The interaction between magnetism and the nuclear lattice is investigated
experimentally, using thermal expansion, magnetostriction, specific heat,
magnetisation and neutron scattering measurements. Both localised moment
systems, as represented by the rare earth compounds Tb2Agln, Pd2Gdln and
Cu2Gdln, as well as transition metal compounds, Ni2MnGa and V20 3 have been
characterised at low temperatures.
Measurements of the lattice properties are important due to the intrinsic
coupling of magnetic degrees of freedom to them. The response of the lattice to
magnetic order, and also to applied magnetic fields have been probed by the
use of the aforementioned techniques. Such techniques allow the direct
determination of the coefficient of linear thermal expansion, over a wide
temperature range and the forced magnetostriclion in applied fields of 0 to 7T.
Indirect determination of the spontaneous magnetostriction and the total
magnetic entropy contribution via measurements of isostructural compounds
further enhance the range of experimental data available. The dynamic
properties are characterised by spin polarised neutron scattering
measurements.
The experimental results are presented and discussed. Various methods of
coupling lattice and electronic degrees of freedom have been investigated.
It is argued that in order to fully understand and appreciate the low temperature
properties of the materials investigated such a coupling must be taken into
account.


This paper proposes that the Peace and Security Council of the AU establish an expert mediation unit, and that the Panel of the Wise, a sub-structure of the Council, be constituted as this unit. The proposal is based on three core propositions: mediation should be regarded as a specialised activity that requires extensive experience and a high level of proficiency; an experienced mediator is much more likely to be successful than an inexperienced mediator; and a confidence-building approach to mediation is more likely to yield a positive outcome than coercive diplomacy. The paper first highlights the relevant provisions of the peace and security protocol of the African Union and then presents perspectives and proposals on the strategic and institutional dimensions of mediation.


At the time of the birth of Impressionism, the official Salon exhibitions provided the sole opportunity to make a reputation, to attract the attention of critics and purchasers. The efforts of the Impressionists, however, were always met with refusal, thus forcing them to oreganize independent exhibitions. These were a new forum providing regular appearance and sale facilities. For instance, between 1874 and 1886, eight exhibitions generated considerable interest from visitors and the press. Collaterally with the impressionist movement emerged a new type of art dealers who established personal, contracted contacts with the artists and this way taking an active role in determining the new market conditions. The most prominent of these was Paul Durand-Ruel, who along with other art dealers, became the principal animators of the art impressionists' careers. They were also credited for dispersing impressionist paintings in Europe and America at the turn of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. But Ruel and other art dealers suggested subjects to the artists, and tried to lead them towards certain stylistic modifications to promote better reception and marketability. The question therefore remains: How and to what extent did this interlace with the art market influence the stylistic, methodical, and
formalistic changes that befell the history of Impressionist painting?


The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of occupationally related musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) symptoms and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among construction apprentices in Hungary. Symptoms of occupational MSDs and the job factors contributing to the symptoms were determined through an administered symptom and job factors survey. The prevalence of CTS was based on a case definition that included hand symptoms and nerve conduction studies of the median nerve across the carpal tunnel. The participation rate was 96% among the 201 eligible construction apprentices. More than 50% of the apprentices reported occupationally related musculoskeletal symptoms in the previous 12 months. Job tasks that required awkward postures and working in a static position were the two factors that contributed most to MSD symptoms. No cases of CTS were found in this sample of apprentices. Although disorders of the musculoskeletal system are more prevalent among experienced construction workers, this study indicated that symptoms of MSDs are present among young construction workers. Assessing the magnitude and nature of occupational related MSDs is the first step in promoting a healthier, safer, and more efficient workforce.


Many proposed image watermarking techniques are sensitive to geometric distortions, such as rotation, scaling and translation. Geometric distortions, even by slight amount, can make watermark decoder disable. In this paper, a geometric invariant blind image watermarking is designed by utilizing the invariant Tchebichef moments. The detailed construction of invariant Tchebichef moments is described. Watermark is generated independent to the original image and is inserted into the perceptually significant invariant Tchebichef moments of original image. The watermark decoder extracts watermark blindly utilizes Independent Component Analysis (ICA). The computational aspects of the proposed watermarking are also discussed in detail. Experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed watermarking technique is robust against geometric distortions and other attacks performed by popular watermark benchmark-Stirmark, such as filtering, image compression, additive noise, random geometric distortions.


Fundamentally, the question is no longer whether NGOs should play a role in education in Northern Region but how they are most likely to bridge the inequality gap, improve quality and access to basic education. This paper examines comprehensively whether NGOs in Northern Region have been able to provide a solution to the gender inequality gap in enrolment and attendance, the kind of relationship they have with GES and their challenges. The study was both qualitative and descriptive.  Instruments such as interview guides, observations and semi- structured interview schedules were used to source the primary data from the selected NGO officials, the District Directors, the pupils and the teachers while the secondary data were sourced from journals, internet and published theses. The study showed that some of the activities of NGOs to address gender inequality in enrolment and attendance in the Northern Region include research on girls' education, advocacy by using media to educate the public on the need for girls' education, capacity building, especially training of teachers and school girls, provision of both teacher and girls incentives, formation of girls' clubs and training of parents to be able to cope with their girls' education. The study also showed that non-availability of data at the District Education Offices, lack of cooperation on the part of District Education officials and lack of logistics at the District Offices made it very difficult to provide a solution to the access gap in basic education by NGOs. Boys are therefore still ahead of the girls in terms of educational achievement at the basic education level in the Northern Region of Ghana. The paper calls for attitudinal change of both the GES and the NGOs assisting in basic education in the region. Keywords: Basic Education, Gender Gap, Inequality, Enrolment, Attendance


Abstract. Sensitive imaging techniques for small animals are needed to assess drug toxicity in preclinical studies. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides a noninvasive tool for high-resolution, depth-resolved visualization of drug-induced changes in tissue morphology. In a mouse model, we utilize OCT to assess vaginal tissue integrity following the application of topical microbicides (drugs used to prevent infection). Mice are challenged with herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) to determine the correlation of tissue damage as quantified by OCT to increased susceptibility. The microbicide benzalkonium chloride (BZK) (0.02, 0.2, or 2%) or phosphate buffered saline control is administered intravaginally. In vivo OCT imaging and collection of tissue samples are performed after treatment. A quantitative OCT scoring system is applied to assess epithelial damage, and the results are compared with those of histology. A separate group of mice are treated similarly then challenged with HSV-2. Epithelial morphology quantified noninvasively by OCT and histology are dose-dependent (p<0.0001). The OCT scoring system detected a significant increase in epithelial damage with increasing BZK concentration (p<0.0001). These results paralleled an increase in HSV-2 susceptibility (p<0.005). OCT can be used as a noninvasive tool to assess topical drug toxicity in a small animal model with potential to predict increased susceptibility to vaginal infection.


Over the past decade or more, regulators have been under pressure to develop a flexible approach to regulation while also improving outcomes for consumers. During this period there has been a discernible shift from rules to principles and, relatedly, a focus on the use of soft law instruments such as codes. On the other hand, the financial crisis has led to calls for stronger, and indeed statutory, regulation. If regulatory flexibility is to be retained we need to have a better understanding of how and in what circumstances it works. Drawing on legitimacy theory we examine regulatees' perceptions of the legitimacy of regulation by code, focusing in particular on what may be described as the ultimate in flexible regulation, the 'comply-or-explain' principle, where noncompliance can be compliant – providing key regulating monitors agree. From interviews with directors and senior managers of large firms in Germany and the UK we find the former, perhaps surprisingly, were less positive about the use of codes than their 'shareholder-value' focused British counterparts. The latter were also more disposed to comply. We conclude that regulatees' approaches to compliance with codes depend not only on the extent to which the content - the rules - make sense to regulatees, but also on familiarity with the form of regulation, in this case, voluntaristic codes. It is not however a simple picture. The extent to which codes produce outcomes consistent with broader social values, and/or confer private benefits, also influences attitudes to code compliance.


DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous group of enzymes altering the topology of DNA by concerted breakage and rejoining of the phosphodiester backbone of DNA. The enzymes are classified based on the pattern of DNA cleavage. Type IA enzymes found in all bacteria nick the DNA and attach themselves covalently to the 5' side of the nick during the first transesterification reaction. Most of the information on this group of enzymes comes from studies with E. coli topoisomerase I and III. Members of type IA group are single subunit Zn(++) metalloenzymes recognizing single stranded DNA without high degree of sequence specificity during relaxation reaction of negatively super coiled DNA. So far no inhibitors are known for this group of enzymes inspite of their important role in maintaining homeostasis of DNA topology. Molecular characterization of DNA topoisomerase I from mycobacteria has revealed some of the important features of type IA enzymes hitherto unknown and provide scope for identifying novel inhibitors. The present review describes the recent developments in the area summarizing the distinctive features of mycobacterial topoisomerase I. The enzyme has several properties not shared by either type IA or IB enzymes with respect to DNA binding, recognition, sequence specificity and interaction pattern. The physiological basis of the unusual features is discussed. The unique properties described would aid in developing the enzyme as a target molecule in pharmaceutical design. In addition, the findings lead to address some fundamental questions on the intracellular role of topoisomerase I in the biology of mycobacteria which are one of the most formidable group of pathogenic organisms.


This article charts conceptual developments in the field of history of women in the Americas over the past forty years since the author began her career. It compares women's and gender history and the contributions of key figures such as Joan Scott, Alice Kessler-Harris, and Barbara Welter along with recent developments in the field such as the history of women in the Atlantic world. The article also proposes reasons for the separation of American women's history into North American, Latin American, and Caribbean fields.


The change in the Fermi surface of aluminium caused by alloying with gallium was studied by the method of quantum thermopower oscillations under magnetic breakdown effect conditions. Two frequencies of the thermopower oscillations were observed. The first one corresponds to the cross-section of the β orbit, which is associated with a hole sheet of the Fermi surface in the second Brillouin zone. The second one, the e frequency, is modulated by the β frequency. Its appearance shows the coherent nature of magnetic breakdown, which is not violated by a relatively large quantity of impurity. The e frequency corresponds to a combined electron orbit, which is formed in the second and third Brillouin zones as a result of the magnetic breakdown effect. The experimental results demonstrate that alloying with gallium leads to a decrease of volume of the electron part of the aluminium Fermi surface, at least in the region of the W symmetry point of the Brillouin zone.


This paper examines risks for political independence of public service media in European Union Member States by examining safeguards for guaranteeing independence of public service media's governance and its funding mechanisms. The analysis was conducted in 19 EU countries through a questionnaire-based method. Local experts from each of the examined countries evaluated media policy on the appointment procedures for management and board functions in the PSM, and mechanisms of providing funding to the PSM by the government. In addition to examining media policy related to these issues, local teams also evaluated the extent to which these are implemented. The results show that in five out of 19 analysed countries local experts have described media policy as insufficient in providing fair, objective and transparent appointment procedures for management and board functions in PSM. Furthermore, more than half of the countries which considered national media policy on appointment procedures to be well defined in safeguarding PSM's independence, declared some degree of risk in the implementation of this policy, pointing to situations in which the government or other political groupings have in the past few years tried to interfere with the appointment processes. Also, results show that there are large differences in the mechanisms of PSM funding. Overall, results point to differences in media policies concerned with PSM's governance and funding among EU countries, with many risks associated with these policies and their implementation.


Most of construction companies encounter the difficulties of addressing resource conflicts as they usually perform multiple projects at once. The decision support tool is developed on Microsoft Project using Visual Basic Applications (VBA).The extension supports the decision of prioritizing the tasks by applying the concept of Ranked Positional Weight Method (RPW) from assembly line in manufacturing process.The extension facilitates the function of viewing multiple project performance at once with a more user friendly interface and a customisation of report generator. Therefore, the amount of time wasted in trying to generate such reports has been reduced and the project performance can be monitored more closely and accurately. As a result, this leads to less possibilities of cost overrun, delay, and poor quality which are the undesirable outcome for all projects. KeywordsConstruction Industry, Microsoft Project, Multi project management, Ranked Positional Weight, Resource Conflicts


Instructional coaching has been a practice in public schools since the early 1990's and began in the area of reading coaching. While coaching has expanded nationally to include other content areas over the years, there is little information regarding the use of Instructional Coaches who are experts in the field of special education. This qualitative study, grounded in Vygotsky's (1934) sociocultural theory of human learning and Jim Knight's (2007) partnership theory, examines the ways in which Instructional Coaches influence special educators' skills/effectiveness and the experiences special educators have with coaching models in a K-8 public school district. Thirteen special educators participated in focus groups and individual one-to-one interviews to gather data. Results indicate that Instructional Coaches increase the amount of time special educators are able to work directly with students, increase the time they are able to plan and prepare lessons, and increase collaboration amongst many stakeholders. Instructional Coaches also assist special educators with legally sensitive case management responsibilities, allowing participants to feel less distracted by case management duties. Staff did not feel Instructional Coaches modeled lessons on various teaching techniques but rather assisted them with the nuanced work of special education and collaboration/consultation with team members. All thirteen staff had negative feelings about returning to work as a special educator in a setting where an Instructional Coach is not present. Positive relationship qualities emerged as critical for an Instructional Coach to demonstrate in order that an effective working partnership evolve between the coach and the person being coached.


The Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM) has been successfully applied to retrieve soil moisture from space-borne passive microwave observations at C-, X-, or Ku-band and high incidence angles (50deg-55deg). However, LPRM had never been applied to lower angles or to L-band observations. This letter describes the parameterization and performance of LPRM using aircraft and ground data from the National Airborne Field Experiment 2005. This experiment was undertaken in November 2005 in the Goulburn River catchment, which is located in southeastern Australia. It was found that model convergence could only be achieved with a temporally dynamic roughness. The roughness was parameterized according to incidence angle and soil moisture. These findings were integrated in LPRM, resulting in one uniform parameterization for all sites. The parameterized LPRM correlated well with field observations at 5-cm depth (r = 0.93 based on all sites) with a negligible bias and an accuracy of 0.06 m3middotm-3. These results demonstrate comparable retrieval accuracies as the official SMOS soil-moisture retrieval algorithm (L-MEB), but without the need for the ancillary data that are required by L-MEB. However, care should be taken when using the proposed dynamic roughness model as it is based on a limited data set, and a more thorough evaluation is necessary to test the validity of this new approach to a wider range of conditions.


AbstractThis paper reviews the authors' work on Integrated Planning (IP) as a construction site management tool. IP integrates the different planning skills used by site managers, construction workers and craftspersons into an interactive group which manages a production planning process from the earliest stages to the end of a building project. The studies reviewed in this paper, performed over the last three decades, tested, longitudinally evaluated and refined the IP model for use in modern sustainable building sites. The refined model, Integrated Planning for Sustainable Building Production (SBP), includes the factors: leadership, health and safety, quality management and environmental management.


The cardinal objective of this research has been to investigate cross- culturally the performance of Egyptian and English children of age's 5 to 15 on science conceptualization in the light of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Two integrated empirical studies were administered to a total of 891 subjects from the two countries. The preliminary study assessed the preoperational children's (ages 5 to 11) understanding of the concepts of life and death. The 389 children who participated in this study of animism showed no evidence that animism is a spontaneous tendency of the preoperational child's mental structure universally demonstrated. Chi-square analysis revealed some small significant differences between Egyptians and English, and no significant differences between sexes. Kurskal-Wallis One-Way Anova indicated that there was a correlation^ between ages and correct responses. A sample of 502 subjects (270 Egyptians, 232 English) of ages 11, 13, and 15 participated in the second study of the development of science concepts in the concrete and formal operational children. Nonparametric statistical technique of Mann- Whitney U test was used to compute the data obtained. The results revealed that a small proportion of children attained the late concrete and formal operational stages, that the attainment of the stages was in correlation with age levels, that there was no definite age at which a child attained a specific developmental stage, that there were very slight variations between Egyptian and English children's attainment of the late formal stage, that there was a relationship between gender and the attainment of late formal operation stage, and that the educational system was a factor in the performance of the children on science concepts. These findings tend to support Ausubel's theory rather than Piaget's theory of cognitive development.


The project explains Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems when used with Multiple-Input, MultipleOutput (MIMO) fulfill the growing demands in throughput and system robustness for the user. This is investigated by understanding the throughput capacity of LTE down-links in both spatial multiplexing and transmission diversity mode. The performance downgrades in LTE frame is analyzed. All the simulations are done in MATLAB. The simulations include Bit Error Rate (BER) being verified for values of Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). MIMO systems use more than one antenna configuration for sending and receiving radio signals of the same frequency. The concept of beam forming may be utilized by MIMO systems. This is done by employing more than one antenna at both the ends namely transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx). The use of multiple antennas will achieve higher capacity and better cell coverage. MIMO technologies, when used in LTE, provide better down-link peak rates, cell coverage, and enhanced average cell throughput. LTE offers increased capacity while using standard antenna technique. This technique provides two vital aspects namely, spatial multiplexing (SM) and transmits diversity (TD). The project also explores the effect of different parameters namely, the speed of mobile station, the number of Multipath, Rician factor (K) on throughput is discussed and reported. The report evaluates the performance of LTE using MIMO in order to explain LTE system capacity, average cell throughput of LTE at different bandwidths and BER performance against SNR. The simulation outputs are shown as graphs and discussed.


Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is maturing and is being incorporated into emerging wireless broadband standards like long-term evolution (LTE) [1]. For example, the LTE standard allows for up to eight antenna ports at the base station. Basically, the more antennas the transmitter/receiver is equipped with, and the more degrees of freedom that the propagation channel can provide, the better the performance in terms of data rate or link reliability. More precisely, on a quasi static channel where a code word spans across only one time and frequency coherence interval, the reliability of a point-to-point MIMO link scales according to Prob(link outage) ` SNR-ntnr where nt and nr are the numbers of transmit and receive antennas, respectively, and signal-to-noise ratio is denoted by SNR. On a channel that varies rapidly as a function of time and frequency, and where circumstances permit coding across many channel coherence intervals, the achievable rate scales as min(nt, nr) log(1 + SNR). The gains in multiuser systems are even more impressive, because such systems offer the possibility to transmit simultaneously to several users and the flexibility to select what users to schedule for reception at any given point in time [2].


Three-dimensional seismic data from the volcanic margin offshore Norway have been used to map the complex three-dimensional geometry of two major sill complexes. These data show that the complexes consist of bowl-shaped or inclined, sheetlike discordant sills that intersect with one another over a vertical distance of 8–12 km and transect basement and sedimentary rocks of the middle to upper crust. Using a simple graphical technique, we demonstrate the interconnectedness of the sill complex, and hence the maximum time for sill emplacement. We show that sills are interconnected by junctions occurring systematically at the lowest points of the overlying sills, and, hence, that the sill complex could have acted as a single throughgoing magmatic plumbing system, transporting mafic melts from mid-lower crustal depths to near surface. Based on this imaging of the magmatic plumbing system, we conclude that sills can form viable and efficient conduits for crustal magma transport in volcanic margins, and may play a role in feeding large extrusive complexes.


Background: Evidence-based/evidence-informed Manual therapy thus describes an explicit self-reflective process of applying current Manual therapy research evidence into clinical decision-making in individualizing manual examination and treatment along an impairment-based biopsychosocial model.

Objective: To systematically explore the evidence contributed by the four leading Manual therapy journals quantitatively and to synthesize the literature to imply Evidence-based practice in Manual Therapy.

Materials and Methods: Descriptive exploratory study through a literature search was done to identify nine time-points in the timeline from 1970-2010, with five-year intervals in order to identify the scientific trend. The number of obtained citations were classified and analyzed under the names of search filters of PubMed namely- text availability, publication date, species, article type, language, gender, subject areas, journal categories and age groups. The numbers for categories and subcategories of search filters were considered for comparison and analysis. Descriptive analysis using frequencies on Microsoft Excel 2010 worksheet was done.

Results: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) was the first to begin publishing, the first to get indexed in PubMed, and also the longest duration of indexation; and Manual Therapy (MT) the last to start publishing and Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (JBMT) the last to get indexed and also the least duration as indexed; MT was indexed from its year of first publication while JBMT was indexed 26 years after its first publication; JMPT had the largest number of articles and Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy (JMMT) the least, indexed in PubMed.

Conclusion: The contribution to Evidence-base in manual/manipulative therapy was substantially done by JMPT and MT whilst the roles of JBMT and JMMT are yet to evolve with increasing numbers of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews published respectively.


Abstract We performed a comparative study of the vascular flora of a serpentine outcrop, Pine Hill, and that of a granite outcrop, Settlement Quarry, from Little Deer Isle and Deer Isle, respectively, Hancock County, Maine. We established four transects along a gradient from exposed to forested areas within each outcrop. Plants were recorded for presence and percent cover from circular plots along each transect. Soil and tissue samples were collected to examine soil-tissue elemental relations. One hundred thirty-two taxa were recorded from serpentine and 89 from granite. Fifty-seven taxa were shared by both sites. Species richness (α diversity) and diversity indices (Shannon-Weaver and Simpson) suggested significant differences between sites and within sites. Principle Component Analysis suggested substrates differed significantly between sites and between exposures within sites. Tissue analyses suggested intraspecific variation with respect to tissue elemental concentrations, especially in Achillea millefolium, Oenothera biennis, Prunus virginiana, Selaginella rupestris, Spiraea alba var. latifolia, and Vaccinium angustifolium. Serpentine populations of many taxa showed low tissue Ca∶Mg ratios (< 1) and high Ni concentrations. Two-way ANOVA showed significant substrate × species effects for several elements, including those that typically characterize serpentine substrates (Ca, Mg, Cr, Ni), suggesting significant genetic variation within species with respect to substrate. Finally, we compared our species list for Pine Hill with a plant survey done at Pine Hill and five additional serpentine sites of Maine in 1977 and provide a list of 285 vascular plant taxa from 62 families for serpentine in Maine.


OBJECTIVE
Patients with anxious depression are typically more difficult to treat with monoaminergic antidepressants compared to those with nonanxious depression. Although novel research has shown that the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist ketamine has rapidly acting, relatively sustained effects in treating depression, we predicted that, consistent with the existent literature on traditional antidepressants, patients with anxious depression would have a poorer antidepressant response.

METHOD
Twenty-six inpatients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) (DSM-IV criteria) received a single infusion of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes) from January 2006-March 2013 and were followed for 28 days. A post hoc analysis compared treatment response and relapse using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) in patients with anxious versus nonanxious depression. Anxious depression was defined as MDD plus a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale anxiety/somatization factor score ≥ 7.

RESULTS
Both anxious and nonanxious depressed patients responded positively to ketamine. A linear mixed model controlling for baseline with the MADRS revealed a significant group main effect (P = .03) and group-by-time interaction (P = .01). Post hoc tests indicated that patients with anxious depression had significantly fewer depression symptoms compared to those with nonanxious depression at days 1 through 5, 9 through 12, 15 through 17, and 25, with no significant group differences in dissociative (P = .62) or psychotic (P = .41) side effects. Regarding responders, patients with anxious depression relapsed significantly later than those with nonanxious depression (median ± SE = 19.0 ± 17.9 vs 1.0 ± 0.0 days to relapse, respectively; χ² = 9.30; P = .002).

CONCLUSIONS
Unexpectedly, patients with anxious depression responded better to ketamine than those with nonanxious depression, with longer time to relapse and no side effect differences. This finding gives promise for the role of novel glutamatergic medications for the treatment of those with anxious depression, a traditionally difficult-to-treat subgroup of depressed patients.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00088699.


Model parallelism has become a necessity for training modern large-scale deep language models. In this work, we identify a new and orthogonal dimension from existing model parallel approaches: it is possible to perform pipeline parallelism within a single training sequence for Transformer-based language models thanks to its autoregressive property. This enables a more fine-grained pipeline compared with previous work. With this key idea, we design TeraPipe, a high-performance token-level pipeline parallel algorithm for synchronous model-parallel training of Transformer-based language models. We develop a novel dynamic programming-based algorithm to calculate the optimal pipelining execution scheme given a specific model and cluster configuration. We show that TeraPipe can speed up the training by 5.0x for the largest GPT-3 model with 175 billion parameters on an AWS cluster with 48 p3.16xlarge instances compared with state-of-the-art model-parallel methods. The code for reproduction can be found at https://github.com/zhuohan123/terapipe


Our planet is growing rapidly in population and with that comes a demand for resources. To address issues in food security, scientists are looking to the underground parts of plants for novel mechanisms that will eventually lead to enhanced crop traits. Scientists are examining the underlying genetic frameworks to identify which genes play key roles in specific developmental processes. In this study we examined the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as the roots are easily visualised, the genome has been sequenced, and there are many tools broadly available to work with. This thesis has used a multidisciplinary approach to uncover the signalling cascades revolving around the small signalling peptide RALF34, which is significantly involved in primary and lateral root growth. We have demonstrated, in the following chapters that RALF peptides are inherent to normative lateral root initiation, potentially regulated through shoot derived auxin. Furthermore, RALF4 and 34 peptides play a strong role in restricting primary root growth, and that together these peptides have an additive effect on cell elongation. Lastly, we identify several leucine-rich repeat receptor-like proteins, kinase proteins, and cell wall remodelling enzymes, which putatively play unique and diverse roles during primary and lateral root development. Taken together, this thesis provides novel and unique insights into new signalling pathways during root growth, which may in future aid in agronomic enterprises.


Abstract After a discussion of the impact of the principle of equality, entrenched in the Charters approved in Canada since the 1867 British North American Act, this essay then focuses on the related Supreme Court's adjudications. A brief analysis of the case-law concerning gender equality is followed by the discussion of cases of Aboriginal and Muslim women with the aim of assessing whether intersectionality represents for these groups of women a source of double discrimination. Brief concluding remarks discuss the challenges deriving from the different options for accommodating the principle of equality with cultural rights.


This paper examines the possible effects that the power outages might have on the manufacturing sector in ten emerging countries including Turkey. The firm level data used here is retracted from the Enterprises Survey of World Bank and covers the period between the years 2006 and 2013. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Two Staged Least Squares (2SLS) models have been adopted in the regression analysis of the cross-sectional and country based data. Our findings indicate that for ten countries – namely Turkey, Poland, Mexico, Romania, Hungary, Jordan, Brazil, Albania, Bosnia and Bulgaria – in the list of upper-middle income countries by the World Bank, power outages have a significantly negative effect on the respective country's firm level productivity. Specifically, we find that the firms experiencing power outages has productivity level 1.2 percent lower by using 2SLS model. Additionally, we also find that one additional power outage costs a 0.7 percent decrease in the firm's productivity level. Lastly, the average productivity difference between the firms those with a stable generator and non-owners is around 19 percent. These findings suggest that in leading growth and yielding employment opportunities, it is crucial to lower the power outages and improve infrastructural quality.


This report considers countermeasures to reduce the incidence of unlicensed driving on Australian roads. Unlicensed motorists pose a problem to road safety authorities as they are operating independently of the established licensing system and are known to have higher than average crash rates. By operating beyond the licensing system, unlicensed motorists reduce the ability of authorities to monitor and manage driver behaviour and reduce the impact of the sanction of licence loss. The report is based on a review of Australian and international literature, with an emphasis on articles with the greatest relevance to Australia and discussions with stakeholders. It identifies the countermeasures most likely to be effective and feasible in Australia and provides a path to their implementation.


The oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converter is arguably the most heavily researched ocean renewable energy concept currently in development. Many variations of the concept have been proposed and explored, of which the bent duct type OWC has presented itself as one of the most effective concepts for absorbing ocean wave energy. The integration of wave energy converters within maritime structures presents a number of advantages from an economic perspective, where it has been found that costs associated with construction, maintenance and grid connection can attribute as little as 3% toward the total cost of a traditional vertical caisson type breakwater [1]. Previous studies into the concept of breakwater integrated oscillating water column devices has focused on vertical caisson type breakwaters, or a generic rubble mound type breakwater, however little research has been conducted into the effect of breakwater reflectivity on the performance of the integrated OWC devices. The experimental investigation was conducted in the Australian Maritime College's Model Test Basin facility, where a breakwater with controllable porosity was configured within an experimental set up with the aim of investigating the performance of an OWC device integrated within a porous breakwater. The results indicate that an increase in breakwater reflection, along with a solid fitting increases device performance without major changes to the overall response curve of the device, with the greatest performance correlating to integration within a fully reflective breakwater.


Every year, new research illustrates how the pace of global emission growth gradually reduces the chance of avoiding 'dangerous' climate change. Previous analyses that have taken a territorial emissions framing approach demonstrate how little space there is available for Annex 1 nations' emissions to continue at current levels because of the pace of growth in industrializing economies. This paper uses a cumulative emissions approach to explore whether a consumption-based framing offers new opportunities and avenues for tackling climate change. Results reveal that there is still scope for emissions to remain within a budget associated with a high probability of remaining below the 2°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels associated with 'dangerous' climate change. However, both territorial and consumption-based approaches require a rethinking of the political orthodoxy for the highest probabilities of not exceeding 2°C. Using the consumption-based framework, mitigation policy in Annex 1 nations can address consumer-related emissions sending mitigation signals along supply chains and across national boundaries, thereby increasing their influence over global CO2. Ultimately, allying the cumulative framing of climate change with the consumption-based approach offers additional potential for achieving a global low-carbon transition compared with policies framed solely using the conventional territorial approach. Nevertheless, cumulative budgets associated with a high probability of not exceeding the 2°C threshold between 'dangerous' and 'acceptable' climate change demand immediate and urgent emission reductions, irrespective of the accounting approach employed.


Collaborative management has gained popularity across the United States as a means of addressing the sustainability of mixed-ownership landscapes and resolving persistent conflicts in public lands management. At the same time, it has generated skepticism because its ecological and social outcomes are seldom measured. Evaluating the success of collaborative efforts is difficult because frameworks to assess on-the-ground outcomes are poorly developed or altogether lacking. Ecosystem health indicators are valuable tools for evaluating site-specific outcomes of collaboration based on the effects of collaboration on ecological and socioeconomic conditions. We present the holistic ecosystem health indicator, a promising framework for evaluating the outcomes of collaborative processes, which uses ecological, social, and interactive indicators to monitor conditions through time. Finally, we draw upon our experience working with the Diablo Trust, a community-based collaborative group in northern Arizona, USA, to illustrate the development of an indicator selection model generated through a stakeholder-driven process.


Filipinos are now the second largest Asian American immigrant group in the United States, with a population larger than Japanese Americans and Korean Americans combined. Surprisingly, there is little published on Filipino Americans and their religion, or the ways in which their religious traditions may influence the broader culture in which they are becoming established. Filipino American Faith in Action draws on interviews, survey data, and participant observation to shed light on this large immigrant community. It explores Filipino American religious institutions as essential locations for empowerment and civic engagement, illuminating how Filipino spiritual experiences can offer a lens for viewing this migrant community's social, political, economic, and cultural integration into American life. Gonzalez examines Filipino American church involvement and religious practices in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the Phillipines, showing how Filipino Americans maintain community and ethnic and religious networks, contra assimilation theory, and how they go about sharing their traditions with the larger society.


In this paper, we consider the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) quasi static channel. Our objective is to study the power allocation (over the transmit antennas) problem where not only the performance with respect to (w.r.t.) the transmission reliability but also the cost in terms of the consumed power is accounted for. We first review the existing results w.r.t energy efficiency functions (benefit per cost) which focus mainly on the single input single output (SISO) case and then propose several extensions to the MIMO case. Then, we introduce a new energy efficiency metric based on the outage probability. We conjecture that there is a non-trivial solution to the proposed optimization problem. Several special cases are thoroughly analyzed and simulation results will be provided to sustain the conducted analysis.


During nine years of teaching most subjects at the Hefsiba Theological School in Vila Ulongue, Angonia, Mozambique, the researcher and other lecturers observed certain problems while assessing the students' sermons, projects and examinations. These difficulties had to do with the application of certain thinking skills. The lack of many of these thinking skills were so severely felt that the lecturers were tempted to ask only the type of questions that they know the students could answer, namely: straightforward questions, testing for knowledge of content only. It was even suggested that it is not worth it to let students do independent research and dissertations in the African context. The problems students experience during the exegetical process, as seen during this research in Mozambique cannot be remedied by supplying more knowledge about hermeneutical theories and philosophies. It has to do with the thinking abilities necessary to analyze and interpret the original meaning of the text in a valid way and then compare and apply it to new situations. Exegesis is fundamental to all theological subjects. Weak analysis and interpretation of Scripture affect all areas of a Pastor's work and consequently the realization of God's Kingdom by all believers. Therefore, better exegesis is crucial for better teaching and applying of biblical principles in the different situations congregations encounter in the modern world. Chapter 1 explores these problems and the hypotheses and objectives of this research. Chapter 2 presents an investigation of the specific problems, including problems with thinking skills, typically encountered during the exegetical process. The extent of the lack of thinking skills apparent during the exegetical process will be studied. The effects of a reading efficiency and comprehension course will be reviewed. Chapter 3 gives an exposition of the biblical bases for developing thinking skills. Chapter 4 gives an overview of applicable insights from educational science, educational psychology, anthropology and others pertaining to the problems investigated, also in the African context, will be given. Chapter 5 incorporates some important insights in an agricultural metaphor, which aims at the collaboration of lecturers at Bible Schools, adapting their teaching strategies in order to develop their students. Chapter 6 offers a demonstration course for the learning of basic exegesis in the African context. Insights gained during the previous chapters are applied. Much can and should be done to remedy the existing problems in the teaching and practicing of exegesis.


This Article challenges the conventional narrative about the political question doctrine. Scholars commonly assert that the doctrine, which instructs that certain constitutional questions are "committed" to Congress or to the executive branch, has been part of our constitutional system since the early nineteenth century. Furthermore, scholars argue that the doctrine is at odds with the current Supreme Court's view of itself as the "supreme expositor" of all constitutional questions. This Article calls into question both claims. The Article demonstrates, first, that the current political question doctrine does not have the historical pedigree that scholars attribute to it. In the nineteenth century, "political questions" were not constitutional questions but instead were factual determinations made by the political branches that courts treated as conclusive in the course of deciding cases. Second, when the current doctrine was finally created in the mid-twentieth century, the Supreme Court used it to entrench, rather than to undermine, the Court's emerging supremacy over constitutional law. Under the current doctrine, the Court asserts for itself the power to decide which institution decides any constitutional question. With control over that first-order question, the Court can conclude not only that an issue is textually committed to a political branch but also that an issue is committed to the Court itself. This analysis turns on its head the assumption of scholars that the current doctrine is at odds with judicial supremacy. The modern political question doctrine is a species of — not a limitation on — judicial supremacy.


Using a sample of Europeans aged 50+ from twelve countries in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) we analyse the role of poor material conditions as a determinant of changes in health over a four-year period. We find that poverty defined with respect to relative incomes has no effect on changes in health. However, broader measures of poor material conditions such as subjective poverty or low relative value of wealth significantly increase the probability of transition to poor health among the healthy and reduce the chance of recovery from poor health over the time interval analysed. In addition to this the subjective measure of poverty has a significant effect on mortality, increasing it by 40.3% among men and by 58.3% among those aged 50-64. Material conditions matter for health among older people. We suggest that if monitoring of poverty in old age and corresponding policy targets are to focus on the relevant measures, they should take into account broader definitions of poverty than those based only on relative incomes.


The serine-threonine kinase protein kinase D (PKD) binds to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) in mammalian cells and is involved in the release of transport vesicles destined for the plasma membrane. Baron and Malhotra (see the Perspective by Bankaitis) now show that in order for PKD to bind to the TGN, it must specifically bind to the lipid diacylglycerol. When concentrations of this lipid were reduced in cells, both PKD recruitment to the TGN and transport out of the TGN were inhibited. C. L. Baron, V. Malhotra, Role of diacylglycerol in PKD recruitment to the TGN and protein transport to the plasma membrane. Science 295, 325-328 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text] V. A. Bankaitis, Slick recruitment to the Golgi. Science 295, 290-291 (2002). [Full Text]


ABSTRACT This article summarizes a presentation delivered by Beth Bernhardt at the 2016 North Carolina Serials Conference. Bernhardt's talk provided an overview of predatory and unethical publishing practices, provided resources to consult when evaluating open access journal quality, and discussed examples from her work at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). The presentation's focus was on helping librarians and others prepare to serve as resources for faculty members who may need assistance in evaluating open access journals as potential publication venues.


Objective. The majority of the current approaches of connectivity based brain–computer interface (BCI) systems focus on distinguishing between different motor imagery (MI) tasks. Brain regions associated with MI are anatomically close to each other, hence these BCI systems suffer from low performances. Our objective is to introduce single-trial connectivity feature based BCI system for cognition imagery (CI) based tasks wherein the associated brain regions are located relatively far away as compared to those for MI. Approach. We implemented time-domain partial Granger causality (PGC) for the estimation of the connectivity features in a BCI setting. The proposed hypothesis has been verified with two publically available datasets involving MI and CI tasks. Main results. The results support the conclusion that connectivity based features can provide a better performance than a classical signal processing framework based on bandpass features coupled with spatial filtering for CI tasks, including word generation, subtraction, and spatial navigation. These results show for the first time that connectivity features can provide a reliable performance for imagery-based BCI system. Significance. We show that single-trial connectivity features for mixed imagery tasks (i.e. combination of CI and MI) can outperform the features obtained by current state-of-the-art method and hence can be successfully applied for BCI applications.


During times of transformative change, politics take place on the level where we imagine the world. Unearthing the Politics of Globalization offers a framework, vocabulary, and procedure to describe and access these politics. The metaphorological approach offered in the book allows us to demarcate the politics of globalization. Together with philosophical therapy, a technique that allows us to therapeutically engage policy makers, these politics can actually be accessed. The policy field of communicating foreign policy is used as a miner's canary in order to assess the fruitfulness of such an approach.


Abstract. A 1200×1200 km2 area of the tropical South Atlantic Ocean near Ascension Island is studied with the HadGEM climate model at convection-permitting and global resolutions for a 10-day case study period in August 2016. During the simulation period, a plume of biomass burning smoke from Africa moves into the area and mixes into the clouds. At Ascension Island, this smoke episode was the strongest of the 2016 fire season.The region of interest is simulated at 4 km resolution, with no parameterised convection scheme. The simulations are driven by, and compared to, the global model. For the first time, the UK Chemistry and Aerosol model (UKCA) is included in a regional model with prognostic aerosol number concentrations advecting in from the global model at the boundaries of the region.Fire emissions increase the total aerosol burden by a factor of 3.7 and cloud droplet number concentrations by a factor of 3, which is consistent with MODIS observations. In the regional model, the inversion height is reduced by up to 200 m when smoke is included. The smoke also affects precipitation, to an extent which depends on the model microphysics. The microphysical and dynamical changes lead to an increase in liquid water path of 60 g m−2 relative to a simulation without smoke aerosol, when averaged over the polluted period. This increase is uncertain, and smaller in the global model. It is mostly due to radiatively driven dynamical changes rather than precipitation suppression by aerosol.Over the 5-day polluted period, the smoke has substantial direct radiative effects of +11.4 W m−2 in the regional model, a semi-direct effect of −30.5 W m−2 and an indirect effect of −10.1 W m−2. Our results show that the radiative effects are sensitive to the structure of the model (global versus regional) and the parameterization of rain autoconversion. Furthermore, we simulate a liquid water path that is biased high compared to satellite observations by 22 % on average, and this leads to high estimates of the domain-averaged aerosol direct effect and the effect of the aerosol on cloud albedo. With these caveats, we simulate a large net cooling across the region, of −27.6 W m−2.


The E6 protein from high-risk Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) has previously
been shown to be necessary for the persistence of viral episomes in cells,
however, the mechanism for this remains unclear. High-risk E6 proteins have
many activities including the ability to degrade p53 and the ability to bind to and
degrade PDZ proteins. In this study I aimed to further elucidate the role of E6 in
the persistence of viral episomes.
I used two HPV16 mutant genomes with mutations in the E6 open-reading
frame; one that is unable to degrade p53 (16E6p53m), and one that lacks the
PDZ-binding motif (16E6PDZ). I found that both are unable to persist episomally
in cells thereby implicating these two activities of E6 in HPV episomal
persistence.
Upon closer investigation of the two mutant genomes, I found that the
16E6p53m genome does not replicate as efficiently as the wild-type genome.
This result suggests a function for p53-degradation in genome replication, and
consequently in genome persistence. Furthermore, by carrying out a more
detailed analysis of the relationship between E6 and the PDZ protein hScrib, I
showed that the wild-type E6 protein is stabilised by virtue of the PDZ-binding
motif, present on its C-terminus. On the other hand, the mutant E6 protein that
lacks the PDZ-binding motif (E6PDZ) is more susceptible to proteasomal
degradation. These findings provide evidence for a previously unknown
outcome of the E6-PDZ protein interaction, in stabilising wild-type E6 protein. In
addition to the implications of this stabilisation in the persistence of viral
episomes, it is also significant when considering the activities and properties of
E6 that contribute to the development of neoplasia.
Finally, I have also found that wild-type HPV16 genomes cannot persist in cells
that constitutively express E6 protein, suggesting that the correct regulation of
E6 expression is crucial.


The purpose of this document is to describe and specify the service of the DMT Packet Service (DPS) and Segmentation and Re-assembly (SAR) protocol, implementing the service. The document consists of two sections, one for the service and one for the protocol. The intent of the document is to specify, not to justify the design.


The structure of the Executive has fundamentally changed in the last 30 years. Ministerial advisers have become major institutional actors within the Executive, interposed between Ministers and public servants. The number of ministerial advisers has expanded exponentially, and they exercise increasingly strong influence within the Executive. There has been a shift of the locus of power from public servants to ministerial advisers. Ministerial advisers are now a permanent and durable part of the Executive. Ministerial advisers are increasingly involved in scandals that appear on the front page of the newspapers. Compared to the strict hierarchy of the public service that creates predictable outcomes, ministerial offices operate like a primordial soup, in a fluid and unconstrained manner, with ministerial advisers taking up roles and responsibilities on an ad hoc basis with limited regulation. This thesis argues that this is a symptom of broader systemic failure, rather than failings at an individual level. This thesis utilises an empirical and doctrinal methodology to analyse the legal and political accountability of ministerial advisers within the Australian framework of responsible government. It is posited that constitutional and administrative law are not the best avenues to enhance the accountability of ministerial advisers. Although ministerial advisers post-date the Constitution, this thesis shows that the appropriation of the salaries of ministerial advisers is constitutional. Administrative law is an effective avenue of redress for individuals aggrieved by the actions of ministerial advisers, but only covers a small proportion of their actions. Thus, administrative law provides only a partial method of enhancing the accountability of ministerial advisers. This thesis argues that the most effective resolution of this issue lies at the parliamentary level. It is primarily through parliamentary committees that ministerial advisers and Ministers can be properly held to account. This thesis shows that, contrary to the assertions of former Prime Minister John Howard and former Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls, there is no constitutional convention at the Commonwealth and Victorian levels that ministerial advisers do not appear before parliamentary committees. It is argued that responsible government means that ministerial advisers should appear before parliamentary committees where it facilitates the accountability of Ministers.


Lead isotopic data for zircons from a dacite clast in a volcanic breccia of the oldest oceanic assemblage (immature arc or oceanic plateau) of the southwestern Arabian Shield (Baish group), acquired with the single-grain evaporation technique, yielded a mean 207 Pb/ 206 Pb age of 842 ±17 Ma. Earlier published Rb-Sr data for Baish rocks yielded a three-point isochron of 1165 ±110 Ma. This age has been repeatedly cited as evidence for pre-1 Ga arc magmatism in the Arabian Shield. However, more recent Rb-Sr data and zircon ages for clastic metasedimentary rocks are in agreement with our new zircon age, suggesting that initial oceanic magmatism in the Arabian Shield did not begin until after 900 Ma and was coeval with arc evolution in the southern Red Sea Hills of the Sudan.


A six-month-old male basset hound was referred for intermittent malaise and pyrexia that repeated every 10–11 days. Sequential blood counts and bone marrow aspirates demonstrated severe neutropenia and increased myeloid precursor cells in the bone marrow from day 2 of each cycle. By day 5, the bone marrow had predominantly mature neutrophils and band cells, and by day 10 the myeloid precursors had decreased with a myeloid:erythroid of 0.4:1. During the same period, the blood neutrophils had rebounded to normal counts by day 5 and were declining by days 9 and 10. The monocytes and platelets were oscillating in an opposite phase to the neutrophils. The age of onset, regular cycle length, oscillations of neutrophil, platelet and monocyte counts and characteristic bone marrow cytology were diagnostic for cyclic neutropenia. This syndrome has never before been described in any breed other than the grey collie. The grey collie gene mutation was not found in this dog. However, based on the clinical signs and haematological and bone marrow results, it can be deduced that cyclic neutropenia may develop as a result of other mutations in neutrophil elastase expression.


We combine information on social networks with medical records and survey data in order to examine how friends affect one's decision to get vaccinated against the flu. The random assignment of undergraduates to residential halls at a large private university allows us to estimate how peer effects influence health beliefs and vaccination choices. Our results indicate that social exposure to medical information raises people's perceptions of the benefits of immunization. The average student's belief about the vaccine's health value increases by $5.00 when an additional 10 percent of her friends are assigned to residences that host inoculation clinics. Among students with no recent flu experience, a 10 percent rise in the number of friends living in residences with clinics raises cumulative valuations of the vaccine by $10.92, with 85 percent of this increase attributable to heightened perceptions about the medical benefits of immunization. We also find evidence of positive peer effects on individuals' vaccination decisions. A student becomes up to 8.3 percentage points more likely to get immunized if an additional 10 percent of her friends receive flu shots. Furthermore, the excess clustering of friends at inoculation clinics suggests that students coordinate their vaccination decisions with their friends.


A term, male neonate presents with pulmonary atresia, discontinuous branch pulmonary arteries (PA) arising from independent ducti arteriosus, and dextrocardia presents a challenging treatment plan. The right pulmonary artery (RPA) arose from the ascending aorta while the left pulmonary artery (LPA) arose from the left subclavian artery, with the proximal segments of each spaced about 1 cm apart, making primary unifocalization suboptimal. The cardiac anatomy included: dextrocardia with situs inversus, double outlet right ventricle (DORV) with malposed great arteries and pulmonary atresia, left sided inferior and superior venae cava, and a right aortic arch with mirror image branching. The neonate underwent cardiac catheterization on day of life 12 wherein the bilateral patent ducti arteriosus (PDA) were stented as an alternative to high-risk surgery. In addition, the pulsatile flow via the stents provided a stimulus for PA growth, facilitating transcatheter rehabilitation of distal PA hypoplasia, and optimizing later PA reconstruction. The patient underwent surgery at 13 months of age, with autologous tube creation to unifocalize the Pas and enable the Glenn procedure. Postoperative autograft stenosis was later managed via cardiac catheterization. This report describes the clinical management and utility of staged percutaneous intervention for complex anatomy.


Context. After the launch of the Swift satellite, the gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical light-curve smoothness paradigm has been questioned thanks to the faster and better sampled optical follow-up, which has unveiled a very complex behaviour. This complexity is triggering the interest of the whole GRB community. The GROND multi-channel imager is used to study optical and near-infrared (NIR) afterglows of GRBs with unprecedented optical and near-infrared temporal and spectral resolution. The GRB 081029 has a very prominent optical rebrightening event and is an outstanding example of the application of the multi-channel imager to GRB afterglows. Aims. Here we exploit the rich GROND multi-colour follow-up of GRB 081029 combined with XRT observations to study the nature of late-time rebrightenings that appear in the optical-NIR light-curves of some GRB afterglows. Methods. We analyse the optical and NIR observations obtained with the seven-channel Gamma-Ray burst Optical and Near-infrared Detector (GROND) at the 2.2 m MPI/ESO telescope and the X-ray data obtained with the XRT telescope on board the Swift observatory. The multi-wavelength temporal and spectral evolution is discussed in the framework of different physical models. Results. The extremely steep optical and NIR rebrightening observed in GRB 081029 cannot be explained in the framework of the standard forward shock afterglow model. The absence of a contemporaneous X-ray rebrightening and the evidence of a strong spectral evolution in the optical-NIR bands during the rise suggest two separate components that dominate in the early and late-time lightcurves, respectively. The steepness of the optical rise cannot be explained even in the framework of the alternative scenarios proposed in the literature unless a late-time activity of the central engine is assumed.


Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a double-stranded DNA virus that infects humans and, after a primary lytic infection, establishes lifelong latency in the sensory neurons of the trigeminal ganglia (TG). HSV 1 latency is accompanied by a chronic immune cell infiltration of the TG, the infiltrate being mainly composed of CD8+ T cells. These T cells are believed to control viral latency, but cellular and viral factors like viral microRNAs are also considered to play a crucial role in the establishment and maintenance of viral latency.
In the present work, it was investigated whether the tissue-infiltrating T cells are clonally expanded, which would indicate that these T cells are activated by antigen. By applying complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) spectratyping and immunohistochemistry, several clonal expansions were identified in the TG-resident T cells. In addition, several T cells were present that seemed to be unspecific bystander T cells. Strikingly, some expanded T cell clones were present in the right and left TG of the same individual. This strongly suggests that similar antigens are present in both TG and that the infiltration of immune cells to the TG is driven by antigen.
The morphology of the TG was investigated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridiza¬tion. Analysis of the distribution of T cells throughout the TG provided puzzling results: unexpectedly, most neurons surrounded by T cells did not harbour the only known prominent transcript during latency, the latency associated transcript (LAT). Whether these neurons do actually harbour latent virus was addressed by a combination of LAT in situ hybridisation, T cell immunohistochemistry, and single cell analysis of laser microdissected sensory neurons by PCR. This analysis revealed that only LAT+ neurons were harbouring HSV 1 DNA and viral microRNAs. Also, mRNA for a viral gene product was only detected in LAT+ neurons. All analysed LAT– neurons were devoid of viral microRNAs and DNA of HSV 1. DNA of HSV 2 or varicella-zoster virus (VZV) was not detected in any of the excised neurons. Alto¬gether this indicates that in the vast majority of infected human neurons, HSV 1 latency is not directly controlled by T cells, but rather by cellular or viral factors like the miRNAs. Our data suggest that CD8+ T cells only come into action if these mechanisms are overrun.


Background: This study investigates whether or not sericin pleurodesis increases basic fibroblastic growth factor (bFGF) and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in rat plasma. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 adults, male, 12-week-old Wistar albino rats were obtained for the study. The rats were divided randomly into three groups, as sericin, talcum powder, and control group. After the administration of an anesthetic, the agents were administrated through a left thoracotomy. The rats were sacrificed 12 days later through cardiac puncture. The bFGF and hs-CRP levels were examined in plasma. Results: The mean rat plasma bFGF levels were 251.7 pg/mL in the sericin group (range: 101 to 821 pg/mL), 72.3 pg/mL in the talcum powder group (range: 24 to 131 pg/mL), and 133.1 pg/mL in the control group (range: 32 to 320 pg/mL). A significant difference was noted in the results of a Scheffe test between the sericin and talcum powder groups (p < 0.05, p = 0.046). Mean rat plasma hs-CRP levels were 1.038 ng/mL in the sericin group (range: 0.677 to 2.815 ng/mL), 1.343 ng/mL in the talcum powder group (range: 0.606 to 5.662 ng/mL), and 0.945 ng/mL in the control group (range: 0.586 to 1.261 ng/mL), indicating no significant difference among the groups. Conclusions: It was found that bFGF levels were significantly higher in the sericin pleurodesis group than in the talcum powder group, indicating the biochemical success of intrapleural sericin administration in inducing pleurodesis. On the other hand, hs-CRP, a marker of inflammation, was not found to be significant, indicating that hs-CRP returns to normal levels due to its short half-life.


During a typical startup cycle industrial gas turbine blades experience rapid radial thermal expansion while bulky shroud structure with larger thermal inertia requires much longer period to reach its operating temperature. Turbine designers have to leave a safe radial distance in order to prevent contact of blades to the surrounding annular casing. However, when thermal steady state in the turbine stage is achieved, shroud and casing grow and excessive amount of blade-shroud clearance remains. Engine efficiency is very sensitive to blade-shroud clearance. Just one millimeter of radial blade tip gap in fist stage turbine section of a 150 MW class engine leads to 4% efficiency drop due to blade tip leakage. To achieve better efficiency or higher power, turbine blade tip clearance has to be controlled. Attempts to address blade tip clearance problem were not applicable as designs were bulky and complex which required excessive modification on the turbine hardware and design. The goal of this study is to design, analyze and develop a low-cost and compact actuator system which is capable of controlling the tip clearance up to 0.25mm at elevated temperatures. Actuator will be positioned between inner and outer shrouds of the casing to force the inner shroud radially away from the blades during transients, and allow it to come back towards the blades when casing reaches operating temperature to decrease the tip leakage during steady state. Different actuator designs have been studied and finite element analysis solutions have been obtained for deflection and stress. Low cycle fatigue life of the actuator has been estimated via Coffin-Manson criterion. An experimental setup has been designed and fabricated to validate the simulation results. Furthermore, since actuator will be subjected to wear at elevated temperatures due to mechanical loading and vibrations in the gas turbine, friction and wear behavior of candidate actuator materials has to be investigated. High temperature scuffing combined with rapid oxidation can lead to failures and dramatic reductions service life. Therefore, another experimental setup has been developed to conduct friction and wear tests of the candidate actuator materials, i.e. Nickel and Cobalt based superalloys Haynes 25, 188 and 214. The tests have been conducted at 20, 200,400 and 540 °C. Overall, the results indicated that the compact actuator can achieve 0.25 mm tip clearance reduction leading to 1% efficiency increase for 880 startup cycles.


We report the results of investigations of the effect of cooling in an external magnetic field starting from the temperature over superparamagnetic blocking temperature TB on the shift of magnetic hysteresis loops in systems of ferrihydrite nanoparticles from ∼2.5 to ∼5 nm in size with different TB values. In virtue of high anisotropy fields of ferrihydrite nanoparticles and open hysteresis loops in the range of experimentally attainable magnetic fields, the shape of hysteresis loops of such objects in the field-cooling mode is influenced by the minor hysteresis loop effect. A technique is proposed for distinguishing the exchange bias effect among the effects related to the minor hysteresis loops caused by high anisotropy fields of ferrihydrite particles. The exchange bias in ferrihydrite is stably observed for particles not less than 3 nm in size or with TB over 40 K, and its characteristic value increases with the particle size.


Background: I-SPY 2 is an innovative collaboration to assess 8-12 investigational agents and numerous biomarkers in an adaptive, neoadjuvant clinical trial for patients with locally advanced breast cancer and a high likelihood of recurrence. The first site opened in March 2010, and the trial will eventually open in up to 20 sites and enroll 800 patients. Helping patients understand complex clinical trials and make informed decisions about participating in them continues to be a challenge. In the interest of meeting regulatory requirements and protecting participating institutions, informed consent documents often confuse potential patients rather than inform them. I-SPY 2 investigators engaged advocates to ensure that informed consent documents were as patient friendly as possible, and to provide supplementary materials to assist patients obtain the information a way that meets their individual learning styles and information needs. Methods: A network of over 170 advocates from around the US have been informed about the I-SPY 2 trial through presentations at SABCS, webinars, a website and monthly email updates. About 25 of these advocates, including novice and experienced advocates, provided input into the protocol, informed consent documents and/or patient support materials. A virtual process (email and teleconferences) was used to plan, develop and finalize patient support materials and to review multiple versions of all documents. A survey to assess this collaboration was conducted once the trial launched. It was distributed to 25 advocates and 8 staff/investigators. This survey captured: 1) key contributions made by the advocates; 2) amount of time spent on various activities; and 3) perceptions about success of the process. Discussion: Seventeen advocates responses were received, with nine of the seventeen involved in each of the three components—protocol, informed consent, and patient support materials. A majority of the advocates spent between 5 and 9 hours reviewing documents plus between 2 and 9 hours on teleconferences. Both advocates and staff believed that a majority of advocates' suggestions were incorporated into the final material. However, several of the advocate recommendations were rejected by IRBs, although concerns varied by site. Both investigators and advocates felt the process was a successful collaboration that will improve patient experiences and are likely to improve accrual and compliance. In addition to changing the documents themselves, advocate suggestions led to several changes in the trial procedures. For example, the trial uses a two stage consent process—one to obtain tissue for screening and randomization, and a second to enroll in the treatment phase of the trial. Also, procedures have been defined for collecting data about specific reasons patients decline to participate, and informing patients who are found ineligible for the trial and when investigational agents are removed from the trial. Details from the survey provide information about: 1) the types of contributions re likely to result from involving advocates; and 2) how to structure the collaboration to maximize satisfaction and contribution. Future research will assess patients reactions to the materials developed for I-SPY 2. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-07-02.


We explore theoretically the time-dependent rheological response of complex fluids to step stress, shear startup and strain ramp deformations. We study soft glassy materials and entangled polymeric materials above and below the glass transition using the scalar fluidity, soft glassy rheology (SGR), rolie-poly (RP), Giesekus and glassy polymer (GP) models. For each deformation we investigate fluid-universal, deformation specific criteria for the onset of linear instability to shear banding.

In step stress, the shear rate response of the RP and Giesekus models is qualitatively similar to experiment, but only in the RP model does significant transient shear banding arise. Motivated by experiments, we explore `creep' and `fluidisation' in the glass phase of the SGR model. Finally, we show the GP model has similar behaviour in step shear stress as it does in extensional loading; we also explain why strain hardening reduces the magnitude of transient shear banding.

In shear startup, we explore `elastic' and `viscous' contributions to linear instability to shear banding. We use this to explain: the range of shear rates for which time-dependent shear banding arises in the RP model; why no significant time-dependent shear banding arises associated with the stress overshoot in the Giesekus model; the occurrence of age-dependent transient shear banding in the scalar fluidity model; and also why strain hardening again decreases the magnitude of transient shear banding in the GP model.

Finally, we investigate stress relaxation in the RP model after strain ramps with rates that probe the chain stretch relaxation rate. We show that after `slow' ramps (relative to this rate) linear instability to heterogeneity arises for strain amplitudes greater than 1.7, and that `fast' ramps of the same amplitude result in a delayed onset of linear instability, provided convective constraint release is sufficiently inactive.


Intelligent transportation system (ITS) has enjoyed a tremendous growth in the last decade and the advancement in communication technologies has played a major role behind the success of ITS. Due to the nature of communication in vehicular environments, wireless access is considered as an integral part of any ITS system. The IEEE 1609.4 has evolved as a standard for wireless access for vehicular environment (WAVE), which describes multichannel access operations over the 5.9GHz dedicated short range communications (DSRC) spectrum. Communication Channels in the 1609.4 are grouped into service and control channels. Control channels (CCHs) are used for transmission of safety and management messages (e.g., traffic congestion data, data for emergency services) whereas service channels (SCHs) are used for the nodes to transmit service data (e.g., voice,video). In existing channel access mechanism, a node stays in the control channel to receive safety and management messages and then switches to service channel for data transmission. The key problem with this channel access mechanism is that half of the service channel intervals remain idle and unused as all nodes have to listen to control channel during that interval, which makes the WAVE system underutilized and inefficient. In this paper, we propose a medium access control (MAC) protocol for WAVE system to improve the channel utilization and reliability of safety messages. The proposed protocol has been developed based on the concept of cognitive radio and it outperforms the existing channel access mechanism by a significant margin in terms of channel utilization. Simulation results confirm that the proposed cognitive MAC protocol increases the channel utilization up to 70% compared to the IEEE 1609.4 standard, and maintains reliability for the safety related data transmission.


Wind energy uptake in South Africa is significantly increasing both at the micro‐ and macro‐level and the possibility of embedded generation cannot be undermined considering the state of electricity supply in the country. This study identifies a wind hotspot site in the Eastern Cape province, performs an in silico deployment of three utility‐scale wind turbines of 60 m hub height each from different manufacturers, develops machine learning models to forecast very short‐term power production of the three wind turbine generators (WTG) and investigates the feasibility of embedded generation for a potential livestock industry in the area. Windographer software was used to characterize and simulate the net output power from these turbines using the wind speed of the potential site. Two hybrid models of adaptive neurofuzzy inference system (ANFIS) comprising genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization (PSO) each for a turbine were developed to forecast very short‐term power output. The feasibility of embedded generation for typical medium‐scale agricultural industry was investigated using a weighted Weber facility location model. The analytical hierarchical process (AHP) was used for weight determination. From our findings, the WTG‐1 was selected based on its error performance metrics (root mean square error of 0.180, mean absolute SD of 0.091 and coefficient of determination of 0.914 and CT = 702.3 seconds) in the optimal model (PSO‐ANFIS). Criteria were ranked based on their order of significance to the agricultural industry as proximity to water supply, labour availability, power supply and road network. Also, as a proof of concept, the optimal location of the industrial facility relative to other criteria was X = 19.24 m, Y = 47.11 m. This study reveals the significance of resource forecasting and feasibility of embedded generation, thus improving the quality of preliminary resource assessment and facility location among site developers.


We propose a model of the intergenerational transmission of education where children belong to either high-educated or low-educated families. Children choose the intensity of their social activities while parents decide how much educational effort to exert. We characterize the equilibrium and show under which condition cultural substitution or complementarity emerges. There is cultural substitution (complementarity) if parents decrease (increase) their education effort when their child socializes more with other children of the same type. By structurally estimating our model to the AddHealth data in the United States, we find that there is cultural complementarity for high-educated parents and cultural substitution for low-educated parents. This means that, for both parents, the more their children interact with kids from high-educated families, the more parents exert educational effort. We also perform some policy simulations. We find that policies aiming at mixing high and low educated children perform well in terms of average educational outcomes. We also show that a policy that gives vouchers to children from high-educated families have a positive and significant impact on the educational outcomes of all children while a policy that gives vouchers to children from low-educated families has a negative effect on the outcomes of both groups.


Four members of the Critical Resistance (CR) conference organizing committee reflect on the conference and its aftermath. CR: When you initially became involved with the CR organizing committee, what were you envisioning for the three-day event? Andrea Smith (AS): I thought this event could be very successful in assisting the building of a mass movement against the prison system. This vision was very compelling to me because I believe that the repressiveness of the state is growing tremendously under the guise of protecting "law and order." Even political progressives sometimes do not question the need to "stop crime" and therefore support measures that strengthen the criminal justice system. In particular, I felt this conference could help to challenge the anti-violence against women movement's reliance on the criminal justice system as the primary avenue for addressing sexual/domestic violence. That is, the anti-sexual/domestic violence movement has become increasingly depoliticized and professionalized. It emphasizes providing social services and legal advocacy to survivors instead of developing a grass-roots political movement against violence. Domestic/sexual violence service agencies now depend primarily on the state for their primary funding s ources. Consequently, they emphasize cooperation with the state rather than mobilization against state violence. I thought Critical Resistance could provide a starting point for injecting a critical analysis regarding state violence into the sexual/domestic violence movement. At the same time, I believe prison activists have neglected to seriously address the safety concerns of survivors of domestic/sexual violence in their work and hoped that this conference could provide a point of dialogue between these two movements. In addition, Native communities are often in the vanguard of developing alternatives to the incarceration system, and I thought this conference might bring greater visibility of these models to non-Indian communities. Restorative justice models are largely inspired by indigenous models of justice (although non-Native proponents of restorative justice largely forget this fact). Indigenous forms of justice are often evoked by non-Natives in the restorative justice movement in the absence of Native peoples. I was hoping Critical Resistance could bring greater visibility to the Native peoples who are actually doing this work. Julia Sudhury (JS): I was invited to join the committee at a time when I was fairly new in the area and in the country. I did not know a great deal about prison issues in the U.S. and thought that this would be a way for me to learn more and incorporate that new knowledge into my research and activism. I did not have a clear idea of what the conference would be like, but felt it was a lot of money for a onetime event. In my previous work in community development, the funds being proposed would have funded a small advocacy group for a few years! I therefore hoped that the conference would lead to ongoing networking and activism greater than the event itself. Terry Kupers (TK): I saw the conference as an opportunity to give a voice, as well as a collective audience, to activists and ex-prisoners who had been silenced for far too long. As the gap between rich and poor widens, and the people at the bottom of the economic ladder are deemed dispensable and "disappearale," the prisons become warehouses for a growing number of forgotten people. Cruelty inside grows in proportion to society's forgetting. A lack of media coverage for their efforts, gag rules for prisoners, very restricted visitation, and increasing repression against those who care about prisoners begin to wear down prison activists until they begin to feel disappeared themselves, alone in their courageous organizing efforts. I saw the conference as an opportunity to bring activists and ex-prisoners together to share our ideas and experiences and recognize the strength of our collective movement. …


Abstract Excavations in Callao Cave, in the lowland (ca. 85 m elevation) Cagayan River Valley of northeastern Luzon, Philippines, have produced the first fossils of any endemic genera of Philippine murid rodents. Three dentaries dated to the Late Pleistocene, between ca. 50,000 and 68,000 BP, are referred to the genera Batomys and Apomys; the former is a member of the endemic "Phloeomys Division" of Philippine murids, and the latter of the "Chrotomys Division," also endemic to the Philippines. Batomys is currently known from five extant species from Luzon, Mindanao, and Dinagat islands; the two species known from Luzon differ in size and dental and mandibular morphology from the two fossil mandibles, and both occur only at elevations above 1350 m. Apomys is currently known from two subgenera on Luzon; the fossil is a member of the nominate subgenus, which contains two species on Luzon, one of which, Apomys microdon, is conspecific with one fossil. We hypothesize that the Batomys fossils represent a different species from the living taxa, but we do not name it due to the fragmentary nature of the specimens. These Apomys and Batomys represent the first fossil small mammals from the main body of the Philippine archipelago (east of Huxley's Line), and the Batomys are the first suspected extinct Pleistocene small mammal from the Philippines. The fossils indicate greater species richness and broader distributions than at present within this distinctive and diverse endemic radiation of mammals.


As biological diversity continues to shrink at an alarming rate, the loss of plant species poses a threat seemingly less visible than the loss of animals but in many ways more critical. In this book, one of America's leading ethnobotanists warns about our loss of natural vegetation and plant diversity while providing insights into traditional Native agricultural practices in the Americas. Gary Paul Nabhan here reveals the rich diversity of plants found in tropical forests and their contribution to modern crops, then tells how this diversity is being lost to agriculture and lumbering. He then relates "local parables" of Native American agriculture from wild rice in the Great Lakes region to wild gourds in Florida that convey the urgency of this situation and demonstrate the need for saving the seeds of endangered plants. Nabhan stresses the need for maintaining a wide gene pool, not only for the survival of these species but also for the preservation of genetic strains that can help scientists breed more resilient varieties of other plants. Enduring Seeds is a book that no one concerned with our environment can afford to ignore. It clearly shows us that, as agribusiness increasingly limits the food on our table, a richer harvest can be had by preserving ancient ways. This edition features a new foreword by Miguel Altieri, one of today's leading spokesmen for sustainable agriculture and the preservation of indigenous farming methods.


The conventional problem with externalities is well known: Parties often generate harm as an unintended byproduct of using their property. This Article examines situations in which parties may generate harm purposely, in order to extract payments in exchange for desisting. Such "strategic spillovers�? have received relatively little attention, but the problem is a perennial one. From the "livery stable scam�? in Chicago to "pollution entrepreneurs�? in China, parties may engage in externality-generating activities they otherwise would not have undertaken, or increase the level of harm given that they are engaging in such activities, to profit through bargaining or subsidies. This Article investigates the costs of strategic spillovers, the circumstances in which threatening to engage in these spillovers may be credible, and potential solutions for eliminating, or at least mitigating, this form of opportunism through externalities.


Investigations of peptide precursor processing in nerve cells, including studies on prooxytocin and provasopressin processing in the rat hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system, show that prohormone processing occurs during axonal transport of maturing secretory vesicles. Recent studies (Fricker et al., 1989; Rodriguez et al., 1989) show that carboxypeptidase H (CPH), one of several proteases required for prohormone processing, is synthesized as a proenzyme that presumably requires activation. To determine if pro-CPH, like prohormone precursors, is processed and activated during axonal transport, we have analyzed the molecular forms of CPH present at several levels in the rat hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system. These biochemical and immunochemical studies showed that the supraoptic nucleus (SON), a region enriched in neuronal cell bodies, possesses primarily an inactive 65-kDa species of CPH. The median eminence and pituitary stalk regions that are enriched in axons possess both the inactive 65-kDa and the active 55-kDa forms of CPH, and nerve terminals of the posterior pituitary contain primarily the active 55-kDa CPH. These results support the hypothesis that pro-CPH is processed and activated during axonal transport from neuronal perikarya of SON to nerve terminals of the posterior pituitary. Furthermore, analysis of immunoreactive CPH in the rat and bovine pituitary showed that each tissue possessed different relative amounts of zymogen compared to mature forms of CPH, suggesting that tissue-specific processing of pro- CPH occurs. Thus, the biosynthesis of active peptide hormones requires the simultaneous processing of proenzyme and prohormone.


This document provides an overview of the current scientific knowledge available on climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture. It contains three technical papers presented and discussed during the Expert Workshop on 'Climate Change Implications for Fisheries and Aquaculture' (Rome, 7-9 April 2008). A summary of the workshop outcomes as well as key messages on impacts of climate change on aquatic ecosystems and on fisheries- and aquaculture-based livelihoods are provided in the introduction. The first paper addresses climate variability and change and their physical and ecological consequences on marine and freshwater environments. The second paper tackles the consequences of climate changes impacts on fishers and their communities and reviews possible adaptation and mitigation measures that could be implemented. Finally, the third paper addresses specifically the impacts of climate change on aquaculture and review possible adaptation and mitigation measures that could be implemented.


A wide range of gastrointestinal diseases are caused by bacterial contamination of food. Recall that foodborne diseasecan arise from either infection or intoxication. In both cases, bacterial toxins are typically responsible for producing disease signs and symptoms. The distinction lies in where the toxins are produced. In an infection, the microbial agent is ingested, colonizes the gut, and then produces toxins that damage host cells. In an intoxication, bacteria produce toxins in the food before it is ingested. In either case, the toxins cause damage to the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, typically the colon. This leads to the common signs and symptoms of diarrhea or watery stool and abdominal cramps, or the more severe dysentery. Symptoms of foodborne diseases also often include nausea and vomiting, which are mechanisms the body uses to expel the toxic materials.


2 Abstract: One of the most important challenges in Cloud Network is the matter of allocating physical resources to virtual machines. The goal of this paper is to present a method to have an optimized installation of virtual machines" resources onto physical machines with intelligent water drop so that overall energy consumption in data center is reduced with decreasing the number of active physical servers. Utilizing policies to host overload detection and immigrant virtual machine; and through comparing results of simulation with existing methods; is the best method to manage physical resources in cloud networks which for this purpose, intelligent water drop algorithm has been used. Also to simulate cloud environment, Cloudsim 3.0 simulator library in Netbeans IDE 7.4 develop environment are going to be used. Results shows that in comparison with other methods, the algorithm of intelligent water drop using MAD algorithms as host overload detection algorithm and MMT as the algorithm of selecting virtual machine, the most optimized answer will be found for physical resource management in cloud computing.


The expansion of computing infrastructure has opened the possibility of a world in which users can compute everywhere. Despite such advances, computing resources are often scarce and changing, limiting a user's ability to take advantage of the applications and devices, and requiring changes to the application runtime settings.
Currently, the burden of managing the computing environment (devices, applications, and resources) falls on the user. A user must manually start applications and adjust their settings according to the available resources. Assigning such chores of configuration to the user has a number of disadvantages. First, it consumes user's precious cognitive resources. Second, effectively managing the environment requires skills that a typical user might not have. Third, even with adequate low-level expertise, managing the environment optimally (or even adequately) can be difficult.
Ideally, the computing needs of a user are seamlessly matched with the capabilities of the environment: devices, applications, and available resources. The user should enjoy the best possible application quality, without worrying about managing the low-level computing mechanisms.
In this dissertation, we describe a novel approach that substantially automates the control of the configuration of the environment for a user's task: finding and starting applications, configuring their runtime settings, and allocating possibly limited resources. Our approach simultaneously satisfies two important requirements: utility and practicality. Utility ensures that configuration decisions take into account user's preferences for specific applications and quality of service. Practicality ensures that configuration has low runtime overhead in terms of the latency of configuration decisions and its usage of resources.
First, we model configuration analytically as a problem of optimizing user's utility based on three inputs: (1) user's preferences, (2) application capability, and (3) resource availability. Formally, automating the control of the configuration requires solving an optimization problem, and then using the optimization solution to control the environment.
Next, we design a software infrastructure that is based on the analytical model. The infrastructure implements efficient algorithms to solve the problem of configuration, eliminating the need for manual configuration. We validate our approach using experiments and simulation, demonstrating that the infrastructure satisfies the requirements of utility and practicality while substantially automating configuration.