Seasonal activity of Dinoponera quadriceps Santschi (Formicidae, Ponerinae) in the semi-arid Caatinga of NE Brazil. We studied seasonal foraging patterns of the queenless ant D. quadriceps (Formicidae: Ponerinae) for 24 months in a Caatinga area of northeastern Brazil, an ecosystem characterized by strong climatic changes throughout the year, in order to determine if regulation of worker activity is based on environmental conditions (air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation) and/or food resources (potential prey: Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Araneae, Chilopoda and Diplopoda).Foraging activity of D. quadriceps varied over the course of both years, with the highest frequency occurring from May to August, corresponding to the late rainy season and early dry season. This foraging activity was negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with the availability of potential prey, but not with total abundance of soil arthropods or with rainfall and relative humidity. Diet composition, in relation to the main taxonomic prey groups, seems to be common to the species, regardless of habitat. Our results suggest that D. quadriceps workers adjust foraging activity to the most suitable period of the year, to avoid thermal stress and increase efficiency. Thus, they present an appropriate behavioral response to seasonal fluctuations in the Caatinga.


A 4000 L bio-digester was designed and fabricated using 5 mm mild steel plate with the main purpose of generating biogas and bio-fertiliser for Auchi Polytechnic Demonstration Farm. To achieve this, a varying ratio of 1.155 m3: 2.310 m3 mixtures of cow dung and water were anaerobically digested in the batch digester. The experiment lasted for 33 days during which the quantity of gas generated were evaluated. The volume of daily methane gas production ranged from 0 to 1.2 m3. The total volume of gas generated from the digestion was 21.68 m3 and comprised of 58% CH4, 25% CO2, 15% H2S and 2% other impurities. The results of physiochemical properties of the feedstock revealed a progressive increase of 6.0-6.2 in pH value from Day 4 after which it dropped sharply in value to 5.5 on the second week of fermentation. The minimum and maximum ambient temperatures of 24 and 30°C were observed while the slurry temperatures varied from 27 to 35°C. The average pressure built up of the digester was about 214,000 N/m2. The results further showed that biogas production is sensitive to pH and cannot produce optimally below the pH of 6.5. To achieve optimum biogas generation, a temperature range within mesophilic condition of 25 to 40°C and pH values of 7 should be maintained.

 Key words: Biogas, mesophilic temperature, retention period, anaerobic digestion, digester.


Objective. To evaluate the role of key enzymes in the methionine-homocysteine metabolism (MHM) in the physiopathology of preeclampsia (PE). Methods. Plasma and placenta from pregnant women (32 controls and 16 PE patients) were analyzed after informed consent. Protein was quantified by western blot. RNA was obtained with RNA purification kit and was quantified by reverse transcritase followed by real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Identification of the C677T and A1298C methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and A2756G methionine synthase (MTR) SNP was performed using PCR followed by a high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis. S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) and S-adenosyl homocysteine (SAH) were measured in plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS). The SNP association analysis was carried out using Fisher's exact test. Statistical analysis was performed using a Mann-Whitney test. Results. RNA expression of MTHFR and MTR was significantly higher in patients with PE as compared with controls. Protein, SAM, and SAH levels showed no significant difference between preeclamptic patients and controls. No statistical differences between controls and PE patients were observed with the different SNPs studied. Conclusion. The RNA expression of MTHFR and MTR is elevated in placentas of PE patients, highlighting a potential compensation mechanism of the methionine-homocysteine metabolism in the physiopathology of this disease.


Caspases in infected cells contribute to the presentation of viral peptides to cytotoxic T cells. When cells are infected, pathogen-derived proteins are processed by the proteasome, and the resultant peptides (after further processing) bind to the class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and are presented on the surface of the infected cell. CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) recognize these peptide-MHC complexes and kill the infected cell. Noting that viral infection often activates caspases, cytosolic cysteine proteases that trigger apoptosis, López et al. investigated whether caspases might also contribute to antigen presentation. The authors infected murine cells with recombinant vaccinia virus (rVACV) that expressed a miniprotein (m19) and cultured the cells with CTL lines specific for an epitope within m19. The CTLs killed the infected cells and also killed infected cells that were incubated with either a proteasome-specific inhibitor or a caspase-specific inhibitor; however, treatment of the infected cells with both inhibitors blocked killing by the CTLs. Analysis of peptide products from in vitro assays showed that human recombinant caspases 5 and 10 cleaved m19 at noncanonical sites to generate the antigenic epitope that activated the CTLs. Within infected murine cells, caspases and the proteasome independently generated similar antigenic peptides in sufficient quantities to activate CTLs. When cells were infected with an rVACV that expressed B13, a protein that blocks caspase activation, only blockade of the proteasome was required to inhibit the presentation of antigen to CTLs. Together, these data suggest that the activation of caspases in response to viral infection contributes to the range of antigenic peptides presented by the infected cell. D. López, M. García-Calvo, G. L. Smith, M. Del Val, Caspases in virus-infected cells contribute to recognition by CD8+ T lymphocytes. J. Immunol. 184, 5193–5199 (2010). [PubMed]


The reactivity of sulfur dioxide toward variously substituted butadienes was explored in an effort to define the factors affecting the competition between the hetero-Diels-Alder and cheletropic additions. At low temperature (< -70degrees), 1-alkyl-substituted 1,3-dienes 1 that can adopt s-cis-conformations add to SO2 in the hetero-Diels-Alder mode in the presence of CF3COOH as promoter. In the case of (E)-1-ethylidene-2-methylidenecyclohexane ((E)-4a), the [4 + 2] cycloaddition of SO2 is fast at -90degrees without acid catalyst. (E)-1-(Acyloxy)buta-1,3-dienes (E)-1c, (E)-1y, and (E)-1z with AcO, BzO, and naphthalene-2-(carbonyloxy) substituents, respectively also undergo the hetero-Diels-Alder addition with SO2 + CF3COOH at low temperatures, giving a 1:10 mixture of the corresponding cis- and traps-6-(acyloxy)sultines c-2c,y,z and t-2c,y,z, respectively). Above -50degrees, the sultines undergo complete cycloreversion to the corresponding dienes and SOS, which that add in the cheletropic mode at higher temperature to give the corresponding 2-substituted sulfolenes (= 2,5-dihydrothiophene 1,1-dioxides) 3. The hetero-Diels-Alder additions of SO2 follow the Alder endo rule, giving first the 6-substituted cis-sultines that equilibrate then with the more stable traps-isomers. This statement is based on the assumption that the S=O group in the sultine prefers a pseudo-axial rather than a pseudo-equatorial position, as predicted by quantum calculations. The most striking observation is that electron-rich dienes such as 1-cyclopropyl-, 1-phenyl-, 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-, 1-(trimethylsilyl)-, 1-phenoxy-,1-(4-chlorophenoxy)-, 1-(4-methoxyphenoxy)-, 1-(4-nitrophenoxy)-, 1-(naphthalen-2-yloxy)-, 1-(methylthio)-, 1(phenylthio)-, 1-[(4-chlorophenyl)thio]-, 1-[(4-methoxyphenyl)thio]-, 1-[(4-nitrophenyl)thio]-, and 1-(phenylseleno)buta-1,3-diene, as well as 1-(methoxymethylidene)-2-methylidenecyclohexane (4f) do not equilibrate with the corresponding sultines between -100 and -10degrees, in the presence of a large excess of SO2, with or without acidic promoter. The hetero-Diels-Alder additions of SO2 to 1-substituted (E)-buta-1,3-dienes are highly regioselective, giving exclusively the corresponding 6-substituted sultines. The 1-substituted (Z)-buta-1,3-dienes do not undergo the hetero-Diels-Alder additions with sulfur dioxide.


Functional programming languages provide programmers with clean semantics and side-effect free computation, which make easier the tasks of designing programs and reasoning about them. Efficient implementations of purely functional programs, however, can pose certain challenges. Our purpose in this dissertation is to develop new techniques for the efficient analysis and implementation of functional programs.
Our first goal is to investigate a syntactic approach, contrary to the usual semantic approaches, of finding the least fixed points of higher-order functions over finite domains. The second objective is to develop implementation techniques for aggregate data structures for functional programs such that accesses to aggregates are both efficient and side-effect free.
Finding the least fixed point of a monotonic function over a finite domain is an essential task when analyzing a functional program in the framework of abstract interpretation. Previous methods for least fixed point finding have primarily used semantic approaches, which often traverse large portions of the semantic domain and may be very inefficient even for simple programs. We propose a syntactic method based on an augmented simply typed lambda calculus. It is shown that, for finite domains, the syntactic method is both sound and complete with respect to the semantics. Moreover, we demonstrate that the proposed syntactic method can be quite effective in cases where the usual semantic method is very inefficient.
Efficient implementations of aggregate data structures for functional programs has been an active research topic. The problem arises because once an aggregate is updated, both the old version and newly updated copy must be preserved to maintain the side-effect free semantics of functional languages. We modify the shallow binding scheme of Baker to implement functional arrays for efficient incremental updates and voluminous reads. The scheme, however, uses side-effects and cannot be implemented in purely functional languages themselves. We then investigate the possibility of implementing efficient aggregates without using side-effects, and show that real-time deques can be implemented in a purely functional way. We describe several interesting applications of this technique.


Cannibalism is ubiquitous in nature and especially pervasive in consumers with stage-specific resource utilization in resource-limited environments. Cannibalism is thus influential in the structure and functioning of biological communities. Parasites are also pervasive in nature and, we hypothesize, might affect cannibalism since infection can alter host foraging behaviour. We investigated the effects of a common parasite, the microsporidian Pleistophora mulleri, on the cannibalism rate of its host, the freshwater amphipod Gammarus duebeni celticus. Parasitic infection increased the rate of cannibalism by adults towards uninfected juvenile conspecifics, as measured by adult functional responses, that is, the rate of resource uptake as a function of resource density. This may reflect the increased metabolic requirements of the host as driven by the parasite. Furthermore, when presented with a choice, uninfected adults preferred to cannibalize uninfected rather than infected juvenile conspecifics, probably reflecting selection pressure to avoid the risk of parasite acquisition. By contrast, infected adults were indiscriminate with respect to infection status of their victims, probably owing to metabolic costs of infection and the lack of risk as the cannibals were already infected. Thus parasitism, by enhancing cannibalism rates, may have previously unrecognized effects on stage structure and population dynamics for cannibalistic species and may also act as a selective pressure leading to changes in resource use.


Ground deformation due to volcanic magma intrusion is recognised as an important precursor of eruptive activity at a volcano. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is ideally suited for this application by being able to measure three-dimensional coordinate changes of the monitoring points over time. Due to the highly disturbed ionosphere in equatorial regions, particularly during times of maximum solar activity, a deformation monitoring network consisting entirely of single-frequency GPS receivers cannot deliver baseline solutions at the desired accuracy level. In this thesis, a mixed-mode GPS network approach is proposed in order to optimise the existing continuous single-frequency deformation monitoring system on the Papandayan volcano in West Java, Indonesia. A sparse network of dual-frequency GPS receivers surrounding the deformation zone is used to generate empirical 'correction terms' in order to model the regional ionosphere. These corrections are then applied to the single-frequency data of the inner network to improve the accuracy of the results by modelling the residual atmospheric biases that would otherwise be neglected.
This thesis reviews the characteristics of existing continuously operating GPS deformation monitoring networks. The UNSW-designed mixed-mode GPS-based volcano deformation monitoring system and the adopted data processing strategy are described, and details of the system's deployment in an inhospitable volcanic environment are given. A method to optimise the number of observations for deformation monitoring networks where the deforming body itself blocks out part of the sky, and thereby significantly reduces the number of GPS satellites being tracked, is presented. The ionosphere and its effects on GPS signals, with special consideration for the situation in equatorial regions, are characterised. The nature of the empirically-derived 'correction terms' is investigated by using several data sets collected over different baseline lengths, at various geographical locations, and under different ionospheric conditions. Data from a range of GPS networks of various sizes, located at different geomagnetic latitudes, including data collected on Gunung Papandayan, were processed to test the feasibility of the proposed mixed-mode deformation monitoring network approach. It was found that GPS baseline results can be improved by up to 50% in the mid-latitude region when the 'correction terms' are applied, although the performance of the system degrades in close proximity to the geomagnetic equator during a solar maximum.


Privatization became a major component of economic policy around the world since
the mid-1980s despite the conflicting theoretical arguments and empirical evidence
for this policy. The inconclusive evidence, apart from reflecting genuine differences
among countries and industries under investigation, is also the result of
methodological and empirical problems this literature is beset with. This provides the
motivation for this research project which intends to contribute to the literature by
addressing some of these problems and also by applying it to a particular set of
countries, the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, that have been either not
studied at all or not studied as a group despite the fact that they share the same history
and the same economic, political and social background which are distinct from other
transition economies. As with the established empirical literature in the field, the
research focuses on the impact of privatization on the performance of firms in the
broad context of the neoclassical theory and its extensions.
The thesis aims at investigating the impact of privatization on companies'
performance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro,
Serbia and Slovenia, independent countries that emerged from the disintegration of
the former Yugoslavia. In doing so, this thesis initially embarks on a critical review of
theoretical and empirical literature, identifying their theoretical predictions and
assessing their empirical validity, highlighting a variety of methodological problems
from which the previous studies have suffered. The empirical investigation of this
thesis uses Stochastic Frontier Analysis to estimate the efficiency of companies with
different ownership structures. It also addressed the issue of missing data by
employing a multiple imputation procedure. In addition, policy evaluation
econometrics using matched difference-in-difference estimators is employed for
estimating the causal relationship between ownership transformation and companies'
performance. Special attention is paid to addressing the issue of selection bias which
is the main challenge in evaluating the effect of privatization.
The empirical results suggest that privatization is associated with improvement in
companies' performance in terms of technical efficiency and sales levels, while it is
associated with a significant drop in employment levels. Also, privatization is
associated with improvement in performance over time. The results suggest that there
is some heterogeneity across countries, industries and ownership types. In particular,
they show that the average efficiency scores of companies in the successor states vary
systematically across these countries with Slovenian companies being the most
efficient, followed by those in Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Serbia and Macedonia i.e.,
in some order of institutional and economic development in the region.


The current "spatial turn" in many disciplines reflects an emerging scholarly interest in space and spatiality as central components in understanding the natural and cultural worlds. In Space in Mind, leading researchers from a range of disciplines examine the implications of research on spatial thinking and reasoning for education and learning. Their contributions suggest ways in which recent work in such fields as spatial cognition, geographic information systems, linguistics, artificial intelligence, architecture, and data visualization can inform spatial approaches to learning and education. After addressing the conceptual foundations of spatial thinking for education and learning, the book considers visualization, both external (for example, diagrams and maps) and internal (imagery and other mental spatial representations); embodied cognition and spatial understanding; and the development of specific spatial curricula and literacies. ContributorsKinnari Atit, John Bateman, Ruth Conroy Dalton, Ghislain Deslongchamps, Bonnie Dixon, Roger M. Downs, Daniel R. Montello, Christian Freksa, Michael F. Goodchild, Karl Grossner, Mary Hegarty, Scott R. Hinze, Christoph Holscher, Alycia M. Hund, Donald G. Janelle, Sander Lestrade, Evie Malaia, Nora S. Newcombe, David N. Rapp, Thomas F. Shipley, Holger Schultheis, Mary Jane Shultz, Diana Sinton, Mike Stieff, Thora Tenbrink, Basil Tikoff, Dido Tsigaridi, David Waller, Ranxiao Frances Wang, Ronnie Wilbur, Kenneth C. Williamson, Vickie M. Williamson


Humans, other animals, and artificial systems solve problems posed by their physical environment. Biological agents start with a flexible cognitive architecture but limited abilities, and acquire competences by different combinations of maturation, growth and experience (both social and individual), and some designers of artificial systems try to emulate such processes. By examining the processes leading to the construction of competence in biological agents we hope to inspire and support ideas relevant to the design of intelligent agents in the future. Here we report a study of the emergence of physical problem-solving in human infants aged 15 to 24 months and in both tool-using and non-tool-using corvids. One goal is to examine whether tool-using competence was indicative of general physical intelligence, in which case tool using agents should show greater competence both in tool-related and non-tool related tasks. Another is to test whether in these disparate organisms, experience with combining objects in contexts other than functional tool use (e.g. play) can causally facilitate the emergence of tool use competence. We used a battery of tasks including tool vs. non-tool dependent extractions of target objects. All subjects were initially exposed to a mixture of objects and allowed to interact freely with them. Preliminary results show that while there are strong inter-species differences in tool-related competence, we found no major differences in tasks where tools were not involved. There were strong individual differences within each species, but age effects were only found in human infants, reflecting differences in life-history: although crows can live for several decades, they reach adulthood (including asymptotic competence in many indices) much faster than humans. From a robotics perspective, the differences reveal available choices regarding the tradeoff of learning vs. performing, or exploration vs. exploitation of skills. The relation between object combinations and individual performance at the tool tasks is still under analysis.


Strategic research direction and prioritisation is crucial for decision making in universities. Analysis of research diversification and sophistication helps differentiating universities according to their research attributes. Based on the Microsoft Academic Graph data set, this paper conducts research complexity analysis for all Australian universities, and examines the ubiquity and diversity of the research output. This paper also investigates research complexity indices of Australian universities, with further discussions for universities with research leadership, technological and practical focuses, and young research universities.


The Montreal Exchange introduced futures contracts on 3-month Canadian bankers' acceptances, known as BAX, in 1988. In this article, the author explains the nature of this new instrument, which is bought and sold on the floor of the Exchange, and its role in hedging, speculation, and arbitrage. She briefly reviews the technical aspects of the market and explains the difference between BAX contracts and forward rate agreements. She also examines the market's rapid growth and its relationship to the market for treasury bills.


The remarkable trilogy from SUNDAY TIMES No.1 Bestseller Dave Pelzer - now in one volume. A CHILD CALLED 'IT' is Dave Pelzer's story of a child beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played torturous, unpredictable games that left one of her three sons nearly dead. Dave was no longer considered a son, or a boy, but an 'it'. His bed was an old army cot in the basement and when he was allowed food it was scraps from the dogs' bowl. Throughout, Dave kept alive the dream of finding a family who would love and care for him. THE LOST BOY: the harrowing but ultimately uplifting true story of Dave's journey through the foster-care system in search of a family who will love him. A MAN NAMED DAVE: the gripping conclusion to this inspirational trilogy. With extraordinary generosity of spirit, Dave takes us on a journey into his past. At last he confronts his father and ultimately his mother. Finally, Dave finds the courage to break the chains of the past and learn to love, trust and live for the future.


Background: The ability of plant extract to improve injury in the liver has gained interest in recent times. This could be due to the side effects and expense of modern medicines that are used to manage hepatic diseases; hence beetroot juice as a potential hepatoprotective agent was evaluated. Materials and Methods: Thirty Sprague–Dawley rats were assigned by weight into six groups average body weight (160.20 ± 2.54 g). Group I: rats plus distilled water (Normal control) 2 ml/kg; Group II: rats received olive oil (2 ml/kg); Group III: rats received carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) suspended in olive oil (2 ml/kg) and 250 mg/kg of beetroot extract. Group IV: rats received CCl4suspended in olive oil (2 ml/kg) and 500 mg/kg of beetroot extract. Group V: rats received olive oil (2 ml/kg) and 100 mg/kg of silymarin; Group VI: rats received (2 ml/kg)CCl4suspended in olive oil. Liver injury was induced by oral administration of CCl4using gastric gavage at 2 ml/kg every 48 h for 14 days, followed by treatment with beetroot extract and silymarin. Animals were euthanized by decapitation, blood and liver tissue harvested for biochemical and histopathological evaluations. Results: Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the groups treated with extract and silymarin when compared to the animals administered only CCl4, whereas malondialdehyde level was significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the group administered only CCl4when compared to other groups. Histopathologically, the animals treated with 500 mg/kg of extract showed a normal hepatocyte and mild portal congestion. Conclusion: Beetroot juice has potential hepatoprotective effects on the liver in a dose-dependent manner.


A large amount of work has been carried out in the field of developing knowledge-based systems from initial analysis of the domain task, through formalisation and computerisation of knowledge to a completed knowledge-based system. However, issues relating to the use of such systems appear not to have been so clearly identified. It is essential to pay detailed attention to all of the human as well as technological issues which affect the practical use of such systems. The factors that influence the use of a knowledge-based system need to be identified to ensure that any systems developed will in fact be used by the intended end-users. In this thesis we propose a model for effective utilisation of knowledge-based systems. We will discuss how this model has been validated, then used as a basis for the identification of factors that affect system use. We will describe how we select and evaluate factors which we believe have a significant impact on the use of a system. We will present a set of initial findings based on experimental work we have performed as to the most significant factors. A set of conclusions are drawn on the approach we have adopted, the results we have obtained and the success of this work. We have identified a four phase model of system use, namely, acquisition, handover, operation and maintenance based on current literature. The model depicts the relationship between roles, functions and entities. By validation of the model, we have identified an initial set of 55 parameters that impact the effective use of a system. We have selected a subset of these parameters (those which we believe have significant impact and those which have less impact on the utilisation of knowledge-based systems) which we are able to control in order to evaluate a set of 17 hypotheses. The important parameters were: Role of system, Familiarity with system. Functionality, Robustness of system, Breadth of knowledge. Depth of knowledge, Method of displaying information (HCI), and Method of selecting options (HCI). The less important parameters were: Familiarity with domain tasks. User role. Fit with user requirement. Provision of system help. Provision of explanation. Response time. Security features. Error reporting, and Maintenance procedure. The experiments we performed allowed a systematic examination of the degree to which each parameter we selected impacts system use. From the data we obtained we identified a number of key parameters and the impact they have on effective use of a system. Specifically, from our experimental work we have identified the following factors as having the greatest degree of impact on system use: Role of system. Breadth of knowledge. Depth of knowledge. Provision of explanation. Provision of system help. Method of displaying information (HCI), Method of selecting options (HCI), Functionality, and Maintenance procedures. We also identified areas where additional work is required to further investigate the factors that impact on the effective use of knowledge-based systems.


Belonging to Lamiaceae family, the genus Teucrium L. is a rich source of secondary metabolites used in pharmacology and industrial medicine. This study aimed to investigate the flavonoid contents of methanol extract and the chemical markers of Teucrium at specific and infraspecific levels and identify the chemotypes of its accessions. Nineteen accessions, eight species, and five subspecies were collected from three sections (Teucris, Polium, and Scordium) belonging to the natural habitats in the west, southwest, centre, and south of Iran. Total flavonoid extraction was attained by the air-dried leaf of Teucrium species and 90% methanol. HPLC coupled with triple quadrupole mass analyser was applied to screen and identify the chemical constituents. Multivariate analyses were implemented by cluster and principal component analysis. Chemical investigation specified 148 chemical compounds, of which 135 flavonoids were tentatively identified. The most abundant derivatives belonged to flavones (41 derivatives), flavonols (37 derivatives), and isoflavonoids (22 derivatives). Based on the cluster analysis, 13 groups of chemical markers were formed in sections Teucris and Scordium and five groups in section Polium as chemotaxonomic indicators. The specified chemotypes were represented by ten in the sections Teucris and Scordium and by six in the section Polium. A relationship was suggested between type and flavonoid quantity (number), altitude, and geographical location. The present study provided valuable information for pharmacological research, bioactivity assessment, and chemotaxonomic purposes. This is the first report on the presence of chemotypes, chemical markers, and quality assessments for the genus Teucrium.


Malonyl-CoA decarboxylase (MCD) catalyzes the proton-consuming conversion of malonyl-CoA to acetyl-CoA and CO2. Although defects in MCD activity are associated with malonyl-CoA decarboxylase deficiency, a lethal disorder characterized by cardiomyopathy and developmental delay, the metabolic role of this enzyme in mammals is unknown. A computer-based search for novel peroxisomal proteins led to the identification of a candidate gene for human MCD, which encodes a protein with a canonical type-1 peroxisomal targeting signal of serine-lysine-leucineCOOH. We observed that recombinantMCD protein has high intrinsic malonyl-CoA decarboxylase activity and that a malonyl-CoA decarboxylase-deficient patient has a severe mutation in the MCD gene (c.947–948delTT), confirming that this gene encodes human MCD. Subcellular fractionation experiments revealed that MCD resides in both the cytoplasm and peroxisomes. Cytoplasmic MCD is positioned to play a role in the regulation of cytoplasmic malonyl-CoA abundance and, thus, of mitochondrial fatty acid uptake and oxidation. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that malonyl-CoA decarboxylase-deficient patients display a number of phenotypes that are reminiscent of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation disorders. Additional support for this hypothesis comes from our observation that MCD mRNA is most abundant in cardiac and skeletal muscles, tissues in which cytoplasmic malonyl-CoA is a potent inhibitor of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and which derive significant amounts of energy from fatty acid oxidation. As for the role of peroxisomal MCD, we propose that this enzyme may be involved in degrading intraperoxisomal malonyl-CoA, which is generated by the peroxisomal β-oxidation of odd chain-length dicarboxylic fatty acids.


1. A 6-year study (1992-97) of changes in submerged vegetation after biomanipulation was carried out in the eutrophicated Lake Finjasjon, Southern Sweden. Ten sites around the lake were revisited each year. At each site five samples of above-ground biomass were taken at 10 cm water depth intervals. An investigation of the seed bank at the 10 sites, and a grazing experiment where birds and large fish were excluded was also conducted. 2. Between 1992 and 1996, in shallow areas (water depth 95% of the increase in biomass and plant cover. The following year (1997), however, cover and above-ground biomass decreased, mainly attributable to the total disappearance of E. canadensis. Secchi depth increased after biomanipulation until 1996, but decreased again in 1997. 3. Total and mean number of submerged species increased after biomanipulation, probably as a result of the improved light climate. However, after the initial increase in species number there was a decrease during the following years, possibly attributed to competition from the rapidly expanding E. canadensis and M. spicatum. The lack of increase in species number after the disappearance of E. canadensis in 1997 implies that other factors also affected species richness. 4. A viable seed bank was not necessary for a rapid recolonization of submerged macrophytes, nor did grazing by waterfowl or fish delay the re-colonization of submerged macrophytes. 5. Submerged macrophytes are capable of rapid recolonization if conditions improve, even in large lakes such as Finjasjon (11 km(2)). Species that spread by fragments will increase rapidly and probably outcompete other species. 6. The results indicate that after the initial Secchi depth increase, probably caused by high zooplankton densities, submerged vegetation further improved the light climate. The decrease in macrophyte biomass in 1997 may have caused the observed increase in phosphorus and chlorophyll a, and the decrease in Secchi depth. We suggest that nutrient competition from periphyton, attached to the macrophytes, may be an important factor in limiting phytoplankton production, although other factors (e.g. zooplankton grazing) are also of importance, especially as triggers for the shift to a clear-water state.


BACKGROUND
Intravenous thrombolytic therapy is the standard care for patients with acute myocardial infarction, based upon its widespread availability and ability to reduce patient mortality well demonstrated in randomised trials. Despite its proven efficacy, thrombolytic therapy has limitations. Many patients are ineligible for treatment with thrombolytics. Of those given thrombolytic therapy, 10 to 15 percent have persistent occlusion or reocclusion of the infarct-related artery. Consequently, primary angioplasty (primary PTCA) has been advocated as a better treatment of myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES
To determine whether primary coronary angioplasty is superior to thrombolytic therapy for the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction.

SEARCH STRATEGY
Electronic search of The Cochrane Library (1998; Issue 2). MEDLINE (to January 1998); references from reviews, trials and previously published meta-analyses; and experts. Date of most recent searches January 1998.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All unconfounded, randomised controlled trials comparing primary angioplasty against intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute myocardial infarction

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
At least two independent reviewers abstracted data on morbidity and mortality and trial characteristics. The following outcomes were assessed: total mortality at the end of the study, reinfarction, stroke of any type, composite endpoint of death and reinfarction, recurrent ischemia, severe bleeding and coronary artery bypass grafting.

MAIN RESULTS
Ten trials including 2573 subjects were identified. Compared to thrombolytic therapy, primary angioplasty was associated with a significant reduction in short-term mortality at the end of the studies (relative reduction in risk RRR = 32% 95%CI = 5%;50%). Similar reductions were observed for the rate of reinfarction (RRR = 52%, 95%CI = 30%;67%), recurrent ischemia (RRR = 54%; 95%CI = 39%, 66%) and for the combined criteria death or reinfarction (RRR = 46%; 95%CI=30%;58%). The frequency of strokes of any cause was significantly decreased by 66% (95%CI=28%;84%). No significant difference was observed for the incidence of major bleeding (relative risk RR =1.18, 95%CI = 0.73;1.90) but the confidence interval was large. The superiority of the primary angioplasty over thrombolysis in terms of the composite endpoint (mortality and reinfarction) was less with accelerated t-PA (RR=0.70, 95%CI=0.51;0. 97) than with streptokinase (RR=0.30, 95%CI=0.17;0.53). The biggest and most recent trial, Gusto 2B ( approximately approximately GUSTO-2B 97 approximately approximately ), which involved general as well as higly specialised centres, obtained less favorable results.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
This meta-analysis suggests that angioplasty provides a short-term clinical advantage over thrombolysis which may not be sustained. Primary angioplasty when available promptly at experienced centres, may be considered the preferred strategy for myocardial reperfusion. In most situations, however, optimal thrombolytic therapy should still be regarded as an excellent reperfusion strategy.


In this thesis we study dilepton production in Pb-Au collisions at 158 GeV/c per nucleon measured with the Cherenkov Ring Electron Spectrometer (CERES) at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN. The data taken in the year 2000 represent the first CERES runs with the fully operational Time Projection Chamber (TPC). The upgrade of the spectrometer with this powerful tracking device allows to realize a new approach for particle identification with the Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector. We present the development and optimization of track-based ring reconstruction methods which allow to identify both electrons and pions at momenta above the Cherenkov threshold. To compare the performance of different methods, the reconstruction is applied to the CERES data. This allows to determine experimentally, for the first time, the CERES RICH efficiency and background rejection power. The new particle identification is used for low-mass dielectron reconstruction. Significant improvements in the simulation of the detector allow to evaluate the electron pair reconstruction efficiency with high accuracy and to study the origin of electron pair combinatorial background. The results motivate an extension of the TPC tracking, to improve the reconstruction efficiency for low-momentum tracks, and allow better identification of electron background. Our results corroborate the previous CERES findings of an enhancement of electron pairs over the hadronic cocktail in the invariant mass region m > 0.2 GeV. Comparison to previous analyses of the same data shows good consistency and supports our estimate of the systematic uncertainties of the electron analysis. Our results supply evidence for a modification of the spectral function of the rho meson in the hot and dense medium and strongly support baryon-induced interactions at the origin of the effect. Furthermore, we present in this work the first direct measurements of transition radiation (TR) spectra in irregular radiators, carried out with prototypes of the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) transition radiation detector (TRD). The measurements are confronted with calculations for regular radiators. The TR yield and the shape of the spectral distributions for different electron momenta are well described by the simulations.


This paper describes all aspects of designing, developing and incorporating an Open Educational
Resources (OER) to increase the awareness of business leaders on geographical information. The
paper includes the proposed methodology for the design and development of the OER. The final
proposed OER modules will be offered in various forms including synchronous E-learning modules
like distance learning sessions through shared white board, virtual classrooms, scheduled online
examination and asynchronous e-learning modules like the coursework through the web, email,
message board or online forums and online GI System (GIS) tools. During the pilot implementation of
the OER, the selected business leaders who will be primarily the OER learners aiming to build their
GI awareness starting by learning the basics of the GI, addressing the business operations' issues,
identifying the GI role in solving the business operations' issues and finally practicing the GIS &
applying it in their daily business operations. In a later stage, an OER assessment should follow in
order to check the progress in the business leaders' GI awareness.


Today, "community" seems to be everywhere. At home, at work, and online, the vague but comforting idea of the community pervades every area of life. But have we lost the ability truly to understand what it means? The Neighborhood in the Internet investigates social and civic effects of community networks on local community, and how community network designs are appropriated and extended by community members. Carroll uses his conceptual model of "community" to re-examine the Blacksburg Electronic Village the first Web-based community network applying it to attempts to sustain and enrich contemporary communities through information technology. The book provides an analysis of the role of community in contemporary paradigms for work and other activity mediated by the Internet. It brings to the fore a series of design experiments investigating new approaches to community networking and addresses the future trajectory and importance of community networks. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, community psychology, human-computer interaction, information science, and computer-supported collaborative work.


The paper experimentally investigates the performance of the Ethernet and Fast-Ethernet free space optical (FSO) communications link under the influence of the weak atmospheric turbulence. A dedicated experimental indoor atmospheric chamber is used to generate and control the turbulence conditions that affect the FSO link performance. The chamber is calibrated and the measured data are verified with the theoretical prediction. We also demonstrate methods to control the turbulence levels and determine the equivalence between the indoor and outdoor FSO links. It is also observed that the connectivity of Ethernet and Fast-Ethernet links are highly sensitive to atmospheric conditions.


The biggest problem with designing rigid-flex hybrid PCBs is making sure everything will fold in the right way, while maintaining good flex-circuit stability and lifespan. The next big problem to solve is the conveyance of the design to a fabricator who will clearly understand the design intent and therefore produce exactly what the designer/engineer intended. Rigid-Flex circuit boards require additional cutting and lamination stages, and more exotic materials in manufacturing and therefore the cost of re-spins and failures are very much higher than traditional rigid boards. To reduce the risk and costs associated with rigid-flex design and prototyping, it is desirable to model the flexible parts of the circuit in 3D CAD to ensure correct form and fit. In addition it is necessary to provide absolutely clear documentation for manufacturing to the fabrication and assembly houses. The traditional attempt most design teams use to mitigate these risks is to create a "paper doll" of the PCB, by printing out a 1:1 representation of the board and then folding it up to fit a sample enclosure. This has a number of issues: 1) The paper doll does not also model the 3D thickness of the rigid and flex sections. 2) The paper doll does not include 3D models of the electronic components mounted on the PCB. 3) This approach requires a physical sample of the final enclosure which may not yet be final in it's design either. 4) If the mechanical enclosure is custom designed, a costly 3D print will be required for testing. This adds much time and expense to the project. As cool as 3D printers are, it's not a sensible use for them if the modeling can be done entirely in software. This paper discusses practical steps in two approaches to solve these problems, contrasting against the traditional "paper doll" approach above. In the first scenario, a 3D MCAD model of the PCB assembly can be created in the MCAD package where a "sheet metal" model can be generated for the PCB substrate model. This sheet metal model can be bent into shape in the MCAD software to fit the final enclosure and check for clearance violations. This is not the best approach but it is better than paper dolls. In the second scenario, a significant part of the enclosure or mechanical assembly model is brought from the MCAD package into the PCB design software, where the rigid-flex board outline can be designed specifically to fit with it. Rigid-flex layer stack sections can be defined and then flexible circuit areas have bending lines added. In the PCB design tool's 3D mode, the folds are then implemented to reveal where potential clearance violations and interference occurs. The PCB design can then be interactively modified to resolve the problems and check right away without having to build any further mock-ups or translate design databases from one tool to another.


There are many studies showing acute static stretching to be detrimental to power generation. However, the majority have focused upon the impact of stretching the agonist musculature. To date, few have examined the potential benefits of acute antagonist static stretching; none have focused on upper-body power. Utilising a repeated-measures design, 30 male participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups whereupon they performed four bench-throw tests; two control (NO-STRETCH) and two experimental (STRETCH), in a counter-balanced manner. Prior to the experimental measures, participants undertook a series of static antagonist stretches. Mean Pmax (SD) in the NO-STRETCH trials was 862.76 (146)W and 898.50 (144)W, respectively. For STRETCH trial 1, Pmax = 930.10 (146)W and trial 2, Pmax = 953.36 (136)W. When compared to the respective NO-STRETCH trials, antagonist static stretching did have a significant effect on Pmax for both the initial (P < 0.01, d = 1.33) and the re-stretching procedures (P < 0.01, d = 1.35). A significant difference was also found between the STRETCH trials (P < 0.01, d = 0.46). The results have practical implications for those involved in upper-body power activities. Specifically, incorporating upper-body antagonist static stretching into pre-performance routines might offer a simple and effective means of enhancing agonist power.


This issue addresses the practice of documentation in the art of the 1960s. Documentation is here understood as both the creation of documents and the techniques of their management, such as collection, archiving, arrangement, contextualization, or manipulation. The texts included here attend to the political, material, intermedial, and affective dimensions of documentation through close studies of specific artists and bodies of work. The authors consider a range of practices in experimental photography, conceptualism, and performance art, by artists situated in different local or transnational contexts—mostly Europe, North America, and East Asia. At stake are why and how the processes of making or organizing documents newly constituted an artistic practice in its own right during the 1960s. Building on established research on twentieth-century documentary strategies and key 1960s documents, as well as recent scholarship in media studies and performance studies, the issue fosters a richer understanding of the personal, political, and social uses of documentation in the period.


The main purpose of this study was to explore different instructional attributes provided by animation in facilitating descriptive and procedural learning. In the study, subjects were eighth-grade and ninth-grade students. Spatial ability was used as a variable to observe students' learning of different knowledge. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in exploring how students learned physics concepts. Animation has been used in instruction in scientific and mathematical learning for many years. However, recent advances in technology have permitted the creation of desktop animations for a wide range of instruction (Szabo & Poohkay, 1996). With the advent of Internet technology in recent years, various computer-based learning courses employing animation techniques have been developed to assist learning. The use of modern technologies has become common in education and is considered necessary for computer-based materials. For example, various mathematical problem-solving courses developed on the World Wide Web highlight the impact of visualization on learning (Dixon & Falba, 1997; Halpin & Kossegi, 1996). Many medical simulations using state-of-the-art technology are also available on the web to provide real-time animation for medical learning (Grange, Bunker & Cooper, 1997; Lehmann, Lehmann & Freedman, 1997). In designing interactive multimedia applications, animation is seen as an integral component in presenting information on the computer screen. The use of animation provides potential visual interest for presenting computer-based materials, which makes scientific learning more appealing and enjoyable to learners. Defined as a series of graphics that change over time and/or space, animation has been found effective in illustrating the complex structural, functional, and procedural relationships among objects and events (Park & Gittelman, 1992). Through the use of a model for interpretation, students can form accurate schematic representations while learning abstract concepts. The most effective arrangement of animated visual aids may vary with the differing spatial abilities of students. Literature suggests that students scoring high in spatial abilities should be able to conceptualize the processes of diffusion in animation more completely or to a greater depth of elaboration (Hay, 1996). Individual differences in the use of their perception and judgment have become an indicator for analyzing students' learning patterns, especially in hypermedia learning environments. It therefore seems useful to determine whether the use of visual strategies produces different effects on different learner groups. The ultimate aim is to design learning materials optimized for the preferred modes of presentation among groups with differing characteristics to improve their performance. How users evolve an appropriate strategy during the process of learning is also highlighted in the study. Static and Dynamic Graphics Park and Hopkins (1993) use the terms "static visual display" and "dynamic visual display" to differentiate between the use of graphics and animation. From their definition, "graphics" refers to representations that do not rely solely on the use of text or numbers to provide informational content, while animation is the combination of a series of graphics and motions to form a visual scenario to represent information. Rieber & Hannafin (1988) define animation as a series of rapidly changing computer screen displays that represent the illusion of movement. In recent years, the increased availability of design tools has also permitted the design of instructional materials that incorporate unlimited variations and forms of verbal and visual information for presentation (Rieber, 1995). The representation of motion provides potential learning interest and stimulates viewer's attention. The effectiveness of the use of animation is confirmed only when appropriate learning content is provided. …


Iterative imputation is a popular tool to accommodate missing data. While it is widely accepted that valid inferences can be obtained with this technique, these inferences all rely on algorithmic convergence. There is no consensus on how to evaluate the convergence properties of the method. Our study provides insight into identifying non-convergence in iterative imputation algorithms. We found that--in the cases considered--inferential validity was achieved after five to ten iterations, much earlier than indicated by diagnostic methods. We conclude that it never hurts to iterate longer, but such calculations hardly bring added value.


Digital music distribution is increasingly powered by automated mechanisms that continuously capture, sort and analyze large amounts of Web-based data. This paper traces the historical development of music metadata management and its ties to the growing of the field of 'big data' knowledge production. In particular, it explores the data catching mechanisms enabled by the Spotify-owned company The Echo Nest, and provides a close reading of parts of the company's collection and analysis of data regarding musicians. Doing so, it reveals evidence of the ways in which trivial, random, and unintentional data enters into the data steams that power today's digital music distribution. The presence of such curious data needs to be understood as a central part of contemporary algorithmic knowledge production, and calls for a need to re-conceptualize both (digital) musical artifacts and (digital) musical expertize.


The academic study of strategy and statecraft dwells
awkwardly in the space between art and science. For decades,
if not centuries, analysts have tried to develop general principles
about the important activities that surround war and diplomacy,
with the hope that we might better anticipate the future and
avoid repeating the disasters of the past. As the excellent articles
in our second issue of the Texas National Security Review reveal,
this is an extraordinarily daunting task. Global policy is made in
the face of radical uncertainty about the future, while confronting
a multitude of often inscrutable actors who are driven by complex,
deeply intertwined, and often indecipherable factors.


A number of sequential interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) were synthesised
and characterised. The materials were prepared using epoxidised natural rubber
(ENR) with 25 mole percent (ENR 25) or 50 mole percent (ENR 50) epoxy content
with the second polymer component being either poly(methyl methacrylate)
(PMMA), poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) or poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA).
In the case of ENR 25/PMMA IPNs, materials with different composition ratios
and crosslink densities in the elastomer and plastomer constituents were prepared.
Attempts were made to produce grafted IPNs by copolymerising methacrylic acid
(MAA) with the second polymer component. [Continues.]


Standard one-dimensional nonlinear-wave equations are modified to accommodate the growth and coupling of nonlinear waves in droplets. The propagation direction of the nonlinear waves along the length of an optical cell is changed so that it is along the droplet rim. The model includes radiation losses because of nonzero absorption, leakage from the droplet, and depletion in generating other nonlinear waves. For multimode-laser input, the growth and decay of the first- through fourth-order Stokes stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) are calculated as a function of the phase matching of the four-wave mixing process and the model-dependent Raman gain coefficient. The Raman gain coefficient determines the delay time of the first-order SRS, while the phase matching determines the correlated temporal profiles of the multiorder SRS. Both the Raman gain and the phase matching are found to be enhanced in the droplet. The spatial distribution of the internal input-laser intensity is calculated by using the Lorenz–Mie formalism. The temporal profile of the input-laser intensity used in the calculations is identical to the experimentally observed laser time profile. The delay time and the correlated growth and decay of nonlinear waves resulting from the numerical simulation compare favorably with those of the experimental observations. Similar calculations are made for single-mode-laser input for which the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) achieves its threshold before the SRS does and subsequently pumps the SRS.


This paper describes a computer assisted design process originally developed at the University of Wyoming and now implemented in commercial software. In order to address the need for broadly accessible design rationale, a relatively simple design philosophy has been incorporated in an electronic text book. The text book is organized in three parts: tutorial, design aid, modeler. With the text book loaded on his personal computer, a designer can either read the tutorial like a book or flip to a particular feature design section, such as cross ribs, if he needs to refresh himself on some details. He can then move directly to a specific design tool such as the rib designer which takes into account good design practice, the material to be used and the applied loads to compute geometry required to obtain a particular deflection. The feature design can then be ported to a 3 dimensional modeling package.


The hands of one's avatar are possibly the most visible aspect when interacting in virtual reality (VR). As video games in VR proliferate, it is important to understand how the appearance of avatar hands influence the user experience. Designers of video games often stylize hands and reduce the number of fingers of game characters. Previous work shows that the appearance of avatar hands has significant effects on the user's presence - the feeling of `being' and `acting' in VR. However, little is known about the effects of missing fingers of an avatar in VR. In this paper, we present a study (N=24) that investigated the effect of hand representations by parametrically varying the number of fingers of abstract and realistically rendered hands. We show that decreasing the number of fingers of realistic hands leads to significantly lower levels of presence, which is not the case for abstract hands. Qualitative feedback collected through think-aloud and video revealed potential reasons for the different assessment of realistic and abstract hands with fewer fingers in VR. We contribute design implications and recommend considering the human-likeness when a reduction of the number of fingers of avatar hands is desired.


We consider a stochastic linear bandit problem in which the rewards are not only subject to random noise, but also adversarial attacks subject to a suitable budget $C$ (i.e., an upper bound on the sum of corruption magnitudes across the time horizon). We provide two variants of a Robust Phased Elimination algorithm, one that knows $C$ and one that does not. Both variants are shown to attain near-optimal regret in the non-corrupted case $C = 0$, while incurring additional additive terms respectively having a linear and quadratic dependency on $C$ in general. We present algorithm independent lower bounds showing that these additive terms are near-optimal. In addition, in a contextual setting, we revisit a setup of diverse contexts, and show that a simple greedy algorithm is provably robust with a near-optimal additive regret term, despite performing no explicit exploration and not knowing $C$.


This paper describes a narrative-oriented approach to the design and the analysis of a computational system and a set of activities for mathematical learning. Our central contention is that programming can offer a key to resolving the tension between the different representational structures of narrative and mathematical formalism. In the course of describing our approach, we make a distinction between the epistemic-cognitive elements of narrative and the social, cultural and affective elements. We then elaborate the theoretical grounds of the individual epistemic facets of narrative. We propose a link between narrative theories of learning and constructionist traditions, specifically the notion of situated abstraction. This link suggests the possibility of further dialogue between the two academic communities.


The efficacy of magnesium thermophosphate (a soil corrective and fertilizer) was tested as food for laboratory planorbids for a period of five weeks, during which time the shell growth of Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) and Helisoma duryi (Wetherby, 1879) experimental populations was observed. Surprisingly, this mineral product blocked the oviposition of both species from the second week on, when added to the latosoil either isolatedly or associatedly. Consequently, magnesium phosphate, when widely used in new agricultural areas obtained through modern irrigation methods, may be carried to lentic and lotic ecosystems by rain and reduce the pioneer populations of different Biomphalaria species, thus constituting a useful means of Schistosomiasis mansoni control in rural areas. Moreover, it may also be effective in the control of the Schistosoma mansoni intermediate hosts that usually live in fish-breading ponds whose increase in number is often encouraged as an alternative economic activity for the small rural owner or as a means for meeting nutritional requirements. This material may also control limnaeid populations, which are Fasciola hepatica intermediate hosts. Specific field tests that may actually demonstrate these hypotheses, as well as studies aiming to find out how the magnesium element blocks the mollusks' fertility, are suggested. The need for further research on the action on the eggs and young forms of planorbides and on miracidia cercariae (free and intra-snail) of trematodes, of different magnesium concentrations is pointed out.


Magnetic Resonance Imaging is capable of providing clinically-valuable images for hepatic diseases such as the fatty liver and has become a promising noninvasive method in evaluating human liver under normal and diseased conditions (1-9). Fatty liver is one of the most common abnormalities. Recent surveys have shown that it affects up to 15% of the general population and it is higher among those with obesity and high alcohol consumption (10-12).


This article reviews some of the recent literature on the relationship between the legal system and economic development. We also look at the historical, socio-cultural, and political factors that explain the differences in the characteristics of legal systems across countries and thus affect the link between the legal environment and economic outcomes. Although the field of law and economics of developing countries is still in its youth, it is growing rapidly and is a fertile ground for exciting new findings, both theoretical and empirical. Further progress in this field is likely to come from the studies of the elements of the legal system other than the substantive law (enforcement and dispute resolution) and should move beyond specific analyses of the impact of particular success or failure stories towards more general analyses of the determinants and outcomes of successful legal institutions.


Although web search remains an active research area, interest in enterprise search has waned. This is despite the fact that the market for enterprise search applications is expected to triple within the next six years, and that knowledge workers spend an average of 1.6 to 2.5 hours each day searching for information. To improve search relevancy, and hence reduce this time, an enterprisefocused application must be able to handle the unique queries and constraints of the enterprise environment. The goal of this thesis research was to develop, implement, and study query expansion techniques that are most effective at improving relevancy in enterprise search. The case-study instrument used in this investigation was a custom Apache Solr-based search application deployed at a local medium-sized manufacturing company. It was hypothesized that techniques specifically tailored to the enterprise search environment would prove most effective. Query expansion techniques leveraging entity recognition, alphanumeric term identification, intent classification, collection enrichment, and word vectors were implemented and studied using real enterprise data. They were evaluated against a test set of queries developed using relevance survey results from multiple users, using standard relevancy metrics such as normalized discounted cumulative gain (nDCG). Comprehensive analysis revealed that the current implementation of the collection enrichment and word vector query expansion modules did not demonstrate meaningful improvements over the baseline methods. However, the entity recognition, alphanumeric term identification, and query intent classification modules produced meaningful and statistically significant improvements in relevancy, allowing us to accept the hypothesis.


The Centre for Next Generation Localisation (CNGL) is involved in building interactive adaptive systems which combine Information Retrieval (IR), Adaptive Hypermedia (AH) and adaptive web techniques and technologies. The complex functionality of these systems coupled with the variety of potential users means that the experiments necessary to evaluate such systems are difficult to plan, implement and execute. This evaluation requires both component-level scientific evaluation and user-based evaluation. Automated replication of experiments and simulation of user interaction would be hugely beneficial in the evaluation of adaptive information retrieval systems (AIRS). This paper proposes a methodology for the evaluation of AIRS which leverages simulated interaction. The hybrid approach detailed combines: (i) user-centred methods for simulating interaction and personalisation; (ii) evaluation metrics that combine Human Computer Interaction (HCI), AH and IR techniques; and (iii) the use of qualitative and quantitative evaluations. The benefits and limitations of evaluations based on user simulations are also discussed.


While scholars have tried to assess the presumed increase of the civic integration approach and the failure of multiculturalism in Western Europe, little research has been conducted to uncover the ways in which these two understandings of integration could promote Muslim women's agency within their communities and in the broader national space. This analysis will address the possible implications of each model's integration policies targeting second and third generation Muslim women, taking into account the role played by religion to justify life choices with family and community members in the specific context of European Islam. A younger generation of Muslim women refers to religious identity and knowledge of 'Pure Islam' as resources to gain personal worth and respected roles within their communities. This article will first challenge the alleged backlash of Multiculturalism through a gender lens and then it will provide a framework of understanding of Muslim women's agency. To conclude, the article argues that multicultural policies rather than more assimilationist or universalist measures, could have a better impact on the promotion of Muslim women's agency. Measures such as those listed by the Multicultural Policy Index, developed by Keith Banting and Will Kymlicka at Queen's University, are more likely to provide women with the tools used to negotiate life choices and their presence in the public space.


We examine three-dimensional (3-D) wavelet coding of video with arbitrary regions of support (AROS). A critically sampled wavelet transform is applied to the AROS and a modified 3-D set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) algorithm is used to quantize and code the wavelet coefficients in the AROS only. Experiments show that, for typical MPEG-4 pre-segmented sequences, our proposed method can achieve a gain of up to 5.6 dB in average PSNR at the same rate over 3-D SPIHT coding of regular volumes that embed the AROS of the given video sequences.


The importance of students' involvement in classroom and non-classroom university courses cannot be overemphasized in the process of learning. But, students for several reasons must be motivated to enhance their continuous participation, especially in non-classroom courses. Landmark University is an agrarian-based institution and students are expected to actively take part in at least one agricultural course irrespective of their specializations. Students commitments to Farm Practice courses are core to graduation despite many students not meeting the expected level of dedication early. Gamification is the process of using game strategies and techniques to actively engage and motivate audiences and to solve problems. Using a database of agricultural resources from Landmark University Teaching and Research Farm, a prototype for a gamified mobile app for engaging students in Farm Practice is developed. Game features such as point, leaderboard, and scoresheet were embedded. The application performance was evaluated by a total of fifty students and 70% of the students claimed that their interests in Farm Practice were positively affected after using the app for the first time.


Indonesian Artifact are countless, unique and can be a great source of inspiration for developing new design in modern appearance through countless ways of transformation. Global lifestyle demand challenges in creativity of producing new and
innovative design. Indonesia should preserve, explore and develop artifacts to its maximum potential for the nation's asset.


Europe's demographic pyramid is inverting at an ever-growing pace, bringing along drastic consequences to social security. The active workforce can no longer provide for the senior citizens. To revert this situation, which puts this increasing age group at risk, the social system must undergo a paradigm shift in order to cut costs and at the same time guarantee high standards of elder healthcare. Telemedicine is one of the most promising areas in this context. This project's core is strongly connected to telemedicine, as it is integrated in the context of eCAALYX, a three-year project — April 2009 to April 2012 — funded by the European Commission under the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme. One of the eCAALYX components is a Personal Health Channel, a software application that enables users to manage their health and to streamline communication with the health services. The main goal of this project is to perform a comparative study of the available technological tools to develop and deploy the Personal Health Channel using COTS solutions. This allows for a great reduction in efforts and costs of the project. An in-depth analysis of these tools will be performed in order to understand how they can be leveraged to pursue the project's goals.


DAGNON, S. and D. DIMANOV, 2007. Chemometric evaluation of the colour and smoke aroma in oriental tobaccos based on the polyphenol and valeric acid characteristics as influenced by the genotype. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 13: 459-466 The influence of polyphenols and valeric acids of Oriental tobacco cultivars on the colour of dry tobacco and the aroma of tobacco smoke was studied by applying a chemometric approach. A group of Djebel basma genotypes and a local cultivar Djebel 576 used as a standard were involved in the study. To obtain primary data on the polyphenol pattern related to colour estimation high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used, whereas capillary gas chromatography (CGC) was applied to get information on valeric acid content, related to aroma characteristics. Regression models involving the polyphenol data and the isovaleric acid content were used for colour and aroma estimation, respectively. The HPLC data were processed by means of pattern recognition method (PRM) and the similarity indexes (Is, %) between the selection lines, as well as between them and the standard, were calculated. It was established that all cultivars are distinct from the standard in the polyphenol pattern. The data obtained for the Oriental tobaccos studied point that the colour of dry tobacco and the aroma of tobacco smoke are determined by the genotype-specific composition of the polyphenol complex and of the valeric acids, varying in the different cultivars. The chemometric evaluation of tobacco colour and smoke aroma allows predicting the improved quality characteristics of the selection line L 3 with respect to the standard Djebel 576 and the other genotypes.


The work described in this thesis is concerned with the characterisation of metal ions substituted nanoporous materials.

The first chapter deals with the introduction to nanoporous materials, with historical background, structural chemistry, synthetic methods and catalytic applications.

The second chapter describe the experimental techniques used in this work.

Chapter 3 deals with the study of cobalt ions substituted nanoporous aluminophosphate material. Here the main aim is to understand the effect of synthesis condition used in preparing CoA1PO-34, CoSAPO-34 materials on the particle size, micro-structure stability and more importantly the oxidation-reduction chemistry of cobalt ions. It was found using microscopy and in situ XRD/EXAFS technique, that when CoA1PO-5.PO or CoSAPO-34 materials are prepared around pH 7.5, the system has small particles, with good structural stability and complete redox chemistry of cobalt ions.

Chapter 4 describes the results obtained from the in situ studies of iron substituted A1PO-5. Here the aim to investigate the influence of structure directing organic template on the state of iron in the as-synthesised and calcined form. It was found that, depending on the nature of template, the coordination of Fe(III) ions change from octahedral to tetrahedral at different temperature.

In situ studies of reactivity of Ti(IV) species in titanosilicate TS-1 material was studied using X-ray absorption near edge structure and they are described in chapter 5. A comparison between amorphous titanosilicate and crystalline TS-1 was made and it was found that titanium ions in amorphous material reacts much more readily with water molecules compared to crystalline counter part and this correlates with the hydrophobic character of crystalline TS-1 material.

In the final chapter, 6, a brief summary and conclusions obtained from the work described in the results chapter are given.


Neocles B. Leontis, Advisor RNA molecules participate actively in all aspects of gene expression, as information carriers, catalysts and regulators. Most RNA molecules form specific 3D structures to carry out their functions. Structured RNAs often contain modular 3D motifs, many of which occur in different RNA molecules where they play similar roles. For example, some RNA 3D motifs form specific interactions that direct folding or stabilize the folded structure. Others catalyze chemical reactions or bind small molecules such as metabolites, drugs and specific proteins. Therefore, identifying recurrent 3D motifs in RNA sequences and secondary structures provides valuable information about RNA function. Different sequences can form the same 3D motif, so motif definitions are needed that can account for the sequence variations of 3D motifs. We propose definitions based on decomposing 3D motifs into pairwise interactions, focusing on base-pairing, base-stacking, and base-phosphate interactions, which are the most important. Definitions for each type of interaction were developed for the FR3D ("Find RNA 3D") program suite, manually evaluated and refined. Basepairs were classified into twelve geometric families, base-stacks into four basic types and base-phosphate interactions into ten types. These definitions were used with FR3D to construct symbolic 3D searches for common motifs and shown to give reliable results. FR3D was used to construct 3D structural alignments of representative 3D structures of the 5S, 16S, and 23S ribosomal RNAs of E. coli and the distantly related bacterium T. thermophilus, by aligning corresponding nucleotides that form equivalent pairwise interactions. To evaluate the structural conservation of basepairs, we defined three qualitative criteria for basepair isostericity and translated these into a quantitative measure, the IsoDiscrepancy Index (IDI). The IDI was applied to evaluate the usefulness of basepair isostericity to understand sequence variations in structurally conserved 3D motifs. The IDI shows that basepairs that are isosteric belong to the same geometric family, and groups basepairs in the same family in isosteric or near isosteric sub-groups. Applying the IDI to rRNA structural alignments showed that ~98% of aligned basepairs are isosteric or near isosteric to each other. This work shows that basepair isostericity is a valuable concept for understanding RNA 3D motif sequence variations.


This paper proposes a framework for predicting protein three dimensional structures from their primary sequences. The proposed method utilizes the natural multi-label and hierarchical intrinsic nature of proteins to build a multi-label and hierarchical classifier for predicting protein folds. The classifier predicts protein folds in two stages, at the first stage, it predicts the protein structural class, and in the second stage, it predicts the protein fold. When comparing our technique with SVM, naive Bayes, and boosted C4.5 we get a higher accuracy more than SVM and better than naive Bayes when using the composition, secondary structure and hydrophobicity feature attributes, and give higher accuracy than C4.5 when using composition, secondary structure, hydrophobicity, and polarity feature attributes. MuLAM was used as a basic classifier in the hierarchy of the implemented framework. Two major modifications were made to MuLAM, namely: the pheromone update and term selection strategies of MuLAM were altered.


We have made available a database of over 1 billion compounds predicted to be easily synthesizable. They have been created by a set of transforms based on an adaptation and extension of the CHMTRN/PATRAN programming languages describing chemical synthesis expert knowledge, which originally stem from the LHASA project. The chemoinformatics toolkit CACTVS was used to apply a total of 53 transforms to about 150,000 readily available building blocks (enamine.net). Only single-step, two-reactant syntheses were calculated for this database even though the technology can execute multi-step reactions. The possibility to incorporate scoring systems in CHMTRN allowed us to subdivide the database of 1.75 billion compounds in sets according to their predicted synthesizability, with the most-synthesizable class comprising 1.09 billion synthetic products. Properties calculated for all SAVI products show that the database should be well-suited for drug discovery. It is being made publicly available for free download from https://cactus.nci.nih.gov/download/savi_download/.


With an accessible writing style and manageable amount of content, Data Structures and Algorithms Using Java is the ideal text for your course. This outstanding text correlates to the recommended syllabus put forth by the Association of Computing Machinery standard curriculum guidelines. The author has produced a resource that is more readable and instructional than any other, without compromising the scope of the ACM CS103, Data Structures and Algorithms, course material. The texts unique, student-friendly pedagogical approach and organizational structure will keep students engaged in the process of self-directed investigative discovery both inside and outside the classroom. The pedagogical features of the text, based on the authors 30 years of teaching experience, include succinct code examples, a unique common template used as the organizational basis of each chapter, the use of pseudocode to present the major algorithms developed in the text, nearly 300 carefully designed figures, and a concise review of Java.


Before, during and after physical activity, hydration is a limiting factor in athletic performance. Therefore, adequate hydration provides benefits for health and performance of athletes. Besides, hydration is associated to the intake of carbohydrates, protein, sodium, caffeine and other substances by different dietary aids, during the training and/or competition by athletes. These requirements have led to the development of different products by the food industry, to cover the nutritional needs of athletes. Currently in the European context, the legal framework for the development of products, substances and health claims concerning to sport products is incomplete and scarce. Under these conditions, there are many products with different ingredients out of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) control where claims are wrong due to no robust scientific evidence and it can be dangerous for the health. Further scientific evidence should be constructed by new clinical trials in order to assist to the Experts Commitees at EFSA for obtaining robust scientific opinions concerning to the functional foods and the individual ingredients for sport population.


"Food security in Africa has substantially worsened since 1970. Although the proportion of malnourished individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa has remained in the range of 33–35 percent since around 1970, the absolute number of malnourished people in Africa has increased substantially with population growth, from around 88 million in 1970 to an estimate of over 200 million in 1999–2001. Yet this discouraging trend need not be a blueprint for the future. New research from IFPRI shows that the policy and investment choices of African policymakers and the international development community can make an enormous difference for Africa's future agricultural production and food security. By modeling the results of a number of different policy scenarios in Africa through the year 2025, we show that the number of malnourished children, one important indicator of food security, could rise as high as 41.9 million or fall as low as 9.4 million. These scenarios, therefore, shed light on the effectiveness of various policies and investments in assuring a food-secure future for Africa.' from Text


We examine spatial genetic structure occurring at a regional scale for two widely distributed tree species from Central America, Vochysia ferruginea and Cedrela odorata, and speculate on some of the geographic, edaphic and geological factors that may be responsible in a continent that has a complex geological history and is rich in natural resources. For V. ferruginea, the central mountain ranges of Costa Rica coincide with a major genetic differentiation and are probably acting to maintain this genetic split by reducing gene flow. A major genetic differentiation within Costa Rica is also apparent for C. odorata, for both nuclear and chloroplast markers. However, this split coincides with habitat type (dry vs. moist), not with geographic features and appears to be a case of ecotypic differentiation or possibly cryptic speciation. A cpDNA phylogeographic analysis of C. odorata across Central America reveals that the strong genetic/ecotypic differentiation continues across a large portion of the region. The pattern of cpDNA variation is discussed within the context of species colonisation and extinction. However, a scenario that involves separate and repeated colonisation of Central American regions from diverse sources most closely fits the present pattern. Future work to examine cpDNA variation across the Caribbean and South America should shed more light on this issue. Finally the importance of such genetic data for prioritising the management of forest genetic resources is discussed.


Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a disease of unknown etiology. However, a loss of tolerance against the patient's own liver is regarded as the main pathogenetic mechanism. Immunosuppressive therapy prolongs survival in patients with severe AIH. Two phases of therapy have to be distinguished. In newly diagnosed AIH, induction of remission is the main goal. Here predniso(lo)ne alone or in combination with azathioprine has been shown to induce remission in the majority of patients. In the past, reduction of aminotransferase levels below two times the upper limit of normal was the aim of therapy. Nowadays, normalization of aminotransferase levels should be achieved. The majority of patients usually respond to therapy within 6–12 months. A significant reduction in aminotransferase levels is achieved within a few weeks of therapy. Improvement in clinical symptoms is followed by improvement in biochemical parameters of disease activity and then by significant improvement in histological disease activity. Around 20–40% of patients do not achieve remission. In these patients, alternative therapies should be evaluated for the individual patient. Prospective controlled trials with a larger number of patients are missing in this population. At the moment, mycophenolate mofetil at a dose of 2 × 1 g daily, either given alone or in combination with predniso(lo)ne, is able to achieve remission in a significant proportion of patients. Based on recent retrospective observations, mycophenolate mofetil is beneficial in patients who were previously azathioprine intolerant rather than azathioprine failure patients. Again, prospective trials are missing. Alternative drugs include cyclophosphamide, cyclosporin A, tacrolimus and others. Women in particular suffer from steroid-specific side effects, including weight gain, moon face, diabetes, glaucoma and bone disease. Recently, a topical steroid, budesonide, was shown to induce disease remission in combination with azathioprine. The second phase of therapy is maintenance of remission with the lowest possible dose in order to maintain remission while preventing significant side effects. Careful evaluation of the individual patients should lead to the decision whether predniso(lo)ne, budesonide, azathioprine or a combination of one of the steroids with azathioprine is to be used to maintain remission. Recently, a study has shown that after 6 months of induction therapy with prednisone plus azathioprine, a switch to budesonide in combination with azathioprine reduced steroid-specific side effects while maintaining remission of liver disease. Therefore, the application of the topical steroids may be helpful in maintaining remission while reducing steroid-specific side effects. Patients with liver cirrhosis should not be treated with budesonide since the benefit of budesonide with its 90% pass effect in the liver is lost if the patient has already developed portal hypertension with significant portosystemic shunting. Furthermore, there are safety concerns regarding budesonide use in cirrhotic patients derived from studies in primary biliary cirrhosis. If the diagnosis is correct and the appropriate therapy is chosen, liver transplantation should be avoidable in patients with AIH.


We demonstrate an ultrashort all-fiber-integrated chirped-pulse amplification system yielding 1-ps pulses with 20 kW of peak power. 40-ps initial pulses generated by an externally modulated laser diode are chirped by self-phase modulation in a conventional fiber, amplified, and compressed in 110 m of air-core photonic bandgap fiber. The compressed pulses are frequency doubled in a periodically poled KTP crystal with up to 48% efficiency and applied to supercontinuum generation in a holey fiber, resulting in a high-power uniform continuum that stretches from 430 to 1450 nm.


Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) has been defined (and redefined) by, amongst others, Crowe (2000), Ekblom (2011) and Armitage (2013). The principles upon which it is based also vary considerably with Poyner (1983) presenting five (surveillance, movement control, activity support and motivational reinforcement), Cozens et al. (2005) presenting seven (defensible space, access control, territoriality, surveillance, target hardening, image and activity support), and Armitage (2013) offering yet another combination of the five principles (physical security, surveillance, movement control, management and maintenance and defensible space). This divergence is not purely a matter of semantics – although this issue is important when transferring policy and practice internationally. The principles upon which CPTED are based have been used to inform planning policy and guidance and also to develop practical applications such as the UK's Secured by Design scheme. Conscious that these principles have primarily been developed by academics, police and policy-makers and that they have failed to evolve with developments in housing design, security measures, drug use and ultimately offender modus operandi, this paper aims to help rectify the imbalance. A sample of twenty-two incarcerated prolific burglars were asked to discuss what they perceived to be the risk and protective factors of sixteen images of residential housing. Interviews were unstructured and participants were encouraged to describe the images in their own words. Whilst confirming the importance of a selection of CPTED principles, the findings cast doubt on the importance of others – with obvious practice and policy implications.


Aquatic environments embody the characteristics of complex social-ecological systems and as
pressures on them intensify so does concern about their resilience. Resilience research has advanced
the conceptual understanding of how aquatic systems function and underscored the need
for an adaptive approach to management. More recently, a growing emphasis has been placed on
resilience concepts in relation to water governance and thereby the broader social, political, and
economic contexts in which aquatic systems are embedded. Using a two round online Delphi survey
of global experts and water governance, this study identifies governance attributes that support
specified and general resilience in aquatic systems, and describes practices or activities that enhance
governance ability to respond to shocks and disturbances. The results of the Delphi study offer
a prioritized list of attributes of governance for aquatic system governance resilience, including
being adaptive, polycentric, inclusive and maintaining strong leadership. Similar to the attributes
described in the existing literature on resilience and water governance, those identified through the
Delphi remain somewhat abstract. This research highlights the need for future studies exploring
how these concepts can be applied in practice and the extent to which they can be traded off.
Keywords: resilience; governance; aquatic systems; Delphi method


The labor force from rural Mexico is currently transitioning out of agriculture, and I find that increasing access to secondary schools is a key factor in this transition. Using household survey data nationally representative of rural Mexico between 1980 and 2010, I find that access to secondary school reduces the probability of working in agriculture at age 20 by 5.4 percentage points and the magnitude of this impact grows with age. I use a differences-in-differences approach with a novel proxy for secondary school access based on sustained changes in school enrollment rates within villages. Field data from a selection of sample villages affirm this proxy, and regression results are robust to several alternative hypotheses. Understanding the impacts of secondary school access on labor outcomes has important policy implications since policy-makers can often influence school supply in rural developing areas directly. Economic theory maintains that the agricultural transformation is critical for economic development, increasing labor productivity, and raising incomes. My results show that policies to promote rural access to schools can simultaneously accelerate the agricultural transformation.


Here, I examine whether both nestling prey abundance and profitability affect the timing of reproduction and hence the number of fledglings of three-toed woodpeckers, Picoides tridactylus. Individuals living in eastern Finland reproduced earlier and reared larger broods in habitat patches where the bark-beetle community developed earlier and/or faster and where the wood-boring beetles, whose larvae account for the bulk of the nestlings' diet, were more abundant. As expected, mean breeding success increased with spring temperature, if laying date was related to prey phenology, which is temperature-dependent. However, using a larger data set with more years, adults seemed to face increasing difficulties in optimising their reproductive effort above certain spring temperature threshold, with a dramatic reduction in natal dispersal and winter population size over Finland following the warmest springs. I suggest climate-mediated phenological disjunction between the predator and its prey to be a likely cause of further decline in the insect specialist three-toed woodpecker.


Estimating the distance of objects is a safety-critical task for autonomous driving. Focusing on short-range objects, existing methods and datasets neglect the equally important long-range objects. In this paper, we introduce a challenging and under-explored task, which we refer to as Long-Range Distance Estimation, as well as two datasets to validate new methods developed for this task. We then proposeR4D, the first framework to accurately estimate the distance of long-range objects by using references with known distances in the scene. Drawing inspiration from human perception, R4D builds a graph by connecting a target object to all references. An edge in the graph encodes the relative distance information between a pair of target and reference objects. An attention module is then used to weigh the importance of reference objects and combine them into one target object distance prediction. Experiments on the two proposed datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of R4D by showing significant improvements compared to existing baselines. We are looking to make the proposed dataset, Waymo OpenDataset - Long-Range Labels, available publicly at waymo.com/open/download.


Estuaries provide the final stage of nitrogen processing before its release into coastal waters. However, residence time, oxygen conditions and hydraulic mixing determine the nitrogen removal capacity of an estuary. Long residence times can lead to low oxygen conditions significantly affecting nutrient transformation pathways including, but not limited to, inhibition of nitrification and the competition for nitrate between denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). The study site for this research, the Yarra River estuary, is a shallow (3 – 5m) salt wedge estuary prone to hypoxia resulting from the extended residence time of the bottom waters during low flow events. The estuary is one of the main freshwater nitrogen inputs into Port Phillip Bay (PPB), a nitrogen limited system. This research examined nitrogen processing over the period 2009 – 2011, extending over two summers of contrasting rainfall. Nitrogen loads were driven by rainfall in the catchment and ensuing freshwater inflow. NO3 was the main form of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) entering the system, being 87 ± 2 % of total DIN. Low oxygen conditions promoted nitrogen recycling within the system leading to an accumulation of NH4 in the stratified bottom waters of the estuary. Estimates of nitrogen removal were low for the Yarra River estuary at < 5% of total DIN compared to 20 – 50 % for other estuarine systems. This study highlights the importance of understanding estuarine specific conditions (residence time and oxygen) on nitrogen dynamics in the management of nitrogen loads into receiving waters.


We examined the effects of excluding rare species on the comparison of species richness. A river benthic data set and a randomization resampling procedure were used to show the importance of this consideration in aquatic bioassessment in particular. The data set was manipulated by deleting species at three levels of rarity as defined by occurrence frequency: once in all 24 replicates from each of three sites, no more than twice, and no more than five times. We focused on differences in species richness because many other bioassessment metrics are dependent on species richness and species composition. Species abundance patterns at the three sites were very different, with many more rare species at the least impacted site than at the more impacted sites. As sample size increased, the diffcrcnces in species richness among the three sites markedly increased in the original data set. However, the exclusion of rare species at the same level of rarity substantially reduced species richness at the least impacted site but had little effect on the most impacted site. This result led to a serious underestimation of the differences in species richness among the sites in terms of both absolute numbers and species loss percentages. Deleting rare species can damage the sensitivity of community‐based methods to detect ecological changes; rare species are critical for bioassessment.


With the marginalization of cybernetics, efforts to develop a universal epistemological method ceased as well. But the question remains open as to whether cybernetics contributed to the reconceptualization of the model and the popularity of scientific modeling since the mid-twentieth century. The present study approaches this question using the example of the general model theory of the German cyberneticist Herbert Stachowiak. Although this theory failed to produce a unifying and common model concept, its characteristics point toward a change in epistemological positions that is important for today's scientific practice and also anticipated recent developments in the philosophy of science.