The deep and rapid decarbonisation of electricity supply systems is an essential component of mitigating the impacts of climate change. Despite a high penetration of wind-generated electricity (27%), South Australia remains connected to, and reliant on, one of the most coal-intensive electricity grids in the world – Australia's National Electricity Market. Here we explore the changes to South Australia's electricity generation in the context of the recent, large expansion of wind-generated electricity, the impacts of this expansion, and the potential for alternative, low-emissions technologies to help the State complete the decarbonisation task. We find that although the expansion of the wind-generation sector in South Australia has delivered meaningful reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions in just over 10 years, the limitations of strongly correlated and variable electricity supply that is decoupled from electricity demand place upper limits on the plausible future contribution from wind. System costs arise from integrating these sources, both from managing uncorrelated supply and the declining availability of ancillary services such as the frequency control provided by synchronous generators. These costs have been minimal to date, largely due to the connection to the National Electricity Market and already available, open-cycle gas turbines as reserve margins. However, evidence of large-scale integration costs is emerging and expected to increase should wind continue to grow in penetration. Development of the South Australian hot dry-rock geothermal resource has confirmed the well-documented challenges in developing this energy source, with still no operating power supply after more than 30 years of development. Solar–thermal technology remains uneconomic in the absence of either substantial subsidies or high carbon pricing. Given these inherent constraints, the deployment of nuclear energy technology provides the pathway of greatest technical and economic certainty for the permanent displacement of fossil-fuelled baseload electricity generation in South Australia. Nuclear power is, however, hampered by legislative barriers and requirements for the development of legal and regulatory frameworks. Support for the nuclear option is broadening within South Australia, and innovative economic development strategies based on the deployment of generation IV 'integral fast reactors' could spur the necessary bi-partisan political support to transition the State's electricity supply entirely to low-emissions sources.


Emboldened by the Spitzenkandidaten process, the new European Commission emerges as the most political yet. The Commission asks EU citizens to judge its operation by its ability 'to deliver solutions to the big issues that cannot be addressed by the Member States alone'. The Better Regulation Package translates this political commitment into an actionable approach assuring EU citizens that the Commission will remain 'big on big things, small on small things'. To deliver on this promise, the Commission extends the Impact Assessment system, renews its consultation procedures and adds a few institutional mechanisms so as to enhance its 'ability to deliver' throughout the policy cycle. But in order to do so the Commission needs to bind – and somehow control – the European Parliament and the Council, on the one hand, and the Member States, on the other, in relation to their commitment to openness, participation and evidence-based policymaking. While legitimate, this attempt raises serious doubts about the compatibility of this reform with the principle of separation of powers and, in particular, that of institutional balance. A closer look at the Better Regulation Package reveals an entirely new understanding of the Commission's own prerogatives and the way it intends to exercise its legislative and regulatory powers. And this in spite of the apparent continuity between the new and old Better Regulation initiatives and the instruments it had chosen to attain the declared objectives. With a view to lay out a future research agenda on EU Better Regulation, this article identifies the most immediate questions raised by the publication of the Package and makes a first timid attempt at addressing some of them. It aims at determining how much better, if any, is the new Better Regulation Package. It does so by discussing, first, the major novelties enacted by the Commission within its own Better Regulation system and, second, those proposed in the framework of the IIA on Better Regulation.


Energy storage (ES) is a form of media that store one form of energy to be utilized at another time. Importance of ES is comprehended while intermittent nature of renewable energy (RE) generation increases and integration into the grid becomes viable in terms of economics and environment. However, technical analysis should be carried out before large scale integration into the grid. Some utilities experienced in Europe and expressed concern about issues in integrating large scale renewable energy in the areas of harmonics, voltage regulation, network protection and islanding. In Australia, distribution network (DN) is not robust compared to the European grid; moreover loads are largely distributed over large geographical areas. Installation of RE such as roof top solar photovoltaic (PV) is increasing in Australia which also boosted by the governments incentives to the individual owners. It is therefore obvious that large scale PV integration into the Australian grid is imminent. The intermittent characteristic of solar PV is expected to have greater impacts on DN in Australia compared to the DN in Europe. Therefore this paper investigated the impacts of solar PV on low voltage (LV) DN where loads connected through distribution transformer (DT) and finally further investigation was conducted with the deployment of ES into the respective load centers. It was found that storage reduced the overall peak load condition on the DT, and also reduced the energy fluctuation in the DN. It was also found that storage improved the voltage regulation on the LV side of DT and stabilized node voltage.


A long-standing conjecture due to Michael Freedman asserts that the 4-dimensional topological surgery conjecture fails for non-abelian free groups, or equivalently that a family of canonical examples of links (the generalized Borromean rings) are not A - B slice. A stronger version of the conjecture, that the Borromean rings are not even weakly A - B slice, where one drops the equivariant aspect of the problem, has been the main focus in the search for an obstruction to surgery. We show that the Borromean rings, and more generally all links with trivial linking numbers, are in fact weakly A - B slice. This result shows the lack of a non-abelian extension of Alexander duality in dimension 4, and of an analogue of Milnor�s theory of link homotopy for general decompositions of the 4-ball.


This paper analyzes whether inclusion of a statistically independent random walk in a vector autoregression can result in spurious inference. The problem was raised originally by Ohanian (1988). In a Monte Carlo simulation based on the VAR's estimated by Sims (1980b, 1982), Ohanian found that block exogeneity of the genuine variables with respect to an artificially generated random walk variable was rejected too often. In the present paper we attempt a full analytical study of this problem. It can be shown that if the genuine variables are nonstationary, the Wald statistic for testing the block exogeneity hypothesis does not have the usual asymptotic chi-square distribution. This result is consistent with Ohanian's finding. Furthermore, the derived asymptotic distribution is free of nuisance parameters so that we can unambiguously determine the effect of including the random walk. Interestingly, it can also be shown that if the genuine variables of the model are stationary, the asymptotic distribution is still chi-square in spite of the inclusion of the random walk.


Sequential data with serial correlation and an unknown, unstructured, and dynamic background is ubiquitous in neuroscience, psychology, and econometrics. Inferring serial correlation for such data is a fundamental challenge in statistics. We propose a total variation constrained least square estimator coupled with hypothesis tests to infer the serial correlation in the presence of unknown and unstructured dynamic background. The total variation constraint on the dynamic background encourages a piece-wise constant structure, which can approximate a wide range of dynamic backgrounds. The tuning parameter is selected via the Ljung-Box test to control the bias-variance trade-off. We establish a non-asymptotic upper bound for the estimation error through variational inequalities. We also derive a lower error bound via Fano's method and show the proposed method is near-optimal. Numerical simulation and a real study in psychology demonstrate the excellent performance of our proposed method compared with the state-of-the-art.


"Eighteenth Century Decoration" is a history of design and interiors. It concentrates on the appearance of rooms at all levels of society and charts the emergence of the professional designer and decorator. For this book, Charles Saumarez Smith has amassed over 400 contemporary illustrations, including architects' drawings, pattern books, conversation pieces and satirical prints and, together with letters and literature of the day, he provides the most complete account of the 18th century interior to date. His expert knowledge reveals the changing role of the architect in the planning of interiors, explores the artistic conventions which determined how rooms were depicted and brings fascinating perceptions into the broader aspects of society. This illustrated source book should be invaluable to anyone interested in interior design and decoration.


During these years of growing global uncertainties, financial and economic pressures, nations and international institutions are searching for political, social and professional answers to the new challenges. The Washington consensus has discredited itself in more respects. Denmark seems to have found effective answers to adaptation needs with it flexicurity system: a labour market arrangement that builds on high mobility, high income security, employment security, and active market and educational policies. Security and flexibility is combined in innovative ways, giving wage earners transferable qualifications and social security while at the same time improving the dynamics of the labour market and the economy as a whole. There is no master plan behind the Danish system but politicians have realized that giving the social partners pivotal positions in decision making and in implementation structures help realizing the political aims of full employment, welfare and equality. This "high road" to competitiveness, social cohesion and lifelong learning has been made a role model for Europe in 2007 by the help of decisions by the European Union. And the question is posed to Latin America: why not learn something from this flexicurity arrangement? The potentialities for learning are stressed in this report but it is argued that flexicurity must be promoted not as a question of imitation but one of inspiration in a Latin American context. Three policy principles of flexicurity are considered: policy design, social dialogues, and outcomes of such a system, the orchestration of which is to be a national matter.


We investigated the suitability of three ternary tellurite glass families for use as optical fibre materials. Systematically varied compositions were produced and the scalability of the glass volumes was assessed. Detailed thermal analysis was conducted to provide justification for the observed billet scaling results. Compositional trends in the linear and nonlinear refractive indices were measured and correlated to structural information gained from measured Raman spectra. Physical mechanisms are suggested to explain the observed trends. Finally we explore the suitability of these glasses for optical fibre fabrication.


We model situations in which a principal offers contracts to a group of agents to participate in a project. Agents' benefits from participation depend on the identity of other participating agents. We assume heterogeneous externalities and characterize the optimal contracting scheme. We show that the optimal contracts' payoff relies on a ranking, which arise from a tournament among the agents. The optimal ranking cannot be achieved by a simple measure of popularity. Using the structure of the optimal contracts, we derive results on the principal's revenue extraction and the role of the level of externalities' asymmetry. (JEL D62, D82, D86)


In Egypt most foreign-language audiovisual materials are viewed in the original audio version with the Arabic subtitles. With the increasing access to audiovisual material, EFL learners are more exposed to oral input in English than ever before. However, what has unfairly remained unresolved is the use of subtitles. Thus, the present study represents an effort to empirically examine the effect of feature movies with and without subtitle on listening comprehension of Egyptian EFL learners. The participants of this study were randomly selected from a larger pool of 180 fourth year students from the Department of English Language, Minoufia University, Egypt. 104 participants were randomly chosen and then randomly assigned to the two experimental groups and the control group. The first experimental group viewed the movie with English subtitles (ESG), the second group viewed the movie with Arabic subtitles (ASG), and the control group viewed the movie without subtitles (WSG). After screening the 14 excerpts from 8 movies, 14 multiple-choice listening comprehension tests were administered in order to evaluate their listening comprehensions. Then, each group was asked to complete a questionnaire in order to know their opinions about the way the movie was presented. In the last session, all participants sat on the listening section from the TOEFL test. The results of the data analysis revealed that for Multiple Choice tests, the subtitles groups outperformed the WSG, and ASG performed better than the ESG; however, on the TOEFL test, the analysis of groups' performance revealed a better mean score for the ESG compared to other groups.


This study examines the empirical impacts of capital-level on risk-taking behaviour of banks in Pakistan, using the bank-level panel data covering the period 2006 to 2015. It also explores the impacts of bank-size, profitability and the interest/financing rate on banks risk-taking. Panel co-integration test is applied to examine the presence of long-run relationship among the variables. Dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) and the two-step system generalized method of moments are applied for estimation of the panel vector error correction model, to obtain the long-run and short-run estimates, respectively. Significant positive impact of capital on risk taking behaviour of banks was found. The short-run estimate, also shows that change in capital level is positively and significantly related to banks risk-taking. The positive capital effect on risk, suggest that banks with capital level above the regulatory requirements tends to invest more in risky assets. Findings of the study also reveal that bank-size has a negative impact on risk-taking; whereas, the interest rate is positively related to risk. Overall, the results are in line with finance theories and the existing empirical analyses on links between the capital and risk.


Nuclear fuel reprocessing of fissile materials is carried out in order to provide recycled fuel for existing and future nuclear power plants. One aim of reprocessing is to recover unused uranium (U-238 and U-235) and plutonium isotopes thereby preventing them from being wasted. This can save up to 30% of the natural uranium that is required each year for the fabrication of new nuclear fuel. A second aim is to reduce the volume of high-level radioactive waste. Along with the separation of uranium and plutonium there has been a significant interest in the extraction of short-lived fission products such as caesium and strontium, which play critical role during high-level waste handling and disposal.
The PUREX process for reprocessing of irradiated fuel has been unchallenged for more than half a century even though it has several deficiencies such as flexibility, non-specificity of Tri-Butyl Phosphate (TBP), degradation of the extractant, TBP, and diluent. This project addresses the development of an alternative separation process to either replace and/or complement the PUREX process. Our process is based on the chromatographic separation of fission products from U and Pu. This research focuses on the synthesis of highly stable and selective materials which could be used as a stationary phase in a continuous chromatographic separation for short lived fission products (Cs, Sr); a technique patented by UCLan.

The objectives of this project were to synthesis highly selective adsorbents for fission products (primarily Cs and Sr) capable of extracting these cations from acidic liquor (up to 3 M HNO3). In addition to selectivity (specificity) and acid stability, the materials under investigation would require fast cation uptake and high capacity.
The research explored three key approaches for ion sorption:
(1) Creating charge imbalance into ordered mesoporous MCM-41 structure (chapter 4),
(2) Examination of molecular sieves based on their size exclusive property (chapter 5), and,
(3) Preparation of ammonium phosphomolybdate (AMP) encapsulated polymeric composites (chapter 6).
Various physical and chemical properties of the materials were characterised by XRD, SAXS, surface area, pore volume, pore size distribution, SEM, TEM, ATR-IR, 29Si NMR and TGA techniques. The cation uptake performance of the materials were evaluated for single ion and mixed ions against various nitric acid conditions. The study was further extended to rate of uptake in the best performing AMPPAN composites and identified area of improvement.
Insertion of heteroatom e.g. boron into silicate structures, did not produce the desired effect; selectivity and capacity for the target fission products (Cs and Sr) were negligible compared with the required criteria. The incorporation of a mesoporous shell around zeolite structure was effective but the uptake of fission products from nitric acid solutions was again disappointing. The uptake of fission products from slightly acid solutions (pH value ~5) was more encouraging but not specific to any single ion (e.g. Cs or Sr) and this approach could form the basis of further studies.
The preparation of AMP composites addressed both inorganic and organic substrates; AMP alumina composites in a suitable form i.e. spheres/beads was challenging and produced materials that were unsuitable and incorporated low AMP concentrations. This produced composites with low Cs uptake. The use of an organic substrate such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN) produced a composite that had a high selectivity for Cs, near specific, from nitric acid solutions but with comparatively low capacity and rate of uptake compared to pure AMP. These properties could be improved by manipulation of the composite structure; future work in this area is recommended.


TGF-β signals through the type I receptor to trigger Lys63-linked ubiquitylation and activation of the kinase TAK1. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signals through its receptor, composed of the type I and type II subunits (TβRI and TβRII), to stimulate a pathway involving Smads, as well as Smad-independent signaling. Sorrentino et al. found that in cells transfected with TAK1 [TGF-β-associated kinase 1, a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK) family that is upstream of p38 and ubiquitin], TGF-β1 stimulated the ubiquitylation of TAK1, as well as the phosphorylation of TAK1, which is an indication of activation. When a mutant form of ubiquitin that could not form Lys63-linked chains was transfected into the cells, TAK1 ubiquitylation and phosphorylation, recruitment of TAB2 (TAK-associated binding protein 2), and activation of p38 was diminished. Pharmacological inhibition of TβRI kinase activity failed to block TGF-β-stimulated TAK1 and p38 activation but did block Smad activation, suggesting that activation of the p38 MAPK pathway was independent of the kinase activity of the receptor. The E3 ubiquitin ligase TRAF6 interacted with TβRI even in the absence of ligand. A consensus TRAF6 binding motif in TβRI was identified and mutations in this motif blocked the interaction between TRAF6 and TβRI; cells expressing this form of TβRI failed to promote p38 or TAK1 phosphorylation in response to TGF-β. Overexpression of a dominant-negative TRAF6 also blocked TGF-β-mediated activation of p38 and TAK1. Confirmation of the importance of TRAF6 was also obtained by experiments with TRAF6-deficient mouse embryo fibroblasts or by knocking down TRAF6 with short interfering RNAs. In both cases, activation of TAK1 and p38 and the subsequent apoptotic response to TGF-β were diminished. Thus, TGF-β appears to trigger activation of a MAPK pathway through a process involving the activation of the TRAF6 E3 ubiquitin ligase associated with TβRI and promotion of Lys63-linked polyubiquitylation of TAK1. A. Sorrentino, N. Thakur, S. Grimsby, A. Marcusson, V. von Bulow, N. Schuster, S. Zhang, C.-H. Heldin, M. Landström, The type I TGF-β receptor engages TRAF6 to activate TAK1 in a receptor kinase-independent manner. Nat. Cell Biol. 10, 1199-1207 (2008). [PubMed]


Abstract The genetic model for fetal effect on production of the dam is described, and studies on genetic and economic implications are reviewed. The effect on production from the sire of the cow has 1.58 to 3.02 times as much economic value as the effect from the sire of the fetus. The use of mate records in evaluating a sire in addition to daughter records could increase economic gain from selection by 1 to 2% depending on the variation from sire of fetus. Mate records alone do not appear valuable for sire selection. About 1% of the variation in milk yield appears to be due to the effect of sire of fetus as indicated by a summary of various estimates and from consideration of the data and methods used to obtain the estimates. The correlation between effects of sire of fetus and sire of cow appears to be nearly zero. A method of joint evaluation of bulls as sires of cows or as sires of fetuses is described.


textabstractWhat is modern governance? Is it the battle against "oldfashioned" hierarchy, or is it the restoration of key
hierarchical values? Is it optimizing network management, or
maximizing the benefits of market thinking in the publicsector?
This book argues that it is the combination of all this. The next
question is: In practice, how do successful public managers design and
manage combinations of hierarchical, network and market governance? In
other words: what is their rationale to apply metagovernance?
Five case-studies show that metagovernance is a public management
requisite: it amplifies the variation of actions
public managers can take, and it prevents the three idealtypical
governance styles from undermining each other.
Similar cases of strategic environmental policy-making in
the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and the
European Commission and one case of community policing
in the Netherlands illustrate that successful public-sector
managers are dealing with similar metagovernance challenges
in different socio-politico-administrative cultures.


If a gas be enclosed in a thick-walled vessel and protected
from all external disurbances a few of its atoms are
still found to be ionised during every second. It can be
shown that this residual ionisation cannot be due to the
heat energy of the gas itself (1), the atoms must therefore
be broken up by a radiation coming from without. This
external radiation must. arise in the walls of the vessel
itself, or penetrate them. If the former is the case we may
say with fair certainty that it is due to radio-active matter
in_ the walls, and if the latter it must be a radiation of
extremely great penetrating P!JWer, as shielding the vessel
-with several feet of water has little effect on the ionisation.
The residual ionisation is now known to be due to both
these causes, and they may 1be distinguished from one
another experimentally. The origin of at any rate a part
of the radiation is still in doubt, and measurements made
at different parts of the earth's surface may be expected
to provide evidence indicating what factors are concerned.
Recenti experiments by ~various workers have given
-curiously contradictory indications as to the nature of the
penetrating radiation, leaving the matter in a condition most
stimulating for further research.
Millikan (2) and others (3, 4, 5) have shown that the
radiation increases in intensity with the height above sea
level at which the measurement is made, and, further, that
it varies with meteorological conditions (6). This would
seem to show decisively that it is an external radiation, and
that it probably arises in the upper atmosphere.


Abstract The results of the supposed man-made climate change have lead to a concern for the environment that is affecting how businesses operate. Businesses are facing greater pressure from stakeholders and government regulations to take more responsibility and care for the environment. Thus companies are facing a wide spectrum of new problems, but also new opportunities. In facing these problems companies must react to how the world is changing and to integrate environmental concerns into the vision and company strategy to become a more environmentally friendly and thus greener company. An issue pressing is how to maintain sustainability for the environment as well as pursuing to be a sustainable company facing the threats of today and the future to come due to climate change. Important aspects a company must take into consideration in order to go green are: sustainability, company strategy, government regulations, internal processes and policies, corporate social responsibility and how to form a corporate culture as these are all parts of how a company changes into focusing on becoming greener and thus more environmentally friendly. This study brings forth the actions and reactions of three companies perceived as pioneers towards becoming greener in their respective industries. During the course of mapping out how a company goes green, an analytical model has been created with the help of already existing and accepted theoretical frameworks. The purpose of the model is to create structure and consistency to map out what important steps the company has taken to become greener. A qualitative method of research has been applied. Three respondents active in various fields, all with environmental connections, from Wilhelm Wilhelmsen (WW), Statkraft and Statoil has been interviewed with questions concerning their work towards sustainability and a green vision within the company. The analysis is based on relevant theories combined with the empirical data collected. What stands out in the conclusions is that the companies researched have taken different important steps when becoming greener and working to achieve sustainability. The differences can be illustrated in the own-developed model. The model is applied to crystallize what dimensions in the companies that are affected. Factors such as government regulations and how internal processes and policies are changed are standing out as examples of how a company's dimensions are affected differently depending on the respective company's strategy and business model.


We propose an image segmentation algorithm that is based on spatially adaptive color and texture features. The features are first developed independently, and then combined to obtain an overall segmentation. Texture feature estimation requires a finite neighborhood which limits the spatial resolution of texture segmentation, while color segmentation provides accurate and precise edge localization. We combine a previously proposed adaptive clustering algorithm for color segmentation with a simple but effective texture segmentation approach to obtain an overall image segmentation. Our focus is in the domain of photographic images with an essentially unlimited range of topics. The images are assumed to be of relatively low resolution and may be degraded or compressed.


Objectives: This paper describes the components of the Caribbean Institute on Alcoholism and Other Drug Problems (CARIAD), a long-standing substance abuse training programme. It seeks to explain how certain strategies and pedagogic techniques may be contributing to its success. Methods: Authors deconstruct the core elements of CARIAD to demonstrate how the programme effectively meets the characteristics of a community of practice. The processes used to develop the learning community and the specific pedagogic strategies and techniques that foster collaborative knowledge construction and sharing are described. Results: Caribbean Institute on Alcoholism and Other Drug Problems brings together a multidisciplinary, multi-national group of individuals with interest in substance abuse. The programme provides a range of formal and informal learning activities which focus on sharing best practices and creating new sociocultural relevant knowledge to advance the domain of professional practice in substance abuse. The components of CARIAD promote interactivity, rapid bonding and a sense of identity. Caribbean Institute on Alcoholism and Other Drug Problems provides a unique platform for cultural sharing that gives participants an opportunity to reveal insights into local and regional expressions of substance abuse challenges. Participants, however, recognize the absence of structured continuity and the diminution of what could be accomplished by graduates over time. Conclusion: The success of CARIAD as a regional learning platform may be related to its success as a Caribbean community of practice for substance abuse. Caribbean Institute on Alcoholism and Other Drug Problems would do well to sustain the community of practice, generating and maintaining ongoing participation and collaboration among graduates. This can potentially serve to create new strategies for advancing the region in the area of substance abuse.


BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy can cause corneal and conjunctival abnormalities that sometimes require surgical treatment. Corneal stem cell dysfunction is described, which recovered after the cessation of radiation. METHODS: A 44-year-old man developed a corneal epithelial abnormality associated with conjunctival and corneal inflammation following radiation therapy for maxillary cancer. He experienced ocular pain and loss of vision followed by conjunctival epithelialisation of the upper and lower parts of the cornea. RESULTS: Examination of brush cytology samples showed goblet cells in the upper and lower parts of the cornea, which showed increased fluorescein permeability, and intraepithelial lymphocytes. Impression cytology showed goblet cells in the same part of the cornea. Specular microscopy revealed spindle type epithelial cells. Patient follow up included artificial tears and an antibiotic ophthalmic ointment. The corneal abnormalities resolved after 4 months with improved visual acuity without any surgical intervention, but the disappearance of the palisades of Vogt did not recover at 1 year after radiation. CONCLUSION: Radiation therapy in this patient caused temporary stem cell dysfunction which resulted in conjunctivalisation in a part of the cornea. Although limbal stem cell function did not fully recover, this rare case suggested that medical options should be considered before surgery.


SARS-CoV-2 can mutate to evade immunity, with consequences for the efficacy of emerging vaccines and antibody therapeutics. Herein we demonstrate that the immunodominant SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) receptor binding motif (RBM) is the most divergent region of S, and provide epidemiological, clinical, and molecular characterization of a prevalent RBM variant, N439K. We demonstrate that N439K S protein has enhanced binding affinity to the hACE2 receptor, and that N439K virus has similar clinical outcomes and in vitro replication fitness as compared to wild- type. We observed that the N439K mutation resulted in immune escape from a panel of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, including one in clinical trials, as well as from polyclonal sera from a sizeable fraction of persons recovered from infection. Immune evasion mutations that maintain virulence and fitness such as N439K can emerge within SARS-CoV-2 S, highlighting the need for ongoing molecular surveillance to guide development and usage of vaccines and therapeutics.


This essay looks at the tension between pristine natural beauty and industry and how they have informed, and been represented in, California landscape painting and photography. Amy Scott argues that the influence of the traditional California landscape in art has evolved, thanks to a flexible understanding of the concept of the sublime, which draws upon ideas of nature to respond to external changes—including developments in technology. These changes have shaped the ways in which we imagine both the natural and the built environment in relation to ourselves. Scott traces this evolution through Albert Bierstadt's mid-nineteenth century painting On the Merced River and through twentieth century works by James Doolin, Ed Ruscha, Karen Halverson, and Michael Light.


Microcredit can be an effective tool for tackling the global poverty problem. Making microcredit work better for the poor necessitates a framework that integrates the principles of good governance in the design and implementation of a microcredit program. The integration of good governance principles in microfinance is argued to have positive consequences in improving financial viability and increasing social outreach of microcredit programs as well as in widening the livelihood and economic options of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries within Third World economic and poverty conditions. Governance principles can be applied as implementation strategies of Official Development Assistance (ODA)-assisted microfinance program as a tool for poverty reduction and development. In view of the Philippine government's limitations, economic and fiscal challenges, the financial and technical support programs of the international donor community provide a big boost to the effectiveness and impact of microfinance in reducing the incidents of poverty in Third World countries such as the Philippines. As a tool for poverty reduction, microcredit is applicable only to the enterprising poor based on Joe Remenyi's (1999) Poverty Pyramid which is a useful tool for the application of BRAC's graduated strategy for helping the poor when they are grouped into: (1) micro-enterprise operators or the less poor, (2) enterprising or moderately poor, (3) laboring or very poor, and (4) poorest of the poor and most vulnerable or the ultra-poor. The use of microcredit to assist poverty groups is recommended to be based on existing livelihood activities and micro-entrepreneurial skills and capabilities. Furthermore, the program design of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is found to be appropriate for the agrarian reform beneficiaries in Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX), Philippines.


Minciu Sodas is an open laboratory serving and organizing independent thinkers. Since 1998, the lab has grown to 100 active and 1000 supportive participants. It is preparing to organize "working openly" at institutes in India serving 50,000 students. This paper documents and maps the lab's dynamics by which it fosters the growth of independent thinkers as leaders. This growth is observed to unfold through distinct stages. They may be considered a "giraffe scale" of the degree to which an individual is willing to "stick their neck out" as an independent thinker. Individuals grow in their disposition to challenge themselves and then help others challenge themselves as well. Working openly is key to standing up to the world. Social networking tools that help include gateway groups, personal archives, profiles for projects, tools for organizing thoughts, one-on-one chats, working groups, wiki spaces, galleries, sorting piles and glossaries.


Individuals may join groups for several reasons, one of which is the possibility of sharing information about the quality of a foraging area. Sharing information in a patch–foraging scenario gives each group member an opportunity to make a more accurate estimate of the quality of the patch. In this paper we present a mathematical model in which we study the effect of group size on patch–leaving policy and per capita intake rate. In the model, group members share information equally in a random search for food. Food is distributed in patches according to a negative binomial distribution. A prediction from our model is that, the larger the group, the earlier each group member should leave the current patch. We also find that the benefit from enhanced exchange of information does not exceed the cost of sharing food with group members. The per capita intake rate decreases as the group size increases. Therefore, animals should only form groups when other factors outweigh the costs, which is easiest to achieve when the travelling time is short.


The vertical seismic profile (VSP) occupies a unique niche in the discipline of reservoir characterization. It provides a level of resolution and a volume of investigation in between those offered by surface seismic data and well logging tools. The relationship between VSP and surface seismic experiments is obvious: The most common use of VSP is in high-resolution reflection imaging and tying surface seismic sections to depth. The relationship between VSP and acoustic well logging is less well explored. Interval velocities from check shot VSP are often used as coarse equivalents of sonic logs, but significant discrepancies are often seen.

There are several reasons why we should not expect VSP interval velocities and sonic logs to match perfectly. Many of these reasons are discussed in Stewart et al. (1984) and include the volume of rock sampled by each method, instrumental biases, and wave propagation effects such as anisotropy, short-path multiples, and velocity dispersion. Because there is some interesting physics behind some of these potential discrepancies, several people have proposed using the differences between sonic log and VSP velocities to extract information about the formation. Because of the larger volume of investigation, most of which may be considered to be undisturbed by the presence of the borehole, VSP is often considered to be more reflective of the true formation properties. Thus, the calibration of sonic logs to VSP is also of importance.

Another use of VSP which is gaining in popularity is the direct extraction of attenuation information, or Q values. This typically involves comparing downgoing wave amplitudes at successive receiver locations (often in the frequency domain), and computing a Q value for the interval. Unfortunately, scattering and other elastic effects often dominate the amplitude fluctuations, frequently resulting in nonphysical negative Q values. Recently, there has been progress in using elastic models …


The success of machine learning methods heavily relies on having an appropriate representation for data at hand. Traditionally, machine learning approaches relied on user-defined heuristics to extract features encoding structural information about data. However, recently there has been a surge in approaches that learn how to encode the data automatically in a low dimensional space. Exponential family embedding provides a probabilistic framework for learning low-dimensional representation for various types of high-dimensional data. Though successful in practice, theoretical underpinnings for exponential family embeddings have not been established. In this paper, we study the Gaussian embedding model and develop the first theoretical results for exponential family embedding models. First, we show that, under mild condition, the embedding structure can be learned from one observation by leveraging the parameter sharing between different contexts even though the data are dependent with each other. Second, we study properties of two algorithms used for learning the embedding structure and establish convergence results for each of them. The first algorithm is based on a convex relaxation, while the other solved the non-convex formulation of the problem directly. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.


BACKGROUND: Stimulants, such as methylphenidate, are among the most commonly used medications in children and adolescents. Psychotic symptoms have been reported as rare adverse reactions to stimulants but have not been systematically inquired about in most previous studies. Family history of mental illness may increase the vulnerability to drug-induced psychotic symptoms. We examined the association between stimulant use and psychotic symptoms in sons and daughters of parents with major mood and psychotic disorders. METHODS: We assessed psychotic symptoms, psychotic-like experiences, and basic symptoms in 141 children and youth (mean ± SD age: 11.8 ± 4.0 years; range: 6–21 years), who had 1 or both parents with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, and of whom 24 (17.0%) had taken stimulant medication. RESULTS: Psychotic symptoms were present in 62.5% of youth who had taken stimulants compared with 27.4% of participants who had never taken stimulants. The association between stimulant use and psychotic experiences remained significant after adjustment for potential confounders (odds ratio: 4.41; 95% confidence interval: 1.82–10.69; P = .001) and was driven by hallucinations occurring during the use of stimulant medication. A temporal relationship between use of stimulants and psychotic symptoms was supported by an association between current stimulant use and current psychotic symptoms and co-occurrence in cases that were assessed on and off stimulants. CONCLUSIONS: Psychotic symptoms should be monitored during the use of stimulants in children and adolescents. Family history of mood and psychotic disorders may need to be taken into account when considering the prescription of stimulants.


Importance
Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) concentrations are a highly heritable and potential causal risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Recent consensus statements by the European Atherosclerosis Society and American Heart Association recommend screening of relatives of individuals with high Lp(a) concentrations, but the expected yield of this approach has not been quantified in large populations.

Objective
To measure the prevalence of high Lp(a) concentrations among first- and second-degree relatives of individuals with high Lp(a) concentrations compared with unrelated participants.

Design, Setting, and Participants
In this cross-sectional analysis, pairs of first-degree (n = 19 899) and second-degree (n = 9715) relatives with measured Lp(a) levels from the UK Biobank study and random pairs of unrelated individuals (n = 184 764) were compared. Data for this study were collected from March 2006 to August 2010 and analyzed from December 2021 to August 2023.

Exposure
Serum Lp(a) levels, with a high Lp(a) level defined as at least 125 nmol/L.

Main Outcome and Measure
Concordance of clinically relevant high Lp(a) levels in first- and second-degree relatives of index participants with high Lp(a) levels.

Results
A total of 52 418 participants were included in the analysis (mean [SD] age, 57.3 [8.0] years; 29 825 [56.9%] women). Levels of Lp(a) were correlated among pairs of first-degree (Spearman ρ = 0.45; P < .001) and second-degree (Spearman ρ = 0.22; P < .001) relatives. A total of 1607 of 3420 (47.0% [95% CI, 45.3%-48.7%]) first-degree and 514 of 1614 (31.8% [95% CI, 29.6%-34.2%]) second-degree relatives of index participants with high Lp(a) levels also had elevated concentrations compared with 4974 of 30 258 (16.4% [95% CI, 16.0%-16.9%]) pairs of unrelated individuals. The concordance in high Lp(a) levels was generally consistent among subgroups (eg, those with prior ASCVD, postmenopausal women, and statin users). The odds ratios for relatives to have high Lp(a) levels if their index relative had a high Lp(a) level compared with those whose index relatives did not have high Lp(a) levels were 7.4 (95% CI, 6.8-8.1) for first-degree relatives and 3.0 (95% CI, 2.7-3.4) for second-degree relatives.

Conclusions and Relevance
The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that the yield of cascade screening of first-degree relatives of individuals with high Lp(a) levels is over 40%. These findings support recent recommendations to use this approach to identify additional individuals at ASCVD risk based on Lp(a) concentrations.


Individuals' field-dependent/independent cognitive style is regarded as one of the most important factors affecting second language learning. However, there is a paucity of attention towards its significant role in instructional planning. This study aimed to find out how learners with different field-dependent and field-independent cognitive tendencies approach the task of learning through an implicit planned focus-on-form teaching method from information processing perspective. More precisely, it was attempted to find out if individual field-dependent/independent cognitive style differences affect the three stages of information processing (viz attention, perception/encoding and memory) and consequently the learning outcome. Three qualitative methods, namely retrospective-reflective tasks, tests of intake and interviews, were utilized to achieve this aim. This is while the majority of the studies in the related literature have been quantitative to date. Thirty four Iranian EFL field-dependent and field-independent learners at intermediate level participated in this study. The results revealed that the particular characteristics of the field-independent learners led to their superior performance in the attentional processes in the sensory-memory stage, the storage of information in working memory, and consequently the recall and retrieval processes of shortand long-term memory. Such finding suggests that field-independent learners are better input processors and therefore more successful in the tasks demanding autonomous and active analysis of the input. Furthermore, the sub-findings emerging from the results accentuated the significant impact of learners' field-dependent/independent cognitive style on the effectiveness of a teaching method in a learning setting. Some pedagogical implications are


Every IP right has its own definition of infringement. In this paper, we suggest that this diversity of legal rules is largely traceable to differences in the audience in IP cases. Patent, trademark, copyright, and design patent each focus on a different person as the fulcrum for evaluating IP infringement. The fact that patent law focuses on an expert audience while trademark looks to a consumer audience explains many of the differences in how patent and trademark cases are decided. Expert audiences are likely to evaluate infringement based on the technical similarity between the plaintiff's and defendant's works. Consumers, by contrast, are likely to pay more attention to market substitution and less attention to how things work under the hood. Understanding the different audiences in IP infringement is critical to understanding how the IP regimes define infringement.The focus on audience has normative as well as descriptive implications. Neither patent law, with its focus on experts and technical similarity, nor trademark law, with its market-based consumer focus, has it entirely correct. Rather, we suggest that as a general matter infringement of an IP right should require both technical similarity and market substitution. Assessing infringement through the expert's eyes ensures that the law prevents closely related works in the field while allowing later contributions to the field that are sufficiently different. The consumer vantage point ensures that we protect IP owners only when they have been harmed in the marketplace. IP owners who want to show infringement should have to show both that the defendant's work is technically similar to their own from the expert's vantage point and that the defendant's use causes the plaintiff market harm. Copyright law, which does look both to experts and to consumers at various points in infringement analysis, is on the right track.


Web break is an important runnability issue in the pressrooms. However, web breaks are rare events. Performance statistics for a large number of rolls are required to determine the causes of runnability problems with a reasonable level of confidence. To provide better insight into the main causes of web breaks, we analyzed seven pressroom/mill databases of sufficient size to produce reliable runnability statistics. The statistical "association" between strength properties (average) and break rate was examined using a Chi Square analysis method. We found that the statistical "association" between strength properties (average) and break rate varied considerably from one pressroom to the other (or from one mill to the other), depending on the pressroom operation (the variations of tension) and the quality of data from mills. However, among different strength properties, MD tensile strength has been most consistently associated with the break rate. CD tear strength did not consistently predict the runnability. We also found that strength uniformity had a significant impact on pressroom performance. Lastly, the pressroom data consistently showed that typical, macroscopic defects are now minority causes for web breaks and the majority of breaks are press-related or "unknown".


This article examines the collaboration, methodology, results, and lessons learned stemming from the experience of a unique university, state, and tribal collaborative model for public health emergency preparedness assessment activities. This collaborative model may be applicable to other public health preparedness efforts, as well as the broader range of general public health or workforce development partnerships between state, local, and tribal health departments and academic institutions.


Patient safety is an increasingly prominent issue in healthcare. Despite much work investigating human factors system based approaches to reduce avoidable errors, there has been minimal work investigating education in this area. Education to enhance non-technical skills and support behaviour that reduces human factor sources of error is in its infancy. Published works describing interventions are heterogeneous in content and teaching methods, as well as limited in their underpinning or pedagogy. There is no well-recognised model or framework to guide educators in designing such interventions, which further compounds the problem. In this manuscript, the SECTORS model is proposed, a theoretically-grounded framework to aid understanding of how learning in non-technical skills occurs within healthcare. SECTORS combines three key elements:-The generic Knowledge and skills in core areas that contribute to and support learning in non-technical skills (Systems and technology use, Error awareness, Communication, Teamworking), a situated cognition approach to formal and experiential learning that develops these skills (Observation and simulation) and developments in analytical skills that can integrate these and support decision making (Risk assessment and Situational awareness). Further work is now needed to investigate the appropriateness of this model and its utility and effectiveness in supporting design of such education.


Ecological stability is a bewildering broad concept. The most common stability measures are asymptotic resilience, widely used in theoretical studies, and measures based on temporal variability, commonly used in empirical studies. We construct measures of invariability, defined as the inverse of variability, that can be directly compared with asymptotic resilience. We show that asymptotic resilience behaves like the invariability of the most variable species, which is often a rare species close to its extinction boundary. Therefore, asymptotic resilience displays complete loss of stability with changes in community composition. In contrast, mean population invariability and ecosystem invariability are insensitive to rare species and quantify stability consistently whether details of species composition are considered or not. Invariability provides a consistent framework to predict diversity-stability relationships that agree with empirical data at population and ecosystem levels. Our findings can enhance the dialogue between theoretical and empirical stability studies.


The aim of this study is to evaluate the economic feasibility and implications of free trade agreement between the EU and Armenia as well as of greater regional integration between Georgia, Armenia and the Black Sea countries. The study uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis along with surveys, sectoral studies and local expert knowledge. Overall, we conclude that a free trade agreement between Armenia and the EU is feasible, but a Simple FTA (abolition of tariffs) would not bring significant economic benefits to Armenia. The real gains could materialize over the medium to long term with a completion of a Deep FTA (abolition of tariffs, significant institutional harmonization and improvement in the business environment). Given the slow progress with the implementation of the ENP Action Plan, serious questions remain as to the institutional capacity of Armenia to undertake steps towards harmonization with EU aquis beyond those indicated in the ENP Action Plan. However, these problems might be eased with technical assistance.


Astrocytes perform fundamental housekeeping functions in the central nervous system and through bidirectional communication with neurons are thought to coordinate synaptic transmission and plasticity. They are also renowned actors in brain pathology. Reactive gliosis and neuroinflammation are featured by many (if not all) acute and chronic neurodegenerative pathologies including Alzheimer's disease (AD). The Ca 2+ /calmodulin-activated phosphatase calcineurin (CaN) plays a central role in the pathology-related changes of astroglial cells mainly through activation of the inflammation-related transcription factors Nuclear Factor of Activated T-cells (NFAT) and Nuclear Factor kB (NF-kB). In this contribution we focus on the mechanistic aspects of CaN signalling in astrocytes. We analyze the astroglial Ca 2+ signalling toolkit in the context of Ca 2+ signals necessary for CaN activation and focus on the astroglial CaN signalling through its direct target, NFAT, as well as the intricate relationships between CaN and NF-kB activation pathways. The majority of data about CaN-mediated signalling in astrocytes point to the role for CaN in pathology-related conditions while very little is currently known about signalling and function of astroglial CaN in physiology.


The increasingly automated world has made humans more and more passive consumers. Students are great at using technologies but are not able to design and create artifacts by using technologies. At the same time, programming and computational thinking skills are seen ever more important in society and working life. The new National Core Curriculum for Basic Education in Finland focuses on future skills. It emphasizes pupils' participation and responsibility of their schoolwork. It aims to regenerate work methods and learning environments used in basic education by using technologies and seeking new inspiring learning environments outside the classroom. The curriculum involves opportunities for pupils to develop their information and communication technology skills in all subjects, where also programming has been integrated as part of the objectives. It aims to respond to the requirements of study, working life, and active citizenship by focusing on to develop students' transversal competences for commanding and combining different knowledge and skills. The aim of this study is to investigate in theory, how can computational thinking and twenty-first century skills be learnt in the context of maker culture. The study is conducted by a literature review on the maker culture approach in education to see, if there is a possibility to learn these skills in maker activities in the context of Fab Lab Oulu, Finland, which has potential to be new student-centered and technology-enhanced learning environment for schools in Oulu area. The study forms an understanding of growing maker culture phenomenon in education to realize its potential when considering to integrate making into formal education. It indicates differences between two similar but slightly different concepts, maker culture and maker movement, to notice that at first there was a maker culture philosophy, which has been later started to foster by a social movement called maker movement. Then, the study explores the historical and theoretical base of learning by doing and making to understand the roots and nature of maker culture. The study investigates what can maker culture give for education and how can digital fabrication learning activities in the context of Fab Lab Oulu foster and inspire learning computational thinking and 21st century skills. It presents how making cannot only bring about interest in science, technology, engineering and math subjects but also make students understand and connect their knowledge to the world around them. In Fab Lab, they can involve theory to practice, and experience project-based and collaborative learning, for solving meaningful challenges. To boot, they can find how are they able to design and build tangible artifacts and make their ideas become true and thus, be active producers.


Opportunistic routing has been shown to improve the network throughput, by allowing nodes that overhear the transmission and closer to the destination to participate in forwarding the packet, i.e., in forwarder list. The nodes in forwarder list are prioritized and the lower priority forwarder will discard the packet if the packet has been forwarded by a higher priority forwarder. One challenging problem is to select and prioritize forwarder list such that a certain network performance is optimized. In this paper, we focus on selecting and prioritizing forwarder list to minimize energy consumptions by all nodes. We study both cases where the transmission power of each node is fixed or dynamically adjustable. We present an energy efficient opportunistic routing strategy, denoted as EEOR. Our extensive simulations in TOSSIM show that our protocol EEOR performs better than the well-known ExOR protocol (when adapted in sensor networks) in terms of the energy consumption, the packet loss ratio, the average delivery delay.


The choice of optimum phase-matching conditions for noncollinear optical parametric amplifiers is usually made on the basis of the linear spectral dispersion characteristics of the anisotropic nonlinear crystal. However, for high-peak-power operation, where pump depletion is involved, it is shown that the tolerance of the parametric gain with regard to k-vector mismatch is to change the optimum phase-matching parameters. Our calculations show that, with the revised parameters, an enhancement in peak power approaching 50% could be achieved.


The realities of the ethno‐sectarian conflict have dominated the analysis of social problems within the context of Northern Ireland (NI). As a result of this, issues such as non‐conflict related childhood risk have received less attention than in the remainder of the UK. However, with the rapidly changing agenda of the Peace Process there is now the momentum to take a broader approach to examining Northern Irish society. This paper examines children's own experiences of growing up in rural NI and explores their own and adults' perceptions of the risks that they encounter and the resulting constraints placed on children's activity outside the home. It is evident that the legacy and reproduction of ethno‐sectarian conflict still influences notions of fear and mistrust of 'an ethno‐sectarian other'. However, as shown within this paper these fears run in parallel with other fears that are constructed around concerns over 'everyday' risks that are evident in the range of outdoor play practices reported by the children involved in the study.


Virgilia divaricata is a fast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree species often found on the margins of forest in the southern Cape of South Africa and is particularly abundant after fire. However, V. divaricata may invade fynbos even in the absence of fire and it has been described as a forest precursor. We investigated whether V. divaricata enriches soil fertility after its invasion into fynbos areas adjacent to forests. We measured soil organic carbon and soil nutrients at four sites. At each site, three vegetation types (forest, V. divaricata and fynbos) were examined on the same soil type and at the same elevation. Our results showed that, on average, soils taken from V. divaricata stands had higher nitrogen and phosphorus values than the adjacent fynbos soils, with either lower or similar values to the adjacent forest soils. Higher soil fertility under V. divaricata , together with their shading effect, may create conditions favourable for shade-loving forest species dependent on an efficient nutrient cycle in the topsoil layers, and less favourable for shade-hating fynbos species, which are generally adapted to low soil fertility. We suggest that the restoration of the nutrient cycle found in association with forest may be accelerated under V. divaricata compared with other forest precursor species, which has important consequences for the use of V. divaricata in ecosystem restoration. Conservation implications: Alien plantations in the Outeniqua Mountains are being phased out and the areas are being incorporated into the Garden Route National Park. Fynbos areas are increasingly being invaded by forest and thicket species owing to fire suppression in lower-lying areas. An improved understanding of the fynbos–forest boundary dynamics will aid in efficient management and restoration of these ecosystems.


In a world increasingly faced with, and divided by, regional and global crises, resilience has emerged as a key concept with significant relevance for tourism. A paradigmatic shift is taking place in the long-term planning of tourism development, in which the prevailing focus on sustainability is being enhanced with the practical application of resilience planning. This book provides a critical appraisal of sustainability and resilience, and the relationship between the two. Contributions highlight the complexity of addressing social change with resilience planning in a range of tourism contexts, from islands to mountains, from urban to remote environments, and in a range of international settings. Case studies articulate how tourism is both an agent of social change and a victim of larger change processes, and provide important lessons on how to deal with increasingly unstable economic, social and environmental systems. This is the first book to specifically examine social change and sustainability in tourism through a resilience lens. This much-needed contribution to the literature will be a key resource for those working in tourism studies, tourism planning and management, social geography, and development studies, among others. [Book Synopsis]


Time-averaged fringe patterns in vibration testing of MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) are unaffected by carrier displacements. They are additive superimposition type moirés. These features and Hilbert transform vulnerability to additive trend are utilized for visualization of centers of dark Bessel fringes. Two frames with shifted carrier are subtracted for background and noise correction. Two normalized images of this pattern are calculated with slightly different bias levels and subtracted. The method does not require precise phase shifting between two frames, cosinusoidal carrier and linear recording. It enables detecting light power variations and phase shifting nonuniformities. Synthetic and experimental results corroborate the robustness of the method.


In section I the notions of logical and inductive probability will be discussed as well as two explicanda, viz. degree of confirmation, the base for inductive probability, and degree of evidential support, Popper's favourite explicandum . In section II it will be argued that Popper's paradox of ideal evidence is no paradox at all; however, it will also be shown that Popper's way out has its own merits.


For supervised and unsupervised learning, positive definite kernels allow to use large and potentially infinite dimensional feature spaces with a computational cost that only depends on the number of observations. This is usually done through the penalization of predictor functions by Euclidean or Hilbertian norms. In this paper, we explore penalizing by sparsity-inducing norms such as the l1-norm or the block l1-norm. We assume that the kernel decomposes into a large sum of individual basis kernels which can be embedded in a directed acyclic graph; we show that it is then possible to perform kernel selection through a hierarchical multiple kernel learning framework, in polynomial time in the number of selected kernels. This framework is naturally applied to non linear variable selection; our extensive simulations on synthetic datasets and datasets from the UCI repository show that efficiently exploring the large feature space through sparsity-inducing norms leads to state-of-the-art predictive performance.


The understanding of material self-assembling and self-organization mechanisms, at mesoscale, is crucial for nanotechnologies development. Such structures, hierarchically organized in superlattices or colloidal crystals, are observed in inorganic or organo-metallic precipitates. The classical characterization, using electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, of a synthesized powder is inadequate to describe the hierarchically organized polycrystalline structure of the final particles. Here, we have highlighted the successive steps that lead to the spontaneous formation of a cobalt oxalate dihydrate (COD) colloidal crystals that precipitate in aqueous media. The characterization of the final particles, made by X-ray and electronic diffraction, has allowed us to determine the controversial crystalline phase of the precipitated COD. The β and γ COD phases has been discriminated by comparing experimental results with simulations of X-ray diffractogram and electron diffraction patterns for these both structures. The precipitated COD corresponds to the γ phase indicating that it comes from solid dehydration of cobalt oxalate tetrahydrate. The final powder characterization, performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), low voltage high resolution scanning electron microscopy (LVHRSEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), gives some diverging results about monocrystalline or polycrystalline nature of the precipitates. XRD and AFM analysis show a polycrystalline structure of particles whereas LVHRSEM, TEM and electron diffraction observations indicate a monocrystalline structure. This apparent contradiction has led us to elaborate a new characterization method allowing to follow the growth and the structural evolution of the precipitate as a function of time. The cryo- preparation techniques are well adapted as they allow freezing and direct observation of solid state suspension by electron microscopy. The freeze/drying method has been modified and used for both SEM and TEM, and has allowed us to study the morphological and structural evolution of the COD precipitate from nanoscale to mesoscale. In addition, TEM analysis of samples prepared by classical techniques has been performed to complement cryo-electron microscopy observations. The combination of these two methods show that COD precipitation is a complex multi-step process leading to the formation of a core/shell heterostructure. The anisotropic core is porous and partially crystalline. It is formed by agglomeration of isolated primary particles and agregated ones (15-20 nm sized secondary particles). The crystalline shell corresponds to the final particles faces and is made up by the layer by layer self-assembling and alignment of 5-7 nm sized crystalline primary particles. These nanoparticles are aligned and perfectly ordered in strings of nanograins in the layer structure. The self-assembling occurs in the last step of growth where we have a lower ionic strength and supersaturation inducing slower kinetics of growth and aggregation. Moreover, the crystalline order in the primary and secondary particles increase with the time of reaction consistent with a continuous process of primary particle nucleation and growth. Our results show that self-assembling occurs layer by layer with terraces, kinks and steps that are present on the faces. This reminds the layer by layer crystalline growth models but in this case, the buiding blocks are colloidal instead of atomic or molecular. Based on these different results, we propose an original model describing the COD precipitate growth. In addition, we have studied the poly(methacrylic acid-sodium salt) effect on the COD precipitation. This additive (PMMA) appeared to be a very good growth inhibitor. The PMMA effect on the final particles morphology is dramatic. Its concentration variation in solution slows down the nanoparticles aggregation rates along a [101] preferential direction. The crystal habit can then be controlled and we have synthesized platelets, cubes and rods with tailored length. The use of cryogenic electron microscopy has been shown to be a powerful tool for the understanding of time dependent aspects of particle growth. The use of such techniques for the study of other systems, where the final precipitate appearance may hide particle substructures, will help to elucidate growth mechanisms and allow finer control of nanostructured materials for many applications. The complex self-assembling and self-organization processes could then be highlighted and studied on a nanometer to micrometer scale.


For many machine learning algorithms, two main assumptions are required to guarantee performance. One is that the test data are drawn from the same distribution as the training data, and the other is that the model is correctly specified. In real applications, however, we often have little prior knowledge on the test data and on the underlying true model. Under model misspecification, agnostic distribution shift between training and test data leads to inaccuracy of parameter estimation and instability of prediction across unknown test data. To address these problems, we propose a novel Decorrelated Weighting Regression (DWR) algorithm which jointly optimizes a variable decorrelation regularizer and a weighted regression model. The variable decorrelation regularizer estimates a weight for each sample such that variables are decorrelated on the weighted training data. Then, these weights are used in the weighted regression to improve the accuracy of estimation on the effect of each variable, thus help to improve the stability of prediction across unknown test data. Extensive experiments clearly demonstrate that our DWR algorithm can significantly improve the accuracy of parameter estimation and stability of prediction with model misspecification and agnostic distribution shift.


When a plaintiff wishes to commence an action against a non-resident foreign defendant in an American forum, it may need to serve that defendant with process abroad. The Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague Service Convention) provides a mechanism for achieving that goal. Under terms of this treaty—which has been ratified by 75 nations—each signatory is required to maintain a central authority that will serve process upon local defendants at the request of U.S. plaintiffs. In practice, however, the act of serving process upon defendants in particular foreign countries may present challenges. In Russia, it is currently impossible for a U.S. plaintiff to serve process upon a defendant because that nation's central authority refuses to accept requests from the United States. In China, the central authority sometimes takes more than a year to serve process on local defendants.

These complications raise the question of whether it is possible for private actors to contract around the Hague Service Convention so as to avoid the need to interact with central authorities in foreign nations. The California Supreme Court will soon take up this issue when it hears oral argument in Rockefeller Technology Investments (Asia) VII v. Changzhou SinoType Technology Company, Ltd. In this Essay, we first discuss how that particular case should be resolved. We explain that while it is possible to contract around the Convention, the language in the parties' contract in SinoType failed to do so. We then discuss alternative drafting strategies that future parties might utilize in order to succeed where the parties in SinoType failed.


The increasing electrical demand in commercial and military aircraft justifies a growing need for higher voltage DC primary distribution systems. A DC system offers reduced power losses and space savings, which is of major importance for aircraft manufacturers. At present, challenges associated with DC systems include reliable fast acting short circuit protection. Solid State Contactors (SSC) have gained wide acceptance in traditional 28 VDC secondary systems for DC fault interruption. However, the reliable operation at higher operating voltages and currents requires further technology maturation. This paper examines a supporting method to SSC for more reliable fault mitigation by investigating bidirectional AC/DC converter topology with DC fault current blocking capability. Replacement of semiconductor switches with full bridge cells allows instant reversal of voltage polarities to limit rapid capacitor discharge and machine inductive currents. Demonstration of this capability is realized by tracking DC fault currents in time-domain simulations of a ±270 VDC converter dynamic model built in MATLAB-Simulink. Simulation results have shown that the modified power converter topology provides a fast response to DC faults and it can be considered as a back-up to SSCs in clearing faults in ±270 VDC distribution systems.


Studies of the diversity of Philippine amphibians and reptiles have resulted in the continued description of cryptic species. Species formerly thought to range across multiple recognized faunal regions are now considered to be assemblages of multiple unique species, each restricted to a single faunal region. This pattern continues to hold true when considering Philippine skinks of the genus Brachymeles. Recent studies have resulted in the description of numerous unique species with many exhibiting various degrees of digit loss or limb reduction, as well as suggesting that unique lineages are still present in the B. bonitae Complex. In this paper, we describe a new species of fossorial skink within this species complex from Tablas Island based on collections made nearly 50 years ago. Although no genetic data are available for the new species, examinations of morphological data (qualitative traits, meristic counts, and mensural measurements) support its distinction from all other members of the genus. Brachymeles dalawangdaliri sp. nov. is differentiated from other members of the genus based on a suite of unique phenotypic characteristics, including a small body size (SVL 66.0-80.9 mm), bidactyl fore-limbs, digitless, unidactyl, or bidactyl hind limbs, a high number of presacral vertebrae (49), the absence of auricular openings, and distinct dorsal head scale patterns. The description of the new species increases the diversity of endemic vertebrates recognized to occur in the Romblon Island Group in the central Philippines.


A new model of exospheric temperatures has been developed, with the objective of predicting global values with greater spatial and temporal accuracy. From these temperatures, the neutral densities in the thermosphere can be calculated, through use of the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer and Incoherent Scatter radar Extended (NRLMSISE‐00) model. The exospheric temperature model is derived from measurements of the neutral densities on several satellites. These data were sorted into triangular cells on a geodesic grid, based on location. Prediction equations are derived for each grid cell using least error fits. Several versions of the model equations have been tested, using parameters such as the date, time, solar radiation, and nitric oxide emissions, as measured with the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite. Accuracy is improved with the addition of the total Poynting flux flowing into the polar regions, from an empirical model that uses the solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field. Given such inputs, the model can produce global maps of the exospheric temperature. These maps show variations in the polar regions that are strongly modulated by the time of day, due to the daily rotation of the magnetic poles. For convenience the new model is referred to with the acronym EXTEMPLAR (EXospheric TEMperatures on a PoLyhedrAl gRid). Neutral densities computed from the EXTEMPLAR‐NRLMSISE‐00 models combined are found to produce very good results when compared with measured values.


The estrogen receptor β functions with and without its estrogen ligand. The estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is a classical ligand-activated transcription factor with well-known physiological effects on reproduction, bone physiology, and other functions. Vivar et al. explored the gene regulatory activity of estrogen receptor β, a similar molecule with quite distinct antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory biological effects that are less well characterized than those of ERα. In the U2OS human osteosarcoma cell line, the authors used microarray analysis to characterize ERβ-dependent gene expression. Unlike the effects of ERα, which regulated gene expression only when cells were exposed to estrogen, induced expression of ERβ alone, without addition of ligand, regulated hundreds (453) of genes. There were also transcripts that responded only when ERβ bound to ligand, but this was a smaller subset (258 genes). A still smaller subset of genes (83) were regulated by the unbound receptor but showed potentiated effects in the presence of estrogen. Furthermore, analysis of ERβ binding to examples of the three classes of responsive genes showed that differential binding of the receptor is not the main determinant of responsiveness, because ERβ bound to all three classes of genes. Analysis of binding sites adjacent to the ERβ binding sites by chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing showed enrichment of distinct transcription factor–binding sites in the three classes of genes. Thus, the authors conclude that unlike ERα, which primarily has a single class of responsive genes, which require ligand-activated receptor for regulation, ERβ has three classes of responsive genes. The distinct regulation of these classes of genes appears to depend on interaction of ERβ with other transcription factors or coactivators. O. I. Vivar, X. Zhao, E. F. Saunier, C. Griffin, O. S. Mayba, M. Tagliaferri, I. Cohen, T. P. Speed, D. C. Leitman, Estrogen receptor β binds to and regulates three distinct classes of target genes. J. Biol. Chem. 285, 22059–22066 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Iterative methods that calculate their steps from approximate subgradient directions have proved to be useful for stochastic learning problems over large and streaming data sets. When the objective consists of a loss function plus a nonsmooth regularization term, the solution often lies on a low-dimensional manifold of parameter space along which the regularizer is smooth. (When an l1 regularizer is used to induce sparsity in the solution, for example, this manifold is defined by the set of nonzero components of the parameter vector.) This paper shows that a regularized dual averaging algorithm can identify this manifold, with high probability, before reaching the solution. This observation motivates an algorithmic strategy in which, once an iterate is suspected of lying on an optimal or near-optimal manifold, we switch to a "local phase" that searches in this manifold, thus converging rapidly to a near-optimal point. Computational results are presented to verify the identification property and to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach.


SUMMARY

Middle Triassic (Anisian) red bedded cherts were collected from the Ajiro area in Kyushu Island, southwest Japan, for a palaeomagnetic study. Thermal demagnetization showed five distinct remanent magnetization components from the cherts. The lowest temperature component below 200 °C (component A) is a present-day viscous overprint. The second- (up to 420 °C, component B) and third-demagnetized (up to 580 °C, component C) components are secondary magnetizations of thermoviscous and chemical origin, respectively, both of which reside in magnetite. The fourth-removed component (component D) was demagnetized at 630 °C and is a secondary magnetization carried by haematite. Components B and C are considered to be a result of widespread remagnetization in southwest Japan during the Cretaceous; the basis of this consideration is that red chert remagnetizations from an area about 600 km away from the present study area, are of the same origins with unblocking spectra similar to those observed in this study. The last-removed component during thermal demagnetization (up to 695 °C, component E) is a primary magnetization carried by haematite. The directions of this component, after correction for the inclination flattening, yielded a mean palaeolatitude of 2°S at the time of deposition in the Middle Triassic. The Ajiro cherts accreted as part of an accretionary complex to the eastern margin of the South China Block during the Middle Jurassic and were then translated northwards from the continental margin to their present position through a margin-parallel translation process owing to the oblique convergence of the oceanic plate.


In this paper, AdaBoost algorithm, a popular and effective prediction method, is applied to predict the prediction of claim frequency of auto insurance, which plays an important part of property insurance companies. Using a real dataset of car insurance, we reduce the frequency prediction problem to be a multi-class problem, in turn we employ the mixed method called multi-class AdaBoost tree (a combination of decision tree with adaptive boosting) as our predictor. By comparing its results with some most popular predictors such as generalized linear models, neural networks, and SVM, we demonstrate that the AdaBoost predictor is more comparable in terms of both prediction ability and interpretability. The later objective is particularly important in business environments. As a result, we arrive at the conclusion that AdaBoost algorithm could be employed as a robust method to predict auto insurance. It is important to practical contribution for insurance company in terms of conclusion explanation and decision making suggestions.


Primary cutaneous marginal zone B‐cell lymphoma (PCMZL) is an indolent low grade B cell lymphoma of the skin, with lack of extracutaneous involvement at the time of diagnosis. Herein we report the case of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who developed symmetrical PCMZL lesions on both ear lobes. Lesions occurring symmetrically on ear lobes are more specific for cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia (CLH) and this kind of symmetrical localization hasn't been reported for PCMZL before. PCMZL is considered to arise from a background of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and this case point out the concept of CLH and PCMZL spectrum. Association of marginal zone lymphoma with rheumatoid arthritis and resolution of lesions together with the resolution of symptoms due to rheumatoid arthritis after rituximab therapy is another interesting point for this case. To the best of our knowledge PCMZL associated with RA has not been reported previously.


The PhD project consists of two parts. The first part concerns the development of Computer Aided Design (CAD) algorithms for high-frequency circuits. Novel Padebased
algorithms for numerical integration of ODEs as arise in high-frequency circuits are proposed. Both single- and multi-step methods are introduced. A large part of this
section of the research is concerned with the application of Filon-type integration techniques to circuits subject to modulated signals. Such methods are tested with analog
and digital modulated signals and are seen to be very effective. The results confirm that these methods are more accurate than the traditional trapezoidal rule and Runge-Kutta methods.
The second part of the research is concerned with the analysis, simulation and design of RF circuits with emphasis on injection-locked frequency dividers (ILFD)
and digital delta-sigma modulators (DDSM). Both of these circuits are employed in fractional-N frequency synthesizers. Several simulation methods are proposed to capture the locking range of an ILFD, such as the Warped Multi-time Partial Differential Equation (WaMPDE) and the Multiple-Phase-Condition Envelope Following (MPCENV)
methods. The MPCENV method is the more efficient and accurate simulation technique and it is recommended to obviate the need for expensive experiments. The
Multi-stAge noise Shaping (MASH) digital delta-sigma modulator (DDSM) is simulated in MATLAB and analysed mathematically. A novel structure employing multimoduli,
termed the MM-MASH, is proposed. The goal in this design work is to reduce the noise level in the useful frequency band of the modulator. The success of the novel
structure in achieving this aim is confirmed with simulations.


Running along the middle of the Philippine archipelago from south to north, the Philippine fault zone is one of the world's major strike-slip faults. Intense volcanism in the archipelago is attributed to the ongoing subduction along the trench systems surrounding it. This study interprets the magnetic data covering the Philippine fault zone and the bounding archipelago subduction systems to understand the structural characteristics of the study area. Magnetic data analysis suggests that the Philippine fault is roughly distributed along the boundary of high/low magnetization and separates the different amplitude features of the first order analytic signal. Visayas province is a specific area bounded by the other parts of the Philippine archipelago. Further differentiating the tectonic units, the proto-Southeast Bohol Trench should be the main tectonic boundary between Visayas and Mindanao. A clear NE - SW boundary separates Luzon from Visayas as shown by the variant depths to the top of the magnetic basement. This boundary could suggest the different tectonic characteristics of the two regions.


Development of a Liver-Kidney Dual Organ Microphysiological System for Predicting Organ-Organ Interactions in the Toxicity of Xenobiotics: Aristolochic Acid Nephrotoxicity as a proof of Principle Shih-Yu Chang Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor David L. Eaton Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences The liver is the principal organ responsible for drug and xenobiotics metabolism, including inactivation or bioactivation. To improve the predictability of drug safety and efficacy in clinical development, and to facilitate the evaluation of the potential human health effects from exposure to environmental contaminants, there is a critical need to accurately model human organ systems such as the liver in vitro. Currently, there are numerous limitations of in vitro cell culture models. We developed a microphysiological system (MPS) based on a new commercial microfluidic platform (Nortis Inc., Woodinville, WA) that can utilize primary liver cells from mammals (e.g., rat and human). Compared to conventional monolayer cell culture which typically survives for 5-7 days or less, primary rat or human hepatocytes in MPS exhibited: higher viability, improved hepatic functions, such as albumin production, expression of hepatocyte marker HNF4α and canaliculi structure, up to 14 days and longer. Additionally, induction of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A and 3A4 in human hepatocytes was observed in MPS. These results indicate that hepatocytes cultured in MPS provide a promising approach for evaluating chemical toxicity in vitro. Additionally, to test the hypothesis that hepatic clearance of a nephrotoxic chemical might have significant importance in determining ultimate kidney toxicity, we utilized aristolochic acid-I (AA-I), a well-known nephrotoxin and carcinogen, that undergoes extensive hepatic metabolism. We also developed an integrated MPS model with an interconnected liver-on-a-chip populated with hepatocytes , and a kidney-on-a-chip platform using proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs). Our results of this proof of concept study demonstrated that hepatocyte-dependent metabolism of AA-I prior to PTEC exposure substantially increased cytotoxicity to PTECs, formation of aristolactam-I (AL-I) DNA adducts in PTECs, and release of KIM-1 and other organ injury biomarkers, indicating that hepatic metabolism apparently contributes more to bioactivation of AA-I than to its detoxification. Additional mechanistic studies provided mechanistic insights into the important role of hepatic biotransformation for the kidney-specific toxicity of AA-I, potentially involved with activation to the AA-lactam intermediate via NADPH:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), sulfate conjugation via hepatic sulfotransferases (SULTs), and hepatic export and renal uptake via organic anion transporters (OATs) uptake. This in vitro/ex vivo integrated organs-on-chips culture can be used to identify toxicologically relevant organ-organ interactions that may occur in vivo, providing a novel approach for investigating the mechanisms that underlay toxicologically important organ-organ interactions.


Apoptotic cells in organisms are removed through their recognition and ingestion by phagocytes. Apoptotic cells are recognized in part by the presence of phosphatidylserine on the cell surface, which flips from the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane during apoptosis. Two reports this week point to additional control mechanisms--regulation of a "detachment" signal from a receptor that alters the duration of interactions with macrophages and regulation of a secreted signal that stimulates the inflammatory response when released from necrotic cells, but is retained in the nucleus of apoptotic cells. Brown et al. detected the protein CD31 as a mediator of the interaction of human neutrophils with macrophages. CD31 is a cell-surface adhesion molecule of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is expressed in leukocytes and macrophages. Homophilic interactions of CD31 on leukocytes with CD31 molecules on endothelial cells contribute to the response to infection. Brown et al. found that, under flow conditions, both viable and apoptotic leukocytes bound at low temperature to a surface coated with CD31, but at higher temperatures, only viable leukocytes were released. The binding appeared to be mediated by CD31 on the leukocytes, as Jurkat lines selected for low expression of CD31 did not adhere to CD31. Signaling by the CD31 molecule seemed to be required for release, as cells expressing modified CD31 that cannot signal acted like apoptotic cells and were not released. The authors propose that viable cells interact only transiently with macrophages because of CD31-mediated release, whereas CD31 function is somehow altered in apoptotic cells, which prolongs interaction with and, ultimately, ingestion by macrophages. Cells that die by necrosis in an organism trigger a protective inflammatory response, whereas apoptotic cells do not and are removed by macrophages. Scaffidi et al. show that the HMGB1 protein (high mobility group 1 protein) may be an important signal that allows cells to distinguish between these events. The authors found that HMGB1 tagged with green fluorescent protein bound to chromatin, but it was released when the cell membrane was permeabilized, as occurs in necrosis. However, in permeabilized apoptotic cells, HMGB1 remained tightly bound to chromatin. Nuclei from HMGB1−/− cells bound recombinant HMGB1 only if the cells were induced to undergo apoptosis before the nuclei were isolated. Thus, a change in chromatin in apoptotic cells enhances binding of HMGB1. Trichostatin A, a general inhibitor of deacetylases, prevented retention of HMGB1 in nuclei of apoptotic cells. Released HMBG1 binds to a receptor and enhances the inflammatory response. Thus, release of HMBG1 appears to be a signal of necrosis that is disabled during the process of apoptosis. S. Brown, I. Heinisch, E. Ross, K. Shaw, C. D. Buckley, J. Savill, Apoptosis disables CD31-mediated cell detachment from phagocytes promoting binding and engulfment. Nature 418, 200-203 (2002). [Online Journal] P. Scaffidi, T. Mistell, M. E. Bianchi, Release of chromatin protein HMGB1 by necrotic cells triggers inflammation. Nature 418, 191-195 (2002). [Online Journal]


Abstract.
 Here we describe the northernmost South American record of fossil turtles from the late early Miocene to early middle Miocene of the Castilletes Formation, on the Alta Guajira Peninsula, Cocinetas basin, Colombia. Turtles in the lower segment of the Castilletes Formation (c. 16.33 Ma) are pleurodires or side-necked turtles belonging to Chelus colombiana Wood, Chelus sp., and Podocnemididae incertae sedis, and cryptodires or hidden-necked turtles attributed to Chelonoidis sp., all of them characterized by the large size of their shells, 1 meter or more total length. The middle segment of the formation (c. 14 Ma) contains specimens of Podocnemididae incertae sedis and Chelonoidis sp. The turtle fauna from Castilletes share taxa with faunas from La Venta (middle—late Miocene of Colombia), Urumaco, and Western Amazonia (late Miocene from Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru); all of these records indicate a wider geographical distribution for podocnemidids, chelids, and testudinids of tropical South America during the early to middle Miocene. The large size of the fossils described here also confirms that gigantism was characteristic of South American tropical turtles during the early Miocene, a trend that lasted at least from the Paleocene to the Pliocene in different lineages.


In this paper we discuss how partial knowledge of the density of states for a model can be used to give good approximations of the energy distributions in a given temperature range. From these distributions one can then obtain the statistical moments corresponding to e.g. the internal energy and the specific heat. These questions have gained interest apropos of several recent methods for estimating the density of states of spin models. As a worked example we finally apply these methods to the 3-state Potts model for cubic lattices of linear order up to 128. We give estimates of e.g. latent heat and critical temperature, as well as the micro-canonical properties of interest.


The implementation of "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation" (REDD+) will inevitably be affected by local social and political dynamics, with the potential for success depending significantly on cooperation from a range of stakeholders at the subnational level. Building on recent critical research on REDD+, we look at how global policy is interpreted locally by actors who are likely to be involved in REDD+ implementation. We do this by examining local stakeholder perceptions of REDD+ and forest management in two contrasting provinces of Indonesia, Riau and Papua, where deforestation rates are high and low, respectively. Using data collected from stakeholder workshops, we conduct a discourse analysis that reveals how subnational actors perceive and position themselves around REDD+ and forest governance. The results reveal six discourses common to both case-study provinces, which variously conflict and converge as they are employed by different actors. Seen together, these discourses provide critical insights into the subnational policy environment, which is largely a product of Indonesia's underlying land and forest politics, and they indicate in turn how REDD+ in practice is likely to be interpreted and reconstituted at the local level. A key finding is that local discourses can be grouped around two divergent positions on REDD+: one that supports forest exploitation and sees limited prospects in forest carbon, and one that embraces sustainable forest management and expresses conditional support for REDD+ subject to benefit-sharing and property arrangements. REDD+ practitioners will therefore need to craft policies and project processes that account for these discursive dynamics.