Summary

1. In Mediterranean and other water-stressed climates, water management is critical to the conservation of freshwater ecosystems. To secure and maintain water allocations for the environment, integrated water management approaches are needed that consider ecosystem flow requirements, patterns of human water demands and the temporal and spatial dynamics of water availability.

2. Human settlements in Mediterranean climates have constructed water storage and conveyance projects at a scale and level of complexity far exceeding those in other, less seasonal climates. As a result, multiple ecological stressors associated with natural periods of flooding and drying are compounded by anthropogenic impacts resulting from water infrastructure development.

3. Despite substantial investments in freshwater ecosystem conservation, particularly in California, U.S.A., success has been limited because the scales at which river management and restoration are implemented are often discordant with the temporal and spatial scales at which ecosystem processes operate. Often, there is also strong social and political resistance to restricting water allocation to existing consumptive uses for environmental protection purposes. Furthermore, institutions rarely have the capacity to develop and implement integrated management programmes needed for freshwater ecosystem conservation.

4. We propose an integrated framework for streamflow management that explicitly considers the temporal and spatial dynamics of water supply and needs of both human and natural systems. This approach makes it possible to assess the effects of alternative management strategies to human water security and ecosystem conditions and facilitates integrated decision-making by water management institutions.

5. We illustrate the framework by applying a GIS-based hydrologic model in a Mediterranean-climate watershed in Sonoma County, California, U.S.A. The model is designed to assess the hydrologic impacts of multiple water users distributed throughout a stream network. We analyse the effects of vineyard water management on environmental flows to (i) evaluate streamflow impacts from small storage ponds designed to meet human water demands and reduce summer diversions, (ii) prioritise the placement of storage ponds to meet human water needs while optimising environmental flow benefits and (iii) examine the environmental and social consequences of flow management policies designed to regulate the timing of diversions to protect ecosystem functions.

6. Thematic implications: spatially explicit models that represent anthropogenic stressors (e.g. water diversions) and environmental flow needs are required to address persistent and growing threats to freshwater biodiversity. A coupled human–natural system approach to water management is particularly useful in Mediterranean climates, characterised by severe competition for water resources and high spatial and temporal variability in flow regimes. However, lessons learned from our analyses are applicable to other highly seasonal systems and those that are expected to have increased precipitation variability resulting from climate change.


The aim of this research was to prepare a series of molecularly imprinted polymers
(MIPs) for corticosteroid templates using bulk and precipitation polymerisation
strategies. Initially, a systematic study was undertaken, investigating the factors
affecting the synthesis of MIPs by precipitation polymerisation. Careful optimisation of
polymerisation parameters, including the monomer concentration, initiator type and
solvent, allowed for a high degree of control over particle size and morphology. Preequilibrium
interactions between the primary target budesonide (BDN) and functional
monomers were investigated using NMR studies and showed weak interactions with
dissociation constants, kdiss, ranging from 0.534-1.47 M
Due to this weak functional monomer-template interaction, polymers were prepared in
bulk format using a target analogue approach utilising hydrocortisone-17-butyrate
(HCB) as a low-cost alternative to BDN. The HCB imprinted ground bulk polymers
demonstrated imprinting factors (IF) as high as 7.5 for the template. Selectivity studies
on six steroidal analogues showed that recognition was driven by shape and size
selectivity as well as hydrophobic interactions, with IF values ranging from 1.2-9.5 in
both organic and aqueous based systems.
Applications of the imprinted polymers were demonstrated by solid-phase extraction
(SPE) and analytical column chromatography. SPE studies utilising HCB imprinted
polymers displayed a seven-fold increase in the specific retention of BDN. Precipitated
prednisolone imprinted polymers achieved chromatographic separation between the
template and hydrocortisone, a close structural analogue. Selectivity factors as high as
1.4 and a resolution value of 0.75 were achieved.
Two custom functional monomer strategies were utilised towards enhancing MIP
performance. The synthesis of tailor-made monomers based on derivatised
cyclodextrins (CD) achieved a substitution of 2.5 polymerisable vinyl groups per CD.
This derivatised CD was used to prepare precipitated polymers (0.3-7.2 μm) in a 40%
aqueous acetonitrile porogen. A polymerisable hydrocortisone methacrylate monomer
was successfully synthesised for use in semi-covalent imprinting which produced
discrete microspherical beads (1.2-5.1 μm) using divinylbenzene as the crosslinker.


Malware is one of the most common security threats experienced by a user when browsing webpages. A good understanding of the features of webpages (e.g., internet protocol, port, URL, Google index, and page rank) is required to analyze and mitigate the behavior of malware in webpages. This main objective of this paper is to analyze the key features of webpages and to mitigate the behavior of malware in webpages. To this end, we conducted an empirical study to identify the features that are most vulnerable to malware attacks and its results are reported. To improve the feature selection accuracy, a machine learning technique called bagging is employed using the Weka program. To analyze these behaviors, phishing and botnet data were obtained from the University of California Irvine machine learning repository. We validate our research findings by applying honeypot infrastructure using the Modern Honeypot Network (MHN) setup in a Linode Server. As the data suffer from high variance in terms of the type of data in each row, bagging is chosen because it can classify binary classes, date classes, missing values, nominal classes, numeric classes, unary classes and empty classes. As a base classifier of bagging, random tree was applied because it can handle similar types of data such as bagging, but better than other classifiers because it is faster and more accurate. Random tree had 88.22% test accuracy with the lowest run time (0.2 sec) and a receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.946. Results show that all features in the botnet dataset are equally important to identify the malicious behavior, as all scored more than 97%, with the exception of TCP and UDP. The accuracy of phishing and botnet datasets is more than 89% on average in both cross validation and test analysis. Recommendations are made for the best practice that can assist in future malware identification.


During the last glaciation, East Antarctic outlet glaciers contributed to a grounded ice sheet in the Ross Embayment. The timing of maximum ice extent, as well as of subsequent deglaciation of these outlets, has implications for the behavior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) and its impact on global sea level. We present 45 radiocarbon ages of lacustrine cyanobacteria from the Lake Wellman region alongside Hatherton Glacier, which are the first terrestrial data to both record advance of an Antarctic glacier to its maximum position as well as document a high-resolution chronology of subsequent retreat. Seventeen new exposure ages are widely scattered, but the youngest four are in broad agreement with the radiocarbon data. Hatherton Glacier slowly thickened from 13,000 to 9500 yr B.P. and then thinned steadily until at least ca. 2800 yr B.P. Our work affords evidence of both a delayed maximum and recession of an East Antarctic outlet glacier compared to the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and supports growing evidence of a time-transgressive local LGM within the Ross Sea sector of the ice sheet. Both observations are consistent with the idea that the timing of outlet glacier expansion and timing of recession are controlled by the balance between dynamic thinning from ocean forcing and increased accumulation due to atmospheric warming.


Abstract:Background: Although a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach is desired by American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes, many researchers and tribes experience challenges in research partnerships. The aim of this project was to develop and disseminate an evidence-based training toolkit to help strengthen tribal–academic research partnerships. Our prior research found that governance, trust, and culture were essential pillars for successful community academic partnerships.Methods: This article describes the development and evaluation of the new Holding Space: A Guide for Partners in Tribal Research toolkit, which contains a Holding Space Discussion Guide and the Tribal Research Future Game, which are delivered in a training format for participants in tribal– academic research partnerships.Results: Results indicate that Holding Space is a useful tool for facilitating conversations and openly reflecting on practices within partnerships and may also be appropriate for a broader audience.Conclusions: Future work includes further effectiveness studies as well as research focused on dissemination and implementation.


Src kinase has long been recognized as a factor in the progression of colorectal cancer and seems to play a specific role in the development of the metastatic phenotype. In spite of numerous studies conducted to elucidate the exact role of Src in cancer progression, downstream targets of Src remain poorly understood. Gene expression profiling has permitted the identification of large sets of genes that may be functionally interrelated but it is often unclear as to which molecular pathways they belong. Here we have developed an iterative approach to experimentally reconstruct a network of gene activity regulated by Src and contributing to the invasive phenotype. Our strategy uses a combination of phenotypic anchoring of gene expression profiles and loss-of-function screening by way of RNA-mediated interference. Using a panel of human colon cancer cell lines exhibiting differential Src-specific activity and invasivity, we identify the first two levels of gene transcription responsible for the invasive phenotype, where first-tier genes are controlled by Src activity and the second-tier genes are under the influence of the first tier. Specifically, perturbation of first-tier gene activity by either pharmacologic inhibition of Src or RNA-mediated interference-directed knockdown leads to a loss of invasivity and decline of second-tier gene activity. The targeting of first-tier genes may be bypassed altogether because knockdown of second-tier genes led to a similar loss of invasive potential. In this manner, numerous members of a "transcriptional cascade" pathway for metastatic activity have been identified and functionally validated.


In trying to understand the power of celebrity in modern life, Richard Schickel ranges through every realm of our culture - film, theatre, television, literature, art, the media, pop music, politics - for examples of how celebrity shapes our world and bends our minds. He considers the careers of figures as diverse as John Kennedy and Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and Dwight Eisenhower, Walter Cronkite and Andy Warhol, among dozens of others. And he reflects on the dangerous, sometimes deadly, political and social consequences of the fascinating, largely unacknowledged relationship between the famous elite and the unfamous majority. In demonstrating how the carefully fostered illusion of intimacy between these two groups has created a devastating confusion between public life and private life, in showing how the play of celebrity symbols has largely replaced the play of ideas in our society, Schickel takes us on a journey to the heart of contemporary darkness - and offers, finally, a chilling warning about the psychopathic consequences of our national obsession with celebrity. "Intimate Strangers is, simply, in my estimation, the single most important book about celebrity." - Neal Gabler.


Aortic baroreflex (ABR) control of blood pressure was examined in 7 untrained (UT) and 8 endurance exercise trained (EET) young men. ABR control of blood pressure was determined during a steady state phenylephrine infusion to increase mean arterial pressure 10-15 mmHg, combined with positive neck pressure to counteract the increased carotid sinus transmural pressure, and low levels of lower body negative pressure to counteract the increased central venous pressure. Functioning alone, the ABR was functionally adequate to control blood pressure. However, ABR control of HR was significantly diminished in the EET subjects due solely to the decrease in the ABR sensitivity. The persistent strain from an increased stroke volume resulting from endurance exercise training could be the responsible mechanism.


Mobile technologies are anticipated to offer cost effective and efficient information management solutions for the chronic care sector. The increasing incidence of chronic diseases is leading to severe pressure on healthcare services struggling to meet increased demand. Although mobile technical solutions are being developed, there is little understanding of the issues affecting acceptability and sustainability of mobile health initiatives and the requirements for the development of holistic care services. This research uses a qualitative study to determine the potential for implementation of m-health across the spectrum of chronic disease care and to identify key factors affecting the stakeholders. While study participants paint an optimistic future for mhealth, there remain several challenges before a holistic approach can be achieved, not least the standardisation and integration of information across the whole health sector.


The influence of the components of an alkali polishing slurry and the mutual influences on the Cu polishing rate were investigated by a CMP polishing rate prediction model established with a modified artificial neural network based on the artificial bee colony algorithm. The quantitative method of sensitivity analysis was employed to fulfill the purpose of quantizing the influence on the polishing rate. The result of the analysis indicates that under certain CMP conditions, the Cu polishing rate was controlled by the silica abrasives, the FA/O chelating agent, the surfactant and the oxidant agent in the polishing slurry. Such factors showed the different sensitivity coefficients with 0.78, 0.53, 0.29 and 0.19 respectively on all the sample points. The mutual influence between the FA/O chelating agent and the oxidant agent on the polishing rate seemed obviously strongest when the proportion of them was 2 to 7, with the global sensitivity coefficients between 5 to 9; the mutual influence of silica abrasives and oxidant on the polishing rate was greater as the proportion of the above additives was beyond 5, with the global sensitivity coefficients between 2.5 and 6; the mutual influence of the surfactant and oxidant on the polishing rate was not obvious, with global sensitivity coefficients less than 3. Thus, it provides a kind of effective method for quantitating the influence with the components of the CMP alkali slurry on the polishing rate.


STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education including science learning, is needed to face 21st-century development, especially for training thinking skill. STEM is believed to increase students' thinking skill, interest, and STEM literacy. This study aims to know the extent of thinking skill trained through science learning in Junior High School and to know challenges and potencies of developing STEM- based science learning. The study was conducted in SMP N 1 Masaran through various data collection methods. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with 7 science teachers, observation, documentation, and literature study about plan and process of the science lesson, also STEM education as an approach. And then, data were analysed reflectively toward various documents and literature. Assessments which categorized "higher order thinking skill" were below 5% of all assessments provided to students. There are potencies that able to develop to train students' thinking skill through STEM-based science learning which appropriates with national curriculum in Indonesia. Teachers can innovate in developing strategies and lesson plans to incorporate content Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics in science lesson for train students' thinking skill.


A versatile Knudsen type effusion cell has been fabricated for growing nanostructures and epitaxial layers of metals and semiconductors. The cell provides excellent vacuum compatibility (10−10 mbar range during operation), efficient water cooling, uniform heating, and moderate input power consumption (100 W at 1000 °C). The thermal properties of the cell have been determined. The performance of the cell has been assessed by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) for Mn adlayer growth on Al(111). We find that this Knudsen cell has a stable deposition rate of 0.17 monolayer per minute at 550 °C. From the XPS spectra, we show that the Mn adlayers are completely clean, i.e., devoid of any surface contamination.


The connection between forced labour and human trafficking and fisheries, particularly illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, is vile and highly profitable, and may be found in most parts of the world. A fishing vessel can be a place of abuse more extreme than any other onshore. At sea, it is out of sight for long periods of time, with little or no opportunity for fishers to escape. The working and living conditions on board are often simply described as inhumane. Combating labour exploitation in fisheries raises many complex multijurisdictional challenges, most of which, if not all, could be circumvented if States were serious about addressing this phenomenon. This article examines these challenges and the relevant international legal framework, particularly the 2007 Work in Fishing Convention and the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention, against the background of the law of the sea and international human rights law.


One of the central tenets of Australia's defence policy is to rely on the extended nuclear deterrence of the United States ("US"). In recent years, politicians and civil society have questioned the doctrine's compatibility with Australia's international legal obligations but to date there has been very little academic analysis of the issue. The lack of scholarship in this area is concerning given that the legality of Australia's reliance on US nuclear protection has significant ramifications for US-Australian relations, Australia's national security policy and the global nuclear disarmament movement more broadly. This article explores the international legal issues that arise with respect to Australia's policy of extended nuclear deterrence.
The first part of the article focuses on whether the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty ("ANZUS") places Australia under US nuclear protection and, if so, whether ANZUS requires Australia to maintain its policy of extended nuclear deterrence. It argues that, as currently interpreted, Article IV of ANZUS implicitly allows for the US to use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons in defence of Australia. However, contrary to what has been asserted by an Australian politician, this state of affairs does not mean that Australia is under an obligation to maintain its policy of extended nuclear deterrence.
Having determined that ANZUS does not prevent Australia from giving up nuclear deterrence, the article then turns to examine whether the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ("NPT") or the South Pacific Nuclear Free-Zone Treaty ("Treaty of Rarotonga") require Australia to abandon its reliance on US nuclear protection. The article argues that while Australia's policy of extended nuclear deterrence does not conflict with the terms of the Treaty of Rarotonga, Article VI of the NPT creates a more significant challenge for the policy. Article VI of the NPT requires Australia "pursue negotiations in good faith towards effective measures" relating to nuclear disarmament. While this obligation is not necessarily incompatible with extended nuclear deterrence, Australia's entrenched opposition to a global nuclear ban treaty casts doubt on Australia's commitment to the NPT.


This third-generation Chip-Multithreading (CMT) SPARC processor consists of 16 cores with shared memory architecture and supports a total of 32 main threads plus 32 scout threads. It is targeted for high-performance servers, and is optimized for both single- and multi-threaded applications. The 396 mm2 chip is fabricated in an 11 metal layer 65-nm CMOS process and operates at a nominal frequency of 2.3 GHz, consuming a maximum power of 250 W at 1.2 V. This paper provides an overview of the architectural highlights and describes the physical implementation challenges and solutions including circuit innovations in memory arrays, register files, and floating-point hardware that boost the performance and circuit robustness with low area overhead.


Information modeling design is the key of product development. An information modeling is discussed in this paper. It determines product function, form and basic structure. Major cost is spent in early product development. The model presented in this paper includes activity model for the process design. The activity model sets the context in which the objects are defined and used. The main purpose of the model development is to initiate standard interface specifications that are necessary for design and process development. The design information that is necessary for conceptual process planning has been collected and modeled using UML.


Probing nanoscale interactions between an atomic force microscope tip and a bacterium may provide insight into the molecular level origins of bacterial adhesion. Distinguishing between the relevant surface interaction forces, such as steric and electrostatic interactions, is complicated by the elastic deformation of the bacterium. To probe the possible role of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in bacterial adhesion and cell elasticity, atomic force microscopy (AFM) force images were obtained between a bare silicon nitride AFM tip and three different Escherichia coli K12 strains, each having a different length of LPS on their surface. Cell elasticity was varied with glutaraldehyde fixation. Bacterial force curves consisted of a nonlinear region 20-30 nm above the cell surface and a constant compliance (linear region) with a slope that was significantly less than that of a hard surface. AFM force curves obtained on the top of the cell were identical (linear and nonlinear regions) for all three strains, indicating a lack of a steric contribution of LPS to the force curve. Force images obtained off the center of the cell produced apparent long-range forces, but these were considered to be imaging artifacts produced by tip-surface geometries at the cell edges. Glutaraldehyde strongly affected the elasticity of the cell but did not affect the nonlinear portion of the force curve. The effective spring constant of the bacterium, calculated from the constant compliance region of the force curve, was found to increase 4-fold with the addition of 2.5% glutaraldehyde and was independent of the spring constant of the cantilever. The nonlinear portion of the curve is not consistent with electrostatic forces, because interaction distances were not a function of solution ionic strength. These results suggested that nonlinear forces were due to deformation of the bacterial surface layer.


The hitherto most abstract, and hence general, argumentation system, is the one described by Dung in a paper from 1995. This framework does not allow for joint attacks on arguments, but in a recent paper we adapted it to support such attacks, and proved that this adapted framework enjoyed the same formal properties as that of Dung. One problem posed by Dung's original framework, which was neglected for some time, is how to compute preferred extensions of the argumentation systems. However, in 2001, in a paper by Doutre and Mengin, a procedure was given for enumerating preferred extensions for these systems. In this paper we propose a method for enumerating preferred extensions of the potentially more complex systems, where joint attacks are allowed. The method is inspired by the one given by Doutre and Mengin.


Objective: The potentially different psychological effects of ongoing trauma vis-à-vis an intense time-limited exposure to trauma have not been examined in older adults. Therefore, this study examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and their health concomitants in two groups of older adults in Israel: those exposed to ongoing missile attacks and those exposed to an intense time-limited period of missile attacks. Method: In the third administration of the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel), 297 older adults reported ongoing exposure to missile attacks due to the Israel–Gaza conflict (mean age = 66.97), while 309 older adults reported exposure to an intense period of missile attacks during the Second Lebanon War (mean age = 66.63). Participants completed measures of PTSD symptoms, and physical, cognitive, and mental health. Results: Older adults with ongoing exposure reported higher PTSD symptom level relative to those with intense time-limited exposure. The groups also differed in health variables related to PTSD symptoms. Namely, impaired physical and cognitive health were related to a higher level of PTSD symptoms in ongoing exposure, while impaired mental health was related to a higher PTSD symptom level following intense time-limited exposure. Conclusions: The findings suggest that physical and cognitive health involves resources that are vital for daily survival when living under ongoing warfare threat, whereas mental health involves resources that are needed in dealing with psychological effects of warfare trauma. Accordingly, different interventions may be necessary when helping older adults exposed to ongoing versus intense time-limited trauma.


Declines in academic engagement and psychological well-being, which are common for many adolescents, may be exacerbated among some African American adolescents because of exposure to racial discrimination. While discrimination can have negative effects on the development of minority children, some develop adaptive qualities to better cope with discrimination. These qualities can contribute to psychological well-being and better academic outcomes. This research brief, by PRC faculty research associate Fatima Varner and colleagues, reports on a study that examined whether there were groups of families with different combinations of parenting, specifically involved-vigilant parenting and parental racial socialization (i.e., messages about race). Next, the researchers examined whether parenting profiles, racial discrimination, and adolescent gender independently or interactively predicted adolescent academic and psychological outcomes.


Pivaloyl-D-prolyl-L-prolyl-L-analyl-N-methylamide (I), C19H32N4O4, crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 with four molecules in a unit cell of dimensions a= 9.982 (1), b= 10.183 (3), c= 20.746 (2)A. The structure has been refined to R 0.048 for 1 745 observed reflections. All the peptide bonds in the molecule are trans and both the proyl residues are in the Cγ-exo-conformation. The molecule assumes a highly folded conformation in which a Type II′DL bend is followed by a Type I LL bend, both stabilised by intramolecular 4 → 1 hydrogen bonds. This conformation, which has been observed for the first time, is of interest in relation to the structure of gramicidin S.


Although promising, BCIs are still barely used outside laboratories due to their poor robustness. Moreover, they are sensitive to noise, outliers and the non-stationarity of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. This lack of robustness is notably due to inefficiencies in different steps of the BCI process, going along data acquisition, signal processing, and classification. We propose two distinct approaches, both aiming at improving a particular step of this BCI process. The first approach focuses on signal processing and classification methods: choosing the best algorithm for decoding signals requires multiple scripts, resources and time. We propose BCPy, an open-source python platform for offline EEG decoding, that contains many tools for EEG signals decoding. BCPy comprises four main independent modules: 1) reading different EEG data formats, e.g. ".gdf", " .mat" and " .pkl"; 2) filtering and representing EEG signals, e.g., Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) or Filter Bank CSP (FBCSP), mutual information feature selection; 3) classifying EEG signals, e.g. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Riemannian Geometry or Convolutional Neural Network (CNN); 4) visualizing statistics on the analysis results. All algorithm examples mentioned above are already implemented. Each module can be used independently. Moreover, BCPy has a jupyter notebook GUI, allowing users to test and compare algorithms with various parameters on their data, without any programming. The second approach focuses on BCIs protocols: a better understanding of human learning-related mental states could lead to a personalized training for each subject, possibly improving BCI reliability altogether. We analyzed two main learning-related mental states: workload and attention, and are currently focusing on new one: emotions. We have been using BCPy's machine learning tools to estimate such states from EEG signals in these three studies.


Objectives Surgical treatment of meningioma is frequently accompanied by significant intraoperative blood loss and the associated risks of blood transfusion. Surgical adjuncts such as pre-operative embolisation and the use of tranexamic acid have attendant risks. An ability to estimate blood loss can appropriately target these interventions. Design Retrospective study Subjects Patients following surgery for meningioma between 2015–2018 Methods Intraoperative blood loss, pre- to post-operative haemoglobin difference and blood transfusion were evaluated. Pre-operative imaging included size, shape and location of meningioma, involvement of sinuses and blood vessels, T1 and T2 weighted characteristics, restricted diffusion, peritumoral oedema, dural tail and hyperostosis. Multivariate analysis was used to determine the relationship between meningioma characteristics and blood loss. Results Tumour diameter and venous sinus opening were significantly related to blood loss on multivariate analysis (p=0.004 and p=0.001 respectively). Furthermore, on univariate analysis additional factors included procedure duration (p<0.0001), pre-operative radiotherapy (p=0.042) and pre-operative platelet count (p=0.03). Conclusions Only size of tumour and opening venous sinuses was related to intraoperative bloods loss in this cohort of patients. Further research is required to define tumour characteristics that can be used to identify patients suitable for pre- and intra-operative adjunct therapies.


The influence of wet cleaning, as a promising process compared to washing, on the physical and chemical properties of functional cotton fabrics with high added value is presented. Fabric characterization before and after durable press finishing and after 10 cycles of washing and wet cleaning is made using standard methods – measuring dimensional stability, construction characteristics, crease resistance, tensile properties, swelling properties, appearance with coefficient of friction and geometrical roughness, surface characterization by scanning electron microscopy and electrokinetic potential. It can be seen that wet cleaning, which has been used in practice, together with adequate pretreatment, as a substitute for dry cleaning, can also be successfully implemented as a process to substitute washing, particularly when high-value-added articles are concerned.


The 2011 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" collects information on the top 1000 EU companies and 1000 non-EU companies investing the largest sums in R&D in the last reporting year. The Scoreboard includes data on R&D investment along with other economic and financial data from the last four financial years. The data for the Scoreboard are taken from the companies' latest published accounts, intended to be their fiscal year 2010 accounts (although due to different accounting practices, it includes accounts ending on a range of dates, from late 2009 to early 2011). In the last year's Scoreboard companies' results showed the big effect of the great recession/financial crisis that started in 2008. In this Scoreboard edition, companies show considerable signs of recovery, e.g. with a significant increase in R&D investment and double-digit increases in sales, operating profits, and market valuation of companies. However, companies have still to deal with a complex economic environment. In particular, two big economic issues create pressure for companies: national debt levels (which feed back into the banks and limit their lending to companies and hence affect company expansion plans) and the low growth rates being seen in developed economies which can limit the sales growth of many companies, particularly those selling more standard products. In this context, the efforts made by many Scoreboard companies to increase R&D investment appear especially remarkable and emphasise the role R&D plays for companies to enhance their product ranges and hence create and sustain competitive advantages. R&D-based competitive advantage can yield higher value added and higher growth rates. The analysis in this report concentrates on the main trends of companies' R&D activities and results. The focus is on the evolution of R&D investments across regions and industries and its comparison with companies' parameters such as net sales, profits, market capitalisation and capital expenditures.


Streptococcus pneumoniae peptidoglycan GlcNAc deacetylase (SpPgdA) protects the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall from host lysozymes by deacetylating peptidoglycan GlcNAc residues. Deletion of the pgda gene has been shown to result in hypersensitivity to lysozyme and reduction of infectivity in a mouse model. SpPgdA is a member of the family 4 carbohydrate esterases, for which little structural information exists, and no catalytic mechanism has yet been defined. Here we describe the native crystal structure and product complexes of SpPgdA biochemical characterization and mutagenesis. The structural data show that SpPgdA is an elongated three-domain protein in the crystal. The structure, in combination with mutagenesis, shows that SpPgdA is a metalloenzyme using a His-His-Asp zinc-binding triad with a nearby aspartic acid and histidine acting as the catalytic base and acid, respectively, somewhat similar to other zinc deacetylases such as LpxC. The enzyme is able to accept GlcNAc3 as a substrate (Km = 3.8 mM, kcat = 0.55 s-1), with the N-acetyl of the middle sugar being removed by the enzyme. The data described here show that SpPgdA and the other family 4 carbohydrate esterases are metalloenzymes and present a step toward identification of mechanism-based inhibitors for this important class of enzymes.


Identifying intraspecific units or stocks of a species with unique morphological characters enables a better management of these subunits of species and ensurs perpetuations of the resources. Multivariate morphometry has been commonly used to investigate the discreteness and interrelationships of stocks within a species. Different types of body measurements have been traditionally used to charecterise stocks. However these measurements have recently been criticised because there are several biases and weaknesses inherent in traditional characters. As an alternative, a new system of morphometric measurements called The Truss Network System has been increasingly used for stock identification. In this review a computer-originated approach to the collection and analysis of morphometric characteristics of stocks is described.


We investigate crustal deformation within the upper plate of the Ionian Subduction Zone (ISZ) at different time scales by (i) refining geodetic rates of crustal extension from continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements and (ii) mapping sequence of Late Quaternary raised marine terraces tectonically deformed by the West Crati normal fault, in northern Calabria. This region experienced damaging earthquakes in 1184 (M 6.75) and 1854 (M 6.3), possibly on the E-dipping West Crati fault (WCF) which, however, is not unanimously considered to be a seismogenic source. We report geodetic measurements of extension and strain rates across the strike of the E-dipping WCF and throughout the northern Calabria obtained by using velocities from 18 permanent GNSS stations with a series length longer than 4.5 years. These results suggest that crustal extension may be seismically accommodated in this region by a few normal faults. Furthermore, by applying a synchronous correlation approach, we refine the chronology of understudied tectonically deformed palaeoshorelines mapped on the footwall and along the strike of the WCF, facilitating calculation of the associated fault-controlled uplift rates. Raised Late Quaternary palaeoshorelines are preserved on the footwall of the WCF indicating that "regional" uplift, likely related to the deformation associated either with the subduction or mantle upwelling processes, is affected by local footwall uplift. We show that GIS-based elevations of Late Quaternary palaeoshorelines, as well as temporally constant uplift rates, vary along the strike of the WCF, implying normal faulting activity through time. This suggests that (i) the fault slip rate governing seismic hazard has also been constant over the Late Quaternary, over multiple earthquake cycles, and (ii) our geodetically derived fault throw rate for the WCF is likely a more than reasonable value to be used over longer time scales for an improved seismic hazard assessment. Overall, we emphasize the importance of mapping crustal deformation within the upper plate above subduction zones to avoid unreliable interpretations relating to the mechanism controlling regional uplift.


Symbolic regression via genetic programming is a flexible approach to machine learning that does not require up-front specification of model structure. However, traditional approaches to symbolic regression require the use of protected operators, which can lead to perverse model characteristics and poor generalisation. In this paper, we revisit interval arithmetic as one possible solution to allow genetic programming to perform regression using unprotected operators. Using standard benchmarks, we show that using interval arithmetic within model evaluation does not prevent invalid solutions from entering the population, meaning that search performance remains compromised. We extend the basic interval arithmetic concept with `safe' search operators that integrate interval information into their process, thereby greatly reducing the number of invalid solutions produced during search. The resulting algorithms are able to more effectively identify good models that generalise well to unseen data. We conclude with an analysis of the sensitivity of interval arithmetic-based operators with respect to the accuracy of the supplied input feature intervals.


Protein undernutrition is a major health concern for older adults, especially for those who are ill. There is growing consensus for a protein intake target of 1.2 - 1.5 gram per kg bodyweight per day (g/kg/d) for these older adults. However, this target is not reached by the majority of older adults. Therefore, more effective and novel strategies to increase protein intake are warranted, including the use of protein-enriched foods and drinks. This thesis evaluated the impact of the developed protein-enriched foods and drinks on protein intake and physical performance among older adults. The studies in this thesis were done as part of the Cater with Care® project; a collaboration between the university, care organizations, and partners from the food industry. The industrial partners developed the products, focusing each on different product categories: Carezzo Nutrition developed bread, pastry, and fresh juices and soups; The Kraft Heinz Company focused on long shelf-life and convenience foods; and the Veal Promotion Foundation produced veal meat. To fit the products to the needs of the target group, interviews with undernourished older adults (at home or hospitalized) and with dietitians were conducted (chapter 2). These interviews showed that undernutrition awareness is low among older adults. To treat undernutrition by changing their eating habits, older adults need to be aware of their health problem, they need to be willing to change, and they need to be able to understand and implement the dietitian's advices. This process takes time while undernutrition should be treated immediately. For immediate treatment, enriched products could be used, without first creating awareness. According to the interviewees, enriched products should fit within older adults' eating habits, and have small portion sizes. To gain insights in food choices of hospitalized older adults (65 years and older) an observational study was conducted. In this study, energy and protein intakes of 80 hospitalized older patients at low and high risk of undernutrition were assessed (chapter 3). Patients who received an energy- and protein-rich menu, because of their risk of undernutrition, were better able to reach the protein and energy targets than patients with a low risk of undernutrition receiving a standard menu. Based on these results we proposed that all hospitalized older adults – both at low and high risk of undernutrition – should receive an energy- and protein-rich menu. Subsequently, a pilot study was done in a care home and a rehabilitation center with the aim to explore the potential of the developed protein-enriched products to increase protein intake (chapter 4). Participants did not compensate their consumption of regular protein-rich foods (e.g. dairy, cheese) upon the introduction of protein-enriched foods and drinks. The 22 institutionalized elderly (mean age 83 years) consumed 12 gram protein per day more than they did before the intervention. Consequently, more people met the protein target of 1.2 g/kg/d than before the intervention. We concluded that protein-enriched products enabled institutionalized elderly to reach protein intake targets. Furthermore, we gained valuable feedback to improve the assortment of protein-enriched products for the effectiveness study. In the final study, effects of the protein-enriched products on protein intake and physical performance were studied in a randomized controlled trial during hospitalization and subsequent recovery at home. During the hospital period in which 147 older patients participated, patients that received protein-enriched products increased their protein intake compared to the control group that already received a protein-rich hospital menu (chapter 5). As a result, 79% of the intervention group reached a protein intake of 1.2 g/kg/d, compared to 48% of the control group. Finally, effects of the protein-enriched products were tested at home, for a longer period (chapter 6). Half of the hospital phase participants (n = 75) continued the intervention at home for 12 weeks. The protein-enriched products were successfully implemented in the daily menu of the older adults: the intervention group had a higher average protein intake (1.5 ± 0.6 g/kg/d) than the control group (1.0 ± 0.4 g/kg/d) during the 12-week intervention period. Seventy-two percent of the intervention group reached a protein intake of 1.2 g/kg/d during the 12-week intervention, compared to 31% of the control group. Protein intake of the intervention group was mainly increased by the following protein-enriched products: bread, dairy drinks, dairy desserts, soups, and fruit juices. However, despite the successful improvement of protein intake, we found no added value on physical performance in the first 6 months after hospitalization. It was concluded that with the protein-enriched familiar foods and drinks, we have a feasible, acceptable, and appetizing long-term strategy to increase protein intake of older adults in various settings. We envisage a beneficial role of these protein-enriched products in combination with physical activity in older adults with lower protein intakes.


Background Falls in the elderly represent a significant health burden in Ireland and internationally. Falls are consistently the most frequently reported patient incident in the MMU Hospital. Polypharmacy and inappropriate prescribing are considered important extrinsic risk factors for falling. Section H of the Screening Tool of Older Persons' Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP) criteria relates to medicines known to adversely affect fallers. Purpose To explore the current level of medicines review afforded to elderly fallers. To determine if use of the STOPP criteria & subsequent pharmacist intervention result in a greater reduction in the number of prescriptions for, & the number of patients receiving, ≥1 potentially inappropriate medicines (PIMs), compared to the current standard of care. To develop prescribing guidelines for inclusion in a future falls prevention policy for the hospital. Materials and Methods A STOPP-based research protocol for the identification of PIMs in elderly fallers was developed and piloted. A programme of usual care versus pharmacist intervention was undertaken. In the intervention study the investigator alerted medical teams to PIM(s) through communication in patients' medical notes. Ward pharmacists reviewed patients' drug charts after the investigator's review, & recorded changes to identified PIMs. The investigator participated in a falls working group set up to develop and implement a policy on the prevention of falls in MMUH. Results Pharmacist intervention resulted in reductions in both the number of patients prescribed ≥1 PIM, & prescriptions for PIMs; however, these results failed to reach statistical significance (P = 0.08 & 0.074, respectively). Patients prescribed ≥1 PIM were taking 3 more regular medicines than those who were not (p < 0.001). The MMUH Falls Working Group developed a policy on falls prevention. The STOPP criteria were used to formulate the relevant sections relating to medicines & falls. Conclusions Pharmacist intervention may have a positive impact on rates of potentially inappropriate prescribing in elderly patients who fall during admission. However, further research is needed. No conflict of interest.


BACKGROUND: There is a clear and growing body of evidence for cardiac dysfunction in a significant portion of patients with HIV disease. An increased number of HIV-infected individuals may present with cardiac complications in the future as more patients with this disease survive longer because of modern therapy. Heart involvement in AIDS may be well characterized cardiac disease occurring coincidentally in AIDS patients, a complication of the disease or its treatment or possibly a direct insult to the heart by the HIV itself. METHODS: We reviewed the literature on heart disease in HIV infection and AIDS with particular reference to epidemiology and pathogenetic mechanisms that may play a role in diagnosis, management, and therapy of these complications. The MEDLINE/PUBMED and bibliographic searches forEnglish language studies were used. RESULTS: A variety of potential aetiologies have been postulated in HIV-related heart disease, including myocardial invasion with HIV itself, opportunistic infections, viral infections, autoimmune response to viral infection, drug-related cardiac toxicity, nutritional deficiencies, and prolonged immunosuppression. CONCLUSION: An increased number of HIV-infected individuals present with cardiac complications as chronic viral infection, co-infections, drug therapy, and immunosuppression. Understanding the nature and course of cardiac illness related to HIV infection may allow appropriate monitoring, early intervention and therapy


In this paper, we consider the robust filtering problem for discrete time-varying systems with delayed sensor measurement subject to norm-bounded parameter uncertainties. The delayed sensor measurement is assumed to be a linear function of a stochastic variable that satisfies the Bernoulli random binary distribution law. An upper bound for the actual covariance of the uncertain stochastic parameter system is derived and used for estimation variance constraints. Such an upper bound is then minimized over the filter parameters for all stochastic sensor delays and admissible deterministic uncertainties. It is shown that the desired filter can be obtained in terms of solutions to two discrete Riccati difference equations of a form suitable for recursive computation in online applications. An illustrative example is presented to show the applicability of the proposed method.


In this paper, the small-signal averaged model of a DC-to-DC single ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC), used in single-phase power factor correction (PFC) applications, is derived. Compared to conventional buck or boost converters, this topology allows a low current ripple at the input for a relatively low level of the DC-bus voltage. Based on the proposed model, a carrier-based Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM) linear control system is developed in order to ensure a unity power factor at the rectifier AC-side and a regulated voltage across the DC load. Both current and voltage regulators are PI-type. The performance of the proposed control scheme is tested through simulations. The system performance is evaluated in terms of source current Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), input power factor and DC-voltage regulation.


To test the hypothesis that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) has a direct vasodilator effect on the pulmonary vasculature that is enhanced in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in the rat, we determined the effects of ANP on mean pulmonary (MPAP) and systemic arterial pressure (MSAP) in intact conscious Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to 10% O2 or room air for 4 wk. Catheters were placed in the pulmonary artery through the right jugular vein by means of a closed-chest technique. MPAP and MSAP were monitored before and after intravenous injections of graded doses of ANP. ANP produced dose-related decreases in MPAP that were greater in the hypoxic group than in air controls. There were no significant between-group differences in the systemic depressor responses to ANP or in the ANP-induced reduction in cardiac output. ANP lowered MPAP significantly in isolated perfused lungs from both hypoxia-adapted and air control rats, and this effect was significantly greater in the hypoxic than the air control lungs. These data indicate that ANP lowers pulmonary arterial pressure in rats with hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension, mainly by a direct vasodilator effect on the pulmonary vasculature.


Background Online learning is becoming a global phenomenon and has a steadily growing influence on how learning is delivered at universities worldwide. Motivation of students, however, has become one of the most serious problems in one important aspect of online learning—online collaborative groupwork or online group homework. It is surprising to note that few empirical studies have focused on how to enhance and sustain student motivation to work together in online learning environments. Purpose The propose of the present study is to propose and test empirical models of variables posited to predict students' motivation management in online groupwork, with the models informed by (a) research and theorizing on regulation of motivation and (b) findings from online groupwork that alluded to a number of factors that may influence motivation management in online learning environments. Research Design The study reported here used cross-sectional survey data. Participants The participants were 150 graduate students from 46 online groups in the southeastern United States. Results Results from the multilevel analyses revealed that most of the variance in group-work motivation management occurred at the student level, with online groupwork interest as the only significant predictor at the group level. At the student level, the variation in groupwork motivation management was positively related to student initiative, including arranging the environment, managing study time, and help seeking. In addition, group-work motivation management was positively related to feedback from the instructor and peers. Conclusion As most of the variance in online groupwork motivation management occurred at the student level rather than at the group level, online groupwork motivation management was largely a function of individual student characteristics and experiences. The present study further suggests that feedback and student initiative (arranging the environment, managing study time, and help seeking) play an important role in online group-work motivation management. Consequently, it would be beneficial to promote feedback among the instructor and group members in the online groupwork process. In addition, it would be beneficial to encourage students to take more initiative in online groupwork settings to better manage their motivation.


At a time when it is celebrating its 30th anniversary of
autonomy (1984-2014) – yet still a French 'overseas
collectivity' under article 74 of the French Constitution –
French Polynesia is called at a rendez-vous of its history. The Territory is struggling to overcome a triple crisis: the end of French nuclear experimentations in the mid-1990s and of all the large subsidies that it conveyed; the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) that hit tourism hard and which is estimated to provide around three-quarters of all self-generated revenues and, ten years of political turmoil with as many governments in as many years or so. The political rise of the Tavini Huiraatira (Polynesian Liberation Front) to the Presidency in 2004 and the repudiation of the Bolliet report which was to condition French subsidies to budget stringency in the early 2010 did not help either, convincing the French to maintain full-fledged financial support, leaving Polynesia with no choice but to appeal for foreign direct investments (FDIs) to get the economy back on track. But there is a genie in the bottle, a concern to be addressed in the concluding section of this paper. While it is important to understand industrial relations in the broader light of the Polynesian political economy, the following sections will look at the industrial relations system conventionally as the labour market, employee and employers' associations and the institutions of labour regulation. To finish, we will list the main issues that were raised by the parties themselves. First, however, it is useful to introduce some key elements of the industrial relations context.


The solubility of two calcium channel blockers, felodipine and nitrendipine, was measured in liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide at (298, 308, and 318) K and at pressures between (80 and 250) bar. The solubilites were measured experimentally through two methods:  cloud point measurements and UV absorption. At lower pressures, and hence densities, the UV method was more accurate while at higher pressures and densities the solubilities measured by both methods were basically identical. Both of these compounds showed an increase in solubility with increasing temperature and density. The experimentally determined solubility was accurately modeled using an equation, derived from association laws, which had a strong solvent density and temperature dependence.


In the frame of the safe disposal of short-lived low and intermediate level nuclear waste (SL-ILW), ONDRAF/NIRAS (Belgium) has submitted a license application for the exploitation of a near surface facility in Dessel (Belgium). A significant part of the waste intended for the surface repository is Pu-contaminated and has been conditioned by means of CEM III/C based mortar, produced in the CILVA-installation at the Belgoprocess site in Dessel. To establish more accurate data on sorption of Pu to the CILVA mortar, an experimental test set-up was designed in order to screen which factors were likely to affect Pu sorption to the mortar. The different factors of the design were variables related to the pore water composition of the mortar on the one hand (concentrations of Ca2+, Cl−, SO4 2−, S2−, K+ and OH− (pH)), and variables characteristic for batch sorption experiments on the other hand ([Pu], solid-to-liquid ratio and equilibration time). The results of this screening indicate that over the tested variables, only the concentration of Ca2+ in the synthetic pore water affects Pu sorption to the CILVA matrix to a significant extent. Additionally, from literature it is expected that the presence of isosaccharinic acid (ISA), a cellulose degradation product, would affect Pu sorption, with increasing concentrations of ISA frequently correlated with decreased sorption. To address the nature and extent of the impact of both [Ca2+] and [ISA] and their combined effect on sorption of Pu to the mortar, an experimental set-up for surface response measurement (SRM) was designed. A Central Composite Design (CCD) in two factors was selected for the SRM, with three test points and a four point repetition of the centre point. The execution of this experimental set-up and the resulting responses, allowed for the development of a polynomial model to predict the average response of Pu sorption (expressed as R d ) as a function of [ISA] and of [Ca2+]. In addition, the [Ca2+] in solution in equilibrium with the mortar could be assessed from the established dataset, which allowed to predict Pu sorption as a function of [ISA] at the intrinsic [Ca2+] in the mortar's pore water.


This paper deals with the design and performance analysis of a ring oscillator using CMOS 45nm technology process in Cadence virtuoso environment. The design of optimal Analog and Mixed Signal (AMS) very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI) is a challenging task for the integrated circuit(IC) designer. A Ring Oscillator is an active device which is made up of odd number of NOT gates and whose output oscillates between two voltage levels representing high and low. There are a number of challenges ahead while designing the CMOS Ring Oscillator which are delay, noise and glitches. CMOS is the technology of choice for many applications, CMOS oscillators with low power, phase noise and timing jitter are highly desired. In this paper, we have designed a CMOS ring oscillator with nine stages. Previously, the researchers were unable to reduce the phase noise in ring oscillators substantially with nine stages. We have successfully reduced the phase noise to -6.4kdBc/Hz at 2GHz center frequency of oscillation .


The spatial distribution of predators and their prey is affected by their joint use of space. While the formation of such spatial patterns may be driven by density-dependent and -independent factors our knowledge on the contribution of different land-use activities on the formation of spatial patterns between predators and prey remains very limited. Agriculture is one of the most prevailing land-use activities with strong effects on invertebrate densities and structural habitat conditions. Here, we used replicated conventionally and organically managed winter wheat fields to investigate the effects of agricultural land-use on the spatial patterns of generalist predators and decomposer prey. We then identified the explanatory power of density-dependent (prey and predator activity density) and density-independent (vegetation structure) predictors for the observed spatial patterns. Generalist predators were regularly distributed only in conventionally managed fields and this pattern intensified with decreasing Collembola prey availability and increasing spider activity density. Segregation between carabid and spider predators was strongest in fields with lowest wheat plant height, suggesting more intense intraguild interactions in structurally less complex habitats. Collembola were aggregated independent of management and aggregation was strongest in fields with highest Collembola and carabid activity density. Spiders and Collembola prey were associated, but higher aphid densities under conventional management weakened or interrupted this spatial relationship. We conclude that active control of crop plant physiognomy by growth hormones and herbicides in conventionally managed fields promotes predator–predator segregation and that a high availability of aphid prey seems to decouple predator–Collembola prey associations. Our results emphasise the need for a more mechanistic understanding of the effects of land-use on the formation of spatial patterns and species interactions, especially under scenarios of environmental change and an ongoing loss of biodiversity.


The Marine Light-Mixed Layers (MLML) experiments took place in the subarctic North Atlantic Ocean, approximately 275 miles south of Reykjavik, Iceland, during 1989 and 1991. The 1991 field program took place from April 30 to September 6 and included a central surface mooring to document the temporal evolution of physical, biological, and optical properties. In this paper we describe the physical variability observed at the 1991 mooring site, concentrating on the vertical structure of temperature and velocity in the upper 300 m of the water column and their changes in response to heat and momentum fluxes at the sea surface. The deployment period included the spring transition, when upper ocean re stratification was initiated after deep winter mixing, and the fall transition, when mixed layer deepening began again. The dominant signal in temperature was seasonal variation, with a 6°C increase observed at the sea surface from May to August. Prior to development of the seasonal stratification, a period dominated by near-surface temperature variability was observed in association with a 15-day mean flux of only 20 W m−2 into the ocean. Pronounced day/night oscillations of heat flux during this period resulted in alternating development and destruction of stratification and intense diurnal cycling of the mixed layer depth. A qualitative comparison of the observed temperature structure to the prediction of a one-dimensional mixed layer model showed that local processes dominated during the initiation of restratification and during most of the summer warming period. Nonlocal processes were important after the fall transition.


Previous research has identified methodological problems in the design and conduct of randomized trials that could, if left unaddressed, lead to biased results. In this report we discuss one such problem, inadequate control intervention, and argue that it can be by far the most important design characteristic of randomized trials in overestimating the effect of new treatments. Current guidelines for the design and reporting of randomized trials, such as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement, do not address the choice of the comparator intervention. We argue that an adequate control intervention can be selected if people designing a trial explicitly take into consideration the ethical principle of equipoise, also known as "the uncertainty principle."


Public libraries want to contribute to an inclusive and innovative society and aim to enable their patrons to acquire the necessary 21st century skills. Dutch public libraries are therefore gradually adding more and more activities to their curriculum, teaching these different types of skills, such as 'invention literacy'. They also often provide a 'performative space' (i.e. a makerspace) for their patrons. This means library spaces are no longer dominated by books, but rather reflect the current development in libraries' core business, moving from collections to connections in order to serve their local communities. The KB, the National Library of The Netherlands, participated in the KIEM1 project Performative Spaces in Dutch Public Libraries. Stepping Stones of Inclusive Innovation, researching the development of performative spaces in libraries. This project, a collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology, fits the KBs strategic interests in providing an innovative and socially aware library system. Important research questions included how public libraries create these so-called performative spaces for inventing and creating, what modifications are needed in terms of interior design and safety, and in terms of programmatic and spatial organization? As well as how do makerspaces connect to particular maker communities? The project results provided insight into spatial and design aspects of performative spaces, which helps public libraries, and ultimately its patrons, to benefit from this new development. This book, the Atlas, presents the results of the research projects with illustrations of the different types of makerspaces as well as providing state-of-the-art information about performative spaces, focusing on the spatial characteristics. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work with experts from Delft University of Technology and we hope and expect the KIEM project has sown the seeds for a sustainable collaboration on the subject of performative spaces in present and future library research. We see the Atlas as a joint starting point for a shared agenda on the performative library space of the future for librarians, designers, patrons and other stakeholders.


Alkali atoms are known to promote or poison surface catalytic chemistry. To explore alkali promotion of catalysis and to characterize discharge species in alkali-oxygen batteries, we examine coadsorption of K and O2 on Au(111) surface at the atomic scale by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT). On a clean Au(111) surface, O2 molecules may weakly physisorb, but when Au(111) is decorated with K+ ions, they chemisorb into structures that depend on the adsorbate concentrations and substrate templating. At low K coverages, an ordered quantum lattice of K2O2 complexes forms through intramolecular attractive and intermolecule repulsive interactions. For higher K and O2 coverages, the K2O2 complexes condense first into triangular islands, which further coalesce into rhombohedral islands, and ultimately into incommensurate films. No structures display internal contrast possibly because of high structural mutability. DFT calculations explain the alkali-promoted coadsorption in terms of three center, cation-π interactions where pairs of K+ coordinate the π-orbitals on each side of O2 molecules, and in addition O2 forms a covalent bond to Au(111) surface. The K promoted adsorption of O2 is catalyzed by charge transfer from K atoms to Au(111) substrate and ultimately to O2 molecules, forming O2-δ in a redox state between the peroxo and superoxo. Tunneling d I/d V spectra of K2O2 complexes exhibit inordinately intense inelastic progression involving excitation of the O-O stretching vibration, but absence of a Kondo effect suggests that the magnetic moment of O2 is quenched.


Microorganisms and associated conditions make up some of the world's leading causes of death and have the potential to cause a significant societal effect during pandemic states. Despite such significance in the healthcare field, attention and funding directed towards microbiological research lags its cohorts in cancer and cardiovascular disease. In the current SAR-CoV-2 pandemic, the importance of practicing clinicians and providers to remain knowledgeable on antimicrobial therapy for their patients is higher than ever before. The scope of this review is to provide clinicians a semi-comprehensive, up-to-date understanding of the mechanisms of action among antimicrobial agents as well as key distinctions in clinical manifestations of pathogens.


This study presents a number of short-term ex-post forecasts of single equation
model, Multivariate Autoregressive Moving Average (MARMA) model,
simultaneous supply-demand and price system equation model, and Autoregressive
Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, and ARCH-type models of natural
rubber (NR) SMR20 (Standard Malaysia Rubber of grade 20) prices in the world NR
market. The ARCH-type models (Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity)
used include the GARCH (1,1) (Generalized ARCH) model, EGARCH (1,1) (The
Exponential GARCH) model, PARCH (1,1) (The Power ARCH) and CGARCH (1,1)
(The Component GARCH) model. These were developed for ex-post forecast of
short-term monthly SMR20 prices in the world NR market.
Natural rubber is a vital commodity used in the manufacture of a wide range of rubberbased
products. Over 20 million families are dependent on rubber cultivation for their
livelihood in the world NR market. The years 1997 to 1999 and as well as in the year
2000 were turbulent years for the economies in South-East and East Asia. In 2008, the extremely low prices due to the outbreak of the global recession. It experienced during
these years contributed to price volatility and instability in many countries, especially
rubber smallholders in South East Asia. Moreover, the crude petroleum oil price is an
important component of synthetic rubber. A fall in the crude petroleum oil price relates
to synthetic rubber. It influences a declining share of synthetic rubber in total rubber
consumption, and also a weak currency exchange affects in the NR producing countries
because most commodities are traded in US dollar. This could be a good reason for
taking the current NR price forecasting study. It would be also a direction of short term
NR price movement for policy formulation. Furthermore, the conceptual economic
framework of this study was a good starting point for discussion and perceptive of shortterm
ex-post forecast of NR price forecasting models developed, with the opportunity of
using some of these factors later in the other study for the forecasting of rubber prices.
The model specifications were developed in order to discover the inter-relationships
between NR production, consumption and prices of SMR20, to forecast the NR price of
SMR20 using single equation model, MARMA model, simultaneous system equation of
supply-demand and price forecasting model, ARIMA model, and ARCH-type models, to
analyze and compare the various NR price forecasting models individually in terms of
their comparative price forecasting accuracy and to determine which between the models
are more efficient. The models were utilized using monthly data from January 1990 to
December 2008 as estimation period, providing a total of 228 observations and data was
used as an ex-post forecasts. All data (variables) were tested for unit root test using the
Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and the Phillips-Perron (PP) test and were found
to be stationary at first difference. The Granger causality test was tested for the direction
of a Granger causality relationship between two variables.


Copyrights © 2014 by The Korean Bone and Joint Tumor Society "This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited." 대한골관절종양학회지:제20권 제2호 2014 pISSN : 1226-4962 eISSN : 2233-9841


The integration of symbolic knowledge and sub-symbolic predictors represents a recent popular trend in AI. Among the set of integration approaches, Symbolic Knowledge Injection (SKI) proposes the exploita-tion of human-intelligible knowledge to steer sub-symbolic models towards some desired behaviour. The vast majority of works in the field of SKI aim at increasing the predictive performance of the sub-symbolic model at hand and, therefore, measure SKI strength solely based on performance improvements. However, a variety of artefacts exist that affect this measure, mostly linked to the quality of the injected knowledge and the underlying predictor. Moreover, the use of injection techniques introduces the possibility of producing more efficient sub-symbolic models in terms of computations, energy, and data required. Therefore, novel and reliable Quality-of-Service (QoS) measures for SKI are clearly needed, aiming at robustly identifying the overall quality of an injection mechanism. Accordingly, in this work, we propose and mathematically model the first – up to our knowledge – set of QoS metrics for SKI, focusing on measuring injection robustness and efficiency gain.


Increasing network and data intensive applications demand more to computing and memory capacity. But tight coupling between CPU and memory makes it hard to share memory components, resulting in difficulty to improve system performance and reduce system cost. Furthermore, nowadays memory architecture cannot adapt "small computing, big memory" feature of application. Supporting by optical interconnect and reconfigurable technology, memory can be separated with CPU and gathered into memory server to provide grid service. This paper proposed a grid memory service (GMS) architecture, which is implemented by memory box. Design of GMS architecture focuses on high speed, high volume, dynamically shared, high scalability, flexibility and autonomy. Programming model and uniform access interface is designed to satisfy vary clients and application. A serial, packet switching based optical interconnect GMIP is designed to obtain high speed and high scalability. With rich and cheap embedded processor and control logic in memory box, distributed intelligent memory is implemented, including distributed processing, multi-level memory management and active memory. A prototype is implemented as verification platform and the test result illustrates low access latency of memory box, improved performance than disk, and good effect of active memory.


This article extends recent examinations of incomplete or disrupted policy mobility by examining the politically volatile case of policies to manage the regional impacts of decarbonization in Australia. The article's extended case study shows how political interests differently incorporated figments of circulating policy into longstanding debates and how more-than-local political networks defeated an antipolitical, technocratic exercise in 'new regional' governance. 'Follow the policy' methods could not have revealed the complexities of this case. The article concludes that mobilities approaches need to be more attentive to institutional arrangements, to the contested politics of policy formation and to the ambiguities of perceived policy likenesses. This case highlights the importance of considering how antipolitical institutional architectures facilitating policy mobility relate to established political power networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


Produced water, the significant wastewater in association with oil and gas production in oilfield, is characterised by the presence of crude oil and also many inorganic substances. It is very difficult to treat this water to meet the reinjection water quality for low and ultra-low permeability reservoirs. In the present paper, the treatment of produced water from Daqing Oilfield was investigated using a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR). The SMBR was operated for about 6 months with constant permeate flux and hydraulic retention time HRT of 12 hours. The experimental results showed that the SMBR had a high retention of crude oil, total suspension substance (TSS), turbidity, ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), and medium grain size. In the permeate, the content of crude oil, NH4+-N and turbidity were respectively lower than 1 mg/L, 1mg/L, and 1 NTU, while the TSS content was below detection limits (2.5 mg/L) and medium grain size was undetectable. The pemeate could reach the grade A1 criteria specified in the Recommendation Standard and Analysis Method for the Clastic Rock Reservoir Injection Water Quality (SY/T 5329-94, China).


Stomach cancer belongs to the most common malignant tumors in Portugal. Main causal factors are age, dietary habits, smoking, and Helicobacter pylori infections. As these factors do not only operate on different time dimensions, such as age, period, or birth cohort, but may also vary along space, it is of utmost interest to model temporal and spatial trends jointly. In this paper, we analyze incidence of stomach cancer in Southern Portugal between 1998 and 2006 for females and males jointly using a spatial multivariate age‐period‐cohort model. Thus, we avoid age aggregation and allow the exploration of heterogeneous time trends between males and females across age, period, birth cohort, and space. Model estimation is performed within a Bayesian setting assuming (gender specific) smoothing priors. Our results show that the posterior expected rate of stomach cancer is decreasing for all counties in Southern Portugal and that males around 70 have a two times higher risk of getting stomach cancer compared with their female counterparts. We further found that, except for some few counties, the spatial influence is almost constant over time and negligible in the southern counties of Southern Portugal.


The health of patients who work is important to UK GPs — almost 32 million people work — and about a half of a GP's patients work.1 Recent government publications highlight a lack of practical support to help people who are off sick stay connected to and get back to work,2 and that there should be easier and earlier access to health care for people in work, with GPs recognising when early referral might prevent someone leaving work permanently.3

There is a significant health burden and cost if employers do not 'get it right'. Accidents and work-related illness through exposures to toxic or pathogenic materials, stress, and ergonomic problems challenge health care and the economy. An estimated 25.9 million working days were lost due to work-related illness and 4.5 million due to workplace injuries in 2015–2016 in Great Britain alone, costing an estimated £14.1 billion a year.4

In fact, 1.3 million people who worked during the last year self-reported a work-related illness, including 500 000 new conditions presenting that year.4 Another 0.8 million people who worked over a year previously have reported a work-related illness,5 with the costs extending to society, individuals, and their family members. Around a quarter of the cost is to the state, through benefits paid and tax lost (∼80%) and NHS treatment (∼20%).6

Reducing the incidence of work-related illness requires support by multidisciplinary occupational health services (OHS) staffed by specially trained professionals who possess unique and complementary skills, that is, occupational physicians (OPs), occupational health nurses, physiotherapists, counsellors, and occupational health technicians. NHS OHS may provide access …


We propose and evaluate a system for detecting and tracking multiple humans wearing high-visibility clothing from vehicles operating in industrial work environments. We use a customized stereo camera setup equipped with IR flash and IR filter to detect the reflective material on the worker's garments and estimate their trajectories in 3D space. An evaluation in two distinct industrial environments with different degrees of complexity demonstrates the approach to be robust and accurate for tracking workers in arbitrary body poses, under occlusion, and under a wide range of different illumination settings.


This study reports on integrating courseware for participating in international trade fairs into English for specific purposes (ESP) instruction at a technical university in Taiwan. An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) approach combining courseware integration with Task Based Learning (TBL), was adopted. Evaluation of implementing this courseware-integrated ESP instruction was based on pre- and posttests in three tasks and student responses to questionnaires concerning satisfaction and attitude. Interviews were also conducted with recent graduates of this courseware-integrated program now working in business fields. Meanwhile, teacher-centred, face-to-face instruction on the same topic was conducted with a control group. The courseware not only provided authentic materials for learning the target ESP in situational settings, but also offered learning activities with corresponding instant self-evaluation so that students were engaged in cognitive processes based on individual need. Students enrolled in the courseware-integrated instruction made as much, and at times, even better, progress as those electing the teacher-centred instruction while completing the tasks of problem-solving and higher-order thinking. Their self-learning effectiveness in both task performance and linguistic skills was significantly improved and they reported satisfaction with the courseware-integrated instruction. Thus, courseware-integrated TBL instruction may offer a potential solution to problems in the development of ESP courses.


Recently, the topic of regional development has become particularly relevant since regions are gaining more and more autonomy in solving their socio-economic issues. This transformation results in the concern of how to find potential partners for building a regional development strategy, sharing resources and competencies. In this context, it is advisable to consider universities as a significant potential partner. In particular, it is necessary to analyse their role and capabilities in creating a regional strategy, the most relevant forms of interaction, and indicators for assessing the effectiveness of the universities' integration to address the challenges of regional development. We applied the expert interview method and discussed the problem with representatives of 28 Russian universities who occupy top managerial positions and have an expert opinion on key issues. Based on the analysis of empirical material, we identified three main roles of universities in regional development: a project initiator, a partner, and a source of human and analytical resources. During the resource assessment, we determined that funding is the only scarce resource for universities, while all other resources and competencies can be quickly mobilised if necessary. The most effective mechanisms for integrating universities to address regional challenges are a consortium of universities and the organisation of project offices with the participation of government and business representatives. The main research result was the identification of quantitative and qualitative criteria characterising the universities' involvement in solving socio-economic issues of regional development, as well as indicators, which are necessary for their definition. Additionally, we discovered a previously unidentified information and administration group among the quantitative criteria and defined the main stages of assessing the effectiveness of such integration. In regards to the considered issue, a promising direction for further research would be a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the universities' integration to address social and economic challenges in different regions of the Russian Federation.


When G. Stanley Hall (1904) wrote the first book on adolescence at the turn of the 20th century, he was describing a new cultural phenomenon that had emerged in the United States and other industrializing societies during the late 19th century. There had always been children, whether or not we theorized about them, but there had not always been adolescents. Of course, there have always been teenagers in the mathematical sense of persons who have reached the age of 13 years but not yet 20 years (and in the linguistic sense that these are the ''teen'' years in our counting scheme). But in most societies and cultural traditions teenagers were not a distinguishable group. Depending on gender they might be expected to work, marry, have children, or run a household. The Jewish Bar Mitzvah at age 13, for example, has for centuries marked entry into the adult community with full rights and responsibilities. Romeo's Juliet was just 13 years old. Teens were young adults for most of history; there was no special category of teenagers or adolescents. Now that adolescents have been around for more than a century, however, we think they have been here forever. In fact, we theorize about them as if adolescence were a natural biological phenomenon associated with the teen years, and as if the psychological phenomena of adolescence were the predictable result of teen brains. Our thinking about adolescents, I suggest, is deeply flawed. In this guest editorial, expanding on previous publications (Moshman, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c), I identify five fallacies.


Silenes, compounds containing silicon-carbon double bonds, have been subject to much theoretical interest over the past 25 years. However, despite their high reactivity, to date there have been no reports of the attempted use of silenes as synthetic reagents. Silenes have been formed by the thermolysis of acyltris(trimethylsilyl)silanes, which have been found to react with dienes to give Diels-Alder cycloadducts in good yield. Further to this, it has been found that silene dimers, formed by the photolysis of acyltris(trimethylsilyl)silanes, have been found to revert to give silenes at much lower temperatures. These dimers have been found to be excellent low-temperature silene sources. The reactions of acyltris(trmiethylsilyl)silanes with silyl Lewis acids have been found to give novel products in excellent yield, via a series of migration reactions. These migrations are believed to involve the formation of a silyl cation or "silylenium" ion intermediate. Furthermore, the reaction with trimethylsilyl triflate is believed to proceed via the formation of a silene intermediate, the existence of which has been supported by trapping with methanol. Finally, the oxidation of silene cycloadducts has been attempted, using established conditions. The first series of silene cycloadducts obtained were found to be unreactive towards oxidation. However, the reaction of a silene, formed by a Peterson elimination process, with dienes has been found to give a cycloadduct as a single diastereoisomer. It has been shown that this cycloadduct can be oxidised, following established protocols, to give either a homoallylic alcohol or 1,5-diol in reasonable overall yield. This result provides evidence for the utility of silenes as reagents for functionalising dienes.


The unique design of the Medtronic-Hall single-tilting disc aortic valvular prosthesis includes a wider opening angle and larger lesser orifice for its pyrolytic carbon disc, translation of the disc downstream in systole, machining of the support struts and the central post from one piece of titanium, and a sewing ring made of knitted polytetrafluoroethylene fabric. These design features have achieved the goals of unsurpassed durability, excellent hemodynamic function, and acceptably low rates of valve-related complications. Gradient relief, even in the smaller sizes, is as good as any other mechanical valve. There has never been a report of clinical loss of structural integrity of a Medtronic-Hall aortic valve. The composite linearized rates (% per patient-year) from the global literature for valve-related complications are as follows: nonstructural dysfunction, 0.5; thromboembolism, 1.4; thrombosis, 0.2; anticoagulant-related bleeding, 0.9; and prosthetic endocarditis, 0.5. The Medtronic-Hall aortic prosthesis is an excellent choice for mechanical replacement of the aortic valve.


In this paper, a type of high bandwidth microcurrent transducer designed for online monitoring of an insulator is described. According to the equivalent circuit model, the effects of transducer winding number, stray capacitance, and loading resistance on passbandwidth and sensitivity are discussed. The academic lower limit of the transducer is nearly zero and the upper limit is infinity, which are proven by the analysis of the electronic circuit and the simulation by saber. The test of the current transducer shows that the transducer can be used in most high-voltage insulations systems with broad passbandwidth, high linearity, high sensitivity, and noncontact.


The existence of the Web has a major impact on people's life styles. Online shopping, online banking, email, instant messenger services, search engines and bulletin boards have gradually become parts of our daily life. All kinds of information can be found on the Web. Web marketing is one of the ways to make use of online information. By extracting demographic information and interest information from the Web, marketing knowledge can be augmented by applying data mining algorithms. Therefore, this knowledge which connects customers to products can be used for marketing purposes and for targeting existing and potential customers. The Web Marketing Project with Ontology Support has the purpose to find and improve marketing knowledge.
In the Web Marketing Project, association rules about marketing knowledge have been derived by applying data mining algorithms to existing Web users' data. An ontology was used as a knowledge backbone to enhance data mining for marketing. The Raising Method was developed by taking advantage of the ontology. Data are preprocessed by Raising before being fed into data mining algorithms. Raising improves the quality of the set of mined association rules by increasing the average support value. Also, new rules have been discovered after applying Raising. This dissertation thoroughly describes the development and analysis of the Raising method. Moreover, a new structure, called Intersection Ontology, is introduced to represent customer groups on demand. Only needed customer nodes are created. Such an ontology is used to simplify the marketing knowledge representation. Finally, some additional ontology usages are mentioned. By integrating an ontology into Web marketing, the marketing process support has been greatly improved.


New applications enabled by personal smart devices and the Internet-of-Things (IoT) require communication in the context of periods of spatial co-location. Examples of this encounter-based communication (EbC) include social exchange among individuals who shared an experience, and interaction among personal and IoT devices that provide location-based services. Existing EbC systems are limited to communication among participants that share a direct encounter. This paper is inspired by two insights: (1) encounters also enable group communication among devices connected by paths in the encounter graph that is contextual, spontaneous, secure, and does not require users to reveal identifying or linkable information; and (2) addressing communication partners using encounter closures subject to causal, spatial, and temporal constraints enables powerful new forms of group communication. We present the design of enClosure, a service providing group communication based on encounter closures for mobile and IoT applications, and a prototype implementation for Android and the Microsoft Embedded Social Cloud platform. Using real-world traces, we show that enClosure provides a privacy-preserving, secure platform for a wide range of group communication applications ranging from connecting attendees of a large event and virtual guest books to disseminating health risk warnings, lost-and-found, and tracing missing persons.


In the paper we consider the generalization of the conjunctive rule in the theory of imprecise probabilities. Let us remind that the conjunction rule, produced on credal sets, gives their intersection and it is not defined if this intersection is empty. In the last case the sources of information are called contradictory 1 . Meanwhile, in the Dempster-Shafer theory it is possible to use the conjunctive rule for contradictory sources of information having as a result a nonnormalized belief function that can be greater than zero at empty set. In the paper we try to exploit this idea and introduce into consideration so called generalized credal sets allowing to model imprecision (non-specificity), conflict, and contradiction in information. Based on generalized credal sets the conjunctive rule is well defined for contradictory sources of information and it can be conceived as the generalization of the conjunctive rule for belief functions. We also show how generalized credal sets can be used for modeling information when the avoiding sure loss condition is not satisfied, and consider coherence conditions and natural extension based on generalized credal sets.


State-of-the-art knowledge base completion (KBC) models predict a score for every known or unknown fact via a latent factorization over entity and relation embeddings. We observe that when they fail, they often make entity predictions that are incompatible with the type required by the relation. In response, we enhance each base factorization with two type-compatibility terms between entity-relation pairs, and combine the signals in a novel manner. Without explicit supervision from a type catalog, our proposed modification obtains up to 7% MRR gains over base models, and new state-of-the-art results on several datasets. Further analysis reveals that our models better represent the latent types of entities and their embeddings also predict supervised types better than the embeddings fitted by baseline models.


This study investigates motivations of attention to breast cancer–related information across different media, including factual knowledge, structural knowledge, and risk perception based on the cognitive learning process. Structural equation modeling is used to test the impacts of factual knowledge and structural knowledge on Singaporean women's attention to media messages about breast cancer, with risk perception of the disease as a mediating factor. The results indicate that structural knowledge raises women's perception of risk, which in turn is positively associated with their attention to reports about breast cancer in newspapers, on television, and on the Internet. Factual knowledge about breast cancer has no significant association with women's perception of risk. In terms of theoretical and practical implications, this study highlights the role of knowledge in affecting individuals' media attention rather than testing how media attention affects knowledge acquisition, and it suggests that practitioners should put more effort into cultivating women's structural knowledge about breast cancer.


Previously diagnosed cases of hepatosinusoidal T‐cell lymphoma and malignant histiocytosis (MH) may include lymphoid neoplasms of natural killer (NK) cell lineage associated with Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV). Such hepatosinusoidal neoplasms were found to demonstrate hepatomegaly but not lymphadenopathy, and all were diagnosed by a liver biopsy. Sixteen adult patients diagnosed with hepatosinusoidal leukaemia/lymphoma (six NK‐cell leukaemia/lymphomas [NKLLs], five instances of MH, three T‐cell malignant lymphomas [T‐MLs], and two adult T‐cell leukaemia/lymphomas [ATLLs] were examined for EBV by in situ hybridization, then were studied immunohistochemically and subjected to a DNA analysis. Among our five patients with MH, neoplastic cells showed T‐cells, but no histiocytic markers, and they were considered to have either a T‐cell or NK‐cell lineage. All NKLLs, MHs and T‐MLs, except for ATLLs accompanied by reactive hemophagocytic histiocytes, varied in number in each case. In situ hybridization revealed the presence of EBV in the nuclei of atypical cells in all of the six lymphoid neoplasms of NK‐cell lineage. Each case of MH and each T‐ML which represented EBV demonstrated no definite T‐cell or histiocytic markers. Patients with ATLL did not reveal EBV. In all patients with hemophagocytosis, EBV was present in the nuclei of the neoplastic lymphocytes, but not in the hemophagocytic cells. Finally, the 16 cases were reclassified into eight cases with EBV ‐containing NKLLs, six T‐MLs, and two ATLLs. In addition, no true histiocytic neoplasms were observed. The mechanism of hemophagocytosis may be therefore the production of lymphokines (macrophage‐activating factors) by neoplastic lymphocytes. EBV‐associated hepatosinusoidal leukaemia/lymphoma may thus contain a lymphoid neoplasm of NK‐cell lineage, which made it difficult to be distinguished from the previously designated malignant histiocytosis.


Following the Deepwater Horizon blowout, oil, degraded oil, oil mixed with dispersants, and management responses to the spill affected a variety of Gulf of Mexico organisms. This review provides examples of various documented impacts, common patterns, and trends across organisms and/or their environments, and discusses future implications as well as directions for future research. Organism effects are generally characterized as lethal and sublethal. Sublethal can be short term, long term, or permanent and multigenerational. We present individual examples of effects on behavioral response, olfaction, vision, cardiac function, and gene shift, based on research done in laboratories, mesocosm settings, and the field. Future research should emphasize collection and analysis of routine toxicological baselines and examine how and if molecular impacts cascade up to populations. This research will require development of rapid molecular tools and testing procedures to determine exposure compared to field-relevant exposure levels and to be able to extrapolate laboratory results to the field, especially given the mosaic of differing contaminant concentrations (below, at, or exceeding critical concentrations that result in lethal or sublethal effects) occurring in the environment. Recent chemical studies have identified a detectable suite of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites for which there are no toxicity data; further research is needed to determine their impacts on food webs.