One of the principal challenges of historical linguistics is to explain the causes of language change. Any such explanation, however, must also address the 'actuation problem': why is it that changes occurring in a given language at a certain time cannot be reliably predicted to recur in other languages, under apparently similar conditions? The sixteen contributions to the present volume each aim to elucidate various aspects of this problem, including: What processes can be identified as the drivers of change? How central are syntax-external (phonological, lexical or contact-based) factors in triggering syntactic change? And how can all of these factors be reconciled with the actuation problem? Exploring data from a wide range of languages from both a formal and a functional perspective, this book promises to be of interest to advanced students and researchers in historical linguistics, syntax and their intersection.


Aim/Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore trends and motivations for doctoral students' participation in domestic and international conferences. We draw on doctoral students' perceptions and experiences from four contexts (USA, Scotland, England, Australia) to further explore variations across different global contexts.

Background: There is increased recognition of the importance of conferences within doctoral education. Yet very little is known or understood about doctoral students' participation and motivations for participating in conferences.

Methodology: Our sample includes doctoral students from four institutions studying in a School of Education. We used an online survey and follow-up focus group interviews to investigate doctoral students' perceptions and experiences of conferences.

Contribution: There are few studies on doctoral students' participation in conferences. This study contributes to the literature on doctoral students as it investigates the trends and rationale for doctoral students' participation in national and international conferences. We highlight the importance of conferences as learning sites for doctoral students. Furthermore, our research highlights dissimilarities and ambiguities in the provision of support for doctoral students' regarding what we describe as the social aspect of their researcher learning and development, in this case, in networking activities.

Findings: Our findings show that a) at both the individual (doctoral students) and institutional level, there is an implicit understanding of the importance of networking and yet programs rarely formally require conference attendance; b) students' motivations to attend conferences may be mediated by their career aspirations and supportive structures (i.e., funding); and c) conferences support doctoral students' learning and confidence in future networking.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Our recommendations to doctoral education training programs and/or supervisors are to explicitly discuss and promote networking and/or conference attendance, and to find ways to support students to engage in networking outside their immediate study environment.

Recommendation for Researchers: Our recommendation to researchers is to further investigate the importance of networking behaviors and experiences on doctoral student training and/or career outcomes.

Impact on Society: This research highlights the importance of recognizing the learning needs of doctoral students who are expected to work in a complex, globally connected society as part of the reality of higher education in the 21st century.

Future Research: Results from the study could help inform a larger study on the trends and motivations of doctoral students' networking across all disciplines.


This Essay considers the applicability of a particular model of legal ethics, neutral partisanship, to American lawyers' representation of those who violate, or are accused of violating, international human rights. I maintain that neutral partisanship, a deficient model for American lawyers in their domestic practice, is even more problematic when applied in the international arena. The central question is this: are there limits, short of engaging in illegal conduct, that should constrain lawyers in the representation of those who violate international human rights? Neutral partisanship holds that any lawyer may, or, more strongly, must, pursue any legal end for any client by any legal means. I disagree, both in general and with respect to international human rights practice in particular. NEUTRAL PARTISAN LAWYERING AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATORS*


GSM technology with all its highly interactive services and tools is closely related to the Internet and its growth in last few years has been enormous. It allows viewing the GSM communication space as the new terrain of scientific research. This study examines the way in which religious groups as well as the individuals use the GSM technology (including the service of SMS and MMS) in the Czech Republic. Communication - in all of its technologically available forms - is the important and official use of mobile phones. GSM technology - connected with Internet - also provides SMS services with biblical quotes or reminders with religious topics. Another characteristic of GSM use is the production and distribution of MMS with religious pictures (symbols). What was also found was the strong missionary effort of particular religious groups as well as of individual members, reflected in excessive GSM spamming. The typology is developed and the way in which mobile phones affect contemporary religious practice is discussed in this study.


The Trump Administration's immigration policy is one of the most hotly contested areas of American law. However, few have explored the Administration's interest in using the obscure doctrine of public charge to further its agenda. Public charge determinations allow immigration authorities to prevent individuals from entering the country as well as deport immigrants who use public benefits. What's more, individuals who sponsor family members to enter the United States are liable to pay the federal government back for any public benefits the sponsored family member uses once in the United States. A leaked draft Executive Order and proposed regulations suggest that the Trump Administration plans to use this obscure nexus of alienage law and public benefits regulations in support of its agenda and pit immigrant communities and families against each other.
This Article sketches the intersection of immigration law and the law of public benefits. It begins by mapping the unpredictable landscape of noncitizen eligibility for public benefits. The Article then analyzes public charge doctrine and the ways in which the Trump Administration threatens to upend this longstanding regime through proposed regulations, revised guidance, and punitive enforcement practices. Finally, the Article identifies the contours of data-sharing among federal and state agencies, including what protections exist to prevent government officials from repurposing that data for use in immigration enforcement actions.


Under both a cap-and-trade system and a greenhouse gas tax, the government will regulate energy suppliers and distributors, utility companies, and large manufacturers. These parties will bear the statutory incidence of the regulation. However, the financial impacts of regulating greenhouse gas emissions will be borne primarily by consumers. Consumers will bear the economic incidence of the regulation in the form of increased costs of gasoline, electricity, and home heating fuels and in increased consumer prices for all goods manufactured or distributed using fossil fuels. Greenhouse gas regulation will also generate significant revenue. This Article addresses the question of what should be done with those revenues. Models of the economic incidence of the two systems indicate that while high-income households will bear a larger portion of the distributional impacts because they consume more, low-income households will bear a disproportionate burden as a percentage of their household income. In view of the political challenges associated with redistribution, the practical challenges associated with calculating the net burdens of environmental regulation, and the central importance of protecting the least advantaged in society, this Article proposes that the optimal regulatory regime is one that neutralizes the distributional impacts. The government may achieve this by capturing revenues from a cap-and-trade system or a greenhouse gas tax and using those revenues to issue a rebate that is proportional to household income and scaled according to household size. This Article also suggests that the most efficient method for delivering the rebate is by issuing a refundable tax credit through the income tax system, based on the institutional compatibility of that system with the regulatory and distributional goals of the policy.


In a very strong positive result for passive learning algorithms, Bshouty et al. showed that DNF expressions are efficiently learnable in the uniform random walk model. It is natural to ask whether the more expressive class of thresholds of parities (TOP) can also be learned efficiently in this model, since both DNF and TOP are efficiently uniform-learnable from queries. However, the time bounds of the algorithms of Bshouty et al. are exponential for TOP. We present a new approach to weak parity learning that leads to quasi-efficient uniform random walk learnability of TOP. We also introduce a more general random walk model and give two positive results in this new model: DNF is efficiently learnable and juntas are efficiently agnostically learnable.


The previous edition of the International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors made history as the first unified source of reliable information drawn from many realms of science and technology and created specifically with ergonomics professionals in mind. It was also a winner of the Best Reference Award 2002 from the Engineering Libraries Division, American Society of Engineering Education, USA, and the Outstanding Academic Title 2002 from Choice Magazine. Not content to rest on his laurels, human factors and ergonomics expert Professor Waldemar Karwowski has overhauled his standard-setting resource, incorporating coverage of tried and true methods, fundamental principles, and major paradigm shifts in philosophy, thought, and design. Demonstrating the truly interdisciplinary nature of this field, these changes make the second edition even more comprehensive, more informative, more, in a word, encyclopedic. Keeping the format popularized by the first edition, the new edition has been completely revised and updated. Divided into 13 sections and organized alphabetically within each section, the entries provide a clear and simple outline of the topics as well as precise and practical information. The book reviews applications, tools, and innovative concepts related to ergonomic research. Technical terms are defined (where possible) within entries as well as in a glossary. Students and professionals will find this format invaluable, whether they have ergonomics, engineering, computing, or psychology backgrounds. Experts and researchers will also find it an excellent source of information on areas beyond the range of their direct interests.


. The article substantiates the relevance of practice-oriented learning and highlights the importance of practice in school in the process of training future teachers. The authors define progressive ideas of teachers' practical professional training in Ukraine and the Republic of Cyprus. A comparative analysis of the Field Placement Program of student teachers of the two countries was performed. The stages of practice-oriented training of future primary school teachers, the content and results of pedagogical practice are highlighted. The paper describes the experience of the University of Cyprus (UCY) on the activities of clubs in teacher education, where students create conditions to discuss positive and negative situations, share ideas with students at school, carry out collaborative analysis of their teaching during field placement in video clubs. It was found out that in Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University (PNU) the discussion of the results of students' work during pedagogical practice at school is carried out mostly at the university with a group of teachers and learners where future teachers publicly report on their work. The graduate students' feedback on Teacher Education (results of pedagogical practice in school) is analyzed: the presence of clear instructions on the organization of teacher activities in primary school; ability to set goals and objectives of the lesson; ability to plan professional activities to achieve these goals; skills of organizing educational dialogue in the classroom; ability to create comfortable psychological comfort in the classroom; establishing partnerships with students' parents and teachers at school; skills of communicative culture in teaching children; use of means to stimulate students' motivation, etc.


Portfolios are a frequently used tool for recording, cataloguing and presenting reflections for revalidation purposes, and are used by a number of healthcare professions. More recently, with the development of online resources, the webfolio has become more commonplace in midwifery undergraduate programmes. This article will review the literature in relation to portfolios and outline the key stages in the development and implementation of a webfolio in a midwifery undergraduate programme. The audit of compliance in students and sign off midwifery mentors for the first cohort who used the webfolio will be presented.


The aim of the present study was to compare fat metabolism during submaximal exercise in children with a morbidly obese parent - (COP) (BMI [greater than or equal to] 40 kg/m²) to children with relatively lean parents - (CLP) (BMI [less than or equal to] 28 kg/m²). All participants in the COP and CLP groups (n = 10 per group) completed two, ten minute submaximal exercise sessions at an absolute workload of 15 W and a relative workload of 65% VO2 peak as expired gases were measured. Actigraph GT1M accelerometers were also worn by the participants to determine physical activity patterns during periods of normal living. Despite the participants being matched for age, maturity, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, and physical activity levels, the COP group had a significantly higher RER and lower percentage of energy from fat than the CLP group at an absolute workload of 15 W (P[less than or equal to] 0.05). The difference in RER and percentage of energy from fat at the relative workload of 65% VO2 peak was not significantly different. From our results there appears to be a decreased reliance on fat for energy at lower intensity exercise in children with at least one morbidly obese parent compared to children with lean parents. This decrease in fat metabolism may be genetically predetermined and increase the risk of being obese.


The present study investigates the oxidation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by conventional ozonation and the advanced oxidation process (AOP) ozone/hydrogen peroxide under drinking water treatment conditions. The major degradation products identified were tert-butyl formate (TBF), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), 2-methoxy-2-methyl propionaldehyde (MMP), acetone (AC), methyl acetate (MA), hydroxyisobutyraldehyde (HiBA), and formaldehyde (FA). The rate constants of the reaction of ozone and OH radicals with MTBE were found to be 0.14 and 1.9 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), respectively. The rate constants for the same oxidation processes were also measured for the degradation products TBF, MMP, MA, and HiBA (k(O3-TBF) = 0.78 M(-1) s(-1); k(OH-TBF) = 7.0 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1); k(O3-MMP) = 5 M(-1) s(-1); k(OH-MMP) = 3 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), k(O3-MA) = 0.09 M(-1) s(-1), k(O3-HiBA) = 5 M(-1) s(-1); k(OH-HiBA) = 3 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1)). Since all compounds reacted slowly with molecular ozone, only the degradation pathway of MTBE with OH radicals has been determined, including the formation of primary degradation products. In experiments performed with several natural waters, the efficiency of MTBE elimination and the formation of bromate as disinfection byproduct have been measured. With a bromide level of 50 microg/L, only 35-50% of MTBE could be eliminated by the AOP O3/H2O2 without exceeding the current drinking water standard of bromate (10 microg/L). The transient concentrations of MTBE and its primary degradation products were modeled using a combination of kinetic parameters (degradation product distribution and rate constants) together with the ozone and OH radical concentration and were in good agreement with the experimental results.


Abstract:This report summarizes the results of the first season of excavation at Azoria in eastern Crete and provides an overview of the project's goals and problem orientation. Work in 2002 concentrated on the peak of the South Acropolis and the occupational phases of the seventh-sixth centuries B.C. The recovery of a possible andreion complex suggests the urban character of the site in the sixth century and forms a starting point for discussing the political economy of the Archaic city. The excavations revealed important evidence for the organization of the sixth-century settlement and for the complex stratigraphic history of the site, including the Final Neolithic, Late Prepalatial, Early Iron Age, Archaic, and Hellenistic periods.


The first part of this paper contains an overview of the least squares method applied to various problems in ordinary and partial differential equations. In particular, we discuss various applications to the homogenization of transport equations, to the characterization of entropy solutions to scalar conservation laws and to the asymptotic behaviour of the action functional obtained through the reaction-diffusion approximation of mean curvature flow. In the last part of the paper we introduce and discuss the related problem of the quasi-potential for scalar conservation laws.


A novel approach to visual self-localization in completely unknown environment with a fully unsupervised and computationally efficient algorithm is proposed in this paper. It is based on the recently developed evolving fuzzy classifier (eClass). The problem of self localization and landmark recognition is of extreme importance for designing efficient and flexible land-based autonomous uninhabited vehicles (AUV). The availability of global coordinates, a GPS link, and unrestricted communication is often compromised by a number of factors, such as interference, weather, and mission objectives. The ability to self-localize and recognize landmarks is vital in such cases for an AUV to survive and function effectively. The self-organizing classifier (eClass) is designed by automatic labeling and grouping the landmarks that are detected in real-time based on the image data (video stream grabbed by the camera mounted on the mobile robot, AUV). The proposed approach makes possible autonomous joint landmark detection and recognition without the use of absolute coordinates, any communication link or any pre-training. The proposed algorithm is recursive, non-iterative, one pass and thus computationally inexpensive and suitable for real-time applications. A set of new formulae for on-line data normalization of the data are introduced in the paper. Real-life tests has been carried out in outdoor environment at the Lancaster University campus using Pioneer3 DX mobile robots equipped with a pan-tilt zoom camera and an on-board PC. The results illustrate the viability and flexibility of the proposed approach. Further investigations will be directed towards teams of mobile robots (AUV) performing a task in completely unknown environment (c) IEEE Press


Background: Sleepiness that occurs at inappropriate or undesirable times or that interferes with daytime activities is generally considered excessive daytime sleepiness. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is one of the most common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness. The aim of this study is to finds out the most important nocturnal polysomnographic parameters influencing daytime sleepiness in patients with OSA.
Materials and Methods: Considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 112 patients referred to Baqiyatallah subspeciality sleep clinic in Qom city were selected. Patients, demographic and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) data were gathered and then comparison among ESS with polysomnography and anthropometric parameter was performed. Chi-square was used for analysis of qualitative parameters. Data analysis was done by SPSS v.18. P value was significant (˂0.05).
Results: The mean age of the cases was 55.07 with male frequency 58.9% and female 41.1%. Body mass index was 34.34, apnea hypopnea index 43.62, mean Arousal Index 30.64 and mean ESS was 12.83. There was significant relationship among ESS>10 with arousal index (p=0.009) and mean O2 saturation (p=0.029), But we didn't detected correlation between ESS>10 with other polysomnographic parameters.
Conclusion: According to the data, the most important parameters of sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnea patients were sleep fragmentation and mean O2 saturation.
Keyword: Obstructive sleep apnea, Excessive daytime sleepiness, Arousal.


By examining a wide region of the Al-Cu-Ru phase diagram, a thorough analysis of the compositional and thermal stability of the icosahedral phase has been completed. The primary solidification product of rapid solidification was a topologically and chemically disordered icosahedral phase with an extensive compositional region. Crystallization through exothermic events of the as-solidified materials produced crystalline phases, without the formation of the face-centered-icosahedral (FCI) phase. However, the FCI phase does form at higher temperatures through an endothermic reaction, indicating that it is a stable phase of the system, but only at elevated temperatures. Of the alloys studied, the FCI phase field was found to encompass A165C~23R~12, A165C~20R~15, A170C~20R~10, and A170C~15R~15. The transformation to the FCI phase involves an intermediate approximant phase that is very similar to the FCI structure. Also, a cubic approximant containing atomic arrangements with local icosahedral symmetry similar to a-A1 Mn Si was determined to exist near the FCI phase field.


Background: Mucositis is a complex inflammatory response of the digestive system mucous membrane and it is also one of the most common painful side effects following chemotherapy in children with carcinoma. Developing to mucositis affects the patient's life severely and can lead to long – term hospitalization.Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chamomile mouthwash on the prevention of oral mucositis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Materials and Methods: This double-blinded clinical trial study was done on 31 children with acute lymphoblastic aged 6-15 who were admitted to hospital of 17 Shahrivar Rasht, Iran between 16 July and 8December 2015. Patients and their parents were instructed to resolve 15 drops of chamomile mouth wash in 10cc water, turn it one minute in the mouth, outpour it, and avoid eating for one hour. After three times tooth brushing a day, the mouth cavity of patients was evaluated one day before chemotherapy, the seventh day and fourteenth day of chemotherapy according to the criteria of world health organization. SPSS (version 11)was used in order to analyze the data and random statistical index and independent t test were run. Results: The severity of oral mucositis on the seventh and fourteenth day after chemotherapy had no significant difference with the first day (P = 0.59). The incidence and severity of oral mucositis didn't increase 14 days after chemotherapy in comparison with the seventh day. Conclusion: Chamomile mouthwash can be effective in preventing the incidence and severity of oral mucositis and it can be used as a suitable mouthwash in children undergoing chemotherapy.


Consumers in developing countries (such as South Africa) are more concerned about food additives than consumers in developed countries according to research conducted in 2005 by AC Nielson. Further research conducted in 2007 by Dr. Emsie Dicks (Senior Lecturer, Vaal University of Technology), found that consumers defined food additives as unnatural chemical substances that are added to food and that hold some benefits and/or risks to the consumer.


The accelerated globalization of logistics activities over the last several decades has spurred a rapid expansion of port facilities all cross the world. However, the recent slowdown of international trade, coupled with a global financial crisis, has created an on-going glut of international port facilities throughout the world. Although the abundance of port facilities provides more transshipment options for carriers and shippers, it makes the port selection decision more complex and difficult. To cope with this new set of challenges, this paper proposes a hybrid data envelopment analysis (DEA)/ analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model that is designed to identify factors specifically influencing transshipment port selection, evaluates the extent of influence of those factors on a transshipment port selection decision, and then determines the most critical ones among various factors. To illustrate the usefulness of the proposed hybrid DEA/AHP model, major container hub ports in FarEast Asia were analyzed.


In This Land Is Ours Now , Wendy Wolford presents an original framework for understanding social mobilization. She argues that social movements are not the politically coherent, bounded entities often portrayed by scholars, the press, and movement leaders. Instead, they are constantly changing mediations between localized moral economies and official movement ideologies. Wolford develops her argument by analyzing how a particular social movement works: Brazil's Rural Landless Workers' Movement, known as the Movimento Sem Terra (MST). Founded in the southernmost states of Brazil in the mid-1980s, this extraordinary grassroots agrarian movement grew dramatically in the ensuing years. By the late 1990s it was the most dynamic, well-organized social movement in Brazilian history.

Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, Wolford compares the development of the movement in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina and its northeastern state of Pernambuco. As she explains, in the south, most of the movement's members were sons and daughters of small peasant farmers; in the northeast, they were almost all former plantation workers, who related awkwardly to the movement's agenda of accessing "land for those who work it." The MST became an effective presence in Pernambuco only after the local sugarcane economy had collapsed. Worldwide sugarcane prices dropped throughout the 1990s, and by 1999 the MST was a prominent political organizer in the northeastern plantation region. Yet fewer than four years later, most of the region's workers had dropped out of the movement. By delving into the northeastern workers' motivations for joining and then leaving the MST, Wolford adds nuance and depth to accounts of a celebrated grassroots social movement, and she highlights the contingent nature of social movements and political identities more broadly.


Atmospheric aerosols have important in
uence on the radiation balance of the Earth, on
visibility and human health. Secondary organic aerosol is formed from gas-to-particle conversion
of oxidized volatile organic compounds. A dominant fraction of the gases originates
from plant emissions, making biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSOA) an especially
important constituent of the atmosphere. Knowing the chemical composition of BSOA
particles is crucial for a thorough understanding of aerosol processes in the environment.
In this work, the chemical composition of BSOA particles was measured with aerosol
mass spectrometry and analyzed with statistical methods. The experimental part of
the work comprises process studies of the formation and aging of biogenic aerosols in
simulation chambers. Using a plant chamber, real tree emissions were used to produce
particles in a way close to conditions in forest environments. In the outdoor chamber SAPHIR,
OH-radicals were produced from the photooxidation of ozone under illumination
with natural sunlight. Here, BSOA was produced from defined mixtures of mono- and
sesquiterpenes that represent boreal forest emissions. A third kind of experiments was
performed in the indoor chamber AIDA. Here, particles were produced from ozonolysis of
single monoterpenes and aged by condensing OH-oxidation products.
Two aerosol mass spectrometers (AMS) were used to measure the chemical composition
of the particles. One of the instruments is equipped with a quadrupole mass spectrometer
providing unit mass resolution. The second instrument contains a time-of-flight mass
spectrometer and provides mass resolution sufficient to distinguish different fragments
with the same nominal mass.
Aerosol mass spectra obtained with these instruments are strongly fragmented due to
electron impact ionization of the evaporated molecules. In addition, typical BSOA mass
spectra are very similar to each other. In order to get a more detailed knowledge about the
mass spectral characteristics of aerosol from different precursor mixtures or of different
age, statistical methods comprise a major part of the analysis performed in this work.
First, hierarchical cluster analysis is used to classify similar mass spectra. This method is
based on the distances between pairs of mass spectra and is helpful to distinguish between
groups of very similar data sets. Cluster analysis operates on static mass spectra and
does not incorporate time-dependent processes. As a result it is found that the chemical
composition of BSOA is almost independent from the detailed composition of the terpene
precursor mixture.
Second, elemental analysis of the mass spectra is performed using the high resolving
power of the time-of-flight AMS. For each mass spectrum, the ratio of oxygen to carbon
atoms, O/C, can be calculated by knowing the chemical composition of the individual
fragments and counting the respective elements. This analysis helps interpreting the
results from the statistical methods. The temporal evolution of O/C can be directly interpreted
as an aging process. The evolution is further compared to the oxidation conditions
of the respective experiments. It is found that the temporal O/C evolution in SAPHIR experiments is strongly dependent on the abundance of OH.
Finally, a matrix factorization method constraining the entries in the solution matrices
to positive values (PMF) is applied to determine factors in aging experiments. The results
are linked to fragment distributions in high-resolved mass spectra and to external measurements
of terpene oxidation products. A main result from PMF is that the chemical
composition of BSOA particles is a combination of many parallel processes with different
time constants.
Additional measurements were performed on heated aerosol to infer the volatility and
changes in the chemical composition with evaporation of the most volatile compounds.
The discussion of the results from these measurements forms the final chapter of this work.


The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of sodium oxide on properties of fresh and hardened paste of alkali-activated blast furnace slag from Isfahan steel plant. The silica modulus (SiO2/Na2O) of activator was adjusted at 0.6 and a number of mixes were designed in such a way to contain different levels of sodium oxide including 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6% by weight of dry slag. The most important physico-mechanical properties of the pastes including workability, initial and final setting times, 28-day compressive strength and efflorescence severity were measured. Suitable mixes were chosen for more studies including compressive strength at different ages, 90-day autogenous and drying shrinkages. According to the results, increasing the sodium oxide content of the mixes results in increased workability, reduced setting times, and higher compressive strength. The results confirm the possibility of achieving 28-day compressive strengths up to 27.5, 50.0 and 70.0 MPa for mixes with sodium oxide content of 1, 2 and 3 wt% respectively. The measured values for autogenous shrinkage were all less than 0.1% and SEM studies showed a significant decrease in pore sizes with increasing sodium oxide concentration from 1 to 2%.


The paper deals with the concepts of image and reputation and peculiarities of managing them in the context of politics and public institutions. Substantial stages of image and reputation management development are identified and characterized. The necessity for creating sustainable image and seeking a strong positive reputation, as well as grounding reputation management on the base of holistic approach, is presented. Characteristics and factors driving ones' image and reputation, submitted in the paper, and proposed theoretical issues and practical considerations of managing image and reputation should be considered as guidelines for developing comprehensive image and reputation management system in both politics and public institutions. Exploring such a system is extremely important both in politics, as image-intensive sector, and in public institutions as demand for transparency and power of communication grow increasingly.


Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) hired Owens & Minor (O&M) as its alpha vendor for medical/surgical supplies in 2004. By 2005, O&M was performing JIT and LUM services for VM, but they believed the pricing model in the industry was outdated. VM and O&M partnered to create the Total Supply Chain Cost (TSCC) pricing program, an activity-based model that assigned all the cost drivers of distribution and inventory handling to VM, but also assured O&M of a profit. The TSCC incented VM to streamline its distribution activities, since these would directly impact its fee. After beta testing the TSCC for one year, VM's Daniel Borunda and O&M's Michael Stefanic believed that TSCC was a better and more cost-effective pricing model, but could they convince their companies to continue to invest in TSCC?


The recovery of land cover/use after the disaster is sometimes disorderly, especially in developing countries. It is necessary to continuously monitor the progress of land cover/use recovery after disaster in order to sustain vegetation around estuarine and coastal areas. The purpose of this study was to assess the recovery progress of vegetation around estuarine and coastal areas after the Indian Ocean tsunami using a simplified method which consisting Google Earth and visual photo interpretation. Vegetation areas were able to be detected with high accuracy (80%−100%) using simplified method which consisting Google Earth and visual photo interpretation. We were able to show that all most of area including mangrove forests recovered relatively smoothly. However, the area which has a large vegetation areas have not enough recovered, which reached to half or less than half compare with before tsunami. This may be significant in affecting the role of the coastal ecosystem and bioshield. A large number of small mangrove patches (less than 0.1 ha) were able to found around ponds, a number that rapidly increased after the tsunami. Some site in 2013 was double that in 2004. Fish farmers might have planted them for supplying nutrients to ponds and maintain the water quality. Dozen years have passed since the 2004 tsunami, and it might be time to more focus on the recovery of large vegetation area.


There is abundant evidence for polarity of moving cells. Certain signaling pathways are critical for cell movement, some key signaling molecules are inhomogeneously distributed in the cell, and dramatic reorganization of the cytoskeleton occurs primarily at the front of the cell. Wang et al. provide new insights into these phenomena through the global analysis of the proteome and phosphoproteome in the cell body versus the pseudopod at the front of a moving cell. Cos-7 cells were grown on microporous filters and then exposed to a chemotactic agent. The pseudopods were manually separated from the cell bodies, and the two fractions were subjected to liquid-chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) or phosphoprotein analysis by immobilized metal affinity chromatography of isotopically labeled samples. About 3500 proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS; ~1300 were evenly distributed between the cell body and the pseudopod, and approximately equal numbers (~1100) were selectively enriched in either the cell body or the pseudopod. Not surprisingly, the cell body was enriched in proteins involved in nuclear receptor signaling, cell cycle regulation, and DNA and RNA metabolism, whereas the pseudopod was enriched in proteins that regulate the actin cytoskeleton, integrin signaling, and axon guidance. Phosphoproteome analysis identified 228 peptides, one-third of which were enriched in the pseudopod and ~40% of which were enriched in the cell body. The phosphorylated proteins fell into four categories: (i) Those for which high phosphorylation correlated with high abundance within a particular compartment, (ii) those for which abundance and phosphorylation were inversely correlated, (iii) those for which abundance was relatively uniform but phosphorylation was enriched in one compartment, and (iv) those for which the phosphorylated proteins were uniformly distributed but site-specific phosphorylation was enriched in one compartment. The proteins that activate or inhibit mitogen-activated protein kinase ERK, which is known to function in chemotaxis, were analyzed in greater detail, and the authors constructed three pathways by which ERK could be activated in chemotaxing cells: one from the G protein-coupled receptor activated by lysophosphatidic acid, one from transactivation of epidermal growth factor receptors, and one from integrins. Negative influences were also noted. Y. Wang, S.-J. Ding, W. Wang, J. M. Jacobs, W.-J. Qian, R. J. Moore, F. Yang, D. G. Camp, II, R. D. Smith, R. L. Klemke, Profiling signaling polarity in chemotactic cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104, 8328-8333 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This case study investigates the co-simulation of an extractive distillation column using Aspen Dynamics together with MATLAB Simulink toolbox. This extractive distillation column separates Methyl Cyclo Hexane (MCH) from Toluene by using input Phenol as a third component (entractant) to move the ternary system beyond the azeotropic point. The study started with testing the steady state model of the process in Aspen Plus; then continued with importing and testing the process dynamic model in both manual and automatic modes using Aspen Dynamics. Finally, the process model in Aspen Dynamics was connected to the built-in controllers in Simulink then the co-simulation of the controlled process was performed using Aspen Dynamics together with the MATLAB Simulink toolbox.

The case study was an example taken from Aspen Dynamics version 8.4v. With the newest version of Aspen Dynamics and Simulink version 8.4 operating platform Windows 7, it is required to install the 32 bit MATLAB to address compatibility issues between Aspen Dynamics and MATLAB.

The same control system design including four conventional controllers was implemented by Aspen Tech in two different software package structures: in Aspen Dynamics stand-alone simulations and in Aspen Dynamics – Simulink co-simulations to control the feed tank level, reboiler level, reflux drum level and top stream pressure of column by adjusting feed 2 flowrate, coolant flowrate to condenser, bottom (Toluene and Phenol) flowrate and product (MCH) flowrate. Then a new controller was developed in Aspen Dynamics and co-simulation to control the product (MCH) purity by adjusting entrainer (Phenol) flowrate. Advanced controller (DMC) has tried to be developed in co-simulation to replace PI controller. However, attempts to develop DMC had failed after few trials.

All conventional controllers were tuned using auto tuning method in Aspen Dynamics using a special tool, which is 'tuning' tool. It gives the best control parameters to achieve the best possible control response. Set point changes and disturbance changes have been made to PI controllers and variables respectively, and it is intended to investigate the effect on product purity. The new controller is very helpful in improving the level of product purity. All run shows that Aspen Dynamics stand alone, or co-simulation gives the same results in every test.

Before developing Dynamics Model control (DMC) in co-simulation, DMC examples exercises from 'ENG 420' was implemented on a simple first order system in MATLAB to understand the basics of the predictive control strategy along with the effect of design parameters.

All results obtained are discussed in Section Results and Discussion. Guideline for the next thesis student has been outlined at the end of this report. Overall, most of the main objectives of this thesis was achieved with very satisfying results. However due to unforeseen circumstances and time constraints, DMC controller is not fully functional.


In recent decades, projections involving population growth, changes in consumption patterns, modifications of the wastes produced, and a significant increase in resource extraction have caused concern in the scientific world, in treatment companies, and in environmental and governmental agencies throughout the world, regarding the destina-tion of the large volume of solid wastes generated, the relatively high contents of poten - tially toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic substances and pathogenic microorganisms. Waste management has become very important to ensure elementary resources such as water, phosphorus, and food in the future. The recycling policy thus requires that wastes be classified in terms of their appropriateness for new uses and also based on their ori gins and hazardousness of handling. These classifications are essential in order to allow a minimum of rationality in their new destinations. Currently, several studies have been performed to use solid wastes from human activities as soil conditioners and/or fertiliz - ers for increasing crop productivity. Therefore, studies that monitor organic waste effects on agricultural soils deserve the attention of the international scientific community, as it enables increases in the productivity of agricultural crops, fiber, and biomass energy combined to reduce risks to human, plant, and animal health and environment.


The report describes the prevalence of intentional injuries to children in the European Union, including maltreatment, peer to peer violence and self-directed violence, and examines the level of uptake of national level policies to address intentional child injuries in over 25 Member States. This is the first time that national actions to address child intentional injury are being comprehensively assessed and reported on in the EU.

Within the report are individual country policy profiles for each of the participating Member States: Austria, Belgium (Flanders only), Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden and the United Kingdom (England and Scotland only).


Two‐dimensional (2D) ZnO nanoflakes were grown on thin aluminum layer, deposited on silicon substrate, using a sol–gel method. The surface morphologies of ZnO nanoflakes at different precursor concentrations were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Combined studies of SEM, photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy suggested that nanorods started to grow along with nanoflakes at a precursor concentration of 0.05 M and the density of the nanorods significantly increased when the concentration was raised to 0.075 M. Both the UV‐luminescence and Raman spectra were intensified and redshifted with the increment of precursor concentration. Spectral intensification suggests improvement in crystal qualities and better optical properties of the fabricated ZnO nanostructures. The structural defects at lower levels of precursor were probably due to the hypoxic environment, whereas, the redshift of PL and Raman spectra was due to the local heating of ZnO nanocrystals.


The regulation of contractile activity in mice bearing a null mutation of the M-isoform of creatine kinase gene, has been investigated in tissue extracts and Triton X-100-treated preparations of ventricular, soleus, and gastrocnemius muscles of control and transgenic mice. Skinned fiber experiments did not evidence any statistical difference in the maximal force or the calcium sensitivity of either muscle type. Rigor tension development at a low MgATP concentration was greatly influenced by phosphocreatine in control but not in transgenic mice as should be expected. In calcium-activated ventricular preparations, although the force developed by each cross-bridge was the same in control and transgenic animals, the rate constant of tension changes appeared to be markedly slowed in transgenic animals. As the ventricular isomyosin pattern was not altered, we suggested that, in transgenic animals, cross-bridge cycling was hindered by a local decrease in the MgATP to MgADP ratio, due to lack of a local MgATP regenerating system. Myokinase activity was not significantly changed while activities of pyruvate kinase or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase were found to be increased in transgenic animals. These results show that no fundamental remodelling occurs in myofibrils of transgenic animals but that important adaptations modify the bioenergetic pathways including glycolytic metabolism.


Despite their huge popularity as holiday destinations, seaside towns have generally been under-researched. Existing research is limited to narrow historical perspectives and is often focused at a regional level. British seaside towns have suffered a significant decline but there is little attention given to how contemporary issues are likely to shape their futures. For this paper, a sample of British seaside towns that form part of the newly approved Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) are analysed to identify how these new governance arrangements are likely to affect future development in these areas. Core-periphery theory (CPT) is used as a framework within which to analyse these arrangements and to identify potential problems and obstacles. Analysis reveals significant governance issues for seaside towns in terms of structural inequalities and relationships of dependency. The LEPs do not adequately recognise the peripheral nature of seaside towns and the special conditions needed for their development. There is a reliance on outdated growth models and there is a lack of innovation in their approach. From a CPT perspective, the new LEPs do not seem to provide a brighter future for the development of seaside towns.


There is a large increase in lymphoid malignancy in A-T patients and a total absence of myeloid tumors. Penetrance of the tumor phenotype is about 10% to 15% by early adulthood. The increase in lymphoid malignancy includes both B- and T-cell tumors. However, young A-T patients do not show an increased susceptibility to cALL, and the UK data suggest that B-cell lymphoma occurs in older A-T children. T-cell tumors may occur at any age and may be T-ALL, T-cell lymphoma, or T-PLL; most strikingly, there may be a fourfold to fivefold increased frequency of T-cell tumors compared with that of B-cell tumors in these patients. If this is correct, it is possible that a significant proportion of all T-ALL/T-cell lymphoma in infants might be associated with undiagnosed A-T. The age range and sex predominance for T-ALL may be different for A-T and non-A-T patients and the age range for T-PLL may also be different in A-T and non-A-T patients. There is clearly some uncertainty concerning the ratio of T-cell to B-cell tumors in A-T, but this could be clarified by the publication of all tumors that occur in the disorder. In contrast, 8 of 9 tumors reported in NBS, which shows the same cellular features as A-T, were lymphomas and none was a leukemia. There are several indicators of genetic heterogeneity in A-T that suggest that not all patients are equally susceptible to all T-cell tumor types. Concordance for tumor type within individual families suggests that particular gene defects may be associated with particular tumor types. The logical extrapolation of this argument is that some patients may not have any increased risk for B-cell tumors at all or even to all T-cell types but only to a particular type of T-cell tumor. What is the cause of the increased predisposition to leukemia/lymphoma in A-T patients? There is no evidence that the immunodeficiency in A-T is related to this predisposition. One of the major findings in all A-T patients is the increase in V(D)J-mediated chromosome rearrangement observed in T lymphocytes. Particular chromosome translocations in T cells, involving a break in a TCR gene, are characteristically associated with either T-ALL or T-PLL in non-A-T patients. The majority of T-cell tumors in A-T are T-ALL and T-cell lymphoma, about which virtually nothing is known chromosomally, and the assumption is that the increased number of translocations leads to the increased level of these tumors. In older T patients, the expansion of specific translocation T-cell clones has been followed to the point to which they develop into T-PLL. All the evidence, therefore, suggests that the A-T mutation in the homozygous state allows a large increase in production of translocations formed at the time of V(D)J recombination, and this leads to the increased predisposition to leukemia. The general increased predisposition to T-cell tumors compared with B-cell tumors in A-T patients may be related to a preferential occurrence of translocations in T cells. Relatively little is known about translocations in circulating B lymphocytes in normal individuals, but A-T siblings have been shown to have clonal chromosome rearrangements of both B and T cells, simultaneously, although in these siblings the T-cell clones occupied all the T-cell compartment and the B-cell clones were small. An important inference from these facts is that the A-T defect preferentially affects immune system gene recombination in T cells rather than B cells. Recent evidence suggests that the V(D)J recombination machinery is not identical or is not regulated identically in T- and B-cell progenitors. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that V(D)J rejoining in the majority, at least, of A-T patients may be preferentially deficient in T cells compared with B cells giving rise to the greatly increased number of translocations and T-cell tumors. Carbonari et al proposed that the recombination defect in A-T cells affected both Ig isotype switching and TCR rearrangeme


Two decades have elapsed since the commercial introduction of the first solid dielectric enhancement technology or chemical rejuvenation. During those years, silane injection has proven itself as an important tool to enhance the reliability of aging infrastructure. There are some risks associated with rejuvenation. Some of those risks are shared with replacement. Some risks are unique to injection. This paper examines the risks of chemical rejuvenation utilizing the two most widespread commercial injection methods and materials for URD cables.


This study is an ethnographic investigation into the teaching ofwriting in an African secondary school in the Pietermaritzburg area. It arose out of my awareness that schooling distributes literacy unequally and negatively affects learners' abilities to participate effectively in society. This inequality of access is prevalent in South African schools in the aftermath of apartheid education policy. The purpose of the research is to explore these issues of access and to gain an understanding of the factors that shape learners' knowledge, skills and attitudes around writing. The need to gain a rich understanding ofthese factors indicated that a long-term, indepth ethnographic study was appropriate. Accordingly I taught grade eleven classes at a school for two and a halfyears to understand the context in which teachers and learners operated. The core of the data came from Literate Life Histories that I collected by means of interviews with six learners. This was triangulated with data from interviews with teachers, classroom observation, analysis ofsyllabuses, teacher guides and examinations, participant observation ofmatriculation examinations, and analysis of student work. The data shows that inappropriate teaching, assessment and texts deprives learners ofaccess to effective literacy. Systemic constraints ofsyllabuses, teacher guides and large classes shape teachers' practices. As a result, learners experience a narrow range of genres, no explicit teaching or assessment around genre conventions, and inaccessible texts. Learners thus view writing as a grammar exercise, have little confidence in their ability to communicate via writing, do not see writing as a process of refinement, and have little knowledge of how genre, tenor, field and mode shape written texts . These findings point to the need for the rehabilitation ofwriting in the schools and teacher training. This will require attention to syllabuses, assessment practices and the adequate supply of appropriate textbooks.


Reservoir computing is a recent approach from the fields of machine learning and artificial neural networks to solve a broad class of complex classification and recognition problems such as speech and image recognition. As is typical for methods from these fields, it involves systems that were trained based on examples, instead of using an algorithmic approach. It originated as a new training technique for recurrent neural networks where the network is split in a reservoir that does the 'computation' and a simple readout function. This technique has been among the state-of-the-art. So far implementations have been mainly software based, but a hardware implementation offers the promise of being low-power and fast. We previously demonstrated with simulations that a network of coupled semiconductor optical amplifiers could also be used for this purpose on a simple classification task. This paper discusses two new developments. First of all, we identified the delay in between the nodes as the most important design parameter using an amplifier reservoir on an isolated digit recognition task and show that when optimized and combined with coherence it even yields better results than classical hyperbolic tangent reservoirs. Second we will discuss the recent advances in photonic reservoir computing with the use of resonator structures such as photonic crystal cavities and ring resonators. Using a network of resonators, feedback of the output to the network, and an appropriate learning rule, periodic signals can be generated in the optical domain. With the right parameters, these resonant structures can also exhibit spiking behaviour.


Ensuring the welfare of wild canid populations depends upon the ability to integrate species biology, the environmental aspects upon which those populations depend, and the factors controlling species abundance. Toward this end, we developed an individual-based computer model using Swarm to mimic natural coyote populations. Swarm is a software platform that allows the user to describe individual behaviors for all individuals, link those behaviors in each concurrent time step, and assemble behaviors and objects in a hierarchical framework. Our model stands apart from previous modeling efforts because it relies on field data and explicitly incorporates behavioral features, such as dominance and territoriality, as major determinates of species demography. Individual variation, such as status within territorial social groups and age-based reproduction are assumed, but assumptions typically associated with most demographic models are not needed. The eventual goal is to incorporate other environmental components such as prey abundance and/or competing carnivores. This type of model could also provide insights into potential management alternatives for when the gray wolf is removed from endangered status in Minnesota.


An exploration of infographics and data visualization as a cultural phenomenon, from eighteenth-century print culture to today's data journalism.Infographics and data visualization are ubiquitous in our everyday media diet, particularly in news?in print newspapers, on television news, and online. It has been argued that infographics are changing what it means to be literate in the twenty-first century?and even that they harmonize uniquely with human cognition. In this first serious exploration of the subject, Murray Dick traces the cultural evolution of the infographic, examining its use in news?and resistance to its use?from eighteenth-century print culture to today's data journalism. He identifies six historical phases of infographics in popular culture: the proto-infographic, the classical, the improving, the commercial, the ideological, and the professional.Dick describes the emergence of infographic forms within a wider history of journalism, culture, and communications, focusing his analysis on the UK. He considers their use in the partisan British journalism of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century print media; their later deployment as a vehicle for reform and improvement; their mass-market debut in the twentieth century as a means of explanation (and sometimes propaganda); and their use for both ideological and professional purposes in the post?World War II marketized newspaper culture. Finally, he proposes best practices for news infographics and defends infographics and data visualization against a range of criticism. Dick offers not only a history of how the public has experienced and understood the infographic, but also an account of what data visualization can tell us about the past.


Energy optimization in cellular networks has been studied using different perspectives in the literature: sleep patterns, network interference, association of users and base stations, resource allocation of resources (bandwidth and power), etc. All these means have been discussed individually in previous works. However, none of the existing works has succeeded in proposing an exact mathematical model that takes into account several of these parameters simultaneously. In this article, we propose a first exact modelling of several network parameters and their interaction in order to minimize the energy consumption in a LTE cellular network. The optimization model guarantees to satisfy all the users with a minimum quality of service (data rate). Its exact solution allows energy savings of up to 50% in a moderately loaded network, which leads to energy savings up to twice that of the heuristic proposed by Piunti et al., (2015). Various numerical results are presented on hexagonal and randomly generated cellular networks.


Developmental perspectives emphasize understanding the etiology of offending across the life course and in relation to other analogous behaviors (i.e. mental illness, substance use, academic failure, social problems). Two prominent DLC theories---Moffitt's (1993) Developmental Taxonomy and Sampson and Laub's (1993) Age Graded Theory (AGT) of Informal Social Control---offer differing perspectives on the etiology of offending. Moffitt (1993) contends that four types of offenders can be identified in the general population based on various individual deficits, family problems and analogous behaviors. Sampson and Laub (1993) argue offending is a consequence of opportunities to offend and the inability of society to exert proper control over individuals' hedonistic desires. I use the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to compare the efficacy of the two theories for explaining offending among contemporary American emerging adults aged 18-25 years old. Consistent with developmental perspectives, factors affecting life circumstances of emerging adults are also examined as risk (poverty) and buffers (neighborhood cohesion, economic emerging adults exhibit low levels of offending and analogous problems. Yet, 55% of emerging adults in the low offending group (exhibiting normal behavior) reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year. Thus, substance related offending appears to be a common phenomenon among emerging adults. Being very poor is associated with more than twice the relative risk of being in a multiple problem profile that includes high levels of offending and serious concomitant problems such as mental illness, substance dependence, arrests and academic failure. The belief that religion is important---but not church attendance, economic supports, or neighborhood cohesion---protects emerging adults from offending, analogous problems, and problematic overall functioning, regardless of economic status. I found support for a number of the propositions shared by AGT and the Developmental Taxonomy. However, because of its inability to account for between individual differences in severity and types of offending there is less support for AGT than for the Developmental Taxonomy. Implications for future theoretical elaboration and advancing the study of offending among American emerging adults are discussed.


The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between happiness and housing prices in Canada. The happiness data were obtained from the General Social Survey between 2009 and 2013, asking respondents to report overall happiness level by using scale ranging between 1 to 10 points. House Price Indexes at the provincial level were constructed to cover the same period. The relationship between average house price change and average happiness was estimated using Ordinary Least Square and Logistic Regression techniques. Individual's characteristics were used as control variables. The study found that average happiness level is positively and significantly related to the change in housing prices for one group and not for another - for homeowners but not for renters. In addition, individuals with better health are much happier than individuals with poor health. Similarly, individuals with higher income are happier than individuals with less income. The implication of this study is that the government should design attractive policies to encourage homeownerships.


liciting honest answers to sensitive questions is frustrated if subjects withhold the truth for fear that others will judge or punish them. The resulting bias is commonly referred to as social desirability bias, a subset of what we label sensitivity bias. We make three contributions. First, we propose a social reference theory of sensitivity bias to structure expectations about survey responses on sensitive topics. Second, we explore the bias-variance trade-off inherent in the choice between direct and indirect measurement technologies. Third, to estimate the extent of sensitivity bias, we meta-analyze the set of published and unpublished list experiments (a.k.a., the item count technique) conducted to date and compare the results with direct questions. We find that sensitivity biases are typically smaller than 10 percentage points and in some domains are approximately zero.


The islands of the republic of Maldives, with 80% of the land mass less than 1m above the sea level and 44% of its' people living within 100 m of the coastline is one of the most threatened nations from sea level raise by global warming and climate change. The average sea level raise in the Maldives, recorded by the Meteorological Department of Male' International Airport is 1.7mm/year, with a maximum hourly sea level raise of approximately 7mm/year. This rate is far higher than the observed global trends in mean sea level raise. In consequence, the Maldives is well known for raising global warming and climate change to the attention of the international community, since, if the scientific warning is true, the entire country could be eradicated from the surface of earth. Considering this serious threat, the government has expressed its interest in exploring the possibility of switching from diesel to renewable sources to generate electricity. Beginning with experimental hybrid projects implemented in small islands, the government has recently started installing Photovoltaic (PV) on the rooftops of government buildings in the capital city of Male'. It has little contribution to cater the fast growing demand of electricity in Male'. Its contribution to serve the governments' initiative to deploy Renewable Energy Technology (RETs) at large scale too, is very much limited due to the limited space available. The capital city Male' consumes 71% of the total electricity generated by STELCO nationwide. This reflects the alarmingly high population density in the city which has a land area of just 5.8 km2; the home for ~ 42% of the population. Thus, the research, contained in this thesis, is based on modelling a gird connected Distributed Generation Photovoltaic (DGPV) system that is technically sound and financially viable, and can effectively take over partial load on the State Electric Company (STELCO)s' national grid in Male', which is planned to be extended to the newly build city of Hulhumale'; an island man-made to provide shelter for the homeless families in the highly populated Male'. This has not been done in any of the previous research. The hypothesis presented, justify the limitation of deploying RETs at a large scale in the Maldives from a techno-economic perspective. Despite the RET potential benefits, the study has focused on the severe constraints and challenges that would limit this change in generation technology. Based on accurate and reliable long term prediction of the future growth of electricity demand on the national grid of STELCO, the research demonstrates modelling of the proposed system using one of the most popular software, Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) and the application of universally accepted design guidelines. Its economic feasibility has been done using an XL model developed by replicating the economic modeling of HOMER. The prediction of future growth on the grid for the next twenty years (2011-2030) has been made using multiple regression, one of the most widely used forecasting techniques. The predictions were validated by comparison with the results obtained from an industrial standard tool, the GMDH Shell. The modelling of the proposed supply system has been done using these predictions to identify the optimal system configuration that could meet the load requirement under the constraints specified in the simulation. HOMERs powerful sensitivity analysis feature has been used in this study to explore the energy yield that could be delivered to the grid under the constraints applied. The system being technically sound and financially viable, it represents a realistic and practical alternative solution for the energy requirement of Male'. Its implementation could be the turning point in transforming the energy sector of the country.


In the last decades we can state a paradigmatic shift in theories on regional development. Different approaches are drawn upon to explain the success of a region extending beyond the quality of classic location factors. One basic approach is of particular relevance in this respect, which centers on the knowledge and competencies of the regional actors and institutions: the 'larning region´approach. This chapter is about how we can improve a region´s ability to learn. The main hypothesis is that if we introduce an in-depfth understanding of learning processes on the micro-level of single actor´s learning we can gain new insights into regional development approaches and also we can develop tools and strategies to foster learning regions.
This chapter starts with a short overview of actual theories of regional development which show a diversity of approaches existing side by side. It emphasizes the role of learning and knowledge as one pattern to analyse regional development prcesses. With the second section we start from a micro-behavioral model on the process of learning and distinguish between different kinds of learning and knowledge with respect to their contribution to regional development prcesses. The third section describes different types of learning and knowledge. It is followed by a case study of a regional development process in the region Walgau (Austria), which uses different measures to improve regional learning. The last section discusses the use of the micro-level model of learning to enhance the methodological kit of regional development and formulates the need for rurther research.


Mucus is the first point of contact between the gut microbiota and the host. Mucus adhesins are thought to be key mediators in the mucus adhesion of commensal Lactobacillus species. However, knowledge on the structural or functional basis of adhesin interaction with mucin glycoproteins, the main component of mucus, is limited. This work describes the biochemical and structural properties of two cell-surface proteins from Lactobacillus reuteri, the mucus-binding protein (MUB) and the Lar0958 protein, and their mucin binding ability.
MUB from L. reuteri ATCC 53608 consists of 14 Mub repeats, six type 1 and eight type 2. Single and tandem Mub repeats were heterologously expressed and purified for structural and functional studies. The three-dimensional structure of the Mub type 1 MubRV was determined by X-ray crystallography and revealed two structural domains, B1 and B2. Furthermore, structural homology between MubRV and fibre-like adhesins of Gram-positive pathogens was identified. Small angle X-ray scattering experiments of single and tandem Mub repeats suggested an elongated structure of MUB in a 'beads on a string' arrangement. Functional studies of recombinant Mub repeats and the full-length native MUB isolated from Lactobacillus spent culture media, demonstrated binding to different mucins in vitro. Sugar inhibition experiments and glycan arrays suggested the involvement of sugar recognition in MUB protein binding to mucins.
Lar0958 is a modular protein of six Lar0958 repeats present on the cell-surface of L. reuteri DSM 20016T. The crystal structure of a single recombinant Lar0958 repeat was solved at 1.5 A, demonstrating a similar protein fold to Mub repeats. In addition, the Lar0958 repeat shows structural similarity to internalin proteins of the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes.
Taken together these results provide new insights into the structural organisation of lactobacilli mucus adhesins and their interaction with mucins, highlighting similarities with Gram-positive adhesins of pathogenic bacteria.


Acacia woodlands dominate arid and semi-arid areas across the world and are an important source of livelihood supporting activities. This is also the case in Kenya, where the Acacia woodlands are under pressure, partly due to the extractive activities that generate household income, such as collection of fuelwood, building poles, charcoal burning and livestock fodder. There is an apparent dilemma between the extractive and non-extractive use of the Acacia woodlands, and a need to develop income generating activities that also conserve and support the natural basis. Honey production is a widespread activity in Kenyan Acacia woodland areas, and thus a potential candidate for the task, but information on pollination of wild plants in the tropics in relation to livelihood sustenance and natural resource conservation is scarce. Therefore, this study investigates to what extent honey bees (Apis mellifera) visit and pollinate Acacia brevispica in Kitui County, Kenya. The study also assesses the occurrence of Acacia pollen types in honeys produced within the study area. The results show that honey bees were the most numerous flower visitor and pollinator of A. brevispica, while Acacia pollen was the predominant pollen type in the sampled honeys. This shows that honey bees provide pollination services to A. brevispica for the return of pollen and nectar for the production of honey, which is a source of income for local households. Understanding the link between pollination of A. brevispica and honey production can help to facilitate conservation efforts for the benefit of the woodlands and its inherent biodiversity as well as for local livelihoods.


As mobile game distribution costs gets near zero, the number of available games on app stores, which is already enormous, continues to grow. It gets increasingly difficult for game developers to build a mobile game and achieve the top positions on charts. With it in mind, this paper's main purpose is to investigate the relationship between game features and the performance achieved by mobile games in terms of number of downloads and gross revenue. A total of 37 game features were analyzed in order to study how each of them influence mobile games' performance on app stores. The performance of mobile games is measured based on their current position in download and revenue charts on Google Play store. A linear regression model that maps game features and charts performance is trained using a M5 prime classifier and data from 64 mobile games. Results show how each game feature influences the download and revenue performance of successful mobile games. Keywords—mobile games, app stores, top charts, game design, game features, data mining


This thesis presents a method for computing symbolic solutions of a certain class of improper integrals related to convolutions of Mellin transforms. Important integrals that fall into this category are integral transforms such as the Fourier, Laplace, and Hankel transforms. The method originated in a presentation by Salvy, However, many of the details of the method were absent. We present the method of Salvy in full which computes a linear homogeneous differentail equation which is satisfied by the integral in question. A theory of contour integrals is introduced that is related to the contour definition of Meijer G functions. This theory is used to prove the correctness of the method of Salvy and also gives a way to compute regions of validity for the solutions computed. We then extend the method to compute symbolic solutions of the integral along with where the solutions are valid.


Given the recent debate on the empirical validity of the inflation illusion hypothesis, recent implosion of REIT prices combined with potential inflationary pressure, and a significant role of the real estate market in the recent financial market meltdown, we examine whether the observed negative relations between REIT returns and inflation can be explained by the inflation illusion. We identify the mispricing component in the REIT prices based on present value models, both linear and loglinear, and then we investigate whether inflation can explain the mispricing component. We find some evidence of the inflation illusion hypothesis for the REIT return-inflation relation for the linear models with a constant interest rate in that the inflation rates explain some fraction of mispricing components and their effect on mispricing is negative. However, when we allow for time-varying interest rates, inflation does not explain the REIT mispricing component anymore. Further, when we take into account a potential asymmetric effect of positive and negative inflation on the mispricing components in REIT prices, which is an important implication of the inflation illusion hypothesis, we find that REIT prices are not easily compatible with the inflation illusion hypothesis. Therefore, we find only very limited evidence for the inflation illusion hypothesis. To see whether behavioral factors such as consumer sentiment can better explain the mispricing components in REIT prices, we use the consumer sentiment index in lieu of inflation in the regression of the mispricing components. We find that when we include both the inflation rate and the consumer sentiment index in the regression of the mispricing components, the consumer sentiments tend to explain the mispricing component while inflation loses its explanatory power. Therefore, we find some evidence that behavioral factors such as consumer sentiment could have contributed to the mispricing in the REIT prices.


This thesis derives and validates Performance Indicators for Safe Mobility for Older Road Users in Urban Areas. Performance Indicators are objective, auditable parameters, which when used as a set can provide additional information to decision-makers about the operation of the transport system.

Great Britain, in common with many countries across Europe has an ageing population. The proportion of older people who hold a driving licence and have the use of a car is also expected to rise, with future generations of older people travelling further and more frequently than previous generations. Older road users are already over-represented in traffic fatalities, particularly in urban areas. Measures to protect older road users from risk in traffic will be of crucial importance as the population ages. However, against this background the need remains for them to access key facilities such as shops, leisure activities and health care. Maintaining independent mobility is essential in maintaining mental and physical health.

Traditionally, outcomes-based measures such as accident or casualty figures have been used to monitor road safety. Techniques such as hotspot analysis have identified locations on the road network where accident numbers are high, allowing modifications to road infrastructure to be designed and implemented. Using outcomes measures alone however, it is difficult to ascribe improvements in accident or casualty figures to particular policy interventions. Moreover, the effect of road safety interventions on other related policy areas mobility being one is impossible to assess without access to detailed, disaggregated exposure data. To make fully informed policy decisions about infrastructure design and how it affects older users, a better understanding of the linkages between safety and mobility is required. Performance Indicators offer the possibility to look at these linked policy objectives within a single framework.

Focus group data was used in conjunction with the results of previous studies to identify the infrastructure features which present a barrier to older users safe mobility in urban areas. These included factors which increased risk, such as wide carriageways, complex junctions and fast-moving traffic, and factors which hindered mobility, such as uneven or poorly maintained pavements, poor lighting and traffic intrusion. A thematic audit of infrastructure in a case study city (Coventry) was undertaken, in order that the incidence of such infrastructure could be recorded. It was found that in many areas of the city, safe mobility for older road users was not well provided for, with the majority of locations having barriers to safety and/or mobility for both drivers and pedestrians.

The audit data was then used to calculate a set of Performance Indicators, presented via spider graphs, which describe the degree to which the infrastructure caters for the safety and mobility of older drivers and pedestrians. The spider graphs allow for easy comparisons between the different geographical areas, and also between the different policy areas, allowing policy priorities to be identified.

The calculated Performance Indicators were validated using case studies collected from the focus group participants. The case studies identified features that affected travel habits by causing a change of route or change of mode, providing evidence of the link between infrastructure design and safe mobility for older users. The results of the Performance Indicator analysis were then compared to accident figures, in order to identify differences between the two approaches, and to understand what policy implications would result from a monitoring framework that used Performance Indicators for safe mobility, rather than outcomes-based measures alone. One implication of the Performance Indicator approach is that it may identify different areas for priority action from those identified by accident or casualty figures. A location which does not have high accident numbers may nevertheless perform poorly on a Safety Performance Indicator measure. This is because older users who feel at risk make different route or mode choices to avoid the infrastructure, the lower accident rate being explained by lower exposure to risk. Conversely, measures to promote independent mobility for older users may increase their accident involvement, not because the environment becomes more risky, but because the exposure of older users to risk increases, because they are willing and able to walk or drive in an area they previously avoided.

The thesis concludes that infrastructure design does not currently cater well for the needs of older pedestrians and drivers, and that a framework which incorporated Performance Indicators could make more explicit the trade-offs between safety and mobility, and between different categories of user. This additional information would enable policy makers and practitioners to make more informed decisions about how to prioritise competing objectives in complex urban areas.


In the last decade, mathematics teacher educators have begun to design learning opportunities for preservice mathematics teachers using a pedagogies-of-practice perspective. In particular, learning cycles provide a structure for engaging PSTs in learning to teach through the use of representations, approximations, and decompositions of practice (Grossman et al., 2009). In this article, we provide details of one learning cycle designed to support secondary mathematics preservice teachers' learning to elicit and use evidence of student thinking and pose purposeful questions (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2014). Through qualitative analyses conducted on learning reflections, we provide evidence of the impact on engagement of this cycle through the lens of the Framework for Learning to Teach (Hammerness et al., 2005).


Recent defined benefit (DB) pension freezes in large healthy firms such as Verizon and IBM, as well as terminations of plans in the struggling steel and airline industries, highlight the fact that these traditional pensions cannot be viewed as risk-free promises from the employee's perspective. In this paper we develop an empirical dynamic programming framework to investigate household saving decisions in a model economy with risky DB pensions. The model incorporates important sources of uncertainty facing households, including asset returns, employment, income, and mortality, as well as pension freezes. Applying a compensating variation measure of welfare, we find that pension freezes reduce welfare by a maximum of about $6,000 for individuals with a high school degree and about $2,000 for individuals with a college degree.


The study was conducted in Shabelle zone, to characterize goat production system, to identify morphological variation among indigenous goat types found in the study area through phenotypic characterization and to gather baseline information for further study and for the development of improvement strategy of goat found in the study area. Data were collected through questionnaire, focal group discussion and field measurements. A total of 650 goats were used for measurement and 126 households for interview. Data collected via questionnaire were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Indices were calculated to provide ranking. Pastoral and agro-pastoral are the main production systems in the study area with large proportion of goats per household (41.24±15.7 for Denan, 36.24±8.4 for Adadle and 35.47±11.7 for Gode district).The primary reason of keeping goat is milk, meat and cash income in all districts. Milk yield, meat quality, size, coat color and growth rate were the most prefered trait of goat in study area. Natural pasture, standing hay, shrubs and bushes were the main feed sources in the study area. Drought occurrence, disease incidence, feed and water shortages were the major constraints of goat production in the study area. Most frequently observed coat color pattern was plain (84.93% and 72.4%) in female and male goat, respectively. The overall mean age at sexual maturity for indigenous female goat was 8.51±0.13 month and for male 8.36±0.14 month; age at first kidding 14.75± 0.12 month; average reproductive life time of doe 8.45 ± 0.11 year; and average kidding interval 7.14±0.05 month. GLM procedure of SAS versions 9.2 (2008) was employed on metric data to study sex, age, district, and sex by age group interaction effects. The key features of the indigenous goat found in the study area are long ear, relatively larger body size, dominantly white coat color type and horned.


INTRODUCTION
The significant risk of sudden arrhythmic death in patients with congestive heart failure and electromechanical ventricular dyssynchrony has led to increased use of combined cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) devices.

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the echocardiographic variables in patients undergoing CRT-D that predict the occurrence of appropriate therapies (AT) for ventricular tachyarrhythmia.

METHODS
We analyzed 38 consecutive patients (mean age 60 +/- 12 years, 63% male) with echocardiographic evaluation before and 6 months after CRT-D implantation. Patients with AT were identified in a mean follow-up of 471 +/- 323 days. A standard echocardiographic study was performed including tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Responders were defined as patients with improvement in NYHA class of < or = 1 in the first six months, and reverse remodeling as a decrease in left ventricular end-systolic volume of < or = 15% and/or an increase in left ventricular ejection fraction of > 25%.

RESULTS
The responder rate was 74%, and the reverse remodeling rate was 55%. AT occurred in 21% of patients, who presented with greater left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter (LVEDD) before implantation (86 +/- 8 vs. 76 +/- 11 mm, p = 0.03) and at 6 months (81 +/- 8 vs. 72 +/- 14 mm, p = 0.08), and increased left ventricular end-systolic internal diameter (66 +/- 14 vs. 56 +/- 14 mm, p = 0.03) and lower ejection fraction (24 +/- 6 vs. 34 +/- 14%, p = 0.08) at 6 months. In the group with AT, the responder rate was lower (38 vs. 83%, p = 0.03), without significant differences in reverse remodeling (38% for the AT group vs. 60%, p = 0.426) or in the other variables. By univariate analysis, predictors of AT were LVEDD before implantation and E' after implantation. Age, gender, ischemic etiology, use of antiarrhythmic drugs, reverse remodeling and the other echocardiographic parameters did not predict AT. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, both LVEDD before implantation (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.48, p = 0.019) and postimplantation E' (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.09-0.76, p = 0.014) remained as independent predictors of AT.

CONCLUSIONS
In patients undergoing CRT-D, episodes of ventricular tachyarrhythmia occur with high incidence, independently of echocardiographic response, with LVEDD before implantation and E' after implantation as the only independent predictors of AT in the medium-term. These results highlight the importance of combined devices with defibrillation capability.


This paper explores traffic dynamics and performance of complex networks. Complex networks of various structures are studied. We use node betweenness centrality, network polarization, and average path length to capture the structural characteristics of a network. Network throughput, delay, and packet loss are used as network performance measures. We investigate how internal traffic, throughput, delay, and packet loss change as a function of packet generation rate, network structure, queue type, and queuing discipline through simulation. Three network states are classified. Further, our work reveals that the parameters chosen to reflect network structure, including node betweenness centrality, network polarization, and average path length, play important roles in different states of the underlying networks.


This article examines the role played by broadcasting in Irish artistic and cultural life from independence in 1922 to 1960 with the onset of formal modernization. It examines the cultural context for the arts in early independent Ireland in which a mood of ambivalence and sometimes outright hostility to high culture prevailed. Rather than a profound disjunction between pre- and post-modernizing phases of Irish history, however, this article argues that there were important lines of continuity in cultural experience, in particular middle-class experience of the arts, which continue to inform Irish cultural life up to the present. Such cultural experience may be characterized by its pervasive middlebrow sensibility which, starved of the traditional institutional supports for culture, made up in amateur enthusiasm what was missing in cultural capital. Broadcasting, in fact, was the key institution in the middlebrow process of cultural development in pre-1960s Ireland which along with the developing arts policy of the time can be seen to give a different complexion to a period in Irish history better known for its cultural impoverishment and repressive nature.


1 Generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) is a benign epileptic syndrome of humans. It is characterized by febrile and afebrile generalized seizures that occur predominantly in childhood and respond well to standard antiepileptic therapy. A mutation in the β1‐subunit of the voltage‐gated sodium channel, linked to chromosome 19q13 (GEFS+ type 1) has been found in one family. For four other families, linkage was found to chromosome 2q21‐33 (GEFS+ type 2) where three genes encoding neuronal sodium channel α‐subunits are located (SCN1‐3A). Recently, the first two mutations were identified in SCN1A. 2 We introduced one of these mutations, which is highly conserved to SCN1A, into the cDNA of the gene SCN4A encoding the α‐subunit of the human skeletal muscle sodium channel (hSkm1). The mutation is located in the S4 voltage sensor of domain IV, predicting substitution of histidine for the fifth of eight arginines (R1460H in hSkm1). Functional studies were performed by expressing the α‐subunit alone in the mammalian tsA201 cell line using the whole‐cell patch clamp technique. 3 Compared to wild‐type (WT), mutant R1460H channels showed small defects in fast inactivation. The time course of inactivation was slightly (1.5‐fold) slowed and its voltage dependence reduced, and recovery from inactivation was accelerated 3‐fold. However, there was no increase in persistent sodium current as observed for SCN4A mutations causing myotonia or periodic paralysis. The activation time course of R1460H channels was slightly accelerated. Slow inactivation was slightly but significantly stabilized, confirming the importance of this region for slow inactivation. 4 The combination of activation and fast inactivation defects can explain the occurrence of epileptic seizures, but the effects were much more subtle than the inactivation defects described previously for mutations in SCN4A causing disease in skeletal muscle. Hence, with regard to pathological excitability, our results suggest a greater vulnerability of the central nervous system compared to muscle tissue.


Creative collaborations that cross disciplinary boundaries are essential to innovation. Individuals face challenges, however, in forming new collaborations. Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that the common formats of brainstorming and free-form networking are insufficient for enabling such collaborations to form. We present a potential solution called speedstorming, a pair-wise method of creative interaction similar to the round-robin 'speed-dating' technique. Speedstorming combines an explicit purpose, time limits, and one-on-one encounters to create a setting where boundary-spanning opportunities can be recognized, ideas can be explored at a deep level of interdisciplinary expertise, and potential collaborators can be quickly assessed. A comparison of speedstorming and brainstorming suggests that ideas from speedstorming were more technically specialized and that speedstorming participants were more certain in their assessments of the collaborative potential of others. This paper concludes with a discussion of the method's application in a variety of settings.


Abstract This paper reviews evaluations of post-disaster recovery efforts. The focus is on operational material and other 'grey literature' from disasters that have occurred in Australia, New Zealand and internationally. We develop a typology that categorises disaster events and includes whether evaluations were undertaken; the methods used; and whether the evaluations focused on the processes or outcomes of the recovery program. The review finds a lack of evaluation of post-disaster recovery. Where evaluations have been conducted, they are mostly process- rather than outcomes-based. There is a need for guidance for post-disaster recovery programs to support evaluation practice to determine the effectiveness, efficiency and appropriateness of post-disaster recovery interventions. There is significant investment in post-disaster recovery programs, with little known of their effectiveness. This review identifies useful case studies and methods to evaluate post-disaster recovery efforts, and informs the development of a national post-disaster evaluation framework.


This paper examines how the concept of "Gulf security" is evolving as internal political and socioeconomic changes in the Gulf states interact with the processes of globalization and the impact of international events in this volatile region. Starting from the basic assumption of "regime security," it first outlines the parameters that guide ruling elites in the six memberstates of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in constructing local and regional security agendas. The paper then focuses on a range of current and evolving threats to security to draw the distinction between the "internal" and "external" dimensions of security and how these relate to each other. Determining which individuals or groups hold the power and responsibility for formulating policy is important in delineating the linkages between internal and external security and deciding which issues do — and do not — dominate security agendas. This is a salient characteristic of ruling elites in the Arab oil monarchies, in which the conduct of foreign and security affairs is restricted to a tightly drawn circle of senior members of the ruling family. Our understanding of regional security-policy formulation is consequently enhanced by taking into account the factors that inform regimes' perceptions of their internal-security matrix. This, in turn, plays a crucial role in shaping their policies towards external issues such as the unfolding post-occupation dynamics in Iraq, the ongoing dispute between Iran and the international community, and the threat posed by radicalism and transnational terrorism. In addition to the securitization of these particular issues, the second half of this paper examines a number of longterm, non-military challenges to security in the Gulf. It argues that the changing political economies of all six GCC states need to be underpinned by a new and broader approach to national and regional security. Ruling elites' reliance on oil rents and external security guarantees have hitherto provided a powerful insulation from internal problems and demands, while also reflecting the unorthodox nature of "security" in these postcolonial states. Strengthening internal cohesion and creating more inclusive and sustainable polities is vital to overcoming the long-term challenges to security outlined in this paper. The paper consequently builds on the cognitive shift in thinking about global security that has occurred in an era of accelerating complexity in global interconnections and transnational flows of people, capital and ideas. Transnational terrorism, cross-border criminal networks and flows, and global issues such as climate change have led to the emergence of new threats to national and international security. Increasingly, these bypass the state and erode the Cold War-era demarcations between internal and external spheres as states' monopoly over the legitimate use of force becomes contested by predatory rivals operating within societies and across state boundaries.


This study uses a unique natural experiment to test a simple model of international differences in workers' wages and productivity. Large differences in wages across countries could arise from several sources. These include barriers to trade in outputs, differences in technology, differences in workers, or differences in the other factors of production accessible in different countries. To measure the relative importance of these sources in one setting, this study exploits the randomized processing of U.S. visas for a group of Indian workers who produce software within a single multinational firm. In this setting, international barriers to trade in outputs, barriers to technology transfer, and all observable or unobservable differences between workers are extremely low. The results indicate that location outside of India causes a sixfold increase in the wages of the same worker using the same technology to produce a highly tradable good. Under plausible assumptions about competition in the industry, this suggests that country-of-work by itself is responsible—in this industry—for roughly three-quarters of the gap in productivity between workers in India and workers in the richest countries. These findings have implications for open questions in labor, growth, international, and development economics.


Twenty-first century which is just around the corner, will bring a lot of changes in several fields, including education. To find out what kind of changes should be done, it is necessary for us to retrace the history of education in Indonesia starting from the Dutch Colonial time to the present day. As a result we might be able to detect the problems in our educational sistem from pre-school to university level. Besides, this article is going to focus on what kind of educational system and human resources are needed in the next century. Based on that knowledge, some alternatives are given to solve the problems in our educational system to "produce" excellent human resources for the future.