The urgency of reducing poverty in the developing world has been the subject of a public campaign by such unlikely policy experts as George Clooney, Alicia Keyes, Elton John, Angelina Jolie, and Bono. And yet accompanying the call for more foreign aid is an almost universal discontent with the effectiveness of the existing aid system. In Reinventing Foreign Aid, development expert William Easterly has gathered top scholars in the field to discuss how to improve foreign aid. These authors, Easterly points out, are not claiming that their ideas will (to invoke a current slogan) Make Poverty History. Rather, they take on specific problems and propose some hard-headed solutions. Easterly himself, in an expansive and impassioned introductory chapter, makes a case for the "searchers"—who explore solutions by trial and error and learn from feedback—over the "planners"—who throw an endless supply of resources at a big goal—as the most likely to reduce poverty. Other writers look at scientific evaluation of aid projects (including randomized trials) and describe projects found to be cost-effective, including vaccine delivery and HIV education; consider how to deal with the government of the recipient state (work through it or bypass a possibly dysfunctional government?); examine the roles of the International Monetary Fund (a de facto aid provider) and the World Bank; and analyze some new and innovative proposals for distributing aid.


Objective: To assess the dentition status and its association with the risk of malnutrition among a group of elderly
 patients in Kuala Lumpur.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly patients who attended dental
 clinics in the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Data on oral health conditions namely the
 number of teeth, number of posterior occluding pairs, and denture status were gathered from patients' dental records.
 The nutritional status of respondents was determined using the Malay version of Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA)
 followed by Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement. Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis, Chi-square test
 of association, and correlation coefficient test.
Results: Total tooth loss (edentulous) was seen in 31 (28.4%) patients
 from a total of 109 respondents. From those who still had natural teeth, 65.4% had less than 20 teeth. Based on the
 MNA score, only 1.8% were malnourished. The majority of them (78.9%) had normal nutritional status while 19.3%
 were at risk of malnutrition. Patients with lower education levels showed significantly lower mean MNA score and
 number of teeth. No significant association was noted between MNA scores and the number of teeth present. A slightly
 higher percentage of patients with less than 20 teeth (22.0%) were at risk of malnutrition and malnourished compared
 to those with more than 20 teeth (12.0%) but no significant association was observed (p>0.05).
Conclusion: There
 was no significant association observed between the number of teeth and the risk of malnutrition among patients
 undergoing dental treatment in UKM.


The aim of the present study was to solve the taxonomic problems of haemophili of porcine origin hitherto classified as Haemophilus parahaemolyticus Pittman 1953 or H. pleuropneumoniae Shope 1964. Forty-seven Haemophilus strains isolated mainly from pneumonic lesions in pigs and of different geographic origin were subjected to biochemical and serological examinations. All strains were V dependent and urease positive, and the majority were beta-hemolytic. For comparison, nine beta-hemolytic and V-dependent strains isolated from humans were examined. The porcine strains were divisible into two distinct groups on the basis of their biochemical characteristics, hemolytic activity, and deoxyribonucleic acid base composition. Both groups of porcine organisms were separated from the beta-hemolytic strains of human origin, previously named H. parahaemolyticus, by a significant number of biochemical and cultural characteristics and thus should not be classified with these. Following the rule of priority of proposed names, the correct name for the major group of porcine organisms is Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae (Matthews and Pattison 1961) Shope 1964. The species is described in detail and a neotype strain (Shope 4074) is proposed. The minor group of porcine strains possibly deserves specific recognition, but a recommendation with regard to this matter is deferred pending further studies.


A large number of compounds exist that are both very potent and efficacious in eliciting highly selective responses at molecular targets in vitro. The vast majority, however, are devoid of measurable effects when given in vivo and hence are of little or no utility as therapeutic agents. In many cases there are straightforward reasons for this lack of in vivo activity: the compounds either are not readily absorbed from the site of administration or are rapidly metabolized or excreted.


The "Common Ground: Renewing the Federal Partnership in Quebec and the West" workshop explored, among other things, the prospect for building new bridges between Quebec and the West. This prospect raises two interesting conceptual questions: what is being used to build the bridge, and who is doing the building? My contribution to this bridge-building discussion focuses less on the building materials and more on who is doing the building, and on the durability of the bridge in the face of emergent challenges.


This commentary examines case C-692/19, an order in response to a request for a preliminary ruling regarding the scope of application of working time protection, handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in April 2020.
A courier working for a shipping company filed a claim before a UK employment tribunal demanding reclassification as a 'worker' with access to the national legislation implementing Directive 2003/88/EC on working time. The tribunal decided to refer the question to the CJEU. At first glance, some elements of the order may give us the impression that EU working time protection does not cover workers who may find themselves in a situation of (bogus) self-employment, including those in the platform economy. However, this is not the case. The order is based on a specific set of facts that are in line with the CJEU's established jurisprudential practices on the concept of worker, according to which workers formally classified as self-employed under the contract or the national law are excluded from the scope of the Working Time Directive only if they enjoy genuine, not nominal organisational autonomy.
This analysis is organised as follows. After some introductory remarks, part 2 summarises the arguments of the remitting court and reviews the business model of the delivery company. Part 3 critically discusses some passages of the order. It also examines the notion of 'worker' as shaped by the CJEU, highlights strengths and shortcomings of this interpretive attitude, and summarises the proposals to overcome the weaknesses of an under-inclusive and potentially ineffective application of EU law. After appraising the widespread practices in the platform economy and the most recent regulatory developments, part 4 demystifies the issue of organisational flexibility, which is often understood in a unidirectional way, to the advantage of business. This analysis concludes by advocating for a purposive adaption of existing legal categories, beyond the formalistic approach adopted by the referring court in this case.


Electromagnetic field and potential computations on elements with curved contours in boundary and volume integral methods (BEM, VIM) require evaluation of a number of Jacobian complete and/or incomplete elliptic integrals of all the three kinds for the same modulus but different angles depending upon the arc length and the angle coordinate of the field point. Up to now they have been evaluated individually repeating the same algorithms a number of times. To reduce such redundant computations, as in Part I for elliptic integrals of first and second kind, a new compact algorithm based on Bartky's transformation is developed in the present paper for the elliptic integral of third kind with an extended integration range -/spl pi//spl les/a/spl les//spl pi/. Computational accuracy and time-saving are discussed. >


The Local Volatility model is a well-known extension of the Black-Scholes constant volatility model whereby the volatility is dependent on both time and the underlying asset. This model can be calibrated to provide a perfect fit to a wide range of implied volatility surfaces. The model is easy to calibrate and still very popular in FX option trading. In this paper we address a question of validation of the Local Volatility model. Different stochastic models for the underlying can be calibrated to provide a good fit to the current market data but should be recalibrated every trading date. A good fit to the current market data does not imply that the model is appropriate and historical backtesting should be performed for validation purposes. We study delta hedging errors under the Local Volatility model using historical data from 2005 to 2011 for the AUD/USD implied volatility. We performed backtests for a range of option maturities and strikes using sticky delta and theoretically correct delta hedging. The results show that delta hedging errors under the standard Black-Scholes model are no worse than that of the Local Volatility model. Moreover, for the case of in and at the money options, the hedging error for the Back-Scholes model is significantly better.


Both marine mammals and hydroacoustic instruments use underwater sound to communicate, navigate and/or infer information about the marine environment. Concurrent timing of acoustic activity and/or the use of similar frequency regimes may result in (potentially mutual) masking of acoustic signals when both sources are within reception range. Earlier studies have provided evidence that marine mammal fitness might be negatively impacted both on individual and population level when animal sounds are masked by anthropogenic sound sources. Hydroacoustic studies on the other hand may generate low quality data or suffer data loss as a result of bioacoustic interference. In analogy to landscape planning, the concept of soundscape planning aims to reconcile potentially competing uses of acoustic space by managing the anthropogenic sound sources. We here present a conceptual framework to explore the potential of soundscape planning in reducing (mutual) acoustic interference between hydroacoustic instrumentation and marine mammals. The basis of this framework is formed by the various mechanisms by which acoustic niche formation occurs in species-rich communities that acoustically coexist while maintaining hi-fi soundscapes, i.e., by acoustically partitioning the environment on the basis of time, space, frequency and/or signal form. Hydroacoustic measurements often exhibit certain flexibility in the timing, signal characteristics and even instrument positioning, potentially offering the opportunity to minimize the underwater acoustic imprint. We evaluate how the principle of acoustic niches (i.e., the partitioning of the acoustic space) could contribute to reduce potential (mutual) acoustic interference based on actual acoustic data from three recording locations in polar oceans.


Corporate directors play an important role in governing American business, in the capital formation process, and are key to the stewardship of economic growth. Texas businesses play a disproportionately important role among the states in aggregate U.S. job creation, responsible for 37% of all net new American jobs since the post 2008-2009 recovery began. It is the job of the board of directors to govern the corporation. The duties and responsibilities of a corporate director include: the duty of care; duty of loyalty; and duty of good faith. This paper results from the author's previously assembled biographical data for most of the approximately 20,000 for-profit corporate directors serving on the boards of Texas companies. Corporate directors are among the most influential and affluent individuals in our society. Many present or former chief executive officers are sought to serve on corporate boards due to their expertise and experience overseeing corporations. The average age of Texas directors of for-profit entities is fifty-seven years old; and only about six percent of corporate directors in Texas are women. Texas corporate directors are highly educated: over ninety-nine percent are college graduates: eighty percent hold advanced college degrees; twenty-eight percent have law degrees; and twenty percent of Texas corporate directors hold an MBA degree. Most Texas corporate directors serve the banking and finance sector (thirty-nine percent), next largest is the energy sector (at eighteen percent), and technology companies account for nine percent. Most boards look to recruit someone who understands their business and former CEOs are preferable. Every public company board of directors must now have an audit committee comprised of entirely independent directors, and each publicly-traded company is required to have at least one qualified "financial expert" on its audit committee. Therefore, public company auditing experience, along with a growing recognition that every board needs expertise to govern the enterprises' information technology - have become "must have" skills represented on every board.


This paper presents a new analysis of segregation between schools in terms of pupils living in poverty, for all secondary schools in England from 1996 to 2005. This shows that the clustering of similar pupils in specific schools increased noticeably from 1996 to 2001, but then settled at a level still below that of 1989 when official records began. The analysis uses four estimates of segregation using figures for take-up of, and eligibility for, free school meals compiled to create both the dissimilarity index and what has been termed the Gorard index of segregation. All four estimates give the same substantive results and the findings for the dissimilarity index and the Gorard index of segregation using either measure of free school meals are indistinguishable. The two indices are, therefore, measuring the same thing. However, the Gorard index of segregation is again shown to be more tolerant of the precise measure being used and so more strongly composition invariant than the dissimilarity index. This has important implications both for the past debate on how to measure segregation between schools and for how education authorities go about estimating segregation in the future.


We compare some different approaches to estimating daily mean temperature (DMT). In many countries, the routine approach is to calculate the average of the directly measured minimum and maximum daily temperature. In some, the maximum and minimum are obtained from hourly measurements. In other countries, temperature readings at specific times throughout the day are taken into account. For example, the Swedish approach uses a linear combination of five temperature readings, including the minimum and the maximum, with coefficients that depend on longitude and month. We first look at data with very high temporal resolution, and compare some different approaches to estimating DMT. Then, we compare the Swedish formula to various averages of the daily minimum and maximum, finding the latter method being substantially less precise. We finally compare the Swedish formula to hourly averages, and find that a recalibrated linear combination improves estimation accuracy. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society


The WRKY gene family represents an ancient and highly complex group of transcription factors involved in signal transduction pathways of numerous plant developmental processes and host defense response. Up to now, most WRKY proteins have been identified in a few angiosperm species. Identification of WRKY genes in a conifer species would facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary and function-adaptive process of this superfamily in plants. We performed PCR on genomic DNA to clone WRKY sequences from western white pine (Pinus monticola), one of the most valuable conifer species endangered by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola). In total, 83 P. monticola WRKY (PmWRKY) sequences were identified using degenerate primers targeted to the WRKY domain. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that PmWRKY members fell into four major groups (1, 2a+2b, 2c, and 2d+2e) described in Arabidopsis and rice. Because of high genetic diversity of the PmWRKY family, a modified AFLP method was used to detect DNA polymorphism of this gene family. Polymorphic fragments accounted for 17%-35% of total PCR products in the AFLP profiles. Among them, one WRKY AFLP marker was linked to the major resistance gene (Cr2) against C. ribicola. The results of this study provide basic genomic information for a conifer WRKY gene family, which will pave the way for elucidating gene evolutionary mechanisms in plants and unveiling the precise roles of PmWRKY in conifer development and defense response.


Mental health problems are disproportionately prevalent in forensic and correctional settings, and there have been numerous attempts to develop screening tools to evaluate individuals in such contexts. This study investigates the clinical utility of the Personality Assessment Screener (PAS; Morey, 1997), a brief self-report measure of risk for emotional and behavioral dysfunction, in a large mixed-gender offender sample (N = 1,658). The PAS is a 22-item measure derived from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007), a more comprehensive self-report instrument widely used to assess for psychological disturbances among forensic and correctional populations. We examined the ability of the PAS to concurrently predict clinically significant elevations on the PAI and several other indicators of symptomatology and dysfunction. Collectively, results suggest that PAS total and element (subscale) scores show considerable promise in screening inmates for serious problems with emotional and behavioral functioning, though interpretive ranges used to categorize PAS scores in clinical and community settings may require revision for criminal justice populations. We discuss the applied value of the PAS for detecting specific areas of dysfunction relevant to risk management (e.g., aggression, suicidality) and for concentrating resources on offenders with the most immediate and severe need for psychological services.


We consider the problem of designing a compact communication network that supports efficient routing in an Euclidean plane. Our network design and routing scheme achieves 1+ε stretch, logarithmic diameter, and constant out degree. This improves upon the best known result so far that requires a logarithmic out-degree. Furthermore, our scheme is asymptotically optimal in Euclidean metrics whose diameter is polynomial.


Background and objective Executive dysfunctions are a key clinical feature of behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Such deficits are also found in Alzheimer's disease (AD), making the differentiation between these two diseases difficult at times, particularly in the absence of extensive cognitive assessments. To address this issue, we developed the FRONTIER Executive Screen (FES), which combines three abbreviated measures of verbal fluency, inhibitory control and working memory. Methods We administered the FES to 28 patients with dementia (14 bvFTD, 14 AD) matched for disease severity and 33 age-matched and education-matched healthy controls. We also administered traditional tests of executive function to establish the concurrent validity of the FES. Results Both patient groups obtained lower FES scores (total and subscores) compared to controls. Correct classification into patient or control groups was reached in over 90% of study participants based on the FES total score. Only two patients with bvFTD obtained FES scores within 2 SDs of the control group. Receiver operating characteristic analyses on the patient groups showed that a cut-off FES total score of 7/15 achieved 71% sensitivity and 73% specificity for a diagnosis of bvFTD. In addition, the FES showed high correlations with traditional measures of executive function. Conclusions The FES is a brief (5–10 min) bedside screening measure which is simple to administer and score, and demonstrates good discriminative validity to differentiate bvFTD from AD. It is a useful addendum to general cognitive screening measures and can help with the differential diagnosis of dementia.


Abstract In 1820, the Cape of Good Hope, a British colony since 1795, became the new home to c. 4,500 English-speaking settlers. Correspondence surviving from this period in reference to this settlement enables insights into early nineteenth century letters, a still understudied area. Moreover, it provides a good setting to disambiguate the term letter from an internal, bottom-up perspective. Such a perspective may offer "a key for disclosing historical forms of communication" (Hübler and Busse 2012: 1) as first-order phenomena. This is achieved in an analysis of categorial labels (keywords) and metacommunicative clues found in the internal correspondence of the Colonial Office, a British government department, in the years 1820-1821. The results of the analysis provide a partial answer to what the label letter meant for this professional community. Adding a researcher's perspective to such a description allows proposing a twofold approach to "the letter" as an analytic category in the study of historical correspondence.


PURPOSE
To determine the interobserver variability of prenatal magnetic resonance (MR) lung volumetry and to assess the value of MR lung volumetric findings as predictors of outcome in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Prenatal MR imaging was performed in 26 fetuses with unilateral congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Two independent observers performed planimetric measurement of lung volume. Relative lung volume was calculated as the observed total lung volume expressed as a percentage of the total lung volume predicted from fetal size. Relative lung volume was correlated with the ultrasonographic lung-head ratio in left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernias evaluated before 27 weeks gestation (n = 21) and with pregnancy outcome in all cases of isolated left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia without prenatal intervention (n = 11).

RESULTS
Observers demonstrated excellent agreement in total lung volume measurements at MR imaging, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.95. Relative lung volume was positively correlated with lung-head ratio (r = 0.78, P <.001). By using rank order analysis in the pregnancy outcome group, relative lung volume was predictive of prognosis (P <.05) when adjusted for gestational age at delivery and birth weight. Three of four fetuses with a relative lung volume of less than 40% died.

CONCLUSION
Interobserver agreement is high at MR lung volumetry, and its findings are predictive of outcome in fetuses with isolated left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia.


The purpose of this paper was to examine the use of key activities of National Innovation System (NIS) and innovation capability of firms in promoting sustainable development. It addresses what institutional actors- government, universities/research institutions and private sector can do to generate key activities within NIS, which comprises of incubation activities, competence building, financing of innovation and consultancy services that may stimulates firm's innovation capability. Exploratory research was used with the objective of examining insights from extant literature on innovation management, NIS and innovation capability and sustainable development.This study depicts that innovation capabilities may be influenced by key activities within NIS. It also shows that innovation capability dimensions such as strategy for innovation, idea management, idea implementation and creative self-efficacy may contribute to sustainable development. Furthermore, the best performing firms are classified as innovative and continually innovate in order to ensure sustainable development.


To assess the importance of interferon (IFN) in the pathology of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB-3) infection, we evaluated both mortality rate and lymphoid involution in young adult BALB/C mice infected with lethal doses of the virus and treated either with anti-IFN antibody or with murine IFN-alpha/beta. Administration of antibody to IFN caused a profound worsening of the pathology and an increase in the mortality rate in infected animals. Treatment with murine IFN exerted a significant ameliorative effect on lethality when administered concomitantly with or soon after virus infection. The extent of this protection was correlated with the plasma levels of exogenous or endogenous IFN at 6 h postinfection, whereas no correlation with IFN titers was found later. The effects of IFN apparently were not directly mediated by antiviral effects, because at the times studied, no relation was found between IFN levels and virus titers, at least in the plasma of the infected animals. Lymphoid atrophy, assessed by measuring spleen weight, was only partially reversed by early IFN treatment. These data suggest that IFN production is critical during the early phases of infection, whereas it does not seem to play a significant protective role at later stages.


Anaemia was investigated in a rural Tanzanian community to determine its magnitude and causative factors in different population groups. Nutritional anaemia resulting mainly from a diet with a low bioavailability of iron affected more than half of the total number of women and children. As in many developing countries, a high consumption of cereals and a vegetable-based diet known to contain phytate, an inhibitor of iron absorption, was common. Household dietary surveys showed that maize, sorghum, millets, peas, beans, nuts and green leafy vegetables made up 80% of the major sources of dietary iron. This thesis reports on studies of the long-term effects of iron intake from foods in the study area, effects of low dietary iron bioavailability and effects of interventions using a multiple micronutrient beverage on anaemia status in children and pregnant women. In the nutritional survey conducted in a multistage cluster sampling design, 80% of preschool children (aged 125 µmol/mol haem or serum ferritin < 20 µg/L) was found to correlate significantly with the anaemia, p<0.05, and was a high risk factor for anaemia (RR ~2.0). Of the preventable factors for anaemia in the study population, iron deficiency had the highest attributable fraction of 33%. Mean dietary iron intake was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) lower in the anaemic than the non-anaemic schoolchildren (22 vs 27 mg/d, respectively). Iron intake was found to be below the recommended daily allowance (FAO/WHO) for a very low iron bioavailability diet. Daily meat and fruit intake was low. Iron bioavailability (estimated in vitro) from composite meals was very low (< 5%) giving an iron intake below the recommended daily intake in 50% of the investigated children. In addition to iron deficiency the risk of anaemia was also high in subjects with vitamin A deficiency, malaria and helminthic infections. In multiple linear regressions analysis iron deficiency was the significant predictor of anaemia status in all population groups. In adolescents and adults a low body mass index, hookworm and schistosomiasis were additional significant factors (p < 0.05). A randomised, placebo-controlled efficacy trial with a beverage containing iron, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin C, zinc, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and vitamin E at physiological doses increased the haemoglobin concentration by 9.2 g/L in anaemic children and by 8.6 g/L in pregnant women after a supplementation period of six and two months respectively. The risk for anaemia in the study subjects taking the fortified beverage was reduced by 20% in children and 50% in pregnant women (RR=0.79 and 0.49 respectively). Predictors for haemoglobin increase at the end of follow-up period were supplementation with micronutrient beverage, and haemoglobin, ferritin and retinol status at the beginning of the study, and, in pregnant women, gestational age at entry into the study. It is concluded from these studies that the high anaemia rates early in childhood and in pregnancy are related to the diet consumed by the study population and that food-based strategies that promote increased intake of micronutrients are a suitable option for its prevention. An efficacy study with a multiple micronutrient beverage provided on a daily basis to children and pregnant women proved that the beverage was effective in reducing iron deficiency anaemia.


In presenting to the Geological Society of London the Second Part of my 'Flora of the Oolite,' I wish to submit to the Society some explanations and some observations on the work I have undertaken. The comparative study of the numerous materials discovered in the beds subjacent to the Oxfordian group of the Venetian Alps has rendered it necessary to pass in revision all the species belonging to the Oolite that are at present known. Although I am quite aware of the difficulty of the task which I have imposed on myself, and of the numerous imperfections which must be inevitable in a general work of this nature, in the present state of our information on this subject, still I have not hesitated to undertake it, encouraged as I am by the hope, that in any case it may be of some use to those who would wish to undertake the study of the Flora of the Oolite. The publication of the generalizations which are usually placed at the beginning of a work has been purposely postponed by me, in order that I might profit by new discoveries, and thus present as complete a view of the subject as possible. The sketch of these generalizations (from vol. vi. of the 'Memoirs of the Imperial and Royal Institute of Venice') which I had the honour of presenting to the Society last year, will undoubtedly be perceptibly modified by the new facts which may hereafter enrich science. I accordingly published in 1856


In Nicotianna tobaccum and Vicia faba leaves, plasmodesmata were observed by electron microscopy in walls between sister guard cells and walls between guard and epidermal cells. The latter were found primarily in pit fields of anticlinal walls and showed considerable complexity as evidenced by branching. Cytologically, the plasmodesmata appear functional in operative guard cells and should be considered in the mechanism of stomatal movements.


Procedures using heptane-phase-selectively soluble octadecyldimethylsilyl groups to facilitate separations and silyl reagent regeneration are described. These results show that alcohols and alkynes protected by these groups are phase-selectively soluble in hydrocarbon solvents. In a thermomorphic cyclohexane/DMF system, >96% of the silylated alcohols are in the cyclohexane phase, allowing these compounds to be purified by a simple liquid/liquid extraction. Applications of these silylating agents in a Grignard synthesis and Sonogashira reaction are described.


An unsymmetrical diarylethene derivative bearing both indole and phenyl moieties was synthesized. At the same time, its photochromic properties and fluorescence switch were investigated in detail. The results showed that this compound exhibited reversible photochromism, undergoing reversible cyclization and cycloreversion reactions upon alternating irradiation with UV and visible light in solution, and its absorption maxima were observed at 571 nm in hexane, upon irradiation with 297 nm UV light. The fluorescence intensity of diarylethene decreased dramatically along with the photochromism from open-ring isomer to closed-ring isomer upon irradiation with 297 nm UV light in PMMA. In hexane solution, the open-ring isomer of the diarylethene 1 exhibited relatively strong fluorescence at 440 nm when excited at 330 nm. This new photochromic system also exhibited remarkable optical storage character.


ABSTRACT The Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium genome contains 13 operons with homology to fimbrial gene sequences. Here we investigated the role of 11 serotype Typhimurium fimbrial proteins, including FimA, AgfA (CsgA), BcfA, StbA, SthA, LpfA, PefA, StdA, StcA, StiA, and StfA, as antigens during the infection of genetically resistant mice (CBA). Upon the growth of serotype Typhimurium in standard laboratory broth culture, only the expression of FimA could be detected by Western blot analysis. The infection of mice with serotype Typhimurium grown in broth culture, followed by at least one subsequent infection, resulted in seroconversion of animals to FimA, AgfA, BcfA, StbA, SthA, LpfA, PefA, StdA, StcA, StiA, and StfA positivity. Most animals seroconverted to only a subset of these fimbrial antigens. The immunization of mice with glutathione S-transferase (GST)-FimA, GST-AgfA, GST-BcfA, GST-StbA, GST-SthA, GST-LpfA, GST-PefA, GST-StdA, GST-StcA, GST-StiA, and GST-StfA fusion proteins resulted in reduced fecal shedding of serotype Typhimurium during a challenge compared to that by a control group immunized with purified GST protein. Collectively, these data suggest that the expression of serotype Typhimurium fimbrial antigens is induced during the infection of mice.


The prevailing climate of insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the North of the country has been the subject of critical engagement in both academic and policy circles. Indeed, more than any other issue, insecurity in Nigeria has generated quite a sizeable body of literature, especial on the implications of the state of prevalent insecurity in the country. Using both primary and secondary data, this paper examines the impacts of the state of insecurity in Nigeria in general, and as in the North of the country in particular, on the future of education. This is significant against the background of the relative disadvantaged position of Northern Nigeria in western education compared with other regions of the country.. Our central assumption is that unless appropriate counter insurgency and other security engendering measures are adopted in Nigeria, the seeds of further insecurity and underdevelopment of teacher education and other spheres of society in Northern Nigeria will be sowed in the current wave of insurgency. The paper is concluded with an evaluation of the role of the Legislature in Nigeria in finding lasting solutions to the problem of insecurity and its impacts on teacher education in Nigeria.


ABSTRACT Do administrative boundaries correspond to the observable ways in which people interact in urban space? As cities grow in complexity, and people interact over long distances with greater ease, so partitioning of cities needs to depart from conventional gravity models. The current state-of-the-art for uncovering interactional regions, i.e. regions reflective of observable human mobility and interaction patterns, is to apply community detection to networks constructed from vast amounts of human interactions, such as phone calls or flights. This approach is well suited for origin–destination activities, but not for activities involving multiple locations, such as police patrols, and is blind to spatial anomalies. As a result of the latter, community detection generates geographically coherent regions, which may appear plausible but give no insights into forces other than gravity that shape our interaction patterns. This paper proposes novel approaches to regional delineation that address the aforementioned shortcomings. Firstly, it introduces topic modelling as an alternative tool for extracting interactional regions from tracking data. Secondly, it presents refinements of the topic modelling and community detection approaches that can uncover interaction patterns driven by forces other than spatial proximity. When applied to police patrol data, our methodology partitions the street network into non-overlapping patrol zones and detects popular long-distance routes between police stations. These findings could be used in the design of effective police districts, especially in light of recent funding cuts that promise to impact upon the ways in which policing and specifically patrols are carried out.


When organisms interact in multi-species groups, the direct effects of facilitation and competition can be modified by indirect interactions. We explored multispecies interactions among the native Pinus ponderosa, the invasive annual grass Bromus tectorum, and the invasive forb Centaurea stoebe in intermountain prairie of the northern Rocky Mountains. Centaurea is much less abundant under Pinus than in surrounding open grassland and Bromus is more abundant under Pinus. We found that the more fertile soil associated with Pinus facilitated both invasive species and did not alter competitive outcomes. Pinus litter and litter leachate inhibited both species, but litter also shifted competitive outcomes in favor of Bromus and against Centaurea. The effects of Pinus litter leachate were also strong and leachate eliminated the competitive effect of Centaurea on Bromus while not changing the competitive effect of Bromus on Centaurea. There are many other ways that Pinus may affect understory composition, but by altering the competitive playing field through leaf litter Pinus appears to indirectly facilitate Bromus by more strongly inhibiting Centaurea chemically, an unusual case of a native inhibiting an invader through allelopathy. Our results also provide an unexpected and novel perspective on indirect interactions among competitors, but not through intransitive competitive relationships. Instead, one species (Pinus) strongly 'modified' interactions between two other species in addition to disproportionately affecting one species more than another.


In order to balance wide bandwidth with durability, a hydrophone for lithotripsy research was developed using disposable elements of 9‐μm‐thick PVDF copolymer film. Each element, which measures 1 cm × 10 cm and is stretched across a Plexiglas frame, contains 0.2‐mm‐wide electrodes overlapping in a crosshair pattern at the element center. When an element fails, it may be quickly replaced. To avoid the need for recalibration with each replacement, the use of hysteresis poling ensures constant sensitivity of elements [E. Carr Everbach, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Suppl. 1 87, S128 (1990)]. Electronics located in the frame include a wide‐bandwidth preamplifier and gating circuitry to prevent saturation by the electromagnetic pulse from a spark‐gap lithotripter. This design provides the needed bandwidth to resolve shock wave frequency components beyond 100 MHz, as well as the durability and spatial resolution necessary to map the acoustic field within a lithotripter. [Work supported by an NSF PFF.]


This paper explores the possibility of using multiplicative random projection matrices for privacy preserving distributed data mining. It specifically considers the problem of computing statistical aggregates like the inner product matrix, correlation coefficient matrix, and Euclidean distance matrix from distributed privacy sensitive data possibly owned by multiple parties. This class of problems is directly related to many other data-mining problems such as clustering, principal component analysis, and classification. This paper makes primary contributions on two different grounds. First, it explores independent component analysis as a possible tool for breaching privacy in deterministic multiplicative perturbation-based models such as random orthogonal transformation and random rotation. Then, it proposes an approximate random projection-based technique to improve the level of privacy protection while still preserving certain statistical characteristics of the data. The paper presents extensive theoretical analysis and experimental results. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed technique is effective and can be successfully used for different types of privacy-preserving data mining applications.


The cognitive dimensions framework is a useful tool with which the usability of information artefacts may be evaluated. The framework allows a cognitive dimensions analysis of an artefact to be created to evaluate the artefact in a particular setting. In order to assess the usability of the artefact it is necessary to consider the analysis in the light of a cognitive dimensions profile which shows the desiability of each dimension for a specific activity, such as incrementation or modification. Profiles may use a subset of the thirteen dimensions. We present the results of two studies in which the cognitive dimensions framework was used to evaluate intelligibility of specification notations. In the first of these a profile was created which used only a subset of the dimensions. In the second study, two cognitive dimensions analyses were compared, which had examined the notations under consideration with respect to all of the dimensions. The results of the second study indicate that if only a subset of the dimensions is used in the creation of a profile important aspects may be overlooked.


Reproducibility is the ability to obtain bitwise identical results from different runs of the same program on the same input data, regardless of the available computing resources, or how they are scheduled. Recently, techniques have been proposed to attain reproducibility for BLAS operations, all of which rely on reproducibly computing the floating-point sum and dot product. Nonetheless, a reproducible BLAS library does not automatically translate into a reproducible higher-level linear algebra library, especially when communication is optimized. For instance, for the QR factorization, conventional algorithms such as Householder transformation or Gram-Schmidt process can be used to reproducibly factorize a floating-point matrix by fixing the high-level order of computation, for example column-by-column from left to right, and by using reproducible versions of level-1 BLAS operations such as dot product and 2-norm. In a massively parallel environment, those algorithms have high communication cost due to the need for synchronization after each step. The Tall-Skinny QR algorithm obtains much better performance in massively parallel environments by reducing the number of messages by a factor of n to O(log(P)) where P is the processor count, by reducing the number of reduction operations to O(1). Those reduction operations however are highly dependent on the network topology, in particular the number of computing nodes, and therefore are difficult to implement reproducibly and with reasonable performance. In this paper we present a new technique to reproducibly compute a QR factorization for a tall skinny matrix, which is based on the Cholesky QR algorithm to attain reproducibility as well as to improve communication cost, and the iterative refinement technique to guarantee the accuracy of the computed results. Our technique exhibits strong scalability in massively parallel environments, and at the same time can provide results of almost the same accuracy as the conventional Householder QR algorithm unless the matrix is extremely badly conditioned, in which case a warning can be given. Initial experimental results in Matlab show that for not too ill-conditioned matrices whose condition number is smaller than sqrt(1/e) where e is the machine epsilon, our technique runs less than 4 times slower than the built-in Matlab qr() function, and always computes numerically stable results in terms of column-wise relative error.


This essay explores the hidden dimensions of same-sex intimacy and queer sexuality for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. Queer accounts of Japanese American wartime history are rare because of the atypical structure of the incarceration camps, which organized inmates by family units, the prevalence of intergenerational narratives, and dominant themes of loyalty, innocence, and civility. Jiro Onuma, a gay immigrant imprisoned by the federal government at Topaz concentration camp in central Utah, worked in the prison mess hall and was an avid fan of homoerotic male physique magazines. How did this dandy gay bachelor from San Francisco survive the isolation, humiliation, and heteronormativity of imprisonment? The essay recounts the trials and tribulations of looking for Onuma in the mute photographs and other material remains that constitute his archival collection. This inquiry reflects not only my desire to provide a living context for queer artifacts but also grief over the impossibility of fully reanimating these fragmented traces of remembrance. Far from providing a coherent narrative of Onuma's life, this mode of queer speculation demonstrates how affective attachments to the past can lead to unexpected possibilities for engaging with queer history, memory, and the archive.


Background: To study the impact of land-use change on soil microbial community structure and diversity in Northeast China, three typical land-use types (plough, grassland, and forest), from grassland change to forest land and grassland change to plough, in the Qiqihar region of Heilongjiang Province were taken as research objects. Methods: MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology based on bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS rRNA was used to study the above community structure of soil bacteria and fungi and to explore the relationship between soil bacteria and soil environmental factors. Results: The results showed that there was no significant difference in soil bacterial community diversity and fungal community diversity after the grassland was completely changed to forest land. The dominant bacterial phylum changed from Actinobacteria to Acidobacteria, the dominant fungal phylum changed from Ascomycetes to Basidiomycetes, and the ECM functional group increased significantly. After the grassland was changed to plough, there was no significant difference in the diversity of soil bacterial communities, and the diversity of fungal communities increased significantly. The dominant phylum changed from Actinomycetes to Proteobacteria. The dominant phylum was still Ascomycetes, and the functional groups of pathogens and parasites increased significantly. CCA showed that soil pH, MC, NO3--N, TP and AP were important factors affecting the composition of soil microbial communities, and changes in land-use patterns changed the physical and chemical properties of soils, thereby affecting the structure and diversity of microbial communities. Conclusions: Our research results clarify the impact of changes in land use on the characteristics of soil microbial communities and provide basic data on the healthy use of land.


Orientation: This study seeks to identify the most important dimensions related to restaurant dining among middle-of-the-pyramid consumers. Research purpose: This article aims to determine the expectations of South African middle-of-the-pyramid (MOP) consumers during a dining experience. Motivation for the study: To develop an up-market segmentation framework that will assist restaurateurs to reposition themselves to better understand the needs of MOP consumers. Research design, approach and method: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were followed. The sample in the study consisted of 18 interviewees and 363 respondents selected from full-service restaurants in Gauteng Province. Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to analyse the dining experience dimension items, and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to achieve the objective of the study. Qualitative data was analysed using a constant comparative method. Confirmed themes and patterns were determined by the frequency with which each was mentioned for similarities, differences and general patterns. Main findings: The results show that on a six-point Likert scale, the commonality between the various dining experience dimensions was relatively high, ranging from 0.377 to 0.768. The dining experience dimension items yielded eight factors that were interpretable. The coefficient alpha varied between 0.69 and 0.92 for all eight dining experience dimensions. The eight underlying dimensions (service, social, food, layout, restaurant health, atmosphere, food health and accessibility) are independent variables that influence MOP consumers in their choice with respect to dining out, but each dining experience dimension has a particular level of importance. Practical/managerial implications: The findings of this research have implications for the restaurant industry. Restaurateurs targeting this MOP customer segment should do so by using a unique marketing mix that applies the eight dimensions identified in this study to this segment's dining experience. Contribution/value-add: This article offers the South African restaurant service sector increased insight into the South African MOP market segment's dining behaviour, and proposes and confirms the implications for their expected dining experience dimensions.


Knowledge is ans essential resource underlying business processes that create value for a firm. There is a fundamental difference in the competitiveness of companies depending on their ability to manage knowledge resource, and the survival of company may be determined by its ability to utilize this knowledge resource in a way that complement other resources. It is crucial for companies to adapt themselves to new environment and maintain and secure their competitive advantage in order to create revenue and survive. In other words, for companies to survive, innovation is critical. Companies will not be capable of increasing the value-added or expanding their core capabilities to ratchet up competitiveness unless the share such new knowledge are shared among their internal members. This study established the research model and put forward six hypotheses in an attempt to explore the relationship among the influential factors related to knowledge sharing, knowledge-sharing, and the innovation of team. The effect of each factor was examined by classifying the preceding factors of knowledge-sharing into several categories such as personal factor, organizational factor, and technical factor. The results of study suggested that the pleasure of knowledge-sharing, support of executives, reward of organization, and utilization of system had a positive impact on the knowledge-sharing. However, it was found that the self-efficacy did not have significant effect on the knowledge-sharing. In addition, it turned out that the knowledge-sharing activities had a significant effect on the innovation activities of team. In the future, research, it is necessary to clarify the concept of knowledge-sharing, the parameter, more clearly. And researches need to be carried out to explain the results of knowledge-sharing and achievement of innovation from comprehensive perspective by considering the achievement of innovation, the outcome of innovation activities.


The magnetic properties of two types of material derived from the brucite lattice, M(OH)2 are described. The structure-directing effects of simple templates on the brucite lattice parallels the processes seen in nature in the formation of biominerals. The first type exemplified by Fe17/Fe19 aggregates models the structural features of the iron storage protein ferritin. The magnetic behaviour also reveals some interesting parallels with the magnetic phenomena reported previously on ferritins. We have used a combination of experimental techniques including DC, AC and RF susceptibility measurements on powders and a microSQUID on single crystals. The second type is based on an extended-defect brucite structure with stoichiometry M2(OH)2 (ox) for M = Fe2+, Co2+. They show long-range ordering to antiferromagnetic phases and then, at much lower temperatures, undergo a phase transition to canted antiferromagnetic states. Symmetry arguments are used to predict the spin configurations in these extended materials.


The giant tsunami that swept the Pacific from Alaska to Antarctica in 1946 was generated along one of three Alaska Trench instrumentally recorded aftershock areas following great and giant earthquakes. Aftershock areas were investigated during the past decade with multibeam bathymetry, ocean bottom seismograph wide‐angle seismic, reprocessed legacy, and new seismic reflection images. Summarized and updated here are previous papers and additional data. Tectonic structures collocated with aftershock area boundaries indicate possible lengths of rupture in future great earthquakes. NE aftershock area boundaries relate to subducted lower plate structures whereas the SW zone upper plate retains Beringian structural relicts. The lower to middle slope transition separating a stronger continental framework rock from a weaker accreted prism occurs along splay fault zones previously interpreted as backstops in seismic images. Damage zones along splay faults are generally 1‐km‐wide dipping typically 21°. Splays form slip paths from the plate interface to the seafloor much shorter than the 3–4° dipping plate interface beneath the frontal prism. Associated seafloor vent structures indicate overpressured fluids at depth. Splay fault dip and its rigid hanging wall impart greater seafloor uplift than the accreted prism per unit of slip making them effective tsunami generators. Backstop splay fault zones (BSFZs) run along the entire Alaska Trench. Beneath the frontal prism, active bend faults add rugosity to the plate interface and km high relief is commonly imaged in reprocessed legacy and new seismic data. The 1946 Unimak great (M8.6) earthquake epicenter is located near the BSFZ.


Design and construction of biochemical pathways has increased the complexity of biosyntheticallyproduced compounds when compared to single enzyme biocatalysis. However, the coordination of multiple enzymes can introduce a complicated set of obstacles to overcome in order to achieve a high titer and yield of the desired compound. Metabolic engineering has made great strides in developing tools to optimize the flux through a target pathway, but the inherent characteristics of a particular enzyme within the pathway can still limit the productivity. Thus, judicious protein design is critical for metabolic and pathway engineering. This review will describe various strategies and examples of applying protein design to pathway engineering to optimize the flux through the pathway. The proteins can be engineered for altered substrate specificity/selectivity, increased catalytic activity, reduced mass transfer limitations through specific protein localization, and reduced substrate/product inhibition. Protein engineering can also be expanded to design biosensors to enable high through-put screening and to customize cell signaling networks. These strategies have successfully engineered pathways for significantly increased productivity of the desired product or in the production of novel compounds. 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


This study develops a simulation model to test two typical hypotheses in the theory of self-enforcing agreements. In cooperative teams (such as agricultural cooperatives), a self-enforcing agreement plays a critical role to guarantee members' work incentives when the monitoring from a third party is absent. In order to provide effective sanction to the violators so as to maintain the agreement, two seemly conflicting strategies are proposed. One is allowing the members to exit the team freely, while the other is imposing a high exit cost to restrict members from leaving the team. The views upholding each of the two strategies are elaborated in Lin (1993) and Dong and Dow (1993), respectively. We summarise the views as two hypotheses for a test using an agent-based model. The model incorporates factors that were not explicitly examined in previous discussions, such as the heterogeneity of households in terms of leisure preference and its distributions amongst team members.


INTRODUCTION
Solar panels are a promising source to CO2 neutral and climate friendly energy. Today solar
panels are often applied to the roofs of houses when they are not merely placed angled on a
supporting structure on the ground constituting so called solar farms. However, solar panels
are rarely used in modern cites, as the ordinary rectangular shape is not easily incorporated
in the design of city skyscrapers. The vision behind this project was to help spread the use
of solar panels to cities by analyzing a variety of alternative shapes of solar panels and
developing tools to evaluate the energy efficiency of the panels.
The goal was to develop effective and easily applied methods for depicting the energy
efficiency of solar panels of various geometric shapes. In ambitious and comprehensive
construction projects, this framework would apply as an easy tool to consider energy
optimization in the early stages of design planning. This is an important instrument for
architectural offices as it could be used as a guideline for architectural planning.
METHODS
The general assumption of the project was that inward solar flux through any solar panel
was proportional to the energy output of the solar panel. This assumption can be easily
corrected by applying the actual efficiency of the solar panel.
The project developed a series of methods for modeling the energy output for solar panels
based on depicting the sunlit and shadowed areas of the solar panels. It was found that the
calculations rapidly became very demanding for even the simplest of shapes. For specific
types of geometrically shaped solar panels a simpler method was derived and applied.
However, the limitations of this method made it necessary to broaden the applicability of the
model to a wider range of geometric shapes. This was achieved by applying Gauss's
theorem to closed convex surfaces. The resulting method proved to be effective and much
more general in applicability, as all convex surfaces could be modeled and computational
time was reduced.
RESULTS
It was found that for closed convex surfaces the inward flux could be computed as the area
of the shadow of the surface on a plane perpendicular to the sun.
The computational power and time required for this analysis of any solar panel, that is a
closed convex surface, is very limited and thus very applicable.


In a data-driven scientific world, the need to capture information on sensors used in the data acquisition process
has become increasingly important. Following the recommendations of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC),
we started by adopting the SensorML standard for describing platforms, devices and sensors.
However, it soon became obvious to us that understanding, implementing and filling such standards costs
significant effort and cannot be expected from every scientist individually. So we developed a web-based sensor
management solution (https://sensor.awi.de) for describing platforms, devices and sensors as hierarchy of systems
which supports tracing changes to a system whereas hiding complexity. Each platform contains devices where
each device can have sensors associated with specific identifiers, contacts, events, related online resources (e.g.
manufacturer factsheets, calibration documentation, data processing documentation), sensor output parameters
and geo-location.
In order to better understand and address real world requirements, we have closely interacted with field-going
scientists in the context of the key national infrastructure project "FRontiers in Arctic marine Monitoring ocean
observatory" (FRAM) during the software development. We learned that not only the lineage of observations is
crucial for scientists but also alert services using value ranges, flexible output formats and information on data
providers (e.g. FTP sources) for example. Mostly important, persistent and citable versions of sensor descriptions
are required for traceability and reproducibility allowing seamless integration with existing information systems,
e.g. PANGAEA.
Within the context of the EU-funded Ocean Data Interoperability Platform project (ODIP II) and in cooperation
with 52north we are proving near real-time data via Sensor Observation Services (SOS) along with sensor
descriptions based on our sensor management solution. ODIP II also aims to develop a harmonized SensorML
profile for the marine community which we will be adopting in our solution as soon as available.
In this presentation we will show our sensor management solution which is embedded in our data flow framework
to offer out-of-the-box interoperability with existing information systems and standards. In addition, we will
present real world examples and challenges related to the description and traceability of sensor metadata.


The paper focuses on the essay "My Stumbling Speech in Kyiv" by Friedrich Dürrenmatt which hitherto has been on the sidelines of Dürrenmatt studies. The literary portrait of a well-known Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko as a cultural "Other" and the self-projection of the essay's author have been analyzed here in their interrelations with various cultural and political contexts.


Recently, development of technology increases human life quality and gradually raises the value of health protection in human's concept. Bamboo has multi-functional including far infrared radiation, deodorization and anion generation. Therefore, bamboo charcoal has been widely used in textile industry. Moreover, development of technology also increased the electromagnetic hazard in human's daily life. This study aims to develop a manufacturing process of functional composite yarn-dyed woven fabrics. In the manufacturing process, the materials included pure cotton yarn, stainless steel fiber(called metallic yarn) and viscose rayon yarn containing bamboo charcoal (called bamboo charcoal yarn) were used for making the bamboo charcoal/stainless steel composite woven fabric. The composite woven fabrics were woven by using same warp yarn and two kinds of weft yarn that contained bamboo charcoal and stainless steel. The composite fabrics had two different structures. Those fabrics were changed the order of bamboo charcoal yarn and metallic yarn. The ratios of weft yarn were 1 end of bamboo charcoal yarn to 1 end of metallic yarn and 3 ends of bamboo charcoal yarn to 1 end of metallic yarn. Furthermore, the fabrication of composite fabrics that included plain, 2/2 twill and dobby were changed. The composite woven fabrics were finished and laminated by TPU film to enhance the waterproof and vapor permeable functions. The laminated composite fabrics were evaluated by far-infrared coefficient, anion generation rate, water vapor permeability, water resistance, surface electric resistance and electromagnetic shelter property to obtained optimal manufacturing process.


Rosseland mean opacity plays an important role in theories of stellar evolution and X-ray burst models. In the high-temperature regime, when most of the gas is completely ionized, the opacity is dominated by Compton scattering. Our aim here is to critically evaluate previous works on this subject and to compute the exact Rosseland mean opacity for Compton scattering over a broad range of temperature and electron degeneracy parameter. We use relativistic kinetic equations for Compton scattering and compute the photon mean free path as a function of photon energy by solving the corresponding integral equation in the diffusion limit. As a byproduct we also demonstrate the way to compute photon redistribution functions in the case of degenerate electrons. We then compute the Rosseland mean opacity as a function of temperature and electron degeneracy and present useful approximate expressions. We compare our results to previous calculations and find a significant difference in the low-temperature regime and strong degeneracy. We then proceed to compute the flux mean opacity in both free-streaming and diffusion approximations, and show that the latter is nearly identical to the Rosseland mean opacity. We also provide a simple way to account for the true absorption in evaluating the Rosseland and flux mean opacities.


The dynamics of physical theories is usually described by differential equations. Difference equations then appear mainly as an approximation which can be used for a numerical analysis. As such, they have to fulfil certain conditions to ensure that the numerical solutions can reliably be used as approximations to solutions of the differential equation. There are, however, also systems where a difference equation is deemed to be fundamental, mainly in the context of quantum gravity. Since difference equations in general are harder to solve analytically than differential equations, it can be helpful to introduce an approximating differential equation as a continuum approximation. In this paper implications of this change in viewpoint are analysed to derive the conditions that the difference equation should satisfy. The difference equation in such a situation cannot be chosen freely but must be derived from a fundamental theory. Thus, the conditions for a discrete formulation can be translated into conditions for acceptable quantizations. In the main example, loop quantum cosmology, we show that the conditions are restrictive and serve as a selection criterion among possible quantization choices.


Environmental philosophy is one of the exciting new fields of philosophy to emerge in the last forty years. "Understanding Environmental Philosophy" presents a comprehensive, critical analysis of contemporary philosophical approaches to current ecological concerns. Key ideas are explained, placed in their broader cultural, religious, historical, political and philosophical context, and their environmental policy implications are outlined. Central ideas and concepts about environmental value, individual wellbeing, ecological holism and the metaphysics of nature set the stage for a discussion of how to establish moral rules and priorities, and whether it is possible to transcend human-centred views of the world. The reader is also helped with an annotated guide to further reading, questions for discussion and revision as well as boxed studies highlighting key concepts and theoretical material. A clear and accessible introduction to this most dynamic of subjects, "Understanding Environmental Philosophy" will be invaluable for a wide range of readers.


It has been recently shown for two forests in France (Les Landes and Sologne) that summer cloud cover over the forest is increased relative to its surroundings. This study aims to contribute to the elucidation of the physical mechanisms responsible for this increased cloud cover, focusing on surface flux partitioning. This was done by performing a case study for a heatwave day on which enhanced cloud cover over the forest of Les Landes was observed. Two numerical experiments (large‐eddy simulations) with a homogeneous forest cover were performed, one in which the sensible heat flux was increased by approximately 5% of the total available energy and another one in which the same amount of energy was added to the latent heat flux. The addition of energy to the sensible heat flux led to a stronger increase in cloud cover than the same addition to the latent heat flux. The mean relative humidity at the boundary layer top showed only small differences, indicating it was not a sufficient indicator for cloud formation in this case. Important information, which immediately underlines the need for large‐eddy simulations, is contained in modifications of the shape of the probability density functions of temperature and humidity. With enhanced sensible heating, the higher peak values of relative humidity contribute to an increased cloud cover. A crucial reason for the differences in cloud cover between the experiments is conjectured to be a decrease in the required amount of energy for air parcels to reach the lifting condensation level, indirectly caused by the boundary layer and near‐surface warming associated with the stronger sensible heat flux. As forests in the region do have a higher sensible heat flux than their surroundings, we highlight one potential mechanism for enhanced cloud cover.


Many model-based methods have been developed over the last several decades for analysis of electroencephalograms (EEGs) in order to understand electrical neural data. In this work, we propose to use the functional boxplot (FBP) to analyze log periodograms of EEG time series data in the spectral domain. The functional bloxplot approach produces a median curve—which is not equivalent to connecting medians obtained from frequency-specific boxplots. In addition, this approach identifies a functional median, summarizes variability, and detects potential outliers. By extending FBPs analysis from one-dimensional curves to surfaces, surface boxplots are also used to explore the variation of the spectral power for the alpha (8–12 Hz) and beta (16–32 Hz) frequency bands across the brain cortical surface. By using rank-based nonparametric tests, we also investigate the stationarity of EEG traces across an exam acquired during resting-state by comparing the spectrum during the early vs. late phases of a single resting-state EEG exam.


Representation is always a dynamic relation, a tatonnement, in which the represented adjust their preferences on the basis of beliefs induced by the representatives. All rulers—those selected in clean elections, those who hold such ceremonies without putting their power at stake, and those who do not even bother to hold them—claim to have reasons to be followed, and people are willing to follow them if they believe these are good reasons. Thus, individual preferences, "wills,"are influenced by the relation of representation. The controversial issue is whether the relation of representation can be assessed when preferences are endogenous, in particular when people are not exposed to a plurality of reasons.


Censoring the Internet is quite prevalent, though the extent of this activity markedly differs from country to country. While some prohibit controversial sites such as those with explicit sexual images or blatantly racist remarks, others implement restricted access. Turkey, showing the symptoms of a developing country, has not yet established the jurisprudence necessary for the Internet. The existing Turkish laws, especially the Press Law, are naively applied to alleged lawbreakers on the Internet, resulting in ludicrous outcomes. This paper investigates the Turkish case of Internet censorship, focusing on two publicized cases with some political content.


Hollow carbon spheres containing Fe3N nanocrystals (Fe3N/HCSs) are synthesized by ferrocene and ammonium chloride in high pressure argon at 500 °C. The structure, morphology and properties of the products are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The hollow carbon spheres have diameters of 1-10 µm and shell thickness of hundreds of nanometers. The dimensions of the acicular Fe3N nanocrystals have diameters of ca. 100 nm and lengths of 600-800 nm. The weight percent of Fe3N nanocrystals in Fe3N/HCSs is about 37.8%. The saturation magnetization value of the hollow carbon spheres containing Fe3N nanocrystals is 10.61 emu/g.


This paper is part of the Philippine study for the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, a project of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). A milestone in ASEAN economic cooperation is the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 during the 12th ASEAN Summit in 2007, and subsequently the passing of the ASEAN Charter. A midterm review of where the member-countries are in moving toward the AEC is thus timely. At the core of ASEAN integration is the free flow of trade in goods. Accordingly, an essential part of the midterm review is an assessment of progress in the area of trade liberalization and facilitation. Toward this end, two sets of surveys were undertaken: (1) the MTR Questionnaire for Government Officials, and (2) the Firm MTR Survey on Import/Export and Customs Clearance. The questionnaire for government officials gathered information on aspects of ASEAN customs development and integration and the implementation of the national single window and the ASEAN Single Window. The survey of firms provided the view from users, particularly their experiences on the customs clearance and permit release process in other government agencies. This yielded a number of recommendations on the ways forward.


Revealing the accurate active center structure and the functional mechanism of CeO2-supported Ag catalysts during catalysis is extremely important for their accurate synthesis. In this work, a series of AgnCeO2 (n = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10) model catalysts was constructed, and a DFT investigation of the reaction mechanism of CO oxidation, as a probe reaction on those catalysts, was carried out. It was found that the entire catalytic reaction was completed coordinately by Ag, lattice O and O vacancies, which could be considered as the active centers. Noticeably, the mobility of Ag atoms played an important role in the reaction process, leading to the observation of a single-atom catalytic mechanism, wherein a series of single Ag atomic species was formed during the reaction, which was beneficial to CO oxidation. With the completion of some elementary reactions, the single Ag formed during the migration of CO-Ag could return to the Ag cluster again. As expected, the single-AgCeO2 catalyst exhibited extremely high activity due to the absence of the binding effect of Ag-Ag. Nevertheless, the AgnCeO2 (n > 1) catalysts showed similar catalytic activity, which was slightly worse than that of single AgCeO2, indicating that the size effect of the Ag cluster was not obvious. These results provide the theoretical basis for further understanding the functional mechanism of the AgnCeO2 catalyst and are helpful for designing various catalysts with tailored functionalities.


We describe a modified bifunctional analogue of polyacrylamide that spontaneously forms self-assembled polymeric thin films on Au surfaces. The film is engineered to specifically bind histidine tagged proteins (6His), while simultaneously remaining inherently resistant to the non-specific adsorption of proteins in solution. The backbone of a polyacrylamide-co-n-acryloxysuccinimide copolymer is functionalized via tandem active ester (NHS) couplings with 3-(methylthio)propylamine (MTP) and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA). The resulting functionalized polymers form stable and exceptionally hydrophilic thin films that are approximately 2-5 nm thick, a mass coverage that varies with the MTP graft density. These films are characterized using a variety of techniques (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), ellipsometry, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)) to establish their structure and function. The protein resistance of the films, as demonstrated by their exposure to solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA), can be modulated by the amount of MTP grafted to the polymer, which in turn, affects their mass coverage. We show that it is possible to specifically capture hexahistidine tagged proteins with low incidences of nonspecific adsorption using these materials, a discrimination quantified using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at concentrations down to approximately 20 nM. These polymers also bind strongly to the surfaces of Au nanoparticles, stabilizing them against aggregation, providing them with a similar capacity to selectively bind 6His tagged proteins that can then be speciated using MALDI.


Many organizations around the globe are facing a number of threats in terms of intense competition and hence employees' intentions to switch the organizations. The current study is carried out to explore an emerging area of psychological ownership in relation to organizational Justice. The feelings of psychological ownership may provide the organizations a sustainable competitive advantage by enhancing the retention rate of valuable employees and making them to go for an extra mile for their organization. In this study we will be exploring the role of organizational justice as an antecedent of psychological ownership. The results of the study reveals that among the three dimensions of organizational justice (Distributive, Procedural & Interactional), procedural justice is found to be a strong predictor of psychological ownership. To prove the hypothesis of the study convenience sampling technique is used for data collection and about 37 useable responses from employees are considered for data analysis. Implications of these results as well as avenues for future research are also discussed.


In this paper, we address the person re-identification problem, discovering the correct matches for a probe person image from a set of gallery person images. We follow the learning-to-rank methodology and learn a similarity function to maximize the difference between the similarity scores of matched and unmatched images for a same person. We introduce at least three contributions to person re-identification. First, we present an explicit polynomial kernel feature map, which is capable of characterizing the similarity information of all pairs of patches between two images, called soft-patch-matching, instead of greedily keeping only the best matched patch, and thus more robust. Second, we introduce a mixture of linear similarity functions that is able to discover different soft-patch-matching patterns. Last, we introduce a negative semi-definite regularization over a subset of the weights in the similarity function, which is motivated by the connection between explicit polynomial kernel feature map and the Mahalanobis distance, as well as the sparsity constraint over the parameters to avoid over-fitting. Experimental results over three public benchmarks demonstrate the superiority of our approach.


Seismic performance of a symmetrical space frame structure resting on sliding bearing with restoring force device is studied considering all the six degrees of freedom. The sliding support is modeled as a fictitious spring with two horizontal degrees of freedom. In non-sliding phase the horizontal stiffness of sliding bearing is considered as very large whereas it is equal to zero during sliding phase. The El Centro, Turkey and Mexico earthquakes are adopted as the input motion. The response quantities obtained from the analysis are the acceleration, base shear, bending moment and displacement. In this study, the response of the isolated structure is compared with the response of the structure fixed at the base. Response of the isolation system with restoring force device is also compared with the response of the isolation system without restoring force device. In addition, the effects of coefficient of friction of sliding material, time period of the superstructure and the number of storeys on response of structure are also investigated. It is concluded from the study that the sliding bearing with restoring force device reduces the earthquake response of the structure. The restoring force device reduces the sliding and residual displacements without transmitting additional forces into the structure. Response of the isolated structure varies with the coefficient of friction of sliding material, time period of superstructure and number of storeys. Also, there exists an optimum coefficient of friction of sliding material for acceleration, base shear and bending moment at which accelera- tion, base shear and bending moment attains a minimum value.


While video-based person re-identification (Re-ID) has drawn increasing attention and made great progress in recent years, it is still very challenging to effectively overcome the occlusion problem and the visual ambiguity problem for visually similar negative samples. On the other hand, we observe that different frames of a video can provide complementary information for each other, and the structural information of pedestrians can provide extra discriminative cues for appearance features. Thus, modeling the temporal relations of different frames and the spatial relations within a frame has the potential for solving the above problems. In this work, we propose a novel Spatial-Temporal Graph Convolutional Network (STGCN) to solve these problems. The STGCN includes two GCN branches, a spatial one and a temporal one. The spatial branch extracts structural information of a human body. The temporal branch mines discriminative cues from adjacent frames. By jointly optimizing these branches, our model extracts robust spatial-temporal information that is complementary with appearance information. As shown in the experiments, our model achieves state-of-the-art results on MARS and DukeMTMC-VideoReID datasets.


David Mindell notes in Our Robots, Ourselves, "For any apparently autonomous system, we can always find the wrapper of human control that makes it useful and returns meaningful data. In the words of a recent report by the Defense Science Board, 'there are no fully autonomous systems just as there are no fully autonomous soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines.'"
Designing and using "the wrapper of human control" means making moral decisions — decisions about what ought to happen. The point is not new as the "soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines" references shows. What is new is the rise of predictive analytics, the process of using large data sets in order to make predictions.
Predictive analytics greatly exacerbates the long-standing problem about how to balance the benefits of data collection and analysis against the value of privacy, and its pervasive and its ever-increasing use of gives the tradeoff problems an urgency that can no longer be ignore. In tackling the tradeoff issues, it is not enough merely to address obviously invidious uses like a recent photo-editing app for photos of faces from a company called FaceApp. When users asked the app to increase the "hotness" of the photo, the app made skin tones lighter. We focus on widely accepted — or at least currently tolerated — uses of predictive analytics in credit rating, targeted advertising, navigation apps, search engine page ranking, and a variety of other areas. These uses yield considerable benefits, but they also impose significant costs through misclassification in the form of a large number of false positives and false negatives. Predictive analytics not only looks into your private life to construct its profiles of you, it often misrepresents who you are.
How should society respond? Our working assumption is that predictive analytics has significant benefits and should not be eliminated, and moreover, that it is now utterly politically infeasible to eliminate it. Thus, we propose making tradeoffs between the benefits and the costs by constraining the use and distribution of information. The constraints would have to apply across a wide range of complex situations. Is there an existing system that makes relevant tradeoffs by constraining the distribution and use of information across a highly varied range of contexts? Indeed, there is: informational norms. Informational norms are social norms that constrain not only the collection, but also the use and distribution of information. We focus on the use and distribution constraints. Those constraints establish an appropriately selective flow of information in a wide range of cases.
We contend they provide an essential "wrapper of human control" for predictive analytics. The obvious objection is that the relevant norms do not exist. Technological-driven economic, social, and political developments have far outpaced the slow evolution of norms. New norms will nonetheless evolve and existing norms will adapt to condone surveillance. Reasonable public policy requires controlling the evolution and adaption of norms to reach desirable outcomes.


Melanophore stimulating hormone (MSH) secretion from the vertebrate pars intermedia is regulated as for other pituitary hormones, by the hypothalamus. Removal of the pituitary from hypothalamic control results in an autonomous uninhibited secretion of MSH. Thus, as for prolactin, the hypothalamus exerts a tonic inhibitory control over MSH secretion. The nature of this inhibitory mechanism is presently being debated with two general models being considered. It is suggested by some investigators that peptides of neurohypophysial hormone origin act as MSH releasing and inhibiting factors (MRF' and MIF's, respectively). In this scheme, the neurohypophysial hormones such as oxytocin would serve as prohormones which by enzymatic cleavage by hypothalamic enzymes would yield MSH releasing and/or inhibiting factors. It is suggested that the terminal tripeptide side chain is an MIF whereas the N-terminal pentapeptide sequence of oxytocin is an MRF. The data supporting this hypothesis comes from work of a few investigators that espouse this scheme. To our knowledge, the so-called MSH releasing and inhibiting factors have proven ineffective in the hands of all other investigators in regulating MSH release.


This study aims to compare the performance of Islamic and conventional banks in Pakistan for the period 2007-2016. For the purpose, the study first employs CAMELS composite rating to find the ratios to highlight the managerial and financial performance of the banks. The study then uses logistic regression technique for the performance comparison of Islamic and Conventional banks. The composite rating results reveal that both Islamic and conventional banks fall in rank 3 and need help from regulatory authorities to improve the performance of banking sector in Pakistan. Furthermore, the logistic regression results reveal that Islamic banks perform well in asset quality, management adequacy and sensitivity to market risk whereas conventional banks are efficient in capital adequacy and liquidity. Robustness of results is achieved by performance comparison of the same size Islamic and conventional banks. This analysis is important because Pakistan's banking sector is hybrid where both Islamic and conventional banks work in the same environment and under the same regulator. Findings of this study are not only useful for Islamic and conventional banks operating in Pakistan but would also help the policymakers in devising future policies.


Introduction: Renal colic is a painful condition in which patients suffer severe flank pain which occurs as a result of obstruction of urinary tract through calculus. The treatment requires both spasmolytic and analgesic action in addition to anti-inflammatory action. Materials and Methods: Two drugs were used drotaverine hydrochloride (HCl) and piroxicam in one tablet as fixed dose combination. The ultraviolet spectrophotometer method was developed for assay of both drugs. Results: The results of method of validation for drotaverine HCl showed that all the parameters of performance were well in limit. Relative standard deviation (RSD) is 0.949% which was well under the limit of 2%. Conclusion: The results of method validation for piroxicam showed that all the parameters of performance were well in acceptance limit, for example, in precision criteria the repeatability test was ok. RSD was 0.582% which was well below the limit of 2%.


The aim of this study is to examine the fundamental factors that affect the understanding level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) across South Asian countries. CSR was measured by seven dimensions defined by ISO26000 and number of other indicators (e.g., education, religion, region) were employed to figure out cross-cultural impact. This research unveiled the basic but general trends about the concept of CSR. Majority of the respondents prioritized accountability, transparency and respect for stakeholder interests. Overall trends regarding every CSR dimension are leaded by master students and followed by doctoral students. On average scale, the followers of all the 3 leading religions (Buddhism, Hinduism and slam) in the region have similar inclination towards CSR concept; however, Christianity shows incomparable results. Bhutan is the only country where most educated people (PhD students) has given less importance to CSR actions as compare to other students' groups. Overall, this study explores no perceptible discrepancies in the trends and pattern of CSR within South Asian region. This research presents the ground level understandings from the potential workforce (students) about the widespread concept of CSR. These results affirm the claims that educational institutes and course contents taught in South Asian region are still lagging behind in the race of literacy. Academia should not only upgrade their teaching method but also the course content in order to build the capacity of their potential workforce to resolve any problem in future. The results of this study are also important for international agencies, government and nongovernmental organizations and other relevant institutions to understand the basic 'know how' of customized CSR approach across the countries.


Each year, an estimated 1.25 million pacemakers and 410 000 implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are implanted worldwide.1 Clinical trials suggest that ≈25% of pacemaker and 35% of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator patients receive long-term oral anticoagulation (OAC). The periprocedural management of their OAC presents a dilemma. This is particularly true in the subset of patients with moderate to high risk (eg, >5%/y) of arterial thromboembolic events (ATE).

The first case is a 76-year-old man with atrial fibrillation, previous embolic stroke, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and nonischemic cardiomyopathy. His ECG shows atrial fibrillation and left bundle-branch block with a QRS duration of 180 milliseconds, and his left ventricular ejection fraction is 25%. He is on long-term warfarin therapy with a CHADS2 score of 5 and an estimated annual risk of ATE of 12.5%.2 He is recommended for implantation of a cardiac resynchronization defibrillator. How should his warfarin be managed around the device surgery?

Physicians responded to concerns about periprocedural ATE by treating moderate- to high-risk patients with heparin bridging, and guidelines recommended this as standard of care.3 However, a number of downsides to heparin bridging around device surgery were observed. First, there is a substantial risk of clinically significant device pocket hematoma related to heparin bridging. The risk of hematoma with bridging is between 17% and 31%.4,5 Importantly, device pocket hematomas …


The migrant crisis in Europe is the largest since WWII.  Millions of migrants are without hope or a source of income.  However, this tragedy could present an opportunity for Europe as the EU currently faces two problems, which a large influx of labor could fix. First, decaying outdated European infrastructure and construction and secondly the abandonment of European farmland.  During the 1920's the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a government program from the great depression, employed large numbers of unemployed men in land management fields.  Just as the CCC addressed the environmental and social problems of its day, a modern government program modeled after the CCC could address the issues currently facing the EU.  This paper lays out a roadmap for just such a program outlining how the EU could employ refugees to address the current environmental issues facing Europe.  The paper also explores potential uses for abandoned farmland, such as re-utilization for agriculture, agroforestry and re-wilding as well as the management, funding and potential issues faced by such a program.


Abstract Elephant poaching is a significant problem in Tanzania and many parts of Africa. This study assess the patterns of elephant poaching for the international ivory trade on the population of the Eastern Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. Data for assessing the patterns of elephants poaching from 2009 to 2013 were acquired by doing inventory on the demography of poached skulls in the field and assessing confiscated tusks. This is to infer the age and sex of killed elephants; also the season of death were obtained during the field assessment. By combining inferences of age and sex, poaching patterns of African elephants were assessed. Data on the distribution of poached elephants and the effect of poaching on the trophy-quality from tourist hunting were obtained from elephant mortality database of the Selous Game Reserve in the Eastern and North-eastern sectors. The GPS coordinates to determine the distribution of poached elephants were randomly collected by rangers during their daily patrol routine. The poaching patterns in the ESGR were non-selective. The incidences of poaching were higher during the wet season. Hotspots of poaching were identified on the edges of the ESGR. This was attributed by the involvement of local people adjacent the ESGR in poaching activities due to lack of economic opportunities. The patterns of elephant poaching can help to study the impact of poaching on Selous Game Reserve elephant populations. Also, hotspots poaching serve as tool to guide and inform reserve managers involved in wildlife conservation in Tanzania. Improved economic opportunities of local people; enhanced conservation education and research; and improved governance and law enforcement recommended addressing the problem of elephant poaching. Key words: Elephant poaching, poaching patterns, Illegal ivory trade and assessment of poaching


A water-stable metal–organic framework (MOF)-based composite, H2SO4@MIL-101-SO3H, configured with functionalized sulfonate groups bound to the polymeric backbone and nonvolatile strong acid H2SO4 encapsulated into pores, is demonstrated as a superior proton-conducting material, owing to the resultant multiple proton-transfer pathways. This solid material exhibits a superprotonic conductivity of 1.82 S cm–1 (70 °C, 90% RH) that is comparable to that of other excellent MOF-based proton conductors reported thus far. More importantly, the splendid conductivity (0.92 × 10–2 S cm–1, −40 °C) of the title material achieves an enormous improvement compared with that of all proton-conducting systems demonstrated at subzero temperatures.


Cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes (CTLs) are especially suited to the detection and eradication of incipient tumors due to their capacity to recognize neoplastic cells based on the mutated, over-expressed or tissue-specific genes they express. The strategic use of CTLs as effectors in cancer immunotherapy must be predicated on a more detailed understanding of their immunobiology. Although numerous studies have demonstrated that CTLs are dependent on CD4+ "helper" T lymphocytes for various aspects of their function, a clear picture of the underlying mechanisms has only recently become apparent. My presentation will discuss the studies that our laboratory has performed on the mechanism through which T-help is provided, and on consequences for the function and fate of CTLs of its provision or absence. The emerging picture is that T-help is provided to CTLs early during their primary activation and serves to direct cells towards a specific program of development and differentiation. "Helped" CTLs are endowed with the capacity for secondary expansion upon re-exposure to antigen while "helpless" CTLs undergo activation-induced cell death (AICD) by a TRAIL-mediated mechanism when restimulated. This is not an unavoidable fate for the "helpless" CTLs, however, as various cytokines can prevent their death by TRAIL through distinct mechanisms. The relevance of these findings to cancer immunotherapy will be discussed. This abstract was published in Cancer Immunity, a Cancer Research Institute journal that ceased publication in 2013 and is now provided online in association with Cancer Immunology Research.


Until about four decades ago, crop yields in agricultural systems depended mainly on internal resources, recycling of organic matter, built-in biological control mechanisms, and natural rainfall patterns. Agricultural yields were modest but stable. Production was safeguarded by growing more than one crop or variety in a field as insurance against pest outbreaks or severe weather. Inputs of nitrogen were gained by rotating major field crops with legumes. Growing many different types of crops over the years in the same field also suppressed insects, weeds, and diseases by effectively breaking the life cycles of these pests. A typical corn-belt farmer grew corn rotated with several crops including soybeans as well as the clovers, alfalfa, and small grains needed to maintain livestock. Most of the labor was done by the family with occasional hired help, and no specialized equipment or services were purchased from off-farm sources. In these types of farming systems the link between agriculture and ecology was quite strong and signs of environmental degradation were seldom evident.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


We propose and demonstrate a bidirectional radio-over-fiber (RoF) system based on a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA). In this system, phase-modulated 5.25-GHz radio frequency (RF) carrying 850 Mb/s is used for the downstream signal. Optical envelope detection of 10-GHz RF carrying 850 Mb/s is achieved in an RSOA. Both signals share a single fiber link and the same light source by exploiting optical carrier remodulaiton. Moreover, there is no need to employ RF down-conversion technology for RoF uplink. This makes the proposed system simpler and more cost-effective. The experimental results indicate that after simultaneous transmission of downstream and upstream signals over 25-km fiber, the receiver sensitivities are -22 and -14.5 dBm, respectively.