The Federal Communication Commission's Order on Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet (GN Docket No. 14-28), adopted on February 26, 2015, mentions innovation more than 100 times. The Order is based on the premise that Internet openness is a precondition for a virtuous cycle in which edge innovation and network investment mutually propel each other. The adopted rules — including bright line standards (no blocking, no throttling, no paid prioritization), and safeguards for non-discriminatory access of edge providers and users — are seen as necessary safeguards to allow this beneficial process to unfold. Although an extensive research literature exists on the drivers of innovation in information and communication markets the Order mainly refers to comments and assertions submitted by stakeholders but it does not reference any of the pertinent innovation research. This paper seeks to close this gap by integrating insights from innovation theory and regulatory economics to examine the conditions of innovation in the Internet. We then juxtapose the findings with the vision embraced in the Order. Because empirical observations from countries where network neutrality regulations have been in place for some time (e.g., Netherlands, Chile) are sparse and anecdotal, the paper remains largely theoretical and conceptual. There is a long debate on the pros and cons of network neutrality regulation by constraining forms of active traffic management. Mandating net neutrality by means of government regulation, in particular the ban to charge termination fees to content providers, would be subsidizing the creation of new application services. This absence of fees to be paid to the Internet traffic providers would stimulate entry of new application service providers and also move consumers into the role of prosumers who are creating their own application software (Lee and Wu 2009, pp. 66; Choi and Kim 2010). While it helped clarify important aspects, this literature is too narrowly construed as it does not explore the full set of complementarities between network and edge innovations. Moreover, the rapid convergence of a multitude of services with heterogeneous demands on the emerging all-IP network requires a broader perspective. There is also a vibrant theoretical literature suggesting that some degree of network differentiation is conducive to efficiency and innovation (e.g., Reggiani and Valletti 2011; Kramer et al. 2013; Bourreau, Kourandi and Valletti 2014) although this body of work typically uses highly abstract notions of innovation. Our paper goes beyond these strands of literature by differentiating the types of innovation processes that unfold in the Internet economy and then linking them with research on innovation in highly interdependent systems. Building on the industrial organization literature on innovation types (e.g., Malerba and Orsenigo 1996; Breschi, Malerba and Orsenigo 2000), the paper starts with a detailed examination of the anatomy of the Internet innovation space. We distinguish innovation processes along two main dimensions: the type of coordination required for a successful innovation (modular, coupled) and the extent of the innovation (incremental, radical). The role of "innovational complementarities" between General Purpose Technologies (GPT, Bresnahan and Trajtenberg 1995) is of particular relevance in future all-IP networks. Although the focus of the literature on General Purpose Technologies (GPTs) has mainly been on the role of key technologies on aggregated economic growth, its overall framing is very fruitful for the understanding of the dynamics of the future Internet. According to Bresnahan and Trajtenberg (1995) innovation in the upstream GPT increases the productivity of R&D in downstream application markets and, developments of GPT-using applications raise vice versa the return to new advances in the GPT. From this perspective innovations within the Internet are not only driven by applications but can also be stimulated by positive feedback effects from the all-IP infrastructure and Generalized DiffServ architecture which function as GPTs for the application services (Knieps 2013). It is therefore important that the GPTs both on the broadband infrastructure level as well as on the traffic architecture level are open for innovative evolutions, taking into account requirements from the application side. Within this conceptual framework we examine the conditions under which different types of innovation flourish and under which conditions an overall desirable mix of innovation emerges. Are forms of differentiation in the network a precondition for certain types of innovation? Does exploiting the innovation potential of some applications require realizing innovation potentials within the data transmission architecture? On the other hand, what types of innovation in the network and at the application and services level are likely supported in a neutral network environment?This yields a differentiated analysis. In the future all-IP world a disaggregated representation of the Internet into all-IP broadband infrastructures, markets for Internet traffic (applying active traffic management) and markets for application services become more relevant. While much will depend on how many of the provisions in the FCC Order will be interpreted and operationalized, our framework helps formulate contingency claims as to how different approaches will affect innovation. If the rules are interpreted in a rather stringent way, it is likely that innovation will be biased toward application and services with the risk that infrastructure constraints may eventually slow down innovation compared to a scenario in which some degree of network differentiation is allowed. One possible outcome is that innovations that thrive in a more quality-differentiated network environment might migrate to private IP networks, inadvertently undermining one of the central goals of the Order, to safeguard an integrated and open Internet.


As logical as the existence and role of Public Service Broadcasters seemed to be in the era of broadcasting monopolies, it is equally natural today to question public involvement in the media. Is there still a need for public broadcasters? What are their cultural obligations, political role and remit in the dual European media market? Which changes will new media, the Internet and digital technology bring, and what impact will they have on the media market? What is the role of governments and parliaments in relation to the public broadcasters, and what are the implications of EU regulation of the media market? Do the public media really make a difference, or are they dinosaurs threatened with extinction in the new and unfamiliar media landscape of modern Europe? These are the questions addressed in this book, which has been commissioned by the European Broadcasting Union as one of its contributions to the debate on the future of broadcasting.


Entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana widely used as biopesticide that specifically infect and kill insect pests. The present study was aimed to evaluate antioxidant and cytotoxic potentials of mycelia extracts of ten Beauveria bassiana isolates. Mycelia of Beauveria bassiana were extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. Antioxidant activity possessed by the mycelial extracts was studied using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical assay. Cytotoxic activity of mycelia extracts was tested using A-549 cell lines employing sulforhodamine B assay. Among all the mycelial extracts of Beauveria bassiana isolates, ethyl acetate extract exhibited highest antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 202.45 µg/ml. Highest cytotoxic activity was observed with the ethyl acetate extract (116 %) while standard cisplatin showed 102 %. Further investigations needed on isolation and characterization of secondary metabolites that could be responsible for these activities in a bid to develop new compounds for cancer.


Cerebral ischemic insults in at least 30% of severely head injured patients at a very early stage following trauma and are associated with early death. To date, the threshold for ischemia of 18 mL/100g/min used in human head injury studies has been adopted from animal studies (by temporary occlusion of the middle cerebral artery). Since the traumatized brain becomes more susceptible to irreversible damage if accompanied by ischemia one may question whether the threshold for ischemic vulnerability is higher than 18 mL/100 g/min. Cerebral ischemia can cause atrophy. Therefore, the authors obtained computerized tomography (CT) scans in 33 comatose head-injured patients (Glasgow Coma Score of 8 or less) at least 3 months following injury and compared ventricle sizes (as a reflection of atrophy) with cerebral blood flow (CBF) obtained within 4 h (average 2.3 +/- 0.8 h) after injury. Ventricular measurements were performed in three fashions: the third ventricular size (cm), the bicaudate cerebral ventricular index (BCVI), and the hemispheric ventricular index (HCVI). No significant correlation was found between early CBF and any of the ventricule sizes. Applying a multiple correlation analysis with four independent parameters [CBF, CBF/time postinjury, CBF/(time postinjury)2, age], only age emerged as a significant indicator for predicting ventricle size (p < 0.001). We also compared CBF data, obtained within 4 h after trauma, from survivors at 3 months after injury (mean CBF of 32 mL/100 g/min) with CBF data from non-survivors (CBF 20 mL/100 g/min). The difference in CBF between survivors and nonsurvivors was significant at p < 0.001 (Wilcoxon rank-sum test). The proportion of patients with CBF less than or equal to 20 mL/100 g/min was 56% in the nonsurvivors and only 5% in survivors. The difference in the proportions was significant at p < 0.001 (chi-square test). We conclude that a measure of atrophy does not correlate with ultra-early CBF. However, based on the clear distinction between survivors and nonsurvivors, we suggest the threshold for ischemia after head injury be redefined as a CBF of 20 mL/100 g/min.


After thirty years of vacillation, the Tanzanian government has made a firm decision to Swahilize its secondary education system. It has also embarked on an ambitious economic and social development programme (Vision 2025) to transform its peasant society into a modern agricultural community. However, there is a faction in Tanzania opposed to Kiswahili as the medium of education. Already many members of the middle and upper class their children to English medium primary schools to avoid the Kiswahili medium public schools and to prepare their children for the English medium secondary system presently in place. Within the education system, particularly at university level, there is a desire to maintain English as the medium of education. English is seen to provide access to the international scientific community, to cutting edge technology and to the global economy. My interest in this conflict of interests stems from several years' experience teaching English to students at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Students specialise in agriculture and are expected to work with the peasant population on graduation. The students experience difficulties studying in English and then find their Kiswahili skills insufficient to explain to farmers the new techniques and technologies that they have studied in English. They are hampered by a complex triglossic situation in which they use their mother tongue with family and friends, Kiswahili, the national language for early education and most public communication within Tanzania, and English for advanced studies. My aim in this thesis was - to study the language policy in Tanzania and see how it is understood and implemented; - to examine the attitudes towards the various languages and their various roles; - to investigate actual language behaviour in Tanzanian higher education. My conclusion is that the dysfunctionality of the present study has to be addressed. Diglossic public life in Tanzania has to be accommodated. The only solution appears to be a compromise, namely a bilingual education system which supports from all cases of society by using Kiswahili, together with an early introduction of English and its promotion as a privileged foreign language, so that Tanzania can continue to develop internally through Kiswahili and at the same time retain access to the globalising world through the medium of English.


The oral cavity is an important and frequently undervalued source of diagnostic and prognostic information in patients with HIV disease. A variety of conditions affecting oral mucosal tissues may arise either de novo or secondary to lesions elsewhere in the body and may provide the genitourinary physician with additional knowledge of individual patients' biological responses to their HIV infection. The mouth may also be a primary source of infection in any individual, which may spread via the mucosal associated lymphoid tissues or stimulate systemic inflammatory immune responses via chronic low grade entry of bacterially derived antigenic/virulence factors into the gingival vasculature.1, 2 Indeed, the gingival and periodontal tissues are unique in structure, since they form the point at which internally linked hard tissues breach the epithelial surface rather like a compound bone fracture. This junction of tooth and gingiva provides a potentially weak barrier through which bacteria and their virulence factors (for example, lipopolysaccharide) may enter the connective tissues and systemic circulation (see fig 1). In this respect, maintaining a low microbial load within the mouth should be seen as an essential component of preventative treatment regimens in HIV positive patients.

 Figure 1
Schematic diagram of the tooth/gingival junction, demonstrating the permeable junctional epithelium, underlying connective tissues, and periodontal tissues. JE = junctional epithelium; OE = oral epithelium; GCF = gingival crevicular fluid; GBV = gingival blood vessels

When one considers that approximately 98% of lymphocytes reside in the tissues rather than circulation, then the clinical condition of the oral mucosa and periodontal tissues may potentially provide valuable information, additional to viral load or CD4 counts, that may help in the management of HIV infected patients.

With the basic biology of both the oral mucosa and periodontal tissues in mind, the importance of oral lesions in HIV infection can be …


ABSTRACT This article examines the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine's (PIJ) framing to explain the radicalisation and short-term tactical variations of its violent repertoires of action during the Second Intifada. By adopting a framing-sensitive approach, the analysis reveals that PIJ actions should be approached as relational performances that communicated a symbolic message to different audiences, beyond their immediate targets. This, in turn, solves some of the puzzles regarding the mixed effects of repression on political violence. Furthermore, by analysing PIJ through the lens of social movement theory, the article contributes to de-orientalise the academic knowledge on this group by highlighting the context-dependent character of its mobilisation strategies against Israel.


The purpose of this study is to investigate EMI academics' cognitions and practices regarding pronunciation of English as a foreign language in EMI classrooms. The study was conducted using a qualitative research design and a semi-structured interview format. The participants of the study were university instructors, associate professors, and professors from different departments including Faculties of Medicine and Nursing, Departments of English Language Teaching, English Language and Literature, and Translation and Interpreting Studies. The qualitative data were collected through interviewing the participants. The results revealed that EMI academics generally had positive attitudes toward correct pronunciation in EMI classrooms. They reported that proper pronunciation could lead to a better understanding of content and improvement in general language skills, particularly pronunciation proficiency. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that EMI can be considered an efficient means of improving students' English pronunciation and content learning since teaching content through English provides the students with more exposure to the language and more opportunity to practice English pronunciation.


In June 2012, as a result of a marine phenomenon that resulted in the death of birds of several species of seabirds, endoparasites were studied in two pelicans (Pelecanus thagus) and two penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) found dead on the beach in the district of Chorrillos, Lima (Peru). The helminths were obtained from the digestive tract in both species using the Travassos protocols. The nematodes Contracaecum rudolphii and Syngamus trachea, the cestode Tetrabothrius sp, the trematode Galactosomum puffini and the acanthocephalan Corynosoma sp were identified in Pelecanus thagus. In Spheniscus humboldti, the trematode Cardiocephaloides physalis and the nematodes Contracaecum pelagicum and Cyathostoma phenisci were identified. Syngamus trachea, Galactosomum puffini, Corynosoma sp and Contracaecum pelagicum are considered new reports in Pelecanus thagus in Peru. In addition, Spheniscus humboldti can be considered new host of Cardiocephaloides physalis and Cyathostoma phenisci.


Co-opetition, simultaneous co-operation and competition, is a recent phenomenon. Co-opetition entails sharing knowledge that may be a key source of competitive advantage. Yet, the knowledge gained by cooperation may also be used for competition. There is little investigation of how this problem may be modeled and, hence, managed. A game-theoretic framework for analysing inter-organisational knowledge sharing under co-opetition and guidelines for the management of explicit knowledge, predicated on co-ordination and control theory has been proposed, but remains untested. This research empirically investigates these issues in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs provide an interesting setting as they are knowledge generators, but are poor at knowledge exploitation. The paper uses data from UK SMEs to investigate co-opetition, management of knowledge sharing and the role of IS.


In this paper a social network is extracted from a literary text. The social network shows, how frequent the characters interact and how similar their social behavior is. Two types of similarity measures are used: the first applies co-occurrence statistics, while the second exploits cosine similarity on different types of word embedding vectors. The results are evaluated by a paid micro-task crowdsourcing survey. The experiments suggest that specific types of word embeddings like word2vec are well-suited for the task at hand and the specific circumstances of literary fiction text.


Manuscripts submitted to the journal may be reviewed for possible publication within one of the following journal sections. Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal must specify which of the sections their submission best fits into for purposes of review and potential publication. Articles appearing in these sections reflect various research and practical aims and the review process for each section reflects these aims.


Favorable weather and the adoption of Genetically Modified (GM) corn hybrids are often argued to be factors that explain recent corn yield increases and risk reduction in the U.S. Corn Belt. The focus of this analysis is to determine whether favorable weather is the main factor explaining increased and more stable yields or if biotechnology adoption is the more relevant driving force. The hypothesis that recent biotechnology advances have increased yields and reduced risks by making corn more resistant to pests, pesticides, and/or drought is tested. Fixed effects models of yields and crop insurance losses as functions of weather variables and genetically modified corn adoption rates are estimated taking into account the non-linear agronomic response of crop yields to weather. Preliminary results show that genetically modified corn adoption rates, especially insect- resistant corn adoption, have had a significant and positive effect on average corn yields in the U.S. Corn Belt over the last years. Furthermore, genetically modified corn adoption has not only increased corn's tolerance to extreme heat but has also improved corn's tolerance to excessive and insufficient rainfall.


A fully integrated, single-chip power amplifier has been designed to meet the requirements of W-CDMA mobile handsets. The circuit was designed in IBM's 47 GHz f/sub T/ SiGe BiCMOS process with all passive components and matching circuits included on-chip. The design achieves 24 dBm output power with 30% PAE and excellent linearity. The power amplifier draws 42 mA of quiescent current from a 3.3 V source. The fabricated circuit occupies a die area of 1.8 mm /spl times/ 1.25 mm, offering at least 10/spl times/ improvement in chip/board area over current designs, allowing for increased levels of transmitter integration.


Salman Rushdie's use of the 19th Century Bildungsroman form in his novel, Midnight's Children , explores a young man's coming of age on the threshold of a changing society while simultaneously illustrating the futility of an Indian national narrative. Rushdie's novel spans four generations but centers on the journey of his protagonist, Saleem Sinai. Born at the exact moment of India's independence in 1947, Saleem is inexorably "handcuffed to history", his birth marking the birth of a new India. Saleem embodies India in the novel, his magical powers literally enabling him to contain all of India's voices within himself. The novel charts Saleem's life, detailing his rise and fall through social classes and his effort to find identity in an increasingly fractured society. Critics argue that Rushdie uses the 19th Century European Bildungsroman, a type of coming of age structure, as a model to chart Saleem's passage from birth to adulthood in Midnight's Children. Many elements that characterize the genre can be found in the novel, and the influence of European narrative forms mirrors the effect of colonialism in India. I assert that Rushdie sets up Saleem's growth in the style of the Bildungsroman and proceeds to dismantle the genre through Saleem's failure to achieve a concrete personal identity, as well as the character's failure to assimilate into society. As a postmodern novel, Midnight's Children rejects the idea of unified self. Therefore, if Saleem, as India, fails to rectify his fractured self, what does this say about India's ability to achieve a unified nation narrative? This paper explores how the breakdown of the Bildungsroman in the novel reflects the inability for a national narrative of postmodern India.


The KidSat data system provided near real-time access to digital images taken from the space shuttle. The images were made available to middle school students and teachers across the country and overseas through the World Wide Web. The KidSat Project was one of the first NASA programs to attempt to use the web as a means of distributing image data within minutes of the time they were captured in space. After the first hurdle, getting the image data online in a timely manner, was cleared, it became the goal of the data system to present that data in an understandable context. The development of the system was a collaborative effort. Members of the data system team conferred continually with teachers, students, and other members of the KidSat Project. Modifications to the data system were made as often as was possible, while attempting to avoid confusing the users. The goal was to create an online system that presented the KidSat images in a manner that allowed the students to better understand and interpret these images. In short, that goal was reached, but whether the users agreed with this judgment may be directly related to the speed with which they could connect to the Internet. Many lessons were learned along the way, and strategies for future similar projects were devised. For the three KidSat missions, over 1500 images were captured and made available on the data system. Additionally, metadata describing the shuttle location and orientation, satellite weather data (captured at or near the time of the KidSat image), and digital maps of the area directly surrounding the KidSat image were made available. How these various data sets were assembled and how effectively design and operational goals were met is discussed in detail.


Doba Basin, Chad, is situated within the Central African rift system and contains up to 13 km (8 mi) of Cretaceous alluvial and lacustrine deposits. The complex climatic and tectonic evolution of the region, spanning the early to late Cretaceous is uniquely recorded in the stratigraphic architecture. In this chapter, we present a model of alluvial and lacustrine fill, which invokes high-frequency climatic fluctuations superimposed on longer term climatic cycles and variable accommodation produced by extensional tectonic processes. Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Coniacian) Doba Basin stratal successions are interpreted to represent alluvial depositional systems that systematically varied along their longitudinal depositional profile, ultimately terminating in a lake, analogous to modern Lake Chad. Three distinct facies belts characterize the alluvial succession and one facies belt describes the lacustrine succession. Structurally controlled, sediment entry points fed upstream (updip) alluvial facies are composed of amalgamated midchannel bars that developed within multiple coeval low-sinuosity channels. These channels are stacked vertically and laterally, forming thick and aerially extensive channel complexes. Medial (middip) alluvial facies consist of semiamalgamated bars. Channel complexes in medial depositional regions are thinner and less persistent than upstream channel complexes. Distal (downdip) fluvial-facies belts are characterized by a more heterolithic style of sedimentary bedding, suggesting that deposition occurred during fluctuating slack water and relatively low-energy discharge conditions. Distal channel complexes are thin and more laterally extensive than those of the medial regions. The fluvial system terminates in shallow ephemeral to perennial ponds and lakes, building small coalesced terminal splay complexes. Channel complexes that accumulated within the three alluvial facies belts are overlain by mudstone-prone flood-plain deposits, both of which combine to form alluvial depositional sequences. Amalgamated channel complex elements constitute the sand-prone reservoir intervals and consist of vertically and laterally stacked channel-fill elements. Channel complex elements are bounded below by regional unconformities and above by abandonment surfaces. Amalgamated channel complexes are overlain by a mudstone-prone interval dominated by flood-plain deposits containing isolated channels and are referred to as nonamalgamated channel complex elements. The mudstone-prone intervals are bounded at their top by regional unconformities. Age constraints for alluvial depositional sequences indicate that they accumulate during time spans of 200 to 500 k.y. Depositional sequences cluster vertically and laterally to form an alluvial sequence-set element. Three types of sequence-set elements are defined and include amalgamated, semiamalgamated, and nonamalgamated sequence sets. Sequence-set elements form the building blocks of an alluvial composite sequence, which is bounded above and below by regional unconformities. Composite sequences in the Upper Cretaceous strata of Doba Basin, Chad, range from 1 to 3 m.y. The alluvial and lacustrine depositional facies architecture and sequence-stratigraphic framework of the upper Cretaceous strata, Doba Basin, Chad, are attributed to high-frequency climatic fluctuations of 200 to 500 k.y. duration superimposed on longer term climatic cycles of 1 to 3 m.y. and variable accommodation that occurred during late-stage extensional processes. The stratal architectures of depositional sequences and composite sequences are interpreted to be controlled by an extrinsic forcing mechanism of climatic cycles that influenced water discharge and sediment transport. Humid periods correspond to times of erosion, transport, and deposition of coarse clastic sediment. These stratigraphic intervals are dominated by fluvial confined-flow sandstone elements and are commonly bounded above and below by unconfined-flow mudstone facies that also formed during humid climatic conditions. Arid periods correlate to intervals of low coarse clastic supply to the basin and widespread deposition of flood-plain unconfined-flow mudstone deposits. The cyclic variations of discharge and sediment flux that occur at 200 to 500 k.y. correspond to the accumulation of alluvial depositional sequences and those of the 1- to 3-m.y. cycle relate to the deposition of alluvial composite sequences. Understanding the complex interplay of the long-term structural evolution of the Doba Basin and climatic fluctuations recorded within the Cretaceous strata is essential in the accurate prediction of reservoir and seal distribution and continuity. This understanding has proven critical in developing an effective depletion strategy for the three field areas of southern Chad.


The Supremacy Clause tells us that there are three kinds of federal law: the Constitution, statutes, and treaties. We know that the Constitution trumps both statutes and treaties in the event of conflict. What about the case of statutes versus treaties in the event of conflict between the two? This is a critical question of constitutional law today. As a consequence of tremendous globalization, conflicts between an ever-growing number of statutes and treaties are multiplying. Indeed, there is probably no treaty of any significance that can be made today that does not interfere with some existing federal statute. This Article explores the constitutional relationship between statutes and treaties. According to the Supreme Court's long-standing doctrine, statutes and treaties are created equal and the one last-in-time will control the other in the event of conflict. This rule is poorly grounded as a matter of constitutional law. This Article argues that this last-in-time rule is unconstitutional. The Constitution establishes three tiers of federal law. Statutes are superior to treaties, irrespective of time. This insight has important implications for a long-standing debate among foreign affairs scholars, waged most recently by Professors Yoo, Flaherty, and Vazquez in the Columbia Law Review, as to when treaties must be non-self-executing - that is, when implementing statutes are required in order for the treaty to have the force of domestic law. The conventional wisdom is that such statutes are required only when treaties touch certain subjects within Congress's ostensibly exclusive legislative powers (e.g., appropriations). I refer to this orthodoxy, defended by Professors Flaherty and Vazquez, as the total self-execution thesis. This Article argues that treaties must also be non-self-executing when treaties conflict with existing statutes - an important departure from the conventional wisdom. In this case, Congress has the power to amend (or not) existing statutes so as to conform to the treaty and give the treaty effect as a matter of domestic law. This is a necessary consequence of the lexical priority of the three tiers of federal law. I refer to this view as the partial non-self execution thesis. In addition, I argue that treaties may be self-executing even when they touch subjects within Congress's legislative powers, other than those powers which are properly understood as exclusive vis-a-vis the treaty-making power. This is consistent with the conventional wisdom, but directly opposed to Professor Yoo's view that all treaties touching subjects within Congress's legislative powers must be non-self-executing. Because almost all treaties touch subjects within the federal law-making power, non-self-executing treaties become the rule and self-executing treaties the exception. I refer to this view, defended by Professor Yoo, as the total non-self execution thesis. Thus, proponents of the total self-execution thesis and of the total non-self-execution thesis simply go too far. The three tiers of federal law thesis and the partial non-self execution thesis are two sides of the same coin. This thesis best coheres with both the Constitution's original meaning as well as our constitutional experience.


Isolated neutron stars are seen in x-rays through their nonthermal and/or surface thermal emissions. X-ray Multimirror Mission–Newton observations of the Geminga pulsar show a 43–electron volt spectrum from the whole neutron star surface, as well as a power-law component above 2 kiloelectron volts. In addition, we have detected a hot (170 electron volts) thermal emission from an ∼60-meter-radius spot on the pulsar's surface. Such a thermal emission, only visible at selected phase intervals, may be coming from polar hot spot(s), long thought to exist as a result of heating from magnetospheric accelerated particles. It may provide the missing link between the x-ray and gamma-ray emission of the pulsar.


The objective of this study is to examine the partial and simultaneous effects of customer dissatisfaction, characteristics of product category, and variety-seeking needs on brand switching behavior. This study has tested the impact of the variety-seeking needs as a moderating variable on brand switching behavior and provided an alternative perspective on the concept of consumers' brand loyalty. The brand switching approach can be very helpful in resolving problem and decision making related to brand loyalty reinforcement. The results show two important findings. Firstly, the customer dissatisfaction and variety-seeking needs were significantly related to brand switching behavior, but the impact of characteristics of product category itself on brand switching behavior was not significant. Secondly, the variety-seeking needs moderated the effects of customer dissatisfaction and characteristics of product category on brand switching behaviors. Some implications for future research are identified, including the choice of products as research objects, dissatisfaction constructs, and the importance of inter-customer interaction issues. Key words: brand switching, customer dissatisfaction, characteristic products, variety-seeking, involvement


Minimal spanning forests on infinite graphs are weak limits of minimal spanning trees from finite subgraphs. These limits can be taken with free or wired boundary conditions and are denoted FMSF (free minimal spanning forest) and WMSF (wired minimal spanning forest), respectively. The WMSF is also the union of the trees that arise from invasion percolation started at all vertices. We show that on any Cayley graph where critical percolation has no infinite clusters, all the component trees in the WMSF have one end a.s. In Z d this was proved by Alexander [Ann. Probab. 23 (1995) 87-104], but a different method is needed for the nonamenable case. We also prove that the WMSF components are "thin" in a different sense, namely, on any graph, each component tree in the WMSF has p c = 1 a.s., where p c denotes the critical probability for having an infinite cluster in Bernoulli percolation. On the other hand, the FMSF is shown to be "thick": on any connected graph, the union of the FMSF and independent Bernoulli percolation (with arbitrarily small parameter) is a.s. connected. In conjunction with a recent result of Gaboriau, this implies that in any Cayley graph, the expected degree of the FMSF is at least the expected degree of the FSF (the weak limit of uniform spanning trees). We also show that the number of infinite clusters for Bernoulli(p u ) percolation is at most the number of components of the FMSF, where p u denotes the critical probability for having a unique infinite cluster. Finally, an example is given to show that the minimal spanning tree measure does not have negative associations.


The aim of the present study is the development of doped microcrystalline silicon oxide (µc‑SiOx:H) alloys and its application in thin‑film silicon solar cells. The doped µc‑SiOx:H material was prepared from carbon dioxide (CO2), silane (SiH4), hydrogen (H2) gas mixtures using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) with process conditions which are fully compatible with the overall solar cell manufacturing processes. Doping was achieved by adding phosphine (PH3) or trimethyl boron B(CH3)3 to the process gas. Particular focus in the material development is to establish the relationship between the deposition process parameters and the material properties of doped µc‑SiOx:H such as optical band gap, refractive index, conductivity, and crystalline volume fraction. To understand the individual influences of the different structural phases of the composite material µc‑SiOx:H the link between the optoelectronic properties and the material structure as well as the material composition was investigated.

It is shown that doped µc‑SiOx:H material is a mixture of crystalline silicon nanoparticles (highly crystalline µc‑Si:H) and amorphous silicon oxide (a‑SiOx:H), where the a‑SiOx:H phase itself consists of a‑SiO2 and a‑Si:H. This is advantageous since an oxygen rich amorphous silicon phase (a‑SiOx:H) has a wide optical band gap, allowing to reduce optical losses in the device, while a volume fraction of the highly crystalline µc‑Si:H phase above a value as low as 30% already ensures sufficiently high electrical conductivity to reduce electrical losses. The optical properties such as optical band gap and refractive index of the doped µc‑SiOx:H films can be conveniently adjusted over a wide range by the CO2/SiH4 gas flow ratio. The crystalline volume fraction at a given CO2/SiH4 ratio can be increased by decreasing the silane concentration SC = SiH4 / (SiH4 + H2). The ideal preparation conditions to obtain optimum material were identified and the resulting doped µc‑SiOx:H layers were evaluated in single and tandem junction solar cells.

To establish a link between the µc‑SiOx:H material properties and the solar cell performance the research addresses the parasitic absorption of the doped layers and the in‑coupling of light to reduce optical losses and gain more photocurrent in the device. Additionally, the device stability against light exposure was investigated for a variety of absorber layer thicknesses. It was shown that in a‑Si:H/µc‑Si:H tandem solar cells the thickness of the absorber layer of the a‑Si:H top cell can be reduced, without impairing device efficiency, by incorporation of µc‑SiOx:H as intermediate reflector. Most importantly, such thinner cells show improved stability yielding a stabilized efficiency of 10.3% for single junction solar cells.

It is concluded that doped µc‑SiOx:H can be beneficially applied to thin‑film silicon solar cells, reducing the parasitic absorption, improving light‑incoupling, and acting as an intermediate reflector thanks to the low refractive index and the wide band gap at a sufficiently high conductivity.


Two largely unexplored collections form the basis for research on the significance of piano lessons in the country homes of the British elite in the years around 1800. The owners of the music libraries were the Egerton family at Tatton Park, Cheshire and the Aclands of Killerton House, Devon. The women who married into these families, along with their children, form casestudies that stretch the boundaries of domestic amateur music-making, within an overlooked area of English keyboard repertoire. The piano was emerging as the ideal instrument for girls and women in the home, and this study examines the instruments at their disposal, providing substantial new information on the important Broadwood grand that belonged to Lydia Hoare Acland. Teachers, pupils and pedagogical tools cast light on the transition from a girl's polite pastime to an emerging school of excellence, and this thesis examines, in detail, the practice of preluding in the education of Elizabeth Sykes Egerton, placing it against the broader background of women's instruction in the 'science of music'. The repertoire in the two family collections is a huge, multi-layered resource that adds colour to the outlines of early piano pedagogy, and exemplifies a breadth of skill across three or four generations. In this thesis, I place these important printed music collections in the context of additional contemporary sources, including diaries, memoirs, manuscript music and a commonplace book. Considering these collections in this wider arena, not only reveals a rich picture of early piano pedagogy, but also yields insights into the lives of the individuals who bought and used music for performance, study and sociability.


A potential clash of ideologies is identified between the climate change agenda and the conservation of
the historic built environment. Whilst the conservation of both the natural environment and our built
heritage should ideally be mutually beneficial, the lack of a robust policy framework within the planning
system is proving to be highly problematic.
The study examines how the historic built environment in Wales can contribute towards the national
target of achieving a carbon neutral society within a generation through policy reform within the planning
system.
A brief history of the building conservation movement is provided, along with a description of how it has
evolved. Climate change and its implications for the planning system are also examined.
A hypothesis is also included in the study, which suggests that the current planning policy framework is
insufficiently equipped to aid the historic built environment in adequately contributing towards the target
of achieving a carbon neutral society within a generation.
The analytical section draws upon the evidence base of the study, which is in the form of primary data
such as surveys and secondary data such as previously published statistics.
The findings of the study are identified and analysed in order to reach robust conclusions, which in turn
lead onto a series of recommendations on how the planning policy framework for the historic built
environment in Wales can be modified to become more effective in making significant reductions in
carbon emissions over the next generation.
The duration of the study period is from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2014. All literature, data and
other information included in this thesis, and subsequent analysis and conclusions, are considered to be
up-to-date at the study's 'cut-off' date of 31st December 2014.
The Viva Voce for the study took place on 7th October 2015. Subsequently, changes have been made
to the thesis that refer to information released after the original 31th December 2014 cut-off date.


This is a simple procedure to isolate XO subclones from XY murine embryonic stem cells in situations that require transmission of a mutation through the female germline-for example, if the mutation adversely affects spermatogenesis. XY cells are plated at clonal density, and resulting colonies are genotyped by polymerase chain reaction for a Y-specific probe to identify clones that have spontaneously lost the Y chromosome.


A product development is not a linear process of "design-build-test"; rather, the design process and the testing process are closely integrated throughout the product development process. The main objective of this paper is to understand how testing is integrated into the product development process and how that effects the product development processes in companies. This paper reports case studies in UK based manufacturing companies where physical testing are essential activities but key concern in reducing design time and cost. Based on these case studies, this paper proposes a product development process framework that highlights the importance of testing and it's intertwined nature with design activities.


Researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa have found that health facility factors influence client contraceptive use. We sought to understand how client-provider interactions, discussions of side effects, and HIV status influence women's contraceptive use postpartum. We conducted in-depth interviews with eight HIV negative clients and six HIV positive clients in Zulu, and with five nurses in English. Interviews were translated and transcribed into English. We created a codebook and coded all transcripts. Nurses and clients reported limited time to discuss contraception, side effects, and HIV. Nurses did not comply with national contraceptive policies and created unnecessary barriers to contraceptive use.


Oxidative stress has been recognized as a critical pathogenetic mechanism for the initiation and the progression of hepatic injury in a variety of liver disorders. Antioxidants, including many natural compounds or extracts, have been used to cope with liver disorders. The present study was designed to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of cassia seed ethanol extract (CSE) in carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver injury in mice. The animals were pre-treated with different doses of CSE (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g/kg body weight) or distilled water for 5 days, then were injected intraperitoneally with CCl(4) (0.1% in corn oil, v/v, 20 ml/kg body weight), and sacrificed at 16 hours after CCl(4) exposure. The serum aminotransferase activities, histopathological changes, hepatic and mitochondrial antioxidant indexes, and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) activities were examined. Consistent with previous studies, acute CCl(4) administration caused great lesion to the liver, shown by the elevation of the serum aminotransferase activities, mitochondria membrane permeability transition (MPT), and the ballooning degeneration of hepatocytes. However, these adverse effects were all significantly inhibited by CSE pretreatment. CCl(4)-induced decrease of the CYP2E1 activity was dose-dependently inhibited by CSE pretreatment. Furthermore, CSE dramatically decreased the hepatic and mitochondrial malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, increased the hepatic and mitochondrial glutathione (GSH) levels, and restored the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione S-transferase (GST). These results suggested that CSE could protect mice against CCl(4)-induced liver injury via enhancement of the antioxidant capacity.


This paper analyzes optimal differential commodity taxation, together with optimal nonlinear income taxation, in order to deal with positional preferences. It also derives the optimal public provision of private goods both when differential commodity taxation is feasible and when it is not. It is shown that publicly provided non-positional private goods which are (possibly imperfect) substitutes for positional private goods should be used as a corrective instrument even if the tax system is optimal, i.e. even when differential commodity taxation is feasible. An exception is the special case where all consumers contribute equally much to the positional externality, in which the commodity tax constitutes a perfect instrument for internalizing the positional externality.


: Pimozide (5--10 ng/ml), haloperidol (0.5--5 ng/ml) and yohimbine (2--5 ng/ml) selectively potentiated dopamine-induced and methoxamine-induced contractions of the rat vas deferens. The concentration-response curves were significantly shifted to the left and the maximal responses were significantly increased. Responses of the vas deferens to noradrenaline were not so influenced. Concentrations of the antagonists in excess of 50 ng/ml produced concentrations-related parallel shifts of dopamine concentration-response curve to the right. These antagonists behaved in a similar manner towards methoxamine, a directly acting sympathomimetic amine which has a low affinity for neuronal uptake, suggesting that the mechanism of this potentiation may be independent of neuronal uptake inhibition.


Linking insurance with credit is a promising approach towards overcoming the main difficulties of scaling up crop insurance in Africa. The current research revealed that credit-linked crop insurance adopters in Mali were on average larger households than non-adopters, were living more often from subsistence agriculture, were less patient and less likely to produce maize, while operating on smaller farms. However, propensity score matching revealed that changes in terms of production decisions or wellbeing were limited compared to credit-users. To achieve scaling, linking crop insurance with credit should not only be beneficial for banks to limit their exposure (on a mandatory basis), but should become beneficial as well for smallholders (in terms of better access to credit, lower interest rates or less required collateral).


Most of the physical processes arising in nature are modeled by either ordinary or partial differential equations. From the point of view of analog computability, the existence of an effective way to obtain solutions of these systems is essential. A pioneering model of analog computation is the General Purpose Analog Computer (GPAC), introduced by Shannon as a model of the Differential Analyzer and improved by Pour-El, Lipshitz and Rubel, Costa and Gra\c{c}a and others. Its power is known to be characterized by the class of differentially algebraic functions, which includes the solutions of initial value problems for ordinary differential equations. We address one of the limitations of this model, concerning the notion of approximability, a desirable property in computation over continuous spaces that is however absent in the GPAC. In particular, the Shannon GPAC cannot be used to generate non-differentially algebraic functions which can be approximately computed in other models of computation. We extend the class of data types using networks with channels which carry information on a general complete metric space $\xcal$; for example $\xcal=C(\rbb,\rbb)$, the class of continuous functions of one real (spatial) variable. We consider the original modules in Shannon's construction (constants, adders, multipliers, integrators) and we add \emph{(continuous or discrete) limit} modules which have one input and one output. We then define an L-GPAC to be a network built with $\xcal$-stream channels and the above-mentioned modules. This leads us to a framework in which the specifications of such analog systems are given by fixed points of certain operators on continuous data streams. We study these analog systems and their associated operators, and show how some classically non-generable functions, such as the gamma function and the Riemann zeta function, can be captured with the L-GPAC.


In a 2016 screen of natural product extracts a new family of natural products, the cahuitamycins, was discovered and found to inhibit the formation of biofilms in the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. The molecules contain an unusual piperazate residue that raises structure/function and biosynthesis questions and resemble iron-trafficking virulence factors from A. baumannii, suggesting a connection between metal homeostasis and biofilm-mediated pathogenicity. Here we disclose the first total synthesis of the reported structure of cahuitamycin A in a twelve-step longest linear sequence and 18% overall yield. Comparison of spectral data of the authentic natural product and synthetic target compound demonstrate that the reported structure is distinct from the isolated metabolite. Herein, we propose an alternative structure to reconcile our findings with the isolation report, setting the stage for future synthetic and biochemical investigations of an important class of natural products.


Learning happens all the time whether or not we are fully aware of it. Giving training to the employee at right time and right manner is the responsibility of the banking industry. In the current transformation era, contours of banking services dynamically altering the face of banking services and the banks are stepping towards e-banking from tradition banking. The present study focuses on perception of bank employees towards e-banking service in Kanniyakumari district. Questionnaire was used to collect data. Stratified random sampling method was adopted and 160 employees of public and private banks in Kanniyakumari district were selected on random basis. Training provide several benefits to the banks like increased efficiency of employees, reduced supervision, less amount of wastage etc, The impact of training of the bank employees has been analysed with the help of factor analysis and found that the important factor that impact the training for employees is 'Confidence'. The study concludes that a separate body should be allocated to continuously assess the technological and social changes to inherit the same in the aspect of training.


This study examines farmers' perception of erosion and their conservation measures in the northern part of Taraba State, Nigeria. The objective of this study was to produce knowledge on farmers' perception of soil erosion and their conservation measures. Data were obtained from a survey of 383 farm households' heads during 2014 cropping season. Field observations and in-depth interviews were also held with the farmers, agricultural extension agents, and traditional community agricultural chiefs to obtain additional information. The data obtained were subjected both to descriptive and inferential statistics using the Chi-Square and Spearman correlation analysis. The results of the investigation show that the majority of farmers were aware of and perceived soil erosion by water as a problem constraining crop production in their farm plots and as having increased over the past decade. Farmers perceived intensity of rainfall, types of soil and erodilbility and insufficient and delayed fertilizer as the main causes of soil erosion. They considered erosion to be severe mostly when visible signs rills and gullies erosion and change in soil colour appeared in their fields. The results further reveal that the majority of the farmers acquire their farmlands through inheritance. Also, the study revealed that the farmers prefer the steep slope to the lowlands because they try to avoid animals grazing from destroying their crops, less weed invasion and for historical reasons. The majority of the farmers believe that erosion could be halted, and they use a range of measures for water erosion and fertility improvement. These include ploughing across the contour, construction of bunds, construction of ridges, and waterways as major water erosion measures and the use of compost and mulching, intercropping, and use of farmyard manure as the most widely used traditional soil fertility enhancement measures in the research region. However, despite, the used of a range of measures for water erosion and fertility improvement in the study region, the Chi-square test results showed that farmers' perception of water erosion as a problem is not correlated with their adoption of water erosion control measures (X2= 2.252, p=0.18), but, but did invest more in soil fertility measures (X2= 383.00, p= 0.000). The results further showed that those farmers who identified increased in water erosion and depletion of soil fertility over the decades were not significantly associated with their level of adoption in soil erosion and fertility measures, (r=-0.027, p=0.60) and (r=0.036, p=0.482) respectively. Similarly, the results further revealed that there are few extension agents in the study region and visits and services given to farmers are insufficient, infrequent and irregular. The research concludes that under the present condition of the study region, the biophysical examination of the farmers' fields is integrated into future studies to provide empirical evidence about the soil fertility status of the cultivated fields and adoption of the recommendations.


The lunar meteorite Dhofar 1436 is dominated by solar wind type noble gases. Solar argon is equilibrated with "parentless" 40Ar commonly known as lunar orphan argon. Ar‐Ar isochron analyses determined the lunar trapped 40Ar/36Ar ratio to 2.51 ± 0.04, yielding a corrected plateau age of 4.1 ± 0.1 Ga, consistent with the lunar Late Heavy Bombardment period. Lunar trapped and radiogenic argon components are all released at high temperatures (1200–1400 °C). Surprisingly, solar noble gases and lunar trapped argon can largely be released by crushing. Initial crushing steps mainly release elementally fractionated solar wind gases, while in advanced crushing steps, cosmogenic components dominate. Cosmogenic noble gases indicate irradiation at the lunar surface; they are less fractionated than solar wind species. We favor a scenario in which both solar and a large fraction of cosmogenic gases were acquired before the 4.1 Ga event, which caused shock metamorphism and formation of the regolith breccia. Sintering and agglutination along grain boundaries resulted in mobilization of solar wind, reimplanted, radiogenic, and cosmogenic noble gases, and resulted in their partial homogenization, fractionation, and retrapping in voids and/or defects accessible by crushing. An alternative scenario would be complete reset of the K‐Ar system 4.1 Ga ago accompanied by loss of all previously accumulated solar and cosmogenic noble gases. Later, the precursor of Dhofar 1436 became lunar regolith and accumulated solar and cosmogenic noble gases and reimplanted 40Ar before its final formation of the polymict impact breccia. The C abundance of the step‐combusted Dhofar 1436 is 555.3 ppm, with δ13C of −28‰ to +11‰. Nitrogen contents released by crushing and combustion are 3.2 ppm and 20.8 ppm, respectively. The lightest nitrogen composition (δ15N = −79‰) is likely due to release from voids of shock metamorphic phases and is rather a result of the mobilization of nitrogen components that accumulated prior to the 4.1 Ga event.


The plasma membrane of immune cells is a highly organized cell structure that is key to the initiation and regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. It is well-established that immunoreceptors embedded in the plasma membrane have a non-random spatial distribution which is important for coupling to components of intracellular signaling cascades. In the last two decades, specialized membrane microdomains, including lipid rafts and tetraspanin-enriched microdomains have been identified. These domains are preformed structures ('physical entities') that compartmentalize proteins, lipids and signaling molecules into multi-molecular assemblies. In antigen-presenting cells, different microdomains containing immunoreceptors (major histocompatibility complex proteins, pattern-recognition receptors, integrins, among others) have been reported that are imperative for efficient pathogen recognition, the formation of the immunological synapse and subsequent T cell activation. In addition, recent work has demonstrated that both tetraspanin microdomains and lipid rafts are involved in B cell receptor signaling and B cell activation. Research into the molecular mechanisms underlying membrane domain formation is fundamental to a comprehensive understanding of membraneproximal signaling and antigen-presenting cell function. This review will also discuss the advances in the microscopy field for the visualization of the plasma membrane as well as the recent progress in targeting microdomains as novel therapeutic approach for infectious and malignant diseases.


Aim: Orofacial function includes a multitude of actions, some of them vital, such as breathing, chewing and swallowing, and also acts as the basis for social interaction in terms of speech, emotional communication, facial expression and appearance. Impaired orofacial function is a common feature in many inherited disorders or may be acquired as a consequence of disease and trauma. The Nordic Orofacial Test–Screening (NOT-S) is a comprehensive method for screening of orofacial function developed by a Scandinavian network of dentists and speech and language pathologists. NOT-S comprises evaluation of twelwe domains of orofacial function. They are assessed from a structured interview and a clinical examination with a picture manual illustrating the different tasks in the examination. A method study of 120 individuals with chronic disease or disability compared to 60 healthy controls showed good intra- and interexaminer agreement. The aim was to present current applications and results from publications on the use of NOT-S. Materials and Methods: Beside the method study published in 2007 to date four studies has been published. One was a study in individuals with Parkinson´s disease (n=15), two were studies in individuals with rare disorders; Ectodermal dysplasia (n=46), and Prader-Willi Syndrome (n=45), and one was a study evaluating surgical treatment in children with tonsillar hyperthophy (n=67). In order o visualize to what degree the domains of orofacial function are affected in different conditions, connected plots were made from the mean NOT-S scores for the twelwe domains of NOT-S, here called dysfunction profiles. Results: The groups with different diagnoses showed specific dysfunction profiles indicating patterns of domains with impaired orofacial function. The use of NOT-S to assess orofacial function before and after surgery in children with tonsillar hypertrophy showed that the method can also be used to evaluate interventions. Conclusions: Screening with NOT-S proved to be a quick and reliable way of assessing orofacial function. NOT-S discriminated between groups with different diagnoses and also in evaluation of treatment. The results indicate that NOT-S has good reliability and discriminant validity.


Oxygen isotope ratios of quartz inclusions (QI) within garnet from granulite and amphibolite facies gneisses in the Adirondack Mountains, NY were analysed and used to determine metamorphic temperatures. Primary QI for eight of 12 samples have δ18O values significantly lower than matrix quartz (MQ). The primary QI retain δ18O values representative of thermal conditions during garnet crystallization, whereas the δ18O values of MQ were raised by diffusive exchange with other matrix minerals (e.g. mica and feldspar) during cooling. The δ18O differences between QI and MQ show that garnet (a mineral with slow diffusion of oxygen) can armour QI from isotopic exchange with surrounding matrix, even during slow cooling. These differences between δ18O in MQ and QI can further be used to test cooling rates by Fast Grain Boundary diffusion modelling. Criteria for identifying QI that preserve primary compositions and are suitable for thermometry were developed based on comparative tests. Relations between δ18O and inclusion size, distance of inclusion to host–garnet rim, core–rim zonation of individual inclusions, and presence or absence of petrological features (healed cracks in QI, inclusions in contact with garnet cracks lined by secondary minerals, and secondary minerals along the inclusion grain boundary) were investigated. In this study, 61% of QI preserve primary δ18O and 39% were associated with features that were linked to reset δ18O values. If δ18O in garnet is homogeneous and inclusions are removed, laser‐fluorination δ18O values of bulk garnet are more precise, more accurate, and best for thermometry. Intragrain δ18O(Grt) profiles measured in situ by ion microprobe show no δ18O zonation. Almandine–rich garnet (Alm60–75) from each sample was measured by laser‐fluorination mass‐spectrometry (LF‐MS) for δ18O and compared with ion microprobe measurements of δ18O in QI for thermometry. The Δ18O(Qz–Grt) values for Adirondack samples range from 2.66 to 3.24‰, corresponding to temperatures of 640–740 °C (A[Qz–Alm] = 2.71). Out of 12 samples that were used for thermometry, nine are consistent with previous estimates of peak temperature (625–800 °C) based on petrological and carbon–isotope thermometry for regional granulite and upper amphibolite facies metamorphism. The three samples that disagree with independent thermometry for peak metamorphism are from the anorthosite–mangerite–charnockite–granite suite in the central Adirondacks and yield temperatures of 640–665 °C, ~100 °C lower than previous estimates. These low temperatures could be interpreted as thermal conditions during late (post‐peak) crystallization of garnet on the retrograde path.


Lignocellulosic feedstocks are often prepared for ethanol fermentation by treatment with a dilute mineral acid catalyst that hydrolyzes the hemicellulose and possibly cellulose into soluble carbohydrates. The acid-catalyzed reaction scheme is sequential, whereby the released monosaccharides are further degraded to furans and other chemicals that are inhibitory to the subsequent fermentation step. This work tests the use of agricultural residues (e.g., plant waste) as starting materials for making activated biochars to adsorb these degradation products. Results show that both furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are adsorbed by phosphoric acid-activated and steam-activated biochars prepared from residues collected from cotton and linen production. Best results were obtained with steam-activated biochars. The activated biochars adsorbed about 14% (by weight) of the furfurals at an equilibrium concentration of 0.5 g/L, and by adding 2.5% of char to a sugar solution, with either furfural or HMF (at 1 g/L), 99% of the furans were removed.


The W.H.O. recommends the partner's presence during childbirth. Objective: To describe professional staff experiences related to the partner's presence during childbirth. Methodology: Research was carried in a hospital in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, between January and June 2001. Twenty four professionals (obstetricians, neonatologists, midwifery nurses and ancillary nurses) were interviewed. Findings: The presence of the partner provoked positive reflexes on several aspects of childbirth care. The partner's inclusion in childbirth requires systematic preparation and should be framed in an integral project of care humanization. The professionals identified other demands following the partner's involvement in childbirth care. Conclusions: The institution and the professionals require previous preparation when partners will take part in childbirth care as part of an integral childbirth care humanization proposal.


Ecosystem service research has gained attraction, and the topic is also high on the policy agenda. Projects such as TEEB have generalized results of individual case studies to provide guidelines for policy makers and stakeholders. Seppelt et al. (2011) raised critical questions about four facets that characterize the holistic ideal of ecosystem services research: (i) biophysical realism of ecosystem data and models; (ii) consideration of trade-offs between ecosystem services; (iii) recognition of off-site effects; and (iv) comprehensive but shrewd involvement of stakeholders within assessment studies. An extended and updated analysis of ecosystem service case studies showed that the majority of these facets were still not addressed by the majority of case studies. Whilst most indicators did not improve within the span analyzed (1996–2013), we found a tendency for an increasing geographical spread of the case studies. Moreover, we incorporated an additional facet, namely the relevance and usability of case study results for the operationalization of the ecosystem service concept. Only a minority of studies addressed this facet sufficiently with no significant trend for improvement over time.


This book examines, with the emphasis on the supply system, the urban development of Tenochtitlan and, in a second part, colonial Mexico City. Only the pre-Spanish section will be commented on here. Production is discussed primarily in terms of the environment and agricultural technology. Transportation is a major feature of the analysis, emphasizing the total reliance on human carriers on land, and the importance of the Basin's lake system and canoe transportation in broadening the limits of Tenochtitlan's hinterland. Porters are presented as a professional group, probably hereditary, but the evidence adduced is inconclusive and the terms of their employment are not made clear. The Aztec polity is defined as a hegemonic empire not aiming at the total incorporation of subject places into a centralized economic and administrative system. Greater weight is given to trade than to tribute, and trade is seen as free commerce even though the author himself calls attention to political controls. Hassig's study is a provocative discussion of some key aspects of the pre-Spanish economy.


Fulvic, humic, acetic, N-bulyric, formic, lactic, and propionic acids were inhibitory to the survival or reproduction of Aphelenchus avenae, Aphelenchoides goodeyi, Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus, Meloidogyne hapla or Xiphinema americanum. Reproduction of H. pseudorobustus and M. hapla significantly increased with increasing amounts of muck added to sand, and with the initial amount of nematode inoculum. All acids except humic and fulvic were lethal, in vitro, to all nematode species tested. When A. goodeyi was treated with fulvic acid, reproduction was reduced significantly when compared with sodium humate or water treatments. Treatment of H. pseudorobustus with fulvic acid (pH 3.5) resulted in a greater reduction in reproduction in soil than did treatment with humic acid (pH 3.5).


Schematic Skew-T soundings can be used to estimate the depth of elevated mixed layers and their origins thousands of kilometers downstream from their source regions. Focus is on the elevated mixed layer from the Sahara, the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), and its relationship to aerosol optical depth. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements and SAL depth determined from atmospheric soundings were tabulated for five summers at three sites located downwind from the Sahara (Miami, Barbados and St. Cruz, Tenerife). These data are analyzed to show a site-specific relationship between the depth of the SAL and the AOD, the deeper the SAL the larger the AOD. The frequency distribution of SAL depths is also discussed.


This paper considers the question: How should a firm allocate a resource among divisions when the productivity of the resource in each division is known only to the division manager? Obviously if the divisions as represented by their managers are indifferent among various allocations of the resource, the headquarters can simply request the division managers to reveal their private information on productivity knowing that the managers have no incentive to lie. The resource allocation problem can then be solved under complete or at least symmetric information. This aspect is a flaw in much of the recent literature on this topic, i.e., there is nothing in the models considered which makes divisions prefer one allocation over another. Thus, although in some cases elaborate allocation schemes are proposed and analyzed, they are really unnecessary. In the model we develop, a division can produce the same output with less managerial effort if it is allocated more resources, and effort is costly to the manager. We further assume that this effort is unobservable by the headquarters, so that it cannot infer divisional productivity from data on divisional output and managerial effort. Given these assumptions, we seek an optimal resource allocation process. Our results show that certain types of transfer pricing schemes are optimal. In particular, if there are no potentially binding capacity constraints on production of the resource, then an optimal process is for each division to choose a transfer price from a schedule announced by the headquarters. Division managers receive a fixed compensation minus the cost of the resource allocated to them at the chosen transfer price. Resources are allocated on the basis of the chosen transfer prices. If there is a potentially binding constraint on resource production, a somewhat more complicated, but similar, scheme is required.


Recent data obtained on rats suggest that in the days immediately following birth several events take place in the circumvallate papillae of the oral cavity. A phylogenetically primitive system of solitary chemosensory cells develops and is rapidly replaced by taste buds. The lipase-secreting von Ebner gland, which is associated with taste organs, begins to develop by forming short tubules. The intrinsic nervous system of the gustatory organs rapidly completes its maturation showing fast proliferation of fibers and immunocytochemical maturation. Intraepithelial lipid accumulation is visible in the non-receptorial mucosa of the tongue, showing aspects which suggest an active lipid secretion. These data demonstrate that in the rat the structure of the sensory-secretory organs of the newborn's tongue shows a typical conformation with respect to the adult and rapidly changes its organization in the first week after the birth. At the present level of knowledge, it is difficult to link the anatomical structures to peculiar functional roles but the rather simple organization of the neonatal gustatory epithelium could be in relation to the dietary regimen. The data obtained in laboratory animals underline the necessity of studies on human newborns to update the anatomical knowledge of the oral chemoceptive system.


Automated Face recognition is a technique employed in wide-range of practical applications, which include access control, identification systems, surveillance and law enforcement applications to name a few, and future improvements promise to spread the use of face recognition further still. Radial Basis Function Networks (RBFN) have proven effective approach for face recognition. Software implementations fail to capture the inherent parallelism of RBFN and incur long training time. Although, hardware implementations can speed up the training process, they may lead to inflexible solution. The main challenges of Face Recognition today are broad lightning variations, handling rotation in depth, together with personal appearance changes. A highly accurate face recognition system requires a number of complex sub-operations to be performed. To balance the flexibility of the involved sub-modules and to achieve high accuracy in face recognition, we propose an embedded computing system, consisting of a processor and dedicated fully parallelized Cognimem Neural Network chip based board. We will also identify the optimized algorithm for each of the involved sub-operations. Results obtained after testing our proposed system, with standard databases, show promising performances in terms of Recognition accuracy, False acceptance rate (FAR), False rejection rate (FRR), training time and testing time.


Intracranial injections were made bilaterally through permanently implanted cannulas ending in the lateral septum or in the region ventral to the anterior septum. The rats were first screened with injections of a local anesthetic, lidocaine, which blocks both synaptic and axonal conduction. Those animals that showed an increase in reactivity and aggression were then injected with a synaptic transmitter blocking agent. The results showed that transmitter blocking agents reproduced the effect of the local anesthetic only in the region ventral to the anterior septum and that alpha-adrenergic (phentolamine, tolazoline), but not beta-adrenergic (propranolol, hydralazine), cholinergic (atropine, hyocine), or dopaminergic (haloperidol) blocking agents were effective. These results suggest that synapses in the forebrain system controlling reactivity and aggression are alpha-asrenergic and are located in the region ventral to the anterior septum just lateral to the diagonal band of Broca. The septum itself may be involved only to the extent that it is traversed by fibers of passage.


In this thesis we present numerical simulation studies of fluid-immersed granular systems using models of varying scales and complexities. These techniques are used to examine the effects of an interstitial fluid on the dynamics of dense granular beds within a number of vibrated systems.

After an introduction to the field of granular materials, we present the techniques used to model both the granular dynamics and the fluid flow. We introduce various multiscale techniques to couple the motion of the granular and fluid phases. An extensive comparison between these techniques is conducted for some well-known systems. The fluid-grain coupling techniques are applied to some larger systems in order to determine under what situations the approaches are most suitable.

An investigation concerning three-dimensional fluid-driven convection within vertically vibrated fluid-immersed granular beds is then presented. Here we observe granular piling and determine that this is a result of fluid-driven convective cycles within the bed which may be strengthened through the presence of wall friction. Our simulations capture this convective behaviour and lead to a detailed understanding of the mechanisms behind the phenomenon.

Under a wide range of conditions a system of fluid-immersed fine grains within a vibrated partitioned cell will transfer in their entirety into just one of the segments through a linking channel at the cell base. We perform an experimental and numerical study in order to understand the principle mechanisms behind the "partition instability". We determine that the instability arises due to the fluid experiencing less resistance to its motion when flowing through the shallower granular column during vibration. A simple analytical model is developed which captures this behaviour.

It is commonly known that large dense intruders may rise rapidly to the surface of a granular bed when subjected to a vertical vibrational force. We next present an experimental and numerical study to determine the principle mechanism associated when the granular bed is immersed in a fluid, the fluid-enhanced Brazil nut effect. Our key finding is that the behaviour of the intruder is sensitive to the detailed fluid and particle flow in its vicinity. An analytical approach is developed to model the rising of a dense intruder in a vibrating fluid-immersed porous bed.

Finally a brief study is presented into the behaviour of a vibrated system of fluid-immersed particles held within a zero-gravity environment. We conduct simulations which are able to reproduce the behaviour of a collection of particles suspended magnetically in a vibrating fluid.


In its forty years of existence, Krisis, as a journal of contemporary philosophy, has aimed to develop a new philosophical praxis. This praxis is sketched here in the first place as the practical work of making a journal, in the context of a community of philosophers discussing a canon of contemporary thinkers as well a range of shared problems. Yet beyond that, Krisis has always struggled with the question how, as a philosophical practice, it is related to other practices. The debate about "empirical philosophy" forms a crucial episode in this debate, in which Krisis has explored analytical, existentialist, pragmatist and Marxist approaches to a philosophy as praxis. Since then, this debate has shifted along four dimensions, of science, culture, politics and economy. In conclusion, it is argued that the entanglement of the praxis of Krisis with these four other practices makes it difficult to identify what is philosophical about Krisis.


The investigation includes steady and accelerated vertical and longitudinal motions and steady rolling, yawing, sideslipping, and pitching for Mach numbers and aspect ratios greater than those for which the Mach line from the leading edge of the tip section intersects the trailing edge of the opposite tip section. The stability derivatives are derived with respect to principal body axes and then transformed to a system of stability axes. Theoretical results are obtained, by means of the linearized theory, for the surface-velocity-potential functions, surface-pressure distributions, and stability derivatives for various motions at supersonic speeds of thin flat rectangular wings without dihedral. In the case of yawing, a treatment for the infinitely long wing which takes account of the spanwise variation in the stream Mach number is extended to the finite wing, and a plausible, although not rigorous, solution is obtained for the wing tip effects.


There is widespread concern that corporate boards do not sufficiently punish chief executive officers (CEOs) for poor performance. Board effectiveness in ousting CEOs may be affected by chief executives who also chair the board or influence the succession planning process. This article explores how chair independence and succession planning influence CEO turnover. I address endogeneity issues using a trinomial probit regression system of CEO turnover that models chair independence and succession planning endogenously. I find that succession planning has a larger positive effect on CEO turnover than suggested by previous research. I also find that chair independence actually reduces the probability of succession planning because it creates a friction with the common relay succession model. There is a negative overall effect of chair independence on CEO turnover.


The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars has been gaining increasing popularity in the civil engineering community due to their favorable properties such as high-strength-to-weight ratio and good corrosion resistance. In order for concrete to be FRP reinforced, there must be interfacial bond between FRP bars and concrete. The interfacial bond behavior of FRP bars to concrete is expected to vary from that of conventional steel bars, since various key parameters that influence bond performance are different. This paper presents the results of an experimental and analytical study on the interfacial surface interaction of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars in high strength concrete cube. The experimental program consisted of testing 54 concrete cubes prepared according to CSA S802-02 standard 1). The split specimens showed that interfacial bond failure of the steel bar occurred due to concrete crushing in front of the bar deformations, while interfacial bond failure of the GFRP bars occurred partly on the surface of the bar and partly in the concrete by peeling of the surface layer of the bar.


We report on the results of amphibian surveys in three south-western Nigerian states: Lagos, Ogun and Oyo. In total, we recorded between 35 and 38 species. The number of species per state ranged from 22 to 29. Most species were typical farmbush or savanna frogs. Although the overall species richness was comparatively low and only a few species were forest specialists, we observed a surprising number of frogs that could not unambiguously be assigned to described species. This was especially true of the gene - ra Leptopelis and Phrynobatrachus. Whereas some of these taxa (Leptopelis cf. macrotis, Phrynobatrachus cf. liberiensis) seem to indicate closer relationships between south-western Nigeria and the Upper Guinea forests, other findings (the eastern variation of Phlyctimantis boulengeri, Nectophryne afra) indicate the opposite geographic relation. The position of the study sites between the diversity hotspots of Upper and Lower Guinea would suggest high anuran diversity. We failed to record such a high diversity, but possibly found species from both areas and probably undescribed taxa (Phrynobatrachus sp., Leptopelis sp.). We believe that the high amount of degraded and converted natural forests may have already resulted in an impoverished anuran fauna. Remarkable and even new species may have survived in some of the small remaining forests. Intensive surveys and sustainable conservation of the remaining forests of south-wes - tern Nigeria is therefore highly recommended.


A model for anisotropic Ostwald ripening was developed using a chemical potential (weighted mean curvature) difference as a driving force for mass-transport. Based on this model, grain growth simulations of silicon nitride during the phase transformation and Ostwald ripening were performed. Comparison with experimental results during the phase transformation suggests that grain growth be controlled by interfacial reaction. Simulations of Ostwald ripening predict that the growth exponent be 3 for the reaction-controlled case, and increases up to 5 as the growth kinetics shifts from reaction-controlled to diffusion-controlled. It was reported that the mean aspect ratio of silicon nitride crystals increased during the phase transformation, and decreased during Ostwald ripening. These behaviors were successfully simulated by this model. The concave depression at the tip of silicon nitride crystal that was experimentally observed. Simulations by the Ostwald ripening model demonstrated that it could be developed when the liquid phase was super-saturated, and further that the tip shape was a function of the liquid concentration.


Gas liquid chromatography was used to examine the effect of treatment on the blood content of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in 75 patients with coronary heart disease and essential hypertension. There were three groups of patients. The first group (30 subjects) received lipoic acid, whereas the second one (30 subjects) were given biotin nd pyridoxine. Fifteen patients (controls) did not receive any vitamins. Lipoic acid was found to raise the content of linoleic and arachidonic acids and to decrease the content of myristic acid. Meanwhile administration of biotin and pyridoxine led to an increase in the content of eicosatriene and arachidonic acids and to a reduction in the concentration of myristic and stearic acids. In the 15 patients who did not receive any vitamins, the blood content of fatty acids remained unchanged. Comparatively, the preference is given to lipoic acid that raises the blood content of linoleic acid playing an important part in the prophylaxis of atherosclerosis.


ABSTRACT In chickens, colibacillosis is caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) via respiratory tract infection. Many virulence factors, including type 1 (F1A) and P (F11) fimbriae, curli, aerobactin, K1 capsule, and temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin (Tsh) and plasmid DNA regions have been associated with APEC. A strong correlation between serum resistance and virulence has been demonstrated, but roles of virulence factors in serum resistance have not been well elucidated. By using mutants of APEC strains TK3, MT78, and χ7122, which belong to serogroups O1, O2, and O78, respectively, we investigated the role of virulence factors in resistance to serum and pathogenicity in chickens. Our results showed that serum resistance is one of the pathogenicity mechanisms of APEC strains. Virulence factors that increased bacterial resistance to serum and colonization of internal organs of infected chickens were O78 lipopolysaccharide of E. coli χ7122 and the K1 capsule of E. coli MT78. In contrast, curli, type 1, and P fimbriae did not appear to contribute to serum resistance. We also showed that the iss gene, which was previously demonstrated to increase resistance to serum in certain E. coli strains, is located on plasmid pAPEC-1 of E. coli χ7122 but does not play a major role in resistance to serum for strain χ7122.


The current mortgage crisis has increased interest in innovative shared appreciation mortgages (SAMs). The lender accepts a lower fixed interest rate under a SAM in return for a share of the appreciation - or value - of the home over time. SAMs have attracted much recent interest due to their improved (i) spreading of the loss risk across the financial system (thereby reducing the chance of a borrower default when home prices fall), and (ii) correlation of payment timing with the typical lifetime earnings cycle (i.e., lower mortgage payments earlier in one's career). Unfortunately, the current tax rules make it essentially impossible to develop SAM markets in the U.S. The tax rules for debt instruments with contingent interest generally require both the borrower and lender to report contingent interest each year as if the instrument bore a market rate of (higher) fixed interest. These rules are tax neutral for most instruments, since both the borrower and lender account for the additional contingent interest at the same time. These contingent debt tax rules are not neutral, however, in the case of SAMs since a special earlier-enacted, and unrelated, provision defers the homeowner's interest deductions until payment. The interaction of the two sets of unrelated rules provides an asymmetric result of annual lender inclusions with deferred homeowner deductions. This adverse timing asymmetry can impose a significant net tax cost that makes SAMs extremely unattractive. Curiously, SAMs issued in connection with a workout - rather than upon original home purchase - are not subject to this timing asymmetry since the workout lender does not have to accrue the contingent interest each year. The uniquely punitive treatment for original-issuance SAMs therefore seems quite accidental, especially given the lack of any coherent justification for such singling out. And beyond the negative timing asymmetry and inexplicable line drawing, additional tax concerns arise due to uncertainty in reaching definitive tax results (e.g., threshold uncertainty over whether a SAM should even be treated as debt for tax purposes). In light of the foregoing, we consider three different reform proposals that could remove the tax impediments to the SAM markets: deferral of the lender's contingent interest inclusions; acceleration of the homeowner's contingent interest deductions (to match the lender's annual inclusions); or treatment of the SAM as equity, rather than debt. While all three of these alternatives would eliminate the current poor treatment of original-issuance SAMs, we strongly believe that the best of the alternatives is the first. As discussed in greater detail in the Article, this approach is relatively easy to implement through very limited regulatory changes, can be structured to have little or no consequences


Background: As dynamics of caries is changing, there is a need to understand the impact of sociodemographic factors on dental caries to broaden the horizon of dental caries etiology. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of sociodemographic factors on dental caries experience among 11–14-year-old schoolchildren in India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 11–14-year-old schoolchildren in 2015 at Rohtak, India, after approval from the Institution's Ethics Committee. A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was employed for selecting a school randomly from every cluster. Every odd-numbered child from selected class was included in the study through systematic random sampling. Demographic factors were recorded such as education, occupation, income, and socioeconomic status (SES) were assessed using modified Kuppuswamy classification (Oberoi SS 2015). Dental caries was recorded using Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment index. Data were analyzed using SPPS 18, Kruskal–Wallis, and Chi-square tests were used with P value fixed at 0.05. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was 28.6% with mean decayed, missing, or filled teeth of 0.60 ± 1.13. Age, gender, position of child, number of siblings, type of family, father's and mother's education, and father's occupation had no significant relationship with dental caries (P > 0.05), whereas mother's occupation, family income, and SES were significantly related to dental caries (P < 0.05). Conclusions: High socioeconomic status of parents had a significant role on increased dental caries experience among children.


This paper deals with the Multiobjective Linear Transportation Problem that has fuzzy cost coefficients. In the solution procedure, many objectives may conflict with each other; therefore decision-making process becomes complicated. And also due to the fuzziness in the costs, this problem has a nonlinear structure. In this paper, fuzziness in the objective functions is handled with a fuzzy programming technique in the sense of multiobjective approach. And then we present a compensatory approach to solve Multiobjective Linear Transportation Problem with fuzzy cost coefficients by using Werner's μand operator. Our approach generates compromise solutions which are both compensatory and Pareto optimal. A numerical example has been provided to illustrate the problem.


Graph neural networks achieve high accuracy in link prediction by jointly leveraging graph topology and node attributes. Topology, however, is represented indirectly; state-of-the-art methods based on subgraph classification label nodes with distance to the target link, so that, although topological information is present, it is tempered by pooling. This makes it challenging to leverage features like loops and motifs associated with network formation mechanisms. We propose a link prediction algorithm based on a new pooling scheme called WalkPool. WalkPool combines the expressivity of topological heuristics with the feature-learning ability of neural networks. It summarizes a putative link by random walk probabilities of adjacent paths. Instead of extracting transition probabilities from the original graph, it computes the transition matrix of a"predictive"latent graph by applying attention to learned features; this may be interpreted as feature-sensitive topology fingerprinting. WalkPool can leverage unsupervised node features or be combined with GNNs and trained end-to-end. It outperforms state-of-the-art methods on all common link prediction benchmarks, both homophilic and heterophilic, with and without node attributes. Applying WalkPool to a set of unsupervised GNNs significantly improves prediction accuracy, suggesting that it may be used as a general-purpose graph pooling scheme.


The communication problem call center salespersons in retail banking are facing does not understand what ethical communication is or why it is important. Without this knowledge, they do not have the ability to use ethics when selling products to customers such as a home equity line of credit. This is a detailed product and requires the salesperson to have specific knowledge and skills to properly sell it. These skills include the ability to provide quality customer service, correctly use empathy to build long term relationships with management and customers alike, the ability to adapt and cooperate with change to policies, procedures, and possible changes in their current role, and most importantly the ability to use ethics when making decisions. In other words, for a call center salesperson to be successful they must understand how to ethically communicate while providing a specific sale or service to a customer. The best way to achieve this is through education and training.


The current study seeks to analyze some themes and ornaments that appeared on metal pots in the west of Arab Gulf (Mleiha in the United Arab Emirates and Al- Fueda in the Sultana of Oman). The study also makes a comparison between the metal pots of previous regions and their counterparts in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The Arab Gulf is of great importance because it represents an important center for commercial convoys and associates with ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt and other civilizations. The Arab Gulf produced a varied and splendid art with artistic output. On the other hand, Mesopotamia transferred the ancient Egyptian artistic influences to the Arab Gulf. The study highlights the two regions of Mlieha and Al- Fueda in the west of the Arab Gulf, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Also, it shows the artistic influences on these pots. To describe and analyze such metal pots, the study adopts the descriptive analytical approach. The researcher has faced several difficulties, which are: 1) Finding a few of inscribed metal pots led to the difficulty of the local comparison where some sites did not reveal a rich metal product. 2) The scarcity of references and books specialized in metal arts in the Arab library. 3) Numerous metal sculpture works have been lost due to re- using and re- shaping these metals again. The study has reached many conclusions, the most important of which are: 1) The pots and plates were decorated with splendid inscriptions and ornaments, and their themes were quoted from neighboring countries. 2) The Study has noted that some metal inscriptions represented the pure local environment of the art at the time. Also, some of them were affected by the arts of neighboring civilizations in Mesopotamia, Syria and ancient Egypt.


Abstract The paper describes test facilities used by the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, All-Russian Institute of Technical Physics (VNIITF) to perform benchmark experiments essential for the verification of nuclear data libraries. The key experiments discussed in the paper include critical mass measurements; the investigation of reaction rate distribution in critical and subcritical systems, in particular those with a 14-MeV neutron source; and studies on the spectra of neutrons and gamma quanta emitted from spheres and reflected by hemispheres with a central pulse source of 14-MeV neutrons. New experiments are proposed with a view to revising nuclear data essential for new nuclear developments.