In this innovative combination of anthropology, history, and postmodern theory, Brinkley Messick examines the changing relation of writing and authority in a Muslim society from the late nineteenth century to the present. The creation and interpretation of texts, from sacred scriptures to administrative and legal contracts, are among the fundamental ways that authority is established and maintained in a complex state. Yet few scholars have explored this process and the ways in which it changes, especially outside the Western world. Messick brings together intensive ethnography and textual analysis from a wealth of material: Islamic jurisprudence, Yemeni histories, local documents. In exploring the structure and transformation of literacy, law, and statecraft in Yemen, he raises important issues that are of comparative significance for understanding political life in other Muslim and nonwestern states as well.


Simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) is an often used positioning approach in GPS denied indoor environments. This thesis presents a novel method of combining SLAM with autonomous/aided target detection and recognition (ATD/R), which is beneficial for both methods. The method uses physical objects that are recognisable by ATR as unambiguous features in SLAM, while SLAM provides the ATR with better position estimates. The intended application is to improve the positioning of a first responder moving through an indoor environment, where the map offers localisation and simultaneously helps locate people, furniture and potentially dangerous objects like gas cannisters. The developed algorithm, dubbed ATR-SLAM, uses existing methods from different fields such as EKF-SLAM and ATR based on rectangle estimation. Landmarks in the form of 3D point features based on NARF are used in conjunction with identified objects and 3D object models are used to replace landmarks when the same information is used. This leads to a more compact map representation with fewer landmarks, which partly compensates for the introduced cost of the ATR. Experiments performed using point clouds generated from a time-of-flight laser scanner show that ATR-SLAM produces more consistent maps and more robust loop closures than EKF-SLAM using only NARF landmarks.


A manipulative mesocosm experiment in Danish coastal waters tested the effect on plankton biodiversity and function of adding nitrate, phosphate and glucose. A comprehensive set of measurements was made over a 6 d period; these included phytoplankton biomass and production in 3 size fractions (>10, 10-2 and <2 µm), bacterial biomass and production, nitrate and ammonium uptake, and pigment taxonomy. Addition of nitrate and phosphate resulted in increases of biomass and production of all size fractions of phytoplankton. Inorganic nutrients alone had only a minor effect on bacterial abundance and production, with slight increases relative to the control. The largest changes occurred in mesocosms to which glucose was added in excess with nitrate and phosphate. Pigment composition indicated little change in phytoplankton assemblage composition in any treatment. A large increase in bacterial activity in the presence of added glucose had a negative effect on the phytoplankton assemblage and resulted in a decline in phytoplankton biomass. Data on nutrient uptake and size-fractionated carbon fixation suggest that the mechanism of this phyto- plankton suppression was the ability of heterotrophic bacteria to out-compete for available inorganic nutrients, resulting in nutrient limitation of the phytoplankton assemblage.


Featuring hundreds of illustrations and references, this volume in the third edition of the Circuits and Filters Handbook, provides the latest information on analog and VLSI circuits, omitting extensive theory and proofs in favor of numerous examples throughout each chapter. The first part of the text focuses on analog integrated circuits, presenting up-to-date knowledge on monolithic device models, analog circuit cells, high performance analog circuits, RF communication circuits, and PLL circuits. In the second half of the book, well-known contributors offer the latest findings on VLSI circuits, including digital systems, data converters, and systolic arrays.


Synthesis and physical characterizations of a novel class of zwitterionic organic chromophores were carried out. A series of tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) derivatives was prepared from reactions with primary and secondary amines. By modifications of the structure it was hoped to optimize their nonlinear properties. The newly synthesized organic chromophores were highly polar, zwitterionic and transparent at wavelengths above 600nm, which is a requirement for waveguide devices at 650nm. The molecular dipole moments were determined experimentally and theoretically. The experimental dipole moments and the theoretical dipole moments were found to be in agreement. The nonlinear optical properties of the new compounds were studied using the Kurtz powder technique. Large second harmonic generation was observed from 7-(2,6, dimethylmorpholino)-7-(4-methylpiperidine)- 8,8-dicyanoquinomethane (25 times urea) as a result of the noncentrosymmetric crystal lattice (P2(_1)2(_1)2(_1)). A large twist between the donor moieties and the benzene ring was found from the crystallographic data, and compared with a theoretical model using an ab initio calculation. Strong fluorescence was observed in the solid states and glass forming solvents at low temperatures. An increase of the quantum yields as a function of viscosity was observed due to the constraining effect of the environment. Variations in the quantum yields from chromophore doped polymeric matrices such as PMMA at room temperature and at low temperature are attributed to the different "free volume" of the polymeric matrices. Possible mechanisms for the emission process in either viscous or non-viscous media are proposed. Photodegradation in solution was observed for illumination by a white light source. In parallel studies photodegradation in PMMA films was observed both in air and under vacuum. A possible photodegradation mechanism via free radicals, compatible with these experimental observations is suggested.


This volume offers theoretically informed surveys of topics that have figured prominently in morphosyntactic and syntactic research into Romance languages and dialects. We define syntax as being the linguistic component that assembles linguistic units, such as roots or functional morphemes, into grammatical sentences, and morphosyntax as being an umbrella term for all morphological relations between these linguistic units, which either trigger morphological marking (e.g. explicit case morphemes) or are related to ordering issues (e.g. subjects precede finite verbs whenever there is number agreement between them). All 24 chapters adopt a comparative perspective on these two fields of research, highlighting cross-linguistic grammatical similarities and differences within the Romance language family. In addition, many chapters address issues related to variation observable within individual Romance languages, and grammatical change from Latin to Romance.


Ion chromatography (IC) is presently the preeminent technique for ionic analysis in atmospheric measurements. High temporal resolution measurement of atmospheric gases and constituents of particulate matter (PM) is important to understand the chemistry and sources of atmospheric pollution. The application of hollow and filament-filled single asymmetric membrane fibers, consisting of a thin silicone layer on a tubular microporous support for removing CO2 in suppressed ion chromatography effluents is described. With appropriate choice of the removal device and operating conditions, CO2 can be essentially quantitatively (99+%) removed. This device further reduces the background conductivity from carbonate-based eluents after suppression. In hydroxide eluent chromatography, the device largely removes the response from CO2 present in the samples; this greatly aids atmospheric trace gas analysis by IC.
 A low-pressure (400 psi), fully automated, semi-continuous Gas Particle Ion Chromatography (GPIC) system has been developed. Soluble gas collection is accomplished with a parallel plate wet denuder (PPWD). A hydrophobic filter based continuous particle collector (PC) collects and continuously extracts the soluble component in atmospheric particulate matter. Two conductivity detectors are used for anion signals and ammonium, respectively. This instrument measures three most important constituents, ammonium, sulfate and nitrate in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as well as soluble acidic and basic gases like HNO3, SO2 and NH3.
 A second Gas Particle Ion Chromatograph (GPIC) was developed. This compact instrument also measures soluble ionogenic gases and ionic constituents in PM2.5. A closed liquid flow path membrane denuder collects soluble gases and a continuously wetted hydrophilic filter-based particle collector collects the particles. A single, multi-port, syringe pump handles all the liquid aspiration and dispensation. Preceded by the sampling devices, the sample processing part interfaced with an ion chromatograph permits automated collection and measurements of collected samples. A single conductivity detector is used to measure not only anions but also ammonium. The flow configuration results in an ammonium peak before anion peaks in the chromatogram. The system measures ammonia, organic acids (such as acetic, formic and oxalic acids), HCl, HONO, SO2, HNO3, and the corresponding ions in the aerosol phase.


Capabilities (whether object or reference capabilities) are fundamentally tools to restrict effects. Thus static capabilities (object or reference) and effect systems take different technical machinery to the same core problem of statically restricting or reasoning about effects in programs. Any time two approaches can in principle address the same sets of problems, it becomes important to understand the trade-offs between the approaches, how these trade-offs might interact with the problem at hand.
Experts who have worked in these areas tend to find the trade-offs somewhat obvious, having considered them in context before. However, this kind of design discussion is often written down only implicitly as comparison between two approaches for a specific program reasoning problem, rather than as a discussion of general trade-offs between general classes of techniques. As a result, it is not uncommon to set out to solve a problem with one technique, only to find the other better-suited.
We discuss the trade-offs between static capabilities (specifically reference capabilities) and effect systems, articulating the challenges each approach tends to have in isolation, and how these are sometimes mitigated. We also put our discussion in context, by appealing to examples of how these trade-offs were considered in the course of developing prior systems in the area. Along the way, we highlight how seemingly-minor aspects of type systems -- weakening/framing and the mere existence of type contexts -- play a subtle role in the efficacy of these systems.


Abstract. Atmospheric water vapour is highly variable both in space and time. In an operational sense, only radiosonde provide vertical information on water vapour. Radiosondes are generally launched two to four times per day at synoptic times and sample primarily synoptic scales. For nowcasting purposes these observations are very valuable but obviously lose their importance with elapsing time. Water vapour observations from a surface network of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers can fill this information gap. In this paper, a GPS network is used to observe integral water vapour quantities along the line of sight, so-called Slant Water Vapour (SWV). Using a variational technique (3DVAR) a three-dimensional water vapour field is reconstructed and its performance is investigated by assimilating SWV observations deduced from a simulated atmosphere (so-called nature run). The forecasts from a high resolution limited area model (HIRLAM) embedded in the synthetic atmosphere of the nature run is compared to the separate GPS-3DVAR estimates. This experiment showed that assimilation of SWV resulted in a smaller bias and standard deviation than the HIRLAM forecast with the nature run. Besides simulated data, real SWV observations are used to assess impact. Two experiments were conducted; one with a HIRLAM six hour forecast as a background field (updated every six hours) and one with persistence as background (updated every hour). The first experiment showed a reduction of the bias between radiosonde observations compared to HIRLAM forecast. The second experiment, which has no information inherited from HIRLAM, showed to have smaller biases with independent radiosonde observations than the HIRLAM analysis. The used network, however was too sparse to detect water vapour inversions correctly.


Daniele Hervieu-Leger gives an account of religion as a chain of memory, that is, a form of collective memory and imagination based on the sanctity of tradition. According to her theory, in the postmodern world the continuity of religious memory has been broken and all that remains are isolated fragments guarded by religious groups. This twofold study aims at showing, firstly, in what sense religion can be conceived of as memory which produces collective meanings (Part One) and, secondly, what may happen when individualised and absolutised memories alienate themselves from a continuity of tradition, thus beginning to function as a sort of private religion (Part Two). Being the first part of the study in question, this article is dedicated to a historical-theological analysis of religious memory as a source of collective meanings, as seen from a Christian perspective. Firstly, it situates Hervieu-Leger's definition of religion against the background of the most topical religious contexts in which the notion of memory appears today. Secondly, the dialectics of individual and collective memory is discussed, notably through the lens of Ricoeur's original proposal. This is followed by an overview of the traditional functions of memory in Christianity. Lastly, the interpretation of the way in which Christian tradition, in its premodern continuity, served as a source of collective cultural meanings, is recapitulated. What underlies this analysis is the conviction that to comprehend, and even more so to challenge mechanisms based on which the dominant purveyors of meaning (such as economic and information market) function in our day, one should have a clear understanding of what they attempt to substitute for. In brief, before exploring how memories become religion, one ought to be able to conceive of religion as memory.


This paper investigates the determinants of countries' export performance looking in particular at the role of international product market linkages. We begin with a novel decomposition of the growth in countries' exports into the contribution from increases in external demand and from improved internal supply-side conditions. Building on the results of this decomposition, we move on to an econometric analysis of the determinants of export performance. Results include the finding that poor external geography, poor internal geography, and poor institutional quality contribute in approximately equal measure to explaining Sub-Saharan Africa's poor export performance.


Here we present an equation for the estimation of nitrate in surface waters of the North Atlantic Ocean (40° N to 52° N, 10° W to 60° W). The equation was derived by multiple linear regression (MLR) from nitrate, sea surface temperature (SST) observational data and model mixed layer depth (MLD) data. The observational data were taken from merchant vessels that have crossed the North Atlantic on a regular basis in 2002/2003 and from 2005 to the present. It is important to find a robust and realistic estimate of MLD because the deepening of the mixed layer is crucial for nitrate supply to the surface. We compared model data from two models (FOAM and Mercator) with MLD derived from float data (using various criteria). The Mercator model gives a MLD estimate that is close to the MLD derived from floats. MLR was established using SST, MLD from Mercator, time and latitude as predictors. Additionally a neural network was trained with the same dataset and the results were validated against both model data as a "ground truth" and an independent observational dataset. This validation produced RMS errors of the same order for MLR and the neural network approach. We conclude that it is possible to estimate nitrate concentrations with an uncertainty of ±1.4 μmol L−1 in the North Atlantic.


Optimizing energy consumption and end-to-end (e2e) packet delay in energy-constrained, delay-sensitive wireless sensor networks is a conflicting multiobjective optimization problem. We investigate the problem from a game theory perspective, where the two optimization objectives are considered as game players. The cost model of each player is mapped through a generalized optimization framework onto protocol-specific MAC parameters. From the optimization framework, a game is first defined by the Nash bargaining solution (NBS) to assure energy consumption and e2e delay balancing. Secondy, the Kalai-Smorodinsky bargaining solution (KSBS) is used to find an equal proportion of gain between players. Both methods offer a bargaining solution to the duty-cycle MAC protocol under different axioms. As a result, given the two performance requirements (i.e., the maximum latency tolerated by the application and the initial energy budget of nodes), the proposed framework allows to set tunable system parameters to reach a fair equilibrium point that dually minimizes the system latency and energy consumption. For illustration, this formulation is applied to six state-of-the-art wireless sensor network (WSN) MAC protocols: B-MAC, X-MAC, RI-MAC, SMAC, DMAC, and LMAC. The article shows the effectiveness and scalability of such a framework in optimizing protocol parameters that achieve a fair energy-delay performance trade-off under the application requirements.


The failure of student movements in higher education institutions in South Africa to critically engage the nature and the character of the 'democratic' transition in higher education has led to the questioning of the nature of student activism, activists and the academics of the new order. The substantive nature of our democracy which has no guarantees for transformative higher education system has since led to the adoption of neo-liberal policies that have perpetually excluded a certain sector of South African society. This oppression has been legitimised by failure of student movement and academics to uproot the current regimes of policy making which continue to hold captive the minds of a mass of people in a state of false consciousness. The current circumstances of "corporatised" higher education system makes it necessary now more than ever to begin to examine the issues of relativism as it relates to the questioning of current state of these institutions and student movements. South Africa needs student activist/intellectuals who are willing to participate in the auspices of the institution and the structure, and to transform it. Their task is to operate within time. However, the post 1994 era has left the student movement disgruntled and without direction. Student movements and their academic counter part have since been absorbed by the dominant ideology of the ruling elite. This has made transformation extremely difficult because of the materialism that this brings and a failure to engage the discourses of oppression with the goal of exploiting and deconstructing the dominant ideologies of subjection, betraying the scrutinizing role of a liberating education. This thesis seeks to argue that student movements, academies and academics have been defeated in an area where they should excel in the battle and struggle of ideas, for alternatives in search of a better society.


Within Islam, a temporary marriage generally implies a short-term marriage between a man and a woman that does not come with a long-term commitment and may or may not have an explicit, pre-established timeline or endpoint. The partial religious legitimation of temporary marriage via Islamic fatwas has recently revived the institution. Some suggest that the rising popularity is an attempt by individuals to fulfill sexual desires within the confines of a religiouslylegitimized institution; while others argue that it can lead to exploitation and perhaps slavery of women and girls. Conclusions supporting both the positive and negative aspects of temporary marriage are largely anecdotal. There is an absence of systematic empirical work on this complex phenomenon, particularly with regards to its positive and negative effects on the women involved. This paper aims to answer how, and under what conditions, temporary marriage can be either exploitative or liberating for individual women. Our research utilizes first-hand accounts provided online to better understand how and why the institution of temporary marriage has been revived both within the MENA region and expanded into the West. We review narratives from individuals who have engaged in temporary marriages and analyze support for the competing views within the literature. Overall, we argue that temporary marriages can create a private space for the participants to feel better about their relationship, even if those outside still criticize and shame them. However, this private space also gives exploitative men more leeway to take advantage of their partner.


Do African firms differ in their approach to strategy making? Are they any different to firms from other emerging or developed economies? Despite the proliferations of strategy and international business textbooks over the last decade, there has been very little on Africa.

The answer probably lies in the predominant perception of Africa as a difficult place to do business. The region is often seen as a corporate graveyard of small, impossibly difficult markets, where war, famine, AIDS and disaster are part of a series of other intractable problems. Such image has not only widened existing divide between Africa and the rest of the world, but also tarnished much of the scope and potential of African businesses globally; and also hindered much progress in the study and understanding of strategic management practices of African business organisations.

This paper proposes an agenda for strategy research in that context. Extending on the generic theoretical framework for 'strategy in emerging economies' proposed by Hoskisson et al (2000) and Wright et al. (2005), this agenda raises a number of questions and challenges relevant to theory and practice of strategy in the context of Mauritius. It is believed that there is growing scope for exploratory and empirical research that addresses the needs of businesses relevant to that part of the world. Indeed, the rapid pace of development of some parts of Africa is providing new testing and refining grounds of extant strategy theories, even with possibilities to develop new ones.


This article is a fundamental study in computable analysis. In the framework
of Type-2 effectivity, TTE, we investigate computability aspects on finite and
infinite products of effective topological spaces. For obtaining uniform
results we introduce natural multi-representations of the class of all
effective topological spaces, of their points, of their subsets and of their
compact subsets. We show that the binary, finite and countable product
operations on effective topological spaces are computable. For spaces with
non-empty base sets the factors can be retrieved from the products. We study
computability of the product operations on points, on arbitrary subsets and on
compact subsets. For the case of compact sets the results are uniformly
computable versions of Tychonoff's Theorem (stating that every Cartesian
product of compact spaces is compact) for both, the cover multi-representation
and the "minimal cover" multi-representation.


This paper presents a novel algorithm for ortholog detection that involves the aggregation of similarity measures characterizing the relationship between gene pairs of two genomes. The measures are based on the alignment score, the length of the sequences, the membership in the conserved regions as well as on the protein physicochemical profile. The clustering step over the similarity bipartite graph is performed by using the Markov clustering algorithm (MCL). A new ortholog assignment policy is applied over the homology groups obtained in the graph clustering. The classification results are validated with the Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and the Schizosaccharomyces Pombe genomes with the ortholog list of the INPARANOID 7.0 algorithm with the Adjusted Rand Index (ARI) external measure. Other validation measures based on the rough set theory are applied to calculate the quality of the classification dealing with class imbalance.


AIM
This study was performed on primary hypertension patients in a Turkish population to determine the frequency of the A1166C polymorphism in the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) gene and to examine the role of this polymorphism in hypertension development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this study, 250 genomic DNA samples were collected (from 142 hypertension patients and 108 healthy subjects), randomized, and analyzed. Genomic DNA was prepared from peripheral blood using the salt extraction method. The presence of the A1166C polymorphism in the AT1 gene was determined using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. PCR products were separated by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis and visualized by a charge-coupled device camera.

RESULTS
Genotype distribution and allele frequency A1166C genotype frequency was determined as AA 96.3% and AC 3.7% for controls and as AA 86.6% and AC 13.4% for patients. A statistically significant difference was found between the control group and patients in terms of genotype and allele frequency.

CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that an interaction exists between the AT1 gene polymorphism and hypertension in the Turkish population.


In designing a multiprocessor architecture, the motivating factors are that the architecture should be general purpose, easier to program and at the same time scalable. The Data Diffusion Machine (DDM) seeks to fulfil such criteria. The DDM provides shared-data access on distributed memory hardware, allowing data to freely migrate to processors on demand. The DDM concept was originally proposed in terms of a hierarchy of buses, but has since been elaborated for different interconnects. This thesis presents a link-based realisation of the architecture and a link-based coherence protocol which is central in maintaining coherence of data. The link-based protocol exploits the combining properties of the DDM network to minimise traffic in the DDM hierarchy. The protocol also contains efficient and general support for synchronisation. To evaluate the design and performance of new architectures, trace-driven simulation is often used. This thesis presents a novel prototyping and performance evaluation methodology called Multiprocessor Emulation (MPE). Unlike trace-driven simulation, MPE is both fast and accurate and does not require enormous resources as in tracedriven simulation. The thesis presents such an emulator for the DDM which has been implemented on a transputer-based multiprocessor. The emulator has been able to run a number of "standard" shared memory application programs and contains tools to visualise and analyse the performance data obtained from the emulator. A source of distortion in the emulator is the unrealistically long remote and shared access times in the emulator. To bring the access times in line with other comparable architectures, the emulator has the ability to be calibrated. Calibration involves slowing down of the computation in order to bring the communication to computation ratio closer to actual implementations. A simple analytic model has also been devised which projects the performance of larger DDM configurations. Performance evaluation of the DDM using the emulator correlates well with the DASH and SICS DDM results. Applications show a wide-ranging behaviour with miss rates between 0.25 % and 12.5 %. The optimal item size ranges between 32 and 128 bytes. Compared with the cache-coherent NUMA version of the protocol, the DDM protocol performs significantly better.


Small size, dependence on domestic feed-grain and the generic nature of pork would suggest poor export prospects for Australia's pig and pigmeat industries against leading export countries in North America and Europe. The federal government challenged the industry to do just that when it began opening the domestic pigmeat market to imports in 1990. The 1998 pig industry crisis converted industry and government from protagonists to partners in a concerted export growth strategy. The Federal Government commenced a $24 million Business Grants Program for the Pork Industry, including processing investment incentive grants and assistance to improve competitiveness through alliance formation. Industry formed an Export Marketing Group (EMG), transformed in April, 1999, into a processor alliance, the Confederation of Australian Pork Exporters (CAPE). CAPE quickly defined the industry's export marketing target to achieve 20 percent of farmed pigmeat production as exports by 2002. After very slow export progress until the late-nineties, 'lucky breaks' arising from pig industry disease outbreaks in Asia have led to better export opportunity in Japan and a trade alliance for pork exports to Singapore. From minimal in 1998, Australia now supplies more than 50 percent of Singapore's fresh pork requirement with Airpork, airfreighted, chilled pork. The paper: Outlines the growth of pork imports and exports in the transition from protected domestic industry to open market, with government assisted restructuring; Presents a value chain analysis of the Australian pork industry, explaining the apparent anomaly of simultaneous growth in pork exports and imports where domestic aggregate pork production and consumption are approximately equal; Provides an explanation for the deviation between assessment of poor prospects and actual export performance. A qualitative evaluation of the growth prospects for pork exports from Australia in both the short-term and the longer-term is presented with consideration of key strengths, including Australia's favourable environment for minimal-disease pig farming, product differentiation and freight logistics, weaknesses in small size and domestic feed-grain dependence and threats from imports. Recent spectacular pork export success fits comfortably with modern trade theory, where factor endowment, economies of scale and product differentiation are all relevant to explaining intra-industry trade and the development of niche markets.


According to the parity principle, the means whereby an agent intervenes in his or her mind, or the minds of others, is irrelevant when it comes to assessing the moral status of the intervention: what matters is how the intervention affects the agent. This chapter sets out the case for the parity principle, before defending it from recent objections due to Christoph Bublitz and Reinhard Merkel. Bublitz and Merkel argue that direct interventions bypass agents' psychological capacities and therefore produce states over which agents have less control and which are less reflective of who they genuinely are. I argue that indirect interventions that are processed psychologically may be no less destructive of control or of the degree to which the resulting states are reflective of the agent and, further, that direct interventions may be morally unproblematic. Given that right now and for the foreseeable future indirect interventions threaten our autonomy far more often and far more deeply than direct, the distinction between direct and indirect interventions doesn't even provide a useful heuristic for assessing when an intervention into the mind/brain is problematic.


Introduction Cumberland Mountain is one of those "even-crested" Appalachian ridges whose summits, in general, are commonly supposed to represent a peneplain—the Schooley, or "Cretaceous," peneplain—which once covered the region. Cumberland Gap is a notch, cut to a depth of about 600 feet in that ridge, but not now occupied by a stream. If the apparent evenness of the ridge crest is due to peneplanation, one would expect the crest to have essentially the same altitude on the two sides of the gap. As a matter of fact, the ridge crest on the southwest side lies about 300 feet lower than on the northeast side. This difference in level on the two sides of the gap is a striking feature, which immediately attracts the attention of the physiographer (figures 1 and 2 and profile, figure 3). Why should this marked change in the elevation of the ridge crest be . . .


With a qualitative methodology and an interdisciplinary approach, this paper focuses on the most prominent public narratives related to elders and old age produced in the context of the January-February 2017 collective manifestations against the attempts of Romanian government to decriminalise corruption, manifestations where old people were believed to play a negative role. The study highlights the thanatic imagery which infuses the attitudes towards ageing and old age and intensifies the negative stereotypes of old people. The findings show that, starting from the use of the social syntax of war, the diverse identities of Romanian elders are totally ignored in these narratives, while a general, narrow identity is constructed through horizontal and vertical generalization, through replacing positive stereotypes of old age with negative ones and through transforming the elders into a radical Otherness. Undermining elders' social identities was discussed as an element of affecting their social inclusion and increasing the risk of condemning them to social death. Also it was observed and examined the existence of three major thanatic metaphors: the toothless mouth, the bowed head and living on borrowed time.


The aim of this study was to determine the presence of infectious agents by microbiological and histopathological studies in the neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), an Amazonian ornamental fish. A total of 168 fish were randomly collected from the aquarium of an ornamental fish retail collector in Iquitos, Peru. For the microbiological study, kidney and spleen samples were collected during the necropsy of 84 specimens, and bacteria were isolated in trypticase soy agar (TSA), Citophaga (AO) and Middlebrook 7H9, while identification was done through Gram staining and biochemical analysis. The histopathological study was conducted in the remaining 84 fish. Bacteria isolated were of genera Flavobacterium, Staphylococcus, Carnobacterium, Pseudomonas, Enterococcus, Bacillus and of the Enterobacteriaceae family. In gills was observed laminar hyperplasia, fusion of lamellae and Mixosporidia spores at the tips of the lamellae; in the intestine was observed epithelial hyperplasia of the bowel and spores of Microsporidium in the intestinal villi; in the liver was found hydropic and fatty degeneration and a parasitic granuloma; in kidneys was found peritubular edema and hydropic degeneration; and in the muscular skeletal was found necrosis, presence of Mixosporidium cysts, granulomas, and spores of Microsporidium, Pleistophora and Heterosporis.


ABSTRACT The use of neuroscientific evidence in criminal trials has been steadily increasing. Despite progress made in recent decades in understanding the mechanisms of psychological and behavioral functioning, neuroscience is still in an early stage of development and its potential for influencing legal decision-making is highly contentious. Scholars disagree about whether or how neuroscientific evidence might impact prescriptions of criminal culpability, particularly in instances in which evidence of an accused's history of mental illness or brain abnormality is offered to support a plea of not criminally responsible. In the context of these debates, philosophers and legal scholars have identified numerous problems with admitting neuroscientific evidence in legal contexts. To date, however, less has been said about the challenges of evaluating the evidence upon which integrative mechanistic explanations that bring together evidence from different areas of neuroscience are based. As we explain, current criteria for evaluating such evidence to determine its admissibility in legal contexts are inadequate. Appealing to literature in the philosophy of scientific experimentation and theoretical work in the social, cognitive and behavioral sciences, we lay the groundwork for reforming these criteria and identify some of the implications of modifying them.


X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is an often-fatal immunodeficiency characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia, fulminant infectious mononucleosis, and/or lymphoma. The genetic lesion in XLP, SH2D1A, encodes the adaptor protein SAP (signaling lymphocytic activation molecule-associated [SLAM-associated] protein); however, the mechanism(s) by which mutations in SH2D1A causes hypogammaglobulinemia is unknown. Our analysis of 14 XLP patients revealed normal B cell development but a marked reduction in the number of memory B cells. The few memory cells detected were IgM(+), revealing deficient isotype switching in vivo. However, XLP B cells underwent proliferation and differentiation in vitro as efficiently as control B cells, which indicates that the block in differentiation in vivo is B cell extrinsic. This possibility is supported by the finding that XLP CD4(+) T cells did not efficiently differentiate into IL-10(+) effector cells or provide optimal B cell help in vitro. Importantly, the B cell help provided by SAP-deficient CD4(+) T cells was improved by provision of exogenous IL-10 or ectopic expression of SAP, which resulted in increased IL-10 production by T cells. XLP CD4(+) T cells also failed to efficiently upregulate expression of inducible costimulator (ICOS), a potent inducer of IL-10 production by CD4(+) T cells. Thus, insufficient IL-10 production may contribute to hypogammaglobulinemia in XLP. This finding suggests new strategies for treating this immunodeficiency.


A total of 125 horses, 4-12 years old from both sexes were used in this study, among these, 100 animals were clinically suffering from acute and chronic laminitis and 25 clinically normal horses served as controls. Results indicated to the presence of different etiological factors exhibited laminitis in horses, such as dietetic causes concerned with consumption of large quantities of carbohydrates and lush green food ,post parturient metritis, repeated and Iatrogenic use of corticosteroids, bad shoeing, lameness due to defective legs, enteritis of different causes, pneumonia, pleurisy and babesiosis. Diseased horses exhibited different clinical sings according to the severity of the disease, forward the forelimbs or downward the hind limbs دلجملا ،ةيرطيبلا مولعلل ةيقارعلا ةلجملا ٢٦ يفاضإ ددع ، ٢ ، ٢٠١٢ ) ١٦٩ ١٧٨ ( عئاقو لصوملا ةعماج ،يرطيبلا بطلا ةيلك ،سداسلا يملعلا رمتؤملا ١٧٠ under belly with uncomforted standing, pain and increased hoof temperature, palmer (digital) pulsation, severe sweating, lameness with uncontrolled movement and recumbency, moreover, because of chronic affection, deformities and fissures have been encountered on hoof wall. Statistically significant increase in body temperature, respiratory and heart rate were encountered in horses suffered from acute type of laminitis. Evaluation of lameness according to Obel grad were also encountered in this study and results show, (12%) of affected horses classified as grad (1), (61%) were classified as grad (2), (21%) were classified as grad (3) and (6%) were classified as grad (4). Results were also showed significant increased in PCV and TLC in horses affected with acute type of laminitis. Neutrophilia and lymphopenia were detected in horses show acute laminitis. Laminitis have substantial effect on clotting factor indices and the results indicated significant decrease in total platelets count with significant increase in their size and distribution rate, moreover, significant increase have been also recorded in clotting time, prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastine time, in animals affected with acute laminitis. Results of biochemical tests revealed significant increase in Matrixmetalloproteinaes-2, hapotoglobin in horses affected with acute type of laminitis, however fibrinogen values were increased significantly in horses affected with acute and chronic laminitis. Available online at http://www.vetmedmosul.org/ijvs


Sustainable poverty reduction requires employment generating economic growth with an emphasis on the development of human capital to empower the poor to participate in the growth process. Mobilising resources for poverty reduction programmes may not bring expected results unless policymaking and implementation processes ensure empowerment of the poor through a participatory approach. Bringing the poorest sections of society into mainstream economic activities is challenging due to a number of factors which marginalize them. These include lack of skills, lack of community involvement and networks, disabilities, minority status, homeless status, and other such marginalizing factors. Generally, these people are confined to informal, insecure, low-wage occupations. Policymakers need to address the needs of the poorest by recognising the factors that have led to their extreme marginalisation and chronic poverty. As such, the poorest section of the people need a different set of approaches and fiscal provisions, separate from what is set aside for the poor in general. A disaggregated analysis of poverty is also required to better understand the complexities of the problem. Government policies may take more proactive and pragmatic steps to design a pro-poorest approach in the fiscal policy. Members of Parliament (MPs) are the representatives of the people and are involved in policymaking and finalising the national budget. Thus the MPs can contribute to a great extent in ensuring that the budget addresses more effectively the needs of ultra poor citizens of Bangladesh.


Some new surfactant-cobalt(III) complex ions of the type, cis-[Co(X)2(C11H23NH2)2] 3+ (where X= ethylenediamine or 2,2' bipyridyl or 1,10-phenanthroline) and cis-α-Co(trien) (C11H23NH2)2] 3+ were synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR, UV-Visible spectra, elemental and metal analysis. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values of these surfactant-cobalt(III) complexes in aqueous solution were obtained from conductance measurements. Specific conductivity data (at 298, 308 and 318 K) served for the evaluation of temperature-dependent CMC and the thermodynamics of micellization ( G0m, H 0 m, S 0 m ). The surfactant–cobalt(III) complexes were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities against various microorganisms. The results were compared with the standard drugs, ciprofloxacin and fluconazole respectively. The surfactant– cobalt(III) complexes showed good antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria and fungi. Thus our results show that the surfactant–copper(III) complexes can also be considered for antifungal and antibiotic drugs.


The integrity of an unburied subsea pipeline depends to a very large extent on its stability on the seabed along its entire length. Hence the determination of this stability is of great importance in the engineering design of pipelines. This article proposes to examine the principal problems raised by the stability of unburied pipelines in the field of soil mechanics. These problems mainly concern the reactions of the soil to pipelines and their assessment, i. e. the forces of soil resistance appearing jointly with the forces exerted by the marine environment, in the equilibrium equations for such pipelines and hence also in the conventional conditions expressing their lateral, vertical and lengthwise stability.


First published in 1957. This volume provides a broad survey of economic progress in China from 1949 to 1952 and covers the historical background, China's economic system, industralisation and planning, the first Five Year Plan in industry, agriculture, transport, commerce and finance, education and health and foreign trade. The work is supplemented with an extensive bibliography, maps and statistical tables.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the influence of individual patient risk profiles on the value of the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) as a predictor of severe erosive damage in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS
Patient characteristics, clinical signs and symptoms, rheumatoid factor (RF) status, and HLA-DRB1 genotypes were available for 154 Caucasian women with RA. Risk profiles were defined by non-genetic factors that predict severe erosive disease. The additional value of the SE was defined by the likelihood ratios (LR) of SE presence and absence, which were calculated at the individual patient level.

RESULTS
In the total population, the LR of SE presence was 1.42 and the LR of SE absence was 0.37, corresponding to an odds ratio of 3.9, indicating a substantially higher risk of severe erosive disease in those with the SE compared to those without. The LR of SE presence and absence varied depending on the risk profile of the women, from 1.01 to 2.25 for SE presence and 0.22 to 0.49 for SE absence. Considering all the patient characteristics, SE status was most significantly related to RF status. Consequently, the LR of SE presence and absence were higher for RF-negative women compared to RF-positive women (SE presence 1.77 vs 1.40, p < 0.001 and SE absence 0.38 vs 0.30, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION
The additional value of SE testing for predicting severe erosive disease varies according to patient risk profiles. Given the likely availability of genetic and other novel tests in the future, information about the additional value of test results is needed to ensure the optimal use of such testing in the management of RA.


Insects in the genus Monochamus are medium to large-sized, wood-boring beetles whose primary hosts in the Northern Hemisphere are pine trees. These beetles interact with both conifer hosts and associated insects throughout their life history. Past research has demonstrated that Monochamus are saprophagic, but recent findings show that they may colonize healthy pine trees. To determine if southeastern Monochamus could colonize healthy pines, adult Monochamus were attracted to healthy shortleaf pine trees from May to September, 2014, using host volatiles, Ips bark beetle kairomones, and congeneric pheromones. Subsequent development of oviposited eggs from 18 host trees was monitored. The results demonstrate that southeastern Monochamus species may oviposit into healthy shortleaf pines, but host resin flow inhibits egg survival and larval development. Southeastern Monochamus are also associated with the southern pine beetle feeding guild, which includes three species of Ips bark beetles that inhabit pine hosts. Species of Monochamus and Ips share host trees and many aspects of their life history making sub-cortical interaction highly likely. In Arkansas M. titillator and I. grandicollis are the most abundant of each genera. When hosts are shared I. grandicollis first colonize hosts while M. titillator land and colonize some days afterwards. To determine if sub-cortical interactions between both species occur and lead to decreased survival and emergence of I. grandicollis, shortleaf pine bolts were exposed to both beetles under controlled laboratory conditions and I. grandicollis emergence was monitored. Both number of M. titillator females introduced and the time between I. grandicollis and M. titillator colonization was varied. My results demonstrate that sub-cortical interaction between M. titillator and I. grandicollis does occur and that I. grandicollis survival and emergence is reduced by their interactions. Results also show that these interactions do not depend on the difference in colonization time between the two species, at least within the first six days after I. grandicollis have started colonization.


Rhododendron or great laurel is a common evergreen shrub found throughout eastern North America. Although native, rhododendron has been increasing in the Southern Appalachian Mountains landscape due to fire suppression, logging, and loss of the American chestnut. It now has the potential to affect a larger variety of ecosystems and species that it did historically. Salamanders of the family Plethodontidae are highly diverse in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. They are known to be sensitive to their environment and are often considered to be potential indicators of ecosystem changes. Rhododendron has known effects on plants, soil nutrients, and leaf litter macroinvertebrates. The expansion of rhododendron may play an important role in determining terrestrial and aquatic salamander community structure and population dynamics. This study aimed to see how rhododendron affects salamander communities in sites in the Nantahala Mountains of western North Carolina. Initially, four sites were chosen in the upper Nantahala River watershed to conduct a mark-recapture study. Sites were divided into two plots; one within a rhododendron thicket and one in the larger forest matrix, both alongside small streams. After collecting data in 2009, concerns from highly variable population estimates and differences in detection between rhododendron and non-rhododendron plots with the mark-recapture study led to methods being changed in 2010 to removal sampling to ameliorate these concerns. Population estimates from removal sampling varied greatly amongst sites and were not significantly different between rhododendron and non-rhododendron plots. Overall, red-legged and ocoee salamanders were the most abundant species across all sites. Rhododendron does not appear to have a net effect on salamander population sizes. Rhododendron does appear to reduce people's ability to find salamanders and may have negative influences in studies that do not account for differences in detection between plots in and outside of rhododendron thickets.


We use a numerical model of Saturn's thermosphere to investigate the flow of angular momentum from the atmosphere to the magnetosphere. The thermosphere model is driven by Joule heating and ion drag calculated from a simple model of the magnetospheric plasma flows and a fixed model of the ionospheric conductivity. We describe an initial study in which our plasma flow model is fixed and find that this leads to several inconsistencies in our results. We thus describe an improved model in which the plasma flows are allowed to vary in response to the structure of the thermospheric winds. Using this improved model we are able to analyse in detail the mechanism by which angular momentum extracted from the thermosphere by the magnetosphere is replaced by transport from the lower atmosphere. Previously, this transport was believed to be dominated by vertical transport due to eddy viscosity. Our results suggest that transport within the upper atmosphere by meridional winds is a much more important mechanism. As a consequence of this, we find that the rotational structures of the thermosphere and magnetosphere are related in a more complex way than the eddy viscosity model implies. Rather than the thermosphere behaving as a passive component of the system, the thermosphere-magnetosphere interaction is shown to be a two-way process in which rotational structures develop mutually. As an example of this, we are able to show that thermospheric dynamics offer an explanation of the small degree of super-corotation that has been observed in the inner magnetosphere. These results call into question the usefulness of the effective Pedersen conductivity as a parameterisation of the neutral atmosphere. We suggest that a two-parameter model employing the true Pedersen conductivity and the true thermospheric rotation velocity may be a more accurate representation of the thermospheric behaviour.


Knowledge management is a concept that developed rapidly about 10 years ago. The literature on the subject emphasises the important role that organisational culture plays in it. Culture and knowledge management are strongly connected, as demonstrated by the literature studies in this article. The purpose of the article is to present organisational culture research using the example of Polish courts, and it details the results of the first area of research: employee satisfaction levels. A benchmarking method was used for the study. More than 1,250 questionnaires were received from 28 units. This allowed the author to favourably assess the research tool used because it enabled interesting conclusions to be drawn about the entities researched, with respondents deciding to take action leading to changes in their organisational culture. It was thus possible to use quantitative research to transition to qualitative research. The top management of courts in certain regions appointed court employees responsible for implementing solutions to improve organisational culture in a given court. Another effect of this research is mutual learning: the courts that participated in the study and achieved results that were significantly below average are trying to start discussions with courts that achieved results that were well above average. The research presented in this article thus seems to be an interesting tool for influencing organisational culture.


A novel method for storing a temporal bit sequence based on the angular multiple holographic recording of optical spectral components is proposed. In a preliminary experiment, a 4-bit-long nonreturn-to-zero 200-Mbit/s sequence is successfully recorded and regenerated from a photorefractive BaTiO(3) crystal.


ABSTRACT Existing studies have fixated on the macroeconomic implications of Chinese engagements with Africa with relatively less attention to micro-level exchanges and the attendant social consequences. This paper captures the nuances of everyday dispositions and attitudes of Ghanaian traders toward Chinese entrepreneurial migrants relative to 'older and larger' immigrant trading groups (notably Indians, Lebanese and Nigerians). The study elicited data from local traders and key informants from trade unions, public institutions and academia. The findings indicate that Chinese merchants often had 'aggressive' and 'overly competitive' business style compared to other migrants and indigenes. Accordingly, several seemingly unresolvable underlying tensions ensued between the Chinese and other traders. It was evident that contextual elements such as trust and sense of fairness shaped the attitudes and degree of cordiality between the trading groups. Going forward, it will be prudent to focus not only on the legal and political ramifications of Chinese migratory flows but also develop measures to integrate the Chinese in African environment socially.


Mycosphaerella species are fungal leaf pathogens of Eucalyptus globulus, one of the major plantation tree species in temperate regions of the world. We examined the quantitative genetic variation in susceptibility to infection by Mycosphaerella nubilosa in a genetically diverse population ofE. globulus families growing in a field trial in north-west Tasmania. Disease incidence and severity were assessed on juvenile foliage following a heavy epidemic where mean leaf area damage was 34%. Disease incidence was uniform across the trial. Significant genetic variation for susceptibility was detected with a narrow sense heritability of disease severity being the highest yet reported (h2=0.60) for aMycosphaerella disease of eucalypts. M. nubilosa damage had a significant deleterious effect on tree growth at both the phenotypic and genetic level. We suggest that E. globulus has at least two mechanisms involved in avoiding the deleterious effects of this disease, one is through resistance of the juvenile foliage per se and the other is through the ontogenetic switch to the resistant adult foliage. There is ample opportunity to select genotypes ofE. globulus that are relatively resistant to damage and if these are deployed in areas of high disease risk, significant benefits in plantation productivity could be obtained.


[1] This study is devoted to a systematic analysis of the state of stress of the central European Alps and northern Alpine foreland in Switzerland based on focal mechanisms of 138 earthquakes with magnitudes between 1 and 5. The most robust feature of the results is that the azimuth of the minimum compressive stress, S3, is generally well constrained for all data subsets and always lies in the NE quadrant. However, within this quadrant, the orientation of S3 changes systematically both along the structural strike of the Alpine chain and across it. The variation in stress along the mountain belt from NE to SW involves a progressive, counterclockwise rotation of S3 and is most clear in the foreland, where it amounts to 45°–50°. This pattern of rotation is compatible with the disturbance to the stress field expected from the indentation of the Adriatic Block into the central European Plate, possibly together with buoyancy forces arising from the strongly arcuate structure of the Moho to the immediate west of our study area. Across the Alps, the variation in azimuth of S3 is defined by a progressive, counterclockwise rotation of about 45° from the foreland in the north across the Helvetic domain to the Penninic nappes in the south and is accompanied by a change from a slight predominance of strike-slip mechanisms in the foreland to a strong predominance of normal faulting in the high parts of the Alps. The observed rotation can be explained by the perturbation of the large-scale regional stress by a local uniaxial deviatoric tension with a magnitude similar to that of the regional differential stress and with an orientation perpendicular to the strike of the Alpine belt. The tensile nature and orientation of this stress is consistent with the "spreading" stress expected from lateral density changes due to a crustal root beneath the Alps.


A method for finding the most vital edge based on the characteristic of network communication is proposed. The link importance is determined by its using frequency in all-pairs shortest paths of a network and the most vital edge results in the highest frequency. Without the commonly used edge-deletion and edge-contraction methods, the proposed algorithm directly reflects the edge's contribution to the network communication and the relative importance of each pair of edges in the network can be compared. The algorithm analyses and the experimental results show that this algorithm overcomes the currently existent problems and provides a more reasonable principle for ranking edges which is consistent with our intuitive judgments.


The next generation wireless networks need to support video traffic. A major challenge in video services over wireless networks is quality of service (QoS) provisioning. Service differentiation is a good approach for QoS provisioning to video traffic. In this paper, we propose cross-layer protocol stack architecture for wireless video transmission with service differentiation. In the cross-layer architecture, the application layer provides the lower link layer with the video compression information. Using the information, a dynamic-weight generalized processor sharing (DWGPS) discipline is proposed for the link layer resource allocation. The link layer tries to provide the application layer with a stringent delay bound and strong protection to high priority traffic in the case of resource shortage. Acceptable level of fairness can be achieved by DWGPS. A scheduling procedure for DWGPS is presented, which avoids complex per-packet virtual time calculation. It is shown that DWGPS can automatically adapt to multiuser diversity without many modifications. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the link-layer DWGPS resource allocation


Light and scanning electron microscope observations are provided on four new Hannaea Patrick species from Asia. The areas in Asia the new taxa are described from include Tibet, Mongolia and the Pamir mountainous region in western Asia. Both subgroups of the genus are represented, including H. tibetiana Q. Liu, Glushchenko, Kulikovskiy & Kociolek, sp. nov. and H. pamirensis Glushchenko, Kulikovskiy, Q. Liu & Kociolek, sp. nov., from the group that includes the generitype and has striae composed of single rows of areolae and one rimoportula per valve. Hannaea dorofeyukae Kulikovskiy, Glushchenko, Q. Liu & Kociolek, sp. nov. and H. mongolica Glushchenko, Kulikovskiy, Q. Liu & Kociolek, sp. nov. have striae composed of two rows of areolae and two rimoportulae; one at each end of the valve. The group with two rimoportulae per valve and biseriate striae is known only from Lakes Baikal, Khovsgol and the surrounding areas in Asia. New combinations are proposed for four other species. These taxa are also known from Asia. Two of them are known from Japan, one is from China and one is from Lake Baikal in Russia. It appears that Asia is an important center of diversity for Hannaea.


Abstract. Mathematical morphology is a technique recently applied directly for point cloud data. Its working principle is based on the removal and addition of points from an auxiliary point cloud that acts as a structuring element. However, in certain applications within a more complex process, these changes to the original data represent an unacceptable loss of information. The aim of this work is to provide a modification of the morphological opening to retain original points and attributes. The proposed amendment involved in the morphological opening: erosion followed by dilatation. In morphological erosion, the new eroded points are retained. In morphological dilation, the structuring element does not add its points directly, but uses the point positions to search through the previously eroded points and retrieve them for the dilated point cloud. The modification was tested on synthetic and real data, showing a correct performance at the morphological level, and preserving the precision of the original points and their attributes. Furthermore, the conservation is shown to be very relevant in two possible applications such as traffic sign segmentation and occluded edge detection.


Introduction Mesodiencephalic dopamine neurons play crucial roles in the control of a variety of brain functions, including voluntary movement and behavioural processes such as mood, reward, and attention. Degeneration of mesodiencephalic dopaminergic neurons also represents one of the principal pathological features of Parkinson's disease. Recent progress led to the identification of transcription factors that are expressed in dopaminergic progenitors and are required for their differentiation. The expression of some of these transcription factors persists into adulthood but their exact functions in postnatal and adult dopaminergic neurons remain puzzling. The objective of this review is to gather recent findings on the potential roles of Foxa1, Foxa2, Nurr1, Pitx3, Otx2, Lmx1a, Lmx1b, En1, and En2 in the maintenance of dopaminergic circuitry throughout adulthood. This maintenance appears to be underpinned by the continued action of developmental transcription factors. The loss of functional alleles of Foxa1/2, Nurr1, Pitx3, or En1/2 seriously impairs the survival dopaminergic neurons, affecting preferentially the subtantia nigra pars compacta. Moreover, for almost all transcription factors reviewed here, a genetic association to Parkinson's disease has been established. Currently, it is unclear how exactly these developmental transcription factors contribute to the maintenance and survival of the dopaminergic system, but one possible mechanism could be related to transcriptional/translational regulation of mitochondrial bioenergetics and biogenesis. Conclusion This review suggests that developmental transcriptional networks are essential for maturity maintenance of mesodiencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Much remains to be done to dissect the effects of each developmental transcription factor on the functional properties of mDA neurons in adults.


We will in the present paper derive a general three-dimensional formalism for electromagnetic scattering from buried inhomogeneities. We will exploit the transition matrix formalism, originally given by Waterman, to electromagnetic scattering in the presence of an infinite surface and a buried bounded inhomogeneity. The analysis explicitly assumes that the sources are located above the ground, but this restriction can easily be relaxed and a parallel derivation can be made for sources located in the ground or inside the buried obstacle. No explicit symmetry assumptions are made for the bounded inhomogeneity or the interface between the halfspaces, except that the interface be bounded by two parallel planes. The scattered field above the ground is calculated in terms of an expansion where the expansion coefficients are solutions of a matrix equation. The expression for the scattered field is separated into a directly scattered term, as if no scatterers were present, and the so called anomalous field, reflecting the presence of the inhomogeneity. We give some numerical examples for a flat interface and an inhomogeneity consisting of one or two buried spheres or a perfectly conducting spheroid. (Less)


Best known for their role in the creation of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, blockchains are revolutionizing the way tech entrepreneurs finance their business enterprises. In 2017 alone, over $3.2 billion has been raised through the sale of blockchain-based digital tokens. Some call these token sales initial coin offerings or "ICOs," and they have become wildly popular, with some sales lasting mere seconds. In a token sale, organizers of a project sell digital tokens to members of the public to finance the development of future technology. An active secondary market for tokens has emerged – cryptocurrency exchanges scattered across the globe offer platforms on which tokens are bought and sold, often with wild price fluctuations.
The recent explosion of token sales could mark the beginning of a broader shift in public capital markets — one similar to the shift in media distribution that started several decades ago. Blockchains drastically reduce the cost of exchanging value and enable anyone to transmit digitized assets around the globe in a highly trusted manner, stoking dreams of truly global capital markets that leverage the power of a blockchain and the Internet to facilitate capital formation.
The spectacular growth of tokens sales has caused some to argue that these sales simply serve as new tools for hucksters and unscrupulous charlatans to fleece consumers, raising the attention of regulators across the globe. A more careful analysis, however, reveals that blockchain-based tokens represent a wide variety of assets that take a variety of forms. Some are obvious investment vehicles and entitle their holders to economic rights like a share of any profits generated by the project. Others carry with them the right to use and govern the technology that is being developed with funds generated by the token sale and may represent the beginning of a new way to build and fund powerful technological platforms.
Lacking homogeneity, the status of tokens under U.S. securities laws is anything but clear. The test under which security status is assessed — the Howey test — has uncertain application to blockchain-based tokens, particularly those that entitle the holder to use a particular technological service, because they also present the possibility of making a profit by selling the token on a secondary market. Although the SEC recently issued a Report of Investigation in which it found that one type of token qualified as a security, confusion surrounds the boundaries between the types of tokens that will be deemed securities and those that will not.
Blockchain-based tokens exhibit disparate features and have characteristics that make current registration exemptions a poor fit token sales. In addition to including requirements that do not fit squarely with blockchain-based systems, the transfer restrictions that apply to the most popular exemptions would have the perverse effect of restricting the ability of US consumers to access a new generation of digital technology. The result is an uncertain regulatory environment in which token sellers do not have a sensible path to compliance.
In this Article, we argue that the SEC and Congress should provide token sellers and the exchanges that facilitate token sales with additional certainty. Specifically, we propose that the SEC provide guidance on how it will apply the Howey test to digital tokens, particularly those that mix aspects of consumption and use with the potential for a profit. We also propose that lawmakers adopt both a compliance-driven safe harbor for online exchanges that list tokens with a reasonable belief that the public sale of such tokens is not a violation of Section 5 as well as an exemption to the Section 5 registration requirement that has been tailored to digital tokens.


The Italian public housing building stock is considerable, although quantitatively less than that of other European countries,. The public policies adopted in the last decades have pushed the supply of housing by the private sector and supported the sale of the assets by the public housing authorities. Those buildings are often degraded and obsolete. Nevertheless, the issue of redevelopment of this part of the residential building stock is a central focus, also because of its important social role, especially in the current period of crisis. One of the recurring factors in the Italian case is the low quality of this building stock due to the lack of an organic maintenance activity. The paper reports the first results of a research carried out by the Department of Architecture and Design in cooperation with a social housing public authority, the Regional Agency for the Central Piedmont House (ATC). The goal of the research was the development of methodologies for estimating and analysis of maintenance requirements. Moreover, the study suggests and develops a forecasting tool for the planning of maintenance operations and redevelopment of the large building estates.


Abstract Increased recognition of the need for victims of crime to be integrated into the criminal justice system and to receive adequate reparation has led, in a number of jurisdictions, to legislative measures to encourage the greater use of compensation orders. The Sentencing Act 1997 (Tas) (which came into force on 1 August 1998) went further and made compensation orders compulsory for property damage or loss resulting from certain crimes. This article shows that this measure has failed victims and argues that they have been used in the service of other ends. Mandatory compensation orders are a token gesture repackaged as restorative justice to gain public support for the administration of the criminal justice system.Ways in which compensation orders could be made more effective and the possibilities of accommodating restorative compensation into a conventional criminal justice system are explored.


The catfish which R. H. Schomburgk (1841b: 173, pl. 4) named Arius oncinus *), from a description and a drawing made in the field, has remained a puzzle to ichthyologists ever since. It is true that it has been recognized that Arius oncinus is not an Arius but belongs to the Auchenipteridae. Gunther (1864: 194) merely listed the name in a footnote under Auchenipterus, without being able to do anything with it. Eigenmann & Eigenmann (1890: 266) referred to it as a "doubtful species of Centromochlus". Gosline (1945: 10) included it without comment in the genus Centromochlus under the name C. oncinus, but the only reference given is to the Eigenmanns and in the absence of material the name remained as problematic as ever. Fowler (1951) made no mention of Arius oncinus at all, probably because he found it too doubtful a species for inclusion in his work on Brazilian freshwater fishes. Finally Mees (1974: 59 footnote) quoted R. Schomburgk (1848) to show that R. H. Schomburgk's (1841b) description might be incorrect and expressed as his opinion that, whatever it was, the fish as described was not well-placed in the genera Tatia and Centromochlus. In summary it may be said that since its description no ichthyologist has known what to do with Arius oncinus and that no material was known to exist. It was therefore with considerable interest that in an illustrated article recently published (Brittan, 1976) I noted some colour photographs of a live catfish, under the name Centromochlus altae, which immediately reminded me of Schomburgk's plate f Arius oncinus. There was a reference to an earlier paper (Brittan, 1974), with another coloured plate. Correspondence with Professor Brittan revealed the presence of preserved material of this


The Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy is a fairly exotic mat hematical concept which has recently aroused some interest on the philosoph ers' part. The most salient trait of this concept is its working as a junction between such diverse ambits as statistical mechanics, information theory and algor ithm theory. In this paper I argue that, in order to understand this very specia l feature of the KolmogorovSinai entropy, is essential to reconstruct its gene alogy. Somewhat surprisingly, this story takes us as far back as the beginning of celestial mechanics and through some of the most exciting developments of mathematical physics of the 19th century.


Inversion algorithms are available to derive the vertical electron density profile at the midpoint of an oblique sounder path. The techniques open up the possibility of monitoring the ionosphere at otherwise inaccessible locations, such as over sea or inhospitable terrain. A new method of monitoring the ionosphere based on radio tomography can be used to create two‐dimensional images of electron density. The results in this paper compare midpoint profiles derived from oblique ionograms with corresponding profiles obtained from tomographic images of electron density and from a vertical ionospheric sounder. The comparisons illustrate the oblique sounder inversion technique and its inherent limitations. The results provide useful information on the complementary nature of the separate ionospheric measurement techniques and have implications for the use of these measurements as inputs to real‐time ionospheric models.


The chemical features that impact small-molecule permeability across bacterial membranes are poorly understood, and the resulting lack of tools to predict permeability presents a major obstacle to the discovery and development of novel antibiotics. Antibacterials are known to have vastly different structural and physicochemical properties compared to nonantiinfective drugs, as illustrated herein by principal component analysis (PCA). To understand how these properties influence bacterial permeability, we have developed a systematic approach to evaluate the penetration of diverse compounds into bacteria with distinct cellular envelopes. Intracellular compound accumulation is quantitated using LC-MS/MS, then PCA and Pearson pairwise correlations are used to identify structural and physicochemical parameters that correlate with accumulation. An initial study using 10 sulfonyladenosines in Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Mycobacterium smegmatis has identified nonobvious correlations between chemical structure and permeability that differ among the various bacteria. Effects of cotreatment with efflux pump inhibitors were also investigated. This sets the stage for use of this platform in larger prospective analyses of diverse chemotypes to identify global relationships between chemical structure and bacterial permeability that would enable the development of predictive tools to accelerate antibiotic drug discovery.


Summary
Mice infected with nonirradiated schistosomes of both sexes demonstrated decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit values by 8 weeks after exposure. This apparent anemia was very severe by 12 weeks after exposure and was characterized by a depressed mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. Mice harboring a greater number of schistosomes of only the male sex demonstrated only a slight anemia by 16 weeks after exposure. Similarly, mice infected with both sexes of schistosomes, which had been irradiated with 3000 r so that oviposition was greatly diminished, demonstrated only slight anemia after 16 weeks of infection. However, no difference was detected between this partially sterile bisexual infection and the numerically equivalent infection of only male schistosomes.
It is believed that the difference in accumulation of eggs in the tissues was of primary importance in producing the striking difference in response to the infection, and the mere presence of male and female schistosomes together in mice is no more pathogenic, as far as the production of the anemia of schistosomiasis is concerned, than is a numerically equivalent male schistosome infection.


Abstract— On September 15, 2007, a bright fireball was observed and a big explosion was heard by many inhabitants near the southern shore of Lake Titicaca. In the community of Carancas (Peru), a 13.5 m crater and several fragments of a stony meteorite were found close to the site of the impact. The Carancas event is the first impact crater whose formation was directly observed by several witnesses as well as the first unambiguous seismic recording of a crater‐forming meteorite impact on Earth. We present several lines of evidence that suggest that the Carancas crater was a hypervelocity impact. An event like this should have not occurred according to the accepted picture of stony meteoroids ablating in the Earth's atmosphere, therefore it challenges our present models of entry dynamics. We discuss alternatives to explain this particular event. This emphasizes the weakness in the pervasive use of "average" parameters (such as tensile strength, fragmentation behavior and ablation behavior) in current modeling efforts. This underscores the need to examine a full range of possible values for these parameters when drawing general conclusions from models about impact processes.


This paper presents the results of the design and characterization of a loop antenna for mobile cellular handsets. Based on a typical smart phone antenna geometry, a bottom mounted off-ground meanderline loop antenna has been designed, which has the potential to cover the required bands of Long Term Evolution (LTE) US 700MHz, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) 824–960MHz, Digital Communication System (DCS) 1710–1880 MHz, Personal Communication Services PCS 1850–1990 MHz, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) 1920–2170MHz and LTE EU 2500. The carrier volume of 50∗10∗5mm3 and ground plane of length 100mm is used. The carrier permittivity εr is 2.66 and loss tangent tanδ is 0.00629 @2.44GHz. Copper is used as a metal part of the antenna having conductivity of 5.8e7 S/m and thickness of 0.1mm. The antenna supports balanced and unbalanced modes for certain frequencies. It is highly efficient in terms of small volumetric size for a given bandwidth of operations. The antenna generates weak near field electric and magnetic fields complying with the standards for the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and Hearing Aid Compability (HAC). The impact of body effects on the radiation efficiency has been quantified. The measured results of the prototype are in good agreement with the simulated results.


This article applies critical approaches to branding and marketing in the neo-liberal era to a case study of a recent trend in media studies, international relations and tourism: nation branding. We argue that the critique of brand "co-creation" – a reliance upon consumers to build and disseminate brand identity – helps illuminate the ways in which nation branding serves as a technique of neo-liberal governance in the era of global capitalism. The article first considers the recent development of nation branding as a global phenomenon and then explores the details of one such campaign in post-socialist Slovenia. The case study illustrates the ways in which nation branding seeks to mobilize the populace to "live" the national brand, to promulgate it nationally and internationally in the name of taking responsibility for the nation's economic development, and by extension of maximizing individual prosperity. The article concludes with a consideration of the way in which nation branding functions as a revamped form of nationalism in an era characterized by what we call the rise of commercial nationalism.


We consider the question of how unlabeled data can be used to estimate the true accuracy of learned classifiers. This is an important question for any autonomous learning system that must estimate its accuracy without supervision, and also when classifiers trained from one data distribution must be applied to a new distribution (e.g., document classifiers trained on one text corpus are to be applied to a second corpus). We first show how to estimate error rates exactly from unlabeled data when given a collection of competing classifiers that make independent errors, based on the agreement rates between subsets of these classifiers. We further show that even when the competing classifiers do not make independent errors, both their accuracies and error dependencies can be estimated by making certain relaxed assumptions. Experiments on two data real-world data sets produce estimates within a few percent of the true accuracy, using solely un-labeled data. These results are of practical significance in situations where labeled data is scarce and shed light on the more general question of how the consistency among multiple functions is related to their true accuracies.


The introduction of emergency room ultrasound (EUS) into Canadian emergency departments (EDs) has been a slow and complicated process mired with controversy and barriers to use (1-3,8,9). In the past several years, the evidence behind the benefits of EUS has grown substantially and continues to accumulate. Meanwhile, technological advancement continues to both enhance our ability to capture high quality images and reduce of ultrasound equipment. Combining this with incorporation of EUS training into residency program curricula and increasing access to EUS professional development courses, the integration of EUS into every Canadian ED is now a reality that should soon be realized.  This review will look into the use of ultrasound in Canadian EDs, as well as the inclusion of EUS into emergency medicine training, and continuing medical education. This paper will also examine the current barriers and fears that have stalled the ubiquitous adoption of EUS in EDs across the country.


In this century the Irish have claimed, at critical moments, that they were neutral and that they have established a policy of traditional neutrality. In the last generation they have also claimed, on occasion, to be nonaligned. These claims are tested by identifying the true nature of neutrality and variables by which a state's claim to be neutral can be assessed, and by identifying the essence of nonalignment. That essense is inapplicable to developed European states. Given that neutrality per se can only apply in time of war, the variables are adjusted to reflect a peacetime policy 'for neutrality' in the event of war. For this purpose the model presented by three European neutral countries is examined and used to generate variables against which to test the Irish claims. The identified variables are: (i) due diligence with respect to neutral rights and duties; (ii) the extent to which Irish claims have been recognised by others; (iii) the disavowal of help by them and; (iv) the extent of their freedom of decision and action. In addition, and partly reflecting the claim to non-alignment, two other variables are used: (v) lack of isolationism, willingness to ameliorate world problems, and impartiality and; (vi) the attitude to identity, nationbuilding, unity, stability and self-determination. Ireland has consistently failed to meet the criteria associated with either 'of' or 'for' neutrality, whilst its record on variable (v) is mixed. Its concern with variable (vi) has been pervasive, but ineffectual. Nonetheless, Ireland has not been committed to co-belligerency, although neither non-aligned, neutral nor an alliance member. It is in a sui generis position, particularly, but not only, within the


The recent development and application of ultrafast nonlinear optical probes aimed at detection of gas-phase species via electronic excitation will be detailed. The use of femtosecond lasers, in particular, allows measurements to be made on ultrashort timescales that are not susceptible to collisions with species that rapidly quench fluorescence. Article not available.


"In this clear and comprehensive resource, cataloging expert Maxwell brings his trademark practical commentary to bear on the new, unified cataloging standard. Designed to interpret and explain RDA: Resource Description and Access, this handbook illustrates and applies the new cataloging rules in the MARC21 environment for every type of information format. From books to electronic materials to music and beyond, Maxwell Explains the conceptual grounding of RDA, including FRBR and FRAD Addresses the nuances of how cataloging will, and won't, change in the MARC21 environment Explores recording relationships, working with records of manifestations and items, and more Provides numerous sample records to illustrate RDA principles A guided tour of the new standard from a respected authority, this essential handbook will help catalogers, LIS students, and cataloging instructors navigate RDA smoothly and find the information they need efficiently."


The study of cults and the types of individuals drawn to them has long been of interest to psychiatrists. Although many studies have been done on personality types and psychopathology in cult members, no consensus has emerged. Studies of psychopathology in cult members have viewed these individuals as having either no significant impairment, displaying elements of character pathology, or being severely impaired. The result is that no clear theoretical framework has been developed to explain cult membership. Psychoanalytic self psychology, as developed by Heinz Kohut, can provide such a framework. The cult may be understood as serving a number of functions for its members, all of which are designed to restore self-cohesion. Such a formulation implies a degree of self, or narcissistic, pathology in many cult members. This article reviews the literature on cults, offers a self psychology formulation to explain the function that cult membership serves for narcissistically vulnerable personalities, and describes forensic applications of these principles.


Experience how it feels to be the subject of a blasphemy prosecution! Find out why 'wool' is a funny word! See how jokes work, their inner mechanisms revealed, before your astonished face! In 2001, after over a decade in the business, Stewart Lee quit stand-up, disillusioned and drained, and went off to direct a loss-making musical, Jerry Springer: The Opera. Nine years later, How I Escaped My Certain Fate details his return to live performance, and the journey that took him from an early retirement to his position as the most critically acclaimed stand-up in Britain, the winner of BAFTAs and British Comedy Awards, and the affirmation of being rated the 41st best stand up ever. Here is Stewart Lee's own account of his remarkable comeback, told through transcripts of the three legendary full-length shows that sealed his reputation. Astonishingly frank and detailed in-depth notes reveal the inspiration and inner workings of his act. With unprecedented access to a leading comedian's creative process, this book tells us just what it was like to write these shows, develop the performance and take them on tour. How I Escaped My Certain Fate is everything we have come to expect from Stewart Lee: fiercely intelligent, unsparingly honest and very, very funny.


The compression capability of several generations of video coding standards is compared by means of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and subjective testing results. A unified approach is applied to the analysis of designs, including H.262/MPEG-2 Video, H.263, MPEG-4 Visual, H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC), and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). The results of subjective tests for WVGA and HD sequences indicate that HEVC encoders can achieve equivalent subjective reproduction quality as encoders that conform to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC when using approximately 50% less bit rate on average. The HEVC design is shown to be especially effective for low bit rates, high-resolution video content, and low-delay communication applications. The measured subjective improvement somewhat exceeds the improvement measured by the PSNR metric.


Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, based on lectures that he gave in Athens in the fourth century BCE, is one of the most significant works in moral philosophy, and has profoundly influenced the whole course of subsequent philosophical endeavour. It is soundly located within a philosophical tradition, but its argument differs markedly from those of Plato and Socrates in its emphasis on the exercise - as opposed to the mere possession - of virtue as the key to human happiness, offering seminal discussions of ethical issues that are practical in their intent. Topics covered include the role of luck in human wellbeing, moral education, responsibility, courage, justice, moral weakness, friendship and pleasure. This accessible new translation by Roger Crisp follows the Greek text closely and also provides a non-Greek-reader with the flavour of the original. The volume also includes a historical and philosophical introduction and notes on further reading.


GPUs have been used for years in compute intensive applications. Their massive parallel processing capabilities can speedup calculations significantly. However, to leverage this speedup it is necessary to rethink and develop new algorithms that allow parallel processing. These algorithms are only one piece to achieve high performance. Nearly as important as suitable algorithms is the actual implementation and the usage of special hardware features such as intra-warp communication, shared memory, caches, and memory access patterns. Optimizing these factors is usually a time consuming task that requires deep understanding of the algorithms and the underlying hardware. Unlike CPUs, the internal structure of GPUs has changed significantly and will likely change even more over the years. Therefore it does not suffice to optimize the code once during the development, but it has to be optimized for each new GPU generation that is released. To efficiently (re-)optimize code towards the underlying hardware, auto-tuning tools have been developed that perform these optimizations automatically, taking this burden from the programmer.
In particular, NVIDIA -- the leading manufacturer for GPUs today -- applied significant changes to the memory hierarchy over the last four hardware generations. This makes the memory hierarchy an attractive objective for an auto-tuner.

In this thesis we introduce the MATOG auto-tuner that automatically optimizes array access for NVIDIA CUDA applications. In order to achieve these optimizations, MATOG has to analyze the application to determine optimal parameter values. The analysis relies on empirical profiling combined with a prediction method and a data post-processing step. This allows to find nearly optimal parameter values in a minimal amount of time. Further, MATOG is able to automatically detect varying application workloads and can apply different optimization parameter settings at runtime.
To show MATOG's capabilities, we evaluated it on a variety of different applications, ranging from simple algorithms up to complex applications on the last four hardware generations, with a total of 14 GPUs. MATOG is able to achieve equal or even better performance than hand-optimized code. Further, it is able to provide performance portability across different GPU types (low-, mid-, high-end and HPC) and generations. In some cases it is able to exceed the performance of hand-crafted code that has been specifically optimized for the tested GPU by dynamically changing data layouts throughout the execution.


Abstract. The widespread application of deterministic hydrological models in research and practise calls for suitable methods to describe their uncertainty. The errors of those models are often heteroscedastic, non-Gaussian and correlated due to the memory effect of errors in state variables. Still, the residual error models used to describe them are usually highly simplified, often neglecting some of the mentioned characteristics. This is partly because general approaches to account for all of those characteristics are lacking, and partly because the benefits of more complex error models in terms of achieving better predictions are unclear. For example, the joint inference of autocorrelation and hydrological model parameters has been shown to lead to poor predictions. This study presents a framework for likelihood functions for deterministic hydrological models that considers correlated errors and allows for an arbitrary probability distribution of observed streamflow. The choice of this distribution reflects prior knowledge about non-normality of the errors. The framework was used to evaluate increasingly complex error models with data of varying temporal resolution (daily to hourly) in two catchments. We found that (1) the joint inference of hydrological and error model parameters leads to poor predictions when conventional error models with stationary correlation are used, which confirms previous studies, (2) the quality of these predictions worsens with higher temporal resolution of the data, (3) accounting for a non-stationary autocorrelation of the errors, i.e. allowing it to vary between wet and dry periods, largely alleviates the observed problems, and (4) accounting for autocorrelation leads to more realistic model output as shown by signatures such as the Flashiness Index. Overall, this study contributes to a better description of residual errors of deterministic hydrological models.


This volume contains the proceedings of three AMS Special Sessions on Computational Algebraic and Analytic Geometry for Low-Dimensional Varieties held January 8, 2007, in New Orleans, LA; January 6, 2009, in Washington, DC; and January 6, 2011, in New Orleans, LA. Algebraic, analytic, and geometric methods are used to study algebraic curves and Riemann surfaces from a variety of points of view. The object of the study is the same. The methods are different. The fact that a multitude of methods, stemming from very different mathematical cultures, can be used to study the same objects makes this area both fascinating and challenging.


The human thermal system maintains a core body temperature of 36.7°C. Any deviation from this causes considerable discomfort. The arteries and veins play a significant role in transferring the temperature to maintain the thermal comfort of the human system. Thus the aim of this work was to bring out the potential of thermal imaging in diagnosing the cardiovascular disease in comparison with the standard techniques. The average skin surface temperature (SST (°C)) was compared with the standard bio-signaling method electrocardiograph (ECG) and the ECG-derived heart rate variability (HRV) time domain parameters. Standard biochemical assay and one minute ECG signal were obtained from known CVD men (n=10) and age-matched men (n=10) In each subject, infra-red (IR) thermogram of selected skin area of the body was obtained. From the ECG signal, RR interval was computed using Pan-Tompkins algorithm. HRV time domain variables were also calculated. When SST(°C) variables using static SST (°C) alone were utilized in the CAD model for evaluation of CVD, it was found that, Naive-Bayes classifier with variables ranking and selection by Wilcoxon method gave an accuracy of 90%, and its sensitivity and specificity were found to be 80% and 90% respectively. It was comparable to the obtained CAD model using ECG variables as a standard, whose accuracy was same, and its sensitivity and specificity were found to be 90% and 80% respectively. Also, a better accuracy of 95% (sensitivity-90%, specificity-75%) could be achieved in classifying the normal and CVD subjects when the static average SST (°C) was used along with the HRV time domain variables. Thus the inclusion of IR thermogram in the CAD model along with standard variables improves the accuracy of cardiovascular disease evaluation.


Detail‐in‐context lens techniques can be useful for exploring visualizations of data spaces that are too large or have too much detail to fit in regular displays. For example, by bending the space in the right way we can bring together details from two separate areas for easy comparison while roughly keeping the context that situates each area within the global space. While these techniques can be powerful tools, they also introduce distortions that need to be understood, and often the tools have to be disabled in order to have access to the undistorted data. We introduce the undistort lens, a complement to existing distortion‐based techniques that provides a local and separate presentation of the original geometry without affecting any distortion‐based lenses currently used in the presentation. The undistort lens is designed to allow interactive access to the underlying undistorted data within the context of the distorted space, and to enable a better understanding of the distortions. The paper describes the implementation of a generic back‐mapping mechanism that enables the implementation of undistort lenses for arbitrary distortion based techniques, including those presented in the lens literature. We also provide a series of use‐case scenarios that demonstrate the situations in which the technique can complement existing lenses.