Once known as a Democratic stronghold, the "Solid South" is now politically dominated by the Republican Party. With frank and provocative analysis, Matthew Corrigan explores how the interaction of race relations, economic isolation, and religion create a unique set of challenges and opportunities for the majority party in the American South. Corrigan uses an intensive case study of Jacksonville, Florida, to examine the attitudes of southern voters more broadly. As an urban southern city that now votes solidly Republican, it reflects the political changes that have taken place across the region. Drawing on research that includes over 2,000 surveys and interviews, Corrigan considers whether or not Republicans, who now hold a majority of federal offices in the South, can provide a political system to address the region's problems. Scholars, pundits, and members of the general public from both political parties will find this book accessible and timely.


Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 constitutive for fatty acid degradation (fadR) showed an increased rate of utilization of exogenous acetate. Acetate transport, oxidation, and incorporation into macromolecules was approximately fivefold greater in fadR mutants than fadR+ strains during growth on succinate as a carbon source. This effect was due to the elevated levels of glyoxylate shunt enzymes in fadR mutants, since (i) similar results were seen with mutants constitutive for the glyoxylate shunt enzymes (iclR), (ii) induction of the glyoxylate shunt in fadR+ strains by growth on acetate or oleate increased the rate of acetate utilization to levels comparable to those in fadR mutants, and (iii) fadR and fadR+ derivatives of mutants defective for the glyoxylate shunt enzymes showed equivalent rates of acetate utilization under these conditions. These results suggest that the operation of the glyoxylate shunt may play a significant role in the utilization of exogenous acetate by fadR mutants.


We present an analysis of quantum free electron laser (QFEL) dynamics including the effects of spontaneous emission. The effects of spontaneous emission are undesirable for coherent short-wave generation using FELs and have been shown in previous studies to limit the capabilities of classical self amplified spontaneous emission (SASE)-FELs at short wavelengths ∼1 A due to growth of electron beam energy spread. As one of the attractive features of the QFEL is its potential as a relatively compact coherent x-ray source, it is important to understand the role of spontaneous emission, but to date there has not been a model which is capable of consistently describing the dynamics of both coherent FEL emission and incoherent spontaneous emission. In this paper, we present such a model, and use it to show that the limitations imposed by spontaneous emission on coherent FEL operation are significantly different in the quantum regime to those in the classical regime. An example set of parameters constituting a QFEL using electron and laser parameters which satisfy the condition for neglect of spontaneous emission during coherent QFEL emission is presented.


In riparian forest, insectivorous birds are largely dependent on aquatic preys. However, the contribution made by aquatic preys to bird diets varies considerably among bird species. In the present study, bird foraging behaviors were observed in order to examine the relationship between bird foraging method and the variation in the contribution of aquatic preys. The great tit, the black-faced bunting, and the wren are largely dependent on aquatic preys by capturing them on the ground. Sallyers, the brown flycatcher, the pale-legged willow warbler, and the narcissus flycatcher are also largely dependent on aquatic preys and capture them mostly during flight. The narcissus flycatcher frequently utilises aquatic invertebrates dwelling on the ground. The leaf and branch gleaner, the crowned willow warbler, does not depend on aquatic prey as much. Although both the pygmy woodpecker and nuthatch are branch and trunk gleaners, the nuthatch utilises aquatic preys frequently by capturing them on the ground as well as during flight, but the pygmy woodpecker does not depend on aquatic preys. The marsh tit also does not depend on aquatic preys but carefully searches terrestrial prey that hide in the vegetation. The differential dependence on aquatic preys among species can lead to the heterogeneous distribution of birds within a riparian forest, suggesting that the indirect effect of aquatic preys on a forest ecosystem via birds can vary within a forest–stream ecotone.


A controlled clinical comparison was carried out with the BACTEC 9240 Aerobic/F resin bottle and the Isolator system with adult patients suspected of having bloodstream infections. A total of 10,500 paired specimens were collected, of which 1,122 from 520 patients were positive. There were 68 false-positive BACTEC bottles; 259 positive cultures that were excluded from analysis because the bottle, the Isolator, or both failed to meet the minimum volume criterion of 8 ml of blood; and 207 positive cultures that were excluded because the isolates were found to be clinically insignificant or of indeterminate clinical significance on the basis of patient assessment. A total of 656 positive cultures from 258 patients formed the basis of the analysis. Significantly more Staphylococcus aureus isolates (P = 0.03), Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates (P = 0.03), members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (P = 0.03), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates (P = 0.04) were recovered from the resin bottle, and there was no category of organism that was recovered significantly more frequently from the Isolator system. With patients receiving antibiotics at the time of blood culture, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and gram-negative bacilli were recovered significantly more frequently from the resin bottle. No significant differences between systems were found with cultures from patients not receiving antibiotics at the time of blood culture. Only 12 clinically significant organisms were recovered from the bottle on terminal subcultures, and only 1 of these had not been previously isolated from another blood culture set (10 of the 12) or from the companion Isolator (1 of 12). The Aerobic/F resin bottle continuously monitored in the BACTEC 9240 instrument proved to be superior to the Isolator in overall yield of organisms causing bloodstream infection in adults and required less technician time for specimen processing and examination than the Isolator system.


Cr3+-Doped phosphors are attracting attention for broadband near-infrared (NIR) applications. However, some mechanisms are still unclear due to the entangled crystallographic site occupancy and changeable valence of chromium in the host lattice. In this study, a particular gallium SrGa4O7 (SGO) was employed as a host for chromium doping. The characteristic broadband NIR emission of Cr3+ ions in octahedral sites centered in the range of 650 to 1200 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 140 nm and an internal quantum efficiency of more than 46% was observed, although there were only four and seven coordination sites in the SGO lattice. The distorted octahedron in the SGO lattice was generated due to the transition from Ga–O tetrahedron to the octahedron with the doping of Cr3+ ions, and it was regulated by the cation regulation of Ca2+ substituted for Sr2+ ions in the lattice. In particular, the characteristic Cr4+ ion emission between 1200 and 1700 nm with an FWHM at ∼215 nm was observed in phosphors for the first time. This study provides new cogitation for the Cr3+ ion site occupation in the host lattice and a new idea to develop broadband NIR emission phosphors.


Abstract In the study the efficiency of three features for trajectory-based endpoint detection is experimentally evaluated in the fixed-text Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) - a based speaker verification task with short phrases of telephone speech. The employed features are Modified Teager Energy (MTE), Energy-Entropy (EE) feature and Mean-Delta (MD) feature. The utterance boundaries in the endpoint detector are provided by means of state automaton and a set of thresholds based only on trajectory characteristics. The training and testing have been done with noisy telephone speech (short phrases in Bulgarian language with length of about 2 s) selected from BG-SRDat corpus. The results of the experiments have shown that the MD feature demonstrates the best performance in the endpoint detection tests in terms of the verification rate.


As reverse weathering has been shown to impact long‐term changes in atmospheric CO2 levels, it is crucial to develop quantitative tools to reconstruct marine authigenic clay formation. We explored the potential of the beryllium (Be) isotope ratio (10Be/9Be) recorded in marine clay‐sized sediment to track neoformation of authigenic clays. The power of such proxy relies on the orders‐of‐magnitude difference in 10Be/9Be ratios between continental Be and Be dissolved in seawater. On marine sediments collected along a Chilean margin transect we chemically extracted reactive phases and separated the clay‐sized fraction to compare the riverine and marine 10Be/9Be ratio of this fraction. 10Be/9Be ratios increase fourfold from riverine to marine sediment. We attribute this increase to the incorporation of Be high in 10Be/9Be from dissolved biogenic opal, which also serves as a Si‐source for the precipitation of marine authigenic clays. 10Be/9Be ratios thus sensitively track reverse‐weathering reactions forming marine authigenic clays.


SUMMARY During platyhelminth infection, a cocktail of proteins is released by the parasite to aid invasion, initiate feeding, facilitate adaptation and mediate modulation of the host immune response. Included amongst these proteins is the Venom Allergen-Like (VAL) family, part of the larger sperm coating protein/Tpx-1/Ag5/PR-1/Sc7 (SCP/TAPS) superfamily. To explore the significance of this protein family during Platyhelminthes development and host interactions, we systematically summarize all published proteomic, genomic and immunological investigations of the VAL protein family to date. By conducting new genomic and transcriptomic interrogations to identify over 200 VAL proteins (228) from species in all 4 traditional taxonomic classes (Trematoda, Cestoda, Monogenea and Turbellaria), we further expand our knowledge related to platyhelminth VAL diversity across the phylum. Subsequent phylogenetic and tertiary structural analyses reveal several class-specific VAL features, which likely indicate a range of roles mediated by this protein family. Our comprehensive analysis of platyhelminth VALs represents a unifying synopsis for understanding diversity within this protein family and a firm context in which to initiate future functional characterization of these enigmatic members.


Bovine African Trypanosomosis is an infectious parasitic disease affecting livestock productivity and thereby impairing the economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa. The most important trypanosome species implicated is T. congolense, causing anemia as most important pathological feature. Using murine models, it was shown that due to the parasite's efficient immune evasion mechanisms, including (i) antigenic variation of the variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) coat, (ii) induction of polyclonal B cell activation, (iii) loss of B cell memory and (iv) T cell mediated immunosuppression, disease prevention through vaccination has so far been impossible. In trypanotolerant models a strong, early pro-inflammatory immune response involving IFN-γ, TNF and NO, combined with a strong humoral anti-VSG response, ensures early parasitemia control. This potent protective inflammatory response is counterbalanced by the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which in turn prevents early death of the host from uncontrolled hyper-inflammation-mediated immunopathologies. Though at this stage different hematopoietic cells, such as NK cells, T cells and B cells as well as myeloid cells (i.e. alternatively activated myeloid cells (M2) or Ly6c- monocytes), were found to produce IL-10, the contribution of non-hematopoietic cells as potential IL-10 source during experimental T. congolense infection has not been addressed. Here, we report for the first time that during the chronic stage of T. congolense infection non-hematopoietic cells constitute an important source of IL-10. Our data shows that hepatocyte-derived IL-10 is mandatory for host survival and is crucial for the control of trypanosomosis-induced inflammation and associated immunopathologies such as anemia, hepatosplenomegaly and excessive tissue injury.


With the entrance of discount pharmacies in Thailand the competitiveness of traditional community pharmacies has declined. Owing to this, the traditional selling methods to attract the consumers have become obsolete. Therefore, this study is conducted to find a new way i.e. enhanced employee performance to increase customer loyalty. Furthermore, the mediating role of perceived value and trust has also been taken into account pertinent to pharmacy business in Thailand. The respondents of the study were the customers of franchises of community pharmacies in Thailand. Survey questionnaire technique was used to collect the required data from the pharmacies which were selected through random sampling technique. Additionally, PLS-SEM technique was utilized for data analysis. The results show that customer loyalty – attitudinal loyalty (AL) and behavioral loyalty (BL) – is increased with augmented employee performance (EP) apropos the demands of the customers. Furthermore, trust (TR) and perceived value (PV) positively mediates between the both. The research also enlightens the decision makers to best design the employee training sessions to enhance the profitability and compete with discount pharmacies.


The recruitment of the Stenting and Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent stroke in Intracranial Stenosis, an National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-funded clinic trial evaluating aggressive medical therapy vs. adjunctive intracranial angioplasty and stenting in high-grade symptomatic intracranial stenosis, was prematurely terminated by the study Data Safety Monitoring Board. The significantly higher 30-day stroke and death rate in the stenting arm led to a conclusion from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Executive Committee that aggressive medical management alone was superior to angioplasty combined with stenting. The authors discussed on the potential pitfalls, which may render this conclusion premature and explained the needs for continuing efforts in investigating treatment for intracranial stenosis.


Since the separation of Timor Leste from Indonesia in 2002, disputes over the border area have existed and have occasionally escalated to be communal con?icts. Due to the involvement of people to people relations, government to government negotiation is not enough to resolve these con?icts. Hence, both countries established cross-border cooperation as an alternative. This research analyzed the role of cross-border cooperation in managing communal con?icts in the border area between the Timor Tengah Utara District of Indonesia and the Oecussi District of Timor Leste. The research was conducted in a qualitative approach, while the data was collected by interview, observation, and literature review. This study showed that crossborder cooperation played a signifcance role in managing the con?ict by reducing violence, building and maintaining social relations, as well as improving the economic development of the local people.


The Analytic Narratives project is based mainly on the use of strategic game theory to analyze particular historical outcomes. Strategic game theory relies on a strong version of standard rational choice assumptions – actors are assumed to be instrumentally rational, have complete information, and have the ability to do complex calculations such as backward induction over several moves. We argue that strategic game theory is useful for some but not all historical analysis, because in some cases these micro-level assumptions are unrealistic. When rational choice assumptions are unrealistic, we suggest that scholars should use types of game theory that relax these assumptions, such as evolutionary game theory and behavioral game theory. Our goal is to broaden the Analytic Narratives project by outlining the conditions under which each of these three different types of game theory will be most useful by specifying the scope conditions of rational choice assumptions.


In 2012, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the 'Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas' - a set of best practice guidelines for unconventional gas development designed to address key environmental and social risks and gain public acceptance of the industry. This study sought primarily to understand the extent to which the experience of developing a large-scale coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in Queensland, Australia was seen to have aligned with the Golden Rules, and how well the Golden Rules were seen to contribute to public acceptance of the industry.
 An evaluation tool was developed where the seven Golden Rules and their subclauses were adopted as criteria in a scorecard approach. We conducted interviews with 32 senior people who had been directly involved in the development of the CSG industry in Queensland, from local, state and federal governments, gas companies, host communities as well as researchers and consultant 'experts'.
 The Queensland experience of unconventional gas development rated reasonably well in relation to the Golden Rules, with scores of three or higher out of five for four of the seven rule categories. Across all the Golden Rules, industry performance scored more highly than the effectiveness of the policy/regulatory environment, highlighting the complex and sometimes conflicted roles of governments in developing a new industry. The rules addressing baseline measurement, full disclosure and engagement were seen as most important for public acceptance.
 This study developed a new tool to evaluate perceived social and environmental performance of industry and effectiveness of governance in unconventional gas development applicable across different jurisdictional contexts. This application suggests that baseline measurements, open disclosure and public engagement should be the focus for building public acceptance. For new gas developments, these findings highlight the importance of having a robust regulatory environment in place that can coordinate activities and manage cumulative impacts.


Fractured basements not only are potential reservoirs for hydrocarbon resources but also provide significant storage space for carbon dioxide ( CO2) sequestration and radioactive waste disposal. However, fractured basements are challenging to seismic imaging methods due to the complexities in their fault and fracture networks, strong heterogeneity, highly variable structural dip, and strong impedance contrasts between the basement rocks and the surrounding sediments. We present a case where a walk-away vertical seismic profiling (VSP) survey was conducted at a fractured-basement play located in Bohai Bay Basin, China, to improve the resolution compared to a pre-existing surface seismic profile. Using the advanced random-space-shift (RSS) reverse-time-migration (RTM), we obtain a high-resolution image with a clear delineation of the highly faulted dipping basement. From numerical and field examples, we show that the application of the RSS-RTM improves the final image by mitigating unavoidable errors in the migration velocity model which would otherwise result in an unfocused image using the conventional RTM approach. In addition, we demonstrate the importance of proper wavefield separation using three-component (3C) recordings, which is the key to ensuring the quality of the final image. With an optimized VSP imaging workflow, we provide an enhanced image for the fractured basement to support the geologic interpretations and development decisions.


The Stripeless tree-frog Hyla meridionalis reaches its eastern-most European distributional limit in NW Italy, and specifically in the Cinque Terre National Park. Here for two consecutive years, we estimated tree-frog population abundance by call surveys at 24 sites. Data were analysed in the framework of N-mixture open population models based on repeated counts of calling males. The results obtained by this statistical approach were effective in estimating population size together with annual recruitment and survival. The tree-frog male population size remained constant between years and site abundance was inversely related with altitude. On the bases of these findings, our application of N-mixture models to tree-frog calling males was successful and is a promising cost-effective method to obtain long-term monitoring data on this species over large geographic areas.


This research is on tourism and innovation in the Nordic countries. The aim is to outline the constituents of success in the industry and what can be done to facilitate and maintain success through policy measures. The research draws on theories of innovation systems and review of innovation policy in the Nordic countries. This theoretical approach is combined with detailed case studies, two from each country, on a successful tourism venture or destination that has been in operation for a minimum of five years. Over 60 interviews were conducted and subsequently transcribed and analysed, whence emerged a picture of the innovation systems underpinning their success and material that could be used to substantiate a critique on current Nordic tourism policy measures. The conclusion details seven general policy frameworks that need to be further developed and researched. These are of value to both public policy makers, private entrepreneurs and academics as they give an outline for policy making, ideas for corporate development and areas of future research interests for tourism studies in the Nordic context. In addition the research is important to Nordic innovation studies generally, as it places tourism systems as a relevant and worthwhile focus area.


One of the underlying concerns in the Study Panel on the South African PhD, a large-scale, overview investigation of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), was the negative consequences of signalling the need for more doctoral graduates to boost the presumed link to national competitiveness within a global knowledge economy. There was evidence that institutional behaviour in response to increased incentives for more accredited publications led to increased quantity at the cost of quality. Understandably, therefore, the panel feared that policy signals and incentives to produce more doctorates would compromise quality PhDs from the 23 universities. At the heart of this concern was the significance of doctoral research and not simply more PhDs. This article seeks to advance thinking about how significance in doctoral research can be attained against the background of this national study, and its concerns, about quality PhDs.


Abstract In the present study, precise, animal-based biometric data on the space needed for the body dimensions of individual pigs (static space) were collected. Per batch, two groups of eight piglets each were formed after weaning (35 days old). Using three-dimensional cameras that recorded a piglets' pen from above and newly developed software, the static space of individuals was determined over 6 weeks. The area covered by an individual increased almost linearly with increasing body weight (R2 = 0.97). At the end of rearing (25 kg body weight), an individual covered 1704 cm2 in standing position, 1687 cm2 in sitting posture and 1798 cm2 in a recumbent position. According to the allometric equation: Space = k × body weight0.667, k values for the static space in standing position (k = 0.021), in recumbent position in general (k = 0.022) and in lateral recumbent posture (k = 0.027) were calculated. Compared with spatial requirements in different countries, the results of static space obtained in the present study revealed that pigs weighing 25 kg are provided with 0.09–0.18 m2 free space per pig which is not covered by the pig's body. This free space can be used as dynamic space needed for body movements or social interactions. The present study was not intended to enhance space recommendations in pig farming, but to demonstrate the amount of free space in a pigs' pen. It was shown that innovative technologies based on image analysis offer completely new possibilities to assess spatial requirements for pigs.


Big-data applications are being increasingly used in today's large-scale data enters for a large variety of purposes, such as solving scientific problems, running enterprise services, and computing data-intensive tasks. Due to the growing scale of these systems and the complexity of running applications, jobs running in big-data systems experience unsuccessful terminations of different nature. While a large body of existing studies sheds light on failures occurred in large-scale data enters, the current literature overlooks the characteristics and the performance impairment of a broader class of unsuccessful executions which can arise due to application failures, dependency violations, machine constraints, job kills, and task pre-emption. Nonetheless, deepening our understanding in this field is of paramount importance, as unsuccessful executions can lower user satisfaction, impair reliability, and lead to a high resource waste. In this paper, we describe the problem of unsuccessful executions in big-data systems, and highlight the critical importance of improving our knowledge on this subject. We review the existing literature on this field, discuss its limitations, and present our own contributions to the problem, along with our research plan for the future.


'One of the best sports biographies ever; Smelser beautifully evokes the life of baseball's most wondrous player and the times he lived in' - Donald Honig, author of "Baseball When the Grass Was Real". 'Although many books have appeared about George Herman Ruth in the past half century, in my opinion Marshall Smelser's leads all the rest. Readers ...will end up knowing the Babe even better than his teammates knew him' - Lawrence S. Ritter, author of "The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It" (1992).'Smelser's book is one of the first serious biographies of a sports figure, and is still one of the best' - Jules Tygiel, author of "Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy" (1983). 'Smelser demonstrates that a good historian can write good sports history and that good sports history makes good history. Of course Smelser had an ideal subject: Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Bambino. But the author made the most of his opportunity' - Eugene Murdock, "American Historical Review". 'Smelser, who possesses that rare combination of training as a professional historian with a technical knowledge of baseball, has produced a well-written, comprehensive, and interpretive account of one of America's greatest popular heroes, based on research that is as thorough as possible' - Harold Seymour, "Journal of American History".Marshall Smelser was for many years on the history faculty of the University of Notre Dame. The author of "The Winning of Independence" (1973) and other books, he was also a musician and dedicated baseball scholar.


We study the mobility of Dirac fermions in monolayer graphene on a GaAs substrate, restricted by the combined action of the extrinsic potential of piezoelectric surface acoustical phonons of GaAs (PA) and of the intrinsic deformation potential of acoustical eigen-phonons in graphene (DA). In the high temperature ($T$) regime the momentum relaxation rate exhibits the same linear dependence on $T$ but different dependences on the carrier density $n$, corresponding to the mobility $\mu\propto 1/\sqrt{n}$ and $1/n$, respectively for the PA and DA scattering mechanisms. In the low $T$ Bloch-Gr\"uneisen regime, the mobility shows the same square-root density dependence, $\mu\propto \sqrt{n}$, but different temperature dependences, $\mu\propto T^{-3}$ and $ T^{-4}$, respectively for PA and DA phonon scattering.


By the early 19th century the Gothic Revival was well on the way to becoming the most important style in Britain and was influencing public taste all over the world. With its particular concerns for pattern, ornament, and anti-classical principles of design and structure, the style remained popular until the 1920s and continues to be well known today. Less familiar, however, is the man who invented the Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, the most influential designer in 19th-century Britain. This book is the first to offer a complete appraisal of Pugin's life and achievements. As a designer of cathedrals, parish churches, schools, colleges, and private homes, and in particular as one of the two designers of the new Palace of Westminster, Pugin launched Gothic as the State style in Britain and in many other parts of the world. Pugin was also an industrial designer, creating furniture, metalwork, silver and jewellery, textiles, wallpapers, and book design in an integrated and coordinated approach to design that revolutionized public taste. He also influenced opinion by writing books that ranged from design manuals to polemical arguments in defence of his principles. Passi


Summary This study explored patterns of abuse, self-harm and thoughts of suicide/self-harm in the UK during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the COVID-19 Social Study (n=44 775), a non-probability sample weighted to population proportions. The reported frequency of abuse, self-harm and thoughts of suicide/self-harm was higher among women, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups and people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, unemployment, disability, chronic physical illnesses, mental disorders and COVID-19 diagnosis. Psychiatric medications were the most common type of support being used, but fewer than half of those affected were accessing formal or informal support.


Existing researches have recently shown that adversarial stylometry of source code can confuse source code authorship identification (SCAI) models, which may threaten the security of related applications such as programmer attribution, software forensics, etc. In this work, we propose source code authorship disguise (SCAD) to automatically hide programmers' identities from authorship identification, which is more practical than the previous work that requires to known the output probabilities or internal details of the target SCAI model. Specifically, SCAD trains a substitute model and develops a set of semantically equivalent transformations, based on which the original code is modified towards a disguised style with small manipulations in lexical features and syntactic features. When evaluated under totally black-box settings, on a real-world dataset consisting of 1,600 programmers, SCAD induces state-of-the-art SCAI models to cause above 30% misclassification rates. The efficiency and utility-preserving properties of SCAD are also demonstrated with multiple metrics. Furthermore, our work can serve as a guideline for developing more robust identification methods in the future.


This paper focuses on the need to financing low-carbon climate resilient (LCR) Infrastructure in order to achieve the Paris Agreement's climate change goal of keeping global average temperature well below 2 degree Celsius and in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. For instance, approximately 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from infrastructure (such as electricity generation, transportation, industry, and buildings) and that the resulting climate change will have a disproportionate impact on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. To meet global infrastructure needs between 2015 and 2030, spending on infrastructure will need to increase from current levels of around $3 trillion a year to over $6 trillion in 2030. This increases to $8 trillion a year once investments in energy efficiency and primary energy are included. However, the net costs of building LCR are low and potentially net positive. Yet there are significant financing challenges because the costs and savings of building LCR infrastructure are realized by different actors at different times. As a result, there are significant financing challenges as the costs and savings are realized by different actors over time.Private sector finance could meet up to half of the infrastructure investment needs. The paper focuses on how climate finance can be used to increase the flow of private capital into LCR infrastructure. The paper discusses the looming infrastructure needs of both emerging markets and developing economies and the role that this new infrastructure can play in either increasing or reducing the degradation of our climate. Specifically, the report:• Outlines LCR infrastructure needs from 2015 to 2030 and the need to reallocate capital from carbon intensive infrastructure such as coal-fired power stations into low carbon energy options, energy efficiency and green technologies;• Analyzes the implications of the 2015 Paris climate change outcomes for climate finance;• Provides an overview of available climate finance, where this finance is coming from, and how it is being used;• Discusses how climate finance can be most effectively used to finance LCR infrastructure projects, with a focus on using public concessional finance as provided through the multilateral climate funds to de-risk and crowd-in private sector finance the role of multilateral climate funds; and • Explores efforts to increase private sector investment in LCR infrastructure projects by greening financial systems to ensuring that financial systems accurately account for climate risk and allocate capital consistent with broader climate change goal.


This multicentre, randomised, open-label, parallel group study compared the efficacy and safety of isepamicin (15 mg/kg once daily) and amikacin (7.5 mg/kg twice daily) when given intravenously in combination with metronidazole to 267 hospitalised adults with intra-abdominal infections. Clinical cure or improvement was achieved in 96.3% (130/135) evaluable patients (efficacy population) in the isepamicin group and 94.3% (66/70) patients in the amikacin group. Bacteriological elimination occurred in 93.3% (126/135) evaluable isepamicin patients and 95.7% (67/70) amikacin patients. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups. Adverse events were reported by 9% of patients in the isepamicin group (16/178) and 10% of patients in the amikacin group (9/89). Events considered to be related to treatment occurred in 6% of patients in both groups. The most frequent adverse events were diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. Renal problems caused three patients (2 isepamicin, 1 amikacin) to withdraw from the study. Ototoxicity (detected by audiometric testing) occurred in one patient (treated with isepamicin). In conclusion, isepamicin at a dose of 15 mg/kg once daily was shown to be as effective as amikacin (7.5 mg/kg twice daily) in the treatment of intra-abdominal infections in hospitalised adults also treated with metronidazole. Both treatments were well tolerated.


Abstract. Using a new 3-D physical modelling technique we investigated the initiation and evolution of large scale landslides in presence of pre-existing large scale fractures and taking into account the slope material weakening due to the alteration/weathering. The modelling technique is based on the specially developed properly scaled analogue materials, as well as on the original vertical accelerator device enabling increases in the "gravity acceleration" up to a factor 50. The weathering primarily affects the uppermost layers through the water circulation. We simulated the effect of this process by making models of two parts. The shallower one represents the zone subject to homogeneous weathering and is made of low strength material of compressive strength σ l . The deeper (core) part of the model is stronger and simulates intact rocks. Deformation of such a model subjected to the gravity force occurred only in its upper (low strength) layer. In another set of experiments, low strength ( σ w ) narrow planar zones sub-parallel to the slope surface ( σ w l ) were introduced into the model's superficial low strength layer to simulate localized highly weathered zones. In this configuration landslides were initiated much easier (at lower "gravity force"), were shallower and had smaller horizontal size largely defined by the weak zone size. Pre-existing fractures were introduced into the model by cutting it along a given plan. They have proved to be of small influence on the slope stability, except when they were associated to highly weathered zones. In this latter case the fractures laterally limited the slides. Deep seated rockslides initiation is thus directly defined by the mechanical structure of the hillslope's uppermost levels and especially by the presence of the weak zones due to the weathering. The large scale fractures play a more passive role and can only influence the shape and the volume of the sliding units.


Abstract We use the k-th-order nonparametric causality test at monthly frequency over the period of 1985:1 to 2016:06 to analyze whether geopolitical risks can predict movements in stock returns and volatility of 24 global defense firms. The nonparametric approach controls for the existing misspecification of a linear framework of causality, and hence, the mild evidence of causality obtained under the standard Granger tests cannot be relied upon. When we apply the nonparametric test, we find that there is no evidence of predictability of stock returns of these defense companies emanating from the geopolitical risk measure. However, the geopolitical risk index does predict realized volatility in 50% of the companies. Our results indicate that while global geopolitical events over a period of time is less likely to predict returns, such global risks are more inclined in affecting future risk profile of defense firms.


Hip dysplasia is an important and complex genetic disease in dogs with both genetic and environmental influences. Since the osteoarthritis that develops is irreversible the only way to improve welfare, through reducing the prevalence, is through genetic selection. This study aimed to evaluate the progress of selection against hip dysplasia, to quantify potential improvements in the response to selection via use of genetic information and increases in selection intensity, and to prepare for public provision of estimated breeding values (EBV) for hip dysplasia in the UK. Data consisted of 25,243 single records of hip scores of Labrador Retrievers between one and four years old, from radiographs evaluated between 2000 and 2007 as part of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) hip score scheme. A natural logarithm transformation was applied to improve normality and linear mixed models were evaluated using ASREML. Genetic correlations between left and right scores, and total hip scores at one, two and three years of age were found to be close to one, endorsing analysis of total hip score in dogs aged one to three as an appropriate approach. A heritability of 0.35±0.016 and small but significant litter effect (0.07±0.009) were estimated. The observed trends in both mean hip score and mean EBV over year of birth indicate that a small genetic improvement has been taking place, approximately equivalent to avoiding those dogs with the worst 15% of scores. Deterministic analysis supported by simulations showed that a 19% greater response could be achieved using EBV compared to phenotype through increases in accuracy alone. This study establishes that consistent but slow genetic improvement in the hip score of UK Labrador Retrievers has been achieved over the previous decade, and demonstrates that progress may be easily enhanced through the use of EBVs and more intense selection.


Comprehensive instrumental examinations including hysteroscopy, tonometry, ultrasonic scanning were carried out in 190 women with symptoms of threatened abortion in pregnancy terms of 13-14 to 36-37 weeks. The findings evidenced that the presence of subjective signs of threatened abortion was not always supported by the results of objective instrumental examinations. Therapy of threatened abortions with commonly used drugs was monitored by instrumental methods; electro-relaxation (non-medicinal physiotherapeutic method for correction of the uterine contractility) was carried out in 117 cases at the maternity center. The detection in these women of preclinical signs of threatened abortions permitted an early start of adequate therapy and was conducive to a reduction of the incidence of preterm deliveries.


The crystallographic texture and grain size have a strong influence on the magnetic properties of FeSi alloys. These microstructural parameters are determined by the thermo-mechanical processing of the material. Here, some recent results on FeSi-alloys with variable Si-content and without phase transformation are presented. Hot rolling conditions were varied in broad interval of parameters and afterwards, the samples were cold rolled and annealed. After the different processing steps, the samples were characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) in order to evaluate the texture, grain size and the homogeneity of the structure through the thickness. This allowed to study the evolution of the intensity of the favourable magnetic texture components during processing.


For large scale CSP power plants, vast areas of land are needed in deserts and semi-arid climates where uninterrupted solar irradiance is most abundant. These power facilities use large arrays of mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto collectors, however, dust deposition on the optical surfaces causes obscuration of sunlight, resulting in large energy-yield losses in solar plants. This problem is compounded by the lack of natural clean water resources for conventional cleaning of solar mirrors, often with reflective surface areas of large installations exceeding a million square meters. To investigate the application of transparent electrodynamic screens (EDS) for efficient and cost effective dust removal from solar mirrors, both optical modeling and experimental verifications were performed. Prototype EDS-integrated mirrors were constructed by depositing a set of parallel transparent electrodes into the sun-facing surface of solar mirrors and coating electrodes with thin transparent dielectric film. Activation of the electrodes with a three-phase voltage creates an electrodynamic field that charges and repels dust electrostatically by Coulomb force and sweeps away particles by a traveling electrodynamic wave. We report here brief discussions on (1) rate of deposition and the properties of dust with respect to their size distribution and chemical composition in semi-arid areas of the southwest US and Mojave Desert and their adhesion to solar mirrors, (2) optical models of: (a) specular reflection losses caused by scattering and absorption by dust particles deposited on the surface based on Mie scattering theory, and (b) reflection loss by the integration of EDS on the mirror surface, computed by FRED ray-tracing model. The objective is to maintain specular reflectivity of 90% or higher by frequent removal of dust by EDS. Our studies show that the incorporation of transparent EDS would cause an initial loss of 3% but would be able to maintain specular reflectivity more than 90% to meet the industrial requirement for CSP plants. Specular reflection measurements taken inside a climate controlled environmental chamber show that EDS integration can restore specular reflectivity and would be able to prevent major degradation of the optical surface caused by the deposition of dust.© 2014 ASME


There seems to be a wide divergence of opinion among English and American surgeons as to the benefits of the administration of morphin and other preparations of opium after an abdominal section, if we take the expressions found in medical journals as a guide to the views and customs of operators. The questions we propose to briefly discuss in this paper are: What are the indications for and benefits derived from the use of morphin after abdominal section? What are the harmful influences of this drug when improperly used? Unquestionably, pain is considered the chief indication for its use after an abdominal section. It is here, however, that the great divergence of opinion regarding the advisability of its administration is manifest. The early operators almost invariably administered a large dose of opium as soon as the patient was placed in bed or had recovered from the effects of the anesthetic.


ABSTRACT This qualitative, longitudinal study of 12 innovative young New Zealand ventures investigates how individual entrepreneurs develop their venture opportunity amidst emerging rivalry. Two phases are identified: the pursuit of the initial opportunity, and developing it under rivalry. Adopting a sensemaking perspective and a social understanding of rivalry, we explain how entrepreneurs' backgrounds impact opportunity confidence and the construction of rivalry, and reveal three main pathways whereby entrepreneurs develop their venture. First, entrepreneurs with neither start-up experience nor industry knowledge construct rivalry as threatening and narrow their network as opportunity confidence declines. Second, entrepreneurs with industry knowledge construct emerging rivalry as a challenge and strengthen within-industry ties to meet it. Third, entrepreneurs with serial start-up experience remain unfazed by rivalry and may abandon existing networks in favour for new networks. Comparing pathways, the paper makes two main contributions. First, it illustrates a link between entrepreneurs' backgrounds and the construction of rivalry. This construction impacts opportunity confidence. Second, the paper suggests that such changes in opportunity confidence guide decisions about how to embed the venture into social context. Overall, the paper contributes to our understanding of the mechanisms whereby entrepreneurial backgrounds influence developing venture opportunities in competitive settings.


This study investigates the consequences of financial development on environmental quality in Malaysia by using monetary access, profundity, and effectiveness as support components from 1990 to 2019. The level of affiliation between the components explored by using appropriate autoregressive lag technique. The variables appeared to have a long-term relationship during the investigation. Monetary events, population expansion, financial development, and energy consumption contribute to environmental degradation in the short and long-run. In contrast, squared fiscal growth boosts green value in the short and long term. As a result, Malaysia hosts the Ecological Carbon Kuznets Bend (ECKC) with a negative and measurable blunder revision phrase that supports the existence of a level connection between these variables. That is, any prior year's 21.8% imbalance is rectified within a year. Monetary events, financial development, squared monetary development, energy use, and population all impact carbon dioxide flows.


In this study, α-Si3N4 powder was produced by carbothermal reduction and nitridation (CRN) of quartz from Can-Canakkale. Carbon with a specific surface area of 110 m2g−1 and quartz powders were mixed then the powder mix was placed in an alumina tube furnace and reacted in between 1300-1500°C for 4 hours under nitrogen flow. The quartz powder was carbothermally reduced and nitrided to form silicon nitride powders. XRD results showed that the reaction product was mainly α-Si3N4 and contained some β-Si3N4 and residual quartz. In order to reduce amount of unreacted quartz, the raw materials mixture was grinded either with carbon black or with no carbon. After CRN reactions of separate grinded quartz powders with carbon, residual quartz was disappeared, reaction temperature was decreased and α-Si3N4 rate was increased. Hence, a better mixing of carbon and fine silica enhanced the α phase formation. SEM images and XRD pattern showed that sub micron particles (0.6–0.87m), high α-phase content Si3N4 powders can be produced at 1450°C for 4 h in flowing nitrogen gas during the CRN process.


The subclass distribution of IgG-producing immunocytes was studied by two colour immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies in jejunal biopsy specimens from 10 adults with untreated coeliac disease, 11 coeliac disease patients on a gluten free diet, and seven patients with established food allergy. Paired immunofluorescence staining was performed with subclass specific murine monoclonal antibodies in combination with polyclonal rabbit antibody reagent to total IgG; the proportion of cells belonging to each subclass could thereby be determined. The ratio of IgG2 immunocytes was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in untreated coeliac disease patients (median, 35.2%; range, 26.7-65.2%) than in those on a gluten free diet (median, 7.3%; range, 0-31.9%) or those having food allergy (median, 12.5%; range, 0-36.5%). The disparity in the local IgG2 response between patients with untreated coeliac disease and those with food allergy might be due to differences in the nature of the antigenic stimuli, dissimilar genetic 'make-up' of the subjects, or both.


Jacob van Eyck (c1589/90-1657) was one of the most remarkable figures in Dutch musical life during the Golden Age. The blind nobleman was city carillonneur of Utrecht and gained international renown as the greatest bell expert of his time. In addition, he played the 'handfluyt', the instrument known today as the soprano or descant recorder. About 150 solo pieces for this instrument have survived in the two volumes of Der Fluyten Lust-hof, which were published during Van Eyck's lifetime by Paulus Matthijsz in Amsterdam. This repertoire forms the main subject of the study. The dissertation opens with a bird's eye view of the recorder in the Dutch Republic during the Golden Age. It was an instrument for all social classes, for the young and the old, for both sexes, and for all levels. This makes it plausible that the recorder was one of the most beloved instruments of that era. Seven chapters, including a biography, are devoted to Jacob van Eyck and his recorder music. The repertoire consists predominantly of sets of variations on popular tunes and psalm melodies. Their significance is examined from a variety of perspectives. The model of the homo ludens (Johan Huizinga) fits like a glove. The dichotomy improvisation versus composition appears to be problematic. The relationship between Van Eyck's carillon and recorder practices, a mystery for centuries, can be revealed on the basis of Van Eyck's psalm variations, which didn't belong with his established recorder repertoire. He simply took his carillon practice as a starting point. As a result, several pieces from Der Fluyten Lust-hof can be identified as carillon music. Special attention is paid to transmission and authenticity. In many cases, Van Eyck's blindness has led to blurring of his intentions. In the second part of the dissertation, the attention is shifted to 'the others', Dutch composers in the shadow of Jacob van Eyck who wrote solo works for recorder as well: Paulus Matthijsz, Jacob van Noordt, Johan Dicx, Pieter de Vois, and Anonymi. Their music appeared in the collections Der Goden Fluit-hemel and 't Uitnemend Kabinet, also published by Matthijsz. These works offer the opportunity to bring Van Eyck's music into perspective. He was a child of his time, not an isolated figure. The third, and last, part explores several aspects of the area of performance practice: the instrument, time (tempo and rhythm), ornaments and delivery. A number of myths could be invalidated. This makes the dissertation an indispensable tool for performers who want to do justice to Van Eyck's compositional intentions.


This article deals with the specific context of an autonomous car navigating in an urban center within a shared space between pedestrians and cars. The driver delegates the control to the autonomous system while remaining seated in the driver's seat. The proposed study aims at giving a first insight into the definition of human perception of space applied to vehicles by testing the existence of a personal space around the car. It aims at measuring proxemic information about the driver's comfort zone in such conditions. Proxemics, or human perception of space, has been largely explored when applied to humans or to robots, leading to the concept of personal space, but poorly when applied to vehicles. In this article, we highlight the existence and the characteristics of a zone of comfort around the car which is not correlated to the risk of a collision between the car and other road users. Our experiment includes 19 volunteers using a virtual reality headset to look at 30 scenarios filmed in 360° from the point of view of a passenger sitting in the driver's seat of an autonomous car. They were asked to say "stop" when they felt discomfort visualizing the scenarios. As said, the scenarios voluntarily avoid collision effect as we do not want to measure fear but discomfort. The scenarios involve one or three pedestrians walking past the car at different distances from the wings of the car, relative to the direction of motion of the car, on both sides. The car is either static or moving straight forward at different speeds. The results indicate the existence of a comfort zone around the car in which intrusion causes discomfort. The size of the comfort zone is sensitive neither to the side of the car where the pedestrian passes nor to the number of pedestrians. In contrast, the feeling of discomfort is relative to the car's motion (static or moving). Another outcome from this study is an illustration of the usage of first person 360° video and a virtual reality headset to evaluate feelings of a passenger within an autonomous car.


From the Publisher:
Peter Norton's Guide to Upgrading and Repairing PCs Second Edition explains how each component of a PC functions and how they function together. With coverage of all of the latest technologies including the entire Pentium II family (Celeron and Zeon), DVD, USB, Firewire, and v.90 modems it hits all of the technologies that go into PCs today. With updated coverage for Windows 98, new motherboard and memory technologies as well as more troubleshooting and detailed step by step installation information, this new edition will be a solid improvement on an already proven quality book. The Second Edition will feature the same great approach that begins with each chapter explaining the underlying technology. With a good understanding of the technology, the reader can then move into the pros and cons of the upgrades being discussed, step by step installation instructions, and troubleshooting procedures.


Author(s): Gandhi, Punit | Advisor(s): Knobloch, Edgar | Abstract: The generalized Swift--Hohenberg equation is used to study the persistence and decay of localized patterns in the presence of time-periodic parametric forcing in one and two dimensions. A localized state that was stable with constant forcing may begin to breathe under periodic forcing, i.e. grow for part of the forcing cycle via nucleation of new wavelengths of the pattern followed by wavelength annihilation during another part of the cycle. The breathing dynamics occur as the forcing parameter exits the region of stability of the localized pattern on either side and the fronts that define the edges of the state temporarily depin. The parameters of the forcing determine if there will be net growth, a balance, or net decay on average. A novel resonance phenomenon between the forcing period and the time required to nucleate one wavelength of the pattern outside the pinning region is identified. The resonances generate distinct regions in parameter space characterized by the net number of wavelengths gained or lost in one forcing cycle. Canard trajectories, in which the localized state follows an unstable solution branch for some amount of time before quickly jumping to a stable one, appear near the transitions between each region. In one dimension, the partitioning of the parameter space is well described by an asymptotic theory based on the wavelength nucleation/annihilation time near the boundaries of the region of stability. This theory leads to predictions that are qualitatively correct and, in some cases, provide quantitative agreement with numerical simulations. The underlying resonance mechanism is a more general phenomenon and is also studied in the context of coupled oscillator systems with a periodically modulated Adler equation as a simple model. A strikingly similar partitioning of the parameter space is observed, with the resonances occurring this time between the period of the frequency modulation and the time for the generation of a phase slip.


Accurate and timely precipitation forecasts are crucial for early warning. Rainfall nowcasting, the process of statistically extrapolating recent rainfall observations, is increasingly used for short‐term forecasting. Nowcasts are generally constructed with high‐resolution radar observations. As a proof of concept, we construct nowcasts with country‐wide rainfall maps estimated from signal level data of commercial microwave links (CMLs) for 12 summer days in the Netherlands. CML nowcasts compare well to radar rainfall nowcasts. Provided well‐calibrated CML rainfall estimates are employed, CML nowcasts can outperform unadjusted real‐time radar nowcasts for high rainfall rates, which are underestimated as compared to a reference. Care should be taken with the sensitivity of the advection field derivation to areas with low CML coverage and the inherent measurement scale of CML data, which can be larger than the application scale. We see potential for rainfall nowcasting with CML data, for example, in regions where weather radars are absent.


The effect of chlorpromazine on nine patients with sleep disturbance was investigated. The results showed that chlorpromazine given at bedtime coincided with a marked increase in actual sleep time as exemplified by a significant decrease in intermittent wakefulness. Total REM time was increased proportionately to the increase in actual sleep. In a more extensive study in four patients, it was found that the administration of daytime chlorpromazine (100 mg) had no direct effect on sleep as compared to placebo. In contrast, bedtime chlorpromazine was associated with significant changes in various sleep parameters. That the time course of chlorpromazine administration is responsible for the differential effect on sleep is supported by the preliminary investigation with plasma chlorpromazine levels.


A class V (glycoside hydrolase family 18) chitinase from the cycad Cycas revoluta (CrChiA) is a plant chitinase that has been reported to possess efficient transglycosylation (TG) activity. We solved the crystal structure of CrChiA, and compared it with those of class V chitinases from Nicotiana tabacum (NtChiV) and Arabidopsis thaliana (AtChiC), which do not efficiently catalyze the TG reaction. All three chitinases had a similar (α/β)8 barrel fold with an (α + β) insertion domain. In the acceptor binding site (+1, +2 and +3) of CrChiA, the Trp168 side chain was found to stack face-to-face with the +3 sugar. However, this interaction was not found in the identical regions of NtChiV and AtChiC. In the DxDxE motif, which is essential for catalysis, the carboxyl group of the middle Asp (Asp117) was always oriented toward the catalytic acid Glu119 in CrChiA, whereas the corresponding Asp in NtChiV and AtChiC was oriented toward the first Asp. These structural features of CrChiA appear to be responsible for the efficient TG activity. When binding of the inhibitor allosamidin was evaluated using isothermal titration calorimetry, the changes in binding free energy of the three chitinases were found to be similar to each other, i.e. between -9.5 and -9.8 kcal mol(-1) . However, solvation and conformational entropy changes in CrChiA were markedly different from those in NtChiV and AtChiC, but similar to those of chitinase A from Serratia marcescens (SmChiA), which also exhibits significant TG activity. These results provide insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the TG reaction and the molecular evolution from bacterial chitinases to plant class V chitinases.


This Article examines shifts in international law as regards the use of force - the jus ad bellum - that emerged in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and subsequently were invoked in part by the U.S. and U.K. to justify military intervention in Iraq. These shifts import some elasticity - in time, space, and place - into the pre-existing legal understanding of self-defense. To be sure, the general consensus that supported the use of force in Afghanistan as a legitimate exercise of self-defense has diluted as the use of that force expanded into other theaters of operation. It is therefore unsurprising that considerable controversy envelops claims by some states that international law entitles them to use force in self-defense in a preemptory manner. This Article explores the articulation of this and other justifications for the military intervention in Iraq. It also unpacks the difficult question whether these entitlements are constitutive of inchoate legal rules or simply deviations from the still operational old rules. Moreover, this Article encourages scholars and students of international law and relations to consider why a movement is afoot to change the rules and how this affects the architecture of collective security. In order to facilitate this process of reflection, this Article explores the policy implications of retaining the old rules or adopting the newly alleged rules.


There is no original Christian faith, no native language, no definitive statement of the meaning of Christ for all times. That is the fundamental argument of this challenging book. vividly written and covering a great deal of evidence in a short space. Dr Wilken argues that if there has been any constant in the history of Christianity, it has been the reluctance of the tradition to give a place to change within the Christian experience. Most Christians have been willing to say that Christianity changes in some areas but in others remains the same. But why should we assume that some aspects of Christianity change while others do not? The apostolic age is a creation of the Christian imagination. There never was a Golden Age when the church was whole, perfect, pure-virginal. The faith was not purer, the Christians were not braver, the church was not one and undivided: In the light of this, Dr Wilken concludes that Christianity should forgo its preoccupation with the past and become a much more forward- looking movement.


Subjects susceptible to chronic periodontitis (CP) show a high risk for the development of periimplantitis (PI). Both diseases are multifactorial, presenting similarities in their pathophysiology and polygenic profile. MMP-13 (matrix metalloproteinases 13/ collagenase 3) is a collagenolytic enzyme, which expression is induced by TGF beta 3 (transforming growth factor type 3) in human gingival fibroblasts and inhibited by TIMP-2 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase type 2). The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of periimplantitis (PI) in subjects with history of chronic periodontitis (CP) and polymorphisms frequency in MMP13, TIMP2 and TGFB3 genes. One hundred and sixty-three volunteers received dental implant placement were submitted to oral and radiographic examination in order to identify past history of CP or presence of PI. Volunteers were divided into 4 groups: Control (without PI and CP, n=72), CP (with CP and without PI, n=28), PI (with PI and without CP, n=28) and diseased (with CP and PI, n=35). The chi-square test correlated genotypes in specific regions of MMP13 (rs2252070), TIMP2 (rs7501477) and TGFB3 (rs2268626) genes, considering the interaction between CP and PI. The results showed that volunteers with CP had 3.2 times more susceptibility to develop PI (p=0.0004) compared to those without CP. No significant association was observed in MMP13, TIMP2 and TGFB3 genes with CP or PI. CP is a risk factor to develop PI, however, there is no association of both diseases with polymorphisms in the MMP13, TIMP2 and TGFB3 genes.


Science and technology has been the bedrock of human growth and dynamism. Man has over the years distinguished his existence from all other beings by his ability to champion and fashion his existence. Among his tools is biotechnology which actually attenuates the fears of aging and death. Human reproductive cloning stands out as one of the means through which biotechnology plans to achieve this perfect existence for man. Technological advancements in the field of biotechnology are now in the threshold of human procreation. Human reproductive cloning is seen as an assisted method of reproduction which creates a newborn that is genetically identical to another human being.Human reproductive cloning as a technology and as a means of reproduction is not without its pros and cons. In as much as the technology promises to mention but a few, hope for the infertile couples and single parents, as well as the hope of reproduction without passing on hereditary diseases; it at the same time beeps some flashes of worry. Hence, the inherent threat to the notion of parenthood which does not smack of compromise, coupled with other ethical implications are reasons one may proffer not to have this technology. Technologised parenthood stands out as an implication of human reproductive cloning and as such it considers issues in human sexuality i.e. the place of human sexuality in reproduction and then the nature of the family which is the playground of human existence. This thesis focuses on this implication of human reproductive cloning while making a critical exposition of the concept of human reproductive cloning.


This paper investigates the impact of speculative trading on foreign currency markets. A review of economic literature reveals that there is still no agreement to whether speculators amplify or tame fluctuations of exchange rates. Relevant system dynamics literature suggests that trading by speculators contributes to the formation of price bubbles. However, very few system dynamics papers exist that analyze financial markets at the micro-level of traders. Hence, we turn to the field of computational economics and adapt a well-known heterogeneous agent model. Our new system dynamics model is used to analyze the role of speculation in foreign currency markets.


Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a heterogeneous disorder that is defined as carbohydrate intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. Impaired beta-cell function and insulin resistance are the hallmarks of GDM. The overall aim of this thesis was to study the genetic and immunological risk factors that increase susceptibility to GDM. First, we investigated whether autoimmunity and genetic variants affecting insulin secretion or action, or both, contribute to the development of GDM. We found that GDM was associated with the presence of glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 antibodies (GAD65Ab) in Arabian and Scandinavian women. In addition, Scandinavian women with GDM were found to share some genetic features such as HLA DQB1 risk genotypes (odds ratio [OR] 1.36, [95% CI 1.03?1.79], p=0.03) with type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, Arabian women with GDM were more insulin resistant than Scandinavian women with GDM and with the same BMI. We also investigated whether GDM has a similar genetic predisposition as type 2 diabetes by studying common genetic polymorphisms that have previously been associated with type 2 diabetes. Among 5 studied polymorphisms, we found that the E23K polymorphism of the potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 11 (KCNJ11) gene was associated with a modestly increased risk (1.17, [1.02?1.35], p=0.027) of GDM. This is compatible with its effect on insulin secretion and the crucial role of impaired beta-cell function in the pathogenesis of GDM. Additionally, we studied whether common variants in MODY [Glucokinase (GCK), hepatocyte nuclear factor 1-alpha (HNF1A), and HNF4A] genes also increase the risk of GDM. We found that the A-allele of the ?30G>A polymorphism in the beta-cell-specific promoter of the GCK increases the risk of GDM with a modest OR of 1.28 ([1.06 ?1.53], p=0.008). Moreover, the HNF1A I27L polymorphism was also associated with an increased risk of GDM (1.16 [1.001?1.34], p=0.048). All these variants are supposed to influence beta-cell function. Finally, we tested whether common genetic variants that have been associated with the metabolic syndrome or its components would also confer risk for GDM. We found that the T-allele of the +276G>T polymorphism of the adiponectin (APM1) gene, which has previously been associated with insulin resistance, increases the risk of GDM with an OR of 1.17 ([1.01?1.36], p=0.039).

We conclude that common variants in several type 1 and type 2 diabetes candidate genes in addition to immunological factors increase susceptibility to heterogeneous GDM.


Lead, Sr, and Nd isotope analyses of Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks from the southern part of Guerrero terrane in Mexico provide a better understanding of their origin. Metamorphic rocks collected south of Arteaga (Zihuatanejo terrane) have similar Pb isotope values to basement rocks from Nevado de Toluca, indicating a possible connection of the basement in these areas. Lead isotope ratios of rocks from the Mesozoic Guerrero and Paleozoic Mixteca terranes are similar to those of north Peruvian Mesozoic Olmos and Paleozoic Marañón complexes, but more radiogenic than Grenville-age basement of southeast Mexico (Guichicovi complex) and north Colombia (Garzón massif and Santa Marta massif). Present-day Pb, Sr, and Nd isotope ratios of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks from Zihuatanejo and Teloloapan terranes define two clusters: rock from the Huetamo region (Zihuatanejo terrane), with less evolved isotopic signatures, and rocks from the Coastal belt (Colima and Purificación areas in Zihuatanejo terrane) and from the Teloloapan area (Teloloapan terrane) with higher isotopic ratios. Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopic ratios suggest the involvement of a more evolved component, possibly the basement rocks, in the generation of the sedimentary rocks from the Coastal belt and south of Teloloapan area compared to the sedimentary rocks from the Huetamo area. Cenozoic plutonic rocks from La Verde have more radiogenic isotopic ratios than samples from Inguarán, El Malacate, and La Esmeralda. These differences could result from assimilation of different rocks (Arteaga complex or sedimentary rocks) or different extents of contamination. Initial Sr and Nd isotopic values of the Cretaceous granitoids from Manzanillo and Jilotlán plot very close to the igneous samples from Inguarán, El Malacate, and La Esmeralda; this similarity may indicate that they had a common source. Isotopic compositions of Cenozoic plutonic rocks are consistent with subduction-related magmatism and suggest involvement of crustal material by assimilation during the rise of the magma, or by incorporation of subducted sediments, or both.


Some octopamine (OA) agonists were found to suppress the calling behaviour and pheromone biosynthesis in vitro of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), a stored-product pest. Compounds were screened using a calling behaviour bioassay of female P interpunctella. Three active derivatives, with activity at the nanomolar level, were identified. In order of decreasing pheromonostatic activity these were: 2-(2-ethyl-6-methylanilino)oxazolidine > 2-(2,6-diethylanilino)thiazolidine > 2-(2,6-diethylanilino)oxazolidine. These compounds showed also in vitro inhibitory activities in de novo pheromone biosynthesis. Three-dimensional pharmacophore hypotheses were built from a set of 19 compounds. Among the ten common-featured models generated by the program Catalyst/HipHop, a hypothesis including a ring aromatic group (RA), a positive ionizable group (PI) and two hydrophobic aliphatic (HpA1) features was considered to be essential for inhibitory activity in the calling behaviour and pheromone biosynthesis in vitro. Active compounds mapped well onto all the RA, PI and HpA1 features of the hypothesis. Less-active compounds were shown not to achieve the energetically favourable conformation which was found in the active molecules in order to fit the 3-D common-feature pharmacophore models. The present studies demonstrate that inhibition of calling behaviour and PBAN-stimulated incorporation of radioactivity is by OA-agonistic activity.


Touchscreens are being integrated into classrooms to support collaborative learning, yet little empirical evidence has been presented regarding how children collaborate using touchscreens in classrooms. In particular, minimal research has been directed towards how teachers can design for and guide children's touchscreen-based collaboration. Concurrently, the Programme for International Student Assessment and other international organisations have highlighted collaboration and ICT skills as crucial competencies for mastery in the twenty-first century. Accordingly, this article presents three narrative cases from a touchscreen project in Denmark, where 41 second-grade children and three teachers from two classrooms participated. The cases are based on ethnographic field data and 150 hours of video footage of natural occurring interaction in classroom settings. The ethnographic field data and video footage are examined using a collaboration model and embodied interaction analysis. Each case presents features of the subtle processes of children's collaboration around touchscreens and teachers' role in designing and guiding such collaboration. Thus, this article illustrates teachers' and children's situated processes of integrating touchscreens for collaborative activities in their classrooms.


The article is dedicated to revealing those aspects which allow to distinguish euthanasia from valid medical decisions which are made by physicians within the scope of the care of incurably ill persons and their impact on the issue regarding yet unborn life. As in separate forms of euthanasia and the realisation of its kinds, analogies of valid medical procedure are observed, the article analyses the most common cases when the decision made by the physician and the resultant action or omission of the action binds him/her to unjustified criminal judgement by revealing the fundamental features which approve the legitimacy of the decision made, thus distinguishing it from the criminal offence, which is considered to be in most countries around the world, i.e. euthanasia. Within the scope of research, it is concluded that nowadays passive non-voluntary euthanasia cannot be applied to the cases when artificial life-sustaining measures are terminated upon the patients who are diagnosed brain dead, coma or a persistent vegetative state, as in all these cases a compulsory prerogative of performance for every form of euthanasia and its kinds is missing, i.e. excruciating pain and sufferings caused by incurable disease, which a patient shall not only feel, but also realise. However, a different judicial assessment is regarded to such applicability of medical aids or methods, the undesired side-effect of which is related to shortening of lifespan or even death of a patient, which results from the "double-effect principle". In such cases, valid medical procedure can be talked about if separate applicability of medication or enhancing of the dosage, or deep and continuous palliative sedation is based on the necessity to release incurably ill person from pain and sufferings caused by disease not to cause his/ her death and only then when under concrete clinical conditions it cannot be done by other sources or approaches. Considering that the cases analysed in the article can affect yet unborn life, in every such situation prior performing any medical manipulation, in the result of which death of an incurably ill pregnant woman will or can occur, physicians shall assess the possibilities of sustaining the unborn life and do their best to reach this aim.


Although nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-doped GQDs) have been widely studied for their unique properties and promising applications, large scale synthesis of N-doped GQDs has been rarely reported. Besides, the formation mechanism was always explained simply. Herein we report a facile one-step gram-scale approach to prepare N-doped GQDs by polymerization of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) under high temperature and pressure in a nitrogen environment. A mechanism, which is rooted in the chemical properties of NTA and consists of dehydration and nucleophilic addition, has been proposed to explain the formation of N-doped GQDs step by step. Utilizing this method, the change in the structure, functional groups and FL properties can be explained intuitively and clearly. Because of the significant difference in ethanol solubility between the raw material and product, N-doped GQD powder with a purity higher than 99% can be easily obtained by a dissolution–centrifugation–drying–dissolution–freeze drying process without a tedious dialysis process. 1.38 grams of N-doped GQDs could be prepared from 3 grams of NTA. The 46% synthetic yield is higher than that obtained using a large majority of methods reported so far. With the introduction of an N atom, the N-doped GQDs showed bright blue fluorescence (FL) under 365 nm ultraviolet (UV) light, exhibiting a quite high quantum yield of 45.8%. A short preparation time, the low cost of the raw materials, a simple preparation process, high synthetic yield, high quantum yield and a facile purification method make this approach promising in the industrial production of N-doped GQDs. Besides, the N-doped GQDs were used as handwriting FL ink in the form of aqueous and oil-like ink, and used in a fountain pen and ball pen respectively. The words written with FL ink showed strong contrast under daylight and UV light, and no obvious change can be observed after long-term high temperature treatment, indicating that the N-doped GQDs have obvious practicability and good stability as an FL ink.


INTRODUCTION Evidence indicates that one reason cigarette smokers value e-cigarettes is the ability to use them in places where smoking is not permitted. We sought to: 1) explore adult daily smokers' experiences using e-cigarettes in the context of smoke-free places; and 2) describe smokers' perceptions of bystanders' reactions. METHODS Twenty adult daily smokers in Washington, DC initiated e-cigarettes for three weeks and completed in semi-structured interviews at the end of each week. All interviews (n=60) were digitally-recorded, transcribed verbatim, imported into NVivo 10.0, and analyzed using thematic analysis methodology. RESULTS The sample had a mean age of 37.9 years and 18 participants reported having smoked their first cigarette by age 18. Common themes included descriptions of: 1) uncertainty about whether smoke-free policies included e-cigarettes; 2) using e-cigarettes in smoke-free places (e.g. restaurants, workplace, public transit-bus and rail); 3) approaches to e-cigarette use in smoke-free places as part of a complex decision-making process, ranging from testing and establishing the social and spatial boundaries of e-cigarette use, to confining e-cigarette use to inside their home; and 4) favorable, unfavorable, and impartial reactions from bystanders facilitated or impeded e-cigarette use, indicating social approval/social disapproval. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest a continuum of factors, including smoke-free policies and reactions from bystanders may facilitate or impede e-cigarette use among smokers in environments where a smoke-free imperative is well-established. As e-cigarette use evolves, study findings indicate the importance of the social environment and how it could affect those switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.


This paper examines whether government-sponsored export credit arrangements have the same effect on trade as direct export subsidies. The export credit programs for several major agricultural exporters are described. These programs are compared to OECD disciplines for export credit arrangements, and the consequences of extending these guidelines to agriculture are analysed. None of the programs discussed would be consistent with the OECD guidelines. Since export credit arrangements have many of the same characteristics as targeted export subsidies, the same analytical framework can be used to analyse these programs. However, it is necessary to determine implicit subsidy values for the program.


This study prepared a wood-based hydrogel, which was studied as a fertilizer controlle and release carrier. The wood-based hydrogel was prepared by solution polymerization and whose structure was characterized by FTIR spectra. The water absorbing capacity and urea adsorption capacity were studied. The result shows that: With increasing degree of grafting yield, the water absorption increased at first and decreased afterward. The maximum appear at the glutaraldehyde amount of 0.4 times. The urea adsorption of the wood-base hydrogel has a strongest value in 10% aqueous solution of urea. The drug loading changed by the degree of crosslinking hydrogel and the wood content in the wood-based hydrogel. Hydrogel has a good adsorption capacity of urea,the hydrogel water absorption and urea absorption ability can be adjusted by the grafting rate. The wood powder prepared hydrogels is a new environmental protection materials, which has good prospects in controll and release of pesticides and fertilizers


The ways in which citizens behave, interact, and plan for the future have cumulative significance for the nature and future of society. This project proposes an analytical device (the lawfulness and lawlessness continuum) to describe the types of behaviours and decision-making that individuals use when participating in adjudication, mediation, and other conflict resolution processes. Lawfulness is a dynamic that is cyclical, orderly, and restrained. I suggest that it can be used to analyze the types of interactions between citizens that are associated with law and adjudication. Lawlessness is
a dynamic that is emergent, adaptive, and responsive; it may manifest more often in moments between individuals who are using mediation to resolve their conflicts. Interactions between citizens are likely to involve a combination of lawfulness and lawlessness, along the continuum that lies between them. This analytical model offers a lens through which these nuances of citizen interactions can be analyzed.


Water taxation in European Union (EU) countries is adapted to local conditions and institutional trajectories and contains a variety of taxes and tariffs to finance water services and induce a higher use efficiency. After having clarified certain concepts, this work offers an overview of water taxes and tariffs charged for agricultural water use in several European Union member states, both in water-abundant areas and in water-scarce regions. Mediterranean countries, such as France, Portugal, Italy and Spain, have implemented different tax systems on agricultural water abstractions to recover the costs of the regulation, storage, and management of basin-level water services with various levels of cost recovery in accordance with the provision by the Water Framework Directive. France, Portugal, and Italy have implemented an abstraction tax applied to any water source (surface and groundwater) as an instrument to induce water saving and internalize environmental and resource costs in the irrigation sector. Despite these efforts, current taxation remains very low in the European context. On the other hand, Northern European countries (including the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark) have no fiscal instruments related to agricultural abstractions (neither for surface nor for groundwater resources).


Wilfred Eade Agar was born on 27 April 1882, at Wimbledon, the seventh of nine children of Edward Larpent Agar and his wife Agnes, nee Henty. On his father's side the family showed considerable legal ability. His father, a man of pronounced artistic talent, practised for a while as solicitor, but turned later to a more lucrative business career, and was able to retire quite early, devoting himself to various charitable enterprises. But especially will he be remembered as one of the founders—indeed the principal founder—of the game of hockey in its present form, and was chairman of a meeting of Hockey Clubs, held in the Holborn Restaurant, London, which in 1887 resulted in the formation of the Hockey Association in Britain. A great-grandfather was William Agar, K.C. (died 1838), of Elm Lodge, in the Parish of St Pancras, London, who was himself grandson of Charles Talbot, Lord Chancellor, created Baron Talbot of Hensol. On his mother's side he was related to the Sussex family Henty, noted for their pioneering in three Australian colonies. G. A. Henty, the best known writer of boys' story books at the time, was a cousin of his mother. His earliest education in reading and arithmetic was undertaken by his mother, and it was not till the age of eight that he went to school—a 'dame' school—where all but the mysteries of Latin and football were entrusted to women. This school he left at the age of ten, to attend a private school for boys conducted by a Mr C. D. Olive. Teaching was strictly classical, and began daily with two hours of Latin and Greek, and some short Bible reading, and at the age of thirteen or fourteen the boys were already composing Latin verses in elegiac couplets. From here he went, at fifteen, to Sedbergh, and was admitted direct into the upper school, his proficiency in Latin being favourably commented upon. Of this period at Sedbergh he writes in later life: 'I think I enjoyed my three years there as much as any normal boy can enjoy the restricted and disciplined life of a boarding school—especially a boy who combines the disadvantages of being better than the average in class work, with smallness of stature and incompetence at organized games. It was at Sedbergh that I first began to enjoy my school work, though I think what I really enjoyed was the intellectual exercise. So far as I can remember I did not find—and did not expect to find—that it bore any relation to my real interests. For them, I lived for my holidays.'


for the of ripple in three-phase PWM inverters Abstract — Three-phase multilevel inverters are used in many medium- and high-power applications such as motor drives and grid-connected systems. Despite numerous PWM techniques for multilevel inverters have been developed, the impact of these modulation schemes on the peak-to-peak output current ripple amplitude has not been addressed yet. In this paper the analysis and the comparison of current ripple for two- and three-level voltage source inverters are given. Reference is made to optimal and popular modulation, so-called centered PWM, easily obtained by both carrier-based modulation (phase disposition, with proper common-mode voltage injection) and space vector modulation (nearest three vectors). It is shown that the peak-to-peak current ripple amplitude in three-level inverters can be determined on the basis of the ripple in two-level inverters, obtaining the same results as by directly analyzing the output voltage waveforms of the three-level inverters. This procedure can be readily extended to higher level numbers. The proposed analytical developments are verified by both numerical simulations and experimental tests.


A new product design for an engine mount requires very specific nonlinear load deflection curve and geometrical constraints. It was found that a specific geometrical design of an elastomeric material can be used to minimize the cost and complexities in manufacturing this product. Natural rubber was chosen for its transitional properties in shear/compression, low hysterisis, and setting losses in cyclical compression. ANSYS was extremely helpful in approaching the final design and evaluation of performance in all stages of development. Stress/strain tests such as uniaxial tension, biaxial tension, and shear were conducted to refine the nine Mooney -Revlin constants for the ANSYS material model. The final design was evaluated favorably by ANSYS and then was fabricated and tested to yield the desired characteristic curve. The test results were in close agreement with ANSYS predictions especially in the first 70 percent of the maximum deflection.


Background: Most intermediate and long-term studies of cemented posterior-cruciate-substituting total knee prostheses were performed with nonmodular tibial components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intermediate-term results of posterior-cruciate-substituting total knee arthroplasties in which a cemented modular tibial component had been used, with a particular focus on evaluating the prevalence of radiographic osteolysis.Methods: Between 1992 and 1995, 176 consecutive primary total knee arthroplasties with use of the Insall-Burstein II system were performed in 134 patients at our institution. A modular metal-backed tibial component was inserted in 145 knees, and an all-polyethylene tibial component of the same design was inserted in thirty-one. Standard-terminology questionnaires were completed or Knee Society and The Hospital for Special Surgery scores were determined preoperatively and at the time of final follow-up, at an average of 6.4 years (range, 5.0 to 7.9 years). Initial postoperative radiographs were compared with those made at the time of final follow-up to assess component position, wear, radiolucent lines, and osteolysis.Results: Ninety-two patients (128 knees) treated with the modular tibial component were alive at the time of final follow-up. No patient was lost to follow-up. Radiographs were available for 105 knees (82%). Three knees had been revised because of instability or infection; none had been revised because of loosening or osteolysis. The mean Knee Society clinical and functional scores were 85 points (range, 41 to 100 points) and 79 points (range, 30 to 100 points), respectively, at the time of final follow-up. According to The Hospital for Special Surgery score, 94% of the knees had a good or excellent result. Knee flexion averaged 113° (range, 90° to 130°) at the time of final follow-up. Osteolysis was present in seventeen (16%) of the knees with radiographic follow-up. Osteolysis did not develop in any knee in which an all-polyethylene tibial component had been used. Two knees (in one patient) were revised because of osteolytic lesions found at the time of follow-up for the study. Both of these knees had anterior wear of the tibial post due to impingement and backside tibial polyethylene wear.Conclusions: Modular Insall-Burstein II total knee prostheses were found to function well after five to eight years of follow-up. However, the high prevalence of osteolysis in patients who had good or excellent clinical scores is worrisome. Particular attention should be paid to preventing flexion of the femoral component, posterior slope of the tibial component, or hyperextension of the knee when posterior-cruciate-substituting total knee arthroplasty is performed. We also recommend routine follow-up radiographs after all total joint arthroplasties to detect asymptomatic osteolytic changes.


BACKGROUND
Preterm infants show transient hypothyroxinemia without thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) elevation. In addition, the degree of neurodevelopmental delay in preterm infants become severe according to the decreasing gestational age (GA). Because of the crucial role of thyroid hormones in brain development, hypothyroxinemia has the potential to cause developmental delay; however, the effectiveness of thyroxine (T4) supplementation on developmental outcomes remains controversial. To resolve these issues, we evaluated the clinical course of transient hypothyroxinemia and the effects of levothyroxine (LT4) supplementation in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants.

METHODS
Serum levels of free T4 (FT4) and TSH were examined in 36 ELBW infants from 7 days after birth. LT4 (5-10 microg/kg/day) was orally administered to 18 of 36 infants with a low serum FT4 level (< 0.4 ng/dL) or normal serum FT4 levels and a clinical manifestation of hypothyroidism, whereas remaining 18 patients without a low serum FT4 level or clinical hypothyroidism were not given LT4 supplementation as control subjects. Infants were followed-up at a corrected age of 12 months, and clinical outcome was compared between infants that received LT4 and those that did not.

RESULTS
ELBW infants showed low serum FT4 levels without TSH elevation. During hospitalization and at follow-up, LT4-administered infants with low serum FT4 levels showed a shorter GA compared with the control group. There were no other statistically significant differences in clinical outcomes at 12 months of corrected age between LT4-administered and control groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results show that shorter GA is associated with lower serum FT4 levels. Shorter GA is known to cause developmental delay, however, LT4 supplementation prevents the developmental delay of ELBW infants with transient hypothyroxinemia.


The purpose of this thesis is to show that a certain kind of
agent-based model can generate a series of social phenomena, and
many of them may be quite close to reality. Instead of emphasizing
the microscopic aspect of "utility maximization", we emphasize
more that of a "statistical equilibrium", a stage that economy
will generally fluctuate around. Through agent-based simulations,
some seemingly puzzling stylized facts in macroeconomics can be
replicated without too much effort.

The first part of the thesis has introduced an agent-based model
describing the social production process, which consists of
employment, production and consumption. The biggest advantage of
this model is that: it generates many macroscopic regularities
from microscopic behavior within a single framework, involving
intricate interactions among simple micro-economic entities. In
particular, the model is capable of explaining many stylized facts,
including the frictional unemployment, the firm size distribution, growth distribution, wealth distribution, and etc.

The secon part of the thesis dig into the agent-based models of
opinion formation in order to find out whether the
subjective opinion dynamics may, to some extent, influence
objective economic variables. Particularly, we will investigate
how consumer sentiment or industrial sentiment can help to explain
or predict the movement of industrial production. We first offer a
forecast-oriented VAR analysis, in which different kinds of VAR models with various lags will be estimated and evaluated with respect to their overall forecast abilities for industrial production. In the next step, taking nonlinearity and interactions among sentiment and industrial production into account, we set up
an agent-based model of opinion formation following the pioneering
work of Weidlich and Haag (1983) to model the joint dynamics
of sentiment and output. A nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation is
added to help in explaining the transient density of this
stochastic model. Then the model is further extended into two
dimensions. We observe a strong causal relation from industrial
sentiment to the output, which confirms our finding in the VAR analysis.