at one alternative earns reinforcers not only at that alternative, but at the other alternative as well. Reinforcers earned for delivery at the other alternative are obtained after changing over. Thus the rates of earning reinforcers are not confounded with the rate of obtaining reinforcers, but the rates of earning reinforcers are the same at both alternatives, which masks their possibly differing effects on preference. Two experiments examined the separate effects of earning reinforcers and of obtaining reinforcers on preference by using concurrent interval schedules composed of two pairs of stay and switch schedules (MacDonall, 2000). In both experiments, the generalized matching law, which is based on rates of obtaining reinforcers, described responding only when rates of earning reinforcers were the same at each alternative. An equation that included both the ratio of the rates of obtaining reinforcers and the ratio of the rates of earning reinforcers described the results from all conditions from each experiment.


Subjective experiences vary among immigrant groups adjusting to a new society. Some problems are common to all immigrants, and some are unique to certain groups. Studies of perceived problems, based on in-depth interviews with 90 Korean families in New York, were placed in the overall context of American immigrant problems to differentiate the common needs of all immigrants from the unique needs of Korean immigrants. In this article, the author studies family relations; child rearing; and practical aspects of language, employment, and health. The author discusses the development of a multiservice center for all immigrants and services specific to the Korean population. Immigration to the United States has become increasingly heterogeneous since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Gordon, 1990; Jensen, 1989; Kraly, 1987). Although people are immigrating from all over the world, the largest increases are in immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The 1990 census indicated that these three groups account for as much as 40 percent of the total population increase over the past decade in the United States (Barringer, 1990). The number of Korean immigrants has increased rapidly in the past few decades, from 70,000 in 1970 to 799,000 in 1992 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992). Despite the increases, however, understanding of the new groups lags far behind their arrival. How does each immigrant group perceive the adjustment experience, and what are the problems they face while adapting? Answers to these questions could help social workers develop and deliver effective services for immigrants. This article builds knowledge in this area through a study of Korean immigrant families. The experience of Korean immigrants, placed in the greater context of that of all American immigrants, will differentiate some common needs of immigrants from needs unique to Koreans. Suggestions are made for developing general immigrant programs and programs specific to Koreans. General Experiences of Immigrants The adaptation experience of new immigrants varies according to their place of origin, premigration occupation and education, traditional values, and socialization (Kessler-Harris & Yans-McLaughlin, 1978). The literature has stressed some common aspects of experience among the immigrants, specifically in language (Portes & Rumbaut, 1990), employment (Ware, 1932; Portes & Rumbaut, 1990), adjustment stress (Eisenstadt, 1955; Furnham & Bochner, 1989; Portes & Rumbant, 1990), and interpersonal conflict (Landau, 1982). Language Except for immigrants from English-speaking countries, the first problem an immigrant encounters is learning a new language (Chen, 1973; Homma-True, 1976; Kosmin, 1990; Land, Nishimoto, & Chau, 1988). However, place of origin and premigration experience seem to generate differences in the speed and ease of language acquisition. Those from "verbal" cultures and similar linguistic circles seem to learn a new language faster than those from "less-verbal" cultures (Finnan, 1981). Occupation determines the level of language skills that will be required. High-level professional jobs demand a higher level of command of the language, whereas low-level, unskilled jobs require a minimum level of language skills. Employment Economic survival is the foremost concern on arrival in the United States for adult immigrants (Portes & Rumbaut, 1990). Except for small numbers of religious and political immigrants, the economic motive for immigration has been constant throughout history. Immigrants are welcomed when the U.S. economy is prosperous and when labor is in short supply; when the economy falls into a recession, conflicts arise between natives and immigrants. In general, the least desirable jobs, shunned by natives, are assigned to immigrants (Portes & Rumbaut, 1990; Ware, 1932). Professional immigrants also begin at the lowest level in their occupational field, regardless of their premigration experience credentials; some face underemployment in blue-collar jobs (Howe, 1990; Shin & Change, 1988). …


Wet tundra environments of the Siberian Arctic are considerable natural sources of methane, a climate relevant trace gas. The Arctic appears to warm more rapidly and to a greater extend than the rest of the earth surface and it is suggested, that the tundra in Alaska and Russia has changed from a net sink to a net source of atmospheric carbon [1]. The potential impact on the carbon reservoirs of Arctic soils is highly influenced by changes in microbial processes like methanogenesis and methane oxidation. The latter process is due to the activity of methane oxidising (methanotrophic) bacteria that consequently determine the amount of methane that is released from Siberian permafrost soils. In Arctic environments, biological processes are controlled by an extreme temperature regime in the upper active layer of the permafrost accompanied by seasonal freezing and thawing. Therefore, methane oxidation rates within two soil profiles from Samoylov Island (N 72°22, E 126°28, Lena Delta, Siberia) were determined in dependence of the temperature through conversion of 14 CH4 to 14 CO2. Moreover, total, methanotrophic and cells of the domain Bacteria were counted using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and DAPI staining. The rates obtained indicate a shift in the temperature optimum of methanotrophic activity with increasing soil depth. The methanotrophic bacteria of the upper soil layers showed their highest activity at 21 °C. However, in deeper horizons close to the permafrost table the maximum methane oxidation rates were determined at 4 °C. These results may indicate the existence of specialised and cold adapted methanotrophic communities in horizons close to the permanently frozen ground of Siberian permafrost soils. It will further be investigated if these results will also be reflected in the diversity and structure of the methanotrophic communities. For these purposes clone libraries will be designed and complemented by a molecular fingerprinting of the dynamic within the methanotrophic community.


Increased computing power makes it possible to simulate larger Earth system model ensembles with higher output frequency, finer spatial resolution, and extended simulation length. These improvements produce massive datasets and are straining institutional storage resources. Therefore, different compression methodologies have been studied to address this issue. It is possible to implement lossless compression methods, where the original data is perfectly preserved. However, lossy compression methods, where part of original data may not be preserved, are a more promising option due to the higher compression rates they can achieve. Previous work has demonstrated that using a combination of different lossy compression methods and levels produces better results overall because the choice of method and level can be tailored to the characteristics of each variable. Currently, determining the optimal compression method and level for each variable is computationally expensive because it involves compressing and reconstructing each variable exhaustively for each possible compression method and level. The optimal combination is then determined by assessing which method/level produces the highest data compression while still satisfying the quality criteria. The goal of this project is to streamline this process by characterizing the variables through features that will be used in a regression model to predict the optimal compression level automatically. We analyze a large ensemble of annual averages of 198 variables from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) with the final goal of informing a multinomial regression model to predict different compression levels for the fpzip compression method. Here we describe and summarize the different features that range from simple statistics to smoothness and clustering indicators, analyze their variability across ensemble members, and preliminarily evaluate their correlation with the different compression levels from fpzip.


The reproductive season of the relict species Margaritifera auricularia and three other species of freshwater mussels was studied by collecting their parasitic glochidial larvae with drift nets from 1997-1998. Drift net sampling indicated M. auricularia release glochidia during March and April. Sampling of fishes cohabiting with the mussels showed that the natural host fish for M. auricularia glochidia is probably absent from the study area. The barbel, (Barbus graellsii) is the main live host for the glochidia of Psilunio littoralis and Anodonta cygnea. Specimens of the only other native fish species, Chondrostoma toxostoma, and of three exotic fish species living in the channel were not infested by glochidia during the sampled months. Glochidia of Psilunio littoralis encapsulate in the fish fins and mainly in the gill filaments. Anodonta cygnea glochidial larvae also encyst on the gill rakers, in addition to the fins and gill filaments.


Morning and evening components of circadian rhythms are coordinated and stabilized by a repressor. The molecular clocks intertwined with cellular physiology regulate daily cycles. In plants, these circadian rhythms affect processes as diverse as carbon metabolism and leaf orientation. Huang et al. have now analyzed the interactions driven by a key element of the circadian clock in plants, TOC1 ("TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1"). TOC1 helps to coordinate responses of the morning and evening cycles, functioning to repress activity of other clock components. W. Huang, P. Pérez-García, A. Pokhilko, A. J. Millar, I. Antoshechkin, J. L. Riechmann, P. Mas, Mapping the core of the Arabidopsis circadian clock defines the network structure of the oscillator. Science 336, 75–79 (2012). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The paper is contributed to develop a family of equivalence notions for real-time systems represented by labelled Merlin's time Petri nets with zero length time intervals (i.e., with fixed time delays). We call them "timed Petri nets". In particular, we introduce timed (time-sensitive), untimed (time-abstracting) and region (based on the notion of region [1]) equivalences in both the trace and bisimulation semantics. The interrelations of all the equivalence notions are examined for a general class of timed nets as well as for a subclass of untimed nets (timed nets with time delays equal to zero's). Further we define a timed variant of state-mashine refinement [4] and investigate how the proposed equivalence notions behave with respect to this class of refinements.


Plug-and-play prirs (PnP) is an image reconstruction framework that uses an image denoiser as an imaging prior. Unlike traditional regularized inversion, PnP does not require the prior to be expressible in the form of a regularization function. This flexibility enables PnP algorithms to exploit the most effective image denoisers, leading to their state-of-the-art performance in various imaging tasks. However, many powerful denoisers, such as the ones based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs), do not have tunable parameters that would allow controlling their influence within PnP. To address this issue, in this paper, we introduce a scaling parameter that adjusts the magnitude of the denoiser input and output. We theoretical justify the denoiser scaling from the perspectives of proximal optimization, statistical estimation, and consensus equilibrium. Finally, we provide numerical experiments demonstrating the ability of denoiser scaling to systematically improve the performance of PnP for denoising CNN priors that do not have explicitly tunable parameters.


Renewable energy penetration is growing, due to the target of greenhouse-gas-emission reduction, even though fossil fuel-based technologies are still necessary in the current energy market scenario to provide reliable back-up power to stabilize the grid. Nevertheless, currently, an investment in such a kind of power plant might not be profitable enough, since some energy policies have led to a general decrease of both the average single national price of electricity (PUN) and its variability; moreover, in several countries, negative prices are reached on some sunny or windy days. Within this context, combined heat and power (CHP) systems appear not just as a fuel-efficient way to fulfill local thermal demand but also as a sustainable way to maintain installed capacity able to support electricity grid reliability. Innovative solutions to increase both the efficiency and flexibility of those power plants, as well as careful evaluations of the economic context, are essential to ensure the sustainability of the economic investment in a fast-paced changing energy field. This study aims to evaluate the economic viability and environmental impact of an integrated solution of a cogenerative combined cycle gas turbine power plant with a flue gas condensing heat pump. Considering capital expenditure, heat demand, electricity price, and its fluctuations during the whole system life, the sustainability of the investment is evaluated taking into account the uncertainties of economic scenarios and benchmarked against the integration of a cogenerative combined cycle gas turbine power plant with a heat-only boiler (HOB).


This paper surveys the literature of the Bullionist controversy which dominated the development of Classical monetary economics between 1797 and the early 1820s. It highlights the contributions of Henry Thornton to the early phase of the debate, particularly his refutation of the Real Bill doctrine, and of David Ricardo to its later phases. The role of the Real Bills doctrine in the evidence given by directors of the Bank of England to the Bullion Committee of 1810 is also analysed. Ricardo's subsequent work on the resumption of convertibility, and the dissenting, sometimes inflationist, opinions of Thomas Attwood and the Birmingham School are then discussed. The paper ends with a brief account of how the Bullionist controversy influenced the later development of classical monetary economics in the 19th century.


Blood samples were collected from 84 buffalo cows 21 days after fixed time artificial insemination following oestrus synchronisation and cloprostenol. Progesterone concentration in plasma was determined by radioimmunoassay. The animals were examined for pregnancy by rectal palpation 60 to 90 days after insemination. Forty-two animals were predicted pregnant on the basis of progesterone concentration (more than 1.0 ng per ml), and 28 (66.7 per cent) of them were subsequently confirmed pregnant by rectal palpation. Thirty-five animals were predicted non-pregnant (progesterone less than 0.7 ng per ml), in 34 (97.1 per cent) this proved to be so. Of the total number, seven (8.3 per cent) were classified as doubtful because their progesterone concentrations were within the range 0.7 to 1.0 ng per ml: two of them were confirmed pregnant and the other five non-pregnant. Out of 31 animals diagnosed pregnant by rectal palpation, 28 (90.3 per cent) had been correctly detected by assay at 21 days. Thirty-four (64.2 per cent) of the 53 animals found non-pregnant had been correctly detected by assay. It was concluded that the determination of plasma progesterone concentration 21 days after insemination was an accurate method of predicting non-pregnancy in buffaloes.


Background. Postgraduate degrees are costly for the candidate, Government and tertiary institution. Few Master's degree candidates complete their studies within the minimum prescribed time, while some do not finish at all. These two factors impact negatively on student finances and morale, staff workload, university funding and future student intake.  Objective. This study was conducted at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Limpopo, Medunsa Campus, Pretoria, South Africa, to establish the completion rates of Master's degrees in pharmacy and identify the factors impacting on completion. Method. A cohort of 100 students who enrolled in the MSc (Med) (Pharmacy) degree between 2002 and 2009 was surveyed by means of an emailed questionnaire that was returned anonymously. Results. Women were more likely to complete their degree than men (53% v. 40%). Full-time students had the highest completion rate (100%), followed by staff (78%). Only 35.5% of part-time postgraduates and those who communicated more frequently with their supervisors received their degree. Those who completed their degree also scored higher on quality of communication with and accessibility of the supervisor. Those who did not complete their degree, scored low on their adjustment to tertiary education and ability to reach a balance between social and academic activities. Finance was also a contributing factor for 40% of those who did not complete their degree. Conclusion. Completion rates in our degree course compare reasonably well with those in other studies. Clarity about the roles and responsibilities of supervisors and students is of the utmost importance. Being mostly present at the university plays a major role in the successful completion of a postgraduate degree. Academic internship is the optimal route to a Master's degree in pharmacy, but if not possible close contact must be maintained between the student and university.


After pointing out that small island economies are diverse in their economic situations and in their ability to benefit from globalisation, this article examines the actual situation of South Pacific island countries. It takes into account their size and its diversity; variations in their involvement in international trade; their geographic, ethnic and cultural differences; their international political associations; and differences in their degree of economic development. All of these factors, as well as their common attributes, influence the prospects of small Pacific Island countries for benefiting from economic globalisation. The question of whether the MIRAB characterisation of South Pacific Island Economies continues to be relevant is explored given that there has been increasing global support for the notion that nations should mainly rely on economic liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation for their economic development and become less aid dependent. Furthermore, the extent to which economic globalisation can be embraced to further the sustainable development of Pacific island countries is discussed.


In 1832 Hamilton predicted that a collimated light beam propagating through a biaxial crystal parallel to one of its optical axes refracts as a slanted cone within the crystal and emerges as a hollow light cylinder, this optical effect being named as conical refraction (CR). The diffractive solution of CR presented by Belsky and Khapalyuk in 1978 and the corresponding re‐formulation carried out by Berry in 2004 rekindled this old and almost forgotten phenomenon. In this article, we review the CR phenomenon following different approaches that allow understanding light propagation in biaxial crystals, including the case of multiple crystals in cascade. We then focus on the description of the singular properties of the CR beams, presenting some examples such as optical bottle beams and beams carrying orbital angular momentum. All these features are used to introduce some of the most appealing applications of CR in the fields of optical trapping, free‐space optical communications, polarization metrology, super‐resolution imaging, two‐photon polymerization, and lasers.


This paper describes ongoing research into obtaining and using knowledge bases to assist information retrieval. These structures are prohibitively expensive to obtain manually, yet automatic approaches have been researched for decades with limited success. This research investigates a potential shortcut: a way to provide knowledge bases automatically, without expecting computers to replace expert human indexers. Instead we aim to replace the professionals with thousands or even millions of amateurs: with the growing community of contributors who form the core of Web 2.0. Specifically we focus on Wikipedia, which represents a rich tapestry of topics and semantics and a huge investment of human effort and judgment. We show how this can be directly exploited to provide manually-defined yet inexpensive knowledge-bases that are specifically tailored to expose the topics, terminology and semantics of individual document collections. We are also concerned with how best to make these structures available to users, and aim to produce a complete knowledge-based retrieval system-both the knowledge base and the tools to apply it-that can be evaluated by how well it assists real users in performing realistic and practical information retrieval tasks. To this end we have developed Koru, a new search engine that offers concrete evidence of the effectiveness of our Web 2.0 based techniques for assisting information retrieval.


This paper aims to set the foundations for an integration of digital photography into the broader framework of visual representation. The current climate seems to be marked by a preoccupation with contrasting the digital with the analog image. An alternative cross‐cultural approach is proposed, employing "systems of representation" characterized by the wide range of strategies for communicating through the visual image that can be found in the anthropology of art. These take into account the optical principles of depiction and their cultural determinants. The paper aims to place the practice of the digital generation and manipulation of photographs at a point of convergence with a variety of other means of transcribing the three‐dimensional world onto a two‐dimensional flat surface.


This thesis is concerned with assessing the impact of Scandinavian settlement upon the territorial organization of the Ryedale region of Yorkshire during the late Anglo-Saxon period. The Ryedale region was selected as the focus of the thesis due to its location within the Danelaw, the number and density of Scandinavian place-names and the amount of archaeology and sculpture from the late Anglo-Saxon period within the area. In order to examine the impact of Scandinavian settlement, two models of territorial organization have been defined, firstly that of continuity based on the 'Multiple Estate' model, secondly that of considerable upheaval as a result of the conquest by armies of Danes, Irish-Norse and the kingdom of Wessex. This thesis examines how the available evidence from Ryedale, supplied by place-names, Domesday Book and other contemporary documents, archaeology and sculpture, and boundaries and other topography, argues both for and against the two defined models. The results of the study suggest that, despite the period of upheaval, which was evident during the late Anglo-Saxon period, at least two of the Domesday estates within Ryedale were of some antiquity, possibly dating from the early Anglo-Saxon period. These estates had survived the power struggles of the Irish-Norse kingdom of York, the reconquest of the Danelaw by the kings of Wessex and the events of the mid-eleventh century, following the Norman Conquest. Although the Scandinavians changed the way the land was assessed, divided and owned, the changes that resulted from their settlement were essentially linked to the introduction of new of place-names and terms of administration for a pre-existing territorial organization.


Thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar (a-Si:H) cells are known to have better temperature coefficients than crystalline silicon cells. To investigate whether a-Si:H cells that are optimized for standard conditions (STC) also have the highest energy yield, we measured the temperature and irradiance dependence of the maximum power output (Pmpp), the fill factor (FF), the short-circuit current density (Jsc), and the open-circuit voltage (Voc) for four series of cells fabricated with different deposition conditions. The parameters varied during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) were the power and frequency of the PE-CVD generator, the hydrogen-to-silane dilution during deposition of the intrinsic absorber layer (i-layer), and the thicknesses of the a-Si:H i-layer and p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide layer. The results show that the temperature coefficient of the Voc generally varies linearly with the Voc value. The Jsc increases linearly with temperature mainly due to temperature-inducedbandgap reduction and reduced recombination. The FFtemperature dependence is not linear and reaches a maximum at temperatures between 15 °C and 80 °C. Numerical simulations show that this behavior is due to a more positive space-charge induced by the photogenerated holes in the p-layer and to a recombination decrease with temperature. Due to the FF(T) behavior, the Pmpp (T) curves also have a maximum, but at a lower temperature. Moreover, for most series, the cells with the highest power output at STC also have the best energy yield. However, the Pmpp (T) curves of two cells with different i-layer thicknesses cross each other in the operating cell temperature range, indicating that the cell with the highest power output could, for instance, have a lower energy yield than the other cell. A simple energy-yield simulation for the light-soaked and annealed states shows that for Neuchâtel (Switzerland) the best cell at STC also has the best energy yield. However, for a different climate or cell configuration, this may not be true.


Abstract In a seminal 1989 article, Douglass North and Barry Weingast argued that by making the monarch more answerable to Parliament, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 helped to secure property rights in England and stimulate the rise of capitalism. Similarly, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson later wrote that in the English Middle Ages there was a 'lack of property rights for landowners, merchants and proto-industrialists' and the 'strengthening' of property rights in the late 17th century 'spurred a process of financial and commercial expansion'. There are several problems with these arguments. Property rights in England were relatively secure from the 13th century. A major developmental problem was not the security of rights but their feudal nature, including widespread 'entails' and 'strict settlements'. 1688 had no obvious direct effect on property rights. Given these criticisms, what changes promoted the rise of capitalism? A more plausible answer is found by addressing the post-1688 Financial and Administrative Revolutions, which were pressured by the enhanced needs of war and Britain's expanding global role. Guided by a more powerful Parliament, this new financial system stimulated reforms to landed property rights, the growth of collateralizable property and saleable debt, and thus enabled the Industrial Revolution.


Conventional network defense tools such as intrusion detection systems and anti-virus focus on the vulnerability component of risk, and traditional incident response methodology presupposes a successful intrusion. An evolution in the goals and sophistication of computer network intrusions has rendered these approaches insufficient for certain actors. A new class of threats, appropriately dubbed the "Advanced Persistent Threat" (APT), represents well-resourced and trained adversaries that conduct multi-year intrusion campaigns targeting highly sensitive economic, proprietary, or national security information. These adversaries accomplish their goals using advanced tools and techniques designed to defeat most conventional computer network defense mechanisms. Network defense techniques which leverage knowledge about these adversaries can create an intelligence feedback loop, enabling defenders to establish a state of information superiority which decreases the adversary's likelihood of success with each subsequent intrusion attempt. Using a kill chain model to describe phases of intrusions, mapping adversary kill chain indicators to defender courses of action, identifying patterns that link individual intrusions into broader campaigns, and understanding the iterative nature of intelligence gathering form the basis of intelligence-driven computer network defense (CND). Institutionalization of this approach reduces the likelihood of adversary success, informs network defense investment and resource prioritization, and yields relevant metrics of performance and effectiveness. The evolution of advanced persistent threats necessitates an intelligence-based model because in this model the defenders mitigate not just vulnerability, but also the threat component of risk.


Self-help groups (SHGs) are the most common form of microfinance in India. The authors provide evidence that SHGs, composed of women only, undertake collective actions for the provision of public goods within village communities. Using a theoretical model, this paper shows that an elected official, whose aim is to maximize re-election chances, exerts higher effort in providing public goods when private citizens undertake collective action and coordinate their voluntary contributions towards the same goods. This effect occurs although government and private contributions are assumed to be substitutes in the technology of providing public goods. Using first-hand data on SHGs in India, the paper tests the prediction of the model and shows that, in response to collective action by SHGs, local authorities tackle a larger variety of public issues, and are more likely to tackle issues of interest to SHGs. The findings highlight how the social behavior of SHGs can influence the governance of rural Indian communities.


The Savoring Beliefs Inventory (SBI) is a measure designed to assess attitudes toward savoring positive experience within three temporal orientations: the past (reminiscence), the present moment (present enjoyment), and the future (anticipation). The aim of this study was to validate the structure of the SBI—French version. The scale was tested with 335 French-speaking participants. Two models were estimated: a one-factor model representing a general construct of savoring and a three-factor model differentiating between anticipation, present enjoyment, and reminiscence. Several indicators of model fit were used: the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparison fit index (CFI), the Tucker–Lewis fit index (TLI), and the standardized root mean residual (SRMR). A chi-square difference test was used to compare the two models. The model fit of the three-factor model assessed by the SRMR showed to be excellent, while it could be considered as satisfactory according to the CFI and TLI coefficients. RMSEA, however, was slightly less adequate. The model fit for the one-factor model seemed less adequate than the three-factor solution. Further, the chi-square difference test revealed that the three-factor model had significantly better fit than the one-factor model. Finally, the reliability of the four scores (anticipating pleasure, present moment pleasure, reminiscing pleasure, and total score) was very good. These results show that the French version of the SBI is a valid and valuable scale to measure attitudes regarding the ability to savor positive experience, whether it be in anticipation, reminiscence, or the present moment.


The intent of this analysis is to evaluate CPDOs (Constant Proportion Debt Obligations, which also appear under other names, with slightly varying structures), a new, promising structured product, with respect to their return and risk, based on various credit spread and Libor scenarios, and taking into account fees, expenses, and expected credit losses. The author evaluates the product from a standpoint of a long-term investor, such as a pension fund, which would hold it to maturity. He creates a distribution of annualized 10-year returns, based on 358 Libor/spread scenarios. Hypothetical strategies of investing in single-quality corporate bond indices (Aaa to Ba) are modeled, using the same scenarios and reasonable assumptions for expenses and fees. The resulting bond return distributions serve as benchmarks, to which the CPDOs9 return distribution is compared, in order to find their place in the risk-return spectrum, and see whether they similar to Aaa or a lower credit quality.


PURPOSE
To quantify local treatment response for pancreatic radiotherapy using PET/CT, and investigate prediction of residual high-uptake areas using Pre-radiotherapy scans.

METHODS
18FDG-PET/CT scans were obtained from ten LAPC patients, pre-RT, 8-12 weeks following treatment (Post-RT), and at 2 to 4month follow-up intervals. Four patients received 3 follow-up scans; others had at least one follow-up scan. All PET/CT images were registered to the planning CT using object-specific deformable registration which preserves target volume rigidity while deforming surrounding tissue. Therapy response evaluation is performed by comparing changes in SUVmax and volume pre-RT and post-RT. Local response is further evaluated by dividing the volume of interest into 4.8×4.8×4.8mm^ 3 subvolumes. Each subvolume is characterized with mean uptakes (SUVpre, SUVpost), SUVdiff=SUVpre-SUVpost, and treatment dose. Local response is evaluated using 3 volumes (VOIs): (1) ITV, (2) volume between PTV and ITV, (3) 3mm expansion around the PTV. For each VOI, the quantified response index is calculated [QR = (#subvolumes with SUVdiff>0)/(#subvolumes)]. A large QR suggests better local control. Subvolumes with SUVdiff<0 are investigated by examining SUVpre and treatment dose. Local response results are correlated to global SUVmax changes, disease volume changes, and clinical radiologist readings.

RESULTS
10 follow-up scans of 5 patients show strong positive response to treatment, with QRs for all VOIs >0.75 [ITV: 0.97+/-0.07, PTV-ITV: 0.84+/-0.18, 3mm PTV expansion: 0.76+/-0.29]. Global disease volumes (identified by high-uptake values) are reduced >70%, global SUVmaxs are reduced more than 50%. Three partial response patients have QR=0.50-0.75 (0.62+/-0.11 for ITV volumes). Two cases (failures) have QR<0.4, with mean 0.26+/-0.06.

CONCLUSION
Quantification of local metabolic response provides a feasible approach for evaluating efficacy of local control of pancreatic cancer treatment. The results can be used to identify persistent and local failure of disease, toward implementing response-driven adaptive radiotherapy.


We describe a new Large Program in progress on the Gemini North and South telescopes: Gemini Observations of Galaxies in Rich Early Environments (GOGREEN). This is an imaging and deep spectroscopic survey of 21 galaxy systems at 1 < z < 1.5, selected to span a factor >10 in halo mass. The scientific objectives include measuring the role of environment in the evolution of low-mass galaxies, and measuring the dynamics and stellar contents of their host haloes. The targets are selected from the SpARCS, SPT, COSMOS, and SXDS surveys, to be the evolutionary counterparts of today's clusters and groups. The new red-sensitive Hamamatsu detectors on GMOS, coupled with the nod-and-shuffle sky subtraction, allow simultaneous wavelength coverage over λ ∼ 0.6–1.05 μm, and this enables a homogeneous and statistically complete redshift survey of galaxies of all types. The spectroscopic sample targets galaxies with AB magnitudes z′ < 24.25 and [3.6] μm < 22.5, and is therefore statistically complete for stellar masses M∗ 1010.3 M , for all galaxy types and over the entire redshift range. Deep, multiwavelength imaging has been acquired over larger fields for most systems, spanning u through K, in addition to deep IRAC imaging at 3.6 μm. The spectroscopy is ∼50 per cent complete as of semester 17A, and we anticipate a final sample of ∼500 new cluster members. Combined with existing spectroscopy on the brighter galaxies from GCLASS, SPT, and other sources, GOGREEN will be a large legacy cluster and field galaxy sample at this redshift that spectroscopically covers a wide range in stellar mass, halo mass, and clustercentric radius.


Video encryption has been heavily researched in the recent years. This survey summarizes the latest research results on video encryption with a special focus on applicability and on the most widely-deployed video format H.264 including its scalable extension SVC. The survey intends to give researchers and practitioners an analytic and critical overview of the state-of-the-art of video encryption narrowed down to its joint application with the H.264 standard suite and associated protocols (packaging/streaming) and processes (transcoding/watermarking).


Snow-cover information is important for a wide variety of scientific studies, water supply and management applications. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provides improved capabilities to observe snow cover from space and has been successfully using a normalized difference snow index (NDSI), along with threshold tests, to provide global, automated binary maps of snow cover. The NDSI is a spectral band ratio that takes advantage of the spectral differences of snow in short-wave infrared and visible MODIS spectral bands to identify snow versus other features in a scene. This study has evaluated whether there is a ''signal'' in the NDSI that could be used to estimate the fraction of snow within a 500 mMODIS pixel and thereby enhance the use of the NDSI approach in monitoring snow cover. Using Landsat 30-m observations as ''ground truth,'' the percentage of snow cover was calculated for 500m cells. Then a regression relationship between 500-m NDSI observations and fractional snow cover was developed over three different snowcovered regions and tested over other areas. The overall results indicate that the relationship between fractional snow cover and NDSI is reasonably robust when applied locally and over large areas like North America. The relationship offers advantages relative to other published fractional snow cover algorithms developed for global-scale use with MODIS. This study indicates that the fraction of snow cover within a MODIS pixel using this approach can be provided with a mean absolute error less than 0.1 over the range from 0.0 to 1.0 in fractional snow cover. D 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


The objective of this study is to develop test protocols for comparing the effectiveness of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) mixtures with high-performance steel fibers. Steel fibers can be added to fresh concrete to increase the tensile strength, ductility, and durability of concrete structures. In order to quantify steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) mixtures for field applications, a material test capable of predicting the performance of SFRC for field loading conditions is required. However, current test methods used to evaluate the structural properties of FRC (such as residual strength and toughness) are widely regarded as inadequate; a simple, accurate, and consistent test method is needed. It was determined that the Double-Punch Test (DPT), originally introduced by Chen in 1970 for plain concrete, could be extended to fiber-reinforced concrete to satisfy this industry need. In the DPT, a concrete cylinder is placed vertically between the loading platens of the test machine and compressed by two steel punches located concentrically on the top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder. It is hypothesized that the Double-Punch Test is capable of comparing future fiber-reinforcement design options for use in structural applications, and is suitable for evaluating FRC in general. The DPT Research and Testing Program was administered to produce sufficient within-laboratory data to make conclusions and recommendations regarding the simplicity, reliability, and reproducibility of the DPT for evaluating the performance of SFRC. Several variables (including fiber manufacturer, fiber content, and testing equipment) were evaluated to verify the relevance of the DPT for FRC. In this thesis, the results of 120 Double-Punch Tests are summarized and protocols for its effective application to fiber-reinforced concrete are recommended. Also, fundamental data is provided that indicates the DPT could be standardized by national and international agencies, such as the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), as a method to evaluate the mechanical behavior of FRC. This project is sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) through TxDOT Project 6348, "Controlling Cracking in Prestressed Concrete Panels and Optimizing Bridge Deck Reinforcing Steel," which is aimed at improving bridge deck construction through developments in design details, durability, and quality control procedures.


Carbon nanostructures (CNSs) perpetuate the scientific interest over decades due to their remarkable properties and emerging technological applications. The development of sustainable technologies for the synthesis of CNSs from natural resources grabbed immense research attention aiming to implement these high-end materials in wide range of nano electronic devices through safe and environmentally friendly routes. Even though a number of top down and bottom up approaches have been developed for the production of CNSs, most of them either aided by catalysts or involved solvent assisted multi-step process that considerably increase the cost of production and hinders the realization of low cost CNSs based commercial devices. In addition, vast majority of these techniques use high pure petroleum derived hydrocarbon gas precursors that are non-renewable and expensive. Hence, it is imperative to develop scalable techniques that can derive high quality CNSs directly on arbitrary substrates from naturally derived carbon feed stocks. This work aims to develop an environmentally benign plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique for fabricating CNSs from Citrus sinensis essential oil, a bio renewable precursor, and explored the potential of these nanostructures for gas sensing application.

C. sinensis essential oil, obtained through cold extraction of orange peels is a rich source of non-synthetic hydrocarbon compounds principally limonene. Inherently volatile in nature, C. sinensis essential oil can serve as an ideal candidate material compatible to plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. This thesis investigated the fabrication of vertically-oriented graphene nanostructures from C.sinensis essential oil through radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition process, the fundamental properties, extend to which the process parameters influenced the structure and morphological features, and the suitability of the developed vertical graphene arrays for gas sensing applications. Special attention is paid to probe deep into the morphological evolution with the help of a set of advanced analytical characterization methods and multi-parameter model simulations.

In the first phase, C.sinensis vapors were subjected to low RF power glow discharge that resulted in the formation of plasma polymer thin films, and the material properties were studied as a function of input RF energy. The fundamental properties of plasma polymer thin films fabricated at different RF power level (10−75 W) were characterized with variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Optical characterization showed that independent of deposition power films exhibited good transparency (~90 %) in the visible region and a refractive index of 1.55 at 500nm. The optical band gap measured around 3.60 eV and falls within the insulating region. The atomic force microscopic (AFM) images revealed that the surface is pinhole-free and smooth at nanoscale, with average surface roughness dependent on the deposition power. Film hardness increased from 0.50 GPa to 0.78 GPa as applied power increased from 10 to 75 W.

In the second phase, experiments were modified by redesigning the experimental set up in order to eliminate hydrogen from the deposits leaving only crystalline carbon. The RF power deliberately kept high, substrate temperature was raised and hydrogen gas fed into the reactor in controlled manner. A sequence of experiments were carried out by systematically changing the process parameters such as in put RF power (300-500W), hydrogen flow rate (10-50 sccm) and deposition duration (2-8 min) and analysed the structural and morphological evolution of the resulted vertical graphene nanostructure.

The structure-property correlation of vertical graphene arrays with the plasma process parameters was performed. The Raman spectra ascertained the formation of less defected multilayered graphene nanostructures and scanning electron microscopic images provided the primary evidences of morphological evolution. The potential of the novel analytical techniques such as Hough transformations, fractal dimension distributions and Minkowski connectivity for the analysis of graphene array morphology was then successfully demonstrated. Worth noting that, these advanced techniques displayed significant changes and revealed the complex morphological transformation of C. sinensis derived vertical graphene subjected to change in process conditions. Precisely, vertical graphene nanowalls obtained at 300 and 500W presented a narrow height distribution profile but much wider array formed at 400 W. Fourier and Hough transformation spectra showed a prominent change with an increase in power, thus highlighted change in the morphology with the density of nanoflakes. Similarly, 2D FFT transform spectra of vertical graphene samples also presented notable changes with increasing hydrogen flux. The most narrow height distributions, well-shaped Hough transformation spectra and distribution of fractal dimensions obtained for structures formed at 20 and 50 sccm of hydrogen flow rate. In addition to this, the principal characteristics of thus fabricated vertical graphene such as flake length (Lvg) and flake half width (Wvg) are theoretically modelled by an ad hoc model based on a large number of interaction elemental processes and correlated with the experimental results. The combination of the experimental and simulation results ensured important insights and deeper understanding of the processes that govern formation of the vertical graphene morphology.Vertical graphene nanostructures having superior structural and morphological properties were successfully fabricated at an input RF energy of 500W, hydrogen flow rate of 30 sccm and deposition duration of 6 minutes.

The third phase presented an in-depth study of the properties of C.sinensis oil derived graphene over a set of conducting (copper and nickel) and insulating substrates (silicon and quartz). The SEM images of thus fabricated graphene patterns showed the unique feature of vertically interconnected and non-agglomerated carbon nanowall structures having maze-like and petal-like networks. Moreover, the normalized height distribution function and 2-D FFT spectra analysis ascertained that vertical graphene formed on silicon substrates displayed the most uniform distribution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spotted only the presence of carbon and the transmission electron microscopic studies revealed the formation of unique onion-like closed loops. The 3-D nanoporous structure of C.sinensis oil derived graphene showed high hydrophobicity and measured a water contact angle of 129°. The surface energy studies were performed using Neumann model, Owens-Wendt-Kaelble approach and van Oss- Chaudhury-Good relation and estimated within the range 35‒41 mJ/m².

Finally, plasma reformed vertical graphene from C. sinensis was integrated into a sensor device prototype to evaluate the performance in gas sensing. The chemiresistive type sensor exhibited sensing activity towards acetone. In summary, this thesis has identified a viable renewable resource and successfully developed a process that transform them into vertical graphene nanostructures. Furthermore, the fabricated graphene was integrated to real world devices and evaluated the performance. The outcomes of this investigation add knowledge base to the state-of-the-art of green chemistry approach for the synthesis of vertical graphene carbon nanostructures.


The production of (anti-)deuteron and (anti-)3He nuclei in Pb–Pb collisions at √ sNN = 2.76 TeV has been studied using the ALICE detector at the LHC. The spectra exhibit a significant hardening with increasing centrality. Combined blast-wave fits of several particles support the interpretation that this behavior is caused by an increase of radial flow. The integrated particle yields are discussed in the context of coalescence and thermal-statistical model expectations. The particle ratios, 3He/d and 3He/p, in Pb–Pb collisions are found to be in agreement with a common chemical freeze-out temperature of Tchem ≈ 156 MeV. These ratios do not vary with centrality which is in agreement with the thermal-statistical model. In a coalescence approach, it excludes models in which nucleus production is proportional to the particle multiplicity and favors those in which it is proportional to the particle density instead. In addition, the observation of 31 anti-tritons in Pb–Pb collisions is reported. For comparison, the deuteron spectrum in pp collisions at √ s = 7 TeV is also presented. While the p/π ratio is similar in pp and Pb–Pb collisions, the d/p ratio in pp collisions is found to be lower by a factor of 2.2 than in Pb–Pb collisions. ∗See Appendix A for the list of collaboration members ar X iv :1 50 6. 08 95 1v 3 [ nu cl -e x] 9 A pr 2 01 6 Production of light (anti-)nuclei in pp and Pb–Pb collisions at LHC energies ALICE Collaboration


A statistical copolymer containing thiophene and thiophene dioxide, namely poly[(3-hexylthiophene)-co-(3-hexylthiophene-S,S-dioxide)] (P3HT-TDO), was utilized as a thermal crosslinker in a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C60-butyric methyl ester (PCBM), demonstrating an effective strategy for preventing agglomeration of PCBM and enhancing blend stability. P3HT-TDO was synthesized by microwave-assisted oxidation of P3HT and its characterization was carried out using UV-Vis spectroscopy, 1H-NMR, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Crosslinking of P3HT-TDO was achieved via Diels–Alder reaction at ∼150 °C. Thermogravimetric analysis, combined with FTIR and differential scanning calorimetry, were used to study the crosslinking process. In order to test the impact of thermal cross-linking, field effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated using pristine and compared to cross-linked P3HT. It was found that P3HT-TDO crosslinking did not suppress charge mobility. The stability of the P3HT/P3HT-TDO/PCBM blend was characterized in the solid-state from spin-coated thin films. The samples were analysed using UV-vis spectroscopy and Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) to monitor the effects of thermal processing. The results revealed that presence of P3HT-TDO in the blend minimizes crystallization of PCBM during annealing and preserves the ordered microcrystalline segments from P3HT. Optical microscopy analysis of P3HT/P3HT-TDO/PCBM thin films also confirmed the effectiveness of the strategy and inhibition of PCBM crystal formation even after 155 hours of annealing.


We report on the results from a set of incompressible, shear-layer flow experiments, at high Reynolds number (Reδ≡ρΔUδT(x)/ μ≃2×105), in which the inflow conditions of shear-layer formation were varied (δT is the temperature-rise thickness for chemically-reacting shear layers). Both inert and chemically-reacting flows were investigated, the latter employing the (H2+NO)/F2 chemical system in the kinetically-fast regime to measure molecular mixing. Inflow conditions were varied by perturbing each, or both, boundary layers on the splitter plate separating the two freestream flows, upstream of shear-layer formation. The results of the chemically-reacting 'flip experiments' reveal that seemingly small changes in inflow conditions can have a significant influence not only on the large-scale structure and shear-layer growth rate, as had been documented previously, but also on molecular mixing and chemical-product formation, far downstream of the inflow region.


Urban environments are composed of urban population, urban infrastructure, city governance and commercial markets within cities. The rapid growth of emerging technologies for sensing and communicating data is being leveraged by commercial companies to create digital applications where machine learning applications analyze multiple kinds of data now available from instrumented infrastructure, public and private urban transactions and citizens' mobility to transform urban environments. This kind of transformation is our view of what enables a "digital city". Commercial markets are at the heart of this concept, with commercial applications of digital infrastructure rapidly developing, because data from multiple sources are more easily available and analyzed across multiple data layers drawn from different sectors and regions of the city. It is now possible to visualize multiple kinds of outcomes across an entire city and its markets, and to do "What if?" analysis using predictive analytics to generate new insights and financial models across a wide range of vertical urban services. The ability to visualize real time data and insights drawn from that data about the urban environment that surrounds real estate and identify its connection with real estate value provides an unprecedented potential for enhancing real estate development decisions, primarily through better forecasts for building utilization, more accurate assessment of the purchasing power of users of real estate, and by better risk assessment of real estate users. This article presents an analysis of the potential benefits of digital cities for real estate development decision making.


In recent years, developing nations have pushed for international copyright and other intellectual property regimes to expand protection over the cultural heritage and collective knowledge of particular indigenous groups. These "traditional knowledge" protections have been justified by factors like economic protection, equity in intellectual property ownership, cultural protection, and economic development. These motivating factors are a far cry from the underpinnings of traditional Western intellectual property law - and in particular, U.S. copyright law - which focuses on incentivizing the creation of new content for the promotion of "the Progress of Science and useful Arts." Because of these differing justifications, traditional knowledge protections at the international level have generated some degree of friction between the developed and the developing world. So far, much of the debate focuses on the "political" and "real" costs and benefits of traditional knowledge rights, but there is little discussion of the legal consequences of current protections. Given the underlying ideological conflict, some legal dissension is likely to occur regarding enforcement and protection of traditional knowledge rights. This paper examines "positive" traditional knowledge protections, which provide copyright-like rights over content, including the right exclude, license, and profit from these works. In many cases these protections regulate works that Western eyes would view as in the public domain. Initiatives to provide international protection for traditional knowledge expressions have blithely proceeded without much regard for the potential consequences under existing international law. This paper makes the point that at least some existing traditional knowledge protections not only conflict with IP-policy norms of the United States and the European Community, but also that these protections violate the very terms of TRIPS and GATT. As work toward international protection of traditional knowledge progresses, policy makers should be aware of these legal incompatibilities and how they evidence the deep conflict between expansive traditional knowledge protections and Western IP policy.


1. The Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV) was measured in normal persons and patients with obstructive airways disease at mouth pressures from 0 mmHg to levels high enough to prevent air flow altogether by using a Starling resistor at the mouth. 2. Evidence was obtained in support of the idea that, during forced expiratory flow, airways might function with the properties of a Starling resistor. This is considered to divide the airway into upstream and downstream segments at the site of airway collapse. The technique was simple, capable of being performed on outpatients and provided a means of studying the collapsibility of airways, airways resistance and alveolar pressure. 3. The FEV in normal persons and patients with disease was determined by the properties of the upstream segment. Since this segment contains only a proportion of the total airways resistance it was not surprising to find imprecise correlations between the FEV and airways resistance measured by the body plethysmograph. 4. Preliminary observations of patients during acute exacerbations of chest disease suggest that functional changes can occur throughout the length of the airway (i.e. in both upstream and downstream segments). 5. In the longer term during the natural history of obstructive airways disease, airways resistance and the more ready collapse of airways may develop independently. 6. Impaired alveolar pressure may contribute towards the reduction in air flow during acute exacerbations of chest disease.


The increasing popularity of cloud computing and various options have manifolded over time. The foremost question in front of cloud users is how to precisely measure the performance capabilities of various options. The criteria for measuring performance could vary from measuring cost to floating point operations per second (FLOPS) or data manipulation (I/O).

Present benchmarking tools like Linpack, which measures performance in FLOPS cannot evaluate the performance of multi-core instances. Being non-adaptive, these bench-
mark do not take system configuration and environment into consideration during testing. Currently, there are no properly designed benchmark suite which suitably adapts
itself according to the node resources.

This research work focus on the designing of a scientific benchmark suite which will provide the maximum FLOPS performance of a CC over various CPU intensive tests. This
will allow us to evaluate the performance on criterias like FLOPS and effect of multi-threading. This approach is completely automatized thus can be used on any compute
instance starting from single node to multi-node instances.

The intelligent identification of suitable load data for individual tests which is automatically decided by the resource specification and the execution environment. Here we are using different data types to simulate CPU intensive tasks. This benchmark suite can be suitably used for any instance size without modification. The results obtained
from these tests will allow the user to identify the suitable option amongst various CC.

The tool developed has been tested on Openstack and Azure instances and was able to provide the correct results to compare the performance. This can be easily used by any
naive user to compare the performance of various CC's thus, allows easy comparison of performance.


ABSTRACT Testimony from eyewitnesses of the Showa Bridge collapse was collected with the objective of pinning down the cause of the collapse. On the basis of this testimony, a chronology of events was established. The bridge collapsed about 70 seconds from the beginning of the earthquake, i.e., long after the strong shock. The liquefaction-induced flow occurred after the collapse of the bridge. By studying these times of occurrence, as well as observed earthquake records, the cause of the Showa Bridge collapse was deduced. The possibility of inertia force in the superstructure and liquefaction-induced flow is low as the main cause of the collapse of the Showa Bridge. There is a high possibility that it was due to increased displacement of the ground in circumstances where pile deformation occurred more easily due to liquefaction.


Three-dimensional (3D) acoustic models allow for an accu-rate modelling of acoustic wave propagation in 3D realistic vocal tracts. However, voice generated by these approaches is still limited in terms of expressiveness, which could be improved through proper modifications of the glottal source excitation. This work aims at adding some expressiveness to a 3D numerical synthesis approach based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) that uses as input an LF (Liljencrants-Fant) model controlled by the glottal shape parameter R d . To that effect, a parallel Spanish speech corpus containing neutral and tense voice emotional styles is analysed with the GlottDNN vocoder, ob-taining F 0 and spectral tilt parameters associated with the glottal excitation. The variations of these two parameters are computed for happy and aggressive styles with reference to neutral speech, differentiating between stressed and unstressed vowels [a]. From this analysis, F 0 and R d values are then derived and used in the LF-FEM based synthesis of vowels [a] to resemble the aforementioned expressive styles. Results show that it is necessary to increase F 0 and decrease R d with respect to neutral speech, with larger deviations for happy than aggressive style, especially for the stressed vowels.


This chapter reviews works in affect theory published in 2018. The chapter is divided into the following sections: 1. Introduction; 2. The Interplay of Feeling and Thinking, which focuses on Rick Furtak's Knowing Emotions and Antonio Damasio's The Strange Order of Things; 3. Narrative of Affect and Affective Narratives, which focuses on Erica L. Johnson's Cultural Memory, Memorials, and Reparative Writing and Duncan A. Lucas's Affect Theory, Genre, and the Example of Tragedy; 4. Digital Affect, which focuses on Tero Karppi's Disconnect: Facebook's Affective Bonds and Affect and Social Media: Emotion, Mediation, Anxiety and Contagion, edited by Tony D. Sampson, Stephen Maddison and Darren Ellis; 5. Reflections. In publications this year, old themes have been given renewed attention; for instance, the relationship between knowledge and emotion, and narrative and affect, but there have also been new lines of enquiry that have emerged in the sub-field of digital affect, which extends understanding of the role of technology in enhancing and shaping, as well as limiting, felt experience.


The catalytic conversion of methanol (MeOH) and dimethyl ether (DME) into fuels and chemicals over zeolites (MTH process) is industrially emerging as an alternative route to conventional oil-derived processes. After 40 years of research, a detailed mechanistic understanding of the intricate reaction network is still not fully accomplished. The overall reaction is described as two competitive catalytic cycles, dominated by alkenes and arenes, which are methylated and cracked or dealkylated to form effluent products. Herein, we present the reaction of isobutene with methanol and DME as an efficient tool for measuring the relative formation rates of alkenes and arenes, and we provide detailed mechanistic insight into the hydrogen-transfer reaction. We provide experimental and theoretical evidence that manifest a strong competition of methylation and hydrogen transfer of isobutene by methanol, while methylation is substantially favored by DME. Experiments performed at higher conversion facilitate projection o...


Dr. G ilbert Wilson said how pleased he was to learn from this, and the accompanying paper read by Dr M. R. W. Johnson, that early phases in the deformation of the Moine Series could now be considered Precambrian in age. Twenty or thirty years ago such a view was held by perhaps three or four heretical workers in the Highlands; but most geologists in those days followed Peach and Bailey in confining the deformation and metamorphism of these rocks to the post Cambrian, Caledonian diastrophism. This was particularly so in Inverness-shire and Wester Ross, where the trends of the Moinian structures are roughly parallel to the strike of the Moine Thrust Zone. Further north in Sutherland, as Coles Phillips (Q.J.G.S., 93, p. 581, 1937) showed, the tectonic trends form a crescentic pattern which is convex to the NE, and gradually swings through SE and ESE until a dominantly easterly direction and sense of plunge are achieved in the area of A'Mhoine. There the linear structures such as rods and mullions, are parallel to the axes of asymmetrical, overturned and recumbent reclined folds. This means that the roughly north–south trend-lines shown on Dr Powell's and other maps of this northern area represent the strikes of the bedding of recumbent fold-limbs and not the axial trends of the prevalent tectonic structures, though these are disrupted by some late folding and faulting accompanied by retrograde metamorphism, which trend parallel to the strike of the Moine Thrust. The easterly trends in North Sutherland


A modeling and validation method of photometric characteristics of the space target was presented in order to track and identify different satellites effectively. The background radiation characteristics models of the target were built based on blackbody radiation theory. The geometry characteristics of the target were illustrated by the surface equations based on its body coordinate system. The material characteristics of the target surface were described by a bidirectional reflectance distribution function model, which considers the character of surface Gauss statistics and microscale self-shadow and is obtained by measurement and modeling in advance. The contributing surfaces of the target to observation system were determined by coordinate transformation according to the relative position of the space-based target, the background radiation sources, and the observation platform. Then a mathematical model on photometric characteristics of the space target was built by summing reflection components of all the surfaces. Photometric characteristics simulation of the space-based target was achieved according to its given geometrical dimensions, physical parameters, and orbital parameters. Experimental validation was made based on the scale model of the satellite. The calculated results fit well with the measured results, which indicates the modeling method of photometric characteristics of the space target is correct.


We generalize earlier work on intrinsic and form birefringence for random distributions of aligned ellipsoids by taking the minimum separation of particle centers (the exclusion-correlation surface) as nonsimilar to the particle's surface. For such cases, the bulk parameters involve a compound depolarization factor consisting of two distinct terms, one corresponding to particle shape (S) effects, and the other to configurational-correlation (C) effects. The associated bipolarization and birefraction expressions show form (F) effects in which S and C may either compete (and even cancel) or else reinforce. If they compete (e.g., for coaxial spheroidal particle and exclusion surfaces, both prolate or both oblate) then the F effects are less than the S; if they reinforce (coaxial spheroids, one prolate and one oblate) then the F effects are greater than the S. We show how the earlier explicit results for similar C and S can be generalized by inspection, and illustrate the procedure for key forms.


The SEIS (Sicherheit in eingebetteten IP-basierten Systemen / Security in embedded IP-based Systems) project intends to investigate the viability of using the Internet Protocol (IP) for the whole car communication with special focus on the resulting security issues. Some modern cars contain up to 70 ECUs (Electronic Control Units) that communicate over various dedicated bus systems. While IP promises to provide a homogeneous and cheap interconnection solution, new security challenges may arise -- yet vehicular safety must be maintained. This paper sketches an initial attacker model, discusses some of these security challenges, and starts to explore the possible solution space.


The purpose of this article is to assess the decision of the Nigerian High Court in the Ahamefule case. While the case would seem to be a victory for people living with HIV in the country, it left some important questions unanswered. First, the article gives the facts of the case and the Court's decision. It then questions the reasoning of the Court in this case. The article argues that the decision merely gives people living with HIV false hope in realising their rights. It argues further that, apart from the fact that the decision lacks in-depth analysis, it also misses a great opportunity to address an important issue relating to the right to non-discrimination of people living with HIV. The article concludes by arguing that the supposed 'sweet victory' in the Ahamefule case has left 'a sour taste' in our mouths, since it does not in the true sense advance the rights of people living with HIV in the country. AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL


AbstractIn 1986, the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) / Rem Koolhaas created a landscape design for the Haarlemmermeerpolder, located between Amsterdam, Leiden, and Haarlem. They were invited by urbanists and planners wanting to denounce the urban policy in the 1980s. Dutch spatial development, once characterized by reclamation and bold city planning, had come to a standstill.The possible urbanity of the Haarlemmermeerpolder—a unity based on differences and incongruences—can be considered the spatial and ideological blueprint behind that decade's more famous designs by OMA. While the project for the Haarlemmermeerpolder seems to present a modernization of agriculture, it is one of the few instances in which a past, present, and future image of the Dutch polder landscape was created. OMA reconciles the desire for ground-breaking and large-scale public projects with a diversified society, an immaterial economy, and a political system that seems to sabotage the possibility of a consciously created ...


Chicago's War on Syphilis, 1937-1940, offers valuable lessons to those struggling to deal with today's AIDS epidemic. The Chicago Tribune, one of the first newspapers to discuss the disease, followed daily developments, including a new pre-marital testing law, court-ordered screening of selected individuals, creation of testing stations in city parks, and the steadily rising count of those tested for it. The time was the late 1930s, however, and the disease was syphilis. The Chicago Syphilis Control Program was launched in 1937, an important part of the U.S. Public Health Service's nationwide campaign to find, treat, and eradicate syphilis. Though a large number of cases were identified - and many treated - the program didn't reach its goals. Suzanne Poirier shows how the effort was limited from the start because of the refusal of the government, press, and public to directly confront the issues behind the problem. Poirier's narrative is memorable for its vivid scenes, colorful characters that include Chicago's clap doctor, Ben Reitman, and its account of the heated debate that surrounded the effort. All are supported by careful research into official documents of the Chicago Syphilis Control Program, Reitman's personal papers, and the Tribune's coverage. What were the issues? Using Chicago as a microcosm for the nation, Poirier shows that they included mandatory testing, confidentiality, testing and insurance, sex education in the schools, isolation and quarantine of non-compliant infected people, interpretation and limitations of V.D. tests, the disease's relation to class and race, collection and interpretation of statistics, prevention of the disease by mechanical or chemicalmeans versus sexual abstinence, and the role of moral judgment in fighting venereal disease and treating its victims. In her epilogue, Poirier discusses similarities between current efforts against AIDS and the handling and politics of the syphilis problem in the late 1930s. She also explores similarities among the positions of people as diverse as Reitman, the writer and AIDS activist Larry Kramer, and former U.S. surgeons general Thomas Parran and C. Everett Koop.


Clark offers a powerful description of the brain as a prediction machine, which offers progress on two distinct levels. First, on an abstract conceptual level, it provides a unifying framework for perception, action, and cognition (including subdivisions such as attention, expectation, and imagination). Second, hierarchical prediction offers progress on a concrete descriptive level for testing and constraining conceptual elements and mechanisms of predictive coding models (estimation of predictions, prediction errors, and internal models).


This paper proposes and studies the effects of a dual-stage compensation technique for achieving greater than 100 kHz crossover frequency of a single pole system converting from 48 V to 1.2 V. By placing a separate non-inverting gain stage after the error amplifier, the necessary gain-bandwidth of the op amp can be significantly reduced allowing for high crossover frequency and good transient response.