Observations of various molecular lines toward a disk region of a nearby galaxy are now feasible, and they are being employed as diagnostic tools to study star formation activities there. However, the spatial resolution attainable for a nearby galaxy with currently available radio telescopes is 10–1000 pc, which is much larger than the scales of individual star-forming regions and molecular-cloud cores. Hence, it is of fundamental importance to elucidate which part of an interstellar medium such spatially unresolved observations are tracing. Here we present sensitive measurements of the H2CO ( ) line at 72 GHz toward giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in the spiral arm of M51 using the NRO 45 m and IRAM 30 m telescopes. In conjunction with the previously observed H2CO (202 − 101) and CS (2 − 1 and 3 − 2) lines, we derive the H2 density of the emitting regions to be (0.6–2.6) × 104 cm−3 and (2.9–12) × 104 cm−3 for H2CO and CS, respectively, by the non-LTE analyses, where we assume the source size of 0.8–1 kpc and the gas kinetic temperature of 10–20 K. The derived H2 density indicates that the emission of H2CO and CS is not localized to star-forming cores, but is likely distributed over an entire region of GMCs. Such widespread distributions of H2CO and CS are also supported by models assuming lognormal density distributions over the 1 kpc region. Thus, contributions from the widespread less dense components should be taken into account for interpretation of the molecular emission observed with a GMC-scale resolution. The different H2 densities derived for H2CO and CS imply their different distributions. We discuss these differences in terms of the formation processes of H2CO and CS.


This tendency is noticed when people use many ways of language variations to communicate or express their thought, ideas, and feelings. One example of these variations is code mixing. Code mixing is insertion of a piece of word other than that of your language, and you have no specific purpose or intention when doing communication. Code mixing is different from borrowing. Code mixing usually happens while people communicate in oral or written and in informal situation. In the case of code mixing, people sometimes mix two languages, particularly between national and a foreign language like English. However, code mixing does not only exist between the languages, there is also the mixing between national and regional languages. The researcher use GADIS to do this research. It was found that there were three forms of code mixing used in advertisement in GADIS. They were words, phrases and sentences which were put in the middle of the sentence of advertisements. Meanwhile, the use of code mixing in advertisements had many functions based on the purposes of communication, as we knew; advertisement was an advertiser's way to communicate to the consumer, reader in this case. So, in this research it was found that there were three functions of the use of code mixing. They were greeting, informing, and rejecting.


The medial portion of intrinsic buccal muscle 3 (I3m) is innervated by two excitatory motor neurons, B3 and B9. B3 uses glutamate as its fast transmitter and expresses the neuropeptide FMRFamide, whereas B9 uses acetylcholine as its fast transmitter and expresses the neuropeptide SCP. This preparation was used to study peptidergic modulation of muscles innervated by neurons that use different fast excitatory transmitters. First, we determined the effects of the application of the neuropeptides expressed in these neurons on excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) and contractions. FMRFamide increased the amplitude of EJPs and contractions evoked by B3 while decreasing those evoked by B9. This is the first observation in buccal muscle of a substance that modulates two excitatory neurons innervating the same muscle in opposite directions. SCP increased EJPs contraction amplitude, and the rate of muscle relaxation for both motor neurons. We determined that SCP potently increased cAMP levels in I3m as it does in other buccal muscles. Stimulation of B9 also caused increased cAMP levels in I3m providing independent evidence for SCP release. Finally, stimulation of B9 increased both the contraction amplitude and relaxation rate of B3-evoked I3m contractions in a manner similar to that observed using exogenous SCP. By inhibiting B9's cholinergic transmission with an antagonist, we were able to observe modulatory effects of B9 in the absence of fast excitatory effects. We found that the magnitude of the modulation was dependent on the firing frequency and did occur at frequencies and patterns of firing recorded previously for B9 during ingestive-like motor programs.


Abstract Objective E-scooter use has grown rapidly in the United States. Its rise in popularity has coincided with the promotion of cycling in many cities, but more needs to be known about how these transportation modes compare to determine if cycling should serve as an appropriate benchmark for policy decisions and safety expectations regarding e-scooters. Methods We examined characteristics of adults seeking treatment in a Washington, DC, emergency department (ED) for injuries associated with riding e-scooters during 2019 (n = 99) or bicycles during 2015–2017 (n = 337). Results E-scooter incidents less frequently involved moving vehicles (13.1% vs. 37.7%) or occurred on roads (24.5% vs. 50.7%) than cycling incidents. A smaller proportion of injured e-scooter riders were ages 30–49 (32.3% vs. 48.4%) and a larger proportion were 50 and older (34.3% vs. 22.6%) or female (45.5% vs. 29.1%). Distal lower extremity injuries were more common among e-scooter riders (13.1% vs. 3.0%; RR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.79–3.54), and injuries to the proximal upper extremity (9.1% vs. 20.5%; RR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.24–0.92) or chest, abdomen, and spine (3.0% vs. 14.0%; RR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.07–0.70) were less common. Head injury rates were similar, but e-scooter riders more often experienced concussion with loss of consciousness (4.0% vs. 0.6%; RR, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.20–4.09) and were far less likely to wear helmets (2.0% vs. 66.4%). Estimated ED presentation rates per million miles traveled citywide were higher among e-scooter riders than cyclists (RR, 3.76; 95% CI, 3.08–4.59). Conclusions E-scooters and bicycles are both popular forms of micromobility, but the characteristics of riders injured on them, the ways in which they become injured, and the types of injuries they sustain differ substantially. E-scooter rider injury rates, though currently high, may decrease as they gain experience; however, if the number of new users continues to climb, they will persist in using the ED more often than cyclists per mile that they travel.


With the advent of distributed and renewable energy sources, maintaining the stability of power grid is becoming increasingly difficult. Traditional power grid can be transformed into a smart grid by augmenting it with information and communication technologies, and machine intelligence. Machine learning and artificial intelligence can enable smart grid to make intelligent decisions and respond to sudden changes in customer demands, power outages, sudden drops and rises in renewable energy output or any other catastrophic events. Machine learning can also help capture customer consumption patterns, forecast energy demand and power generation of intermittent sources, and predict equipment failures. Reinforced learning can aid in making energy dispatch decisions and activate demand management signals in order to maintain balance of power supply and demand. The usage of wireless technologies in smart grid renders it vulnerable to cyber security threats. With the increase in data volume, it is now possible to employ machine learning for the detection and prevention of anomalous behaviour, intrusion, cyber-attacks, and malicious activities as well as data authentication. This paper reviews the application of different machine learning approaches that aims at enhancing the stability, reliability, security, efficiency and responsiveness of smart grid. This paper also discusses some of the challenges in implementing machine learning solutions for smart grid.


The relationship between a product and its design process is generally complex and not fully understood. When modifying a product, industry still rarely considers the implementation process and its consequences for other design activities in the company, which is hard to assess with conventional planning methods. Although change processes are highly constrained, product and process constraints are not usually considered together or traded off against each other when planning the change. Inadequate assessment and planning of the change implementation process can lead to costly knock-on effects across the product and the design process. This paper argues for a combination of change and process research and discusses requirements for a change process planning tool. It proposes a system for the analysis of the impact of change on the product as well as other company activities. Then, a more informed selection between change alternatives is possible.


Computers have vastly expanded capabilities for storing, creating, and manipulating spatial data, yet viewing area is still generally constrained to a single monitor. With this viewing window limitation, panning and zooming are required to view the full details of a map or image and, because of the large sizes of typical database, usually only in small portions. Multiple monitor configurations provide an attainable, low cost way for individuals to create large, highresolution desktop displays. This increased screen real estate is particularly useful for viewing and interpreting rich and complex geospatial datasets because both context and amount of detail can be simultaneously increased, reducing reliance on virtual navigation to obtain the desired balance between context and scale. To evaluate the utility of multiple monitor displays for geospatial data, this experiment involved a variety of map and image reading tasks using both raster and vector data under three different monitor conditions: one monitor (1280 x 1024 pixels), four monitors (2560 x 2048 pixels), and nine monitors (3840 x 3072 pixels). Fiftyseven subjects took the test on one of the three display configurations. A computer program captured each subject's performance by recording answers, mouse click locations, viewing areas, tool usage, and elapsed time. A post-experiment questionnaire obtained additional qualitative feedback about subjects' experience with the tasks and display configuration. Overall, subjects did perform more efficiently on the larger display configurations as evidenced by a reduction in test completion time and in the amount of virtual navigation (mouse clicks) used to finish the test. Tool usage also differed among monitor conditions with navigation tools (zooming and panning) dominating on the single monitor while selecting tools (tools used to provide answers) predominated on the nine monitor display. While overall test results indicated the effectiveness of the larger displays, task-level analyses showed that specific performance varied considerably from task to task. The larger displays were the most efficient on some tasks, while other tasks showed similar results among all displays or even the single monitor as the most efficient. The best performance improvements occurred between the one and four monitor conditions, with the


The copy-DNA was synthesized on the mRNA fraction which was isolated from MOPC 21 mice myeloma by reverse transcription. This copy was completed with another chain without adding the exogenous primer, with the aid of the Klenov fragment of DNA polymerase I. After treatment of the double-stranded pin DNA with endonuclease S1, the poly(dA) sequences were built up using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. The building up of the poly(dT) sequences at the DNA 3'-termini of pBR322 plasmid previously treated with BamHI was performed in a similar way. The average length of connecting polynucleotide sequences was 50 nucleotides. After annealing and transformation of the cells with Escherichia coli hybrid plasmids, selection of clones was made for ApRTcS phenotype. Further, we applied a stepwise selection of clones by means of increasing the specificity: colony hybridization, quantitative hybridization of the excess of plasmid DNA with (32P)-cDNA and hybridization of plasmid DNAs with mRNA units which were transferred from electrophoregrams to the diazo-papers. As a result, bacterial clones were selected which contained gene fragments showing the ability to hybridize with the RNA fraction characterized by mRNA mobility of the light-chain immunoglobulin G.


Specialized cryptographic processors target professional applications and o er both low latency and high throughput at the expense of cost. At the consumer level, a modern SoC embodies several accelerators and vector extensions (e.g. SSE, AES-NI), having a high degree of programmability through multiple APIs (OpenMP, OpenCL, etc). This work explains how a modern x86 system that encompasses several compute architectures (MIMD/SIMD) might perform well compared to a specialized cryptographic unit at the fraction of the cost. The analyzed algorithm is AES (AES-128, AES-256) and the mode of operation is ECB. The initial test system is built around SoC AMD A6 5400K (CPU + integrated GPU), coupled with a discrete GPU AMD R7 250. Benchmark results compare CPU OpenSSL execution (no AES-NI), CPU AES-NI acceleration, integrated GPU, discrete GPU and heterogeneous combinations of the above processing units. Multiple test results are presented and inconsistencies are explained. Finally based on initial results a system composed only of low-end and low power consumer components is designed, built and tested.


Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in Japanese women. To address the low spatial resolution challenges associated with mammography and ultrasonography, we focused on the potential of using fluorescence to observe cellular and subcellular structures. Light scattering in living tissue causes a de-crease in resolution in in vivo imaging. However, scattering in near-infrared region is weaker than that in the visible region. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the behavior of excitation and emission photons in near-in-frared fluorescence within tissues, which could be applied in the detection of breast cancer. We modified our previous multi-layered fluorescence Monte Carlo model of in vivo neuroimaging using quantum dots as the first step for the detection of early-stage breast tumor using both visible and near-infrared light, and developed a model containing skin, breast tissue, and tumor. In the present study, fluorophore concentration and quantum yield parameters were set appropriately based on the mechanism of fluorescence onset. When the depths and sizes of a fluorescent tumor embedded in the breast tissue model were varied, excitation and emission fluence, in addition to intensity were examined from the breast surface. In contrast to visible fluorescence (Ex 488 / Em 520), Monte Carlo simulation for breast cancer using near-infrared fluorescence (Ex 780 / Em 820) could be used to detect a tumor 1.0 cm in diameter at a depth of 1.0 cm.


The quality of the mentoring and induction program that beginning teachers receive has a direct effect on the development and performance of the novice teacher. In recent years there has been a wealth of research into many different aspects of the teaching profession. This new richness of material both demands and makes possible a re-examination of the beginning teacher. However, few researchers have sought to explain the perceptions of beginning teachers in relation to how they develop as a result of support and experience. This qualitative participant observer case study set out to reflect, and develop, the attempts that are now being made to record the perceptions of the beginning teacher from the point of view of the novice teacher. This study has three broad objectives: to provide an up-to-date, readable, and wide-ranging account of the perceptions of the beginning teacher of the mentoring and induction process; to offer a guide to some of the major issues currently under discussion in the experiences of the beginning teacher; and to identify, and rectify wherever possible, some of the major deficiencies in the existing literature on the subject. The purpose of this study was to investigate how mentoring and induction programs affect new teachers' practice and dispositions. It involved evaluating whether beginning teachers perceived that they received adequate support from the school district, the school administrator and other para-professionals. Teachers were also asked whether they believed that they had developed as novice teachers as a result of support and experience. The interview data revealed that beginning teachers desired support in the areas of classroom management, curriculum and instruction, securing resources, and discipline. The participants also indicated that they would like additional support from the school district, the school administrator, mentors, parents and the school community.


The rare earth elements (REEs) are all around us, not only in nature but in our everyday lives. They are in every car, computer, smartphone, energy-efficient fluorescent lamp, and color TV, as well as in lasers, lenses, ceramics, and more. Scientific applications of these elements range from tracing the provenance of magmas and sediments to studying body structures with magnetic resonance imaging. The realization that we need rare earths for so many applications, but that their supply is effectively restricted to several mining districts in China, has brought these elements to the headlines and created a critical-metals agenda. Here we introduce the REE family: their properties, minerals, practical uses, and deposits. Potential sources of these elements are diverse and abundant if we can overcome the technical challenges of rare earth mining and extraction in an environmentally and socially responsible way.


We document a direct channel through which financial institutions contribute to the net worth of members of the U.S. Congress, particularly those sitting on the finance committees in the Senate and the House of Representatives. These individuals report greater levels of leverage and new liabilities as a proportion of their total net worth, relative to when they are not part of the finance committee or relative to other congressional members. Politicians increase new liabilities by over 30% of their net worth in the first year of their finance committee membership. We do not find similar patterns for members of non-finance powerful committees. We find no evidence that finance committee members arrange new personal liabilities ahead of their appointments to the committees. Finance committee members also report liabilities with lower interest rates and longer maturities. Finally, focusing on banks that lend to U.S. Congress members, we find that the weaker performing financial institutions lend to more finance committee members and provide more new debt to these politicians. Our findings suggest that lenders may create political connections with finance committee members in an attempt to obtain regulatory benefits.


Context. Asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are characterised by complex stellar surface dynamics that affect the measurements and amplify the uncertainties on stellar parameters. The uncertainties in observed absolute magnitudes have been found to originate mainly from uncertainties in the parallaxes. The resulting motion of the stellar photocentre could have adverse effects on the parallax determination with Gaia.
 Aims. We explore the impact of the convection-related surface structure in AGBs on the photocentric variability. We quantify these effects to characterise the observed parallax errors and estimate fundamental stellar parameters and dynamical properties.
 Methods. We use three-dimensional (3D) radiative hydrodynamics simulations of convection with CO5BOLD and the post-processing radiative transfer code OPTIM3D to compute intensity maps in the Gaia G band [325–1030 nm]. From those maps, we calculate the intensity-weighted mean of all emitting points tiling the visible stellar surface (i.e. the photocentre) and evaluate its motion as a function of time. We extract the parallax error from Gaia data-release 2 (DR2) for a sample of semi-regular variables in the solar neighbourhood and compare it to the synthetic predictions of photocentre displacements.
 Results. AGB stars show a complex surface morphology characterised by the presence of few large-scale long-lived convective cells accompanied by short-lived and small-scale structures. As a consequence, the position of the photocentre displays temporal excursions between 0.077 and 0.198 AU (≈5 to ≈11% of the corresponding stellar radius), depending on the simulation considered. We show that the convection-related variability accounts for a substantial part of the Gaia DR2 parallax error of our sample of semi-regular variables. Finally, we present evidence for a correlation between the mean photocentre displacement and the stellar fundamental parameters: surface gravity and pulsation. We suggest that parallax variations could be exploited quantitatively using appropriate radiation-hydrodynamics (RHD) simulations corresponding to the observed star.


We examine the optical resonator composed of two astigmatic elements, in a twisted configuration. These cavities have mode cross-sections with principal axes that rotate on propagation. Explicit cavity mode equations are derived for the case of identical mirrors. Such a resonator is appropriate for a solid-state laser that is end-pumped with the output of a laser-diode array brought to a line focus. We present a simple analysis of the significance of rotational misalignment, which effects the pump-to-mode power coupling, beam quality, and cavity stability.


We present an approach to long-range spatio-temporal regularization in semantic video segmentation. Temporal regularization in video is challenging because both the camera and the scene may be in motion. Thus Euclidean distance in the space-time volume is not a good proxy for correspondence. We optimize the mapping of pixels to a Euclidean feature space so as to minimize distances between corresponding points. Structured prediction is performed by a dense CRF that operates on the optimized features. Experimental results demonstrate that the presented approach increases the accuracy and temporal consistency of semantic video segmentation.


Jean-Pierre Dupuy, prophet of what he calls "enlightened doomsaying," has long warned that modern society is on a path to self-destruction. In this book, he pleads for a subversion of this crisis from within, arguing that it is our lopsided view of religion and reason that has set us on this course. In denial of our sacred origins and hubristically convinced of the powers of human reason, we cease to know our own limits: our disenchanted world leaves us defenseless against a headlong rush into the abyss of global warming, nuclear holocaust, and the other catastrophes that loom on our horizon. Reviving the religious anthropology of Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Marcel Mauss and in dialogue with the work of Rene Girard, Dupuy shows that we must remember the world's sacredness in order to keep human violence in check. A metaphysical and theological detective, he tracks the sacred in the very fields where human reason considers itself most free from everything it judges irrational: science, technology, economics, political and strategic thought. In making such claims, The Mark of the Sacred takes on religion bashers, secularists, and fundamentalists at once. Written by one of the deepest and most versatile thinkers of our time, it militates for a world where reason is no longer an enemy of faith.


Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a clinical syndrome affecting patients with chronic liver disease characterized by abrupt hepatic decompensation and associated with high short-term mortality. It is characterized by intense systemic inflammation, organ failure, and a poor prognosis. Using certain liver-specific prognostic scores, and organ failures, it is possible to triage and prognosticate the outcome of patients with ACLF. This work investigates the role of the artificial neural network (ANN), which functionally mimic biological neural systems, in predicting 90-day liver disease-related mortality. This study evaluated ANN among patients with ACLF. An accuracy of 94.12% was noticed at predicting 30-day mortality and 88.2% at predicting 90-day mortality, with an area under the curve of 0.915 and 0.921 respectively. ANN plays a very important role in predicting short term mortality patients with high accuracy. Its application in patients of ACLF is promising as it automates and eases the method of identifying those patients at higher risk of mortality. The application of ANN in this field has a vast potential for assisting clinicians in decision making, triaging of patients requiring emergent liver transplantation, and predicting mortality and complications.


This scientific report examines the spatial impacts of oil exploitation in Melut County, South Sudan, at six points in the time span between 1999 and 2011, based on Landsat satellite data. Three features were analysed: cropland, oil well pads and roads. Feature extraction consisted of pixel- and object-based classification approaches as well as on-screen digitization. Land cover classification was performed as a base for further object-based classification of cropland areas and oil well pads. Spatial analysis of the relationship between the detected features was performed. Apart from a sharp decline in cropland areas between 1999 and 2002, croplands increased steadily over time and more than doubled in size. Oil infrastructure grew enormously in size throughout the whole time series from a single pad in 1999 to 555 pads in 2011. The example exhibited the potential of Earth observation as a tool to support the field of peace and conflict research (Mager 2013).


A study of the elastic properties of the scheelite structure crystals CaW0(_4), CaMo0(_4), ArMo0(_4) and PbMo0(_4) is presented. The seven independent components of the elastic stiffness constant tensor of CaW0(_4) have been determined between 1.5 K and 300 K by pulse superposition measurements of ultrasound velocities. A computer fitting procedure has been used to obtain the elastic constants from the velocity data; this has allowed the elastic constants to be determined even though large energy flux deviations prevented the measurements of the velocities of the quasi-shear modes propagated in the [100] and [110] directions. Experiments on SrMo0(_4) single crystals have shown that similar difficulties were the cause of inconsistencies in recently published velocity data; a new, correct set of elastic constants for SrMo0(_4) has been determined. Scheelites belong to the TII Laue group. The signs of C(_16) and S(_16) depend on the definition of the sense of the +z axis with recpect to the atomic arrangement. A convention previously used for CaMo0(_4) has bee adopted, the Z axis sensehas been found in SrMo0(+4) by an x-ray method: in each material C(_16) has been shown to be negative. Elastic behaviour and wave propagation characteristic, and their orientation dependence in the four materials, have been compared and contrasted. The work has provided a new in-sight into the acoustic properties of TI and TII Laue group materials; in the latter the "axes of acoustic symmetry" in the (001) plane do not coincide with the and crystallographic directions (as in TI's) but deviate from them by angles which are between 15 and 23 in the scheelites studied. Knowledge of the positions of these axes should facilitate further ultrasonic studies.


Remote sensing of coastal and inland waters requires sensors to have a high spatial resolution to cover the spatial variation of biogeochemical properties in fine scales. High spatial-resolution sensors, however, are usually equipped with spectral bands that are wide in bandwidth (50 nm or wider). In this study, based on numerical simulations of hyperspectral remote-sensing reflectance of optically-deep waters, and using Landsat band specifics as an example, the impact of a wide spectral channel on remote sensing is analyzed. It is found that simple adoption of a narrowband model may result in >20% underestimation in calculated remote-sensing reflectance, and inversely may result in >20% overestimation in inverted absorption coefficients even under perfect conditions, although smaller (approximately 5%) uncertainties are found for higher absorbing waters. These results provide a cautious note, but also a justification for turbid coastal waters, on applying narrowband models to wideband data.


Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is a reversible photochromic protein that can be used as a holographic medium. The dichroic absorption of the bR molecule is polarization dependent, thereby allowing for the recording of polarization holograms. The properties of polarization holograms can be used to multiplex two independent images in a single bR film. A new technique and associated polarization-multiplexing scheme are demonstrated that allow for simultaneous readout of two orthogonally polarized images while achieving a high normalized diffraction efficiency for each of the individual images.


The Wind River Range of Wyoming contains the greatest concentration of glaciers in the American Rocky Mountains with two of the larger glaciers being Dinwoody and Gannett Glaciers. This study documents the importance of glacier meltwater to the overall water supply in the Wind River drainage, the loss of ice from Dinwoody and Gannett Glaciers since the 1930's, and the remaining volume of ice in Dinwoody Glacier.


A growing body of evidence suggests that criminal activities associated with drug trafficking networks are a progressively important driver of forest loss in Central America. However, the scale at which drug trafficking represents a driver of forest loss is not presently known. We estimated the degree to which narcotics trafficking may contribute to forest loss using an unsupervised spatial clustering of 15 spatial and temporal forest loss patch metrics developed from global forest change data. We distinguished anomalous forest loss from background loss patches for each country exhibiting potential 'narco-capitalized' signatures which showed a statistically significant dissimilarity from other patches in terms of size, timing, and rate of forest loss. We also compared annual anomalous forest loss with the number of cocaine shipments and volume of cocaine seized, lost, or delivered at country- and department-level. For Honduras, results from linear mixed effects models showed a highly significant relationship between anomalous forest loss and the timing of increased drug trafficking (F = 9.90, p = 0.009) that also differed significantly from temporal patterns of background forest loss (t-ratio = 2.98, p = 0.004). Other locations of high forest loss in Central America showed mixed results. The timing of increased trafficking was not significantly related to anomalous forest loss in Guatemala and Nicaragua, but significantly differed in patch size compared to background losses. We estimated that cocaine trafficking could account for between 15% and 30% of annual national forest loss in these three countries over the past decade, and 30% to 60% of loss occurred within nationally and internationally designated protected areas. Cocaine trafficking is likely to have severe and lasting consequences in terms of maintaining moist tropical forest cover in Central America. Addressing forest loss in these and other tropical locations will require a stronger linkage between national and international drug interdiction and conservation policies.


In the past ten years, the increasing price of gold has motivated the wire bonding industry to look for alternative bonding wire materials in the field of microelectronics packaging. A new candidate wire to replace gold is palladium coated silver wire. In this thesis, the effect of the two specific process parameters "bond stress" and "process temperature" on the ball bonds made with the new candidate wire are investigated. Using 20 μm diameter wire and various level-combinations of these process parameter, ball bonds are produced according to a special accelerated optimization method to result in a target diameter of 46 ± 0.5 μm and target height of 16 ± 0.5 μm. Three different levels are used for each of the specific process parameters. After pre-selecting a few process parameters, the accelerated method determines the levels for the process parameters "impact force" and "electric flame-off current" with a 2×2 design of experiments. Then, the ultrasound parameter is maximized up to a level where a pre-selected ultrasonic deformation occurs to the bonds, maintaining the target bond diameter and height. The bond quality is measured by measuring the shear strength of the bonds. The results show that • the bond geometry is not affected by the bond stress, • the optimized specific process parameters vary by less than ~0.5 % when bond stress values are varied from 60 to 100 MPa, • the variations in optimized parameters are larger than ~3.0 % when the BT is changed from 100 to 200 oC, • ball bonds achieve acceptable shear strength (> 120 MPa) when the values for both, bond stress and bond temperature, are high, • ultrasound level and shear stress interact, the higher shear stress the lower the ultrasound level required. An average shear strength of ~120 MPa is achieved with 11.4 % ultrasound, 100 MPa bond stress, and 200 oC bond process temperature. In summary, a robust methodology is presented in this thesis to efficiently optimize the ball bonding process as demonstrated with the new candidate wire has a bondability similar to that of gold wire with only minor adjustment in the bonding process needed.


The radial carrier diffusion process inside active regions of gain-guided vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is studied rigorously. To this end, a comprehensive three-dimensional self-consistent VCSEL simulation is used. In the modelling, carrier degeneracy as well as temperature and carrier-concentration dependencies of the diffusion coefficient are taken into account. For the room-temperature operation of the GaAs-AlGaAs-AlAs proton-implanted top-surface-emitting VCSELs, ambipolar diffusion coefficient was found to be relatively low (/spl sime/7.5 cm/sup 2//sec) and nearly constant inside the active region but it increases rapidly beyond this region. It is, however, proved that very accurate VCSEL modelling rigorous treatment of the carrier diffusion process, an average constant value of the diffusion coefficient may be undoubtedly used in quite reliable VCSEL simulations.


If initiatives in coastal resources management (CRM) are to succeed and be effective, not only must they be technically sound but they must be accepted as necessary, reasonable and fair. Well conceived public education and participation programs are essential in creating a context in which effective resource management is possible. Public participation and education have been essential ingredients in US CRM programs for almost 20 years. In developing countries, such programs are less common and certainly less accepted by the government agencies responsible for resources management. Through a cooperative program between The University of Rhode Island and the US Agency for International Development, the Coastal Resources Center has been assisting Ecuador, Sri Lanka and Thailand to formulate and implement strategies to manage their coastal resources. In all three nations, initial skepticism about the essential role of public education and participation in such programs has been overcome and robust and diverse programs implemented. In this paper the approach and role of public education and participation in each of these three nations' programs is reviewed. The paper concludes with recommendations for intiating such programs in other countries.


Clean renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, and hydro) offers the most promising solution to energy and environmental sustainability. On the other hand, owing to the spatial and temporal variations of renewable energy sources, and transportation and mobility needs, high density energy storage and efficient energy distribution to points of use is also critical. Moreover, it is challenging to scale up those processes in a cost-effective way. Electrochemical processes, including photoelectrochemical devices, batteries, fuel cells, super capacitors, and others, have shown promise for addressing many of the abovementioned challenges. Materials with designer properties, especially the interfacial properties, play critical role for the performance of those devices.Atomic layer deposition is capable of precise engineering material properties on atomic scale. In this review, we focus on the current state of knowledge of the applications, perspective and challenges of atomic layer deposition process on the electrochemical energy generation and storage devices and processes.


Business process management (BPM) has emerged as an important enabler for managing risks. Organizations use BPM techniques such as process modeling to create transparency and to identify process-related risks. Existent risk management frameworks distinguish between different types of risk, such as people, technical, and management risk. Our study suggests that creativity in business processes leads to a particular subset of risks which organizations respond to by applying specific strategies of risk avoidance and mitigation. These creative risks occur within business processes as different people come together to generate creative products. These people bring in different perceptions of creativity and aesthetics and solve creative tasks in different ways. Thus, business processes that involve creativity are characterized by a high variance both in process flow and process outcome which can lead to unwanted consequences. Based on interpretive case studies we introduce the concept of creative risk and explain what strategies organizations can apply to handle it.


Much effort has been spent over the last decade in producing so called "Machine Vision" systems for use in robotics, automated inspection, assembly and numerous other fields. Because of the large amount of data involved in an image (typically ¼ MByte) and the complexity of many algorithms used, the processing times required have been far in excess of real time on a VAX-class serial processor. We review a number of image understanding algorithms that compute a globally defined "state", and show that they may be computed using simple local operations that are suited to parallel implementation. In recent years, many massively parallel machines have been designed to apply local operations rapidly across an image. We review several vision machines. We develop an algebraic analysis of the performance of a vision machine and show that, contrary to the commonly-held belief, the time taken to relay images between serial streams can exceed by far the time spent processing. We proceed to investigate the roles that a variety of pipelining techniques might play. We then present three pipelined designs for vision, one of which has been built. This is a parallel pipelined bit slice convolution processor, capable of operating at video rates. This design is examined in detail, and its performance analysed in relation to the theoretical framework of the preceeding chapters. The construction and debugging of the device, which is now operational in its hardware is detailed.


In the past decade the introduction of eLearning technologies has been associated with innovation in Higher Education (HE) as it brings significant change and has the potential to transform practice in many facets of university life. These learning technologies have been described as a 'disruptive' type of innovation as they can be a catalyst for transforming the strategic direction of HE and reach well beyond the traditional activities associated with classroom pedagogies.

However, the levels of adoption of eLearning vary significantly between universities in the UK, ranging from simple online availability of course content to the extensive use of content management systems. Additionally, several studies report that a significant number of academic staff are making little use of these learning technologies and that the adoption of eLearning has failed to reach the predicted expectations.

Previous approaches to the examination of the adoption and diffusion of eLearning have focused either on systemic change influenced by technology that transforms the entire organisation (macro-level studies) or on various parts of, or individuals within the institution that may benefit the most from adoption of the technology (micro-level studies). Recently, there has been recognition that these singular approaches have failed to fully appreciate the complexity of the adoption of eLearning within higher educational institutions. Furthermore, there is acknowledgement that the adoption of eLearning is influenced by both the potential adopter and the institutional properties. Thus, a number of commentators have proposed that future studies need to combine macro- and micro-level perspectives that regress from singular approaches and deploy more integrative perspectives that emphasise the interactions and interconnections between individual actions and institutional structure.

This thesis is situated in the field of HE and innovation management and examines the adoption and diffusion of learning technologies through a series of case studies. Drawing on Giddens' 'Theory of Structuration' and the work of Rogers in the adoption and diffusion of innovations, these exploratory case studies examine the interaction between human agency and structure. The implications of this study for university executives, managers, and academic teaching staff are far reaching, and, to some degree, contradict accepted management practice and existing literature.


Abstract. We report the development of a novel Lagrangian microphysics methodology for simulations of warm ice-free clouds. The approach applies the traditional Eulerian method for the momentum and continuous thermodynamic fields such as the temperature and water vapor mixing ratio, and uses Lagrangian super-droplets to represent condensed phase such as cloud droplets and drizzle or rain drops. In other applications of the Lagrangian warm-rain microphysics, the super-droplets outside clouds represent unactivated cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) that become activated upon entering a cloud and can further grow through diffusional and collisional processes. The original methodology allows for the detailed study of not only effects of CCN on cloud microphysics and dynamics, but also CCN processing by a cloud. However, when cloud processing is not of interest, a simpler and computationally more efficient approach can be used with super-droplets forming only when CCN is activated and no super-droplet existing outside a cloud. This is possible by applying the Twomey activation scheme where the local supersaturation dictates the concentration of cloud droplets that need to be present inside a cloudy volume, as typically used in Eulerian bin microphysics schemes. Since a cloud volume is a small fraction of the computational domain volume, the Twomey super-droplets provide significant computational advantage when compared to the original super-droplet methodology. Additional advantage comes from significantly longer time steps that can be used when modeling of CCN deliquescence is avoided. Moreover, other formulation of the droplet activation can be applied in case of low vertical resolution of the host model, for instance, linking the concentration of activated cloud droplets to the local updraft speed. This paper discusses the development and testing of the Twomey super-droplet methodology, focusing on the activation and diffusional growth. Details of the activation implementation, transport of super-droplets in the physical space, and the coupling between super-droplets and the Eulerian temperature and water vapor field are discussed in detail. Some of these are relevant to the original super-droplet methodology as well and to the ice phase modeling using the Lagrangian approach. As a computational example, the scheme is applied to an idealized moist thermal rising in a stratified environment, with the original super-droplet methodology providing a benchmark to which the new scheme is compared.


Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of steady flow, with Re = 750 at inlet, through stenosed pipe has been done to study transition and turbulence of the flow in the post-stenosis area. The pipe has 75% constriction by area reduction and 5% eccentricity of the main pipe diameter at the throat. A sinusoidal Gaussian force is implemented to keep turbulent in the domain. The result shows acceptable agreement with previous study has been done by Fischer et al. [4]. We simulated the case by NEK5000 which benefits from the spectral element method (SEM) as a higher order accurate method. To have a better understanding of the turbulent flow, we have done the modal decomposition to obtain coherent structures. Among several methods for modal decomposition, we considered Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) for current study. The methods have been implemented in Fortran, accelerated using OpenMP and is potentially settled for computation of large data sets. DMD implementation shows 2.5 speed up. The stuctures correspond to the implementation force are extracted by POD however they have not been recognised by dynamic decomposition.


The control of growth is a poorly understood aspect of animal development. This thesis focuses on body size regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans, and in particular, how worms grow to a certain size. In C. elegans, a key regulator of size is the TGFβ homologue DBL-1. Mutations that deplete the worm of DBL-1 result in a small body size, whereas overexpression of the gene renders long animals. The small mutants have the same number of cells as wild type suggesting that some or all cells are smaller. DBL-1 activates a TGFβ receptor leading to the nuclear localization of three Smad proteins which then initiate a transcriptional program for size control whose targets are mainly unknown. In order to learn more about how body size in C. elegans is regulated, we set up EMS mutagenesis screens to identify new loci that caused a long phenotype. A subset of the genes we have identified might function in the TGFβ signaling pathway regulating growth while others likely function in parallel pathways. One gene that we found in this screen, lon-3, encodes a cuticle collagen that genetically lies downstream of the DBL-1 TGFβ signaling pathway. Interestingly, loss of function mutations in lon-3 result in a Lon phenotype, whereas increasing the amount of LON-3 protein cause the worms to be dumpy, i.e. shorter, but slightly fatter than wild type. LON-3 is expressed in the hypodermis, the tissue from which the cuticle is synthesized and in which TGFβ signaling, regulating body size, has its focus. This study and previous work have shown that DBL-1 may affect body volume via effects on hypodermal nuclear ploidy, however this is unaffected in lon-3 mutants. Consistent with this finding, the volume of lon-3 mutant worms is not different from wild type. Taken together, our results suggest that another mechanism, by which TGFβ signaling can regulate body length, is by altering the shape of the cuticle via its effect on lon-3 and possibly other cuticle collagens. Studies in worms, flies and mice show that body size and nutrient allocation are closely connected. p70 S6-kinase (S6K) is a known regulator of cell and body size that also plays a role in metabolism. In mice and flies S6K mutants are much smaller than wild type. Our work on the worm homolog, rsks-1, shows that in worms as well, this gene is important for growth regulation and cell size. However, this effect seems to be at least in part independent of DBL-1 TGFβ signaling. Furthermore, rsks-1mutants have a 50 % increase in the amount of stored fat. Fatty acid metabolism has been shown to play an important role in environmental adaptation, especially in regards to temperature changes. Consistent with this idea, rsks-1 mutants appear to have difficulties in adjusting to such changes, reflected in a much-decreased fecundity at 15 and 25 °C compared to their cultivation temperature (20 °C). Within the nervous system the gene is specifically expressed in a subset of the chemosensory neurons that, when nutrients are abundant, secrete signals that promote growth. Intriguingly, this expression seems to be negatively regulated by insulin- like signaling, in contrast to the positive regulation of S6K by insulin in Drosophila and mice. Taken together we show that rsks-1 is an important regulator of growth and fat metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans.


ABSTRACT This article pries open the black box of the social impact bond (SIB), the novel financial instrument at the heart of social investment. We discover that concrete information is currently limited and our method is thus more speculative. We address the obfuscation of the nomenclature of the instrument and explore the mechanics of SIBs to suggest that they are not simple bonds but rather also bear properties akin to those associated with derivative contracts. We speculate on possible developments of the market in these bonds by considering the history of some previous financial innovations, namely, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) underpinned by microfinance loans and the short-lived policy analysis market. Our discussion leads us to reevaluate Goodhart's law and the ways in which it operates in relation to SIBs. We conclude by suggesting that SIBs' inherent indifference to the underlying state of the world renders them ultimately unlikely to delivery improvements in public services.


As we enter the 2010s, the global economy is becoming increasingly integrated. International trade has been growing rapidly, an ostensibly irresistible trend that was only temporarily disrupted by the 2008-09 global recession. Globalization has become associated with a country's economic success while failure to open up markets is often viewed as a cause of economic stagnation. This is predicted by economic theory and verified by empirical investigations. One reason for the growth of trade is the impressive reduction of trade barriers over the past 60 years; namely the pursuit of liberal commercial policy by many countries, led by the United States. Yet, particularly with the economic malaise that has persisted since the Great Recession, the role of commercial policy has become increasingly controversial in the media and other public fora. The relationship between trade and employment, as well as the implications of trade for income distribution, are examples of profound influences on national economies that have provoked intensive debate in the public realm. These domestic effects go a long way towards explaining the widespread backlash against globalization that we have observed in recent years. This volume of contributions from some of the best-known international trade economists explores and analyzes the various aspects of commercial policy -- theoretical, empirical, and institutional -- in a way that standard texts in international economics do not. It does this via two sets of chapters: the first part covers general approaches to commercial policy, including theoretical, institutional, historical, and empirical contributions. Topics addressed include a general analysis of free trade compared to its alternatives, the future of the international trading system (including the regional trade agreement zeitgeist), trade's effects on employment, and the "special" case of agriculture. The second part is comprised of country-specific and regional applications, including case studies of key players in the international trading system (United States, the European Union, and Japan); small, open markets (Australia and Israel); large emerging markets (China and India); and a South-South regional grouping (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/oso/public/content/oho_economics/9780195378047/toc.html


The Co-operative Party, despite representing the largest consumer and social movement in Britain, is systematically overlooked or misunderstood in twentieth century British political historiography.
What makes this neglect more surprising is that from 1927 the Co-operative Party had a formal electoral agreement with the Labour Party, the basis of which remains in place today. Through this agreement the two parties agreed to work together to return joint Co-operative-Labour candidates in certain constituencies. This unique political alliance reflected a shared ideological ground between the two parties, united in their aim to displace capitalism with common ownership. However, despite this common aim, the methods through which this would be achieved varied and whilst the Labour Party focused on state ownership as key to the 'socialist commonwealth', the Co-operative Party, as the political arm of theco-operative movement embodied the ideal of a'co-operative commonwealth' built on the principles of democratic voluntary association.
Historians who have addressed the relationship between the Labour Party and the co-operative movement have argued that co-operative methods of ownership were systematically marginalised, overlooked and ignored by the Labour Party, particularly during the 1945 to 1951 period of Labour Government. In this context, this thesis will examine the political relationship between the Co-operative Party and the Labour Party in the broader period from 1931 to 1951. It will argue that both organisational and ideological factors contributed to the invisibility of co-operative methods of ownership in the policies of the Labour Party. Moreover, this will provide an additional perspective to debates regarding the development of the Labour Party during the 1930s and over the future direction of nationalisation post 1945. Despite its marginality the Co-operative Party represented a large body of working class consumers and a significant business organisation, which straddled both the labour movement and co-operative movement.
Whilst this thesis agrees that co-operative ideas of ownership remained a minor influence on the Labour Party throughout this period, it will nevertheless argue that Co-operative Party contributions to policy discussions provide an alternative perspective from which a growing recognition of the diversity of influences on the Labour Party can be explored. In doing so this thesis will also provide an original interpretation of the organisational and policy history of the Co-operative Party. This will highlight tensions not only with the Labour Party, but also within the co-operative movement with regards to the function and purpose of the Co-operative Party - and more significantly the role of the co-operative movement in a socialist society.


Improved understanding of water flow and solute transport through the unsaturated zone is important for the sustainable management of soils. As soils are complex and heterogeneous systems, quantification of the transport processes is difficult. More knowledge on the relationship between solute transport process, soil structure, hydrologic initial and boundary conditions, and observation scale is needed here.Modeling unsaturated flow and transport with mathematical or numerical methods is an important tool for predicting the infiltration and redistribution of soil water and the transport of solutes in the unsaturated zone. Flow and transport models are commonly used to support the decision making process in agricultural management, environmental impact assessment, toxic waste control, remediation design, and subsurface cleanup monitoring. The movement of contaminants through porou media describs by the combination of advection, diffusion-dispersion and chemical retardation. The most common model that describes solute transport by convection and dispersion is the convection-dispersion equation (CDE). This equation describes the change in concentration at any point along the flow path as a function of time. This paper is mainly dedicated to a discussion of basic processes for modelling of water flow and contaminant transport in saturated and unsaturated soils. After a brief description of the classical approach for simulating water flow and solute transport in porous media, issues related to water and solute trasport equation in soil.


Site effects for hard‐rock sites are typically computed using analytical models for the effect of κ , the high‐frequency attenuation parameter. New datasets that are richer in hard‐rock recordings allow us to evaluate the scaling for hard‐rock sites (e.g., V S 30>1500  m/s). The high‐frequency response spectra residuals are weakly correlated with κ , in contrast to the strong scaling with κ in the analytical models. This may be due to site‐specific shallow resonance patterns masking part of the effect of attenuation due to damping. An empirical model is developed for the combined V S 30 and κ scaling for hard‐rock sites relative to a reference site condition of 760  m/s (i.e., correction factors that should be used for going from soft rock to hard rock, taking into account the net effect of V S and κ ). This empirical model shows high‐frequency amplification that is more similar to the analytical prediction corresponding to a hard‐rock κ of 0.020 s rather than the typical value of 0.006 s, which is commonly used for hard‐rock sites in the central–eastern United States. Compared to the current analytical approach, this leads to a reduction of high‐frequency (>20  Hz) scaling of about a factor of 2.


This paper analyses the kind of reader constructed in the Lives and the response expected of that reader. It begins by attempting a typology of moralising in the Lives . Plutarch does sometimes make general 'gnomic' statements about right and wrong, and occasionally passes explicit judgement on a subject's behaviour. In addition, the language with which Plutarch describes character is inherently moralistic; and even when he does not pass explicit judgement, Plutarch can rely on a common set of notions about what makes behaviour virtuous or vicious. The application of any moral lessons, however, is left to the reader's own judgement. Furthermore, Plutarch's use of multiple focalisations means that the reader is sometimes presented with varying ways of looking at the same individual or the same historical situation. In addition, many incidents or anecdotes are marked by 'multivalence'; that is, they resist reduction to a single moral message or lesson. In such cases, the reader is encouraged to exercise his or her own critical faculties. Indeed, the prologues which precede many pairs of Lives and the syn-kriseis which follow them sometimes explicitly invite the reader's participation in the work of judging. The syncritic structure of the Parallel Lives also invites the reader's participation, as do the varying perspectives provided by a corpus of overlapping Lives . In fact, the presence of a critical, engaged reader is presupposed by the agonistic nature of much of Greek literature, and of several texts in the Moralia which stage opposing viewpoints or arguments. Plutarch himself argues for such a reader in his How the Young Man Should Listen to Poems.


High levels of integration in integrated circuits often lead to the problem of running out of pins. Narrow data buses can be used to alleviate this problem provided that the degraded performance due to wait cycles can be tolerated. We address bus coding methods for low-power core-based systems incorporating narrow buses. We show that transition signaling combined with bus-invert coding, which we call BITS coding, is particularly suitable for the data patterns of typical DSP applications on narrow data buses. The application of BITS coding to real circuit design is limited by the extra bus line introduced, which changes the pinout of the chip. We propose a new coding method, which does not require the extra bus line but retains the advantage of BITS.


Switch failures can hamper access to client services, cause link congestion and blackhole network traffic. In this study, we examine the nature of switch failures in the datacenters of a large commercial cloud provider through the lens of survival theory. We study a cohort of over 180,000 switches with a variety of hardware and software configurations and find that datacenter switches have a 98% likelihood of functioning uninterrupted for over 3 months since deployment in production. However, there is significant heterogeneity in switch survival rates with respect to their hardware and software: the switches of one vendor are twice as likely to fail compared to the others. We attribute the majority of switch failures to hardware impairments and unplanned power losses. We find that the in-house switch operating system, SONiC, boosts the survival likelihood of switches in datacenters by 1% by eliminating switch failures caused by software bugs in vendor switch OSes.


Objective Current study aimed toward the early prediction of neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) for better management and prognosis. Methods This prospective study was conducted on forty neonates at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Pediatrics and Medical Biochemistry department (Tanta University, Egypt) from July 2016 to June 2017. Cord blood erythropoietin and venous blood Activin A were assayed within the first hour of life. Neonates were divided into 2 groups: Group 1 (with IVH) included twenty neonates who developed IVH proved by transcranial ultrasonography (u/s) and Group 2 (without IVH) included twenty neonates who were admitted to the NICU but did not develop IVH, also proved by transcranial u/s. Data were analyzed using Chi Square and t-test. Results Group 1 had a significantly higher cord blood erythropoietin concentration than group 2 (46.75±27.98 mIU/mL vs. 18.82±8.91 mIU/mL), respectively (p<0.05). Group 1 had a significantly higher venous blood Activin A concentration than group 2 (3.18±2 ng/L vs. 0.42±0.25 ng/L) with (p<0.05). Conclusion Cord blood erythropoietin and venous blood Activin A were presumed to be used as early predictors of IVH in neonates with early treatment and better prognosis


In the building energy efficiency field, developing automatic and accurate fault detection and diagnosis methods is necessary in order to ensure optimal operations of systems and to save energy. In this paper first, fault detection analysis based on statistical methods where anomalies are detected through a comparison with neighborhood and averaged fault-free values and through a clustering technique is performed. Following the fault detection step, a fault diagnosis analysis based on fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic is implemented. Experimentation is carried out over a one day monitoring data set in December 2013 for the fan coil electric consumption of an actual office building located at ENEA 'Casaccia' Research Centre. Results show the effectiveness of proposed approaches in automatic detection and diagnosis of abnormal building fan coil electric consumption. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of KES International.


This study focused on diagnosing the relative and independent role of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) on austral cool seasonal rainfall by stratifying the cool seasonal rainfall into winter (June–August) and spring (September–November). Partial regression and classification analysis was used to investigate the effect of the climate modes on rainfall in the state of Victoria in southeast Australia. Partial regression analyses revealed that when the influence of IOD is removed from ENSO, sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Pacific Ocean have no significant effect on spring rainfall across Victoria and affect winter rainfall mildly in west Victoria. By removing the inter-correlations between ENSO and IOD, SST anomalies in the Indian Ocean and SLP anomalies in the Pacific Ocean showed weak relationships with Victoria9s spring and winter rainfall. Classification analysis demonstrated the effects of phases of ENSO and IOD on Victoria9s seasonal rainfall; the dry phases of the climate modes have more effect on spring rainfall compared to the wet phases and both show no significant effect on winter rainfalls. It is recommended that for water availability forecasting in Victoria, water managers should focus on the effect of climate modes on spring rainfalls, particularly during the dry phases of ENSO and IOD.


There is almost universal agreement that scientific data should be shared for use beyond the purposes for which they were initially collected. Access to data enables system-level science, expands the instruments and products of research to new communities, and advances solutions to complex human problems. While demands for data are not new, the vision of open access to data is increasingly ambitious. The aim is to make data accessible and usable to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and for any purpose. Until recently, scholarly investigations related to data sharing and reuse were sparse. They have become more common as technology and instrumentation have advanced, policies that mandate sharing have been implemented, and research has become more interdisciplinary. Each of these factors has contributed to what is commonly referred to as the "data deluge". Most discussions about increases in the scale of sharing and reuse have focused on growing amounts of data. There are other issues related to open access to data that also concern scale which have not been as widely discussed: broader participation in data sharing and reuse, increases in the number and types of intermediaries, and more digital data products. The purpose of this paper is to develop a research agenda for scientific data sharing and reuse that considers these three areas.


Abstract Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is considered to be susceptible to flooding, a major agronomic problem in the world, and nitrogenase activity rapidly declines due to oxygen deficiency in root nodules. We investigated nodule acclimation to flooding at the morphological level using a soybean cultivar possessing the ability to form secondary aerenchyma. After 1 week of treatment, lenticels were formed on the surface of the root nodules, and secondary aerenchyma were observed through the lenticels under both irrigated and flooded conditions. As the plant grew, the nodule epidermis came off, and well-developed secondary aerenchyma covered the nodule surface. The secondary aerenchyma originated from the secondary meristem (phellogen) girdling the sclerenchyma, and the degree of development was greater in flooded nodules than in irrigated ones. Although root nodulation and total nitrogenase activity (TNA) decreased under flooded conditions, there were no differences in shoot N concentration, specific nitrogenase activity (SNA) and relative ureide-N in the xylem bleeding sap between plants in the irrigated and flooded conditions. Under flooded conditions, however, when the entry of oxygen into the secondary aerenchyma formed in the hypocotyl was inhibited by vaseline treatment (pasting on the surface of the hypocotyl), the shoot N concentration, TNA, SNA, the ureide-N concentration and the relative ureide-N in the sap declined remarkably. These results suggested that secondary aerenchyma formation in soybean plants is a morphological acclimation response to flooding stress, and that one of the functions is to supply atmospheric oxygen to root nodules, which consequently enables nodule activity to be maintained.


Crop protection materials and techniques can increase productivity by preventing losses of yield or quality due to invading pests and by increasing the efficiency of men and machines. Spectacular advances have been made during the last 40 years in the availability of new highly active and relatively efficient chemicals which are reliable, safe, easy to use and cheap. Consequently, needs and opportunities for further new chemicals have slowed up in the last few years, while the costs of discovering and developing them have soared. Despite this agriculturally favourable situation, losses of productivity due to pests are higher than they need be. This is particularly so in after-harvest losses due to pest attacks which are still much too high in many crops and many countries. Increased productivity by better crop protection in the 1980s will demand better post-harvest protection of crops, more use of chemicals on an area basis, and spray programmes against a wider range of pest species. Early preventive usage should also increase, with less reliance on partial late cures. Most of the changing needs of individual farms in the 1980s can be met by the use of existing or forthcoming chemicals alone or in mixtures, or by special formulations or methods of use. As long as the chemical industry is not unduly hampered by irrational fears concerning the human environment, or long-term survival of agricultural soils, or the human race, it will continue to produce still more chemicals to combat existing and new agricultural problems, and should be encouraged to do so. One must, however, doubt whether non-chemical methods as we now know them will make more than a minor added contribution.


The aim of this thesis was to develop and set up a novel system in mammalian cells that would help to decipher the complex cellular response to double-strand breaks (DSBs). The system is based on the use of a thermo-sensitive mutant of the rare cutting endonuclease I-SceI. The temperature-controlled cutting activity of such a mutant, combined with transcriptional control of its expression using a tetracycline-dependent promoter, should bring tight control over the induction of a DSB at I-SceI recognition site. By acquiring such control over production of a DSB at an engineered I-SceI recognition site in the mammalian genome, the system should allow the study of the DSB repair kinetics and early events of the DSB repair process.

Central to the project was the production of a temperature-dependent mutant of I-SceI. The S. cerevisiae strain KSM1, offered a satisfactory model to screen and select thermo-sensitive phenotypes of the enzyme. The combination of random PCR mutagenesis with the yeast GAP repair mechanism to incorporate the different mutants into a yeast expression plasmid, in a strain carrying an adequate genetic reporter system, all proved to be proficient for selecting temperature dependent I-SceI phenotypes. Mutants with cutting activity at 25°C and 30°C, but with a substantial decrease of activity at 37°C where selected. Most of these selected mutants presented single misense mutations, two mutants presented two and three missense mutations and one beared a nonsense mutation.

Four mutants were selected as final candidates and their activities at 30°C and 37°C were tested in a mammalian cell line. Their activities showed remarkably low when compare to wild-type I-SceI activity at 30°C. Although the results obtained in mammalian cells were not in contradiction with the activities observed in S. cerevisiae, they are too low to be applied to the study of DSB repair.


Purpose: Immunotherapy has been successfully utilized for treatment of gastric cancer, so the identification of clinicopathologic features that are predictive of response to this therapy is crucial. 18F-FDG PET/CT can provide information on the molecular phenotype of many malignant tumors. The correlation between 18F-FDG accumulation and PD-L1/PD-L1-TILs status in gastric cancer patients has not been investigated. The aim of the current study is to assess whether 18F-FDG accumulation is associated with PD-L1/PD-L1-TILs status, and whether 18F-FDG PET/CT may be useful for predicting PD-L1/PD-L1-TILs expression of gastric cancer. Results: Tumors with positive PD-L1 expression had higher SUVmax than in tumors with negative PD-L1 expression (15.0 ± 8.0 vs. 7.2 ± 4.2, respectively; P = 0.004). Tumors with positive PD-L1-TILs expression also had higher SUVmax than in tumors with negative PD-L1-TILs expression (10.3 ± 6.5 vs. 6.6 ± 3.7, respectively; P = 0.034). Multivariate analysis suggested that SUVmax remained significantly correlated with the status of PD-L1 (P = 0.043) and PD-L1-TILs (P = 0.016). PD-L1 expression was predicted with an accuracy of 67.2% when a SUVmax value of 8.55 was used as a cutoff point for analysis. Similarly, PD-L1-TILs expression was predicted with an accuracy of 64.2%, when a SUVmax value of 7.9 was used as the threshold for analysis. Conclusion: Higher 18F-FDG accumulation in gastric cancers is correlated with positive PD-L1/PD-L1-TILs expression. 18F-FDG PET/CT may be used to predict the status of PD-L1/PD-L1-TILs and thus aid in optimal treatment decision. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 64 patients with gastric cancer who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT. SUVmax was calculated from the 18F-FDG accumulation of the primary tumor. The relationship between SUVmax and PD-L1/PD-L1-TILs status was analyzed.


Abstract. In a group of eighty‐three patients with untreated Paget's disease of bone, plasma alkaline phosphatase activity (AP), plasma non‐protein‐bound hydroxyproline concentration (PHP) and urinary excretion rate of total hydroxyproline (THP) were closely correlated with each other but not with fasting plasma concentrations of calcium or inorganic phosphate. Probit plots of AP and THP showed log‐normal distributions overlapping the normal ranges.


Abstract Amperometric biosensors for hydrogen peroxide were produced, based on TTF-modified graphite disc electrodes, incorporating immobilised peroxidase. At the optimum operating potential (−200 mV vs. calomel electrode), a linear response to hydrogen peroxide was obtained in the range 0–2 mM (Km value = 1.98 mM). Low sensitivity to pH fluctuations and good stability at room temperature were exhibited.


This thesis is a critical investigation into the development, application and evaluation of ant colony optimisation metaheuristics, with a view to solving a class of capacitated facility location problems. The study is comprised of three phases. The first sets the scene and motivation for research, which includes; key concepts of ant colony optimisation, a review of published academic materials and a research philosophy which provides a justification for a deductive empirical mode of study. This phase reveals that published results for existing facility location metaheuristics are often ambiguous or incomplete and there is no clear evidence of a dominant method. This clearly represents a gap in the current knowledge base and provides a rationale for a study that will contribute to existing knowledge, by determining if ant colony optimisation is a suitable solution technique for solving capacitated facility location problems. The second phase is concerned with the research, development and application of a variety of ant colony optimisation algorithms. Solution methods presented include combinations of approximate and exact techniques. The study identifies a previously untried ant hybrid scheme, which incorporates an exact method within it, as the most promising of techniques that were tested. Also a novel local search initialisation which relies on memory is presented. These hybridisations successfully solve all of the capacitated facility location test problems available in the OR-Library. The third phase of this study conducts an extensive series of run-time analyses, to determine the prowess of the derived ant colony optimisation algorithms against a contemporary cross-entropy technique. This type of analysis for measuring metaheuristic performance for the capacitated facility location problem is not evident within published materials. Analyses of empirical run-time distributions reveal that ant colony optimisation is superior to its contemporary opponent. All three phases of this thesis provide their own individual contributions to existing knowledge bases: the production of a series of run-time distributions will be a valuable resource for future researchers; results demonstrate that hybridisation of metaheuristics with exact solution methods is an area not to be ignored; the hybrid methods employed in this study ten years ago would have been impractical or infeasible; ant colony optimisation is shown to be a very flexible metaheuristic that can easily be adapted to solving mixed integer problems using hybridisation techniques.


Background The field of anaesthesiology is multidisciplinary and includes the perioperative trajectory, but also the domains of pain, palliative, intensive and emergency care. In The Netherlands there are numerous guidelines on anaesthesiology, from generic to disease and target group specific. These were developed by different stakeholders and were not always thoroughly checked on consistency with other guidelines. Objective To assess uniformity in recommendations in the field of anesthesiology. Methods Four guidelines were considered the base of anaesthesiology care; pre-, peri- and postoperative care and postoperative pain treatment. The recommendations of these four guidelines were combined with a number of consensus statements and matched with disease and target group specific recommendations. These recommendations were categorised into three groups: 1) no controversy; 2) controversy, update necessary; 3) new guideline(s) needed. For the recommendations in the categories 2 and 3 a working group was formed to address these issues. Results The inventory is on-going and will be finished in spring 2013. Discussion The total number of guidelines and recommendations on the topic of anaesthesiology are great. This makes it complex for the clinician to find the right recommendation and calls for a more convenient way of presenting them. Supervision from the anaesthesiology association is required for the development of new guidelines to guarantee uniformity between anaesthesiology recommendations. Implications for Guideline Developers/Users It is of great importance that recommendations throughout guidelines are never conflicting. An electronic modular database could be a more convenient way of presenting recommendations.


Oxidative stress is a common mechanism of liver injury. Recent investigations have demonstrated that oxidant-induced liver injury is mediated by the direct effects of reactive oxygen species on signal transduction pathways. Although the function of cell signaling in this form of injury is complex and likely variable depending on the type and duration of oxidative stress, common regulatory pathways of hepatocyte oxidant injury have been identified that include the mitogen-activated protein kinases extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and the nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathway. Studies in cultured hepatocyte and rodent models of oxidative stress have demonstrated that ERK1/2 typically induces resistance to oxidant stress, whereas JNK promotes cell death. The effects of NF-kappaB activation are more complex and cell-type specific. A further understanding of the signaling pathways that regulate oxidant-induced liver injury may suggest new therapies for hepatic diseases resulting from oxidative stress.


This study theorizes why and how consumers consume. Using a combined methodology, drawing upon Netnography and Grounded Theory, to study an online fan forum called RedAndWhiteKop, this thesis considers brand culture/meaning and value co-creation. The research site is a VC containing football fans who are views as stakeholders of the organisation Liverpool Football Club. Following emergent fit with woven in literature streams found in managerial marketing as Service-Dominant Logic and the consumer research field known as Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), analysis is conducted on fan consumer behaviours leading to submission of a Typology of Seven Consumer Community Cultural Co-creative Roles. The author reflects on existing theoretical consumer responses to market offerings of exit, voice, loyalty, and twist, found in literature; adopting these as four co-creative roles. This study contributes three new consumer co-creative roles of entry, re-entry, and non-entry. This study's findings are intended to follow an interpretive cultural anthropological axiology, attempting to provide context and time bounded interpretations of this setting rather than immutable laws or truths. Managerial implications of the typology are discussed. A key challenge for managers and marketers is awareness of these roles. This is potentially achievable through listening to online VCs, seeking ways to enhance brand value and service provision. This study finds that fans are continuously co-creating/co-producing Liverpool FC brand community culture together on places like the VC RedAndWhiteKop (RAWK). This appears to be occurring largely in separation from the brand company itself and is referred to in this study as 'Coincidental Co-creation'. However, this study finds agreement with much CCT and SDL which encourages greater interaction and dialogical relations between suppliers and consumers. This is possible through better online engagement or virtual engagement, with stakeholders such as consumers, pursuing the management-role of 'Collaborative Co-creation.'


We compare the plug-in rule approach for optimizing the Fβ-measure in multilabel classification with an approach based on structured loss minimization, such as the structured support vector machine (SSVM). Whereas the former derives an optimal prediction from a probabilistic model in a separate inference step, the latter seeks to optimize the Fβ-measure directly during the training phase. We introduce a novel plug-in rule algorithm that estimates all parameters required for a Bayes-optimal prediction via a set of multinomial regression models, and we compare this algorithm with SSVMs in terms of computational complexity and statistical consistency. As a main theoretical result, we show that our plug-in rule algorithm is consistent, whereas the SSVM approaches are not. Finally, we present results of a large experimental study showing the benefits of the introduced algorithm.


BACKGROUND
Thioridazine is an antipsychotic that can still be used for schizophrenia although it is associated with the cardiac arrhythmia, torsades de pointe.

OBJECTIVES
To review the effects of thioridazine for people with schizophrenia.

SEARCH STRATEGY
For this 2006 update, we searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (June 2006).

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included all randomised clinical trials comparing thioridazine with other treatments for people with schizophrenia or other psychoses.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We reliably selected, quality rated and extracted data from relevant studies. For dichotomous data, we estimated relative risks (RR), with the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Where possible, we calculated the number needed to treat/harm statistic (NNT/H) on an intention-to-treat basis.

MAIN RESULTS
This review currently includes 42 RCTs with 3498 participants. When thioridazine was compared with placebo (total n=668, 14 RCTs) we found global state outcomes favoured thioridazine (n=105, 3 RCTs, RR 'no change or worse' by 6 months 0.33 CI 0.2 to 0.5, NNT of 2 CI 2 to 3). Thioridazine is sedating (n=324, 3 RCTs, RR 5.37 CI 3.2 to 9.1, NNH 4 CI 2 to 74). Generally, thioridazine did not cause more movement disorders than placebo.Twenty-seven studies (total n=2598) compared thioridazine with typical antipsychotics. We found no significant difference in global state (n=743, 11 RCTs, RR no short-term change or worse 0.98 CI 0.8 to 1.2) and medium-term assessments (n=142, 3 RCTs, RR 0.99, CI 0.6 to 1.6). We found no significant differences in the number of people leaving the study early 'for any reason' (short-term, n=1587, 19 RCTs, RR 1.07 CI 0.9 to 1.3). Extrapyramidal adverse events lower for those allocated to thioridazine (n=1082, 7 RCTs, RR use of antiparkinsonian drugs 0.45 CI 0.4 to 0.6). Thioridazine did seem associated with cardiac adverse effects (n=74, 1 RCT, RR 'any cardiovascular adverse event' 3.17 CI 1.4 to 7.0, NNH 3 CI 2 to 5). Electrocardiogram changes were significantly more frequent in the thioridazine group (n=254, 2 RCTs, RR 2.38, CI 1.6 to 3.6, NNH 4 CI 3 to 10). Six RCTs (total n=344) randomised thioridazine against atypical antipsychotics. Global state rating did not reveal any short-term difference between thioridazine and remoxipride and sulpiride (n=203, RR not improved or worse 1.00 CI 0.8 to 1.3). Limited data did not highlight differences in adverse event profiles.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Although there are shortcomings, there appears to be enough consistency over different outcomes and periods to confirm that thioridazine is an antipsychotic of similar efficacy to other commonly used antipsychotics for people with schizophrenia. Its adverse events profile is similar to that of other drugs, but it may have a lower level of extrapyramidal problems and higher level of ECG changes. We would advocate the use of alternative drugs, but if its use in unavoidable, cardiac monitoring is justified.


Purpose: To analyze students' social media preference in order to improve student engagement with university by examining social media implementation quality in terms of information and service quality. Design/methodology/approach: Research methodology is started with the hierarchy creation of student engagement with university which then translated into questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed to 58 universities in Jakarta (Indonesia's capital). The questionnaire result was analyzed with entropy and TOPSIS method. Findings: In social media implementation quality, information quality is more important than service quality because in social media, a good information quality is really relevant with the usefulness and comprehensiveness of the information. On the other hand regarding service quality, the system availability will help students in their interaction process with university, on top of the service's efficiency and fulfillment. This directly impacts the cooperation between students, active learning process, and students' expectation. The social medias students preferred to improve student engagement with universities respectively are LINE, Facebook, Twitter, Wiki, Blog, Instagram, YouTube, Path, LinkedIn, and Podcast. Research limitations/implications: Social media's role is not only to create student engagement in the learning process, but also other aspects included by Chickering & Gamson (1987). Practical implications: The Social CRM channel shift from electronic into social media shows that social media holds an important role for university since it eases up the communication between university and the students. The good social media management has been an issue that needs to be solved by university by creating a unit or delegate a person that can manage the social media correctly and quickly so the students feel that they get the good service they want. Originality/value: The other researches focus on observing social media influence to improve student engagement, but only in the context of learning process. This research observes social media roles in student engagement thoroughly according to the existing good practice. This research can also shows the order of social media that are seen important to create student engagement.


This paper lays out a theoretical and analytical framework for researching and reflecting on the peacebuilding role of education in conflict-affected contexts. The 4Rs framework recognizes that working toward "positive peace" (Galtung 1976, 1990) requires working toward peace with social justice and reconciliation, challenging dominant "security-first" and "liberal peace" models, and gaining a better understanding of how education might support these processes in building sustainable and peaceful postconflict societies. The 4Rs framework combines dimensions of recognition, redistribution, representation, and reconciliation to explore what sustainable peacebuilding might look like through a social justice lens. The paper addresses the cultural translation of these concepts, highlighting the need for locally embedded interpretations. Rather than a fixed theoretical model, the 4Rs approach is designed as a heuristic device that promotes a dialogue among key stakeholders on the dilemmas and challenges in the field of education in emergencies. We highlight the application of a 4Rs framework through a recent case study of Myanmar, which demonstrates both the interrelated connections and the tensions between the different "Rs." Finally, we reflect on the challenges and limitations of the approach, and the tasks ahead.


Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) waste content of flavonoids, namely quercetin and kaempferol, which is expected to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Kaempferol have antibacterial activity, denaturate bacterial cell proteins and cell membranes without damage irreparable. While quercetin has increased permeability porin protein activity on other bacteria. Research about Decreasing Cholesterol and Triglyceride Level on Blood by Adding Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) waste (SOW) on Sheep Padjajaran 1. This research was done by using Completely Randomized Design with four treatments level i.e. 0, 4, 6 and 8% SOW in ration and repeated five times. The observed variables were blood's lipid profile, consists of cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride. The observation showed that level of blood's lipid profile were not significantly changed, but the trend of cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride was decreased. The conclusion is using sweet orange waste (SOW) until 8% has not showed statistically significant differences but have positive effect on lowering blood lipids, i.e. cholesterol level decreased 8.05%, LDL 10%, triglyceride 23.4 % on R4 (8%) while using 4% SOW, triglycerides level decreased 24.8% and decreased 33.53% on using 6%.


Professor Flathman's main aim in this interesting paper is to set forth what we might call the "moderation thesis." It holds that there may be occasions when the best thing to do, all things considered, is to violate a right – at least if the violation takes the form of what Flathman calls "civil encroachment" or "civil non-enforcement." Moreover, it would be desirable, in a society whose practices include rights, for this belief to be generally accepted, so that those who engaged with good reason in "civil encroachment" would receive the sympathetic support of the community. Let me begin by trying to explain the source of the problem to which this thesis is a response. As Flathman notes, rights have a discretionary character: if I have a right to do or to have something, it is up to me whether to do it or to have it. Having a right, I am entitled to make a choice. Since we cannot say, in advance, what choice I will make, we cannot say, in advance, what will be the state of the world after I make it. But since it seems plain that some states of the world are more desirable than others, it will always be possible that the consequences of my choice will be worse, on the whole, than the consequences of some other choice that I might have made but did not. To moderate rights is apparently to act in ways that redress or compensate for the undesirable results of their exercise.


OBJECTIVES
The influence of cultural factors on mental health is not disputed in general - but elaborated research approaches are still lacking. We investigate cultural influences not only by nationality but also by value orientation (modern vs. traditional). A cross-cultural comparison with Chinese and German crime victims included an assessment of value orientation according to Schwartz's theory (Schwartz, 1994) of personal values.

DESIGN
Chinese and German adult crime victims were assessed. By means of structural equation multi-sample analysis, data of the two groups were compared.

METHOD
Traditional (conformity, benevolence, customs orientation) and modern values (achievement, hedonism, stimulation), traumatic exposure, posttraumatic stress (PTS), and two self-perceived interpersonal mediator processes (disclosure intentions, social acknowledgement as a victim) were assessed by self-report measures in 130 Chinese and 151 German crime victims.

RESULTS
The two patterns of prediction for PTS differed between the countries: In the German sample both value types but in the Chinese sample only traditional values were directly or indirectly predictive of PTS. Traditional values inhibited social acknowledgement as a victim in China and Germany. In Germany, traditional values were related to increased PTS severity. Modern values predicted social acknowledgement as well as lower symptoms in Germany, but not in China.

CONCLUSIONS
The study shows cultural and interpersonal factors that may contribute to the development of PTSD that are under-researched in contemporary psychology and psychotherapy.


Consistency of the maximum likelihood estimators for the parameters in the standard Tobit model rely heavily on the assumption of a normally distributed error term. The Box Cox transformation presents an obvious attempt to preserve normality when the data make this questionable. This paper sets out an OPG version of an LM test for the null hypotheses of the standard Tobit model, against the alternative of a more general non-linear specification, as determined by the parameter of the Box Cox transformation. Monte Carlo estimates of the rejection probabilities using first order asymptotic and parametric bootstrap critical values are obtained, for sample sizes that are comparable to those used in practice. The results show that the LM-test using bootstrap critical values has practically no size distortion, whereas using asymptotic critical values, the empirical rejection probabilities are significantly larger than the nominal levels. A simple program which carries out this test using bootstrap critical values has also been written and can be run post the official Stata Tobit estimation command.


Brittle and fragile sand and silt is produced in Siberian near surface permafrost. It makes up much of the regolith in permafrost areas such as Arctic Siberia. Microscopical grain features (e.g. angular outlines, surficial microcracks) stem from cryogenic destruction in the course of numerous seasonal freezing and thawing events in the uppermost soil. Even after a grain is transported off place (i.e. in mobile slope material, in seasonal melt-water run-off, into a lake basin), it still keeps the particular weathering traces in their single grain micromorphology.This is also valid for a mineralogical peculiarity; frost weathering is a selective grain break-up. In contrast to lower latitudes, quartz is more sensitive to weathering in high latitudes. Quartz quickly reacts to cryogenic break-up and small grains disintegrate due to the explosive power of expanding ice in micro-meter scale fissures. This quartz enrichment in the fines also evolves from seasonal freeze-thaw (F/T) weathering and the grain break-up is demonstrated in an experimental set-up where >100 F/T cycles preferentially crack quartz grains (with reference to feldspar). Minerogenic debris in the upper 12 core meters from Elgygytgyn Crater lake, which is placed north of the Arctic circle in NE Russia, is characterised by silt abundance, cryogenic grain micromorphology, and quartz enrichment in the silt fraction. This argues for persistent permafrost conditions in the area back to 220.000 years as reflected by the continuous input of cryogenic weathering detritus into the basin. Even when periods were as warm as or warmer than today (i.e. during the Eemian Interglacial) the permafrost signal does not disappear


Previous research has shown that Land Surface Models (LSMs) are performing poorly when compared with relatively simple empirical models over a wide range of metrics and environments. Atmospheric driving data appears to provide information about land surface fluxes that LSMs are not fully utilising. Here, we further quantify the information available in the meteorological forcing data that is used by LSMs for predicting land surface fluxes, by interrogating Fluxnet data, and extending the benchmarking methodology used in previous experiments. We show that substantial performance improvement 5 is possible for empirical models using meteorological data alone, thus setting lower bounds on a priori expectations on LSM performance. The process also identifies key meteorological variables that provide predictive power. We provide an ensemble of empirical benchmarks that are simple to reproduce, and provide a range of behaviours and predictive performance, acting as a baseline benchmark set for future studies. We re-analyse previously published LSM simulations, and show that there is more diversity between LSMs than previously indicated, although it remains unclear why LSMs are broadly performing so much 10 worse than simple empirical models.


Relations in complex algebraic models include numerous variables and parameter that capture the physical dimensions of the objects represented in models (such as "mass", or "volume" of an object). A model developer must ensure the semantic correctness of the model, which includes consistency across physical dimensions and their units of measure in the model relations. Such dimensional consistency analysis is the subject of the research described in this paper.

We propose a new methodological framework for this type of analysis which comprises:

- a two-level structure for representing knowledge about physical dimensions and units of measure; and

- the dimensional analysis algorithm that uses this structured knowledge for the verification of consistency.

The proposed methodology allows us to resolve issues related to handling complex non-decomposable units of measure and the situation when instances of the same physical dimension are associated with different physical quantities. We illustrate the proposed methodological framework using mathematical relations from a comprehensive environmental model developed at IIASA.