High-tech industry is one of the most important pans of the Taiwanese economy, and its development is closely related to the future of the country. In this paper we analyze employee profit-sharing and ownership plans (EPSSOP) in the industry, plans that are still being criticized and questioned twenty years after their first implementation. 1. Introduction The employee profit sharing and stock ownership plan (EPSSOP) in Taiwan is in accordance with Article 235, 240 of the Company Law. If a corporation has surplus profit and shares its surplus profit with its employees, the distributable percentage of surplus profit as employee bonuses shall be definitely specified in the articles of incorporation. The EPSSOP involves actually distributing the bonuses to employees in the form of common stock shares. The purpose of the legislation is to reward employees, enhance their loyalty and achieve the goal of "evenly distribution of wealth" as defined in the Principle of Livelihood.1 Commonly used by the high-tech industry in Taiwan, the plan has attracted the attention of many industry leaders. The importance of the plan is obvious, as indicated by Robert Tsao, chairman of United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), who credited the plan with being one of three major factors behind the competitiveness of Taiwan's IC industry.2 However, owing to differences in accounting treatment and procedures between Taiwan and the United States, most investors have suspicions regarding the fairness of financial statements prepared by the Taiwanese GAAP.3 Though the EPSSOP has its place in the development of the high-tech industry,4 there still exist some discrepancies, such as slightly high percentage of employee bonus, the dilution effect and the fluctuation of share price. Should the plan be abolished or amended? If it should be amended, how can that be done? All these matters could affect the competitiveness of Taiwan's IC industry or even the development of the capital market, so the topic is worthy of thorough discussion. This paper will compare the EPSSOP in Taiwan with that in the United States, analyze the disputes derived from the local plan, bring up possible solutions to the dispute and make conclusions. 2. Taiwan's Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership Plan The EPSSOP is a reward mechanism that combines profit sharing and ownership plans. Its definition can be discussed in three parts as follows. (1) PROFIT SHARING Profit sharing, or bonus sharing, is a payment distributed to the employees based on the fixed percentage of the surplus profit. That is, profit sharing is a payment beyond salary and a part of the surplus profit. (2) STOCK OWNERSHIP The stock ownership is designed to grant the employees shares issued by the company, so that the employees can become shareholders. Generally, there are five types of stock ownership stipulated in the Company Law. A. Qualification requirements of employees, including the employees of subsidiaries of the company meeting certain specific requirements, entitled to receive dividend bonus may be specified in the articles of incorporation....Where the distributable bonus is to be capitalized in accordance with the preceding three Paragraphs, the bonus distributable to the employees under the articles of incorporation may be paid either in the form of shares newly issued for such purpose or in cash. (Articles 235 and 240 of the Company Law) B. The shares bought back by the issuing company under the preceding Paragraph shall be assigned or transferred to its employees within three years. (Article 167-1 of the Company Law) C. The share subscription warrant obtained by any employee of the issuing company shall be non-assignment, except to the heir(s) of the said employee. (Article 167-2 of the Company Law) D. Equity capital to be contributed other than cash by shareholders may be in the form of monetary credit extended to the company, or the technical know-how or goodwill required by the company provided. …


We review a family of modified autoregressive models in both discrete- and continuous-time formulations. We present the case for these models by showing first how a standard discrete-time autoregressive model with orders selected by criteria such as the Akaike information criterion can fail to identify the correct periods of cyclical variations in a simulated example. We then show how the modified models can overcome this failure, and further illustrate this success with a real example of an unemployment series. A new extension of the continuous-time modified model to multivariate series is described. This is applied to a pair of series with mixed monthly, quarterly and annual sampling intervals. Common cyclical components of the two series are then extracted. Copyright 2001 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd and The Victoria University of Manchester


Broadly speaking, the process of evaluation begins with the establishment of "performance standard". At the time of designing a job and formulating a job description, performance standards are usually developed for the position. These standards should be clear and not vague. Achievement motivation is affect in connection with evaluated performance in which competition with a standard of excellence was paramount. Intentional actions are usually considered the prototype of all acts of will. Theoretically, a complete intentional action is conceived of as follows: its first phase is a motivation process, either a brief or a protracted vigorous struggle of motives; a second phase is an act of choice, decision, or intention, terminating this struggle; the third phase is the consummatory intentional action itself, following either immediately or after an interval short or long. The objectives of the study were to enquire the effectiveness of the Performance Appraisal System in the Schools based on the basis of gender, degree and type of school and to enquire the Achievement Motivation of the secondary school teachers based on the basis of gender, degree and type of schools. The population consists of secondary School Teachers teaching in Patna, Bihar and the sample consisted of 257 secondary school teachers. The investigator adopted survey method by using self-constructed and validated Performance Appraisal Scale and Achievement Motivation Scale. The investigator has used Mean, Standard Deviation and t-test to analyze the data. The major findings of the study show that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of secondary school teachers on the basis of gender ,degree and type schools in their Performance Appraisal System and Achievement Motivation of secondary school teachers.


Good soil structure is important to have the right conditions for good crop development. In two field experiments, R2-4111 and R2-7115, the soil structure has been examined by a number of parameters. Project R2-4111, started in 1999, investigates how the time of primary tillage affects the yield. Both tillage with a mouldboard plough and a stubble cultivator is tested at three different occasions, called early, normal and late tillage. Project R2-7115, started in 1997, investigates how the tire inflation pressure affects the yield. Tillage with a mouldboard plough and a stubble cultivator tested with normal and low inflation pressures in the tires, also a treatment with permanent grassland is used as a comparison. Parameters that were compared were hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, tensile strength, aggregate stability, penetration resistance and the quality of the seedbed. Draught requirement was measured at each primary tillage occasion. The results showed no major differences in soil properties depending on tillage time or tire inflation pressure, but there were trends that the soil structure was poorer in treatments with normal inflation pressure and late tillage.. Distinct differences were found between mouldboard plough and stubble cultivator treatments for some of the parameters. The stubble cultivated treatment had a higher proportion of soil aggregates >5 mm and lower proportion of aggregates <2 mm after sowing than the treatment with mouldboard plough. For the stubble cultivated plots the penetration resistance were higher at the depth of 10-30 cm. In the stubble cultivated treatments the bulk density was higher and the hydraulic conductivity lower, but the results for hydraulic conductivity were insecure because of the great variability for this property. In the treatment with mouldboard plough the aggregate stability was lower than for stubble cultivation. The tire inflation pressure affected the penetration resistance, where the treatment with low tire inflation pressure had a lower penetration resistance at the level of 12-25 cm. Ploughless tillage was cheaper than tillage with a mouldboard plough but between the different times of tillage there were only small differences in machinery costs. The treatment with low inflation pressure was more expensive to till than the treatment with normal inflation pressure. The early tillage in R2-4111 has had the best yield as an average for several years and the late tillage the lowest yield. The time of tillage was most important in the stubble cultivated treatments. In experiment R2-7115 there were no differences in yield between the tillage systems but the treatment with low inflation pressure has had the best yield as an average for several years. To a farmer with an aim to achieve as good economy as possible, these field trials show that tillage with a stubble cultivator on this soil reduces costs without lowering crop yield. Early tillage and low tire inflation pressure increases yield which may further improve the economy.


Twilight, an interactive multi-touch graph visualization research tool jointly developed by the University of Amsterdam and SURFsara, uses the Fruchterman-Reingold algorithm (amongst others) to create meaningful layouts for graphs. The required time for this algorithm to complete scales exponentially with the size of the graphs, therefore rendering large graphs quickly becomes impractical. To combat this an investigation was conducted into parallelizing this algorithm for use on Graphical Processing Units. This thesis describes the design and implementation of an OpenCL based implementation of the Fruchterman-Reingold algorithm. We show that this implementation speeds up the rendering of graphs by a factor of up to 15 times compared to the original implementation within Twilight.


Mission and Money goes beyond the common focus on elite universities and examines the entire higher education industry, including the rapidly growing for-profit schools. The sector includes research universities, four-year colleges, two-year schools, and non-degree-granting career academies. Many institutions pursue mission-related activities that are often unprofitable and engage in profitable revenue raising activities to finance them. This book contains a good deal of original research on schools' revenue sources from tuition, donations, research, patents, endowments, and other activities. It considers lobbying, distance education, and the world market, as well as advertising, branding, and reputation. The pursuit of revenue, while essential to achieve the mission of higher learning, is sometimes in conflict with that mission itself. The tension between mission and money is also highlighted in the chapter on the profitability of intercollegiate athletics. The concluding chapter investigates implications of the analysis for public policy.


This book highlights recent advances in the development of effective modeling and solution approaches to enhance the performance of military logistics. It seeks to further research in global defense-related topics, including military operations, governmental operations and security, as well as nation support. Additionally its purpose is to promote the global exchange of information and ideas amongst developers and users of military operations research tools and techniques. Over the course of its nine chapters, this edited volume addresses significant issues in military logistics including: a) Restructuring processes via OR methods aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the military logistics, b) Sense-and-Respond logistics prediction and coordination techniques that provide competitive advantage, spanning the full range of military operations across the strategic, operational and tactical levels of war, c) Procurement and auctioning, d) Inventory and stock control theories and applications, e) Military transport and logistical equipment, and, f) Maintenance, repair and overhaul on operational capability in general and equipment availability. The book aims to bridge the gap between the abundant literature on commercial logistics and its scarce defense & combat counterpart. This collection of useful insights into new trends and research will offer an ideal reference for practitioners and army related personnel interested in integrating scientific rigor to improve logistics management within defense organizations & agencies. Ultimately this book should provide a relevant platform for the latest contributions of operations management, operations research, and computational intelligence towards the enhancement of military logistics.


Recent research in neural machine translation has largely focused on two aspects; neural network architectures and end-to-end learning algorithms. The problem of decoding, however, has received relatively little attention from the research community. In this paper, we solely focus on the problem of decoding given a trained neural machine translation model. Instead of trying to build a new decoding algorithm for any specific decoding objective, we propose the idea of trainable decoding algorithm in which we train a decoding algorithm to find a translation that maximizes an arbitrary decoding objective. More specifically, we design an actor that observes and manipulates the hidden state of the neural machine translation decoder and propose to train it using a variant of deterministic policy gradient. We extensively evaluate the proposed algorithm using four language pairs and two decoding objectives and show that we can indeed train a trainable greedy decoder that generates a better translation (in terms of a target decoding objective) with minimal computational overhead.


The legendary investor and philanthropist issues a pointed, astute, and intensely critical analysis of the Bush administration's foreign policy. Long known as "the world's only private citizen with a foreign policy," George Soros combines his razor-sharp sense of economic trends with his passionate advocacy for open societies and decency in world politics to come up with a workable, and severely critical, analysis of the Bush administration's overreaching, militaristic foreign policy.Soros believes that this administration's plans abroad come from the same sort of "bubble" psychology that afflicted our markets in the late 90s. They have used a real fact, our overwhelming military supremacy, to create a deluded worldview, that might makes right and that "you're either with us or against us," in the same way that the recent boom used a real fact, the growth in technology, to lead to a delusion, the "new economy. " Like the best of the books that have responded quickly to world events, The Bubble of American Supremacy has a clear, intriguing, comprehensive thesis that makes necessary, and compelling, order of our seemingly disordered world.


The invention relates to a method and a device for sequencing nucleic acid mols. on a perforated membrane. The inventive method and device can be esp. used in multiplex sequencing. The method involves prepg. an oligonucleotide that is labeled to satn. with base-specific fluorescent dyes that is then immobilized on a filter. The labeled sequence is then processively degraded with an exonuclease with the released bases being detected fluorometrically. [on SciFinder (R)]


Diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM) has been associated with cognitive dysfunction and structural abnormalities across the cortex. It has been argued that there are critical periods in the lifespan where the brain is particularly vulnerable to the neural insults of Diabetes (Biessels, Deary & Ryan, 2008). In this MRI study, we used voxel-based morphometry to compare a group of T1DM patients to sibling controls during young adulthood. We had previously shown that when 7 years younger there was no effect of T1DM on IQ (Strudwick et al., 2005) and while there was still no effect on IQ, there was a suggestion of difficulties in executive functioning (EF; Ly et al., 2011). In this follow-up study we explored whether differences in brain structure related to T1DM might explain the difference in EF. There were 61 participants (Mage = 19.3) who participated in the MRI scanning (T1DM N = 31) with an approximately equal gender balance (54% female). Participants' T1-weighted volumes at 1mm3 voxel size were obtained from a 3T Siemens scanner. MRI scans were analysed using the SPM8 toolbox (Wellcome Trust) in MATLAB (The Mathworks, Inc). When performing voxel-wise comparisons across the cortex, there were no significant differences in grey matter density between T1DM and sibling controls (corrected p =. 05). Lowering the statistical criteria to an uncorrected p =. 001 revealed sibling controls had higher grey matter density in four left-lateralised clusters (middle temporal gyrus, cuneus, superior frontal gyrus and postcentral gyrus). The largest effects were for T1DM patients to have reduced grey matter density in the middle temporal gyrus""a cortical region associated with semantic processing and risk factor for developing Dementia, and in the superior frontal gyrus""a cortical region implicated in EF. These results reveal consistent, yet subtle, structural brain differences between T1DM patients and controls in young adulthood.


In this article, I introduce a method that uses large-scale event data and latent factor network models to provide a new comparative measure of cooperation and conflict in public relationships among politicians, nonpartisan political actors, and societal actors. The approach has a number of advantages over existing techniques: It captures public relationships in a multitude of venues on a continuous basis, incorporates both partisan and nonpartisan actors, allows quantifying the relationship between any pair of actors, reflects that communication is not unidirectional but rather a back and forth, and can be applied to a large number of countries over time. I apply the method to 13 Western European countries from 2001 to 2014 and demonstrate that party relationships are determined by coalition status as well as policy differences. The measure is publicly available and can be incorporated into standard research designs.


The present study investigates the potential conversion of sugarcane into ethanol and synthetic natural gas. The considered conversion path consists in combining ethanol first and second generation ethanol production plant with a catalytic supercritical water gasification system. The main steps of the ethanol conversion consider fermentation of sugars (1G) and enzymatic hydrolysis of bagasse (2G). Enzymatic hydrolysis is selected since it represents a promising alternative for 2nd generation biofuels due to its high conversion efficiency. Among streams that are leaving the ethanol production plant are some high watered streams, whose carbon/energy content is not negligible. These streams should be valorised in an efficient way in order to improve the energy conversion efficiency. In this context supercritical gasification process allows to valorise these flows leaving the ethanol plant. Using supercritical water gasification it is in fact possible to avoid the drying the ethanol production leftovers, thus performing a direct gasification. The conversion of ligno-cellulosic residues into synthetic natural gas is modelled considering a catalytic supercritical gasification plant. Since the goal is to achieve high energy and exergy conversion efficiencies, the potential use of an additional set of utilities, such as burners, steam injected gas turbines or steam networks, is added to the sizing problem. The mathematical nature of the optimal utility selection problem deals with mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model, in which the type and size of utilities represent the independent variables, having fixed the process size. The results of the integration are showed in terms of Composite and Grand Composite Curves, economic indicators and local CO2 balance. Finally, having identified the ratio of sugarcane that goes to second generation ethanol plant as key dependent variables, the results of a sensitivity analysis are presented. The sensitivity analysis results are shown accounting economics for the Brazilian market, energy conversion performance indicators and considering local carbon dioxide balance.


This paper presents some of the difficulties of teaching languages, in particular English, in the context of LSP/LAP programmes in French universities. The main focus of this paper will be the importance of prosody, especially in English, as an area where these difficulties may be addressed. We will outline the various solutions that are currently being put into place as part of the Innovalangues project, a six-year international language teaching and research project headed by Université Stendhal (Grenoble 3), France. The project has substantial funding from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and its mission is to develop innovative tools and measures to help LSP/LAP learners reach B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The languages concerned are English, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and possibly French as a foreign language. Initially the project will be focusing on the needs of Grenoble's students, but the objective is to make the tools and resources developed freely available to the wider community. Oral production and reception are at the heart of Innovalangues. We believe, along with many other researchers, that prosody is key to comprehension and to intelligibility (Kjellin 1999a, Kjellin 1999b, Munro and Derwing 2011, Saito 2012), particularly given the important differences between English and French prosody (Delattre 1965; Hirst and Di Cristo 1998; Frost 2011). In this paper, we will present the particular difficulties inherent in teaching English (and other foreign languages) in the context of ESP/EAP in French universities and some of the solutions that we are implementing through this project (Picavet et al., 2012; Picavet et al 2013; Picavet and Frost 2014). These include an e-learning platform for which various tools are being developed, teacher training seminars focusing on prosody and the collection of data for research. 1 www.innovalangues.fr 2 Languages for Specific Purposes / Languages for Academic Purposes. 3 English for Specific Purposes / English for Academic Purposes. 234 Dan Frost and Francis Picavet


We find that the overlap of a topological quantum color-code state, representing a quantum memory, with a factorized state of qubits can be written as the partition function of a three-body classical Ising model on triangular or Union Jack lattices. This mapping allows us to test that different computational capabilities of color codes correspond to qualitatively different universality classes of their associated classical spin models. By generalizing these statistical mechanical models for arbitrary inhomogeneous and complex couplings, it is possible to study a measurement-based quantum computation with a color-code state and we find that their classical simulability remains an open problem. We complement the measurement-based computation with the construction of a cluster state that yields the topological color code and this also gives the possibility to represent statistical models with external magnetic fields.


The Social Democrats' have had an incomparable influence over Swedish politics during the 20th century. This study looks at how this working-class party descriptively represents the working-class on its ballot lists for the Swedish parliament, Riksdagen. Using a mixed methods approach this study builds on an original data set including all of the Social Democratic ballot lists for Riksdagen from 1970 to 2014. The data is combined with qualitative interviews with party representatives in two constituencies.The combined results of the studies show that the Social Democrats are not descriptively representing the Swedish working-class. The party representatives seem to want to represent the working-class and they think that they are descriptively representing this social class. The results indicate that it might be more important for the party to find candidates that are loyal, than candidates who want to represent working-class interests. Furthermore, there are indications that the party might define the working-class in outdated terms; rather than focusing on the level of education, the party defines the working-class largely in terms of those employed in manual labor and heavy industry.


A number of component-based frameworks have been proposed to tackle the complexity of the design of concurrent software and systems and, in particular, to allow modelling and simulation of critical embedded applications. Such design frameworks usually provide a capability for automatic generation of C++ or Java code, which has to be compiled for the selected target platform. Thus, guaranteeing hard real-time constraints is, at best, difficult. On the other hand, a variety of Real-Time Operating System (RTOS), in particular, those based on the Time-Triggered (TT) paradigm, guarantee the temporal and behavioural determinism of the executed software. However, such TT-based RTOS do not provide high-level design frameworks enabling the scalable design of complex safety-critical real-time systems. In this report, we combine advantages of the two approaches, by deriving correct-by-construction TT implementations from high-level componentised models. We present an automatic semantics-preserving transformation from RT-BIP (Real-Time Behaviour-Interaction-Priority) to PharOS—a safety-oriented RTOS, implementing the TT paradigm. The transformation has been implemented; we prove its correctness and illustrate it with a realistic case-study.


In this paper domain decomposition methods for radiative transfer problems including conductive heat transfer are treated. The paper focuses on semi-transparent materials, like glass, and the associated conditions at the interface between the materials. Using asymptotic analysis we derive conditions for the coupling of the radiative transfer equations and a diffusion approximation. Several test casts are treated and a problem appearing in glass manufacturing processes is computed. The results clearly show the advantages of a domain decomposition approach. Accuracy equivalent to the solution of the global radiative transfer solution is achieved, whereas computation time is strongly reduced.


Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) rendering utilizes a sequence of correlated path samples which is obtained by iteratively mutating the current state to the next. The efficiency of MCMC rendering depends on how well the mutation strategy is designed to adapt to the local structure of the state space. We present a novel MCMC rendering method that automatically adapts the step sizes of the mutations to the geometry of the rendered scene. Our geometry-aware path space perturbation largely avoids tentative samples with zero contribution due to occlusion. Our method limits the mutation step size by estimating the maximum opening angle of a cone, centered around a segment of a light transport path, where no geometry obstructs visibility. This geometry-aware mutation increases the acceptance rates, while not degrading the sampling quality. As this cone estimation introduces a considerable overhead if done naively, to make our approach efficient, we discuss and analyze fast approximate methods for cone angle estimation which utilize the acceleration structure already present for the ray-geometry intersection. Our new approach, integrated into the framework of Metropolis light transport, can achieve results with lower error and less artifact in equal time compared to current path space mutation techniques.


In this study, the color effects of wood materials to coloring with different application methods (brush, roller sponge and spray gun) and waterborne varnishes were investigated according to ASTM-D 2244. For this purpose, the experimental samples of Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.), oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.) and oak (Quercus petreae L.), which are commonly used woods in the carpentry and furniture industry in Turkey, were prepared and varnished with one and two-pack waterborne varnishes in accordance with ASTM D 3023. According to the result of the research, significant color changes in coloring as red and yellow tones on the sample surfaces of varnished wood materials were found. The highest color change was obtained in the samples of oak, when varnished with brush and spray gun while the lowest value was obtained in roller sponge in respect to the application methods for waterborne varnishes. However, the application method of spray gun for self crosslinked polyurethane, topcoat-clear, (SCPt) gave the highest metric chroma value among the three different application methods.


Mucosal surfaces of the body provide a universal entry portal for all known and emerging infectious pathogenic microbes. Therefore, it seems that special vaccination strategies are needed for vaccines that can hinder the entry capability of pathogenic microbes through the mucosal surfaces. Lactic acid bacteria are widely used in the food industry and are presently applied as delivery vehicles in many biological investigations. Among these bacteria, Lactococcus lactis is considered as a promising candidate for mucosal live vaccines to be used as an antigen delivery vector. This is an attractive alternative and a safer vaccination strategy against the pathogens, compared to other conventional methods. In this review, we summarized the applications of L. lactis as a mucosal vector of vaccine delivery for heterologous expression of proteins and its applications in biotechnology.


Langerhans cells limit ultraviolet radiation–induced keratinocyte apoptosis and skin injury, and this axis is dysfunctional in lupus photosensitivity. Abrogating keratinocyte apoptosis in lupus Lupus patients can experience photosensitivity as manifested by joint pain, fatigue, and skin rashes. To better understand the mechanisms behind this photosensitivity, Shipman et al. examined patient skin samples and mouse models of lupus. They saw that, in healthy mice and human skin exposed to ultraviolet radiation, Langerhans cells protected keratinocytes from apoptosis through a mechanism involving the metalloproteinase ADAM17 and EGFR ligands. In the lupus mice and patient samples, the Langerhans cells were unable to do this. Stimulating EGFR in the skin may bring relief to photosensitive lupus patients. Photosensitivity, or skin sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), is a feature of lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune and dermatologic conditions, but the mechanistic underpinnings are poorly understood. We identify a Langerhans cell (LC)–keratinocyte axis that limits UVR-induced keratinocyte apoptosis and skin injury via keratinocyte epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) stimulation. We show that the absence of LCs in Langerin–diphtheria toxin subunit A (DTA) mice leads to photosensitivity and that, in vitro, mouse and human LCs can directly protect keratinocytes from UVR-induced apoptosis. LCs express EGFR ligands and a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17), the metalloprotease that activates EGFR ligands. Deletion of ADAM17 from LCs leads to photosensitivity, and UVR induces LC ADAM17 activation and generation of soluble active EGFR ligands, suggesting that LCs protect by providing activated EGFR ligands to keratinocytes. Photosensitive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) models and human SLE skin show reduced epidermal EGFR phosphorylation and LC defects, and a topical EGFR ligand reduces photosensitivity. Together, our data establish a direct tissue-protective function for LCs, reveal a mechanistic basis for photosensitivity, and suggest EGFR stimulation as a treatment for photosensitivity in lupus erythematosus and potentially other autoimmune and dermatologic conditions.


This paper describes a methodology established at American University Library to assess its collection of electronic resources. The project initially analyzed usage statistics for databases only, but over the years, the assessment has expanded to include additional resources such as e-journals and e-books, as well as qualitative assessment metrics and additional applications for promoting the library's value and impact.
This assessment project was initiated out of a university mandate to reduce the library's overall budget by 3% over a two-year budget planning cycle. To meet this short-term goal, the library's Electronic Resources Librarian and Director of Technical Services in collaboration with the Electronic Resources Management Unit developed a workflow for collecting COUNTER compliant usage statistics for databases. These usage statistics were analyzed against financial payments for each title to establish a cost per use measure. Based on this data, the librarians developed tiers of database titles which could be cancelled based on university financial requirements.

This paper defines the COUNTER code of practice in its former and current release, and how to integrate this data with financial information to create a cost per use metric for comparison between resources. In addition, the paper will outline the assessment project at American University Library which used this data to determine the value of a resource to the library and the impact of cancellation. The paper will describe the subsequent phases of assessment which included e-journals and e-books. With publishers transitioning to COUNTER Release 5, the paper identifies future challenges in modeling longitudinal usage data across COUNTER releases. Finally, the paper reaffirms the necessity to move beyond measures such as cost per use for collection evaluation, and supply vision towards a model where qualitative guidelines are added to enhance and provide context for the quantitative usage statistics.


According to conventional indicators, the euro-area financial integration has receded since 2007, mainly in the money market, sovereign debt market and uncollateralized credit markets. But price-based measures of debt market segmentation are inappropriate when solvency risk differs across countries: only the component of yield differentials that is not a reward for the issuer's credit risk may reflect segmentation. We apply this idea to the euro sovereign debt market, using a dynamic factor model to decompose yield differentials in a country-specific and a common (or systemic) risk component. As the country-specific component dominates, purging yields from it produces much smaller measures of bond market segmentation than conventional ones for the crisis period. We also investigate how the home bias of banks' sovereign portfolios – a quantity-based measure of segmentation – is related to yield differentials, by estimating a vector error-correction model on 2008-12 monthly data. We find that the sovereign exposures of banks in most euro-area countries respond positively to increases in yields, especially in periphery countries. When yield differentials are decomposed in their country-risk and common-risk components, we find that: (i) in the periphery, banks respond to increases in country risk by increasing their domestic exposure, while in core countries they do not; (ii) in contrast, in most euro-area countries banks respond to an increase in the common risk factor by raising their domestic exposures. Finding (i) hints at distorted incentives in periphery banks' response to changes in their own sovereign's risk. Finding (ii) indicates that, when systemic risk increases, all banks tend to increase the home bias of their portfolios, making the euro-area sovereign market more segmented.


Lawyer disqualification is commonly feared as a "strategic," "tactical," and "harassing" "potent weapon" depriving clients of their trusted counsel of choice. Although disqualification comes with costs, fundamental misunderstandings fuel this common fear. This Article finds that disqualification is a uniquely effective remedy for lawyer misconduct and makes the following contributions to the law and practice of lawyer disqualification: (1) an exhaustive study surveying disqualification cases and refuting the common misconception that disqualification motions are uncontrollably on the rise and uncontrollably bad; (2) an accessible analysis of lawyer disqualification doctrine that permits lawyers and judges to begin assessing common disqualification questions efficiently and comprehensively; and (3) specific suggestions for practical improvements, including cost-shifting, legal presumptions, and better procedures in disqualification proceedings.


The lower Mississippian Lodgepole Formation is exposed in central Montana in the anticlines which form the Big Snowy and Little Belt Mountains. Four sections averaging 130 feet in length were measured at the base of the Woodhurst Limestone, the uppermost member of the Lodge¬ pole. Three of the sections were located in the vestern end of the Big Snowy Mountains. These were composed of two major bioclastic and ooid grainstone units, and a succession of mudstones, wackestones, packstones and argillaceous dolomites and pellet grainstones and pelleted mudstones. Field, faunal, and petrographic evidence indicate these rocks were deposited in very shallow water, the grainstones in the form of carbonate sand shoals, the remaining rock types in a broad lagoon behind the shoals. One section was measured 70 miles to the west in the Little Belt moun¬ tains. Rocks here consist of crinoid grainstones and packstones, skeletal and ooid grainstones, mudstones, bryozoan packstones and wackestones, and calcareous shales. Evidence suggests these rocks formed down paleoslope from those in the Big Snowys, some of the sediments being deposited in deeper water in a normal marine shelf environment. A number of diagenetic processes affected the sediments after deposition. Morphology and distribution of cements and evidence of tim¬ ing relative to other diagenetic events indicate cementation of the carbonate sands took place in the intertidal or shallow subtidal environment soon after deposition. Dolomitization of crinoid debris with magnesium derived from the high magnesian calclte of the crinoid skeletons themselves also took place very early in the history of the sediment. This was followed by silicification and pyritization of skeletal debris and ooids. Another, more extensive period of dolomitiza¬ tion occurred which affected micrite and, to a lesser extent, ooids and tended to avoid skeletal material and spar. The last diagenetic event to affect these rocks was compaction and stylolitization filled remaining pore space as coarse blocky calcite spar.


This investigation highlights the safety of DP (Dynamic Positioning) systems by briefly discussing the existing risk as-sessment methods and risk control measures provided by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Following a study regarding DP systems and the loss of position incidents reported to the International Marine Contractors As-sociation (IMCA) and contained in the World Offshore Accident Databank (WOAD), the relevant hazards are identi-fied and collated. The primary causes of loss of position incidents were found to be: the positional reference system failures and thruster failures, with both contributing to 20.6% each of the total incidents from 2000 to 2016. Similarly the time period of the analysis is the 17 years between 2000 and 2016. Given the two stated primary causes, the po-sitional reference system failures and thruster failures, the thruster failures are analysed further. This is due to thruster failures occurring at an increased rate within DP incidents from 2011 to 2016. Hence, this trend, between 2011 and 2016, is analysed further. Three undesired events for loss of position due to thruster failures were identi-fied, these are as follows: "drive off", "drift off" and "time loss". Further investigation of incidents in more recent years, in this case, 2012 to 2016, identified that the DP control system accounted for 33.7% of the initiating incidents that led to thruster failures. Furthermore, the undesired event "time loss" accounted for 71.2% of total incidents caused by thruster failures.


ABSTRACT The absence of any formally licensed antiadenovirus drugs and the increasing incidence of life-threatening adenovirus infections in immunosuppressed patients warrant the development of effective antiadenovirus compounds. A detailed study was performed on the antiadenovirus activities of several classes of nucleoside and nucleotide analogues in human embryonic lung fibroblast cells. The antiadenovirus activities were evaluated by three methods, viz., evaluating the adenoviral cytopathic effect, monitoring cell viability by a colorimetric assay, and real-time PCR quantitation of viral DNA as a direct parameter for virus replication. The most active and selective compounds were the acyclic nucleoside phosphonate analogues cidofovir, its adenine analogue (S)-9-(3-hydroxy-2-phosphonylmethoxypropyl)adenine [(S)-HPMPA], and the new derivative (S)-2,4-diamino-6-[3-hydroxy-2-(phosphonomethoxy)propoxy]pyrimidine [(S)-HPMPO-DAPy]; the N7-substituted acyclic derivative 2-amino-7-(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)purine (S-2242); and the 2′,3′-dideoxynucleoside analogues zalcitabine and alovudine. No antiadenovirus activity was observed for the antiviral drugs ribavirin, foscarnet, acyclovir, penciclovir, and brivudin, while ganciclovir displayed modest activity. However, in human osteosarcoma cells transfected with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase, ganciclovir demonstrated highly potent antiadenovirus activity, suggesting that the efficacy of ganciclovir against adenovirus is limited by inefficient phosphorylation in adenovirus-infected cells, rather than by insufficient inhibition at the viral DNA polymerase level. Collectively, our antiviral data show that the adenovirus DNA polymerase exhibits sensitivity to a relatively broad spectrum of inhibitors and should be studied further as an antiviral target in antiadenovirus drug development programs.


Punycode is a simple and efficient transfer encoding syntax designed for use with Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA). It uniquely and reversibly transforms a Unicode string into an ASCII string. ASCII characters in the Unicode string are represented literally, and non-ASCII characters are represented by ASCII characters that are allowed in host name labels (letters, digits, and hyphens). This document defines a general algorithm called Bootstring that allows a string of basic code points to uniquely represent any string of code points drawn from a larger set. Punycode is an instance of Bootstring that uses particular parameter values specified by this document, appropriate for IDNA.


Pediatricians have long had a window into the troubles facing young patients and their families. Now, emerging data on how early exposure to adversity can impair long-term health and development have led the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other thought leaders to call for more effective and aggressive intervention for children in distress. In June, the AAP convened a symposium on the long-term dangers of childhood toxic stress—early exposure to chronic unmitigated stress—and urged pediatricians, policy makers, and federal agencies to develop a stronger national response. To facilitate these efforts, the AAP announced it will launch the Center on Healthy, Resilient Children to help pediatricians and others identify toxic stress in children and connect them with appropriate resources. "We are now recognizing in medical science and practice that there are real and significant effects when children grow up with toxic and persistent stress," said Robert W. Block, MD, past president of the AAP, in an interview. "Those effects take a toll on the ability to learn in school and informally."


Differential ray tracing determines an optical system's first-order properties by finding the first-order changes in the configuration of an exiting ray in terms of changes in that ray's initial configuration. When one or more of the elements of a system is inhomogeneous, the only established procedure for carrying out a first-order analysis of a general ray uses relatively inefficient finite differences. To trace a ray through an inhomogeneous medium, one must, in general, numerically integrate an ordinary differential equation, and Runge–Kutta schemes are well suited to this application. We present an extension of standard Runge–Kutta schemes that gives exact derivatives of the numerically approximated rays.


One common criticism of deflationism is that it does not have the resources to explain defective discourse (e.g., vagueness, referential indeterminacy, confusion, etc.). This problem is especially pressing for someone like Robert Brandom, who not only endorses deflationist accounts of truth, reference, and predication, but also refuses to use representational relations to explain content and propositional attitudes. To address this problem, I suggest that Brandom should explain defective discourse in terms of what it is to treat some portion of discourse as defective. To illustrate this strategy, I present an extension of his theory of content and use it to provide an explanation of confusion. The result is a theory of confusion based on Joseph Camp's recent treatment. The extension of Brandom's theory of content involves additions to his account of scorekeeping that allow members of a discursive practice to accept different standards of inferential correctness.


A new low cost converter topology is proposed for sinusoidal position encoders. The converter enables determination of the angle from the sine and cosine signals of the encoder. When used with resolvers, the implementation of the present scheme takes advantage of the available excitation signal used to operate the device. This trigonometric reference signal is optimally used to generate an analogue signal equivalent to a digital look-up table (LUT). This enables determination of the mechanical angle without using LUT, A/D, and D/A converters. The scheme is optimized in order to achieve highest possible precision. Beside simplicity of its implementation, the proposed converter offers the advantage of robustness to amplitude fluctuation of the transducer excitation signal. The converter was implemented using ordinary low-cost analog components. The theory of operation, computer simulation, and experimental results are given.


Audio-Visual Speech Recognition (AVSR) is one of techniques to enhance robustness of speech recognizer in noisy or real environments. On the other hand, Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have recently attracted a lot of attentions of researchers in the speech recognition field, because we can drastically improve recognition performance by using DNNs. There are two ways to employ DNN techniques for speech recognition: a hybrid approach and a tandem approach; in the hybrid approach an emission probability on each Hidden Markov Model (HMM) state is computed using a DNN, while in the tandem approach a DNN is composed into a feature extraction scheme. In this paper, we investigate and compare several DNN-based AVSR methods to mainly clarify how we should incorporate audio and visual modalities using DNNs. We carried out recognition experiments using a corpus CENSREC-1-AV, and we discuss the results to find out the best DNN-based AVSR modeling. Then it turns out that a tandembased method using audio Deep Bottle-Neck Features (DBNFs) and visual ones with multi-stream HMMs is the most suitable, followed by a hybrid approach and another tandem scheme using audio-visual DBNFs. key words: audio-visual speech recognition, deep neural network, Deep Bottleneck Feature, multi-stream HMM


An important step towards explaining deep image classifiers lies in the identification of image regions that contribute to individual class scores in the model's output. However, doing this accurately is a difficult task due to the black-box nature of such networks. Most existing approaches find such attributions either using activations and gradients or by repeatedly perturbing the input. We instead address this challenge by training a second deep network, the Explainer, to predict attributions for a pre-trained black-box classifier, the Explanandum. These attributions are provided in the form of masks that only show the classifier-relevant parts of an image, masking out the rest. Our approach produces sharper and more boundary-precise masks when compared to the saliency maps generated by other methods. Moreover, unlike most existing approaches, ours is capable of directly generating very distinct class-specific masks in a single forward pass. This makes the proposed method very efficient during inference. We show that our attributions are superior to established methods both visually and quantitatively with respect to the PASCAL VOC-2007 and Microsoft COCO-2014 datasets.


Abstract In the development communication equation, whether more theoretical, empirical and analytical attention is given to 'development' or to 'communication' makes a difference: where the emphasis is on development, it is at the expense of communication. Since communication and media arguably play an increasingly pervasive role in the everyday life of citizens and in the politics, economies and governance of most societies, the characteristics and role of specific forms of applied communication strategies in the context of the neoliberal project merit critical scrutiny. Given a complex global scenario, what can a political economy approach bring into an agenda for the future of development communication as a field of study, a practice and an institutional project? This article outlines ways in which a focus on political economy dimensions may contribute to understanding the obstacles and limits to a transformative practice of international development communication.


This study investigated the extent to which capital budgeting practices and procures are employed in public schools in Kenya.Previous work in this area has been focusing on corporate enterprise,paying little attention to non- profit making organizations.The study design adopted is the survey design. All Secondary schools in Meru North District were used in the case study.The study focuses on primary data as well as secondary data. Primary data were obtained from principals of individual schools using self-designed questionnaire, while secondary data were obtained from financial reports of the same schools. Data wereanalyzed using SPSS software. The findings in this study indicate that the initial stages of capital budgeting process are being followed in schools, but minimal implementation follows. This is supported by:- proportion of participants who showed that they normally divert funds, presence of stalled and idle projects in schools and an indication that modern appraisal techniques of capital budgeting are not highly applied.


Methyl-2-naphthyl ether (MNE) is an organic compound and used as the primary moiety for the synthesis of several antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents. This study was attempted to evaluate the impact of biofield energy treatment on the physical, thermal, and spectroscopic properties of MNE. The study was carried out in two groups i.e., control and treated. The treated group was subjected to Mr. Trivedi's biofield treatment. Afterward, the control and treated samples of MNE were evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area analyzer, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis-derivative thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTG), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. The XRD study exhibited the decrease in average crystallite size by 30.70%. The surface area analysis showed 5.32% decrease in surface area of the treated sample with respect to the control. The DSC thermogram of treated MNE exhibited no significant change in the melting temperature; however, the latent heat of fusion was slightly increased (0.83%) after biofield treatment as compared to the control sample. The TGA analysis showed the onset temperature of thermal degradation at 158℃ in the control sample that was reduced to 124℃ after biofield treatment. The result showed about 21.52% decrease in onset temperature of thermal degradation of treated MNE as compared to the control. Similarly, the end-set temperature of thermal degradation was also reduced by 13.51% after biofield treatment with respect to the control. The FT-IR and UV spectroscopic studies did not show any changes in the wavenumber and wavelength, respectively in treated MNE with respect to the control. Overall, the XRD, surface area and thermal analysis suggest that biofield treatment has the impact on physical and thermal properties of the treated MNE as compared to the control.


Previous research has shown that low birth weights have negative effects on outcomes throughout life. Using administrative data from the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Israeli National Insurance Institute, this study examines the relationship between family income and birth weights (for single births) in Israel between 1995 and 2007. Raw data displays a positive correlation between parents' socioeconomic characteristics, including income, and their children's birth weights. However, examining the effect of exogenous changes in family income – such as variations in the amount of child allowances – on birth weights, (including for the same mother), reveals that the causal relationship is for the most part statistically insignificant. Even when a statistically significant causal relationship is detected, it is weak and, according to the literature, would have no effect on life outcomes.


This monograph presents a novel method of sliding mode control for switch-regulated nonlinear systems. The Delta Sigma modulation approach allows one to implement a continuous control scheme using one or multiple, independent switches, thus effectively merging the available linear and nonlinear controller design techniques with sliding mode control. Sliding Mode Control: The Delta-Sigma Modulation Approach, combines rigorous mathematical derivation of the unique features of Sliding Mode Control and Delta-Sigma modulation with numerous illustrative examples from diverse areas of engineering. In addition, engineering case studies demonstrate the applicability of the technique and the ease with which one can implement the exposed results. This book will appeal to researchers in control engineering and can be used as graduate-level textbook for a first course on sliding mode control


The Third Reich confiscated, looted, or otherwise wrongly took vast numbers of works of art from public and private collections in Germany and in occupied countries. Holocaust victims were particular targets of this cultural property theft. For complex reasons, in most instances nearly fifty years elapsed between the end of World War II and the assertion of claims in U.S. courts for restitution of this stolen, "Holocaust art." That time lapse creates an insurmountable burden for some plaintiffs' efforts to recover their property: the current possessor's assertion of a statute-of-limitations defense. This article describes an alternative route to restitution in those situations. Under federal law, stolen property is forfeitable if the government demonstrates an indictable offense under the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA). This kind of in rem civil forfeiture action is independent of, and does not require the government to undertake, a criminal prosecution under the NSPA. To prevail in a civil forfeiture action predicated on an NSPA violation, the government must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, the elements of an NSPA violation. In 1986, Congress amended the NSPA in ways that create an opportunity for the government to accomplish restitution in situations where a civil plaintiff would be time-barred under state law. First, Congress replaced the NSPA's former requirement that the stolen goods be in interstate commerce with the requirement that the stolen goods have crossed a U.S. or state border. That change eliminated a defense predicated on goods having left interstate commerce by, for example, coming to rest. Second, Congress added "possession" of stolen goods as an enumerated offense. The effect of these amendments is to eliminate a defense based on the passage of time: The statute of limitations for possession of stolen goods commences to run only when the possessor divests herself of possession. Under federal forfeiture statutes the government has authority to return forfeited property to its original owners. Thus, federal law may permit the government to achieve for Holocaust victims what they, as civil plaintiffs, cannot accomplish themselves. The United States has adopted clearly articulated policies favoring restitution of Holocaust art. This paper argues that the United States could support those policies by pursuing this novel application of the NSPA. However, it also questions whether such cases are appropriate, given the rationales supporting statutes of limitations.


Cellulose, as the most abundant polymer in the world, and recently nanocellulose, have emerged as sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable substrates for flexible and printed electronics in applications that require rapid roll-to-roll manufacturing. However, the wetting and printability of any material surface are linked to its surface energy. These may be modified by cleaning and activation of the surface, i.e. removal, formation or alteration of the adventitious or functional chemical groups on it. Recently, novel surface treatment techniques compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing have attracted considerable attention on the part of researchers. In this contribution, we present atmospheric-pressure plasma generated by diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) for the surface treatment of nanocellulose transparent paper. The effect of ambient-air, low-temperature plasma on the surface of nanocellulose was investigated. Water contact angle measurements revealed increased hydrophilicity of the surface after short plasma treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was utilized for chemical analysis of the surface of the nanocellulose. Plasma treatment led to a decrease in carbon concentration and a corresponding increase in oxygen concentration. Analysis of carbon peaks in the spectra revealed decreased C-C bonds and the formation of oxygen polar groups. The formation of polar groups was directly related to the increased hydrophilicity. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphological effects of plasma treatment on the nanocellulose surface. No damage to the nanocellulose fibres was observed after plasma treatment, which confirms that lowtemperature plasma is suitable for large-area roll-to-roll treatment of nanocellulose.


Bolted joints are integral parts of mechanical systems, and bolt preload loss is one of the major failure modes for bolted joint structures. Understanding the damping and frequency response to a varying preload in a single-bolted lap-joint structure can be very helpful in predicting and analyzing more complicated structures connected by these joints.
In this thesis, the relationship between the bolt preload and the natural frequency, and the relationship between the bolt preload and the structural damping, have both been investigated through impact hammer testing on a single-bolted lap-joint structure. The test data revealed that the bolt preload has nonlinear effects on the structural damping and on the natural frequency of the structure. The damping ratios of the test structure were determined to increase with decreasing preload. An increase in structural damping is beneficial in most engineering circumstances, for it will reduce the vibrational response and noise subjected to external excitations. It was also observed that the modal frequency increased with increasing preload, but remained approximately constant for preload larger than 30% in the bolt yield strength. One application for studying the preload effect is the detection for loose bolts in structures. The possibility of using impact testing for estimating preload loss has been confirmed, and the modal damping was determined to be a more sensitive indicator than the natural frequency in a single-bolted lap-joint structure.


Open Data is the name given to datasets which have been generated by international organisations, governments, NGOs and academic researchers, and made freely available online and openly-licensed. These datasets can be used by educators as Open Educational Resources (OER) to support different teaching and learning activities, allowing students to gain experience working with the same raw data researchers and policy-makers generate and use. In this way, educators can facilitate students to understand how information is generated, processed, analysed and interpreted. This paper offers an initial exploration of ways in which the use of Open Data can be key in the development of transversal skills (including digital and data literacies, alongside skills for critical thinking, research, teamwork, and global citizenship), enhancing students' abilities to understand and select information sources, to work with, curate, analyse and interpret data, and to conduct and evaluate research. This paper also presents results of an exploratory survey that can guide further research into Open Data-led learning activities. Our goal is to support educators in empowering students to engage, critically and collaboratively, as 21st century global citizens.


John Godfrey Saxe's 19th century poem, "The Blind Men and the Elephant," opens with six learned men, "Who went to see the Elephant/(Though all of them were blind)/That each by observation/Might satisfy his mind." The financial crisis is the Elephant of our time. Over the last couple of years, more than six wise men and women have written books purporting to explain the financial crisis and many more such books are surely in the works. Most of these wise ones suffer from the same limitations as the poem's learned men. As each reaches out, he or she can only make out one small part of Our Elephant - maybe the rampant fraud at mortgage origination or the distortions of short term profit-seeking or the complexity of the CDO2 - but go on to confidently opine on the essential nature of this beast. The SUBPRIME VIRUS is a cut above the books that have come before it because of its authors' breadth of knowledge of financial institutions and consumer protection.


Niche conservatism controls the distribution of many amphibians during both speciation and invasion processes.
In a few species it is possible to investigate the ecological divergence between isolated populations. Hyla meridionalis is
an anuran with a distribution pattern of one group of alien populations in southwestern Europe and two allopatric groups
of populations in northern Africa that have been diverging for an estimated period of between 2 and 12 million years. In
this study we tested the hypothesis that niche conservatism determines the occurrence of a species on two distinct niche
scales and in separate geographical regions. Our results indicate that H. meridionalis in some places occupies aquatic habitats
that are suboptimal for other anuran species. This fact may have favoured its persistence in this niche and establishment
in regions where no equivalent species occur. The two lineages of H. meridionalis overlap extensively in the climate
space, even though the western lineage has spread into more marginal niches. Overall, our results support the hypotheses
that niche conservatism controls the dispersal and distribution of populations and that a species' niche can be stable on an
evolutionary time scale


Abstract. The domain-filling, forward trajectory calculation model developed by Schoeberl and Dessler (2011) is extended to the 1979–2010 period. We compare results from NASA's MERRA, NCEP's CFSR, and ECMWF's ERAi reanalyses with HALOE, MLS, and balloon observations. The CFSR based simulation produces a wetter stratosphere than MERRA, and ERAi produces a drier stratosphere than MERRA. We find that ERAi 100 hPa temperatures are cold biased compared to Singapore sondes and MERRA, which explains the ERAi result, and the CFSR grid does not resolve the cold point tropopause, which explains its relatively higher water vapor concentration. The pattern of dehydration locations is also different among the three reanalyses. ERAi dehydration pattern stretches across the Pacific while CFSR and MERRA concentrate dehydration activity in the West Pacific. CSFR and ERAi also show less dehydration activity in the West Pacific Southern Hemisphere than MERRA. The trajectory models' lower northern high latitude stratosphere tends to be dry because too little methane-derived water descends from the middle stratosphere. Using the MLS tropical tape recorder signal, we find that MERRA vertical ascent is 15% too weak while ERAi is 30% too strong. The trajectory model reproduces the observed reduction in the amplitude of the 100-hPa annual cycle in zonal mean water vapor as it propagates to middle latitudes. Finally, consistent with the observations, the models show less than 0.2 ppm decade −1 trend in water vapor both at mid-latitudes and in the tropics.


We describe a generic tool for visualising differences between two groups of speakers who produce a given word sequence. We do this by first time-aligning all recordings and then aggre-gating time-varying information within each group. By that, we can display prototypical loudness and tempo contours, and also spectrograms, together with information on variability and group effect size over time. An optional user-supplied segmentation (just needed for one of the recordings) can be used to relate local differences to individual phonemes. The system is validated with a group of speakers with Parkinson's disease and an age-matched control group. It will be provided as an open-source software package to the community.


Discharges of heavy metals, toxic organics and variable strength conventional pollutants from industrial (and other nondomestic) sources can have negative impacts on the operation of POTWs. Such discharges can result in an 'interference' at a POTW. The book considers the sources of and contaminants causing interference, the impact on the POTW, and the mitigation techniques available for interference prevention.


As water scarcity worsens globally, there is growing interest in finding ways to reduce water consumption, and for reallocating water savings to other uses including environmental restoration. Because irrigated agriculture is responsible for more than 90% of all consumptive water use in water-scarce regions, much attention is being focused on opportunities to save water on irrigated farms. At the same time, many recent journal articles have expressed concern that claims of water-saving potential in irrigation systems lack technical credibility, or are at least exaggerated, due to failures to properly account for key elements of water budgets such as return flows. Critics have also asserted that opportunities for reallocating irrigation savings to other uses are limited because any freed-up water is taken up by other farmers. A comprehensive literature and internet survey was undertaken to identify well-documented studies of water-saving strategies in irrigated agriculture, as well as a review of case studies in which water savings have been successfully transferred to other uses. Our findings suggest that there is in fact considerable potential to reduce consumptive water use in irrigation systems when proper consideration is given to water budget accounting, and those savings can be beneficially reallocated to other purposes.


Abstract. Hydrolyzable organic carbon (OC) comprises a significant component of sedimentary particulate matter transferred from land into oceans via rivers. Its abundance and nature are however not well studied in Arctic river systems, and yet may represent an important pool of carbon whose fate remains unclear in the context of mobilization and related processes associated with a changing climate. Here, we examine the molecular composition and source of hydrolyzable compounds isolated from sedimentary particles derived from nine rivers across the pan-Arctic. Bound fatty acids (b-FAs), hydroxy FAs, n-alkane-α,ω-dioic acids (DAs) and phenols were the major components released upon hydrolysis of these sediments. Among them, b-FAs received considerable inputs from bacterial and/or algal sources, whereas ω-hydroxy FAs, mid-chain substituted acids, DAs, and hydrolyzable phenols were mainly derived from cutin and suberin of higher plants. We further compared the distribution and fate of suberin- and cutin-derived compounds with those of other terrestrial biomarkers (plant wax lipids and lignin phenols) from the same Arctic river sedimentary particles and conducted a benchmark assessment of several biomarker-based indicators of OC source and extent of degradation. While suberin-specific biomarkers were positively correlated with plant-derived high-molecular-weight (HMW) FAs, lignin phenols were correlated with cutin-derived compounds. These correlations suggest that, similar to leaf-derived cutin, lignin was mainly derived from litter and surface soil horizons, whereas suberin and HMW FAs incorporated significant inputs from belowground sources (roots and deeper soil). This conclusion is supported by the negative correlation between lignin phenols and the ratio of suberin-to-cutin biomarkers. Furthermore, the molecular composition of investigated biomarkers differed between Eurasian and North American Arctic rivers: while lignin dominated in the terrestrial OC of Eurasian river sediments, hydrolyzable OC represented a much larger fraction in the sedimentary particles from Colville River. Hence, studies exclusively focusing on either plant wax lipids or lignin phenols will not be able to fully unravel the mobilization and fate of bound OC in Arctic rivers. More comprehensive, multi-molecular investigations are needed to better constrain the land–ocean transfer of carbon in the changing Arctic, including further research on the degradation and transfer of both free and bound components in Arctic river sediments.


In atmospheric aerosols, water and volatile inorganic and organic species are distributed between the gas and aerosol phases in accordance with thermodynamic equilibrium. Within an atmospheric particle, liquid and solid phases can exist at equilibrium. Models exist for computation of phase equilibria for inorganic/water mixtures typical of atmospheric aerosols; when organic species are present, the phase equilibrium problem is complicated by organic/water interactions as well as the potentially large number of organic species. We present here an extension of the UHAERO inorganic thermodynamic model (Amundson et al., 2006c) to organic/water systems. Phase diagrams for a number of model organic/water systems characteristic of both primary and secondary organic aerosols are computed. Also calculated are inorganic/organic/water phase diagrams that show the effect of organics on inorganic deliquescence behavior. The effect of the choice of activity coefficient model for organics on the computed phase equilibria is explored.


This article examines how racialized meanings were attributed to alcoholic products (tequila, pulque, and beer) in the United States and in Mexico in the early part of the 20th century. Researchers in both countries provide a wealth of information about the politics, establishment, and enforcement of alcohol prohibition. Yet, few projects consider the effects of these measures from a transnational perspective. Drawing on newspaper articles and primary and secondary sources from the United States and Mexico, this work illustrates how, amid changing ideas regarding alcohol regulation, various actors projected racial and class meanings onto commodities and their consumption.


Film reviews, star interviews and feature articles routinely present the Hollywood actress Sharon Stone as an incompetent and mannered performer put on display for the male gaze. From this estimation, the primary aim of this article is to i) consider Sharon Stone's status as someone to look at, ii) examine Stone's bid for acting legitimacy and iii) demonstrate the ways in which review media shared an agenda as they tried to contain that bid. My point here is that although Sharon Stone made a conscious effort to take on challenging roles that would re-define her body as a site of performance rather than a site of erotic spectacle, a wide range of review publications that span media forms of quality and distinction continued to subjugate the performer to the controlling male gaze and devalue the accoutrements of femininity accordingly.


Friedman's many contributions to monetary theory did much to renew interest in monetary theory and policy. Heretofore, there has been no statement of the underlying theory that guides his work and generates policy implications. Two recent papers attempt to fill the gap. We have four main criticisms of Friedman's theory. We regard as most important that the theories do not generate principal monetarist conclusions about the role of money and the variability of monetary policy. Friedman's static frameworks leave the relative potency of fiscal and monetary policies dependent on the slopes of the IS and LM curve. This is unsatisfactory.


The dramatic growth of SNS has created a myriad of information privacy. To achieve our objective, first, this study estimates the monetary value of information privacy by using the CVM. Second, it is estimated how the monetary value of information privacy would change according to demographic information, SNS usage cycle information, the Characteristics of SNS users, and the SNS features. As a result, sensitive SNS users for information privacy have following characteristics: 30s, higher education, less Monthly Expenditure or far more monthly expenditure, lower SNS use ability, more number of followers, little event experiences, shorter SNS experience, higher account open limit level and privacy invasion experiences. Also, the total WTA mean is $28/number. The monetary value of information privacy according to SNS features have the following characteristics. Those who use private SNS, the value of Profile, Location information, and the purpose of Sharing and Friendship are more important.


This article explores the role of missionary photography in enhancing our understanding of Christian mission history. It specifically focuses on the visual embodiment of women whose lives and stories have largely been overlooked in the history of Korean Christianity. Tracing the early pictorial images of women in relation to missionary writings, the article demonstrates the ways in which photographs—either in natural or staged settings—were taken, circulated, and appropriated for the purposes of missionary goals. In doing so, the article argues that missionary photography is an expedient analytical tool to plumb the dynamic interactions between the missionaries and the missionized and to demonstrate the interplay between material culture and human desire.


Plants release volatiles in response to caterpillar feeding that attract natural enemies of the herbivores, a tri-trophic interaction which has been considered an indirect plant defence against herbivores. The caterpillar-induced plant volatiles have been reported to repel or attract conspecific adult herbivores. Apple seedlings infested with Pandemis pyrusana larvae uniquely release five compounds (benzyl alcohol, benzyl nitrile, phenylacetaldehyde, indole, and (E)-nerolidol). These compounds and other known caterpillar-induced plant volatiles were tested to investigate the response of both herbivores and natural enemies. In field tests, binary blends of benzyl nitrile and acetic acid or 2-phenylethanol and acetic acid attracted a large number of conspecific male and female adult moths. On the other hand, a ternary blend of benzyl nitrile, 2-phenylethanol and acetic acid attracted the largest numbers of the general predator, the common green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea. This study provides the first record of caterpillar-induced plant volatile attraction to conspecific adult herbivores as well as predators under natural conditions.


The fact that biological sequences can be represented as strings belonging to a finite alphabet (A, C, G, and T for DNA) plays an important role in connecting biology to computer science. String representation allows researchers to apply various string comparison techniques available in computer science. As a result, various applications have been developed that facilitate the task of sequence alignment. The problem of finding sequence alignments consists of finding the best match between two biological sequences. A best match can infer an evolutionary relationship and functional similarity. However, there is a lack of research on how reliable and efficient these applications are especially when it comes to comparing two sequences that might not be highly similar (but could have common patterns that are small yet biologically significant). This study compares two biological sequence comparison packages, namely WuBlast2 and Fasta3. which implement Blast and FastA algorithms, respectively. In order to do so, a framework was developed to facilitate the task of data collection and create meaningful reports. Amino acid sequences corresponding to related proteins, as well as the DNA sequences encoding these proteins, were analyzed with matching parameters for each application. Observations showed a trend of increasing variations between the matches produced by the two applications with decreasing sequence similarity.


Currently the South African government is advocating the cultivation of high valued crops and more efficient use of available water resources through the adoption o f more efficient irrigation technology and irrigation scheduling. A requirement of the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) is the compilation of water management plans. The main objective of this paper is to develop a multiperiod mathematical risk programming model able of assisting water user associations with the compilation of water management plans that are both profitable and feasible. Special care was taken to represent canal capacities and irrigation system application rates in the model. Risk simulation procedures are used to generate an appropriately correlated inter- and intra-temporal risk matrix for the programming model. A combination of subjectively elicited distributions of crop yield and objective data on crop prices were used to characterize risk. The model was applied to a representative flood irrigation farm in the Vaalharts irrigation scheme South Africa to demonstrate the capability of the model to optimize water use over a 15 year planning horizon. Model results clearly indicated the potential of high value crops and more efficient irrigation technology to soften the impact of water shortages. Furthermore infrastructure, the financial position of the farmer and the level of risk averseness have significantly impacted on the results. Policy makers and government authorities should take cognizance of these factors when evaluating water use efficiency and water management plans of different water user associations. Improvements in the adopted modeling procedure are also made.


The Spot 42 RNA is a 109 nucleotide long (in Escherichia coli) noncoding small regulatory RNA (sRNA) encoded by the spf (spot fourty-two) gene. spf is found in gamma-proteobacteria and the majority of experimental work on Spot 42 RNA has been performed using E. coli, and recently Aliivibrio salmonicida. In the cell Spot 42 RNA plays essential roles as a regulator in carbohydrate metabolism and uptake, and its expression is activated by glucose, and inhibited by the cAMP-CRP complex. Here we summarize the current knowledge on Spot 42, and present the natural distribution of spf, show family-specific secondary structural features of Spot 42, and link highly conserved structural regions to mRNA target binding.


Many aspects of visual system physiology are regulated by circadian oscillators. Ko et al. report that chick photoreceptor cells in culture or in ovo can be entrained by light/dark cycles and that they exhibit a persistent circadian alteration in the affinity of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-gated channels for cGMP. The affinity is higher at night and lower in the day after training with a 12-hour light/12-hour dark schedule. The molecular mechanism for the circadian change in affinity was investigated with pharmacological inhibitors and showed that the circadian rhythm was the result of antiphasic activities of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) and calcium/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII). Inhibition of ERK activity blocked the increase in affinity seen during the night. The decreased affinity for cGMP was the result of rhythmic calcium/calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) activity (that peaks in the day). Furthermore, inhibition of ERK disrupted both the dark phase increase in affinity and the rhythmic CaCMKII activity (and subsequent decrease in cGMP affinity), suggesting that ERK may be conveying information from the oscillator to CaMKII. G. Y.-P. Ko, M. L. Ko, S. E. Dryer, Circadian regulation of cGMP-gated cation channels of chick retinal cones: Erk MAP kinase and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. Neuron 29, 255-266 (2001). [Online Journal]


Aim: The aim of the present study is to carry out the preliminary phytochemical screening followed by an investigation of the in vitro anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, and thrombolytic activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Bauhinia purpurea. Methods: Phytochemical screening was done to find the presence of various secondary metabolites of the plant. The anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by human red blood cell (HRBC) method. Using hypotonic solution-induced human erythrocyte lysis model, membrane-stabilizing activity was examined by considering aspirin as standard. Thrombolytic activity was evaluated using the in vitro clot lysis model. Egg albumin and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were used to evaluate the antiarthritic potential. Results and Discussion: Phytochemical tests of ethanolic leaf extract of B. purpurea indicated the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, lignin's, carbohydrates, proteins, tannins, saponins, and glycosides. In case of anti-inflammatory activity, the maximum percentage stabilization of HRBC membrane was observed as 59.2% at 500 μg/ml concentration. The maximum percentage inhibition by BSA method and egg albumin method was observed as 82.2% and 94%, respectively, at 500 μg/ml concentration for antiarthritic activity. During assay for thrombolytic activity, it revealed that 91.02 ± 2.6% lysis of clot, while standard streptokinase and water used as positive and negative controls, demonstrated 72.835 ± 5.702% and 2.725 ± 0.983% lysis of clot, respectively.Conclusion: The present outcomes highlight the role of ethanolic leaf extract of B. purpurea for its anti-inflammatory, antiarthritic, and thrombolytic activities. It reveals that the phytochemical constituents are responsible for these activities.


Botho as a culture is a way of life which informs the way a typical African would lead, interact and socialise. Culture is not genetic but we all are born into a culture, yet culture affects human behaviour and dictates how people perceive things. The originality of cultural values becomes questionable with such diverse values, beliefs, and attitudes in this global village.
Inter-cultural interactions and cross-cultural mobility compounded by education, technology, and political interactions has influenced the botho value systems and beliefs. Botho cannot claim to be original given the colonisation of Africa and subsequent impact on cultural values. However, there are remnants of botho value systems in different varieties throughout the African continent. The fundamental beliefs and values are largely unshaken, though tainted with uncomfortable colonial intrusions which distort the traditional African perceptions about behaviour.
The paper extracts the current botho values that inform leader-follower relationships, which are in agreement with the modern leadership philosophies in our current leadership. The African values are based on the philosophy that; "you are who you are because of other people." Emphasis is on respect for the elderly, communalism (team-work), and the philosophy of one-hand-washes-the-other as norms found in the botho value system.


Ecological risk assessment is a useful methodology for assisting the management of fisheries from an ecosystem perspective. Atlantic tuna fisheries, managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), are economically important and interact with several bycatch species. In spite of these interactions, no comprehensive ecological risk assessment has been conducted for bycatch species caught in ICCAT fisheries. In this paper, we followed a two stage approach with the objective of assessing the relative risk of species being negatively impacted by Atlantic tuna fisheries. An analysis of the ICCAT bycatch species list (which includes all species reported to have interacted with different tuna fishing gears operating in the Atlantic) revealed that most of these species are caught in longline fisheries, followed by gillnets and purse seines. According to the IUCN red list, 7 species of the ICCAT bycatch list (3 coastal sharks, 3 sea turtles and one seabird) are categorized as critically endangered. In our study, and based on their life history characteristics, marine mammals and coastal sharks caught in ICCAT fisheries showed the highest intrinsic vulnerability values. A productivity susceptibility analysis for the European Union (EU) tropical tuna purse seine fleet and the United States (US) pelagic longline fleet revealed two groups with high relative risk scores. The first one included pelagic and coastal sharks, characterized by relatively low productivities, and the second one included teleosts, characterized by higher productivities but high susceptibility to purse seine and longline gears. Some alternative approaches to conduct productivity susceptibility analyses in the context of ecological risk assessments are discussed.


This paper draws on systemic functional linguistic genre analysis to illuminate the way in which post graduate applied linguistics students structure their argumentation within a multi party asynchronous computer mediated conference. Two conference discussions within the same postgraduate course are compared in order to reveal the way in which computer-based argumentation may differ from that operating in written essays and to show the influence of tutor role and task set in shaping the discussions in this mode. The analysis undertaken demonstrates differences in both conferences between the 'stages' found in written argument and those found in the electronic discussion and also differences between the two conference discussions attributable to differences in the discussion task. In particular, in one conference, there was a higher frequency of counter-argumentation, while in the other there was a greater degree of disclosing personal and professional experiences on the basis of which participants (often collaboratively) constructed claims. It is hoped that these findings will point to fruitful new lines of enquiry both in terms of a) the special characteristics of computer mediated conferencing, particularly its use within an educational context and b) the methods of analysis which we developed as a means of illuminating a relatively new form of communication.


Microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip are a growing technology, influential in many areas of engineering. This project focuses on the necessity for better computer aided design tools for this area. Specifically, it focuses on the automated synthesis of T-junction components with thin-walled membranes for stability. A T-junction is a passive droplet generation component, common in microfluidics which suffers from behavior instability in highly integrated circuits with many components. One way of improving stability is using flexible membranes to mitigate pressure perturbations. This thesis describes the design process of such membranes so that a model can be used to synthesize stable T-junctions. The thesis also discusses Manifold, a software framework for automated synthesis of microfluidic circuits. This is the framework where the design process fits in. To compare the result of the software framework with the analytic model described, physical circuits were fabricated to validate the accuracy of the analytic model and the software. Besides the T-junction, another microfluidics component that was investigated was a "Capillary Electrophoresis Channel". This component was also investigated with respect to automated synthesis and verification using the Manifold framework, and the details are discussed.


The cavity enhanced absorption technique is applied to N2O detection around 2.86 ?m using a continuouswave color center laser. A high-finesse triangular ring cavity is used in this technology. Transmission through the cavity is obtained by jittering the cavity-length with a piezo on one of the cavity mirrors. A minimum detectable absorption coefficient of 2 * 10^(-6) cm^(-1) is achieved with a mirror reflectivity of 99.24%, corresponding to a N_(2)O detection limit of 600 parts per billion.


This paper discusses at an undergraduate level how forecast rationality can be tested. It explains that forecasters should correctly use any relevant information they knew in making their predictions. It shows that forecast rationality can be tested by determining whether the forecasters' prediction errors are predictable. After addressing what data and methods can be used for testing rationality, the paper presents tests of the price-forecast rationality of individual professional forecasters. Unlike results of previous studies, the test results show that those forecasters' price predictions appear to be rational.


I propose and document empirically that investors form "range-based" expectations – expectations that are influenced by an asset's past trading range – and that these beliefs affect trading behavior and asset prices. I find that, if an asset's price is high (low) relative to its 52- week trading range, investors erroneously believe that the asset's future return distribution is negatively (positively) skewed. Consistent with these beliefs, less sophisticated investors trade options in a way that decreases their exposure to underlying stocks that have a high price relative to their 52-week range; moreover, individual investors are more likely to sell and not buy such stocks. Also consistent with these beliefs, stocks with a high (low) price relative to their past trading range earn high (low) subsequent returns, on average.


Monoethylene glycol (MEG) regeneration plants often use pretreatment vessels to precipitate divalent cations, such as Fe2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, in order to avoid or reduce fouling in downstream reboilers and heat exchangers. This pretreatment process operates under alkaline conditions and moderate temperatures (~ 80 °C) to accelerate the formation of low-solubility divalent salts. The objective of the present research was to determine whether the pretreatment process could be minimized, without negatively impacts on the MEG regeneration process from to the formation of scale on the heater bundle in the presence of low concentrations of divalent cations in the rich MEG stream. Scale formation was analyzed under MEG regeneration process conditions using a dynamic scale loop (DSL) test and verification experiments were performed in a MEG regeneration and reclamation pilot plant, both with and without pretreatment conditions. The scaling tendencies of several rich MEG–brine mixtures were evaluated at different pH pretreatment levels and dissolved CO2 concentrations. An evaluation temperature of 180 °C was chosen to match the skin temperature of the reboiler heater bundle during the MEG regeneration process. The experiments of pH 7.24 showed high amounts of precipitation scale within the reboiler due to high remaining concentrations of mineral ions. In addition, small concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions led to the precipitation of calcite, dolomite, and magnesium hydroxide on the reboiler bundle and within associated filtered outputs even when a pretreatment vessel was present. These results were confirmed by the differential pressure build-up and Scanning Electron Microscopy analyses for each experimental condition. Another interesting finding is that pH increased within the reboiler due to CO2 gas boiling off at high operating temperatures, thus contributing to increased alkalinity levels, which in turn promoted scale formation. These results indicate that pretreatment should not be reduced, even with divalent ion concentrations as low as ~ 5 ppm TDS, due to the harsh conditions within the reboiler heater bundle.


This study explores how children learn the meaning (semantics) and spelling patterns (orthography) of novel words encountered in story context. English-speaking children (N = 88) aged 7 to 8 years read 8 stories and each story contained 1 novel word repeated 4 times. Semantic cues were provided by the story context such that children could infer the meaning of the word (specific context) or the category that the word belonged to (general context). Following story reading, posttests indicated that children showed reliable semantic and orthographic learning. Decoding was the strongest predictor of orthographic learning, indicating that self-teaching via phonological recoding was important for this aspect of word learning. In contrast, oral vocabulary emerged as the strongest predictor of semantic learning.


This paper summarizes the findings of a pioneer process and impact evaluation of a school-based Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) measure conducted by a former right-wing extremist. The goal of the primary prevention measure was, inter alia, to attain positive effects on extreme right-wing attitudes and delinquent behavior among juveniles. This goal was evaluated using an impact assessment with a post intervention screening after approximately half a year. The sample comprised 564 pupils from 50 school classes, which were randomly assigned to a treatment and a control group. Additionally, we gained further data on the prevention measure using participant observations and by surveying the participating pupils. This is the first empirical study to evaluate a school-based PVE measure conducted by a former in such a manner. The results of the study do not suggest that the prevention measure influenced right-wing extremist attitudes and delinquency. The predominantly positive responses of the pupils suggest that this approach can be a tool to facilitate access to pupils in a period of life where adults have difficulties with accessing juveniles. However, the pupils' statements also highlight critical aspects, which signify that some contents and their illustration do not seem to be adequate for this target group.


The respondent was interviewed in West Yorkshire in 2010. He is of Irish heritage and attended a Roman Catholic comprehensive school in Oldham, Lancashire, during the 1980s. He discusses the influence of his family on his love of history, in particular his awareness of his Irish ancestry. By contrast, he experienced no strong sense of Irish identity in school, despite the numerous children of Irish descent and the presence of several teachers who had left Northern Ireland to teach in England due to the Troubles. He recalls a project he did on the Troubles in his third year of secondary school. He loved history and was inspired by the stories of kings and queens. By contrast, he disliked social history, especially the industrial revolution. At that time, when the Miners' Strike occurred and Oldham was a decaying textile town, he wanted history to be an escape rather than a reminder. He discusses notions of Britishness and his A level and undergraduate studies. Interviewed by Dr Nicola Sheldon.


It has been shown recently that a Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) exists in urban transportation networks under certain conditions. However, MFD is not universally expected. Previous research demonstrates the existence of MFDs in homogeneous networks with similar link densities. More recent work focuses on the partitioning of a heterogeneous transportation network based on different congestion levels. A desired partitioning produces homogeneous regions with similar link densities to guarantee a well-defined MFD and spatially compact shapes to ease the implementation of control measurements [1]. Based on recently proposed partitioning mechanism, this paper further explores the spatial characteristics of sub-networks (sub-regions or clusters) in urban transportation networks. In this paper, a metric is defined to evaluate the spatial compactness of each cluster in the network. In order to obtain the metric, a fast graph traversal algorithm is proposed, which can produce a clockwise sequence for the spatially coordinated boundary nodes along a network. The algorithm takes O(n) and the effectiveness is proved and validated. By applying the boundary smoothness metric to our previous clustering results, we show that the spatial compactness is appropriately guaranteed for each region and the future control policies can therefore be easily implemented based on the partitioning and MFDs. The proposed algorithms can have more general applications in fields of network and graph theory.