This study explores the haptic rendering capabilities of a variable friction tactile interface through psychophysical experiments. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the sensory resolution associated with the Tactile Pattern Display (TPaD), friction discrimination experiments are conducted. During the experiments, subjects are asked to explore the glass surface of the TPaD using their bare index fingers, to feel the friction on the surface, and to compare the slipperiness of two stimuli, displayed in sequential order. The fingertip position data is collected by an infrared frame and normal and translational forces applied by the finger are measured by force sensors attached to the TPaD. The recorded data is used to calculate the coefficient of friction between the fingertip and the TPaD. The experiments determine the just noticeable difference (JND) of friction coefficient for humans interacting with the TPaD.


Email archives silently record our actions and thoughts over the years, forming a passively acquired and detailed life-log that contains rich material for reminiscing on our lives. However, exploratory browsing of archives containing thousands of messages is tedious without effective ways to guide the user towards interesting events and messages. We present Muse (Memories USing Email), a system that combines data mining techniques and an interactive interface to help users browse a long-term email archive. Muse analyzes the contents of the archive and generates a set of cues that help to spark users' memories: communication activity with inferred social groups, a summary of recurring named entities, occurrence of sentimental words, and image attachments. These cues serve as salient entry points into a browsing interface that enables faceted navigation and rapid skimming of email messages. In our user studies, we found that users generally enjoyed browsing their archives with Muse, and extracted a range of benefits, from summarizing work progress to renewing friendships and making serendipitous discoveries.


The consumer complaints system at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the Philippines Central Bank, hereafter BSP) was limited by outdated communication channels, an incomplete database of customer complaints, reliance on manual processing, few analytics tools, low visibility outside of the Metro Manila area, and little consideration for the customer experience. This was leaving BSP staff overburdened. BSP requested a solution from the RegTech for Regulators (R2A) to protect financial consumers' interests, empower financial consumers, and facilitate the development and enforcement of a client-focused financial sector.

Working with R2A and Sinitic, the BSP rolled out a chatbot solution that allows Filipinos to file complaints through their mobile handsets via an app or via SMS, as well as as a processing utility to generates insights from all complaints that BSP receives. This enables BSP to i) Address queries and complaints through the chatbot. ii) Manage the structure and flow of automated conversations based on expertise and historical data. iii) Use data and insights gathered through the chatbot and other channels for oversight and policy development.

The solution reduce employee workload and response time by delegating routine tasks to the chatbot, saving human labor for more complex or nuanced tasks. Moreover, it amplifies the voice of consumers generating new insights about the customer journey and experience, and allows BSP supervisors to detect market misconduct.

By improving data quality and access and developing new tools for data visualization and analysis, the prototype will support BSP's efforts to provide all Philippine financial consumers with effective access to a complaint system.


This article is about new editorial ways offered by the internet. Along these pages we will see some of the problems affecting the editorial market in archaeology and, in general, critical and university publishing in Spain. We will also see some of the solutions offered from JAS Arqueologia for the diffusion of academic contents and the distribution of digital resources through the Internet, social networks and traditional paper formats. The aim of this article is showing the existing possibilities of editing and distributing science in an accessible way, thanks to the opportunities given by 2.0 technology.


As the prices of commercially available electronic and mechanical components decrease, manufacturers such as Devantech and Revolution Education have made encoded motor
controller systems and microcontrollers very accessible to engineers and designers. This has made it possible to design sophisticated robotic and mechatronic systems very rapidly and at relatively low cost.

A recent project in the Autonomous Systems Lab at Middlesex University, UK was to design and build a small, automated, robotic bartender based around the 5 litre Heineken
'Draughtkeg' system, which is capable of patrolling a bar and dispensing beer when signalled to by a customer.

Because the system was designed as a commercial product, design constraints focused on keeping the build cost down, and so electronic components were sourced from outside
companies and interfaced with a bespoke chassis and custom mechanical parts designed and manufactured on site at the University. All the programming was conducted using the
proprietary BASIC language, which is freely available from the PicAXE supplier at no cost.

This paper will discuss the restrictions involved in building a robot chassis around 'off-theshelf'
components, and the issues arising from making the human-machine interaction intuitive whilst only using low-cost ultrasonic sensors. Programming issues will also be
discussed, such as the control of accuracy when interfacing a PicAXE microcontroller with a Devantech MD25 Motor Controller board. Public live testing of the system was conducted at the Kinetica Art Fair 2010 event in London and has since been picked up by websites such as Engadget.com and many others. Feedback on the system will be described, as well as the refinements made as a result of these tests.


The social climate of student organizations can alter a student's perception of their influence upon the organization. This study examines Black student leaders' perceptions of social climate of campus governing boards at a predominantly White institution (PWI). Black students' experiences were investigated using Moos's (1979, 1987) social climate dimensions. Implications and recommendations for student affairs professionals advising Black student leaders are detailed based on three salient themes: mission and direction, relationships, and mutual impact.


Abstract. Our faith in the seeds of equatorial plasma irregularities holds that there will generally always be density perturbations sufficient to provide the seeds for irregularity development whenever the Rayleigh–Taylor instability is active. When the duration of the time of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability is short, however, the magnitude of the seed perturbations can make a difference in whether the irregularities have a chance to grow to a strength at which the nonlinear development of plumes occurs. In addition, the character of the resulting irregularities reflects the characteristics of the initial seed density perturbation, e.g., their strength, spacing, and, to some extent, their spatial scales, and it is important to know the seeds to help determine the structure of the developed irregularities. To this end, we describe the climatology of daytime and early-evening density irregularities that can serve as seeds for later development of plumes, as determined from the Planar Langmuir Probe (PLP) plasma density measurements on the C/NOFS (Communication and Navigation Outage Forecast System) satellite mission, presenting their magnitude as a function of altitude, latitude, longitude, local time, season, and phase in the solar cycle (within the C/NOFS observation era). To examine some of the consequences of these density perturbations, they are used as initial conditions for the PBMOD PBMOD (Retterer, 2010a) 3-D irregularity model to follow their potential development into larger-amplitude irregularities, plumes, and radio scintillation. "Though I do not believe that a pla[sma bubble] will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders." – Henry David Thoreau


We study some perturbative and nonperturbative effects in the framework of the
Standard Model of particle physics. In particular we consider the time dependence
of the Higgs vacuum expectation value given by the dynamics of the StandardModel
and study the non-adiabatic production of both bosons and fermions,
which is intrinsically non-perturbative. In theHartree approximation, we analyze
the general expressions that describe the dissipative dynamics due to the backreaction
of the produced particles. Then, we solve numerically some relevant
cases for the Standard Model phenomenology in the regime of relatively small
oscillations of the Higgs vacuum expectation value (vev). As perturbative effects,
we consider the leading logarithmic resummation in small Bjorken x QCD, concentrating
ourselves on the Nc dependence of the Green functions associated to
reggeized gluons. Here the eigenvalues of the BKP kernel for states of more than
three reggeized gluons are unknown in general, contrary to the large Nc limit
(planar limit) case where the problem becomes integrable. In this contest we consider
a 4-gluon kernel for a finite number of colors and define some simple toy
models for the configuration space dynamics, which are directly solvable with
group theoretical methods. In particular we study the depencence of the spectrum
of thesemodelswith respect to the number of colors andmake comparisons
with the planar limit case. In the final part we move on the study of theories
beyond the Standard Model, considering models built on AdS5 S5/Γ orbifold
compactifications of the type IIB superstring, where Γ is the abelian group Zn.
We present an appealing three family N = 0 SUSY model with n = 7 for the order
of the orbifolding group. This result in a modified Pati–Salam Model which
reduced to the StandardModel after symmetry breaking and has interesting phenomenological
consequences for LHC.


In this paper, we consider distributed estimation of an unknown random vector by using wireless sensors and a fusion center (FC). We adopt a linear model for distributed estimation of a vector source where both observation models and sensor operations are linear and the multiple access channel (MAC) is coherent. Two cases are considered: Noiseless fusion center and Noisy fusion center. In the case of a Noiseless fusion center (where there is no noise at the fusion center), the sensor precoders are designed to minimize the mean square error (MSE) at the fusion center. A closed form solution is found and it is shown that the system performance approaches the benchmark as long as the number of messages transmitted by each sensor is equal to the length of the vector source. Subsequently, if there is noise at the fusion center and one is interested in a closed form solution, a filter is designed to cancel out the effect of noise at the fusion center. This separate design will come at the expense of losing performance. An alternative iterative solution can be found when considering noise at the fusion center where sensor precoders are designed to minimize the MSE at the fusion center subject to transmit power constraints at each sensor. It is shown that the proposed scheme always converges. Finally, simulations are provided to verify the analysis and present the performance of the proposed schemes.


The environmental crisis due to air pollution, high CO2 emissions, noise from traffic and soil ceiling requires profound changes to the car-dependent transport system. This article examines the political dynamics of German transport politics, focusing on the National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE), a high-level political forum that aimed to accelerate the run-up of the electric mobility market in Germany. The NPE provides an interesting case to study the strategies of stakeholders in influencing policy-making and shaping alternative pathways to the car-centered transport system. The paper focusses on actor constellations and the conflicts that arise within the NPE, as well as the temporal dynamics within the electric mobility debate. The findings suggest that the NPE contributed to a narrow understanding of mobility transformation based on road transport and electric cars, but that it is better described as ecological modernization. Within this narrow framework, a fundamental conflict unfolds between strong advocates versus those slowing down the ecological modernization of the car. A third group demands at least a partial departure from the automobile-centered model but remains marginalized within the NPE. Aside from this core conflict, members of the NPE struggled over the location for battery cell production, the introduction of a purchase grant known as the environmental bonus, and the expansion of battery recharging infrastructure. These issues illustrate that discussions within the NPE relate to the political debates about the future of mobility, which have intensified in Germany in recent years. However, the case of the NPE shows that high-level stakeholder platforms are not an adequate forum to legitimately deliberate and to practically contribute to a wider and more fundamental rethink of future mobility concepts.


PURPOSE
the method described here allows for automatic calculation of the fundus pulse from interferometric measurements.

METHOD
a low intensity laser beam is coupled into the eye. Two strong reflections, one of the cornea and one of the retina, interfere on a high-speed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor camera chip. After eye movement compensation, a speckle-free phase of the interferograms is calculated from a series of interference fringes. Then, the fundus pulsation is calculated from the phase shift between two consecutive interferograms.

PROBLEMS
occurring speckle perturbs the fringe images, and therefore, classical geometrical movement compensation algorithms do not work with sufficient accuracy. The movement compensation algorithm needs to work without prior knowledge of the phase.

RESULTS
the proposed algorithms yield the fundus pulse from speckled interferograms, overcoming the above mentioned problems.


SOMMARIO: 1. Premessa - 2. La preparazione del biennio sinodale - 3. Il dibattito sulle proposte di snellimento dei processi matrimoniali nell'Assemblea Straordinaria del 2014 - 4. La preparazione dell'Assemblea Ordinaria e l'accoglienza della riforma in Sinodo - 5. Conclusioni. Reflections on the Synodal origin of the processus brevior coram Episcopo. ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the main aspect of the motu proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus signed by Pope Francis - the role of judge accorded to the Bishop especially in the new briefer process - cannot be linked to the suggestions of the two assemblies of the Synod of Bishops on the Family summoned in 2014 and 2015, as the Pontiff himself and many Authors have instead affirmed. Attention is mainly given to the documents of the first gathering: the preliminary questionary, the Instrumentum laboris, the mid-Synod relations and the Relatio finalis offered as a draft for the 2015 Assembly. The analysis of these documents prove that many of those involved in the synodal process showed great concern on the perspective of a Bishop acting himself as a judge, openly suggesting to avoid this solution. In the conclusion, a reflection is made on how the process that conducted to this reform often lacked those principles of synodality and collegiality frequently described as Francis' key principles in the Church's guidance.


Learning analytics offers the possibilities for higher education institutions (HEIs) to unlock the value of educational big data to help make better learning decisions. While it has recently attracted increasing interest, HEIs have made limited use of the available data and more research is yet to be conducted to build the theoretical and empirical base. This study draws on IT affordance theory to develop an exploratory conceptual framework to understand how the action possibilities afforded by learning analytics to HEI users for decision-making can be actualized. The framework is tested using a qualitative research method based on interviews and case studies. This study mainly contributes to the literature by building an exploratory theory and early theory testing about learning analytics affordances in the HEI context. It has the potential to help HEIs better realize the action possibilities afforded by learning analytics to HEI users thereby to improve learning related decision-making.


The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have prompted many U.S. companies to reassess their security measures and crisis management plans. Unfortunately, this kind of evaluation was a familiar process for most administrators nationwide who were forced to take a good look at their school safety procedures following the tragic ripple of deadly school shootings that occurred from Oregon to Colorado to Pennsylvania in the late 1990s. Controversial "zero-tolerance" policies came into vogue, and state police departments, in conjunction with state attorneys general, established anonymous tip hot lines for students, teachers and community members. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported that 36 states considered school safety bills during the 1998 legislative sessions. School policies, such as one passed in Pennsylvania addressing criteria for student expulsions, suddenly included phrases like "terrorist threats" and "terrorist plots." On the local level, school districts responded by locking down their campuses during school hours, and employing school-liaison police officers and metal detectors at entrances. Campus surveillance systems also became commonplace in schools. While VHS-based surveillance technology and real-time closed-circuit TV monitoring are widely used in schools today, several districts in Texas and Oklahoma have taken their surveillance systems into the digital age. Salient Systems Corp., a digital surveillance recording manufacturer in Austin, Texas, which built its business on retail clients, now has a new market in education. In recent years, the security-technology company has worked with independent school districts, as well as universities and their local police departments to implement remote digital monitoring and recording systems. Digital Surveillance Unlike traditional videotape-recorder surveillance, which requires someone on-site to review tapes and handle recording equipment, remote digital-surveillance recording technology enables users to watch and record real-time surveillance footage of school grounds utilizing a Dell PC. The Dell PC-based technology works by transmitting live data from school cameras to networked PCs via an Internet or intranet connection. The PC-based systems digitize, compress and store surveillance video on the PC's hard drive for up to 30 days. Video files then can be accessed and reviewed on the computer monitor by typing in dates and times. The video files also can be backed up onto a Zip disk or CD-ROM; and, if necessary, individual screen shots of video can be saved as evidence to a floppy disk. Some digital systems even save files in AVI format, enabling any computer equipped with a Windows 95 version or later of Windows Media Player to play back the footage. In practice, this means that a principal can attach a surveillance file to an e-mail, then send it to the police or the school superintendent for immediate review. Digital recording technology also allows for more defined images than those captured on VHS surveillance systems. The video-frame rate recorded on most digital systems varies between four and 30 frames per second, depending on how many camera views are accessed at once. Users are also able to review video files in a full-screen, real-time format without interrupting any recording or losing picture quality. Remote Monitoring Last year, the police department of Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas, installed Salient digital surveillance systems on five school campuses to monitor lunchrooms, hallways, as well as student and teacher parking lots. The computer servers were connected through a WAN to desktop computers in the principals' offices and at the police department, so that these offices could remotely monitor and record campus activities on a real-time basis. Chuck Brawner of the Spring Branch ISD Police Department says that the surveillance system has already proven effective. …


Difficult economic times are reducing libraries' ability to purchase print monographs and continued pressures to provide electronic materials often force libraries to cut their book budgets even more. How are libraries responding to both these forces? The authors report on a survey asking how libraries are budgeting for print monographs taking into account both approval plans and firm order allocations. The speakers are interested in whether libraries are revising eliminating or creating new approval plans whether changes in approval plans correspond to changes in firm order budgets and what changes occur in print approval plans as a result of library ebooks acquisitions. Between the worsening economy and increased pressures to provide electronic content how will libraries change their collection development decisions for print monographs? The authors conclude that approval plans must continue to evolve and that ebook publishers need to change faster to allow libraries to purchase and process their materials in their mainstream workflows.


Microtensiometer probes with a tip radius <1 mm were used for direct measurement of the change in pore water pressure caused by tensile loading at different strain rates in soils. These probes responded rapidly to changes in pore water pressure during testing and demonstrated that the applied tensile stress was transmitted almost entirely through the pore water, as would be expected. Above a strain rate of 1% min−1, viscous effects became significant, leading to a significant increase in the fracture stress. The results are described using an extended version of the Kelvin–Voigt model of rheological behavior. At low strain rates, capillary forces dominate the fracture stress. Above the critical strain rate, the viscosity of the soil also contributes to the fracture stress.


In this paper, the investigation of the energy absorption capability of non-crimped carbon fiber composite tubes in axial compression and bending will be documented. The tubular beams were comprised of an eight layer (0/-45/45/90/90/45/-45/0) unidirectional carbon fiber architecture manufactured using a compression molding process. The experiments for axial compression and bending were conducted using drop tower and Instron three-point bend fixtures, respectively. The COmplete STress Reduction (COSTR) damage model, developed for predicting intra-layer failures, was extended to predict the response under axial crush and bending collapse through a user written subroutine developed in the framework of the LS-DYNA computer program. Inter-layer cohesion and failure were modeled using a computationally efficient cohesive zone model governed by a bi-linear traction-separation law with a quadratic mixed mode delamination criterion and damage formulation. The comparison of numerical and experimental results for the crush and bending tests are also presented and show good correlation.


We develop a model of portfolio selection with subjective uncertainty and learning in order to explain why some people hold stocks while others don't. We model heterogeneity in information directly, which is an alternative to the existing explanations that emphasized heterogeneity in transaction costs of investment. We plan to calibrate the model to survey data (when available) on people's perception about the distribution of stock market returns. Our approach also leads to a model of learning with new implications such as zero optimal risky assets, or ex post correlation of uncorrelated labor income and optimal portfolio composition. It also points to two factors in probabilistic thinking that should have a major impact on stock ownership. These are the level and the precision of expectations. We construct proxy measures for the two parameters from the 1992-2000 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We use a large battery of the subjective probability questions administered in each wave of HRS to construct an overall "index of optimism" (the correlated factor between all subjective probabilities) and "index of precision" (the fraction of nonfocal probability answers, following Lillard and Willis, 2001). We also construct measures for how people forecast the weather, their cognitive capacity, wealth, and basic demographics. Our results indicate that stock ownership and the probability of becoming a stockholder are strongly positively correlated with the indices of the level and precision of expectations. Interpretation of the former is quite challenging and further research is needed to understand its full content.


The geomorphic evolution of many landscapes is fundamentally deter- mined by the evolution of the river channels and their interactions with hillslopes. Consequently, models of landscape evolution ought to track the evolution of the channel geometry so as to quantify the rate of erosion of channel bottoms and to follow the changes in hillslope-channel coupling over time. Unfortunately, the spatial resolution required to describe channel morphology adequately is computationally impractical. It is also beyond the resolution of most digital elevation data. What is required is a parameterization scheme for approximating fine scale channel morphol- ogy at a coarse pixel scale. Such a parameterization is already implicitly employed in most models by assuming channel equilibrium, which ties the width and depth of a model channel to the square root of discharge through a pixel. Channel fluxes are thereby predictable, and a closed form of the governing equations is attained. In reality, mountain river channels do not take a simple equilibrium form and show great spatial variability and evident disequilibrium geometry. Since the time scales of changes in channel geometry, bedrock channel erosion, and hillslope response are all closely related, it is reasonable to infer that the spatio-temporal development of the landscape is determined by their interaction and that channel disequilibrium is a fundamental factor in the dynamics of landscape evolution. If this is the case, we need an alternative sub-grid scale parameterization that aggregates channel properties such as surface morphology, roughness, cross-sectional geometry, so that the time depen- dent behavior of these properties can be estimated at the coarse pixel scale. We introduce such a parameterization measure, which we term channelization, after extensive investigation of the pixel resolution dependence of topographic relief. We focus in particular on the effect of coarse graining on digital elevation data for derived measures such as channel slope and upstream area and demonstrate that we can approximately correct for this effect. We show that a very simple geomorphic model can be constructed around the channelization parameter and the resolution-invariant topographic measures. This model demonstrates that channel disequilibrium may play a significant role in mountain landscape dynamics. It also shows how geomorphic models in general could be modified to incorporate such sub-pixel scale complexities and to better model these dynamics.


In this paper we investigate multi-task learning in the context of Gaussian Processes (GP). We propose a model that learns a shared covariance function on input-dependent features and a "free-form" covariance matrix over tasks. This allows for good flexibility when modelling inter-task dependencies while avoiding the need for large amounts of data for training. We show that under the assumption of noise-free observations and a block design, predictions for a given task only depend on its target values and therefore a cancellation of inter-task transfer occurs. We evaluate the benefits of our model on two practical applications: a compiler performance prediction problem and an exam score prediction task. Additionally, we make use of GP approximations and properties of our model in order to provide scalability to large data sets.


Transnationalism as both a phenomenon and a concept has received negligible attention in modern times in relation to the practice of public administration and its corresponding field of study. This article provides an account of the meaning and the relevance of both the concept and phenomenon as received and applied by practitioners and scholars in the said practice and field of study. From the latter, a deliberate approach towards policy matters is undertaken in relation to the concept and phenomenon of transnationalism. In this article policies used by the national Department of Home Affairs in South Africa form the basis from which a case is made relevant to this topic in p(P)ublic a(A)dministration. Additionally, case studies in the SADC region are considered. This article therefore argues that transnationalism is as much local as global issues such as immigration, citizenship, global economy, service delivery, government (in)efficiency and (in)effectiveness and such other matters of public interest.


Intimal hyperplasia is the cause of the recurrent occlusive vascular disease (restenosis). Drugs currently used to treat restenosis effectively inhibit smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, but also inhibit the growth of the protective luminal endothelial cell (EC) lining, leading to thrombosis. To identify compounds that selectively inhibit SMC versus EC proliferation, we have developed a high-throughput screening (HTS) format using human cells and have employed this to screen a multiple compound collection (NIH Clinical Collection). We developed an automated, accurate proliferation assay in 96-well plates using human aortic SMCs and ECs. Using this HTS format we screened a 447-drug NIH Clinical Library. We identified 11 compounds that inhibited SMC proliferation greater than 50%, among which idarubicin exhibited a unique feature of preferentially inhibiting SMC versus EC proliferation. Concentration-response analysis revealed this differential effect most evident over an ∼10 nM-5 µM window. In vivo testing of idarubicin in a rat carotid injury model at 14 days revealed an 80% reduction of intimal hyperplasia and a 45% increase of lumen size with no significant effect on re-endothelialization. Taken together, we have established a HTS assay of human vascular cell proliferation, and identified idarubicin as a selective inhibitor of SMC versus EC proliferation both in vitro and in vivo. Screening of larger and more diverse compound libraries may lead to the discovery of next-generation therapeutics that can inhibit intima hyperplasia without impairing re-endothelialization.


Markley characterized those minimal sets arising from a homeomorphism of the circle without periodic points. The removal of the condition that guarantees the space be metric yields a larger class of minimal sets which can still be embedded in a circle-like object. A {long} {short} circle is a compact connected {non-metric Hausdorff} {metric} space which has no cut points, but which is disconnected by the removal of any two points. A circle is either a long or short circle. Theorem: A compact Hausdorff minimal cascade can be embedded in a homeomorphism of a circle without periodic points if and only if it is proximally equicontinuous over the circle and P f <= Δ 9 where P is the proximal relation.


This paper studies the learning of nonlinear state-space models for a control task. This has some advantages over traditional methods. Variational Bayesian learning provides a framework where uncertainty is explicitly taken into account and system identification can be combined with model-predictive control. Three different control schemes are used. One of them, optimistic inference control, is a novel method based directly on the probabilistic modelling. Simulations with a cart-pole swing-up task confirm that the latent state space provides a representation that is easier to predict and control than the original observation space.


Goods and service tax (GST) introduced as a 'good and simple tax' on 1 July 2017 by the Modi government is the boldest measure of tax reform so far in India. The major aim of this paper is to evaluate the micro and macro impacts of the goods and services taxes (GST) using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the Indian economy. This is an original contribution as no such work is found in the literature. This paper applies a dynamic CGE model calibrated to the micro-consistent input-output data of the Indian economy to assess impacts of GST on the efficiency in allocation of resources among production sectors, growth of income and employment over time, the redistribution of income among households in India. While GST reforms will improve specialization in productions of goods and services among the major economic sectors of India by removing distortions in the production and distribution of goods and services, transparency it brings in the tax system will help to maintain above seven percent continuous growth rate in output, investment and physical capital. It also promotes expansion in human capital and the financial system. Anti-corruption measures including recent demonetization of large denomination notes and digitization of economic transactions along with GST reforms will add to infrastructure including construction and expansion of communication networks, massive electrification, development of rail, road, air and shipping networks. By creating better opportunities for education and training for the younger generation, health services for all continuous reforms in direct and indirect taxes will bring speedier growth of income and employment along with more balanced distribution of income.


Scene recognition is one of the hallmark tasks of computer vision, allowing definition of a context for object recognition. Whereas the tremendous recent progress in object recognition tasks is due to the availability of large datasets like ImageNet and the rise of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for learning high-level features, performance at scene recognition has not attained the same level of success. This may be because current deep features trained from ImageNet are not competitive enough for such tasks. Here, we introduce a new scene-centric database called Places with over 7 million labeled pictures of scenes. We propose new methods to compare the density and diversity of image datasets and show that Places is as dense as other scene datasets and has more diversity. Using CNN, we learn deep features for scene recognition tasks, and establish new state-of-the-art results on several scene-centric datasets. A visualization of the CNN layers' responses allows us to show differences in the internal representations of object-centric and scene-centric networks.


The purpose of this paper is to define a new type of stochastic sequence and to explore its properties. These new sequences of random variables, called eventual martingales, generalize the concept of a martingale. Several known results concerning the almost sure limiting behavior of martingales are shown to remain valid for eventual martingales. In addition, eventual martingales are compared with three other martingale-like sequences.


The surprise advent of the peer-to-peer payment system Bitcoin in 2009 has raised various concerns regarding its relationship to established economic market ideologies. Unlike at currencies, Bitcoin is based on open-source software; it is a secure cryptocurrency, traded as an investment between two individuals over the internet, with no bank involvement.

Computationally, this is a very innovative solution, but Bitcoin's popularity has raised a number of security and trust concerns among mainstream economists. With cities and countries, including San Francisco and Germany, using Bitcoin as a unit of account in their financial systems, there is still a lack of understanding and a paucity of models for studying its use, and the role Bitcoin might play in real physical economies. This project tackles these issues by analysing the ramifications of Bitcoin within economic models, by building a computational model of the currency to test its performance in financial market models. The project uses established agent-based modelling techniques to build a decentralised Bitcoin model, which can be `plugged into' existing agent-based models of key economic and financial markets. This allows various metrics to be subjected to critical analysis, gauging the progress of digital economies equipped with Bitcoin usage.

This project contributes to the themes of privacy, consent, security and trust in the digital economy and digital technologies, enabling new business models of direct relevance to NEMODE. As computer scientists, we consider Bitcoin from a technical perspective; this contrasts with and complements other current Bitcoin research, and helps document the realizable risks Bitcoin and similar currencies bring to our current economic world.

This report outlines a comprehensive collection of risks raised by Bitcoin. Risk management is a discipline that can be used to address the possibility of future threats which may cause harm to the existing systems. Although there has been considerable work on analysing Bitcoin in terms of the potential issues it brings to the economic landscape, this report performs a first ever attempt of identifying the threats and risks posed by the use of Bitcoin from the perspective of computational modeling and engineering. In this project we consider risk at all levels of interaction when Bitcoin is introduced and transferred across the systems. We look at the infrastructure and the computational working of the digital currency to identify the potential risks it brings. Additional information can be seen in our forthcoming companion report on the detailed modeling of Bitcoin.


Previous research in the tradeoff between throughput and delay in wireless networks has focused on networks with fixed nodes or nodes with random mobility. In this paper, motivated to study fundamental limits of delay in a wireless network with maximal throughput, we examine delay scaling in networks in which the mobile nodes may control their own motion and schedule the pickup and delivery of messages so as to achieve maximal throughput while minimizing delay. We find that by letting nodes control their mobility, even with very minimal information, results in significant delay reduction.


Interpreting Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) models is important to enhance trust and comply with transparency regulations. Existing methods typically explain a DRL model by visualizing the importance of low-level input features with superpixels, attentions, or saliency maps. Our approach provides an interpretation based on high-level latent object features derived from a disentangled representation. We propose a Represent And Mimic (RAMi) framework for training 1) an identifiable latent representation to capture the independent factors of variation for the objects and 2) a mimic tree that extracts the causal impact of the latent features on DRL action values. To jointly optimize both the fidelity and the simplicity of a mimic tree, we derive a novel Minimum Description Length (MDL) objective based on the Information Bottleneck (IB) principle. Based on this objective, we describe a Monte Carlo Regression Tree Search (MCRTS) algorithm that explores different splits to find the IB-optimal mimic tree. Experiments show that our mimic tree achieves strong approximation performance with significantly fewer nodes than baseline models. We demonstrate the interpretability of our mimic tree by showing latent traversals, decision rules, causal impacts, and human evaluation results.


This thesis explores the relationship between social comparisons and health and wellbeing as a possible explanation for health inequalities. This is because, although inequalities in health have been observed in Britain since occupational and mortality statistics were first published in 1851 (Macintyre, 1997), the underlying reasons remain a subject of much debate. This thesis adds to the debate by focusing on one of the most influential arguments in recent decades; that, in developed countries, perceptions of place as a class context in the socioeconomic hierarchy is a psychosocial risk factor related to ill health (Wilkinson, 1992; Wilkinson, 1996). However, despite being implied as the central mechanism in his psychosocial pathway, surprisingly, Wilkinson has given little attention to the process of social comparisons. His reliance on large scale epidemiological data to make inferences at an individual level is unsatisfactory since it offers no understanding of the dimensions of people's social comparisons and how this may be linked to health and wellbeing.

The main aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the scope and nature of social comparisons amongst people living in proximal socio-economically contrasting neighbourhoods, their perceptions of class and inequality and how this might impact on health and wellbeing. In-depth interviewing was the main methodology, supplemented with media analysis and participant observation in order to gain an understanding of the study areas. A total of 33 interviews were conducted with parents from Drumchapel and Bearsden. These areas were chosen because they were strikingly different class contexts, Drumchapel representing a working class area and Bearsden a middle class area. As Wilkinson focuses on between-class comparisons, the selection of these proximal neighbourhoods provided a good opportunity to investigate the extent to which people make comparisons between classes.

Insofar as lay theories map on to explanations of health inequalities, this study found little support for Wilkinson's assertion that perception of place in the social hierarchy is the determining factor in relation to health and wellbeing. Firstly, unlike his suggestion that social comparisons are more common with decreasing social class, the process was found to be a widespread social phenomenon which people across the hierarchy utilise for both self-evaluation and self-enhancement. Secondly, in contrast to Wilkinson's focus on a single economic hierarchy, this study found compelling evidence that people often utilise complex multiple status hierarchies that can include material and non-material factors like speech, social mannerisms, moral respectability, education, and family upbringing when making social comparisons. In this respect, though Wilkinson's call for income redistribution policies is admirable, it would not necessarily eliminate feelings of relative deprivation because status differences can exist even in the most economically equal societies. Thirdly, whilst factors like globalisation, the rise in consumerism, and expansion of the mass media have made people more aware of inequalities in society, comparisons with 'similar others' like neighbours, friends, family members, and work colleagues were found to be still the most salient reference groups. Further support for this was that status distinctions within classes (e.g. between 'old' and 'new' money in Bearsden and 'rough' and 'respectable' in Drumchapel) were more important than those between classes.

Lastly, and most importantly, there was little indication that a psychosocial explanation is at the forefront of people's minds in accounting for health inequalities. To begin with, none of the participants spontaneously suggested a psychosocial mechanism; instead, those in Drumchapel were more likely to suggest material/structural factors whilst Bearsden participants tended to advocate behavioural/cultural explanations. Furthermore, although there was evidence to suggest that 'some' people may be vulnerable to similar negative effects of social comparisons they perceived as impacting on others (including anxiety, stress, pressure and depressive state), such effects appeared to be minimal since they were reported to occur only at particular periods in people's lives.

The fact that this thesis was centred on Wilkinson's psychosocial hypothesis is testimony to the enormous contribution he has made to the health inequalities debate. However, in examining the association between social comparisons and health and wellbeing, the conclusion drawn from this study is that the role of social comparisons in the psychosocial mechanism may have been exaggerated.


Abstract Objective To evaluate the effects of therapeutic heparin compared with prophylactic heparin among moderately ill patients with covid-19 admitted to hospital wards. Design Randomised controlled, adaptive, open label clinical trial. Setting 28 hospitals in Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and US. Participants 465 adults admitted to hospital wards with covid-19 and increased D-dimer levels were recruited between 29 May 2020 and 12 April 2021 and were randomly assigned to therapeutic dose heparin (n=228) or prophylactic dose heparin (n=237). Interventions Therapeutic dose or prophylactic dose heparin (low molecular weight or unfractionated heparin), to be continued until hospital discharge, day 28, or death. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was a composite of death, invasive mechanical ventilation, non-invasive mechanical ventilation, or admission to an intensive care unit, assessed up to 28 days. The secondary outcomes included all cause death, the composite of all cause death or any mechanical ventilation, and venous thromboembolism. Safety outcomes included major bleeding. Outcomes were blindly adjudicated. Results The mean age of participants was 60 years; 264 (56.8%) were men and the mean body mass index was 30.3 kg/m2. At 28 days, the primary composite outcome had occurred in 37/228 patients (16.2%) assigned to therapeutic heparin and 52/237 (21.9%) assigned to prophylactic heparin (odds ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval 0.43 to 1.10; P=0.12). Deaths occurred in four patients (1.8%) assigned to therapeutic heparin and 18 patients (7.6%) assigned to prophylactic heparin (0.22, 0.07 to 0.65; P=0.006). The composite of all cause death or any mechanical ventilation occurred in 23 patients (10.1%) assigned to therapeutic heparin and 38 (16.0%) assigned to prophylactic heparin (0.59, 0.34 to 1.02; P=0.06). Venous thromboembolism occurred in two patients (0.9%) assigned to therapeutic heparin and six (2.5%) assigned to prophylactic heparin (0.34, 0.07 to 1.71; P=0.19). Major bleeding occurred in two patients (0.9%) assigned to therapeutic heparin and four (1.7%) assigned to prophylactic heparin (0.52, 0.09 to 2.85; P=0.69). Conclusions In moderately ill patients with covid-19 and increased D-dimer levels admitted to hospital wards, therapeutic heparin was not significantly associated with a reduction in the primary outcome but the odds of death at 28 days was decreased. The risk of major bleeding appeared low in this trial. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04362085.


When the Troubles broke out in Northern Ireland in the late 1960s, Fianna Fail was hopelessly ill-prepared for the ensuing crisis.
Between the emotive years of 1969 to 1971 Fianna Fail was brought face to face with one of its most blatant contradictions: the gap between the party's habitual pronouncements of its desire for a united Ireland and the reality that the party could offer no practical solutions to deliver this objective.
Why had this gap developed? This book answers this question and many more, tracing the historical reasons for why Fianna Fail failed to devise a realistic and long-term Northern Ireland policy from 1926 to 1971.
As the violence engulfed Northern Ireland by the late 1960s the book explains why so many within Fianna Fail believed that the use of physical force represented official Irish government policy. It also analyses Fianna Fail's relationship with Ulster Unionism and northern Nationalism, exposing the party's long held apathy for both political movements.
Significantly, the book is an examination of Fianna Fail's attitude to partition and Northern Ireland from cabinet level to the party's rank and file.
•First book to trace why Fianna Fail was hopelessly ill-prepared for the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s.
•Ground-breaking examination of Fianna Fail's attitude to partition and Northern Ireland from cabinet level to grass-roots.
•Research is based almost entirely on archival material and reported evidence, including oral interviews.


Micro-scale nutrient patches were observed in mixtures of isolates consisting of a protozoan, its prey, and chemotactic bacteria. The patches were shown by swarms of bacteria and the events leading to patches were associated with cell lysis and predation events. In such a form, nutrients are experienced by bacteria as pulses. Simulations showed that patches can be consumed by the bacterial community before being dispersed. As a result, even non-motile bacteria may only ever encounter diffuse patches within a sphere of 2 mm radius. If patches are generated randomly in time and space, it can be advantageous for a bacterium to swim, if only to break this 2 mm barrier. Simulations suggested that chemotaxis can increase a bacterium's exposure to nutrients within a patch, but that the enhancement depends on the size of the patch, due to limitations in sensitivity. The patch size limit for achieving enhancement is ∼0. 1 pmol. Swimming speed is the most important motility parameter influencing efficiency of chemotactic foraging on diffuse patches, with an optimum speed as a function of patch size. Simulations illustrated that shear stretches patches, but that moderate shear does not significantly alter patch volumes within time scales of several minutes. A large proportion of the nutrients within a patch can be encountered by bacteria within that time.


Early nutrition has recently been shown to have pervasive, downstream effects on adult life–history parameters including lifespan, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Damage to biomolecules caused by oxidants, such as free radicals generated during metabolic processes, is widely recognized as a key contributor to somatic degeneration and the rate of ageing. Lipophilic antioxidants (carotenoids, vitamins A and E) are an important component of vertebrate defences against such damage. By using an avian model, we show here that independent of later nutrition, individuals experiencing a short period of low–quality nutrition during the nestling period had a twofold reduction in plasma levels of these antioxidants at adulthood. We found no effects on adult external morphology or sexual attractiveness: in mate–choice trials females did not discriminate between adult males that had received standard– or lower–quality diet as neonates. Our results suggest low–quality neonatal nutrition resulted in a long–term impairment in the capacity to assimilate dietary antioxidants, thereby setting up a need to trade off the requirement for antioxidant activity against the need to maintain morphological development and sexual attractiveness. Such state–dependent trade–offs could underpin the link between early nutrition and senescence.


Intraportal transplantation of isolated islets of Langerhans is a procedure approaching clinical acceptance as a treatment for patients with type I diabetes mellitus. One major problem with this treatment is that large amounts of cells are lost at the time of infusion into the portal vein, resulting in a low level of engraftment of the islets. One likely explanation for this loss is the instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR), a thrombotic/inflammatory reaction occurring when islets come in contact with blood. The IBMIR is characterized by coagulation and complement activation, leading to platelet consumption, leukocyte infiltration of the islets, and disruption of islet integrity.In this thesis, the IBMIR is shown to be triggered by tissue factor (TF), the main initiator of blood coagulation in vivo. TF is expressed in two forms by the endocrine cells of the pancreas, a full-length membrane-bound and an alternatively spliced soluble form. Blocking TF in vitro efficiently reduces the macroscopic clotting, expression of coagulation activation markers, and leukocyte infiltration. This blockade can be achieved by adding either an active site-specific anti-TF antibody or site-inactivated FVIIa that competes with active FVIIa in the blood. TF may be secreted from the islets, since it is colocalized with insulin and glucagon in their granules. The IBMIR has also been demonstrated in vivo in patients transplanted with isolated islets.There are two ways to block the IBMIR in transplantation: systemic treatment of the patients, or islet pretreatment before transplantation to reduce their thrombogenicity. In this thesis, low molecular weight dextran sulfate (LMW-DS) is shown to reduce activation of the complement and coagulation systems and decrease the cell infiltration into the islets in vitro and in vivo, in both a xenogenic and an allogenic setting. Based on these results, LMW-DS is now in clinical trials.


Currently, the development of models at higher level of abstractions (system-level) to be able to incorporate effects at lower levels of abstractions (process /transistor) is in demand. This thesis addresses issues to enabling computer system simulation model in the presence of cell failures in L1 data cache corresponding to the impact of Intrinsic Parameters Fluctuation (IPF). These time-independent transistor-level sources of variation are randomly characterized in nature. This makes it difficult for the designer to include IPF impact in the design plan to overcome. This computer model is vital to analyze and evaluate credibly the effectiveness of L1 cache fault tolerance techniques in controlling the implications of IPF cell failures on microprocessor reliability and yield. The objectives of this thesis are (i) to devise a framework to simulate system-level environment in the presence of L1 data cache cell failures corresponding to the impact of IPF, (ii) to introduce an evaluation method for deduce the effectiveness of L1 cache fault tolerance techniques in handling the actual error pattern caused by IPF cell failures in computer system under test and workload conditions, and (iii) to investigate the implications of L1 data cache faults induced by the individual and combined impact of IPF sources on reliability of a general-purpose microprocessor. The case study of this thesis is the impact of cell failures in the data array of L1 data cache in Intel Strong ARM@SA-1110 microprocessor. The failure models are generated corresponding to the individual and combined impact of Random Discrete Dopants in the source/drain regions (RDD), Line Edge Roughness (LER) and Body Thickness Variation (BTV) as the main sources of IPF in next nanometre-scale Ultra-Thin Body Silicon-on Isolator (UTB-SOI) transistor generations on Six-Transistors Static Random Access memory (6T SRAM) cell stability. The L1 cache fault tolerance techniques evaluated are hardware redundancy, parity check,Hamming single error correction double error detection (SECDED), and Hamming triple error detection (TED). It was found that the rate of read faulty cells will rapidly increase in 6T SRAM cache with continued scaling of UTB-SOI device beyond 10 nm gate length. L1 cache conventional fault tolerance techniques, i.e. hardware redundancy, parity check, and SECDED, might be able to hold the implications of IPF cell failures in L1 data cache based 7.5 nm and 5 nm UTB-SOI device, particularly when 6T SRAM is designed with cell ratio of two. However, the effectiveness of these techniques was found to be sensitive to the existence of any faulty word in cache. Hence, their immunity against any transient fault that might occur during system operation will significantly degrade. Experimental results showed that in L1 data cache based on 5 nm UTBSOI device, hybrid hardware redundancy with TED would achieve 68.2 percent of microprocessor chip yield in applications tolerate 10 percent performance loss bound. This indicates that employing these techniques in industry will assist to keep 6T SRAM cache scalability even with the increasing impact of IPF.


Providing children's disclosures to their mental health therapists requires greater protection in juvenile dependency cases and recognizes the importance of privacy in therapeutic communications. Numerous children are required by juvenile courts to divulge the most intimate details of their lives to mental health experts only to have those disclosures revealed in court proceedings. Reversing the presumption that children's mental health records may be discussed openly in dependency litigation and requiring courts to perform in camera reviews affords children the dignity and respect adults take for granted. Ensuring greater confidentiality for children's mental health records is one step the legal system should take to protect these fragile victims of abuse and neglect.


A hypercube may operate in a gracefully degraded manner, after faults arise, by supporting the execution of parallel algorithms in smaller fault-free subcubes. In order to reduce execution slowdown in a hypercube with given faults, it is essential to identify the maximum healthy subcubes in the faulty hypercube because the time for executing a parallel algorithm tends to depend on the dimension of the assigned subcube. The paper describes an efficient procedure capable of determining all maximum fault-free subcubes in a faulty hypercube. The procedure is a distributed one, since every healthy node next to a failed component performs the same procedure independently and concurrently. Based on interesting properties of faulty hypercubes, this procedure exhibits empirically polynomial time complexity with respect to the system dimension and the number of faults, for a practical range of dimensions. It compares favorably with prior methods when the number of faults is in the order of the system dimension. This procedure can deal with node failures and link failures uniformly and equally efficiently.


The contributions in 'Performance Measurement in the Dutch Social Rented Sector' address the societal and practical needs of housing associations, in order to develop better instruments for performance measurement. The provision of useful instruments allows for more transparency and thus improved external control over housing associations. At the same time these instruments should benefit the internal control and planning processes of the housing associations. The identification of Key Performance Indicators, as well as the input, throughput and output indicators that are bound up with it, facilitates the choice, implementation and (re-)shaping of policy alternatives and the justification for choosing among these alternatives. The contributions in this work do not address the overall scope of performance measurement and performance indicators reflecting the impact of housing. The range of examples covered in the book is related to the public tasks of Dutch housing association. As well as offering practical instruments for performance measurement for specific public tasks, the book ascertains a general guideline for performance management by housing associations. For this purpose the tools that are provided by the conceptual systems approach have been used as a framework. Most of the chapters are a mixture of theoretical or conceptual ideas and practical techniques.


Three-dimensional printing systems have expanded the access to low cost, rapid methods for attaining physical prototypes or products. However, a cyber attack, system error, or operator error on a 3D-printing system may result in catastrophic situations, ranging from complete product failure, to small types of defects which weaken the structural integrity of the product. Such defects can be introduced early-on via solid models or through G-codes for printer movements at a later stage. Previous works have studied the use of image classifiers to predict defects in real-time and offline. However, a major restriction in the functionality of these methods is the availability of a dataset capturing diverse attacks on printed entities or the printing process. This paper introduces an image processing technique that analyzes the amplitude and phase variations of the print head platform arising through induced system manipulations. The method uses an image sequence of the printing process to perform an offline spatio-temporal video decomposition to amplify changes attributable to a change in system parameters. The authors hypothesize that a change in the amplitude envelope and instantaneous phase response as a result of a change in the end-effector translational instructions to be correlated with an AM system compromise. Two case studies are presented, one verifies the hypothesis with statistical evidence in support of the method while the other studies the effectiveness of a conventional tensile test to identify system compromise. The method has the potential to enhance the robustness of cyber-physical systems such as 3D printers.


Inspired by retinex theory, we propose a novel method for selecting key points from a depth map of a 3D freeform shape; we also use these key points as a basis for shape registration. To find key points, first, depths are transformed using the Hotelling method and normalized to reduce their dependence on a particular viewpoint. Adaptive smoothing is then applied using weights which decrease with spatial gradient and local inhomogeneity; this preserves local features such as edges and corners while ensuring smoothed depths are not reduced. Key points are those with locally maximal depths, faithfully capturing shape. We show how such key points can be used in an efficient registration process, using two state-of-the-art iterative closest point variants. A comparative study with leading alternatives, using real range images, shows that our approach provides informative, expressive, and repeatable points leading to the most accurate registration results.


Physical fighting is an important behavioral concern of public health importance among adolescents worldwide. The present study examines the patterns and correlates of physical fighting among a school-based population in a low-income country setting. Data on 6235 adolescents aged 11–16 years were derived from the Republic of Ghana contributions to the Global School-based Health Survey. Three thresholds of participation in a physical fight during a 12-month recall period were compared against several independent sociodemographic variables. Bivariate analyses were used to screen for statistically significant associations and multinomial logistic regression was used to examine significant relationships while adjusting for covariates. Within the recall period, 32% of adolescents had reported being involved in two or more physical fights. Those involved in a physical fight during three or more days during the recall period were more likely to have been bullied (relative risk ratios (RRR) = 1.86; 99% confidence intervals (CI): 1.38–2.52), have had a troubled experience with alcohol (RRR = 2.202; CI = 1.55–2.64), and miss days of school (RRR = 2.02; CI = 1.39–2.92). When adjusted only for age and sex, having understanding parents was protective (RRR = 0.64; CI = 0.53–0.78) as was having a positive school environment (RRR = 0.73; CI = 0.55–0.97). Our findings suggest that school-based programming which simultaneously targets multiple risk behaviors and conflict resolution may be helpful in interventions to reduce rates of physical fighting.


A new complex 1, trans-syn-[Cr(Me2tn)2(N3)0.8Cl1.2]ClO4 (Me2tn = 2,2-dimethyl-1,3- propanediamine) was prepared and its structure was determined from synchrotron radiation data at 95 K. The complex crystallized in the space group Pbca of the orthorhombic system with eight mononuclear formula units in a cell of dimensions a = 12.559(3), b = 15.078(3), and c = 20.726(4) A. The chromium ion was in a distorted octahedral coordination with four N atoms of two chelating Me2tn ligands and two mixed Cl/N atoms in the trans axial position. The two six-membered rings in the complex cation adopted only syn chair-chair conformations with respect to each other. The mean Cr-N(Me2tn) and Cr-N(azido) bond lengths were 2.084 (9) and 1.815 (8) A, respectively. Unusually short inner Nα-Nβ bond distances of azido groups resulted from the crystallographic disorder between the Nβ atom and chloride. The crystal lattice was stabilized by hydrogen bonding interactions among the oxygens of ClO4 -, nitrogens of N3 -, and NH groups of the Me2tn ligand.


Information visualisation methods can potentially be employed to assist the work of epidemiologists and other health care professionals in mapping the spread of communicable diseases in remote areas, where the task of disease surveillance encompasses temporal elements such as changes in climate, land use and population movements. This paper presents an investigation into the use of time-based visualisation techniques coupled with geographical maps and support for distributed mobile collection of patient data. This study has focused on the development of an information visualisation prototype designed for use by epidemiology researchers on mobile platforms (tablets and smart phones). The prototyping activity has involved the participation of prospective users working in the Amazon region. Initial results are presented and discussed.


Unilateral climate policies involve the risk of carbon leakage, driven by price changes in the oil market and other international markets. We have shown in previous analysis that OPEC may have an incentive to increase the oil price as a response to EU climate policy, thereby retaining resource rents and turning leakage through the oil market negative. In this paper, we examine the implications of OPEC's strategic responses more thoroughly by extending our former analysis along four key dimensions: (i) the size of the climate coalition, (ii) the size of the oil cartel, (iii) oil–gas price linkages in the EU and Japan, and (iv) subsidies for oil consumption within OPEC. We show that the coalition or cartel size critically affects the scope for rent seeking and leakage reduction, whereas oil–gas price linkages in the EU and Japan or subsidies within OPEC do not alter the findings of our previous analysis.


Elements of Kuhn's theory on scientific revolutions and its applicability to the political domain also promote explanations of military change. In this regard, changes in the South African defence realm during the past decade and the rise of the South African National Defence Force need not be viewed as inexplicable. These developments represent an opportunity to explain a prominent example of military change in Africa through an established theory. By making use of indicators drawn from the theory developed by Kuhn, an explanatory framework can be established to co-explain certain adjustments of the South African defence paradigm over the past 10 years. Of particular relevance is Kuhn's view of an initial dominant shift, which continues to evolve with the assistance of subsequent incremental shifts. The South African paradigm that guided the pre-1994 Total Strategy defence outlook was later opposed and ousted by one that was more explanatory and embracing of the democratic features permeating and envisaged for South African society. This democratic imperative drove the dominant shift in the South African defence paradigm during the middle 1990s as it dramatically and extensively began to adjust the policy environment regarding the role and utilisation of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). In explaining his theory, Kuhn avers that a range of smaller adjustments towards maturing the initial shift soon follows the earlier dramatic shift. Upon investigation of this secondary field of smaller changes, more incremental adjustments also become visible when analysing the South African case. In this regard, the Defence Review (1998), the Military Strategy (2001), the primary-secondary role debate emanating from the 1996 Defence White Paper, and the 2004 Defence Budget Vote represent prominent indicators of the ongoing maturation process. The theory of Kuhn on scientific revolutions furthermore holds that new paradigms also stand to be contested by rising challenges to its status. In the case of the South African defence realm and the SANDF in particular, advanced regional integration and the perceived decline of the role of the state, could once again challenge the post-1994 defence paradigm with its concomitant explanation and direction of South African thought on the preparation and deployment of the SANDF.


A graph is $3$-e.c. if for every $3$-element subset $S$ of the vertices, and for every subset $T$ of $S$, there is a vertex not in $S$ which is joined to every vertex in $T$ and to no vertex in $S\setminus T$. Although almost all graphs are $3$-e.c., the only known examples of strongly regular $3$-e.c. graphs are Paley graphs with at least $29$ vertices. We construct a new infinite family of $3$-e.c. graphs, based on certain Hadamard matrices, that are strongly regular but not Paley graphs. Specifically, we show that Bush-type Hadamard matrices of order $16n^2$ give rise to strongly regular $3$-e.c. graphs, for each odd $n$ for which $4n$ is the order of a Hadamard matrix.


ABSTRACT The integration of circular economy (CE) models into everyday contexts generates huge amount of data involved in goods tracking and tokenization procedures. The sector of blockchain platforms is extremely varied, and the choice of the proper technology is not easy. It is important that the selection is conducted consistently with respect to the CE models. With this study, we present a performance index named Blockchain Circular Economy Index (BCEI). BCEI, obtained through Multicriteria Decision Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process, aims to measure the suitability of blockchain platforms to the needs highlighted by a CE scenario. The present study is contextualized by comparing six blockchain platforms, for each of which, the related BCEI is calculated. The results of the analysis show that transaction fee and energy consumption are the two most critical parameters. In addition, the results show the lack of a leading blockchain technology in CE models. Thus, there is a market space that can be exploited given the growing interest in digital and sustainable issues. Graphical abstract


Research in agriculture, agricultural economics and rural development is essential if we are to find ways to feed the increasing population and reduce poverty. Yet much of this research goes unpublished. This paper proposes an effective way to increase publication productivity, based on regularly scheduled writing and a systematic method. It first explains how to schedule 25% of your working time for writing. It then describes the method, breaking down the writing task into five practical steps: develop a story line to describe new and important research; mold the story into a short outline, according to the basic structure of a scientific paper; assemble the evidence for a convincing case in relevant and well-organized tables and figures; write the first draft of the story; and, finally, rewrite and edit the draft for style and language. With careful targeting of good journals, and some luck in the reviewing process, the proposed method should lead to several publications each year.


The main objective of this exploratory study was to add to the almost non-existent
Thai literature on women in management. Three key themes were pursued throughout
the study, i. e., the representation of Thai women in management, their work versus
family responsibilities, and the barriers they encounter in ascending the managerial
hierarchy.
The study was conducted in three distinct phases. First, a survey questionnaire was
distributed to 536 male and female middle-level managers across diverse organizations
in Bangkok. Second, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 67 women
managers. It was likely that those in public sector organizations differed in their
background and work experiences from their counterparts in private firms, hence data
was collected from women managers in the two sectors and comparisons made. Lastly,
structured interviews were held with 25 Human Resource/Line managers from a crosssection
of firms in which the women managers worked.
The study found that the women who have succeeded in these organizations are the
ones who have very similar backgrounds and attitudes to the men. They work the same
long hours, and have the same interest in furthering their careers as men. Therefore we
cannot explain women's career barriers in terms of individual characteristics, such as
their motivation or commitment to work. The results suggest that organizational
structures and processes are central to an understanding of the ways Thai women are
marginalized and excluded from managerial positions. For instance, women were
clustered in relatively few occupations, received less in terms of earnings and training,
had smaller spans of management, and less authority for final decisions than men.
During interviews, women managers mentioned that the negative attitudes of male
managers and gender biases in organizational practices, were barriers they had
frequently encountered. The data also revealed that the contradictory and ambiguous
values that underlie women's role as wife-mother at home and manager at work,
necessitated a constant struggle for balance and remarkable personal sacrifices on the
part of Thai women managers.
By way of conclusion this dissertation submits that there is not a single cause that
constrains women's advancement but rather a pattern of cultural, social and legal
factors that characterizes the general situation of women managers in Thailand.
Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for women in management are
discussed and future directions for research in this area are suggested.


[Paper accepted at ACNS 2020]In this paper, we propose a simple and effective attack on the recently introduced Smartphone Authentication with Built-in Camera Protocol, called ABC. The ABC protocol uses the photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) as the main authentication factor in combination with anti-forgery detection systems. The ABC protocol interprets the PRNU as a fingerprint of the camera sensor built-in a smartphone device. The protocol works as follows: during the authentication process, the user is challenged with two QR codes (sent by the server) that need to be photographed with a pre-registered device. In each QR code, the server embeds a unique pattern noise (not visible to the naked eye), called probe signal, that is used to identify potential forgeries. The inserted probe signal is very similar to a genuine fingerprint. The photos of QR codes taken by the user are then sent to the server for verification. The server checks (i) if the photos contain the user's camera fingerprint (used to authenticate the pre-registered device) and (ii) if the photos contain the embedded probe signal. If an adversary tries to remove (subtract) his own camera fingerprint and replace it with the victim's camera fingerprint (computed from photos shared on social media), then he will implicitly remove the embedded probe signal and the attack will fail. The ABC protocol is able to detect these attacks with a false acceptance rate (FAR) of 0.5%. However, the ABC protocol wrongly assumes that the attacker can only determine his own camera fingerprint from the photos of the presented QR codes. The attack proposed in our work is able to get past the anti-forgery detection system with a FAR of 54.1%, simply by estimating the attacker's camera fingerprint from a different set of photos (e.g. five photos) owned by the attacker. This set of photos can be trivially obtained before the attack, allowing the adversary to compute his camera fingerprint independently of the attack. The key to the success of our attack is that the independently computed adversary's camera fingerprint does not contain the probe signal embedded in the QR codes. Therefore, when we subtract the adversary's camera fingerprint and add the victim's camera fingerprint, the embedded probe signal will remain in place. For this reason, the proposed attack can successfully pass through the anti-forgery detection system of the ABC protocol. In this paper, we also propose a potential fix based on analyzing signals from built-in motion sensors, which are not typically shared on social media.


Bovine genital campylobacteriosis (BGC) causes venereal disease of cattle characterised by infertility and sporadic abortion, caused by Campylobacter fetus subspecies venerealis biovars. Prevalence of the organism has been estimated at 30-50% with bulls known to be asymptomatic carriers which can lead to lower herd reproductive performance. Gold standard diagnosis relies upon culture isolation and differentiation from C. fetus subsp. fetus not usually associated with BGC. Molecular assays have been based on plasmid borne sequences suggesting that these assays may be under-estimating the prevalence of C. fetus subsp. venerealis. A research program to elucidate the genome sequence of 2 representative biovars of this subspecies would assist to identify suitable and conserved diagnostic targets. The genome sizes were identified at 1.945 and 1.943 for C. fetus subsp. venerealis biovar venerealis and intermedius respectively. Compared to the C. fetus subsp. fetus reference genome (1.773 Mb) we identified 118 and 128 kb of unique sequence for biovars venerealis and intermedius respectively with 96kb unique to venerealis and 83kb unique to intermedius. A scan of virulence factors (http://www.mgc.ac.cn/VFs) demonstrated an overlap between C. fetus subsp. fetus with the 2 C. fetus subsp venerealis biovars of approximately 182 factors with 8 specific to venerealis and 3 specific to intermedius. Differences are associated with components of Type IV secretion systems, invasion proteins, adhesins and hypothetical proteins. Our research has also confirmed the presence of a C. fetus subsp. venerealis biovar venerealis specific pathogenicity island. This is the first genomic comparison of C. fetus subspecies and biovars.


The purpose of this paper is to study the effect that the imminent reform in the European Union (EU) sugar regime may have on farm productivity in the United Kingdom (UK). We perform the analysis on a sample of sugar beet farms representative of all the UK sugar beet regions. To estimate the changes in productivity, we estimate a multi-output cost function representing the cropping part of the farm, which is the component that would be mostly affected by the sugar beet reform. We use this cost function to compute the new allocation of outputs and inputs after the changes in the sugar beet quota and price support. This are subsequently used to compute measures of total factor productivity. Our results show slight decreases in the productivity at the individual farm level under both quota and price support reduction. However, when considering the aggregate level, the reduction in the price support shows significant increases in productivity, in contrast to the results obtained from a reduction in quota.


Teacher development courses should be based on both research and literature to promote their success and impact in practice. In this article, we translate the findings of research studies and theories into evidence-based design principles for a professional development course for honors teachers. This course was evaluated on the level of teacher reaction, teacher learning, outcomes, and organizational response. Nine design principles were formulated and translated into concrete actions, resulting in a one-year course (study load of 140 hours), 'A Teacher's Road to Excellence.'  We evaluated the impact of the course with a questionnaire filled in by participants (N=10) who finished the course one year ago. The design principles showed to be helpful in developing this course for honors teachers. The course, 'A Teacher's Road to Excellence,' seems to be instructive for honors teachers and impact on student learning outcomes is seen. More research is needed to improve its impact further, on organizational level.


Small unmyelinated sensory neurons classified as nociceptors are divided into two subpopulations based on phenotypic differences, including expression of neurotrophic factor receptors. Approximately half of unmyelinated nociceptors express the NGF receptor TrkA, and half express the GDNF family ligand (GFL) receptor Ret. The function of NGF/TrkA signaling in the TrkA population of nociceptors has been extensively studied, and NGF/TrkA signaling is a well established mediator of pain. The GFLs are analgesic in models of neuropathic pain emphasizing the importance of understanding the physiological function of GFL/Ret signaling in nociceptors. However, perinatal lethality of Ret-null mice has precluded the study of the physiological role of GFL/Ret signaling in the survival, maintenance, and function of nociceptors in viable mice. We deleted Ret exclusively in nociceptors by crossing nociceptor-specific Nav1.8 Cre and Ret conditional mice to produce Ret-Nav1.8 conditional knock-out (CKO) mice. Loss of Ret exclusively in nociceptors results in a reduction in nociceptor number and size, indicating that Ret signaling is important for the survival and trophic support of these cells. Ret-Nav1.8 CKO mice exhibit reduced epidermal innervation but normal central projections. In addition, Ret-Nav1.8 CKO mice have increased sensitivity to cold and increased formalin-induced pain, demonstrating that Ret signaling modulates the function of nociceptors in vivo. Enhanced inflammation-induced pain may be mediated by decreased prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), as PAP levels are markedly reduced in Ret-Nav1.8 CKO mice. The results of this study identify the physiological role of endogenous Ret signaling in the survival and function of nociceptors.


This paper contributes to the scant body of literature on inequalities among and within ethnic groups in the Philippines by examining both the vertical and horizontal measures in terms of opportunities in accessing basic services such as education, electricity, safe water, and sanitation. The study also provides a glimpse of the patterns of inequality in Mindanao. The results show that there are significant inequalities in opportunities in accessing basic services within and among ethnic groups in the Philippines. Muslims (particularly indigenous people) are the worst-off ethnic groups while the non-indigenous/non-Muslim groups are the better-off groups. Disparities in terms of literacy rate and access to electricity and sanitation between ethnic groups, however, appear to be narrowing between 2000 and 2010.


Intellectual Property as Property Rights: Lessons from Property Rights Dynamics1 1. Introduction Property Rights Dynamics is a collection of essays edited by Donatella Porrini and Giovanni Ramello on various topics in property rights theories from notable scholars of the field. The chapters are grouped into three parts. Part I concerns some new theories of property rights, Part II is about various aspects of extending the property paradigm to human body and intellectual property, and Part III covers related issues such as competition law, marital property and sleeping owners. The focus on the dynamics of property rights offers a useful reference point for those interested in studying the evolving boundaries of property rights. The book opens with an introductory chapter by Donatella Porrini and Giovanni Ramello titled "Property rights dynamics: Current issues in law and economics" which provides an overview of property rights theories and the research questions discussed in the collection. Porrini and Ramello note that in many human societies de facto property rights predate de jure property rights, and property rights appear regularly whenever the problem of rival uses is manifested. However despite the regular occurrences of a property rights concept, the actual nature of property rights varies widely across different social groups and time periods, and thus no single universal definition for property rights exists. Indeed, the design, allocation and enforcement of property rights often involve a complex set of issues that different societies managed in a variety of ways. Changes over time in the demands of society require corresponding redefining of the nature of property rights. As such, the history of property rights is a dynamic and ever-changing one. To study and understand the precise functions of property rights, the best we could accomplish is to take snapshots of a given time and socio-economic condition. In Western society, property rights are seen as necessary devices for preserving individual liberties and for facilitating market exchanges. Following Coase (1960), property rights are generally acknowledged to play an important role in attaining efficiency by correcting market failures and making private and public interests meet. Coase's discovery has also led to the belief that property rights is the "right", and probably the only solution for tackling any market failures in whatever context they might appear. Nevertheless, some critics point out that this interpretation of Coase has given rise to rent-seeking opportunities, particularly in the context of intellectual property, with the consequence of an overall negative impact on social welfare. Therefore, it is important to pay a greater attention to the nature of the new subject matters of property rights, the economic context in which they are enforced, as well as how they affect the market structure and behaviours of the relevant economic agents. A proper understanding of the various idiosyncratic features of property rights can bear great insights on the divergence between theory and real-world economic implications. 2. Functional Property and Entropy The second chapter, "The fall and rise of functional property", by Francesco Parisi retraces the history of property rights from ancient to modern times. According to him, in the beginning all properties were in the commons. When human population increased and resources became scarce, conflicts among competing resource use happened more frequently. Hence, the concept of property rights was born to overcome such conflicts. Parisi argues that the property rights regime in land was not uniform throughout history, but changes from a functional regime to a spatial regime, and back and forth again. When property rights first arose, the rights were functional. For example, overlapping uses of land are allowed, depending on the use and the person using it. Thus the hunter holds hunting privileges and the livestock breeder holds grazing rights over the same parcel of land. …


A series of experiments were conducted to determine different factors affecting the fruit set, pomological characteristics, fruit drop and fruit bunch weight in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivar Dhakki under the agro-climatic conditions of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan.

This dissertation is comprised of sixteen chapters. First three chapters deal with general Introduction, Literature Review and Methodology used in various experiments. Chapter four gives information about different characteristics of 15 males, collected from different wild grooves and were designated as M1-M15. Screening of males for vegetative, reproductive characters fruit set and fruit yield per bunch on pollination of Dhakki date was carried out during the year 2000. It was found that males varied in vegetative and reproductive characters. The significant fruit set of 88.33% occurred from M5 pollens while the minimum 23.31 % was recorded in M1 pollens. Fruit yield per bunch ranged from 3.26 kg to 7.00 kg. The maximum fruit yield was recorded in Ms while minimum bunch weight was achieved in M1.

Chapter five envisages the experiment regarding evaluation of whorl-wise floral characters of nine males during 2001 and 2002. The parameters studied days to spathe opening, flower persistent days, length and width of spathe, length of strand, spike length, number of strands per spathe, number of flowers per strand, number of flowers per spathe and weight of pollen grain per spathe. Males as well as whorls was different significant in all parameters mentioned above except number of flowers per spathe and weight of pollen grain per spath were non-significant. Maximum pollens weight was observed in M9 and M3 during 2001 and 2002 respectively. Amongst whorls, the highest pollen weight was recorded in W2 followed by W1 and W3.

The study regarding pollen viability is reported in Chapter 6. The pollens of nine males were stored in refrigerator (4°C) and room temperature packed in plastic bags and glass jars for 12 months and their viability determined after different intervals. Pollen viability differed significantly under both storage conditions during both years of study while packing materials were non-significant. The maximum pollen viability was found in M1 and M2 pollens under both storage conditions. The pollen viability was slightly better in glass jar as compared to plastic bags.

Male whorl pollen grain play an important role in fruit set. Studies conducted regarding pollination with pollens of different males and whorls are reported in Chapter 7. These studies suggest that the M1 and M2 were highly significant in fruit set during both the years. These males were superior in pomological characters; fruit set and fruit yield per bunch. The pollen grains of second whorl (W2) were more effective in fruit setting than others.

Females of different age (8, 10, 12, 14, 16,20 and 25 years) were pollinated with M1 pollens and results are incorporated in Chapter 8. Age of plant exhibited significant effects on fruit set during 2001 while it was not significant during 2002. The maximum fruit drop was recorded in 25 years age of plant whereas maximum fruit yield per bunch was observed in 12 years old tree.

Pollination technique is one of the important factors for obtaining high and sustained productivity. Chapter 9 deals with different pollination techniques. Placement techniques proved superior to dusting and liquid spray of pollens with respect to fruit set, pomological characters and fruit yield during both years.

Pollination time is an important factor for fruit set. Eleven pollination times viz. pollination before one day spathe opening, pollination on spathe opening day and pollination after one, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, sixteen and twenty days of spath opening were tested. The significantly highest fruit set, less fruit drop, pomological characters and maximum fruit bunch yield was recorded with pollinations. (Chapter 10) one day before spathe opening on spathe opening day, one, two and four days after spathe opening).

Male pollinizer plays an important role in fruit set which depends upon male and female incompatibility. In Chapter 11, the females of cv. Dhakki, Shakri and Zhaidi were fertilized with pollens of five males maximum significantly fruit set was recorded in M4 while highest fruit weight, length and pulp weight were found in M2 and M1. Amongst varieties (females), Shakri and Dhakki noted maximum fruit set in cv. Zahidi followed. However, maximum fruit drop was observed in cv. Dhakki followed by Shakri and Zahidi. Fruit size and fruit yield per bunch were highest in Dhakki.

Pollination at specific daytime also plays an important role in fruit setting. Studies regarding pollination on second day of spathe opening at different times of day (08:00, 09:00, 10:00, 11 :00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00 hours) were conducted and results are reported in Chapter 12. Maximum fruit set was achieved when pollination was done at 11 :00 hours during both years.

Rainfall after pollination adversely affects fruit set and consequently the yield. Effect of water spray- to determine the influence of rainfall after pollination has been reported in Chapter 13. Minimum fruit set was observed in treatment with water spray just after pollination. The maximum fruit set was observed in sprays after 6, 7 and 8 hours of pollination. Maximum fruit bunch weight was recorded with water spray after six hours of pollination. The highest fruit yield per bunch was observed with water spray after 7 hours of pollination.

Chapter 14 deals with summary, chapter 15 envisages with conclusion, and chapter 16 comprises literature cited.


Evidence for locomotion in the Precambrian fossil record is scant. Reliable Ediacaran trace fossils are all younger than 560 Ma, and consist of relatively simple horizontal burrows and trails from shallow-water deposits. Here we describe an assemblage of macroscopic locomotory traces from deep-water environments at Mistaken Point, southeastern Newfoundland, Canada, dated to ca. 565 Ma. These trails extend the record of complex trace fossils back into the earliest Avalonian biota. Our new evidence for large motile organisms on the seafloor at this time suggests that at least some of these early Ediacaran organisms, whose biological affinities are widely debated, could have been muscular and of metazoan grade.


Free space laser communication is a potentially attractive technology that can offer intrinsically high data rates and resistance to jamming, and facilitates low probability of interception and low probability of detection (LPI/LPD). However, practical links established in the atmosphere are adversely affected by signal attenuation and dynamic turbulence, which can create spatial and temporal variations in the refractive index. The resulting distortions lead to reduced signal power and increased bit error rate (BER), even over short ranges. To overcome possible signal degradation under adverse conditions, laser communication systems must increase power and reduce the communication bit rate. Under dynamic link attenuation both of these parameters can be tuned to optimize performance. In this paper, we present and compare three methods for optimizing optical link efficiency. The work is based on experiments conducted with a commercially available system, and its scaled-down laboratory prototype. The proposed methods demonstrate different degrees of optimization capabilities under practical operating conditions, but, in general, they maintain the highest possible bit rate at the minimum power consumption, while obtaining an acceptable BER.


An accurate and precise measurement of the spins of individual merging black holes is required to understand their origin. While previous studies have indicated that most of the spin information comes from the inspiral part of the signal, the informative spin measurement of the heavy binary black hole system GW190521 suggests that the merger and ringdown can contribute significantly to the spin constraints for such massive systems. We perform a systematic study into the measurability of the spin parameters of individual heavy binary black hole mergers using a numerical relativity surrogate waveform model including the effects of both spin-induced precession and higher-order modes. We find that the spin measurements are driven by the merger and ringdown parts of the signal for GW190521-like systems, but the uncertainty in the measurement increases with the total mass of the system. We are able to place meaningful constraints on the spin parameters even for systems observed at moderate signal-to-noise ratios, but the measurability depends on the exact six-dimensional spin configuration of the system. Finally, we find that the azimuthal angle between the in-plane projections of the component spin vectors at a given reference frequency cannot be well-measured for most of our simulated configurations even for signals observed with high signal-to-noise ratios.


Recently, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been used for plasmonic rulers to measure the nonlocal influence on the Au nanoparticle - metal film resonance wavelength shift and probe the ultimate field enhancement. Here we examine the influence of surface roughness on this plasmonic ruler in the nonlocal regime by comparing plasmonic resonance shifts for as-deposited and for ultra-flat Au films. It is shown that the resonance shift is larger for ultra-flat films, suggesting that there is not the saturation from nonlocal effects previously reported for the spacer range from 0.7 nm to 1.6 nm. We attribute the previously reported saturation to the planarization of the as-deposited films by thinner SAMs, as measured here by atomic-force microscopy. This work is of interest both in probing the ultimate limits of plasmonic enhancement with SAMs for applications in Raman and nonlinear optics, but also in the study of SAMs planarization as a function surface roughness.


The three spine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus is a specific obligatory intermediate host for the cestode worm Schistocephalus solidus. This system is commonly used to investigate the host-parasite interaction in fishes. Despite the interesting attempts which have been made to quantify the impact of the parasite over the respiration rate of the host fish, none of the previous reports took in consideration that stickleback is diversified in different ecotypes according to its ability to made reproductive migration, from and to the sea. Here the oxygen consumption rate in specimens of three-spine stickleback collected from a non-migratory population was quantified with the aim to test if the S. solidus infection drives a change in the oxygen consumption level of the host fish. The results showed that the infected fishes have a higher rate of oxygen consumption compared with the uninfected one. The differences were due to a direct effect of the parasite, not merely to its contribution to the whole oxygen consumption rate. The data were compared with previous reports, showing that the non-migratory population was characterized by a different level of oxygen consumption rate. The differences were interpreted in terms of divergence in physiological adaptations which had to be appeared in different populations.