Utilizing biowaste shells (>95 wt% CaCO3) in chemical synthesis can both remediate environmental pollution and produce novel functional materials. Nonetheless, syntheses of nanomaterials from solid matter such as bio-shells are still rare. Herein, we for the first time reported the synthesis of a 0D/2D nanostructure, i.e., Ca(OH)2 nanosheets decorated with Mn3O4 quantum dots, from bio-shells in a green manner. Specifically, eggshells were calcined to form porous CaO that inherited a hierarchical framework from the source shell. The shell-derived CaO was then stirred together with KMnO4 in anhydrous ethanol at room temperature to generate the 0D/2D Ca(OH)2/Mn3O4 nanostructure (denoted as the Mn–Ca composite), in which Mn3O4 quantum dots were evenly dispersed on thin Ca(OH)2 nanosheets. Mechanism studies revealed that a trace amount of H2O released from the redox reaction between KMnO4 and ethanol regulated the slow hydrolysis and exfoliation of Ca(OH)2 nanosheets from the CaO framework. At the same time, the redox reaction generated Mn3O4 quantum dots that were deposited in situ on the Ca(OH)2 nanosheets, i.e., only where H2O was liberated and the hydrolysis of CaO took place. This mechanism allowed the uniform dispersion of Mn3O4 on the newly formed Ca(OH)2 nanosheets. Thanks to its unique 0D/2D structure, this Mn–Ca composite could highly efficiently extract trace-level Pb(II) from synthetic wastewater and outperformed many other Mn-based nanomaterials prepared purely from chemical reagents. This 0D/2D Mn–Ca composite possessed a high capacity for Pb removal (up to 1580 mg g−1 when the initial Pb(II) concentration was 1 g L−1), and it could also scavenge various other heavy metal ions such as Cu(II), Cd(II), Eu(III), Co(II), and Ag(I). Other biowaste shells such as oyster shells and clam shells also successfully produced a functional nanomaterial via the presented methodology. The current findings open a new way for biowaste recycling and may inspire the design of novel nanomaterials.


Economic models are found efficient in managing heterogeneous computer resources such as storage, CPU and memory for grid computing. Commodity market, double auction and contract-net-protocol economic models have been widely discussed in the literature. These models are suitable for sharing distributed computer resources that belong to different owners. Agent technology can be used to manage these heterogeneous resources without human intervention, since agents are autonomous and intelligent in behavior. In this paper, we develop and simulate an agent-oriented double auction economic model. We compare the performance of our agent-oriented model with traditional double auction model, and show that the agent-oriented model is good in maximizing profit for providers.


The study of floating offshore wind turbines has recently been attractive to many research groups in the renewable energy. Because the area of shallow water along Japanese coast is limited, the development of floating base for wind turbine is inevitable for making large scale wind farms. There are some problems to be solved for floating offshore wind turbines. Besides the mechanical problems of turbines, the influence of the motion of the floater in wind and waves to the electric generation properties, the safeties of floating structures such as the fatigue of machines and structures or criteria of electric facilities should be studied. Several types of floating structures have been proposed such as SPAR, TLP, pontoon, and semi submersibles. The authors have focused on SPAR type because its simpler shape seems to have economical advantages. In this paper, the authors performed experiments in a wind tunnel and a water basin from the viewpoint of "wind turbines on a SPAR type floating structure". Firstly, forced pitching experiments were operated in a wind tunnel, and the difference in two types of wind turbines, upwind type and downwind type, is discussed. The former type is very popular and the latter type is thought to be suitable for floating structure. Secondly, experiments which thought to be more relevant for a floating wind turbine were carried out in a water basin. The relationship between the location of the attachment point of mooring lines and the motion of the SPAR in waves, and the influence of pitching angle of turbine blades to the motion of the SPAR in waves were inspected. In these experiments it was used a mechanism to control the pitch angle of the blades of the scale model of wind turbine.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


The study explored the potential social benefits and motivations of participation in sport beyond those that pertain solely to healthy active living. Using organized youth ice hockey in Canada, the study also examined how cultural context can be a factor in the facilitation of such benefit, as well as the ways the game can reflect and reproduce inequalities in society more generally. A framework based on Pierre Bourdieu's assertions on social, cultural, economic, and symbolic capital, was used to analyze data from ten semi-structured interviews with men who are former youth hockey players. The interview data revealed that through hockey – as a heteronormative institution – boys and men forge rich and extensive social networks, as well as acquire the linguistic skills, attitudes, and dispositions that help them to bond in a private and exclusive manner. Furthermore, their participation in an activity increasingly limited to the middle-to-upper class allows them to be socialized among this demographic, thus making economic capital – through job opportunities, for example – highly extractable from their social and cultural capital. To a certain extent, participants also derived a sense of connectedness to a Canadian national identity due to their participation in an activity that proliferates in their national context. Nevertheless, the study identifies a number of opportunities and constraints that create disparities in participation, and as such, the allocation of benefits. Since these inequalities in sport may help to reproduce inequalities in society at large, the study closes with recommendations for policy, programs, and future research.


Resource management is one of the main issues in Cloud Computing. In order to improve resource utilization of large Data Centers while delivering services with higher QoS to Cloud Clients, a resource allocation strategy based on market (RAS-M) is proposed. Firstly, the architecture and the market model of RAS-M are constructed, in which a QoS-refection utility function is designed according to different resource requirements of the Cloud Client, the equilibrium state of RAS-M is defined and the proof of its optimality is given. Secondly, GA-based price adjusted algorithm is introduced to deal with the problem of achieving the equilibrium state of RAS-M. Finally, RAS-M is implemented upon Xen to reallocate the VM's weight. Experiments results obtained by setting different parameters show that RAS-M can achieve the equilibrium state approximately, that is, demand and supply is balanced nearly, which validates RAS-M is effective and practicable, and is capable of achieving its goal.


Elevated expression of leptin in endometriotic tissue results in an increase in stromal cell proliferation and may contribute to the development of endometriosis. However, the underlying mechanism responsible for aberrant expression of leptin is not known. We hypothesize that aberrant expression of leptin in endometriotic stroma may be regulated by increased levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), the master transcription factor that controls gene expression in response to hypoxia. Herein we show that the mRNA and protein levels of HIF-1alpha were greater in ectopic endometriotic tissue compared with its eutopic counterpart. Exposure of eutopic endometrial stromal cells under hypoxic conditions or treated with desferrioxamine (DFO, chemical hypoxia) resulted in a time-dependent increase in leptin gene expression. A promoter activity assay demonstrated that HIF-1alpha induced leptin promoter activity after DFO treatment. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay further demonstrated that binding of HIF-1alpha to leptin promoter was evident after DFO treatment. Finally, depletion of HIF-1alpha by short interference RNA abolished leptin expression in ectopic endometriotic stromal cells. Taken together, our data demonstrate that aberrant expression of leptin in ectopic endometriotic stromal cells is induced, at least in part, by an elevated level of HIF-1alpha in these cells, providing new insights into the etiology of endometriosis.


The 'Imitation Game' is a Turing Test played with a human participant instead of a computer. Here the author, a sociologist, who has been immersed in the field of gravitational wave physics since 1972, tried to pass an Imitation Game as a gravitational wave physicist. He already passed such a test in mid-2000s but this test was more elaborate and compared his performance with that of other kinds of physicists and with other sociologists as well as gravitational wave physicists. The test was based on 8 technical questions about gravitational wave physics asked by Professor Sathyprakash of Cardiff University. Collins marks compared well with that of the other gravitational wave physicists and were markedly better than that of other classes of respondent. Collins also marked the test and it can be seen that the way he marked was also much closer to the gravitational wave physicists than other categories. Though Collins's expertise can be shown to have degraded a little in the last ten years it seems not to have degraded a lot. This is important for his most recent book on the detection of gravitational waves from a black hole binary, this being Chapter 14 of this book, which is due to by published my MIT Press in February 2017.


In order to combat the different obstacles and issues with system development many of the system development firms of today use some sort of system development method to structure their system development projects. However, there are different challenges with using agile system development methods. This research addresses the different challenges that exist when using Scrum as a system development method by viewing it from different key stakeholder perspectives. The research has been based on a single case study approach that has investigated a high-tech system development firm with more than one hundred employees. The case study was conducted by interviewing six stakeholders of the firm. This research shows that there are a number of core challenges within the firm. These challenges are connected to five diffent themes: collaboration, coordination, communication, Scrum as a support unit and transistion processes revolving around Scrum.


There is business intelligence in "big data" that can be utilized to improve performance in both actively and passively managed portfolios. But extracting that business intelligence from big data has a number of challenges, including the processing scale implied in the name itself. This article is intended to be a primer for investment professionals seeking to learn more about how to meaningfully utilize the brand-name citation metrics that are available from big data. It shows how to use those metrics as either a new form of fundamental data for tactically or quantitatively managed active portfolios, or as alternate selection and weighting strategies for tracking tolerant "smart beta" applications.


Intervention analyses which incorporate temporality over a followup period typically note differences in the patterns of "single-curves" for each the experimental and control groups or differences in temporally-based taxonomies between experimentals and controls. But the former fails to allow for the possibility of subgroups of multiple trajectories and the latter collapses time (e.g., average spell durations) and arbitrarily creates cut-points to form its taxonomies. This paper investigates the utility for intervention research of using latent class growth analysis (LCGA). This method incorporates the more complete temporal information used by single-curve approaches to statistically identify the multiple subgroups at the heart of the taxonomic approach. We do this by reanalyzing a critical time intervention study (CTI) of homeless mentally ill men that used both single-curve and taxonomic approaches. By finding, among other things, differences between experimentals and controls in the number, sizes and patterns of latent subgroups than were found in the prior analysis, we suggest the utility of LCGA for assessing service interventions.


Rapid value delivery requires a company to utilize empirical evaluation of new features and products in order to avoid unnecessary product risks. This helps to make data-driven decisions and to ensure that the development is focused on features that provide real value for customers. Short feedback loops are a prerequisite as they allow for fast learning and reduced reaction times. Continuous experimentation is a development practice where the entire R&D process is guided by constantly conducting experiments and collecting feedback. Although principles of continuous experimentation have been successfully applied in domains such as game software or SAAS, it is not obvious how to transfer continuous experimentation to the business-to-business domain. In this article, a case study from a medium-sized software company in the B2B domain is presented. The study objective is to analyze the challenges, benefits and organizational aspects of continuous experimentation in the B2B domain. The results suggest that technical challenges are only one part of the challenges a company encounters in this transition. The company also has to address challenges related to the customer and organizational culture. Unique properties in each customer's business play a major role and need to be considered when designing experiments. Additionally, the speed by which experiments can be conducted is relative to the speed by which production deployments can be made. Finally, the article shows how the study results can be used to modify the development in the case company in a way that more feedback and data is used instead of opinions.


Vorticella convallaria is a sessile protozoan of which the spasmoneme contracts on a millisecond timescale. Because this contraction is induced and powered by the binding of calcium ions (Ca2+), the spasmoneme showcases Ca2+-powered cellular motility. Because the isometric tension of V. convallaria increases linearly with its stalk length, it is hypothesized that the contractility of V. convallaria during unhindered contraction depends on the stalk length. In this study, the contractile force and energetics of V. convallaria cells of different stalk lengths were evaluated using a fluid dynamic drag model which accounts for the unsteadiness and finite Reynolds number of the water flow caused by contracting V. convallaria and the wall effect of the no-slip substrate. It was found that the contraction displacement, peak contraction speed, peak contractile force, total mechanical work, and peak power depended on the stalk length. The observed stalk-length-dependencies were simulated using a damped spring model, and the model estimated that the average spring constant of the contracting stalk was 1.34 nN µm−1. These observed length-dependencies of Vorticella's key contractility parameters reflect the biophysical mechanism of the spasmonemal contraction, and thus they should be considered in developing a theoretical model of the Vorticella spasmoneme.


This paper develops and applies a forecasting model for transportation data based on the leading economic indicators literature. The specific application is to forecast river tonnages. Waterborne commerce data reflect tonnages of commodities moved on various rivers and in various directions. They are released after the Lock Performance Monitoring System data which reflect tonnages moving through specific locks. The model presented here forecasts waterborne commerce data from lock performance data. The results suggest that even a very simple model can provide precise forecasts.


Bridge investment and management decisions are multi-alternative-oriented. In many countries, bridges are mainly managed by a certain bridge management system (BMS). Many BMSs contain some form of life-cycle costing (LCC). However, the use of LCC in bridge engineering is scarce, and LCC has mainly been applied within the bridge operation phase. LCC has several useful applications within the bridge entire life, from cradle to grave. This paper demonstrates the bridge investment and management process in Sweden and simultaneously addresses the possible LCC applications. The paper discusses the need of a BMS with an integrated comprehensive LCC tool that can assist decision makers at all levels and within all phases in specifying the most cost-effective alternative taking into account all affected parameters. The basic economic analytical tools as well as new helpful LCC techniques are presented. The paper introduces the Swedish Bridge and Tunnel Management System (BaTMan). A real case study is presented to demonstrate how the decision process in BaTMan can be improved when deciding whether to repair or to replace a bridge. The analysis in this case study highlights the major issues to be considered in developing BaTMan in that particular function. Cost records for 2,560 bridges are used as input data in the presented case study. Considering the same records, the average real and anticipated initial costs of different bridge types in Sweden will be schematically presented.The project presented in this paper is sponsored by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). The project aims at enhancing the bridge investment and management decisions by developing and expanding the use of LCC in BaTMan.


Starting school has always been perceived as one of the most important transitions in a child's life and as a major challenge for the adults around him/her. Measured in social and intelectual terms, the success of this initiation is deemed by many specialists a determining factor in the easy adaptation of the newly-student to the specific demands of the educational environment. Some reference books (Fabian & Dunlop, 2002; Dunlop & Fabian, 2003) even advance the idea of a long-term impact of this period, since all subsequent experiences of the child may be influenced by his/her initial success (or failure).
The huge contribution of ICT in education, in a century when the technological boom is an unprecedented one in the history of mankind, thus becomes completely justifiable by the richness of contexts and learning experiences they make available to the preschool and young age school pupils. The studies performed in various states of the world have already emphasized the positive role of inserting such modern means in the educational process, while affirming at the same time the need to train the teaching staff in this respect.
In this context, the present article focuses on a subject of topical interest: the impact of digital teaching resources on the beginning of school and the teacher's role in developing some learning circumstances that should encourage the use of ICT. The debate is one with major implications in our area of interest, as ICT means can decisively influence, even during the kindergarten years, the training and development of intellectual work skills. In point of fact, the digital resources have many advantages from the point of view of improving the teaching-learning- assessment process, widely considered in the following pages, which comprise a critical and comparative analysis of the phenomenon, with a stress on the characteristics of the education system in Romania and on the benefits of exploiting, at national level, digital products that should support the transition from preschool to primary school.


Reviewing and summarizing the research of school physical education management can promote school physical education work. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) sorting out the achievements and shortcomings of the current research of school physical education management, and (2) putting forward prospects for the future research of school physical education management. In this review study, we followed three steps. We used the following keywords: "school physical education management", OR "physical education management" for the literature search via the libraries resources of a large university in Shanghai, China. A total of 396 relevant articles were retrieved and then saved to a data processing computer. Then we collated and classified all the articles and then analyzed the management mode, management system and management method at the macro level, as well as the management of physical education teaching in schools, the management of physical education teachers, and the management of field equipment at the micro level. (1) Achievements: The research in the field of school physical education management gradually realized that it was difficult to adapt the "experiential" management to the new requirements of school physical education development, and began to explore management concept renewal. The research on the management model of school sports began to draw lessons from the management of school sports in developed countries and put forward innovative new models. The research on the management system of school physical education puts forward the existing problems and inadequacies based on the current management system. (2) Shortcomings: the research field of school physical education management is relatively narrow, and the research on primary and secondary education themes is scarce; Lack of empirical research; The current situation of management and countermeasures were mainly studied using questionnaire survey, and some studies ignored the basic knowledge of sports management in countermeasures analysis. Future research should take into account era background and the perspective of teaching integration; specifically, to strengthen the empirical research on the management of school physical education, broaden the school sports management research field of vision, the sports management expertise and school sports management research depth fusion, make school sports research has a broader coverage, deeper theoretical depth.


The e.s.r. spectra of γ-irradiated single crystals of ice and heavy ice at 77°K have been studied. Analysis shows the complex spectrum to be consistent with OH or OD radicals trapped at 24 sites which differ in orientation but are otherwise indistinguishable. It is suggested that the radical is in a relaxed substitutional site roughly parallel to any one of the perpendicular bisectors of the faces of the two non-equivalent tetrahedra formed by the oxygen atoms in the crystal lattice. The experimentally derived tensors: [graphic omitted] are consistent with theory for OH radicals in the proposed trapping site. Annealing studies show the radicals to disappear according to first-order kinetics; this finding is discussed in terms of the proposal for a substitutional radical site.


The symmetric harmonic three-mass system with finite rest lengths, despite its apparent simplicity, displays a wide array of interesting dynamics for different energy values. At low energy the system shows regular behavior that produces a deformation-induced rotation with a constant averaged angular velocity. As the energy is increased this behavior makes way to a chaotic regime with rotational behavior statistically resembling Lévy walks and random walks. At high enough energies, where the rest lengths become negligible, the chaotic signature vanishes and the system returns to regularity, with a single dominant frequency. The transition to and from chaos, as well as the anomalous power law statistics measured for the angular displacement of the harmonic three mass system are largely governed by the structure of regular solutions of this mixed Hamiltonian system. Thus a deeper understating of the system's irregular behavior requires mapping out its regular solutions. In this work we provide a comprehensive analysis of the system's regular regimes of motion, using perturbative methods to derive analytical expressions of the system as almost-integrable in its lowand high-energy extremes. The compatibility of this description with the full system is shown numerically. In the low-energy regime, the Birkhoff normal form method is utilized to circumvent the low-order 1:1 resonance of the system, and the conditions for Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theory are shown to hold. The integrable approximations provide the back-bone structure around which the behavior of the full non-linear system is organized, and provide a pathway to understanding the origin of the power-law statistics measured in the system.


A study of Zooplankton community has been carried out at four selected sites on Dukan Lake. Samples of water and zooplankton were collected monthly for the period from July 2015 to February 2016. Some physical and chemical properties of water were studied and the results showed that the air temperature were ranged from 0 to 36.16 °C, water temperature ranged from 2.83 to 34.66 °C, hydrogen ion concentration of studied sites were found to lie in alkaline side, it was ranged between 6.87 to 8.57, electrical conductivity ranged from 190.79 to 850.08 μs.cm -1 , turbidity ranged from 0.9-7.7 NTU, and dissolved oxygen from 3.3 to 6.8 mg.l -1 while BOD5 were ranged from 0.53 to 34.66 mg.l -1 . Concerning to the zooplankton, 37 species were identified which belonged to Cladocera (48.38%), Copepod (43.28%), Rotifera (8.23%), Targigrada (0.08%) and Cnidaria (0.1%). The medusa of Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester (1880) was recorded for the first time in Iraq. Regarding to zooplankton community, rotifer were ranged between 0 to 690.91 ind.m -3 , Copepoda from 54.55 to 5927.27 ind.m -3 and Cladocera ranged from 18.18 to 6072.73 ind.m -3 . According to Shanon-Weiner index, species diversity for zooplankton invertebrates was ranged from 0.325 to 1.091 bits/ind. Jaccard's similarity index showed that the highest similarity was recorded between site (1) and site (4) with 40.74%.


Abstract Background/aims The aim of the present study was to test the psychometric properties and dimensionality of the instrument Quality in Psychiatric Care – Daily Activities (QPC–DA) and to briefly describe the day centre attendees' perception of the quality at community-based day centre services. Methods A sample of 218 attendees from 14 community-based day centre services in seven municipalities in Sweden participated in the study. Results Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the QPC–DA consists of six dimensions and has a factor structure that to a large extent corresponds to that found in other studies of quality in psychiatric care settings, such as inpatient, outpatient, forensic inpatient, and housing support for people with psychiatric disabilities. The internal consistency of the factors was satisfactory and thus the QPC–DA showed adequate psychometric properties. The attendees' ratings of quality of community-based day centre services were generally high. The highest rating was for the encounter dimension and the lowest for the participation and the secluded environment dimensions, indicating areas for improvement. Conclusion/significance The QPC–DA includes important aspects of the attendees' assessment of quality of community-based day centre services and offers a simple and inexpensive way to evaluate quality from their perspective.


Pricing strategies for subscriptions and licenses to CDROM are amazingly complex. In general the supplier seeks to achieve as high a revenue as possible from a given product. CDROM pricing strategies have two distinct aspects: prices charged for single user use and prices charged for network use. Examples are given of different pricing strategies available from different suppliers for both single user use and network use. Pricing strategies are currently very complex. Market forces and increased maturity of the market‐place are likely to lead to simpler pricing strategies.


The development of the considerable transport and logistics potential of the Kaliningrad region is hampered by several factors. This problem, to which we will refer to as a transport deadlock effect, translates into the limited contribution of transport to the regional economy. Particularly, it manifests itself at the level of regional gross value added, where the contribution of transport is much smaller than one might expect given the significant role the industry plays in the economy of the region. In this study, we examine major ways of increasing the economic efficiency of the regional transport system from the value added perspective. We posit that the structure of cargo handled and the redistribution of value added in favour of regional actors have the dominant influence on economic efficiency. Using our own simulation model and the earlier developed system of transport tariffs and value added calculation for the Kaliningrad region, we produce scenarios and consider changes in value added in the case of selected cargoes carrying intermediate, investment, and consumer goods (as defined in the International Classification for Broad Economic Categories ICT BEC-4). Our calculations show that higher value added and greater economic efficiency of a regional transport system are associated with re-orientation towards investment and consumer goods. The most visible effect is associated with rail and road transport. As to sea transport, the decisive role is played by an increase in the physical volume of cargo handled. The results of this study and its modelling tools can be applied in the analysis of the current situation and in the assessment of the efficiency of transport systems in other regions. Another possible application is the identification of growth conditions for an industry, particularly, when developing projects and proposals for increasing the efficiency of transport services.


A seller with perfect monopoly power trades an indivisible object with a buyer. Both the seller's and the buyer's valuations for the object depend on its quality, which is privately known by the seller. Moreover, the seller has perfect information about the buyer's valuation for each quality. Even though posting a fixed price is ex ante optimal, it might not be interim individually rational and hence not necessarily implementable. The set of interim optimal allocations is characterised by solving a parametric linear maximisation program. These allocations might differ from simple price-posting. If the seller offers a menu of contracts, then allocations that are not interim optimal can be supported as equilibrium allocations. However, this sub-optimality result seems not to be robust if there are at least two buyers who can counter-offer menus of contracts after the seller's offer. In that case, an allocation is an equilibrium allocation if and only if it is interim optimal.


The effects and the possibility of using some systemic fungicides as seed treatments with different active ingredients against stem rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii in peanuts were investigated. The effects of fungicides on mycelial growth of pathogen and seed germination of peanuts In vitro were determined. Severity of disease and yield were determined with pot experiments under controlled conditions as well as field experiments which were conducted for two years. Fungicides decreased the germination disorders caused by some fungal agents (Aspergillus spp., Rhizopus sp., Penicillium spp.) in and/or on the surface of seeds significantly and treatments provided an increase in germination ratio of seeds by 64-96%. Seed treatments decreased the disease severity in pot experiments under controlled conditions and field experiments by 74.3% and 34.2%, respectively. Fungicides having mixture of different active ingredients named tolclofos-methyl 200g/kg + thiram, 200g/kg, carboxin 200g/L + thiram 200g/L, fludioxonil, 100g/L and azoxystrobin 75g/L + fludioxonil 12.5g/L + metalaxyl-M 37.5g/L decreased the disease severity of pathogen in all experiments significantly and it was concluded that seed treatments with these fungicides provided substantial contribution to control of disease.


This paper is based upon a regional development project in a 'vulnerable' Swedish region consisting of three municipalities. At a first glance, this is a region in decline that is lacking in entrepreneurial initiatives. During a crucial time period the project 'Diversity in Entrepreneurship' (DiE) was launched to help the region to become more entrepreneurial and inclusive. An underlying logic was built into the project, which is associated with the critical pedagogy of Paolo Freire. From a Freirean perspective regions lacking in entrepreneurship could be reconsidered emphasizing that the entrepreneurial initiatives are always there–latent–however restrained by certain discourses; in this case a dominant enterprise discourse. Above all the enterprise discourse suppresses the ability for particular groups in society to view themselves as entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce Freire's critical pedagogical perspective to entrepreneurship and regional development. An episode illustrating how the enterprise discourse suppresses an equality discourse, introduced by way of the DiE-project, makes the point of departure for discussing the process of 'conscientization', which refers to a type of learning that is focused on perceiving and exposing contradictions and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality (Freire 1970). Some key Freirean ideas or concepts are explained, first as they were expressed by Freire and then applied to entrepreneurship and regional development. It is then discussed how these concepts found their expressions in the project. The critical pedagogic perspective not only emphasizes an entrepreneurial potential in every individual, but it also gives an idea of what kind of processes could release entrepreneurial initiatives among those who do not view themselves as entrepreneurs.


Poor people often do not make investments, even when returns are high. One possible explanation is that they have low aspirations and form mental models which ignore some options for investment. This paper reports on findings of an innovative experiment to test this in rural Ethiopia. Firstly, individuals were randomly invited to watch documentaries about people from similar communities who had succeeded in agriculture or small business, without help from government or NGOs. A placebo group watched an Ethiopian entertainment programme and a control group were simply surveyed. Secondly, the number of invitees was varied by village to assess the importance of peer effects in the formation of aspirations. Six months after the screening of the documentaries, aspirations had improved among treated individuals but did not change in the placebo or control groups. Effects were larger for those with higher aspirations at baseline. We also find evidence of treatment effects on savings and credit behaviour, children's school enrolment and investments in children's schooling, suggesting that changes in aspirations can translate into changes in forward-looking behaviour. There are also positive treatment effects on a set of related measures from psychology and sociology, including a measure of locus of control, which theory predicts should behave in similar ways to aspirations. We also find that peer effects result in further impact on educational spending and induce more work and less leisure. That a one-hour documentary shown six months earlier induces such actual behavioural change offers challenging and promising areas for further research and the design of poverty-related interventions.


ipecacuanha (mean time to Voomit, 17 min) and a further 20% vomited after the second dose of the syrup (mean time to vomit, 36 min after first dose), making a total response of 960,, in this group. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients vomiting between the 15and 30-ml dose groups. Our results indicate that syrup of ipecacuanha is indeed an effectivxe treatment for poisoning in adults and must be regarded as a useful and often more convenient and safer alternative to gastric lavage. It should, however, be emphasised that ipecacuanha syrup is contraindicated for comatose patients and also for those patients who have ingested corrosive substances or petroleum distillates.


Since games typically demand considerable computer resources, game players will often purchase new technologies to improve their game performance. One such technology is the solid state drive (SSD) with the potential to provide significantly better performance than the traditional hard disk drive (HDD). However, while the benefits of SSDs to drive access speeds can be demonstrated, the benefits to computer game performance is largely unknown. This paper presents a detailed study comparing the performance of SSDs to HDDs for several popular computer games. Initial experiments provide read access speeds on both a desktop PC and a laptop to provide a baseline for SSD and HDD comparison. Then, detailed experiments are run for three computer games, Civilization IV, Portal 2, and Torchlight, covering a range of disk activity types. Analysis of the results shows SSDs compared with HDDs provide a 25% improvement to game boot times and game start times, but no significant improvement to game save times.


The Top Management Team diversity discussed in the study is the extent to which the executive team is heterogeneous with respect to gender, age, academic qualifications, tenure, professional qualifications and functional backgrounds and how this aids quality decisions in the banking sector. Furthermore the study suggests that top management characteristics, specifically their demographic configuration could impair decision making which is the main objective and focus. Other researchers have shown that workforce diversity can provide positive organizational outcomes such as increased morale, higher satisfaction, greater commitment and improved performance. The questionnaire was the main tool of data collection. Cross sectional survey was adapted as the methodology of research where the target respondents were Heads of Human Resources in 43 banks. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The TMT diversity attributes under study were age, gender, academic qualifications, tenure in the bank and at the top, professional and functional background diversity. These variables were used to determine the existing gaps in knowledge, whether these attributes were crucial in making quality decisions. The study also used secondary data obtained from the Banking sector to measure performance in terms of increase in customer deposits, increase in average assets and profit before tax. The study established that tenure in the banking sector has a major implication in the quality of decisions made within the Top Management Teams of organizations. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA


Microtubule (MT) regulation is involved in both neuronal function and the maintenance of neuronal structure, and MT dysregulation appears to be a general downstream indicator and effector of age‐related neurodegeneration. But the role of MTs in natural aging is largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate a role of MT regulators in regulating longevity. We find that loss of EFA‐6, a modulator of MT dynamics, can delay both neuronal aging and extend the lifespan of C. elegans. Through the use of genetic mutants affecting other MT‐regulating genes in C. elegans, we find that loss of MT stabilizing genes (including ptrn‐1 and ptl‐1) shortens lifespan, while loss of MT destabilizing gene hdac‐6 extends lifespan. Via the use of tissue‐specific transgenes, we further show that these MT regulators can act in the nervous system to modulate lifespan. Through RNA‐seq analyses, we found that genes involved in lipid metabolism were differentially expressed in MT regulator mutants, and via the use of Nile Red and Oil Red O staining, we show that the MT regulator mutants have altered fat storage. We further find that the increased fat storage and extended lifespan of the long‐lived MT regulator mutants are dependent on the DAF‐16/FOXO transcription factor. Our results suggest that neuronal MT status might affect organismal aging through DAF‐16‐regulated changes in fat metabolism, and therefore, MT‐based therapies might represent a novel intervention to promote healthy aging.


Leading resistive wall mode (RWM) stability codes MARS-K [Liu et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 112503 (2008)] and MISK [Hu et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 057301 (2005)] have been previously benchmarked. The benchmarking has now been extended to include additional physics and used to project the stability of ITER in a realistic operating space. Due to ITER's relatively low plasma rotation and collisionality, collisions and non-resonance rotational effects were both found to have little impact on stability, and these non-resonance rotational effects will also not self-consistently affect the ITER RWM eigenfunction. Resonances between thermal ions and electrons and the expected level of ITER toroidal rotation were found to be important to stability, as were alpha particles, which are not in rotational resonance. MISK calculations show that without alpha particles, ITER is projected to be unstable to the RWM, but the expected level of alphas is calculated to provide a sufficient level of stability.


Compared with the intensive fundamental research and practical application development of zeolites in the fields of photocatalysis, separation, ion exchange, and antimicrobial, research on the luminescence from optically functionalized zeolites is still at a juvenile stage. So far, plenty of important potential applications based on luminescent zeolites, such as light harvesting, phosphors, optical encoding/record‐ ing, micro-lasers, chemical sensors, and bio-imaging, have been demonstrated. What's more, it has been shown that the porous crystalline nature of zeolites makes them an excellent matrix for investigating the fundamental physics of the sub-nm-scale luminescent metal clusters, which is still not sufficiently clear till now. Due to its significance, luminescent zeolites functionalized by luminescence-active guest species in various types including organic dye molecules, rare earth (RE) ions, bismuth ions, and d 10 metal ions are reviewed in this chapter, dedicating to presenting some representative work on luminescent zeolites during the past few decades, from materials design, preparation, to application demonstrations, in hope to boost more research interest and strength in this community. To date, optically activated luminescent zeolites are mainly focused on several types of aluminosilicate zeolites with the dimension of pores or channels in the scale of about 0.3–1.5 nm, such as the FAU-type, the LTL-type, the LTA-type, the ZSM-5- type, and the SOD-type zeolites. Here, in this chapter, the zeolites mainly refer to these nanoporous zeolites functionalized by luminescent centers.


Electrical fatigue tests have been conducted on PLZT ferroelectric ceramics. It was found that the higher the applied electrical field magnitude, the faster the Pr decreases; the samples under the same electrical field magnitude but with square wave have higher fatigue rate than that of sine wave. It was observed that at low frequency of applied field (50Hz and 500Hz), the polarization decreased very quickly and dropped below 70% of the original value within 106.2 switching cycles, however, when fatigue test were conducted at high frequencies of 100kHz and 300kHz, the polarization did not change significantly even after 109 cycles. The SEM analysis indicated that the facture mode was mainly of trans-granular for the virgin non-fatigued sample, while of inter-granular for the fatigue sample. The quantitative information on the 90° domain switching was measured in situ using X-ray diffraction. The effects of electrical characters on electrical fatigue behavior were explained according to the mechanism of electrical fatigue in PLZT ferroelectric ceramics.


Metaphor is frequently used in theatre to convey important messages to the audience. An interdisciplinary honors class used metaphor and theatre to teach students mathematics. Each group created a tangible object that was relevant to a mathematical principle of choice and that embodied a metaphor. Each tangible object was presented to the greater community at an art opening. Two of the projects will be discussed in this paper as well as results from a preand post-course surveys on students' perceptions of mathematics.


Abstract Ten years after the Arab uprisings, China's role in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has become more prominent. Andrea Ghiselli and Maria Grazia Erika Giuffrida argue that China has adopted a strategy of offshore balancing to weaken US influence in that region without, however, making evident attempts to establish its own sphere of influence. They analyse China's approach to Libya, Syria and Iran and draw important conclusions for how to understand China's approach to regional crises, and regional and extra-regional actors. ◼


The gap between massive educational technology investments and the expected return in enhancing teaching and learning is a global education agenda. Education reform waves have called for a wider review of pedagogical innovations in education systems around the world. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between technology integration practises and pedagogical innovations in the contexts of Malaysian higher education institutions. In this study, technology integration practice was the independent variable whereas pedagogical innovation was the dependent variable. Demographic profiles specified by six indicators were chosen as moderating variables. A total of 248 faculty members from six Tier 5 higher education institutions in Malaysia participated in this study with a response rate of 40.6%. Three of the higher education institution institutions are public universities and the remaining three are private universities. This study adopted a simple random sampling procedure of data collection using questionnaire administered through assistant faculty registrars and also through online survey. Data collected was first analysed for descriptive such as mean, standard deviation and percentage. This was followed by inferential statistics such as t-test, one-way ANOVA, UNIVARIATE, Pearson Correlation tests, and regression analyses to examine the relationships among the variables. The fidelity levels of technology integration practices were examined using an adapted innovative configuration component map. Seventy percent of the subjects had high fidelity level of technology integration practises. Pedagogical innovation was examined using an adapted instrument based on the SITES-M2 findings. It was revealed that subjects had pedagogical innovativeness that was above emergent but not meeting minimum score of being innovative. Subjects' demographic profile had no significant effect on technology integration and pedagogical innovations. Organisation and faculty's beliefs were found to exert mild positive effect on subjects' technology integration and pedagogical innovations. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed the direct relationship between technology integration and pedagogical innovations. Hierarchical regression analysis further revealed the enhancement of relationship with the presence of mediating variables for the independent and dependant variables. From the findings of this study, a relationship model for technology integration as the main predictor for faculty member's pedagogical innovations was proposed. Supportive plans and policies that form the strategies of technology integration within the faculty were found to be a positive mediator that enhanced the relationship between technology integration and pedagogical innovations. Universities had different pedagogical profiles based on ownership and there should be a national policy for technology driven education. This study concluded with a model of relationship for technology integration and pedagogical innovations that paved ways for further research in technology integration and pedagogical innovations in Malaysian higher education institutions.


Dinantian volcanism in Derbyshire was associated with minor phases of isostatic uplift of a shallow carbonate platform on the northern margin of the St. George's Land E-W land mass. The mainly tholeiitic magmas were generated by varying degrees of partial melting of heterogeneous mantle sources followed by fractional crystallization and final equilibration mainly within the lower crust. Large, high-level magma chambers were not established. Even single lava sequences, such as the Miller's Dale Lava, represent several, isolated magmatic phases. Volcanism was of within-plate type. Magmas generated in isolated mantle pockets rose to the surface through crust attenuated by lithospheric stretching.


In an effort to utilize the solar energy effectively through power electronics converters (conditioners), a great deal of research is being carried out to meet the increasing demand for load. This paper proposes an experimental photovoltaic (PV) power conditioning system with line connection. The conditioner consists of a flying capacitors multi-cell inverter fed by a dc-dc boost converter. The boost converter is designed to step-up the PV voltage to the stable required dc level without storage elements as battery. A weighted predictive controller is proposed to control the grid line current with unity power factor (PF) and extract the maximum power from the PV solar panel. Experimental results carried out using a 1kW prototype show high performance of the proposed design with a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 2.27%.


Objective Taraxerol acetate has potent anti-cancer effects via the induction of apoptosis, autophagy, cell cycle arrest, and inhibition of cell migration. However, whether taraxerol induced apoptosis and its underlying mechanisms of action is not clear. In the present study, we assess the effects of taraxerol on the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and determine the release of cytochrome c to the cytosol and activation of caspases. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, we mainly investigated the effect of taraxerol on HeLa cells. We tested cell viability by the MTT assay and morphologic changes, analyzed apoptosis by DAPI staining and flow cytometry. We also determined reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) using a Microplate Reader. In addition, the apoptotic proteins were tested by Western blot. Results Taraxerol enhanced ROS levels and attenuated the MMP (Δψm) in HeLa cells. Taraxerol induced apoptosis mainly via the mitochondrial pathway including the release of cytochrome c to the cytosol and activation of caspases 9 and 3, and anti-poly (ADP- ribose) polymerase (PARP). Taraxerol could induce the down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax. It suppressed the PI3K/ Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion These results demonstrated that taraxerol induced cell apoptosis through a mitochondria-mediated pathway in HeLa cells. Thus, taraxerol might be a potential anticervical cancer candidate.


Dysfunctional mitochondria are a well-known disease hallmark. The accumulation of aberrant mitochondria can alter cell homeostasis, thus resulting in tissue degeneration. Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a group of inherited diseases characterized by the buildup of undegraded material inside the lysosomes that leads to autophagic-lysosomal dysfunction. In LSDs, autophagic stress has been associated to mitochondrial accumulation and dysfunction. However, the mechanisms underlying mitochondrial aberrations and how these are involved in tissue pathogenesis remain largely unexplored. In normal conditions, mitochondrial clearance occurs by mitophagy, a selective form of autophagy, which relies on a parkin-mediated mitochondrial priming and subsequent sequestration by autophagosomes. Here, we performed a detailed analysis of key steps of mitophagy in a mouse model of multiple sulfatase deficiency (MSD), a severe type of LSD characterized by both neurological and systemic involvement. We demonstrated that in MSD liver reduced parkin levels resulted in inefficient mitochondrial priming, thus contributing to the accumulation of giant mitochondria that are located outside autophagic vesicles ultimately leading to cytochrome c release and apoptotic cell death. Morphological and functional changes were also observed in mitochondria from MSD brain but these were not directly associated with neuronal cell loss, suggesting a secondary contribution of mitochondria to neurodegeneration. Together, these data shed new light on the mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dysfunction in LSDs and on their tissue-specific differential contribution to the pathogenesis of this group of metabolic disorders.


Antagonism of Morf4l1 protein reduces lung cytotoxicity in a mouse model of pneumonia. An anticoagulant to treat pneumonia? Lung cell death is an important aspect of pneumonia, and yet there remains little insight into the pathways that reduce cell viability in this illness. Zou et al. found that a poorly described protein, Morf4l1, potently triggers cell death in mice with pneumonia. The life span of Morf4l1, normally a short-lived protein that is rapidly degraded by a protein complex called SCF-Fbxl18, is extended in pneumonia. By analyzing Morf4l1 structure, the authors showed that argatroban, an anticoagulant used clinically, blocks the injurious actions of Morf4l1 and prolongs survival of mice with experimental pneumonia. Unchecked epithelial cell death is fundamental to the pathogenesis of pneumonia. The recognition of unique signaling pathways that preserve epithelial cell viability may present new opportunities for interventional strategies. We describe that mortality factor 4 like 1 (Morf4l1), a protein involved in chromatin remodeling, is constitutively expressed at low levels in the lung because of its continuous degradation mediated by an orphan ubiquitin E3 ligase subunit, Fbxl18. Expression of Morf4l1 increases in humans with pneumonia and is up-regulated in lung epithelia after exposure to Pseudomonas aeruginosa or lipopolysaccharide. In a mouse model of pneumonia induced by P. aeruginosa, Morf4l1 is stabilized by acetylation that protects it from Fbxl18-mediated degradation. After P. aeruginosa infection of mice, overexpression of Morf4l1 resulted in lung epithelial cell death, whereas its depletion restored cell viability. Using in silico modeling and drug-target interaction studies, we identified that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved thrombin inhibitor argatroban is a Morf4l1 antagonist. Argatroban inhibited Morf4l1-dependent histone acetylation, reduced its cytotoxicity, and improved survival of mice with experimental lung injury at doses that had no anticoagulant activity. These studies uncover a previously unrecognized biological mechanism whereby pathogens subvert cell viability by extending the life span of a cytotoxic host protein. Morf4l1 may be a potential molecular target for non-antibiotic pharmacotherapy during severe pulmonary infection.


The extending rate of the stock is to impel cycling of VLSI based improvement, for the most of the part organizes unadulterated style and execution systems. Circuit partitioning might be a physical style approach that isolates a given circuit into territories wearisome by two or three essentials and meeting certain destinations like obliging the Cut Set between the segments, confining the deferral between the pieces, broadening the rest time of the area to lessen the utmost use and finding the time structures of the algorithmic standard. The circuit allocating is NP hard; which gathers no algorithmic standard for this class of issues and polynomial structures are found. Thus, a normally breathed life into heuristic (Ant Colony) is utilized to choose such downside. The quality ISCAS' 85 benchmark arranged web List records are utilized for testing and beguilement. The test structures and algorithmic guideline are completed in python PC code which gives higher outcomes to the majority of the circuits.


Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) quantify health status from the patient's point of view. While the number of published outcomes studies grows each year, so too has the number of instruments being reported, leading to confusion on which instruments are appropriate to use for various spinal conditions. Methods: A broad search was conducted to identify commonly used PROMs in patients undergoing spinal surgery. We searched PubMed for combinations of terms related to anatomic location and a measure of patient-reported outcome in the title or text. We supplemented the search using the "related articles" feature of PubMed and by manually searching the bibliographies of selected articles. Results: Major categories of PROMs in spine surgery include health-related quality-of-life, pain, and disease-specific disability, for which several different instrument options were identified and detailed. The minimal clinically important difference varies between instruments and differentiates statistical significance from clinical significance. In addition, the accurate estimation of costs has become a challenging but intrinsically linked variable to outcomes as increased attention is paid to the relative value of surgical interventions. Conclusion: While a number of PROMs are available for tracking outcomes in spine surgery, only a handful appear to be widely used. At least one instrument from each category should be measured pre- and post-operatively to quantify treatment effect. In addition, while the primary goal is to select the most appropriate instruments for the patient's condition, one should keep in mind sustainability of efforts with regard to patient and administrative burden.


We investigated whether sleep quantity and quality were related to 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure and cardiovascular reactivity in children. We studied term-born, healthy 8.0-year olds (SD: 1.4 years) without sleep-disordered breathing (231 and 265 children provided valid data for analyses of ambulatory blood pressure and cardiovascular reactivity, respectively). Sleep was registered with an actigraph for 6 nights on average (SD: 1.2; range: 3 to 13 nights). Ambulatory blood pressure was measured for 24-hours (41% nonschool days) with an oscillometric device. The children underwent the Trier Social Stress Test for Children, during which blood pressure, electrocardiography, and thoracic impedance were recorded and processed offline to give measures of cardiovascular and autonomic function. Neither quantity nor quality of sleep was related to 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure or cardiovascular reactivity after accounting for major covariates (sex, age, height, body mass index, and parental education). Although lower sympathetic nervous system activation and higher cardiac activation under stress were found in the group of children who slept for short duration when they were compared with the average sleep duration group, these associations were not significant after correction for multiple testing and were not seen in linear regression models of the effects of sleep duration. These findings do not support the mainstream of epidemiological findings, derived from samples more heterogeneous in age, sociodemographic characteristics, and health, suggesting that poor sleep is associated with an unhealthy cardiovascular phenotype.


Geometric constraint solving is a central topic in many fields such as parametric solid modeling, computer-aided design or chemical molecular docking. A geometric constraint problem consists of a set geometric objects on which a set of constraints is defined. Solving the geometric constraint problem means finding a placement for the geometric elements with respect to each other such that the set of constraints holds.
Clearly, the primary goal of geometric constraint solving is to define rigid shapes. However an interesting problem arises when we ask whether allowing parameter constraint values to change with time makes sense. The answer is in the positive. Assuming a continuous change in the variant parameters, the result of the geometric constraint solving with variant parameters would result in the generation of families of different shapes built on top of the same geometric elements but governed by a fixed set of constraints. Considering the problem where several parameters change simultaneously would be a great accomplishment. However the potential combinatorial complexity make us to consider problems with just one variant parameter. Elaborating on work from other authors, we develop a new algorithm based on a new tool we have called h-graphs that properly solves the geometric constraint solving problem with one variant parameter. We offer a complete proof for the soundness of the approach which was missing in the original work.
Dynamic geometry is a computer-based technology developed to teach geometry at secondary school, which provides the users with tools to define geometric constructions along with interaction tools such as drag-and-drop. The goal of the system is to show in the user's screen how the geometry changes in real time as the user interacts with the system. It is argued that this kind of interaction fosters students interest in experimenting and checking their ideas. The most important drawback of dynamic geometry is that it is the user who must know how the geometric problem is actually solved. Based on the fact that current user-computer interaction technology basically allows the user to drag just one geometric element at a time, we have developed a new dynamic geometry approach based on two ideas: 1) the underlying problem is just a geometric constraint problem with one variant parameter, which can be different for each drag-and-drop operation, and, 2) the burden of solving the geometric problem is left to the geometric constraint solver.
Two classic and interesting problems in many computational models are the reachability and the tracing problems. Reachability consists in deciding whether a certain state of the system can be reached from a given initial state following a set of allowed transformations. This problem is paramount in many fields such as robotics, path finding, path planing, Petri Nets, etc. When translated to dynamic geometry two specific problems arise: 1) when intersecting geometric elements were at least one of them has degree two or higher, the solution is not unique and, 2) for given values assigned to constraint parameters, it may well be the case that the geometric problem is not realizable. For example computing the intersection of two parallel lines. Within our geometric constraint-based dynamic geometry system we have developed an specific approach that solves both the reachability and the tracing problems by properly applying tools from dynamic systems theory.
Finally we consider Henneberg graphs, Laman graphs and tree-decomposable graphs which are fundamental tools in geometric constraint solving and its applications. We study which relationships can be established between them and show the conditions under which Henneberg constructions preserve graph tree-decomposability. Then we develop an algorithm to automatically generate tree-decomposable Laman graphs of a given order using Henneberg construction steps.


Purpose: To determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of sorafenib, bevacizumab, and low-dose oral cyclophosphamide in children and young adults with recurrent/refractory solid tumors. Experimental Design: Sorafenib dose was escalated from 90 to 110 mg/m2 twice daily with fixed doses of bevacizumab at 5 mg/kg every 3 weeks and cyclophosphamide at 50 mg/m2 daily. Once sorafenib's MTD was established, bevacizumab dose was escalated. Each course was of 21 days. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics studies were conducted during the first course. Results: Nineteen patients (11 males; median age, 9.2 years) received a median of four courses (range, 1–23). DLTs during course 1 included grade 3 rash (two), increased lipase (one), anorexia (one), and thrombus (one). With an additional 71 courses of therapy, the most common toxicities ≥ grade 3 included neutropenia (nine), lymphopenia (nine), and rashes (four). Five of 17 evaluable patients had partial tumor responses, and five had disease stabilization (>2 courses). Median day 1 cyclophosphamide apparent oral clearance was 3.13 L/h/m2. Median day 1 sorafenib apparent oral clearance was 44 and 39 mL/min/m2 at the 2 dose levels evaluated, and steady-state concentrations ranged from 1.64 to 4.8 mg/L. Inhibition of serum VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) was inversely correlated with sorafenib steady-state concentrations (P = 0.019). Conclusion: The recommended phase II doses are sorafenib, 90 mg/m2 twice daily; bevacizumab, 15 mg/kg q3 weeks; and cyclophosphamide, 50 mg/m2 once daily. This regimen is feasible with promising evidence of antitumor activity that warrants further investigation. Clin Cancer Res; 19(1); 236–46. ©2012 AACR.


This paper analyzes the effects of product market reforms in the short and medium term across 10 regulated industries and 18 advanced economies for the period 1998-2013 using internationally comparable firm-level data based on Orbis. It provides four key insights. First, product market reforms have positive effects on capital, output and employment and their effects increase over time. After two years, they raise capital by 4%, output by 3% and employment by 1.5%. Second, differences in production technology and the nature of product market regulations across sectors generate important differences in the mechanisms through which reforms operate. In network industries, reforms tend to benefit small firms, while the opposite is observed in retail trade. Product market reforms also promote firm entry, particularly those that reduce entry barriers. Third, credit constraints can play an important role in weakening the positive impact of product market reform on investment. Fourth, product market reforms also tend to have positive effects on firms in downstream sectors—both at home and abroad—that make intensive use of intermediate inputs from deregulated sectors. JEL Classification Numbers: structural reform, competition, credit constraints, firm entry, Orbis


MICHAEL J. PEEL IS W1TH CARDIFF Business School, Wales, AL.Professor Nicholas Wilson is with ILeeds University Business School, England, and Carole Howorth is with Nottingham University Business School, England. Based on the results of a qtuestionnlaire survey, this paper provides some new evidence relating to late payment and credit and working capital m-ianiagenment practices of a sample of 211 small businesses operating in the United Kingdom manufacturing sector. Small firnms are often suppliers of trade credit, despite the difficulties that this often causes them, and there is little empirical evidence on the credit granting decisions of smiall firnms. Theory suggests that firms facing a higher cost of institutional credit (i.e. small firms) are less likely to offer trade credit. Empirical evidence suggests that not only do small firms provide trade credit to their customers but they often finid themselves providing extended trade credit (i.e. are paid after the due dlate( late). It is clear that exten-dedI tu ade ((re(lit plays anl important signallinig' rol(e t'0o smaller- firms wishing to gaini sales anlt establish reputationi. This paper examtillIc. the extent of late payntient 1or stniall suippliers and the cit-t-ent pt acti(es ill tr-ade credit managenmenit. The kex restilts indicate that thei-e was large suppor t amiong respondenits for the cut rrent I JK legislation giving small firms the statuittot J right to initerest orn late payments, xvitlt such legislation being rated tlhe illost popular measuire to reduce late pax'lntelltt and also the highest rated factot- associated wtih improving busilless performance. Inproved credit attd financial management was, however, rated of relatively low import in this respect. In total, 59.5 pet cenit, of respondents stated that late paimet-tt posed an important or very iml1portall-it problem to their- businesses, wvitih 43. 1 pct l cent Oiving a similar resp)ttsi ts c espC of bad debts. 89 per cent indicated that they paid their own suppliers late to a greater or lesser extent. The amount of working capital management undertaken was found to be related to the severity of the problem for individual firms (i.e. necessity was driving action). Responses from the sample firms were found to differ significantly with respect to firm size; larger small firms had a worse late payment problem and consequently had to do more in the way of 'back-end' credit management (i.e. collection, analysis of late payment and debtor days). However, there was barely any support for credit management training among this sub-group. The smaller (micro) firms had a lesser late payment problem and subsequently did less 'back-end' credit management but were more concerned with various aspects of institutional finance. It was posited that the problems faced by small firms are at least partly associated with business size and with the life cycle of the firm.


Phenomenology is a critical component of autobiographical memory retrieval. Some memories are vivid and rich in sensory details whereas others are faded; some memories are experienced as emotionally intense whereas others are not. Sutin and Robins (2007) identified 10 dimensions in which a memory may vary—i.e., Vividness, Coherence, Accessibility, Sensory Details, Emotional Intensity, Visual Perspective, Time Perspective, Sharing, Distancing, and Valence—and developed a comprehensive psychometrically sound measure of memory phenomenology, the Memory Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ). Phenomenology has been linked to underlining stable dispositions—i.e. personality, as well as to a variety of positive/negative psychological outcomes—well-being and life satisfaction, depression and anxiety, among others. Using the MEQ, a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study were conducted on a large sample of American and Italian adults. In both studies, participants retrieved two 'key' personal memories, a Turning Point and a Childhood Memory, and rated the affect and phenomenology of each memory. Participants also completed self-reported measures of personality (i.e. Neuroticism and Conscientiousness), and measures of depression, well-being and life satisfaction. The present research showed that phenomenological ratings tend (a) to cross-sectionally increase across adulthood (Study 1), and (b) to be moderately stable over time, regardless the contents of the memories (Study 2). Interrelations among memory phenomenology, personality and psychological outcome variables were also examined (Study 1 and Study 2). In particular, autobiographical memory phenomenology was proposed as a dynamic expression of personality functioning that partially explains adaptive/maladaptive psychological outcomes. In fact, the findings partially supported the hypothesized mediating effect of phenomenology on the personality association with psychological outcomes. Implications of the findings are discussed proposing future lines of research. In particular, the need for more longitudinal studies is highlighted, along with the combined application of both self-report questionnaires and narrative measures.


This research describes the policy formulation of the odd-even traffic restriction system in DKI Jakarta from the perspective of an evidence- based policy. The odd-even policy seeks to solve congestion and environmental problems due to using private vehicles that have not been fully resolved. The researchers used the concept of evidence-based policy (Head, 2008) to understand three dimensions of evidence, namely political knowledge, scientific (research-based) knowledge, and practical implementation knowledge. The researchers used the post-positivist paradigm in this study to obtain a holistic analysis and to understand the possibility of other variables not discussed in previous theories through in-depth interviews and literature studies. The results show there was stakeholder involvement in the systemic-participatory process limited to NGOs and academics. Meanwhile, business interest groups were reactively involved through mass media support. The Transportation Department of DKI Jakarta had used data and information in the traffic restriction policy formulation with the odd-even system. Limitations in data resulted in the inability to provide a holistic picture related to traffic conditions and the effects of the odd-even policy implementation in DKI Jakarta. Practically, the odd-even policy formulation had shaped the preparedness of the implementing instruments in the odd-even policy implementation. Meanwhile, theoretically, this study found two determinant factors in the formation of political knowledge not stated by Head (2008), namely legal certainty and mass media role.


The functions in electronic devices such as mobile phones are increasing, while their dimensions are shrinking every year. To comply with this trend, the number of components on the integrated circuits (IC's) is drastically increasing and their performance such as the switching speed are improving every year as was observed by Gordon Moore in 1965 [1]. Moore suggested that the number of active components on an IC will double every 18 months [2]. Cramming more components into integrated circuits necessitates the lateral and vertical shrinkage of the component dimensions. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) foresees several challenges in complying with Moore's law in future semiconductor devices [3], among which two reasons are worth noting. Firstly, the calculations of tunnel current through the dielectric layers by Hirose et al., based on multiplescattering theory show that the transconductance fluctuations will be problematic when the gate oxide thickness is scaled down to 0.8 nm [4]. This sets the fundamental limit for thinning down the gate oxide (SiO2) in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices to 0.7 nm, beyond which the spill-over of the silicon conduction-band wave-functions into the oxide generates interface states that will generate unacceptably large power consumption [5]. Secondly, every bit of data processed in a CMOS logic gate consists of a thermodynamically irreversible process, which is given by the Landauer limit k T ln 2 B = 17.9 meV [6], which might set the noise limit beyond which the CMOS technology may not be possible unless another smart technology is developed [7].


In an attempt to investigate clinically some of the possible etiologic factors contributing to cardiac arrest during ocular surgery and to study potential means of their prevention, electrocardiography has been performed in the operating room on a series of patients undergoing various types of intraocular and extraocular operations under both local and general anesthesia. Our interest in this problem was first aroused in 1955, when one of us (R. E. K.) experienced the death of a patient during surgery for retinal detachment wherein fatal cardiac arrest developed shortly after the preliminary manipulation of two extraocular muscles. A review of the literature concerning the potential relationship between ocular surgery and cardiac arrhythmias revealed many basic facts but also bared many areas of deficiency in our understanding of this relationship and, most important to us, very little evidence as to means of prevention of cardiac arrest in eye surgery. It is toward


Amphibian populations have suffered declines throughout the world due to factors such as habitat destruction, climate change, chemical pollution or the introduction of exotic species. The correct assessment of the declines, as well as of their causes, is dependent on sound monitoring protocols in selected areas, but medium and long-term studies including data before the declines are extremely rare. The red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, recently introduced to the Iberian Peninsula, is an efficient predator of amphibian embryos and larvae and recent reports have shown that its presence in a water body is a negative predictor of the presence of amphibian breeding populations. Here we compare data from a survey of the amphibian community of the Paul do Boquilobo Nature Reserve, central Portugal, made in 2001, with data gathered in 1992/93, just after P. clarkii arrived in the reserve. The first survey confirmed the presence of 13 species of amphibians in the reserve, four of them very abundant. In 2001, only six amphibian species were recorded, all in extremely small numbers. In only eight years, most of the previously abundant species strongly declined (e.g. Pleurodeles waltl, Triturus marmoratus and Rana perezi) or went locally extinct (e.g. Hyla arborea and Pelodytes punctatus). However, several species that disappeared from the main water body of the reserve continued to reproduce in nearby ponds without crayfish. Crayfish introduction seems the most probable cause for these declines. Therefore, the survival of several Iberian Peninsula amphibian populations may be dependent upon the correct management of the habitats not easily reached by the crayfish.


The Green quasifunction method(GQM) is employed to solve the bending problem of clamped orthotropic thin plates with trapezoidal boundary shape. Firstly the governing differential equation of the problem is reduced to the boundary value problem of the biharmonic operator, and then it is reduced to the Fredholm integral equation of the second kind by Green's formula. A Green quasifunction is established by using the fundamental solution and the boundary equation of the problem. This function satisfies the homogeneous boundary condition of the problem. The irregularity of the kernel of the integral equation is overcome by choosing a suitable form of the normalized boundary equation. A numerical example demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method, and it is a novel mathematical method.


Ideas about the ontogenesis of the nominative subspecies of the Sandhill Crane are limited to two student publications (Boice, 1977; Reed, 1988). Our observations were carried out on 5.06-17.08.1991 in the vicinities of the Ust'-Chaun (= Rytkuchi) Village (68°54`N, 170°43`E) at the southeastern extremity of the Chaun Bay (North-Western Chukotka, Chaun District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia) on the 7×9 km area between the southeastern shoreline of the Chaun Bay in the North-West and the Palyavaam River in the South (Winter, 2002, 2005). At an elevation of 30-50 m from the nest, an 80-cm bar with a wide ribbon and a double-sided number was set vertically. The nestlings were marked with multi-coloured fabric strips on one or on both tibiae, weighed on a lever pharmacy scale and measured with a vernier caliper.32 measurements and descriptions of 16 chicks from 10 families were carried out from hatching to their 44th day of life. During the incubation period, on June 6-27, 27 crane pairs were visited 44 times, chronometring their behaviour for 32 hours. After hatching, on June 21 – August 17, 23 pairs were visited 94 times, and their behavior was chronometred for 48.4 hours. Changes in the colour of featherless body parts during ontogenesis are described. As well as the Eurasian, White-Naped and Demoiselle Cranes, the tip of the lower mandible in the Sandhill downy chicks is split at hatching and during the first two days; by the end of the 3rd day the distal part of the left and the right mandibles coalesce together forming a smooth dorsal edge. Regressions of three indicators of beak growth are later represented by the second-order polynomials. The rudimentary claws on the wing (Phalanx digiti alulae – 1st toe) and the end of the wing (Phalanx digiti majoris – 2nd toe) remained almost unchanged for 3 weeks, and by the 44th day (24-fold increase in body weight!) they increased by 1.4-2.0 times. The growth of the metatarsus, toes and their claws is represented by the second-order polynomials. In the individual variability of the Sandhill Crane downy chicks, the unusual shape of their head is clearly visible. In 75% of the observations, it was similar to the gladiator's head in a helmet: the short lustrous smooth down that forms a kind of slightly convex glasses around eyes, sharply contrasting with the considerably longer down on the vertex and occiput, forming a rounded crest (similar to that in the Jay, Garrulus glandarius) which begins with a ledge on the occiput. Probably, the embryonic down (praepennae) in some of the Sandhill Crane chicks grows longer than the first 2-4 days of life than in the White-Naped Crane (Ilyashenko, 2005). No areas of down contrasting in colour with the rest of the head and 'face' were found in the nestlings of other above-mentioned cranes. The Sandhill Crane downy chicks have contrasting grayish brown spots on the light yellow, 'golden' background of the lower part of the frons over the beak base (upper edge of the eye-stripe) as well as crescent-shaped spots in front and above, behind and below the eyes. Another unusual feature of the Sandhill Crane downy chicks is the presence of the egg «tooth» not only on the upper mandible (44.4%), but also on the lower mandible (55.6% of the chicks). In two chicks from one nest aged 2 and 3 days, two rows (in one chick incomplete) of light grey embryonic fluff proximally and distally on the "heel" (intertarsal joint) were found. This fluff was completely worn within a week. This sort of the apteria has not been described in the monograph on chickpterilography of the 10 bird orders of the world fauna yet (Ilyashenko, 2015). The visible on the abdomen outer part of the oval yolk sac (Saccus vitellinus), oriented by the long axis along the chick body, as well as the suture of the sphincter that closed it, are surrounded with the apterium of the yolk sac (we called it Apterium vitellinum;Winter, Gorlov, 2019), which is a diamond-shaped structure with rounded angles and is not yet known for the cranes. In the first 3 days of life, the yolk sac degraded quickly, but its size depended not only on age, judging by its size variation in three-day-old chicks. Apparently, its size depended much on the food availability in the nest surroundings. Chicks picked berries on their own from 13-14 hours old and, probably, their abundance or scarcity can be explained by such an uneven loss of the initial size of the yolk sack. This observation contradicts the "golden rule" for the Demoiselle and Eurasian Crane downy chicks, in which in the first days of chicks life, the younger one was heavier and had a larger yolk sac (Winter et al., 1999; Winter, 2008; Winter, Gorlov, 2019). During the two-hour observations of 3 crane families on the 14-18th days of the chick life, we did not record the food passing "from beak to beak". Unlike the first week of life, the adult birds only pointed with their beaks to the food the chicks should peck. Comparison of the behavior of 5 crane species near the clutches and chicks showed that the Sandhill Crane behaved abnormally, since the distance between the observer and the adults displaying their anxiety at the nest ranged from 15 to 40 m! At the same time, there were no sexual differences in the adults behavior near the nest. The half-squat pose with half-open and roof-shaped wings, raised above the back, with the body (neck-tail) at an angle of 30-35 degrees to the ground, is very similar in the Sandhill, Hooded and Eurasian cranes, while the Demoiselle Crane had different distraction poses. Flying around the observer by adult birds at the height of 30-60 m near the nest or chicks is observed in all crane species that we know, but in the Sandhill Crane this action is obviously socialized. As the unprecedentedly high for cranes nesting density in 1991 was 0.74 nest per 1km2 and the average distance between the nests was1082.1 ± 62.6 m (Winter, 2002), the pair's anxiety near the nest had a clear social impact and probably decreased the number of the destroyed neighbours' nests. A disturbed pair of birds, with screams in flight, followed the observer until he reached the boundary of the neighbouring nesting area. Then the neighbouring pair also left its nest and flew around the observer. If he had not followed that pair before, the search for their nest was often unsuccessful. Marking nests and nestlings has enabled estimation of the distance of the crane families from their nests in 56 observations from hatching to being capable of flight. The distance was significantly different (ß>0.95) only between the chicks from hatching to 10 day old and those of 11-20 day old. The maximum distance of the family from its nest was 1000-1100 m and was probably determined by the fact that by the time of hatching the non-breeding territorial pairs (making nests but having no clutches in them) and the pairs whose clutches died had already left their nesting sites.


While for quite a long time the budget was considered one of the crucial management tools, it has always been subject to criticisms, which have become stronger in the last couple of decades, under the commercial name of "Beyond Budgeting". In this article, we review the history and foundations of budgeting, to show how typically, the criticisms to budgeting have to be addressed to a bad management style, and not to the technique itself. Then, I use an example to show how budgets can be used to the firm's advantage in many fields, but mainly in being able to avoid unpleasant surprises, create trust between the different hierarchical levels of the firm, and enhance learning in the positive sense. This allows the firm to avoid vicious circles that are often found in the practice of budgeting because of bad management, not because of the budgets themselves.


Our recent meeting provided a factual basis for analysis of alternative milk policies. We analyzed the cost of production on farms, in processing, and in retailing. We collected and analyzed prices at the retail, wholesale, and farm level. This exercise gave us a rare glimpse into the distribution of the price paid by consumers among retailers, processors, and farmers. No one at the conference disputed this factual analysis and the conclusions that the farmer's price is too low in relation to costs, that the retailers net profit margins are excessive, and that consumers, if anything, pay too much for milk in New England. Moreover no one disputed the conclusion that the New York price gouge law contributes to lower retail milk prices when raw milk prices are low. Most conference participants, however, rejected the New York price gouge law as a policy option for New England because they had a strong desire to increase farm prices. The New York law does little for farmers.


Lamellar MoS2 nanosheets were successfully prepared by hydrothermal synthesis using 1-(3-mercaptopropyl)-3-methyl-imidazolium bromine (MIMBr) ionic liquid as a sulfur source and a morphology control agent, and sodium molybdate as a molybdenum source. Gold nanoparticles were assembled on the surface of MoS2 nanosheets by the in situ reduction of chloroauric acid at low temperatures to successfully fabricate AuNP/2D-MoS2 nanocomposites, thus improving photoelectrochemical response. AuNP/2D-MoS2 nanocomposites were used as photoelectrically active materials modified onto a glassy carbon electrode surface to construct a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor. Then, using 1-(N-pyrrolpropyl)-3-methyl-imidazolium bromine (PMIMBr) ionic liquid as a functional monomer and pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (Pro-GRP) as a template, a molecularly imprinted polymerized ionic liquid film was electrochemically deposited on an AuNP/2D-MoS2/GCE surface. Upon removing the templates, a molecularly imprinted photoelectrochemical sensor was constructed for the sensing of a tumor marker, pro-gastrin-releasing peptide. Experimental conditions including ascorbic acid concentration, polymerization conditions, incubation time, and pH value of the incubation solution have been optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the molecularly imprinted photoelectrochemical sensor can specifically detect the target protein Pro-GRP in the range of 0.02 ng mL-1-5 ng mL-1 with a detection limit of 0.0032 ng mL-1 (S/N = 3). The practicability of this photoelectrochemical sensor was demonstrated by accurately determining Pro-GRP in human serum samples.


This article discusses three case studies where researchers addressed specific aspects of their second language use which they perceived to be fossilised. The first case deals with a Korean researcher's perceived lack of progress in speaking skills in English, particularly in active vocabulary; the second case looks at an English researcher's problem with gender assignment and adjective agreement in German, while the third case looks at an English researcher's difficulties with French pronunciation. Each researcher devised a treatment for his/her particular problem independently and applied the treatment, for the most part, autonomously. We argue that this kind of approach has the potential to lead to defossilisation but, more importantly, we argue that it is an invaluable way of raising awareness of the range of cognitive and affective strategies that are available to the learner, and the importance of metacognitive knowledge and strategies in deploying these resources to best effect.


What contribution did women artists make during the Second World War? Why is their work not widely discussed or acknowledged? In this lecture at Tate Britain, London, art historian Dr Alicia Foster explores the role of women artists, their contribution to the war effort, and the gendered power struggles that occurred and still occur. Using her novel Warpaint - which features Kenneth Clark as a character - as a starting point, Foster delves into his position as Chairman of the War Artists Advisory Committee and what that meant for women artists.

This event is related to the exhibition, Kenneth Clark, at Tate Britain, 20 May - 10 August 2014.


PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of two graded task-based interventions in improving neuromotor fitness among adolescent girls. METHODS: Fifty-six female adolescents (14.4±0.9years) classified as overweight or obesity participated in the study. Participants were randomly allocated to receive either the graded Wii exercises or task-based functional exercise and attended weekly 45min exercise sessions for 14 weeks. During the training period, the participants received supervised exercise training that was systematically graded with simple objects such as sandbags and plastic bottles over 14 sessions. Outcome measures included motor competence, lower extremity muscular strength (both isometric and functional strength), aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Data on enjoyment and ratings of perceived exertion were collected for each session. A repeated measure ANOVA was used to analyse the data with significance level set apriori at p<0.05. RESULTS: At the end of the intervention, it was observed that both groups had significant improvement in motor competence [F(1,54)=0.465,p=0.001], lower extremity muscular strength (isometric strength) [F(1,54)=592.470,p=0.001], lower extremity muscular strength (functional strength) [F(1,54)=15.993, p=0.001], aerobic [F(1,54)=5.586, p=0.022] and anaerobic fitness [F(1,54)=45.792,p=0.001]. Though the two interventions were equally considered to be enjoyable by the participants, there was no difference in outcomes for the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The two graded task-based interventions may be useful for increasing neuromotor fitness in this population. People working with girls in this age group could implement either of the two depending available resources. We recommend the adoption of these interventions for physical education and/or fitness promotion programmes among girls in low income settings.


There is morphological and biochemical evidence that insulin is internalized in hepatocytes. The present study was designed to investigate the fate of the insulin receptor itself, subsequently to the initial binding step of the hormone to the hepatocyte plasma membrane. The insulin receptor was labeled with a 125I-photoreactive insulin analogue (B2[2-nitro,4-azidophenylacetyl]des-PheB1-insulin). This photoprobe was covalently coupled to the receptor by UV irradiation of hepatocytes after an initial binding step of 2-4 h at 15 degrees C. At this temperature, only limited (approximately 20%) internalization of the ligand occurred. In a second step, hepatocytes were resuspended in insulin-free buffer and further incubated for 2-4 h at 37 degrees C. After h at 37 degrees C, no significant radioactivity could be detected in non-UV-irradiated cells, whereas 12-15 % of the radioactivity initially bound remained associated to UV-irradiated cells. Morphological analysis after electron microscopy revealed that approximately 70% of this radioactivity was internalized and preferentially associated with lysosomal structures. SDS PAGE analysis under reducing conditions revealed that most of the radioactivity was associated with a 130,000-dalton band, previously identified as the major subunit of the insulin receptor in a variety of tissues. Internalization of the labeled insulin-receptor complex at the end of the 37 degrees C incubation was further demonstrated by its inaccessibility to trypsin. Conversely, at the end of the association step, the receptor (also characterized as a predominant 130,000-dalton species) was localized on the cell surface since it was cleaved by trypsin. We conclude that in hepatocytes the insulin receptor is internalized with insulin.


Introduction. A large portion of the biodiversity data in natural history collections is still not available digitally. Increasingly, innovative high-throughput methods are being applied to digitize this backlog in bulk, generating large amounts of data. In parallel, natural history museums are becoming increasingly involved in the generation of large amounts of molecular biodiversity data using new massively parallel sequencing platforms. Against this backdrop, the goal of EU BON Task 1.4 has been to support data mobilization efforts targeting collection-based and molecular data, mainly through the development and integration of innovative open-source tools and services.Progress towards objectives. The activities have involved work within the context of three major projects: i) DINA, an open-source, modular, web-based collection management system for natural history specimen data. ii) JACQ an open-access system for botanical (herbarium) data. iii) PlutoF, a web platform for working with traditional and molecular biodiversity research data. The task has also involved work on a number of other EU BON partner systems and services, as well as integration across internal EU BON and external biodiversity informatics resources. Finally, these systems have been used for targeted data mobilization efforts.Achievements and current status. Within DINA, the focus has been on supporting the engineering of sophisticated biodiversity information systems through the exploration of tools supporting distributed development and a modular plug-and-play design based on services-oriented architectures. This has involved the testing and adoption of tools like Apiary for the design of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and Docker for systems integration and deployment tasks. A Python library for data migration to DINA was also developed and tested. Within JACQ, a number of tools were developed to facilitate deployment and data migration to the system, and the AnnoSys tool for annotation of data has been integrated. Within PlutoF, EU BON efforts focused on the development of a citizen-science module and improved functionality for the mobilization of collection (living) specimen data. A number of innovative tools were developed by Pensoft to help mobilize biodiversity data published in the scientific literature, including semantic mark-up of species conservation papers, direct import of data from a range of biodiversity platforms into manuscripts, and a mechanism for providing stable links from publications to global biodiversity repositories. Plazi implemented an automated workflow mining published scientific papers for taxonomic data, currently mobilizing 25 % of all published new names as they become available. GlueCad developed apps allowing citizen scientists reporting spontaneous observations or systematic inventory data to select target taxa and preferred data mobilization platform. IBSAS and UCPH have focused on national data mobilization efforts targeting Slovakia and Denmark, respectively.Future developments. Although the development is clearly towards increased integration of biodiversity informatics tools into larger and more sophisticated systems, it is clear that there is no one size that fits all. Nevertheless, the increasingly widespread adoption of community standards, open-source development practises and service-oriented architectures are pushing the capability of current systems forward and facilitating tighter integration across systems. This trend is supported by the appearance of sophisticated tools enabling the design and deployment of complex modular systems. The adoption of the Docker approach is one example of how the biodiversity informatics community may benefit from this.