Background: The magnitude and causes of eye diseases in Ethiopia has been derived from small scale studies. This information became no longer useful in tracking the success of intensified efforts in preventing and controlling avoidable causes of blindness and eye diseases in line with the goals of Vision 2020: The Right to Sight.
Objective: The national household survey was conducted primarily to provide national and regional state level estimates of low vision, blindness and trachoma. The secondary aims include describing the major causes of low vision and blindness.
Methods: The national survey utilized cross sectional epidemiological study design with multistage sampling strategy. All nine regional states and two city administrations of the country were involved in the survey. Sample size and sampling strategies were developed taking into account population size of the regional states. Visual acuity was tested
using the LogMar chart and trachoma grading was done following the WHO grading system. The cause of low vision and blindness were determined by ophthalmologists.
Results: A total of 174 clusters, 6056 households and 30022 individuals were involved in the survey. Of the total 30022 individuals 25650 (85.4%) were present and examined by the survey team. Implementing quality control supervision in the very remote clusters was a major challenge. About 55% of the survey clusters were within 10 Km of health facility that stock tetracycline; 18.3% within 10 Km of health facility that provides Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) surgery and 18.6% were within 10Km of health facility that provides cataract surgery. Only 29.4% of the survey clusters were fully accessible by car. The majority of survey household head were farmers (70.8%) and illiterate (64.5%). About 48% of the households obtain their water from either a protected well/spring or piped distribution.
Only 40.4% of the households reported that no animal is kept around the living quarter. Most households dispose garbage in open field (84.6%) and have no latrine (60.3%).
Conclusion: The survey was conducted on a representative sample and provides reliable estimates at the national and regional levels. However, careful interpretations of results from remote and inaccessible areas are warranted. Access to eye care facilities are limited and need expansion in order to reduce the blindness and low vision load. Sanitation
conditions favoring fly breeding are rampant and trachoma control program need to emphasize a more integrated approach. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 21 (3) 2007: pp. 185-203


The absolute/convective instability properties of the Batchelor vortex are determined by direct numerical simulation of the linear impulse response. A novel decomposition procedure is applied to the computed wavepacket in order to retrieve the complex wavenumber and frequency prevailing along each spatio-temporal ray. In particular, the absolute wavenumber and frequency observed in the laboratory frame are determined as a function of swirl parameter and external flow. The introduction of a moderate amount of swirl is found to strongly promote absolute instability. In the case of wakes, the transitional helical mode that first undergoes a switch-over to absolute instability is found to be m=−1 without requiring any external counterflow. In the case of jets, the transitional helical mode is very sensitive to swirl and varies in the range −5[les ]m[les ]−1. Only a slight amount of external counterflow (1.5% of centreline velocity) is then necessary to trigger absolute instability. The results of this numerical procedure are in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with those obtained by direct application of the Briggs–Bers criterion to the inviscid dispersion relation (Olendraru et al. 1996). Implications for the dynamics of swirling jets and wakes are discussed.


Leydig cell steroidogenesis is a multistep process that takes place in the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The physical association between these 2 organelles could facilitate both steroidogenesis substrate availability and mitochondrial product passage to steroidogenic enzymes in the ER, thus regulating the rate of steroid formation. Confocal microscopy, using antisera against organelle-specific antigens, and electron microscopy studies demonstrated that there is an increase in the number of mitochondria-ER contact sites in response to hormone treatment in MA-10 mouse tumor Leydig cells. Electron tomography and 3-dimensional reconstruction allowed for the visualization of mitochondria-associated membranes (MAMs). MAMs were isolated and found to contain the 67-kDa long isoform of the adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) family, AAA domain-containing protein 3 (ATAD3). The 67-kDa ATAD3 is anchored in the inner mitochondrial membrane and is enriched in outer-inner mitochondrial membrane contact sites. ATAD3-depleted MA-10 cells showed reduced production of steroids in response to human choriogonadotropin but not to 22R-hydroxycholesterol treatment, indicating a role of ATAD3 in the delivery of the substrate cholesterol into the mitochondria. The N terminus of ATAD3 contains 50 amino acids that have been proposed to insert into the outer mitochondrial membrane and associated organelles such as the ER. Deletion of the ATAD3 N terminus resulted in the reduction of hormone-stimulated progesterone biosynthesis, suggesting a role of ATAD3 in mitochondria-ER contact site formation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the hormone-induced, ATAD3-mediated, MAM formation participates in the optimal transfer of cholesterol from the ER into mitochondria for steroidogenesis.


The structure and development of energy consumption in European transition countries, i.e., 11 former socialistic republics including Croatia, which are now new EU members, are considered. For the last twenty years, transition countries have been in the processes of changing their social, economic and political structures with considerable influence on the energy sector. In these former socialistic countries, due to a planned economy, the energy sector has not been significantly efficient. The structure and development of energy consumption on a national level in transition countries are analyzed and compared with the same indicators of the 12 developed European countries. Furthermore, the structure of energy consumption and its sector utilization in transition countries is presented. Finally, techno-economical solutions are proposed.


Activity is defined as algorithm of a person's purposeful actions on transforming and changing the environment (living, non-living parts of nature and people). It is basically one-way "subject-ob-ject" process, during which a person gains experi-ence and develops himself. A specific field of hu-man activity is education and upbringing, where a teacher deals with a student (with a personality), who has his own interests and needs, the abilities to change the world around him. Interpersonal "subject-subjective" relationship is being set be-tween a student and a teacher. It is some process of interaction needs and abilities of both sides of pedagogical process. Supporters of the traditional education stand by the "subject- object" scheme and try unilaterally and authoritarian to transfer ready knowledge (information on the socio– cul-tural experience of mankind). This is a gross viola-tion of the systemic character, the integrity of the organization of independent learning activity, and it means violation of the person's development. This is forcible imposition of professional pur-pose of education to a student, its content and sin-gle-channel monitoring and evaluation of learning results. System-activity approach in education im-plies methodological support and organization of all the elements of a student's educational activity by a teacher: motivational and valuable (why do I need it?), subjective and informative (what am I learning?), operational thinking (How to do it?), reflexive (What do I want? What have I got?). In the system of developing education the methodol-ogy and methods of the active learning has got sufficient development. For example, teachers can skillfully organize a mobilizing beginning of the lesson i.e. goal-setting (to form motivation and interest) through the creation of some educational problem situation and continue organizing specif -ic types of self-learning activities (informational and communicatory activities, collective and indi-vidual thinking activity, research and creative ac-tivities, practical, productive and economic activ-ities, etc.). Systemic character and integrity of the educational process of learning will be violated due to the lack of some algorithm and methodol-ogy all of its components. The paradox is that the reflective stage of the algorithm of the learning activity is absolutely absent. And it is precisely reflection is closing, system-forming, self-devel-oping, element. Methodology and methods of re-flective learning remains insufficiently developed. There are practically no control and measuring materials, algorithm and methodical tools of the reflexive thinking development of a student and a teacher.In the traditional system of teaching and con-trol the reflective element of learning activities of a student is entirely replaced by the external evalu-ation and monitoring activities of a teacher. In this case, a student is deliberately suspended from op-portunities to engage in self-development and self-realization.The methodological basis of constructing the algorithm of the innovative technology RESDT (Reflexive-Evaluated Self-developing Technology) is the idea of personality-oriented, developing (self-developing) teaching. In this case, system-activity, reflective-evaluative, diagnostic and correctional approaches of organizing the monitoring of the teaching quality are the basic principles of con-struction of tools and algorithms of RESDT. As a basis of the criteria for assessing the qual-ity of teaching, and the construction of diagnostic and monitoring we took the model of training ac-tivities and at the same time, as it was mentioned above, the organization of self-assessment actions is defined by its system-forming and main develop-ing element.Innovative approaches of construction of the author's technology is to achieve professional self-development of a teacher and a student as "subject-subjective" system and their interactions by organizing the management and self-manage-ment by the quality of teaching based on system-activity, reflexive, information and communica-tion, and diagnostic and correctional teaching principles. Actually, a special lesson on technolo-gy RESDT (Reflexive-Evaluated Self-developing Technology) built on the basis of the organization of reflexive action (reflective thinking) is our in-novation. The lesson REST is a system-forming element of the whole system of the teacher's edu-cational activity. REST has passed a solid scientific and experi-mental test. According to the results of studying its effectiveness scientific seminars and conferences were held at the various levels: the Republican scientific-practical conference "The effectiveness of the author diagnostic and correctional teaching" (Ufa, June 2003.), Interregional Scientific and Practical Conference "Educational diagnos-tics and monitoring is the basis of management by quality of subject teaching" (Sibay, January 2005), a number of reports, presentations, master-classes, presentation of innovative projects on Russian Education Forum in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011, reports on the international scientific forums, including the sec-tion "Tools e-learning" of the International Con-ference ONLINE EDUCA MOSCOW 2007. On this educational technology a monograph, over a hundred papers of scientists, educators and prac-titioners, over 20printed and 15electronic teach-ing aids were published (5books were published in Moscow), 10printed and all the electronic aids were issued with the stamp of ME of Republic


Population size estimates of waders, gulls and terns passing through or breeding in Central Asia are very scarce, although highly important for global flyway population estimates as well as for targeting local conservation efforts. The Tengiz-Korgalzhyn region is one of the largest wetland complexes in Central Asia. We conducted surveys in this region between 1999 and 2008 and present estimates of population size as well as information on phenology and age structure for 50 species of Charadriiformes. The Tengiz-Korgalzhyn wetlands are especially important for Red-necked Phalaropes Phalaropus lobatus and Ruffs Philomachus pugnax with, respectively, 41% and 13% of their flyway populations using the area during spring migration. The region is also an important post-breeding moulting site for Pied Avocets Recurvirostra avosetta and Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa used by, respectively, 5% and 4% of their flyway populations. Besides its key importance as a migratory stopover site, the study area is a key breeding site for the Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius, the Near Threatened Black-winged Pratincole Glare la nordmanni and for Pallas's Gull Larus ichthyaetus with 16%, 6% and 5% of their world populations, respectively. We identified 29 individual sites that held more than 1% of the relevant flyway populations of at least one species of Charadriiformes. Including data on other species of waterbirds (mainly waterfowl), there were 93 sites that qualify for Important Bird Areas (IBA). About half of them are protected in a state nature reserve, while an additional 20% are recognised as IBAs. Nevertheless, 28 important sites are currently not recognised as IBAs nor are they protected by other conservation means. These sites require conservation attention.


There has been considerable under-reporting of drug and radiopharmaceutical interactions, security and adverse reactions. The increasing use of radiopharmaceuticals has come to the attention of nuclear medicine staff and regulatory bodies. The aim is to provide reference for adverse reactions which could help all nuclear medicine staff in their daily routine. Reporting adverse events, including situations where an adverse event may have occurred but was actually avoided, is essential when assessing the magnitude of problems, alerting health professionals to these problems and ultimately for improving diagnostic accuracy.


Allergic rhinitis is an immunological disorder and an inflammatory response of nasal mucosal membranes. Allergic rhinitis, a state of hypersensitivity, occurs when the body overreacts to a substance such as pollens or dust. A novel, safe polyherbal formulation (Aller-7/NR-A2) has been developed for the treatment of allergic rhinitis using a unique combination of extracts from seven medicinal plants including Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica, Albizia lebbeck, Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinale and Piper longum. Since inflammation is an integral mechanistic component of allergy, the present study aimed to determine the anti-inflammatory activity of Aller-7 in various in vivo models. The efficacy of Aller-7 was investigated in compound 48/80-induced paw edema both in Balb/c mice and Swiss Albino mice, carrageenan-induced paw edema in Wistar Albino rats and Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis in Wistar Albino rats. The trypsin inhibitory activity of Aller-7 was also determined and compared with ovomucoid. At a dose of 250 mg/kg, Aller-7 demonstrated 62.55% inhibition against compound 48/80-induced paw edema in Balb/c mice, while under the same conditions prednisolone at an oral dose of 14 mg/kg exhibited 44.7% inhibition. Aller-7 significantly inhibited compound 48/80-induced paw edema at all three doses of 175, 225 or 275 mg/kg in Swiss Albino mice, while the most potent effect was observed at 225 mg/kg. Aller-7 (120 mg/kg, p.o.) demonstrated 31.3% inhibition against carrageenan-induced acute inflammation in Wistar Albino rats, while ibuprofen (50 mg/kg, p.o.) exerted 68.1% inhibition. Aller-7 also exhibited a dose-dependent (150-350 mg/kg) anti-inflammatory effect against Freund's adjuvant-induced arthritis in Wistar Albino rats and an approximately 63% inhibitory effect was observed at a dose of 350 mg/kg. The trypsin inhibitory activity of Aller-7 was determined, using ovomucoid as a positive control. Ovomucoid and Aller-7 demonstrated IC50 concentrations at 1.5 and 9.0 microg/ml, respectively. These results demonstrate that this novel polyherbal formulation is a potent anti-inflammatory agent that can ameliorate the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.


Hip joint surgeries are commonplace in our aging society. In this paper a prototype of a muscle scraping manipulator for minimally invasive RAO (Rotational Acetabular Osteotomy and one of the hip joint surgeries) is described. The muscle scraping manipulator's role is to make a surgical space between muscles and the surface of bone around hip joint for the other manipulator whose role is to cut bone. The mechanical structure is very thin to follow narrow path and tough enough to scrape and retract muscles around hip joint. The prototype is designed based on the required specification from the experiment data. The prototype has 9 DOF, in which 3 DOF manipulator are capable of controlling the tip position and the force between muscle tissues and the surface of the bone. 6 DOF manipulator's role is to position the 3 DOF manipulator. Evaluation of the prototype was done by using a compliant control as scraping method of muscle tissues from surface of the bone. The capability is revealed as a scraping length on a phantom of 140 mm around human hip joint model. We shall continue to study a stable control method to scrape tissues.


Cancers develop as a result of alterations in genes that regulate growth, survival, and other cellular behaviors. Colorectal cancers develop through one of at least three different pathways, termed chromosomal instability, microsatellite instability, and the CpG island methylator phenotype. Although there is some overlap, these pathways tend to inactivate different sets of tumor suppressor genes and tend to have somewhat different biological behaviors. Tumor cells and DNA are shed into the fecal stream, and uniquely mutated genes can be identified that would indicate the likely presence of a neoplasm in the gastrointestinal tract. By understanding the pathways to tumor development, the target genes involved, and the mechanisms underlying genomic instability, it will be possible to implement strategies to detect and treat the different types of colorectal cancer.


We collected 20 carbonate nodules from the inner trench slope deposits of the Middle America Trench area off Mexico. Carbonate nodules are found only within the methane-rich layer beneath the mixed layer of methane and hydrogen sulfide. They have been investigated by microscopic, scanning electron microscopic (SEM), X-ray diffraction, and stable isotopic analytical methods. Calcite, magnesian calcite, dolomite, and rhodochrosite were recognized as carbonate minerals. Each carbonate nodule is usually represented by single species of carbonate minerals. Carbonate nodules are subdivided into micrite nodules and recrystallized nodules according to textural features. The carbonate crystallites in each micrite nodule are equidimensional. Their sizes range from several to 30 μm, as revealed by SEM micrographs. The chemical composition of calcite is changed from pure calcite to high magnesian calcite, as shown by the shift of the (104) reflection in X-ray diffraction patterns. Fe substitution for Ca in dolomite was also observed. Carbon isotopic composition shows an unusually wide range—from -42.9 to + 13.5%O—in PDB scale, whereas oxygen isotopic compositions of almost all the carbonate nodules are constantly enriched in O from + 3.4 to + 7.60%0 in PDB scale. These wide variations in carbon isotopic composition indicate several sources for the carbon in carbonate nodules. Carbon with a negative δC value was derived from biochemical oxidation of methane with a negative δC value. On the other hand, carbon with positive δC value was probably formed during methane production in an anoxic condition.


The aim and objective of this study is to analyse the causes of domestic violence against married women in Pakistan providing a complete picture of understanding on the phenomenon. This study was conducted in Safoora Goth, Karachi one of the oldest residential centre of Karachi where all local ethnic groups and class of people are inhabited. The factors included in the study were various reasons of domestic violence, nature of domestic violence, types of domestic violence, separation, and feeling of deprivation, husband drug addiction, partner violence, family system, family economic, ages of women and all other such related causes regarding domestic violence. The universe of the study was Safoora Goth, Karachi. The calculated sample size was 313 respondents in which researcher selected simple random sampling technique. The tool for the data collection was a questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested statistically among 5 hypotheses all have gotten accepted and showed the result as there are various causes of domestic violence. Thus, the researcher concluded that family system, family income and husband drug addiction are related to the domestic violence in a great deal.


Although there are so many avalaible data structure educational tools, it is quite difficult to find a suitable tool to aid students for learning certain course [1]. Several major impediments in determining the tool are teaching preferences, language barrier, confusing terminologies, internet dependency, various degree of material difficulty, and other environment aspects. In this research, a data structure educational tool called AP-ASD1 is developed based on basic algorithm and data structure course (ASD 1). Since AP-ASD1 is developed following course materials and not vice versa, this educational tool is guaranteed to fit in our needs. The feasibility of AP-ASD1 is evaluated based on two factors which are functionality correctness and survey. All features are correctly functioned and yield expected output whereas survey yields fairly good result (84,305% achievement rate). Based on our survey, AP-ASD1 meets eligibility standard and its features are also successfully integrated. Survey also concludes that this application is also quite effective as a supportive tool for learning basic data structure.


Minimally or noninvasive continuous glucose monitors estimate plasma glucose from compartments alternative to blood, and may revolutionize the management of diabetes. However, the accuracy of current devices is still poor and it may partly depend on low performance of the implemented calibration algorithm. Here, a new adaptive calibration algorithm based on a population local-model-based inter-compartmental glucose dynamic model is proposed. The novelty consists in the adaptation of data normalization parameters in real time to estimate and compensate patient's sensitivity variations. Adaptation is performed to minimize mean absolute relative deviation at the calibration points with a time window forgetting strategy. Four calibrations are used: preprandial and 1.5 h postprandial at two different meals. Two databases are used for validation: 1) a 9-h CGMS Gold (Medtronic, Northridge, USA) time series with paired reference glucose values from a clinical study in 17 subjects with type 1 diabetes; 2) data from 30 virtual patients (UVa simulator, Virginia, USA), where inter- and intrasubject variability of sensor's sensitivity were simulated. Results show how the adaptation of the normalization parameters improves the performance of the calibration algorithm since it counteracts sensor sensitivity variations. This improvement is more evident in one-week simulations.


Chota Valley Spanish (CVS) is an Afro-Hispanic dialect spoken in the provinces of Imbabura and Carchi, Ecuador. The structure of CVS is relatively similar to Spanish, even though the conditions that characterized colonial Chota Valley seem — at a first glance — to have been ideal for a creole language to develop: a low white/black ratio, harsh working conditions on sugarcane plantations, massive introduction of African-born workers, and minimal contact with the outside Spanish speaking world (Schwegler 1999: 240; McWhorter 2000: 10–11). Two main hypotheses have been proposed to account for this fact: (a) the Monogenesis Hypothesis (Schwegler 1999); (b) the Afrogenesis Hypothesis (McWhorter 2000).In the present paper, the linguistic and sociohistorical evidence available for CVS is analyzed. Findings indicate that the long assumed creolizing conditions for CVS were not in place in colonial Chota Valley and therefore hypotheses (a) and (b) do not accurately explain the true nature and evolution of this language. The present study suggests that CVS can be better analyzed as the result of intermediate and advanced second language acquisition processes, which do not imply a previous creole stage.


The flat cemetery of Frontovoe 3 was discovered in 2018 by a team of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the Nakhimovskii district of modern Sevastopol, in the south-western area of the Crimean Peninsula. The site comprising 328 graves was excavated completely. The cemetery appeared ca. late first century AD and ceased to exist in the late fourth or early fifth century AD. The cemetery showed expressive spatial structure and contained eloquent assemblages with abundant grave goods allowing us to determine its chronological zones. This paper addresses the finds of silver crescent-moon-shaped pendants from graves 13 and 94. Similar ornaments occurred in burial assemblages in the Crimea and the northern Dagestan, Kalmykia, Lower Don area, and also in Sarmatian graves in the Great Hungarian Plain. The lunula pendants in question form a chronological reference point for the Pontic-Danubian antiquities in the Late Roman Period.


The evolutionary neural network can be generated combining the evolutionary optimization algorithm and neural network. Based on analysis of shortcomings of previously proposed evolutionary neural networks, combining the continuous ant colony optimization proposed by author and BP neural network, a new evolutionary neural network whose architecture and connection weights evolve simultaneously is proposed. At last, through the typical XOR problem, the new evolutionary neural network is compared and analyzed with BP neural network and traditional evolutionary neural networks based on genetic algorithm and evolutionary programming. The computing results show that the precision and efficiency of the new neural network are all better.


While multidisciplinary consultation meetings on therapeutic protocols, psychological management, treatment of pain for patients living with cancer are setting up, their nutritional status in Cote-d'Ivoire is almost absent in oncology units. This study aimed to assess the nutritional profile of adult patients with cancer, followed at the oncology service of the University Hospital of Treichville. A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted over a 40-day period, from an anonymous questionnaire and involving fifty-three (53) cancer patients. sociodemographic, clinical and biological data as well as qualitative parameters on food consumption (24-hour recall) were collected. The results revealed that the mean age was 51 years with a female predominance (87.5%). The nutritional status of patients was evaluated according to several parameters: The Body Mass Index (BMI) accounted for 8.33% of malnourished patients with 37.5% of patients being obese or overweight. Weight loss in the 6 months preceding the survey concerned 77.55% patients, 30.61% of whom were severely malnourished. Albuminemia and the Nutritional Risk Index (NRI) showed that respectively 13.5% of the patients were malnourished and 22.5% of patients were at risk of complications related to undernutrition. In 18.87% of cases, surveyed patients had taken less than three meals a day. Therefore, prevalence of undernutrition/malnutrition was high in the study population. No single parameter was sufficiently sensitive and specific. Based on this, the combination of several parameters is necessary for an objective assessment for intervention. Nutritional management of patients living with cancer deserves to be integrated into the overall therapeutic project.

 Key words: Nutrition, cancer, undernutrition, nutritional assessment, food intake.


The intensity of light scattered by chemically skinned rabbit psoas fibers in relaxed, rigor, and activated states was monitored at 90 degrees to the incident beam. In the relaxed state, scattering varied in proportion to the volume of muscle in the beam. Scattering increased to 2.3 times the resting value when rigor was induced by withdrawal of MgATP or when the myofibrils were activated by the caffeine-induced release of Ca from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The rigor-induced increase in scattering decreased monotonically when MgATP was reintroduced stepwise (0-100 microM). This decrease in scattering was accompanied by an increase in tension up to an optimum MgATP level of approximately 10 microM, and then tension decreased at higher concentrations (10-100 microM). The increase in scattering during both rigor and activation was dependent upon fiber length. At lengths when thick-thin filament overlap was near zero, the light signal due to rigor and activation fell to within 10% of the signal for the relaxed fiber at that length. The signal during rigor increased only minimally (approximately 10%) when stretch (approximately 1%) was applied. This increase in signal was small despite a measured 5- to 10-fold increase in tension and an estimated twofold increase in stiffness. Thus, the increased light scattering caused by rigor and activation depends on filament overlap and not tension, stiffness, or substrate binding.


Although there is evidence of emotion perception deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), research on this topic has been mostly confined to perception of emotions in faces. Using behavioral measures and 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined whether such deficits extend to the perception of bodily expressed emotions. We found that individuals with ASD, in contrast to neurotypical (NT) individuals, did not exhibit a differential pattern of brain activation to bodies expressing fear as compared with emotionally neutral bodies. ASD and NT individuals showed similar patterns of activation in response to bodies engaged in emotionally neutral actions, with the exception of decreased activation in the inferior frontal cortex and the anterior insula in ASD. We discuss these findings in relation to possible abnormalities in a network of cortical and subcortical mechanisms involved in social orienting and emotion contagion. Our data suggest that emotion perception deficits in ASD may be due to compromised processing of the emotional component of observed actions.


From a Bayesian decision theoretic framework, we show that the reason why the usual statistical approaches do not take context into account is because of the assumptions made on the joint prior probability function and because of the simplistic loss function chosen. We illustrate how the constraints sometimes employed by artificial intelligence researchers constitute a different kind of assumption on the joint prior probability function. We discuss a couple of loss functions which do take context into account and when combined with the joint prior probability constraint create a decision problem requiring a combinatorial state space search. We also give a theory for how probabilistic relaxation works from a Bayesian point of view.


The story is all too familiar: An investor puts money into a high-risk investment, lured by above-market returns. He or she is given a prospectus plainly disclosing the investment as high-risk and describing in mind-numbing detail--almost everything that could go wrong. For whatever reason (a change in real estate values, the collapse of oil prices, the movement of interest rates) the investment doesn't perform as projected and the investor, alleging he or she is representative of a class, charges fraud and sues the CPA who examined the prospective financial information. For CPAs, such cases present serious (and many would say unfair) problems. A jury may be overwhelmed by sympathy for the investor (rarely is a millionaire investment banker chosen as the class representative; the preference is for widows and orphans). The available defenses, which may involve subtle points of financial analysis, cannot be certain to prevail against a tide of emotion. Another roadblock: The mere process of getting to trial can be extraordinarily expensive because of the wide latitude given plaintiffs by pretrial discovery rules. Even when an innocent CPA believes such problems can be overcome, the sheer risk of the endeavor-- particularly given the threat of punitive damages or treble damages under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act may make out-of-court settlement of even a frivolous case the preferred course of action. Lawsuits trumped Given this situation, CPAs should cheer an important decision by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals arising from a suit against Donald Trump's ill-fated Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Trump's victory, while not directly concerning the accounting profession, is important to CPAs forming legal defenses to malpractice claims. The case, In re: Donald J. Trump Casino Securities Litigation--Taj Mahal Litigation (no. 92-5350, 3rd Cir., Oct. 14, 1993), dramatically strengthens an important defense in such lawsuits: that prospective financial information accompanied by warnings that properly "bespeak caution" cannot constitute the basis for a fraud claim. The facts of Trump's situation will sound familiar to many. In November 1988, Trump needed to raise $675 million to purchase, complete construction on and open the Taj Mahal casino and hotel in Atlantic City. He chose to do so through a public offering of investment bonds bearing an interest rate of 14% a full 5% higher than the yield offered on quality corporate bonds at the time. Investors were given a prospectus that overwhelmed the reader with attendant risks, including those arising from the intense competition in the Atlantic City casino and hotel market and anticipated restraints on growth of the casinos' win from gaming. Other risks described included the following: that the Taj Mahal had absolutely no operating history, its debt service would depend completely on still-untried operations and interest payments would come due before the casino could generate peak season cash flow. What happened? Investors snapped it up. A couple of years later they wished they hadn't. The hotel opened in April 1990 but, while larger in size then its competitors, didn't perform as hoped. When press reports and gossip raised the specter of bankruptcy, investors sued. Their main allegation was that the prospectus falsely stated that the defendants believed the funds generated by Taj Mahal operations would be sufficient to cover debt service. …


In this article I explore two important questions raised by the Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston decision. First, although the Supreme Court did not analyze the case under the Roberts framework, it suggested at the conclusion of the opinion that the case would have the same outcome under that test. The Court's dictum concerning the Roberts trilogy thus raises the question whether Hurley indicates that the Court might disturb the Roberts doctrine if presented with the opportunity. Second, the Hurley Court, in rejecting GLIB's claim, found that the parade organizers were not attempting to exclude gay and lesbian participants as such, but rather merely did not want the plaintiff to march in the parade as an organized unit with banners and other accouterments of parade participation. This finding contradicts the state court's finding of fact that the exclusion of the unit amounted to invidious discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The state court's rulings are plausible given the importance of outness and open declarations of sexual orientation in the struggle for gay and lesbian equality and in the construction of sexual identity. Because outness is intertwined with sexual identity, defendant's refusal to allow GLIB to march openly in the parade constituted an attempt to silence -- or closet -- non-heterosexual identity. Thus, even if the outcome of Hurley were justifiable on the narrow grounds of free speech, the Court's rejection of the lower court's finding of discrimination leaves open an important question for future cases involving gay and lesbian discrimination: that is, how will the Court treat future discrimination cases that turn on expressive activity of gays and lesbians, or, more precisely, will the Court resolve future disputes over outness in a way that fosters gay and lesbian equality.This article considers these questions in three parts. In Part II, I discuss the legal and political history underlying the Hurley decision. I will specifically analyze the free speech framework applied in the Supreme Court opinion and contrast it with the Roberts test that governed the state courts' decisions. I will also discuss in greater detail the two compelling questions the decision raises. Parts III and IV attempt to answer these questions. In Part III, I examine the possible impact of Hurley upon the Roberts doctrine by analyzing how post-Hurley cases have treated speech and equality conflicts. I argue that the courts in these cases have rightfully limited the reach of Hurley and have preserved the balancing formula established in Roberts. In Part IV, I consider the negative implications, from a gay-sensitive perspective, that Hurley might have for cases involving discrimination on the basis of outness. Finally, I suggest a tentative approach for courts to follow in order to ensure that civil rights law recognizes the importance of outness and adequately protects gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from invidious discrimination.


The mineral structure and performance of belite-barium calcium sulphoaluminate cement clinkers were investigated by petrographic analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results showed that the minerals of calcium barium sulphoaluminate (C2.75B1.25A3) and C2S could coexist in the belite-barium calcium sulphoaluminate cement clinker, and the optimal sintering temperature was 1380°C, at which, more C2.75B1.25A3was formed, well developed and also evenly distributed in the optimal sintering condition. If the sintering temperature exceeded 1380°C, the decomposition of C2.75B1.25A3 would speed up and the C3S became inactivate for its excessive development. In the optimal sintering condition, the compressive strength of the prepared cement at 3, 7, 28 d were 32.6, 47.9, 88.5 MPa respectively, which exhibited excellent mechanical properties.


A method is described for the identification of patients and carriers of Gaucher's disease, using leukocytes from a small volume of blood. The fluorogenic substrate, 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside, was assayed in the presence of pure sodium taurocholate (2.5 mg/ml) and Triton X-100 (2.0 mg/ml). Some commercial brands of pure sodium taurocholate were satisfactory for this purpose. The pH optimum for controls, Gaucher disease carriers and Gaucher disease patients was 5.4 using citrate-phosphate buffer. Although leukocytes prepared from only a small amount of blood (2-8 ml) are required, there is sufficient quantity for measuring other lysosomal enzymes as controls. Using this method, 12 patients with all types of Gaucher's disease and 12 obligate heterozygotes were identified. Carrier status was predicted in six other family members and ruled out in six others. Eight unaffected people married to Gaucher carriers or Gaucher patients were predicted to be non-carriers of Gaucher's disease, thereby ruling out children affected with Gaucher's disease in that mating.


Author(s): Shennan, Carol | Abstract: This recently-completed 3-year field study evaluated the effectiveness of winter cover crop incorporation and surface gypsum applications relative to conventional fallows for maintaining/improving soil physical properties, stand establishment and crop productivity in a cropping system relying on saline drainage water for irrigation. Six amendment/soil cover treatments were imposed on a rotation of tomato-tomato-cotton as summer crops. Drainage water accounted for about 70% of the total water applied over the course of the experiment. Yields of toamtoes irrigated with saline water were maintained relative to non-saline irrigation in year 1, but were decreased by 33% in year 2. Estimated cotton lint yields of plants irrigated with saline drainage water in 1994, following two seasons of drainage water irrigation, were similar to yields of plants irrigated exclusively with non-saline water. Soil surface crust strength, measured by micro penetrometer was lower in gypsum and cover-crop amended plots relative to saline water irrigated fallow plots during the period of cotton seedling emergence in 1994 in the third year of the experiment. Water stable aggregation was increased following cover crop incorporation relative to saline fallows. Following two seasons of saline drainage water reuse, emergence of cotton seedlings was highest in gypsum-amended plots, but considerably lower in cover crop incorporated plots. Mechanisms accounting for poor establishment following cover crop incorporation may include higher incidences of seed and seedling pathogens in plots where cover crop residues had been incorporated into the soil, and stubble-reinforced surface crusts that resulted in interconnected slabs that impeded timely seedling emergence. These findings and increasing soil surface ECe and SAR values during the course of this study point to the need for special management practices for sustained crop production if drainage water is routinely used.


This paper examines institutional determinants of bilateral trade in a thorough fashion, paying special attention to the issues of selecting institutional measures (using a new dataset), institutional endogeneity (cleansing the endogenous part) and state of the art gravity trade estimations (controlling for multilateral resistance). In terms of the institutional focus, we emphasize, as de Groot et al. (2004), that institutional distance can be an even more relevant determinant of trade than institutional quality on its own, but correct for the technical and substance shortcomings of the afore mentioned paper. We find that not all institutions matter for trade. The consistent effect is that of the quality of origin and destination country's legal institutions, which both increase trade. In terms of political and economic institutions, only the quality of origin's political institutions and destination's economic institutions increase trade, the latter being most salient. More importantly, we highlight the importance of the effect of institutional distance on trade, showing that economic distance affects trade significantly and negatively, an effect practically impossible to dissipate in any specification. Our conclusion in this research is that countries which are more similar in terms of economic institutions, trade more with each other, and that the quality of legal institutions is always conducive to general trade, but surprisingly does not determine your trade partners. Finally, we show that the use of only one of the proxies generally used by the literature to control for institutional environment can be biased and misleading in terms of what is actually being controlled for.


Flowering and fruiting patterns for 74 species of native angios penns were studied on South Padre Island, Texas, from May 1984 to May 1986. Four patterns were recognized: 1) a continuous cycle of flowering and fruiting; 2) a cycle limited to spring through autumn; 3) a two season regime, either spring-summer or summer-fall; and 4) a cycle completed in one season or less (spring or fall). Marked year-to-year variation occurred in flowering and fruiting responses within individual species. Only one fifth ofthe species exhibited the same monthly patterns in successive years. Number of species in flower or fruit was significantly correlated with mean monthly temperature and photoperiod, but showed no correlation with total monthly precipitation or precipitation with a one month time lag. Insect pollinated species had longer flowering/fruiting periods than wind polli nated species. Flowering and fruiting responses were compared among species common to other Gulf of Mexico islands and with species in common with temperate grasslands.


A non-intrusive and continuous separation technique for suspended particles in a microchannel has been developed by utilizing acoustic radiation force with two ultrasonic transducers. The technique has two major advantages that the acoustic radiation force acts on particles in proportion to particle diameter, and collects particles to the nodal positions of the standing wave field perpendicular to the flow direction. Thus the large size particles have shorter time of transfer to the nodal positions than the small size particles. Particle velocities toward the nodal position within the sound field were measured by particle tracking velocimetry, and both the migration times of particle transfer to the nodal positions and the acoustic radiation force were evaluated from the particle images and velocity data in order to separate particles in the flow field. The ultrasonic transducers with 5 and 2.5 MHz were equipped parallel to the flow direction. Both large and small particles in the aqueous solution were trapped at the nodes of the upstream in 5 MHz sound field, and 2.5 MHz transducer was radiated to move only large particles toward a nodal position of its sound field. The exposure time of 2.5 MHz transducer was determined from the migration times of large and small particles transfer to the nodal positions. It is confirmed that the continuous and selective separation based on particle diameter was accomplished by the present technique.


In recent years, photovoltaic industry has developed rapidly[1]. Facing the situation of traditional energy resources exhaustion and continuing oil price rise, solar energy as a renewable clean energy has been the focus of world attention. In all kinds of solar battery, polysilicon solar cell is the most important. However, the high cost of polysilicon, which accounts for 50% of the total cost, hinders the development of photovoltaic industry. In this paper, for the purpose of reducing cost of polysilicon production, metallurgy methods, for example, chloridizing roasting has been applied for purification. A feasible technological route for polysilicon purifying was developed.


High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical calculator (also described as the first known mechanical computer) designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1900?01 from the Antikythera wreck, but its complexity and significance were not understood until decades later. It is now thought to have been built about 150?100 BC. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks appeared in Europe.


The research aimed to
propose a non-destructive technology to control subterranean termites Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren
infestation based on electromagnetic waves. A portable apparatus for this
technology has been built and its experiment is presented in this paper. Some
electrical parameters were measured and analyzed along
with their effects to the termites. The experiment using frequency range between 30
Hz - 600 kHz has been done. The average error of the
apparatus by comparing the result with the direct measurement using oscilloscope
was also measured. The highest error value appeared at 600 kHz with frequency
error 6.05 kHz. The highest error of voltage (i.e. 0.186 Volt) appeared at 100 kHz.
For safetiness, the highest magnetic field at 300 kHz was 0.1815 μT and at 500 kHz
was 0.00725 μT which were safe for human. The average value of termites mortality
was higher on irradiation time 120 minutes than 60 minutes respectively in all test frequency: 300 kHz, 400 kHz, 500
kHz and 600 kHz. This paper presents an important information of the
electromagnatic-based technology for environmental friendly termites control in
spite of using the insecticides.


Background: Investigations show that - because of the influence of modern technology - more and more psychological problems are nowadays treated in so-called e-health interventions. One example of these e-health interventions is the online intervention "Op Verhaal Komen" (OVK) by the University of Twente. OVK has been developed for adults suffering from a minor or medium-heavy form of depression to improve and increase their well-being. The participants have to work on their own on different tasks and receive feedbacks from the fellow sufferers. This contact between the participants is called interaction. It is remarkable that many of the OVK participants abrupt their intervention. This abruption of the online-intervention is called non-adherent behaviour. Up to now there have not been any research works on the participants' interactions. Therefore, scientists do not know if there is a connection between the interaction and the adherence. The presented abstract aims to find out if there is these significant connection to see which influence the interaction could have on the participants´ adherence. Method: Participants of the present research work are members of OVK who have taken part in the second condition, i.e. the condition that is based on contact with fellow sufferers. All in all there were twenty persons between 41 and 73. The lessons done by the participants were analyzed in a self-developed coding system. Afterwards, the six lessons of OVK were compared by means of an Anova test and a chi square test. Besides, a possible connection between the interactions and the adherence was analyzed with help of a t-test and a chi square test. Results: A significant difference concerning the length of the received reactions in the six lessons has been worked out. As regards the other aspects as there are the intensity of working with the lessons, the number of received reactions per lesson and the used way of reactions, no significant difference between the six lessons can be discovered. In addition the four aspects of interaction show no connection in relation to adherence. Conclusion: Only a significant difference concerning the length of the received reactions in the six lessons has been worked out. In addition the four aspects of interaction show no connection in relation to adherence. A possible explanation may be that the sample in this research work was very small. Therefore, it is advised to repeat the investigations with a higher number of participants / fellow sufferers in order to receive general and valid results. All in all, more investingtions concerning adherence should be done in order to prevent previous abruptions of online interventions.


A generally applicable performance index for linear feedback systems is proposed. This performance index enables one to specify a desired (ideal) response towards which the system is optimized. The response of any unity-numerator system can be chosen as the ideal response. The coefficients of the performance index are determined from the specified ideal response, and the procedure of optimization is equivalent to minimization of the numerical value of this performance index. The procedure for constructing Liapunov functions for linear systems is used to minimize the performance index. System optimization is illustrated by means of examples. The results indicate that the smaller the numerical value of the performance index, the closer the actual system response approaches the specified ideal response.


Why do we need e-Education, e-Training and e-Learning? Why do we need to actually Re - Invent and Re- Create learning environments? Nowadays, while technology becomes more and more challenging, traditional teaching methods are facing the risk of becoming obsolete. Classroom walls are expanding tremendously and information comes bombarding the old hinges that keep holding them together. Where are we heading to? ITEM (Interactive Transformational Educational Model) brings human creativity frontstage, pushes at the boundaries of convention and invites learners to become co-educators, co-creators and active contributors to the (e)learning environment, and re-invent along the way the convention, continuously bearing in mind that conveying information without building transformational relationships within the educational process, knowledge becomes void of valuable content. Quantum Learning and Summative Intelligence are essential in implementing ITEM within higher education learning environments. Both parties involved in the educational process (teachers, i.e. facilitators of information acquisition processes and students, i.e. active, responsive recipients of shared-knowledge) are equally responsible for the creation, re-creation and re-invention of learning environments that are equally interesting and entertaining. The fascination for information and the instant gratification need of the millennials (and not only) launches self-study, inducing research skills and abilities that need guidance and refining. Yes, classroom walls are expanding, and teaching for information becomes secondary to teaching for relationing, if we aim for the e-Generation of (e)Students to continue to come to us for guidance, in these new learning environments. Undoubtedly, the world becomes our classroom and the only viable solution we have is to rE-invent and rE-create multidimensional learning environments, rE-shaping our mold and composure, while facing and keeping up with the future.


CDC5L and PLRG1 are both spliceosomal proteins that are highly conserved across species. They have both been shown to be part of subspliceosomal protein complexes that are essential for pre-mRNA splicing in yeast and humans. CDC5L and PLRG1 interact directly in vitro. This interaction is mediated by WD40 regions in PLRG1 and the C-terminal domain of CDC5L. In order to determine whether this interaction is important for the splicing mechanism, we have designed peptides corresponding to highly conserved sequences in the interaction domains of both proteins. These peptides were used in in vitro splicing experiments as competitors to the cognate sequences in the endogenous proteins. Certain peptides derived from the binding domains of both proteins were found to inhibit in vitro splicing. This splicing inhibition could be prevented by preincubating the peptides with the corresponding partner protein that had been expressed in Escherichia coli. The results from this study indicate that the interaction between CDC5L and PLRG1 is essential for pre-mRNA splicing and further demonstrate that small peptides can be used as effective splicing inhibitors.


The modern industries are still relying on welding to join two metals by fusion between the base metal and the filler material. In this Research, the focus is the multi-pass welding, as this technique is used when it exceeds the limitations of two-pass welding technique and is widely used in the industry like oil and gas, constructions and productions. The study on the effects of multi-pass welding on the mechanical properties of mild steel on shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) joint will unravel a better understanding on multi-pass welding by different types of filler material and number of welding passes. The design of experiment (DOE) for this study is two-level ANOVA which will be an essential tool to determine the outcome of this study. In detail, two-level ANOVA technique is used where two types of electrodes (E6013 and E7016) and two different numbers of passes (3 passes and 5 passes). The base material for this study is mild steel as it has good weldability and the specimens will undergo tensile and hardness test in order to obtain experimental results. After all the results are taken, all data computed and analysed using full factorial design of experiment. The outcome of the multi-pass study can be concluded that there are significant differences in the factors that were analysed. The interaction between electrode and passes shows that the interaction is not parallel with each other. Tensile strength and hardness of welded metal however there are no differences in hardness when the passes increased. The results for Rockwell Hardness test shows that the highest hardness recorded is 83.69 HRG for 3 passes, while UTS recorded was 569.46 MPa for 5 passes, both using electrode E7016. Based on the response optimizer done with Full Factorial Design of Experiment, electrode E7016 is the ideal electrode used in this study for hardness and tensile


Importance Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD) is a leading cause of vision loss. The optimal screening protocol to detect choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in fellow eyes of patients undergoing treatment for unilateral CNV has not been determined. Objective To compare the visual outcomes of eyes with established, active nvAMD in index eyes with outcomes of fellow eyes that subsequently developed CNV during the management protocol. Design, Setting, and Participants In this retrospective single-center case series conducted at a private vitreoretinal practice, data were collected for all patients treated for bilateral nvAMD between October 1, 2015, and October 1, 2016, for whom we could determine the date of index eye and fellow eye conversion to nvAMD (n = 1600). Per institutional protocol, patients were screened for new CNV in the fellow eye at every office visit. Patients were excluded if they had a condition that could result in marked asymmetric vision loss. Exposures Development of nvAMD. Main Outcomes and Measures Visual acuity (VA) at the time of diagnosis of nvAMD and at equivalent time points following conversion to nvAMD for both index eyes and fellow eyes. Results A total of 264 patients met the inclusion criteria; 197 (74.6%) were women and 253 (95.8%) were white, and the mean (SD) age was 79.1 (8.2) years at time of index eye conversion to nvAMD and 80.6 (8.2) years at time of fellow eye conversion to nvAMD. Fellow eyes presented with better VA (mean VA, 20/50 [0.40 logMAR]) compared with index eyes (mean VA, 20/90 [0.67 logMAR]) at the time of conversion (difference, 14 letters [0.27 logMAR]; 95% CI, 10-17 [0.20-0.34]; P < .001). Index eyes did not achieve the same level of VA as fellow eyes after an equivalent postconversion follow-up of approximately 20 months (mean VA: index eye; 20/70 [0.56 logMAR]; fellow eye, 20/50 [0.40 logMAR]; difference, 8 letters [0.15 logMAR]; 95% CI, 4-11 [0.08-0.22]; P < .001). No difference was detected between the mean number of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor injections received by fellow eyes and index eyes (9.7 vs 10.0 injections, respectively). Conclusions and Relevance This retrospective study suggests that fellow eyes of previously treated patients with nvAMD may achieve better VA than their index eye counterparts after an equivalent amount of follow-up. This may be because the CNV was detected and treated earlier and at a better level of VA, although it is unknown whether the frequent office visits, VA measurements, or optical coherence tomography testing was responsible for the detection at a better level of VA.


Mixing drama and documentary, this tells the story of Louis XV, one of history's greatest libertines. Louis ruled for almost 60 years, when the salons of Versailles were filled with the glories of the Age of the Enlightenment, and a society freeing itself of the constraints of the previous century. As a military leader he was popular and successful, but he then led France into the disastrous Seven Year War with Britain. As his Empire dwindled and his treasury emptied, Louis amused himself with a series of scandalous love affairs, set up his own private brothel in the gardens of his palace and bedded five sisters from the same aristocratic family. He fathered at least 30 illegitimate children, survived an assassination attempt and for many years effectively shared power with his favourite mistress - the glamorous and brilliant Madame Pompadour.


: A 79-year old woman, presented with fever and a large abdominal mass. She was operated on because an infected ovarian cyst was suspected. A very large pseudocyst was found, containing a surgical gauze pad, left behind 67 years earlier during a nephrectomy. This is the longest interval, the only infected and the largest pseudocyst reported in the literature till now.


The future distribution networks are going to be challenged by increasing penetration of distributed generators and simultaneously by increasing loading (inter alia heat pumps, air conditioners or electric vehicles). The increasing penetration of those appliances can escalate and jeopardize the functionality of current protection devices. Therefore, this article proposes a new overloading protection scheme applicable at low voltage level distribution networks to tackle this situation. The overloading problem is presented and the new protection scheme is demonstrated in a case study. The proposed protection should help to increase the flexibility of distribution networks, their safety and reliability.


An analysis of what Mayakovsky, Auden, Jarrell and other modern poets have written about their editing practices reveals a tension between the modernist proclamation that 'there are no rules' (Mayakovsky) and the fact that poets nonetheless need to find some sort of critical standard by which to edit their own work. In the case of an extreme egomaniac like Mayakovsky, one might be tempted to equate that critical standard with the massive law of his own ego – were it not that some part of him clearly finds its productions at times wanting. But if so, where does that critical voice come from? Upon what does it base its judgements? The psychoanalytic theory of the super-ego is key to my argument, which poses a challenge not merely to New Criticism's ideas about objective judgement, but also to the Freudian, and now common-sense, equation between the artist's work and the freedom of unconscious utterance. It suggests that such freedom comes by way of the critical voice in one's own head.


Abstract This article presents a typology of armed non-state actors in hybrid warfare: proxy, auxiliary, surrogate and affiliated forces. By focusing on the kinetic domain of hybrid warfare, the article offers a corrective to a debate that has so far ignored variation in roles and functions of non-state actors and their relationships with states and their regular forces. As a denominator, 'hybrid' identifies a combination of battlespaces, types of operations—military or non-kinetic—and a blurring of actors with the scope of achieving strategic objectives by creating exploitable ambiguity. However, there has been a disproportionate focus on what hybrid war supposedly combines across battlespaces and domains (socio-political, economic, informational), at the expense of who and how. Using the Ukrainian crisis as a theory-building exercise, the article suggests a four-category schema that identifies non-state actor functions as a tool to better represent the complex franchise of violence that is found nested next to non-military operations in hybrid activity. In so doing, the article speaks to a call for better conceptualization the role of non-state violent actors in civil war, in general, and in hybrid warfare, in particular.


Conclusions * Although much of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) debate centers on the notion that the Information Age represents a Third Wave paradigm shift, the Information Age is only one of the components of the Third Wave. * The Third Wave is marked not by a paradigm shift, but the utter lack of a paradigm. * Discussions about the RMA (or, as it is increasingly being called, Revolution in Security Affairs, as some call it) should reflect the specific conditions existing in the Third Wave, in this regard, the Tofflers' analysis is incomplete. The Composition of Waves It is inevitable that the future will not be determined by the singular, unimpeded triumph of information technology. It is naive to presume that something so epochal as a struggle for a paradigm shift should lack for pretenders and contenders. Indeed there is no shortage of formidable combinations of contending ideas for the Third Wave crown. But what is the arrangement of a wave? * The first level of any wave is inhabited by technology, artifacts and processes. The economy is central and politics inherent, as are social forms. This is the plane at which Alvin and Heidi Toffler and Peter Drucker ply their craft. Here we subscribe, as they do, to the continuum from an Agrarian Age to an Industrial one to the emergent Information Age. * The intermediate plane of a wave can be described in essentially cultural terms. The cultural terms Premodernism, Modernism, and Postmodernism apply here, and we subscribe to their context. It is in this region that art, literature, poetry, and philosophy flourish. It is also the den of ideology. * The third and deepest level of a wave is the foundational. Paradigms originate in this region. A paradigm is the dominant and fundamental way of thinking within a period--how phenomena are perceived and assigned meaning. It is here that the genesis of ideas culminates in outcomes in the other layers. Paradoxically, science, religion, and superstition share this region. Here we subscribe to the Age of Faith, the Age of Reason, and what is provisionally called the Age of Intuition, as a working title. Waves are parallel, but not coterminous. Nor is a paradigm continuously present within a wave. The following table shows the general arrangement as it applies to the Western world. (This implies there are other stories to be told, but the framework holds as a universal.) There is no Paradigm Shift The levels normally interact vertically through a "Principle-Metaphor-Tool bridge." The effect of Newton's discoveries, for example, are portrayed by Gene Edward Veith, Jr., in "bridge-terms" as follows: "With the rise of modern science, which accompanied the industrial revolution (Tool), nature itself began to be seen as a machine (Metaphor). Nature was interpreted as a closed system of cause and effect, which can be totally explained by mathematical and experimental analysis (Principle). Whereas preindustrial human beings confronted nature as a mysterious living organism, the scientists of the Enlightenment reduced nature to a complex but inert mechanism that could be taken apart, rationally understood, and used like any other mechanical device." James Gleick provided another example: "The Second Law of Thermodynamics has established itself firmly in the non-scientific culture....Any process that converts energy from one form to another must lose some energy as heat (Principle). Perfect efficiency is impossible. The universe is a one-way street" (Metaphor). This principle, known as entropy, has taken on its own intellectual value far removed from science, taking the blame for disintegration of societies, economic decay, the breakdown of manners, and many other variations on the decadence theme" (Tool). These "secondary, metaphysical incarnations" of scientific thought are metaphors forming bridges or clover leafs linking the levels, transferring ideas formulated as principles at the foundational level to the application layer to become tools, principally through the creative powers of writers, philosophers, and artists. …


We respectively conduct performance contrast test on cement paste, cement mortar, and high-performance concrete which have been added naphthalene water-reducing agent and polycarboxylate water-reducing agent. Studies show that naphthalene water-reducing agent can better improve the performance of concrete and increase the fluidity of concrete to ensure its keeping slump. Meanwhile, the age strength and the growth rate of strength of concrete with mixing polycarboxylate water-reducing agent has been significantly improved than those of naphthalene water-reducing agent, which can better meet the strength requirements of concrete and get a bright application prospect that naphthalene water-reducing agent can not reach.


Maintaining a consistent presentation of the virtual world among participants is a fundamental problem in the Distributed Virtual Environment (DVE). The problem is exacerbated due to the limited network bandwidth and errorprone transmission. This paper investigates Dead Reckoning (DR) update scheduling to improve consistency in the DVE against message loss. Using the metric of Time-Space Inconsistency (TSI), which combines the spatial magnitude and temporal duration of inconsistency, we analytically derive the impact of message loss on TSI when using a DR-based update mechanism. To improve consistency against message loss, a naive update scheduling algorithm is first proposed, in which the expected spatial difference is calculated by taking message loss into account. In order to reduce the TSI to the case without transmission failures, a compensation update scheduling algorithm is further proposed by reducing the DR threshold according to the message loss rate. Using these algorithms, a budget-based mechanism is developed to meet the network bandwidth constraint. We show through experiments using a racing car game that the budget-based mechanism using the compensation update scheduling algorithm makes the best use of available network bandwidth to reduce the inconsistency and its impact on the participants. In addition, it ensures fairness among participants in spite of widely varying message loss rates.


This chapter will explore the notion of youth and participatory arts in the context of post-genocide Rwanda twenty-five years after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. Tropes such as youth, participation, justice, reconciliation, education and empowerment are often used transnationally without considering the relevance of these terms within a particular cultural and linguistic framework. I seek to address some of these omissions and debates concerning how, when and why the participatory arts might be used with and for young people in post-genocide Rwanda through a practice-as-research project entitled Mobile Arts for Peace (MAP) designed to develop safe, inclusive and progressive spaces for young people. The use of participatory arts by young people holds immense potential to foster people- to-people approaches to peacebuilding initiatives in Rwanda. The research has been conducted in partnership with the Institute for Research and Dialogue for Peace (IRDP) including ten cultural organisations, twenty-five educators, five schools and ten youth from the Eastern Province of Rwanda. The initial pilot phase of activities from March 2018 to December 2018 included a scoping visit and curriculum workshop (March 2018), training of trainers (August 2018) and youth camp (Nov-Dec 2018). Pilot activities involved an additional sixty adult trainers through subsequent training of trainer activities led by adult trainers in their schools and five hundred young people who participated in weekly MAP activities. Methodologically, I used a triangulation approach: first, I observed the value of using various interdisciplinary arts practices within practical workshop sessions, noting and recording behavioural and social responses to the workshop experiences; second, I used existing scholarship on mental health awareness and consultation with partner organisation Sana Initiative to consider how post-genocide trauma may influence participants' behaviour, responses and engagement with project activities; and third, I collected quantitative and qualitative data through interviews, participant observation, surveys and workshops to establish participants' own perspectives on the gains and challenges of the project activities. My main argument is two-fold. First, that participatory arts can help communities and individuals to forge peace-building initiatives. Second, that engaging youth participants in these processes is particularly effective, due to their ability to approach issues from new perspectives as change makers. Thus, youth are well-placed to be trained as facilitators and youth leaders for ongoing participatory arts workshops related to peace-building initiatives. In this chapter, I will further critique the concepts of 'youth' and 'participatory arts' in relation to the contexts of peace-building initiatives in Rwanda. I consider the Rwandan context within which I have been working, noting in particular the currency of participatory arts and the engagement of and with young people in arts-based practices that seek to address issues arising from the history of genocide in the country. Then, I outline the MAP project, offering three examples of participatory arts practice drawn from practical workshops designed to engage young people in dialogue. I conclude with the finding that further mental health awareness and participatory methods of engagement are needed to create a space for open dialogue and debate with and for young people in Rwanda, and I end the chapter with further recommendations for follow-on research activities.


Background: Gallbladder adenocarcinoma is the most common malignant tumor of the biliary tract. Most of gall bladder cancers are detected incidentally only after pathological examination of the excised surgical specimens. In this study we investigated the characteristics of incidental gallbladder cancers in our center.
Material & methods: We retrospectively reviewed all of the cholecystectomy specimens in sent for histopathology following laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the study period from January 2015 to October 2019. Clinicopathological characteristics were extracted from the patients' clinical charts, which included symptoms, radiological findings, laboratory data, and surgical procedures as well as outcome.
Results: We identified 6 cases of incidental gall bladder cancer, consisting of 4 women and 2 men ranging in age from 28 to 77 years (mean age 60.5 after pathological study of 1530 resected gall bladders. Out of the 6 cases, 1 case was carcinoma in situ of gall bladder, 1 was T1b  and other 4 cases were T2 carcinoma.
Conclusions: The rate of incidental gallbladder carcinoma in our study was 0.39%. This lower incidence could in part be due to increasing use of routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallbladder. This strategy of increased early intervention further adds to the advantage of higher chances of gallbladder cancer detection in early stages, and thus better prognosis.


Health information systems (HIS) in their current form are rarely sustainable. In order to sustain our health information systems and with it our health systems, we need to focus on defining and maintaining sustainable Health Information System building blocks or components. These components need to be easily updatable when clinical knowledge (or anything else) changes, easily adaptable when business requirements or processes change, and easily exchangeable when technology advances. One major prerequisite for this is that we need to be able to define and measure sustainability, so that it can become one of the major business drivers in HIS development. Therefore, this paper analyses general definitions and indicators for sustainability, and analyses their applicability to HIS. We find that general 'Emergy analysis' is one possibility to measure sustainability for HIS. Based on this, we investigate major enablers and inhibitors to sustainability in a highlevel framework consisting of four pillars: clinical, technical, socio-technical, and political/business.


The stress induced migration of planar grain boundaries in aluminium bicrystals was measured. Symmetrical <100> tilt grain boundaries with misorientation angles in the range between 5.7° and 17.8° were examined. Boundary migration under a shear stress was observed to be ideally coupled to the lateral translation of grains. The measured ratios of the normal boundary motion to the lateral displacement of grains are in an excellent agreement with the respective boundary geometry. The temperature dependence of grain boundary mobility was measured, and the corresponding activation parameters were determined. The activation enthalpy of boundary migration was found to be independent of misorientation angle in the investigated misorientation range and amounts to H=1.44 eV.


Correlates of rarity in UK bumblebee (Bombus spp.) populations Sarah Elizabeth Rustage The decline of bumblebee (Bombus spp.) populations in the UK and worldwide has been well reported. It has been generally assumed that such declines result in the genetic impoverishment of some species, potentially leading to reduced fitness and increased extinction risk. This study tested the fundamental assumption linking population fragmentation with fitness, in a model system of two Bombus species native to the UK. Bombus monticola has declined significantly in range across the UK in recent years and occupies fragmented upland areas, while Bombus pratorum has remained abundant and widespread over many habitat types. The effects of genetic diversity on fitness have been addressed in wild Bombus species, but this is the first study to explicitly compare data from species of differing levels of population connectivity and hence test the assumptions of traditional population genetic theory. As genetic diversity has often been linked with immunocompetence, aspects of the innate immune response were quantified, together with parasite load. These empirical measures of fitness showed lower than expected variability between the two study species, and no evidence was found to support the theory of lower fitness in fragmented populations. However, the considerable variability between sample sites in both species for all parameters measured raised interesting questions as to the underlying evolutionary processes; it is postulated that B. monticola populations may maintain a higher than expected Ne, despite their fragmented distribution. This study also provided methodological developments. An alternative method for the quantification of wing wear as a proxy for age was proposed, which could be easily applied to other Bombus species and possibly adapted for use in other flying insects. In addition possible sources of error in AFLP analysis were highlighted which have not been adequately discussed in the current literature, namely the effects of sample storage. Given the utility of AFLPs for non-model species, this is an important avenue for future research, and would be applicable to studies in other systems. Overall, the data presented here emphasise the challenges of studying fitness in wild populations, and underline the requirement for research into the fundamental principles underlying many assumptions made by conservation genetic theory.


Now, it is time to set up reliable water electrolysis stacks with active and robust electrocatalysts to produce green hydrogen. Compared with catalytic kinetics, much less attention has been paid to catalyst stability, and the weak understanding of the catalyst deactivation mechanism restricts the design of robust electrocatalysts. Herein, we discuss the issues of catalysts' stability evaluation and characterization, and the degradation mechanism. The systematic understanding of the degradation mechanism would help us to formulate principles for the design of stable catalysts. Particularly, we found that the dissolution rate for different 3d transition metals differed greatly: Fe dissolves 114 and 84 times faster than Co and Ni. Based on this trend, we designed Fe@Ni and FeNi@Ni core-shell structures to achieve excellent stability in a 1 A cm−2 current density, as well as good catalytic activity at the same time.


In this project, we systematically use several computational techniques such as charge optimization and component analysis to study molecular recognition and binding in the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) drug systems. Using CML drugs and their biological target, the BcrAbl oncoprotein, we systematically conduct a comparative analysis on five CML drugs bound to both the wild-type (WT) and T315I mutant Abl kinase. While early generation drugs (imatinib, nilotinib, and dasatinib) interact with Thr315 via a hydrogen bond, novel drugs ponatinib and PPY-A bypass interacting with Thr315 altogether. With the mutation to Ile at position 315, early generation drugs may experience a significant loss in favorable binding due to loss of electrostatic interaction and introduction of steric hindrance. To investigate the differential binding of these drugs to the WT and mutant, we optimize each of the drugs to the Abl kinase, allowing us to study how each drug binds to the native form. We also optimize PPY-A and ponatinib to the mutant T315I, comparing this charge distribution with the one generated from optimizing to the native form. Using component analysis, we identify chemical moieties of each drug that contribute favorably or unfavorably to the electrostatic free energy of binding. Taken together, we hope that by studying CML drugs, we will gain some insight into the larger picture of electrostatic binding interaction and potentially provide future direction for rational drug design and battling drug resistance.


The nSYNC chip is a radiation tolerant custom ASIC, developed in UMC 130 nm technology for the upgrade of the readout electronics of the LHCb Muon System. The chip will work, over ten years of upgrade operation, in a radioactive environment and exposed to a total dose of 13 krad and a fluence of 2 · 1012 cm 2 1-MeV neutrons equivalent. The results of radiation tests performed at the Catana facility (INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud) with 60 MeV proton beam are discussed, with a particular focus on the internal logic and TDC performance, and Single Event Effects measurements.


With more accessibility to the Internet and modernization of e-payment systems, the approach to address the travel requirements has dramatically changed over the years. The service offered by the Online Travel Agents (OTAs) has a huge impact on a very competitive online marketplace. The purpose of this research is to observe, examine, and analyze key factors which a consumers' decision to use a particular travel agent website for e-hotel booking can be predicted. The data are compiled using IBM SPSS. The key methods are applied for data analysis in addition to other statistical methods including factor analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis. The analysis of data reveals a positive association of website quality factors, product related factors, and consumer relationship factors with consumers' decision to book from a certain travel agent website. Viewing the big picture, consumer relationship factors are found to be more influential as compared to website quality and product related factors. Moreover, the researchers reveal product price as the most influential variable, but it indicates no statistical significance with consumers' decision. There are many different price products which are available across different travel agent websites. The convenience of payment method is found to be a significant attribute associated with the consumers' decision to book from a travel website. In addition, attributes of travel products variety and online reviews provided by the travel websites are observed to be statistically significant. This research indicates the trends of consumer decision-making for e-hotel booking in Indonesia.


Arthur Earl Walker was a medical researcher and physician who studied the brain and neurosurgery in the United States during the twentieth century. Walker examined the connections of the thalamus to the rest of the brain and how the thalamus coordinates sensory signals. The thalamus is a cluster of nerve cells [5] located between the two hemispheres of the brain and it is responsible for consciousness and sensory interpretation. While studying the thalamus, Walker noted that cerebral spinal fluid, the clear fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, sometimes became obstructed in certain parts of the brain in infants. Scientists linked the cerebral spinal fluid obstruction with a congenital brain malformation, later called Dandy-Walker Syndrome. Walker's work on the brain and cerebral spinal fluid enabled early diagnosis and treatment for complications in the development of the brain.


The survival of firms under changes in the business environment caused by exogenous shocks can be explained using economic Darwinism. Exogenous shocks can cause 'cleansing effects'. Shocks clean out unproductive firms so that available resources are allocated to the remaining more productive firms. However, shocks may also force out young firms that have the potential to be highly productive in the future, which will lower the average productivity of industries. This is known as the 'scarring effect' of shocks. Therefore, the overall impact of exogenous shocks on the allocation of resources depends on the relative magnitude of cleansing and scarring effects. This paper investigates this natural selection mechanism after the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006. The study uses data on medium-sized and large manufacturing firms in the Yogyakarta province collected by the Indonesian Statistical Agency. The main finding of this paper is that firms that had higher productivity prior to the earthquake in 2006 were more likely to survive after the earthquake, which suggests the existence of a natural selection mechanism, specifically cleansing effects. There is no evidence of the scarring effects of the earthquake on the new entrants.


Recently, networks have come to be used for human support such as remote control of robots. In remote control, haptic and picture information are needed. Haptic information is local, and it must be transmitted instantly. However, in conventional wireless communication, long delay exists. We proposed OFDM subcarrier selection for real-time wireless communication. In transmission, data are separated into hard real-time and soft real-time. For hard real-time, time interleaving is not used, and subcarriers that have high received power were allocated. By computer simulations, it was shown than real-time wireless communication was possible.


Based on coverage of over 660m news stories from LexisNexis News & Business between 2015 – 2021, we provide two new indices around the growing area of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): the CBDC Uncertainty Index (CBDCUI) and CBDC Attention Index (CBDCAI). We show that both indices spiked during news related to new developments in CBDC and in relation to digital currency news items. We demonstrate that CBDC indices have a significant negative relationship with the volatilities of the MSCI World Banks Index, USEPU, and the FTSE All-World Index, and positive with the volatilities of cryptocurrency markets, foreign exchange markets, bond markets, VIX, and gold. Our results suggest that financial markets are more sensitive to CBDC Uncertainty than CBDC Attention as proxy by these indices. These findings contain useful insights to individual and institutional investors, and can guide policymakers, regulators, and the media on how CBDC evolved as a barometer in the new digital-currency era.


The satellite estimation of cloud top height is an essential ancillary variable for the derivation of satellite winds, commonly know as Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs), which are later assimilated into numerical weather models to provide a diagnostic of the atmosphere. An important driver of the uncertainty of the AMVs is the height assigned to each vector, which are estimated by different algorithms according to each satellite's capabilities and physical assumptions made. The goal of this study is to compare the operational height assignment algorithms for AMVs being used in Brazilian Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies (CPTEC) with state of the art techniques for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite version 16 (GOES-16). The generation of GOES-16 products by CPTEC provides its faster deployment and adaptation for South American applications. The analysis will include the improved treatment for multilayer and semitransparent clouds, the optimal estimation methods' advantages, and the reduction of assumptions on cloud microphysics. Another aspect of this work is to evaluate the estimation of cloud heights with the subset of pixels relevant to AMV tracking schemes. It is expected better results from the state of the art pixel-based cloud retrieval algorithms, that also will be faced to observations from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO). The newest algorithms takes advantage from the improved spectral resolution of GOES-16, that is operational in 75.2 degrees west since December of 2017.


The question posed by this thesis is how limits can be constructed to the exercise of EU powers. While there are limits to the exercise of EU competences in the Treaties and in the Court of Justice's jurisprudence, it is argued that those limits suffer from conceptual and practical problems. In particular, the Court does not have appropriate criteria to examine whether the limits of the Treaties have been exceeded by the Union legislator. The thesis uses one of the new, and controversial, competences that the Union has obtained, the power to impose criminal sanctions, as a case study to propose a mechanism by which legislative powers can be kept in check. This is an illuminating and relevant case study. Firstly, it nicely illustrates the limits to the exercise of EU competences. Secondly, legislative practice and political statements suggest that this competence will be used regularly in the future. The thesis makes two proposals. First, by interpreting the scope of the EU's powers under the Treaties to impose criminal sanctions the thesis shows the limits to the exercise of EU competences. It demonstrates the scope of EU's competences by analyzing current and proposed criminal law measures. Secondly, noting that a construction of the limits to EU competences also needs to tackle the institutional challenges of judicial review, it develops an argument for a more intense and evidence-based judicial review. It constructs a procedural standard of legality which demands that the EU legislator shows that it has adequately reasoned its decisions and has taken into account relevant evidence. By testing the legality of discretely chosen criminal law measures on the basis of this standard, it is demonstrated how the Court can enforce the limits of the Treaties.


Background and objectives: Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is widely used to sample hidden populations and RDS data are analyzed using specially designed RDS analysis tool (RDSAT). RDSAT estimates parameters such as proportions. Analysis with RDSAT requires separate weight assignment for individual variables even in a single individual; hence, regression analysis is a problem. RDS-analyst is another advanced software that can perform three methods of estimates, namely, successive sampling method, RDS I and RDS II. All of these are in the process of refinement and need special skill to perform analysis. We propose a simple approach to analyze RDS data for comprehensive statistical analysis using any standard statistical software. Methods: We proposed an approach (RDS-MOD - respondent driven sampling-modified) that determines a single normalized weight (similar to RDS II of Volz-Heckathorn) for each participant. This approach converts the RDS data into clustered data to account the pre-existing relationship between recruits and the recruiters. Further, Taylor's linearization method was proposed for calculating confidence intervals for the estimates. Generalized estimating equation approach was used for regression analysis and parameter estimates of different software were compared. Results: The parameter estimates such as proportions obtained by our approach were matched with those from currently available special software for RDS data. Interpretation & conclusions: The proposed weight was comparable to different weights generated by RDSAT. The estimates were comparable to that by RDS II approach. RDS-MOD provided an efficient and easy-to-use method of estimation and regression accounting inter-individual recruits' dependence.


Radial Basis Function (RBF) Networks are used for contingency evaluation of bulk power system. The off-line Newton-Raphson load flow calculation are adopted to construct two kinds of performance indexes, Pip (active power performance index) and PIv (reactive power performance index) which reflect the severity degree of contingencies. The results of off-line load flow calculation are used to train a Radial Basis Function Neural Network for estimating the predefined performance indices. The effectiveness of the purposed method is demonstrated by contingency ranking on IEEE 30-Bus test system. Faster analysis times for contingency ranking are obtained by using the Neural Network.


Hyperpolarised 3He has been used extensively in the neutron community and for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lungs. 129Xe has many desirable advantages compared to 3He for NMR, namely its chemical sensitivity, solubility, adsorption capability and atmospheric abundance. In this work we present the design and construction of a 129Xe spin exchange polariser that operates at gas pressures between 0.6 and 3 bar. The design incorporates a novel Volume Holographic Grating (VHG) spectrally narrowed, high power laser diode device as the optical pump source for a continuous gas flow cylindrical polarisation cell. Nuclear polarisations of 34 +/- 3 % are achieved in 129Xe gas. Magnetisation production factors in excess of 80 % cm^3 min^-1 are achieved using a pseudo batch-flow operation method. Major parameters affecting 129Xe gas polarisation are discussed and the first measurements of cell heating from laser light absorption by Rb vapour are made. Hyperpolarised 129Xe gas produced from our system is imaged inside a low field, whole body MRI scanner. NMR measurements from inside a human lung are made using hyperpolarised 129Xe. Preliminary work on dissolved solution NMR is presented as are studies on the feasibility of using hyperpolarised 129Xe for porosity characterisation of porous media in low magnetic fields.


You're surrounded by surfaces. Viewed from a macro perspective they might appear soft, brightly colored, or textured. Maybe you don't think anything of them at all. But what happens when we take a closer look? Here, down at the nanoscale, chemical reactions at surfaces play a hugely important role in the world in which we live. Whether it's preventing metal corrosion, or developing the latest fuel cell, the state of surface being investigated is crucial. Indeed, by intentionally modifying surfaces we can introduce desirable properties, all because we're controlling what goes on at the molecular level.

The first part of this thesis discusses the use of model surfaces to probe fundamental properties and processes. Firstly, model surfaces displaying well-defined chemical functionality are created using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), and are subsequently used as a means to understand the primary interactions that occur between carbonaceous soot contaminants, and surfactant-like molecules in engine oils. The quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM) is employed as a means to determine minute levels of surface adsorption, and a structure-activity relationship for these molecules is suggested. Next, a new approach for profiling the activity of molecular adsorbates at carbon surfaces is introduced, which allows for the impact of individual surface features on resulting electrochemical activity to be determined. It is used to study the case of quinone adsorption at graphite electrodes, a currently debated topic, and it is revealed that current literature models regarding the activity of the basal surface need revision, with significant implications for carbon electrochemistry as a whole.

The second part of this thesis turns to understanding and controlling surface modification processes. Through a range of complementary techniques, the ability of scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) to control the extent of the aryl diazonium grafting process at sp2 carbon surfaces is demonstrated. Aryl diazonium chemistry as been identified as a route to band-gap generation in graphene electronics, and as such, controlled routes to localized surface modification are of great interest. Next, the versatility of SECCM for controlled surface modification is further demonstrated, where it is used as a method to draw intricate patterns of defined surface chemistry in graphene, with a strong focus on the production of integrated graphene circuits, a prospect often promised. Finally, a new methodology for the transfer of graphene synthesized via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is introduced. Crucially, it yields graphene surfaces with distinctly low levels of contamination, an area that currently poses a problem in graphene research.


In classical hydrodynamics with uniform density, vortices move with the local fluid velocity. This description is rewritten in terms of forces arising from the interaction with other vortices. Two such positive straight vortices experience a repulsive interaction and precess in a positive (anticlockwise) sense around their common centroid. A similar picture applies to vortices in a two-component, two-dimensional uniform Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) coherently coupled through rf Rabi fields. Unlike the classical case, however, the rf Rabi coupling induces an attractive interaction and two such vortices with positive signs now rotate in the negative (clockwise) sense. Pairs of counter-rotating vortices are instead found to translate with uniform velocity perpendicular to the line joining their cores. This picture is extended to a single vortex in a two-component trapped BEC. Although two uniform vortex-free components experience familiar Rabi oscillations of particle-number difference, such behavior is absent for a vortex in one component because of the nonuniform vortex phase. Instead the coherent Rabi coupling induces a periodic vorticity transfer between the two components.