Existing multicast routing protocols uses multicast trees (or mesh) where receiving nodes maintains routing information. In sensor networks where traffic is bursty, this multicast state maintenance adds a large amount of overhead to the routing. Thus, we have developed a stateless receiver-based multicast geographic routing protocol that simply embeds list of the multicast members (e.g., sinks), in packet headers. The receivers will decide the best way to forward the multicast load. This protocol, called RBGeographicMulticast exploits the knowledge of the geographic locations of the nodes to remove the need for costly state maintenance (e.g., tree/mesh/neighbour table maintenance), making it ideally suited for Ad hoc network multicast applications. Key Terms: Mobile ad hoc networks; multicast regions; virtual node; location; geographic multicasting


We followed up the patients with fulminant hepatic failure who admitted in our hospital and investigated clinical problems raised in the patients who underwent living-related liver transplantation (LRLT). Among 15 patients with fulminant hepatic failure 6 were managed without LRLT and 3 patients survived, and the survival rate was 50%. Other 9 patients received LRLT, and 2 of these 9 died with their complications after the transplantation. Thus the survival rate by LRLT in fulminant hepatic failure was 77.8%. Brain CT scan examination showed severe brain edema in a patient and the edema did not improve after LRLT. Another patient suffered from development of fungal infection in her lungs after LRLT. We suspected the presence of subclinical infection in the preoperation period. The recovery from brain edema and the existence of subclinical infection are mostly difficult to evaluate but are very important for obtaining a good output. These results suggest that LRLT is a promising procedure for treatment of fulminant hepatic failure but a close cooperation between physicians of internal medicine and transplantation surgery from preoperative management until postoperative period is necessary.


Every school constitutes a singular case when it comes to changes and improvements as each of them belongs to a social and cultural context with their own idiosyncrasy and needs. This article aims to study 12 in depth a research on educative networks organized in groups of teachers, focusing on its origin, structure, resources, organization and impact. The process of data gathering has followed a descriptivenarrative methodology, based on a qualitative research, and using a questionnaire for advisors in Teachers Centers within Seville, where they inform about the benefits of networking. The results of the analysis show that the development and setting of these networks occur in response to both the need of support that teachers are sometimes missing in their professional day to day; and the requirements of the regional inspection service of education, Servicio de Inspeccion Educativa, in order to cope with basic difficulties that may arise in the teaching-learning process, such as the reading and writing learning process or the improvement of the coexistence within the educational community. Feedback from this research proves the impact that the networking procedures have had in the educational community and centers, as well as its positive results and improvements in their development.


The Tibetan Plateau is considered to be one of the best natural laboratories for seismological research. This study sought to determine the spatial variations of b-values in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau, along with its surrounding areas, and the relation with the region's fault blocks. The study region lies within 27–36.5° N, 78–89° E, and its fracture structure consists of strike-slip faults, as well as normal and thrust faults. A catalog record from 2009–2019 provided 4431 well-centered earthquakes that varied in magnitude from 0.1 to 8.2 M. The record was obtained from China's seismological network, which is capable of recording low magnitudes to analyze b-values in the study area. The key findings of this study are as follows: (1) the range of earthquake depth in the region was 0–256 km, with the depth histogram showing a high frequency occurrence of shallow earthquakes in the area; (2) a time histogram showed that the major earthquakes occurred between 2014–2015, including the notable 2015 Gorkha earthquake (M = 8.2); (3) the b-value computed in the study area was 0.5 to 1.6, but in most of the study area, the b-value ranged from 0.6 to 0.9, which was a low to intermediate value, due to the presence of strike-slip faults in the central part of the study area and underthrusting in the region (south of the study area); and (4) a high b-value was found in the northwestern and eastern regions of the area, which proved that the area is prone to small earthquakes in the near future. The study also showed that the central and southern areas of the study region had low to intermediate b-values, meaning that it is prone to destructive and massive earthquakes with high magnitudes, such as the Gorkha earthquake (southern part of the study area). Low b-values revealed the degree of variation in rock properties, including large stress and strain, a fractured medium, a high deformation rate, and large faults. Small b-values were observed when the stress level was high in the investigated region, which might be used to predict a massive high-magnitude earthquake in the near future.


This work examines three unintended consequences of two different policy implementations that have varied over municipalities over a sixteen year period. The effect on restaurant employment of comprehensive smoking bans is examined in the first chapter. Smokers and nonsmokers alike are willing to travel to environments that better suit their needs. If policy is not consistent in certain regions some individuals may choose to drive further for their food and drink service. The statistics support the hypothesis that this travel is occurring. The next chapter attempts to measure a subsequent effect of this driving behavior: alcohol related traffic fatalities. If people are willing to travel farther to drink, they have a longer drive home in which they are more likely to be intoxicated. Border regions with inconsistent smoking policy do show to have a higher incidence of such deaths than their counterparts. The final chapter examines the effect of state laws restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine have on the number of methamphetamine lab incidents in those states. The results support the hypothesis that border areas with inconsistent policies see an increase in such incidents on both sides of the border as methamphetamine producers willingly travel across borders to circumvent undesirable policy.


We have increased substantially the electron and ion temperatures, the electron density, and the total beta in plasmas with improved energy confinement in the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST). The improved confinement is achieved with a well-established current profile control technique for reduction of magnetic tearing and reconnection. A sustained ion temperature >1 keV is achieved with intensified reconnection-based ion heating followed immediately by current profile control. In the same plasmas, the electron temperature reaches 2 keV, and the electron thermal diffusivity drops to about 2 m2 s−1. The global energy confinement time is 12 ms. This and the reported temperatures are the largest values yet achieved in the reversed-field pinch (RFP). These results were attained at a density ∼1019 m−3. By combining pellet injection with current profile control, the density has been quadrupled, and total beta has nearly doubled to a record value of about 26%. The Mercier criterion is exceeded in the plasma core, and both pressure-driven interchange and pressure-driven tearing modes are calculated to be linearly unstable, yet energy confinement is still improved. Transient momentum injection with biased probes reveals that global momentum transport is reduced with current profile control. Magnetic reconnection events drive rapid momentum transport related to large Maxwell and Reynolds stresses. Ion heating during reconnection events occurs globally, locally, or not at all, depending on which tearing modes are involved in the reconnection. To potentially augment inductive current profile control, we are conducting initial tests of current drive with lower-hybrid and electron-Bernstein waves.


In 2013, Hardy et al. offered a broad behavioural context for the hypothesis that the ingestion of non-nutritional plants (yarrow and camomile) by Neanderthals was for the purpose of self-medication. Chemical traces of these plants had been detected in samples of dental calculus from Neanderthals at the site of El Sidrón, Spain, along with traces of bitumen and wood smoke, as well as starch granules that showed evidence of roasting (Hardy et al. 2012). Subsequently, the presence of traces of resin and a piece of non-edible conifer wood were also identified from these samples (Radini et al. 2016). Although not rejecting our interpretation for the presence of these two non-edible plants as evidence of medicinal plant use, two recent articles offer alternative scenarios for why and how those plants may have reached the mouth and, eventually, the dental calculus of the individual concerned. Buck and Stringer (2014) suggest that the plants were not deliberately ingested, and that the traces of yarrow and camomile were in fact embedded in the chyme, or stomach contents, of herbivore prey. Krief et al. (2015) propose two hypotheses: first, they suggest that the plants could have been used to flavour meat; second, while not ruling out the possibility that they could be medicinal, they argue on a technical point that the plants were not self-administered but were provided by a caregiver. Here, we examine these suggestions and consider their probability and feasibility as alternatives to our original proposal of self-medication.


Chinese design students are drawn to the UK for a variety of reasons, not least of which is a consequent increase in their worth in a post-graduation employment market. By undertaking a UK design education Chinese and other international students can demonstrate to potential employers a willingness to undertake difficult challenges allied with a capacity to collaborate productively in a transcultural context. Such prime qualities command a premium in a competitive global employment market. Notwithstanding the benefits that visiting international students gain from studying in the UK, such rewards are not confined solely to visiting international students. At Coventry University, undergraduate design students have the opportunity to experience a culturally disruptive experience by way of a ten-week studentship at Chinese institutions with which the University has established collaborative relationships. The skills they acquire are globally relevant and help open the door to opportunities not available to those UK students who choose to adopt a more parochial approach to their design learning journey. Through case study, this paper explores the advantages that UK design students can also gain from being exposed to transcultural collaborative learning experiences among Chinese students both in the UK and within Chinese higher design educational institutions. It also offers insights that challenge Western preconceptions of the stereotypical Chinese learner and suggests that unquestioning adherence to cultural expectations risks missed pedagogical opportunities that can benefit UK and international students alike.


Sampled images of two-dimensional objects are obtained from holograms recorded by using achromatic-fringe interferometer arrangements in which the beam splitting is achieved by a hologram of a random phase-sampling pattern. The use of monochromatic but spatially incoherent source suppresses both speckle and moire without reducing contrast of the fringes at the hologram plane. The principle was analyzed in the case of Fourier holograms and verified experimentally.


The Norilsk 1 intrusion (Russia), renowned for its abundance of sulfide ores, contains an upper contact zone, which hosts sulfide-poor and Cr spinel and platinum group element (PGE)-rich discontinuous reefs with significant economic potential. Located within strongly inhomogeneous contact rocks of various compositions, the origin of these reefs is complex and debated. Enrichment in PGEs in these rocks is distributed heterogeneously, occasionally occurring in extremely dense disseminations of Cr spinel, which are unusual for other rocks of the Norilsk 1 intrusion. The compositions of Cr spinel vary significantly between individual samples, even within the same samples across clusters of several Cr spinel grains and single grains. Chromium spinel grains are broadly characterized by low Mg# (3–50 mol %), moderate to extremely high TiO2 content (1–18 wt %), diverse Fe2+/Fe3+ ratios, and elevated V and Zn. Multiphase silicate inclusions hosted by Cr spinel are dominated by orthopyroxene, alkali-feldspar, clinopyroxene, Na phlogopite, high-Al amphibole, chlorite, and albite, along with minor felsic glass, sulfide, apatite, baddeleyite, titanite, calcite, halite, and cordierite. Heating experiments (1,250°C) on the silicate inclusions failed to produce homogeneous glasses but showed evidence of partial melting and reactions with precursor minerals that crystallized new phases. The experimentally obtained glasses are characterized by compositions that strongly differ from any known igneous rock in the Norilsk region, and the assemblage of phases in these inclusions is not supportive of the entrapment of a homogeneous silicate melt. Trace element patterns of the glasses of the experimentally heated inclusions are compositionally distinct from the Norilsk trap basalts, and instead are closer to the sedimentary rocks of the Norilsk region. We suggest that an in situ interaction between the mafic melt and the sedimentary rocks was responsible for Cr spinel mineralization and the formation of the host rocks. The subsequent subsolidus modification of the initial rocks expanded the Cr spinel compositional range and formed muscovite-albite-chlorite assemblages, which replaced the original silicate minerals.


To support inclusive and equitable study, universities often categorise students as 'disabled' in order for them to access support for their studies, and require them to engage with terms such as 'disclosing a disability' and 'reasonable adjustments'. This pathologises them by requiring them to identify as 'different' even if they do not consider themselves to be. Indeed, many students report that they feel uncomfortable with this; they do not identify as 'disabled', and this can discourage students from informing the university about their 'disability' and can create barriers to accessing support.

There is little understanding of how members of these diverse populations identify themselves or their preferences for discussing 'disability-related' support. In this paper, we report on a study where we sought to understand students' language styles and preferences when it comes to discussing disability and study requirements, and contrast these with the language used throughout our institution (and UK higher education institutions in general). The aim of the project was to investigate the language that students feel comfortable using when talking about their 'disabilities' and to identify gaps between the language students use to describe their own disabilities and the language used in UK higher education.

We initially utilised a mixed-methods approach to investigate students' perspectives of language. This combined a qualitative approach using discourse and positioning analysis techniques to investigate the language students use, and a quantitative approach to analyse these results at scale. Survey results showed that terminology addressing students as 'disabled' was uncomfortable for many (particularly those with mental health conditions or specific learning difficulties); 'additional study needs' was preferred. However, we found divergence in these preferences across contexts, rather than consistent preference for any recognised language model. We also identified clusters with significantly different perspectives on language within the population.

The project team then worked with a wide range of stakeholders to collaboratively develop guidance for student-facing staff, and researchers and policy-makers to use when talking to students about disability. We also developed guidance for students to explain the type of language commonly used by universities around disability. In this paper, we explain the process we followed to turn the findings of the first stage of the research into guidance. We explore the issues staff raised and how these led to the creation of suitable research-informed guidance on language use. Through this, we draw conclusions on how to develop suitable understanding of inclusive language across an educational institution. These include the sensitivities both staff and students may feel regarding terminology such as 'needs assessments' and 'adjustments', the importance of mirroring language in a one-to-one setting and the need to provide clear examples as well as abstract terms. This guidance will support staff to use, investigate and influence language used to discuss disability-related study needs, with a view to moving towards inclusive, student-led language approaches.


Research on domestic architecture using the space syntax method has
suggested that while most vernacular traditions are characterised by
'genotypical' consistencies in the relation between spatial configuration and
functional 'ends', such consistencies are usually lacking in experimental
modernist architecture, where instead a consistency in spatial composition
gives rise to 'genotype of means' rather than to 'genotypes of ends'.
In Brazil, however, modernist housing became a established tradition and
therefore there may be in them spatio-functional consistencies as found in
vernacular tradition. The thesis examines how far this is the case, based on the
fact that the dominant idea about the spatial organisation of the modernist
dwelling was that it should be organised into spatially distinct 'sectors', within
which similar activities could be clustered. This concept provided a pervasive
underlying diagram, or paradigm, for housing organisation. No studies have
been done however of how this paradigm worked out in practice. This thesis
investigates this question with respect to a manifestation of this idea in the
modernist architecture of Recife, between 1930 and 1980.
The thesis first diagnoses the existence of a 'sectors' paradigm' in a pilot
sample of modernist houses, then extends the investigation to a larger sample
to see how prevalent it is and what different spatial forms it takes. The thesis
then looks at historical houses and shows that a sectors' model can also be
detected in them, but quite different spatially and functionally. It shows that
both the internal form of the sectors and the way they are linked together are
the key determinant for differentiating domestic activities and household
members in both historical and modern dwellings.
The thesis concludes that, through the methodological innovation of sectors'
analysis, spatio-functional 'genotypes of ends' can be shown to be present in
Recife's modernist dwellings, but that also they can be detected in vernacular
houses, suggesting that a first layer should be added to the syntactic analysis
of vernacular buildings.


. Major disturbances can temporarily remove factors that otherwise constrain population abundance and distribution. During such windows of relaxed top-down and/or bottom-up control, ungulate populations can grow rapidly, eventually leading to resource depletion and density-dependent expansion into less-preferred habitats. Although many studies have explored the demographic outcomes and ecological impacts of these processes, fewer have examined the individual-level mechanisms by which they occur. We investigated these mechanisms in Gorongosa National Park, where the Mozambican Civil War devastated large- mammal populations between 1977 and 1992. Gorongosa ' s recovery has been marked by pro-liferation of waterbuck ( Kobus ellipsiprymnus ), an historically marginal 200-kg antelope spe- cies, which is now roughly 20-fold more abundant than before the war. We show that after years of unrestricted population growth, waterbuck have depleted food availability in their his- torically preferred floodplain habitat and have increasingly expanded into historically avoided savanna habitat. This expansion was demographically skewed: mixed-sex groups of prime-age individuals remained more common in the floodplain, while bachelors, loners, and subadults populated the savanna. By coupling DNA metabarcoding and forage analysis, we show that waterbuck in these two habitats ate radically different diets, which were more digestible and protein-rich in the floodplain than in savanna; thus, although individuals in both habitats achieved positive net energy balance, energetic performance was higher in the floodplain. from high-resolution GPS-telemetry, accelerometry, and animal-borne video revealed that savanna waterbuck spent less time eating, perhaps to accommodate their tougher, lower-quality diets. Waterbuck in savanna also had more ectoparasites than those in the floodplain. Thus, plasticity in foraging behavior and diet selection enabled savanna waterbuck to tolerate the costs of density-dependent spillover, at least in the short term; however, the already poorer energetic performance of these individuals implies that savanna occupancy may become prohibitively costly as heterospecific competitors and preda- tors continue to recover in Gorongosa. Our results suggest that behavior can provide a leading indicator of the onset of density-dependent limitation and the likelihood of subsequent popula- tion decline, but that reliable inference hinges on understanding the mechanistic basis of observed behavioral shifts.


In stellar interferometry the fringe visibility can be measured by modulating the optical path difference between the two arms of an interferometer. This approach yields accurate estimates of the fringe visibility only if the bandwidth is small, and this limits the sensitivity of the technique. We propose using a geometric phase modulator that is achromatic and does not suffer from bandwidth restrictions. Fringe detectors using geometric phase modulation have the potential of greatly increasing the sensitivity of optical stellar interferometers.


The detection of partially contaminated pixels over land is necessary for quantitative applications of satellite optical measurements to estimate surface biophysical parameters such as leaf area index or vegetation composition. Threshold-based algorithms suffer from the heterogeneity of land cover and the seasonal variability of the radiation reflected and emitted by the land surface. As an alternative, a method based on a Fourier series approximation to the seasonal trajectory of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) had been previously developed (Cihlar 1996). In this paper, we introduce modifications to the basic algorithm to more closely represent NDVI seasonal trends for different land cover types, as well as a simplified way to determine the time- and pixel-specific contamination thresholds. Based on the tests with 1993-1996 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data over Canada, the modified procedure effectively detects contaminated pixels for boreal ecosystems after the growing season of interest. The modifications also improved its performance while the growing season is in progress; in this case, at least one complete previous growing season coverage is required to provide the temporal series needed to establish the thresholds. The modified procedure also yields a contamination parameter that may be used to estimate the most likely value for NDVI or other variables for each pixel. It is concluded that the procedure would perform effectively in other areas, provided that the NDVI temporal trajectories of the cover types of interest can he represented by a mathematical model.


This article was developed from the project 'Valuing Norwegian Wool' initiated by the Norwegian National Institute for Consumer Research to generate knowledge on how wool can contribute to sustainable textile consumption, and how value creation can be increased in the Norwegian wool industry. The article will compare consumer perceptions, attitudes, practices and knowledge concerning wool as a material and as garments in Norway and in the United Kingdom, through a case study of wardrobes owned by six middle-class families. The aim is to generate knowledge about the diverse web of aspects that influence consumption of woollen garments. The wardrobe study as a method aims to include the materiality of garments in clothes research in a more direct way. Analysing the materiality in connection with the social and cultural aspects of clothes gives us a better understanding of the relations between materiality and practice.


Title of dissertation: FORCE RESPONSE OF CELL-ADHESION COMPLEXES AND HELICASES Shaon Chakrabarti Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professors Devarajan Thirumalai and Christopher Jarzynski Institute for Physical Science and Technology Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Rapidly increasing technological prowess has led to the development of increasingly precise experiments to track biological systems at the single molecule level. The ability to apply measured amounts of external forces in such experiments, has added an extra probe to a scientist's arsenal of tools, allowing detailed investigations into the response of molecules that were not possible even a few years ago. However, the emerging raw single-molecule data tends to be of limited use in the absence of careful theories that can analyze and make sense of such data. This thesis focuses on understanding single-molecule force spectroscopy data on two important biological systems–cell adhesion complexes called selectins and integrins, and nucleic-acid unwinding motors known as helicases. Selectins and integrins are receptors expressed in blood vessels, that bind to specific ligands on leukocytes, initiating a process of absorption of leukocytes from the blood flow. The microscopic details of the selectin-ligand interactions that allow this process to occur, is hotly debated and a topic of intense current research. Over the last few years, it has been established that certain selectin-ligand lifetimes show a surprising 'catch-bond' behavior, where the lifetime under force first increases before decreasing as expected. In this thesis, we build a structural model to explain this phenomenon and quantitatively explain a number of experimental results. Our work suggests that a loop region on the selectin receptor domain undergoes an allosteric conformational change, allowing the receptor to bind more tightly to the ligand. Force enhances this allosteric conformational change, thus resulting in an initial increase in lifetime of the complex. We provide quantitative support for this model, and also precise predictions of the outcomes of multiple mutation experiments. Helicases are molecular motors that hydrolyze nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) to carry out various kinds of cellular activities related to nucleic-acid metabolism. The particular aspect of certain helicases that we focus on in this thesis, is the NTP driven unwinding of double strand nucleic acids. Based on whether or not the helicase destabilizes the duplex base pairs while unwinding, helicases are classified as 'active' or 'passive', with different physical properties associated with each type. We develop a mathematical technique to analyze the velocities and processivities of such helicases, and predict a surprising universal behavior of the processivity under external forces. Our analysis suggests that partner proteins (invariably required for efficient unwinding of nucleic acids in vivo) have coevolved with helicases to increase the processivity, as opposed to the velocity, of all types of helicases. Finally, we establish the unwinding mechanism of the T-7 helicase, thereby providing insight into the unwinding mechanisms of a whole family (SF-4) of helicases. FORCE RESPONSE OF CELL-ADHESION COMPLEXES AND HELICASES


The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is a complex environment, with a super-massive black hole, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), at its heart, which is a bright radio source. It undergoes regular bursts of variability, known as flaring. The flaring is also observed in near-IR and X-ray observations. This flaring activity is thought to arise from the innermost region of the accretion flow. One aim of this thesis is to analyze the observations of the Galactic Center at millimeter wavelength to observe and study the flaring activity of Sgr A*. In part these observations were carried out by myself. For this, I have observed the GC at 3 mm wavelength between 2010-2014 with Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The observations in 2013-2014 were also carried out to study the the flyby of the dusty S-cluster object (DSO/G2) that was supposed to have its periapse passage in 2014, and its effects on the flaring activity of Sgr A*.

I obtain the radio light curves of Sgr A* from interferometer data by subtracting the contributions from the surrounding extended emission and correcting the elevation and time dependent gains of the telescope. The observations detect three instances of significant variability in the flux density of Sgr A*, with variations between 0.5 to 1.0 Jy, lasting for 1.5-3 hours. I use the adiabatically expanding plasmon model to analyze the the flux density variations. We derive the physical quantities of the modelled flare emission, which give a source expansion speed of ~ 0.013-0.025c, source sizes of ~ 1-3 Schwarzschild radii, spectral indices of = 0.5-0.8, with the peak of the synchrotron radiation occurring at frequencies of few hundred GHz. These parameters suggest that the expanding source components are either confined to the neighbourhood of Sgr A* by contributing to the corona or the disc, or have a bulk motion greater than the expansion velocity. I do not detect exceptional flux density variation on short flare time-scales during the approach and the flyby of the DSO which is consistent with its observed compactness and the absence of a large bow shock.

I also present the observations of SiO maser sources observed in the central parsec of the GC. SgrA* was observed with two intermediate frequencies (IFs) centered at 86.243 GHz and 85.640 GHz corresponding to the two rotational transition lines of the SiO molecule with 2 GHz bandwidth each, and 1 MHz frequency resolution, which corresponds to 3.477 km/s velocity resolution. Our spatial resolution is limited by the available baselines with best resolution of 0.2 arcsec. These are the most comprehensive observations of the central parsec of the GC at 3mm, with wide band that allow us to investigate high velocity stars. In the thesis, I present the method to detect the maser sources. In total, 11 sources were detected, of which 8 are previously known sources, like: IRS 1W, IRS 2L, IRS 7, IRS 9, IRS 10EE, IRS 12N, IRS 28 and IRS 34. Three new sources were detected. I present the method to calculate the accurate positions and proper motions of the maser sources. The proper motions of strong sources IRS 7 & IRS 12N are calculated precisely and are in agreement with previous results. Comparative study of the relative strength of the SiO transition lines indicates that the 86.243 GHz line is stronger than the 85.640 GHz line. Among the detected stars, 3 are cool stars, 2 HE I stars, 1 AGB star and 1 red giant. I also present an upper limit on the detection of several maser sources which have been detected in previous studies but were not detected in my dataset. This is most likely due to the strong variability of the maser emission.


The status of peasantry in Estland and Livland at the end of the Swedish reign

Enn Kung: In May 2013, a seminar on the topic "Serfdom or freedom: changes in the status of peasantry in the end of the Swedish reign" was held at the University of Tartu. It was instigated by a debate in the Estonian historical discourse during the last two decades on the status of the post-reduction crown peasantry in Estland and Livland. The debate started in 1996 when Aleksander Loit gave a paper titled "On the abolishment of serfdom in Estonia during the Swedish reign". There he presented a novel idea that King Charles XI of Sweden not only wanted to improve the situation of peasants in the Baltic provinces, but actually abolished serfdom in the manors nationalized during the reduction – in Livland in 1681 and in Estland in 1687. Several – but not all – historians agreed with Loit. In order to discuss this important issue more thoroughly a new debate was organized, the results of which are presented here.

Aleksander Loit: By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the former crown property in Estland and Livland was almost entirely enfeoffed to the nobility. The situation was reversed with the reduction when all the enfeoffments by Swedish authorities were renationalized and the majority of the arable land was taken back by the crown. Apart from the fact that the state revenues from Estland and Livland multiplied, the reduction brought along changes in the existing social order, such as the liquidation of the feudal system and the abolishment of serfdom. Peasants of the crown manors became the subjects of the king and had to be treated similarly to other peasants in the Swedish realm. Political power and the position of the nobility weakened both in relation to the monarchical power and the subordinated peasants. In crown manors, the feudal system was replaced by the lease holding system, whereby the leaseholders were not permitted to join the local knighthoods.

Kalle Kroon: Nationalization of the crown manors in Estland and Livland at the end of the seventeenth century was accompanied by the abolishment of serfdom of the crown peasantry. Although the owners of farmsteads had to stay put, their sons were given the freedom to choose a profession, either by joining the army or by acquiring education for the position of a schoolmaster. The end to the attachment to land for the new generation and the freedom to decide over their own labor testify to the absence of serfdom, which is characteristic of the process of the abolishment of serfdom in Early Modern Europe at the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Aivar Poldvee: A more definite answer to the question of the abolishment of serfdom probably would be available if the Great Northern War had ended with Sweden's victory. Now one can only talk about the preliminary goals and the processes which were not accomplished. I focus on two issues, which can be taken as a model. First, the treatment of complaints by the peasants of Swedish origin who lived in Estonia by both the relevant commission and the council of the realm in 1684–85. The Swedish state viewed the legal status of the Swedish peasants in Estonia as some sort of an example to be applied to other peasants in Estland and Livland. However, the top officials in Sweden did not have a clear understanding what their status actually was. Only after a lengthy dispute, the council reached a conclusion in 1685, according to which these peasants were as free as the nobility's peasants (fralsebonder) in Sweden. In reality, the resolution did not protect the Swedish peasants in Estonia from the encroachment of their rights by manor leaseholders. Secondly, there is a resolution from 1687 which demanded that the sons of peasants not be hindered in pursuing education (bokliga konster) or joining the army. In connection with the establishment of the peasant schools, both pupils and peasant schoolmasters achieved freedom of movement. There were schoolmasters who started to work far from their homes, even in another province. There were cases, however, when the leaseholders of crown estates demanded the return of schoolmasters as their former serfs. On the whole, the freedom of movement of schoolmasters testifies to the mitigation of serfdom.

Marten Seppel: What changed in the status of the peasantry in Estland and Livland at the end of the seventeenth century? The source material allows us to conclude that King Charles XI's demands to improve the status of the crown peasantry in Livland and Estland brought about three major changes in their condition: the judicial authority of the leaseholders of the crown estates was considerably restricted, the peasants' right to complain to the authorities was guaranteed, and the crown peasants were not to be sold. In other aspects, the status of the crown peasants changed little, although they could hope for protection from the provincial authorities against their leaseholders. The peasants' property and trading rights remained in principle the same as in the private estates; they had no right to leave their manor by their own will; they could not own guns or other weapons; their obligations of customary dues and statute labor was fixed and not substantially changed. The authorities' attitude toward the crown peasants can be characterized by the fact that similarly to serfs in private estates, they could be 'transported' from one crown manor to another whenever this was considered economically worthwhile.


This article explores the implications that the historic yet controversial Lubanga judgment is likely to have for victims seeking reparations through the International Criminal Court (ICC). It examines the reparations framework of the ICC and, drawing on the outcomes of Lubanga, outlines some significant obstacles which the case-based reparations scheme confronts. The article concludes that, while reparations are a cornerstone of the ICC arrangements, their provisions are riddled with financial and practical difficulties which, apart from calling into the question the adequacy of reparations for victims in Lubanga, also raises doubts about the efficacy of the ICC reparations framework as a whole.


The CO2, air, oxygen and special gases effluence and contamination in compressed gas cylinders during storage and transportation resulting into localised pitting corrosion of the storage and conveying metal is a major challenge in oil and gas sector. In an attempt to address this, the inhibition influence of Ketoconazole (KCZ) drug performance on the electrochemical corrosion behaviour of type AA-6063 aluminium alloy in 1 M H2SO4 solutions was studied through weight loss method and potentiodynamic polarization test. The effect of inhibitor concentration was considered from 0.1-1.0% g/v. The results obtained showed that the drug compound performed effectively in acid solutions with average ketoconazole drug inhibition efficiency above 50% in H2SO4 acid from weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization test respectively. Furthermore from corrosion propagation it was revealed that the adsorption of ketoconazole drug onto the AA-6063 aluminium was through chemisorption and mixed type system whereby the redox activity initiating corrosion and the electrolytic transport of corrosion propagation were concurrently intimidated by the absorbed molecules and interferences of the species atoms. The structural properties examined by high resolution scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectrometer [SEM/EDX] indicate a passive and less deterioration of AA-6063 aluminium alloy. The adsorption characteristics of the compound were determined to obey the Langmuir and Frumkin isotherm model.


An efficient route is proposed to actively manipulate directional scattering based on magneto-optical (MO) effects and multipolar interferences with a coated MO cylinder. We demonstrate that the presence of an external magnetic field B contributes to breaking the degeneracy of multipoles and making them rotate. The rotated modes further interfere with each other, thus reshaping scattering profiles and introducing novel directional optical switching (OS) phenomena. As a result, we show that forward scattering (FS) and backward scattering (BS) can be flexibly altered by turning on or off the B for both s-polarization and p-polarization, and optical switching exhibits broadband performance as well. More specifically, the proposed nanostructure also operates robust and reliable functionalities when considering realistic MO materials with optical loss and dispersion; therefore, they are ideal candidates to develop reconfigurable, tunable and versatile optical devices.


Gender statistics concerns differences and inequalities in the situation of women and men in all areas of life. Gender inequality - both in space and time - is a latent trait, namely only indirectly measurable through a collection of observablevariables and indicators purposively selected. The most common gender statistical measures are classified in statistical literature as composite indicators. Even if they are normally used by social-scientists, such gender-gap measures are known to havecase-specific technical limitations. In this paper we propose an innovative approach to gender statistics based on a multivariate Latent Markov model (LMM) for the analysis of gender inequalities as measured by the aforementioned indicators.


The Digitally Enabled Business Clinic (DEBC) builds on the success of Northumbria University's Business Clinic (BC). The DEBC enables businesses to engage with university students and access free business consultancy, providing the latest knowledge from a range of disciplines and leading to positive business outcomes. We have created, tested and evaluated a digitally enabled model of the BC, which could enable the highly successful BC approach to be implemented quickly and cost-effectively by other universities. Digital marketing was tested to attract low to mid productivity SMEs and deliver free consultancy services. Overall, 47 consultancy projects were delivered to clients via the DEBC. These were evaluated using 60 client interviews, in two stages, and 47 client quantitative surveys. Findings revealed clients valued the average consultancy project at £5,174, moreover these projects enhanced business productivity, and stimulated technology and modern business practice adoption. DEBC projects also sparked innovation, with clients identifying a total of 8 market strategy, 3 service design and 3 business process innovations. The total value of all 47 DEBC projects, based on the survey results, is £243,178. However, the findings also reveal referrals and attending networking events may be a more cost-effective means of attracting clients than digital marketing approaches. In summary, the DEBC has been a phenomenal success. The model has generated £243,178 worth of consultancy for low productivity SMEs using an initial investment of just over £42,000. Areas for improvement are outlined, including greater requirements for the amount of student-client interaction and more cost-effective means of recruiting clients. Finally, important next steps are outlined so InnovateUK has a clear roadmap to test a full-trial of the DEBC. Thanks must go to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Business Basics programme and Innovate UK for which this proof concept would not have been possible without.


Accessing 3R information for fundamental research is difficult for many reasons: the titles, abstracts, and author keywords of scientific articles do not contain the terms 3R, Reduce, Refine, Replace, alternatives or replacement. Mesh terms in Pubmed or thesaurus terms in Embase are rare and are not systematically attributed to scientific articles using animal experimentation or substitution methods. Reporting of animal conditions, animal and cell strains used for fundamental research are often incomplete in the Material and Methods section because authors have omitted them, but certainly also because publishers demand concision. The Material and Methods section is not indexed by bibliographic databases now used in life sciences, Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, or WOS (Web of Science). If Google scholar indexes full texts including the Material and Methods section, access to articles depends on whether the journal has been licensed by the researcher's institution. The Gold Open Access model for journals specialized in animal experimentation or substitution methods is rare. Moreover, Green Open Access to 3R information is poorly developed: websites of journals specialized in animal experimentation or substitution methods do not even specify embargo periods preventing free diffusion of articles, and if, they are not included in the Sherpa, a publisher copyright policies & self-archiving information database. The archiving of full-text articles using animal experimentation into institutional Open Archives is not systematic yet, even for one of the largest free-full text archive of biomedical literature at the US, PMC (Pubmed Central). LAMDHI (Link Animal Models to Human Disease) is a free Web-based tool developed for providing biomedical researchers with a resource to compare animal models and locate them for their research. But corresponding full-text access to articles on animal models still depends on institutional academic licenses. Over the last five years, SYRCLE (Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation) has developed educational activities focused on training of Dutch researchers to carry out systematic 3R reviews. SYRCLE also developed special filters that can help systematically search of 3R information in Pubmed or Embase. In Switzerland, researchers were sensitized to adopt strategies for finding relevant 3R information in 2012 and 2013 at the request of RESAL (Reseau des animaleries lemaniques) and LTK (Institut fur LabortTierKunde). The ECVAM (European Center for Validation of Alternatives Methods) edited a complete, user-friendly, and free access guide to help untrained database users find 3R information in 2011. The guidelines ARRIVE (Animal Research Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) and GSPC (Gold Standard Publication Checklist) for accurate reporting of animal experimentation are also now available for researchers. These examples of different initiatives for better finding and reporting of animal experimentation and substitution methods are a good start. But 3R information circuits should be changed to really enhance 3R accessibility in the near future. It could be a Swiss case study of the spreading (and controversial) movement of Open Access models to scientific information. The Consortium of Swiss Academic Libraries could start negotiating for national licenses to some or all journal titles specialized in animal experimentation or substitutions methods for the best price for Swiss universities. A shorter embargo diffusion time for 3R articles should be negotiated with publishers. The embargo diffusion could be systematically indicated on publisher journal websites and on the Sherpa database for the development of Green Open Access to 3R information. Universities could adopt the practice of archiving all 3R, animal experimentation, and substitution methods articles in their Open Archives bibliographic databases. The switch from a classical publication model to a Gold Open Access model could be discussed with journals focusing on animal experimentation and/or substitution methods. As a result, a new kind of financial resource for publication should be created with the help of universities, libraries and the SNF (Swiss National Foundation). The reporting of animal experimentation conditions according to the recommended standards ARRIVE or GSPC should be accessible freely on Open Access platforms, ie Frontiers, Open Archives such as Infoscience at Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne, or publishers' open-access websites, as it is the already the case for Plos journals. Finally, Swiss 3R institutions could think about the financing and/or participation to the ontology development of the new German semantic search engine Go3R. A multidisciplinary team including veterinary and life sciences researchers as well as librarians could be created to evaluate the feasibility of the above options. RESAL, LTK, FNS, SAMS (Swiss Academy Medical Science), SGV (Swiss Laboratory Animal Science Association), Commission des Bibliotheques medicales, 3R Foundation should work together to obtain common 3R resources and tools at the Swiss National level for universities and veterinary offices, and to adopt common 3R information practices for the improvement of 3R information accessibility, experimental results and life science reproducibility. [1


Beginning with the proposition that the incarnation is not simply theologically descriptive but also strategically prescriptive, this thesis proposes utilising this motif in
order to analyse and critique participatory development practice as it is undertaken today, both by Christians as well as those who are not. After first illustrating the value of incarnational involvement by presenting the results of field research undertaken amongst a particular community of the Sundanese people residing in a specific hamlet in the city of Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia, a template comprised of six distinguishing marks and three overarching characteristics is then developed in order to appraise the Incarnational motif in terms of its tangible applicability. Thereafter, four disciplines are examined and appraised in terms of their incarnational, participatory value-the discipline of development studies (focussing on the work of Robert Chambers), the discipline of anthropology (focussing on the work of Clifford Geertz), the logic of Critical Theory (focussing on the work of Jurgen Habermas) and the thought of a leading Indonesian Islamic theorist, Abdurrahman Wahid. Key, buttressing points in each of these are selected as sources of validation for the incarational motif. Furthermore, the image of participation found in each is critiqued by comparing them to the six distinguishing marks and the three overarching characteristics. Finally, a tangible example of incarnational participation previously undertaken in West Java, Indonesia by the author is offered as a picture of how the incarnational thesis might be utilised in
social practice. Both the complexities encountered as well as promises experienced are highlighted so as to present a realistic and useful model.


From a cultural semiotic perspective, inspired by Yuri Lotman and Itamar Even-Zohar, it is demonstrated in this article that the notion of Byzantinism is used in both the Western semiosphere, relating to Paris as its cultural centre, and the Byzantine semiosphere, relating to Constantinople. Since Byzantinism functions in different ways and carries different meanings and values in these semiospheres, it has often been used to separate the semiospheres from each other. In this sense, the notion of Byzantinism marks the cultural border between 'us' and 'them', from the point of view of the Western as well as the Byzantine semiosphere. An all too simple and superficial understanding of this phenomenon has been challenged however by various writers and intellectuals, who represent different languages and cultures, and who operate within either the Western or the Byzantine semiosphere, yet who all say 'our Byzantinism'.Byzantinism might strengthen the sense of belonging to a Byzantine community, or articulate the desire to do so, as in the case of Konstantin Leontiev's Russian article on 'Byzantinism and Slavdom'. In the French avant-garde context of La Revue blanche, the notion of Byzantinism, might be brought from the periphery of the Western cultural system into fin-de-siecle Paris, right into the heart of the Western semiosphere. Cavafy's poem 'Στην Eκκλησία' (In the Church) represents a case of interference between the Western and the Byzantine cultural systems. Rather than adherence to any culturally central norms it articulates a state of cultural change.Byzantinism conceived as 'ours' is not a culturally centralised notion carrying positive value only within the Byzantine semiosphere. This complex and enigmatic notion can be characterised by its tendency to cause interference and transfers in the peripheries of both the Western and Byzantine cultural systems. The notion of Byzantinism has proved to be able to both separate and unite East and West, i.e. the Byzantine and the Western semiospheres. From within either, Byzantinism can be shown to be not only theirs, but also ours.


Research in computational epidemiology to date has concentrated on coarse-grained statistical analysis of populations, often synthetic ones. By contrast, this paper focuses on fine-grained modeling of the spread of infectious diseases throughout a large real-world social network. Specifically, we study the roles that social ties and interactions between specific individuals play in the progress of a contagion. We focus on public Twitter data, where we find that for every health-related message there are more than 1,000 unrelated ones. This class imbalance makes classification particularly challenging. Nonetheless, we present a framework that accurately identifies sick individuals from the content of online communication. Evaluation on a sample of 2.5 million geo-tagged Twitter messages shows that social ties to infected, symptomatic people, as well as the intensity of recent co-location, sharply increase one's likelihood of contracting the illness in the near future. To our knowledge, this work is the first to model the interplay of social activity, human mobility, and the spread of infectious disease in a large real-world population. Furthermore, we provide the first quantifiable estimates of the characteristics of disease transmission on a large scale without active user participation---a step towards our ability to model and predict the emergence of global epidemics from day-to-day interpersonal interactions.


Purpose: Skin prick testing (SPT) is fundamental to the practice of clinical allergy identifying relevant allergens and predicting the clinical expression of disease. Wheal sizes on SPT are used to identify atopic cases, and the cut-off value for a positive test is commonly set at 3 mm. However, the measured wheal sizes do not solely reflect the magnitude of skin reaction to allergens, but also skin reactivity (reflected in the size of histamine reaction) and other random or non-random factors. We sought to estimate wheal sizes exclusively due to skin response to allergens and propose gender-specific cutoff points of atopy. Methods: We developed a Bayesian method to adjust observed wheal sizes by excluding histamine and other factor effects, based on which revised cutoff points are proposed for males and females, respectively. The method is then applied to and intensively evaluated using a study population aged 18, at a location on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. To evaluate the proposed approach, two sample t-tests for population means and proportion tests are applied. Results: Four common aeroallergens, house dust mite (HDM), grass pollen, dog dander, and alternaria are considered in the study. Based on 3 mm cutoff, males tend to be more atopic than females (P-values are between 0.00087 and 0.062). After applying the proposed methods to adjust wheal sizes, our findings suggest that misclassifications of atopy occur more often in males. Revised allergen-specific cutoff values are proposed for each gender. Conclusion: To reduce the gender discrepancy, we may have two potentially convenient solutions. One way is to apply allergen-specific and gender-specific cutoff values following the proposed method. Alternatively, we can revise the concentration of allergens in the SPT solutions but keep the cutoff values unchanged, which may be more convenient to clinicians.


IN T WO E XPERIMENTS W ITH EVENT-RELATED potentials (ERPs), we investigated the formation of auditory Gestalts. For this purpose, we used tone sequences of different structure. In the first experiment, we contrasted a rhythmic section to a section with random time values, each embedded in rhythmically irregular context. In the second experiment, melodies were contrasted to randomized sequences. Nonmusicians either had to detect the rhythmic pattern or to memorize short tone excerpts. Random versions in both experiments evoked a significant increase in the amplitude of P1 and P2. Randomized rhythm sections also evoked a late sustained negative potential. The enlarged P1 and P2 for random sequences might reflect stronger integration effort, as the predictability of tone progression was low. Thus, already at the early stage of encoding, sequence processing might be top-down-driven. The late negativity for rhythmically random sections is possibly task-related, reflecting expectancy violation in terms of regularity, since a metrical grid of beats could not be established. The memorizing of tone excerpts did not evoke a late neural correlate. (169)


To what extent is visual detection performance disrupted by auditory attention capture? More specifically, does visual detection performance suffer when an auditory stimulus induces people to direct attention inward to the meaning of that stimulus rather than outward toward the visual display? Studies of visual attention often focus on how individuals are able to allocate their attention to various perceptual sources in the environment. Yet, the internal processing of information, such as manipulating information in working memory or speech comprehension, is also attentionally demanding. If attention is conceptualized as a general pool of resources that gives processing priority to some sources over others, then internal information processing and visual attention must both draw from this pool. The ability for speech to impact visual attention, specifically the processing of incongruous or highly meaningful speech, was investigated in a series of experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 looked at how hearing a semantically inconsistent word in a stream of non-sentential, category-consistent words could affect visual detection performance. Experiments 3 and 4 assessed the impact of hearing taboo words on visual detection performance. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed no disruption to visual attention as a result of hearing semantically incongruent information, and actually trended toward showing a slight performance boost in the visual task when hearing category-inconsistent words. Auditory presentation of taboo words in Experiments 3 and 4 was consistently able to disrupt visual detection performance, delaying responses to visual targets presented immediately following taboo words. As a whole, the current data suggest that when attention is split between the processing of auditory information and a visual task, surprising or meaningful auditory information can impact visual attention and that the effects vary as a function of the nature of this information. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


There is no widely accepted approach to conducting system of systems engineering (SoSE) efforts. The SoSE methodology is a rigorous engineering analysis that invests heavily in the understanding and framing of the problem under study. By conducting a rigorous engineering analysis of the problem and its associated context, the SoSE methodology minimises the chance that a Type III error may be committed early on in a SoSE analysis. The SoSE methodology is a guide to be adapted to the particular circumstances that define its application. The theoretical and philosophical grounding for the SoSE methodology derives from systems theory. The systems principles, laws, and concepts are central to everything that follows in application of the SoSE methodology to a specific problem domain. The SoSE methodology contains seven perspectives and 23 constituent elements that serve to structure the application of the perspectives during methodology application. Each perspective is essential to a holistic treatment of the problem, with all perspectives iteratively applied and existing in relationship to every other, informing and informed by each.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Ureteral injury is a potential complication of ureteral access sheath (UAS) deployment. The amount of force that results in clinical ureteral injury has yet to be defined. Herein, we present our clinical experience using a novel UAS Force Sensor (UAS-FS) during routine ureteroscopy. METHODS: UAS deployment force was measured with a UAS-FS, developed in collaboration with engineers at our institution (Figure 1). Continuous UAS-FS measurements were recorded from the urethral meatus until either the UAS reached the desired ureteral deployment site or 10 Newtons (N) was recorded. A 16 Fr UAS was used in each initial attempt. Fluoroscopic images were obtained at 2 N, 4 N, 6 N, 8 N, and 10 N. In general, if 8 N was reached, the 16 Fr UAS was exchanged for a 14 Fr or 11 Fr UAS. Ureteroscopic assessment of the ureter at the end of each case was quantitated using the post-ureteroscopic lesion scale (PULS). RESULTS: UAS deployment force was measured in 72 ureters among 65 patients. The 16 Fr UAS was deployed in 51 ureters (71%) at a maximal force of 5.4 N (1.9-11.6). In the remaining cases, a 14 Fr or 11 Fr UAS was passed in 19% and 10% with a maximal force of 4.6 N (1.4-9.1) and 3.1 N (1.2-5.0), respectively (p=0.08). Maximum peak force was most commonly recorded (31%) at the distal ureter. PULS 0, 1, and 2 were recorded in 31%, 36%, and 15% of cases, respectively (not recorded in 17%) (Table 1). A single PULS 3 was noted following deployment of a 14 Fr UAS at a peak pressure of 8.9 N. Of note, when the force applied was <5 N, the PULS score was consistently ⩽1. On multivariate analysis, successful deployment of a 16 Fr UAS was associated with pre-stented ureters (p=0.04). Preoperative treatment with tamsulosin was not associated with lower PULS (p=0.32), lower peak force applied (p=0.39), or with an increase in deployment of the 16 Fr UAS (p=0.45). CONCLUSIONS: Using an UAS-FS, ureteral access deployment force could be continuously measured in the clinical setting. Limiting the deployment force to <5 N consistently resulted in a PULS score of ⩽1. Figure. No caption available. Table. No title available. Source of Funding: none


Amicus curiae ("friend of the court") participation in litigation has flourished in recent years as many groups and individuals seek to influence the outcome of litigation. Amicus filers are not parties and judges have wide discretion to reject amicus briefs if they believe that the amicus participation does not add anything to the briefs already filed by the parties. In three recent cases, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner has rejected amicus filings and promised to closely scrutinize applications to file amicus briefs in the future. Judge Posner's influence has led an increasing number of judges, primarily at the district court level, to deny leave to file amicus briefs. This Article argues for the importance of amicus participation in a democratic system. The Article proposes changes to the federal appellate standards for granting leave to file amicus briefs. Currently, court rules generally require that amicus briefs add something new to the arguments already made by the parties. This Article argues that the standards for sanctions under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure should determine whether amicus briefs should be accepted for filing. This standard might increase the number of amicus briefs that are accepted for filing, but would also increase democratic participation in the court system. While placing some limits on amicus participation is important to the proper functioning of the judicial system, this Article argues that limits on amicus participation should be minimal in light of the democratic and constitutional values that amicus participation furthers.


Ten years ago Dutch universities became owners of their real estate portfolios. Their real estate portfolios contain many academic buildings and laboratories. Some of the universities own (monumental) buildings in historical inner cities (Amsterdam, Utrecht, Groningen, Maastricht) and most of them have large real estate portfolios, both in terms or gross floor area and in terms of land property. Together they own as much as 4,5 million square meters (equals 48.5 million square feet) gross floor area and 4000 acres of land. Ever since the universities have dealt with many corporate real estate (CRE) issues: adding value to strategic management, coping with diminishing public (financial) support, improving customer satisfaction and managing many complicated building projects. Meanwhile developments in higher education and research created a very dynamic context with many uncertainties. Corporate real estate managers of all 13 Dutch universities joined forces to discuss the opportunities and threats of their new responsibilities and to generate more management information for their own situation. Delft University of Technology was asked to assist them with research projects that combined theory and practice - in an international context of managing university real estate portfolios n and has done that for more than 5 years now. This paper summarizes the results of 5 years of research on managing university real estate portfolios. It emphasises on the latest results (2004/2005) that focus on CRE-performance measurement in general and on benchmarking costs in relation to quality and use of buildings and real estate (data analysis in February/March 2005) in particular. The paper will contain theories n applied to universities but relevant for CREM in general n and will include results of quantitative and qualitative surveys, both on portfolio level and on (building) project level. Conclusions will concentrate on methods for measuring performance of CREM and for generating management information for CRE-managers to communicate and negotiate with policy makers, strategic planners, controllers, building users and parties in construction management.


Although it was discovered more than 100 years ago that the electrical resistance of certain metals can be influenced by an applied magnetic field, it is only in recent years that proposals have been put forward for practical applications of this "magnetoresistance effect," as it is called. There are two important reasons for the revival of research in this field. The first is the development of magnetic recording in the direction of increasingly high information densities, which calls for magnetic sensors of a compactness that cannot be achieved with conventional inductive sensors. The second is the development of methods, related to integrated circuit technology, by which micropatterns can be made in thin metal layers, making it possible to fabricate tiny magnetoresistive elements capable of detecting magnetic fields varying on a micron scale.


New tissue substitute materials known as Cross-linked Hydrophilic Copolymers have been investigated in order to determine their suitability as phantoms for mammography applications. The main requirement of a radiation phantom is that the radiation interactions within the phantom should match those interactions that would take place in the simulated body organ or tissue. The potential of cross-linked hydrophilic copolymers, as tissue substitute materials, in simulating the photon attenuation and scattering responses of human soft tissues has been evaluated. The cross-linked hydrophilic copolymers used in this study, designated as ED IS and ED4C, were based upon a combination of polyvinylpyrrolidone: methyl methacrylate and are able to take up a controllable amount of water without being dissolved in it. The hydrophilic materials in dry and hydrated states have been irradiated in order to estimate their mass and linear photon attenuation coefficients. The materials were hydrated in double distilled water and various solutions of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), hydrochloride (HCl) and copper sulphate (CUSO4) as well as plasma tissue substitute material known as HaemaccelRTM (Polygeline). The effect of the pH value of the absorbent on the linear expansion of the hydrophilic materials was investigated. Moreover, the attenuation properties of the hydrophilic materials were verified at a range of hydration levels where double distilled water was used as an absorbent. The XCOM computer code was used to calculate the mass photon attenuation coefficients of the hydrophilic materials and the results were compared to the measured values. Furthermore, the electron densities of the cross-linked hydrophilic copolymers were determined. Normal and pathological breast tissue samples (adipose, glandular and tumour) excised from nine postmenopausal breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomies were collected from the Histopathology Department at the Royal Surrey County Hospital as fresh and blood free samples. The linear photon attenuation coefficients and the electron densities of the breast tissue samples were independently measured and compared to both the hydrophilic materials and the published data for breast tissues. The breast tissue samples were examined after freeze drying and the results were corrected for the water reduction by the use of the Mixture Rule. The water content of each tissue type was determined as the weight lost during the freeze during process. The technique of Photon Transmission Tomography (PTT) was used to measure the linear attenuation coefficients of the materials and the tissue samples whereas their electron densities were determined by the employment of the technique of Compton Scattering Densitometry (CSD). For both the PTT and CSD techniques, an encapsulated americium-241 radiation source of photons of energy 59.50 keV and a high purity germanium (HPGe) detector were used. Chemical substances of known mass and linear photon attenuation coefficients and electron densities were employed in order to investigate the performance of the PTT and CSD systems.


The in vivo assessment of renal damage after ischemia–reperfusion injury, such as in sepsis, hypovolemic shock or after transplantation, is a major challenge. This injury often results in temporary or permanent nonfunction. In order to improve the clinical outcome of the kidneys, novel therapies are currently being developed that limit renal ischemia–reperfusion injury. However, to fully address their therapeutic potential, noninvasive imaging methods are required which allow the in vivo visualization of different renal compartments and the evaluation of kidney function. In this study, MRI was applied to study kidney oxygenation and function in a murine model of renal ischemia–reperfusion injury at 7 T. During ischemia, there was a strongly decreased oxygenation, as measured using blood oxygen level‐dependent MRI, compared with the contralateral control, which persisted after reperfusion. Moreover, it was possible to visualize differences in oxygenation between the different functional regions of the injured kidney. Dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI revealed a significantly reduced renal function, comprising perfusion and filtration, at 24 h after reperfusion. In conclusion, MRI is suitable for the noninvasive evaluation of renal oxygenation and function. Blood oxygen level‐dependent or dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI may allow the early detection of renal pathology in patients with ischemia–reperfusion injury, such as in sepsis, hypovolemic shock or after transplantation, and consequently may lead to an earlier intervention or change of therapy to minimize kidney damage. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Quantitative research has shown Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programmes can reduce mood disturbance, improve quality of life, and decrease stress symptoms of cancer patients. However, the range of subjective effects experienced by programme participants has not been clearly described. Nine cancer patients who had participated in an 8-week MBSR programme through the Tom Baker Cancer Centre's Department of Psychosocial Resources, and who continued to attend weekly drop-in MBSR sessions were interviewed for this study. Qualitative research was conducted using grounded theory analysis. Data from semi-structured interviews and a focus group were analysed using QSR N6 software to identify themes concerning the effects patients experienced by adding meditation to their lives. Five major themes emerged from the data: (1) opening to change; (2) self-control; (3) shared experience; (4) personal growth; (5) spirituality. This information was used to develop specific theory concerning mechanisms whereby MBSR effects change for cancer patients. These understandings may be used to refine and further develop MBSR programmes to better assist patients during cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The welfare of modern societies has been intrinsically linked to wage labour. With some exceptions, the modern human has to sell her labour-power to be able reproduce biologically and socially. Thus, a lingering fear of technological unemployment features predominately as a theme among Artificial Intelligence researchers. In this short paper we show that, if past trends are anything to go by, this fear is irrational. On the contrary, we argue that the main problem humanity will be facing is the normalisation of extremely long working hours.


This study is a descriptive analysis of an attempt to coordinate donor agency and government activities in the national leprosy control program of the Philippine Islands. A twofold strategy is employed to realize this purpose: (1) the evolution of the present coordinated program as recorded in both published and unpublished documents is described, and (2) an opinion survey of Philippine personnel active in the present leprosy control program is reported. The most significant finding, in terms of relating the Philippine experience to other areas of donor-recipient exchange, is the emergence of a model of coordinated effort where a donor agency's assistance to a foreign national government is transmitted through a third indigenous and intermediary organization. By advancing the interests of both donor and recipient organizations, this approach has the potential of promoting a successful coordination of activities which might not otherwise be attained.


The proem of Choerilus' Persika The aim of the paper is to reconsider the order of the fragments suggested by Lloyd-Jones and Parsons for the proem of Choerilus'Persika. A careful reading of Choerilus' poetological reflections at the opening of his poem, suggests that the makarismos can precede the invocation. If so, Aristotle may have quoted lines from the proem following the right order and the sequence in which the fragments appear in the Rhetoric can be considered reliable.


Influenza A viruses are a major global health threat, not only causing significant morbidity and mortality every year but also having the potential to cause severe pandemic outbreaks like the 1918 influenza pandemic. The viral polymerase is a protein complex which is responsible for transcription and replication of the viral genome and therefore is an attractive target for antiviral drug development. For that purpose it is important to understand the mechanisms of how the virus replicates its genome and how the viral polymerase works on a molecular level. In this report, we characterize the role of the flexible surface-exposed PA51-72-loop in polymerase function and offer new insights into the replication mechanism of influenza A viruses. ABSTRACT The heterotrimeric influenza A virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex, composed of PB1, PB2, and PA subunits, is responsible for transcribing and replicating the viral RNA genome. The N-terminal endonuclease domain of the PA subunit performs endonucleolytic cleavage of capped host RNAs to generate capped RNA primers for viral transcription. A surface-exposed flexible loop (PA51-72-loop) in the PA endonuclease domain has been shown to be dispensable for endonuclease activity. Interestingly, the PA51-72-loop was found to form different intramolecular interactions depending on the conformational arrangement of the polymerase. In this study, we show that a PA subunit lacking the PA51-72-loop assembles into a heterotrimeric polymerase with PB1 and PB2. We demonstrate that in a cellular context, the PA51-72-loop is required for RNA replication but not transcription by the viral polymerase. In agreement, recombinant viral polymerase lacking the PA51-72-loop is able to carry out cap-dependent transcription but is inhibited in de novo replication initiation in vitro. Furthermore, viral RNA (vRNA) synthesis is also restricted during ApG-primed extension, indicating that the PA51-72-loop is required not only for replication initiation but also for elongation on a cRNA template. We propose that the PA51-72-loop plays a role in the stabilization of the replicase conformation of the polymerase. Together, these results further our understanding of influenza virus RNA genome replication in general and highlight a role of the PA endonuclease domain in polymerase function in particular. IMPORTANCE Influenza A viruses are a major global health threat, not only causing significant morbidity and mortality every year but also having the potential to cause severe pandemic outbreaks like the 1918 influenza pandemic. The viral polymerase is a protein complex which is responsible for transcription and replication of the viral genome and therefore is an attractive target for antiviral drug development. For that purpose it is important to understand the mechanisms of how the virus replicates its genome and how the viral polymerase works on a molecular level. In this report, we characterize the role of the flexible surface-exposed PA51-72-loop in polymerase function and offer new insights into the replication mechanism of influenza A viruses.


Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most serious complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) since it is the major predictor of poor prognosis. In susceptible individuals suffering of SLE, in situ formation and deposit of immune complexes (ICs) from apoptotic bodies occur in the kidneys as a result of an amplified epitope immunological response. IC glomerular deposits generate release of proinflammatory cytokines and cell adhesion molecules causing inflammation. This leads to monocytes and polymorphonuclear cells chemotaxis. Subsequent release of proteases generates endothelial injury and mesangial proliferation. Presence of ICs promotes adaptive immune response and causes dendritic cells to release type I interferon. This induces maturation and activation of infiltrating T cells, and amplification of Th2, Th1 and Th17 lymphocytes. Each of them, amplify B cells and activates macrophages to release more proinflammatory molecules, generating effector cells that cannot be modulated promoting kidney epithelial proliferation and fibrosis. Herein immunopathological findings of LN are reviewed.


Let's begin by presenting some newly discovered documents concerning Niccolò Machiavelli. The biographical detail may at first appear overwhelming, but the light these documents shed on the chronology of Machiavelli's composition of The Prince helps to answer some old questions concerning the character of Machiavelli's little treatise. The new documents date from the year 1515. They were drawn up at a time of financial difficulty and profound personal disappointment in the life of the former Florentine secretary and second chancellor. In 1512 Machiavelli had been fired from the chancery of the Florentine Republic. In 1513 he had been arrested on a probably false charge of conspiracy, tortured (although he gave no confession), and then unexpectedly freed in a general amnesty following the election of a Florentine, Giovanni de' Medici, as Pope Leo X. In 1515, at the time these documents were drawn up, Machiavelli was still out of favor. But he was also putting into prose the theoretical work that established the extraordinary reputation still associated with him today.


The tensile properties of nine different grades of low density polyethylene were measured, and the relationships resulting from the combination of different pairs of properties were analyzed. It was found that some properties correlate well together, with a correlation coefficient better than 0.90. Such correlations will be useful in easily predicting the tensile properties of low density polyethylene. The FB grades exhibited the highest ultimate tensile strength and offset yield strength while their ductility and toughness were lowest when compared with the other grades. The MG 12 and FD grades were of highest modulus of elasticity. The variation in a given property, for the nine grades, ranged from 40% for the ultimate tensile strength, up to 2.6 fold for the strain at break.


The site of a great Ancestral Pueblo center in the 11th and 12th centuries AD, the ruins in Chaco Canyon look like a city to some archaeologists, a ceremonial center to others. Chaco and the people who created its monumental great houses, extensive roads, and network of outlying settlements remain an enigma in American archaeology.Two decades after the latest and largest program of field research at Chaco, the National Park Service's Chaco Project from 1971 to 1982, the original researchers and other leading Chaco scholars convened to evaluate what they now know about Chaco in light of new theories and new data. Those meetings culminated in an advanced seminar at the School of American Research, where the Chaco Project itself was born in 1968. In this capstone volume, the contributors address central archaeological themes, including environment, organization of production, architecture, regional issues, and society and polity. They place Chaco in its time and in its region, considering what came before and after its heyday and its neighbors to the north and south, including Mesoamerica.


We propose a robust portfolio optimization approach based on quantile statistics. The proposed method is robust to extreme events in asset returns, and accommodates large portfolios under limited historical data. Specifically, we show that the risk of the estimated portfolio converges to the oracle optimal risk with parametric rate under weakly dependent asset returns. The theory does not rely on higher order moment assumptions, thus allowing for heavy-tailed asset returns. Moreover, the rate of convergence quantifies that the size of the portfolio under management is allowed to scale exponentially with the sample size of the historical data. The empirical effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated under both synthetic and real stock data. Our work extends existing ones by achieving robustness in high dimensions, and by allowing serial dependence.


Recognizing that cross-sectional data are often insufficient to address the identification problems associated with estimating the effect of government taxation or spending, economists engaged in public finance research often utilize longitudinal data that span the period over which a policy change occurred. As economic data have proliferated over the last decade, uses of the difference-in-differences design and its variations have become more numerous. Nevertheless, published research that invokes difference-in-differences commonly fails to present evidence and reasoning that enable the reader to properly evaluate the causal claims under investigation. In this paper, we examine the threats to internal validity that exist when using difference-in-differences for causal inference and review variations of the design that can be used to address these threats. Next, we survey the public finance literature in order to examine the ways that these threats are addressed in practice. We conclude by proposing a number of recommendations for researchers to consider as they implement difference-in-differences as an empirical strategy.


This report is an attempt to set out a global view of English Medium Instruction today. It is a bird's eye view or a snapshot of the views and issues involved when implementing EMI. The report is based on a recent worldwide survey conducted with British Council staff acting as informed respondents and covers 55 countries; countries which are promoting, resisting or sometimes even reversing EMI in schools and universities.


Treatment of diseases with natural and synthetic materials has been an aspiration of mankind since the dawn of human development. From the use of willow-bark to the marketing of aspirin, a steady move from folk remedies to the use of chemistry and biology to develop new therapies has been observed. In terms of metal-containing drugs, the platinum-containing drug cisplatin has long been the most effective metal-containing anticancer drug on the market.

However, severe side effects of conventional drugs are associated with the inability to distinguish between healthy and cancer cells. Hence, a concerted world-wide effort is in progress to discover and characterise new drugs that may distinguish between healthy and cancer or other diseased cells. New techniques of drug delivery are sought and the use of natural products, proteins, antibodies, and synthetic polymers as drug delivery devices capable of targeting a diseased site is being investigated.

These issues are nicely illustrated by macrocycles such as porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and related systems. Some of these compounds exhibit selective absorption by cancer cells and have the ability to photosensitize formation of singlet oxygen. These attributes have led to the development of alternative cancer treatments known as photodynamic therapy. Sadly, many potentially good new therapeutic agents often never leave the designers' laboratory due to some pharmacological problems associated with its in vivo use. The use of drug delivering devices, including water-soluble synthetic polymeric drug delivery systems, may help overcome many pharmacological drug-related problems, including those of solubility, specificity, and biocompatibility, factors that currently prevent many potentially good therapeutic agents from reaching clinics.

The focus of this special issue is the synthesis, characterisation, physical studies, and application of synthetic metal-containing complexes and natural occurring proteins in serious human diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, viral disease, malaria, and tuberculosis with special focus on the following:

porphyrins, phthalocyanines, and related complexes in photodynamic cancer therapy;

proteins, enzymes, and synthetic polymeric drug delivery systems in the treatment of cancer and other diseases;

coordination and organometallic compounds in cancer, arthritis, malaria, and viral disease.

Towards these goals, L. Josefsen and R. Boyle describe in their review article the development and application of metal-based photosensitisers, including porphyrins and phthalocyanines, in photodynamic therapy. Four other publications highlight different aspects of porphyrin-based macrocyclic photosensitisers. S. Lee et al. focus on the cellular uptake and toxicity of thiotetra (ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether-functionalized porphyrazines. J.-Y. Liu et al. focus on in vitro photodynamic activity of novel amphiphilic zinc(II) phthalocyanines bearing oxyethylene-rich substituents. E. Antunes and T. Nyokong highlight the syntheses and photophysical properties of tetraazatetrabenzcorrole photosensitizers. Sakamoto et al. present a fundamental study of zinc bis(1,4-didecylbenzo)-bis(2,3-pyrido)porphyrazine for application in photodynamic therapy of cancer.

Considering polymeric drug delivery systems, South African E. Neuse's excellent review describes the use of synthetic polymers as metal-containing drug delivery vehicles in medicine. M. David Maree et al. provided a fine treatise on why biocompatible synthetic polymeric drug delivery systems are becoming increasing popular as drug delivering devices. They also demonstrate the principles behind these systems in a practical study utilising ferrocene and phthalocyanine derivatives anchored on a water-soluble polymeric drug carrier derived from lysine and aspartic acid. Italians Longo and Vasapollo demonstrated the use of phthalocyanine-based molecularly imprinted polymers as nucleoside receptors. X. Sun et al. report on the identification of proteins related to nickel homeostasis in Helicobater pylori by immobilized metal affinity chromatography and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. P. Nagababu reported DNA-binding and photocleavage studies of cobalt (III) ethylenediamine pyridine complexes.

M. Blackie and K. Chibale's excellent minireview focuses on metallocene antimalarials. The development of new metal-containing chemotherapeutic drugs is highlighted by contributions from M. Hogan et al. in their synthetic and cytotoxic study of new titanocene analogous. S. Mahepal et al. look at the in vitro antitumor activity of novel, mitochondrial-interactive, gold-based lipophilic cations. Sathisha et al. describe bis-isatin thiocarbohydrazone metal complexes and their antitumor activity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma in Swiss albino mice. In conclusion, J. M. Botha and A. Roodt report mechanistic studies on trans-aquatetracyanooxo complexes of Re(V) and Tc(V) and discuss the implications of their results for nuclear medicine.

We hope that this special issue will stimulate new research in all areas of metal-containing drug research and that it will help to focus research efforts of new and experienced researchers on key problems in the exciting field of metal-containing drug research.

Jannie C. Swarts

Michael J. Cook

Edward N. Baker


This article seeks to contribute to the scholarly literature on confessionalization by showing how private confession served as an important marker of official confessional identity in the German Reformation. The discussion focuses on Nordlingen, a Swabian imperial city that has received very little attention from English-speaking Reformation scholars. The article begins with a discussion of the efforts of Kaspar Loner, the city's senior pastor, to implement private confession in Nordlingen, part of his larger effort to "Lutheranize" the imperial city. The analysis then turns to examine the Nordlingen city council's opposition to Loner's intended reforms. Finally, the article examines the unexpected series of events that led to the formal adoption of private confession in Nordlingen, and it concludes with a discussion of how this decision both influenced and reflected the confessional stance of the city's lay and clerical leaders.


BACKGROUND
Physical activity has been an important influence on the evolution of our gene pool and the optimal functioning of our body. Physical activity has recently been discussed as important in relation to cancer-risk.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 182 studies related to the association between physical activity and risk of cancer are included in the present study. We have used international accepted criteria in the validation of the strength of the association between a potential risk factor and cancer-risk.

RESULTS
We conclude that there is convincing evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of colon cancer: the evidence is probable for breast cancer and possible for prostate, endometrial and lung cancer. Physical activity does not have any influence on rectal cancer. The evidence for all the remaining cancer sites reviewed remains insufficient to make any conclusions at this time. No increased risk due to high levels of physical activity has been observed for any cancer type. Physical activity has an independent protective effect on site-specific cancer; this effect cannot be explained by potentially confounding factors such as body mass or diet.

INTERPRETATIONS
We recommend including physical activity as a modifiable risk factor in order to reduce cancer risk throughout life. More studies focusing on biological mechanisms are needed. Furthermore, improvements in the physical activity assessments used associated with site-specific cancer risk is needed. Finally, there is a need for intervention studies designed to study the carcinogenic process and the specific cancer type with biological markers and intermediate steps in the development of cancer.


In 2019, the EU adopted the Preventive Restructuring Directive to introduce harmonisation enabling viable enterprises and entrepreneurs that are in financial difficulties to have access to effective national preventive restructuring frameworks a so that they can continue operating. A harmonised standard to deal with distressed debt and allow for early restructurings was seen as a key component for a competitive and integrated European capital market. In this context, the authors came together in a comparative piece entitled 'Restructuring Europe –The EU Preventive Restructuring Framework: a Hole in One?' that mapped selected jurisdictions' (Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) preventive restructuring frameworks against the background of the Directive's objectives and provisions. Eighteen months later and as the implementation period is coming to an end, this article revisits those findings and offers a comparative update on the implementation process. This article also includes additional perspectives on the impact that recent events, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, had and are having on the nature and progress of the Member States towards the introduction and improvement of preventive restructuring frameworks.


In this article, I undertake to debunk five great myths about the Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule. First, I debunk the myth that the contemporary exclusionary rule is constitutionally required in order to achieve several objectives, which include but are not limited to deterring future police misconduct. Second, I discredit the assertion that even if the rule is intended only to deter future police misconduct, it is justified because it efficiently accomplishes this objective. Third, I disagree with the contention that even if the present rule is too inefficient in deterring future police to justify its continuation, it can be sufficiently improved by a modification that accounts for the seriousness of the crime or the dangerousness of the criminal. Fourth, I oppose the argument that even if deterrence is insufficient to justify the rule, the rule's objectives can be expanded to encompass and promote noble aspirations beyond police deterrence, which thereby justify the rule. Fifth and finally, I dispute the moral claim that even if none of the utilitarian justifications for the rule are sufficient, the rule is needed to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system. Based on all the foregoing, I conclude that the exclusionary rule should be rescinded and replaced with an approach that punishes those who violate the Fourth Amendment while avoiding actions, such as suppression, which can frustrate justice by undermining the efficacy and legitimacy and the criminal trials.


We investigated the molecular basis of hemoglobin-H disease by hybridization and restriction endonuclease mapping of the DNA in the Mediterranean populations. Of the 12 patients studied from Cyprus and Sardinia, 8 had the typical deletion defect with a single remaining alpha-globin gene. The nondeletion type of alpha-thalassemia was found in 3, and a "dysfunctional" gene in one. We conclude that the predominant cause of alpha-thalassemia in these populations is gene deletion.


Beyond Borders: Indians, Australians and the Indonesian Revolution, 1939 to 1950 rediscovers an intense internationalism — and charts its loss — in the Indonesian Revolution. Momentous far beyond Indonesia itself, and not just for elites, generals, or diplomats, the Indonesian anti-colonial struggle from 1945 to 1949 also became a powerful symbol of hope at the most grassroots levels in India and Australia. As the news flashed across crumbling colonial borders by cable, radio, and photograph, ordinary men and women became caught up in in the struggle. Whether seamen, soldiers, journalists, activists, and merchants, Indonesian independence inspired all of them to challenge colonialism and racism. And the outcomes were made into myths in each country through films, memoirs, and civic commemorations. But as heroes were remembered, or invented, this 1940s internationalism was buried behind the hardening borders of new nations and hostile Cold War blocs, only to reemerge as the basis for the globalisation of later years.


The provision of high quality urban water services, the assets of which are often conceptualised as 'blue infrastructure', is essential for public health and quality of life in the cities. On the other hand, parks, recreation grounds, gardens, green roofs and in general 'green infrastructure', provide a range of (urban) ecosystem services (including quality of life and aesthetics) and could also be thought of as inter alia contributors to the mitigation of floods, droughts, noise, air pollution and urban heat island (UHI) effects, improvement of biodiversity, amenity values and human health. Currently, these 'blue' and 'green' assets/infrastructure are planned to operate as two separate systems despite the obvious interactions between them (for example, low runoff coefficient of green areas resulting in reduction of stormwater flows, and irrigation of green areas by potable water in increasing pressure on water supply systems). This study explores the prospects of a more integrated 'blue-green' approach – tested at the scale of a household. Specifically, UWOT (the Urban Water Optioneering Tool) was extended and used to assess the potential benefits of a scheme that employed locally treated greywater along with harvested rainwater for irrigating a green roof. The results of the simulations indicated that the blue-green approach combined the benefits of both 'green' and 'blue' technologies/services and at the same time minimised the disadvantages of each when installed separately.