We consider a multi-component, multi-product, periodic-review (re)assemble-to-order (RATO) system that uses an independent base-stock policy for the inventory replenishment of the components. At the beginning of each period, end-of-lease cores are returned. Because the quality of cores is random, they are tested, graded, and sorted into four pre-specified quality levels. Then, the random, jointly and continuously distributed demands for the products are realized. In our problem, partial fulfillment is not allowed. Furthermore, the system quotes a predetermined response time window for each product, and it penalizes the system if the demand is not satisfied within its time window. We model this problem through a risk-adjusted two-stage stochastic programming problem, where the first-stage decisions are the base-stock levels for all components, and the second-stage decisions are the allocations of components to different products. The risk adjustment is formulated through a chance constraint, which is then replaced by a conditional value-at-risk constraint. We solve the resulting problem through the sample average approximation method combined with the L-shaped method. We also present some encouraging numerical results.


We study how attendance rates of primary school children respond to cost neutral changes in the design of India's school meal program. Municipal schools in the capital region of Delhi switched from packaged food to on-site cooked meals in 2003, with insignificant changes in the budget available per meal. We use the staggered implementation of this transition and child-level panel data to find that cooked meals resulted in a 3-4 percentage point rise in average monthly attendance with the largest effects observed for early grades. The impact on girls was especially large, but since they attend morning shift schools while boys attend the afternoon shifts, these gender effects may simply reflect benefits from better timed meals. We also find attendance gains concentrated in schools that served diverse menus. Our results suggest that even within constrained budgets, better designed school transfer programs can improve student level outcomes.


Angiosperms have evolved to attract and/or deter specific pollinators. Flowers provide signals and cues such as scent, colour, size, pattern, and shape, which allow certain pollinators to more easily find and visit the same type of flower. Over evolutionary time, bees and angiosperms have co-evolved resulting in flowers being more attractive to bee vision and preferences, and allowing bees to recognise specific flower traits to make decisions on where to forage. Here we tested whether bees are instinctively tuned to process flower shape by training both flower-experienced and flower-naïve honeybee foragers to discriminate between pictures of two different flower species when images were either normally configured flowers or flowers which were scrambled in terms of spatial configuration. We also tested whether increasing picture contrast, to make flower features more salient, would improve or impair performance. We used four flower conditions: (i) normally configured greyscale flower pictures, (ii) scrambled flower configurations, (iii) high contrast normally configured flowers, and (iv) asymmetrically scrambled flowers. While all flower pictures contained very similar spatial information, both experienced and naïve bees were better able to learn to discriminate between normally configured flowers than between any of the modified versions. Our results suggest that a specialisation in flower recognition in bees is due to a combination of hard-wired neural circuitry and experience-dependent factors.


We evaluate performance characteristics of the HP GS1280 shared memory multiprocessor system. The GS1280 system contains up to 64 Alpha 21364 CPUs connected together via a torus-based interconnect. We describe architectural features of the GS1280 system. We compare and contrast the GS1280 to the previous generation Alpha systems: AlphaServer GS320 and ES45/SC45. We further quantitatively show the performance effects of these features using application results and profiling data based on the built-in performance counters. We find that the HP GS1280 often provides 2 to 3 times the performance of the AlphaServer GS320 at similar clock frequencies. We find the key reasons for such performance gains are advances in memory, interprocessor, and I/O subsystem designs.


We report here the results of an RCT evaluating the effectiveness of a pro bono initiative's oversubscribed divorce practice in Philadelphia County from January of 2011 until, effectively, July of 2016. The legal subject area was divorce, the quintessential example of a constitutional right that can be effectuated only by resort to the courts. Our study randomized an individual seeking assistance to pursue a divorce to either an effort by the service provider to find a pro bono attorney to represent her (treated group) or a referral to existing self-help or low bono resources coupled with an offer to answer questions by telephone (control group). Our study partner was the provider of last resort for free legal services in the Philadelphia County: it accepted intakes primarily via referrals from other organizations, and it required that service seekers exhaust all other options.

Treated and control groups experienced different outcomes. If one limits one's focus to Philadelphia County, where state venue laws "required" study participants and their opposing spouses to file, and where filing should have been most convenient for our study participants (who were all Philadelphia County residents), then we observe the following. Eighteen months after randomization, 54.1% of the treated group, as opposed to 13.9% of the control group, had a divorce case on record. Three years after randomization, 45.9% of treated group, as opposed to 8.9% of the control group, had achieved a termination of a marriage. The p-values for these differences (representing the probabilities that one would observe the numbers we observed, or numbers more extreme, if there were in fact no true difference between treated and control groups) were so low as to make them almost impossible to estimate; effectively, we observed instances of p = 0. If one expands one's focus to other Pennsylvania counties, and thus considers filings by Philadelphia County residents who risked a dismissal due to improper venue and who abandoned the system they support as taxpayers, results remain statistically and substantively significant: 60.8% of the treated group, versus 36.3% of the control group, had a divorce case on file after 18 months, p < .00002; 50.0% of the treated group, versus 25.3% of the control group, succeeded in terminating the marriage in 36 months, p < .00002. When we account for the block randomization scheme we deployed, estimated effect sizes are a few percentage points larger than the numbers above would suggest.

We conduct modeling to determine the effect of having a lawyer for divorce-seekers as a way of measuring the pro se accessibility of the divorce system. We find large effects, suggesting that the system is not accessible to pro se litigants.

We discuss possible reasons for our findings, as well as policy implications.


The National Museum of Natural History is committed to long-term stewardship of collections and to supporting their use by scientists and the general public. This stewardship role is unique among other US natural history museums. As the nation's natural history museum, the National Museum of Natural History has a mandated commitment to conserve and protect its collections in a manner that will assure their continued accessibility by future generations and maintain the National Museum of Natural History mission.
 A significant number of objects from the National Museum of Natural History are permanently stored at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD. This space not only includes collections from the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), but also the Museum Conservation Institute (MCI), the National Museum of American History (NMAH), the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG), the Freer Sackler Gallery (FSG) and the National Museum of African Art (AfA) as well as several other museums.
 In terms of collections access and use, the museum support center has a team, Collections Support Services (CSS), dedicated to collections' long-term care and preservation. Collections Support Services provides access and support for the 730,000 square feet of collections housed at MSC. CSS staff perform a variety of technical and labor tasks related to the cleaning, preparation, packing, transport, unpacking, and permanent storage of objects and specimens. This includes building custom aluminum pallets for oversized objects and whale skull cradles.
 Moreover, while the use of palletized storage is not a new concept in museum storage, the construction of Pod 4 at the Museum Support Center in Suitland, MD posed some unique challenges for the permanent storage of oversized collections. Pod 4 provides continuous rows of 2', 4' and 8' deep cantilevered open racking from floor to ceiling (22 feet high), and allows palletized objects to be moved and placed in the racking via forklift. Traditional wooden pallets are unacceptable by archival standards, as they are acidic by nature, bulky, heavy, not fire-retardant, and prone to pest infestation. Collections Support Services circumvented these issues by establishing an innovative system of customized aluminum pallets for collections' long-term care and preservation. These pallets are durable and lightweight, and must pass several quality control tests that include dropping and jarring. They are also designed with multiple functions in mind for ease of use, storage, transport, and maintenance.


Obesity has reached epidemic levels worldwide. It is associated with major chronic diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The etiology of obesity-associated cancer is poorly understood. New population-based research mouse models are required to better understand prevention and to increase the translational potential of mouse models to humans. The Collaborative Cross (CC) recombinant inbred lines of mice are a population-based model created from an 8-way multiparental advanced generation intercross with a 12% minor allele frequency (MAF) and more than 45 million SNP and CNV, including a significant number of private (unique) alleles. The Diversity Outbred (DO) mice were created from early CC incipient lines (generations G2:F2-5) by random selection and 175 randomly selected breeding pairs. The genetic diversity of the DO and CC RIL mice is ideal for forward and reverse genetics approaches, respectively, to identify potential causally related risk variants and identify etiology based upon causal relationships. Here, we present data from two cohorts (from different breeding generations) of 50 female and 50 male DO mice each (total 100 each sex). After 12-wks high-fat (60% kcal fat) diet we observed significant differences in weight gain during diet-induced obesity DIO. After switching diets for 8-wks of 30% caloric restriction of a low-fat (10% kcal fat) diet, we observed significant interindividual differences in weight loss. Body weight, lean and fat mass differences), increases in 4-hr fasted blood glucose and insulin levels, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR and increased blood branched chain amino acids levels (BCAA) were observed. Four interacting quantitative trait loci/gene (Chst10, Bmiq5, Ath8, and Tcq14) related to metabolism, body mass index, cardiovascular disease, and total cholesterol levels, respectively, have been identified. Regression analysis suggests significant interactions between fasted blood glucose and fat mass, HOMA-IR and fat mass, and BCAA and fat mass in DIO and CR outcomes. Results to date show significant amounts of interindividual variability of each of the quantified phenotypes in response to both diet interventions were demonstrated in female and male DO mice. These data suggest potential avenues of research on obesity and cancer relationships and pathways for intervention. Citation Format: Melissa VerHague, Jody Albright, Salvador Favela, Kerri Barron, Michael F. Coleman, Katie Meyer, John E. French, Stephen D. Hursting. Diet-induced obesity and caloric restriction weight loss in Diversity Outbred (DO) mice: An experimental preclinical translational model for the investigation of pathways for prevention of obesity and cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Environmental Carcinogenesis: Potential Pathway to Cancer Prevention; 2019 Jun 22-24; Charlotte, NC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2020;13(7 Suppl): Abstract nr A45.


This report represents the findings of an eighteen month research project that examines the challenges faced by asylum support groups in the United States and the United Kingdom, and different ways of responding to those challenges. The research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK1. The research has been carried out by four people: Drs Nick Gill, Deirdre Conlon, Ceri Oeppen and Imogen Tyler.The purpose of this report is to provide information to the asylum support sector by disseminating our findings about the common challenges faced by those working with this vulnerable population in two different national settings, and the strategies being engaged by asylum support organisations to confront these common challenges. Our research project uncovered a range of organisations that offer practical assistance to asylum seekers in a variety of ways: for example by visiting asylum seekers in detention, helping to prepare their legal cases, providing creative, artistic, spiritual, health-related, political and practical support, advocating on their behalf with authorities and policy makers and by raising the profile of asylum-seekers in news media and other public forums. We began by mapping the kinds of organisations that exist in two national settings—the US and UK—and then used a questionnaire to capture as much information as possible about them. The questionnaire was undertaken by over 130 organisations. We then conducted 35 in-depth interviews with individuals working in asylum support organisations, as well as 3 focus groups. Over the course of collecting the data, the size, scale and diversity of the asylum support sector became apparent. Though there were many differences there was a uniting theme in the data we collected: an enduring sense of injustice at the treatment of asylum seekers and widespread recognition of the needto do more to change the social, legal and political situations which lead to inequalities and discrimination. Further, all of the organisations we interviewed expressed their desire to persist with difficult support work in the face of deepening economic crises and hardening border-policy contexts, and to find ways of galvanising others to assist this often isolated and marginalised migrant population. We hope this report makes a contribution to the critical work of the asylum-advocacy sector by sharing ideas and best practice between what are sometimes large national organisations with paid and unpaid workers, but are more often small local and isolated groups of volunteers. We hope this research project will facilitate further collaboration between asylum advocacy groups, and between this sector and academic researchers.


The large density of gluons, which is present shortly after a nuclear collision at very high energies, can lead to the formation of a condensate. We identify a gauge-invariant order parameter for condensation based on elementary nonperturbative excitations of the plasma, which are described by spatial Wilson loops. Using real-time lattice simulations, we demonstrate that a self-similar transport process towards low momenta builds up a macroscopic zero mode. Our findings reveal intriguing similarities to recent discoveries of condensation phenomena out of equilibrium in table-top experiments with ultracold Bose gases.


Multicore processors dominate the commercial marketplace, with the consequence that almost all computers are now parallel computers. To take maximum advantage of multicore chips, applications and systems should take advantage of that parallelism. As of today, a small fraction of applications do. To improve that situation and to capitalize fully on the power of multicore systems, we need to adopt programming models, parallel algorithms, and programming languages that are appropriate for the multicore world, and to integrate these ideas and tools into the courses that educate the next generation of computer scientists.


The Internet and its activism power have been discussed in recent years. This study deals with the roles of class-based alternative media and the websites of two labour unions in providing a democratic platform and their potential for strengthening of the labour union movements and examines "Sendika.Org" as the voice of labour movement and the websites of two important labour unions, Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) and Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DISK), to reveal their potentials in triggering the labour movement and class-based discussions in society. In this context, this study focuses on the nature of social networking activism and the potential of the alternative media in the context of theoretical framework of the public sphere and online activism and it discusses the creative potential of the Internet as a public sphere. It also attempts to explain how these websites present themselves to the public and mobilise citizens and activists. Also, it analyses the websites' potential of political resistance towards the social inequalities and the class-based issues by using the content analysis method constituted by certain categories such as information provision, networking, participation, campaigning, and delivery. The aim of this study is to reveal to what extent the activists use these websites as means for mobilisation and how alternative media and the websites of the labour unions create an alternative public sphere among the online audience and how they encourage the activists to participate in the online and offline actions. Keywords: Online activism, Internet, social media, public sphere, labour unions, DISK, KESK, sendika.org, class-based activism


Context. Optical-ultraviolet (UV) observations of > 100 Myr pulsars are crucial to understand the long-term evolution of neutron stars, including the late stages of the neutron star cooling. The 166 Myr old pulsar PSR J0108-1431 is one of the best targets since it is the oldest non-recycled pulsar with a candidate counterpart, detected with the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Aims. Aim of our observations is to obtain a firm detection of its candidate counterpart, only detected with marginal significance and to measure anew its flux in the U and B bands, for which we obtained only uncertain values. Methods. We observed the PSR J0108-1431 field with the FOcal Reducer/low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS2) at the VLT, exploiting the updated pulsar radio coordinates obtained from recent VLBI observations. Results. Due to non-optimal seeing conditions, we only reached 3σ detection limits of U ∼ 26.5 and B ∼ 27.2, i.e. not incompatible with the fluxes of the candidate counterpart (U = 26.4 ± 0.3; B = 27.9 ± 0.5) that we measured in our previous VLT observations. Conclusions. We can not rule out that the proposed counterpart, detected at the edge of an elliptical galaxy, is real and that we could not detect it just because its flux is close to the detection limit of our new VLT observations. Due to its blue spectrum and proximity to the galaxy, UV observations with the Hubble Space Telescope are more suited to confirm the pulsar identification.


Fatal carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning by suicide or accident is well known. Most cases are due to smoke from burning buildings, town gas and car exhaust gas all in closed areas. Another suicide method identified at internet sites are mixing of sulphuric acid and formic acid resulting in CO formation. The literature has described three such cases where the victims were found in sealed rooms with deadly CO concentrations. The case victim was a healthy 41-year-old male employed at a haulage company. He was ordered to remove 6 m3 80% sulphuric acid containing acetic acid from a factory. When he began to suck up the liquid from different pallet tanks standing outside temperature and pressure arose in his vacuum tanker, and he started to pour the liquid back. He was afterwards seen lying on top of the tanker next to the lid. It later emerged that the liquid collected contained formic acid as well. The autopsy revealed bright red lividity characteristic of CO poisoning, marks in his face consistent with lying on the tanker, no airway corrosions and a postmortem CO haemoglobin level at 62%. Discussion and Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first reported case of outdoor fatal CO poisoning and also the first case with CO poisoning by accidental mixture of sulphuric acid and formic acid. To avoid occupational CO poisoning in the future safety masks should be obvious along with certainty of fluid in processing as well as safeguard the density of the vacuum package.


This research discusses experimentally the shear strain of the reinforcement concrete hybrid beams composed of reactive powder concrete (RPC) at the peripheral and conventional concrete (CC) at the core beams under torsional strength tests. Shear strain is usually represented by (), which is explained as the tangent of the angle and is be like the length of deformation at its maximum divided by the length of perpendicular in the plane of the force application. Twelve reinforced concrete beams are tested having the following dimensions: 100, 200 and 1500mm as width, height and length respectively with thickness of the RPC concrete were 40 and 20mm. The beams were cast and tested to failure in torsion by using two opposite cantilevers steel arms that contribute to transferring the torque to the centre of the beams. Two control (CC and RPC) beams were poured, and the ten other beams were all poured as hybrid ones. Experimental data of the three strain gauges locations in the middle of the beams in one of the side surface face, to calculate shear strain (). The percentage of shear strain at ultimate torsion capacity was reduced by about 76% for RPC (RP) to CC (NC) beams and 63% for hybrid beam (H1) to CC (NC) beam.


In the dissertation I have dealt with time-dependent (nonautonomous) systems,
the conservative (Hamiltonian) as well as dissipative, and investigated their dynamical
and statistical properties. In conservative (Hamiltonian) time-dependent systems the
energy is not conserved, whilst the Liouville theorem about the conservation of the phase
space volume still applies. We are interested to know, whether the system can gain
energy, and whether this energy can grow unbounded, up to infinity, and we are
interested in the system's behaviour in the mean, as well as its statistical
properties. An example of such a system goes back to the 1940s, when Fermi proposed
the acceleration of cosmic rays (in the first place protons) upon the collisions
with moving magnetic domains in the interstellar medium of our Galaxy,
and in other galaxies. He then proposed a simple mechanical one-dimensional model,
the so-called Fermi-Ulam Model (FUM), where a point particle is moving between two
rigid walls, one being at rest and the other one oscillating. If the oscillation
is periodic and smooth, it turned out in a nontrivial way, which is, in the
modern era of understanding the chaotic dynamical systems, well understood,
namely that the unbounded increasing of the energy (the so-called Fermi
acceleration) is not possible, due to the barriers in form of invariant tori,
which partition the phase space into regions, between which the transitions are
not possible. The research has then been extended to other simple dyanamical
systems, which have complex dynamics. The first was so-called bouncer model,
in which a point particle bounces off the oscillating platform in a gravitational
field. In this simple system the Fermi acceleration is possible. Later
the research was directed towards two-dimensional billiard systems. It turned
out that the Fermi acceleration is possible in all such systems, which are at least
partially chaotic (of the mixed type), or even in a system that is integrable
as static, namely in case of the elliptic billiard. (The circle billiard
is an exception, because it is always integrable, as the angular momentum
is conserved even in time-dependent case.) The study of time-dependent systems
has developed strongly worldwide around the 1990s, in particular in 2000s,
and became one of the central topics in nonlinear dynamics. It turned out,
quite generally, but formal and implicit, in the sense of mathematical
existence theorems, that in nonautonomous Hamilton systems the energy can
grow unbounded, meaning that the system ``pumps" the energy from the environment
with which it interacts. There are many open questions: how does the energy
increase with time, in particular in the mean of some representative ensemble
of initial conditions (typically the phase space of two-dimensional time-dependent
billiards is four-dimensional.) It turned out that almost everywhere the power laws
apply, empirically, based on the numerical calculations, but with various
acceleration exponents. If the Fermi acceleration is not posssible, like e.g.
in the FUM, due to the invariant tori, then after a certain time of acceleration
stage the crossover into the regime of saturation takes place, whose
characteristics also follow the power laws. One of the central themes in
the dissertation is the study of these power laws, their critical exponents,
analytical relationships among them, using the scaling analysis
(Leonel, McClintock and Silva, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2004). Furthermore, the central
theme is the question, what happens, if, in a nonautonomous Hamilton system
which exhibits Fermi acceleration, we introduce dissipation, either
at the collisions with the walls (collisional dissipation) or
during the free motion (in-flight dissipation, due to the viscosity
of the fluid or the drag force etc.). Dissipation typically transforms
the periodic points into point attractors and chaotic components into
chaotic attractors. The Fermi acceleration is always suppressed.
We are interested in the phase portraits of


We report a study on neutron diffraction and magnetic properties ol cobalt oxide CoO antiferromagnetic nanoparticles with different sizes. The nanoparticles are composed by a structurally and magnetically ordered core and a structurally ordered and magnetically disordered shell with a thickness of about 2 nm. The ordered core has cell parameters, moments direction and modulus similar to those of bulk CoO. Small differences found are attributed to an increase of the oxidation of the nanoparticles with the decrease of size. A remanent moment Mr can be induced in CoO nanoparticles by crossing the transition temperature in the presence of a magnetic field, while the magnetic structure of the antiferromagnetically ordered moments of the nanoparticles core remains unchanged after field cooling within the experimental precision, suggesting that Mr arises in the magnetically disordered shell.


LiDAR systems are being used widely in recent years for many applications in the engineering field: civil engineering, cultural heritage, mining, industry and environmental engineering. One of the most important limitations of this technology is the large computational requirements involved in data processing, especially for large mobile LiDAR datasets. Several software solutions for data managing are available in the market, including open source suites, however, users often unknown methodologies to verify their performance properly. In this work a methodology for LiDAR software performance testing is presented and four different suites are studied: QT Modeler, VR Mesh, AutoCAD 3D Civil and the Point Cloud Library running in software developed at the University of Vigo (SITEGI). The software based on the Point Cloud Library shows better results in the loading time of the point clouds and CPU usage. However, it is not as strong as commercial suites in working set and commit size tests.


The amino acid sequence of the 212-residues-long N-terminal aggregation and cross-linking region of the alpha 2(IV) chain of human basement membrane collagen is presented. Comparing this with the primary structure of alpha 1(IV)7S [Glanville et al. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 152, 213-219] revealed a high degree of similar subdivisions in three functional regions. These are the 21-residue-long N-terminal non-triple-helical regions (NH1) containing cysteine and lysine residues which are putative cross-linking sites, a 117-residue-long triple-helical region (TH1) responsible for the aggregation of four molecules to form the 7S domain and which also possess cross-linking sites, and finally a 10-residue-long non-triple-helical region (NH2) which introduces the first of many flexible areas into the triple helical body of the molecule [Hofmann et al. (1984) J. Mol. Biol. 172, 325-343]. Computer calculations of interaction scores between parallel and antiparallelly aligned triple-helical regions (TH1) of the 7S domain allowed the prediction of a detailed model for the structure of the 7S complex which agreed well with models based primarily on electron micrographs of rotary shadowed type IV collagen tetramers. The results indicated that the assembly of the 7S domain is directed by hydrophobic interactions and is self-limiting to a tetramer. The most favourable chain configuration is alpha 2-alpha 1-alpha 1.


The significance of input, namely meaning-bearing linguistic instances of the target language (TL) (VanPatten, 1996), in accounting for how learners create second language (L2) grammars has long been established (Gass, 1997). Krashen (1985), in his Input Hypothesis, even argues that the sheer provision of abundant comprehensible input would be "necessary and sufficient" for second language acquisition (SLA). In light of such characteristics as "lack of success" and "the importance of instruction" in Bley-Vroman's (1989) Fundamental Difference Hypothesis vis-a-vis adult L2 learners, however, it appears that manipulating aspects of learning conditions may facilitate L2 grammar acquisition. Some researchers (e.g., Sanz and Morgan-Short, 2005) suggest that external manipulation of input through textual (Jourdenais, Ota, Stauffer, Boyson, & Doughty, 1995) or prosodic (Leeman, 2003) enhancement, or even input flood (Trahey & White, 1993) might induce internal processing, considering that the target forms are made more salient and are thus more likely to be detected by the learner. Others, while acknowledging the difficulty of controlling and measuring L2 processing, still see value in theorizing about the learner's internal language acquisition mechanism to make sense of the manner input processing (IP) works.


ABSTRAK The goal of this research is to describe and to explain the integrated marketing communication strategic od Go-Jek Branch Bali in establishing brand awareness among the expatriate. This research uses descriptive qualitative approach. Informants are chosen by purposive technique and snowball. The data obtained through interview, direct observation, and documentation study. As for the analysis techniques used in this research is through several step, which is data reduction, presentation, and conclusion. The results showed that Go-Jek Branch Bali uses the integrated marketing communication strategy in establishing brand awareness among the expatriate. Although it has a diverse audience segmentation, Go-Jek Branch Bali using the similar integrated marketing communication but adapted in terms of language. In addition, Go-Jek Branch Bali are focusing the marketing communication in digital by utilizing social media. In delivering the message, Go-Jek Branch Bali deliver a similar message to every communication channel but without including keywords so the message would look different. Keywords: integrated marketing communication, Go-Jek Branch Bali, Expatriate


National Road Pricing is technically feasible. If we started with just the motorway network where over 20% [15] of total vehicle miles are driven, it has been estimated that there are approximately 800 motorway intersections and junctions. This could require of the order of 1,600-2,000 camera sites, depending on where they are located and the configuration of slip roads, to measure distance driven and detect entry and exit location. This is only ten times the scale of the London scheme in terms of vehicle detection sites. Regarding customer payment channels, there is now much greater take up of digital channels than in 2003, so payment facilities for the occasional user as well as regular users should be much easier to implement at lower unit cost per transaction. Given the better quality of DVLA's registration data and greater opportunity to have account based payment, it should also be easier to accurately bill UK drivers for their usage and enforce against non-payers. We conclude that a national scheme is eminently feasible for the United Kingdom.


Equestrian coaches offer their specialist knowledge and expertise in developing many successful partnerships between people and horses in a range of equestrian sports, from junior events at the local Pony Club to the Olympic Games. However, the ways in which coaches contribute to these equestrian successes through their teaching have not been widely researched. This thesis explores how equestrian coaches teach by examining their teaching perceptions, observing their teaching actions, and identifying the role of the horse in their teaching. This is an important topic because there is an independently responsive horse to consider in equestrian sports, which is not a factor present in other sports. New knowledge generated by this research has the potential to advance our understanding of the complex interactions that occur between the coach, student, and horse triad, and to assist in developing appropriate coach education resources and programs in equestrian sports.

The literature review shows that there was minimal research regarding teaching by equestrian coaches, so three research questions were designed to build on existing knowledge about how other sports coaches teach and how people and horses connect. A conceptual lens of Equestrian Sports Pedagogy (ESP), which represents the interactions between the coach, student, and horse, was created to guide the research. A three-stage mixed methods research design was implemented using a Survey questionnaire (N=92), Researcher observations (N=12+2), and Participant interviews (N=8). The teaching styles that equestrian coaches believe they use, and that were observed using in practice, were identified by using the theoretical framework of Mosston and Ashworth's (2008) Spectrum of Teaching Styles. How the horse impacts on equestrian coaches' teaching was also explored. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were used to address the diversity of these research questions.

Two major findings are reported. The first came from the identification of a clear discrepancy between how the equestrian coaches perceive they teach, and how they were observed to teach in practice. Participants nominated three predominant Spectrum teaching styles: Styles A (Command), B (Practice), and F (Guided Discovery). However, only Styles A and B were observed in their teaching activities. Therefore, the results suggest that equestrian coaches are only teaching known, rather than new, knowledge. This is a similar discrepancy to that found by Hewitt (2015) in teaching tennis, suggesting that a divergence of teaching beliefs to observed practice is not restricted to equestrian sports. Additionally, the horse has no apparent influence on equestrian coaches' choice of Spectrum teaching styles, as related to coach and student interactions. However, the second major finding was that the horse does contribute to how equestrian coaches teach, and that they play a significant pedagogical role in equestrian sports. Their contributions are unique to coaching equestrian sports. Overall, these two major findings suggest that ESP can be considered both the same/similar and different to the pedagogy found in other sports. Thus, identifying the differences has helped to relationally position ESP as a specialist variant of sports pedagogy.

The overall findings mean that when teaching equestrian sports is perceived as similar to teaching in other sports, results from addressing such topics as teaching beliefs and observed actions in general sports pedagogy will be of value to coach development in equestrian sports. Using literature from sports pedagogy may be favourably applicable to coach education in equestrian sports, although it would help if the theoretical constructs from sports pedagogy could be sufficiently modified so that the interactions of the horse can be recognised. When teaching equestrian sports is perceived as different from pedagogy in other sports generally, literature from equestrian sports or associated disciplines may need to be incorporated to fully appreciate the interaction of the horse, and its impact, on the teaching pedagogy. Additionally, this may mean that any future research into topics associated with teaching equestrian sports is of value in general sports pedagogy.

The research presented in this thesis indicates that generalised coach education may not always be adequate for the educative requirements of equestrian coaches. There is a need to progress pedagogical theory that is specifically tailored to suit equestrian sports. This could be undertaken along with, or parallel to, that of general sports. It is expected that developing a better theoretical understanding of teaching and learning with horses will benefit equestrian coaches in the future, and that benefit can feasibly be achieved through improved coach education. Positioning future research of ESP relationally to that of other sports has the potential to significantly contribute to a collection of new knowledge that will be of interest to several research and practice domains. It is expected that the interest group will include researchers and
practitioners of sports pedagogy, in addition to equestrian coaches and their students and horses, and to coach educators in many other sports.


Visits were made to a number of American and European vehicle manufacturers, Research Centres, and Traffic Safety Administration Authorities during April and May 1988 to discuss current trends and developments in occupant safety world-wide. In addition, several invitations were made to overseas experts to visit the Monash University Accident Research Centre during 1988 and 1989 to hold similar discussions. The outcomes of these discussions are described in terms of types of collisions and occupant injuries of major concern currently to many of those committed to improving occupant protection. Improvements and current difficulties in international vehicle standards are also discussed, along with suggestions on how Australia can effectively contribute to the development of safe vehicles (A).


We examined functional contributions of interdomain contacts within the nicotinic receptor ligand binding site using single channel kinetic analyses, site-directed mutagenesis, and a homology model of the major extracellular region. At the principal face of the binding site, the invariant αD89 forms a highly conserved interdomain contact near αT148, αW149, and αT150. Patch-clamp recordings show that the mutation αD89N markedly slows acetylcholine (ACh) binding to receptors in the resting closed state, but does not affect rates of channel opening and closing. Neither αT148L, αT150A, nor mutations at both positions substantially affects the kinetics of receptor activation, showing that hydroxyl side chains at these positions are not hydrogen bond donors for the strong acceptor αD89. However substituting a negative charge at αT148, but not at αT150, counteracts the effect of αD89N, demonstrating that a negative charge in the region of interdomain contact confers rapid association of ACh. Interpreted within the structural framework of ACh binding protein and a homology model of the receptor ligand binding site, these results implicate main chain amide groups in the domain harboring αW149 as principal hydrogen bond donors for αD89. The specific effect of αD89N on ACh association suggests that interdomain hydrogen bonding positions αW149 for optimal interaction with ACh.


The abnormal and variable increase in levels of free sphingoid bases recently described in fibroblasts from Niemann-Pick C patients allowed us to investigate the modulation of protein kinase C in vivo by endogenous sphingosine. The specific binding of [20-3H]phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate to the regulatory domain of membrane-bound protein kinase C was significantly decreased in fibroblasts from patients compared with controls. A pronounced difference between the two groups (P<0.0001) was demonstrated in low-density lipoprotein-supplemented medium, i.e. under conditions known to disclose abnormal mobilization of unesterified cholesterol in Niemann-Pick C fibroblasts. Furthermore the degree of impairment of [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate binding was highly correlated (r=0.95) with the sphingosine levels measured in fibroblasts from those patients. Scatchard analysis of the binding data indicated that Niemann-Pick C and control fibroblasts contained almost the same number of binding sites per cell. A 8-34-fold increase in Kd was measured in Niemann-Pick C fibroblasts with at least a 5-fold increase in sphingosine levels. Removal, by cell fractionation, of membrane-bound protein kinase C from the bulk of sphingosine induced a normalization of Kd values. The overall results suggest that protein kinase C inhibition is directly related to sphingosine accumulation.


Nano-silver has received a great deal of attention in recent years for its various potential applications on medical, electronic, optical, etc. In this paper, we developed a simple way to synthesize nano-sized silver by liquid chemical reduction method with hydrazine hydrate as reductant and PVP as surface-protection reagent. In the experimental design, orthogonal test with three factors and three levels is adopted, which investigated the effect of instillation method, the PVP amount and the reaction temperature on the size and morphology of silver nano-particle. Through analyzing the orthogonal experimental results, the optimum conditions for nano-silver preparation is obtained, in which hydrazine hydrate solution is instilled into the mixture solution of silver nitrate and PVP, the molar ratio of PVP/AgNO3 is 1.5, and the temperature is 50°C. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the morphology of silver nano-particles, and the results show that the dispersed spherical nano-particles with the average size of about 60 nm can be prepared in this work.


objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of risk for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a population of urban, low socioeco- nomic status (SES) patients with type-2 diabetes but no known CVD and to identify factors associated with perceived risk. m ethods. This cross-sectional study enrolled 143 patients, predominantly middle-aged African American women, at urban community clinics. Demo- graphic and socioeconomic characteristics, medical history, health behavior, depressive symptoms, and perception of risk for CVD were measured. r esults. Seventy-five percent of participants perceived that they had a 50% or smaller risk of developing CVD. Increased levels of perceived risk for the development of CVD were significantly and independently associated with increased depressive symptoms, poorer perception of general health, and higher intake of dietary fat. conclusions. Comprehensive care for urban, poor, diabetic patients calls for effective communication of CVD risk and adequate treatment of depres- sive symptoms and traditional CVD risk factors.


This book explores the relationships between education, lifelong learning and democratic citizenship. It emphasises the importance of the democratic quality of the processes and practices that make up the everyday lives of children, young people and adults for their ongoing formation as democratic citizens. The book combines theoretical and historical work with critical analysis of policies and wider developments in the fi eld of citizenship education and civic learning. The book urges educators, educationalists, policy makers and politicians to move beyond an exclusive focus on the teaching of citizenship towards an outlook that acknowledges the ongoing processes and practices of civic learning in school and society. This is not only important in order to understand the complexities of such learning. It can also help to formulate more realistic expectations about what schools and other educational institutions can contribute to the promotion of democratic citizenship. The book is particularly suited for students, researchers and policy makers who have an interest in citizenship education, civic learning and the relationships between education, lifelong learning and democratic citizenship. Gert Biesta (www.gertbiesta.com) is Professor of Education at the School of Education, University of Stirling, UK.


Lower-limb exoskeletons are widely researched to improve walking performance and mobility. Low-level sensor-less exoskeleton motor control is attractive for consumer applications due to reduced device complexity and cost, but complex and variable transmission system configurations make the development of effective open-loop motor controllers that are responsive to user input challenging. The objective of this study was to develop and validate an open-loop motor control framework resulting in similar or greater performance vs. closed-loop torque control. We used generalized linear regression to develop two open-loop controllers by modeling motor current during exoskeleton-assisted walking; a "complex" model used desired torque and estimated ankle angular velocity as inputs, while a "simple" model used desired torque alone. Five participants walked at 1.0–1.3 m/s on a treadmill with closed-loop and both open-loop controllers providing ankle exoskeleton assistance. Both open-loop current controllers had similar root-mean-squared torque tracking error (p = 0.23) compared to the closed-loop torque-feedback controller. Both open-loop controllers had improved relative average torque production (p < 0.001 complex, p = 0.022 simple), lower power consumption (p < 0.001 for both), and reduced operating noise (p = 0.002 complex, p < 0.001 simple) over the closed-loop controller. New control models developed for a different ankle exoskeleton configuration showed similar improvements (lower torque error, greater average and peak torque production, lower power consumption) over closed-loop control during over-ground walking. These results demonstrate that our framework can produce open-loop motor controllers that match closed-loop control performance during exoskeleton operation.


Pomegranate is an excellent source of many nutrients able to contribute to a healthy diet. Taif is the first leading Pomegranate producers in Saudi Arabia. To our knowledge, there has been no research on the Taif Pomegranate fruit juices. this study, for determination of minerals elements (sodium , potassium, copper, lead and iron) was carried out for four different pomegranates origins commercially available in Taif province, KSA such as (Abha, Egyptian, Yamani 1, Yamani 2) using Atomic absorption spectrometry and flame photometry. The results showed that the concentrations of sodium and potassium were (0.3-0.36 mg/100 gm.) and (50-95 mg/100 gm.) respectively. Lead and iron were not detected whereas copper was 0.1ug/100 gm. In conclusion, the authors recommend these methods for analysis of minerals concerning the food and human health safety.


High productivity in cities creates an economic surplus relative to other areas. How is this divided between workers and land-owners? Simple models with homogenous labour suggest that it accrues largely - or entirely - in the form of land-rents. This paper shows that heterogeneity of labour in two main dimensions (productivity differentials and housing demands) radically changes this result. Even a modest amount of heterogeneity can drive the land share of surplus down to 2/3rds or lower, as high productivity and/or low housing demand individuals receive large utility gains. In a system of cities the sorting of workers across cities mean that the land-rent share of surplus is lowest in the largest and most productive cities.


A novel in vitro gastric device, the Gastric Digestion Simulator (GDS), was developed for the direct observation and quantitative analysis of the food digestion process in the human stomach. In addition to simulating the chemical digestion environment, this device provides a physical digestion environment comparable to that found in the stomach by simulating peristalsis, which is assumed to contribute to solid food disintegration. The GDS was successfully used to directly observe the disintegration process of Tofu (bean curd) as a typical solid food containing protein. The size distribution and protein content of Tofu particles during the digestion experiments were investigated. The results demonstrated the difference in particle disintegration between GDS and flask shaking experiments, which may be due to the lack of peristalsis in the latter case. Moreover, the size distribution of Tofu particles after the GDS experiments was affected by the physical properties of Tofu, thus revealing the usefulness of GDS for food digestion analysis.


In this paper, we document and rationalize the premium paid by bond issuers in the corporate bond markets. Changes in the bond market over the past thirty years have shifted the new issue pricing risk from investors to banks and back to investors, with large institutional investors acting as a de facto adjunct underwriting group, and this process has required both capital commitment as well as a commitment to taking on unsystematic risk for which investors require compensation. In this paper, we use the superior data prevalent in trades under the TRACE system to compute the New-Issue Premium (NIP) as well as relating the magnitude of that premium to predetermined economic variables: The level of the corporate-bond spread; the future volatility of swap spreads; the prevailing value of unsystematic risk in the bond markets; the spread of the issuer to Treasury market at time of issuance; and the tenor of the new bond issue. We then present a model for the required NIP based on compensation for information uncertainty and the bearing of unsystematic risk. In so doing, we also address the issues of oligopolistic pricing and wealth transfer that occur at time of issuance.


Abstract The criminal cases solved lately by the Prosecutor's office by the court and by the local prosecutor's offices brought under discussion and caused various opinions on the competency of changing the legal framework of the deed by hitting or other violent acts to attempted murder provided the competency being declined by the prosecutor's offices by the district courts to the prosecutor's office by the county court. This issue has become particularly important in view of the recent finding by the Constitutional Court that the elimination from absolute nullities of non-compliance with the rules of substantive jurisdiction and according to the quality of the person of the criminal prosecution bodies is unconstitutional [1]. There are also different points of view regarding the resumption and repetition of the on-site investigation, the conditions in which they intervene, who continues to carry it out, but also the way in which their forensic fixation is fixed.


Research indicates buyer-supplier collaborations in new product development (NPD) can have a positive impact on innovation. From a knowledge based view, it is argued that suppliers add a complementary knowledge base that is combined with the buyer's knowledge. But what does the supplier contribution actually consist of? And more importantly: How is this supplier knowledge integrated into the NPD process? This is not clear in the literature. Different supplier inputs may imply different knowledge integration mechanisms and practices.The purpose of this licentiate thesis is to investigate how supplier knowledge is integrated into the NPD process. The focus is to explore how knowledge intensive manufacturing firms integrate different supplier inputs in collaborative NPD projects by using different knowledge integration mechanisms.To fulfil the aim of thesis a qualitative approach has been applied and by studying NPD processes in three industrial sectors. An extensive literature review and a focus group meeting are followed by two qualitative case studies that are based mainly on interviews with keyrepresentatives in the buyer-supplier collaborations. The first study investigates different supplier contributions by categorizing different supplier inputs. The second study – which is the largest part of the overall study - investigates how supplier knowledge is integrated in NPD collaborations using different integration mechanisms. Here, six NPD collaborations, representing the automotive, the energy, and the telecom sectors, are studied and compared, in order to understand the integration processes and the different knowledge integration mechanisms. The third study investigates the role of trust in capturing supplier knowledge. Here, two NPD collaborations which can be considered to be polar-cases in terms of scope and depth are compared in order to explore and explain the role of trust in the integration processes.Altogether these studies lay a foundation for a model of knowledge integration between the buyer and the supplier in NPD collaborations. The model identifies two main strategies for integrating supplier knowledge – knowledge absorption and joint knowledge accumulation.Knowledge absorption concerns innovation processes where the contribution from suppliers is focused on product- and process improvements, i.e. incremental input. Here, the development is dictated by clear specifications. Supplier contacts take place during a limited period of time and are restricted to certain phases in NPD projects. Thus, the main knowledge integration mechanism used is sequencing. In these situations, the buyer actually tries to capture and absorb the knowledge of the supplier at a specific point in the process. A basic level of trust, based on the reputation the supplier has for competence is sufficient.Joint knowledge accumulation, on the other hand, is how firms manage more radical input from suppliers, such as new technology or new design. In these cases, knowledge integration strategies extend over a longer period of time, throughout several phases of the NPD project. There is a high degree of interaction between the people involved, to find new solutions. The main knowledge integration mechanism is group problem-solving. Knowledge is jointly accumulated by sharing, combining, and creating new knowledge in open processes. In these cases, a profound level of trust is required.When integrating supplier knowledge in innovation, management has to consider the possible and preferred outcome of the collaboration; it might be a commercial deal to provide for a temporary access to knowledge, or it might be a long-term alliance, where joint learning is an aim. In the first case, a traditional NPD process with clear specifications, using sequencing and technological interfaces, will be adequate. In the second case, focus should be on interpersonal problem solving between trustworthy individuals.


The authors carried out long-term research on the effect of mineral fertilizers on the "Gala" potato variety in the Pavlodar region. The relationship was established between the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium chemical composition of the potato plant in certain phases of growth and development. Various chemical and biochemical processes occur in soil and plants every second. The productivity of plants (y) depends on how the processes take place and proceed, since it is a function of the chemical composition (x) of the leaves: y = f x. The theoretical foundations of plant diagnostics are based on the role of nutrients in the formation of the crop, starting from the early stages of development. According to Yu. I. Ermokhin, the theory of this research provides information on the needs of plants, and in practice these needs must be satisfied. The authors carried out field experiments with fertilizers to obtain the sought-for connections from the low to the optimal content between the ratio of nutrients in the potato plant, which is confirmed by high correlation coefficients (r = 0.79-0.97). If the nitrogen content is higher than the optimal 4.64% in the 7-leaf phase and 4.16% in the flowering phase, then the nature of the ovary takes on a different meaning and the equation is described in a quadratic parabola form.


In 1999, 905 Kosovar refugees settled in the province of British Columbia (BC) in Canada. Despite their sudden and forced departure, many have maintained contact with and returned to visit Kosovo/a. We contend that these transnational links are different for refugees than for other classes of immigrants. In this case, "refugee transnationalism" refers to the social, cultural, economic, and political relations that Kosovar refugees in Canada keep with those in Serbia and Montenegro (formerly the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). A salient feature that shapes Kosovar transnationalism is the uncertain status of the region of origin, namely Kosovo/a. Based on interviews and focus groups with Kosovars in seven BC cities, we discuss the quality and distinctiveness of transnational links among this refugee group and their implications for settlement and integration in Canada.


Infectious agents are ubiquitous in nature. They can be broadly distinguished into microparasites (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa), macroparasites (nematodes, trematodes and cestodes), ectoparasites (fleas and ticks), parasitic castrators and parasitoids. Although these types of infectious agents are very different in the way they affect their host, they all tend to live on or in their hosts for most of their life while benefiting from its nutrients. Ecologically speaking, infectious agents are part of food webs (networks of species that have trophic consumer-resource relations). They are in essence consumers of resources (their hosts), but they differ from typical consumers in having only one victim per life stage and not necessarily killing or fully consuming their victims. The interaction between infectious agents and their hosts can result in subclinical or clinical disease in infected host individuals. Subclinical, infectious agents possibly have an impact on life-history traits, behaviour, feeding or other individual-level aspects of their hosts because of increased energy use. Infected predators may have a reduced ability to hunt and catch prey, while infected prey may be easier to catch or less nutritious. Clinical, infectious agents may increase mortality in their hosts. By changing behaviour or survival of their hosts, infectious agents indirectly influence other species, including non-host species, of their ecological community. These effects could be measured through an infectious agent's influence on energy flow, biodiversity, community interactions and the abiotic part of the ecosystem. In that way infectious agents may affect structure, functioning and stability of ecological communities. In this thesis we use data collection, data analysis, and mathematical and computational modelling to study the potential impact of different types of infectious agents in food webs and ecosystems. First, we show results of field research on macroparasites of top predators. The research provides an illustration of the diversity of parasites and their hosts in real life systems. Second, we systematically classify the effects of infectious agents on energy flow, community interactions, diversity, and at the ecosystem level, covering a broad range of infectious agents in a broad range of host species. We also classify their diversity, types and functional roles. We discuss a concept of new indirect approach of modelling infectious agents in food webs and give a simple model of a microparasite in a very basic Lotka-Volterra consumer-resource system. Third, we quantify the clinical and subclinical impacts of infectious agents on food web structure and stability, using an indirect approach by adding infectious agents not as stand-alone species, but through the effects they have on their hosts. Finally, we show an example of a new approach based on multiplex networks that could be used in future for modelling the effects of infectious agents in food webs, explicitly recognizing different types of interaction between infectious agents and its hosts that occur in complex systems. This thesis makes an attempt to shed the light on the importance of infectious agents as potentially major players in food webs. They can play a much more positive, and even essential, role, in addition to their already established negative image. A healthy ecosystem may be one that is rich with infectious agents.


Convergence in per-capita income across member countries is a stated goal of the European Union. This goal applies, of course, to all euro zone nations. The impact of a common currency on income convergence is both theoretically and empirically ambiguous, however. Previous studies on European convergence have suffered from methodological problems. In this study, we utilize the pair-wise approach of Pesaran. We use, among other tests, the Lee-Strazicich technique which allows for endogenous breaks. This will allow both for greater power, as well as shedding kight in economic changes-such as the advent of the euro, which may have promoted or hindered convergence. Results indicate little evidence of convergence within the euro zone. Moreover, convergence is more often found between euro and non-euro countries than within the euro itself, suggesting the common currency had at best a neutral, or even negative impact on income convergence.


We present an iterative method for simulating beam propagation in nonlinear media using Hamiltonian ray tracing. The Wigner distribution function of the input beam is computed at the entrance plane and is used as the initial condition for solving the Hamiltonian equations. Examples are given for the study of periodic self-focusing, spatial solitons, and Gaussian-Schell model in Kerr-effect media. Simulation results show good agreement with the split-step beam propagation method. The main advantage of ray tracing, even in the nonlinear case, is that ray diagrams are intuitive and easy to interpret in terms of traditional optical engineering terms, such as aberrations, ray-intercept plots, etc.


The Cowie stop line, running west from the town of Stonehaven, the county town of the historical county of Kincardineshire, some 19km south of Aberdeen, has been recognized for some time as a well-preserved example of a Second World War anti-tank obstacle, but has not hitherto been described in detail. Its purpose was to stop any German force landing in the north-east penetrating into Angus and further south. To work effectively the line was extended to the west, by defences at the Bridge of Dye (on the Strachan–Fettercairn road) and the Devil's Elbow (on the Braemar–Blairgowrie road) and planned demolitions on the Inverness–Perth road and railway. It originally comprised a dozen pillboxes, over 5km of anti-tank barrier, eight small and one large groups of anti-tank cubes and other defensive features. This paper outlines the strategic background, how the Cowie Line fitted into it, how the Line was constructed, and how its intended function changed over time. The results of the first complete survey of the surviving remains are also presented.


Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are composed by multiple subsystems that encompass numerous interdependencies. Although indispensable and highly performant from a functional perspective, complex interconnectivity constitutes paradoxically a significant vulnerability when an anomaly occurs. Anomalies could propagate and impact the entire CPS with irreversible consequences. This paper presents an approach to assess the anomaly propagation impact risk on a three layers oriented graph which represents the physical, digital, and system variables of a CPS components and interdependencies. Anomalies are detected applying information quality measures, while potential propagation paths are assessed computing the cumulated risk represented by weights assigned to the graph edges. To verify the cascading impact of different anomalies four cyber-attacks - denial of service, sensor offset alteration, false data injection, and replay attack - were implemented on a simulated naval water distribution CPS. The propagation impact of three anomalies was successfully assessed and the corresponding estimated propagation path, if applicable, confirmed.


The mineralization in Perlombongan Maju Hin Lee, is essentially hydrothermal in origin. The primary mineralization is spatially related to the exposed granite and granite-metasediment contact in the form of quartz-cassiterite-tourmaline vein swarms, tungsteniferous pyrometasomatic deposit in granite, iron-ore deposits, quarlz-magnetite-chlorite veins, cassiterite-polymetallic-sulphides lode and fluorite lode. The main geological control of the emplacement of the ore bodies is a structural one, in which the prelode fracture system in the granite; have served as channelways for the migrating mineralizing agents. The prominent fracture system are joints (110-290° and 150-330°) and faults (080-260° and 020-200°). Supergene enrichment consisting of erratic concentrates of cassiterite in gossanous ore bodies is characterised by its highly weathered iron-stain cappings on the slope of the granite mass. Some topographically low-lying areas contained tin-rich soil cover, which could have been developed by deposition of high alluvium bearing cassiterite and/or cassiterite-bearing colluvium.


Issues of integrating old people into the society, increasing their functionality and life quality have become significantly important that consideration of social value of aging has become a necessity. Particularly family support, confidence, endearment and interest are of crucial importance in assisting old individuals to take aging kindly, cope with its problems and see themselves as cared for by the society and to lead a healthy, happy and satisfying aging period. Therefore, while addressing the issue of aging, family structure is the first social institution to examine. Because aging and the term being old can best be evaluated within the familial structure.


The paper highlights the importance of the e-government initiative to support the supply chain integration among Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs). It has been reported that organisations need to integrate their Information Technology (IT) infrastructures to support the integration of their supply chains to increase their efficiency. However, the current research suggests that Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), due to their lack of expertise and financial resources to invest in the necessary technologies, seem to need further support from the government in their efforts to adopt IT. Therefore, the role of the government is fundamental in supporting them to adopt supply chain management technologies, especially in geographical contexts such as this of Taiwan. A case study is therefore carried out in this paper to study an initiative taken in Taiwan by the government in order to help the supply chain integration of Taiwanese IT manufacturing companies. The findings suggest that the adoption of IT by SMEs (i.e. suppliers) is very much dependent on external forces (resource-dependency view), thus the government has a very important role to play when it comes to supporting SMEs to join supply chain networks. In doing so, this research provides a broader understanding of the phenomenon of e-government initiatives to support supply chain integration in practice.


BACKGROUND: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common sensorimotor disorder during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of RLS and explore the associated risk factors and outcomes in Omani women in the first and third trimester and at 2-week postpartum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 305 pregnant women visiting four health centers in Muscat between May 2018 and October 2020. A structured questionnaire was used and data were collected through review of electronic records and face-to-face interviews. The International RLS Study Group criteria were used to diagnose RLS. Participants were interviewed during their first trimester, their third trimester, and at their 2-week postpartum visit. Results were presented as means and standard deviations or percentages, as appropriate. To assess the association between RLS and various variables, unpaired t-test or McNemar's test were used, as appropriate. RESULTS: The mean age at baseline was 29.8 ± 5.28 years. The prevalence of RLS was significantly higher in the third trimester (41.0%) than in the first trimester (15.7%) and postpartum period (15.1%) (P < 0.001), although there was no significant difference in severity. Family history and personal history of RLS were the only independent correlates of RLS (P < 0.001 and 0.002, respectively). No associations were noted with pregnancy and neonatal outcomes or other comorbidities, including anemia. However, there was a significant relationship between the development of RLS and weight gain during pregnancy (P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: One in six pregnant Omani women may be at risk of RLS during the first trimester, while one in 2–3 may be at risk in the third trimester, particularly those with a personal or family history of RLS and those who gain >12 kg during pregnancy.


Background Fab-glycosylation is found in ~15%–25% serum IgG and while its exact consequence remains unknown, it may alter IgG functionality. Recent data revealed extensive Fab-glycosylation in polyclonal anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPA) from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Herein, we characterise the Fab-glycan profile of monoclonal ACPA. Materials and methods Among 200 single-cell isolated and recombinantly expressed monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from RA patients, we selected 12 identified ACPA mAbs, four derived from synovial antibody secreting cells (ASC), and eight from peripheral antigen-tetramer sorted memory B cells. The ACPA had high somatic hypermutation (SHM) levels with an average of 49 VH and 35 VL mutations. For comparison, we selected 14 ASC synovial antibodies with mutation rate >20 in VH or VL, and we also searched the literature for 19 highly-mutated broadly-neutralising HIV-derived antibodies (bnAbs). N-linked glycan motifs were identified using the NetNGlyc server. Glycosylation was verified in five ACPA IgG by enzymatic digestion with PNGase-F or Endo-S followed by SDS-PAGE. Antigen binding was investigated by CCP3 ELISA. VH-VL structure models were generated using the online tool PIGS and visualised by Jmol, and the GlyProt server was utilised for in silico glycosylation. Results The majority of ACPA exhibited variable region N-linked motifs (83.8%), compared to 14.3% of non-ACPA RA mAbs and 63.2% of bnAbs, featured in both framework and CDRs. When adjusted for SHM, N-linked motifs were significantly increased in ACPA compared to non-ACPA RA mAbs (p=0.001) or bnAbs (p=0.002). VH region motif rates were increased in ACPA compared to non-ACPA mAbs (p=0.002) and bnAbs (p=0.0004), while VL region motifs were only higher compared to non-ACPA (p=0.002). Deglycosylation revealed that N-linked motifs were indeed glycosylated, although preliminary data suggests glycan removal had no striking effect on antigen-binding. Homology-based structures predicted glycans to be primarily positioned outside of the potential antigen-binding site. Conclusions The results support that variable region glycosylation is a key feature of ACPA. Significant increases in N-linked motifs in ACPA compared to other highly-mutated antibodies signifies that this is not solely linked to hypermutation. Future studies are merited to further investigate the selection mechanisms and functional role of Fab-glycosylated autoantibodies.


With spectrum spreaded by LAS multiple access codes and orthogonal subcarriers being utilized, LAS-OFDM system bring the merits of both technologies into play. By suitably designing the spread spectrum codes and keeping the guard period enough long, inter-symbol interference and multiple access interference are eliminated, which is due to the good correlation property of LAS codes. For the transmitted signal that is subject to frequency selective fading, the decision variable is figured out. As the performance is good enough for high bit rate transmission, LAS-OFDM system is very useful in wireless or mobile communications.


Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the subject of this study, has been in
operation in Malaysia form more than two decades as the Environmental Quality
(Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987 was formally
introduced in April 1988. The EIA Malaysia procedure identifies two parties that are
responsible to grant approval for development or project proposals, namely the State
Planning and Development Committee and the National Industrial Development
Committee, depending on the types of the development proposals. On the other
hand, EIA must also be utilized in the approval of project design and in the process of
issuing licenses and permits by various government agencies including the process
of granting the planning approval at Local Authorities. However, to date there is no
research conducted on the application of EIA in granting the planning approval. The
purpose of this study is to examine the utilization of Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) in granting the planning approval at Local Authorities. The
research involved three Local Authorities in Perak State as case studies. This
research also provides the proposals to improve the application of EIA in granting the
planning approval.


Inspired by the network information theory, network coding was invented in 2000. Since then, the theory and application of network coding have received intensive research and various network coding schemes have been proposed and studied. It has been demonstrated that the packetlevel network coding has the potential to outperform the traditional routing strategies in packet networks. By taking the advantages of the information carried by the packets sent to different receivers (sinks) in a packet network, packet-level network coding is capable of reducing the number of packets transmitted over the network. Therefore, the packet-level network coding employs the potential for boosting the throughput of packet networks. By contrast, the symbollevel network coding, which is also referred to as the physical-layer network coding, is capable of exploiting interference instead of avoiding it for improving the channel capacity and/or enhancing the reliability of communications. In this thesis, our focus is on the packet-level network coding. Performance of communication systems with network coding has been widely investigated from different perspectives, mainly under the assumption that packets are reliably transmitted over networks without errors. However, in practical communication networks, transmission errors always occur and error-detection or error-correction techniques are required in order to ensure reliable communications. Therefore, in this report, we focus our attention mainly on studying the performance of the communication networks with packet-level network coding, where Automatic Retransmission reQuest (ARQ) schemes are employed for error protection. Three typical ARQ schemes are invoked in our research, which are the Stop-and-Wait ARQ (SW-ARQ), Go-Back-N ARQ (GBN-ARQ) and the Selective-Repeat ARQ (SR-ARQ). Our main concern is the impact of network coding on the throughput performance of network coding nodes or networks containing network coding nodes. Additionally, the impact of network coding on the delay performance of network coding nodes or coded networks is also addressed. In a little more detail, in Chapter 3 of the thesis, we investigate the performance of the netvi works employing packet-level network coding, when assuming that transmission from one node to another is not ideal and that a certain ARQ scheme is employed for error-control. Specifically, the delay characteristics of general network coding node are first analyzed. Our studies show that, when a coding node invokes more incoming links, the average delay for successfully forming coded packets increases. Then, the delay performance of the Butterfly networks is investigated, which shows that the delay generated by a Butterfly network is dominated by the communication path containing the network coding node. Finally, the performance of the Butterfly network is investigated by simulation approaches, when the Butterfly network employs SW-ARQ, GBN-ARQ, or SR-ARQ for error-control. The achievable throughput, the average delay as well as the standard deviation of the delay are considered. Our performance results show that, when given a packet error rate Packet Error Rate (PER), the SR-ARQ scheme is capable of attaining the highest throughput and resulting in the lowest delay among these three ARQ schemes. In Chapter 4, the steady-state throughput of general network coding nodes is investigated, when the SW-ARQ scheme is employed. We start with considering a Two-Input-Single-Output (2ISO) network coding node without queueing buffers. Expressions for computing the steady-state throughput is derived. Then, we extend our analysis to the general H-Input-Single-Output (HISO) network coding nodes without queueing buffers. Finally, our analytical approaches are further extended to the HISO network coding nodes with queueing buffers. A range of expressions for evaluating the steady-state throughput are obtained. The throughout performance of the HISO network coding nodes is investigated by both analytical and simulation approaches. Our studies in this chapter show that the throughput of a network coding node decreases, as the number of its incoming links increases. This property implies that, in a network coding system, the coding nodes may form the bottlenecks for information delivery. Furthermore, the studies show that adding buffers to the network coding node may improve the throughput performance of a network coding system. Then, in Chapters 5 and 6, we investigate the steady-state throughput performance of the general network coding nodes, when the GBN-ARQ in Chapter 5 or the SR-ARQ in Chapter 6 is employed. Again, analytical approaches for evaluating the steady-state throughput of the general network coding nodes are concerned and a range of analytical results are obtained. Furthermore, the throughput performance of the network coding nodes supported by the GBN-ARQ or SR-ARQ is investigated by both simulations and numerical approaches. Finally, in Chapter 7, the conclusions extracted from the research are summarized and the possible directions for future research are proposed.


role, especially for the left ureter wich is normally transposed on the right side through a retrosigmoid tunnel according to the Bricker technique. A technical modification that includes a left transposition and fixation of the conduit to the left psoas tendon throughout retrosigmoid tunnel was previously described in open surgery after radical cystectomy in order to reduce the rate of the ureteral strictures METHODS: We present a case 73 years-old male patient with diagnosis of high-grade, muscle-invasive bladder cancer without preoperative idronephrosis at CT scan that underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy with ileal conduit RESULTS: During left common iliac nodal dissection, a possible ischemic damage due to an monopolar coagulation of the main ureteral vessel is involuntary producedure. The Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging after injection of 10 mg of ICG show a severe ischemia of a long tract of the left ureter. The difference in vasculature at ICG of the right ureter is evident. Considering the length of the ischemic tract, a long ileal conduit is then isolated in order to reach the short ureter under the mesosigma on the left side. The length of the ileal conduit is adequate for a retrosigmoid transposition through the mesosigma tunnel; the proximal part of the conduit is then fixed to psoas tendon. The ureter is spatulated until the vasculature of the left ureter is detectable at the Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging and the ischemic tract is removed. Than the ureteral-entero anastomosis is peformed and an ureteral catheter is placed. The patients was discharged in day 7 without complications and the ureteral catheter are removed in day 14. The CT scan performed after 1 month shows no sign of stenosis or hydronephosis CONCLUSIONS: The use of Near Infrared Fluorescence Imaging can be very helpful for the assessment of ureteral vasculature during RARC. The retrosigmoid ileal conduit may be very useful especially in particular circumstances to preserve the left upper urinary tract


This paper examines the phonemic status of the vowels in the lexical sets of TRAP, BATH, PALM and START in the English of the southwest of England. In the reference accent RP there are two phonemes; a short front vowel in TRAP and a long back vowel in BATH, START and PALM. In the southwest of England however, some have previously described this contrast as "absent or variable" or "doubtful" (Wells 1982, Hughes, Trudgill and Watt 2005) while others consider there to be a two phoneme system, akin to RP, but differing phonetically (Wakelin 1986). This paper elucidates the status of these vowels using sociolinguistic interview data from 40 speakers in four age groups from locations across Dorset, a representative dialect of the southwest of England. An acoustic analysis of the quality and crucially the length of 3800 vowel tokens reveals that a phonemic split is in progress in apparent time with one phoneme becoming two. The split and subsequent phonetic changes are occurring in a non-uniform way: the backing of the 'BATH lexical set' appears to be proceeding via lexical diffusion whereas the backing of START, appears to be a regular 'neogrammarian' sound change. The analysis also revealed that the 'short /a/' phoneme could be realised long before many following environments. Common environments and constraints on lengthened /a/ cross-dialectally, for example, the shared preference for a lengthened /a/ in closed syllables raise the possibility that the tensing and raising of short a in New York City English (Labov 1994, Trager 1940) and Philadelphia English (Ferguson 1972) and the occurrence of lengthened /a/ in Australia (Blake 1985) may have their origins in the southwest of England. This working paper is available in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: http://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/


Total Routhian Surface (TRS) calculations have been performed to investigate shape coexistence and evolution in neutron-deficient krypton isotopes 72,74,76Kr. The ground-state shape is found to change from oblate in 72Kr to prolate in 74,76Kr, in agreement with experimental data. Quadrupole deformations of the ground states and coexisting 0+2 states as well as excitation energies of the latter are also well reproduced. While the general agreement between calculated moments of inertia and those deduced from observed spectra confirms the prolate nature of the low-lying yrast states of all three isotopes (except the ground state of 72Kr), the deviation at low spins suggests significant shape mixing. The role of triaxiality in describing shape coexistence and evolution in these nuclei is finally discussed.


The reaction of lithiated dithianes 6–8 and 15 and 16 with enantiopure N-sulfonylated aziridines 1 and 2 leads via regiospecific nucleophilic ring-opening to enantiopure N-tosyl 2-(2′-dithianyl) secondary amines in good to excellent yields. These compounds may be either desulfonylated or hydrolytically desulfurized to give the corresponding amines 21–24 or carbonyl compounds 25–27 and 28–30 in good yield. In the case of α-silaalkanones 31 and 32 produced by these reactions, oxidation furnishes enantiopure 3-tosylamino acids 33 and 34 in good yield.


DNA damage, particularly when it involves formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs), triggers phos-phorylation of histone H2AX on Ser-139. Phosphorylated H2AX has been named ÁH2AX, and induction of ÁH2AX in cells exposed to genotoxic agents is considered a sensitive and specific reporter of DNA damage. However, in untreated normal cells as well in the cells of various tumor lines cells, a fraction of histone H2AX molecules remain phosphorylated. In the present study, we observed that the extent of this constitutive H2AX phosphorylation varies depending on the cell type (line) and on cell cycle phase and, in most cell types, S and G 2 /M phase cells exhibit greater levels of H2AX phosphorylation than do cells in the G 1 phase. Furthermore, constitutive H2AX phosphorylation in human pulmonary carcinoma A549, lymphoblastoid TK6, and in normal bronchial epithelial cells was reduced following cell exposure to N-acetyl-L-cysteine, a scavenger of reactive oxygen intermediates; the reduction was most pronounced for G 2 M cells. Growth of A549 cells in the presence of buthionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthetase, amplified the level of constitutive H2AX phosphorylation in A549 cells. The observed constitutive H2AX phosphorylation may be a reflection of the ongoing DNA damage mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by metabolic activity during progression through the cell cycle, leading to formation of DSBs during the S phase. Because cumulative DNA damage in proliferating cells mediated by ROS is considered the key mechanism for cell ageing, the present approach to estimate the degree of attenuation of constitutive H2AX phosphorylation by antioxidants may provide a convenient tool to assess the DNA-protective and possible anti-ageing properties of other agents.


Cultural background affects the attitudes of immigrants long after they have settled in their new countries, and it affects the attitudes of their descendents as well. For example, levels of trust persist among immigrants to the United States, and relatively high levels of trust among immigrants are associated with relatively high levels of trust in their countries of origin.Does cultural background affect financial attitudes as well? This is an important question for financial advisors whose clients include people from many cultures. Here we explore the financial attitudes of Chinese-Americans. Chinese-Americans are one group among many that blend the cultures of their countries or origins into the American culture, shaping American culture as it shapes them. Hispanic-Americans are another prominent group, divided into immigrants from Mexico and other countries in Central and South America. But many other immigrants carry their cultures into the United States, including immigrants from India, Ireland, Italy, and Israel. We present this study as a beginning of a stream of studies about the financial attitudes of immigrants, hoping that others would join the effort and add their studies.For our purposes here, we distinguish between three groups: immigrant Chinese-Americans, first-generation Chinese-Americans, and beyond-first-generation Americans, or beyond-first Americans for short. Immigrant Chinese-Americans were born in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan. First-generation Chinese-Americans were born in the United States to immigrant Chinese-Americans. Beyond-first Americans were born in the United States to non-immigrant parents, whether of Chinese origins or not. We refer to the first two groups as Chinese-Americans.We find that Chinese-Americans are less willing to carry debt than beyond-first Americans, more willing to invest in real estate, not as inclined to concentrate their investments in the United States, and more inclined toward distinct gender-based financial responsibilities. Nevertheless, Chinese-Americans find saving no easier than beyond-first Americans, and they are no more risk tolerant than beyond-first Americans. We also find significant differences in financial attitudes between men and women across all groups.


In an airplane preliminary design phase, the optimization for costs and fuel consumption is based on anticipating the future operations of the airplane by defining one representative mission. How effective is this process? In this study, based on data exploration and statistical analysis, we identify and represent the operational parameters impacting the variability of the actual missions of an airplane. These parameters include the airline route network and flight optimization, Air Traffic Management (ATM) considerations, and the atmospheric and meteorological phenomena. Our results show how significant some impacts are, mainly on actual flight distances but also on flying conditions. A conclusion of our study is that airplanes are operated on missions different from the reference mission considered during the preliminary design phase and this has a significant impact on operating costs and fuel burn efficiency.


Intravenous application of immunoglobulins (IVIg) is an effective and usually well tolerated yet costly therapeutic regimen in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP). We report two CIDP patients treated with subcutaneous infusion of immunoglobulins (SCIg) after IVIg therapy was shown to be effective. Application of SCIg was well tolerated, easy to manage, and led to stabilization of the disease course. SCIg may represent an effective new therapeutic option in CIDP and is associated with a cost reduction of at least 50% compared to IVIg therapy. Muscle Nerve, 2007


We present a trilevel interdiction model for optimally segmenting the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) network controlling an electric power grid. In this formulation, we decide how to partition nodes of the SCADA network in order to minimize the shedding of load from a worst-case cyberattack, assuming that the grid operator has the opportunity for recourse mitigating attack damage. The model is unique in that it couples the cyber and physical networks, using the physical operation of the grid to inform the cyber network segmentation decisions. This feature leads to two violations of assumptions made in much of the prior literature on trilevel interdiction: first, the network designer does not have the ability to make any components of the SCADA or physical networks invulnerable to attack. Instead, the designer makes some attacks more expensive for the attacker. Second, it is possible for the network designer (first player) to make certain attacker (second player) solutions infeasible because he can make them exceed the attacker's budget. In this paper, we present a solution procedure for our formulation that is an adaptation of a covering decomposition algorithm for bilevel interdiction. We show through an empirical study on grids with up to 2,000 buses that this is the first method capable of solving the network segmentation model on realistically sized power grids.


ABSTRACT How do states respond to the challenge of climate governance? The Paris Agreement has led to heightened interest in domestic climate policies, but attention to underlying national climate institutional architectures has lagged behind. This literature gap deserves to be addressed, because climate change brings considerable governance challenges. Drawing on a collection of country studies, this paper outlines a framework to explain the path-dependent emergence of climate institutions, based on the interplay of national political institutions, international drivers, and bureaucratic structures. The resultant institutional forms suggest four varieties of climate governance, based on the extent of political polarisation and the narrative around climate politics in the country. The functioning of existing climate institutions indicates they have so far played a modest role in addressing climate governance challenges, but also illustrates their importance in structuring climate politics and outcomes, suggesting a substantial agenda for future research.


Many salts of polynuclear carboxylic acids, phenols, amines, and sulfonic acids adsorbed on paper, silica, alumina, and other substrates exhibit strong triplet phosphorescence at room temperature, with no evidence of quenching by oxygen. No phosphorescence has been observed with nonionic materials. The spectra are similar to those of frozen solutions at -196�C, and the technique provides a simple means of demonstrating phosphorescence phenomena, identifying unknown materials, and investigating the spectra of triplet states.


Disseminated Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) mineralization occurs throughout northeastern Wisconsin, USA, and is recognized as the source of regionally extensive natural groundwater contamination in the form of dissolved arsenic, nickel, and other related metals. Although considerable attention has been given to arsenic contamination of groundwater in the region, limited attention has been focused on characterizing the bedrock sources of these and other metals. A better understanding of the potential sources of groundwater contamination is needed, especially in areas where groundwater is the dominant source of drinking water. This article describes the regional, stratigraphic, and petrographic distribution of MVT mineralization in Paleozoic rocks of northeastern Wisconsin, with a focus on sulfide minerals. Whole-rock geochemical analysis performed on 310 samples of dolomite, sandstone, and shale show detectable levels of arsenic, nickel, cobalt, copper, lead, zinc, and other metals related to various sulfide mineral phases identified using scanning electron microscopy. MVT minerals include pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, fluorite, celestine, barite, and others. We describe the first nickel- and cobalt-bearing sulfide mineral phases known from Paleozoic strata in the region. Arsenic, nickel, and cobalt are sometimes present as isomorphous substitutions in pyrite and marcasite, but discrete mineral phases containing nickel and cobalt elements are also observed, including bravoite and vaesite. Locally abundant stratigraphic zones of sulfide minerals occur across the region, especially in the highly enriched Sulfide Cement Horizon at the top of the Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone. Abundant quantities of sulfides also appear near the contact between the Silurian Mayville Formation and the underlying Maquoketa and Neda formations in certain areas along and east of the Niagara escarpment. This article illustrates how a detailed geochemical and mineralogical investigation can yield a better understanding of groundwater quality problems.


The EHAS Program (EHAS stands for "Enlace Hispano Americano de Salud", and could be translated as SpanishAmerican Health Link or Liaison) works to improve the health care in rural areas of developing countries, using the new information and communications technologies. Although EHAS is intended of the investigation and development of technological solutions to equip rural health centres and health outposts with appropriate communication infrastructure (voice and data transmission via radio), it also takes care about mark up service implementation over these networks (computer based epidemic surveillance systems, remote formation, emergencies management, medicines, etc.). This Project is framed within the continuous formation systems for EHAS's health personnel in rural remote areas, and its main goal is to design an authoring tool for e-learning course creation. The application, called "EHAS Courses Editor", consists of a free and open source document editor, developed in Java, which uses XML for document data support. It will allow creating courses based on a given structure, the EHAS course structure, in a way as easy as possible.


A general methodology is presented for the consideration of both data and model uncertainty in the determination of the response of geometrically nonlinear structural dynamic systems. The approach is rooted in the availability of reduced order models of these nonlinear systems with a deterministic basis extracted from a reference model (the mean model). Uncertainty, both from data and model, is introduced by randomizing the coefficients of the reduced order model in a manner that guarantees the physical appropriateness of every realization of the reduced order model, i.e. while maintaining the fundamental properties of symmetry and positive definiteness of every such reduced order model. This randomization is achieved not by postulating a specific joint statistical distribution of the reduced order model coefficients but rather by deriving this distribution through the principle of maximization of the entropy constrained to satisfy the necessary symmetry and positive definiteness properties. Several desirable features of this approach are that the uncertainty can be characterized by a single measure of dispersion, affects all coefficients of the reduced order model, and is computationally easily achieved. The reduced order modeling strategy and this stochastic modeling of its coefficients are presented in details and several applications to a beam undergoing large displacement are presented. These applications demonstrate the appropriateness and computational efficiency of the method to the broad class of uncertain geometrically nonlinear dynamic systems.