FLAME DYNAMICS IN UNSTEADY STRAINED FLOWS by Zili Huang In this dissertation, the response of a premixed flame to time-dependent strained flow fields is investigated. Because of the potential application to turbulent combustion modeling, the main focus is on the particular case of a flame in stagnation point flow with an imposed oscillatory strain rate. The flame is modeled as a hydrodynamic discontinuity separating burned from unburned gasses. To complete the formulation of the problem, conditions relating the fluid variables across the flame front are needed, as is a flame speed equation that determines the evolution of the discontinuity. These conditions are derived through asymptotic analysis of the flame structure. In the first part of this dissertation, an existing hydrodynamic model is employed to assess flame response to oscillating stagnation point flow. The model is valid for near-equidiffusional conditions, i.e. for near-unity Lewis numbers. Under these conditions, the flame speed varies linearly with strain. Unlike previous theoretical investigations, the present formulation places no restrictions on the amplitude of the oscillations, and we account for the full interaction between the flame and the flow. Solutions are constructed by a combination of asymptotic and numerical methods. Results regarding flame response are in agreement with previous experiments and studies. We also obtain the following results as a consequence of the underlying time-periodic flow: (a) the mean flame position is shifted upstream from the steady state location, (b) a region of reverse flow appears immediately ahead of the flame front during part of each cycle, and (c) there is a maximum amplitude of oscillation beyond which the flame fails to exist. These results are most pronounced at high frequencies and agree with the asymptotic solution constructed in that regime. In the second part of this dissertation, a new model is derived which exhibits a nonlinear dependence of flame speed on strain. The model is valid for arbitrary Lewis number, and unlike previous models, it allows for an unsteady flame structure. Asymptotic methods are used to construct solutions across the narrow flame zone (and reaction zone), and asymptotic matching then yields the nonlinear flame speed equation. The new model is then employed to investigate flame response to unsteady strained flows. Our results predict that the flame becomes most sentive to fluctuations in the flow as steady state extinction conditions are approached. Also, at high frequency the flame response is the same, regardless of the mixture properties. These results are in good agreement with experiments. FLAME DYNAMICS IN UNSTEADY STRAINED FLOWS


The present thesis has focused on helping behaviour towards disadvantaged outgroups. Research was done at an intergroup level, and obtained its theoretical foundation from the Social Identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), self-categorization theory (Turner, 1985; Turner et al., 1987) and the empathy-altruism model (Batson, 1987, 1991; Batson et al., 1989; Batson & Shaw, 1991) and focused on the influence of identity content and ingroup norms in investigating outgroup helping. Experiments were carried out concerning different instances that could affect outgroup helping and were centred around social identity and identity content, accountability, intragroup power and empathy towards the outgroup. The first two studies focused on the role of particular identities in terms of the Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). In experiment 1 it was found that people regulate their empathy towards beggars by their non-salient religious identity when they are together with others. The presence of others such as friends and partner, who are aware of the participant's religious identity, could possibly evoke accountability concerns, which are then reflected in empathy and prosocial behaviour towards a disadvantaged group. In experiment 2 a salient political identity only led to pro-social behavioural preferences and empathy towards beggars for those with left-wing identities; as opposed to those with a right wing preference. Concluding, the content of ideologically-defined identities (religious, political) served to regulate empathy and prosocial behaviour, but the salience of these identities could play a crucial mediating role in certain contexts. The plausible effect of accountability was further investigated in experiments 3 and 3a. Unfortunately no conclusive results were found. Experiments 4 and 5 investigated the role of intragroup power on outgroup helping. Results showed that people with high intragroup power either affect the prosocial behaviour of people that are less certain of their political preference compared to people who are certain of their political preference, possibly due to processes in accordance with the social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) and intragroup differentiation (experiment 4), or were found to be less prosocial towards an outgroup (experiment 5) than people with lower intragroup power. Finally in experiment 6 and 7, research was directed towards intergroup awareness and empathy. Experiment 6 demonstrated that an outgroup will be perceived with more empathy and prosocial behaviour when awareness of the outgroup is high than when awareness of the outgroup is low. In experiment 7, people high in empathy towards a disadvantaged outgroup were more willing to allocate money to the outgroup than people lower in empathy. Overall, the results of the experiments in the subsequent chapters led to believe that ingroup identity and content, and ingroup norms are feasible with regard to helping a certain disadvantaged outgroup. These findings fit with the theories of social identity and self categorization, given that feeling and behaving according to ingroup norms is the objective, and suggesting that people each have a variety of different identities, which become activated in different social contexts. Furthermore inducing empathy towards an outgroup seemed to be an useful tool to promote helping behaviour towards an outgroup.


Australia has an ageing population with a proportionate increase in the number of
people with dementia. Subsequently, there are an increasing number of people
living in residential aged care with dementia. Indirect evidence suggests
behavioural symptoms associated with dementia are of concern to nursing and
care staff but there is little research that explores how and why this is the case.
The behavioural symptoms of dementia are referred to as Behaviours of Concern
(BoC) in this thesis.
This study examines the extent to which BoC are of concern to nursing
and care staff in the Tasmanian residential aged care sector. A mixed methods
approach comprising two distinct phases was undertaken.
The first phase was a general survey to determine the incidence and
impact of BoC to provide a contextual perspective. The focus was on physically
aggressive behaviour in Tasmanian Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs).
This was important because of two identified gaps in the literature: a lack of
clarity found in the reporting of incidence of physically aggressive behaviours;
and an ambiguity surrounding the impact of physically aggressive behaviour on
nursing and care staff.
The second phase focussed on the incidence, impact, understanding and
management of physically aggressive behaviour in one RACF from multiple
perspectives to determine how and why it was of concern to nursing and care
staff. Data were collected using multiple methods including a survey, a clinical
audit, structured observation, participant observation, group discussions and
interviews with nursing and care staff. The literature highlighted that physically aggressive behaviour among
residents with dementia is a significant issue for nursing and care staff in RACFs.
This study found a low incidence of physically aggressive behaviour among
people with dementia, but that when it occurred it had a high impact on nursing
and care staff. The high impact is attributed to a lack of capacity within the aged
care sector to manage such behaviour effectively. This lack of capacity was due to
a number of key factors. These included: the absence of a formal dementia
diagnosis; a shortage of skilled nursing staff able to understand and assess
individual residents' needs; a nursing and care staff shortage restricting the
possibility of delivering one-to-one nursing care; a culture of tolerance to
physically aggressive behaviours; a culture of resistance to the implementation of
behaviour management strategies; problems with the educational preparation of
staff; and ineffective communication between nursing and care staff regarding
behaviour management.


The characteristics of irradiated solar system planetary atmospheres have been studied for decades. Modern planetary science benefits from an exhaustive body of ground- and space-based data. The study of extrasolar planetary atmospheres, by contrast, is in its infancy and currently rests on a few score of datapoints, mostly of the transiting planets. As the study of exoplanetary atmospheres blossoms, it is well worth remembering lessons learned from the solar system. In this contribution, based on my Les Houches lecture on exoplanet atmospheres, I briefly review a few of the key concepts relevant to understanding planetary atmospheres and point to examples both in our own solar system and among the exoplanets. This short survey aims not to review the field but rather stresses the importance of understanding the structure, dynamics, cloud processes and photochemistry of planetary atmospheres and points the reader towards useful reference works. Here I particularly explain the importance of cloud and photochemical processes in controlling the spectra and albedos of extrasolar planets and urge that care be taken in the interpretation of exoplanet colors.


Driven by the commercial success of recombinant biopharmaceuticals, there is an increasing demand for novel, cost-effective mammalian cell culture bioreactor systems for the production of biologicals requiring mammalian protein processing. Recently, orbitally shaken bioreactors at scales from a few mLs to 2'000-L have been explored for the cultivation of mammalian cells and are considered to be attractive alternatives to conventional stirred-tank bioreactors because of increased flexibility and reduced costs. Although the choice of geometry of these shaken containers is diverse with the availability of conical (i.e. shake flask), square-shaped, or cylindrical containers, the latter are preferred because more regular and predictable flow patterns are generated at all volumetric scales. The main challenge facing the scale-up of the shaken container is to maintain a moderate oxygen transfer rate (OTR) to meet the oxygen requirement of cultured cells. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient (KLa) of shaken bioreactors with working volumes from a few mLs to 1'000-L were determined, and operating parameters having an impact on the oxygen transfer were investigated. KLa values between 10-30 h-1 were typically achieved in small-scale (<1-L) shaken containers. In 200- and 2'000-L containers with a working volume of 50% of the nominal volume, moderate but satisfying KLa values of 3-8 h-1 were obtained even with mild shaking speeds. Further improvement of the OTR (2-10 fold increase of the KLa value) was achieved by introduction of special designed "mixing units" into shaken bioreactors. Using 30- and 50-L shaken cylindrical containers, the hydrodynamic properties such as the free surface shape, velocity field, and mixing behavior were analyzed by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimental investigations. A mixing time sufficiently short for efficient cultivation of mammalian cells (less than 180 s) was observed even at very low shaking speeds. A simple mixing model with a well-mixed zone that included the liquid near the free surface and the vessel wall and a poor-mixed zone in the middle of the bulk liquid was derived. All the results obtained in cell-free studies served as a knowledge base for a direct scale-up of CHO cells in non-instrumented culture processes using bench- (<1-L) and large-scale (2'000-L) containers in a process development cycle with a feedback loop formed by scale-up and scale-down studies. In the 2'000-L shaken bioreactor at a working volume of 500 L, a maximal cell density of 6.5 x 106 cells mL-1 was achieved with a final antibody titer of 270 mg L-1 in a simple batch process. Similar cell growth profiles and productivity were obtained in parallel control cultures in 50-mL TubeSpin® bioreactors and in 1-L cylindrical bottles. These results demonstrated the feasibility of establishing a robust, standardized, and transferable technical platform for large-scale mammalian cell culture based on orbitally shaken bioreactors.


The reliable assessment of macrophyte biomass is fundamental for ecological research and management of freshwater ecosystems. While dry mass is routinely used to determine aquatic plant biomass, wet (fresh) mass can be more practical. We tested the accuracy and precision of wet mass measurements by using a salad spinner to remove surface water from four macrophyte species differing in growth form and architectural complexity. The salad spinner aided in making precise and accurate wet mass with less than 3% error. There was also little difference between operators, with a user bias estimated to be below 5%. To achieve this level of precision, only 10–20 turns of the salad spinner are needed. Therefore, wet mass of a sample can be determined in less than 1 min. We demonstrated that a salad spinner is a rapid and economical technique to enable precise and accurate macrophyte wet mass measurements and is particularly suitable for experimental work. The method will also be useful for fieldwork in situations wh...


Abstract: Any discussion of the legal issues surrounding blockchain technologies seems doomed from the outset. The sheer amount and complexity of technical terms, which are often used inconsistently, precludes an exhaustive and disciplined analysis of the potential legal problems that could arise from the widespread, commercial use of blockchains. Consequently, the evaluation of the popular claims hailing blockchains as enablers of commerce is extremely challenging. Additional complications arise from the fact that blockchain technologies are accompanied by multiple ideological concepts that, at times, seem to preclude logical reasoning. Terms such as 'decentralization' or 'trustlessness' are presented as ultimate values that must be strived towards at any cost – even if their full implementation leads to commercially undesirable results. Acknowledging the practical impossibility to provide a thorough explanation of the relevant technological concepts and to surmount claims that 'commerce must be decentralized', this article provides an overview of the different types of blockchains and presents their practical shortcomings. It focuses on the division between permissionless and permissioned blockchains to demonstrate that only the latter could potentially serve as electronic platforms supporting a wide range of commercial transactions. The main point made in this article is that technology, irrespective of its sophistication, cannot exist without a supporting legal infrastructure – and without regard to legal requirements.


Suppression of high-radial-order whispering-gallery modes in a cylindrical microcavity made of electric anisotropic medium was studied by the finite-difference time-domain method. While the electric anisotropy of the microcavity medium increases, the quality factors of high-radial-order whispering-gallery modes decrease more quickly to zero than those of first-radial-order whispering-gallery modes. Thus, for an anisotropic cylindrical microcavity with large enough anisotropy, the spectrum consists of only those resonant peaks corresponding to first-radial-order whispering-gallery modes. This novel characteristic results in widening of the free spectral range of the cylindrical microcavity. Therefore, the anisotropic cylindrical microcavity has potential applications in single-mode low-threshold microlasers and narrow-linewidth wavelength-selective filters.


Within a 12-year period we treated 67 patients (49 women, 18 men; mean age, 61 years) with cystic neoplasms of the pancreas, including 18 serous cystic adenomas, 15 benign mucinous cystic neoplasms, 27 mucinous cystadenocarcinomas, 3 papillary cystic tumors, 2 cystic islet cell tumors, and 2 cases of mucinous ductal ectasia. Mean tumor size was 6 cm (2 to 16 cm). In 39% the patients had no symptoms, and in 37% the lesions had been misdiagnosed as a pseudocyst. Computed tomography was useful for detection, for distinguishing the microcystic subgroup of serous cystadenoma, and for showing rim calcification (all 7 cases were malignant) but was not reliable for distinguishing neoplasm from pseudocyst, serous from mucinous tumors, or benign from malignant. Arteriography showed hypervascularity in 4 of 10 serous adenomas, 3 of 11 mucinous carcinomas, and 1 of 1 papillary cystic tumors. Endoscopic pancreatography showed no communication with the cyst cavity in 37 of 37 cases of cystic neoplasms but opacified the ectatic ducts in 2 of 2 cases of mucinous ductal ectasia. Stenosis or obstruction of the pancreatic duct indicated cancer. The tumor was resected by distal pancreatectomy in 25 patients, by proximal resection in 29, and by total pancreatectomy in one, with no operative deaths. Forty-four per cent of the tumors were malignant. In 10 cases the tumor was unresectable because of local extension or distant metastases, and those patients died at a mean of 4 months. Seventy-five per cent of those resected for cure are alive without evident recurrence. Because the epithelial lining of the tumor was partially (5% to 98%) absent in 40% to 72% of cases of the major tumor types, and the mucinous component comprised only about 65% of mucinous cystadenoma lining, misdiagnoses on frozen and even permanent sections were made. Mitoses and histologic solid growth correlated with malignancy. Neuroendocrine elements were seen in 87% of benign and 47% of malignant mucinous tumors. It is recommended that the terms macrocystic and microcystic be abandoned in favor of the histologic designations serous and mucinous. Incomplete examination of the cyst wall can be misleading, however. It is suggested that mucinous ductal ectasia be recognized separately from cystic tumors and that all of these lesions be resected, with the possible exception of asymptomatic confirmed serous cystadenomas.


Patient-specific modelling of heart electrophysiology has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of cardiac rhythm disturbances. However, achieving this capability will require ondemand simulation in significantly shorter timescales than are presently possible, necessitating new numerical techniques and software capable of using modern heterogeneous environments efficiently and adapting to a range of hardware. Spectral/hp element methods exhibit the numerical convergence properties of spectral methods while retaining the geometric flexibility of conventional finite element methods. They lead to compact data structures within each element, with the potential to make more efficient use of memory bandwidth and processor cache than linear finite element methods. Furthermore, a tensor-product structure of the elemental polynomial space leads to a number of interchangeable single-element and multi-element implementations, each with their own hardware-dependent performance characteristics at different polynomial orders. We outline a number of new numerical and implementation approaches and our developing auto-tuning strategy in the context of modelling the electrophysiology of the left atrium.


The Effective Life-long Learning Inventory (ELLI) has been designed to raise students' awareness of their own learning power, summarised in seven key dimensions. This study used ELLI with level 4 and level 6 cohorts in Biosciences programmes at Northumbria University as an indicator of academic performance. The dimension with the highest mean score for level 4 students was 'Meaning Making', followed by 'Changing and Learning'. 'Creativity' had the lowest mean score. Students were divided into two groups with respect to their academic achievement: the 'successful' and the 'satisfactory' group. The successful group scored higher in all dimensions, compared to the satisfactory group. The differences in the scores for 'Meaning Making' and 'Creativity' were statistically significant. Large differences were also found for 'Changing and Learning', 'Strategic Awareness', and 'Resilence'. Interestingly, all of these, with the exception of 'Meaning Making', were also the dimensions in which level 6 students scored higher than level 4 students, but the differences were not statistically significant. Results indicate that ELLI is a useful tool to identify key dispositions in successful learners, which could inform interventions to improve learning within a cohort.


Objective: The purpose of this study is to review the maternal and neonatal outcome in pregnant diabetic women given a trial of labor and delivered macrosomic infants (>4000 grams) and to assess the accuracy of birth weight prediction by ultrasound examination at term. Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine charts of pregnant diabetic women were reviewed, sixty eight women were given a trial of labor and delivered macrosomic fetuses (>4000 grams), fifty of them had vaginal delivery and the other eighteen had caesarean delivery. In the other group, 61 patients delivered by elective caesarean section, for 41 of them the indication was fetal macrosomia (>4000 grams) as estimated by ultrasound examination and in the other 20, it was due to clinical estimation of big baby. Maternal and neonatal complications were reviewed in each group. Maternal complications included lacerations, hemorrhage and infection and the neonatal complications evaluated were shoulder dystocia and associated birth trauma, asphyxia, and mortality. The accuracy of ultrasound in estimating fetal weight was also evaluated. Results: Sixty eight (52.7%) women attempted a trial of labor; 73.5% delivered vaginally and 26.5% had a caesarean delivery. All, except two, had macrosomic fetuses (>4000 grams). Only one woman, of those who delivered vaginally, had postpartum hemorrhage due to atonic uterus. The incidence of shoulder dystocia for infants weighing 4000-4499 grams was 6.3% and those infants had the same incidence (6.3%) of brachial plexus injury. There was no perinatal asphyxia or perinatal mortality among those infants who were delivered vaginally. There were no maternal complications for women who had caesarean delivery after labor (18 patients) but there was perinatal asphyxia in two infants who were treated properly without any neurological sequele. Elective caesarean delivery was performed in 47.3% of the study population. There were no neonatal complications or perinatal mortality in this group of patients and only one woman had wound infection. The sonographic prediction of fetal weight was accurate in 52.4% of the cases. The over estimation was in 50.8% of the estimated fetal weights and 49.2% of them were underestimated when compared to actual birth weights. Conclusions: Caution should be taken in the use of sonographic estimations of fetal weight to guide obstetric decisions concerning labor and delivery. Special consideration should be given to diabetic patients having fetuses with estimatedfetal weights between 4000 and 4500 grams. Flexibility in the management of these patients is best, taking in consideration their previous obstetric performance and if the estimated fetal weight is closer to 4500grams than to 4000 grams, it is perhaps, better to proceed to a primary caesarean delivery.


This paper proposes a framework for solving constraint problems with reinforcement learning (RL) and sequence-tosequence recurrent neural networks. We approach constraint solving as a declarative machine learning problem, where for a variable-length input sequence a variable-length output sequence has to be predicted. Using randomly generated instances and the number of constraint violations as a reward function, a problem-specific RL agent is trained to solve the problem. The predicted solution candidate of the RL agent is verified and repaired by CBLS to ensure solutions, that satisfy the constraint model. We introduce the framework and its components and discuss early results and future applications.


MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small endogenous RNA molecules, which regulate target gene expression at post-transcriptional level. Besides, miRNA activity can be controlled by a newly discovered regulatory mechanism called endogenous target mimicry (eTM). In target mimicry, eTMs bind to the corresponding miRNAs to block the binding of specific transcript leading to increase mRNA expression. Thus, miRNA-eTM-target-mRNA regulation modules involving a wide range of biological processes; an increasing need for a comprehensive eTM database arose. Except miRSponge with limited number of Arabidopsis eTM data no available database and/or repository was developed and released for plant eTMs yet. Here, we present an online plant eTM database, called PeTMbase (http://petmbase.org), with a highly efficient search tool. To establish the repository a number of identified eTMs was obtained utilizing from high-throughput RNA-sequencing data of 11 plant species. Each transcriptome libraries is first mapped to corresponding plant genome, then long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) transcripts are characterized. Furthermore, additional lncRNAs retrieved from GREENC and PNRD were incorporated into the lncRNA catalog. Then, utilizing the lncRNA and miRNA sources a total of 2,728 eTMs were successfully predicted. Our regularly updated database, PeTMbase, provides high quality information regarding miRNA:eTM modules and will aid functional genomics studies particularly, on miRNA regulatory networks.


Generalized time-frequency representations (GTFRs) which use cone-shaped kernels for nonstationary signal analysis are presented. The cone-shaped kernels are formulated for the GTFRs to produce good resolution simultaneously in time and frequency. Specifically, for a GTFR with a cone-shaped kernel, finite time support is maintained in the time dimension along with an enhanced spectrum in the frequency dimension, and the cross-terms are smoothed out. Experimental results on simulated data and real speech show the advantages of the GTFRs with the cone-shaped kernels through comparisons to the spectrogram and the pseudo-Wigner distribution. >


Submarine canyons are steep-sided "V' or "U" shaped valleys that incise continental slopes worldwide. The geophysical and oceanographic features of submarine canyons can produce environmental conditions that cause benthic assemblages to be distinctive and productive compared to those of the adjacent slope; however the assemblages are potentially vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts, including bottom fishing. In order to help inform policy and management, submarine canyons need to be objectively defined topographically and their benthic assemblages characterised. A canyon network occurs off the Otago Peninsula, south-eastern New Zealand, but lack of detailed bathymetric data and adequate benthic sampling has limited study of the canyons. This thesis outlines a method of defining submarine canyon areas and examines epifaunal and infaunal assemblages of the Otago canyons and adjacent slope. Objective definition of the Otago canyon network in the GIS software GRASS along with the steps to use this methodology worldwide are described. Archival count data from 1966-74 on the epifauna are analysed using the PRIMER suite of programs to characterise epifaunal assemblages. Anomurans, polychaetes, asteroids and ascidians make up 70% of the epifaunal canyon assemblage. The epifaunal assemblage is clearly defined by water depth and recognisable from 380 m. Quantitative sampling of infauna in Saunders canyon, Papanui canyon and adjacent slope was carried out to examine infaunal community structure of the canyons and adjacent slope. Infaunal canyon assemblages are dominated by polychaetes, amphipods, ophiuroids, decapods and isopods in canyons, accounting for 75% of collected individuals. Polycheates, malacostraceans, ophiuroids and foraminifera comprise the bulk of collected infauna from the slope environment. A checklist of recorded species found in the Otago canyon network is appended.


Legal texts and scholarly articles that deal with the topic of naval mine warfare typically do so by reference to Hague Convention VIII of 1907 and customary international law. Little comment, if any, is usually made in relation to the variety of other legal regimes that might impact upon the use of naval mines in armed conflict. This article seeks to redress that imbalance by examining, with a focus on the jus in bello, a range of legal considerations arising from more contemporary sources that affect the use of naval mines in international armed conflict.


Inelastic incoherent neutron scattering (INS) spectra of hydrogen strongly chemisorbed at coverages of greater than one monolayer on Pd black (Drijfhout, Amsterdam) were obtained (77K) without interference from adsorbed or type-C adsorbed hydrogen. The spectra were assigned by comparison with the vibrational spectra of transition-metal hydridocarbonyl compounds and indicated the occupation by H of two-fold bridging and terminal sites, the relative population of the terminal sites increasing at higher hydrogen coverage. INS spectra (ca 20 to 850 cm(^-1); 10, 16 and 77K) of c-C(_3)H(_6) adsorbed in Co(_4)Na(_4)Al(_12)Si(_12)O(_48), and of c-C(_3)H(_6) and c-C(_3)D(_6) in Mn(_3.5)Na(_5)Al(_12)Si(_12)O(_48) zeolite were consistent with C(_3v) symmetry of the M(II)-cyclopropane sorption complexes (M=Co or Mn). INS spectra (320 to 2230 cm(^-1); 77K) of Kadox 25 ZnO and H(_2) adsorbed on ZnO were obtained. The ѵ(_s) and ѵ(_δ) modes of type I Zn-H surface species were observed at 829 and 1708 cm(^-1). Recent assignments in the literature of the ѵ(_δ) mode of type I O-H species and the ѵ(_as) mode of type II Zn-H-Zn species to weak IR bands at 850 and 1475 cm(^-1) respectively were not corroborated by the INS results. The INS spectrum of ZnO contained an intense feature at 1346 cm(^-1) which was unchanged on adsorption, and assigned to bulk impurities. Raman and IR data of ZnO were also discussed. INS spectra (ca 20 to 850 cm(^-1); 10 and 77K) of C(_2)H(_2) and C(_2)D(_2) adsorbed in partially Ni(^++) ion-exchanged zeolite-Y indicated that the admolecules were non-linear (C(_2v) symmetry) and laterally bonded to the surface.. Bands centred at 774, 684, 546 and 75 cm(^-1) in the INS spectra (ca 20 to 850 cm(^-1); 10 and 77K) of H(_2)O adsorbed in Ca(_6)Al(_12)Si(_12)O(_48) zeolite at coverages of one H(_2)O molecule per Ca"*"*" ion or less were assigned to the wagging, twisting and rocking modes and to the doubly degenerate hindered translations parallel to the surface, respectively of H2O adsorbed at Ca"*"^ sites.INS spectra (lOK) of adsorbed by Zn^ ^Na^ 0^12 5^^11 5^48 ^^^^^^ showed bands at 72 and 155 cm""'", assigned to the tunnelling transitions E^^Eg and E^-^B respectively between the sublevels of the ground torsicxial state of a rigid H2 rotor, coifined to a plane parallel to the adsorbed surface, in a six-fold potential well of barrier height 29±3 kJ mol""'".


This article analyses, in a comparative manner, the situation of democratization in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The analysis is based on nine variables/ criteria: the effective number of political parties, the electoral system, institutional corruption, the legal background, the political freedom and civil rights, civil society, economic freedom, economic growth and the quality of democracy. The study shows that the two countries have a fragile democracy, emphasizing the main factor affecting their democratic consolidation: the fact that their Soviet past determines in the collective psychology the recurrence of communist values and practices. Democratic fragility is, therefore, both the product of a common communist history and of a civic model of the parish type, dominated by authoritarianism, political apathy and lack of 'rule of law.'


Although Vietnam comprised a miniscule portion of the international coffee market during the 1900s, its coffee production skyrocketed after the collapse of the ICA and surpassed Colombian production levels. This unmatched increase attributed the drastic decline in world coffee prices to the oversupply of coffee from Vietnam. Following the methods of Dodaro (1993), a Granger causality analysis between Vietnamese coffee exports and ICO composite price produced neither forward nor reverse causality between these two variables. Using the methodology of Carlin, Glyn, and Van Reenen (2001), labor productivity comparisons aimed to explain the shift of coffee export volume from Colombia to Vietnam. Results demonstrated Colombia's consistently higher labor productivity, thus the disparity in realized comparative advantage does not explain the shift in production. Although Vietnam's success in coffee production accompanied the Colombian coffee sector's demise, a direct link between the two economies does not appear to exist. Vietnam's success likely arose simply from the culmination of relevant government policies, trade agreements, and the collapse of the ICA.


The Bremen Optimal Estimation differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) (BESD) algorithm for satellite based retrievals of
 XCO_2 (the column-average dry-air mole fraction of atmospheric CO_2) has
 been applied to Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for
 Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY) data. It uses measurements in the
 O_2-A absorption band to correct for scattering of undetected clouds
 and aerosols. Comparisons with precise and accurate ground-based
 Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) measurements at four Total Carbon
 Column Observing Network (TCCON) sites have been used to quantify the
 quality of the new SCIAMACHY XCO_2 data set. Additionally, the results
 have been compared to NOAA's assimilation system CarbonTracker. The
 comparisons show that the new retrieval meets the expectations from
 earlier theoretical studies. We find no statistically significant
 regional XCO_2 biases between SCIAMACHY and the FTS instruments.
 However, the standard error of the systematic differences is in the
 range of 0.2 ppm and 0.8 ppm. The XCO_2 single-measurement precision of
 2.5 ppm is similar to theoretical estimates driven by instrumental
 noise. There are no significant differences found for the year-to-year
 increase as well as for the average seasonal amplitude between
 SCIAMACHY XCO_2 and the collocated FTS measurements. Comparison of the
 year-to-year increase and also of the seasonal amplitude of
 CarbonTracker exhibit significant differences with the corresponding
 FTS values at Darwin. Here the differences between SCIAMACHY and
 CarbonTracker are larger than the standard error of the SCIAMACHY
 values. The difference of the seasonal amplitude exceeds the
 significance level of 2 standard errors. Therefore, our results suggest
 that SCIAMACHY may provide valuable additional information about XCO_2,
 at least in regions with a low density of in situ measurements.


This work reviews an important shortcoming of the dominant public international paradigm and the recent methodical responses to that edifice. Specifically, this article argues that issues of race have not been significantly addressed in international law discourse. In particular, this Article notes that in the theoretical discourse some writers have discussed race, but the thrust of the discourse marginalizes the importance of race. In the practice of international law, people of color are affected but rarely recognized in policy debates. Additionally, this work attempts to explain how a discourse that positions race at the center of the discourse increases the prospect of a coherent view of international law. At its core, it recognizes that both the traditional approach and its responses contain some virtue, but are woefully lacking in at least one important respect. The existing approaches to international law fail to adequately explore the consequential nature that race has played in the development of international law. By reviewing the theoretical foundations of the approaches and by providing vivid examples of the racialized nature of movements in international law, this article will demonstrate how race has been a real but unspoken determinant of international policy. This Article, in addition to acknowledging the beginnings of a new race-based approach to international law, formally proposes a race-focused international discourse in order to ensure that an often determinative variable to international action is not at best relegated to merely one of a host of potential relevant factors to international policy making. Following a handful of scholars who have begun to address the impact of race on certain international issues, this paper calls for the recognition of a race-focused discourse that will extend and expand the scope and depth of international dialogue, as well as ensure an inclusion of diverse voices in the already robust debate that is the methods discourse on international law. Finally, a race approach to international law will attempt to debunk the purported objectivity of the liberal paradigm and question the reality of the humanitarian rhetoric that is at the root of international law.


A recent analysis of the EPIC-Norfolk cohort by Barnett et al found that retirement was associated with a decline in overall levels of physical activity as decreases in occupational and transport-related activity were not compensated for by increases in household and recreational activity.1 This study adds more accurate assessment of physical activity with a larger sample size than previous studies2 and allows the breakdown of physical activity across different domains, as well as investigation of socioeconomic differences. Although the main finding has been echoed in some previous studies,3 ,4 a 2012 systematic review by the same authors concluded that the impacts of retirement on overall physical activity were unclear.5 This lack of clarity was due to the paucity of accurate activity assessment in included studies, a gap that this study addresses and strengthens our confidence that retirement is indeed a time of declining physical activity. The study raises the possibility that intervening around the time of retirement may be one strategy to deal with low levels of physical activity, which is noted a serious concern worldwide.6

Barnett et al also found greater declines in physical activity for those previously in manual jobs compared with those in non-manual jobs.1 This is a worrying yet familiar trend, …


The United Kingdom was ranked highest overall, Switzerland second, and the United States last in a new report that compared the health systems of 11 developed nations.1 The US, the report noted, spent more than $8500 (£5000; €6270) per capita on health in a year, while the UK spent less than half that, at $3400 per person.

The study was the fifth in a series produced by the Commonwealth Fund. It draws on international surveys that the New York City based foundation has conducted with patients and doctors, as well as data on health spending and outcomes from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Health Organization.

The report ranked the 11 countries in this order:

The report ranked the nations according to five measures of health system performance: quality of care, access to care, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives, which were based on indicators such as infant mortality or mortality amenable to healthcare. The US came last or nearly last in four of …


The effective use of business intelligence represents not only a challenge for a company but also potentially big benefits which are hard to prove. There are maturity models which help us understand how to take advantage of our investments into business intelligence and proceed to another level of maturity. Maturity models help companies understand their current position and possible improvements that can be made. It also helps the company to adapt business and informatization better. One of these models is also TDWI maturity model which refers mostly to the technological aspect of maturity. The system of business intelligence needs to be improved and expanded constantly. It is vital that we understand the realization of the system of business intelligence as a project which is never completed. With the additional use of business intelligence tehnology we also progress to a higher level in the maturity model which results in additional business value for a company. The first part of the thesis refers mostly to a general description of business intelligence. The second part discusses business intelligence and informatization in the company Slovenske železnice, d.o.o.. The third part shows the results of the research which was conducted with the aim to evaluate the level of business intelligence in this company. In the end, I give a suggestion for the improvement based on the results of the research, in which two business intelligence tools were compared with the use of defined criteria.


Cambodia is for various reasons a challenging environment for ICT development. This did not deter IDRC (Canada) from funding an ambitious and ground-breaking project designed ultimately to influence ICT policy in Cambodia but initially to establish two pilot community-owned networks in poor rural areas. Each comprises both a cluster of local telecentres (10 in each area), and a mini telecoms enterprise run by the communities. Begun in May 2006, with initial funding of USD1.3 million the project runs to May 2010 when the question of sustainability comes to the fore. Additional support is likely to be needed. iREACH' experiences are being fully documented and lessons are emerging around community capacity building and empowerment; technical challenges in a rural environment; developing relevant and appropriate services; creating a community based enterprise; deploying a range of participatory monitoring and evaluation approaches; and working within a centralised and fluid political context


The right to the city, a concept previously associated with radical social movements, has been accepted by several governments and has inspired new public policies. However, some authors see this process of institutionalization as involving a loss of a significant part of the radical origins of the concept. This article approaches this process and the new opportunities and limitations it may entail for social movement organizations with a more radical perspective on the right to the city. We explore the paradigmatic case of Brazil and the action of a particular organization, the Movimento dos Sem Teto da Bahia (MSTB, or Homeless Movement of Bahia) in the city of Salvador. We draw on the discussion of the politics of the right to the city and on an original combination of social movement theories and critical discourse analysis in order to analyse political-institutional and discursive changes in urban reform in Brazil and Salvador. We then analyse how the MSTB moves within this new context, navigating its tensions and contradictions while advancing a radical project of transformation of urban reality within a reformist context. We also reflect on the relevance of Lefebvrian ideas for understanding and inspiring contemporary struggles for the right to the city.


In Turkey, the demand of table grapevine rootstocks is increasing day by day since the value of table grapevine rootstocks increase. On the other hand, production of table grapevine does not meet the demands of market since grapevine rootstock production efficiency is low. So, its production efficiency must be increased. Nowadays, hydroponics system is becoming a quite common and alternative method as compared to traditional farming systems of cultivation of soil, because hydroponics systems offer a wide range of advantages such as high capacity of production, high quality of products and also reduce the use of pesticides as compared to the traditional methods of cultivation. Grapevine variety namely, Yalova Cekirdeksizi has been taken in summer growing season and used its green cuttings as living material in this research work. The obtained cuttings were transplanted to different pots in three different time periods (15 of June, July and August in the year 2015). Grapevine rootstocks were placed to the pots having the dimension of 22 cm in width, 72 cm in length and 17 cm in depth. Each pot in the experiment possessed the same amount of fertilizer and the drip irrigation system has been applied. A microcontroller (PIC16F84) device has been used as an automated controller for supplying the water to the experimental trials. The irrigation system has been comprised with three main parts i.e., submersible pump, power suppliers (12 volt DC) and some other connected apparatus. In this experiment, a time based closed loop hydroponics system has been used aimed to test the performance of the automated hydroponics system for the growth of grapevine rootstocks. Consequently, the system took over the all irrigation procedures successfully throughout the entire growing season.


Three out of four companies in Germany rely on 'direct insurance', a product offered by an external life assurer, to provide occupational pensions for their employees. Independent 'pension funds' and 'support funds' have been established in 28 and 18 per cent of firms respectively. Every eighth company operates a 'direct commitment' system, disbursing pensions from their own accruals. 'Pension funds" that are commissioned by both social partners are to be found in just over 10 per cent of companies. These are the findings of an empirical analysis based on the IW Personnel Panel 2017. The relative proportions of these different ways of providing occupational pensions have not changed significantly since an earlier survey conducted in 2013, nor has how much companies contribute to the financing of occupational pensions. Seven out of ten companies pay at least part of the contributions. Supplementing the established surveys of institutions for occupational retirement provision or employees and retirees, the direct survey of HR managers also gives an insight into their expectations regarding the newly introduced options for occupational pensions. So far, however, the majority of companies are barely aware of the effects of the new legislation. The extent to which employers are informed increases with the number of their employees. This finding casts doubt on the legislators' hope that the measures enacted in the Strengthening Occupational Pensions Act will motivate especially small and medium-sized enterprises to increase their involvement in occupational pension schemes.


This thesis explores how the authors Caryl Phillips, David Dabydeen and Fred D' Aguiar represent Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade in their recent fiction, poetry and non-fictional works. My approach is enabled by the novel engagements I make across postcolonial, poststructuralist and Holocaust theory, and my readings are also informed by a close attention to the history of Britain's involvement in slavery between the mid-sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries. I explore each author's imaginative return to slavery in the late twentieth and early twentyfirst centuries, and the diverse problems experienced by Phillips, Dabydeen and D' Aguiar in so
doing. I contend that three central concerns in returning to this past are: the history of slavery, the ethics of representing the trade, and the difficulty of how to remember slavery. In my first chapter, I explore Phillips's interest in, and concerns with, the historical archive and the voices missing from received history. In my second chapter, I discuss Dabydeen's struggle with the ethics of representing slavery and the problems of articulating this past. The third chapter focuses on the work of D' Aguiar, foregrounding his difficulties with the memory of slavery and the importance of
counter-remembrance of this past. The UK's involvement in slavery has often been overlooked by historians or, when remembered, the focus tends to fall upon Britain's abolitionists; these authors arguably write partly in response to this inadequacy. To this end, this thesis is divided into three chapters: one on each of my primary authors. These chapters are preceded by a general introduction to the ethical, creative, historical and theoretical issues surrounding an imaginative return to the past of British slavery. I conclude by
exploring the divergence and convergence of these varying issues in the works of Phillips, Dabydeen and D' Aguiar. Ultimately, this thesis asserts that imaginatively returning to the past of slavery" is all too necessary when faced with the struggle of multiculturalism in late-twentieth and early twenty-first-century Britain.


Distribution of fish in river is controlled by physico-chemical properties of the water which is affected by land-use complexity and intensity of human intervention. A study on fish distribution was carried out in the upper Citarum River to map the effects of physio-chemical properties on habitat use. A survey was conducted to collect fish and to measure the water quality both on dry and rainy season. The result showed that distribution of the fish, in general, represented their adaptive response to physico-chemical properties. The river environment could be grouped into two categories: (i) clean and relatively unpolluted sites, which associated with high DO and water current, and (ii) polluted sites characterized by low DO, high COD, BOD, water temperature, NO 3 , PO 4 , H 2 S, NH 3 , and surfactant. Fish inhabiting the first sites were Xiphophorus helleri, Punctius binotatus, Xiphophorus maculatus , and Oreochromis mossambicus . Meanwhile, the latter sites were inhabited by Liposarcus pardalis , Trichogaster trichopterus , and Poecilia reticulata . Knowledge about fish distribution in association with the pysico-chemical properties of water is crucial especially for the river management.


AbstractCurrent study demonstrates that multicomponent 3D survey is an efficient tool not only to detect gas but also to delineate its migration pathways in shallow sediments. We have determined that thermogenic gas detected in the study area is represented by amplitude and velocity anomalies, including bright spots, gas clouds, gas sags, and phase changes. Evidence of these anomalies attributed to gas presence is provided by well correlation and amplitude variation with offset crossplot analysis and is further supported by the imaging disparity between P- and converted-S-wave data. Current mapping results suggested a predominant vertical gas migration through faults from the unreported petrochemical products in some sulfur caverns. This conclusion is contrary to earlier studies, which suggest a primarily lateral migration from a gas storage cavern 1219 m (4000 ft) to the west.


The linear attenuation coefficients of water and some solid phantom materials, namely of solid water RMI-457, of plastic water, of RW3 solid water, and of Perspex were determined by Monte Carlo calculations, for gammaray photons with energies of 59.5, 80.9, 140.5, 356.5, 661.6, 1173.2, and 1332.5 keV. The calculated values were compared with the experimental results presented by other researchers and with theoretical values obtained using the XCOM database. Good agreement was observed between the calculations, the experimental, and the theoretical values. The results indicate that the process in Monte Carlo code can be followed to determine the equivalency of other materials at several energies. Three shielding factors such as half-value layer, tenth-value layer, and mean free path were calculated at all considered gamma-ray energies.


The cultural authority of social science hinges on its public representation. In postwar United States of America, the business media were influential promoters of the appreciation of economics. This essay examines the work of a journalist and editor, Leonard S. Silk, and a magazine, Business Week, to reveal how trust in economics was established in the 1960s. Electing a cast of representatives of the economics profession, the media examined their biography, character and social identity. Economists were first assigned the identity of assistants to business planning, as forecasters. Soon after, economists were represented as experts on the fiscal management of the economy, as government advisers. Overall, trustworthiness in the media was a measure of the perceived independence of economists from their employers and from ideology.


Abstract. Despite the ever-growing number of ocean data, the interior of the ocean remains undersampled in regions of high variability such as the Gulf Stream. In this context, neural networks have been shown to be effective for interpolating properties and understanding ocean processes.
We introduce OSnet (Ocean Stratification network), a new ocean reconstruction system aimed at providing a physically consistent analysis of the upper ocean stratification.
The proposed scheme is a bootstrapped multilayer perceptron trained to predict simultaneously temperature and salinity (T−S) profiles down to 1000 m and the mixed-layer depth (MLD) from surface data covering 1993 to 2019.
OSnet is trained to fit sea surface temperature and sea level anomalies onto all historical in situ profiles in the Gulf Stream region. To achieve vertical coherence of the profiles, the MLD prediction is used to adjust a posteriori the vertical gradients of predicted T−S profiles, thus increasing the accuracy of the solution and removing vertical density inversions.
The prediction is generalized on a 1/4∘ daily grid, producing four-dimensional fields of temperature and salinity, with their associated confidence interval issued from the bootstrap.
OSnet profiles have root mean square error comparable with the observation-based Armor3D weekly product and the physics-based ocean reanalysis Glorys12.
The lowest confidence in the prediction is located north of the Gulf Stream, between the shelf and the current, where the thermohaline variability is large.
The OSnet reconstructed field is coherent even in the pre-Argo years, demonstrating the good generalization properties of the network. It reproduces the warming trend of surface temperature, the seasonal cycle of surface salinity and mesoscale structures of temperature, salinity and MLD.
While OSnet delivers an accurate interpolation of the ocean stratification, it is also a tool to study how the ocean stratification relates to surface data. We can compute the relative importance of each input for each T−S prediction and analyse how the network learns which surface feature influences most which property and at which depth. Our results demonstrate the potential of machine learning methods to improve predictions of ocean interior properties from observations of the ocean surface.


For more than a decade, emergency medicine (EM) organizations have produced guidelines, training, and leadership for disaster management. However, to date there have been limited guidelines for emergency physicians (EPs) needing to provide a rapid response to a surge in demand. The aim of this project was to identify strategies that may guide surge management in the emergency department (ED). A working group of individuals experienced in disaster medicine from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Disaster Medicine Subcommittee (the Australasian Surge Strategy Working Group) was established to undertake this work. The Working Group used a modified Delphi technique to examine response actions in surge situations and identified underlying assumptions from disaster epidemiology and clinical practice. The group then characterized surge strategies from their corpus of experience; examined them through available relevant published literature; and collated these within domains of space, staff, supplies, and system operations. These recommendations detail 22 potential actions available to an EP working in the context of surge, along with detailed guidance on surge recognition, triage, patient flow through the ED, and clinical goals and practices. The article also identifies areas that merit future research, including the measurement of surge capacity, constraints to strategy implementation, validation of surge strategies, and measurement of strategy impacts on throughput, cost, and quality of care.


Repaired tendons may be complicated by progressive fibrosis, causing adhesion formation or tendon softening leading to tendon rupture and subsequent reduced range of motion. There are few therapies available which improve the gliding of damaged tendons in the hand. We investigate the role of Mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) in a 600 mM hypertonic solution (Adaprev) on tendon adhesion formation in vivo using a mouse model of severed tendon in conjunction with analysis of collagen synthesis, cellular proliferation and receptors involved in TGF beta signalling. Cytotoxicity was assessed by measuring tissue residency, mechanical strength and cell viability of tendons after treatment with Adaprev. To elicit potential modes of action, in vitro and ex vivo studies were performed investigating phosphorylation of p38, cell migration and proliferation. Adaprev treatment significantly (p<0.05) reduced the development of adhesions and improved collagen organisation without reducing overall collagen synthesis following tendon injury in vivo. The bioavailability of Adaprev saw a 40% reduction at the site of administration over 45 minutes and tendon fibroblasts tolerated up to 120 minutes of exposure without significant loss of cell viability or tensile strength. These favourable effects were independent of CI-MPR and TGF-β signalling and possibly highlight a novel mechanism of action related to cellular stress demonstrated by phosphorylation of p38. The effect of treatment reduced tendon fibroblast migration and transiently halted tendon fibroblast proliferation in vitro and ex vivo. Our studies demonstrate that the primary mode of action for Adaprev is potentially via a physical, non-chemical, hyperosmotic effect.


The article first (I) gives an exegesis of the famous passage in the "Republic", 505d11-506a2. Attention is drawn to the fact that the principle that every soul does everything for the Good (panta prattei) can be translated in two ways: Every soul does everything for the sake of the Good, or goes to all lengths for the sake of the Good. Depending on the different translations, we have a different picture of the platonic Socrates in the Republic, an intellectualistic Socrates for whom irrational desires do not exist, or a Socrates who also accepts irrational desires. The article favours the first one. Then it (II) attempts to show that we can elucidate some dark points in the Socratic thesis that the Good is what every soul pursues and for which every soul does everything, with the help of Aquinas's distinction between it actio hominis and actio humana. Finally, the article (III) outlines three substantive answers to the question "What is the Good?" – the henological, the perfectionist and the structuralist. Instead of advancing a new answer, the article suggests an uncontroversial formal starting point for an answer to this question.


Our understanding of the present forest structure of western North America hinges on our ability to determine antecedent forest conditions. Sedimentary records from lakes and bogs in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico provide information on the relationships between climate and vegetation change, and fire history since deglaciation. We present a new pollen record from Hunters Lake (Colorado) as an example of a high-elevation vegetation history from the southern Rockies. We then present a series of six sedimentary records from ~2600 to 3500-m elevation, including sites presently at the alpine–subalpine boundary, within the Picea engelmannii–Abies lasiocarpa forest and within the mixed conifer forest, to determine the history of fire in high-elevation forests there. High Artemisia and low but increasing percentages of Picea and Pinus suggest vegetation prior to 13 500 calendar years before present (cal yr BP) was tundra or steppe, with open spruce woodland to ~11 900 cal yr BP. Subalpine forest (Picea engelmannii, Abies lasiocarpa) existed around the lake for the remainder of the Holocene. At lower elevations, Pinus ponderosa and/or contorta expanded 11 900 to 10 200 cal yr BP; mixed conifer forest expanded ~8600 to 4700 cal yr BP; and Pinus edulis expanded after ~4700 cal yr BP. Sediments from lake sites near the alpine–subalpine transition contained five times less charcoal than those entirely within subalpine forests, and 40 times less than bog sites within mixed conifer forest. Higher fire episode frequencies occurred between ~12 000 and 9000 cal yr BP (associated with the initiation or expansion of south-west monsoon and abundant lightning, and significant biomass during vegetation turnover) and at ~2000–1000 cal yr BP (related to periodic droughts during the long-term trend towards wetter conditions and greater biomass). Fire episode frequencies for subalpine–alpine transition and subalpine sites were on average 5 to 10 fire events/1000 years over the Holocene, corresponding to one fire event every ~100 to 200 years. (5) Our Holocene-length sedimentary charcoal records provide additional evidence for the anomalous nature of the 20th-century fire regime, where fires were largely suppressed as a national policy.


The coral fauna of the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is depauperate and peripheral; hence, it has drawn attention to the factors allowing its survival. Here, we use a genetic seascape approach and ecological niche modeling to unravel the environmental factors correlating with the genetic variation of Porites panamensis, a hermatypic coral endemic to the ETP. Specifically, we test if levels of diversity and connectivity are higher among abundant than among depauperate populations, as expected by a geographically relaxed version of the Abundant Center Hypothesis (rel-ACH). Unlike the original ACH, referring to a geographical center of distribution of maximal abundance, the rel-ACH refers only to a center of maximum abundance, irrespective of its geographic position. The patterns of relative abundance of P. panamensis in the Mexican Pacific revealed that northern populations from Baja California represent its center of abundance; and southern depauperate populations along the continental margin are peripheral relative to it. Genetic patterns of diversity and structure of nuclear DNA sequences (ribosomal DNA and a single copy open reading frame) and five alloenzymatic loci partially agreed with rel-ACH predictions. We found higher diversity levels in peninsular populations and significant differentiation between peninsular and continental colonies. In addition, continental populations showed higher levels of differentiation and lower connectivity than peninsular populations in the absence of isolation by distance in each region. Some discrepancies with model expectations may relate to the influence of significant habitat discontinuities in the face of limited dispersal potential. Environmental data analyses and niche modeling allowed us to identify temperature, water clarity, and substrate availability as the main factors correlating with patterns of abundance, genetic diversity, and structure, which may hold the key to the survival of P. panamensis in the face of widespread environmental degradation.


Background : The prevalence of Diabetes mellitus as the most common metabolic disorder of human is progressively increasing. Dyslipidemia is common among diabetic patients characterized by elevated plasma TG, LDL-C and reduced HDL-C levels; which increase risk of cardiovascular events. Fish oil supplement which contains omega-3 has been proposed to correct the atherogenic lipid profile associated with diabetes mellitus. Doubt remain whether the net effect of fish oil supplement on lipid profiles are beneficial in diabetes. We therefore performed this randomized double-blind clinical trial to investigate this. Methods : Ninety six patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomized assigned to take 3 times daily supplementation (capsule) with either fish oil or corn oil for 8 weeks (48 patients in each group). At begining also end of study we measured laboratory variables (FBS, TG, Total cholesterol, LDL and HDL) in both groups. Results : At begining of the study demographic and laboratory measurements were similar in both groups (P>0.05).At 8 th weeks there  were  no statistically  significant  differences  in variables  measured except for  LDL and HDL in fish oil  group that leads to increase and decrease respectively. Although both groups show improvement in LDL / HDL and Total cholesterol / HDL ratios but mean charges were statistically significant in fish oil as compared with corn oil group. (P=0.001, P=0.005 respectively). Conclusion : Fish oil supplement showed statistically significant improvement in LDL/HDL, Total cholesterol/HDL ratios as compared with corn oil. This may leads to decrease cardiovascular events.


The behaviour of distributed applications can be modeled as the occurrence of events and how these events relate to each other. Event data collected according to this event model can be visualized using process-time diagrams that are constructed from a collection of traces and events. One of the main characteristics of a distributed system is the large number of events that are involved, especially in practical situations. This large number of events, and hence large process-time diagrams, make distributed-system observation difficult for the user. However, event-predicate detection, a search mechanism able to detect and locate arbitrary predicates within a process-time diagram or event collection, can help the user to make sense of this large amount of data. Ping Xie used the convex-abstract event concept, developed by Thomas Kunz, to search for hierarchical event predicates. However, his algorithm for computing convex closure to construct compound events, and especially hierarchical compound events (i.e., compound events that contain other compound events), is inefficient. In one case it took, on average, close to four hours to search the collection of event data for a specific hierarchical event predicate. In another case, it took nearly one hour. This dissertation discusses an efficient algorithm, an extension of Ping Xie's algorithm, that employs a caching scheme to build compound and hierarchical compound events based on matched sub-patterns. In both cases cited above, the new execution times were reduced by over 94%. They now take, on average, less than four minutes.


In an increasingly digital and connected environment, leaders of established companies frequently find themselves facing opportunities that they—or even their industries—cannot seize alone. Instead of relying on start-ups to create innovations and then buying in to them, organizations are taking part in a process that the authors call ecosystem innovation, collaborating to develop and then commercialize new concepts. Cisco Hyperinnovation Living Labs (CHILL) differs from seemingly similar approaches, such as R&D alliances, because it focuses on the fast and agile commercialization of ideas without a complicated intellectual property agreement. It also differs from traditional partnership efforts, because it brings multiple partners together at a very early stage all at once. In this article the authors discuss how large companies can develop their own ecosystem innovation capabilities, using Cisco's process as an example. They describe the basic principles and the process, identify the most common traps, and explain how leaders can capture valuable opportunities. The process allows companies to bring extremely diverse ideas, skills, and resources together to solve ecosystem-level problems at an astonishing speed. INSET: Learning from R&D Alliances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


This is a Spanish language course at four levels according to the Common European Framework: A1, A2, B1 y B2. "Espanol en marcha" is designed for young and adult Spanish as a foreign language students. It can be employed both for intensive and extensive courses. Each level consists of a student book (with or without CD option), an exercises book (with or without CD option), and a tutor's manual. The Student's Book is divided into different sections: exercises in pairs, grammar section and useful vocabulary, verb lists and transcripts of the listening activities. The Workbook includes: extra units and a glossary. The Teacher's Book includes extra exercises for the beginning and for the end of each unit, games, exercises in pairs and photocopiable tests. The first two levels are also published in one single book - "Basico" with the same options as the rest of the series. The first level alone has also an exercises book with some of the explanations in English. Since the introduction of "Espanol en marcha" in 2005, this has been a very popular general course.


On multi-core processors, memories are preferably distributed and supporting Distributed Shared Memory (DSM) is essential for the sake of reusing huge amount of legacy code and easy programming. However, the DSM organization imports the inherent overhead of translating virtual memory addresses into physical memory addresses, resulting in negative performance. We observe that, in parallel applications, different data have different properties (private or shared). For the private data accesses, it's unnecessary to perform Virtual-to-Physical address translations. Even for the same datum, its property may be changeable in different phases of the program execution. Therefore, this paper focuses on decreasing the overhead of Virtual-to-Physical address translation and hence improving the system performance by introducing hybrid DSM organization and supporting run-time partitioning according to the data property. The hybrid DSM organization aims at supporting fast and physical memory accesses for private data and maintaining a global and single virtual memory space for shared data. Based on the data property of parallel applications, the run-time partitioning supports changing the hybrid DSM organization during the program execution. It ensures fast physical memory addressing on private data and conventional virtual memory addressing on shared data, improving the performance of the entire system by reducing virtual-to-physical address translation overhead as much as possible. We formulate the run-time partitioning of hybrid DSM organization in order to analyze its performance. A real DSM based multi-core platform is also constructed. The experimental results of real applications show that the hybrid DSM organization with run-time partitioning demonstrates performance advantage over the conventional DSM counterpart.  The percentage of performance improvement depends on problem size, way of data partitioning and computation/communication ratio of parallel applications, network size of the system, etc. In our experiments, the maximal improvement is 34.42%, the minimal improvement 3.68%.


Aims. Using observations performed at the Haute-Provence Observatory, the detection of a 2.2-day orbital period extra-solar planet that transits the disk of its parent star, HD 189733, has been recently reported. We searched in the Hipparcos photometry Catalogue for possible detections of those transits. Methods. Statistic studies were performed on the Hipparcos data in order to detect transits of HD 189733 b and to quantify the significance of their detection. Results. With a high level of confidence we find that Hipparcos likely observed one transit of HD 189733 b in October 1991, and possibly two others in February 1991 and February 1993. Using the range of possible periods for HD 189733 b, we find that the probability that none of those events are due to planetary transits but are instead all due to artifacts is lower than 0.15%. Using the 15-year temporal baseline available, we can measure the orbital period of the planet HD 189733 b with particularly high accuracy. We obtain a period of 2.218574 +0.000006 -0.000010 days, corresponding to an accuracy of ∼1 s. Such accurate measurements might provide clues for the presence of companions.


This article deals with the process of adaptation of Chinese precious scrolls (baojuan) vernacular narratives in Vietnam in the period from the 18th to the early 20th centuries, with the example of the Princess Miaoshan story, which served the popular hagiography of Bodhisattva Guanyin (V. Quan Âm). This story was featured in severalbaojuantexts of the 15th-19th centuries that were transmitted from China to Vietnam in the 18th and 19th centuries. Several Vietnamese adaptations, both in Hán văn and in the indigenous language, transcribed in Nôm characters, were circulated in the printed form. We have collected these adaptations and undertaken a comparative study of the texts, demonstrating the complex nature of the literary exchange between vernacular literature with religious themes in Vietnam and China. We examine the place of these adaptations in traditional Vietnamese culture and demonstrate the differences in the social background of the original Chinesebaojuanand their Vietnamese adaptations.


This book provides a cohesive set of research statements on critical related issues in British rural geography, as well as echoing the priorities identified by an influential figure in British rural geography, Richard Munton. This book demonstrates that the rural world needs to be seen in a far wider perspective than that of agriculture/ food production, in order to comprehend how resources are being appraised and exploited in new ways, and to respond to the pressing challenges of sustainability for the decades ahead. Chapters adopt a time perspective to explore a series of key themes: the rise of productivist farming ways of conceptualising agricultural change the evolution of landownership and property rights rural and urban agendas for nature conservation the gap between policy and action for sustainable development. The final set of chapters is devoted to policy-related issues associated with agricultural change and the profound challenge of rural diversification for the future. The last chapter traces the prominent career of Richard Munton.


As a means of rectifying the problematic absence of multidisciplinary scholarly work on suicide, this dissertation project interrogates suicide in American literature and culture of the 1990's across disciplines within the humanities, medicine, and the social sciences. Utilizing a psychosocial approach to the study of suicide – that is, an understanding of suicide as produced both by one's psychological development within and by one's social relationship to his or her environment – I address what I have identified as a unique trifurcated suicide response that arose in American culture in the 1990's as it emerged through major societal and legal events and as it coalesced through major literary texts of the period. While suicide has had a presence in virtually every culture across history, the convergence of these societal and legal events in this decade with a radically-changing perspective on suicide in medical theory and research emergent in the 1980's and 1990's created a culture of suicide unique to its time and place. The five essential problems that this project addresses are: (1) ascertaining the origins of the rise of preoccupation with suicide throughout the 1990's as seen through mass suicide events; increased social debate, political action, and legal movements for the right to die, and as suicide attempts, completions, and bereavements increased across the decade; (2) determining the ways in which grieving suicide was complicated by the degree to which survivors or the public were able to make meaning of these deaths, simultaneous to psychological theories uncovering the importance of meaning making in unresolved grief; (3) interrogating the cultural intersections of power and privilege which altered the perceived suicide risk for and attention to members of groups disenfranchised due to sexual identity during the AIDS crisis; (4) examining the ethical and historical importance of the assisted suicide movement in the 1990's; and (5) exploring the implications of American cultural inheritances of suicide in the contemporary moment. The significance of this study rests upon three key points in addressing the deficiency in scholarship about suicide in this period. First, this project makes important interventions in the field of literature by incorporating the work of scholars practicing in the disciplines of gender and sexuality studies, history, medicine, nursing, psychology, sociology, and thanatology in order to understand and explicate more fully the pervasive and particular presence of suicide in this decade. Whereas scholars of literature or cultural studies may reference or bridge theories of medicine or social sciences in their projects, there has been an absence of solidly interlocking lenses produced from these major fields through which to consider suicide as a cultural and literary presence in the 1990's. Vast space exists in which a multifocal discussion of suicide across the major fields of literature, social sciences, and medicine is not only possible but, indeed, necessary. Second, in synthesizing theoretical frameworks across disciplines while engaging in textual analyses of the literature in which this project is grounded, I provide a multifocal argument for the particularly troubled culture of suicide that was both reflected in and further developed by American literature in the 1990's. Third and finally, this study will notably increase the understanding of readers in approaching suicide as a psychosocial phenomenon and in approaching suicide in literature as both historically and culturally informed.


This system stores data via MySQL database, develops server-end background management system used by merchants via Eclipse, and utilizes Tomcat to establish the server to realize functions such as merchant login and registration, dish addition, dish modification and deletion, order management and deletion, and merchant information alteration. At the client end, Android Studio is used to plan UI elaborately, and realize functions such as user login and registration, restaurant browsing, dish browsing, shopping cart, user information change, and online ordering. Finally, Android-based order recommender system with the favorable interactive interface is realized, and able to work in good conditions


A theory of state-oriented, partially-ordered model named, Communicating Minimal prefix machines (CMpms) that represent a fixed set of processes, is presented. Each of these Mpms is a possibly infinite, State Transition System . Communication among a set of Mpms is by synchronization. Enriched by a global, causal dependency relation among the Mpm-states that is partial , the disjoint union of CMpms comprise a sum machine . It is shown that the set of all global states of the product machine of CMpms is obtainable dynamically from the local Mpm-states of the sum machine using the monotonicity property, linking the product machine's global states and the sum machine's local ones. In this sense, the product-machine is generated virtually , simulated by the sum-machine. More interestingly, it is shown that from every given set of Communicating Finite state machines (CFsms), a truncated (finite) version of a set of CMpms and so a sum machine can be generated in a recursive functional manner. The set of global states of the product machine of CMpms surjectively map onto that of CFsms. Consequently, it is possible to generate all the global states of the latter using the local states of the sum machine composed by a corresponding set of CMpms. The sum machine models true causality and hence true sequence, true concurrency and true choice among local states, as exhibited by the original input CFsms specification without enumerating all the runs of the system nor all the nondeterministic interleavings of each run as opposed to the product machine . A Spatial, temporal logic or space-time logic named CML (Computational Mpms Logic), is proposed that combines the conventional branching time feature with what is proposed as branching space feature: the latter corresponds to concurrency just as the former to conflicts , as exhibited by the input specification. CML therefore introduces operators to reason about properties of interleavings within each run, orthogonal to the branching time operators, to reason about runs . The logic turns out to be more expressive than the ones in vogue for specifying properties of concurrent systems. In addition, CML coupled with the sum machine model, enables the implementation of a deterministic model checker algorithm to verify the properties of a given CFsm system that is free of exponential complexity caused by the enumeration of runs as well as that of all interleavings within each run.


If you ask the average Westerner about the Crimea, you will likely get a blank stare. Some might remember the mid-19th century Crimean War or recollect high school analysis of Lord Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade." An outdoorsman perhaps has a vague understanding that the balaclava is somehow related to the Crimea. However, the Crimea is now a flashpoint for political tension between Russia and Ukraine, ethnic tension among Russians, Ukrainians, and Tartars, and friction between Muslims and Christians--examples of some of the most important struggles in the world today. Nestled on the shores of the Black Sea, the small peninsula of the Crimea is home to two million people in an area that is comparable to the size of Massachusetts. The region belonged to Russia from the late 18th century until Soviet leadership transferred it to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine kept the Crimea, but Russia maintains a lease on a naval port in the city of Sevastopol, where its Black Sea Fleet is based, creating strategic concerns that are the basis for the Ukrainian-Russian conflict over the peninsula. Moreover, the existence of a significant Muslim Tatar minority in the Crimea is also a source of tension in the area. The Crimean Tatars were deported from the region under Stalin, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tatars began to return: according to the latest Ukrainian census, 250,000 Crimean Tatars constitute around 12 percent of Crimea's population. The return of this population to their ancestral homeland has caused both ethnic and religious friction with the Slavic peoples in the area. Sporadic conflicts between these two groups have the potential to spark greater conflict with Turkey (the Tatars are a Turkic people) or to provide a new venue for clashes with Islamic extremism as in nearby Chechnya. Any clashes could also serve as a pretext for Russia to appeal to anti-Muslim sentiments and exercise more control in the area in order to protect ethnic Russians, which could serve as a dangerous example for far-right sentiment in the rest of Europe. However, Russia's pretext to intervene in the Crimea would more likely come from tensions between ethnic Ukrainians and Russians or strategic considerations over Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Nearly 60 percent of the Crimea's population is ethnically Russian, compared to only 17.3 percent in the Ukraine as a whole. …


A laboratory sea ice microcosm was developed to enable the cultivation of the ice diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus in the skeletal layer and bottom 10 cm of sea ice. Growth of diatoms was ensured by continuous flow of new medium beneath the ice. Light was provided from above by a metal halide lamp to simulate a typical natural daylight irradiance spectrum. Oxygen micro-optodes were deployed in the microcosm to measure micro-profiles through the ice water interface and between the ice lamellae of the skeletal layer. Net oxygen production at the ice water interface, at an irradiance of 40 µmol photons m-2 s-1 and -1.9°C, ranged between 0.0064 and 0.0225 nmol O2 cm-2 s-1. Algal biomass increased from 0.03 µg chlorophyll a (chl a) l-1 in the column interior to 42 µg chl a l-1 within 5 mm of the ice water interface. Oxygen micro-profiles revealed diffusive boundary layers (DBLs) which varied between ca. 460 and 1000 µm. DBLs were detected between ice lamellae, the periphery of the ice water interface and extending from the water below the ice through the ice water interface into the spaces between ice lamellae. An additional small-scale horizontal variability of DBLs was also reflected in the net photosynthetic activity. The small-scale patchiness of algae and the differences in DBL thickness were caused by physico-chemical processes (e.g. turbulence, water flow velocity), which in turn were influenced by ice lamellar structure at the ice water interface. These factors were the grounds for the observed variability in net-photosynthesis.


We provide an example for an errors in variables problem which might be often neglected but which is quite common in lab experimental practice: In one task, attitude towards risk is measured, in another task participants behave in a way that can possibly be explained by their risk attitude. How should we deal with inconsistent behaviour in the risk task? Ignoring these observations entails two biases: An errors in variables bias and a selection bias. We argue that inconsistent observations should be exploited to address the errors in variables problem, which can easily be done within a Bayesian framework.


The quantum phase transitions and exotic excitations are exciting and important topics of nowadays condensed matter theory. Topologically protected excitations are of great interest for potential applications in quantum computing. This Thesis explores two examples of exotic topologically protected excitations, Majorana fermions and parafermions in hybrid superconductor/semiconductor systems.In the first part of the thesis, after a brief review of ideas on Majorana zero modes in solid state systems obtained by researchers over the past decade, I present our study of the emergence of Majorana fermions in charge carrier holes doped quantum wires. Study of Majorana modes in this system requires understanding Luttinger holes in low dimensions, which is also crucial for numerous spin-dependent phenomena, emerging field of spintronics and nanotechnology. We find that hole-doped quantum wires that are proximity coupled to a conventional s-wave superconductor is a promising system for the observation of Majorana fermions. We advanced understanding of Luttinger holes in quantum wells and quantum wires. We have shown that the vast majority of earlier treatments of Luttinger holes ignored an important effect, a mutual transformation of heavy and light holes at the heteroboundaries. We have derived the effective hole Hamiltonians in the ground size-quantized sub-bands of quantum wells and quantum wires. The effect of mutual transformation of holes is crucial for understanding Zeeman and spin-orbit coupling, and results in several spin-orbit terms linear in momentum in hole-doped quantum wires. We discuss the criterion for realizing Majorana modes in charge carrier hole systems and show that GaAs or InSb hole wires shall exhibit stronger topological superconducting pairing, providing additional opportunities for its control compared to intensively studies InSb and InAs electron systems.In the second part of the thesis, I first introduce the basic facts of the current theoretical understanding of the fractional quantum Hall effect and a theoretical model of parafermion excitations. Parafermion zero modes are promising for universal quantum computing. However, physical systems that are predicted to host these exotic excitations are rare and difficult to realize in experiments. I present our work on modeling domain walls on the boundary between gate-induced polarized and unpolarized domains of the fractional quantum Hall effect system near the spin transitions, and the emergence of the parafermion zero modes when such domain wall is proximity coupled to an s-wave superconductor. Exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian in a disk and torus geometries proves formation of the counter-propagating edge states with different spin polarizations at the boundaries between areas of the electron liquid in polarized and unpolarized filling factor $\nu=2/3$ phases. By analytical and numerical methods we find the conditions for emergence of parafermion zero modes in hybrid fractional quantum Hall/s-wave superconductor system. The phase diagram indicates that the parafermionic phase, which is represented by the six-fold ground state degeneracy, is separated from other phases by a topological phase transition. Such parafermion modes are experimentally feasible. They present a vital step toward the realization of Fibonacci anyons that allow a full universal set of quantum operations with topologically protected quasiparticles.


Intensive forest management techniques such as whole-tree harvesting and use of herbicides to control weeds can have an effect on nutrient cycling and nutrient pool sizes in the mineral soil. This study was conducted to measure differences in soil carbon (C), nutrient pools, or phosphorus (P) fractions associated with harvest-intensity (bole-only vs. whole-tree harvest) and weed-control treatments (initial weed control vs. five years of annual weed control) after ten years. Soil C, nitrogen (N), and P, and exchangeable calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and Hedley P fractions were measured prior to treatment establishment and after ten years in two Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) plantations in the Pacific Northwest. We observed increases in most nutrient concentrations with initial weed control compared with annual weed control at Matlock, with opposite trends at Molalla. Exchangeable Ca and Mg content showed responses to weed control treatments. Harvesting treatments had no significant effects on soil C and nutrient pools at either site. Total P and many of the Hedley P fractions decreased over time, but these effects were ameliorated with the less-intensive initial-weed-control-only treatment at Matlock and the more-intensive annual-weed-control at Molalla. Ten-year responses suggest that harvesting intensity has not impacted potential for maintaining soil C and nutrient pools, with the exception of P, for long-term productivity. Knowledge of the on-site vegetative communities and their role in nutrient cycling is required to anticipate what effect weed control might have on nutrient pools through ensuing stand development.


The research presented in this thesis focuses on the process of direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from molecular hydrogen and oxygen. This reaction potentially
offers an approach which is greener and more sustainable when compared to the current industrial indirect auto-oxidation process. The work presented herein examines some of the key factors in determining the viability of the process in a water solvent at ambient temperature, conditions which would represent a very economically and environmentally attractive option, if feasible.
The first part of this thesis investigates the ways in which changing reaction conditions affects the fundamental reaction processes of the direct synthesis reaction –
synthesis of hydrogen peroxide and its subsequent degradation by decomposition and hydrogenation. It was found that moving to a water solvent and ambient
temperature results in significantly lower yields and greater degradation comparative to previously used water/methanol solvents and 2°C reactions.
The second part of this thesis explores the design of catalysts which are active for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide while limiting degradation activity, to
increase the yield in water at ambient temperature. A series of supported metal catalysts of the nominal formulation 0.5 wt. % Pd - 4.5 wt. % 'base metal' were
prepared and treated with a cyclic oxidative-reductive-oxidative heat treatment. This produced highly stable catalysts with activity for the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide, but low to no activity for both decomposition and hydrogenation pathways. These catalysts also fulfilled a secondary aim of producing economically attractive catalysts
due to the low loadings of precious metals used.
The third and final part of this thesis studies the implementation of these highly selective catalysts in both gas and gas/liquid phase flow reactors. The production of
hydrogen peroxide in a gas phase flow system is shown to be attainable although most likely not a commercially viable option. The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide in a gas/liquid flow system is shown to proceed with selectivities greater than those previously reported for different catalysts under similar conditions. Tests also
show that hydrogen peroxide can be produced under 'real world' conditions of high flow rates, a hard water solvent and a dilute hydrogen in air gas mix. These studies
could be used to inform future work on high throughput water cleaning technologies.


In polar regions, satellite microwave radiometry has not been successful in measuring the total water vapor (TWV) in the atmosphere. The difficulties faced in these regions arise from the very low water vapor burden of the atmosphere and the large and highly variable emissivities of ice surfaces in the microwave frequency range. By exploiting the advantages of the Special Sensor Microwave/Temperature 2 (SSM/T2), a method is developed to retrieve TWV over Antarctica from satellite data. This method shows very low sensitivities to the change of surface emissivity and to the presence of water clouds. However, ice clouds may have considerable effects. Results of radiative transfer model simulation show that they may cause one to underestimate TWV using the proposed method and that the amount of underestimation is proportional to the ice water path of the ice cloud. Validations using radiosonde measurements and numerical model analyzes suggest that SSM/T2 retrievals have a high accuracy (maximum error <10%) as long as TWV is <4.0 kg m−2. Above this value, retrievals show a systematic overestimation. Presumably, this is a result of the seasonal difference between the validation and the training radiosonde data sets. TWV retrievals of 1 year's SSM/T2 data show clearly the seasonal variation of water vapor over Antarctica. Throughout the year the mean TWV over West Antarctica is nearly twice as high as that over East Antarctica; the temporal fluctuation of TWV over West Antarctica is also significantly stronger than over East Antarctica. This suggests that precipitation and water vapor transport in West Antarctica are more active than in East Antarctica. Using the same year's TWV data, we estimated the mean residence time of atmospheric water vapor over the Antarctica to be merely 3–4 days. This, however, is much shorter than the global mean of 9–10 days.


A microcavity hollow cathode discharge emission source has been designed and evaluated for ultratrace analysis of sub-μL samples of solution residues. It was found that sample drying time and cathode precondition had a significant effect on the signal-to-background and signal-to-noise ratios. Detection limits for Cu and Pb were determined to be 10 pg and 210 fg, respectively.


Studies of the chemical mechanisms involved in the maturation of whiskey showed that the formation of acetaldehyde, acetic acid, and ethyl acetate originates in the distillate, while ethanol lignin, aromatic aldehydes, sugars and some acetic acid are reaction products of the distillate and wood components. Storage conditions affect these reactions. For example, barrel wood is more reactive when a barrel is charred, causing a higher congener level in the product of the first filling than that of a comparable filling in an uncharred barrel. As the barrel is reused, the product congener level approaches that of the uncharred barrel. The effect of recharring the barrels on congener formation is also discussed. The entry proof also affects the levels of congeners present in the final product. As the entry proof increases, those congeners that originate from barrel components decrease. Warehouse temperatures are directly related to the rate these congeners are formed. The implication of these relationships on the maturation of whiskey is discussed.


The Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) is considered as an endemic sturgeon of the south part of the Caspian Sea and provides the highest Iranian caviar production. Due to overfishing, degradation of the rivers conditions of the natural reproductive habitats, the fish stocks is decreasing. The immature breeders do not response to hormonal therapy at the sturgeon hatcheries as most having PI (above 10) and large numbers of breeders caught and transported to the hatcheries were unable to reproduce. This study was attempted to find the effect of LHRHa implantation on oocytes maturation and spawning of Persian sturgeon. Broodstocks were caught from the southeast region of the Caspian Sea. The selected female broodstocks (PI>10) ranged in size from 24.0 to 37.5 kg were implanted with LHRHa cholesterol pellets at concentrations of 0 μg/kg (control), and treatments of 10, 15 and 20 μg/ kg (in three replicates. The results from this study indicated that females treated with LHRHa hormone implantation at 10, 15, 20 µg per kg body weight reached final maturation. These results were observed for all fish from treatment numbers 2 (15 μg/ kg) and 3 (20 μg/kg), however only one fish reached final maturation in treatment 1(10 μg/ kg). The current implantation of LHRHa was able to enhance breeders with PI above 10 to final maturation which under normal condition at sturgeon"s hatcheries this is not possible. The results suggested that final maturation can be achieved that lead to high fertilization (78.33% ±13.87, 68.33% ±4.16 in treatment 2 and 3, respectively) and hatching rates (85.3% ±9.07, 68.33% ±7.64 in treatment 2 and 3, respectively) and also total larvae production. Thus, the information from this study is very useful for artificial propagation of not-fully-matured females of Persian sturgeon at Sturgeon hatcheries especially in Iran.