The purpose of this research is to take a closer look at the tourism experience, with special reference to the experience of historic areas. The basis for the research is an urban design model based on three elements of urban spaces, namely form, activity and meaning. The model is often used and discussed in urban design literature to explain sense of place and also to explain how urban spaces can be made more interesting and enjoyable.

The form-activity-meaning model refers primarily to the intrinsic qualities of the urban space. This thesis contends that the urban design model is useful but inadequate for a proper understanding of the tourist experience of urban spaces and urban areas. For a better understanding, it is considered useful to develop a model variant whereby the tourist, and not the urban space, is the focus. The variant, referred to as the tourist interaction model, is a representation of the tourist experience of historic areas. The variant refers to interactions of the tourist with different aspects or elements of the space. The model speaks of interaction of the tourist with self, an interaction that primarily results from the meaning that is associated with a place. The model also refers to interactions with others; interactions that are mostly non-verbal. The third element of the model is interaction with the surroundings. This involves using the senses, especially vision, to engage with buildings, sites and artefacts.

This research uses Valletta as a case study because it is a city that is characterised by numerous and diverse urban spaces and also because it contains significant tourism activity. A qualitative methodology based on face-to-face interviews was deemed the most appropriate to attain the research aims. A total of 32 interviews with tourists were conducted. The objective of the interview was to obtain the essence of the experience including feelings and emotions.

The research findings provide useful insights on the tourist experience. No two tourist experiences are the same. There are countless factors that make each
experience of a historic area unique. Even if each experience is unique, there are elements that are common to the experiences of some, or even most, tourists. The research findings suggest that the commonplace and mundane in the urban landscape are an important component of the tourist experience of historic areas. Frequently, the visual element becomes relevant to the tourist experience when it combines with the meaning of a building or site. On Valletta's stepped streets, watching one's step, while looking at the surroundings, engages the tourist and creates an element of interactivity. Even if the exertion is greater, this enhances the experience and makes it more enjoyable. The tourist explores and in exploring there is discovery of things which are new or unfamiliar. In some instances, there is also surprise. Where the surprise is more significant, a more intense and enjoyable experience will result.

Issues relating to self and identity of the tourist have a significant role in tourist motivation and behaviour and hence also on the tourist's experience. Compared to a repeat visitor, the experience of first-time tourists is more likely to involve emotion and feelings than that of a repeat visitor, because the novelty of exploration and discovery of a first time visit is stronger. On the other hand, repeat tourists are more able to satisfy the need of affiliation by befriending local people. The research also suggests that the boundaries that have traditionally separated 'tourists' from 'locals' are becoming more blurred as residents consume the city in ways that are similar to tourists.

This research notes the relevance of 'layers of experience' to the tourist experience. 'Layers of experience' signify that the area offers many different ways how the tourist can engage with it. With more layers of experience offered, the tourist will have more possibility of interaction with self/meaning, with others and with surroundings, and hence the tourist's expectations are more likely to be met. It is suggested that Valletta is enjoyable to most tourists because it offers many layers of experience.


An effective way to promote a continuous flow of ideas for improvement in production systems is to challenge people with "stretch targets". This should generate a creative tension between a desired situation and the present situation. In the UK, the potential of this approach has been recognised by the Construction Task Force in their report, Rethinking Construction, which recommended that construction companies should establish challenging targets for improving the quality and efficiency of their processes. Investigates to what extent construction companies are currently using targets for driving continuous improvement in their production processes. The analysis is based on the empirical evidence collected on six Brazilian and UK construction sites. The analysis shows that most construction managers in the case studies did not use "stretch targets" as a strategy for driving continuous improvement in construction processes. "Stretch targets" were generally contingent to project constraints and were not supported by other fundamental complementary practices.


Pictorial stimuli were presented in a Stroop task paradigm that enabled the recording of attentional bias. The sample comprised 33 pathological slot machine gamblers (PG) and 22 control participants. The design of the study had one between-subjects factor – Group (PGs vs control), and two within-subject factors: (1) Stimulus meaning (win-related gambling stimuli vs neutral stimuli) and (2) Exposure (subliminal vs supraliminal). The results supported the notion that the PG group had an attentional bias towards visual win-related gambling stimuli compared with the control group. Furthermore, the degree of attentional bias among the PG group was moderately negatively correlated with net loss in the week before testing. One possible treatment implication of the findings is to include in-vivo exposure sessions as a supplement to cognitive behavioural therapy for gambling. Future studies could also include non-win gambling-related stimuli and should also comprise non-pathological regular gamblers as an additional control group.


Healthcare industry is one of the most important sectors that had made substantial progress over the past few decades and is continuing to evolve in many different areas. The applications of digital manufacturing technologies such as three dimensional (3D) printing are
rapidly increasing and likely to transform the healthcare
industry. Moreover, 3D printing capabilities align well with the needs of medical applications and are feasible for specialized pre-surgical planning, prosthetic applications, tissue engineering and organ printing, regenerative medicine etc. Furthermore, 3D printing technology has significant potential for development in various aspects of the modern healthcare industry, due to its capability of printing customized, complex, multi-material geometries.Therefore, in the next few years, 3D printing is expected to transform the healthcare industry. However, the limitations due to initial equipment cost, lack of expertise, and lack of suitable materials and stability of the printed materials need to be addressed to take full advantage of the technology.


The series of strong earthquakes that hit the province of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) on 29 July 2018 (M6.4), 5 August 2018 (M7.0), 9 August 2018 (M6.2) and 19 August 2018 (M6.5 and M6.9) has caused many casualties, injuries as well as damages in the housing sector. The disaster emergency was stated on July 29th, 2018 and was extended several times up to August 25th, 2018. A transition period from an emergency situation to recovery was declared starting from August 26th, 2018 to February 26th, 2019, while the rehabilitation and reconstruction (R & R) phase was started from February 27th. , 2019. In the R & R program, the Government has established a policy of building earthquake-resistant houses with a self-managed system through the formation of community groups (POKMAS) consisting of house owners, supported by technical and administrative facilitators. There are many models of earthquake resistant houses, both those proposed by the government and the private sector that are approved by the government. A Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 5 Year 2018 was issued on 23 August 2018 to provide guidance on the housing sector reconstruction. An investigation to study and document the lessons learnt from the housing reconstruction process is conducted in Lombok Island, covering the issues of program management, institutional set up and coordination, project administration, technical design, quality assurance and community participation. It was found that there were so many house building models proposed to the community by various sponsors, which cause confusion to the affected community. The study also found that the house reconstruction program has been delayed during the process, as one year after the earthquake, there were only about 52 thousands houses which have been completed, and 80 thousands other are still in progress, compared to the total of more than 237 thousand affected houses to be repaired and rebuilt. The study is expected to reveal various impeding issues and propose solutions for expediting the process. It is also expected that the result of the study can be used as a reference for future post-disaster housing sector recovery program in other places.


An industrial titanium dioxide process produces a gypsum by-product rich in iron oxides (red gypsum). Dissolution of red gypsum when applied to soil may be affected by the presence of the oxides due to adsorption of sulfate. This may affect red gypsum's suitability as a sulfur source for crops compared with other forms of gypsum. In addition, the oxides could act as a sink for metal cations, again by adsorption. Adsorption behavior depends on the properties of the material. Characterization showed that the gypsum and iron oxide were present as discrete particles, and that these components had very large surface areas. The iron oxides were a mixture of crystalline and amorphous hydrated forms. They had a point of zero net charge (PZNC) of 6.5. The affinity of anions for adsorption on the iron oxide material was in the order: phosphate > sulfate > nitrate > chloride. Metal cation adsorption revealed an affinity order of Pb > Cu > Ni > Zn > Cd for the iron oxide material and Pb > Zn > Cd > Cu > Ni for red gypsum. In a soil column dissolution experiment, retention of SO 4 2- by adsorption on the soil was not evident. Only a pelleted form of the red gypsum appeared to be effective at providing sulfate at a controlled rate. In contrast to sulfate, phosphate was strongly retained in the amended soil columns, while there was little retention of nitrate. Metal cation adsorption on the red gypsum suggested that it could be beneficial as an amendment in soils that have potentially toxic metals present.


CN08-04 * Hyperinsulinemia is usually associated with reduced insulin signalling in classic target tissues for insulin action, such as liver, muscle, and fat. Intake of energy in excess of requirements often leads to insulin resistance, obesity, and hyperinsulinemia, although this is influenced by genetic factors and varies between individuals in human populations and between mouse strains in laboratory models.
 * Hyperinsulinemia and obesity are becoming more common in affluent societies, largely due to decreasing physical activity coupled with ample availability of calorie-dense foods. It is important to recognize that hyperinsulinemia is not always associated with obesity: in affluent societies, many individuals meet criteria for characterization as "metabolically obese, normal weight" (MONW).
 * Recent studies (for example Ma J, Li H, Pollak M, Kurth T, Giovannucci E, Stampfer M, abstract A204, AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, 2006) provide early evidence hyperinsulinemia is associated with poor prognosis for common cancers. These studies are consistent with earlier observations suggesting that obesity (Calle E et al NEJM 1999: 341:1097-1105) and hyperglycemia ( Jee S et al JAMA 2005: 293: 194-202) are associated with increased cancer mortality. While they are many metabolic abnormalities in subjects who are hyperglycemic, hyperinsulinemic, and obese that might be causally associated with the increased cancer mortality observed, one obvious candidate is insulin itself. This involves the hypothesis that in hyperinsulinemic, insulin resistant subjects, neoplastic tissue may not share the insulin resistance present in the normal host tissues, but rather remain insulin sensitive, in a hyperinsulinemic milieu.
 * As an early step to explore this hypothesis, we have confirmed and extended recent reports from several groups in documenting the presence of insulin receptors on primary human cancers, including those of breast, colon, and prostate. We also recognize that drugs known to lower insulin levels, such as metformin, would be predicted to have antineoplastic activity if this hypothesis is valid. Early population studies ( Bowker S et al Diabetes Care 2006: 29:254-258; Evans J et al BMJ 2005: 330: 1304-1305) are consistent with this possibility. I will describe recent studies with laboratory models that are also consistent with the hypothesis. These models suggest that the in vivo antineoplastic activity of metformin is restricted to hosts rendered insulin resistant by overfeeding; little activity was seen under control dietary conditions. The in vivo activity of the drug is correlated with reduction of insulin receptor activation in neoplastic tissue, suggesting reduction of insulin levels is a contributing mechanism, although the growth inhibition via AMPK activation described in vitro (Zakikhani M, Dowling R, Fantus I, Sonenberg N, Pollak M Cancer Res 2006:10269-73) may also play a role.
 * Taken together, the ongoing work is consistent with the possibility that excess insulin is a risk factor for poor cancer outcome. As hyperinsulinemia is common and is modifiable by lifestyle and drug therapy, further research is justified. The early results suggest that benefits of interventions in this area may be restricted to metabolically defined subsets of patients, a point which should be taken into account in the design of future intervention trials.


Background: the objective of this study is to find the incidence of chemosensitive dysfunction in COVID-19 positive patients and its recovery.We collected the data from Sixty-five patients, all Covid-19 positive, quarantined in hospital between 5.4.2020 and 17.5.2020, by a questionnaire distributed the quarantine ward.Results: Smell dysfunction appeared in (89.23%) with or without other symptoms of COVID-19. (39.66%) had the sense of smell recovered. Taste dysfunction was found in (83.08%) patients with other COVID-19 symptoms. only (29.63%) of them recovered. The recovery took 1-3 weeks, most cases within 1 week or less. As the only symptom before COVID-19 confirmation, (18.46%) and (15.38%) had smell dysfunction and taste dysfunction respectively. Most of the chemosensitive dysfunction affected the 4th decade of age.Conclusion: Chemosensitive dysfunction is associated with COVID-19, and may be the only presenting symptom of the disease. This makes the ENT doctors in the first line of contact with corona virus. Further objective studies are required to cover chemosensitive dysfunctions, as the recognition of this dysfunction may help the diagnosis of COVID-19, and prevent the spread of this disease.


The regulations for Public Law 99-457, Part H state that early intervention programs should be capable of conducting "family assessments" in order to determine the strengths and needs of the family related to enhancing the development of the child. Significant concerns exist, however, about the definition of family assessment and the process by which it is conducted. This article proposes a functional interpretation of family assessment and identifies several key issues associated with the process.


Turn-on speed is the main concern for an on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device, especially in the nanoscale CMOS processes with ultrathin gate oxide. A novel dummy-gate-blocking silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) device employing a substrate-triggered technique is proposed to improve the turn-on speed of an SCR device for using in an on-chip ESD protection circuit to effectively protect the much thinner gate oxide. The fabrication of the proposed SCR device with dummy-gate structure is fully process-compatible with general CMOS process, without using an extra mask layer or adding process steps. From the experimental results in a 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS process with a gate-oxide thickness of /spl sim/50 /spl Aring/, the switching voltage, turn-on speed, turn-on resistance, and charged-device-model ESD levels of the SCR device with dummy-gate structure have been greatly improved, as compared to the normal SCR with shallow trench isolation structure.


Much research has described the various practices needed of gaining access and participation in multi-user game communities. Cheat sites are a continuation of game communities where players engage in knowledge building about game related challenges. In this paper we analyze the cheat sites created by players for a tween virtual world called Whyville.net, which encourages youth to participate in a range of social activities and play casual science games. Through analysis we created typologies for both the cheats and sites related to science content. Further, a case study of an exemplary cheat site elaborates on how some playergenerated sites work to build knowledge of Whyville. Finally, investigation of over a hundred player-written articles illuminates how Whyvillians contest different practices of cheating and how cheating affects the virtual world. Implications of these findings as cultural artifacts of the game community and as guides for designing informal online learning activities are discussed.


The algorithm to obtain intersecting lines from section and equidistance surface is one method of resolving the problem of obtaining NC machining procedure from points cloud data. As far as cutter paths obtained by section method are concerned, if intersecting lines using tangent plane and processed curved surface are obtained directly, it will be a quite complicated process and lead to divergent iteration operation because of inconsiderate design algorithm, and therefore it leads to the failure of obtaining intersecting lines. So the method of obtaining intersecting lines from section and equidistance surface is adopted. And this paper put forward and has realized one new algorithm. The calculation is simple and the algorithm is stable. It avoids the interference of cutting tool paths.


Occurrence of Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) on Capsicum plants has become common in Brazil. Despite the importance of this virus, genome information is still lacking for South American isolates. In this report, the first complete genome sequence of a Brazilian isolate of PMMoV (BR-DF01) was elucidated and compared with other PMMoV sequences. The nucleotide sequence of the complete genome of BR-DF01 isolate shared the highest nucleotide identity (99.54%) with the Japanese isolate JP-J, which does not overcome L3 resistance gene of Capsicum plants, as also observed for BR-DF01. The coat protein (CP) amino acid sequence of these two isolates was identical, which suggested that CP is the key factor for L-based resistance breaking. Phylogenetic analysis implied that BR-DF01 and PMMoV isolates belonging to Cluster I, including JP-J isolate, may share a common ancestral origin.


Purpose: To develop a porcine carotid artery thrombosis model using a novel stent-graft device to evaluate the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy and angioplasty procedures. Methods: An endovascular device made from a tapered polytetrafluoroethylene graft inverted in a self-expanding nitinol stent was delivered to bilateral carotid arteries via a right femoral approach in 16 pigs. Carotid thrombotic occlusion ensued from flow stasis created by the intrastent stenosis. Via selective carotid catheterization from a femoral approach, urokinase (250,000 IU) was pulse-sprayed in one carotid artery while a control saline solution was infused in the contralateral vessel; delivery times were 1 hour, 8 hours, 3 days, or 6 days after carotid occlusion (4 animals per time period). After thrombolysis, balloon angioplasty was performed to maintain carotid patency. Arteriography and intravascular ultrasound were used to evaluate the efficacy of thrombolysis. Light microscopy was used for histological analysis of the thrombus. Results: Carotid artery occlusion occurred in 15 6 8 minutes after stent-graft placement in all animals. Urokinase was effective in recanalizing all occluded arteries in the 1-hour, 4hour, and 3-day groups (100%) but was effective in only 2 of 4 animals in the 6-day group (p , 0.05). Overall thrombolytic efficacy was 78% 6 7%. Control saline solution showed no thrombolytic effect (p , 0.001). Angioplasty successfully restored normal luminal diameter in all fully lysed arteries (100%). Histological analysis showed fibrin-predominant thrombus with a varying degree of platelet deposition. Conclusions: This endovascular approach, which creates a carotid stenosis using this novel stent-graft device, is reliable in producing carotid thrombosis. In our model, thrombolytic therapy was effective in restoring luminal patency, and the intraluminal stenosis is amenable to balloon angioplasty. The model is useful for the evaluation of antithrombotic therapy and adjunctive endovascular interventions. J Endovasc Ther 2000;7:486–493


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote the development and progression of cancer by their effects on several signaling pathways. Lycopene, a major carotenoid natural product, is known to display antioxidant activity and to induce apoptosis of cancer cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism by which lycopene induces apoptosis of the human gastric cancer AGS cells. In the present study, we showed that lycopene reduces the viability of AGS cells by inducing DNA fragmentation and increasing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. To determine the mechanistic basis for these effects, studies were conducted to assess the effects of this carotenoid on activation and nuclear translocation of β-catenin, and the expression of β-catenin target genes in AGS cells. The results showed that lycopene reduces the levels of ROS. It also inhibits activation of β-catenin signaling by changing the Wnt/β-catenin multi-protein complex such as a reduction in phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β [GSK3β] and an increase in adenomatous polyposis coli [APC] and β-transducin repeats-containing proteins [β-TrCP]). It suppresses nuclear translocation of β-catenin and the expression of the β-catenin target survival genes c-myc and cyclin D1. Lycopene induces apoptosis by reducing ROS levels and suppressing β-catenin-c-myc/cyclin D1 axis. Thus, lycopene induces apoptosis of gastric cancer cells by disrupting nuclear translocation of β-catenin and expression of key cell survival genes.


As the business world becomes increasingly borderless, leaders and managers of all cultures are being called on with greater frequency to assume leadership roles in other countries or to lead diverse multicultural teams in their own countries. Transnational Leadership Development acquaints readers with the paradoxes and mental processes leaders need to relate successfully to people with different backgrounds, cultures, and societal identities. The book advises readers on how leaders may learn to see, feel, and experience the world with different lenses; take the necessary amount of time to reflect on what they know and what they need to know; find new ways to communicate; and be resilient in the face of this unique challenge. This powerful guide lights the way for those seeking to develop their people's proficiency in leading globally.


The aim of the paper is to study the role of absorptive capacity for the company growth and competitive advantage through open innovations. The case of Frauenthal Automotive Torun is used to explore how the routines and best practices associated with the firm absorptive capacity contribute to its success. The case study is to validate the thesis that through developing skills to recognize valuable knowledge in the environment, acquire this knowledge, assimilate, transform and develop it companies are able to apply and benefit from open innovations in order to grow and strengthen their competitive advantages. In order to achieve the aim of the paper the following research objectives have been set: (1) to identify the lessons and best practices applied in Frauenthal Automotive Torun in relation to the company absorptive capacity; (2) to analyze the relationships between the concepts of absorptive capacity and open innovation; (3) to exemplify and discuss the outcomes of the company absorptive capacity in regard to innovations, company growth and competitive advantage.


In this paper, various kinds of high-temperature phase change thermal storage Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Zn alloys were prepared, and the thermal properties were studied through integrated thermal analysis. Then the corrosion kinetics of Cr20Ni80 alloy in Al-7% Si alloy and Al-Cu-Mg-Zn alloy at 700°C in thermal cycles were obtained. The microstructures, element concentration and phases in the interface were analyzed by means of metallographic microscope, EPMA and XRD. The results show that all materials phase transition temperatures are during 450°C ~650°C . The total thermal energies of the materials are higher than 900J/cm3. Quaternary alloys and quinary alloys show much more advantages when applying for solar thermal power generation systems. The latent heat depends strongly upon the composition and percentage of elements and the phase composition. Besides, experimental results show that the corrosion rate of Cr20Ni80 alloy in Al-7%Si alloy at 700°C is 0.167mm/h. Under thermal cycling conditions, the corrosion rate of Cr20Ni80 alloy in Al-Cu-Mg-Zn alloy is a little lower and the reaction interface layer does not significantly affect the rate of further corrosion. The corrosion of Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Zn phase change thermal storage materials depends on the content of aluminum element, and nickel-based alloys are not suitable for use as packaging materials.


We provide a novel explanation for why manufacturers want to enforce a minimum resale price (min RPM) on retailers. A manufacturer sells her good via a multi-product retailer to final consumers by charging a linear wholesale price. The manufacturer then maximizes her profit through min RPM whenever the Edgeworth taxation paradox (ETP) occurs, that is, whenever the retailer could increase profits by decreasing all prices. Unlike many other justifications for RPM, our ETP-driven explanation for min RPM critically relies on interbrand competition, and it is - at least in the case of linear demand functions - always to the detriment of consumers.


When working with software development in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 applications as an independent solution vendor (ISV) with more than a few products in the portfolio, the number of applications/installations to support the processes tends to be vast. Annata and To-Increase are both ISVs and face this situation; To-Increase for example has about 50 environments for one single version of Dynamics AX. Change is inevitable in the software industry, regardless if the need originates from new features, bug fixes or change requests from customers; it requires modifications to existing products. Uncontrolled changes to the products must be avoided and any modifications should be introduced without affecting existing functionality. This thesis investigates how two ISVs work with Dynamics AX and the existing tool Development Center and suggests improvements to the Software Configuration Management. The most beneficial change suggested is to create a single repository within the existing tool across the applications.


As the industry looks to extend single-expose extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, stochastic effects become a significant concern to enable yield. Multiple previously-published reports have shown a strong tradeoff between resist sensitivity and observed stochastic defectivity. However, the limits of this trade-off between improving stochastics-related defects with a higher dose resist remains to be understood. How strongly does the resist formulation itself contribute to stochastics, or is it a purely dose-driven effect? Due to the thickness decrease in the patterning stack, the interfacial effects of the resist and hardmask films play a dominant factor in the material stochastics. This offers an opportunity to think differently about underlayer design for sub-32nm pitch patterning. The choice of hardmask can be used to modulate post-litho defectivity to mitigate the stochastics effects and enable more efficient pattern transfer. This paper will address multiple approaches to improving the materials stochastics through resist component optimization and hardmask film development. The defectivity at post-exposure and post-etch are correlated to electrical yield to validate the evaluation. The relative merits of patterning a chemically amplified organic resist directly on an inorganic hardmask or having different types of organic adhesion promoters as an intermediate layer will be also be presented.


This paper compares the value of landed and non-landed wealth held by a group of nineteenth century British businessmen. Landed wealth is estimated from the data in John Batemans Great Landowners of Britain and Ireland. Non-landed wealth is documented in probate records. Quantitative evidence shows that businessmen who owned land in the late nineteenth century did not retain a large proportion of their wealth in landed assets. In that sense they were rich because of the personal wealth and not because they were landowners.


A method is developed to coordinate the motion of dual robot arms carrying a solid object, where the first robot (leader) grasps one end of the object rigidly and the second robot (follower) is allowed to change its grasping position at the other end of the object along the object surface while supporting the object. It is shown that this flexible grasping is equivalent to the addition of one more degree of freedom, giving the follower more maneuvering capabilities. Especially, motion commands for the follower are generated by using kinematic redundancy. To show the utility and power of the method, an example system with two PUMA 560 robots carrying a beam is analyzed.<<ETX>>


Increasing interactions among automotive software functions and the ensuing complexity demand new ways of developing automotive systems. Many functions deployed in the vehicle cut across physical and logical boundaries. Capturing the core interactions underlying system functions, creating logical service architectures and mapping them to varying deployment architectures and product lines are central development tasks that cross-cut requirements capture, architecture design, implementation and validation/verification. The service-oriented development approach we propose addresses these fundamental aspects of automotive system design. In this talk the author demonstrate the description techniques, methodology and tools we have developed, and discuss their application in the context of automotive case studies.


Given growing awareness of and actions to address food insecurity challenges in higher education, this paper is a response to the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy 2022 Symposium call to examine universities as pro-ducers, managers, and opponents of poverty. Bringing together the unique perspectives of a faculty scholar and two recent undergraduates who worked on the frontlines to end hunger on campus, we argue that student-led food pantries are a critical way in which universities manage poverty on campus, but they are unable to oppose or eliminate food insecurity alone. As such, we examine the strengths and challenges of a student-led campus food pantry model, providing insights into best practices and models for university engagement. We conclude with a call for universities and policymakers to match students' actions for a better tomorrow where experiences of hunger and food insecurity no longer impede students' educational goals, so that we can go from merely managing poverty to opposing it, once and for all.


Based on a local approximation of the Riemannian distance on a manifold by a computationally cheap dissimilarity measure, a time discrete geodesic calculus is developed, and applications to shape space are explored. The dissimilarity measure is derived from a deformation energy whose Hessian reproduces the underlying Riemannian metric, and it is used to define length and energy of discrete paths in shape space. The notion of discrete geodesics defined as energy minimizing paths gives rise to a discrete logarithmic map, a variational definition of a discrete exponential map, and a time discrete parallel transport. This new concept is applied to a shape space in which shapes are considered as boundary contours of physical objects consisting of viscous material. The flexibility and computational efficiency of the approach is demonstrated for topology preserving shape morphing, the representation of paths in shape space via local shape variations as path generators, shape extrapolation via discrete geodesic flow, and the transfer of geometric features.


Author(s): Horne, Jeremy Ryan | Advisor(s): Dabdub, Donald | Abstract: The studies presented in this dissertation represent cutting-edge research in both fundamental and applied air quality modeling. In the first three chapters, a multidisciplinary approach is used to understand and investigate the importance of new chemistry that is not included in current air quality models. The results of laboratory experiments and theoretical calculations are used to develop and implement new chemical mechanisms into the UCI-CIT airshed model. In addition to the modifications to the model's chemical mechanism, changes to the model's inputs were also necessary prior to running air quality simulations. New chemical species that are unaccounted for in existing emissions inventories needed to be added, based on a combination of published information, experimental results, and field measurements conducted specifically for these studies. Additionally, emissions rates for existing species needed to be adjusted to better reflect present day conditions, or in some cases, explore potential future emissions scenarios. Results from these studies highlight the importance of collaborations between multidisciplinary teams of chemists and engineers to continuously improve air quality modeling capabilities. The novel chemistry included in these state-of-the-science modeling studies allows improved capability to simulate gas-phase pollutants, new particle formation, and aerosol aging in ways unachievable with other air quality models currently available. For example, results from Chapter 1 show that as fossil fuel combustion is phased out in an urban coastal area, particle formation will decrease substantially but still continue at a reduced rate due to the contribution of organosulfur compound (OSC) oxidation products. Furthermore, methanesulfonic acid generated simultaneously in OSC oxidation will become a significant contributor to particle formation, which should be taken into account in air quality and climate models. Chapter 2 demonstrates that indole is an effective precursor to SOA, and the UCI-CIT model showed significant potential for indole SOA formation driven by the oxidation of indole by OH. Indole SOA represents a previously unconsidered source of SOA that should be included in regional and global models, which tend to underestimate SOA concentrations. The air quality simulations conducted in Chapter 3 indicate that the inclusion of a previously unaccounted for sink for gas-phase ammonia intro an airshed model can significantly affect modeled ammonia and PM25 concentrations. Because inorganic particles comprise a large fraction of total PM2.5 mass, accurate modeling of gas-phase ammonia concentrations is essential for predicting future air quality. Models used in the development of air quality management strategies should account for changes in the concentration of ammonia due to its uptake by SOA to ensure accurate prediction of PM2.5 concentrations. In the final chapter, a diverse team of industry personnel and researchers is assembled to assess the potential implementation of natural gas-fired distributed generation of electricity (DG) in the contiguous United States, including displacement of power from central power generation, and determine the potential impacts on air quality. DG market penetration estimates are translated into spatially and temporally resolved emissions and combined with other emissions projected to the year 2030 to conduct the air quality modeling. The Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) is used to conduct the air quality simulations, which span several weeks and cover both summer and winter periods. This study explores a range of plausible scenarios and provides a modeling framework and methodology that can be applied in future studies to assess the potential implementation and impacts of DG. Results indicate that the operation of central power generation units can be affected by increased DG penetration and that most DG units in the U.S. emit at relatively high levels and significant emission reductions can be achieve through the implementation of stricter emissions limits. Overall, air quality impacts from DG are found to vary greatly based on meteorological conditions, proximity to emissions sources, the number and type of DG installations, and the emissions factors used for DG units.


Monocrotaline pyrrole (MCTP) causes cyto- and karyomegaly and persistent cell cycle arrest in the G2 stage of the cell cycle in cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells. To better characterize the cell cycle regulatory mechanisms of this process as well as determine whether this process would occur in cells of human origin, we treated human pulmonary artery endothelial cell (HPAEC) cultures with MCTP and determined, by flow cytometry, the expression of cyclin B1 and p53 in conjunction with DNA content. We also validated by Western blots that the persistence of cdc2 in its inactivated phosphorylated state, previously described in bovine cell cultures, occurred in HPAEC. Alterations in p53, cyclin A, cyclin B1, and cdc25c expression were also examined in Western blots of treated HPAEC extracts. The response of HPAEC to MCTP was compared with that of adriamycin and nocodazole, agents known to cause cell cycle alterations. Results of these experiments demonstrate that HPAEC treated with MCTP develop a population of cells in G2 that has increased cyclin B1 expression. These cells express increased amounts of cdc2 but not cdc25c. The ratio of inactive triphosphorylated cdc2 to the active monophosphorylated form increased moderately from control cultures in contrast to predominance of the active form in nocodazole-treated cultures. In addition, a second population of cells expressing cyclin B1 had continued incorporation of BrdU and DNA content consistent with 8 N chromosomes. A similar 8 N cell population was evident in nocodazole-treated cells but these cells had both cyclin B1 positive and negative components. Compared with adriamycin, a known inducer of p53, MCTP-treated HPAEC expressed p53 only at high concentrations and p53 expression was not coordinated with G2 arrest or polyploidy. We conclude that HPAEC treated with low concentrations of MCTP develop G2 arrest in association with persistent cyclin B1 expression, failure to completely activate cdc2, and continued DNA synthesis through a pathway that is unrelated to altered expression of p53.


We assembled approximately 230,000 U.S. National Ocean Service (NOS) bathymetric soundings from 39 lead-line and single-beam echosounder hydrographic surveys conducted from 1896 to 2005 in Norton Sound, Alaska. These bathymetry data are available from the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov), which archives and distributes data that were originally collected by the NOS and others. While various bathymetry data have been downloaded previously from NGDC, compiled, and used for a variety of projects, our effort differed in that we compared and corrected the digital bathymetry by studying the original analog source documents digital versions of the original survey maps called smooth sheets. Our editing included deleting erroneous and superseded values, digitizing missing values, and properly aligning all data sets to a common, modern datum. We incorporated 3 multibeam surveys, and added an additional 6,992 single-beam soundings from the 2010 Northern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey to fill in where smooth sheet data were lacking. We proofed and digitized 312 cartographic features, comprised mostly of rocks and islets and also digitized 4,305 verbal sediment descriptors, and digitized or adapted 2,142 km of mainland and 837 km of island shoreline. These data are not to be used for navigational purposes.


The localization of ion channels to specific membrane microdomains can impact the functional properties of channels and their role in cellular physiology. We determined the membrane localization of human Kv11.1 (hERG1) α -subunit protein, which underlies the rapidly activating, delayed rectifier K+ current (IKr) in the heart. Immunocytochemistry and membrane fractionation using discontinuous sucrose density gradients of adult canine ventricular tissue showed that Kv11.1 channel protein localized to both the cell surface and T-tubular sarcolemma. Furthermore, density gradient membrane fractionation using detergent (Triton X-100) and non-detergent (OptiPrep) methods from canine ventricular myocytes or HEK293 cells demonstrated that Kv11.1 protein, along with MiRP1 and Kv7.1 (KCNQ1) proteins, localize in cholesterol and sphingolipid enriched membrane fractions. In HEK293 cells, Kv11.1 channels, but not long QT-associated mutant G601S-Kv11.1 channels, also localized to cholesterol and sphingolipid enriched membrane fractions. Depletion of membrane cholesterol from HEK293 cells expressing Kv11.1 channels using methyl-Mβ -cyclodextrin (Mβ CD) caused a positive shift of the voltage dependence of activation and an acceleration of deactivation kinetics of Kv11.1 current (IKv11.1). Cholesterol loading of HEK293 cells reduced the steep voltage dependence of IKv11.1 activation and accelerated the inactivation kinetics of IKv11.1. Incubation of neonatal mouse myocytes in Mβ CD also accelerated the deactivation kinetics of IKr. We conclude that Kv11.1 protein localizes in cholesterol and sphingolipid enriched membranes and that membrane cholesterol can modulate IKv11.1 and IKr.


ABSTRACT Allergic inflammation is associated with increased generation and trafficking of inflammatory cells, especially eosinophils, to sites of inflammation. The effect of acute versus chronic airway allergen challenge on hematopoietic activity in the bone marrow (BM) and lungs was investigated using murine models of allergic airway inflammation. Acute allergen challenge induced proliferation of BM cells and significantly increased generation of eosinophil, but not multipotent, granulocyte-macrophage (GM), or B-lymphocyte progenitor cells. However, no hematopoietic activity was observed in the lungs. With chronic challenge, BM cells failed to proliferate, but exhibited increased capacity to generate multipotent as well as eosinophil, GM, and B-lymphocyte progenitors. In addition, increased generation of eosinophil- and GM-specific progenitors was observed in the lungs. Although no differences were observed in their ability to roll on BM endothelium in vitro or in vivo, CD34-enriched hematopoietic/stem progenitor cells (HSPCs) from chronic-, but not acute-, challenged mice demonstrated reduced migration across BM endothelial cells associated with decreased CXCR4 expression. Overall, these studies demonstrate that chronic allergen exposure can alter BM homing due to decreased transendothelial migration enabling noninteracting HSPCs to egress out of the BM and recruit to sites of inflammation such as the airways, resulting in extramedullary hematopoiesis.


Interest in medicinal plants as a re-emerging health aid has been fuelled by the rising costs of prescription drugs in the maintenance of personal health and well-being, and the bioprospecting of new plant-derived drugs. Several issues as well as a range of interests and activities in a number of countries are dealt with. Based on current research and financial investments, medicinal plants will, seemingly, continue to play an important role as an health aid.


Number of malicious programs for Android is rising at explosive rate. McAfee security vendor has mentioned in report, that Android platform is the most vulnerable target for hackers and by now, around six millions unique malware programs have been observed. The most rampant Android malicious program is found to be SMS Trojans, discerned by experts. Man-in-middle (MiM), man-in-the-mobile (MitMo), etc. are examples of SMS Trojans. The second common troop of threat belongs to plangton, hamob, AdWare, AndroidOS. These are detected as Trojans, but are useful type of apps. All these apps what does is, demonstrate advertising. The last group of malware is more dangerous as it made hackers to get root access on Android operating system of various smart-phones. So, to increase secure usage, preventive measures against such attacks are necessary. In this paper, we author have discussed Android malware family, its types, lifecycle, attacking mechanism, patch cycle and concluded with the comparative analysis of various existing Android malware.


In the contemporary UK, holistic practices – concerned with healing an interconnected mind, body, and spirit of the person – appear to be establishing themselves across more popular, or 'mainstream' settings. Simultaneously, the UK has seen increasing numbers of individuals identifying as not religious, and within this a significant population identifying specifically as 'Spiritual But Not Religious' (hereafter SBNR). This work consists of a survey that explores British holistic practitioners' understandings and experiences of spirituality in relation to their practices. It identifies and compares answers across three groups of practitioners: the SBNR, the other not religious, and the religious. Findings demonstrate little difference between SBNR and other participants' understandings and experiences of spirituality through their practice. Regardless of their varying identities, British holistic practitioners largely favoured the incorporation of 'spirituality' into their practice yet wished to distance their practice from 'religion'. For many practitioners, this meant a desire to keep holistic practice separate from notions of 'dogma' or 'institution' that may restrict themselves or others from engaging with holistic spirituality. Attention is also given to the implication that, for some, this rejection of 'religion' may more specifically reflect a rejection of association with Christianity. Findings suggest that SBNR holistic practitioners do not particularly present as a distinct group with unique beliefs. Rather, it would appear that an engagement with 'spirituality-without-religion' is embraced within the UK holistic practitioner community as a whole.


"Municipal Youth Work taken over by Christians". (Binnenlands Bestuur, 2009) This heading refers to the work of Youth for Christ in an Amsterdam neighbourhood. This organisation, successful in Youth Work nationwide, last year came out first in an open competition of the Amsterdam district De Baarsjes. Because of this they were commissioned to undertake all the youth work in this multicultural neighbourhood. The conditions were not to evangelise and not to limit recruitment of personnel inside their own circle but to recruit from outside the organisation as well. When they later appeared to have put a job advertisement only on their own website, this led to heated debates. Finally Youth for Christ acknowledged and rectified this mistake. This example is a concrete illustration of the actual and sometimes delicate relationships between philosophy of life and social work


An isotope record of magnetic bacteria Microorganisms have shaped Earth's oceans and atmosphere over billions of years. Ancient microbes left very little direct morphological evidence of their existence in the rock record, thereby requiring geochemical clues for evidence of their activity. Amor et al. show that magnetotactic bacteria impart a distinct isotopic signature to their internal iron nanoparticles. Cultures of a modern magnetic bacterium fractionated 57Fe isotopes independent of their mass, in contrast to fractionation patterns often observed for other isotopes. Because this signature is not produced abiotically or by other iron-metabolizing bacteria, it could serve as a reliable biomarker of this ancient magnetic microbial lifestyle. Science, this issue p. 705 The iron isotope fractionation patterns of magnetotactic bacteria hint at a reliable biomarker of ancient microbes. Magnetotactic bacteria perform biomineralization of intracellular magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. Although they may be among the earliest microorganisms capable of biomineralization on Earth, identifying their activity in ancient sedimentary rocks remains challenging because of the lack of a reliable biosignature. We determined Fe isotope fractionations by the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1. The AMB-1 strain produced magnetite strongly depleted in heavy Fe isotopes, by 1.5 to 2.5 per mil relative to the initial growth medium. Moreover, we observed mass-independent isotope fractionations in 57Fe during magnetite biomineralization but not in even Fe isotopes (54Fe, 56Fe, and 58Fe), highlighting a magnetic isotope effect. This Fe isotope anomaly provides a potential biosignature for the identification of magnetite produced by magnetotactic bacteria in the geological record.


Introduction: Epidemiological studies have linked ambient air pollution with increased general mortality; however studies focusing on infant mortality have lead to inconclusive results. The present study was conducted to determine if short term exposure to particulate increases the risk of infant mortality due to respiratory-related causes and estimate the modifying effect of living conditions on the risk of death. Methods: We used a case-cross over approach to model the relation of the daily number of deaths between 1997 and 2001 in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, among children 1 month to 1 year of age as a function of air pollutant levels on the preceding days and over 3 and 5 day average air pollutant levels prior to the death date. In addition, we obtained data on the socioeconomic level of the dead, based on his area of residence. Results: Infants from lower SES were at higher risk of respiratory-related death in relation to PM10 exposure. A 20 (cid:1) g/m3 increase in PM10 24-h average on the previous day was associated with a 1.9% increase in respiratory mortality (95% CI 0% to 4.2%). When an increase of 20 (cid:1) g/m3 was observed on the 2 previous days, the risk of death was increase by 38% (95% CI 4.7% to 81.2%). Ozone levels were not related to infant mortality in none of the SES groups. Discussion: Our results suggest that social inequity might increase the risk of respiratory-related mortality in infants due to particulate exposure. Discussion: Higher levels of residential segregation mediate racial/ethnic disparities in cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics, and increase exposures to carcinogenic pollutants overall. Future analyses should examine how zoning, land use patterns, sprawl and transportation development can affect residential segregation patterns and the distribution of air pollution across diverse metropolitan communities. Purpose: To study the effect of contextual socio-economic characteristics such as income inequality on the association between particulate air pollution and individual self-reported health status. Methods: This is a cross sectional multilevel study that includes all urban counties in the United States. County level particulate pollution data were provided by the Environmental Protection Agency. Using census data from the year 2000, the Gini index was calculated to measure statewide income inequality. Individual level demographic and socioeconomic data were drawn from the 2001 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an on-going program designed to measure behavioral risk factors in the non-institutionalized U.S. residents aged 18 years or older. Multi-level logistic regression models were used. Results: When income inequality is low (25th percentile), the odds ratio of fair/poor self rated health for a 3 standard deviation increase in PM2.5 is 1.11 (95% confidence interval 1.10–1.12). This odds ratio is 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.91–0.93) when the income inequality is high (75th percentile). The association is somewhat stronger for those whose income is higher than 15000 USD. For this group, the odds ratio for a 3 standard deviation increase in PM2.5, when the gini is low, is 1.19 (1.17–1.21) compared to 0.98 (0.96-1.00) for respondents whose is lower than been disparate. Most studies looking at contextual level socioeconomic characteristics found no strong interaction. In our study, income inequality was found to be an effect modifier for the effect of particulate pollution on self reported health. However our results contradict the hypothesis that people with lower socioeconomic characteristics are more vulnerable to the impact of air pollution. This may be explained by the fact that people living in more unequal states are subjected to many competing health risk factors in contrast to people living in more equal states who may be more vulnerable to air pollution as they are relatively protected form other risk ISEE-326 Dam, due to the expected environmental impact on snail habitat and life-cycle. Approximately 600,000 Filipinos are stricken with the disease. Chemotherapy has been the cornerstone of control activities but after 20 years of large-scale drug treatment the spectre of drug-resistant parasites is looming and it is time for a new approach. For Asian schistosomiasis, environmental reservoirs of animal infection (e.g., buffaloes, cattle, pigs, sheep, dogs) present an additional complexity. Methods: A set of simultaneous equations has been developed to mimic dynamically the transmission of schistosomiasis. An intervention can be modelled by altering model parameters to correspond to an intervention, such as snail control, reduced water contact, improved sanitation, or chemotherapy. The model also provides an estimation of the potential for disease elimination within a population. Various control options, and combinations, are examined to determine which is the most effective. Results: Chemotherapy is effective in reducing prevalence of infection, but has a lesser effect on incidence, as it confers no protection against re-infection; thus the prevalence rebounds rapidly, unless treatment is repeated regularly. By contrast an environmental measure such as improved sanitation, or reduced human water contact, has a greater effect on incidence, but a somewhat slow effect on prevalence, since it does not eliminate existing infections. A combination of a single mass chemotherapy treatment with reduction in water contact appears to be optimal in obtaining sustained reduction in endemic prevalence, and, if the reduction is great enough, future elimination. Discussion: The mathematical model, the first for Asian schistosomiasis, provides a tool for comparing environmental and biological mechanisms for control of schistosomiasis. In future work we will analyse comparative costs, in order to identify the most cost-effective approach to reducing its prevalence and incidence. funded by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), has collected data about non-petroleum hazardous substance releases through the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (NYHSEES). The goal of the HSEES project is to reduce morbidity (injury) and mortality (death) resulting from hazardous substance events by identifying risk factors in the incident data and providing the information to appropriate audiences who can implement preventive and corrective measures. Methods: A reportable event is defined as an uncontrolled, illegal or threatened release of hazardous substances (excluding petroleum products) that needs to be removed, cleaned up or neutralized according to federal, state or local law. Includable hazardous substances are chemical, biological and radiological. Project staff collected data using a 66-question computerized survey tool developed by ATSDR and approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Data were entered into the system maintained by ATSDR. Results: This presentation will characterize the national HSEES project and provide summarized data from the fifteen participating states. An in- depth presentation will characterize the 6,428 non-petroleum events in New York State involving more than 8,800 hazardous substances with 3,089 injured persons. Actual events will be used to illustrate the types of hazardous substances released, including the ten chemicals most frequently associated with events and the ten chemicals most frequently associated with injuries. Data will include: causes/contributing factors; injured populations including responders, employees, the general public and students; the nature of the injuries; personal protective equipment worn by injured people; medical outcomes; evacuation data including the number of evacuees and duration; and decontamination activities. Discussion: Discussion will focus on how data driven knowledge of hazardous substances releases can be used to prepare for these events at every level: national, state and local. The data are used to identify unique community concerns and for emergency training, planning and prevention activities. intervals for health impacts and monetized benefits based on standard errors for effect estimates or other sources of uncertainty, such as meta-analyses of the epidemiological and economic literature. Results: The REMSAD modeling results suggest that when nonroad diesel engine emission reductions are fully realized in 2030, they will result in substantial, broad scale reductions in ambient fine particulate matter (population weighted reduction of over 0.5 (cid:1) g/m 3 ). This is associated with an estimated reduction in the incidence of premature mortality by 9,600, chronic bronchitis by 5,700, nonfatal myocardial infarctions by 16,000, and respiratory and cardiovascular hospital and emergency room admissions by 14,000. In addition, over 200,000 asthma exacerbations and millions of respiratory symptoms are predicted be avoided in 2030. The economic value of these health benefits is estimated at over $90 billion. Monetized benefits estimates are sensitive to choice of the effect estimate for premature mortality, valuation of mortality risk reductions, assumed lag/latency structure, and assumptions about the shape of the health impact function. However, under most reasonable assumptions, health benefits are substantial. Conclusions: This analysis estimated the health and welfare benefits of reductions in ambient concentrations of particulate matter resulting from reduced emissions of NOx, SO 2 , and diesel PM from nonroad diesel engines. The results suggests there will be significant health and welfare benefits arising from the regulation of emissions from nonroad engines in the U.S. and highlight the important role that pollution from the nonroad sector plays in the overall public health impacts of air pollution. Abstract: The National Center for Environmental Assessment is currently preparing the first external review draft of the Ozone Air Quality Criteria Document. The p


Efficient processing of Distance Range Queries (DRQs) is of great importance in spatial databases due to the wide area of applications. This type of spatial query is characterized by a distance range over one or two datasets. The most representative and known DRQs are the ε Distance Range Query (εDRQ) and the ε Distance Range Join Query (εDRJQ). Given the increasing volume of spatial data, it is difficult to perform a DRQ on a centralized machine efficiently. Moreover, the εDRJQ is an expensive spatial operation, since it can be considered a combination of the εDR and the spatial join queries. For this reason, this paper addresses the problem of computing DRQs on big spatial datasets in SpatialHadoop, an extension of Hadoop that supports spatial operations efficiently, and proposes new algorithms in SpatialHadoop to perform efficient parallel DRQs on large-scale spatial datasets. We have evaluated the performance of the proposed algorithms in several situations with big synthetic and real-world datasets. The experiments have demonstrated the efficiency and scalability of our proposal.


Recent work suggests a link between the polycomb group protein EZH2 and mediation of gene silencing in association with maintenance of DNA methylation. However, we show that whereas basally expressed target cancer genes with minimal DNA methylation have increased transcription during EZH2 knockdown, densely DNA hypermethylated and silenced genes retain their methylation and remain transcriptionally silent. These results suggest that EZH2 can modulate transcription of basally expressed genes but not silent genes that are densely DNA methylated. [Cancer Res 2007;67(11):5097–102]


Objective: Menopause is characterized by the end of reproductive ability in the female life cycle, and which is the permanent cessation of menstruation. After menopause, the ovaries cut off the production of estrogen, after which important symptoms and diseases occur for women's health due to estrogen deficiency. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical, hormonal and biochemical parameters on bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women.
Method: 535 postmenopausal women were included in the study. Demographical parameters, biochemical, and hormonal serum levels were investigated. These values were statistically analyzed with Pearson correlation test with BMD values.
Results: Significantly positive correlation is detected between patient's height and lumbar T score (LtotT), lumbar Z score (LtotZ), and femoral T score (FtotT) (p=0.00, p=0.001, and p=0.00). Positive correlation was detected between patient's weight and body mass index, and LtotT, LtotZ, FtotT, and femoral Z score (FtotZ) scores (p=0.00). Significantly negative correlation was detected between patient's aspartate transaminase (AST) values and FtotT and FtotZ scores (p=0.002, p=0.004). Positive correlation was detected between patient's phosphate (P) values, and FtotT and FtotZ scores (p=0.012, p=0.030). Negative correlation was detected between patient's magnesium (Mg) values, and LtotT and LtotZ scores (p=0.016, p=0.032).
Conclusions: BMD values are positively related with height, weight, serum phosphate levels, and negatively related with serum AST and Mg levels in postmenopausal women.


Secreted peptide ligands are known to play key roles in the regulation of plant growth, development, and environmental responses. However, phenotypes for surprisingly few such genes have been identified via loss-of-function mutant screens. To begin to understand the processes regulated by the CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/ESR (CLE) ligand gene family, we took a systems approach to gene identification and gain-of-function phenotype screens in transgenic plants. We identified four new CLE family members in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome sequence and determined their relative transcript levels in various organs. Overexpression of CLV3 and the 17 CLE genes we tested resulted in premature mortality and/or developmental timing delays in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Overexpression of 10 CLE genes and the CLV3 positive control resulted in arrest of growth from the shoot apical meristem (SAM). Overexpression of nearly all the CLE genes and CLV3 resulted in either inhibition or stimulation of root growth. CLE4 expression reversed the SAM proliferation phenotype of a clv3 mutant to one of SAM arrest. Dwarf plants resulted from overexpression of five CLE genes. Overexpression of new family members CLE42 and CLE44 resulted in distinctive shrub-like dwarf plants lacking apical dominance. Our results indicate the capacity for functional redundancy of many of the CLE ligands. Additionally, overexpression phenotypes of various CLE family members suggest roles in organ size regulation, apical dominance, and root growth. Similarities among overexpression phenotypes of many CLE genes correlate with similarities in their CLE domain sequences, suggesting that the CLE domain is responsible for interaction with cognate receptors.


In 2011 National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) joined the CDIO Initiative. To work out the new national model for BEng programs TPU and SKOLKOVO Foundation initiated two-year project "Modernization of Bachelor's Programs in Engineering in Accordance with International Standards of Engineering Education". Seven leading Russian universities in Moscow (MEPhI, MISIS, MIPT, HSE), Saint-Petersburg (ITMO), Samara (SSAU) and Tomsk (TPU - coordinator) participate in the project. The main idea of the project is analysis of international standards of engineering education, developing and piloting new BEng programs in priority areas of the SKOLKOVO Innovation Center clusters: IT, Space, Energy Efficiency, Nuclear Technology and Biomed. With the aim of engineering programs modernization innovative technology for curriculum design has been developed on the basis of learning outcomes and CDIO approaches to program development, delivering and evaluation. For the time being the Russian universities – participants of the project are actively working on the BEng programs design and pilot implementation in cooperation with each other and international partners (MIT, ABET, etc.) to ensure high quality of Russian engineering education in priority areas of industrial development. The features of the implemented technology for curriculum design and current results of the project are presented in the paper.


Introduction Biomarker-based cross-sectional incidence estimation requires a Recent Infection Testing Algorithm (RITA) with an adequately large mean recency duration, to achieve reasonable survey counts, and a low false-recent rate, to minimise exposure to further bias and imprecision. Estimating these characteristics requires specimens from individuals with well-known seroconversion dates or confirmed long-standing infection. Specimens with well-known seroconversion dates are typically rare and precious, presenting a bottleneck in the development of RITAs. Methods The mean recency duration and a 'false-recent rate' are estimated from data on seroconverting blood donors. Within an idealised model for the dynamics of false-recent results, blood donor specimens were used to characterise RITAs by a new method that maximises the likelihood of cohort-level recency classifications, rather than modelling individual sojourn times in recency. Results For a range of assumptions about the false-recent results (0% to 20% of biomarker response curves failing to reach the threshold distinguishing test-recent and test-non-recent infection), the mean recency duration of the Vironostika-LS ranged from 154 (95% CI: 96–231) to 274 (95% CI: 234–313) days in the South African donor population (n = 282), and from 145 (95% CI: 67–226) to 252 (95% CI: 194–308) days in the American donor population (n = 106). The significance of gender and clade on performance was rejected (p−value = 10%), and utility in incidence estimation appeared comparable to that of a BED-like RITA. Assessment of the Vitros-LS (n = 108) suggested potentially high false-recent rates. Discussion The new method facilitates RITA characterisation using widely available specimens that were previously overlooked, at the cost of possible artefacts. While accuracy and precision are insufficient to provide estimates suitable for incidence surveillance, a low-cost approach for preliminary assessments of new RITAs has been demonstrated. The Vironostika-LS and Vitros-LS warrant further analysis to provide greater precision of estimates.


A comprehensive analysis of the humoral immune response in leprosy patients and contacts was undertaken. Class-specific antibodies to four mycobacterial sonicates, three autoantigens and three haptens were estimated by ELISA. It was found that IgG levels varied more extensively than IgM or IgA and that total serum IgG was significantly higher in lepromatous bacterial index positive (LL+ve) and negative LL-ve) leprosy patients than in tuberculoid (TT/BT) patients and controls. The high levels of anti-mycobacterial antibodies found in untreated LL+ve patients were significantly reduced in LL-ve patients after effective chemotherapy. Considerable amount of anti-mycobacterial IgG was also detected in TT/BT patients. Each serum when assayed against sonicates of Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, ICRC bacilli and BCG gave a similar antibody profile suggesting that these antibodies were directed predominantly against cross-reactive antigens. Up to 75% of LL patients and 35% of TT/BT patients were found to be positive for antibodies to histone, collagen and fibronectin. However, antibodies to several haptens were not detected in any of the patients and controls studied. Taken together, these results suggested that the amount of IgG antibodies is directly correlated with the antigenic load in the system, and that there is no evidence for polyclonal activation. It may be speculated that the regulatory mechanism of antibody production is severely deranged in lepromatous leprosy patients.


Abstract. Mobility is becoming more and more important to society and hence air transportation is expected to grow further over the next decades. Reducing anthropogenic climate impact from aviation emissions and building a climate-friendly air transportation system are required for a sustainable development of commercial aviation. A climate optimized routing, which avoids climate-sensitive regions by re-routing horizontally and vertically, is an important measure for climate impact reduction. The idea includes a number of different routing strategies (routing options) and shows a great potential for the reduction. To evaluate this, the impact of not only CO2 but also non-CO2 emissions must be considered. CO2 is a long-lived gas, while non-CO2 emissions are short-lived and are inhomogeneously distributed. This study introduces AirTraf (version 1.0) that performs global air traffic simulations, including effects of local weather conditions on the emissions. AirTraf was developed as a new submodel of the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model. Air traffic information comprises Eurocontrol's Base of Aircraft Data (BADA Revision 3.9) and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) engine performance data. Fuel use and emissions are calculated by the total energy model based on the BADA methodology and Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) fuel flow method. The flight trajectory optimization is performed by a genetic algorithm (GA) with respect to a selected routing option. In the model development phase, benchmark tests were performed for the great circle and flight time routing options. The first test showed that the great circle calculations were accurate to −0.004 %, compared to those calculated by the Movable Type script. The second test showed that the optimal solution found by the algorithm sufficiently converged to the theoretical true-optimal solution. The difference in flight time between the two solutions is less than 0.01 %. The dependence of the optimal solutions on the initial set of solutions (called population) was analyzed and the influence was small (around 0.01 %). The trade-off between the accuracy of GA optimizations and computational costs is clarified and the appropriate population and generation (one iteration of GA) sizing is discussed. The results showed that a large reduction in the number of function evaluations of around 90 % can be achieved with only a small decrease in the accuracy of less than 0.1 %. Finally, AirTraf simulations are demonstrated with the great circle and the flight time routing options for a typical winter day. The 103 trans-Atlantic flight plans were used, assuming an Airbus A330-301 aircraft. The results confirmed that AirTraf simulates the air traffic properly for the two routing options. In addition, the GA successfully found the time-optimal flight trajectories for the 103 airport pairs, taking local weather conditions into account. The consistency check for the AirTraf simulations confirmed that calculated flight time, fuel consumption, NOx emission index and aircraft weights show good agreement with reference data.


High mobility group nucleosome binding (HMGN) protein is a non-histone protein that affects the chromatin function, leading to the regulation of gene expression. Several studies reported the aberrant expression of HMGN1–HMGN5 in variety of cancers. This study aimed to investigate a potential HMGN protein and its clinical impact in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Analysis of gene expression profiles of HMGNs in liver cancers from public database demonstrated the alteration of HMGN1–HMGN5 in CCA and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. HMGN3 was the only member that overexpressed in CCA, but not HCC, and hence was selected for further study. The immunohistochemistry of HMGN3 revealed that HMGN3 was weakly detected in normal bile ducts and hepatocytes but was gradually expressed in hyperproliferative bile ducts and CCA tissues, indicating the involvement of HMGN3 in development and progression of CCA. CCA exhibited significantly higher expression of HMGN3 than HCC, suggesting HMGN3 as a diagnostic marker distinguishing CCA from HCC. Univariate analysis revealed the association of high HMGN3 expression and tumor invasion of CCA patients. The expression of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), a major inflammatory cytokine related to liver fluke-related CCA, was positively correlated with the expression of HMGN3 in CCA tissues. Treating CCA cell lines with recombinant TGF-β1 significantly induced the mRNA expression of HMGN3 but not the cholangiocytes. This finding signifies the positive correlation of TGF-β1 and HMGN3 observed in CCA tissues and the influence of TGF-β1 on HMGN3 expression. Further mechanistic studies are necessary to validate these findings.


Migration also happened in educational field or according to Boveington, it called as Educational Migration. But in its charateristics, this migration pattern differ from ordinary migration. Generally, subject of educational migration had a high economical background that could backed then up to live in destination place. If they did'nt, they must be had a mutual educational sponsorship with another party.
This study aimed to describe the economic and social condition of high education student who had came to studi in Malang. Method used for this study is descriptive statistic which composed of describing and shorting of data to make it understandable. Measurement uses in this method consist of mean, median, and modus that accompanied by data dispersion.
The result of this study show that, in economic perspective, all respondend have a high economical background which allow them to fund their study. The ammount of their monthly fund is around Rp 1.000.000 – Rp 1.500.000,-. Economical push factor that force them to
migrate – based on economical differences in job opportunity and level of income.
Meanwhile, from social perspectives Malang have a high level of educational fascility to support practical or theoretical knowledge. Beside, there are a lot of mutual cooperation between educational institution and the government or another third party.


We report a wavy channel (WC) architecture thin-film transistor-based digital circuitry using ZnO as a channel material. The novel architecture allows for extending device width by integrating vertical finlike substrate corrugations giving rise to 50% larger device width, without occupying extra chip area. The enhancement in the output drive current is 100%, when compared with conventional planar architecture for devices occupying the same chip area. The current increase is attributed to both the extra device width and 50% enhancement in field-effect mobility due to electrostatic gating effects. Fabricated inverters show that WC inverters can achieve two times the peak-to-peak output voltage for the same input when compared with planar devices. In addition, WC inverters show 30% faster rise and fall times, and can operate up to around two times frequency of the planar inverters for the same peak-to-peak output voltage. WC NOR circuits have shown 70% higher peak-to-peak output voltage, over their planar counterparts, and WC pass transistor logic multiplexer circuit has shown more than five times faster high-to-low propagation delay compared with its planar counterpart at a similar peak-to-peak output voltage.


The nucleotide sequences encoding the capsid protein VP1 were determined for the wild polioviruses of serotypes 1 and 3 endemic to the northeastern region of Brazil. Compared with the corresponding Sabin vaccine strain sequences, the wild isolates differed at 20% (type 1) and 22% (type 3) of their nucleotide positions, and in 7% (type 1) and 11% (type 3) of their amino acid residues. The highest degree of amino acid heterogeneity occurred within the amino-terminal residues of the VP1 proteins. Intratypic amino acid differences also occurred in VP1 surface residues that form parts of antigenic sites for neutralizing antibodies.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the amount and type of procedures performed by three groups of emergency medicine residents in an emergency service in a Mexico City campus.

METHODS
We carried out an observational study using a sampling type census with the authorization of the local internal review board (IRB). We followed 33 emergency medicine residents working in Mexico City during the 2007-2008 academic year. We registered the procedures performed and skills displayed by participants in a daily, weekly and monthly format. We included age, gender, academic degree and rotation service. Using descriptive statistics we calculated frequencies, means and standard deviations.

RESULTS
All 33 residents (100%) participated in the study; 33.36% were first year, 33.36% second and 27.27% third year resident. Mean age was of 26.2 +/- 3.5 year and 81.81% were male. Eighteen services where residents carried out their duties were assessed. We recorded a total of 12,075 different procedures and grouped skills under 20 subtypes. 33.30% were performed by first-year, 38.29% by second-year, and 28.42% by third-year. The most common procedures included advanced handling of the aerial route (2,376), central venous accesses (2,307), and resuscitation maneuvers (1,624).

CONCLUSIONS
The number of procedures carried out at this medical facility is high with a heavier work load than the one reported in the international literature. We should monitor and compare data among different sites in order to have a clearer picture of the status of emergency medicine specialists in Mexico.


Abstract This paper demonstrates a process-based method of graphic logging and stratigraphic interpretation that is based on a new, texturally based classification of clastic sediment which is independent from composition, cementation, and geologic environment. The method integrates facies analysis with sequence stratigraphy because it requires identifying surfaces, compiling vertical changes in texture and attributes between surfaces, and uses these parameters to identify facies units and interpret continuously deposited intervals. Four clastic shelf to shoreface successions from the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province (Cretaceous to Holocene in age) with established chronostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic frameworks provide examples of the application of this method. For each, graphic logs standardized for texture show the facies and bounding surfaces that define the thickness and hierarchy of event strata (e.g., sequences, beds, bedsets, parasequences, parasequence sets); these are directly compared with gamma-ray log response patterns and the distribution of factors that impact potential permeability. Shelf to shoreface successions were chosen because these facies exhibit the greatest diversity in composition (siliciclastic, carbonate, and glauco-phosphatics), but, in spite of this, exhibit comparable and predictable graphic and gamma-ray response patterns if systematically logged using this method. For the process–response model examined, texture, i.e., principal grain size, controls the amplitude (width) of the graphic log; its shape is constant, and independent from composition. The pattern in the correlated gamma-ray log parallels the log of principal grain size, except that an inverse response is associated with coarser lags; the amplitude of the gamma log is controlled by composition. A proxy for permeability developed from standardized textural fields is applied to two of the examples, to shows how aquifer or reservoir potential is systematically tied to stratigraphic and sedimentologic parameters.


Image cropping aims at improving the aesthetic quality of images by adjusting their composition. Most weakly supervised cropping methods (without bounding box supervision) rely on the sliding window mechanism. The sliding window mechanism requires fixed aspect ratios and limits the cropping region with arbitrary size. Moreover, the sliding window method usually produces tens of thousands of windows on the input image which is very time-consuming. Motivated by these challenges, we firstly formulate the aesthetic image cropping as a sequential decision-making process and propose a weakly supervised Aesthetics Aware Reinforcement Learning (A2-RL) framework to address this problem. Particularly, the proposed method develops an aesthetics aware reward function which especially benefits image cropping. Similar to human's decision making, we use a comprehensive state representation including both the current observation and the historical experience. We train the agent using the actor-critic architecture in an end-to-end manner. The agent is evaluated on several popular unseen cropping datasets. Experiment results show that our method achieves the state-of-the-art performance with much fewer candidate windows and much less time compared with previous weakly supervised methods.


Primulina zixingensis L.H. Yang & B. Pan (Gesneriaceae), a new species from a limestone area in southeastern Hunan, China, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to P. jiangyongensis due to its yellow flower with a network of dark red stripes on the abaxial lip. The morphological differences between P. zixingensis and the latter species are discussed.


This study sought to apply the concepts of 'perceived value' and 'customer share' (of visits) to full-service restaurant settings for the first time. Given the strong 'experiential nature' of foodservice, the perceived value concept adopted in this study involved an 'experiential view' of the dining experience. Further, the customer share concept was expected to have implications for the foodservice context, given the multi-loyalty nature of restaurant customers. With the first conceptual model, this study sought to verify the effect of perceived value on customer share of visits in a full-service restaurant context, using a dimension-level value approach and positing customer satisfaction and brand preference as mediators between them. The conceptual model was tested based on responses from 299 general U.S. full-service restaurant customers, using a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The test results revealed that among four value dimensions, excellence (in food and service) and customer return on investment had dominant effects on customer satisfaction and brand preference whereas playfulness had a significant moderate effect only on brand preference; aesthetic appeals did not have significant effects on either. Affected by perceived value, customer satisfaction significantly enhanced brand preference and in turn brand preference contributed to customer share of visits and fully mediated the effect of customer satisfaction on customer share of visits. In essence, the findings highlight the significant antecedent role of perceived value in customers' satisfaction and brand preference formation, and the pivotal role of customer brand preference in customers' purchase decision process. With the second conceptual model, this study sought to reveal the direct effect and/or moderating effects of contingency variables in relation to customer share of visits in a fullservice restaurant context. The hypotheses included in the conceptual model were tested based on responses from 291 general U.S. full-service restaurant customers, using a confirmatory factor analysis and a series of (moderated hierarchical) regression analyses. The test results indicated that the direct effects of social switching costs, lost benefits costs, procedural costs, and intrinsic inertia were positive whereas that of intrinsic variety-seeking was negative on customer share of visits. In addition, consumer involvement and perceived brand heterogeneity were found to enhance the effect of brand preference on customer share of visits. The effects of the contingency variables appear to work by influencing the number of brands in customers' consideration sets and/or leading customers to allocate a greater share of visits to a particular brand in a given number of brands in consideration sets. CUSTOMER SHARE OF VISITS TO FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANTS IN RESPONSE TO PERCEIVED VALUE AND CONTINGENCY VARIABLES


Abstract An interdisciplinary approach was used to investigate the facies and paleogeography of the Lower Devonian sedimentary sequence of the Alken quarry, Mosel Valley, Germany. This 87-m-thick sequence consists of stratified sandstones and sandy shales of the Nellenköpfchen Formation (uppermost Lower Emsian). Previous interpretations of the depositional environment include terrestrial, deltaic, and shallow-marine settings. Two distinct fossiliferous units contain abundant terrestrial plant remains and a diverse mixed terrestrial to marine fauna. Physical sedimentary structures are common throughout, whereas bioturbation is restricted mostly to the fossiliferous intervals. Erosional surfaces frequently separate the beds. Aside from ripple cross-stratification and parallel bedding, longitudinal inclined stratification is most common. Channel-fill structures are less frequent. Scour-and-fill structures exhibit marked disconformities of irregular shape on a smaller scale (dm). Mud-pebble lags at the base of laterally prograding cross-bedded layers, scour-and-fill structures, and drainage rills characterize the upper part of the section. Desiccation cracks, wind-induced striation, and water-level marks occur more sporadically in the exposure. The sedimentary structures and the paleontological information indicate a marine to brackish depositional environment that frequently was emergent. The presence of conspicuous channel-related structures reflects intertidal conditions along the coastal region of a presumed Hunsrück Island/Archipelago. Lagoons and estuaries were bordered by extended tidal flats, in which migrating channels frequently occurred. Terrestrial plant remains, however, indicate a position at the land/sea interface, which was characterized by a complex configuration of different environments. The accumulation of concentrated plant material may have been related to distinct meteorological events such as hurricanes.


The Office of Distance and Extended Learning works in cooperation with academic colleges, schools, departments, and programs to extend the resources of Texas State beyond the traditional campus classroom. Professional staff in the Office of Distance and Extended Learning collaborate with faculty, staff, and external providers to offer seminars, workshops, conferences, and short courses that align with the educational and marketable skills needs of the many communities Texas State serves. The Office of Distance and Extended Learning plans, budgets, markets, collects fees, manages registration, and ensures ongoing improvement of continuing education programming through regular evaluation and review.


This thesis provides an account of the assessment and management of forest values, and the factors that have shaped those values in the South West of Western Australia since European settlement. The phases of forest exploitation in this State include discovery, intense exploitation, awakening conservationism, environmentalism, and a developing synthesis between humans and their environment. This phased history has been one of learning by all stakeholders, from ignorance about Australian forest and its timbers, to scientific management and professionalization, social, cultural and political turmoil, commercial excess and eventually the emergence, consideration and elevation of social values in addition to commerciality. This history and the place of forest inventory in reflecting and acknowledging these values in forest management, was investigated through document review, firsthand knowledge of the researcher, information from key informants, and a survey of forest stakeholders to reveal and analyse contemporary societal values regarding these forests. The result is an in-depth description - achieved through an intertwined analysis of forest inventory and community values over the history of European settlement in Western Australia - of the emergence of commercial forest value and subsequently other broader societal values, such as biodiversity conservation, ecosystem management and recreation, as well as the growing conflict between these values. The influence of these values over this period has been to transform the management and policy framework from one firmly located in the physical sciences to one now also drawing on the social sciences, thereby involving the far greater complexity of a political environment with its sometimes conflicting values. The analysis undertaken in this thesis suggests a future requirement for the discipline of forestry, beyond that of physical attribute inventories and tree growth rates and volume tables, to a continued embracing of community involvement, both as a source of data and for guidance in negotiating and resolving conflicting goals. The survey instrument developed in this study to access contemporary societal values has great potential for wider application as a tool for identifying the broad suite of social values relevant to forest management as well as providing essential input to conflict resolution when required.


The clinical symptoms of ethanol intoxication in a Jack Russell terrier dog of 5 kg, that consumed 50 ml of whisky (40%) within 15 minutes on an empty stomach are described. The clinical case is completed with literature information on clinic, pathogeneses and therapy.


Abstract. We present bathymetry and hydrological observations collected in the summer of 2014 from two fjord systems in southeastern Greenland with a multibeam sonar system. Our results provide a detailed bathymetric map of the fjord complex around the island of Skjoldungen in Skjoldungen Fjord and the outer part of Timmiarmiut Fjord and show far greater depths compared to the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean. The hydrography collected shows different properties in the fjords with the bottom water masses below 240 m in Timmiarmiut Fjord being 1–2 °C warmer than in the two fjords around Skjoldungen, but data also illustrate the influence of sills on the exchange of deeper water masses within fjords. Moreover, evidence of subglacial discharge in Timmiarmiut Fjord, which is consistent with satellite observations of ice melange set into motion, adds to our increasing understanding of the distribution of subglacial meltwater. Data are available through the PANGAEA website at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.860627 .


It is known that the demographic, socioeconomic and traffic characteristics of crash locations have been used as important factors in macroscopic crash analysis. In this study, we focus on the residential ZIP code areas of drivers who were involved in crashes. The objective of this study is to identify the origin's characteristics of drivers involved in traffic crashes so better targeted education and awareness could be designed and delivered. Various characteristic factors of the postal ZIP code area of a driver's residence were used in the study. The postal codes were collected from police crash reports for the year 2006 and demographic, socioeconomic and travel pattern data were retrieved from US Census Bureau. Several negative binomial (NB) models were estimated for specific types of crashes such as, total number of crashes (for at-fault drivers), severe crashes (for at-fault drivers), pedestrian crashes, and bicycle crashes. It was found that demographic characteristics such as gender, ethnic group, socioeconomic characteristics including family income and unemployment, and travel patterns as commute mode and travel time to work are significant factors for specific types of crashes. The findings from the study implied that several demographic, socioeconomic and traffic factors of zones can influence the crash frequency of the resident. In the planning phases we can forecast the crash frequency with these models and predicted independent factors in the future. From operational perspective, the results from the study can be used to identify zones that have residents with higher chances to be involved in crashes, thus we can concentrate on these specific zones for education and stricter enforcement.


When solving large distributed constraint optimization problems (DCOP), belief-propagation and incomplete inference algorithms are candidates of choice. However, these methods perform poorly when the factor graph is very loopy (i.e. cyclic) because of non-convergence and high communication costs. As to improving performances of the Max-Sum inference algorithm when solving loopy constraint optimization problems, we propose to take inspiration from the belief-propagation-guided decimation used to solve sparse random graphs (k-satisfiability). We introduce the DeciMaxSum method, parameterized in terms of policies to decide when to trigger decimation, which variables to decimate, and which values to assign to decimated variables. Our empirical analysis on a classical BP benchmark indicates that some of these combinations of policies outperform state-of-the-art competitors.


The following books have been received from publishers and are under consideration for review in the Journal of Psychology and Theology. Listing of a volume does not necessarily imply that it will be reviewed. Reviewers are assigned on the basis of academic or professional specialization and interest. Since all reviews are written by invitation, unsolicited reviews are not accepted for publication. Readers with appropriate academic and professional background who are interested in joining the panel of book reviewers are encouraged to correspond with the Editor, enclosing a copy of their current professional curriculum vitae.


AbstractProblem It has been argued that mobile payment and mobile wallet have not grown as predicted. One of the main reason for the lack of growth is argued to be that potential consumers do not really see the benefit to change their current behavior. Previous research within the area, suggest further research is needed to be established to add value to the mobile wallet. Additionally, it is argued that there is no point in developing features for a mobile wallet if the benefits and drawbacks are unknown. For that reason, it is important to explore what benefits and drawbacks consumers might perceive from the various feature within the mobile wallet. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to explore the benefits and drawbacks the Swedish generation Y may perceive from various features in mobile wallets. Accordingly, two research questions have been created to effectively gain knowledge about the study area in hand.Method Due to the nature of the purpose a qualitative research approach method has been conducted, more specifically focus groups were used to gather the data. Throughout these focus group, participants were first questioned about their current wallet situation and the knowledge of the studied area. Thereafter, the participant were provided with information about the mobile wallet and the technological aspects behind it, which then led to the in-depth section, where benefits and drawbacks for the various features were discussed. Additionally, the sampling technique used in the study, had a judgmental and non-sampling approach.Conclusion Even though the Swedish generation Y may be fairly inexperienced about the mobile wallet, several benefits and drawbacks could be identified about the features. The major part of the benefits identified for the features were some kind of perceived usefulness for the Swedish generation Y. There were less drawbacks than benefits identified for the various features, however, the drawbacks contributed with several suggested improvements for the features in the mobile wallet. Additionally, two new features that were suggested to contribute to the mobile wallet, were developed. Further research need to be established to test some of the most interesting suggested conclusion derived from the findings in study.