The importance of imagination in understanding sustainability has often been overlooked. This paper examines acts of imagining in teaching and learning that elicit and enable the emotive experience of empathy. I frame ways of thinking about imagination and empathy through theoretical perspectives of otherness. I report on research findings into the nature of imagination in environmental education contexts in Australia, explored through interviews with educators and participant observation. Analysis pays attention to how teachers and students imagine and empathize in order to more fully understand. The importance of being able to imagine other places, times, and perspectives in environmental education emerged strongly. In this paper I highlight how feeling empathy involves actively imagining the other, and how the relations between self and others can become contiguous through empathic and imaginative ways of understanding.


We use novel data on disciplinary referrals, including those that do not lead to suspensions, to better understand the origins of racial disparities in exclusionary discipline. We find significant differences between Black and white students in both referral rates and the rate at which referrals convert to suspensions. An infraction fixed-effects research design that compares the disciplinary outcomes of white and non-white students who were involved in the same multi-student incident identifies systematic racial biases in sentencing decisions. On both the intensive and extensive margins, minoritized students receive harsher sentences than their white co-conspirators. This result is driven by high school infractions and applies to all infraction types. Reducing racial disparities in exclusionary discipline will require addressing underlying gaps in disciplinary referrals and the systematic biases that appear in the adjudication process.


The thesis consists of three papers.
Credit Rating and Competition (co-authored wth Pragyan Deb and Nelson Camanho) studies the behaviour of credit rating agencies in a competitive framework with the presence of
conflicts of interest. We show that competition for market share through reputation is insufficient to discipline rating agencies in equilibrium. More importantly, our results suggest that,
in most cases, competition will aggravate the lax behaviour of rating agencies, resulting in
greater ratings inflation. This result has important policy implications since it suggests that
enhanced competition in the ratings industry is likely to make the situation worse.
Credit Default Swaps - Default Risk, Counter-party Risk and Systemic Risk examines the
implications of CDS on systemic risk. I show that CDS can contribute to systemic risk in
two ways: through counter-party risk and through sharing of default risks. A central clearing
house, which can only reduce counter-party risk, is by no means a panacea. More importantly,
excessive risk taken by one reckless institution may spread to the entire financial system via
the CDS market. This could potentially explain the US government's decision to bail out AIG
during the recent financial crisis. Policies requiring regulatory disclosure of CDS trades would
be desirable.
Investor Cash Flow and Mutual Fund Behaviour (co-authored with Zhigang Qiu) analyzes
the trading incentives of mutual fund managers. In open-ended funds, investors are only willing
to invest in the fund when the share price of the fund is expected to increase, i.e. the fund is
expected to make profits in the future.We show that the fund manager may buy the asset even
when he perceives the asset to be over-valued, given that his portfolio choices are disclosed to
the investors and that he is paid a fixed fraction of the terminal value of the fund.


Three different classes of data mining methods (k-Nearest Neighbour, Ridge Regression and Multilayer Perceptron Feed-Forward Neural Networks) are applied for the purpose of quantitative trading on 10 simulated time series, as well as real world time series of 10 currency exchange rates ranging from 1.11.1999 to 12.6.2015. Each method is tested in multiple variants. The k-NN algorithm is applied alternatively with the Euclidian, Manhattan, Mahalanobis and Maximum distance function. The Ridge Regression is applied as Linear and Quadratic, and the Feed-Forward Neural Network is applied with either 1, 2 or 3 hidden layers. In addition to that Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is eventually applied for the dimensionality reduction of the predictor set and the meta-parameters of the methods are optimized on the validation sample. In the simulation study a Stochastic-Volatility Jump-Diffusion model, extended alternatively with 10 different non-linear conditional mean patterns, is used, to simulate the asset price behaviour to which the tested methods are applied. The results show that no single method was able to profit on all of the non-linear patterns in the simulated time series, but instead different methods worked well for different patterns. Alternatively, past price movements and past returns were used as predictors. In the case when the past price movements were used, quadratic ridge regression achieved the most robust results, followed by some of the k-NN methods. In the case when past returns were used, k-NN based methods were the most consistently profitable, followed by the linear ridge regression and quadratic ridge regression. Neural networks, while being able to profit on some of the time series, did not achieve profit on most of the others. No evidence was further found of the PCA method to improve the results of the tested methods in a systematic way. In the second part of the study, the models were applied to empirical foreign exchange rate time series. Overall the profitability of the methods was rather low, with most of them ending with a loss on most of the currencies. The most profitable currency was EURUSD, followed by EURJPY, GBPJPY and EURGBP. The most successful methods were the linear ridge regression and the Manhattan distance based k-NN method which both ended with profits for most of the time series (unlike the other methods). Finally, a forward selection procedure using the linear ridge regression was applied to extend the original predictor set with some technical indicators. The selection procedure achieved limited success in improving the out-sample results for the linear ridge regression model but not the other models.


We explore long-term changes in the mean trophic level ( TLm ) of Central Chile fishery landings, using a 21 years data series (1979-1999) of official landings (Chilean Fisheries Service) of 16 species that comprise about 95% of total landing, and their corresponding trophic level estimated using gut content analysis and a trophic model of the Central Chile marine ecosystem. Because total landings off Central Chile have been strongly influenced by landings of horse mackerel ( Trachurus symmetricus ), which is a trans-zonal fishery resource (sensu FAO), and the periodic occurrence of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the study area, we explore changes in TLm both excluding landings of horse mackerel and excluding landings in ENSO years. When landings of horse mackerel are excluded, a significant decline in TLm is found, at a rate of 0.175 per decade, which is higher than the global rate of 0.10 estimated by Pauly et al. (1998). Fisheries in Central Chile seem to have been fishing down the food web as the result of fishery-induced changes, since ENSO events do not seem to have induced a significant effect in this trend. Therefore, we suggest that landings of horse mackerel have masked the fishing down the food web process in local fisheries.


One of the most important policy issues we face today is the impact of monetary policy shocks on the real economy. This issue is of relevance from an economic point of view, but it is also relevant from a political point of view. Also, the shock of oil price is one of the important factors that have affected the world economy since the 1970s. This article examines the effects of monetary policy shocks and oil price shocks on the real economy. I use the factor augmented vector autoregressive (FAVAR) approach and compare the results with the vector auto-regression (VAR) model by using Iran quarterly data for the period 1988: Q2 to 2011: Q3. The results of FAVAR models are consistent with theory and better than VAR models. VAR models show the existence of price and liquidity puzzles while FAVAR models did not provide any evidence of puzzles.


This paper gives a coordination method for two biomimetic robotic fish in transporting box-like object task. To simplify the difficulty of path planning and action decision when a fish is moving towards the object, a situated-behaviour design method is employed to divide the environment into a set of complete and exclusive situations. For each situation, a specific behaviour is designed. On dealing with the synchronisation and the object orientation control problems in the particular underwater environment, fuzzy logic method is adopted for motion planning of the fish. Experimental results of the box-pushing task performed by two robotic fish validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


This study consists of the quantitative observation of the distribution of harmonic components of scintillation with frequency. Examples of preliminary results at frequencies ranging from 10 to 800 cycles per second are used to exhibit changes in this frequency distribution with visual seeing, zenith distance of the observed object, altitude above sea level, size of circular aperture, and orientation of rectangular aperture. Motion pictures of shadows on a 40-inch mirror caused by atmospheric disturbances which produce scintillation indicate that these shadows have a transitory nature. Motion pictures of Hartmann images demonstrate changes of size, shape, and brightness (scintillation) of stellar images formed as light from the same star passes through four widely-separated apertures in front of the 40-inch mirror. Color scintillation is demonstrated with tracings from a dual-beam oscillograph. Other tracings show that scintillating starlight is not polarized.


In recent years gaming products have increasingly been used to enhance learning and training development in the academic and commercial sectors.  Gaming is an approach that applies technology to provide an almost real experience with interactive field training.  It is an approach that supports the theory of learning by doing with a real case scenario.  The purpose of this paper is to determine serious game attributes to support effective training using serious game approach.  Through systematic literature review on eleven selected articles, nineteen game attributes were identified.  Hence, based on the definition and description from the articles, text analyses were conducted to determine categories of attributes based on educational theories' perspectives.  This study adopted the deductive content analysis approach which 14 relevant research articles between 1994 and 2016 were identified from the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases.  It appears that serious game attributes according to the educational perspectives are being practised using various ideas, terms and concepts.   Hence, the findings can be justified that serious game attributes are important to enhance the effectiveness of training modules.  All these attributes will become part of the serious game framework for hazard identification training modules.  The target is to deliver effective and active training module to construction-related workers.


Distributed video coding (DVC) is a new paradigm for video compression based on the information theoretical results of Slepian and Wolf (SW) and Wyner and Ziv (WZ). DVC entails low-complexity encoders as well as separate encoding of correlated video sources. This is particularly attractive for multiview camera systems in video surveillance and camera sensor network applications, where low complexity is required at the encoder. In addition, the separate encoding of the sources implies no communication between the cameras in a practical scenario. This is an advantage since communication is time and power consuming and requires complex networking. In this work, different intercamera estimation techniques for side information (SI) generation are explored and compared in terms of estimating quality, complexity, and rate distortion (RD) performance. Further, a technique called iterative multiview side information (IMSI) is introduced, where the final SI is used in an iterative reconstruction process. The simulation results show that IMSI significantly improves the RD performance for video with significant motion and activity. Furthermore, DVC outperforms AVC/H.264 Intra for video with average and low motion but it is still inferior to the Inter No Motion and Inter Motion modes.


Acehnese people tend to have negative attitude towards speakers of Great Aceh dialect and have positive attitude to North Aceh dialect speakers. Most of people assume that Great Aceh dialect is rude, rough and crude, while North Aceh dialect is judged as refined, standard and prestigious. This study is to investigate the attitudes of speakers of Acehnese towards the Great Aceh and North Aceh dialects. The matched guise test, which has been proved as a tool to investigate people's attitude towards particular language varieties, was used in collecting the data in this study. The data from the questionnaire of the matched guise test was analyzed in simple statistical way in order to determine the significances of the results. However, the findings of this matched guise test were not as expected. The responses from the respondents did not support certain personality traits which was strongly associated with stigmatized dialect. It was found that Acehnese speakers mostly share positive and favorable attitude towards both North Aceh and Great Aceh dialects. It indicates a stronger believe as suggested by Zulfadli (2014) that the use of this matched guise test in the study of language attitudes seems to be not suitable in Indonesia in general and Aceh in particular because of some conditions.


It took tens of thousands of years for writing to emerge after humans spoke their first words. It took thousands more before the printing press and a few hundred again before the telegraph. Today a new medium of communication emerges every time somebody creates a new web application. A Flickr here, a Twitter there, and a new way of relating to others emerges. New types of conversation, argumentation, and collaboration are realized. Using examples from anthropological fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, YouTube, classrooms, and "the future," this presentation will demonstrate the profound yet often unnoticed ways in which media "mediate" our conversations, classrooms, and institutions. We will then apply these insights to an exploration of the implications for how we may need to rethink how we teach, what we teach, and who we think we are teaching.


The aim of this study is to examine the effect of altering the surface structure and organisational framework of both pitch and time on expectancy ratings of melodies. The pitches and durations comprising each melody were presented either in their original order, as a reordered sequence, as a sequence with modified contour, or as a sequence with modified contour randomly reordered. 24 participants, exposed primarily to Western tonal music, provided expectancy ratings of the sequences in two selective attention conditions (attend to pitch only, or time only), and one global (attend to both pitch and time) condition (blocked). All manipulations of pitch and time influenced perceived melodic expectancy, however for both dimensions, manipulating the organisational framework was more effective than changes to the surface structure. Under selective attention conditions, the irrelevant dimension still influenced ratings but its effect size was attenuated in accordance with the instructions. Effects of pitch and time were significant for all instructional conditions. These results emphasise the importance of tonal and metric hierarchies as organisational frameworks for melodic perception, and provided a better insight of the overall contribution of both pitch and temporal dimensions in formation of musical expectancies.


Previous studies of "the Hawaiian sovereignty movement" have compared different groups' positions, elucidating complex constellations of Hawaiian sovereignty organizations yet remaining bound by the limits of state sovereignty discourse. In this article, I reflect on conversations between activists and on specific actions, so as to explore the spaces beyond or beneath the surface of state-based models of Hawaiian liberation. Rather than assuming the state to be the center of political life, I am interested in the ways people enact new relations and forms of social organization. ?Kuleana' and 'l?hui' are presented as indigenous concepts for thinking about and practicing collective autonomy. This article provides a beginning for exploring how aspects of contemporary Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) social movement organizing, particularly among independence advocates, may contribute to the development of alliances around anarcha-indigenist principles.


BACKGROUND Previous research has shown that interdisciplinary ward rounds have the potential to improve team functioning and patient outcomes. DESIGN A convergent parallel multimethod approach to evaluate a hospital interdisciplinary ward round intervention and ward restructure. SETTING An acute medical unit in a large tertiary care hospital in regional Australia. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-two clinicians and inpatients aged 15 years and above, with acute episode of care, discharged during the year prior and the year of the intervention. INTERVENTION A daily structured interdisciplinary bedside round combined with a ward restructure. MEASUREMENTS Qualitative measures included contextual factors and measures of change and experiences of clinicians. Quantitative measures included length of stay (LOS), monthly "calls for clinical review,'" and cost of care delivery. RESULTS Clinicians reported improved teamwork, communication, and understanding between and within the clinical professions, and between clinicians and patients, after the intervention implementation. There was no statistically significant difference between the intervention and control wards in the change in LOS over time (Wald &khgr;2 = 1.05; degrees of freedom [df] = 1; P = .31), but a statistically significant interaction for cost of stay, with a drop in cost over time, was observed in the intervention group, and an increase was observed in the control wards (Wald &khgr;2 = 6.34; df = 1; P = .012). The medical wards and control wards differed significantly in how the number of monthly "calls for clinical review" changed from prestructured interdisciplinary bedside round (SIBR) to during SIBR (F (1,44) = 12.18; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS Multimethod evaluations are necessary to provide insight into the contextual factors that contribute to a successful intervention and improved clinical outcomes.


IZA DP No. 15226 APRIL 2022 Employer Attitudes and the Hiring of Immigrants and International Students: Evidence from a Survey of Employers in Canada* What are the perceptions of employers towards hiring immigrants and international students in Atlantic Canada? How are they related to hiring outcomes? Our analysis based on a 2019 random, representative survey of 801 employers finds that those employers who report beliefs that multiculturalism is creativity-enhancing in the workplace and that immigrants are harder working than local workers are more likely to report hiring or intending to hire newcomers and international students Although most employers report positive attitudes towards newcomers and international students, employers who report perceptions that immigrants tend to take jobs from domestic workers, accept lower pay, have a lower retention probability, face language barriers, have higher training costs, and hold unreliable credentials are less likely to report hiring from this group. JEL Classification: J23, J61, J63, J68


A Companion to Medieval and Renaissance Bologna offers a broad panorama of essays that illuminate the distinctive features of the city and its transition from independent medieval commune to second largest city of the Renaissance Papal State.


ARM single-ISA heterogeneous multicore processors combine high-performance big cores with power-efficient small cores. They aim at achieving a suitable balance between performance and energy. How- ever, a main challenge is to program such architectures so as to efficiently exploit their features. In this paper, we study the impact on performance and energy trade-offs of single-ISA architecture according to OpenMP 3.0 and the OmpSs programming models. We consider different symmetric/asymmetric architecture configura- tions in terms of core frequency and core count between big and LITTLE clusters. Experiments are conducted on both a real Samsung Exynos 5 Octa system-on-chip and the gem5/McPAT simulation frameworks. Results show that OmpSs implementations are more sensitive to loop scheduling parameters than OpenMP 3.0. In most cases, best OmpSs configurations significantly outperform OpenMP ones. While cluster frequency asym- metry provides uninteresting results, asymmetric cluster configuration with single high-performance core and multiple low-power cores provides better performance/energy trade-offs in many cases.


The vernacular homilies can be frustrating, the flotsam of the ages coming down through sometimes battered manuscripts, corrected perhaps, but more often riddled with absurdities or error. Many are composite, assembled from multiple sources translated from Latin or taken from earlier vernacular works. The homilists who compiled them borrowed here and there, often without regard for internal consistency. As a result, many homilies seem confused, repetitive, even self contradictory. They wander from one topic to another. Frequently it seems as though the only thing holding them together is the compiler's piety; there is no other clear organizing principle. The results are intriguing to modern scholars, who try to explain why what seems so obvious to readers now--a lack of inner coherence--seems to have been missed by the Anglo-Saxon homilist. The explanation varies with the particular homily. Sometimes the competence of the compiler is called into question: either his Latin was at fault, so he did not understand what he was translating, or he translated so blindly and mechanically that he did not notice the logical difficulties in what he wrote. In other cases, we look for a different kind of connection, trying to identify the special interest or agenda that led him to combine two or more incongruous or contradictory sources. There is nothing especially wrong with searching for the logic in what seems illogical. After all, we can assume that the homilies were meant to be used, even if some controversy lingers over what, precisely, they were used for; and if they were meant to be used, they were meant to make sense. There is no value at all in a sermon that does not convey an appropriate spiritual message to its audience. But what was an appropriate spiritual message for the day? Although we may have to struggle to find coherence in them, muddled texts were copied and recopied. Clearly they were valued and thought useful, despite their deficiencies, by the Anglo-Saxons who preserved them. And if that is the case, perhaps we ought to rethink the principles underlying their compilation. It is hard to believe that the homilists saw the problems in their texts, but could not figure out how to deal with them. In this essay, I would like to suggest another possibility: that because of their background and training, which instilled in them a veneration for the written word, they simply did not see the inconsistencies that trouble modern readers. In offering this suggestion, I do not mean to maintain that the homilists were naively credulous, dull souls compared to their intellectual descendants. Some were skilled, others less so, but what they all had in common was a starting point that differed from our own. They regarded books--not just Biblical texts but any books--as a repository of religious truth; in fact, they did not always distinguish between the canon of scripture and the Fathers or other kinds of religious texts. This then affected the way they handled their Latin materials as they rendered them into Old English. They did not follow, as we might expect, the classical rules of translation; rather they applied the rules of scriptural interpretation, which permitted a measure of contradiction or "mystery." Let me begin by setting out a few examples of the kinds of problems I mean. Blickling 13, clumsily stitched together from two Assumption accounts (the so-called Transitus B and C) has a number of peculiar readings, including multiple and inconsistent references to Mary's reception into heaven. Rudolph Willard assumed that the defects of this piece were due to the homilist's poor Latinity--and admittedly it was poor. Mary Clayton refined this position by arguing that the issue was the physical assumption-that one account left the issue somewhat ambiguous, so the homilist appended the other, where the corporeal assumption is more explicit. …


It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw it coming - the vacuum cleaner, that is. As for self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, she has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You! so she is just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight and misspelled poetry. And Flora will be changed too as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format - a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences, plus full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by a talented new artist.


Growing interest in business-to-business networks and the demonstrated linkage between firm performance and collaborative efforts within these networks fuels the continued search for a greater understanding of what is needed to manage firms in complex business constellations. Key components of managing in networks, and the focus of this study, are the competencies and capabilities required at the firm level in order to engage in meaningful network relationships to enhance performance. Adopting the resource-based view (RBV) of a firm, an attempt is made to validate measures of network competence and network capability under South African conditions. Secondly, this study considers the relationship between network competence, network capability and subjective measures of firm performance. The analysis is based on data collected using a multi-informant mail survey of 219 business managers in South Africa. Factor analysis and structural equation modelling were utilised to test a conceptual model based on contemporary literature. Our results suggest significant relationships between network competence and network capability, and between network capabilities and firm performance, but not between network competence and firm performance. In addition to providing greater clarity on the relationships depicted in the model, the study also contributes to the rich debate on network management challenges.


Abstract Recently, an experimentally determinable quantity that can directly test the validity of the Ramsauer model for cross-section prediction was proposed by Azam and Gowda and investigated for 208Pb for neutron energies below 60 MeV. Results of further "relative differential shape-elastic cross-section" investigations proposed earlier are investigated in this paper for the most forward direction. The present investigations cover several nuclides for neutron energies from 1 to 120 MeV. The nuclides studied include some 19 (near-) spherical nuclei ranging from 40Ca to 209Bi studied earlier by Bauer et al. in their studies on the Ramsauer model. Ramsauer model predictions of relative differential shape-elastic cross sections for the most forward direction are compared with those obtained from the SCAT2 spherical optical model (SOM) code. The SOM potential, for neutrons and protons, developed by Koning and Delaroche has been employed for the investigations. Easy parameterizability of the 0-deg relative differential shape-elastic cross section in terms of its Ramsauer model expression and its possible application are briefly presented and discussed.


In this research the analysis of the impact of corporate financial architecture on company's performance is conducted for a sample of large Russian companies. We focus on sustainable growth identified thru the application of intrinsic value change criteria. We employ integrated approach to understand the determinants of the sustainable growth based on key structural characteristics of a company. The financial architecture is represented by ownership structure (managerial ownership, foreign ownership and ownership concentration), corporate governance (the structure of the board of directors and internal control) and capital structure. We examine the difference in characteristics of growth sustainability of Russian companies representing three different types of financial architecture of more than 50 large Russian firms. Our results indicate that corporate financial architecture has a significant impact on the sustainable corporate growth in the Russian market. More importantly, we show that the nature of the influence depends on the type of financial architecture.


"The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted a comprehensive study of the efficiency of food distribution in food aid-supported programs in Bangladesh. The capacity and efficiency of the food distribution system was assessed from entry ports to targeted beneficiaries. The study identified problems in the whole food distribution system, determined the level of losses, leakages, and other lapses at various stages, and recommended solutions. The study has three components: (1) food discharge at harbors, (2) the public food distribution system, and (3) food distribution to program beneficiaries. This brief summarizes the main findings and a few of the many key recommendations of the third component of the study." from Text


Objective. To quantify the physical activity (PA) of students and describe the school environment surrounding PA. Material and Methods. Between November 2005 and March 2006, in Mexico City, we conducted quantitative and qualitative observations to describe the PA and the school context. Results. Recess and physical education class (PE) were the only opportunities to participate in PA. PE occurred one time per week with a duration of 39.8±10.6 minutes which is less than national and international recommendations. Students participated in moderate-to-vigorous PA 29.2±17.8% of PE. The dynamics of PE did not promote the inclusion of all students or PA. During recess there was overcrowding of the school patio and no equipment for PA or organization of PA. Discussion. The PA of students in public schools in Mexico City can be improved by increasing the quantity and quality of PE and increasing opportunities for activity during recess. Key words: physical activity; child; Mexico; obesityAddress reprint requests to: Anabelle Bonvecchio. Av. Universidad 655, col. Santa Maria Ahuacatitlan. 62508 Cuernavaca, Mor. Mexico.E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


This is an account of a process, the working together of cross-disciplinary insights between an artist and a historian, to create a means by which members of the public might encounter the past on their own terms. In the summer of 2009, the historian [MB] and the conceptual artist [PB] decided to collaborate on a project based around events at Cannon Hall, Cawthorne in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 1673-74. The events are located in the B family genealogy but carry in them echoes of deeper social and economic forces in the past, as well as relevance to modern debates about crime, welfare and justice. The aim of the project is to create an exhibition/installation within which members of the public can experience what it means to make sense of the past through the prism of the present. The project is intended to challenge normative approaches in museology and the interpretation of heritage objects, places and documents. The article explores the foundational processes and concepts.


Azerbaijan has been the fastest growing economy of the world and it increasingly attracts the interest of foreign investors. This paper analyses the Azerbaijani economy in transition from communism to capitalism over the past decade with a focus on investment climate. Facts and figures of the apparent economic miracle are presented and a number of political obstacles considered. Azerbaijan's transition towards a market economy has not gone very far and it is mainly slowed down by low levels of trust and high levels of corruption. There are also human rights issues and freedom or press is limited. Unless and until Azerbaijan deals with these problems, shadows will continue to loom over its economic miracle.


U-Pb geochronology of detrital zircons has proven useful in identifying potential source terranes of siliciclastic sediments through the identification of distinct age peaks that can often be linked to geographically restricted regions. In cases where a sedimentary source region is geographically distinct enough to be treated as a point source, simple empirical and theoretical relationships between fluvial catchment area and downstream river length (Hack's law) can be convolved with detrital zircon age analysis of fluvial sediment to quantitatively assess the fluvial transport distance of that sediment from its source. Such an approach is particularly germane to studying the fluvial transport distances of syntectonic sediments for which the present-day distance between sediment and source may be a function of both sedimentary and tectonic transport. This technique is illustrated with an example from the Death Valley extended terrane in the central Basin and Range (United States). Middle Miocene clastic sedimentary rocks located east of Death Valley contain a clast assemblage that includes a distinct Early Jurassic leucomonzo gabbro, the nearest outcrops of which are 80 km to the west-northwest. Previous interpretation of these strata as an alluvial fan sequence required restoration of the clastic rocks to a depositional position within 20 km of the source batholith, and corroborated restorations of extension across central Death Valley based on isopachs in Paleozoic strata and alignment of preextensional contractional structures. Recent reinterpretation of these strata as fluvial in origin permits significantly greater sedimentary transport distances than the alluvial fan interpretation, and thus undercuts the convergence of multiple lines of evidence for large-magnitude extension across central Death Valley. I demonstrate that the Middle Miocene strata contain >75% Early Jurassic detrital zircons. Given the modern areal extent of the Early Jurassic batholith from which these zircons were derived, fluvial transport of these sediments could not have exceeded 25 km, and was most likely 200% extension has occurred across central Death Valley since Middle Miocene time.


Energy efficiency governance in the UK is a crucial component of tackling climate change as around 27% of UK carbon dioxide emissions come from homes (DEFRA, 2006). However, the UK has approximately 30,000 excess winter deaths every year (Help The Aged, 2007) and over 5 million UK households were in fuel poverty in 2008 (NEA, 2008) as a result of interactions between high energy costs, poor energy efficiency practices, problematic materialities and low incomes. These hugely important issues are made difficult to resolve as a result of the powerful and far reaching social, technical and economic relationships, flows and fixities that constitute energy networks. The thesis focuses on the challenges faced by householders in their everyday use of energy and how, in different ways, they engage with and disengage from governing agencies, and the issues of fuel poverty and climate change. It analyses how attempts to address the issues are coordinated locally, in three areas of the North of England, and in national policy arenas. In particular, attention is paid to the sometimes synergistic yet sometimes problematic outcomes that result when attempts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from homes become entangled with efforts to make energy more affordable for those vulnerable to fuel poverty.


There is growing interest in searching for information from large video corpora. Prior works have studied relevant tasks, such as text-based video retrieval, moment retrieval, video summarization, and video captioning in isolation, without an end-to-end setup that can jointly search from video corpora and generate summaries. Such an end-to-end setup would allow for many interesting applications, e.g., a text-based search that finds a relevant video from a video corpus, extracts the most relevant moment from that video, and segments the moment into important steps with captions. To address this, we present the HIREST (HIerarchical REtrieval and STep-captioning) dataset and propose a new benchmark that covers hierarchical information retrieval and visual/textual stepwise summarization from an instructional video corpus. Hirest consists of 3.4K text-video pairs from an instructional video dataset, where 1.1 K videos have annotations of moment spans relevant to text query and breakdown of each moment into key instruction steps with caption and timestamps (totaling 8.6K step captions). Our hierarchical benchmark consists of video retrieval, moment retrieval, and two novel moment segmentation and step captioning tasks. In moment segmentation, models break down a video moment into instruction steps and identify start-end boundaries. In step captioning, models generate a textual summary for each step. We also present starting point task-specific and end-to-end joint baseline models for our new benchmark. While the baseline models show some promising results, there still exists large room for future improvement by the community.11code and data: https://github.com/j-min/HiREST


A 4-m aperture light collector has been built using the mosaic principle specifically for high resolution stellar spectroscopy in the near infrared by the Fourier multiplex technique. The most novel feature is complete servo control of all optical elements to bring individual images to a common point. Initial goals were a spectral survey of ir objects, and the testing of techniques for a larger future collector. However, the project has been stopped by lack of interest and support; the finished collector will not be used.


As Cyber-Physical-Systems (CPSs) evolve they will be increasingly relied on to support time-critical and performance-intensive monitoring and control activities. Further, many CPSs that utilize Wireless Sensor Networking (WSN) technologies will require the use of energy harvesting methods to extend their lifetimes. For this application class, there are currently few algorithmic techniques that combine performance sensitive processing and communication with efficient management techniques for energy harvesting. Our paper addresses this problem. We first propose a general purpose, multihop WSN architecture capable of supporting time-critical CPS systems using energy harvesting. We then present a set of Harvesting Aware Speed Selection (HASS) algorithms. Our technique maximizes the minimum energy reserve for all the nodes in the network, thus ensuring highly resilient performance under emergency or fault-driven situations. We present an optimal centralized solution, along with an efficient, distributed solution. We propose a CPS-specific experimental methodology, enabling us to evaluate our approach. Our experiments show that our algorithms yield significantly higher energy reserves than baseline methods.


Two methods of measuring the dielectric properties of materials - matched termination and coaxial line resonance- have been developed and used to study the properties of two groups of nitrogen ceramics, namely, silicon nitrides and oxynitride glasses. In these methods advantage is taken of the wide frequency range, from 500 MHz up to about 9 GHz, covered by a single apparatus - the General Radio slotted coaxial line. Previous measurements in this Department have indicated the difficulties in the determination of the loss tangent of low to medium loss samples (tan Ỏ ~ 10(^-3) - 10(^-2)). The two methods developed reduced these difficulties. The applicability of these methods was assessed using known materials including the high loss liquids water and chlorobenzene, medium loss solutions of chlorobenzene in cyclohexane and the low loss solids polymethyl methacrylate and polytetrafluoroethylene. The silicon nitride ceramics were in various degrees of nitridation given by the weight gain which ranged from 38% for partially-nitrided to a maximum of 63.2% for the fully-nitrided samples. The dielectric constant at 1 GHz increased from 4.51 for fully-nitrided to about 9.9 for the 38% weight gain samples. The fully-nitrided material has a loss factor of 7.6 x 10(^-3); this increased to 1.85 x l0(^-1)as the weight gain decreased to 38%. These values have been extrapolated to 'zero weight gain' and compared with pure silicon for which the dielectric constant is 11.7 and the loss factor approximately 0.2. The oxynitrides have dielectric constants between 6.5 and 7.5 depending on the cation present and the percentage of nitrogen substituted for oxygen in the glasses. Є' increased in the cation order Mg, Y, Ca and increased with increasing nitrogen substitution in each cation series. The loss factor, however, depends not only on these cation types but also on the other constituents of the glasses. The dielectric constant of both the silicon nitride ceramics and oxynitride glasses fitted the Jonscher universal law of dielectric response (Є' - Є) w(^n-1), where the exponent n - 1 for all the samples. Similarly, the loss factor for these materials showed a frequency dependence Є" w(^n-1), again with n approximately 1. This is a limiting case of dielectric behaviour corresponding to a frequency independent loss where most dipolar processes have been eliminated.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) represent a relatively modern concept which has captured the interest of many in the research community. Coupled with appropriate hardware, they offer great flexibility in terms of their applicability to solving real world problems. This can be seen with applications ranging from environmental issues to healthcare and even artificial intelligence. Much of the work relating to WSN has been predominantly in the research domain. and so it is the purpose of this study to investigate ways in which they can be applied to solve industrial issues. This study particularly considers inventory management in the airline and packaged gas industries where there are many common fundamental requirements. A prototype system is presented which includes a database to record and obtain relevant tracking data in order to facilitate asset identification. Information of how this system may be applied within each industry is also included, in addition to how WSN can be utilised to fulfil the specific needs of individual industries through the use of custom built hardware and sensors. Initial experimental results of this system are also given along with experimental results pertaining to the suitability of WSN devices in industry. Despite WSN devices being still relatively new many advances have been made in order to make them more powerful and also smaller. However, as the size of the devices has decreased very been done with regards to critical components such as the antenna. As a result this work looks at the production of an industrially suitable antenna in terms of its design, construction and testing. Finally, wireless sensing in the automotive industry is briefly discussed. The apphcation of WSN in the automotive industry aims to improve recent spot weld monitoring techniques which determine the quality and integrity of a spot weld in real-time.


In classical FPGA, LUTs and DFFs are pre-packed into BLEs and then BLEs are grouped into logic blocks. We propose a novel logic block architecture with fast combinational paths between LUTs, called pattern-based logic blocks. A new clustering algorithm is developed to release the potential of pattern-based logic blocks. Experimental results show that the novel architecture and the associated clustering algorithm lead to a 14% performance gain and a 8% wirelength reduction with a 3% area overhead compared to conventional architecture in large control-instensive benchmarks.


This paper presents a recently introduced switching principle for emerging monolithic bidirectional devices. Based on the hypothesis that those switches may overcome conventional diode type solutions in power converters, an active self-switching process becomes compulsory. Its principle relies on the measurement of both voltage and current polarity, in order to allow a natural switching as commonly used in matrix conversion. A self-switching method, implemented close to the switch, allows the detection of both short-circuits and open circuits. The accuracy of the presented system is experimented and validated in a 1kVA buck converter where the free-wheeling path is performed by a synthesised diode. The results that are discussed in this paper open a new perspective by introducing the principle of a so-called bidirectional diode as well as the commutation of sources of a similar nature.


In this essay I argue that Anthony Trollope9s The Warden (1855) anticipates and problematizes
Trollope9s oft-cited representativeness of the Victorian period generally, and
Victorian liberalism in particular. As JŸrgen Habermas has shown, Victorian liberalism
should be construed less in terms of its promotion of pluralism than in terms of an
"ambivalence" as to its practical implications. Correspondingly, The Warden offers a performative
exemplification of Victorian liberalism that is instructive precisely because it
paradoxically refuses definitively to represent it. The instruction I would draw from this
paradox relates to the moral "pinch" that Septimus Harding, the novel9s protagonist,
feels as a result of his aspiration to "be right" as opposed to being "proved" right. This
paradox disrupts the reader9s reflexive inclination to read Harding9s emancipation in
traditionally Romantic terms. Just as Harding was "awoken" from the self-induced
oblivion of a hegemonic morality, so too the reader is awoken from the self-induced
oblivion of the disciplinary conventions of Victorian literary experience that D. A.
Miller and David Lloyd critique. Thus the novel can be said to embody Victorian liberalism
precisely to the extent that it illuminates the question of such embodiment as
open, as a practical problem confronting and animating Victorian society. Hence Trollope
makes Harding9s imaginary cello-playing the medium or 9embodiment9 of his
"awakening": the pursuit of "right being" is a matter of "testing" the boundaries of political
action and aesthetic imagination alike.


IoT refers to pthe infrastructure of connected physical devices which is growing at a rapid rate as huge number of devices and objects are getting associated to the Internet. Home security is a very useful application of IoT, and we are using it to create an inexpensive security system for homes as well as industrial use. The system will inform the owner about any unauthorized entry or whenever the door is opened by sending a notification to the user. After the user gets the notification, he can take the necessary actions. The security system will use a microcontroller known as Arduino Uno to interface between the components, a magnetic Reed sensor to monitor the status, a buzzer for sounding the alarm, and a WiFi module, ESP8266 to connect and communicate using the Internet. The main advantages of such a system includes the ease of setting up, lower costs and low maintenance.


The aim of this paper is to study the impact of heterogeneity on the parallelization of an algorithm for computing the inverse of a triangular matrix using a divide and conquer algorithmic paradigm. The target parallel and distributed system is composed of p heterogeneous processors of different speeds linked by a homogeneous interconnection network. The methodology used in this paper has been thought to be extended to other algorithms with similar structures. The theoretical analysis leads to an optimal two-phases parallel algorithm by designing a scheduling procedure where the processors remain always active.


What We Already Know about This TopicNeuraxial anesthesia is being used more frequently for elective hip and knee replacementsIt is unclear whether increasing rates of hospital-level use of neuraxial anesthesia are associated with beneficial medical or economic outcomes What This Article Tells Us That Is NewNational administrative data demonstrate that increasing frequency of neuraxial anesthesia use is not associated with improved clinical outcomesHowever, hospitals using neuraxial anesthesia frequently did observe a decrease in inpatient costs compared to hospitals that did not use neuraxial anesthesia at all Background: Neuraxial anesthesia is increasingly recommended for hip/knee replacements as some studies show improved outcomes on the individual level. With hospital-level studies lacking, we assessed the relationship between hospital-level neuraxial anesthesia utilization and outcomes. Methods: National data on 808,237 total knee and 371,607 hip replacements were included (Premier Healthcare 2006 to 2014; 550 hospitals). Multivariable associations were measured between hospital-level neuraxial anesthesia volume (subgrouped into quartiles) and outcomes (respiratory/cardiac complications, blood transfusion/intensive care unit need, opioid utilization, and length/cost of hospitalization). Odds ratios (or percent change) and 95% CI are reported. Volume-outcome relationships were additionally assessed by plotting hospital-level neuraxial anesthesia volume against predicted hospital-specific outcomes; trend tests were applied with trendlines' R2 statistics reported. Results: Annual hospital-specific neuraxial anesthesia volume varied greatly: interquartile range, 3 to 78 for hips and 6 to 163 for knees. Increasing frequency of neuraxial anesthesia was not associated with reliable improvements in any of the study's clinical outcomes. However, significant reductions of up to –14.1% (95% CI, –20.9% to –6.6%) and –15.6% (95% CI, –22.8% to –7.7%) were seen for hospitalization cost in knee and hip replacements, respectively, both in the third quartile of neuraxial volume. This coincided with significant volume effects for hospitalization cost; test for trend P < 0.001 for both procedures, R2 0.13 and 0.41 for hip and knee replacements, respectively. Conclusions: Increased hospital-level use of neuraxial anesthesia is associated with lower hospitalization cost for lower joint replacements. However, additional studies are needed to elucidate all drivers of differences found before considering hospital-level neuraxial anesthesia use as a potential marker of quality.


The use of an electronic olfactory device, termed an electronic 'nose', was investigated for the detection of unique human odour characteristics. The detection of these unique odours was applied to the field of biometrics for access control, where a human's unique characteristics were used to authenticate a user of an access control system. An electronic odour sensing device was designed and constructed using an array of conducting polymer gas sensors in order to facilitate the regular screening of a group of human subjects over a period of six weeks.

A static sampling method was used to measure odour levels from human hands, which were found to contain a reliable source of human odour. Human odour levels were low so dynamic sampling proved to be unsuitable for this application due to the dilution of the odour mixture. Feature analysis results revealed that the features of adsorption and desorption gradient contained discriminatory information in addition to the commonly used maximum divergence. Pattern recognition revealed that neural network architectures produced superior results when compared to statistical methods as a result of their ability to model the non-linearities in the data set. The highest recognition rate was 73% which was produced using a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) neural network compared to 63% obtained using the best statistical method of Parzen windows. The majority of the recognition error was caused by a minority of the humans. Analysis of sensor data revealed that only 30% of the sensor array were contributing discriminatory information so it was deduced that performance would undoubtedly improve if a full array of effective sensors were available.

Exploratory data analysis revealed that human odour changed from day to day and often an increasing divergence with time was observed. A time-adaptive method was devised which increased the recognition to 89%, but was still too low for use as a biometric recognition device. However, use as a verification device demonstrated acceptable levels of performance but resulted in high levels of user frustration caused by a high proportion of users being falsely rejected. This work demonstrated that an olfactory based biometric access control system could be a realistic proposition but requires further work, especially in the areas of sensor development and unique human odour research, before an operational system could be produced.


The theme of this conference is "Being Muslim in a Disrupted Millenial Age". The conference was motivated by the real challenges of the millenial generation and era. Indonesia is predicted to get demographic bonus in 2020-2045. According to the calculations of the National Family Planning Board (BKKBN) RI, in the decade, as many as 70 percent of Indonesian citizens are in the productive age, which is between 15 to 64 years. Only 30 percent are unproductive, for instance under 14 years and over 65 years old. Of course, demographic bonuses have an impact on the increasing number of young people, or more specifically, millennial generation.According to Neil Howe and William Strauss in the book Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000), millennial generation are those born between 1982 and 20 years later. This means that this year, they are between 15 to 35 years old. Neil and William call the millennial as the generation that determines the future. In Indonesian context, the millennial lifestyle has had a profound influence on various aspects of personal and public life; social, cultural, economic, political and even religious. The most noticeable aspect is the increasing role of social media, which is mainly driven by the millennial generation. The role of social media, for example, has far-reaching impacts on the creative economy, with the increasing variety of digital entrepreneurship-based professions utilizing online sites, youtube, instagram, twitter and facebook. While in politics, social media becomes the personal space of branding and attention seekers that characterize millennials. Interestingly, in many parts of the world, research on millennial generation has grown considerably. In addition to the above books, some of the more popular ones were the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and University of Berkeley research in 2011 about the millennial generation of America; The Pew Research Center Review entitled Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next (2010). Similarly the Texas-US based Center for Generational Kinetics through the intense genhq.com site is doing recent research on Millennial and Z generations.Similar research focusing on Muslim millennials is done by the Tabah Foundation of the United Arab Emirates entitled Muslim Millennial Attitudes on Religion and Religious Leadership (2016); The work of British Muslim writer Shelina Zahra Janmohamed Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World (2016) is also interesting. In Indonesia, research and publications on millennial generations begin, but it is still difficult to find specific references to Muslim millennials. In fact, Indonesia is a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. According to the latest data of the Cetral Intelligence Agency, the number of Indonesian Muslims reaches a range of 225 million, far beyond Muslim countries such as Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and countries in the Arabian Peninsula. The proportion of Indonesian Muslims is also very significant, namely 87.2% of the total population of Indonesia. Given that fact, Muslim millennial of Indonesia has a very strategic position in the future. Millennial Muslims in this country can lift the image of Indonesian Islam to become a world reference in realizing a peaceful and harmonious society. Actually, the image has been recognized world widely. Two decades ago, various international media praised Indonesian Islam as an ideal portrait of Muslim society. Newsweek in 1996 labeled Islam Indonesia as "Islam with a smiling face". Newsweek is so fascinated with the style of religious people in Indonesia, calling it: everyone was kind; everyone was moderate; everyone respected humanistic values and a harmonious life. Interestingly, six years ago, precisely in 2011, Indonesianist Martin van Bruinessen reviewed the label in his paper with a question: What happened to the smiling face of Indonesian Islam? Martin seemed restless with the Indonesian Islamic movement, which was originally identical with the vision of nationality and humanity, into a movement that tends to be more political and partisan.This is where Muslim millennial Indonesia can take on the role. Today, around us, the narrative of hatred seems so real. It is laid out clearly through utterances, arguments, and comments on the mass lines crammed with verbal and visual violence. With such great potential, Indonesian Muslim youth are given a choice: To let the hate narrative expand its space, or to present a counter-narrative, through viralization of virtues as the part of millennial-style. This is the significance of organizing this annual conference.


This article considers the transatlantic use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) frameworks to critically interpret racism in education internationally, and the possibilities and pitfalls this has for understanding racism in Ireland. It argues for the importance of CRT's framework on a number of grounds, but echoes cautions against the assumed, or sole use of a white/non-white framework to understand situated anti-racisms 'elsewhere'. This caution focuses on less on CRT principles per se, and more on typically derivative 'nationalist' policy appropriations of anti-racism. Education policy (and research) misrepresentations of systemic racism as happening in another place, or at another time function by deracialising and ignoring complex Atlantic and wider (neo)colonial relations. By exploring the 'troubling movements' of education's emergence within Irish-Atlantic-Empire politics, the article encourages postcolonial animations of CRT praxis. It shows ways in which CRT can work transnationally with and beyond white/non-white dualisms, to challenge derivative 'normative state' dilutions of educational anti-racisms.


This essay is an extended reflection on the relationship between death and love expressed in a fragment from Song of Songs 8:6: «Strong as death is love». The passage will be analyzed through a Jewish, Orthodox, and Catholic exegesis and literary reflection. In particular, the essay describes the role of a particular form of love ( eros ) within a particular form of education (education at the end of time). While eros has frequently been ignored or resigned to a purely sexualized role, we will look closely at Augustine's eulogy of his mother, Monica, in the Confessions , suggesting that perhaps the most visceral expression of eros is to be found in the phenomenology of death. We will also draw on the phenomenological manifestation of death by looking to the rich description of dying provided by Leo Tolstoy in his novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych . Together these investigations of eros and education yield a «curriculum of death», which draws on the re-conceptualist notion of curriculum. Our claim is that this curriculum of death offers a sense of urgency and seriousness found lacking in schools today, where death abounds, but is rarely if ever addressed in a humanistic way. This final methodological emphasis on the humanities elucidates more directly and critically the role of research for a curriculum of death within the dominance of social science in the field of education.


The Parana-Etendeka igneous province is one of the largest flood volcanic provinces in the world; peak magmatic activity at 132 Ma is believed to have occurred about 5 m.y. before the birth of south Atlantic sea floor and development of rift basins along the Brazilian coastal margin. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) measurements on 283 samples (28 flows and 3 sills) from the Etendeka igneous province of Namibia and 180 samples (21 flows) from the Parana province in Brazil reveal remarkably consistent fabric orientations with maximum susceptibility (K1) axes subhorizontal and parallel to the rifted margin. The AMS results are most likely due to shape anisotropy reflecting magma flow directions, suggesting that lava flows and intrusive conduits near the eventual rifted margin were controlled by structures having topographic expression in existence at the time of peak flood volcanism. These results imply that rifting preceded flood volcanism, at least in the portion of the magmatic province within 100 km of the nascent Mid-Atlantic Ridge.


The strength of the nonlinearity is measured in decaying two-dimensional turbulence, by comparing its value to that found in a Gaussian field. It is shown how the nonlinearity drops following a two-step process. First a fast relaxation is observed on a timescale comparable to the time of formation of vortical structures, then at long times the nonlinearity relaxes further during the phase when the eddies merge to form the final dynamic state of decay. Both processes seem roughly independent of the value of the Reynolds number.


As a part of a 4D modeling project, two studies with different scopes were conducted in the central Skellefte district (CSD), northern Sweden. The aim of the studies is to create a basis for a better understanding of the spatial relationship between geological structures and mineralization and to construct a 3D and 4D geology model of the area. In the first study, we used geo-electrical data to define the geological structures at depth down to 430 m. The inversion of the resistivity and Induced Polarization (IP) data indicated a number of lithological contacts, which required further constraints prior to constructing the final 3D model. Hence we measured petrophysical properties including density, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and IP of 154 samples, selected from drill-holes in vicinity of the resistivity/ IP profiles, to constrain the model. Forward resistivity models were then acquired using the resistivities measured on drillcores, to test the response of different geological scenarios in 3D after inversion. The gravity and magnetic response of the resistivity/ IP models was then calculated to constrain the models down to 1.5 km depth. The models were then modified, until reaching a consistency between geo-electrical and potential field data. The result indicated the possibility of three sulphide mineralization zones within the highly conductive parts at depth ≤ 500 m. The result also helped to determine the geometry of the contact between sedimentary rocks of the Vargfors basin and volcanic rocks of the Skellefte Group. In the second study, we tested geological models based on interpretation of reflectionseismic data using potential field data (down to 5 km depth) as well as electrical data (down to 430 m depth). The gravity and magnetic data especially benefitted the interpretation where no reflector is indicated, or poor-quality reflectors could not contribute to the understanding of major lithological contacts along the main faults and shear zones in the CSD. Moreover, the gravity and magnetic data, add significant information to reveal the spatial relationship between the Skellefte volcanics, metasedimentary rocks of the Vargfors Group and two intrusive structures of TIB gabbro-diorite and granitic rocks, which were poorly indicated on the reflection-seismic profiles. The results further indicate that joint interpretation of the integrated geophysical techniques can provide remarkable information regarding geometry of structures, which is a base for constructing 3D and 4D geological models.


Annelid polychaetes have been seldom the focus of dedicated DNA barcoding studies, despite their ecological relevance and often dominance, particularly in soft‐bottom estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems. Here, we report the first assessment of the performance of DNA barcodes in the discrimination of shallow water polychaete species from the southern European Atlantic coast, focusing on specimens collected in estuaries and coastal ecosystems of Portugal. We analysed cytochrome oxidase I DNA barcodes (COI‐5P) from 164 specimens, which were assigned to 51 morphospecies. To our data set from Portugal, we added available published sequences selected from the same species, genus or family, to inspect for taxonomic congruence among studies and collection location. The final data set comprised 290 specimens and 79 morphospecies, which generated 99 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) within Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). Among these, 22 BINs were singletons, 47 other BINs were concordant, confirming the initial identification based on morphological characters, and 30 were discordant, most of which consisted on multiple BINs found for the same morphospecies. Some of the most prominent cases in the latter category include Hediste diversicolor (O.F. Müller, 1776) (7), Eulalia viridis (Linnaeus, 1767) (2) and Owenia fusiformis (delle Chiaje, 1844) (5), all of them reported from Portugal and frequently used in ecological studies as environmental quality indicators. Our results for these species showed discordance between molecular lineages and morphospecies, or added additional relatively divergent lineages. The potential inaccuracies in environmental assessments, where underpinning polychaete species diversity is poorly resolved or clarified, demand additional and extensive investigation of the DNA barcode diversity in this group, in parallel with alpha taxonomy efforts.


The article focuses on the effects that type I errors can have on the incentives of firms to compete, collude or engage in efficiency promoting socially beneficial cooperation. Our results confirm that in the presence of type I errors the introduction of a leniency program can have ambiguous effects, including the destruction and prevention of welfare enhancing horizontal cooperation agreements. The obtained results help understand the negative impact the hostility tradition resulting in type I enforcement errors can have on social welfare when applied to the regulation of horizontal agreements.


Our objective is the categorization of the most dominant objects in facade images, like windows, entrances and balconies. In order to execute an image interpretation of complex scenes we need an interaction between low level bottom-up feature detection and highlevel inference from top-down. A top-down approach would use results of a bottom-up detection step as evidence for some high-level inference of scene interpretation. We present a statistically founded object categorization procedure that is suited for bottom-up object detection. Instead of choosing a bag of features in advance and learning models based on these features, it is more natural to learn which features best describe the target object classes. Therefore we learn increasingly complex aggregates of line junctions in image sections from man-made scenes. We present a method for the classification of image sections by using the histogram of diverse types of line aggregates.


It is of interest to understand the tradeoff between the communication resource consumption and the achievable system performance in networked control systems. In this paper we explore a general framework for tradeoff analysis and decision making in such systems by studying joint quantization, estimation, and control of a hidden Markov chain. Dynamic programming is used to find the optimal quantization and control scheme that minimizes a weighted combination of different cost terms including the communication cost, the delay, the estimation error, and the running cost. Simulation and analysis based on example problems show that this approach is able to capture the tradeoffs among competing objectives by adjusting the cost weights.


Aim: Inflammation and some infectious agents play a key role in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) caused by atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of inflammatory markers and the positivity of Chlamydia pneumoniae (CP), Helicobacter pylori (HP), and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) on the level of atherosclerosis in patients with ACS. Materials and Methods: Patients (57) that were referred to the emergency unit with classic angina symptoms or angina equivalent symptoms and were determined to have critical lesions in the coronary angiography (>70% stenosis, coronary artery disease (CAD) severity assessed by the Gensini score) were compared with 27 ACS patients who had no critical lesions in terms of procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-2 receptor (IL2r), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels and positivity of CP, HP, and CMV. Also, the two groups of ACS patients were compared in terms of cytokine levels measured at hours 0 and 48. Results: No significant association was found between the degree of the coronary lesion and the inflammatory and infectious agents. However, in patients with critical coronary lesions, as markers of inflammatory agents, the levels of IL-6 were significantly lower and levels of IL-10 were significantly higher (p<0.001 and p=0.030, respectively) at hour 48 than originally found at hour 0. Conclusion: There is no association between the severity of coronary lesions and cytokine levels and positivity of infectious agents in ACS since the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in ACS are higher than those in atherosclerosis. The changes in cytokine levels at hour 48 were found to be significant.


Improving the effectiveness of agricultural markets for economic growth and poverty reduction has been a central focus for development initiatives, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Staple crops with low input requirements and drought tolerance, such as cassava, are being promoted for market development due to their accessibility for poor smallholder farmers. Narratives often equate commercialization of cassava to benefits for women, as cassava is commonly labelled a 'women's crop'. However, little is known about whether or how women can engage with new cassava commercial opportunities and the livelihood outcomes from this, particularly given the importance of cassava for food security. Findings from fieldwork in Nigeria and Malawi identify cassava value chains that offer different opportunities and challenges for women, which are often overlooked in agricultural development narratives. Women can gainfully participate in new commercial cassava opportunities while maintaining, if not increasing, food security. However, this is highly dependent on gender norms and household relations. Greater attention is required to these more difficult aspects of gender analysis in development projects to ensure women's integration and benefit from agricultural markets.


Frederick M. Vinson enjoyed an extraordinary career in public service, from City Attorney for Louisa, Kentucky (1914-15), to Chief Justice of the United States (1946-53), with several important stops in the federal executive and judicial branches in between. Even as he rose in office, with the associated elevations in personal and professional prestige and power, he continued to find time to watch, and occasionally play, baseball. An accomplished player in his youth, Vinson retained a love for baseball and a deep appreciation for the game throughout his adult life. Vinson played baseball as a schoolboy, and went on to become a star at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he played shortstop and helped the team win three state championships. Vinson then moved on to play for various semi-professional baseball teams in and around Kentucky. Finally, turning down a tryout for the St. Louis Browns, Vinson stopped played semi-pro baseball and spent more time pursuing careers in law and politics. In his mature years Vinson did from time to time take the field for fun or bragging rights. He played, for example, on the Democratic side in the annual inter-party Congressional baseball game while he was serving in the House of Representatives (1924-29, 1931-38). Vinson remained a fan of the annual game even after he left Congress. His social calendar kept by his assistant at the Supreme Court noted the game each May. In 1951, the calendar even notes that he brought Justice Sherman Minton along with him. When he was serving as a judge, Vinson could be relied upon to tell each crop of law clerks about the news coverage of the 1928 Congressional game, which included a report of Vinson's running from the shortstop position all the way back into left field to catch a ball. On one occasion, Vinson also took his brother to the exact spot where he had made a great catch during one of the games. As he grayed, though, Vinson was more often to be found in the stands, where he was a relatively frequent and prominent celebrity spectator. What follows is a short photographic review of the love affair between Vinson and America's national pastime.


Purpose: Curcumin is an active principle obtained from the plant curcuma longa which is not a new therapeutic tool but proved long time back with lots of medicinal values in traditional medicine. This dried rhizome powder extract had been studied extensively in animal models and proved with antiinflammatory activity. Many human studies had proved its antiinflammatory action and its effectiveness in reducing inflammation in osteoarthritis and its benefits in rheumatoid arthritis. Because this extract widely used for antiinflammatory action in arthritis and help in healing a wound we had planned to compare the effectiveness with known antiinflammatory agent methyl prednesolone. Method: Curcumin extract, fibroblast cells L6 rat skeletal muscle cell line (NCCS, Pune), Medium DMEM (Dulbecco's Modified Eagles Medium) with 10% fetal bovine serum in 5% CO2 at 37°C, Drug Prednisolone and Curcumin successive extract. Curcumin extract: Locally available Curcumin rhizomes was purchased after confirmation with botanical survey department of India, Coimbatore, allowed drying at shade for three to four months after cleaning with water to remove the mud and dust. After three months Rhizomes were powdered. This powdered cumin were used to prepare successive extract as per the standard technique using chloroform and ethanol with the help of Soxhlet apparatus for cell culture study with the varying doses of 100μg, 300μg, 600μg, 900μg and 1200μg using MIT Assay. Result: After 24hrs of the drug treatment, the medium was changed for all the groups and 10 μl of MTT (5 mg/ml stock solution) was added and the plates were incubated for an additional 4 hrs. The medium was discarded and the formazan blue, which was formed in the cells, was dissolved with 50 μl of DMSO. The optical density was measured at 570 nm. The percentage toxicity was calculated & IC 50 was calculated by using Grapad PRISM software tool following formula. Conclusion: Curcumin extract has role in chronic inflammation based on the inhibitory role on connective tissue cell fibroblast proliferation when compared with the known established anti-inflammatory agent methyl prednisolone.


The aim of this study was to investigate the single leg sway characteristics of dancers whilst balancing on a rotating platform that was being used as part of a specific choreography they were training to perform. Seven professional dancers held a single leg standing posture on a rotating platform for as long as they could. The rotating platform was mounted on a force platform allowing the measurement of sway variability in the antero-posterior and medio-lateral directions. Participants' sway was analysed over the initial and final 10 seconds of the trial. Medio-lateral sway was found to be similar to antero-posterior sway at the start (p = 0.766) and end (p = 0.938) of the trial. Six of the seven participants showed reductions in both AP and ML sway. Although no statistically significant changes in antero-posterior (p = 0.201) or medio-lateral (p = 0.064) sway were observed between the start and end of the trial with all seven participants included, reductions in sway were seen that showed large effects (AP = 0.94; ML = 1.55). With only the six participants included in the analysis that showed reductions in sway, ML sway was found to significantly reduce between the start and end of the trial (p<0.05). This reduction in postural sway over time suggests that postural feedback could be initially perturbed, returning towards baseline levels over the course of the trial.


My favorite introduction to a discussion of African storytelling is to recall a setting that Oyekan Owomoyela sketched out many years ago from his experience in the Yoruba city of Ibadan in western Nigeria. It is of a traditional family relaxing in their premises at the end of a hardworking day.After the evening meal, the members of the family gather on a porch and if there is moonlight, the younger members gather in the courtyard to play games like hide and seek.On the porch, the entertainment begins with riddles. What dines with an oba (paramount chief of a community) and leaves him to clear the dishes? A fly. What passes befor the oba's palace without making obeisance? Rain flood. On its way to Oyo its face is towards Oyo, on its way from Oyo its face is still towards Oyo. What is it? A double-faced drum. After a few riddles, the tales begin (Owomoyela 264-265).


The treatment of a refinery wastewater by Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP) coupled with Biological Activated Carbon (BAC) was investigated aiming to generate water for reuse. O3/UV and H2O2/UV processes were employed to oxidize the organic matter and the BAC process to remove residual organic matter from the AOP effluent. AOP promoted oxidation of recalcitrant organic matter as observed by moderate drops on the treated wastewater absorbance (31–79%) and TOC values (10–18%). BAC filters showed to be effective, reaching average efficiencies of 65% in a sufficiently long period of operation (84 days), while GAC filters were saturated after 28 days. Effluent TOC values in the range of 4 to 8.5 mg/L were achieved by the combined treatment (H2O2/UV + BAC), allowing water reuse.


Background: Spontaneous breathing is essential for successful non-invasive respiratory support delivered by a facemask at birth. As hypoxia is a potent inhibitor of spontaneous breathing, initiating respiratory support with a high fraction of inspired O2 may reduce the risk of hypoxia and increase respiratory effort at birth. Methods: Preterm rabbit kittens (29 days gestation, term ~32 days) were delivered and randomized to receive continuous positive airway pressure with either 21% (n = 12) or 100% O2 (n = 8) via a facemask. If apnea occurred, intermittent positive pressure ventilation (iPPV) was applied with either 21% or 100% O2 in kittens who started in 21% O2, and remained at 100% O2 for kittens who started the experiment in 100% O2. Respiratory rate (breaths per minute, bpm) and variability in inter-breath interval (%) were measured from esophageal pressure recordings and functional residual capacity (FRC) was measured from synchrotron phase-contrast X-ray images. Results: Initially, kittens receiving 21% O2 had a significantly lower respiratory rate and higher variability in inter-breath interval, indicating a less stable breathing pattern than kittens starting in 100% O2 [median (IQR) respiratory rate: 16 (4–28) vs. 38 (29–46) bpm, p = 0.001; variability in inter-breath interval: 33.3% (17.2–50.1%) vs. 27.5% (18.6–36.3%), p = 0.009]. Apnea that required iPPV, was more frequently observed in kittens in whom resuscitation was started with 21% compared to 100% O2 (11/12 vs. 1/8, p = 0.001). After recovering from apnea, respiratory rate was significantly lower and variability in inter-breath interval was significantly higher in kittens who received iPPV with 21% compared to 100% O2. FRC was not different between study groups at both timepoints. Conclusion: Initiating resuscitation with 100% O2 resulted in increased respiratory activity and stability, thereby reducing the risk of apnea and need for iPPV after birth. Further studies in human preterm infants are mandatory to confirm the benefit of this approach in terms of oxygenation. In addition, the ability to avoid hyperoxia after initiation of resuscitation with 100% oxygen, using a titration protocol based on oxygen saturation, needs to be clarified.


Visible and near-IR observations of the Kuiper Belt Object (136472) 2005 FY(9) have indicated the presence of unusually long (1 cm or more) optical path lengths in a layer of methane ice. Using microphysical and radiative transfer modeling, we show that even at the frigid temperatures in the outer reaches of the solar system, a slab of low porosity methane ice can indeed form by pressureless sintering of micron-sized grains, and it can qualitatively reproduce the salient features of the measured spectra. A good semiquantitative match with the near-IR spectra can be obtained with a realistic slab model, provided the spectra are scaled to a visible albedo of 0.6, at the low end of the values currently estimated from Spitzer thermal measurements. Consistent with previous modeling studies, matching spectra scaled to higher albedos requires the incorporation of strong backscattering effects. The albedo may become better constrained through an iterative application of the slab model to the analysis of the thermal measurements from Spitzer and the visible/near-IR reflectance spectra. The slab interpretation offers two falsifiable predictions (1) Absence of an opposition surge, which is commonly attributed to the fluffiness of the optical surface. This prediction is best testable with a spacecraft, as Earth-based observations at true opposition will not be possible until early next century. (2) Unlikelihood of the simultaneous occurrence of very long spectroscopic path lengths in both methane and nitrogen ice on the surface of any Kuiper Belt Object, as the more volatile nitrogen would hinder densification in methane ice.


Utilizing archived data for 650 individuals, psychosocial variables were examined to elucidate the effect of de institutionalization on success of community integration. Deinstitutionalization has been blamed for a host of societal ills including the burgeoning homeless population and for overcrowding in prisons. Many claim that deinstitionalization has failed and that the chronically severely mentally ill have not become part of their communities. Utilizing extant data on consumers released from Pennsylvania state hospitals as part of a unique initiative, the psychosocial variables of age, race, gender, length of institutionalization, placement following hospitalization and diagnosis were correlated with homelessness, incarceration, or whereabouts known to measure rate of community integration. Of all living consumers released under this initiative, 97% are living in the community. iv


This paper deals with the performance assessment of the wireless body area network (WBAN) standards proposed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), namely IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.15.6, emphasizing on the different carrier sensing multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanisms. By comparing the different proposals, we provide an engineering insight, which elaborates the reasons of the performance differences and reveals important trade-offs in terms of successful packet transmission and energy consumption. These trade-offs should be seriously taken into consideration when designing a WBAN.


Heroism is a moral concept with various dimensions. Heroes are determined according to one's individual taste and that's why they are very subjective. The title "hero" is the determination of the "High price" or value that is given to a person by people as an attempt to show their thankfulness and admiration for their great generosity. The thesis was designed as a two-part study. The overall aim of the thesis was to illuminate the phenomenon of heroism as moral dilemma in our-day nursing. Study I aim was to describe aspects which are connected to heroism in literature. Results from study I elucidate from main themes: altruism and sacrifice as primary values in nursing practice; motivation to moral actions; moral character; acting up in the patient's bets interest. The main idea of the first identified theme is that sacrifice like altruism is one of important elements in the patient-carer relationship. Nurses want to be altruistic and they wish to receive positive feedback from patients when giving help. The positive feedback is essential to nurses in order for them to provide altruistic care. Following theme show that that nurses demand very high standards of themselves in their interactions with their patients, being in ethically difficult care situations. Once nurses are aware of the values that motivate them, they are more capable of accepting patient's attitudes and behaviours, and their ability to solve problems and make decisions will become enhanced. In the third theme we can find that a spirit of compassion not only prevents people from doing harm, but may make us sacrifice our lives to protect the other human being. Moral character consists of a set of stable virtues that affect a person's judgment and action. From the last theme we can see that nurses act on instinct, quick thinking and desire to help others. Caring as an ethical way of being is a rather more broadly understood morale requirement. The research shows that nursing as caring profession embodies many humanistic values as altruism, sacrifice, heroism. Heroism is framed in many different ways: it means doing the ordinary under extraordinary circumstances; it is the call of duty in everyday nursing. Heroes are determined according to one's individual taste and that's why they are very subjective. The title "hero" is the determination of the "High price" or value that is given to a person by people as an attempt to show their thankfulness and admiration for their great generosity. Heroism as moral dilemma appears in everyday nursing practice. Acting up heroically depends on nurse's moral values and no moral reasons. Dilemma is an outcome of conflicting moral principles and rules. Nurses devote their lives to helping others and don't see themselves as heroes. Aim of study II was out of a semi-structured interview to investigate nurses' opinion about heroism in our-day nursing. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews with 15 nurses, working and living in Lithuania. Data was analysed by qualitative content analysis method. Results from study II are: overall seven themes were identified: nursing as a loving care; devotion to duty; satisfaction doing the job; self-sacrifice; ready to be hero; nurse-heroine in her daily practice; moral disorientation in nursing. The findings are explained and discussed. In conclusion of study II, most of nurses haven't lost the most important values in health care profession. Conclusion of the whole study is that in Lithuania love for the suffering patient is the highest value, and this value guides nurses to do heroic actions.


Background: Many epidemiologic studies have examined the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and risk of cancer with inconsistent results. Methods: We conducted two nested, case–control studies in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) and Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) to test whether prediagnostic circulating CRP concentrations were associated with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Between 1985 and 2004, 311 cases occurred in ATBC and between 1994 and 2006, 182 cases occurred in PLCO. Controls (n = 510 in ATBC, n = 374 in PLCO) were alive at the time the case was diagnosed and were matched by age, date of blood draw, sex, and race. We used conditional logistic regression adjusted for smoking to calculate OR and 95% CI for pancreatic cancer. Results: CRP concentrations (ng/mL) tended to be inversely or not associated with pancreatic cancer risk in ATBC, PLCO, and combined analyses [per standardized quintile increase in CRP, continuous OR = 0.94 (95% CI, 0.89–0.99), OR = 0.99 (95% CI, 0.95–1.04), OR = 0.98 (95% CI, 0.95–1.01), respectively]. In combined analyses, we observed a significant interaction (Pinteraction = 0.02) such that inverse associations were suggestive in younger (OR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.90–1.01), but not older, participants. Conclusion: Our results do not support the hypothesis that higher CRP concentrations are associated with incident pancreatic cancer. Impact: Our results highlight the importance of investigating more specific biomarkers for inflammation that may reflect the biological mechanisms underlying pancreatic cancer in prospective cohort studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(2); 359–69. ©2010 AACR.


The involvement of children in conflict is not a recent phenomenon. The military use of children dates back to ancient times. The change of warfare and the advocating of the protection of children's rights within the global discourse context have taken the discourse on child and youth involvement in conflict out of the political and military context and placed it into one circumscribed by legal and moral concern. Since the late 1970s, a number of international instruments have been promulgated to limit the recruitment of child soldiers, but even though the numbers of children being recruited into armed forces have decreased, children continue to be deployed into armed forces, particularly in Africa. 'Loopholes', vagueness and inconsistencies in the treaties and the strengths and weaknesses of the enforcement and monitoring mechanisms have created legal uncertainty which have ultimately resulted in further injustice for the child. However, legal uncertainty is not per se the cause of recruitment continuing; the cause being more complex. Researches and treaties have failed to address the obstacles to the implementation of the relevant international law. The issue(s) of culture and child crossborder recruitment have served as obstacles to an effective protection of children against recruitment by international law.


This paper provides some quantitative evidence about the strong links between the Lean Production System (LPS) or equivalently the holistic Just-in-Time/Quality Control (JIT/QC) system and sectoral (micro) economic growth. This evidence is supported by qualitative arguments that present the LPS or the JIT/QC philosophy as a major and fundamental organizational feature of modern economies. Though the implementation of such a system originated in Japan, the USA have been in the process of catching up in the last fifteen years. Subsequently, recently published American sectoral data (for the period between 1958 and 1996) are used to provide ample quantitative evidence of the role the JIT/QC organizational philosophy played in shaping and leading the American macro and sectoral economies in the last 40 years. The implications for the theory of economic growth and economic policy are also briefly stated.


Motivational research in academic subjects has demonstrated that when students are interested in an activity and feel free to choose whether or not to do it, they are more likely to engage in higher-level cognitive functioning, find it easier to concentrate, persevere, and enjoy their learning. This case study of a young beginning clarinettist named Clarissa consisted of interviews and computer analysis of videotaped practice sessions. Clarissa's practice behaviour in teacher-assigned repertoire was compared with her work on a piece she chose to learn herself. Results show that when practising self-selected repertoire, Clarissa was more likely to engage in strategies that are typical at more advanced stages of development, such as silent fingering, silent thinking and singing. She also spent more time practising the piece, and persevered when faced with difficulties. Implications for instrumental pedagogy are discussed.


Author(s): Matkin, Gary W | Abstract: Alternative Digital Credentials (ADCs) will significantly transform the relationship between higher education institutions and society. By providing fully digital, workplace-relevant, and information-rich records of an individual's skills and competencies, ADCs will render traditional university transcripts increasingly irrelevant and obsolete. Universities and colleges that to not adopt in some measure the ADC movement will begin to experience a slow decline in market position and patron support. Current usage of ADCs is emerging rapidly in the marketplace and is supported by standard-setting efforts and grant funding. Usage is accelerating due to the inadequacy of the traditional transcription systems, accrediting agency requirements, demographic shifts in learning preferences, open education, and hiring practices, among others. Institutions seeking to enter the ADC movement face challenges including, 1) establishing criteria for the issuance of ADCs, 2) designing icons to represent their ADCs, 3) determining the content disclosed in the ADC, 4) selecting a method (vendor) for implementing ADCs, and 5) considering the pace of technology and the immediate future of the ADC movement, including the advent of blockchain technology. This paper provides a rationale and pathway for the institutional adoption of ADCs.


The Poet's Mind is a major study of how Victorian poets thought and wrote about the human mind. It argues that Victorian poets, inheriting from their Romantic forerunners the belief that subjective thoughts and feelings were the most important materials for poetry, used their writing both to give expression to mental processes and to scrutinise and analyse those processes. In this volume Gregory Tate considers why and how psychological analysis became an increasingly important element of poetic theory and practice in the mid-nineteenth century, a time when the discipline of psychology was emerging alongside the growing recognition that the workings of the mind might be understood using the analytical methods of science. The writings of Victorian poets often show an awareness of this psychology, but, at the same time, the language and tone of their psychological verse, and especially their ambivalent use of terms such as 'brain', 'mind', and 'soul', voice an unresolved tension, felt throughout Victorian culture, between scientific theories of psychology and metaphysical or religious accounts of selfhood. The Poet's Mind considers the poetry of Browning, Tennyson, Arnold, Clough, and George Eliot, offering detailed readings of several major Victorian poems, and presenting new evidence of their authors' interest in contemporary psychological theory. Ranging across lyric verse, epic poetry, and the dramatic monologue, the book explores the ways in which poetry simultaneously drew on, resisted, and contributed to the spread of scientific theories of mind in Victorian Britain.


Diabetes is a widespread disease, whereby the body is incapable of regulating the metabolism of glucose1. As a result, this disorder leads to severe health effects such as blindness, kidney failure and stroke1-2, where monitoring glucose has proven to prevent some of these undesired side effects. Current monitoring methods for diabetes are either invasive or non-continuous, where Brooks et al have introduced contact lenses, on the cover of ACS Nanomaterials, as a sensing platform for noninvasive monitoring1. This highlights the need for a non-invasive, continuous glucose-monitoring device for personal use1.
Lewis acidic boronic acids (BAs) are widely known for their strong but reversible interactions with diol-containing compounds like glucose1. This phenomenon has lead to the development and evolution of many fluorescent boronic acid derivatives, where the BA-sugar interaction can be monitored by changes in fluorescence1. In our group, a range of boronic acid derivatives have been developed and investigated for their direct or indirect glucose sensing capabilities, at physiological pH. When the BA moiety is directly attached to a fluorescent component, the fluorescence of these BA-derivatives becomes quenched in the presence of glucose (Figure 1). The second type of fluorescence change is observed upon integration of the BA moiety and fluorophore in to a two-component system. In these sensors the presence of the BA results in a decrease of fluorescence, which can be restored in the presence of glucose2. This project aims to incorporate BA derivatives on to flexible polymeric substrates for continuous non-invasive glucose sensing in wearable devices, such as sensing patches or smart contact lenses.