MOTIVATION
There are a large number of computational programs freely available to bioinformaticians via a client/server, web-based environment. However, the client interface to these tools (typically an html form page) cannot be customized from the client side as it is created by the service provider. The form page is usually generic enough to cater for a wide range of users. However, this implies that a user cannot set as 'default' advanced program parameters on the form or even customize the interface to his/her specific requirements or preferences. Currently, there is a lack of end-user interface environments that can be modified by the user when accessing computer programs available on a remote server running on an intranet or over the Internet.

RESULTS
We have implemented a client/server system called ORBIT (Online Researcher's Bioinformatics Interface Tools) where individual clients can have interfaces created and customized to command-line-driven, server-side programs. Thus, Internet-based interfaces can be tailored to a user's specific bioinformatic needs. As interfaces are created on the client machine independent of the server, there can be different interfaces to the same server-side program to cater for different parameter settings. The interface customization is relatively quick (between 10 and 60 min) and all client interfaces are integrated into a single modular environment which will run on any computer platform supporting Java. The system has been developed to allow for a number of future enhancements and features. ORBIT represents an important advance in the way researchers gain access to bioinformatics tools on the Internet.


In 2005 NCAA started to use the reviewed schemes of service, which provided
improved salary structures with increased pay and promotion based on education and
merits. The aim of the reviews was to improve employees' motivation, of which the
change on employees' motivation due to the revisions was to be assessed in the
period of five years. This research aims at assessing the changes in employees'
motivation due to 2004 reviewed schemes of service.
A descriptive research design was adopted whereby qualitative and quantitative
research methods were used. Data were collected through reviews of various
secondary sources such as organization performance reports, General Management
plans and structured questionnaire.
The findings indicate that 59.1 percent of the employees were at least motivated
before the 2004 revisions were made while at least 88 percent of employees are now
motivated as a result of the 2004 revisions. This indicates a positive change to
employee's motivation due to 2004 reviewed schemes of services. From this fact,
the study recommends that organizations should perform, from time to time,
participatory reviews to the schemes of service and implement the suggested changes
immediately thereafter. Organizations, especially those located on restricted areas
e.g in game reserve areas, should have appropriate policy on employees' fringe
benefit packages that suits the unique needs of the particular employees.


The present thesis examines the emergent and complementary investigative
method known as self-selection policing. This method seeks to identify minor
offences indicative of more serious criminality, whereby the serious offender
volunteers him or herself for warranted police attention by dint of committing a
minor (often considered innocuous) infraction of the law.
In early chapters a conceptual and theoretical underpinning for self-selection is
developed by exploring relevant criminological and psychological theory. Terms
and concepts are clarified early on, for example, discussion and clarity are
provided regarding what constitutes serious and minor offences and offenders.
Next, a series of exploratory studies is presented whereby specific minor
offences are identified and their utility as indicators (or 'flags') for more serious
criminality tested. These include non-compliance with Home Office Road
Transport Form 1 (HO/RT1), where drivers are required to present necessary
motoring documents to police within seven days, and the giving of false details to
police.
After presenting a theoreical and empirical case for using self-selection policing,
late chapters explore anticipated obstacles to its wider implementation. For
example, a study is presented which demonstrates a general overestimation of
offence homogeneity by police. The implications of this finding for self-selection
policing are discussed.
The present thesis concludes by suggesting where self-selection policing sits
both conceptually and theoretically within academic criminology, and within
operational policing. For example, suggestions are offered as to how police and
public might be convinced of the utility of self-selection policing and how it might
be best integrated with mainstream policing.


Background Acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) is a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Globally, human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) is the most common pathogen of ALRI in infants and children. However, age-stratified HRSV disease burden data are largely absent from Africa, which is a key gap in informing an evidence-based recommendation for the introduction of an HRSV vaccine by the WHO. Methods This study investigated the presence of HRSV in respiratory specimens from 552 children <5 years old with ALRI from Accra, Ghana in 2006 and 2013–2014 by real-time PCR. Of HRSV-positive samples the second hypervariable region of the viral G protein gene was sequenced and analyzed for phylogeny, characteristic amino acid substitutions, and potential glycosylation patterns. Further, HRSV infections have been characterized by age, symptoms and timely occurrence. Results HRSV was observed in 23% (127/552) of the children with ALRI, with the highest incidence in infants younger than one year (33%, 97/295, p = 0.013). Within the observed seasonal circulation time of HRSV from June (mid-wet season) to December (beginning of the dry season) the incidence of ALRI due to HRSV was as high as 46% (125/273). HRSV disease was significantly associated with (broncho-) pneumonia, bronchiolitis, LRTI, and difficulty in breathing. Phylogenetic characterization of HRSV strains from Ghana identified the circulation of the currently worldwide prevailing genotypes ON1 and BA9, and shows evidence of an independent molecular evolution of ON1 and BA9 strains in Ghana resulting in potentially new subgenotypes within ON1 and BA9, provisionally named ON1.5, ON1.6, and BA9-IV. Conclusion This study addresses important knowledge gaps in the forefront of introducing the HRSV vaccine by providing information on the molecular evolution and incidence of HRSV in Accra (Ghana, Africa).


This research examines conversational interactions between children aged 8 to 13 years. The 192 participants were paired to form 96 age- and gender-matched dyads of native speakers (NS) and nonnative speakers (NNS): 32 NNS–NS; 48 NNS–NNS; and 16 NS–NS dyads. The pairs worked together on 2 communication tasks, a one-way and a two-way task. Transcriptions were made from recordings of these conversations and examined to determine the effects of native/nonnativeness, language proficiency, age, and gender on the negotiation for meaning strategies used by the children. The mean and standard deviations were calculated for each group and, because of the nature of the data, the results were compared using nonparametric statistical procedures.

These results suggest that in child-child interactions the nativeness and proficiency of pairings influence the amount of negotiation for meaning that occurs. In terms of native/nonnativeness the results showed that in nearly all cases, NNS–NNS dyads used more negotiation for meaning strategies than did the NNS–NS dyads who, in turn, used more than did the NS–NS dyads. With respect to proficiency, age, and gender, the effect of these factors was slightly different than it was in adult-adult dyads. The general trend with respect to language proficiency was that the least native-like pairs (i.e., matched low proficiency nonnative dyads) produced the most amount of negotiation, with gradually decreasing amounts as the pairings became more native-like in proficiency (i.e, L–L > H–L > H–H > L–NS > H–NS > NS–NS) and, unlike the results in adult studies, age and gender comparisons showed no significant differences.


1. Extracts of rabbit kidney contain both active renin and a material which has a scarcely detectable pressor response in the rat at pH 7.4, but which, after adjustment of the pH to 2.5 and then back to 7.4, gives a similar pressor response to renin. 2. The material is eluted from Sephadex G-100 ahead of renin, but after acidification is eluted in the same fractions as active renin. It may be a renin zymogen. 3. The zymogen-like material has a molecular weight of around 54 000, compared with a molecular weight of 37 000 for active rabbit renin.


Phase-shifting interferometry based on the integrating-bucket technique with sinusoidal phase modulation is studied theoretically and demonstrated experimentally to obtain phase maps from double-beam interferometers. The method uses four frames obtained by integration of the time-varying intensity in an interference pattern during the four quarters of the modulation period. An optimum sinusoidal phase modulation is found to minimize the effect of the additive noise. The absolute accuracy of the phase measurements is discussed. Possible applications of the method are demonstrated with two interference microscopes with which the phase modulation is achieved by sinusoidal oscillation of a mirror attached to a piezoelectric transducer and by sinusoidal birefringence modulation with a photoelastic modulator. In both experimental arrangements, phase images can be produced in real time at a rate of several hertz. Noise measurements are reported and compared with theory.


Background: In recent years the rate of cesarean section has significantly increased.To determine the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics in reducing infectious morbidity after cesarean section. Objectives: In our study, we aimed to evaluate the efficiency of prophylactic antibiotic administration by comparing three groups using single, multiple and no prophylactic antibiotic therapy. Materials and Methods: Our study is a prospective, randomized controlled study including emergent cases, that developed cesarean indication while in active labor, and elective cesarean cases. A total of 90 patients were included in the study, including 30 patients who underwent cesarean delivery and did not undergo an antibiotic prophylaxis (Group 1), 30 patients who underwent a single dose antibiotic prophylaxis (Group II) and 30 patients who underwent multiple dose antibiotic prophylaxis (Group III). Results: The incidence of wound infection was significantly higher in cases that were not using antibiotics at postoperative days 3, 5 and 7 compared to the cases using single and multiple antibiotics. There was not a significant difference between groups in terms of endometritis. Conclusion: Administration of prophylactic antibiotics prevent wound infection but does not prevent development of endometritis.


In "Belief in the Face of Controversy," Hilary Kornblith argues for a radical form of epistemic modesty: given that there has been no demonstrable cumulative progress in the history of philosophy – as there has been in formal logic, math, and science – Kornblith concludes that philosophers do not have the epistemic credibility to be trusted as authorities on the questions they attempt to answer. After reconstructing Kornblith's position, I will suggest that it requires us to adopt a different conception of philosophy's epistemic value. First, I will argue that 'progress' has a different meaning in logic, science and philosophy, and that to judge one of these disciplines by the standards appropriate to one of the others obscures the unique epistemic functions of all. Second, I will argue that philosophy is epistemically unique in that it is a non-relativistic but historically determined excavation of foundations. Finally, drawing on Frank Herbert's Dune, I will suggest that Kornblith leaves us with a choice between two epistemic ideals: the hyper-logical 'Mentat,' or the historically informed 'pre-born.'


Nocturnal symptoms are common in young asthmatic children. Such symptoms may be caused by increased impairment of lung function when they adopt the supine posture. Thirty one children aged 2.8-8.3 years were studied, of whom 20 had asthma (10 with frequent nocturnal symptoms) and 11 had no respiratory problems (control subjects). Peak expiratory flow (PEF) was measured with a Wright's peak flow meter and functional residual capacity (FRC) by a helium gas dilution technique after 30 minutes of lying supine; the values were compared with FRC measured sitting and PEF standing. Peak flow fell significantly on adoption of the supine posture in the asthmatic children, but there was no difference in this fall between the asthmatic children with and without nocturnal symptoms. FRC also fell on adoption of the supine posture, but the decrease in FRC was significant only in the control children and the asthmatic children without nocturnal symptoms. The failure to find a greater fall in PEF or a greater change in FRC on adoption of the supine posture among asthmatic children with nocturnal symptoms suggests that mechanisms other than increased impairment of lung function are responsible for nocturnal asthma.


Summary Background: Thanatophoric dysplasia (TD) is the most lethal and most severe type of dysplasia. It has distinct features, the most important of which is short tubular bones and short ribs with platyspondyly, allowing a precise radiologic and prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis. It has been reported to be caused by mutations in the FGFR3 gene, but exactly how cytogenetic abnormalities might lead to TD is unclear. Case Report: We report a case of TD with different prenatal sonographic features compatible with the classification of type I. In the result of cytogenetic examination, we found de novo CAs in 28% of cells analyzed from the affected infant; 75% of the abnormalities were numerical, and of those, 25% were structural aberrations; 21% of cells revealed predominantly numerical aberrations. Monosomy 18, 21 and 22 was observed in 4% of cells, monosomy 20 in 2%, and monosomy 7, 8, 14, 17 and 19 in 1%. Structural changes were observed in 7% of cells. Conclusions: It appears that these chromosomes may be preferentially involved in and important for TD development.


Delineation of aquatic plants and estimation of its surface extent are crucial to the efficient control of its proliferation, and this information can be derived accurately with fine resolution remote sensing products. However, small swath and low observation frequency associated with them may be prohibitive for application to large water bodies with rapid proliferation and dynamic floating aquatic plants. The information can be derived from products with large swath and high observation frequency, but with coarse resolution; and the quality of so derived information must be eventually assessed using finer resolution data. In this study, we evaluate two methods: Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) slicing and maximum likelihood in terms of delineation; and two methods: Gutman and Ignatov's NDVI-based fractional cover retrieval and linear spectral unmixing in terms of area estimation of aquatic plants from 300 m Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) data, using as reference results obtained with 30 m Landsat-7 ETM+. Our results show for delineation, that maximum likelihood with an average classification accuracy of 80% is better than NDVI slicing at 75%, both methods showing larger errors over sparse vegetation. In area estimation, we found that Gutman and Ignatov's method and spectral unmixing produce almost the same root mean square (RMS) error of about 0.10, but the former shows larger errors of about 0.15 over sparse vegetation while the latter remains invariant. Where an endmember spectral library is available, we recommend the spectral unmixing approach to estimate extent of vegetation with coarse resolution data, as its performance is relatively invariant to the fragmentation of aquatic vegetation cover.


The exploration and discovery of new POM species with novel structural motifs are core prerequisites and permanent missions in the field of POM chemistry. It has been nearly 30 years since the first butterfly-shaped Anderson-type hetreopolyanions with a centred pentavalent Sb atom, [Sb(OH)2Mo6O22]5−, named as the β isomer, was discovered in 1988. Yet the corresponding β isomers with a lower valence metal as the central heteroatom and its triol-functionalized organic derivatives have never been obtained. Herein, for the first time, two novel triol-functionalized butterfly-shaped heteropolyanions, β-{Cr[RC(CH2O)3]2Mo6O18}3− (R = NH2, 1; C2H5, 2), were synthesized by the reaction of common flat Anderson-type POM, α-[Cr(OH)6Mo6O18]3−, and triol ligands in hot DMF. Single crystal XRD analysis reveals that β-{Cr[RC(CH2O)3]2Mo6O18}3− is the first triol-functionalized β isomer of common α-type Anderson POMs. This study will enrich the family of POMs and provide an oportunity for the discovery of more potential POMs-based organic–inorganic hybrid materials.


Recent advances in vehicle technology permit the real-time monitoring of driver state to reduce distraction-related crashes, particularly within the heavy vehicle industry. Relatively little published research has evaluated the human machine interface (HMI) design for these systems. However, the efficacy of in-vehicle technology depends in large part on the acceptability among drivers of the system's interface. Four variations of the HMI of a prototype multi-modal warning system developed by the authors for driver distraction were evaluated in a truck simulator with eight car drivers and six truck drivers. Driver acceptance of the HMIs was assessed using the System Acceptability Scale; and salience, comprehension and perceived effectiveness of components of the HMIs (modality, intensity of warning) were assessed using likert scales. The results showed that participants considered the HMIs to be acceptable and useful, and that the warning components were largely noticed, understood correctly, and perceived to be effective. Although this study identified no major design flaws with the recently developed HMIs, further simulator testing with a larger sample size is recommended to validate the findings. On-road evaluations to assess the impact of the HMIs on real world safety are a necessary pre-requisite for implementation.


I. THE VISUAL WORLD: UNDERSTANDING THE ART YOU SEE. 1. A World of Art. The World as Artists See It. Works in Progress: The Creative Process. The World as We Perceive It. The Critical Process: Thinking About Making and Seeing. 2. Developing Visual Literacy. Words and Images. Works in Progress: Lorna Simpson's The Park. Describing the World. The Critical Process: Thinking about Visual Conventions. 3. The Themes of Art. The Representation of the World. The Power of Imagination. The Idea of the Beautiful. Works in Progress: Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. The Critical Process: Thinking about the Themes of Art. 4. Seeing the Value in Art. Art and Its Reception. Art, Politics, and Public Space. Works in Progress: Guillermo Gomez-Perez's Temple of Confessions. The Critical Process: Thinking about the Value of Art. II. THE FORMAL ELEMENTS AND THEIR DESIGN: DESCRIBING THE ART YOU SEE. 5. Line. Varieties of Line. Qualities of Line. Works in Progress: Vincent van Gogh's The Sower. Works in Progress: Hung Liu's The Three Fujins. The Critical Process: Thinking about Line. Works in Progress: J.-A.-D. Ingres's The Turkish Bath. 6. Space. Shape and Mass. Three-Dimensional Space. Two-Dimensional Space. Linear Perspective. Works in Progress: Peter Paul Rubens's The Kermis. Some Other Means of Representing Space. Distortions of Space and Foreshortening. Modern Experiments and New Directions. The Critical Process: Thinking about Space. 7. Light and Color. Light. Works in Progress: Mary Cassatt's In the Loge. Color. Works in Progress: Chuck Close's Stanley. Works in Progress: Sonia Delaunay's Electric Prism. The Critical Process: Thinking about Light and Color. 8. Other Formal Elements. Texture. Pattern. Time and Motion. Works in Progress: Jackson Pollock's Number 29 1950. The Critical Process: Thinking about the Formal Elements. 9. The Principles of Design. Balance. Emphasis and Focal Point. Works in Progress: Diego Velazquez's Las Meninas. Scale and Proportion. Works in Progress: Judith F. Baca's USC Mural. Repetition and Rhythm. Unity and Variety. The Critical Process: Thinking about the Principles of Design. III. THE FINE ARTS MEDIA: LEARNING HOW ART IS MADE. 10. Drawing. Drawing as an Art. Drawing Materials. Works in Progress: Raphael's Alba Madonna. Works in Progress: Beverly Buchanan's Shackworks. The Critical Process: Thinking about Drawing. 11. Printmaking. Relief Processes. Works in Progress: Utamaro's Studio. Intaglio Processes. Works in Progress: Albrecht Durer's Adam and Eve. Lithography. Works in Progress: June Wayne's Knockout. Silkscreen Printing. Monotypes. The Critical Process: Thinking about Printmaking. 12. Painting. Encaustic. Fresco. Works in Progress: Michelangelo's Libyan Sybil. Tempera. Oil Painting. Works in Progress: Milton Resnick's U + Me. Watercolor. Gouache. Synthetic Media. Computer-Generated Painting. The Critical Process: Thinking about Painting. 13. Sculpture. Carving. Works in Progress: Jim Sardonis's Reverence. Modeling. Casting. Assemblage. Works in Progress: Eva Hesse's Contingent. Earthworks. The Critical Process: Thinking about Sculpture. 14. Other Three-Dimensional Media. Craft Media. Works in Progress: Pater Voulkos's X-Neck. Mixed Media. Works in Progress: Hannah Hoch's Cut with the Kitchen Knife. Works in Progress: Goat Island's How Dear to Me the Hour When Daylight Dies. The Critical Process: Thinking about Other Three-Dimensional Media. 15. The Camera Arts. Photography. Film. Video. Works in Progress: Bill Viola's The Greeting. The Critical Process: Thinking about the Camera Arts. IV. THE VISUAL ARTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE: RECOGNIZING THE ART OF DESIGN. 16. Architecture. Topography. Technology. Works in Progress: Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. Community Life. Works in Progress: Mierle Ukeles's Fresh Kills Landfill Project. The Critical Process: Thinking about Architecture. 17. Design. Design, Craft, and Fine Art. The Arts and Crafts Movement. Art Nouveau. Art Deco. The Avant-Gardes. The Bauhaus. Streamlining. The Forties and Fifties. Contemporary Design. Works in Progress: Fred Wilson's Mining the Museum. The Critical Process: Thinking about Design. V. THE VISUAL RECORD: PLACING THE ARTS IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT. 18. The Ancient World. The Earliest Art. Mesopotamian Culture. Egyptian Civilization. Aegean Civilizations. Greek Art. Roman Art. Developments in Asia. 19. The Christian Era. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Christian Art in Northern Europe. Romanesque Art. Gothic Art. Developments in Islam and Asia. 20. The Renaissance Through the Baroque. The Early Renaissance. The High Renaissance. Art in China. Pre-Columbian Art in Mexico. Mannerism. The Baroque. 21. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The Rococo. Neoclassicism. Romanticism. Works in Progress: Theodore Gericault's The Raft of the Medusa. Realism. Impressionism. Post-Impressionism. 22. The Twentieth Century. Cubism. The Fauves. German Expressionism. Futurism. Dada and Surrealism. Works in Progress: Pablo Picasso's Guernica. American Modernism and Abstract Expressionism. Pop Art and Minimalism. Postmodern Directions. Works in Progress: Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The Critical Process: Thinking about the History of Art.


Portuguese is typically not considered a differential object marking (DOM) language, while Spanish, with its accusative a, is one of the most well-known DOM languages. This chapter uses quantitative multivariate analysis to argue that Portuguese – both Brazilian (BP) and European (EP) – displays a clear-cut DOM system. Unlike Spanish, however, the Portuguese DOM system is limited to strictly anaphoric direct object referents. Both BP and EP oppose null objects with overt pronominal marking of anaphoric DOs, even though the pronouns employed differ in each variety. In both Spanish and Portuguese, animacy, definiteness and specificity constrain the encoding of direct object referents in similar ways; most notably, the hierarchical ordering of these constraints is the same across the two languages.


Supersonic, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is thought to play an important role in many processes — especially in astrophysics, where detailed three-dimensional observations are scarce. Simulations can partially fill this gap and help to understand these processes. However, direct simulations with realistic parameters are often not feasible. Consequently, large eddy simulations (LES) have emerged as a viable alternative. In LES the overall complexity is reduced by simulating only large and intermediate scales directly. The smallest scales, usually referred to as subgrid-scales (SGS), are introduced to the simulation by means of an SGS model. Thus, the overall quality of an LES with respect to properly accounting for small-scale physics crucially depends on the quality of the SGS model. While there has been a lot of successful research on SGS models in the hydrodynamic regime for decades, SGS modeling in MHD is a rather recent topic, in particular, in the compressible regime.
In this thesis, we derive and validate a new nonlinear MHD SGS model that explicitly takes compressibility effects into account. A filter is used to separate the large and intermediate scales, and it is thought to mimic finite resolution effects. In the derivation, we use a deconvolution approach on the filter kernel. With this approach, we are able to derive nonlinear closures for all SGS terms in MHD: the turbulent Reynolds and Maxwell stresses, and the turbulent electromotive force (EMF). We validate the new closures both a priori and a posteriori.
In the a priori tests, we use high-resolution reference data of stationary, homogeneous, isotropic MHD turbulence to compare exact SGS quantities against predictions by the closures. The comparison includes, for example, correlations of turbulent fluxes, the average dissipative behavior, and alignment of SGS vectors such as the EMF. In order to quantify the performance of the new nonlinear closure, this comparison is conducted from the subsonic (sonic Mach number M s ≈ 0.2) to the highly supersonic (M s ≈ 20) regime, and against other SGS closures. The latter include established closures of eddy-viscosity and scale-similarity type. In all tests and over the entire parameter space, we find that the proposed closures are (significantly) closer to the reference data than the other closures.
In the a posteriori tests, we perform large eddy simulations of decaying, supersonic MHD turbulence with initial M s ≈ 3. We implemented closures of all types, i.e. of eddy-viscosity, scale-similarity and nonlinear type, as an SGS model and evaluated their performance in comparison to simulations without a model (and at higher resolution). We find that the models need to be calculated on a scale larger than the grid scale, e.g. by an explicit filter, to have an influence on the dynamics at all. Furthermore, we show that only the proposed nonlinear closure improves higher-order statistics.


UK support to the reconstruction of the Sierra Leonean state has been widely held up as an example of successful state-building with the development of basic capacity and trust in public institutions, particularly security. This article examines security sector reform (SSR) in Sierra Leone, how Sierra Leone affected SSR and what implications that has for international interventions. Despite being hailed as a success, the sustainability of a state-building effort driven by concepts of the liberal state, a polity form that never existed in Sierra Leone, is in question. Unrealistic expectations of progress driven by planning imperatives of development agencies remain a key issue and obstacle to sustainability.


A one-shot sensor for underwater 3D reconstruction is presented and tested underwater in a water tank. The system is composed of a RGB CCD camera and a 532 nm green laser with a Diffractive Optical Element attached to it. The laser projects a pattern of parallel lines into the scene. The deformed pattern obtained in the camera frame is then processed to obtain a non-dense 3D point cloud that can be later used for autonomous manipulation and grasping, or for detailed mapping of textureless objects or scenarios.


This project examined the effects of habitat fragmentation on bird assemblages in the Wet Tropics Lowlands. I quantified both landscape and vegetation patterns in the study area, described the bird assemblages, examined the effects of edges on the vegetation and avifauna, and analysed the response of the avifauna to the spatial and vegetation characteristics of fragments. Particular emphasis was given to comparisons between these responses and those of other tropical avifaunas to develop general theory, as the rules that apply in species-rich locations may not apply in highly disturbed, relatively depauperate areas such as the lowlands of northern Queensland.

Fine scale vegetation layers along a 70 km long stretch of the Wet Tropics lowlands were created, and from these, landscape indices were calculated to quantify the landscape at patch and landscape scales. Thirty fragments and three locations in continuous rainforest were sampled for vegetation structural attributes and bird assemblages using standard line transects at different distances from patch edges.

This region of the lowlands is very heavily fragmented by farming, with only 6.8% forest cover remaining, and most clearing in the region has occurred on alluvial and basalt soils with a slope less than 8°. Vegetation grouped broadly into two major types: complex mesophyll vine forest (with strong cyclone disturbance evident) in the south, and mixed forest in the north. Regression tree analyses suggested that while rainfall strongly influences rainforest structure in a non-linear fashion, differences among drier sites were mainly due to landform while the wetter sites were more influenced by altitude, most likely due to drainage factors. These differences occurred at a larger (landscape) scale rather than at the transect level, except for subtle edge effects. Through ordination, the 27 vegetation variables were reduced to three summary variables that explained 91% of the variation among the sites for later analyses.

Overall bird richness (102 species), while low compared to that of most tropical rainforests worldwide, is richer than most upland areas of the Wet Tropics due to greater numbers of open-country species in and around rainforest edges. However, the study area is particularly depauperate in both habitat specialists and feeding specialists compared to upland rainforests in northern Queensland. This is probably due to extinctions during historical rainforest contractions, the distance from source areas such as Papua New Guinea, and the high rates of natural disturbance in the lowlands (favouring more resilient generalists). Bird assemblages in mixed forest differed from those in mesophyll rainforest in having more habitat generalists and fewer rainforest specialists and, among species found in unfragmented forest, rarer species were less able to persist in habitat fragments than more common species.

Surprisingly, no differences in canopy connectedness, foliage density or heterogeneity were evident between edge zones and interiors, which were probably due to the severe canopy damage from cyclones across rainforests in the study area rather than just around rainforest edges. Edge zones did, however, contain greater numbers of stems, shrubs, and in particular Lantana camera, but fewer ground ferns, mosses, and climbing palms. The microclimate changes leading to this gradient are probably caused by outside conditions permeating horizontally from the edge, rather than by secondary effects of canopy damage.

Total bird richness and abundance did not significantly differ between forest edges and interiors (unlike most other tropical rainforest studies), possibly reflecting the lack of structural vegetation contrast between edges and interiors, the open-country species that utilise the edge, and the generalist nature of the lowland rainforest community. Among guilds, however, some differences were apparent, with greater numbers of open-country species recorded at edges and rainforest specialists tending to favour patch interiors. Edges contained greater densities of frugivores, gramnivores, and nectarivores, whereas interiors contained higher densities of obligate insectivores and understorey species. Except for total richness and abundance, these patterns reflect those from other regions, but to a lesser degree, possibly due to the less diverse and specialised local species pool and to the regular disturbance to this area by cyclones, which appears to limit the strength and extent of microclimate gradients.

The major determinants of assemblage structure in isolates were a combination of patch (patch area) and landscape (proportion of rainforest within 1 km) variables. The degree of canopy connectivity, which is largely influenced by cyclone disturbance, also contributed (to a lesser extent) to assemblage structure. At a guild level, open-country species were minimally affected by landscape or patch characteristics, whereas species found in wide ranges of habitats were influenced by both patch and landscape variables. Rainforest specialists, on the other hand, were influenced solely by patch-level variables, including the degree of canopy closure. Of the feeding guilds, only the obligate gramnivores were less species-rich in larger fragments, because this guild comprised entirely open-country species and were concentrated along edges. These avian responses to patch and landscape characteristics are weaker than those of most other tropical assemblages, with smaller patches maintaining a relatively high proportion of species. This is probably due again to the low diversity and specialisation within this avifauna. In effect, those species that would be the most vulnerable to human-induced habitat loss would have already disappeared from previous natural disturbance.

In the Wet Tropics, Pleistocene climate fluctuations causing rainforest contractions to small refugia have led to a relatively depauperate and generalist avifauna, which is in turn more robust in the face of a range of anthropogenic disturbances. Hence, regional disturbances have influenced not only the composition of the lowland avifauna, but also the characteristics that make this bird assemblage more resistant to habitat fragmentation at the landscape scale. This study therefore provides an example of one type of change filtering out those species that are vulnerable to quite different human disturbances at different spatial and temporal scales.

Some areas of the Wet Tropics lowlands are still threatened by residential, agricultural, and tourism development, and this study has shown that bird assemblages suffer negative consequences from the fragmentation of remaining habitat. However, this avifauna is more resilient than those from diverse regions, so smaller, isolated patches may be of greater conservation value (with regard to the bird assemblage) than might be the case in other regions where assemblages are more diverse and, importantly, species are more specialised.


One way of reducing the emissions of fossil fuel-derived carbon dioxide (CO2) is to replace fossil fuels with biofuels produced from agricultural biomasses or residuals. However, cultivation of soils results in emission of other greenhouse gases (GHGs), especially nitrous oxide (N2O). Previous studies on biofuel production systems showed that emissions of N2O may counterbalance a substantial part of the global warming reduction, which is achieved by fossil fuel displacement. In this study, we related measured field emissions of N2O to the reduction in fossil fuel-derived CO2, which was obtained when agricultural biomasses were used for biofuel production. The analysis included five organically managed feedstocks (viz. dried straw of sole cropped rye, sole cropped vetch and intercropped rye–vetch, as well as fresh grass–clover and whole crop maize) and three scenarios for conversion of biomass into biofuel. The scenarios were (i) bioethanol, (ii) biogas and (iii) coproduction of bioethanol and biogas. In the last scenario, the biomass was first used for bioethanol fermentation and subsequently the effluent from this process was utilized for biogas production. The net GHG reduction was calculated as the avoided fossil fuel-derived CO2, where the N2O emission was subtracted. This value did not account for fossil fuel-derived CO2 emissions from farm machinery and during conversion processes that turn biomass into biofuel. The greatest net GHG reduction, corresponding to 700–800 g CO2 m , was obtained by biogas production or coproduction of bioethanol and biogas on either fresh grass–clover or whole crop maize. In contrast, biofuel production based on lignocellulosic crop residues (i.e. rye and vetch straw) provided considerably lower net GHG reductions ( 215 g CO2 m ), and even negative numbers sometimes. No GHG benefit was achieved by fertilizing the maize crop because the extra crop yield, and thereby increased biofuel production, was offset by enhanced N2O emissions.


Re-vegetation on closed mining-sites for carbon sequestration and/or bio-energy production is one of the strategies of addressing the world-wide issues of energy crisis and global warming. However, mine soils including coal-mining refuse usually have poor quality and are unfavorable to plant growth. Thus, the major objective of this study was to improve quality of coal-mining refuse under laboratory conditions using zeolite, flue gas desulfurization gypsum (FGD), flyash, and biosolids at 10% (w/w) rate. Chemical analysis did not indicate any significantly high concentrations of toxins in the solid or the solution phase, suggesting that soil acidity was the principal chemical constraint hindering re-vegetation. In this context, FGD was the best among the tested materials for increasing soil pH and improving lettuce ( Lactuca sativa ) seed germination, while application of biosolids significantly enhanced soil aggregate stability. Specifically, laboratory tests showed that application of FGD increased pH of the acidic coal refuse samples from initial 3.80-4.66 to 5.70-6.60 and enhanced the growth of germinated lettuce seedlings in mine soil solution from 2.9-4.4 cm to 5.9-8.6 cm. The biosolids amendment increased the geometric mean diameter of the mine soil aggregates from the antecedent 0.93-0.99 mm to 1.13-1.25 mm. However, use of zeolite and fly-ash did not significantly improve the soil quality.


Integrin αIIbβ3 is the central protein in haemostasis and thrombosis; its activation is the first step in a cascade of biochemical processes which leads to platelet activation, spreading and clotting. The mechanism of integrin activation and molecular details of platelet activation are still being worked out so tools which aid in this process are useful in both diagnostic and therapy development. Many questions remain on the conformational changes in the key integrin responsible for stimulating thrombosis and methods of preventing or forcing adhesion of platelets on solid surfaces is key in medical devices and diagnostics respectively.
This work exploits the RGD peptide sequence (recognises fibrinogen which plays a key role in platelet activation), for both exploring conformational status of αIIbβ3 integrin in solution and tracking it in platelets and also for binding and releasing platelets from substrates.
The former focusses on novel ruthenium(II) polypyridyl metal complex probes with long luminescent lifetimes which through changes to their photophysics and anisotropy can be used to determine the activation status of an integrin. In addition, the application of two stokes shifted probes: ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes, developed in this programme and also a near infra-red BODIPY in neurological tissue imaging is reported. Ru(II)binding to β-amyloid protein aggregates (linked to Alzheimer's disease) is also presented, proving that the application of ruthenium complexes in biology is diverse, presenting huge potential in a wide variety of areas including tissue imaging and diagnostics.
The latter focusses on novel means of binding or preventing binding of human blood platelets to planar or nanostructured surfaces which through chemical or geometrical modifications can be used to alter the binding ability, morphology and activation status of platelets, an aspect which is vital towards managing thrombus related diseases.
Overall, this thesis introduces some new probes and tools which may have significant value and insight to offer in study and prevention of thrombosis.


As businesses attempt to maximize every employee hour, knowledge management and collaboration tools like SharePoint 2003 have become more popular. Now businesses turn their attention to maximize this tool. Microsoft SharePoint 2003 Unleashed, Second Edition can show you how to do this. Revised based on reader feedback, this new edition delves into the power of SharePoint 2003 by going deep inside topics that include: Migrating to SharePoint 2003 Planning and Implementing a SharePoint 2003 Environment Managing a SharePoint 2003 Environment Extending the SharePoint 2003 EnvironmentSharePoint 2003 technologies are designed to make it easier for everyone on a network to find and manage information. Microsoft SharePoint 2003 Unleashed, Second Edition makes it easier to get there.


Hereditary non polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) has been related to mutations in the DNA mismatch repair genes (MLH1, MSH2 y MSH6). Mutation detection analysis requires the complete sequencing of these genes, given the high frequency of family-specific alterations. A point mutation (2269-2270insT) in the last codon of the MLH1 gene has been detected in families from a northern region of Italy (Reggio Emilia).Given that this alteration was registered only in people from this region, it has been considered a founder mutation. In this work, we present an Argentine HNPCC family whose ancestors were natives from the Reggio Emilia, Italy, and who were carriers for this mutation. In order to detect the genetic alteration, a PCR was developed followed by a restriction enzyme incubation assay. The mutation was detected in 3 family members, two of them without clinical symptoms. The PCR/restriction enzyme methodology has been sensitive and specific for the detection of this mutation. It has allowed the performance of a pre-symptomatic genetic diagnosis in the Argentine HNPCC family, avoiding sending samples abroad. It is worth mentioning that pre-symptomatic diagnosis of hereditary cancers allows enhanced surveillance and support for the affected families when it is performed by a multidisciplinary group.


EU energy policy objectives are directed at three highly interdependent areas: energy supply security, competitiveness and decarbonization to prevent climate change. In this paper, we focus on the issue of energy supply security. Security of energy supply for the immediate and medium-term future is a necessary condition in the current context of the global political economy for the survival of the Union and its component member states. Since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, energy policy no longer comes onto the agenda of the European Commission through the backdoor of the common market, environment and competitiveness. The Treaty created a new legal basis for the internal energy market. However, securing external supplies as well as deciding the energy mix, remain matters of national prerogative, though within the constraints of other parts of eu's legislation in force. Without a common defense policy, the highly import dependent Union and its members face external instability in the energy rich Arab Middle East and North Africa. Concern about energy security has been triggered by declining European energy production as well as the strain on global demand exerted by newly industrializing economies such as China and India and the Middle East, as well as the political instability in this reserve-rich part of the world. This paper explores the following two topics [1] the current situation and past trends in production, supply, demand and trade in energy in the eu, against the background of major changes in the last half decade and [2] threats to the security of the supply of oil and natural gas from import regions. Fossil fuel import dependence in the EU is expected to continue to increase in the coming two decades. As global trends show, and despite new fields in the Caspian region and the Eastern Mediterranean, conventional fossil oil and gas resources remain concentrated in fewer geopolitically unstable regions and countries (i.e. the Middle East and North Africa (mena) and the Caspian Region (cr) including Russia), while global demand for fossil energy is expected to substantially increase also within the energy rich Gulf countries. This combination directly impacts EU energy supply security. It should be noted that the trend towards higher levels of import dependence was not interrupted when the era of low energy prices, between 1980 and 2003, came to an end. Within the EU itself, domestic resistance to the development of unconventional resources is an obstacle to investment in unconventional sources in this part of the high-income world. This should therefore not put at risk investments in either renewables or alternative sources at home or conventional resources mainly in the Arab-Middle East. The situation is exacerbated by the spread of instability in the Arab-Middle Eastern countries. There are three domestic and geopolitical concerns to be taken into consideration: (1) In the Arab-Middle East, threats to EU energy supply security originate in the domestic regime of these countries. Almost all Arab resource-rich countries belong to a type of patrimonial, rentier-type of state-society relation. These regimes rely on rents from the exploitation of energy resources and the way in which rents are distributed. Regimes of this type are being challenged. Their economies show uneven economic development, centralized power structures, corruption and poverty at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The discrimination of females is a major obstacle to the development of the service sector. At present, even the monarchies fear the spread of violent conflict. Offshoots of these consequences have proven to cause civil unrest, exemplified by what optimists have called the 'Arab Spring.' (2) The second concern is the domestic and global impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds (swfs) managed by Arab patrimonial rentier states. swfs have proven to be an asset in both developing and developed economies due to their ability to buffer the 'Dutch Disease,' and to encourage industrialization, economic diversification and eventually the development of civil society. In patrimonial states, however, swfs are affected by corruption and the diversion of funds away from long-term socioeconomic development to luxury consumption by political elites. In fact, Arab swfs underpin the persistence of the Arab patrimonial rentier state system. (3) Finally, the post-Cold War, me and cea geopolitical landscape is shifting. The emergence of China and other Asian economies has increased their presence in the Middle East due to a growing need for energy and the expansion of Asian markets. The recent discovery of energy resources in the us has led to speculation that there will be less us presence in the region. There would be a serious risk to EU energy security if emerging Asian economies were to increase their presence in the Middle East as us interests recede.


A crucial step in planet hunting surveys is to select the best candidates for follow up observations, given limited telescope resources. This is often performed by human 'eyeballing', a time consuming and statistically awkward process. Here we present a new, fast machine learning technique to separate true planet signals from astrophysical
false positives. We use Self Organising Maps (SOMs) to study the transit shapes of Kepler and K2 known and candidate planets. We find that SOMs are capable of distinguishing known planets from known false positives with a success rate of 87.0%, using the transit shape alone. Furthermore, they do not require any candidates to be dispositioned prior to use, meaning that they can be used early in a mission's
lifetime. A method for classifying candidates using a SOM is developed, and applied to previously unclassified members of the Kepler KOI list as well as candidates from the K2 mission. The method is extremely fast, taking minutes to run the entire KOI list on a typical laptop. We make Python code for performing classifications publicly available, using either new SOMs or those created in this work. The SOM technique represents a novel method for ranking planetary candidate lists, and can be used both alone or as part of a larger autovetting code.


AIMS
To assess the efficacy and safety of orally administered heroin [diacetylmorphine (DAM)] tablets in substitution treatment of severely addicted opioid users.

DESIGN
An open-label, prospective cohort study with two non-randomly assigned treatment arms and historical controls: DAM tablets only versus DAM tablets combined with injected DAM and/or other opioids, with an observation period of 1 year.

SETTING
Twenty-one out-patient treatment centres of the Swiss heroin-assisted treatment programme.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 128 patients received DAM tablets only, and 237 patients received a combination of orally and intravenously applied DAM and other opioids.

MEASUREMENTS
Retention rate after 1 year; number of serious adverse events; dosage of DAM over time; subjective tolerance of study medication.

FINDINGS
In the intention-to-treat analysis, 1-year retention rates after 1 year in the DAM tablets-only group [0.804, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.735-0.873] as well as in the subgroup combining oral application of DAM with intravenous application or other opioids (0.843, 95% CI = 0.797-0.889) were higher compared to historical controls (Swiss cohort of patients who had been substituted intravenously with DAM; 1-year retention rate = 0.70). Rates of serious adverse events under study medication (tablets only = 0.038 per application year; tablets in combination = 0.028 per application year) were comparable to the historical rate of the Swiss heroin-assisted treatment (0.043).

CONCLUSIONS
DAM tablets seem to be an effective and safe application mode of heroin-assisted substitution treatment. Randomized clinical trials to compare its relative efficacy to other substances are necessary.


We propose using statistical regular pavings (SRPs) as an efficient and adaptive statistical data structure for processing massive, multi-dimensional data. A regular paving (RP) is an ordered binary tree that recursively bisects a box in Rd along the first widest side. An SRP is extended from an RP by allowing mutable caches of recursively computable statistics of the data. In this study we use SRPs for two major applications: estimating histogram densities and summarising large spatio-temporal datasets. The SRP histograms produced are L1-consistent density estimators driven by a randomised priority queue that adaptively grows the SRP tree, and formalised as a Markov chain over the space of SRPs. A way to select an estimate is to run a Markov chain over the space of SRP trees, also initialised by the randomised priority queue, but here the SRP tree either shrinks or grows adaptively through pruning or splitting operations. The stationary distribution of the Markov chain is then the posterior distribution over the space of all possible histograms. We then take advantage of the recursive nature of SRPs to make computationally efficient arithmetic averages, and take the average of the states sampled from the stationary distribution to obtain the posterior mean histogram estimate. We also show that SRPs are capable of summarizing large datasets by working with a dataset containing high frequency aircraft position information. Recursively computable statistics can be stored for variable-sized regions of airspace. The regions themselves can be created automatically to reflect the varying density of aircraft observations, dedicating more computational resources and providing more detailed information in areas with more air traffic. In particular, SRPs are able to very quickly aggregate or separate data with different characteristics so that data describing individual aircraft or collected using different technologies (reflecting different levels of precision) can be stored separately and yet also very quickly combined using standard arithmetic operations. [This page intentionally left blank]


The postembryonic brain exhibits experience-dependent development, in which sensory experience guides normal brain growth. This neuroplasticity is thought to occur primarily through structural and functional changes in pre-existing neurons. Whether neurogenesis also mediates the effects of experience on brain growth is unclear. Here, we characterized the importance of motor experience on postembryonic neurogenesis in larval zebrafish. We found that movement maintains an expanded pool of forebrain neural precursors by promoting progenitor self-renewal over the production of neurons. Physical cues associated with swimming (bodily movement) increase neurogenesis and these cues appear to be conveyed by dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in the zebrafish body: DRG-deficient larvae exhibit attenuated neurogenic responses to movement and targeted photoactivation of DRG in immobilized larvae expands the pallial pool of proliferative cells. Our results demonstrate the importance of movement in neurogenic brain growth and reveal a fundamental sensorimotor association that may couple early motor and brain development.


Half of adults will experience knee pain at some point during their lives, resulting in approximately 4 million primary care office visits in the USA annually.1 The majority of these visits for knee pain evaluation are due to osteoarthritis (OA).2 As of 2015, it was estimated that 14 million people in the USA have symptomatic knee OA,3 and this number is expected to increase to up to 28 million over the next decade.4 One of the most common factors that can initiate the cascade of knee OA is meniscus tears.5

Meniscus root tears are a specific type of meniscal injury that have gained attention over the past 5 years and have been reported to account for 10%–21% of all meniscal tears, affecting nearly 100 000 patients annually.6–8 Untreated meniscal root tears have been reported to result in altered joint biomechanics and accelerated articular cartilage degeneration. In this regard, the 'recently' recognised pathology of meniscal root tears has been reported to precipitously worsen articular cartilage degeneration (figure 1), cause painful bone oedema and lead to progressive OA (figure 2) if left untreated.9–13 Furthermore, it is important to recognise the association of meniscal injuries leading to subchondral insufficiency and potentially spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SONK). Previously, SONK was a pathology often diagnosed as an 'idiopathic' osteonecrosis of the knee prior to the recognition that this pathology was caused by a meniscal tear.9 13–15 However, the pathogenesis of SONK continues to be debated in the literature with many aetiologies, including certain meniscal tears and meniscectomy, reported to be the primary cause of insufficiency fracture development. It was recently reported that the term SONK is a misrepresentation of the aetiology and pathogenesis of the condition, and should be replaced with 'subchondral insufficiency fractures of the knee' (SIFK).16

Figure 1
Sagittal (A) and …


The authors analyse the current classification of cryptocurrencies from the Danish and Swedish domestic income tax perspectives. Cryptocurrencies are analysed as they are typically applied in practice, where a categorization is made between coins, utility tokens, security tokens and asset tokens. In particular, it is concluded that despite the economic differences of different cryptocurrencies, they generally fall outside the scope of Danish and Swedish lex specialis regulation on taxation of capital gains and losses from the sale of certain assets, for example, shares and claims in currency. In both countries, there appears to be a presumption that most cryptocurrencies should be taxed as assets held for investment and speculative purposes. It is argued that such an approach is problematic not only in relation to the principle of neutrality, but also because it creates a barrier to realizing the economic potential of cryptocurrencies. The authors conclude that (1) the classification of cryptocurrencies poses challenges and uncertainty for tax purposes due to the lack of a regulatory framework, the absence of common definitions and the diverse technical structure of tokens and coins and (2) the classification for Danish and Swedish tax law purposes should be based on a case-by-case assessment of the specific cryptocurrency.


Using an aggregative games approach, we analyze horizontal mergers in a model of multiproduct-firm price competition with nested CES or nested logit demands. We show that the Herfindahl index provides an adequate measure of the welfare distortions introduced by market power, and that the induced change in the naively-computed Herfindahl index is a good approximation for the market power effect of a merger. We also provide conditions under which a merger raises consumer surplus, and conditions under which a myopic, consumer-surplus-based merger approval policy is dynamically optimal. Finally, we study the aggregate surplus and external effects of a merger.


Translation of injected mRNA in oocytes of Xenopus laevis has been used as a highly sensitive and quantitative assay for interferon mRNA. Injection into oocytes of polyadenylylated RNA extracted from poly(I).poly(C)-induced human diploid fibroblasts (FS-4) leads to the synthesis of biologically active human fibroblast interferon over a period of 24-32 hr. There is a linear relationship between the amount of mRNA injected and the interferon yield obtained over a range of 1-20 ng of injected RNA. Injection of 40-80 ng of mRNA into each of 15 oocytes, homogenized in 0.3 ml of incubation medium, gave a titer of 128-256 interferon reference units/ml of homogenate.FS-4 cells at the peak of interferon production-i.e., approximately 2.5 hr after the beginning of induction with poly(I).poly(C)-gave mRNA that yielded 24-48 interferon reference units/ml in the oocyte assay (30 ng of RNA injected per oocyte). An equivalent amount of mRNA from FS-4 cells in the shutoff phase, approximately 6 hr after induction, gave </=4 interferon reference units/ml. In contrast, mRNA extracted from FS-4 cells that had been induced and maintained in the presence of 40 muM 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole for 6 hr produced 64-128 interferon reference units/ml. Polyadenylylated RNA obtained from uninduced FS-4 cells did not lead to detectable interferon synthesis (<4 interferon reference units/ml). These data provide a direct verification of the hypothesis that the shutoff of interferon production in FS-4 cells involves a regulatory event leading to the posttranscriptional inactivation or degradation of interferon mRNA. Because the inactivating mechanism is sensitive to inhibition by 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole, a selective inhibitor of nuclear heterogeneous RNA and mRNA synthesis, it is likely that synthesis of an RNA molecule is necessary for the shutoff of interferon production.


We have discovered that coastal and oceanic diatoms require more manganese (Mn) to grow in iron (Fe) ‐deficient than in Fe‐sufficient seawater. At low inorganic concentrations, like those of the open sea, Fe and Mn can thus colimit Thalassiosira pseudonana and T. oceanica so that maximum rates of cell division are achieved only when both resources are added simultaneously to cultures. Colimited diatoms amended with either Fe or Mn alone show unique physiological responses, which implies that the observed interaction between Fe and Mn is not caused by a substitution of one metal for the other. Iron deficiency increases the Mn quota of T. pseudonana by three times compared with controls and enhances the production of reactive oxygen species by 1.7 times in T. weissflogii. Both diatoms respond to this oxidative stress by increasing the activities of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). The Mn content of the SODs increases by 1.8 to 2.8 times when Fe is limiting, which suggests that the SODs contain Mn and may account for part of the observed increase in the Mn quota. Such an increased biochemical requirement may elevate the Mn content of low Fe diatoms, and possibly other phytoplankton, resulting in high Mn: Fe ratios in surficial particulate matter in Fe‐limited regions of the sea.


Movies taken by witnesses of extreme flood events are increasingly available on video sharing websites. They potentially provide highly valuable information on flow velocities and hydraulic processes that can help improve the post‐flood determination of discharges in streams and flooded areas. We investigated the troubles and potential of applying the now mature large‐scale particle image velocimetry (LSPIV) technique to such flood movies that are recorded under non‐ideal conditions. Processing was performed using user‐friendly, free software only, such as Fudaa‐LSPIV. Typical issues related to the image processing and to the hydrological analysis are illustrated using a selected example of a pulsed flash‐flood flow filmed in a mountainous torrent. Simple corrections for lens distortion (fisheye) and limited incoherent camera movement (shake) were successfully applied, and the related errors were reduced to a few percents. Testing the different image resolution levels offered by YouTube showed that the difference in time‐averaged longitudinal velocity was less than 5% compared with full resolution. A limited number of GRPs, typically 10, is required, but they must be adequately distributed around the area of interest. The indirect determination of the water level is the main source of uncertainty in the results, usually much more than errors because of the longitudinal slope and waviness of the free‐surface of the flow. The image‐based method yielded direct discharge estimates of the base flow between pulses, of the pulse waves, and of the time‐averaged flow over a movie sequence including a series of five pulses. A comparison with traditional indirect determination methods showed that the critical‐depth method may produce significantly biassed results for such a fast, unsteady flow, while the slope‐area method seems to be more robust but would overestimate the time‐averaged flow rate if applied to the high‐water marks of a pulsed flow. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


I. Introduction What does respect for human life in the Twenty-first Century require of us? When we consider the controversial bioethical debates between those who believe in the sanctity of life of the "unborn," (1) and those who do not, it may require expanding our concept of what counts as human life. The Supreme Court has failed to take a position on when human life begins. How can law respect human life without understanding when a new human life is created? In addressing the question of whether the unborn human being is a "person," I contend there should be no distinctions in law and philosophy between human beings and persons and that human beings are endowed at creation with an inalienable right to life. This inalienable natural fight cannot be conferred because it is the common heritage of all human beings that we all are created equal. The current American constitutional doctrine of classifying the unborn as "separate and unequal" is immoral and unjust. Thus, there is a moral imperative to confer the status of constitutional personhood upon the unborn, as an expression of society's rejection of inequality and the discriminatory treatment of the unborn as biotechnological subjects in Twenty-first Century America. This article assumes that it is immoral and unethical to take the life of an innocent human being, even if domestic law sanctions acts such as abortion and contraception. It further assumes that unborn human beings are by their very nature innocent, even if their lives were created because of culpable criminal conduct, such as rape or incest. This article also assumes that it is morally unacceptable for one human being to enslave or experiment upon another, even if that other person is an unborn human being and is not a constitutionally legally protected person. First, this article will discuss the issue of abortion, as it is at the core of the moral debate concerning the constitutional depersonalization of the unborn. Second, this article will discuss how abortion is repugnant to and in conflict with the core values of liberal equality. Third, this article will review how philosophers use the device of depersonalization to justify abortion and to establish a new class of "separate and unequal" human beings in an attempt to morally justify the non-consensual use of embryos as biological subjects. Fourth, this article will briefly survey international ethical and legal standards that conflict with abortion. Fifth, this article will illustrate how moral questions plague scientific developments in cloning, embryonic stem cell research and vaccines, and consider whether those who benefit are morally complicit with evil. Finally, this article will argue for the abolition of the discriminatory treatment of the unborn by recognizing their humanity and conferring upon them constitutional personhood status from creation to natural death. II. Abortion, The Moral Debate A. Background The history of the common law reveals that laws against homicide protected all human beings, including unborn children. When a pregnant mother felt her baby move within her, called quickening, this was considered evidence that the woman was "with child." Blackstone's Commentaries describes the right to life as "a right inherent by nature in every individual; and it begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb." (2) In Blackstone's lifetime, legal protection of the fetus from homicide began at quickening, when it was assumed that life began for the unborn child. (3) In the Thirteenth Century, Brackton and Fleta ruled that killing an unborn child where there was evidence of quickening was homicide. (4) As the common law developed over several hundred years, famous legal authorities including Fleta, Staunford, Lambarde, Dalton, Coke, Blackstone, Hawkins, and Hale referred to the unborn human being as a child and never as potential life. …


A GIS-based computer modelling methodology was developed and applied to identify climate change adaptation issues arising in regional agricultural production systems (including forestry). Agricultural production in Australia is very susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change due to projected shifts in rainfall and temperature. The methodology integrates land suitability analysis with uncertainty analysis and spatial (regional) optimisation to determine optimal agricultural land use at a regional scale for current and possible future climatic conditions. The approach can be used to recognise regions under threat of productivity decline, identify alternative cropping systems that may be better adapted to likely future conditions, and investigate implementation actions to improve the sub-optimal situations created by climate change. An example of how the methodology may be used is outlined through a case study involving the South West Region of Victoria, Australia. The case study provides information on the tools available to support the formulation of a regional adaptation strategy.


In this paper we present a fast analytical approach based on Lorenz–Mie theory, which allows us to determine the unknown shell and core radii of two-layered microparticles with refractive indices of 1.0 (air) of the core and 1.5 of the shell, e.g., polymer-coated air bubbles. For this to be achieved, a single particle has to be illuminated (sequentially) both with monochromatic laser light and with a white light source, and the scattered light intensity has to be recorded as a function of the scattering angle in the range from 0° to 170°. Using the autocorrelation and the Fourier transformation of these phase functions, one can deduce the unknown inner and outer radii by comparison with theoretically calculated gauge curves.


Do you WoW? Because millions of people around the world do! Due to this increased traffic, virtual wealth amassed in MMORPGs are intersecting in our real world in unexpected ways. Virtual goods have real-life values and are traded in real-life markets. However, the market for trading in virtual items is highly inefficient because society has not created property rights for virtual items. This lack of regulation has a detrimental effect not just the market for virtual items, but actually the market for MMORPGs. Assuming we want to promote the production of MMORPGs as a market, society requires a set of distinct property rules to decrease the inefficiencies in the virtual market. In creating these regulation, we may be able to take cues from intellectual property laws, as many of the problems surrounding virtual goods are akin to intellectual property.


During the thirteen days in October 1962 when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes each of the participants during the sometimes hour-to-hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. In a new foreword, the distinguished historian and Kennedy adviser Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., discusses the book's enduring importance and the significance of new information about the crisis that has come to light, especially from the Soviet Union.


It is commonly observed that ancient faults or shear zones can become reactivated again and again, either within the same or even superimposed tectonic episodes, yet millions of years apart. Rocks of the continental crust show such effects particularly well, owing to their longevity, because through their buoyancy, continental rocks resist recycling back into the Earth's mantle over long time-scales. The MOre TrOndelag Fault Complex (MTFC), Central Norway and the Walls Boundary Fault (WBF), Shetland, were studied to elucidate the kinematic, geometric and textural evolution, in order to assess fault linkages, fault-rock preservation styles and the controlling factors on fault reactivation The WBF is a crustal-scale, reactivated fault that separates distinctively different basement terranes; the Caledonian front to the west from Dal radian type rocks to the east. The WBF initiated as a late-Caledonian sinistral strike-slip fault (c.l00-200km offset) associated with the development of mylonites and cataclasites. Dextral strike-slip reactivation (c.65km) in the Permo-Carboniferous related to inversion of the Orcadian Basin and led to the development of cataclasite and fault gouge assemblages. Later dip-slip and finally sinistral strike-slip (c.l5km. Tertiary?) reactivation were localised within earlier formed fault gouges. The ENE-WSW-trending MTFC in Central Norway is a 10-20 km wide, steeply dipping zone of fault-related deformation. The MTFC has a prolonged and heterogeneous kinematic history. The complex comprises two major fault strands: the Hitra-Snasa Fault (HSF) and the Verran Fault (VF). These two faults seem to have broadly initiated as part of a single system of sinistral shear zones during Early Devonian times (409+12 Ma). Sinistral transtensional reactivation (dated as Permo-Carboniferous; 291 + 14 Ma) of the ENE-WSW-trending HSF and VF led to the development of cataclasites and pseudotachylites together with the formation of N-S-trending faults leading to the present-day brittle fault geometry of the MTFC. Several later phases of reactivation were focused along the VF and N-S linking structures during the Mesozoic probably related to Mid- Late Jurassic / Early Cretaceous rifting and Late Cretaceous / Early Tertiary opening of the North Atlantic. Based on apparent offshore trends, it has been suggested that the MTFC and the WBF may have been linked at some stage during their evolution and subsequent reactivation. This is consistent with the present study, as early Devonian movements along both the WBF and the MTFC are sinistral. Differences in the magnitude, dynamics and senses of displacement in the Permo-Carboniferous, however, seem to militate against linkage of these faults in the late Palaeozoic. There is no compelling evidence for direct Mesozoic or Tertiary linkage, although both structures were reactivated to some extent during these times. It seems that the formation and reactivation of the WBF and MTFC were associated with broadly similar regional tectonic processes and therefore, to some extent, share similar kinematics. Although both the MTFC and the WBF show clear proof of repeated reactivated, superficially similar geometries or alignments should not be used as a basis for correlating structures, in the absence of direct kinematic evidence. Displacements along the MTFC and the WBFZ are repeatedly localised along the earlier formed fault rocks, suggesting that these fault rocks are intrinsically weak compared to the surrounding rocks. A complex interaction exists between the geometrical properties of the fault network and fault-zone weakening mechanisms operative within fault rocks around the level of the frictional-viscous transition. Together these factors control fault reactivation in the long term. In the case of reactivated, sub-vertical, strike-slip fault zones the preservation and exhumation of these fault rocks both depend on the architecture and magnitude of later reactivations.


Summary Basal bodies and centrioles are conserved microtubule-based organelles the improper assembly of which leads to a number of diseases, including ciliopathies and cancer. Tubulin family members are conserved components of these structures that are integral to their proper formation and function. We have identified the &egr;-tubulin gene in Tetrahymena thermophila and detected the protein, through fluorescence of a tagged allele, to basal bodies. Immunoelectron microscopy has shown that &egr;-tubulin localizes primarily to the core microtubule scaffold. A complete genomic knockout of &egr;-tubulin has revealed that it is an essential gene required for the assembly and maintenance of the triplet microtubule blades of basal bodies. We have conducted site-directed mutagenesis of the &egr;-tubulin gene and shown that residues within the nucleotide-binding domain, longitudinal interacting domains, and C-terminal tail are required for proper function. A single amino acid change of Thr150, a conserved residue in the nucleotide-binding domain, to Val is a conditional mutation that results in defects in the spatial and temporal assembly of basal bodies as well as their stability. We have genetically separated functions for the domains of &egr;-tubulin and identified a novel role for the nucleotide-binding domain in the regulation of basal body assembly and stability.


The field of interventional cardiology continues to progress quickly. The efficacy of percutaneous interventions with newer generation drug-eluting stents has advanced a lot over the last decade. This improvement in stent performance has broadened the level of indication towards more complex interventions such as left main and multi- vessel PCI. Major improvements continue in the field of medical co-therapy such as antiplatelet therapies (bivalirudin, prasugrel, ticagrelor) and this will further improve outcomes of PCI. The same is true for intravascular imaging such as ultrasound IVUS and optical coherence tomography OCT. However, interventional cardiology has become a rather broad field, also including alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, etc. At the moment, the fastest growing area is the structural interventions, especially for aortic valve stenosis (transcatheter aortic valve implantation TAVI) and for mitral regurgitation (mitral clipping). This review covers recent advances in all these different fields of interventional cardiology.


Substantial altimetry datasets collected by different satellites have only become available during the past five years, but the future will bring a variety of new altimetry missions, both parallel and consecutive in time. The characteristics of each produced dataset vary with the different orbital heights and inclinations of the spacecraft, as well as with the technical properties of the radar instrument. An integral analysis of datasets with different properties offers advantages both in terms of data quantity and data quality. This thesis is concerned with the development of the means for such integral analysis, in particular for dynamic solutions in which precise orbits for the satellites are computed simultaneously. The first half of the thesis discusses the theory and numerical implementation of dynamic multi-satellite altimetry analysis. The most important aspect of this analysis is the application of dual satellite altimetry crossover points as a bi-directional tracking data type in simultaneous orbit solutions. The central problem is that the spatial and temporal distributions of the crossovers are in conflict with the time-organised nature of traditional solution methods. Their application to the adjustment of the orbits of both satellites involved in a dual crossover therefore requires several fundamental changes of the classical least-squares prediction/correction methods. The second part of the thesis applies the developed numerical techniques to the problems of precise orbit computation and gravity field adjustment, using the altimetry datasets of ERS-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon. Although the two datasets can be considered less compatible that those of planned future satellite missions, the obtained results adequately illustrate the merits of a simultaneous solution technique. In particular, the geographically correlated orbit error is partially observable from a dataset consisting of crossover differences between two sufficiently different altimetry datasets, while being unobservable from the analysis of altimetry data of both satellites individually. This error signal, which has a substantial gravity-induced component, can be employed advantageously in simultaneous solutions for the two satellites in which also the harmonic coefficients of the gravity field model are estimated.


Heterostructured metal–organic framework materials (MOF-on-MOF or core–shell MOFs) feature synergistic properties of the hetero-architecture. Selective modification of the interface between different MOF crystallites by mimicking a self-assembled organic monolayer (SAM) of suitably functionalized isophthalate (fu-ip) ligands allows for the oriented growth of lattice-mismatched Cu2ndc2dabco@Cu3btc2 (A@B) using a stepwise liquid-phase epitaxial (LPE) deposition approach. Prior to the growth of the hetero-structured surface-mounted MOF (hetero-SURMOF), the binding configuration of a range of fu-ip ligands deposited at the external surface of SURMOF B was explored. Among many possibilities, only the configuration of fu-ip ligands in the "head-on" fashion binding on the external surface of SURMOF B with proper exposure of the nucleation-directing terminal functional groups validly acts as a template for the oriented hetero-growth of SURMOF A on top of SURMOF B. The quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) frequency change profiles, the infrared reflection absorption spectra (IRRAS) and the water contact angle (WCA) measurements confirm the presence of the valid configuration of fu-ip on the external surface of SURMOF B. The fu-ip ligands containing the functional side chain at the fifth position with long flexible aliphatic spacers and coordination-active functional terminal groups are revealed to be the most efficient for growing porous, highly crystalline, lattice-mismatched hetero-SURMOFs. This concept is expected to be a good reference for the fabrication of other types of hetero-SURMOFs.


Background:
Despite public perception to the contrary, pregnancy does not offer a protective
effect for suicide ideation. In low and middle income countries (LMIC) multiple
concurrent risk factors including unplanned pregnancies, testing for HIV, intimate
partner violence and depression may increase suicide risk among pregnant women. We examine suicide ideation among women attending routine antenatal care in rural South Africa. Method: A consecutive
series of 109 women in the second half of pregnancy were enrolled in a cross-sectional
study at a large primary health care facility in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal with
high HIV prevalence. Using a mixed-methods approach, women were assessed using the
Major Depression Section of the Structured Clinical Interview for Depression (SCID)
for DSM-IV diagnosis; qualitative interview data were collected on women's experiences of suicide ideation and plans. Women were assessed two weeks after routine
HIV testing as part of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) screening.
Results: Both HIV-positive (49/109) and HIV-negative (60/109) women were assessed.
Depression was high (51/109, 46.7%) and equally common amongst HIV-positive and
negative women. Suicide ideation was high (30/109, 27.5%) with thoughts of self
harm closely linked to suicide plans. Age, previous history of depression and current
depression were significantly associated with suicide ideation. Close to equal
numbers of HIV-positive and negative women were suicidal. Suicide methods were
frequently violent and most women cited family and partnership conflict related
to an unplanned pregnancy or their newly HIV-positive
status as triggers to their suicide ideation. Conclusions: Rates of suicide ideation among pregnant
women testing for HIV are high. Testing HIV-positive causes considerable distress,
and among HIV-negative women unplanned and unwanted pregnancies are important risk factors for suicide ideation. Pregnancy
brings women into increased contact with the health services with important
opportunities for prevention and intervention.


Recent evidence shows that MFI financing continues to evolve with an increased inclination towards commercial financing. Taking stock on MFI financing and refocusing on the relationship between financing options and financial sustainability (FS) is unavoidable. The authors consummated a literature review based on complementing the little evidence on the subject with both theoretical and implied evidence from related studies in unpacking the relationship. Though donations are losing grip as a popular MFI financing option, review of literature recommends smart subsidies to spur FS and counter inefficiency, mis-targetting, dependency and distortions. As much as debt addresses agency problems and endorses FS, it has to be kept within limits to curb liquidation and mission drift. Deposit attraction aug-ments FS and outreach, though MFIs must prepare to foot licensing costs, otherwise, mission drift ensues. Equity, though scarce in microfinance, is cheap and additive to FS. The authors suggest that MFIs should consider commercial funding, whilst keeping a check on the downside of each commercial financing option to augment FS and multiply outreach.


A differentially connected array of 24 proton magnetometers has operated along the San Andreas fault since 1976. Seismomagnetic offsets of 1.2 and 0.3 nanotesla were observed at epicentral distances of 3 and 9 kilometers, respectively, after the 8 July 1986 magnitude 5.9 North Palm Springs earthquake. These seismomagnetic observation are the first obtained of this elusive but long-anticipated effect. The data are consistent with a seismomagnetic model of the earthquake for which right-lateral rupture of 20 centimeters is assumed on a 16-kilometer segment of the Banning fault between the depths of 3 and 10 kilometers in a region with average magnetization of 1 ampere per meter. Alternative explanations in terms of electrokinetic effects and earthquake-generated electrostatic charge redistribution seem unlikely because the changes are permanent and complete within a 20-minute period.


In most countries, the prevalence of depression in care homes is substantially higher than among community-dwelling older people. Negative media reports and the stigma associated with long-term care perpetuates the belief that community care is associated with a better quality of life than nursing or residential home care. The aim of this paper is to investigate mental health, quality of life and medication use among a sample of care home residents and community dwelling older people. This cross-sectional study comprised of structured interviews with 75 care home residents and 852 community dwelling older adults in a large health and social care trust within the U.K. Data were collected using an abridged version of the World Mental Health-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI). Health-related quality of life was assessed using the SF-6D, derived from responses to the SF-12, which was embedded within the screening section of the WMH-CIDI. Results showed a significantly lower level of mental disorders among older people in the care home sample. Health-related quality of life results indicated that although care home participants were significantly more limited in their physical functioning, they reported better mental health and social functioning than older people living in the community. These results were statistically significant. Prescription rates for mental health medication were higher in the care home sample. This study provides tentative findings about mental health and quality of life in care homes, which should be further explored in future research. The study addresses the negative public perception of quality of life in care homes while contributing to the debate around the health care implications of 'ageing in place' for older people. There is a need to address the relationship between mental health, quality of life and medication use among older people across a range of care settings.


Objective: Olfactory disorders can negatively effect the quality of life. Few clinical studies and case reports have investigated the relationship between anesthesia and olfactory dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sevoflurane on olfactory memory with Brief-Smell Identification TestTM in patients used sevoflurane.
Patients and methods: This, prospective, clinical study was performed on 60 ASA physical status I-II patients, between 18-65 years of age who were scheduled for expected surgery duration of 40-120 minutes. All patients were preoperatively informed about Brief-Smell Identification Test. For induction 2 mg.kg−1propofol, 0.5 mg.kg−1 rocuronium and 1 μg.kg−1 iv fentanyl were administered. Anesthesia was maintained with the inhalational of anesthetic sevoflurane (2%). Brief-Smell Identification Test scores are recorded 30 minutes before the surgery and when the Aldrate Recovery Score reached 10 in the postoperative period. Preoperative and postoperative results were compared and p-values<0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results: The patients mean age were 47.1 ± 13.8. There was no statistically significant difference between the mean preoperative and intraoperative HR and MAP values. Preoperative total correct answer rate to odorous substances was 85.4%, and postoperative rate was 84.5%. Percentage of the odor identification by the patients revealed no statistically significant difference when pre and post-operative rates were compared (P>0.05).


We performed dilution experiments and primary production measurements in surface waters during a cruise in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea in June 2000 to quantify the carbon (C) flux through phytoplankton groups that can be distinguished by their pigment markers. Pigments in the dilution experiments were measured by highpressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Pigment per cell and synthesis rates of photoprotectant versus light‐harvesting pigments indicated that cells did not undergo photoacclimation during the 24‐h dilution experiments. Mean chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration was 0.128 mg m−3, and mean primary production was 4.99 mg of C m−3 d−1. Prymnesiophyceae contributed 51% of the total Chl a, green algae 21%, diatoms 13%, cyanobacteria 6%, and Pelagophyceae and Dinophyceae 4% each. Size fractionation showed that 68% of total phytoplankton were <5 µm. A mean growth rate of 0.89 d−1 was completely offset by a mean grazing rate of 1.01 d−1. Growth and mortality were also balanced for the individual phytoplankton groups, with highest rates for diatoms and lowest for green algae. Despite the high growth rates measured, nutrient‐amended incubations showed that these rates were nutrient limited, although to a different extent for each group. Green algae experienced the most severe limitation and cyanobacteria the least. The comparison of C incorporation rates and Chl a synthesis rates permitted the estimation of a C: Chl a ratio of 47 (g : g) for newly produced organic matter in the study area. This value, corrected for the different degree of nutrient limitation, was used to estimate the C flow through the different phytoplankton groups. Because of their high growth rates, diatoms played a disproportionate role in the C flux compared to their biomass contribution.


This paper studies on the localization techniques using in wireless sensor network (WSN) for an indoor environment. We compare two main categories of localization techniques: range-based and fingerprinting-based techniques on a single experimental environment. The received signal strength indicator (RSSI received at sensor nodes are used for all localization techniques. For the range-base techniques, the location estimation approach based on the lateration estimation and the min-max approach are employed. For the fingerprinting based techniques, two pattern matching approaches are used: one is the simple nearest neighbor algorithm and another one is the k-nearest-nearest neighbor algorithm. The experiments are conducted in a meeting room where is a small number of obstacles inside to evaluate the performance of each technique. The results demonstrate that the location estimation algorithm using lateration estimation gives the best accuracy and also less computational time compared to other techniques.


This paper finds out the similarities and differences of the orchard systems underpinning the concepts of Japan's satoyama and Thailand's Sufficiency Economy Agriculture (SEA), to understand the distinctive features that correspond to the five criteria of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) designation. Also, it presents green tourism perspectives in both the systems. In the study, a data analysis was conducted of the secondary resources and field surveys concerning the GIAHS Minabe-Tanabe Ume (Japanese apricot) system area of the Wakayama prefecture and the longan (lamyai) cultivation area in the Chom Cheang village of Chiang Mai Province. The similarities reveal five aspects of all criteria. Firstly, both systems have supported livelihoods and food security through the fruit industry and other diversified agricultural products. Secondly, they have given rise to high biodiversity that has been nurtured and maintained by forests, mixed orchards, and irrigation systems. Thirdly, the systems have adopted wisdom, knowledge, and technologies in developing the diverse genetic resources and nurturing excellent varieties of fruit. Fourthly, the orchards of both sites were dependent on the rice culture. Lastly, the remarkable landscape consisted of forests, orchards, sacred sites, mixed crops, and rice fields. As a result, the lamyai system based on the concept of SEA was acceptable with regard to all of the GIAHS criteria, when compared with the ume system based on the satoyama landscape.  However, there were differences in using sources of wood for fuel, the irrigation systems, the methods of forest conservation, the ume and lamyai cuisines in the dietary culture, and the attractiveness of seasonal changes in orchard scenery.  Green tourism espouses four perspectives for sustaining the GIAHS sites; these perspectives form a basis for guidelines for cooperation between Japan and Thailand. These guidelines concern promoting farm products for inbound tourists, conserving biodiversity, passing on the traditional techniques and agriculture, linking the sites of GIAHS with the UNESCO World Heritage program to increase tourism demand and accelerating the gentrification process in rural communities.


To estimate daily catchment precipitation from point observations there is a need to understand the spatial pattern, particularly in mountainous regions. One of the most important processes occurring there is orographic enhancement, which is affected by, among other things, wind speed and wind direction. The objective of this paper was to investigate whether the relationship between precipitation, airflow and topography could be described by statistical relationships using data easily available in an operational environment. The purpose was to establish a statistical model to describe basic patterns of precipitation distribution. This model, if successful, can be used to account for the topographical influence in precipitation interpolation schemes. A statistical analysis was carried out to define the most relevant variables, and, based on that analysis, a regression model was established through stepwise regression. Some 15 years of precipitation data from 370 stations in Sweden were used for the analysis. The geostrophic wind, computed from pressure observations, was assumed to represent the airflow at the relevant altitude. Precipitation data for each station were divided into 48 classes representing different wind directions and wind speeds. Among the variables selected, the single most important one was found to be the location of a station with respect to a mountain range. On the upwind side, precipitation increased with increasing wind speed. On the leeward side there was less variation in precipitation, and wind speed did not affect the precipitation amounts to the same degree. For ascending air, slope multiplied by wind speed was another important factor. The effect of slope was enhanced close to the coast, and reduced for mountain valleys with upwind barriers. The stepwise procedure led to a regression model that also included the meridional and zonal wind components. Their inclusion might indicate the importance of air mass characteristics not explicitly accounted for. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society


California's rich agricultural productivity is founded on its biological diversity, both native and exotic. Native species contribute genetic resources and play a vital part in preserving land, air and water quality. Exotic species introduced from around the globe provide the raw genetic material for nearly all of California's agricultural commodities. Through generations of selective breeding, native and exotic biodiversity have been used to solve agricultural problems. Such biodiversity — termed "agrobiodiversity" — includes not only crops, livestock and their wild relatives, but the species that interact with and support them: pollinators, symbionts, competitors, pests, parasites, predators and biological control agents. Long-term security and flexibility of California agricultural production requires conservation of both exotic genetic resources and native California habitats.


This article examines Pakistan's use of asymmetric warfare as an instrument of foreign policy toward India since 1947 and in Afghanistan since the 1960s. Main ArgumentPakistan's use of asymmetric warfare, or jihad, although dating back to 1947, did not aggressively expand beyond Kashmir until Islamabad acquired first a covert "existential" nuclear capability in the 1980s and later an overt nuclear capability in 1998. After laying out the complex contemporary landscape of Islamist militancy in Pakistan and the relationship between these groups and the state, as well as between religious and political organizations, this article contends that jihad is sustained by important segments of Pakistani society that endorse "militant jihad" generally and specific militant groups and operations in particular. Given Pakistan's enduring security concerns about India's ascent, Islamabad is unlikely to abandon militancy as a tool of policy, even while the government battles former proxies who have turned their guns — and suicide vests — on the Pakistani state and their former patrons.Policy Implications• Pakistan's skill in recasting the historical record in its favor enables the country to extract benefits from the U.S., which seeks to prove that it is a reliable ally.• Given the varying levels of support for militancy within both the Pakistani public and the military and intelligence agencies, Islamabad likely will be unwilling to abandon militancy as a tool of foreign policy and contend with the emergent militant threat ravaging Pakistan and the region. • Washington and its partners have been unable to either fundamentally change the way Pakistan assesses its cost-benefit calculus toward India or find some means of ameliorating Pakistan's neuralgic fears of India. Years of U.S. policies toward Pakistan based on financial allurements and conventional weaponry have done little to induce change. • Given Pakistan's regional equities and the changing regional dynamics, the international community should abandon optimism that Pakistan can or will change course and prepare for increasing Islamist violence in the region and beyond.