Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) occur along the eastern and western coastlines of the North Pacific as two geographically isolated populations and have traditionally been divided into the eastern (California-Chukchi) and western (Korean-Okhotsk) populations. Recent molecular comparisons confirm, based on differences in haplotypic frequencies, that these populations are genetically separated at the population-level. Both populations were commercially hunted, but only the eastern gray whale has returned to near pre-exploitation numbers. In contrast, the western population remains highly depleted, shows no apparent signs of recovery and its future survival remains uncertain. Research off Sakhalin Island, Russia between 1995 and 1999 has produced important new information on the present day conservation status of western gray whales and provided the basis for the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to list the population as 'Critically Endangered' in 2000. The information presented here, in combination with potential impacts from anthropogenic threats throughout the range of this population, raises strong concerns about the recovery and continued survival of the western gray whale.


Stratigraphies and pollen analyses are reported from three sites within 25 km east and west from Wabag in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, namely: Sirunki, 2500 m above sea level, 32000 to 1500 yr Inferred Ages; Inim, 2500 m above sea level, 10000 to 0 yr Inferred Ages; Birip, 1900 m above sea level, 2300 to 0 yr Inferred Ages. Events evidenced by these data are described against a time scale of Inferred Ages (I.A.) based on radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic considerations. The pollen analytical data from Sirunki are presented in terms of pollen recovery (deposition) rates as grains per square centimetre per year (grains cm $^{-2}$ a $^{-1}$ ) and their interpretation controlled by information about total pollen deposition rates and differential pollen production and transport at the present day. Around Sirunki, the composition of the vegetation before 27 500 I.A. is enigmatic, although almost certainly it was treeless. From then until 9000 I.A. subalpine and alpine conditions dominated except during two short periods when forest taxa grew in the catchment. Final afforestation began about 9000 I.A. but the composition of the forest did not stabilize until about 3000 years later. This relative stability was shortlived; soon after 5000 I.A. fluctuations in forest composition began. These fluctuations were associated with periodic changes in the proportion of forested to unforested land. The Inim data lead to conclusions generally compatible with those drawn from Sirunki. However, data from the two areas differ in detail, particularly in the later onset of change in the local forests about 2000 I.A. and its intensification, coeval with a diminution in forest area, after 500 I.A. The short record from Birip is dominated by seral changes on the crater wall itself but the main indicators of forest disturbance and unforested areas were already there at its beginning (2300 I.A.). It seems likely that general forest destruction began, or gained greater impetus, around Birip about 450 I.A. In the most general terms, the forest taxa, recorded by pollen analysis, have behaved consistently with their present distributions and ecological relationships throughout the last 30000 years. More detailed resolution, however, exposes many deviations from this generalization. The majority of taxa are usually associated in groups which vary in their composition repeatedly during a few thousand years, yet some of the taxa occasionally behave entirely individualistically. The establishment of forest broadly comparable with that growing around Sirunki today began about 9000 I.A., when the main components entered the catchment, but took about 2500 years to achieve balance and a repeated regeneration process. About 4500 I.A., the relationship between forest canopy trees and forest ephemerals changed from one explicable in terms of the latter's role in natural forest regeneration to one suggestive of the ephemerals' wide spread through the forest which could only have been achieved by degradation of the canopy. It is suggested that a rise in the Sirunki basin's water level and the destruction of the surrounding forest about 13500 I.A. may have been due to seismic activity. The failure of the forest to re-establish there until 9000 I.A. was perhaps due to continued earth movement and partially to climatic conditions. The vegetation record from Sirunki suggests that the mean annual temperature there was similar to that of today between 27 000 I.A. and 25 500 I.A. but fell irregularly thereafter until between 18 500 I.A. and 16 000 I.A. it was probably about 10 $^\circ$ C below present. The mean annual temperature rose rapidly after 16 000 I.A. and was within 1 $^\circ$ C of its present level by 13 500 I.A. The cold episode between 18 500 I.A. and 16 000 I.A. corresponds with the last glacial maximum at higher altitudes in New Guinea. Pollen analytical evidence of the altitude of the forest limit and Climap Project Members (1976) estimates of sea surface temperature at that time suggest a temperature lapse rate of about 8.5 $^\circ$ C per 1000 m altitude (compared with 5.8 $^\circ$ C at present), with a firn line kept high, as the geomorphological evidence demands, by low precipitation at high altitudes. In this coldest period the altitudinal forest limit was about 1500 m below its present level of 3800 m. There is some evidence to suggest that the highest altitude forests of that time may have been quite different from those of today, perhaps containing components of the lower mountain forest canopy as well as the plants of the present upper mountain forest. This implies that the upper mountain forest becomes a separate entity only during comparatively short excursions up the mountains during periods of relatively warm climate. The low altitude of the forest limit during the last major cold period and its subsequent rise through 1500 m must have had substantial repercussions on the composition of the forests at lower altitudes. Although there is no archaeological evidence, the pollen analytical data suggest human interference with the forests around Sirunki from about 4300 I.A., which for 1300 years involved clearing of the forest and the enhanced growth of ephemerals of forest and open-land. Subsequently, the forest remained generally degenerate and a new wave of clearing began about 2000 I.A. near both Sirunki and Inim which continued and intensified about 500 I.A. At the lower altitude of Birip, forests were already disturbed by the beginning of the pollen analytical record at about 2300 I.A.


In this paper, we focus on the problem of searching sorted, in-memory datasets. This is a key data operation, and Binary Search is the de facto algorithm that is used in practice. We consider an alternative, namely Interpolation Search, which can take advantage of hardware trends by using complex calculations to save memory accesses. Historically, Interpolation Search was found to underperform compared to other search algorithms in this setting, despite its superior asymptotic complexity. Also, Interpolation Search is known to perform poorly on non-uniform data. To address these issues, we introduce SIP (Slope reuse Interpolation), an optimized implementation of Interpolation Search, and TIP (Three point Interpolation), a new search algorithm that uses linear fractions to interpolate on non-uniform distributions. We evaluate these two algorithms against a similarly optimized Binary Search method using a variety of real and synthetic datasets. We show that SIP is up to 4 times faster on uniformly distributed data and TIP is 2-3 times faster on non-uniformly distributed data in some cases. We also design a meta-algorithm to switch between these different methods to automate picking the higher performing search algorithm, which depends on factors like data distribution.


ABSTRACT Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4/FIAF) has been proposed as a circulating mediator between the gut microbiota and fat storage. Here, we show that transcription and secretion of ANGPTL4 in human T84 and HT29 colon adenocarcinoma cells is highly induced by physiological concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). SCFA induce ANGPTL4 by activating the nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), as demonstrated using PPARγ antagonist, PPARγ knockdown, and transactivation assays, which show activation of PPARγ but not PPARα and PPARδ by SCFA. At concentrations required for PPARγ activation and ANGPTL4 induction in colon adenocarcinoma cells, SCFA do not stimulate PPARγ in mouse 3T3-L1 and human SGBS adipocytes, suggesting that SCFA act as selective PPARγ modulators (SPPARM), which is supported by coactivator peptide recruitment assay and structural modeling. Consistent with the notion that fermentation leads to PPAR activation in vivo, feeding mice a diet rich in inulin induced PPAR target genes and pathways in the colon. We conclude that (i) SCFA potently stimulate ANGPTL4 synthesis in human colon adenocarcinoma cells and (ii) SCFA transactivate and bind to PPARγ. Our data point to activation of PPARs as a novel mechanism of gene regulation by SCFA in the colon, in addition to other mechanisms of action of SCFA.


Correlates of resting blood pressure (BP) were explored among 32 inner-city, black girls, ages 11.7 to 13.9 years, a sample drawn from the second and fourth quartiles of the BP distribution in an earlier school survey. Customary BP measurements in the seated position were corrected for the height of the arterial column extending from the BP cuff to the top (vertex) of each girl's head. This vertex correction procedure has previously been shown to eliminate the childhood association between mean arterial pressure and age. Vertex-corrected systolic BP was correlated individually (p<0.03) with serum fasting glucose, ionized calcium, sodium, and calculated osmolality. The BP association with serum glucose did not persist after an oral sucrose challenge. Vertexcorrected diastolic BP was correlated individually (jo<0.02) with serum ionized calcium and four indices of obesity, the best correlated of which was the subscapular skinfold (r = 0.66, p = 0.0001). Vertex-corrected BPs generally provided stronger correlations than customary (uncorrected) BPs with the variables of interest. Correlations with seated BPs were generally stronger than those with supine BPs. By multiple regression analysis, seated vertex-corrected systolic BP was related directly to serum fasting glucose and ionized calcium and inversely to pulse rate (Jt = 0.53). Seated vertexcorrected diastolic BP was related directly to subscapular skinfold and calculated osmolality (R = 0.54). Vertex correction may facilitate clinical or epidemiological studies of early hypertension. (Hypertension 9: 390-397, 1987)


In this paper, new strategies are devised for joint load balancing and interference management in the downlink of a heterogeneous network, where small cells are densely deployed within the coverage area of a traditional macrocell. Unlike existing work, the limited backhaul capacity at each base station (BS) is taken into account. Here, users (UEs) cannot be offloaded to any arbitrary BS, but only to ones with sufficient backhaul capacity remaining. Jointly designed with traffic offload, transmit power allocation mitigates the intercell interference to further support the quality of service of each UE. The objective here is either: 1) to maximize the network sum rate subject to minimum throughput requirements at individual UEs, or 2) to maximize the minimum UE throughput. Both formulated problems belong to the difficult class of mixed-integer nonconvex optimization problems. The inherently binary BS-UE association variables are strongly coupled with the transmit power variables, making the problems even more challenging to solve. New iterative algorithms are developed based on an exact penalty method combined with successive convex programming, where the binary BS-UE association problem and the nonconvex power allocation problem are dealt with one at a time. At each iteration of the proposed algorithms, only two simple convex problems need to be solved at the same time scale. It is proven that the algorithms improve the objective functions at each iteration and converge eventually. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms in both traffic offloading and interference mitigation.


Antiretroviral therapy for HIV can be expensive if paid for out of pocket. In Canada, there are a variety of federal, provincial, and private prescription drug plans that lower the cost of these lifesaving medications for people living with HIV, and in some cases, these plans result in cost-free access. However, many people living with HIV must contend with high deductibles for their antiretroviral therapies, and many experience difficulty managing the administrative requirements of their drug plans. This article comments on some of the results of a qualitative study into ethical issues in HIV care. Access to antiretrovirals was a theme that emerged in this study. We argue on ethical grounds that provincial drug plans should guarantee cost-free access to antiretroviral therapies for people living with HIV with minimal administrative requirements.


The deposition of beryllium (Be) on carbon (C) and tungsten (W) has been studied at the PISCES-B divertor simulator. Samples of C and W were exposed to a deuterium plasma that was seeded with Be from a small effusion cell mounted ˜120 mm upstream from the sample. The incident and eroded flux of Be from these samples was monitored through visible light spectroscopy. The surface composition and layer thickness were measured using Auger electron spectroscopy and ion beam analysis. Results on the formation of Be layers on C and W focusing on the layer growth rate and thickness as functions of temperature are presented. Modeling calculations of Be layer formation on graphite can explain the equilibrium surface composition, but a prediction of the layer formation rate is hampered by an incomplete model of the influence of surface morphology on chemical erosion of the surface. For Be layer formation on W, the modeling calculations including Be diffusion and sublimation correctly predict the Be uptake into the W surface.


The current status of marine alien species along the South African coast is reviewed and the ecological and economic impacts of these invasions are discussed. In all, 10 confirmed extant alien and 22 cryptogenic species are recorded from the region. All 10 alien species support well-established populations and the majority of these remain restricted in distribution to sheltered bays, estuaries and harbours. Only one species, the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, has spread extensively along the coast and caused significant ecological impacts. These include the competitive displacement of indigenous species and a dramatic increase in intertidal mussel biomass. These changes have also increased available habitat for many infaunal species and resulted in enhanced food supply for intertidal predators. Considerable economic benefits have also resulted from this invasion because M. galloprovincialis forms the basis of the South African mussel culture industry.


To achieve desired porous structure for specific applications, the film growth kinetics and nanostructure can be largely controlled by well monitoring anodization parameters. The pores distribution and dimensions can be significantly affected by the electrolyte nature, the applied voltage and the anodization temperature which seem to be one of the major parameters. In the present work, all specimens anodized with the same starting courant density value of 1.4 A were analyzed. The effects of Low (LT) and room (RT) temperatures on hard anodizing layers were studied qualitatively and quantitatively. At room temperature, the total current is maintained at high levels due to large reduction current that slows the growth of the oxide layer. For low temperature, the current decreases more rapidly against anodizing time which leads to thick alumina layer with high mechanical properties. The best results of anodized layer hardness both, on the surface and at the profile section were observed at 120 min anodizing time; beyond this time, the thickness increases up to 140 µm for 5 h but with lower proprieties due to porosity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.23.6.16309


Author(s): Vallentin, Matthias | Advisor(s): Paxson, Vern | Abstract: Network forensics and incident response play a vital role in site operations, but for large networks can pose daunting difficulties to cope with the ever-growing volume of activity and resulting logs. On the one hand, logging sources can generate tens of thousands of events per second, which a system supporting comprehensive forensics must somehow continually ingest. On the other hand, operators greatly benefit from interactive exploration of disparate types of activity when analyzing an incident, which often leaves network operators scrambling to ferret out answers to key questions: How did the attackers get in? What did they do once inside? Where did they come from? What activity patterns serve as indicators reflecting their presence? How do we prevent this attack in the future?Operators can only answer such questions by drawing upon high-quality descriptions of past activity recorded over extended time. A typical analysis starts with a narrow piece of intelligence, such as a local system exhibiting questionable behavior, or a report from another site describing an attack they detected. The analyst then tries to locate the described behavior by examining past activity, often cross-correlating information of different types to build up additional context. Frequently, this process in turn produces new leads to explore iteratively ("peeling the onion"), continuing and expanding until ultimately the analyst converges on as complete of an understanding of the incident as they can extract from the available information.This process, however, remains manual and time-consuming, as no single storage system efficiently integrates the disparate sources of data that investigations often involve. While standard Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions aggregate logs from different sources into a single database, their data models omit crucial semantics, and they struggle to scale to the data rates that large-scale environments require.In this thesis we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of VAST (Visibility Across Space and Time), a distributed platform for high-performance network forensics and incident response that provides both continuous ingestion of voluminous event streams and interactive query performance. VAST offers a type-rich data model to avoid loss of critical semantics, allowing operators to express activity directly. Similarly, strong typing persists throughout the entire system, enabling type-specific optimization at lower levels while retaining type safety during querying for a less error-prone interaction.A central contribution of this work concerns our novel type-specific indexes that directly support the type's common operations, e.g., top-k prefix search for IP addresses. We show that composition of these indexes allows for a powerful and unified approach to fine-grained data localization, which directly supports the workflows of security investigators. VAST leverages a native implementation of the actor model to scale both intra-machine across available CPU cores, and inter-machine over a cluster of commodity systems. Our evaluation with real-world log and packet data demonstrates the system's potential to support interactive exploration at a level beyond what current systems offer. We release VAST as free open-source software under a permissive license.


This paper deals with parameterization method based on meteorological parameters for calculation of dry deposition of S compounds on natural surface (leaf of Cassia siamea) and direct measurement method. A scheme based on meteorological parameters has been evolved to calculate the dry deposition theoretically and a computer program has been developed. Experimentally dry deposition flux of S on leaf of Cassia siamea was measured by exposing the leaf surfaces on non-dewy, non-foggy and non rainy days and washing the leaf surfaces with deionised water and samples were analyzed by Dionex Dx-500 Ion Chromatograph. Atmospheric concentration of SO2 was 3.54±1.41 μg m-3 and particulate SO42- was 2.72±1.15 μg m-3. Theoretically obtained dry deposition velocity of SO2 and SO42- are 0.32 cm s-1 and 0.75cm s-1, respectively. The calculated deposition of S as total sulphate (gaseous SO2 and particulate SO42-) to Cassia leaf was 2.05±0.78mg m-2 d-1 and experimentally obtained dry deposition of S as sulphate was 1.07±1.35 mg m-2 d-1. The experimentally and theoretically obtained mean values for S as SO42- are comparable.


The structural response of collagen fibrils in pericardium and other tissues when subjected to strain and the effect of cross linking on those structural changes are not well understood. Specifically, there is uncertainty about whether natural cross links of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and synthetic cross links of glutaraldehyde have a mechanical function. Bovine pericardium was treated either with chondroitinase ABC to remove natural cross links or with glutaraldehyde to form synthetic cross links. The collagen fibril orientation index (OI) and D-spacing was measured on pericardium subjected to strain using synchrotron-based small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Under strain the collagen fibrils become much more oriented in the direction of the strain, with OI increasing from 0.25 to 0.89 in chondroitinase ABC-treated material, 0.22 to 0.93 in native material, and 0.22 to 0.77 in the glutaraldehyde-treated material. The proportion of fibrils that are recruited during stress varies from 36% in chondroitinase ABC-treated material, 12% in native material, to 45% in the glutaraldehyde-treated material. The increase in D-spacing shows the individual fibrils are strained in chondroitinase ABC-treated material by 2.4% on average or 4.6% for those in the direction of applied strain, in native material, 2.7% and 4.1%, respectively, and in the glutaraldehyde-treated material, 3.2% and 6.4%, respectively. Glutaraldehyde cross links are, therefore, shown to constrain the collagen fibrils and link them together mechanically. GAGs do not have such a marked mechanical effect; contrarily, the nature of internal structural responses to strain suggests that GAGs may have a lubricating rather than a binding effect.


The burial environment of a fossil bone may be poorly suited to long-term preservation of important chemical constituents. Studies of fossil bone chemistry consequently benefit from knowledge of burial environmental change (burial history). Several techniques have been developed to describe alteration of fossil bone, including measurements of crystallinity using infrared spectroscopy. The utility of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was investigated for describing the burial history of fossil bone. Spectra from large sample areas (bulk NIR) identified secondary calcite and clay within fossil bone, and were useful for distinguishing fossils from different localities. Spectra from small sample areas (hyperspectral NIR) were used to map constituents within fossil bones. Calcite and clay pervaded the internal cavities of fossil horn cores, indicating saturation with groundwater. The identification and distribution of secondary minerals is relevant for studies of taphonomic process, hence NIR is a useful supplement to existing techniques for assessing the burial history of fossil bone.


The migration of stem cells is an essential process underpinning the physiology of all metazoan animals. In order for tissues to be maintained, homeostatic signaling mechanisms must allow stem cells or their progeny to arrive at the correct position and differentiate into replacement cells. This need is even more acute after tissue damage by wounding or pathogenic infections. Inappropriate migration of tumorigenic cancer stem cells and their progeny in adults also underpins the formation of metastases. Despite this, few mechanistic studies address stem cell migration during repair after injury in adult tissues. Here we present a shielded X-ray irradiation assay that allows us to watch cell migration in the highly regenerative planarian model system. We demonstrate that we can carefully observe migratory behavior and reveal new phenomena concerning migration, not previously observed in planarians. These include observation of cell migration specifically in an anterior direction in the absence of injury. We demonstrate that this homeostatic migration requires the polarity determinant notum. The morphology and distribution of migrating stem cells implicates mechanisms associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). In agreement with this we find that a planarian Snail family transcription factor is necessary for stem cell and stem cell progeny migration to wound sites and for the establishment of migratory morphology. Overall our data establish planarians as a suitable model for further in depth study of cell migration, with the potential to yield novel insights relevant to human biology including hyperplasia during cancer progression.


FAO has considered insects as food since 2003 [1] and is promoting consumption of insects (entomophagy) in the Western world because of the possibilities for sustainable production it offers. Insects as food are considered to leave smaller ecological footprints than conventional livestock (beef, pigs, and poultry) regarding feed, land and water needs, as well as greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions [2-7]. As an example regarding water, taken from a recent TV documentary, if a family of four people got their protein need from insects one day a week instead of from conventional livestock, over a year they would save the planet about a million Liters of water [8]. This is in agreement with figures above.


A taxonomic revision of the New Caledonian species of Arsipoda Erichson, 1842 is provided. This group includes 21 species, of which 14 are new to science: Arsipoda atra sp. nov., A. communis sp. nov., A. doboszi sp. nov., A. elongata sp. nov., A. gomezzuritai sp. nov., A. gressitti sp. nov., A. longifrons sp. nov., A. montana sp. nov., A. paniensis sp. nov., A. povilaensis sp. nov., A. punctata sp. nov., A. rutai sp. nov., A. transversa sp. nov. and A. wanati sp. nov. A key for the identification, with figures of habitus, main diagnostic characters, and genitalia is supplied. The range of host plants for these species is extraordinarily broad, and a significant number of them feed on pollen. Crepicnema Scherer, 1969, close to Arsipoda , is also investigated and maintained as a separate genus, and the following synonymies and combination are proposed: Crepicnema parvula (Jacoby, 1885) comb. nov. = Chaetocnema tenimberensis Jacoby, 1894 syn. nov., = Arsipoda salomonensis Bryant, 1941 syn. nov. The phylogenetic analysis, including also A. bifrons Erichson, 1842 and Crepicnema , confirms some trends in distribution patterns of the endemic New Caledonian fauna, and highlights the necessity of further studies to clarify the relationships between Arsipoda and related genera.


Purpose: Certain physicochemical characteristics of Candesartan Cilexetil (CC) lead to incomplete oral absorption and poor clinical efficacy. This study assessed the prospect of the use of drug-embedded nanospheres to augment the oral bioavailability of CC. Methods: Baseline studies were conducted to measure the solubility of CC in the polymer. Drug encapsulated poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) nanospheres were prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation method. Five different formulations (C1-C5) were prepared for the varying amount of CC (30-50 mg). Evaluation was carried out for nanospheres characters, drug dissolution and release kinetics. Pharmacokinetics parameters were evaluated in rat model. Results: Solubility of drug in polymer was ~20 mg/100 mg of poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid). Values of particle size (200-400 nm), zeta potential (~-25 to -27 mV) and polydispersity index (0.17 to 0.21) were optimal for oral absorption. Morphological studies suggest that the prepared nanospheres were spherical in shape with no aggregation. The nanospheres exhibited biphasic release of CC with an initial burst effect (~50% in 4 h), while it was low and incomplete (~54% in 14 h) with pure drug. Furthermore, drug release from nanospheres appeared to indicate a Korsmeyer–Peppas model (r2=0.981), and diffusion of the drug molecules was by anomalous transport (n=0.74). Greater and rapid absorption of CC was observed from the nanospheres with significantly higher Cmax (599.92 ± 139.36 ng/ml; P<0.0005) and AUC0-∞ (~3 folds; P<0.0001) relative to the pure drug (control). Conclusion: These results suggested that CC loaded nanospheres seems to be a suitable alternative to improve the oral bioavailability and could be further assessed for clinical use.


Architectural courses have been traditionally planned in the context of a physical classroom where the direct rapport of the students with the instructor is an unswerving condition for learning. This model was formed, however, at a time when learning was not impacted by technology. Although digital media have infiltrated architectural practice, they still elude architectural design education. The author argues that the integration of online educational practices in architectural curricula can benefit design education immensely by raising interaction and making students assume responsibility for their learning.

To demonstrate the gains of online and in-class synergy in architectural education a blended course was set up at the postgraduate program of the National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture. Current trends of online learning were carefully examined in regard to their compatibility with the architectural design culture of "learning by doing". The course was eventually founded on the core principles of the connectivist model where learning consists of the ability to construct and traverse networks of connections (Downes, 2012). This approach was chosen because of its affinity to the design praxis where similarly students are required to make critical connections in order to map spatial phenomena and reconstruct the real. Course content was redesigned to comply with its new medium. Students were offered multiple channels of communication. They were also asked to contribute to the content material. Course data analysis demonstrated an unprecedented level of participation, exchange and student satisfaction as expressed in the surveys that followed the course's completion.


Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is a newer, active method of remote sensing for the automatic detection of 3D coordinate points. This method has been developed particularly during the last 20 years, in addition to airborne and mobile laser scanning methods. All these methods use laser light and additional angle measurements for the detection of distances and directions. Thus, several thousands to hundreds of thousands of polar coordinates per second can be measured directly by an automatic deflection of laser beams. For TLS measurements, the coordinates and orientation of the origin of the laser beam can be determined to register different scan positions in a common coordinate system. These measurements are usually conducted by Global Navigation Satellite Systems or total station surveying, but also identical points can be used and data driven methods are possible. Typically, accuracies and point densities of a few centimetres to a few millimetres are achieved depending on the method. The derived 3D point clouds contain millions of points, which can be evaluated in post-processing stages by symbolic or data-driven methods. Besides the creation of digital surface and terrain models, laser scanning is used in many areas for the determination of 3D objects, distances, dimensions, and volumes. In addition, changes can be determined by multi-temporal surveys.
The terrestrial laser scanner Riegl LMS Z-420i was used in this work in combination with the Differential Global Positioning System system Topcon Hiper Pro, based on Real Time Kinematic (RTK-DGPS). In addition to the direct position determination of the laser scanner, the position of a self-developed reflector on a ranging pole was measured by the RTK-DGPS system to accurately derive the orientation of each measured point cloud. Moreover, the scanner is equipped with an additional, mounted camera Nikon D200 to capture oriented pictures. These pictures allow colouring the point cloud in true colours and thus allow a better orientation. Furthermore, the pictures can be used for the extraction of detailed 3D information and for texturing the 3D objects. In one of the post-processing steps, the direct georeferencing by RTK-DGPS data was refined using the Multi Station Adjustment, which employs the Iterative Closest Point algorithm. According to the specific objectives, the point clouds were then filtered, clipped, and processed to establish 3D objects for further usage.
In this dissertation, the feasibility of the method has been analysed by investigating the applicability of the system, the accuracy, and the post-processing methods by means of case studies from the research areas of coastal geomorphology, agronomy, and geoarchaeology. In general, the measurement system has been proven to be robust and suitable for field surveys in all cases. The surveys themselves, including the selected georeferencing approach, were conducted quickly and reliably. With the refinement of the Multi Station Adjustment a relative accuracy of about 1 cm has been achieved. The absolute accuracy is about 1.5 m, limited by the RTK-DGPS system, which can be enhanced through advanced techniques. Specific post-processing steps have been conducted to solve the specific goals of each research area.
The method was applied for coastal geomorphological research in western Greece. This part of the study deals with 3D reconstructed volumes and corresponding masses of boulders, which have been dislocated by high energy events. The boulder masses and other parameters, such as the height and distance to the current sea level, have been used in wave transport equations for the calculation of minimum wave heights and velocities of storm and tsunami scenarios and were compared to each other. A significant increase in accuracy of 30% on average compared with the conventional method of simply measuring the axes was detected.
For comparison, annual measurements at seven locations in western Greece were performed over three years (2009-2011) and changes in the sediment budget were successfully detected. The base points of the RTK-DGPS system were marked and used every year. Difficulties arose in areas with high surface roughness and slight changes in the annual position of the laser scanner led to an uneven point density and generated non-existing changes. For this reason, all results were additionally checked by pictures of the mounted camera and a direct point cloud comparison.
Similarly, agricultural plants were surveyed by a multi-temporal approach on a field over two years using the stated method. Plant heights and their variability within a field were successfully determined using Crop Surface Models, which represent the top canopy. The spatial variability of plant development was compared with topographic parameters as well as soil properties and significant correlations were found. Furthermore, the method was carried out with four different types of sugar-beet at a higher resolution, which was achieved by increasing the height of the measurement position. The differences between the crop varieties and their growth behaviour under drought stress were represented by the derived plant heights and a relation to biomass and the Leaf Area Index was successfully established.
With regard to geoarchaeological investigations in Jordan, Spain, and Egypt, the method was used in order to document respective sites and specific issues, such as proportions and volumes derived from the generated 3D models were solved. However, a full coverage of complexly structured sites, like caves or early settlements is partially prevented by the oversized scanner, slow measurement rates, and the necessary minimum measurement distance. The 3D data can be combined with other data for further research by the common georeference.
The selected method has been found suitable to create accurate 3D point clouds and corresponding 3D models that can be used in accordance with the respective research problem. The feasibility of the TLS method for various issues of the case studies was proven, but limitations of the used system have also been detected and are described in the respective chapters. Further methods or other, newer TLS systems may be better suited for specific cases.


As interest grows in congestion pricing and tolling schemes, so too does concern about the broader benefits, costs and consequences for non-users -- including implications for neighborhoods, households and businesses. Since congestion pricing is a policy rather than a project, it is not automatically subject to the same level of benefit/cost review or impact review required of major road and transit infrastructure investments. However, experience to date with congestion pricing clearly shows that social and political acceptability are significant concerns that center on the equity and magnitude of expected impacts on travelers and non-travelers. Recognizing the need for more formal identification of benefits, costs and impacts, Oregon department of transportation (DOT) developed and adopted an approach to explicitly assess potential impacts and benefits, with a screening process to identify the economic impact of proposed highway tolling schemes on non-users as well as users. These analytic procedures build on a series of research studies and represent a useful model for broader assessment of tolling and other transport pricing policies elsewhere. This paper describes the economic screening and assessment processes, their analytic foundation, procedures for use and broader potential applicability.


While the flow of a dry granular material down an inclined channel may seem at first sight to be a relatively simple flow, the experiments which have been conducted up to now suggest sufficient complexity which may be present in all but the very simplest granular material flows; consequently it is important to our general understanding of granular material rheology that these experimental observations be fully understood. This review of the current knowledge of channel flows will focus on the basic mechanics of these flows and the contributions the observations have made to an understanding of the rheology. In order to make progress in this objective, it is necessary to avoid some of the complications which can occur in practice. Thus we shall focus only on those flows in which the interstitial fluid plays very little role in determining the rheology. In his classic paper, Bagnold (1954) was able to show that the regime in which the rheology was dominated by particle/particle or particle/wall interactions and in which the viscous stresses in the interstitial fluid played a negligible role could be defined by a single, Reynolds-number-like parameter. It transpires that the important component in this parameter is a number which we shall call the Bagnold number, Ba, defined by Ba = p_8d^2δ/µF where p_8,µF are the particle density and interstitial fluid viscosity, d is the particle diameter and δ is the principal velocity gradient in the flow. In the shear flows explored by Bagnold δ is the shear rate. Bagnold (1954) found that when Ba was greater than about 450 the rheology was dominated by particle/particle and particle/wall collisions. On the other hand, for Ba < 40, the viscosity of the interstitial fluid played the dominant role. More recently Zeininger and Brennen (1985) showed that the same criteria were applicable to the extensional flows in hoppers provided the extensional velocity gradient was used for δ. This review will focus on the simpler flows at large Ba where the interstitial fluid effects are small.

Other important ancillary effects can be caused by electrical charge separation between the particles or between the particles and the boundary walls. Such effects can be essential in some flows such as those in electrostatic copying machines. Most experimenters have observed electrical effects in granular material flows, particularly when metal components of the structure are not properly grounded. The effect of such electrical forces on the rheology of the flow is a largely unexplored area of research. The lack of discussion of these effects in
this review should not be interpreted as a dismissal of their importance.

Apart from electrical and interstitial fluid effects, this review will also neglect the effects caused by non-uniformities in the size and shape of the particles. Thus, for the most part, we focus on flows of particles of spherical shape and uniform size. It is clear that while an understanding of all of these effects will be necessary in the long term, there remain some important issues which need to be resolved for even the simplest granular material flows.


PURPOSE
To quantify the accuracy of automatic couch corrections using an in-house optical tracking system (OTS).

METHODS
First, system calibration accuracy was assessed with a ball-bearing phantom (0.01 mm resolution). An infra-red marker (IRM) was mounted on the phantom and shifted by known amounts (up to ±1cm) along all 3 directions. OTS observed shifts were compared to known shifts to evaluate system calibration accuracy. System stability was assessed by observing fluctuations of a stationary IRM for a 10-minute period. Second, accuracy of automatic couch correction was retrospectively analyzed on 4 head and neck (HN) patients (51 fractions) and 4 pelvis patients (94 fractions). To prevent patient setup error, an IRM was permanently mounted on the immobilization devices (aquaplastic face mask or body mold) of each patient. The OTS continuously tracked IRM throughout the treatment to validate setup accuracy. Residual errors of automatic couch correction were calculated as the difference between CBCT dictated shifts and OTS observed actual shifts after automatic couch adjustment.

RESULTS
The OTS calibration accuracy was within 0.18 mm along each direction. System stability was within 0.12 mm. For couch adjustments in patient treatment, the mean and maximum residual errors in any direction were found to be 0.20 mm and 2.3 mm for HN and 0.03 mm and 1.5 mm for pelvis cases, respectively. 21 cases (14%) had a residual couch correction error over 1.5 mm, and 3 cases (2%) had a residual error over 2 mm.

CONCLUSION
Overall, automatic couch corrections are reliable and accurate. However, errors of over 2 mm have been found in our study. This suggests the importance of daily QA of automatic couch correction. An accurate OTS with real-time tracking ability should be considered in hypo-fractionated treatments to prevent accidental couch correction errors.


We show that ocean fronts set recruitment patterns among both community‐building invertebrates and commercially important fishes in nearshore intertidal and rocky reef habitats. Chlorophyll concentration and recruitment of several species of intertidal invertebrates (Balanus spp., Chthamalus spp., Mytilus spp.) and rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) are positively correlated with front probability along the coast of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Abundances of recent settlers and adults for nearshore rockfish species are also positively correlated with front probability. The interaction of coastal topography and bathymetry sets spatial scales of fronts and consequently recruitment at approximately 50 km during active upwelling, compared to 200 km or greater during non‐upwelling periods. Such relationships between fronts and recruitment are likely to be consistent across other marine ecosystems—from coastal waters to the open ocean—and provide a critical link between adults and widely dispersing young. Ocean fronts, already known as features with high biodiversity and resilience in pelagic habitats, also set recruitment and connectivity patterns across multiple taxa for intertidal and rocky reef communities, thus linking biodiversity and resilience in coastal and benthic habitats as well.


This submission for a PhD, by publication, which is based upon a series of original research studies published between 1998 and 2002 focuses on the selection of novel phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors for the treatment of inflammation associated with respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A number of issues, relevant at the time, have been considered including: a) in vitro methods predictive of in vivo therapeutic index of anti-inflammatory efficacy over emetic side effects, b) in vivo methods for confirming therapeutic index and c) early confirmation of functional activity in a human system. In addition to 10 peer-reviewed articles, a poster presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) conference in 1999 and a review article published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (publication 1) in 1997 are also included.

In the initial work (publication 2) to investigate if it was possible to correlate in vitro activity with in vivo efficacy for PDE4 inhibitors structurally diverse compounds were tested in a series of experimental systems. The compounds tested were SB 207499, LAS 31025, CDP 840, rolipram and RP 73401. The in vitro experiments consisted of PDE4 enzyme activity (guinea pig and human inflammatory cells) and rolipram binding activity, RBA (rat brain). The in vivo model used was the guinea pig skin model of eosinophil recruitment, which involves systemic 111In-eosinophil recruitment to guinea pig skin induced by a range of inflammatory mediators [i.e. PCA, PAF and zymosan activated plasma (ZAP)]. Previous studies with PDE4 inhibitors had not examined the correlation between in vitro and in vivo activities in this way. RP73401 was the most potent PDE4 enzyme inhibitor (guinea pig macrophage) followed by SB 207499>CDP 840> rolipram>LAS 31025. Rolipram binding activity did not follow the same ranking, though RP73401 was again the most potent followed by rolipram>SB 207499>CDP 840>LAS31025. Attenuation of eosinophil recruitment was consistently observed regardless of inflammogen with the following rank order of potency: RP 73401= rolipram>LAS 31025>SB 207499>CDP 840. In this model no correlation was found between the in vitro activities and in vivo efficacy. A cell based in vitro assay, LPS induced TNF release from human PBMCs was also included in this publication. All of the PDE4 inhibitors tested were efficacious in this assay with a potency order of: RP 73401>SB 207499 = rolipram = CDP 840>LAS 31025.

In publications 3-7, in vitro and in vivo data are presented on a large number of compounds from a diverse range of chemical classes. In all cases the in vitro focus pertains to the ratio of PDE4 enzyme activity to rolipram binding activity (PDE4:RBA) as a method of selecting compounds with an improved therapeutic index of anti-inflammatory efficacy over emetic side effects. In these publications emesis data were included together with efficacy data in order to determine if in vitro predictions of therapeutic index were of relevance in vivo. The drug classes examined were xanthines, aryl sulphonamides, quinolones, 7-methoxybenzofuran-4-carboxamides, and 7-methoxyfuro[2,3-c]pyridine-4-carboxamides. The lead molecules selected in each publication had improved PDE4:RBA ratios which translated into an improved therapeutic window in vivo. These generated lead molecules (compound numbers from publication); corresponding PDE4:RBA ratios, skin eosinophilia efficacious dose and ferret non-emetic doses are as follows: publication 3, xanthine (3c), 4.1, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg; publication 4, aryl sulphonamide (20), <0.6, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg; publication 5, quinolone (7g), <0.7, 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg; publication 6, 7-methoxybenzofuran-4-carboxamides (3a), 0.37, 0.5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and publication 7, 7-methoxyfuro[2,3-c]pyridine-4-carboxamides (8a), 0.16, 10 mg/kg (lung eosinophilia), not evaluated in the ferret.

The objective of the method for the selection of novel PDE4 inhibitors for the treatment of inflammation associated with respiratory diseases was to nominate compounds into drug development. The molecules had to successfully exhibit all of the criteria set in the screening cascade to be considered safe and efficacious enough to be tested in clinical trials. Publication 8 and the ATS poster refer to the first development compound nominated for clinical development, D 4418. This compound demonstrated efficacy in the guinea pig lung model of airway function, eosinophil infiltration and bronchial hyperreactivity at 10 mg/kg, p.o. and did not evoke emesis in the ferret at 100 mg/kg. In a Phase I clinical trial when dosed between 5 and 200 mg, D 4418 had a good pharmacokinetic profile and only mild side effects of headache, dizziness and nausea but no vomiting. No further clinical development was carried out with this molecule.

Publications 9, 10 and 11 refer to the discovery, synthesis and pharmacology of a second development candidate, SCH 351591. This compound was more potent than D 4418 both in vitro and in vivo and had a wider therapeutic index for efficacy over side effects. SCH 351591 demonstrated efficacy in the guinea pig lung model of airway function, eosinophil infiltration and bronchial hyperreactivity at 0.3 mg/kg, p.o. and did not evoke emesis in the ferret at 5 mg/kg showing it to have a promising preclinical profile for the treatment of respiratory inflammation.

Due to the final submitted publication being dated as 2002 two sections are included at the end of this thesis to cover further work carried out on SCH 351591 and in the PDE4 area from 2002 to date.


The ratio of brain volume to cranial volume of Phascolarctos cinereus has been reported to be low (60% encephalization) compared to other marsupials and eutherians. This MRI study indicates a substantial difference between the living P. cinereus brain (83% - 90% encephalization) and ones of cadaver specimens. This highlights the importance of in vivo morphological studies.


Adversarial training (AT) is currently one of the most successful methods to obtain the adversarial robustness of deep neural networks. However, the phenomenon of robust overfitting, i.e., the robustness starts to decrease significantly during AT, has been problematic, not only making practitioners consider a bag of tricks for a successful training, e.g., early stopping, but also incurring a significant generalization gap in the robustness. In this paper, we propose an effective regularization technique that prevents robust overfitting by optimizing an auxiliary `consistency' regularization loss during AT. Specifically, we discover that data augmentation is a quite effective tool to mitigate the overfitting in AT, and develop a regularization that forces the predictive distributions after attacking from two different augmentations of the same instance to be similar with each other. Our experimental results demonstrate that such a simple regularization technique brings significant improvements in the test robust accuracy of a wide range of AT methods. More remarkably, we also show that our method could significantly help the model to generalize its robustness against unseen adversaries, e.g., other types or larger perturbations compared to those used during training. Code is available at https://github.com/alinlab/consistency-adversarial.


Teacher Support Teams have recently been established at all schools within the Republic of South Africa. Their success, however, has been mixed and some have ceased to function at all. It has therefore been the purpose of this research project to evaluate the current status of implementation at a sample of schools within one circuit of the Ilembe district within the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education. This study therefore reports on the degree of success experienced by schools in the operation of Teacher Support Teams as they have grappled with the harsh realities of the communities that they serve. Many problems and obstacles serve to impede their progress and it is the intention of this study to learn from these experiences. In so doing, one is in a position to provide added and valued support to such schools. Lastly, the research aims to assess whether there are significant differences between the experiences and the nature of interventions between primary and secondary schools. A survey methodology was conducted that utilised a standardised questionnaire and thereafter, a semi-structured interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data provided an insight into the issues confronting Teacher Support Teams, and thereby allowed for recommendations to follow that could assist in future advocacy programmes. A critique of current theoretical frameworks is provided, followed by a more pragmatic approach that is suggested as an alternative to better suit the context of South African schools.


It is well known that some members of the crow family (Corvidae) are important for seed dispersal either via frugivory (e.g. when feeding on berries) or by scatter hoarding (e.g. of nuts). Dispersal via gut passage of seeds within a fleshy fruit can be considered "classical endozoochory". However, corvids are rarely recognized as vectors of plants lacking a fleshy fruit, or a large nut (such as plants with a dry achene, capsule or caryopsis). Dispersal of such seeds via gut passage can be considered "non-classical endozoochory". A century ago, Heintze (1917a,b, 1918) reported on extensive field studies of seed dispersal by 11 species of European Corvidae. His work is overlooked in contemporary reviews of corvid biology. We resurrect his work, which suggests that contemporary views about seed dispersal by corvids are too narrow. Heintze identified 157 plant taxa from 42 families which were dispersed by corvids by endozoochory, as well as another nine taxa only dispersed by synzoochory (which includes scatter-hoarding). Most (54%) of the plant species dispersed by endozoochory lack a fleshy fruit and have previously been assigned to other dispersal syndromes, mainly associated with wind (10%), self-dispersal (22%) or epizoochory (18%). Plants lacking a fleshy fruit were particularly well represented from the Caryophyllaceae (12 species), Poaceae (14 species) and Polygonaceae (8 species). Of 27 taxa germinated by Heintze from seeds extracted from corvid pellets or faeces (71% of those tested), 20 lack a fleshy fruit. Similarly, of 32 taxa he recorded as seedlings having germinated from pellets in the field, 11 lacked a fleshy fruit. However, Heintze's quantitative data show that classical endozoochory is dominant in Magpies Pica pica and Hooded Crows Corvus cornix, for which 97% of seeds dispersed were fleshy-fruited. Corvids overlap with waterfowl as vectors of terrestrial plants dispersed by non-classical endozoochory, and 56 species are dispersed by both corvids and dabbling ducks according to the lists of Heintze and Soons et al. (2016). Finally, Heintze´s data show that corvids were already dispersing alien plants in Europe a century ago, such as the North American Dwarf Serviceberry Amelanchier spicata.


The study has conducted the micro level analysis of hatchery operators, fishseed-rearing farmers and carp farmers with respect to their socio-economic characteristics, infrastructural development, husbandry practices and economics returns, based on the survey and on-farm trial data collected by the research partners in six Asian countries, viz. Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The genetically-improved carp strain is economically viable and socially acceptable. The attractive profits to hatchery operators and nursery and carp farmers have created conducive environment for the dissemination of improved carp strain. Price policy models for improved strains have been developed. The premium price for fingerlings and broodstock with improved strain has been assessed. The high price of genetically-improved nuclear seed and broodstock would build self-supportive research and extension systems in the country. A business plan for Jayanti rohu has been worked out, as an example for replacement of rohu by Jayanti rohu.


Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms that arise in the gastrointestinal tract and rarely elsewhere in the abdomen. GISTs that develop outside the digestive tract are called extra-GISTs (EGISTs). The incidence of EGISTs is reported to be approximately 10% of all GISTs, and the median age is younger than that of conventional GISTs. EGISTs have similar histology and immunohistochemical features as conventional GISTs, with the majority of them in the omentum and mesentery. Most GISTs harbor a kinase-activating mutation in either KIT or PDGFRA. For EGISTs, the incidence of this type of mutation is 40-50%, which is somewhat lower than for conventional GISTs. EGISTs may have a worse prognosis compared with conventional GISTs with high mitotic indices, large size, and distant metastasis including lymph node involvement. In large abdominal tumors, the visceral origin is almost impossible to discern.


This paper presents a microfabricated Clark-type sensor which exactly can measure dissolved oxygen in the cell containing solution. We designed, fabricated, and characterized a microfabircated Clark-type oxygen sensor for measuring dissolved oxygen. The microfabricated oxygen sensor consists of 3-electrodes on a glass substrate, a FEP (Fluorinated ethylene propylene) oxygen-permeable membrane, and PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) reservoir for storing sample solution. Thin-film Ag/AgCl was employed as a reference electrode and its durability was verified by obtaining a stable open circuit potential for 2 hours against a commercial Ag/AgCl electrode and a stable cyclic voltammetry curve. Selectivity, response time, and linearity of the fabricated oxygen sensor were also verified well by cyclic voltammetry and amperometry depending. The fabricated oxygen sensor showed a 90% response time of 40sec and an excellent linearity with a correlation coefficient of 0.994.


The principle of the circular economy is to reintroduce end-of-life materials back into the economic cycle. While reintroduction processes, for example, recycling or refurbishing, undoubtedly support this objective, they inevitably present material losses or generation of undesired by-products. Balancing losses and recoveries into a single and logical assessment has now become a major concern. The present work broadens the use of relative statistical entropy and material flow analysis to assess the recycling processes of two lithium-ion batteries previously published in the literature. Process simulation software, that is, HSC Sim®, was employed to evaluate with a high level of accuracy the performance of such recycling processes. Hereby, this methodology introduces an entropic association between the quality of final recoveries and the pre-processing stages, that is, shredding, grinding, and separation, by a parameter based on information theory. The results demonstrate that the pre-processing stages have a significant impact on the entropy value obtained at the final stages, reflecting the losses of materials into waste and side streams. In this manner, it is demonstrated how a pre-processing system capable of separating a wider number of components is advantageous, even when the final quality of refined products in two different processes is comparable. Additionally, it is possible to observe where the process becomes redundant, that is, where processing of material does not result in a significant concentration in order to take corrective actions on the process. The present work demonstrates how material flow analysis combined with statistical entropy can be used as a parameter upon which the performance of multiple recycling processes can be objectively compared from a material-centric perspective.


Pregnant rats were forced to ingest 0.015 ml of 25% ethanol/gm body weight daily starting from day 7 (D7-group) or day 9 (D9-group) until day 15 of gestation. The number of surviving embryos significantly "decreased and more embryos were resorbed in alcohol-treated groups. The mean weight of ethanol-and saline-treated surviving embryos did not differ significantly. Alcohol administration in the D7-group produced exencephaly and hydrocephaly while in D9-group only hydrocephalic abnormality occurred. Alcohol treatment in both groups produced destruction mainly in the neuroepithelium of the cerebral cortex. Numerous degenerating cells and necrotic fragments were observed in the cerebral cortex of D7-group. Moreover, the cytoplasm of the neuroepithelial cells of cerebral cortex of D7-and D9-groups was highly vacuolated.


The Viennese artists association Hagenbund played a crucial role in the artistic scene of not only Vienna but of Central Europe in general. Active from 1900 to 1938, the group united several different art movements under its umbrella and helped to introduce a new creative dynamic at a time when the Vienna Secession was slowly losing its impact. In that context, the liberal political and artistic attitude of the Hagenbund membership was revolutionary. The Hagenbund counted more than 250 members, among them Georg Merkel, Oskar Laske, Carry Hauser, Otto Rudolf Schatz, Emil Strecker, and Fritz Schwarz-Waldegg. This volume traces the history of the Hagenbund and its influence, offering the first sustained analysis of the group in an art-historical context. Packed with more than three hundred color images, it will be the standard work on the Hagenbund for decades to come."


ABSTRACT Amethodology for including chance-constraints in models for maximizing regional sustained-yield groundwater extraction is presented. The procedure utilizes the spatially distributed mean and variance of saturated thickness in a confined aquifer. This data is derivable from kriging, a geostatistical technique. The technique is applied to a scenario of somewhat egalitarian agricultural development dependent on groundwater. Decision makers in this situation know that groundwater availability is insufficient to supply all potential demand. They plan to implement a sustained yield groundwater extraction strategy. They know that because of uncertain knowledge of aquifer parameters, at some point in the future, available groundwater in some locations will exceed the initially allocated amount. They also realize that some locales will probably have less available groundwater than was expected, based on initial knowledge of the aquifer. To avoid future social and political unrest, they prefer that the spatial availability of groundwater remain somewhat consistent with time. Thus, they develop a groundwater extraction strategy using a predetermined confidence level. They are then relatively certain that actual sustainable extraction does not exceed the allocated groundwater use rate for locales in which allocated pumping is at a specified upper limit..


Abstract The work of Pierre Schaeffer (theorist, composer and inventor of musique concrète) bears a complex relationship to the philosophical school of phenomenology. Although often seen as working at the periphery of this movement, this paper argues that Schaeffer's effort to ground musical works in a 'hybrid discipline' is quite orthodox, modelled upon Husserl's foundational critique of both 'realism' and 'psychologism'. As part of this orthodoxy, Schaeffer develops his notion of the 'sound object' along essentialist (eidetic) lines. This has two consequences: first, an emphasis is placed on 'reduced listening' over indicative and communicative modes of listening; secondly, the 'sound object' promotes an ahistorical ontology of musical material and technology. Despite frequent references to Schaeffer and the 'sound object' in recent literature on networked music, concatenative synthesis and high-level music descriptors, the original phenomenological context in which Schaeffer's work developed is rarely revisited. By critically exploring Schaeffer's theorising of the 'sound object', this paper aims at articulating the distance between contemporary and historical usage of the term.


Development of a Meshless Method to Solve Compressible Potential Flows Alejandro Ramos The utility of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for solving problems of engineering interest has experienced rapid growth due to the improvements in both memory capacity and processing speed of computers. While the capability now exists for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations about complex and complete aircraft configurations, the bottleneck within the process is the time consuming task of properly generating a mesh that can accurately solve the governing partial differential equations (PDEs). This thesis explored two numerical techniques that attempt to circumvent the difficulty associated with the meshing process by solving a simplified form of the continuity equation within a meshless framework. The continuity equation reduces to the full potential equation by assuming irrotational flow. It is a nonlinear PDE that can describe flows for a wide spectrum of Mach numbers that do not exhibit discontinuities. It may not be an adequate model for the detailed analysis of a complex flowfield since viscous effects are not captured by this equation, but it is an appealing alternative for the aircraft designer because it can provide a quick and simple to implement estimate of the aerodynamic characteristics during the conceptual design phase. The two meshless methods explored in this thesis are the Dual Reciprocity Method (DRM) and the Generalized Finite Difference Method (GFD). The Dual Reciprocity Method was shown to have the capability to solve for the two-dimensional subcritical compressible (M∞ = 0.375) flow over a Circular Cylinder and the non-lifting flow (α = 0◦,M∞ = 0.72) for a NACA 0012 airfoil. Unfortunately these solutions were obtained with the requirement of a priori knowledge of the solution to tune a parameter necessary for proper convergence of the algorithm. Due to the shortcomings of applying the Dual Reciprocity Method, the Generalized Finite Difference Method was also investigated. The GFD method solves a PDE in differential form and can be thought of as a meshless form of a standard finite difference scheme. This method proved to be an accurate and general technique for solving the previously mentioned cases along with the lifting flow (α = 2◦,M∞ = 0.63) about a NACA 0012 airfoil. It was also demonstrated that the GFD method could be formulated to discretize the full potential equation with second order accuracy. Both solution methods offer their own set of unique advantages and challenges, but it was determined that the GFD Method possessed the flexibility necessary for a meshless technique to become a viable aerodynamic design tool.


Statistical properties of the electron transport flowing through nanostructures are strongly influenced by the interactions, geometry of the system and/or by type of the external electrodes. These factors affect not only the average current induced in the system but also contribute to fluctuations in the flux of charges and their correlations. Due to possible applications of the hybrid nano-systems, containing one or more superconducting electrodes, a detailed understanding of the flow of charge and its fluctuations seems to be of primary importance. Coulomb repulsion between electrons usually strongly affect the current-current correlation function. In this work we study the correlations in the charge flow through such interacting quantum dot contacted to one superconducting and two normal electrodes. This set-up allows for analysis of the Andreev scattering events in the correlations of currents flowing between external electrodes and, in particular, gives access to cross-correlations between currents from/to different normal electrodes. Our approach relies on the master equation technique, which properly captures the Coulomb interactions. We study the finite frequency correlations and find the relaxation processes, related to the high frequency charge and low frequency polarisation fluctuations. The multiterminal structure of here studied single electron device allows to analyze a competition between the intra- and inter-channel correlations. In the appropriate limit of the interacting quantum dot embedded between two normal electrodes our calculations quantitatively describe the recent experimental data on the frequency dependent correlations. This shows a promising potential of the method for description of the hybrid systems with superconducting electrode(s).


Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess the costs, cost-effectiveness, and HIV epidemic impact of 3 antiretroviral therapy (ART) policy options. Study Design: We constructed an epidemiologic model to predict the course of the HIV epidemic in the absence of expanded ART availability. Based on background studies of the willingness to pay for ART among patients with AIDS, of the costs to the government of the alternative treatment interventions, and of ART's likely effects on HIV transmission, we simulated the consequences of 3 possible alternative government ART policies. Results: A program to reduce the negative consequences of the currently unstructured private-sector provision of ART is the most cost-effective of the 3 options at a 10% discount rate and least cost-effective at a 3% rate. The costs and cost-effectiveness of all options are highly sensitive to the effect of ART on condom use. Conclusion: The design of ART policy should capitalize on the potential of ART to decrease HIV transmission through institutional arrangements that reward effective prevention programs, thereby raising the likelihood that treatment has beneficial rather than negative external effects.


Asset management and pipe condition assessment (CA) activities in the water industry usually require locating buried pipes accurately to minimise inspection and maintenance costs. A typical challenge in practice is locating an anomaly detected by an in-pipe inspection tool from aboveground in order to dig up a pipe for replacement. Accumulated in-pipe errors over longer distances in particular can easily lead to selecting the wrong pipe section for further investigation or exhumation. In fact, some in-pipe CA providers suggest utility personnel dig up a number of sections of pipe around the suggested location so as to ensure finding the target section. In this paper we propose a mechanism to accurately correlate a 3D pipeline profile built from GPS surveying results of aboveground pipeline features with in-pipe chainage distances, so as to establish an accurate link between above-ground GPS coordinates and inpipe distance measurements. This approach naturally characterises and corrects for some of the most prominent in-pipe chainage measurement errors that can lead to uncertainties about the reported location of a buried pipeline from aboveground. The detailed pipeline information can then be projected onto satellite imagery as an accurate easy-to-understand reference for efficient decision making.


Ben Rafoth's Multilingual Writers and Writing Centers is a timely call for directors and tutors to become better prepared to work with multilingual writers. Pursuing this avenue of training is more important than ever, as enrollment by international students who speak and write in multiple languages continues to grow in universities in America and around the globe. The slim volume makes no claim to offer its audience a specific method for training tutors to meet these needs. Rather, the book is an "informed invitation for writing center directors and their tutors, especially advanced tutors, to make greater use of theory and research from the field of second-language acquisition" when preparing to work with multilingual students (3). As such it acts as a resource that offers a glimpse at the variety of needs found in increasingly diverse writing centers, and signals where directors and tutors can find further resources for training.


Background The aim of preparticipation cardiac screening of athletes is to detect cardiovascular disease at an early stage to prevent sudden cardiac death and sudden cardiac arrest. Few studies focus on consequences of false negative findings. Objective The main objective of this study was to identify cardiovascular incidents in a cohort of male professional football players with negative screening results. Design Retrospective eight years follow-up study. Setting Follow-up of systematic preparticipation cardiac screening completed prior to the 2008 football season of 604 players cleared for full participation in the Norwegian professional leagues, including player and family history, electrocardiography and echocardiography. Patients (or Participants) All players who suffered severe cardiovascular incidents during 8 years of follow-up. Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) Media search with key words football and cardiovascular incidents in Norway from January 1st 2008 until February 13th 2016. We collected medical records from players with disease and compared preparticipation cardiac screening results with outcome. Main Outcome Measurements Players from the original cohort who suffered sudden cardiac death or arrest, angina pectoris or myocardial infarction, transitory ischemic attack, cerebral haemorrhage or infarction, atrial flutter or fibrillation, blood clot, myocarditis or pericarditis. Results Six players with negative screening results, median age 30 years (27–36), had experienced cardiovascular incidents during follow-up. Three players had suffered sudden cardiac arrest, one myocardial infarction, one transitory ischemic attack and one atrial flutter. Four of the incidents happened during or straight after a match, and one during training. Conclusions More than 1 in 100 players with negative screening results suffered severe cardiovascular incidents, included three sudden cardiac arrests, within 8 yrs of follow up. Mandatory preparticipation cardiovascular screening of professional soccer teams in Norway was not able to prevent this.


A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system based on three-level flying capacitor (FC) multilevel converters with hybrid pulse-width modulation (PWM) is presented in this paper. Selective harmonic elimination PWM (SHE-PWM) is used during normal operating conditions and is switched to phase-shifted sinusoidal PWM (PS-SPWM) during an asymmetric network fault. The generation of the switching patterns under SHE-PWM control for each power device is described taking into account the natural balancing of the FC voltages. A new and simple control method for balancing the FC voltages when using SHE-PWM is proposed which is based on the small change of the firing angle according to the polarity of the load current. The FC voltage ripple under SHE-PWM control is estimated and compared to that under PS-SPWM. A method to implement the proposed hybrid PWM with capacitor voltage balancing is also provided. Simulation studies on a 300-MW/plusmn150 kV voltage-source converter transmission system are presented to confirm the satisfactory performance of the proposed system under active and reactive power variations and single-phase fault conditions


Background Psychiatrists' views on the mind-brain relationship (MBR) have marked clinical and research implications, but there is a lack of studies on this topic. Objectives To evaluate psychiatrists' opinions on the MBR, and whether they are amenable to change or not. Methods We conducted a survey of psychiatrists' views on the MBR just before and after a debate on the MBR at the Brazilian Congress of Psychiatry in 2014. Results Initially, from more than 600 participants, 53% endorsed the view that "the mind (your "I") is a product of brain activity", while 47% disagreed. Moreover, 72% contested the view that "the universe is composed only of matter". After the debate, 30% changed from a materialist to a non-materialist view of mind, while 17% changed in the opposite way. Discussion Psychiatrists are interested in debates on the MBR, do not hold a monolithic view on the subject and their positions are open to reflection and change, suggesting the need for more in-depth studies and rigorous but open-minded debates on the subject.


Sprint type strength training was performed 3-4 times a week for 8 weeks by 4 healthy male students (16-18 yrs). The training was carried out on a treadmill at high speed and with high inclination. Muscle biopsies were obtained from vastus lateralis before and after the training period for histochemical classification of slow and fast twitch muscle fibres and for biochemical determination of metabolites and enzyme activities. Muscle fibre type distribution was unchanged, whereas fibre area indicated an increase for both fibre types in 3 subjects after training. The muscle enzyme activities of Mg2+ stimulated ATPase, myokinase and creatine phosphokinase increased 30, 20, and 36 percent, respectively. Muscle concentration of ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) did not change with training. Sargent's jump increased with on average 4 cm (from 47 to 51 cm), maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) with 19 kp (from 165 to 184 kp), and endurance at 50 percent of MVC with 9 s (from 47 to 56 s), respectively. After training all subjects showed a gain in body weight (mean 1.4 kg) and in thigh circumference (mean 1.5 cm) indicating a larger leg muscle volume and consequently also an increase in total ATP and CP.


In the laboratory, different types of litter samples (constructed v. intact) can be used in flammability experiments but the sampling method of these litters could affect litter flammability results. To assess this effect, samples of litters were collected in South-eastern France, according to two different methods previously used in other studies, one keeping intact the structure of the litter layers (non-constructed litter) and the other requiring the construction of the litter, using mainly the surface litter layer (constructed litter). The comparison of flammability results showed that the sampling method had a significant effect on litter bulk-density, rate of spread and rate of consumption, intact litter being more flammable than reconstructed litter that was artificially compacted. The type of vegetation had a significant effect on litter depth, ignitability, sustainability, consumability and combustibility (except on rate of spread) and the litter composition could explain in part this fire behaviour. The effect of the construction of litters on flammability parameters and its magnitude also differed according to vegetation types. Intact litter structure appeared to be an important driver of its flammability, especially of combustibility and consumability. The assessment of these flammability components will differ when using constructed litter samples instead of intact litter samples, especially according to vegetation types.
Future research on litter flammability should take into account the bias due to the litter sampling method when the litter is constructed.


Contents: Parenting after the century of the child: introduction, Tatjana Thelen and Haldis Haukanes Parenthood and childhood: debates within the social sciences, Haldis Haukanes and Tatjana Thelen Part I Travelling Ideals about Relatedness, Family and Parenting Obligations: What is a good mother? Historical shifts, divergent models in urban Japan, Susan D. Holloway, Yoko Yamamoto and Sawako Suzuki No school without foster families in Northern Benin: a social historical approach, Erdmute Alber Growing up nuclear? Young Czechs' and Tunisians' visions of family, parenting and gender roles, Haldis Haukanes and Marit Tjomsland. Part II Negotiating Responsibilities in Education and Child Welfare Institutions: Child welfare, biopower and mestizo relatedness in Quito, Ecuador, Esben Leifsen 'In the best interests of the child': intergenerational legacies of past Aboriginal child removal policies in Australia, Tiffany McComsey 'Privatizing parenthood - modernizing childhood? Paradoxes of school reform in Eastern Germany, Tatjana Thelen Representations of parenting practices of native and immigrant families in institutional care service settings in Barcelona, Marta Bertran. Part III Translating International Legislation to Local Settings: Custody and coming of age: 3 American cases, Randy Frances Kandel and Anne Griffiths Child rights or wrongs: dilemmas in implementing support for children in the Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania, in the era of globalised AIDS approaches, Mai Bente Snipstad, Gro Th. Lie and Dagfinn Winje Index.


Objective Absent pulmonary valve syndrome (APV) is a rare condition usually associated with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Some infants develop respiratory failure from bronchial compression and the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome is unknown. We aimed to investigate the outcomes of APV and the need for long-term ventilation (LTV). Design, patients and setting Retrospective single-centre review of patients diagnosed with APV between 2007 and 2017. Outcome measures Survival, neurological disability and postoperative LTV (≥3 months of non-invasive or invasive respiratory support). Results Thirty patients were identified, 22 (73%) of whom were prenatally diagnosed. Pregnancy was discontinued in one patient, while in utero death occurred in three. One was lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 25 liveborn, 21 had the classic TOF/APV. One baby died immediately after birth, while two patients had palliative care due to severe airway compression and inability to wean ventilation support. Surgical repair was performed in 21 of the 25 (84%) liveborn, with one awaiting surgery. Of those undergoing surgery, two patients died: one during surgery and the other due to severe airway malacia 5 months postsurgery. In the surgical group survival from birth at 1 and 5 years was 89% (95% CI 75% to 100%). Six (30%) patients required LTV postoperatively; all had surgery within the first 6 months of life. Learning and/or other physical difficulties were evident in 63%. Conclusions Majority of patients with APV are diagnosed antenatally. A third of those operated required LTV and over half had learning and/or other physical difficulties. Prospective studies are needed to identify prenatal factors that predict postnatal outcomes so parents can be counselled appropriately.


Novelist and playwright Frances (Fanny) Burney, 1752-1840, was also a prolific writer of journals and letters, beginning with the diary she started at fifteen and continuing until the end of her eventful life. From her youth in London high society to a period in the court of Queen Charlotte and her years interned in France with her husband Alexandre d'Arblay during the Napoleonic Wars, she captured the changing times around her, creating brilliantly comic and candid portraits of those she encountered - including the mad' King George, Samuel Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, David Garrick and a charismatic Napoleon Bonaparte. She also describes, in her most moving piece, undergoing a mastectomy at fifty-nine without anaesthetic. Whether a carefree young girl or a mature woman, Fanny Burney's forthright, intimate and wickedly perceptive voice brings her world powerfully to life.


This article proposes a scheme for bandwidth allocation in wireless ad hoc networks. The quality of service (QoS) levels for each end-to-end flow are expressed using resource-utility functions, and our algorithms aim to maximize aggregated utility. The shared channel is modeled as bandwidth resources defined by maximal cliques of mutual interfering links. We propose an entirely novel resource allocation algorithm that employs auction mechanisms where flows are bidding for resources. The bids depend both on the flow's utility function and the intrinsically derived shadow prices. Then we combine it with a utility-aware on-demand shortest path routing algorithm where shadow prices are used as a natural distance metric. We also show that the problem can be formulated as a linear programming problem. Thus we can compare the performance of our scheme to the centralized optimal LP solution, registering results very close to the optimum. We isolate the performance of the price-based routing and show its advantages in hotspot scenarios, and also propose an asynchronous version that is more feasible for ad hoc environments. Experimental results of a comparison with the state-of-the-art approach based on Kelly's utility maximization framework show that our approach exhibits superior performance for networks with both increased mobility or increased allocation period.


The success or failure of a futures contract is determined by its ability to provide benefits to economic agents, over and above the benefits they derive from the spot market. These benefits are price discovery and risk management through hedging. The extent to which different commodity and financial futures markets have served as efficient centres of price discovery and risk management has been the focus of considerable empirical research in the literature. The evidence however, on the BIFFEX market is very limited. This thesis therefore, by investigating these issues provides new evidence in the literature for a futures market with some unique characteristics such as the trading of a service and thin trading. Our empirical results are summarised as follows. First, the BIFFEX market performs its price discovery function efficiently since futures prices in the market contribute to the discovery ofnew information regarding both current and expected BFI prices. Second, futures prices fail to reduce market risk to the extent evidenced in other markets in the literature and, hence, the market does not perform its risk management function satisfactorily; this is thought to be the result of the heterogeneous composition of the underlying index. Sub-period analysis, corresponding to revisions in the composition of the underlying asset, indicates that the effectiveness of the BIFFEX contract as a centre for risk management and price discovery has strengthened over the recent years as a result of the more homogeneous composition of the index. This by itself indicates that the forthcoming elimination from the underlying index of the cargo routes for larger vessels, which will take place in November 1999, may have a beneficial impact on the market.


What is the best approach for resolving differences over the Iranian nuclear programme and preventing a conflict? How would a conflict possibly unravel given Iranian military, asymmetric and missile capabilities? What does a military conflict over Iran mean for international order and India in particular? These are some of the questions that the book, Troubling Tehran: Reflections on Geopolitics analyses and seeks answers to. The Iranian nuclear programme is a complex subject plagued by fundamental differences on how best to resolve it. While some advocate diplomacy and economic sanctions as a way forward, others push for a military response arguing that pursuing diplomacy provides Iran additional time to achieve a break-out capability. However, military coercion may not yield desired results, given the dispersed nature of Iranian nuclear facilities. A strike in fact is likely to accelerate Iranian nuclear weaponisation programme. The recent sanctioning of Iran`s oil sector adds to the regime`s cup of woes which is already overflowing due to a host of economic problems. However, the jury is still out on the question of whether sanctions would spark public disaffection against the regime.


Key Points The phrase "dissuasion of potential adversaries from pursuing threatening military competition and ambitions" initially appeared in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review Report as one of four key strategic goals abroad; the other three are assuring allies and friends, deterring threats and coercion against U.S. interests, and decisively defeating adversaries who commit aggression. The term also was endorsed in the U.S. National Security Strategy, published in late 2002. Despite this clear articulation, the Bush administration has yet to clarify how the concept will be applied to defense plans and strategy. Dissuasion can be an effective complement to deterrence. It offers a potent concept for handling geopolitical situations in which U.S. relationships with key countries fall short of overt rivalry but can deteriorate if strategic and military competition takes hold. Dissuasion also will have to be integrated into American diplomacy in sensitive regions where the goal is to constrain potential rivals without provoking them into becoming adversaries or forming hostile coalitions. For the Department of Defense, dissuasion requires adaptation of military missions and transformation of capabilities. For example, it underscores the need to keep large U.S. forces in Asia for strategic reasons that go beyond deterring war on the Korean Peninsula. There and elsewhere, it may necessitate adjustments in the U.S. overseas military presence, power-projection capabilities, defense transformation, and alliance military relationships. ********** Some analysts want to downplay dissuasion or set it aside entirely because of its ambiguity. But ignoring this emerging idea would be short sighted. Despite its haziness, the term goes to the heart of new-era geopolitics in several key regions, including Asia. If the United States can learn how to dissuade skillfully, its strategic effectiveness in troubled regions will improve significantly. When the idea of deterrence first appeared 50 years ago, it too was ambiguous. During the Cold War, however, it acquired a role of central importance once it was equipped with a full-fledged strategic theory. The same may hold true for dissuasion in the early 21st century--but only if it too is equipped with the full set of analyses and calculations needed to bring it to life. During the Cold War, the French often used the term dissuasion as synonymous with deterrence. The new U.S. defense strategy, however, employs the term differently in broader ways that reflect its usage in the English language. One dictionary defines dissuasion as the "act of advising or urging somebody not to do something: e.g., she dissuaded him from leaving home." (In this sense, it is an antonym of persuasion, which promotes a course of action.) In strategic terms, dissuasion can be defined as an effort by the United States to convince a country or coalition to refrain from courses of action that would menace our interests and goals or otherwise endanger world peace. How, then, does it differ from deterrence? Complement to Deterrence Deterrence is the logic of direct military coercion applied against a hostile, well-armed enemy. Deterrence is pursued when the scent of war is in the air and when an adversary already possesses both the political intention and military capability to commit aggression. The main aim is to deter the adversary from committing aggression by threatening to respond in ways that will not only rebuff him but also inflict unacceptable losses on him. Presumably, the only thing capable of stopping the adversary is realization that the United States will immediately employ its military forces to defeat him. During the Cold War, deterrence was pursued vigorously in Central Europe and Northeast Asia by deploying large U.S. forces and building alliance defense postures for warfighting against surprise attacks. By contrast, dissuasion arises in a different, less confrontational place along the spectrum from peace to war. …


Hospital-based infection surveillance and control programs can reduce hospital acquired infection (HAI) prevalence. In resource-limited countries, HAI surveillance is challenging to implement due to inadequate or lacking laboratory infrastructure and trained personnel. A HAI surveillance system was implemented in a teaching hospital in Rwanda. A multi-disciplinary team developed a point-prevalence HAI surveillance tool based on World Health Organization (WHO's) criteria and conducted surveillance on all inpatient units from September 2013 to March 2014. The baseline HAI rate was 15.1%. Highest HAI rates were found in intensive care unit (ICU) (50.0%), Neonatal ICU (23.1%) and Orthopedics/burn unit (37.3%). Factors significantly associated with increased risk of developing HAIs included surgery within the past month (odds ratio [OR] 2.75, 95%CI: 1.40, 5.40), use of a urinary catheter (OR 2.10, 95%CI: 1.05, 4.25), use of mechanical ventilator (OR 3.14, 95%CI: 1.01, 9.74), and use of chest drain, naso-gastric tube, external fixator (OR=3.93). Longer hospital length of stay was also significantly associated with a risk of HAI (OR 1.02). It is feasible in a low-resource setting to establish HAI surveillance and obtain an accurate HAI rate. The surveillance information can inform prioritization of infection prevention efforts.


Good Regulatory Practices encompassing the use of regulatory impact assessments, stakeholder engagement and ex post evaluation are a critical tool in the hands of governments to ensure that regulation achieves its objectives. Over the past several years, attention has grown for the trade costs of regulatory divergence. Diverging regulation may increase the costs to trade goods and services across borders. While regulatory divergence is often the result of diverging national public policy objectives, it may be the undesired result of rule-making ignoring the international regulatory environment and interconnectedness of our societies and economies. Good Regulatory Practices provide governments with tools, processes and strategic approaches that can help them identify and evaluate the trade impacts of their regulatory action. The paper reviews the theoretical and practical contribution of GRP to mainstreaming international trade considerations in regulatory decision-making and to addressing regulatory divergence. It does so by reviewing the relevant academic literature, GRP guidelines of a number of OECD members and examples of how GRP and in particular regulatory impact assessments are used to consider the trade impacts of regulation. Building on the available evidence, the paper discusses how decision-makers may enhance the use of GRP to address international trade considerations in regulatory policy-making.


The sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Brentidae), is a destructive insect pest that damages sweet potatoes both in the field and during storage. To identify new environmentally friendly insecticides to control this insect pest, three assays (olfactory test, anti-feeding assay, and toxicity assay) were conducted to evaluate the efficacy and mode of action of 10 botanical insecticides against C. formicarius adults in 2015 and 2016. Of these 10 botanical insecticides, tea saponin, pyrethrins, and veratrine showed significant repellency in olfactory tests. Eight botanical insecticides showed anti-feeding effects in the feeding choice test. Five botanical insecticides had high toxicity. Among them, the lethal concentrations of rotenone were lowest followed by pyrethrins. The lethal time values of rotenone were shortest followed by nicotine. In conclusion, rotenone, pyrethrins, nicotine, and toosendanin have the potential to control C. formicarius adults. Of these, pyrethrins and toosendanin are more environmentally friendly than rotenone and nicotine and were identified as better insecticides to control C. formicarius.

 Key words: Toxicity, repellency, anti-feeding, Coleoptera, Brentidae, environmentally friendly insecticides.


The continental margin in the area west of Shetland was subjected to repeated and extensive ice sheet advances during the Late Pleistocene. Seabed imagery, seismic survey and borehole core data show the Late Devensian ice sheets expanded across the continental shelf three times, two of these advances reaching the shelf edge. On the inner shelf, where present-day water depths are generally less than 100m, only thin sediments from the last retreat phase and exposed rock surfaces remain, all other deposits from earlier phases having been removed by the last advance. On the mid to outer shelf elements of all three phases are preserved, including lodgement and deformation tills, melt-out and water-lain till sheets, in-filled hollows left by stagnant ice decaying in situ and a series of large recessional and terminal moraines. In addition, there is evidence of shallow troughs and overdeepend basins which indicate preferential ice-drainage pathways across the shelf which were formerly occupied by ice streams. At the shelf edge, a thick wedge of glacigenic sediment forms a transition from the till sheets and moraines of the shelf to debris flows composed of glacigenic sediments on the upper slope. Shelf-edge moraines show an architecture indicating floating ice in modern water depths over approximately180m, suggesting the West Shetland ice sheet was no more than about 250m thick. The upper and middle slope is dominated by glacigenic debris flows which are focused in the slope areas below the proposed ice stream discharges at the shelf edge. The mid-to-lower slope has been subjected to contour current activity which has re-worked much of the glacigenic sediment in this position. The lower slope and floor of the Faroe-Shetland Channel are marked by either large debris flow lobes of glacigenic sediment or thin glacimarine muds deposited from suspension. A conceptual model of the glacigenic development of a passive continental margin based upon the West Shetland example shows the deposited sequence for both advance and retreat phases of a glacial cycle, and the actual preserved sequence which might be expected in the rock record. The model also shows that ice sheet buoyancy, thickness, and to a lesser extent, basin subsidence, are the most important factors in the deposition and preservation of a glacially-influenced marine sequence.