This paper shows some updated images from Blackfoot III 3C-2D data. The images from the vertical-component data with highly focused target sand-channel tie very well with the synthetic seismograms in relative depth, even though the imaged target-depth does not exactly match the geological depth. As for the images from the radial-component data, the updated images have higher quality, because the results previously shown were erroneously migrated from asymptotic common conversion point (ACCP) binned radial-component data. Some quality control procedures to determine if the data has been ACCP binned are also discussed.


In this paper, we propose a subthreshold SRAM cell structure which can be read differentially. The main advantage of the cell is its high read current while the static noise margin and power consumption are reasonable. The cell is suitable for high performance applications where the speed is of prime concern. To assess the efficiency of the proposed cell, we compare its characteristics to three subthreshold SRAM cell structures recently introduced in the literature. The cells are implemented in both the bulk and SOI-FinFET technologies at the node of 32nm.


Western Australia's wildflowers are recognized throughout the world for their colour, form and uniqueness. Many can be observed in the metropolitan area close to the city of Perth. Despite this, there has been very little scholarly documentation of them. This book provides an account of the flora of Murdoch University. Though the campus was disturbed first by farming and later by arboriculture, small but significant areas of the original bush remain. This scholarly account provides a valuable record of those native species that enrich the Murdoch campus after the first ten years of its operation. It should prove useful as a data base for future conservation and planning strategies, as well as providing a valuable reference source for staff and students. It should also have strong appeal to local residents who are curious about the plants which characterize the white and yellow sands of their surrounds and as a guide for visitors to the campus. The work, though written for the amateur naturalist, is scientifically sound and attempts to simplify the identification of plants using ink drawings and colour photographs in combination with keys. The Murdoch University community is grateful to those of its members whose enthusiasm and skill have made possible this lasting contribution to the celebration of our tenth anniversary. I congratulate them.
RONALD WILSON KBE, CMG, LLM Penn., LLB HonLLD W.Aust Chancellor, Murdoch University

INTRODUCTION TO THE VEGETATION
Background
Murdoch University lies at the interface of two dune systems on the western third of the Swan Coastal Plain. To the west lie the tall Spearwood Dunes, mainly yellow sands over limestone. The older and highly leached white sands of the Bassendean Dune system lie to the east. Separating the two systems is a chain of freshwater lakes and wetlands, the closest to Murdoch being North Lake.

Murdoch is part of the once extensive eucalypt/banksia woodland that clothed the well-drained ridges of much of the metropolitan area. Quite subtle changes in elevation, slope, drainage and soil chemistry provide a range of habitats resulting in a rich and diverse flora. As a result the Murdoch flora contains not only elements of the Kwongan sandplain vegetation (heathlands on infertile soils, e.g. Calectasia cyanea, Daviesia triflora), but units or species characteristic of the jarrah forest (e.g. Banksia grandis, Eucalyptus marginata), coastal woodlands on calcareous soils (e.g. Eucalyptus gomphocephala, Olearia axillaris) and freshwater wetlands (e.g. Astarte a fascicularis, Melaleuca preissiana).

Trees form the dominant and most familiar components in the region. Of the 200 indigenous species now on campus it is perhaps surprising that only fifteen reach the stature of trees (defined as plants with a single woody trunk and over 4 metres in height). There are four species of eucalypts, two paperbarks, five banksias, and one she-oak, Christmas tree, woody pear and acacia. Clearly, therefore, most diversity is to be found in the shrub and herbaceous communities and much of this book is devoted to these groups. The number of species and their present distributions have been strongly affected by agriculture and forestry pursuits.

Recent History
Parts of the southern half of Murdoch were used to graze cattle, horses and sheep until the mid 1970s. The grazing must, however, have been light in the existing Banksia Woodland because the under-storey is quite intact and there is little weed growth. Limited cropping was also undertaken. Earlier, Chinese market gardeners established vegetable plots near the south-east corner of Melaleuca Swamp. Part of the market garden now has Melaleuca regrowth and the raised beds can still be seen in aerial photographs. Just to the west of the old gardens lies a narrow raised track lined on the eastern side by a single row of Pinus trees. This track once passed north, up the main campus ridge and onto where Riseley Street is today. These and other tracks i n the area were probably once used to haul jarrah logs and billets to small local saw-pits or further afield on the limestone track (now Leach Highway) to mills in Fremantle. A few large jarrah stumps remain on campus, e.g .below Bush Court . In addition to jarrah, tuart was also felled for timber. This species is at the eastern edge of its range, and there are a few remaining trees in Bush Court.

The northern half of, Murdoch was part of the University of Western Australia Endowment Land (Cockburn Sound Location 549). In March 1926 an agreement was made between the University of Western Australia and the Conservator of Forests whereby the Forests Department undertook to establish a pine plantation. The area was to be cleared and planted at the rate of 100 acres per annum and the lease period was fifty years. The scheme was inaugurated at a time when there was a strong movement to get parliamentary permission to sell Endowment Lands, and was a challenge by members of the University of Western Australia Senate to find a way to use them profitably. The following description of the. Somerville plantation is from The West Australian (31 May 1938) - 'The plantation was divided into areas of about 25 acres, each of which was ' surrounded by a firebreak 15 feet wide. Each group of four such areas was surrounded by a firebreak one chain wide and each 300 acre lot was surrounded by a two-chain firebreak. The trees were planted about 7 feet apart'.

Wildfires in the Somerville area were small and frequent, for example there were sixty-one in the 1 973-74 season. In the early 1960s a lookout tower was erected west of Kardinya to replace the treetop lookout on the edge of South Street.

Most of the Murdoch section was planted from 1937 to 1940 with Pinus pinaster. A small area of P. radiata was planted near South Street in 1955. Later, the beginning of the construction programme for Murdoch University was symbolically marked by the felling of one tree on 7 February 1973.


We discuss the latest results of numerical simulations following the orbital decay of massive black hole pairs in galaxy mergers. We highlight important differences between gas-poor and gas-rich hosts, and between orbital evolution taking place at high redshift as opposed to low redshift. Two effects have a huge impact and are rather novel in the context of massive black hole binaries. The first is the increase in characteristic density of galactic nuclei of merger remnants as galaxies are more compact at high redshift due to the way dark halo collapse depends on redshift. This leads naturally to hardening timescales due to 3-body encounters that should decrease by two orders of magnitude up to z = 4. It explains naturally the short binary coalescence timescale, ∼ 10 Myr, found in novel cosmological simulations that follow binary evolution from galactic to milliparsec scales. The second one is the inhomogeneity of the interstellar medium in massive gas-rich disks at high redshift. In the latter star forming clumps 1-2 orders of magnitude more massive than local Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) can scatter massive black holes out of the disk plane via gravitational perturbations and direct encounters. This renders the character of orbital decay inherently stochastic, often increasing orbital decay timescales by as much as a Gyr. At low redshift a similar regime is present at scales of 1 − 10 pc inside Circumnuclear Gas Disks (CNDs). In CNDs only massive black holes with masses below 107M⊙ can be significantly perturbed. They decay to sub-pc separations in up to ∼ 108 yr rather than the in just a few million years as in a smooth CND. Finally implications for building robust forecasts of LISA event rates are discussed.


Federal statistical agencies in the United States and analogous agencies elsewhere commonly report official economic statistics as point estimates, without accompanying measures of error. Users of the statistics may incorrectly view them as error free or may incorrectly conjecture error magnitudes. This paper discusses strategies to mitigate misinterpretation of official statistics by communicating uncertainty to the public. Sampling error can be measured using established statistical principles. The challenge is to satisfactorily measure the various forms of nonsampling error. I find it useful to distinguish transitory statistical uncertainty, permanent statistical uncertainty, and conceptual uncertainty. I illustrate how each arises as the Bureau of Economic Analysis periodically revises GDP estimates, the Census Bureau generates household income statistics from surveys with nonresponse, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics seasonally adjusts employment statistics. I anchor my discussion of communication of uncertainty in the contribution of Oskar Morgenstern (1963a), who argued forcefully for agency publication of error estimates for official economic statistics. (JEL B22, C82, E23)


Abstract. Projections of Arctic sea ice thickness (SIT) have the potential to inform stakeholders about accessibility to the region, but are currently rather uncertain. The latest suite of CMIP5 global climate models (GCMs) produce a wide range of simulated SIT in the historical period (1979–2014) and exhibit various biases when compared with the Pan-Arctic Ice–Ocean Modelling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) sea ice reanalysis. We present a new method to constrain such GCM simulations of SIT via a statistical bias correction technique. The bias correction successfully constrains the spatial SIT distribution and temporal variability in the CMIP5 projections whilst retaining the climatic fluctuations from individual ensemble members. The bias correction acts to reduce the spread in projections of SIT and reveals the significant contributions of climate internal variability in the first half of the century and of scenario uncertainty from the mid-century onwards. The projected date of ice-free conditions in the Arctic under the RCP8.5 high emission scenario occurs in the 2050s, which is a decade earlier than without the bias correction, with potentially significant implications for stakeholders in the Arctic such as the shipping industry. The bias correction methodology developed could be similarly applied to other variables to reduce spread in climate projections more generally.


We analyze the sensitivity of PP precursor traveltimes that are often used to infer lateral variation in the depths of the 410‐ and 660‐km discontinuities in the mantle. Previous results were inconclusive due to complex wave phenomena, such as multiple energy conversions and focusing/defocusing, that hamper their interpretation. Using spectral‐element synthetics and Fréchet derivatives calculated with adjoint methods, we compute sensitivity kernels for volumetric and boundary parameters in a 1‐D model for representative epicentral distances of past studies, and a dominant period of 11–25 s. Our results indicate that the boundary sensitivity of PP precursors is low and that these phases are not coherently seen in exact synthetics. Our most important finding is the strong sensitivity to both shear and compressional wave speeds, indicating that wave interference and wave conversions are dominant. The PP precursor traveltimes appear more sensitive to structural parameters, that is, compressional and shear wave speed, than to the boundaries; therefore, they are unlikely sources for valuable insight into discontinuity topography.


Background Beyond their role in post-transcriptional gene silencing, Dicer and Argonaute, two components of the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery, were shown to be involved in epigenetic regulation of centromeric heterochromatin and transcriptional gene silencing. In particular, RNAi mechanisms appear to play a role in repeat induced silencing and some aspects of Polycomb-mediated gene silencing. However, the functional interplay of RNAi mechanisms and Polycomb group (PcG) pathways at endogenous loci remains to be elucidated. Principal Findings Here we show that the endogenous Dicer-2/Argonaute-2 RNAi pathway is dispensable for the PcG mediated silencing of the homeotic Bithorax Complex (BX-C). Although Dicer-2 depletion triggers mild transcriptional activation at Polycomb Response Elements (PREs), this does not induce transcriptional changes at PcG-repressed genes. Moreover, Dicer-2 is not needed to maintain global levels of methylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 and does not affect PRE-mediated higher order chromatin structures within the BX-C. Finally bioinformatic analysis, comparing published data sets of PcG targets with Argonaute-2-bound small RNAs reveals no enrichment of these small RNAs at promoter regions associated with PcG proteins. Conclusions We conclude that the Dicer-2/Argonaute-2 RNAi pathway, despite its role in pairing sensitive gene silencing of transgenes, does not have a role in PcG dependent silencing of major homeotic gene cluster loci in Drosophila.


Results of researches on study of efficiency of soil acidity optimization on decrease of a collective doze from 90Sr to the population of Belarus are presented. On the basis of the "cost--benefit" analysis it is shown, that the savings for averted collective doze due to optimization of soil acidity of arable lands on cereals amount to 21-170 thousand US dollars per 1 man.-Sv depending on density of 90Sr soil contamination of districts of Belarus. It is established, that high effect on averting of collective doze 90Sr at cultivation of cereals can be expected at liming of sod-podsolic loamy sand soils with contamination density of 90Sr more than 12 kBq/m2, sand soils more than 16 kBq/m2, light loam soils more than 17 kBq/m2, at present time share of these lands in Belarus is about half from the area of the arable lands contaminated with radiostrontium - 86 thousand hectares.


Ionic polymer-polymer composites (IP2Cs) are electroactive polymers which can be used both as sensors and as actuators. In this paper, a new multiphysics model of IP2Cs working as an actuator is presented and implemented using a finite element methods solver (COMSOL Multiphysics). The model involves electrical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal effects and yields a unique solution. Knowledge acquired by measuring campaigns has been included in the model. More specifically the frequency dependence of Young's modulus was experimentally determined and introduced in such a model. A frequency-domain investigation is performed and a model optimization procedure that integrates the Nelder-Mead simplex method with the COMSOL Multiphysics models is exploited to identify IP2C model parameter by fitting experimental data. A fractional order dynamics has been identified in the model, confirming previous studies on IPMC gray box modeling and on electroactive polymeric devices.


Energy is an important requirement for population growth, technological progress and urbanisation. Worldwide energy demand has been projected to increase by 5-fold by 2100. Fulfilment of these energy requirements cannot be solely from fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, on account of their adverse environmental impacts and concomitant depletion of natural resources. As a result multiple approaches for generating alternative energy are being explored globally. In this study, processed municipal solid waste (MSW) fibre was assessed as a substrate for the production of various bio-energy related products. The MSW was characterised and the results showed that there was, as expected, a wide compositional variation between samples.
There was a significant amount of lignocellulosic material found in some samples and the potential to exploit this to generate fermentable sugars was explored. Direct enzyme hydrolysis using 30 FPU (Filter Paper Units)/g Cellic® CTec2 gave a 30 % release of available glucose. Pre-treatments- using hot water, dilute acid and dilute alkali are all applied to enhance sugar release but were all found to be ineffective.
The possibility of using MSW as a substrate for cellulase enzyme production via solid state fermentation (SSF) by Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) and Aspergillus niger (A. niger) was explored. Both fungi grew well on the substrate and following optimization a cellulase activity of 26.10±3.09 FPU/g could be produced using T. reesei at 30 °C with a moisture content of 60 % with inoculation of 0.5 million spores/g and incubation for 168 hr. Addition of extra nitrogen and/or carbon did not improve cellulase accumulation. Acid or alkali pre-treatment of MSW led to reduced cellulase production. Crude enzymes produced from MSW by T. reesei were evaluated for their ability to release glucose from MSW. A cellulose hydrolysis yield of cellulase was 24.7 % achieved, which was close to that obtained using a commercial enzyme. Results demonstrated that MSW could be used as an inexpensive lignocellulosic material for the production of cellulase enzymes.
High concentrations of toxic heavy metals were found in all MSW samples tested and this precludes the use of this material as a soil enhancer. Thus studies were undertaken to explore the potential for bioleaching as a means to generate compost that meets environmental standards for safe use. A. niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC2592 were used and the impact of growth medium and pH tested. Both organisms were effective at solubilising the heavy metals and this may be related to their ability to synthesise organic acids into the fermentation medium that act as chelators.


This paper proposes a re-examination of some 'classic' approaches to the problem of analyzing 'kinship' behaviour in Italy. The essay examines apprenticeship in several contexts and in several locations (southern and central Italy). It is argued that no one single trait, such as access to power (central to viewpoints that deal with 'patronage' and 'brokerage') can explain the behavioural complex associated with apprenticeship. Instead, the concept of public validation of social relationship appears to be a more fruitful tool for analyzing the simulation interplay of distancing and incorporation that characterizes apprentice-master relationship. It is argued that just as there is a strong incorporative tendency in the formation of social relationships perhaps due to the pervasiv e notion of competition and limited good th ere is an equally strong tendency at exclusion at the same level. That is, because of mutual economic and social int erests on both parts, there is a tendency to incorporate apprentices into the same structural dynamics that govern 'close/private' relationships; the family, for example. But since the attaining of goals fulfilling one's interessi depends very much on performing in public, the master-apprentice relationship develops along other lines, which can be labelled 'close/public'.


The Article demonstrates that the most important initiatives to promote inclusivity within the international tax regime (Country-by-Country Reporting, the Multilateral Instrument, and the Inclusive Framework), based on publicly available data and a variety of indicators, have, at best, done little to increase meaningful participation of non-OECD countries in the regime, and have been disingenuous at worst. This indirect methodology was dictated by the opacity of the analyzed efforts and the difficulties of evaluating inclusivity, but the picture it paints is unmistakable. Using Hirschman's exit and voice theory, the article concludes by explaining why the OECD asked non-member states to join these efforts and why they have nominally joined. Based on this study, it is concluded that the issues that prompted the establishment of inclusive fora within the international tax regime will not "go away" with such nominal inclusion, and that only meaningful inclusivity has the potential to stabilize the international tax regime.


Outcomes are reported from a qualitative investigation addressing ethnic label selection, meaning, use, and influences upon Mexican-origin youth. Participants selected multiple labels with distinct meanings and influences. Findings indicate a need for school counselors to honor student label selection and to advocate for variable label use by school professionals and in school documentation. School counselors can provide resources and venues to facilitate student exploration of ethnic labels, as one key component of ethnic identity development.


Large-scale silicon carbide nanowires are prepared by pure silicon powder and phenolic resin, which are mixed, molded, carbonizated, and then subjected to the microwave heating with a rate of 10oC/min between 1300 and 1400oC in the static argon atmosphere for 0.5~2h. The patterns of the SiC nanowires are characterized by means of SEM, the composition of the samples are determined through EDX. The prepared nanowires have the diameters between 20 to 100nm. The current results imply that liquid silicon can act as a catalyzer during the formation of SiC nanowires.Introduction Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes by Iijima[1], there has been great interest in the synthesis and characterization of other one-dimensional (1D) structures. Nanowires, nanorods and nanobelts constitute an important class of 1D nanostructures, which provide models to study the relationship between electrical transport, optical and other properties with dimensionality and size confinemen[2~7]. The 1D nanowires can also act as active components in devices as revealed by recent investigations[8,9]. Up to now, several techniques for preparing SiC nanowires have been developed. Dai et al.[5] synthesized SiC nanorods via the reaction of carbon nanotubes with SiO. Zhou et al. [6] synthesized SiC nanowires by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Liang et al.[9] grew SiC nanowires by carbothermal reduction of silica xerogels embedded with Fe nanoparticles, etc. However, many of these routes involved complex processes and high cost. The usage of metal catalyst for the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism makes it difficult to remove the resident catalyst after the synthetic process. In this paper, it is reported that a simple and low cost synthetic route is developed for the preparation of SiC nanowires by microwave heating technique without any catalyst. The prepared nanowires have core-shell structure with the diameters between 20 to 100nm. The growth of these SiC nanowires is considered to involve a VLS process.


Author(s): Abney, Masako | Advisor(s): Suarez, Raul K | Abstract: The oxygen-dependent processes of ATP synthesis in mitochondria is same in all mammals and birds (endothermic animals). However, some endothermic species have higher maximum O2 consumption rate per unit mass (VO2 max/Mb) than others during aerobic exercise. It is unclear whether the mitochondria of these endothermic species achieving higher VO2 max/Mb have inherently higher biochemical capacities for respiration than mitochondria from other species. To understand the relation between functional capacities (biochemical capacity) and maximum physiological requirements, the respiration rates of flight muscle mitochondria of hovering C. anna (in vivo mVO2) and the maximum oxygen consumption rate of isolated mitochondria (in vitro mVO2) were compared. To measure whole body VO2max of C. anna, C. anna hovered in heliox (21% oxygen and 79% helium gas mixture). In vivo mVO2 of C. anna flight muscles calculated using whole body VO2max was 10.5 ml O2/min x ml on average. Since in vitro mVO2 values are substrate-dependent, in vitro mVO2 was measured using different combinations of substrates: ones that donate electrons to the electron transport chain via NADH and those that donate electrons via both NADH and FADH2 (Gnaiger, 2009). The NADH and FADH2 -linked substrate combination elicited the highest in vitro mVO2 which was 6.8 ml O2/min × ml on average. The in vitro mVO2 measurement methods used in this study brought a gap between in vivo and in vitro rates closer than the previous study (Suarez et al., 1990); however, biochemical capacity was still 17.3 % lower than the maximum physiological rate. C. anna flight muscle cytochrome aa3 content measured using spectrophotometric method was 83.88 n mol/g muscle. The electron flux through cytochrome aa3 calculated using cytochrome aa3 content and VO2 of C. anna hovering in heliox at 86.7 electrons/second. This electron flux rate is only slightly higher than the rate of rat heart, but cytochrome aa3 content per gram muscle is about 6 times higher in hummingbird flight muscle than the rat heart muscle. This indicates the level of cytochrome aa3 expression and the physiological requirements are matched to maximum requirements in both hummingbird pectoral and rat cardiac muscles.


Traditionally, racial identity research has concentrated on either the content of the identities that individuals hold or the development of the identities. However, due to the complexity of the African American origin, establishing a description and/or definition is difficult, which has led to the African American identity crisis. This paper looks thoroughly into the philosophy of African Americans' identity crisis through exploration of the Double Consciousness Theory. Thus, this paper hypothesizes that due to African Americans' double consciousness; numerous African Americans are in the midst of an identity crisis. The paper tests the hypothesis by thoroughly examining the Double Consciousness Theory and the role it has played on African Americans in the 21st Century. The research paper closely examines the theory throughout the 21st Century through a series of examples and descriptive analysis. The identity of African Americans is analyzed qualitatively, by using data collected through archival methods, and utilizing sources such as novels, scholarly journals, and internet sources. These sources were supplemented by expert interviews. Through detail analysis, the African American identity crisis is explained by the tenets of the Double Consciousness Theory.


Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: Sovereignty at the Millennium: Robert Jackson (The University of British Columbia). 2. Sovereignty in World Politics: A Glance at the Conceptual and Historical Landscape: Robert Jackson (The University of British Columbia). 3. The Practice of Sovereign Statehood in Contemporary International Society: Alan James (Keele University). 4. Sovereignty, Nationalism, and Self--Determination: James Mayall (Cambridge University). 5. The Sharing of Sovereignty: The European Paradox: William Wallace (The London School of Economics and Political Science). 6. Sovereignty and the Third World State: Christopher Clapham (Lancaster University). 7. The United Nations in the 1990s: Proactive Cosmopolitanism and the Issue of Sovereignty: Paul Taylor (The London School of Economics and Political Science). 8. Westphalia, Authority, and International Society: Daniel Philpott (University of California, Santa Barbara). 9. Sovereignty: Change and Continuity in a Fundamental Institution: Georg Sorensen (Aarhus University, Denmark).


BACKGROUND/AIMS
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are common metabolic disorders. We aimed to evaluate the underlying mechanisms in the development of NAFLD and PCOS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty female patients with NAFLD and without PCOS; 12 female patients with PCOS; and a control group with 17 healthy females were included. Pancreatic homeostatic model assessment-Beta cell function was measured by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-B test.

RESULTS
The body mass index (BMI) of the NAFLD patients was higher than that of the PCOS patients (29.4±3.8 kg/m² vs 25.6±5.2 kg/m², p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the PCOS patients and controls with respect to BMI. The fasting insulin levels of the NAFLD patients were higher than those of the PCOS patients (5.06 unit more than PCOS, p<0.05) and 12.8 unit more than controls (p<0.001). The HOMA scores of the NAFLD patients were more than those of the PCOS patients (1.41 unit more than PCOS, p<0.05) and 2.95 unit more than controls (p<0.001). The HOMA-B score was higher in the NAFLD patients than in the PCOS patients. There was no statistical difference among the groups for serum triglyceride (p>.05) and cholesterol (p>.05).

CONCLUSION
This study showed that rather than pancreatic beta-cell hyperfunction, insulin resistance plays a central role in the development of ovarian abnormalities.


Rhythm guides speech perception, especially in noise. We recently revealed that percussionists outperform non-musicians in speech-in-noise perception, with better speech-in-noise perception associated with better rhythm discrimination across a range of rhythmic expertise. Here, we consider rhythm production skills, specifically drumming to a beat (metronome or music) and to rhythm sequences (metrical or jittered rhythms), as well as speech-in-noise perception in adult percussionists and nonmusicians. Given the absence of a regular beat in speech, we hypothesise that processing of rhythm sequences is more important for speech-in-noise perception than the ability to entrain to a regular beat. Consistent with our hypotheses, we find that the sequence-based drumming measures predict speech-in-noise perception, above and beyond demographic factors, hearing thresholds and IQ, whereas the beat-based measures do not. Outcomes suggest rhythm sequences may help disambiguate speech under degraded listening conditions, extending theoretical considerations about speech rhythm to the everyday challenge of listening in noise.


Jamming attack is an effective way to disrupt the communication of adversaries. This paper tries to design methods for blocking all receiving links (BARL) of a wireless sensor network (WSN). Firstly the condition for blocking a receiving link is derived and AJRL (area for jamming a receiving link) is defined. Then BARL jamming method for a network with an unlimited JSR parameter is discussed. Finally, under a limited JSR parameter, BARL jamming attack problem on several networks types, i.e. JN (N,≥N), JN(2,1), JN(3,1)and JN(N,≥2, are discussed; and BARL jamming methods are presented respectively. The methods are proved mathematically


In the second year of life, infants are actively interested in objects used by adults, despite the number of experienced difficulties in achieving their goals while handling these objects. What causes the child attempt to handle an object for a designated purpose while watching the adult? One of the evident explanations concerns the effectiveness of the adult's behavior and the child's desire to achieve the same result. However, multiple studies have shown that a child is guided not exclusively by the hoped-for result, but also by the adult's intention. In our study, we verified the reason guiding a child's choice in an ambiguous condition modeled by situations which contrast intentional and effective adult behavior. We discovered that infants between 17 and 20 months old preferred to copy an adult's intentional action even if this action did not result in positive outcome, but did not copy an adult's accidental action, even if the action ended up with an attractive result. However, the child's tendency to follow the adult's intention develops during the process of growing, as no similar pattern is observed in children between 12 and 16 months old. Here we also discuss this phenomenon in terms of its relation to the existing data on the overimitation effect and the age range of its manifestation. The current study provides a view of social learning development which is an alternative to the traditional view which treats social learning only as an increase in the complexity of acquired actions with age. Our results suggest that what changes with development is that actions learned and demonstrated by the child become more and more relevant to planning and control of behavior.


The late assembly (L) domain of retrovirus Gag, required in the final steps of budding for efficient exit from the host cell, is thought to mediate its function through interaction with unknown cellular factors. Here, we report the identification of the Nedd4-like family of E3 ubiquitin protein ligases as proteins that specifically interact with the Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) L domain in vitro and in vivo. We screened a chicken embryo cDNA expression library by using a peptide derived from the RSV p2b sequence, isolating two unique partial cDNA clones. Neither clone interacted with a peptide containing mutations known to disrupt in vivo RSV L domain function or with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) L domain-derived peptides. The WW domain region of one of the clones, late domain-interacting protein 1 (LDI-1), but not the C2 domain, bound RSV Gag and inhibited RSV Gag budding from human 293 cells in a dominant-negative manner, functionally implicating LDI-1 in RSV particle budding from cells. RSV Gag can be coimmune precipitated from cell extracts with an antisera directed at an exogenously expressed hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged LDI-1 or endogenous Nedd4 proteins. These findings mechanistically link the cellular ubiquitination pathway to retrovirus budding.


Some proprietary estoppel cases arise out of bargainlike agreements or understandings. One party promises another that he has, or will acquire, an interest in land often in return for some quid pro quo.The nature of the interest to be acquired is well-defined, it is understood as being intended to be taken seriously. The arrangement is reached in a commercial context and, to a greater or lesser extent, there is an expectation that a formal written agreement or grant would be appropriate. Nevertheless, the assurances are clearly not 'subject to contract' and are intended to bind the party giving them. The question is whether these arrangements need to comply with the formalities or registration requirements demanded of contracts for the disposition of an interest in land. Should it be possible to rely on proprietary estoppel where the parties have not complied with the formalities required for the disposition of an interest in land? Ultimately, the question is whether or not proprietary estoppel operates independently of contract even when it arises out of a bargain between the parties.


Children are said to be the future of our society. Hence, how we take care of our children is a cause of concern. This is evident in much of the social work that is carried out in Sweden. One of the times when we find children to be the most vulnerable is when they, for different reasons, are separated from their biological families and placed in foster care. Based on the fact that Sweden over the last century has experienced an increased immigration intake we wanted to take a closer look on how this change of the population dynamics has influenced foster care in the country. Our aim with this paper is to investigate how social workers concerned with recruiting foster families for children look upon culture and ethnicity as a determinatory factor of where and with whom to place a specific child. Due to the limitations of this paper we have based our study on one city only, Malmo. Wanting to find out in depth how social workers reasoned we chose a qualitative method, and more specifically semistructured interviews. The empirical material of the study was based on interviews with nine social workers from eight different districts in the chosen city. Theories used to analyse the collected empirical material are system theory and ecological development theory. Our research concluded that despite changes in society, the social workers saw no major changes in their work. They consider cultural and ethnical heritage to be an important aspect of the recruitment process in foster care, but only one of many to be considered. Nevertheless they all admit lacking cultural knowledge.


Summary: Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of infant macaques is a useful animal model of pediatric HIV infection to evaluate the potential of chemoprophylactic regimens to reduce mother-to-infant transmission of HIV. Previous studies have demonstrated that short-term subcutaneous administration of the reverse transcriptase inhibitor tenofovir was highly effective in protecting newborn macaques against infection after a single high-dose oral inoculation with virulent SIVmac251. In the current study, we mimicked HIV transmission through breast-feeding by repeatedly feeding infant macaques low doses of SIVmac251. Topical administration of a low dose of the second-generation tenofovir prodrug GS-7340 did not have detectable prophylactic efficacy. Oral administration of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (DF; 10 mg/kg SID) lowered the infection rate at birth, but had lower efficacy against virus infection at 4 weeks of age, most likely because drug levels became suboptimal relative to those obtained with the current tenofovir DF regimen in humans. These prophylactic results further underscore the relevance of the current tenofovir DF prevention trials in pediatric and adult populations.


This socio-cultural study of promotional language covers 150 years of press notices. The aim is to discover how marketing language evolved through time. The inquiry begins in 1803 with the first Australian newspaper, which served as the 'town crier' providing information for the new settlers. The research dataset comprises advertisements for consumables, government notices, news reporting and letters to the Editor. Thus, the dataset is an ecology that evokes commercial activity in the marketplace and brings to life the language of its people. The discovery timeline shows modern advertising language germinated in the 1890s, creating propositions that construct gender-based social relationships between person and consumables.


Understanding the link between tectonics and climate and their consequences in landscape evolution is a major current issue in Earth sciences. Bedrock rivers are an important component of the landscape because they transmit changes in tectonic and/or climatic conditions by setting bedrock incision rates to which the landscape must be adjusted. Nevertheless, there remain unresolved issues in relation to bedrock river processes and response to perturbation. The effects caused by propagation of a knickpoint triggered by a sudden drop in base-level remain to be fully clarified. Questions about rates of knickpoint recession, the control exerted by structure and lithology, the morphological response of rivers after knickpoint recession and whether bedrock incision rates are re-established after the passage of a knickpoint, as theory predicts, are all issues that need to be clarified. Moreover, the estimation of bedrock incision, which is key to understand transience in landscapes, has relied on the stream power model, mainly tested on large fluvial settings. Whether the stream power model is valid for small bedrock rivers is not well understood. Some of these questions are tackled in this research, by studying small bedrock river catchments. The case of a knickpoint propagation on a homogeneous resistant lithology (quartzite), triggered by an instantaneous base-level lowering ( 18 m in 13.6 ka), is evaluated here, as well as the effect of structure and the morphological response of rivers to base-level fall. Two approaches were followed: (1) stream profile analysis using slope-area and distance-slope plots and (2) the analysis of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides to obtain erosion rates. The Isle of Jura, located in the west coast of Scotland, was selected as natural laboratory because bedrock rivers incise the landscape and rapid rock uplift resulting from glacio-isostatic rebound after the Last Glacial Maximum has left the Jura landscape in transience. The present research is organised in seven chapters. In chapter 1, the motivation for this research is presented. In chapter 2, a review of theory underpinning research on bedrock rivers, landscape evolution and knickpoint generation, is detailed. The relevant studies in the field are also reviewed. The physical setting of Jura is characterised in chapter 3, as well as the morphometry of catchments, stressing the effect of Quaternary glaciation on the landscape of Jura. Unpublished exposure ages and analysis of the resultant raised beaches (~35 m OD) of Jura's west coast are used to demonstrate a sudden drop in base-level in Jura ~13.6 ka. Chapter 4 details how stream long profiles were extracted and how the slope-area (SA) and distance-slope (DS) analyses were undertaken. This chapter 4 shows that the Jura rivers have strong imprints related to glacial processes and base-level fall, making it difficult to use SA and DS models to estimate channel incision as has been done for large fluvial settings. Chapter 5 is explains how the base-level fall knickpoints were identified and it is shown that stream discharge is a first-order control on knickpoint propagation. Structure and lithology, on the other hand, are not first-order controls on knickpoint recession. Chapter 5 also evaluates the vertical distribution of knickpoints and morphological response of rivers after knickpoint migration, with the results indicating that stream power controls the vertical distribution of knickpoints and the morphological response of rivers to base-level fall. A threshold of ~5 km2, where rivers' ability to modify their channel, resulting in a channel convex profile, is also identified. In chapter 6 the problem of bedrock incision and the role of sediment is tackled. Based on the sampling of sediment in fieldwork, it is demonstrated that the median fraction in the rivers of Jura is ≈45 mm and grain-size neither fines nor increases with stream discharge and channel slope, strongly indicating that detachment-limited conditions are likely to control bedrock incision. In the second part of chapter 6, the incision rates upstream and downstream of the base-level fall knickpoint are obtained to test whether incision rates are re-established after knickpoint propagation. Incision rates were obtained from the concentrations of cosmogenic 10Be in samples extracted from the river bed. The results indicate that incision rates are not re-established at an expected value of ≈ 0.1 m/k yr after knickpoint migration. Rather, incision rates below the knickpoint remain somewhat elevated (≈ 0.5 m/k yr) reflecting: (1) ongoing base-level fall, and/or (2) the propagation of younger knickpoints (< 13.6 ka) in those transient reaches. The cosmogenic-derived incision rates were tested with different bedrock incision rules. The results indicate that the stream power model is a good predictor for channel incision, even for the case of small catchments. In chapter 7 the conclusions of this research are provided.


We measured δ15N signatures of macrophytes and particulate organic matter (POM) in six estuaries and three freshwater ponds of Massachusetts to assess whether the signatures could be used as indicators of the magnitude of land‐derived nitrogen loads, concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the water column, and percentage of N loads contributed by wastewater disposal. The study focused specifically on sites on Cape Cod and Nantucket Island, in the northeastern United States. There was no evidence of seasonal changes in δ15N values of macrophytes or POM. The δ15N values of macrophytes and POM increased as water column dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations increased. We found that δ15N of macrophytes, but not of POM, increased as N load increased. The δ15N values of macrophytes and groundwater NO3 tracked the percent of wastewater contribution linearly. This research confirms that δ15N values of macrophytes and NO3 can be excellent indicators of anthropogenic N in aquatic systems.


This research seeks to understand Performance Management from a New Zealand perspective and answer the question "What are the barriers to the implementation of Organisational Performance Management in the NZ Public Sector". An extensive literature review was undertaken relating to research on organisational Performance Management. The review identified that there were two key gaps in the research, (1) A contextual gap, and (2) a conceptual gap. Contextually; there is limited research about PM in New Zealand, especially in terms of the New Zealand public sector, and what was available was predominately from a practitioner view (Gill, 2011). Conceptually; the literature reviewed identified four broad barriers to implementation of PM; these were generally discussed in isolation to each other. However, analysis of these barriers suggests that there are inter-related and linked by an over arching barrier related to psychological attitudes, therefore they are co-dependent of each other: (1) organisational and managerial, (2) political, (3) cultural, and (4) psychological. Drawing on the identification of the above mentioned gaps the research sought to further explore theses gaps. From the contextual perspective within the New Zealand public sector, there are two PM frameworks in place The Performance Improvement Framework (PIF) and The Better Administrative Services Framework (BASS). The research used a case study approach to analyse results from both these PM frameworks, and identified that while the performance measurement frameworks where valuable in their own right, they lacked contextual depth, and suffered limitations from duplication and fragmentation. The case study highlighted further emergent themes related to the conceptual perspective, confirming that there were indeed barriers associated with successful implementation of the performance information gained from these frameworks. These barriers aligned with those identified in the literature review; however, additional themes emerged. These were the lack of incentives to drive improvements, the impact of risk taking, fragmentation and duplication and the absence of a holistic system view of agency performance. These emergent themes interlink with the barriers identified and reiterate that psychological perceptions and attitudes are the core resistance to the successful implementation of performance management and should not be viewed in isolation.


Blind source separation via independent component analysis (ICA) has received increasing attention because of its potential application in signal processing system. The existing ICA methods can not give a consistent estimator of the mixing matrix because of additive noise. Based on interpretation and properties of the vectorial spaces of sources and mixtures, a new ICA method is presented in this paper that may constructively reject noise so as to estimate the mixing matrix consistently. This procedure may capture the underlying source dynamics effectively even if additive noise exists. The simulation results show that this method has high stability and reliability in the process of revealing the undering group structure of extracted ICA components.


This paper presents the microfabrication process of a MEMS piezoresistive shear stress sensor for direct, quantitative measurement of time-resolved, fluctuating wall shear stress. The sensor structure integrates shadow side-implanted diffused resistors into the sensor tethers for detecting in-plane deflection. Temperature compensation is achieved by integrating a fixed, dummy Wheatstone bridge adjacent to the active shear stress sensor. The device is fabricated from an SOI wafer using an 8-mask process. A phosphorus blanket implantation forms an n-well to ensure P/N junction isolation. Boron implantation forms a heavily doped Ohmic contact. The tethers and floating element are defined by patterning PECVD oxide via RIE and DRIE. The Si is etched vertically to 8 &mgr;m via DRIE to form the trench for the sidewall implant. The scallops formed on the sidewalls during DRIE are smoothed by hydrogen annealing. After a preamorphization implant, boron is implanted at an oblique angle of 54° to achieve a 5 &mgr;m shadow side-wall implantation. The structure is released from the backside using a combination of DRIE and RIE to etch the silicon, oxide, and nitride layers. Finally, the sensors are annealed in forming gas. Preliminary electrical testing indicates linear, junction-isolated resistors.


The convergence of computers and telecommunication and the rapid growth of the Internet have redefined business rules and the way people exchange information. Due to emergence of e-commerce users have guaranteed timeliness and reliability requirements for information service utilization in heterogeneous and evolving environment of the Internet. Information systems based on conventional client/server database technology cannot meet these users' requirements. This fosters an urgent need to design an information service system that can meet users' heterogeneous requirements for services, and assure adaptability to cope with ever-changing situations to provide high-assurance. Faded information field has been proposed as a distributed information service system architecture that is sustained by push/pull mobile agents to bring high-assurance of services through users' preference-oriented information provision on supply-demand basis. When users' demand changes, the information environment is dynamically restructured to achieve the same response time for all unspecified users. The major contribution of this paper is the proposition of autonomous information allocation technique through mobile agents to achieve load balancing in the proposed distributed information system to assure equal and improved response time of all users under changing users' preferences. The effectiveness of the proposed technique has been shown through simulation.


We have studied the effect of a short period of exposure to the intense heat of a sauna bath on the electrocardiogram and plasma catecholamine, free fatty acid, and triglyceride concentrations in 17 subjects with apparently normal hearts and 18 persons with coronary heart disease. Similar observations were made on 11 of the 17 normal subjects and on 7 of the persons with coronary heart disease in response to exercise. Exposure to heat was associated with an increase in plasma adrenaline with no change in noradrenaline, free fatty acid, or triglyceride concentrations. Exercise was associated with the expected increase in both plasma noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations. A heart rate up to 180 beats/min was observed in response to both heat and exercise. Apart from the ST-T changes inherent to sinus tachycardia, ST-T segment abnormalities were frequent in response to heat in both the subjects with normal and abnormal hearts, but little change occurred in the ST-T configuration when the subjects were exercised to produce comparable heart rates. Ectopic beats, sometimes numerous and multifocal, were observed in some subjects of both groups in response to heat, but not to exercise. It seems likely that the net unbalanced adrenaline component of the increased plasma catecholamine concentrations (which is also seen in certain emotional stress situations) is predominantly responsible for ischaemic-like manifestations of the electrocardiogram in susceptible subjects. The observations provide further validation for previously reported studies that it is the increased plasma noradrenaline in response to emotional stress that is associated with the release of free fatty acids and ultimate hypertriglyceridaemia, of probable importance in the aetiology of atheroma.


: Bluetongue (BT) is a viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants. It is particularly damaging in sheep, where up to half of infected animals may die, showing inflammation and hemorrhages of the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and intestines. In cattle and goats, BT rarely causes disease, however it can affect the animal's reproductive ability, so that losses are not easily estimated. Bluetongue virus spreads from animal to animal by biting insects of the genus Culicoides; and this is the reason why the disease is more prevalent in geographic areas where climate conditions are favourable for their development. The disease was first recognized in South Africa in the late 1700's, but it was not until the early 1900's that it was described in detail, and at present, epizootiology and pathogenesis studies are still being carried on.


Filaminopathy is a subtype of myofibrillar myopathy caused by mutations in FLNC, the gene encoding filamin C, and histologically characterized by pathologic accumulation of several proteins within skeletal muscle fibers. With the aim to get new insights in aggregate composition, we collected aggregates and control tissue from skeletal muscle biopsies of six myofibrillar myopathy patients harboring three different FLNC mutations by laser microdissection and analyzed the samples by a label-free mass spectrometry approach. A total of 390 proteins were identified, and 31 of those showed significantly higher spectral indices in aggregates compared with patient controls with a ratio >1.8. These proteins included filamin C, other known myofibrillar myopathy associated proteins, and a striking number of filamin C binding partners. Across the patients the patterns were extremely homogeneous. Xin actin-binding repeat containing protein 2, heat shock protein 27, nebulin-related-anchoring protein, and Rab35 could be verified as new filaminopathy biomarker candidates. In addition, further experiments identified heat shock protein 27 and Xin actin-binding repeat containing protein 2 as novel filamin C interaction partners and we could show that Xin actin-binding repeat containing protein 2 and the known interaction partner Xin actin-binding repeat containing protein 1 simultaneously associate with filamin C. Ten proteins showed significant lower spectral indices in aggregate samples compared with patient controls (ratio <0.56) including M-band proteins myomesin-1 and myomesin-2. Proteomic findings were consistent with previous and novel immunolocalization data. Our findings suggest that aggregates in filaminopathy have a largely organized structure of proteins also interacting under physiological conditions. Different filamin C mutations seem to lead to almost identical aggregate compositions. The finding that filamin C was detected as highly abundant protein in aggregates in filaminopathy indicates that our proteomic approach may be suitable to identify new candidate genes among the many MFM patients with so far unknown mutation.


...................................................................................................................... iii APPROVAL FOR SCHOLARLY DISSEMINATION ..................................................... v DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER


Abstract This article presents a simple technique of identifying the initial speed that allows for restarting a sensorless induction motor (IM) drive controlled by a model predictive flux control (MPFC). Initial speed identification is required because, according to the research, the applied current-model reference adaptive system (C-MRAS) can restart the IM after failure only if the error of the initial speed set in the estimator is <25%. The proposed technique is based on short periods of flux generation for the certain initial speed and observation of the estimated torque respond. The direction of the estimated torque determines whether the real speed is higher or lower than the initial one set in the estimator. In two steps, the algorithm identifies the initial speed with an accuracy of 25%. This allows for a quick restart of the IM from any speed, eliminating the disadvantage of the sensorless drive control system with the C-MRAS speed estimator. The experimental results measured on a 50 kW drive which illustrates the operation and performances of the system are presented.


Currently, several of the high performance processors used in a PC cluster have a DVS (dynamic voltage scaling) architecture that can dynamically scale processor voltage and frequency. Adaptive scheduling of the voltage and frequency enables us to reduce power dissipation without a performance slowdown during communication and memory access. In this paper, we propose a method of profiled-based power-performance optimization by DVS scheduling in a high-performance PC cluster. We divide the program execution into several regions and select the best gear for power efficiency. Selecting the best gear is not straightforward since the overhead of DVS transition is not free. We propose an optimization algorithm to select a gear using the execution and power profile by taking the transition overhead into account. We have built and designed a power-profiling system, PowerWatch. With this system we examined the effectiveness of our optimization algorithm on two types of power-scalable clusters (Crusoe and Turion). According to the results of benchmark tests, we achieved almost 40% reduction in terms of EDP (energy-delay product) without performance impact (less than 5%) compared to results using the standard clock frequency.


While much is known about the characteristics of consumers or businesses that obtain credit lines, relatively little is known empirically about credit line utilization after origination. This study fills that gap by testing two interrelated hypotheses concerning borrower credit quality and credit line utilization. The empirical analysis confirms that borrowers with higher expectations of future credit quality deterioration originate credit lines to preserve financial flexibility. Furthermore, we estimate a competing risks model that confirms our predictions concerning changes in borrower credit line utilization in response to borrower credit quality shocks.


Scan based test is a double edged sword. On one hand, it is a powerful test technique. On the other hand, it is an equally powerful attack tool. We show that scan chains can be used as a side channel to recover secret keys from a hardware implementation of the Data Encryption Standard (DES). By loading pairs of known plaintexts with one-bit difference in the normal mode and then scanning out the internal state in the test mode, we first determine the position of all scan elements in the scan chain. Then, based on a systematic analysis of the structure of the nonlinear substitution boxes, and using three additional plaintexts we discover the DES secret key. Finally, some assumptions in the attack are discussed.


This article reports on a study investigating strategies that students can use to develop skills in managing team learning. Two groups of second-year management students participated in a semester-long action research project over two semesters. The students were educated on team development, team processes and conflict management and how to review and enhance team development. Teaching staff supported the approach and students were regularly encouraged to reflect on and learn about how their behaviour contributed to team effectiveness. This approach encouraged student participation and ownership as well as early intervention if problems arose. Findings suggest that when students are taught to manage the processes of teamwork and take greater ownership of managing conflict and team relations they report less conflict and less social loafing and are more satisfied with their learning outcomes.


The authors report on clinical and electrophysiological studies of a patient with Type I Oguchi's disease. Numerous small pigmentations of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) causing focal disruption of the Oguchi reflex were observed, a phenomenon which has not previously been reported. Consistent with reports of pathologic changes in the RPE, an abnormal electro-oculogram (EOG) was recorded in this patient. On the basis of this information, the pigmentations were interpreted as dysplastic changes.


Reconfigurable computing has been driven largely by the development of commodity field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Standard FPGAsare somewhat of a mixed blessing for this field.In this survey we give a brief overview of programming logics and we present configurable logic block (CLB) and Look Up Table (LUT) as logic elements. Also we presented the definition of fine and coarse-grain architectures and present some commercial examples.This survey is also introduced the reconfigurable computing models like static and dynamic, single and multi-context and partial reconfiguration architectures. Finally run-time reconfigurable computing and the coupling of reconfigurable processing unit (RUP) delineated.


As of January 2008, more than 400,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced in the regions of Darfur and Chad. This event has not gone unnoticed in the United States, as the 109th United States Congress (2005-2006) considered several measures in the House of Representatives to provide funding and peace- keeping forces to quell the violence in Darfur. The goal of this article is to explain individ- ual members' of Congress (MCs') support for Darfur legislation by examining the influence of their individual, district, and institutional characteristics. The Darfur case provides the opportunity to analyze factors critical to congressional behavior in a context where there is reason to expect an MC's usual set of incentives—e.g., reelection and adherence to party—to be less prominent. In all, we contribute to congressional and foreign policy research by parceling out the determinants of congressional support for foreign policy in comparison to domestic policy.


In intelligent pattern design, relationship between human body Fig. characterestics and garment pattern structure should be established. In this paper, various female bodies of standard, convex stomach, convex hip, X style legs and O style legs respectively were chosen as objects, intelligent paper pattern design system based on body Fig. was established by carrying out intelligent creation of standard pattern design and special pattern revision based on nature semantic driving by using parameter designing principle of Fig. feature. The system adopted a type of hierarchical tree structure which fully considering optimization of multi-functions. Operators just need to input measurement data of human body and select or setup body Fig. following system prompt. And then paper pattern can be created and modified automatically according to the data and selection of operators. Operators can also change design by re-evaluating parameters to form intelligent garment PCAD so as to provide research basis of intelligent female trousers pattern design system.


Experiments with industrial robot systems showed that the accuracy of these systems is not sufficient for many surgical applications. Hence, we developed an algorithm which takes the trajectory generator of the robot control system into account. Furthermore, the inhomogeneous milling characteristics of a bone are predicted by its computed tomography (CT). Results from experiments demonstrated that the demanded accuracy can be achieved using this approach. Since December 1997 several patients have been treated with our surgical robot CASPAR, which encapsulates this strategy in the field of total hip replacement (THR).


Ultraviolet A (UVA, 320-400 nm) radiation, an oxidizing component of sunlight, leads to an immediate increase in the labile iron in human skin fibroblasts. Exposure of skin fibroblasts to UVA radiation is also known to induce nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) DNA-binding activity, although the underlying mechanism is unclear. We report here that in skin fibroblasts, the extent of NF-kappaB activation by UVA tightly correlates with the level of "UVA-induced" labile iron release as shown by both iron chelation and iron loading treatments. Furthermore, our data indicate that the slow kinetics of induction of NF-kappaB by UVA relative to other oxidants previously studied is due to a transient increase in permeability of nuclear membrane to proteins and occurs as a result of labile iron-mediated damage to nuclear membrane. Since in addition to iron chelators, lipid peroxidation inhibitors also decrease the UVA-mediated induction of NF-kappaB, we propose that the rapid release of labile iron by UVA might act as a catalyst to exacerbate the generation of lipid secondary messengers in skin cell membranes that are responsible for induction of NF-kappaB. This novel role for iron in amplifying NF-kappaB mobilization in response to UVA-induced oxidative stress aids understanding of its involvement in UV-induced skin inflammation.


Traditional planning assumes reachability goals and/or full observability. In this paper, we propose a novel solution for safety and reachability planning with partial observability. Given a planning domain, a safety property, and a reachability goal, we automatically learn a safe and permissive plan to guide the planning domain so that the safety property is not violated and which can force the planning domain to eventually reach states satisfying the reachability goal no matter how the planning domain behaves. Our technique is based on active learning of regular languages and symbolic model checking. We describe an implementation of the proposed technique and demonstrate that the tool can efficiently construct safe and permissive plans for four examples.


In this paper we prove near quadratic lower bounds for depth-3 arithmetic formulae over fields of characteristic zero. Such bounds are obtained for the elementary symmetric functions, the (trace of) iterated matrix multiplication, and the determinant. As corollaries we get the first non-trivial lower bounds for computing polynomials of constant degree, and a gap between the power depth-3 arithmetic formulas and depth-4 arithmetic formulas. The main technical contribution relates the complexity of computing a polynomial in this model to the wealth of partial derivatives it has on every affine subspace of small co-dimension. Lower bounds for related models utilize an algebraic analog of Nechiporuk lower bound on Boolean formulae.


Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is an established treatment for the induction of clinical remission in children with active Crohn's disease (CD). However, the benefit of partial enteral nutrition (PEN), in which only some diet is replaced with enteral nutrition, is not well-documented for the management of CD. This review explored the effectiveness of PEN as sole or adjunctive induction and maintenance therapy in patients with CD.

 The protocol for this review was registered on PROSPERO (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ protocol ID: CRD42021239325). Literature search was conducted using PubMed, Ovid Embase, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature electronic bibliographic databases. Eligible study designs included: randomised control trials (RCTs), prospective, retrospective, and case control studies. Level of evidence was assessed with CASP tools with an emphasis on study design, and assessment of compliance and objective disease activity biomarkers. Two researchers evaluated each paper separately and when needed, consensus was resolved by a third.

 56 articles met the inclusion criteria, grouped under the following 6 distinct areas for PEN use in CD: 1) induction treatment; 2) maintenance treatment; 3) prevention of post-operative recurrence; 4) prevention of loss of response (LOR) to anti-TNFα therapies; 5) nutritional rehabilitation; 6) improvement of quality of life (QOL). Low-quality evidence suggests PEN may improve disease activity in patients with active CD; treatment efficacy was observed to be better in studies using higher proportions of energy intake from PEN. Good quality evidence suggests PEN combined with exclusion diets may be effective in active CD. However, most available studies originated from a single research group, and the additional benefits of exclusion diets over PEN are unclear, particularly as most studies used either high PEN volumes (>75% of energy requirements), or EEN prior to PEN initiation. Good quality evidence shows that PEN at high volumes (≥35–50%) may prolong medically or surgically induced remission and improve the nutritional status of patients with malnutrition or growth delay. Low-quality evidence suggests that PEN may improve response and remission rates to infliximab therapy in CD. Three retrospective studies found that concomitant PEN with anti-TNFα therapies could prevent LOR. Some evidence indicates that PEN is associated with better QOL in patients with active disease or in remission.

 PEN may have a beneficial role in various aspects of CD management; however, more robust data including RCTs are needed before specific recommendations can be made.


Preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) easily qualifies as a high‐value opportunity to improve childhood survival and health: the unmet need is significant (major preventable burden), the intervention is transformative (providing sufficient folic acid), and delivery strategies (e.g., fortification) are effective in low‐resource countries. Yet, NTD prevention is lagging. Can public health surveillance help fix this problem? Critics contend that surveillance is largely unnecessary, that limited resources are best spent on interventions, and that surveillance is unrealistic in developing countries. The counterargument is twofold: (1) in the absence of surveillance, interventions will provide fewer benefits and cost more and (2) effective surveillance is likely possible nearly everywhere, with appropriate strategies. As a base strategy, we propose "triple surveillance:" integrating surveillance of cause (folate insufficiency), of disease occurrence (NTD prevalence), and of health outcomes (morbidity, mortality, and disability). For better sustainability and usefulness, it is crucial to refocus and streamline surveillance activities (no recreational data collection), weave surveillance into clinical care (integrate in clinical workflow), and, later, work on including additional risk factors and pediatric outcomes (increase benefits at low marginal cost). By doing so, surveillance becomes not a roadblock but a preferential path to prevention and better care.


It is widely accepted that only the victim of a wrong can forgive that wrong. Several philosophers have recently defended "third-party forgiveness," the scenario in which A, who is not the victim of a wrong in any sense, forgives B for a wrong B did to C. Focusing on Glen Pettigrove's argument for third-party forgiveness, I will defend the victim's unique standing to forgive, by appealing to the fact that in forgiving, victims must absorb severe and inescapable costs of distinctive kinds, a plight that third parties do not share. There are, nonetheless, significant, even essential, roles played by third parties in making forgiveness possible, reasonable, or valuable for victims of serious wrongs. I take a closer look at the links between victims, wrongdoers, resentment, and forgiveness in showing why the victim alone can forgive.


Process equipment is essential for product manufacturing, especially for complex products such as aircraft and rocket. In order to improve the motion precision and automation level of process equipment, a new approach is brought forward. A data driven based process equipment automatic control system is introduced to control process equipment automatically according to process data. Fig. 1 in the full paper gives the system's architecture. Based on analysis of the relationship among manufacturing processes, process plan information and process equipment, process equipment automatic control oriented information model was established. In order to realize automatic control of process equipment, a process equipment automatic control and management framework was established. The key technologies including motion control and motion detecting are discussed in detail. At last, the technology was applied to the design and manufacturing of a horizontal rocket rivet fixture. The application results show that this technology could remarkably increase the efficiency and accuracy of the manufacturing process.


When spending time out of doors in summer, certain rules of behavior need to be observed. Environmental factors such as, for example, water, the beach and the midday sun all have a major influence on the UV radiation burden to which people may be subjected. In addition, the sun's rays can interact with certain medications, alcohol and drugs, as also cosmetics, and trigger pathological skin reactions. A permanently sun-damaged skin is not only very difficult to treat, but is also frequently associated with malignant changes. Moderate exposure to the sun after prior gradual acclimatization is to be recommended. Patients with increased photosensitivity require special photoprotective agents.


This research focuses on the heuristic value of new digital products, book apps, which are changing contemporary reading habits, especially for the so-called 'digital natives.' their plurisemiotic nature, and the fact that they are available in bilingual/multilingual versions, invite further reflection about their translation. this study proposes a qualitative analysis of two book apps, recently published by two french pure players. book apps are a new 'technogenre' that produces a plurisemiotic environment characterized by a multimodal signifying way. this signifying specificity stimulates a reflection about the nature of the linguistic sign inspired by benveniste's definition of 'icon.' the translation of what is called in this study the book app's 'icono-letter' is thus presented as a real challenge: translators do not have to translate only a text, but the complicated synergic relationship between text, images, animations, sounds, and music. textual examples from the two book apps examined offer useful evidence of the difficult task of translating this new genre, which highlights the need to rethink digital translation through the effective dialogue between linguistic and visual semiotics, as well as between translation ethics and Semio-translation theories.


De novo lymphangiogenesis influences different pathological courses via modulating tissue fluid homeostasis, macromolecule absorption, and leukocyte transmigration. During the past decade, improved understanding of lymphatic biology, especially VEGF-C/-D/VEGFR-3-mediating lymphangiogenesis has substantially promoted clinical research in lymphatic insufficiency. The role of lymphangiogenesis in the setting of the inflammatory processes observed in transplants, inflamed cornea, wound healing, acquired lymphedema and tumor invasion, however, remains to be elucidated. The chemokine family of peptide chemoattractants and other mediators, e.g., CCL21-CCR7, D6, NF-kappaB and TNF-alpha may be important contributors to pathophysiological changes of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) and inflammatory lymphangiogenesis. Dendritic cells and macrophages may also involve in LEC proliferation and differentiation. Increased knowledge of LEC-specific modulators in inflammatory microenvironment is vital for prevention and treatment of lymphatic-associated diseases.


This book shows how to look at ways of visualizing large datasets, whether large in numbers of cases, or large in numbers of variables, or large in both. All ideas are illustrated with displays from analyses of real datasets and the importance of interpreting displays effectively is emphasized. Graphics should be drawn to convey information and the book includes many insightful examples. New approaches to graphics are needed to visualize the information in large datasets and most of the innovations described in this book are developments of standard graphics. The book is accessible to readers with some experience of drawing statistical graphics.


Low activation energy (Ea) and wide bandgap (Eg) are essential for (p)-contacts to achieve effective hole collection in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. In this work, we study Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition p-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon oxide, (p)nc-SiOx:H, combined with (p)nc-Si:H as (p)contact in front/back-contacted SHJ solar cells. We firstly determine the effect of a plasma treatment at the (i)aSi:H/(p)-contact interface on the thickness-dependent Ea of (p)-contacts. Notably, when the (p)nc-Si:H layer is thinner than 20 nm, the Ea decreases by applying a hydrogen plasma treatment and a very-high-frequency (i)ncSi:H treatment. Such an interface treatment also significantly reduces the contact resistivity of the (p)-contact stacks (ρc,p), resulting in an improvement of 6.1%abs in fill factor (FF) of the completed cells. Thinning down the (i)a-Si:H passivating layer to 5 nm leads to a low ρc,p (144 mΩ⋅cm2) for (p)-contact stacks. Interestingly, we observe an increment of FF from 72.9% to 78.3% by using (p)nc-SiOx:H layers featuring larger differences between their optical gap (E04) and Ea, which tend to enhance the built-in potential at the c-Si/(i)a-Si:H interface. Furthermore, we observe clear impacts on ρc,p, open-circuit voltage, and FF by optimizing the thicknesses of (p)contact that influence its Ea. In front junction cells, the vertical and lateral collection of holes is affected by ρc,p of (p)-contact stacks. This observation is also supported by TCAD simulations which reveal different components of lateral contributions. Lastly, we obtain both front and rear junction cells with certified FF well-above 80% and the best efficiency of 22.47%.


Summary The past four decades have witnessed a transformation in research on the benefits of psychological therapies. However, even though therapists highlight that negative and adverse effects are seen in day-to-day practice, research on the negative effects of psychotherapy is insufficient. Given the unrelenting popularity of therapies, the argument for examining the adverse effects of psychotherapy would seem to be compelling. Such a strategy would extend beyond supervision of individual therapists to the introduction of monitoring systems that allow for a more systematic examination of failed psychotherapy interventions (such as exist for medication prescribing). The starting point could be the development of a consensus on how to define, classify and assess psychotherapy side-effects, unwanted events, adverse reactions, etc. This would provide a conceptual framework for communication, monitoring and research. This approach should not be viewed as an attack on therapies: every branch of medicine learns from mistakes, the same must surely be true for psychological treatments.


We report on the investigation of a Salmonella Enteritidis out-break in hospitals and nursing homes in the district Oberallgaeu, Bavaria, in July 2004. Affected by this outbreak were hospital patients, inhabitants of nursing homes, kitchen coworkers and maintenance personnel. Within this outbreak six deaths were observed. A forensic medical investigation of four deaths revealed two cases of Salmonella enteritis as the primary cause of death, another cause of death was due to other causes and one cause of death remained unclear. The microbiological investigation of stool samples linked all positive samples to an outbreak during this period. The epidemiological outbreak curve pointed towards a foodborne transmission of the pathogen. The infection period could be limited to the weekend of the 3./4.7.2004. All affected institutions were supplied by a catering service with several sites. All tested food samples were negative for Salmonella Enteritis. Epidemiological investigations revealed that a contaminated pudding was probably responsible for the outbreak.


Respiratory infections represent an important and frequent cause of disease in cats and dogs worldwide. Many pathogens have been associated with feline (FIRD) and canine infectious respiratory disease (CIRD) including feline calicivirus (FCV) and herpesvirus (FeHV-1) in cats and canine distemper virus (CDV), parainfluenza virus (CPiV), adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2), herpesvirus (CHV) and Bordetella bronchiseptica in dogs. All these pathogens are currently included in either core or non-core vaccines, leading to a reduction in overall disease burden. Despite widespread use of vaccines, disease is still present at significant levels. In dogs, several new pathogens, potentially associated with respiratory disease, have recently emerged including canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV) and canine pneumovirus (CnPnV). In cats, it has been theorised that the high rates of evolution of viruses such as FCV may lead to a reduction of vaccine efficacy. Finally, even though respiratory disease of suspected infectious origin is frequent, the culprit often remains unidentified. This thesis aims to build understanding of canine and feline infectious respiratory disease epidemiology, re-evaluate the roles of known and suspected pathogens in this syndrome and to aid in informing the development of new disease prevention strategies. During a cross-sectional study across 6 European countries, samples were collected from 1521 veterinary practice attending cats. The prevalence of FCV in this population was 9.2%. Phylogenetic analysis of these field isolates showed high viral variability with a radial phylogeny. In vitro viral neutralisation suggested that antibodies raised to the FCV-F9 vaccine strain (which has been widely in use for decades) are still broadly cross-reactive to contemporary field isolates. A retrospective serosurvey of 200 canine and 179 feline samples screened for influenza A and B viruses suggested that UK dogs and cats have been rarely exposed to influenza viruses in recent years with only 1.5% of canine samples being seropositive for equine H3N8 and 0.56% of feline samples being seropositive to human pandemic 2009 H1N1. Two case control studies were conducted in British veterinary practices in order to re-appraise the role of known and potential upper respiratory pathogens in pet dogs and cats. In the feline study, FCV was detected in 21.1% of cases and 4.7% controls. FeHV-1 was detected in 10.5% cases and 1.6% controls. Bordetella bronchiseptica was identified in 5.3% cases and 9.4% controls. Finally, 65.8% cases and 48.8% controls were positive for M. felis. In the canine study, CRCoV was identified in 6.1% of cases, CnPnV in 4.4% cases and 1.2% controls, M.cynos in 4.4% cases and 2.3% controls, and B.bronchiseptica in 6.7% cases and 20.7% controls. No samples tested positive for CAV-2, CPiV, CHV, CDV, influenza A, Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus or C.felis. A cross-sectional sampling of dogs and cats was conducted in four British shelters with one of these also taking part in a 10-week longitudinal study. FCV, FeHV-1 and M. felis were detected in 7.4%, 4.6% and 16.8% feline samples. Cross-sectional dog samples tested negative for all pathogens included in the study. In the longitudinal study, M. felis was the most frequently encountered microorganism followed by FCV in cats. In dogs, CnPnV was identified during two weeks that coincided with reports of canine respiratory disease by members of the shelter staff. Together, findings confirm the importance of CIRD and FIRD as multifactorial syndromes in both pet and unowned shelter populations where pathogen shedding is often observed without clinical signs. In FIRD, FCV is reaffirmed as a majorly important disease causing pathogen. Finally, where CIRD is concerned, findings suggest that recently emerged pathogens such as CRCoV are of increasing importance in this syndrome whereas classic pathogens seem to be less and less present, likely due to widespread vaccination.


The substitution process is an important tool defined in the REACH Regulation to remove the risks derived from the use of hazardous chemicals. However, when the alternative substance is suitable in technical and economic terms, but it is just as harmful or potentially worse as the replaced one, the process results in regrettable substitution. The absence of information regarding the hazard properties of the substitute substance, inconsistencies on implementation of the European chemicals Regulations, and the lack of interest of some part of the industry to manage stringent classifications, are the main reasons why this situation is generated. Change in the paradigm 'No data, no market' to 'No data, no problem', and replacement with the 'Least regulated alternative' instead of the 'Least hazardous alternative' are the results of the regrettable substitution scenarios. In order to avoid this practice, EU Authorities and the chemical industry should work together to achieve solutions, like clarifying the objective of substitution, improving the regulatory processes, or involving industry and stakeholders into rigorous evaluations of potential alternatives to substances of concern. This will guarantee a level playing field for companies on the European market of chemicals in front of regrettable substitution.


This discussion of IUDs covers the following: usage shifts to copper IUDs; issues for the 1980s; comparing the Lippes Loop and copper IUDs; life span of copper devices; steroid releasing IUDs; donor agency supplies; types of devices used; insertion and removal (timing of interval insertion postpartum insertion postabortion insertion postcoital insertion measuring the uterus removal and insertion by nurse midwives and paramedicals); bleeding (risk of anemia limited bleeding); infection (mechanisms of infection prevention treatment actinomyces); pregnancy (uterine pregnancies ectopic pregnancies differences among devices and subsequent fertility); product and packaging issues (manufacture in developing countries prices bulk and individual packaging methods of sterilizing IUDs and storage). At this time about 60 million women worldwide are using IUDs including over 40 million in China. In recent years the total number of users has remained relatively stable. The life table event rates per 100 women by which IUDs are usually evaluated are approximately as follows after 1 year of use in large multicenter studies: pregnancy 0.5-5; expulsion 5-15; removal for bleeding/pain (5-15); removal for other medical reasons 3-9; and removel for personal reasons 1-6. Continuation rates 1 year after insertion tend to range from 50-85% high rates for a reversible mothed. Some shift in usage occurred in the late 1970s from unmedicated Lippes Loop to copper releasing IUDs and to a lesser extent to IUDs that release progestins into the uterine cavity. Copper devices now have captured much of the market in the US and Western europe and amount to about 2/3 of the supplies provided by donor agencies to many developing countries. During the 1980s attention should probably focus less on the search for an ideal device and more on the need for family planning programs to identify suitable candidates for IUDs encourage better health service support for IUD insertion and follow-up and the newer IUDs more widely available to individuals and national programs. In most developing countries the great majority of IUDs are supplied by various national and international donor agencies that purchase large quantities at the lowest possible price and ship them to government and private programs. No data are available on the number of each type of IUD currently in use. Proper insertion of an IUD is important. Insertion can affect all major events that determine success. While there are several different techniques for inserting IUDs with each the skill of the operator is critical. Recent studies fo about 10000 women show that there is no one preferable time for insertion.


OBJECTIVE
To assess, through qualitative studies of 4 medically underserved communities, the receptivity of chiropractors, other health care providers, and consumers to the idea of chiropractors' assuming a focal role in primary care.

METHOD
Visits by a team of 2 researchers to 4 medically underserved communities: (1) rural towns in eastern Oregon; (2) rural towns in Iowa; (3) underserved areas of Miami, Fla; and (4) underserved areas of Chicago, Ill. Each site visit included interviews with chiropractors, other health care providers, and managers of health facilities as well as with focus groups of consumers.

RESULTS
If chiropractors were to pursue a primary care role based on an allopathic model of primary care, there would not be widespread consumer receptivity. Those consumers who are most likely to use chiropractors as primary care providers are those who prefer health care models that have a close affinity with lay conceptualizations of illness and health care.

CONCLUSIONS
The community studies suggested that chiropractors and consumers might prefer that chiropractors not be primary care providers in a conventional way and that the allopathic community might be indifferent or even hostile to the idea of chiropractors and other non-MDs as major primary care providers. Current practice models of chiropractors do not include a strong allopathic model of primary care, although they are consistent with consumer preferences and satisfying to chiropractors.


The aim of this thesis is to understand the fundamental limitations on secret key distillation in various settings of quantum key distribution. We first consider quantum steering, which is a resource for one-sided device-independent quantum key distribution. We introduce a conditional mutual information based quantifier for quantum steering, which we call intrinsic steerability. Next, we consider quantum non-locality, which is a resource for device-independent quantum key distribution. In this context, we introduce a quantifier, intrinsic non-locality, which is a monotone in the resource theory of Bell non-locality. Both these quantities are inspired by intrinsic information and squashed entanglement and are based on conditional mutual information. The idea behind these quantifiers is to suppress the correlations that can be explained by a local hidden variable or by an inaccessible quantum system, thus quantifying the remaining intrinsic correlations. We then prove various properties of these two monotones, which includes the following: monotonicity under free operations, additivity under tensor product of objects, convexity, and faithfulness, among others. Next, we prove that intrinsic steerability is an upper bound on the secret-keyagreement capacity of an assemblage, and intrinsic non-locality is an upper bound on the secret-key-agreement capacity of a quantum probability distribution. Thus we prove that these quantities are upper bounds on the achievable key rates in one-sided device-independent and device-independent quantum key distribution protocols. We also calculate these bounds for certain honest devices. The study of these upper bounds is instrumental in understanding the limitations of protocols that can be designed for various settings. These upper bounds inform us that, even if one considers the best possible protocol, there is no possibility of exceeding the upper bounds on key rates without a quantum repeater. The upper bounds introduced in this thesis are


Attempting to model human categorization and similarity judgements is both a very interesting but also an exceedingly difficult challenge. Some of the difficulty arises because of conflicting evidence whether human categorization and similarity judgements should or should not be modelled as to operate on a mental representation that is essentially metric. Intuitively, this has a strong appeal as it would allow (dis)similarity to be represented geometrically as distance in some internal space. Here we show how a single stimulus, carefully constructed in a psychophysical experiment, introduces l2 violations in what used to be an internal similarity space that could be adequately modelled as Euclidean. We term this one influential data point a conflictual judgement. We present an algorithm of how to analyse such data and how to identify the crucial point. Thus there may not be a strict dichotomy between either a metric or a non-metric internal space but rather degrees to which potentially large subsets of stimuli are represented metrically with a small subset causing a global violation of metricity.


After the first approval of direct-acting antivirals, new targets are being developed and new treatment combinations are being developed. In order to describe this new treatment effects we have used a multiscale model that is able to describe a triphasic decline. This model combines approaches from two recently published multiscale models for HCV viral kinetics (1, 2). We started with an extended version of the standard model, the so called ICCI (Intracellular and Cellular Infection Model) (1). This model takes the intracellular replication cycle into account by introducing two new compartments inside the infected cells compartment. The first compartment describes the number of intracellular viral genomic units (positive genomic RNA strands, R) that are available for transcription and translation per infected cell and the second compartment describes the number of replication units (negative-strand/double-stranded RNA,R) that are available for synthesis of genomic RNA. During untreated chronic infection, R serves as a resource for the formation of replication units with rate beta while intracellular RNA strands will be produced by the replication units with rate alpha. During treatment, the total treatment effect is reflected by the relative reduction of the basic reproductive ratio given by (1-eps1)(1-eps2)/(1+k), where eps1 is the rate of blocking the viral production (0 0 is a parameter that potentially enhance the loss rate of intracellular RNA mimicking an approach for multiscale modeling by Guedj et al. (2). Our viral kinetic model is described by the differential equations system: References [1] Guedj, J. & Neumann, A. Understanding hepatitis C viral dynamics with direct-acting antiviral agents due to the interplay between intracellular replication and cellular infection dynamics Journal of theoretical biology, Elsevier, 2010, 267, 330-340 [2] Guedj, J.; Dahari, H.; Rong, L.; Sansone, N. D.; Nettles, R. E.; Cotler, S. J.; Layden, T. J.; Uprichard, S. L. & Perelson, A. S. Modeling shows that the NS5A inhibitor daclatasvir has two modes of action and yields a shorter estimate of the hepatitis C virus half-life Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, National Acad Sciences, 2013, 110, 3991-3996


As a new pedagogical methodology, blended learning has become popular in higher education recently. With the purpose of combining advantages of the traditional, face-to-face classroom teaching and e-learning, blended learning can provide a student-centric learning environment where students can learn at their own pace with more flexibility. Previous blended learning research has focused more on either assessing advanced systems that are used to support the online part of blended classes or discussing the overall class designs. Little has been seen to examine the gender difference on this new learning environment. In this research-in-progress, we plan to address this gap by systematically examining gender differences on different dimensions of student learning. Interestingly, our preliminary results show that, in most cases, women tend to favor the blended learning environment more than men. We present details about our preliminary analysis and results, as well as the future research plan, in this research-in-progress.


The purpose of this study was to investigate whether students' previous musical knowledge affected the rating achieved in the subject of music. My empirical material consists of interviews with three professional music teachers in local secondary schools. Two of the three teachers felt that they were not able to devote time for the students who had previous musical knowledge. Students from all schools said that teachers addressed more to help those students who found it more difficult to learn. They also said that they were assigned to work more independently and that the teacher only came to help when they asked for it.