Background Despite the successful retrieval of genomes from past remains, the prospects for human palaeogenomics remain unclear because of the difficulty of distinguishing contaminant from endogenous DNA sequences. Previous sequence data generated on high-throughput sequencing platforms indicate that fragmentation of ancient DNA sequences is a characteristic trait primarily arising due to depurination processes that create abasic sites leading to DNA breaks. Methodology/Principals Findings To investigate whether this pattern is present in ancient remains from a temperate environment, we have 454-FLX pyrosequenced different samples dated between 5,500 and 49,000 years ago: a bone from an extinct goat (Myotragus balearicus) that was treated with a depurinating agent (bleach), an Iberian lynx bone not subjected to any treatment, a human Neolithic sample from Barcelona (Spain), and a Neandertal sample from the El Sidrón site (Asturias, Spain). The efficiency of retrieval of endogenous sequences is below 1% in all cases. We have used the non-human samples to identify human sequences (0.35 and 1.4%, respectively), that we positively know are contaminants. Conclusions We observed that bleach treatment appears to create a depurination-associated fragmentation pattern in resulting contaminant sequences that is indistinguishable from previously described endogenous sequences. Furthermore, the nucleotide composition pattern observed in 5′ and 3′ ends of contaminant sequences is much more complex than the flat pattern previously described in some Neandertal contaminants. Although much research on samples with known contaminant histories is needed, our results suggest that endogenous and contaminant sequences cannot be distinguished by the fragmentation pattern alone.


This article aims to define whether, after the Polish accession to the EU, occurred the tendency to equalize incomes FADN farms from areas with different or similar conditions resource for agricultural production in Poland. Therefore, made a grouping of regions (provinces) in Poland in areas with different resource conditions for agricultural production in the three basic factors of production, ie. land, capital, labor. It has been proved that the conditions for resource after Polish accession to the EU are still a key factor income situation of farms. After 2004 occurred equalization income of individual FADN farms from areas with similar conditions resource for agricultural production. In regions with different conditions occurred in 2010-2012 opposite trend.


Arterial thrombosis and arterial embolism are well recognized entities in adult patients and have received extensive consideration in medical journals and textbooks. Little attention has, however, been paid to such vascular occlusions in young subjects, particularly infants. Dohan 1 made an excellent review of the literature on gangrene of the extremities in the new-born, and much of the information included in the accompanying table was compiled from the data which he gathered. Heller and Alvari 2 likewise presented an admirable review of gangrene of the extremities in newly born babies. Martin and Shore 3 studied 4 patients, ranging in age from 4 to 14 years, with gangrene of the extremities. These writers particularly emphasized the role of severe sepsis in production of arterial thrombosis in children. Their discussion centered principally on lesions of older subjects and had little to do with infants. Von Khautz 4 collected a group of 50


Abstract. A portable cosmic muon detector has been developed for geophysical applications: searching for large scale underground rock/soil inhomogeneities and underground cavities. The designed muon telescope called a muon tomograph is based on the recently developed closed cathode chamber (CCC) technology, which provides a cheap, easy handling, portable, and power efficient detector system able to work even in extreme conditions (e.g. high humidity, low/high temperature). The muon telescope has a detection surface of approximately 0.1 m2 with a 10 mrad angular resolution. Tests have been performed in natural caves and artificial tunnel systems as well. In this paper a summary of the first results on tomographic cavities are presented and the geophysical and possible industrial use of the cosmic muon tomographic technology is indicated.


The problem of global warming and the emission of greenhouse gases is already directly affecting the world's energy. In the future, the impact of CO2 emissions on the world economy will constantly grow. In this paper, we review the available literature sources on the benefits of using algae cultivation for CO2 capture to decrease CO2 emission. CO2 emission accounts for about 77% of all greenhouse gases, and the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions is 56% of all CO2 imports. As a result of the study of various types of algae, it was concluded that Chlorella sp. is the best at capturing CO2. Various methods of cultivating microalgae were also considered and it was found that vertical tubular bioreactors are emerging. Moreover, for energy purposes, thermochemical methods for processing algae that absorb CO2 from flue gases were considered. Of all five types of thermochemical processes for producing synthesis gas, the most preferred method is the method of supercritical gasification of algae. In addition, attention is paid to the drying and flocculation of biofuels. Several different experiments were also reviewed on the use of flue gases through the cultivation of algae biomass. Based on this literature review, it can be concluded that microalgae are a third generation biofuel. With the absorption of greenhouse gases, the growth of microalgae cultures is accelerated. When a large mass of microalgae appears, it can be used for energy purposes. In the results, we present a plan for further studies of microalgae cultivation, a thermodynamic analysis of gasification and pyrolysis, and a comparison of the results with other biofuels and other algae cultures.


In most low-power VLSI designs, the supply voltage is usually reduced to lower the total power consumption. However, the device speed will be degraded as the supply voltage goes down. In this paper, we propose new algorithmic-level techniques to compensate the increased delays based on the multirate approach. We apply the technique of polyphase decomposition to design low-power transform coding architectures, in which the transform coefficients are computed through decimated low-speed input sequences. Since the operating frequency is M-times slower than the original design while the system throughput rate is still maintained, the speed penalty can be compensated at the architectural level. We start with the design of low-power multirate discrete cosine transform (DCT)/inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) VLSI architectures. Then the multirate low-power design is extended to the modulated lapped transform (MLT), extended lapped transform (ELT), and a unified low-power transform coding architecture. Finally, we perform finite-precision analysis for the multirate DCT architectures. The analytical results can help us to choose the optimal wordlength for each DCT channel under required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) constraint, which can further reduce the power consumption at the circuit level. The proposed multirate architectures can also be applied to very high-speed block discrete transforms in which only low-speed operators are required.


We simulated stress components in three directions in the Si channel of NMOSFETs with SiC alloy S/D stressor and tensile CESL in this study. The resulting saturation drain current enhancement was analyzed. Tensile stress along the transport direction was found to dominate mobility enhancement. Stress along the width direction was found to affect drain current the least. However, for NMOSFETs, the compressive stress along vertical direction perpendicular to the gate oxide the makes considerable contribution to mobility enhancement and can not be neglected. To obtain the new mobility model for this study, we extended a simple model for strain effect in Si band, to include both shear strain and the quantum confinement effect in the inversion layer of NMOSFETs.


Understanding the communicative intentions of others based on their behavior can be seen as an `inference to the best explanation', a.k.a. abduction. As abduction is often an intractable task, it has been suggested that communicators alleviate the work of an addressee by performing recipient design, adapting their behavior to the presumed beliefs and knowledge of the addressee. In this paper we show that communicators performing recipient design inherit the computational load of their addressees. Thus, recipient design in itself cannot explain the speed of everyday human intentional communication.


The persistence of poverty in the modern American economy, with rates of poverty in some areas approaching those of less advanced economies, remains a central concern among policy makers. Therefore, in this study we use U.S. county-level data to explore potential explanations for the observed regional variation in the rates of poverty. The use of counties allows examination of both nonmetropolitan area and metropolitan area poverty. Factors considered include those that relate to both area economic performance and area demographic composition. Specific county economic factors examined include economic growth, industry restructuring, and labor market skills mismatches. Copyright 2000 Blackwell Publishers


Vortex beams were theoretically demonstrated by patterning a fiber facet with $N$-segment microphase plates. By changing the aluminum oxynitride material composition of each segment, gradient refractive-index phase plates (GRPs) were designed and introduced a ${{2}}\pi l$ azimuthal optical phase difference. The gradient index profile was able to convert a fiber Gaussian mode to a Laguerre-Gaussian mode with varieties of topological charge $l$. A three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method was applied to calculate the near-field optical phase maps and the far-field beam profiles projected from the micro-GRPs. A uniform vortex beam with a symmetrical doughnut shape was obtained by optimizing the GRPs' radii and the number of segments. The micro-GRPs enabled flat optical components for efficient vortex beam generation.


Regional prosperity not only depends on economic issues but also in social and environmental aspects. Achieving a sustainable growth path in the long term implies "coherence" in the advancement of these three dimensions (avoiding potential imbalances threatening that path). Here the notion of "sustainable" competitiveness arises. In this context, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate, through a quantitative methodology, that the coherence of economic, social and environmental dimensions is in fact at the core of regional prosperity and regional gap. To do so, the paper analyses the systemic interdependencies between these three fields using a quantitative methodological approach: the Sustainable Equilibrium Index (SEI). The results include the overall estimates for the SEI in each Spanish region as well as a detailed decomposition of the index by economic, social and environmental fields. Finally, recommendations are made to consider SEI as a metric for the upcoming RIS3 strategies.


Abstract : Almost all survey data are recall data: 'What foods did your family eat yesterday?' 'What were your expenditures last week? 'What was your income in the last four months?' 'How many pregnancies did you have in the last three years?' Retrospective data can be defined, only a little facetiously, as recall data with a reference period that is too long. For example, 'What foods did your family eat a month ago?' 'What were your expenditures six months ago?' 'What was your income five years ago?' How many pregnancies have you had since age 15? Most people, including professional surveyors, would say that respondents cannot give accurate answers to these letter questions, and that the inaccuracies increase the farther back in time the questions try to reach. Nevertheless, some researchers do gather 'retrospective' data, most notably in the fertility area but in others as well. Why do they bother? What would one do with retrospective data? The simplest answer to these questions is the answer to the separate question: What would one do with panel data? The answers are similar, because the form of the data is in both cases nearly identical.


Every international and hybrid war crimes court has attracted a measure of controversy, but none more than the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). While myriad aspects of the ECCC's record are crucial to its legacy, this article explores one question of overarching importance: whether its performance has justified a key risk the UN assumed when it agreed to support the court — that case selection would be improperly influenced by the Cambodian government. More particularly, it assesses the ECCC's performance in light of two questions: How well have safeguards against political interference worked? Are survivors of Khmer Rouge atrocities and other Cambodian citizens satisfied with ECCC justice? Along with their intrinsic importance, these benchmarks for assessment derive from the primacy of both considerations in deliberations leading to the Court's creation.


In this article, some of the possibilities and obstacles involved in attaining stable peace in the Baltic Sea region are analysed. By stable peace is understood a relationship in which military conflict resolution has become unthinkable regardless of how serious a prospective conflict may become. It is argued that stable peace does not presently exist in the region as a whole, but that instead the situation resembles what is elaborated in this article as an integrative peace built on trust, one in which elements of security competition remain in place. The article establishes an analytical framework of different peace types around the concepts of distrust, trust and confidence. This framework is subsequently employed in an analysis of developments in the Baltic Sea region after the Cold War. The analysis shows that the extensive web of cooperative schemes in place in the region shows the promise of a move towards stable peace. In addition, democratic developments in the region generally point in the same direction. One word of caution concerns the democratic developments in Russia — while generally promising, this fundamental parameter remains to be settled permanently.


A modified spectrophotometric method is developed for simultaneous estimation of alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 2-macroglobulin in human blood serum (plasma); the method is based on dissimilar interaction of these inhibitors with trypsin in the systems with a low molecular substrate N-alpha-benzoyl-l-arginine ethyl ester. alpha 1-Antitrypsin was estimated by inhibition of the arginine esterase activity of trypsin in a mixture containing human blood serum diluted 50-fold. alpha 2-Macroglobulin was estimated by maintained arginine esterase activity of the trypsin-alpha 2-macroglobulin complex, formed after interaction of an excess of trypsin with blood serum, diluted 10-fold and after subsequent inactivation of free, unbound with alpha 2-macroglobulin, trypsin by treatment with the soy bean inhibitor of trypsin. alpha 1-Antitrypsin and alpha 2-macrog-obulin were estimated by means of the method described in blood serum of healthy persons and in patients with burns or with carcinoma of pancreas. The method enables to estimate two main inhibitors of blood plasma proteinases in a small volume of blood serum (0.1 ml) very rapidly and specifically using commercially available substrate; the method might be recommended for routine clinical analysis.


Clustering is an important direction in many fields, e.g., machine learning, data mining and computer vision. It aims to divide data into groups (clusters) for the purposes of summarization or improved understanding. With the rapid development of new technology, high-dimensional data become very common in many real world applications, such as satellite returned large number of images, robot received real-time video streaming, large-scale text database and the mass of information on the social networks (i.e., Facebook, twitter), etc, however, most existing clustering approaches are heavily restricted by the large number of features, and tend to be inefficient and even infeasible. In this thesis, we focus on finding an optimal low dimensional representation of high-dimensional data, based nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) framework, for better clustering. Specifically, there are three methods as follows: - Multiple Components Based Representation Learning Real data are usually complex and contain various components. For example, face images have expressions and genders. Each component mainly reflects one aspect of data and provides information others do not have. Therefore, exploring the semantic information of multiple components as well as the diversity among them is of great benefit to understand data comprehensively and in-depth. To this end, we propose a novel multi-component nonnegative matrix factorization. Instead of seeking for only one representation of data, our approach learns multiple representations simultaneously, with the help of the Hilbert Schmidt Independence Criterion (HSIC) as a diversity term. HSIC explores the diverse information among the representations, where each representation corresponds to a component. By integrating the multiple representations, a more comprehensive representation is then established. Extensive experimental results on real-world datasets have shown that MCNMF not only achieves more accurate performance over the state-of-the-arts using the aggregated representation, but also interprets data from different aspects with the multiple representations, which is beyond what current NMFs can offer. - Ordered Structure Preserving Representation Learning Real-world applications often process data, such as motion sequences and video clips, are with ordered structure, i.e., consecutive neighbouring data samples are very likely share similar features unless a sudden change occurs. Therefore, traditional NMF assumes the data samples and features to be independently distributed, making it not proper for the analysis of such data. To overcome this limitation, a novel NMF approach is proposed to take full advantage of the ordered nature embedded in the sequential data to improve the accuracy of data representation. With a L2,1-norm based neighbour penalty term, ORNMF enforces the similarity of neighbouring data. ORNMF also adopts the L2,1-norm based loss function to improve its robustness against noises and outliers. Moreover, ORNMF can find the cluster boundaries and get the number of clusters without the number of clusters to be given beforehand. A new iterative up- dating optimization algorithm is derived to solve ORNMF's objective function. The proofs of the convergence and correctness of the scheme are also presented. Experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets have demonstrated the effectiveness of ORNMF. - Diversity Enhanced Multi-view Representation Learning Multi-view learning aims to explore the correlations of different information, such as different features or modalities to boost the performance of data analysis. Multi-view data are very common in many real world applications because data is often collected from diverse domains or obtained from different feature extractors. For example, color and texture information can be utilized as different kinds of features in images and videos. Web pages are also able to be represented using the multi-view features based on text and hyperlinks. Taken alone, these views will often be deficient or incomplete because different views describe distinct perspectives of data. Therefore, we propose a Diverse Multi-view NMF approach to explore diverse information among multi-view representations for more comprehensive learning. With a novel diversity regularization term, DiNMF explicitly enforces the orthogonality of different data representations. Importantly, DiNMF converges linearly and scales well with large-scale data. By taking into account the manifold structures, we further extend the approach under a graph-based model to preserve the locally geometrical structure of the manifolds for multi-view setting. Compared to other multi-view NMF methods, the enhanced diversity of both approaches reduce the redundancy between the multi-view representations, and improve the accuracy of the clustering results. - Constrained Multi-View Representation Learning To incorporate prior information for learning accurately, we propose a novel semi- supervised multi-view NMF approach, which considers both the label constraints as well as the multi-view consistence simultaneously. In particular, the approach guarantees that data sharing the same label will have the same new representation and be mapped into the same class in the low-dimensional space regardless whether they come from the same view. Moreover, different from current NMF- based multi-view clustering methods that require the weight factor of each view to be specified individually, we introduce a single parameter to control the distribution of weighting factors for NMF-based multi-view clustering. Consequently, the weight factor of each view can be assigned automatically depending on the dissimilarity between each new representation matrix and the consensus matrix. Besides, Using the structured sparsity-inducing, L2,1-norm, our method is robust against noises and hence can achieve more stable clustering results.


The rapid synthesis of platinum nanoparticles using ethylene glycol and microwave dielectric heating is reported here. The Pt nanoparticles after synthesis were transferred to a toluene solution of dodecanethiol (DDT) to form DDT-encapsulated Pt nanoparticles. The TEM examinations showed nearly spherical platinum nanoparticles. The particles were in the size range of 2~8 nm and exhibited narrow size distribution. They were stable in the toluene solution for at least 10 months. Larger particles were formed with longer microwave heating time, higher metal precursor salt concentrations, and lower pH values. XPS measurements revealed >80% of Pt was in the zero valent state and the S 2p signal showed strong adsorption of sulfur species on the surface of platinum nanoparticles. FTIR spectroscopy also confirmed the interactions of thiol groups and the platinum surface.


OpenStack® (the leading open source platform for public and private infrastructure-as-a-service clouds) is composed of a set of loosely coupled and rapidly evolving projects that support a wide set of technologies and configuration options. Deciding how to combine and configure such projects is the determining factor on the overall quality of the cloud, in terms of performance, scalability, and availability. In this paper, we present a methodical framework and empirical analysis to help both cloud providers and users optimize their design and deployment decisions. Cloud providers can rely on this framework to select an appropriate configuration of their cloud for a given service-level agreement. Users developing and running applications on a cloud can better fit virtual resources to their workloads. We demonstrate the power of this framework using several scenarios collected by our CloudBench® tool using application benchmarks running on actual clouds.


The research project deals with the current issue of precarity, its mechanisms, risks, effects, coping strategies as well as coping competences and addresses the impact of work-based insecurities, rising social inequalities within and across nations, with a specific regional focus on South Tyrol - a multicultural, rural area in northern Italy, bordering with Austria. Finally, it is important to identify possible innovative solutions for the labour market, Human Resources strategies and social policies. The concept of work will be related to all securitized fundamental rights, their socialization context, the global change of values and the social change in the welfare state. The recent transformation from discourses on inequality and poverty towards social exclusion and inclusion indicates a conceptual shift in the societal management of social inequalities. The global financial crisis has highlighted the connectedness between corporate and household risk behaviour and management, and their socially inequitable effects. The interdisciplinary view enables a focus on multiple insecurities and how they interact to produceprecarious work relations, in reference to working conditions and the experience of social exclusion, the links between de-regulation, liberalization and the individualization of employment risks, but also the development of interest representation and social organizations for supporting labour market outsiders. The paper describes the current process of defining the research design, preliminary reflections for the case study and shows first outcomes of the project.


A variety of studies have suggested that low-complexity domains (LCDs) tend to be intrinsically disordered and are relatively rare within structured proteins in the protein data bank (PDB). Although LCDs are often treated as a single class, we previously found that LCDs enriched in different amino acids can exhibit substantial differences in protein metabolism and function. Therefore, we wondered whether the structural conformations of LCDs are likewise dependent on which specific amino acids are enriched within each LCD. Here, we directly examined relationships between enrichment of individual amino acids and secondary structure preferences across the entire PDB proteome. Secondary structure preferences varied as a function of the identity of the amino acid enriched and its degree of enrichment. Furthermore, divergence in secondary structure profiles often occurred for LCDs enriched in physicochemically similar amino acids (e.g. valine vs. leucine), indicating that LCDs composed of related amino acids can have distinct secondary structure preferences. Comparison of LCD secondary structure preferences with numerous pre-existing secondary structure propensity scales resulted in relatively poor correlations for certain types of LCDs, indicating that these scales may not capture secondary structure preferences as sequence complexity decreases. Collectively, these observations provide a highly resolved view of structural preferences among LCDs parsed by the nature and magnitude of single amino acid enrichment. Author Summary The structures that proteins adopt are directly related to their amino acid sequences. Low-complexity domains (LCDs) in protein sequences are unusual regions made up of only a few different types of amino acids. Although this is the key feature that classifies sequences as LCDs, the physical properties of LCDs will differ based on the types of amino acids that are found in each domain. For example, the sequences "AAAAAAAAAA", "EEEEEEEEEE", and "EEKRKEEEKE" will have very different properties, even though they would all be classified as LCDs by traditional methods. In a previous study, we developed a new method to further divide LCDs into categories that more closely reflect the differences in their physical properties. In this study, we apply that approach to examine the structures of LCDs when sorted into different categories based on their amino acids. This allowed us to define relationships between the types of amino acids in the LCDs and their corresponding structures. Since protein structure is closely related to protein function, this has important implications for understanding the basic functions and properties of LCDs in a variety of proteins.


When a polymeric biomaterial is employed within a living system an interface is created between the solid surface of the polymer and an aqueous environment. The processes that occur at this interface will determine if the biomaterial is accepted by the patient and often will determine if the specific function of the biomaterial can be achieved. Increasingly, novel biomaterials are expected to perform more sophisticated functions and, therefore, their surfaces must be designed to realize precise interfacial events, such as specific interactions with proteins and cells or controlled biodegradation.

To design polymeric biomaterials with specific surface properties it is necessary to develop surface analytical techniques that can accurately characterize these properties. The work described in this thesis has aimed to investigate the potential contribution of the atomic force microscope (AFM) to this characterization.

The advantages of utilizing AFM in the study of polymeric biomaterials lie in the ability of the instrument to visualize insulating surfaces at a high resolution within a variety of environments, including gaseous and liquid environments. Therefore, it is possible to image the nanoscopic organization of polymeric biomaterials within environmental conditions that are similar to the conditions encountered within living systems.

Initial studies have concentrated on imaging the surface morphology of poly(ethylane oxide) (PEG) samples in air. These studies highlighted the high resolution capability of the AFM on untreated polymer samples. On sphemlitic samples, the AFM has visualized the lamellar organization of crystalline fibres. These lamellae had widths of between 10 and 30 nm and height variations of less than 15 nm. The ability of the AFM to resolve such structures, without the introduction of an etching or staining procedure required by transmission electron microscopy, relies on the sensitivity of the instrument to changes in the height of the topography. This sensitivity has been further utilized to image polymer strands with recorded widths of 8 nm. This width represents an overestimation of the true dimensions of the strand due to the finite size of the AFM probe apex and using the circular probe model it has been calculated that the strands have true widths of less than 0.8 nm, indicating that they are composed of one or two PEG molecules. Further studies on PEG have demonstrated the ability to control polymer surface morphology through changes in the temperature of thin film preparation and changes in the method of polymer solution deposition.

The work on PEG surface morphology acts as the foundation for the remaining studies, which employ the AFM to study biodegradable polymers within aqueous environments. This in situ application of the AFM has recorded the changes in surface morphology that occur to poly(sebacic anhydride) (PSA) during surface erosion in alkaline conditions. These studies have visualized the preferential degradation of amorphous regions of sphemlites over the crystalline fibres for solution cast and melt-crystallized samples. It has been found that rapid cooling during the solidification of PSA increases the amount of amorphous material at the surface of samples. However, once this outer layer has been eroded the underlying material is dominated by crystalline fibres. In situ AFM studies have also demonstrated the pH dependence of the rate of PSA surface erosion.

The AFM techniques developed to visualize the evolution of surface changes during PSA erosion have then been employed to investigate the degradation of immiscible blends of PSA and the polyester poly(DL-lactic acid) (PLA). PLA degrades at a slower rate than PSA and therefore, as these blends eroded the surface morphology became dominated by PLA, revealing the phase separation of the material. For solution cast samples on mica substrates it was found that at high PSA content the PSA formed a continuous network around islands of PLA. However, as the relative content of PLA increased the morphology reversed and the PLA formed the network around islands of PSA.
The interest in studying biodegradable polymers is derived from their application in surface eroding drug delivery systems. Having demonstrated the potential of the AFM to visualize dynamic interfacial changes occurring to these polymeric biomaterials, the in situ studies were extended to investigate the release of a model protein drug from a degrading polymer film. The system under investigation was a poly(ortho ester) film containing particles of bovine serum albumin. The AFM visualized the initiation of dissolution of some protein particles within minutes of the exposure of the sample to a pH 6 environment. Other particles, however, displayed retarded dissolution behaviour and did not appear to dissolve until the sample had been exposed to the pH 6 environment for over 1 hour. To assist the interpretation of these studies computational methods of calculating changes in volume during polymer degradation and protein dissolution have been developed on the Genesis II system.

In the final experiments of this thesis, the application of a novel combined atomic force microscopy/surface plasmon resonance instrument is described. This instrument allows the simultaneous acquisition of topographical data by the AFM and kinetic data by the surface plasmon resonance instrument (SPR). The instrument is first applied to a simple poly(ortho ester) system to demonstrate that the changes surface morphology and polymer film thickness can be simultaneously monitored. Then, the PSA/PLA blends were re-analysed. This analysis highlighted the synergistic information obtained by the combined AFM/SPR and revealed new data on the relationship between polymer phase separation and biodegradation kinetics.

NB. This ethesis has been created by scanning the typescript original and may contain inaccuracies. In case of difficulty, please refer to the original text.


Open Systems are being presented as the way forward for the construction of complex Computer Based Systems (CBS) of all types. They have had some success but as with all such attempts to solve problems in computing, it is being toured as a panacea. Three years of work by UTS into Open Systems has recognised the following pitfalls with the current Open Systems approaches. Firstly, there is no Open System specific engineering/architecting process to guide developers who want to build an Open System. Secondly, during the engineering of a supposed Open System there is no way to evaluate if they are actually building an Open System, or indeed if one has ultimately been built. And finally, there is no way of guaranteeing that the usual performance requirements of the system will be met by the open approach. In this paper, application of the Open System Engineering Measures (OSEM) work performed by UTS is suggested as the basis of a system for monitoring and risk analysis of Open Systems. However, the measurement work is proposed as only one of the bases. UTS have also performed other research which could be invaluable if applied to monitoring and risk analysis. The other research focuses on a process for open systems development called an Open System Architecture Methodology (OSAM), and the performance prediction and analysis of open systems-Open System Performance Modelling (OSPM).


It was the purpose of this study to explore if there is a more effective way to practice aural skills, one that could be individualized as well as computer based: a method of practice that would enhance what the instructor does in the classroom and help the student reinforce their recognition of the basic elements of aural skills and dictation. Concept mapping, which has been beneficial in other educational settings, especially math and science, might be such a way. The goal of this study was to examine if this procedure could be applied to aural stimuli in the same way it has been applied to verbal information.Sixty-four students in a first year college aural skills class were randomly assigned to two groups. Following a pretest of twenty-five chords randomly chosen from a pool of fifty, one group was presented with a lesson on concept mapping while listening to the chords and the other group received a distractor task. The results of these tests showed a higher gain score for the treatment group, M = 5.33, than for the control group, M = 1.25. An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), showed a moderately significant gain of p = .030 (one-tailed) for the treatment group. Overall, the test results indicated a positive effect of the treatment on the ability of the participants to recognize chords in the posttest. Due to the limitations in the present study, more research is suggested to determine the effectiveness of the process.


Using new spectroscopic observations obtained as part of the VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey (VUDS), we performed a systematic search for overdense environments in the early universe (z > 2) and report here on the discovery of Cl J0227-0421, a massive protocluster at z = 3.29. This protocluster is characterized by both the large overdensity of spectroscopically confirmed members, δgal = 10.5 ± 2.8, and a significant overdensity in photometric redshift members. The halo mass of this protocluster is estimated by a variety of methods to be ∼3 × 1014 M at z ∼ 3.3, which, evolved to z = 0 results in a halo mass rivaling or exceeding that of the Coma cluster. The properties of 19 spectroscopically confirmed member galaxies are compared with a large sample of VUDS/VVDS galaxies in lower density field environments at similar redshifts. We find tentative evidence for an excess of redder, brighter, and more massive galaxies within the confines of the protocluster relative to the field population, which suggests that we may be observing the beginning of environmentally induced quenching. The properties of these galaxies are investigated, including a discussion of the brightest protocluster galaxy, which appears to be undergoing vigorous coeval nuclear and starburst activity. The remaining member galaxies appear to have characteristics that are largely similar to the field population. Though we find weaker evidence of the suppression of the median star formation rates among and differences in the stacked spectra of member galaxies with respect to the field, we defer any conclusions about these trends to future work with the ensemble of protostructures that are found in the full VUDS sample.


This work was carried out in Akarsu Irrigation District (AID) of 9495 hectares, having irrigation and drainage networks for about 50 years in Lower Seyhan Plain (LSP). The farmers in the district use the traditional surface irrigation systems of low irrigation efficiency. Drainage and groundwater salinity problems developed due to mismanaged irrigation systems, low irrigation efficiency, heavy soil texture, inadequate drainage systems and other likely problems which all cause reduced agricultural production. The undertaken work investigated interrelations between the existing irrigation practice with groundwater depths and salinity, using groundwater observation wells. With additionally installed drainage observation wells, a total of 107 wells were under survey in 2006. The groundwater depths were measured in May, July and September, and samples were collected concurrently for measuring electrical conductivity (EC, dS m -1 ). The groundwater depths in May showed that there was no drainage problem in the area. However, drainage problem (groundwater depth 5 dS m -1 ) in May, July and September was respectively 24%, 14% and 21% of the total area. Field irrigation efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency, assessed during the mentioned periods, were respectively 20% and 29%. The high groundwater salinity observed during the peak irrigation season in July was attributed to wide spread practice of excess irrigation resulting in both low field irrigation efficiency and low irrigation water use efficiency. Improvement of existing irrigation management is required for solving the mentioned problems observed in the study area.


A DLL based on a dual edge triggered phase detector (DET-PD) is proposed for a clock generator in low-power systems. The proposed DLL has a faster lock speed with the same loop dynamics compared to the conventional DLL based on a single-edge triggered phase detector (SET-PD). The proposed DET-PD solves the problem of a narrow capture range or low phase detector gain associated with the conventional DET-PD. In addition, the proposed duty cycle difference compensation circuit (DDC) prevents the increase in the phase offset when the two inputs to the DET-PD have different duty cycle. It also controls the DLL bandwidth to maintain the DLL jitter by controlling the negative edge delay difference tracking. Finally, the proposed duty cycle keeper (DCK) enlarges the duty cycle keeping range of the DLL output. The proposed DLL is fabricated using 0.18-μm process technology. It has an area of 0.035 mm2 and a power consumption of 19 mW at 800 MHz operation. Its lock speed is over 1.9 times faster than that of the DLL based on the SET-PD without degrading the jitter.


A high resolution seismic study of the Malta Plateau was conducted to characterize the Quaternary sediment layers, mapping their regional extent and determining the environmental conditions during their deposition. Seismic stratigraphic analysis indicates that there are six seismic units (or depositional sequences) bounded by erosional unconformities. The basement surface, that is an erosional truncation in some places, indicates that a hiatus probably occurred during Messinian to Early Pliocene. The terminations of all the sequence boundaries onlap the acoustic basement in a landward direction, revealing an overall relative sea level rise. The termination of the internal strata (reflectors) in Units 2, 3 and 4 have an oblique parallel pattern and toplap at their upper surface, characteristic of periods of sea level stillstand and/or a decrease in the rate of sea level rise. It is anticipated that this depositional history would cause the physical properties of the sediment in the immediate vicinity of the erosional unconformities to differ from that in the adjacent sequences. Within a given sequence and with respect to the other sequences, it is anticipated that the physical properties of the sediment are relatively homogeneous, with the exception of the uppermost sequence, Seismic Unit 1. Carbonate buildup structures are observed at the boundary between Units 2 and 3 in the northwest part of the study area and imply a very shallow water depositional condition during their formation. The uppermost layer, Unit, 1, is the most extensive geographically and gets thicker towards the coast of Sicily. The parallel configuration of its internal reflectors and the progradational character of the unit suggest that it is comprised of coastal sediments deposited during the Holocene highstand of sea level. In the shelf-slope transition, sequences are deformed by mass movements that might be attributable to tectonic activity in the region. Several basement outcrops were observed in the study area. Some have northwestsoutheast trending lineations, as observed on Sicily, while others are isolated structures, possibly dikes or salt domes.


There has been an increase in the burden of liver diseases in Iran, with an increasing trend from communicable to non-communicable diseases. Almost 5400 deaths were due to chronic liver diseases in 2017. We aim to provide a concise update on the epidemiological trends of liver diseases in Iran. Estimations of deaths, disability-adjusted life years, prevalence of chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis in Iran with its common etiologies have been reported. We investigated the major causes of chronic liver diseases in Iran, we have reported our hepatology research centers, and also we have depicted the future of liver diseases in Iran. In 2017, there was a rising trend in chronic liver diseases in Iran. The most common etiologies for chronic liver disease were chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis with highest mortalities due to liver cancer and hepatitis C. The prevalence of HBV infection has decreased from 2.9% to 1.3% with effective vaccination, but new cases are still seen due to perinatal transmission. Treatment of HCV has dramatically changed with new drugs which are being produced by local pharmaceuticals at a low cost. The main obstacle in its elimination is finding patients and linkage to care. More than a third of our population have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in which central obesity had a stronger association than weight itself. Iran has a high burden of liver diseases. The Ministry of Health has effectively controlled hepatitis B and is working towards the World Health WHO's goals for hepatitis C by 2030. This being said, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is becoming a major threat to our nation's health and quality of life.


This thesis explores the potential of using alternative binders to replace cement clinker on a European scale in order to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions associated with concrete/ cement. Numerous studies highlight the importance of increasing the replacement ratio to meet international environmental goals [1]. However, little advancement has been made with respect to describing how to achieve these replacement goals.
This thesis work is focused on estimating the resource base, and the regional availability, of two conventional alternative binders, fly ash and blast furnace slag, in the EU. The availability of fly ash was estimated based on existing coal-fired power plants block net capacity. The blast furnace slag resource base estimated based on the existing and projected capacity of EU blast furnaces.
Further, the thesis, through scenario analysis, explore how the availability of alternative binders may change over time as existing capital stock in the power and steel industries are phased out. The scenarios were assessed using simulations from Matlab and further analysed with a software for spatial analysis. The results show that in the short term (5-10 years) it is possible, in most EU regions, to meet the demand for conventional alternate binders. In the long term (10-30 years), however, it will not be possible to fulfil a sufficient replacement in all European regions using only these two alternative binders. These finding confirms the importance of increasing the efforts to develop other measures to reduce the climate impact from concrete and cement, including increased use of lesser-known binders.
This study can hopefully encourage further researcher aimed at developing: a better understanding of the availability of other alternative binders, of processing techniques and of means to distribute them, so that the environmental goals in the concrete and cement industries may be achieved.


The Florida citrus industry operates in a competitive global market. However, unlike program crops, producers in this industry do not benefit from direct income support under the new Farm Bill. There is concern about the impact of elimination of the orange juice tariff on the financial health of the Florida orange industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of government expenditure that would be needed to provide income support to orange producers if the orange juice tariff were eliminated. For the span of the Bill direct payments to corn are estimated to total $25.1 billion. By comparison the direct expenditures incurred for an income support program for oranges would be substantially less. In the early years with the tariff in place the expenditures are estimated to be about $300 million and would fall below $200 million by 2007. If the tariff were removed government support would initially be $925 million but would decline to about $700 million in 2007. Over the six-year period, 2002-2007, the direct payment to orange producers would be $1,538.5 million with retention of the tariff and $4,721.8 million if the tariff were eliminated.


We investigate the thermodynamics at finite density of a generalized $(2 + 1)$D Gross–Neveu model of $N$ fermion species with various types of four-fermion interactions. The motivation for considering such a generalized schematic model arises from taking the Fierz transformation of an effective Coulomb current–current interaction and certain symmetry-breaking interaction terms, as considered for graphene-type models in Ref. [29]. We then apply path-integral bosonization techniques, based on the large-$N$ limit, to derive the thermodynamic potential. This includes the leading-order mean-field (saddle point) contribution as well as the next-order contribution of Gaussian fluctuations of exciton fields. The main focus of the paper is then the investigation of the thermodynamic properties of the resulting fermion–exciton plasma. In particular, we derive an extended Beth–Uhlenbeck form of the thermodynamic potential, and discuss the Levinson theorem and the decomposition of the phase of the exciton correlation into resonant and scattering parts.


: Cerebral cavernous angiomas or cavernomas have been increasingly diagnosed in recent years as a cause of recurrent cerebral hemorrhage or epilepsy. Some cavernomas exhibit a tumorous growth tendency. On CT-scan, cavernomas appear as variably cystic lesions often with focal calcifications. The lesion may be masked by a surrounding hematoma. Seventeen cases were observed initially or on follow-up within 3 years. Examination of the surgical specimens allowed differentiation of the lesions into several subtypes correlating to the different clinical courses. The diagnosis of cavernomas is important since these lesions can be cured surgically. The spontaneous clinical course, however, is usually progressive.


Recent advances in neural machine translation (NMT) have pushed the quality of machine translation systems to the point where they are becoming widely adopted to build competitive systems. However, there is still a large number of languages that are yet to reap the benefits of NMT. In this paper, we provide the first large-scale case study of the practical application of MT in the Turkic language family in order to realize the gains of NMT for Turkic languages under high-resource to extremely low-resource scenarios. In addition to presenting an extensive analysis that identifies the bottlenecks towards building competitive systems to ameliorate data scarcity, our study has several key contributions, including, i) a large parallel corpus covering 22 Turkic languages consisting of common public datasets in combination with new datasets of approximately 1.4 million parallel sentences, ii) bilingual baselines for 26 language pairs, iii) novel high-quality test sets in three different translation domains and iv) human evaluation scores. All models, scripts, and data will be released to the public.


Intro to Philosophy class page | Course description: Survey of leading figures in the history of philosophy and an examination of metaphysics, epistemology, human nature, ethics, political theory, aesthetics, gender theory and race theory.


Introduction: Studies indicate that 17.9% - 60% of adults in Germany and Europe regularly use food supplements. Some reports suggest that their use might be responsible for excessive nutrient intake. The purpose of this survey was to examine the quantitative mineral intakes from food supplements: whether the tolerable upper intake levels (ULs) with supplements alone, or in combination with food was exceeded was checked. Methods: The survey was carried out by the Association for Consumer Research, Nurnberg, Germany. Anonymous data of 1070 supplement users (40.8% men, 59.2% women) aged 18 - 93 years were available. Three groups were examined based on dietary and supplemental mineral intakes: average, middle-high and high intake. Results: The mean number of supplements reported was 1.6 ± 1.1 products in men and 1.5 ± 0.9 products in women. The minerals most frequently consumed were magnesium, followed by calcium, zinc and selenium. The percentage of the supplement users with total intakes greater than the UL was minimal for all minerals. Supplement use in 143 cases increased the likelihood of intakes above the UL only for magnesium. Subjects particularly in the high intake group—as a worst case scenario—had intakes above the UL in the case of calcium (n = 23) and zinc (n = 34). The percentage of subjects taking several products was greater in subjects exceeding the UL than in those below (P < 0.001). Multiple use was seen significantly more often in men than in women (P < 0.01). Conclusions: In this survey, supplement use was generally not associated with excessive intake. Supplement use resulted in intakes above the UL in only a few cases relating to magnesium, calcium and zinc. This applies more often to elderly subjects and particularly to those who already have a high mineral intake from food in the model calculation.


Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the tenth highest causes of death in Indonesia and even worldwide. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by an infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium. Kebumen is one of the districts with high tuberculosis cases and tends to increase every year. Based on the high case number, it is necessary to start research that examines patterns of spread. Spatial analysis is a very useful tool to evaluate the spreading pattern of the tuberculosis disease according to its geographical location. The study aimed to spatially analyze tuberculosis spread pattern from 2016 to 2018 using the spatial autocorrelation method through Moran Index and Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA). The study showed that the spatial autocorrelation in the spreading patterns of tuberculosis occurred in Kebumen and had a clustered pattern because of Moran Index is positive. The results of the LISA analysis in the High-High quadrant showed that the high tuberculosis cases correlated with areas that also had high tuberculosis cases. Sixteen villages were included in the High-High quadrant.


Listeria monocytogenes (LM) is a bacterial foodborne pathogen responsible for listeriosis, an illness characterized by encephalitis, septicaemia , and meningitis. One of the best ways to detect and confrim the pathogen is through the detection of one of the virulence factors, listeriolysin O (LLO) produced by the microorganism. LLO is absolutely required for virulence by L. monocytogenes, and is found only in virulent strains of the species. This paper focuses on the electrical detection methods used to detect the LLO toxin gene in food products or organism. A new and simple electrochemical approach for hybridisation detection without the labelling the target DNA is described. The coupling of DNA electrochemical sensors have specialities of quick detection and cheapness and have the potential of the quantitative evaluation of the hlyA gene of Listeria monocytogenes. The electrochemical sensor was obtained by immobilizing single-stranded oligonucleotides onto gold electrodes through mercaptan of the DNA bases using N- hydroxysulfosuccinimide (NHS) and N-(3-dimethylamion)propyl-N'-ethyl carbodiimidehydrochloride (EDC) as activation. The hybridization reaction that occurred on the electrode surface was evidenced by cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis - using as [Co(phen)3](C1O4)3 indicator. The covalently immobilized single-stranded DNA could selectively hybridize with its complementary DNA in solution to form double-stranded DNA on the gold surface. A significant increase of the peak current of cyclic voltammetry (CV) upon the hybridization of immobilized ssDNA with PCR amplification products in the solution was observed. This peak current change was used to monitor the amount of PCR amplification products. Factors such as DNA target concentration and hybridization conditions determining the sensitivity of the electrochemical assay were investigated.


Examining how the landscape may influence gene flow is at the forefront of understanding population differentiation and adaptation. Such understanding is crucial in light of ongoing environmental changes and the elevated risk of ecosystems alteration. In particular, knowledge of how humans may influence the structure of populations is imperative to allow for informed decisions in management and conservation. Here we characterize the population genetic structure of Ipomoea purpurea, a noxious invasive weed, and assess the interaction between natural and human-driven landscapes on genetic differentiation. By combining rigorous statistical analyses and different molecular markers (nuclear microsatellites and a genome-wide panel of SNPs), we detect both common and marker-specific patterns of genetic connectivity and identify human population density as an important predictor of pairwise population differentiation, suggesting that the agricultural and/or horticultural trade may be involved in maintaining some level of connectivity across distant agricultural fields. Climatic variation appears as an additional predictor. We discuss the implications of these results and the approach we followed in the context of understanding agricultural weed and invasive species' connectivity, as well as the challenges and promises of current landscape genomics research for knowledge-based weed management.


Tyrosine is an integral component in scierotization and melanization, two developmentally controlled processes which are necessary for synthesis and pigmentation of the insect cuticle. Studies were undertaken to investigate the means by which tyrosine arises and, also, the nature of the reaction whereby tyrosine is hydroxylated to yield dopa, the subsequent step in both of the above mentioned processes in Drosophila melanogaster.

It was found that phenylalanine is rapidly converted to tyrosine in vivo and the enzyme(s) responsible for the catalysis is readily extractable. The in vitro conversion is dependent upon the presence of tetrahydropteridine (DMPH4), which is a cofactor in mammalian phenylalanine hydroxylase systems. Other common biological reductants are ineffective in this respect. The concentration of hydroxylase in the animal is developmentally regulated, the level building up during early third instar and peaking at puparium formation. Detectable quantities of enzyme are not found in pupae. The activity of the crude enzyme responds to the concentration of enzyme, substrate and DMPH4 in a linear fashion (up to the point of saturation).

Tyrosine may give rise to dopa via two distinct enzymatic means: tyrosinase or tyrosine hydroxylase. Drosophila are known to possess a very active tyrosinase system; however, this molecule also contains a dopa oxidase function which rapidly dehydrogenates dopa to yield dopaquinone, an irreversible step in melanization. In the absence of suitable regulation, this system does not allow for accumulation of dopa which is also necessary for sclerotization.

Crude extracts are capable of supporting the conversion of tyrosine to dopa in a DMPH4 stimulated reaction. A high concentration of pteridine also serves to arrest dopa oxidase activity in vitro. DMPH4 is an essential cofactor for mammalian tyrosine hydroxylase activity. The rates of accrual and utilization of dopa (by dopa oxidase) in crude extracts indicate that there are at least two synthetic pathways by which dopa arises. The ratio of the abilities to hydroxylate tyrosine and oxidize dopa varies as a function of the age of the animal, the highest ratio observed in early third instar larvae and the lowest at puparium formation.

The activity responsible for catalyzing the hydroxylation of tyrosine behaves in a manner similar to tyrosinase under a number of conditions. Pure tyrosinase, which is derived by sucrose gradient centrifugation, catalyzes a DMPH4 stimulated hydroxylation reaction. Multiple forms of tyrosinase are derived in sucrose gradients and heterogeneity with respect to substrate utilization is observed in these species, a situation which may have significance in a consideration of tyrosinase's involvement in supplying dopa for sclerotization. This possibility is discussed.

Since DMPH4 plays such a crucial role in these reactions (stimulation of hydroxylation and inhibition of dopa oxidase activity), the nature of these involvements was investigated. There are some indications that the pteridine is not functioning to stimulate the hydroxylation reaction by serving as a non-specific reductant (reductants, such as, ascorbate and DPNH are known to stimulate the hydroxylase activity of pure tyrosinase), but may be serving in a more direct fashion with the enzymatic mechanism. The nature of this interaction is discussed.

Banded tyrosinase, using dopa as a substrate, catalyzes the synthesis of an unidentified compound. This reaction is stimulated by DMPH4. The nature of this material and its significance to aromatic amino acid metabolism are discussed.


Feature upsampling is a key operation in a number of modern convolutional network architectures, e.g. feature pyramids. Its design is critical for dense prediction tasks such as object detection and semantic/instance segmentation. In this work, we propose Content-Aware ReAssembly of FEatures (CARAFE), a universal, lightweight and highly effective operator to fulfill this goal. CARAFE has several appealing properties: (1) Large field of view. Unlike previous works (e.g. bilinear interpolation) that only exploit subpixel neighborhood, CARAFE can aggregate contextual information within a large receptive field. (2) Content-aware handling. Instead of using a fixed kernel for all samples (e.g. deconvolution), CARAFE enables instance-specific content-aware handling, which generates adaptive kernels on-the-fly. (3) Lightweight and fast to compute. CARAFE introduces little computational overhead and can be readily integrated into modern network architectures. We conduct comprehensive evaluations on standard benchmarks in object detection, instance/semantic segmentation and inpainting. CARAFE shows consistent and substantial gains across all the tasks (1.2% AP, 1.3% AP, 1.8% mIoU, 1.1dB respectively) with negligible computational overhead. It has great potential to serve as a strong building block for future research. Code and models are available at https: //github.com/open-mmlab/mmdetection.


This article provides a review of sexualities scholarship within the social sciences between 1970 and 2015. It takes an innovative approach by focusing on the way in which bisexuality is addressed in this body of literature. The article reveals the marginalisation, under-representation and invisibility of bisexuality within and across the social sciences in relation to both bisexual experience and identity. Reasons for this varied across the different eras, including the heterosexist nature of the literature, the impact of gay and lesbian-focused identity politics, and queer deconstructionism. In addition, patterns of bisexual erasure and invisibility were uneven, with some scholarship taking inclusive approaches or criticising prejudice against bisexuality. The initial findings of the review were enriched by critical commentary from key relevant sociologists and political scientists. The article concludes that future sexualities scholarship could be enhanced by greater consideration of bisexuality.


Unconventional reservoir performance is assessed and quantified via integration of compositional, rock fabric and static mechanical property analyses that are routinely performed on drill core or cuttings. This approach has a number of limitations; for example, it can only be used where drill core and cuttings are available, and comprehensive analysis may be cost-prohibitive at the full scale of a resource play. In this contribution we propose a novel workflow that provides a robust correlation between compositional, mineralogical and geomechanical properties of unconventional shale plays and wireline log signature. Our approach enables the extrapolation of compositional and mechanical reservoir properties into areas where drill core is lacking but wireline logs are available. We illustrate our workflow using a case study from the Duvernay unconventional shale play in western-central Alberta (Canada). Our analysis reveals a high degree of correlation between core-measured mineral components and two wireline logs: pulsed neutron spectroscopy (PNS) and spectral gamma ray (SGR). In particular, we show that PNS-derived calcium, aluminum and silicon concentrations and SGR-derived thorium and potassium concentrations may be used to identify silica-rich, clay-rich and carbonate-rich intervals, respectively, within the reservoir. We show that these intervals exhibit distinct mechanical properties, suggesting that they are also characterized by distinct hydraulic fracturing efficiency. Since well logs are generally more abundant than drill cores, our approach may prove critical in assessing predrill reservoir potential not only in the Duvernay, but in similar unconventional plays worldwide.


Even when the guidelines for cancer pain management are followed, acute severe pain requiring immediate treatment will occur in some patients. Titration with intravenous morphine may provide fast and efficient pain relief and give an indication of the amount of opioid necessary for continuous treatment. In cooperation with a general practitioner we performed an intravenous morphine titration in a patient with severe cancer pain at home. Adequate analgesia was reached with 20 mg intravenous morphine. Blood pressure, cardiac frequency and oxygen saturation did not change. No side effects were reported during the titration, and the previous regimen with tramadol 150 mg per day was switched to slow release morphine 300 mg per day. This medication was prescribed by the general practitioner and provided good pain relief until the patient died two weeks later. We conclude that intravenous morphine titration may be performed even in cancer patients at home, adequate monitoring, however, should be available.


Background Intrapartum monitoring aims to identify fetal acidaemia. The fetal acidaemia threshold, reliably accountable for neonatal morbidity, or mortality, is less clear. The International Cerebral Palsy and American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology task force, suggests: "pH <7 …. provides sufficient evidence to blame acute intrapartum events for the neonatal condition". Objective We analysed early neonatal outcomes in babies born with an arterial pH ≤7.1, from paired umbilical cord gases. Method Retrospective case notes audit at Kingston hospital maternity unit, involving 30 singleton live neonates, between 01/01/2012–31/12/2012. Neonatal outcomes were assessed using: 5 min APGAR scores <7, need for resuscitation and neonatal unit (NNU) admissions. Results Median arterial pH was 7.07, interquartile range 7.00–7.09. Neonates with an arterial pH 6.80–7.02 demonstrated; 100% resuscitation requirements and NNU admission; with 25% APGARs at 5 min <7. Above an arterial pH 7.02; absolute risk for resuscitation was 50%; 36.36% required NNU admission and 9.09% had APGARs at 5 min <7. No ideal arterial pH was identified for good neonatal outcomes. We compared our results against a large cohort study;¹ their threshold pH for adverse neurological outcomes was 7.10 and the 'ideal' cord pH 7.26–7.30. Conclusion Overall, our results suggest an unpredictable association between acidaemia and adverse early neonatal outcomes, with a pH >7.02. Highlighting the multifactorial nature of predicting neonatal outcome; which if better understood, will improve interpretation of intrapartum monitoring. Reference Yeh P, Emary K, Impey L. The relationship between umbilical cord arterial pH and serious adverse neonatal outcome: analysis of 51,519 consecutive validated samples


Modified 9Cr-1Mo steel is one of the heat-resistant steels developed for steam generator in a FBR (Fast Breeder Reactor). When it is used in a FBR, the lifetime of the steel under HCF (High Cycle Fatigue) and V-HCF (Very-High Cycle Fatigue) caused by flow-induced vibration has to be considered for assuring its long-term reliability up to 1011 cycles. Since previous studies showed that the fatigue limit did not appear up to 108 cycles, it is necessary to investigate the fatigue strength of this alloy in cycles higher than 108 cycles. In this study, in order to clarify high cycle fatigue strength and fracture mechanism of the modified 9Cr-1Mo steel, the change of the lath martensitic strengthening structure was observed in detail on the surface of specimens fractured by rotary bending fatigue tests by using EBSD (Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction) method. The Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM) value obtained from the EBSD analysis was used for the quantitative evaluation of the change of the lath martensitic texture. It was found that the average KAM values clearly decreased on the surface areas of the fractured specimens after the application of 107-108 cycles of fatigue loading at temperatures higher than 550°C. This result indicates that degradation of the lath martensitic texture occurred around the surface of specimens tested at the temperature higher than 550°C. In order to quantitatively evaluate the decrease of its strength, a hardness test was performed at room temperature by using a nanoindentation method. It was confirmed that the surface hardness of specimens decreased drastically in the specimens fractured at temperatures higher than 550°C. From these results, it was concluded that the effective 0.2%-proof stress decreased during the fatigue tests by the degradation of the lath martensitic texture caused by the fatigue loading at elevated temperatures. Further analyses are indispensable for explicating the damage mechanism more in detail.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


"On the surface the new president seems to inherit an empty house", Hugo Heclo, a recognized expert on American democratic institutions, has noted. "In fact, he enters an office already shaped and crowded by other people's desires". "Empowering the White House" examines how Richard Nixon entered that crowded Oval Office in 1969 yet managed to change it in a way that augmented the power of presidency and continues to influence into the 21st century how his successors have governed. Nixon's White House is perhaps best remembered for the growth in the size of the staff, which operated under the supposed iron fist of H.R. Haldeman. But more important than size and management style to the character of the Nixon White House were the assigned tasks, complexity and dynamics of the burgeoning staff. Faced with hostile majorities in congress and executive branch careerists assumed to be committed to a Democratic agenda, Nixon sought to control his political fate by engaging more actively than earlier presidents in public relations and the mobilization of support. At the command and under the control of the Oval Office, the staff carried out assignments designed to fulfill Nixon's aims. This theoretically informed and well-researched study explains how Nixon changed and expanded the institutionalized presidency and how that affected the Ford and Carter administrations. Nixon ushered in a new stage in the modern presidency by organizing and using his increasingly complex staff in new ways that have persisted beyond the 1970s to this day. To a greater degree than any predecessor, Nixon systematized outreach, legal advice and policy formulation. His White House staffing, then, has come to be regarded as a "standard model" that influences incoming presidents regardless of party affiliation. Leavening this organizational study are revealing accounts of how Nixon, Ford and Carter staff operated behind the scenes in the West Wing. Anyone needing to know how the White House worked during those presidencies - or how it has worked since - should find this book useful.


Small RNAs, between 18nt and 30nt in length, are a diverse class of non-coding RNAs that mediate a range of cellular processes, from gene regulation to pathogen defense. They guide ribonucleoprotein complexes to their target nucleic acids by Watson–Crick base pairing. We report here that current techniques for small RNA detection and library generation are biased by formation of RNA duplexes. To address this problem, we established FDF-PAGE (fully-denaturing formaldehyde polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) to prevent annealing of sRNAs to their complement. By applying FDF-PAGE, we provide evidence that both strands of viral small RNA are present in near equimolar ratios, indicating that the predominant precursor is a long double-stranded RNA. Comparing non-denaturing conditions to FDF-PAGE uncovered extensive sequestration of miRNAs in model organisms and allowed us to identify candidate small RNAs under the control of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs). By revealing the full repertoire of small RNAs, we can begin to create a better understanding of small RNA mediated interactions.


The Third Annual NILG Conference took place at Wageningen University on 29 November 2011. The conference was themed 'Law & Governance – Beyond the Public-Private Law Divide?'. A governance approach focuses on all institutions that pursue policy goals. During the conference, the main question discussed was what this approach means for legal research and legal practice. Is the distinction between public and private law still relevant? Can the governance approach enrich methodologies of legal research? Can this approach further new types of regulation, in which the market or civil society organizations have an important input and/or which require more technical expertise?


Oil reservoirs can be sensitive to unfamiliar fluids such as drilling fluids. In order to prevent fluids to enter the formations surrounding the well, the well pressure can be lowered below the reservoir pressure, called underbalanced drilling. This technique calls for injecting of gas into the mud to lower the pressure, with additional inflow of oil and gas to the well as a result. This thesis evaluates current modelling of two-phase flow related to underbalanced drilling, and possible simplifications. Through investigation of simulation data, the current modelling based on first principles, is considered too complex compared to data of the key dynamics. To simplify the modelling, a black box system identification approach is used. By identifying solely from simulation data, low order models with good fit to validation data are obtained. Through testing, the models' validity are tested, and it is concluded that a number of simple models will be needed to represent the whole system given by the simulator. Models with specific orders are tested at different set points, and one model order produces good accuracy at all the operating points tested. This model is likely to be able to accurately represent the whole system with updated parameters. The accuracy of the simple models identified reveals simple system dynamics, and a PI controller is considered to be sufficient. The models are being used to tune the controller, and the controller perform great on set point changes. In addition, the controller is tested with an emulated connection, with satisfactory performance.


Parametric decay of an upper hybrid/electron Bernstein pump wave into an upper hybrid/electron Bernstein sideband wave and a lower hybrid decay wave in the long‐wavelength regime is studied. It is found that the process associated with the electron Bernstein pump wave has a lower threshold field than that of a similar decay process of the upper hybrid pump wave when the instability is excited in the region away from the double resonance layer. Near the double resonance layer, where the upper hybrid resonance frequency equals a harmonic of the electron cyclotron frequency, the upper hybrid wave and the electron Bernstein wave become linearly coupled, and the threshold field of the parametric decay process changes back to a similar functional dependence as that of the upper hybrid decay process. Thus, their threshold fields approach each other. When incorporated with appropriate nonlinear scattering processes, this instability process along with its cascading is proposed to be the generation mechanism for t...


Summary Background In this study we compare the Omalizumab treatment modality in the dynamics of cell apoptosis regulating molecules in both severe persistent asthma patients who had no other any allergic disease, newly diagnosed patients with allergic asthma, and healthy volunteers. Material/Methods Severe persistent allergic asthma patients were subjected to measurement of serum soluble TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) levels during the active disease phase and the stable phase which occurred 4 months after Omalizumab treatment. Serum sTRAIL concentrations were measured by a solid phase sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Concentration levels were compared with those of age- and sex-matched newly diagnosed patients with allergic asthma, and healthy controls. All assays were carried out in duplicate. Total serum IgE levels, antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), hepatitis markers, C3, C4 and eosinophil levels were evaluated in all patients. Results ANA, RF, hepatitis markers were negative in all patients. Complement 3 and 4 levels were normal in all patients. Prick tests in all patients were detected in mite and grass allergy. These results correlated with specific IgE. There were no differences between the healthy controls, newly diagnosed allergic asthma patients, and non-treated severe persistent allergic asthma patients during the active phase. Interestingly, the levels in variances of the patients who had the effective omalizumab treatment were significantly lower than the healthy controls, while the mean values were not statistically significant. Conclusions Our study gives a different perspective on severe persistent allergic asthma and omalizumab treatment efficacy at the cell apoptosis-linked step by the serum sTRAIL levels.


Coronagraphic imagery of the circumstellar disk around HD 169142 in H-band polarized intensity (PI) with Subaru/HiCIAO is presented. The emission scattered by dust particles at the disk surface in 0.2r1.2, or 29r174 AU, is successfully detected. The azimuthally-averaged radial profile of the PI shows a double power-law distribution, in which the PIs in r = 2952 AU and r = 81.2145 AU respectively show r3-dependence. These two power-law regions are connected smoothly with a transition zone (TZ), exhibiting an apparent gap in r = 4070 AU. The PI in the inner power-law region shows a deep minimum whose location seems to coincide with the point source at lambda = 7 mm. This can be regarded as another sign of a protoplanet in TZ. The observed radial profile of the PI is reproduced by a minimally flaring disk with an irregular surface density distribution or with an irregular temperature distribution or with the combination of both. The depletion factor of surface density in the inner power-law region (r <50 AU) is derived to be 0.16 from a simple model calculation. The obtained PI image also shows small scale asymmetries in the outer power-law region. Possible origins for these asymmetries include corrugation of the scattering surface in the outer region, and shadowing effect by a puffed up structure in the inner power-law region.


A synchronization mechanism that communicates information from a writer to a reader without permitting information flow in the reverse direction is presented. The synchronization mechanism takes advantage of a priori knowledge of the semantics of communicated information and is optimal because it does not require blocking, busy wait states, an unbounded number of rereads of data, or inefficient use of system resources. The mechanism has been implemented in the Trusted Mach (TMach) operating system's file system. The TMach's file system is described, and it is shown how performance is enhanced through the use of the synchronization mechanism.<<ETX>>


Quantum states of bulk oscillators can be important resources for quantum technologies. The development of versatile techniques to prepare and measure such states can in turn shed new light on the processes and time scales of decoherence in vibrational excitations. Here, we present a new scheme leveraging universal properties of Raman scattering to create quantum correlations between light and vibration that are strong enough to violate a Bell inequality. We measure the decay of these hybrid photon-phonon Bell correlations with sub-picosecond time-resolution and observe the decoherence of a vibrational qubit encoded in two time bins. The experiment relies on a molecular vibrational mode featuring a record number of $\sim 1000$ quantum coherent oscillations at ambient conditions, which scatters light inelastically and can therefore be addressed by time-resolved single photon Raman spectroscopy. It paves the way for the study of quantum correlations in highly complex solid-state and molecular systems in their natural state, i.e. without any engineering of their coherence properties or interaction mechanisms.


A survey of persons in treatment for psychiatric disorders with the general practitioners of an island showed a one–year prevalence rate of 51.5 per thousand population. This represents more than twice the rate of those who consult a psychiatrist in the same community during a year, even though psychiatric service is readily available, geographically accessible and of low cost. Thus, even under these conditions, the larger burden of treating psychiatric patients was being borne by the general practitioner. In nine of every ten patients, the problem was a psychoneurotic, psychophysiologic or personality disorder. Alcoholism was present in 28 per cent of all males considered to have psychiatric conditions. The psychiatric disorder rates were 50 per cent higher in the never–married and separated–divorced–widowed groups than in married people. Data on prevalence in relation to social class are provided also.


This study presents a brief review of literature exploring simple EEG-polygraphic examinations and procedures that can be carried out at a patient's bedside. These include EEG with a common electrode array and sleep evaluation. The review briefly discusses more complex analytical techniques, such as the application of advanced EEG signal processing methods developed by our research group, to define what type of consistent markers are suitable for clinical use or to better understand complex patient conditions. These advanced analytical techniques aim to detect relevant EEG-based markers that could be useful in evaluating patients and predicting outcomes. These data could contribute to future developments in research.


An experiment was conducted to find out the nutritive value of different cuts of goat carcass. Meat samples were obtained from goat kids in Tunisia. Twenty-six indigenous kids were divided into three groups: oat hay (control), dried olive leaves + dried Stipa tenacissima, and grass hay. The cuts were the shoulder, chest, and leg of each goat carcass. Tissue compositions of different cuts and meat physicochemical parameters were determined. Percentage of muscle was higher in shoulders (61.57%) and legs (58.89%). The percentage of fat was higher in the chest (24.74%). Percentage of bone was higher in legs and shoulders. The percentage of muscle and bone was similar in the three diet treatments. The fat percentage tended to be higher in the grass hay group. The mean pH value of different cuts differed significantly; it was higher in shoulders, but pH values did not differ significantly according to different diets. The crude protein content of meat was similar in the three cuts and three diets. Fat contents and dry matter of different cuts differed significantly and shoulder portions contained higher crude protein and dry matter (3.95% and 22.61%) than other portions. The ash content was similar in different cuts and diets. The major mineral contents did not differ significantly


Abstract Ctesias (fifth century BC) recounted contemporary Persian beliefs of white Indian animals which had a white horn, black in the centre and flaming red at the pointed tip, projecting from their forehead. Reinforced by classical and medieval writers, travellers, biblical warrant and trade in narwhal tusk, the unicorn became firmly established in European mythology. Increasing popularity as an alexipharmic, prophylactic and counter-poison through the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries led to rising demand and rapidly inflating prices. Debate raged as to which was the 'true unicorn' (Unicornum Verum), narwhal tusks or mammoth ivory (Unicornu Fossile); shavings and powders of both were incorporated into a bewildering array of medicinal mixtures while fraudulent alternatives flooding the markets required the employment of discriminatory tests. Further alternatives with supposedly similar properties included the (probably smectite) clays of Terra Sigillata Strigoniensis or Terra Silesiaca (Unicornu Minerale), and an alchemical preparation (Unicornu Solare). The supposed therapeutic application and wide range of delivery systems of all types of unicorn horn medicines are reviewed in detail for the first time. Particularly popular as an antidote in plague medicines, the use of alicorn (unicorn horn) simples declined to extinction with the increasingly empirical approach to pharmacy of the mid-eighteenth century.


Glioblastoma multiforme is a highly invasive primary brain tumor with a disappointingly high local recurrence rate and mortality despite intensive multimodality treatment programs. Therefore, new agents that are capable of inhibiting the infiltration of normal brain parenchyma by glioblastoma cells are urgently needed. Here, we show that the novel quinazoline derivatives 4-(4'-hydroxylphenyl)-amino-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (WHI-P131) and 4-(3'-bromo-4'hydroxylphenyl)-amino-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (WHI-P154) are potent inhibitors of glioblastoma cell adhesion and migration. Specifically, both compounds inhibited at micromolar concentrations: (a) integrin-mediated glioblastoma cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix proteins laminin, type IV collagen, and fibronectin; (b) integrin-independent epidermal growth factor-induced adhesion of glioblastoma cells to poly-L-lysine-coated tissue culture plates; (c) fetal bovine serum-induced polymerization of actin and actin stress fiber formation as well epidermal growth factor-stimulated formation of focal adhesion plaques in serum-starved glioblastoma cells; and most importantly, (d) glioblastoma cell migration in in vitro assays of tumor cell invasiveness using tumor cell spheroids and/or Matrigel-coated Boyden chambers. Further preclinical development of WHI-P131 and WHI-P154 may provide the basis for the design of more effective adjuvant chemotherapy programs for glioblastoma multiforme.


In radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a probe is inserted into the center of a tumor. The noninsulated electrodes, which are shaped like prongs, are projected into the tumor. Heat is then generated locally by a high-frequency, alternating current that flows from the electrodes. The local heat treats the tissue adjacent to the probe, resulting in a 3 cm to 5.5 cm sphere of dead tissue. The cells killed by RFA are not removed but are gradually replaced by fibrosis and scar tissue. If there is local recurrence, it occurs at the edge and, in some cases, may be retreated. Radiofrequency ablation may be performed percutaneously or laparoscopically with ultrasound or computed tomography guidance, or as an open procedure.


A new semi-theoretical thin-layer model of the fluidized bed drying of Echium amoenum Fisch. & C.A. Mey. petals has been developed. Experiments were conducted under different conditions: temperatures of 40, 50 and 60 °C, and air velocities of 0.5, 0.75 and 1.0 m/s, until the moisture content decreased to 0.04.-0.06 kg of water per kg of dry matter. Drying processes in the fluidized bed were completed in between 55 and 465 min, with minimum drying time required at the maximum temperature of 60 °C and air velocity of 1 m/s. The comparison of the new model developed here with sixteen previously published theoretical, semi-empirical or empirical thin-layer drying equations shows that using the new model the highest coefficient of correlation, the lowest reduced chi-square and root mean square error were obtained. The highest retention of total phenolic compounds in E. amoenum petals was achieved when drying at 60 °C and 1.0 m/s.


The experimental observation of traditional Zeeman-field induced Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superfluids has been hindered by various challenges, in particular, the requirement of low dimensional systems. In 2D, finite temperature phase fluctuations lead to an extremely small Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition temperature for FFLO superfluids, raising serious concerns regarding their experimental observability. Recently, it was shown that FFLO superfluids can be realized using a Rashba spin-orbit coupled Fermi gas subject to Zeeman fields, which may also support topological excitations such as Majorana fermions in 2D. Here we address the finite temperature BKT transition issue in this system, which may exhibit gapped, gapless, topological, and gapless topological FF phases. We find a large BKT transition temperature due to large effective superfluid densities, making it possible to observe 2D FF superfluids at finite temperature. In addition, we show that gapless FF superfluids can be stable due to their positive superfluid densities. These findings pave the way for the experimental observation of 2D gapped and gapless FF superfluids and their associated topological excitations at finite temperature.


Sign language recognition has emerged in concert of the vital space of analysis in computer Vision. The problem long-faced by the researchers is that the instances of signs vary with each motion and look. Thus, during this paper a completely unique approach for recognizing varied alphabets of Kannada linguistic communication is projected wherever continuous video sequences of the signs are thought of. The system includes of three stages: Preprocessing stage, Feature Extraction and Classification. Preprocessing stage includes skin filtering, bar histogram matching. Eigen values and Eigen Vectors were thought of for feature extraction stage and at last Eigen value weighted Euclidean distance is employed to acknowledge the sign. It deals with vacant hands, so permitting the user to act with the system in natural manner. We have got thought of completely different alphabets within the video sequences and earned a hit rate of 95.25%.


The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) has produced continent-wide analysis of many aspects of Africa's infrastructure challenge. The main findings were synthesized in a flagship report titled Africa's Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation, published in November 2009. Meant for policy makers, that report necessarily focused on the high-level conclusions. It attracted widespread media coverage feeding directly into discussions at the 2009 African Union Commission Heads of State Summit on Infrastructure. Although the flagship report served a valuable role in highlighting the main findings of the project, it could not do full justice to the richness of the data collected and technical analysis undertaken. There was clearly a need to make this more detailed material available to a wider audience of infrastructure practitioners. Hence the idea of producing four technical monographs, such as this one, to provide detailed results on each of the major infrastructure sectors, information and communication technologies (ICT), power, transport, and water, as companions to the flagship report. These technical volumes are intended as reference books on each of the infrastructure sectors. They cover all aspects of the AICD project relevant to each sector, including sector performance, gaps in financing and efficiency, and estimates of the need for additional spending on investment, operations, and maintenance. Each volume also comes with a detailed data appendix, providing easy access to all the relevant infrastructure indicators at the country level, which is a resource in and of itself.


The solar wind exhibits scaling typical of intermittent turbulence in the statistics of in situ fluctuations in both the magnetic and velocity fields. Intriguingly, quantities not directly accessed by theories of ideal, incompressible, MHD turbulence, such as magnetic energy density, B2, nevertheless show evidence of simple fractal (self‐affine) statistical scaling. We apply a novel statistical technique which is a sensitive discriminator of fractality to the B2 timeseries from WIND and ACE. We show that robust fractal behaviour occurs at solar maximum and determine the scaling exponents. The probability density function (PDF) of fluctuations at solar maximum and minimum are distinct. Power law tails are seen at maximum, and the PDF is reminiscent of a Lévy flight.


Abstract Introduction: Adrenal insufficiency is a rare but life-threatening disease. Conventional therapy consists of glucocorticoid replacement using hydrocortisone administered two or three times daily. Although such therapy extends life expectancy, mortality is not normalized, and quality of life remains poor. This failure to restore normal health is thought to be due to the inability of conventional glucocorticoid replacement therapy to normalize total cortisol exposure and to respond to the increased need for glucocorticoids during illness and stress. Also, current management regimens do not restore or replicate the intrinsic circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion. Areas covered: This narrative review was based on a PubMed and Medline search of all English-language articles on the safety and efficacy of glucocorticoid replacement therapy in patients with adrenal insufficiency. Based on this search we discuss current treatment strategies in terms of the failure to maintain or normalize metabolism and quality of life in patients with adrenal insufficiency. The rationale for, and technology behind, the development of modified-release preparations of hydrocortisone are described, together with the evidence suggesting that hydrocortisone preparations that mimic the physiological circadian pattern of cortisol release are more effective than conventional glucocorticoid replacement therapies. Conclusions: Modified-release hydrocortisone treatments for patients with adrenal insufficiency more closely mimic the physiological circadian pattern of cortisol secretion than conventional twice or thrice daily treatment. The available evidence suggests that these modified-release preparations should improve metabolic outcomes and quality of life.


From 2007 to 2014 total fertility rate in Russia increased from 1.42 to 1.75. To what extent this growth is related to a package of family policy measures introduced in 2007? Although the maternity (family) capital program is the most well-known innovation of the 2007 reform, we argue that the new rules of monthly childcare allowance assignment is its another major component. Since all measures were introduced simultaneously, it is only possible to estimate their cumulative effect on subsequent fertility behavior. Using panel Russian Generations and Gender Survey data collected in 2004, 2007 and 2011, this study assesses how family policy changes introduced in 2007 were related to the fertility behavior in Russia in recent years. We find a statistically significant increase in the chances of having second and subsequent births in September 2007 to Summer 2011 in comparison with the period of Summer 2004 to September 2007. We interpret that as a cumulative effect of the 2007 policy changes. We acknowledge that the observed effects might be related only to the calendar shifts in fertility behavior and further data and studies are needed to make any conclusions about completed fertility of the cohorts affected by 2007 family policy measures.


Translingualism (Horner, Lu, Royster, & Trimbur, 2011; Sugiharto, 2015) has received increasing interest in recent years as a way of recognizing and valuing students' linguistic diversity and of pushing back against language ideology that can disenfranchise minority groups. Composition scholarship has taken on the task of understanding how to implement the translingual paradigm in the writing classroom and has examined the importance of an openness to language difference in reading practices (Gallagher & Noonan, 2017; Horner, 2017) and assessment practices (Kraemer Sohan, 2014; Dryer & Mitchell, 2017) and at translanguaging, or code-meshing, in student writing (Canagarajah, 2011; Lu; Bommarito & Cooney, 2016) and in academic and literary works (Ahmad & Nero, 2012; Horner, 2017). Receiving less discussion are the language practices of college composition instructors. Yet if we understand our language practices to be the embodiment of our language ideology (Tardy, 2011), then the translingual approach would benefit from understanding how writing instructors use language in the classroom. Using semi-structured interviews, this study took a grounded theory approach to examine how instructors understand translingualism and how they perceived and used their own language histories, including multilingual resources, for teaching writing. Even though the instructors of this interview knew languages other than English, they used English predominantly in the classroom. However, they employed their fuller language histories—their experiences with language and language difference as well as their knowledge of multiple languages—in multiple ways to help students develop a translingual orientation, to make visible the diversity and complexity of language practices, and to value students' own language histories and practices.