\bfA \bfb \bfs \bft \bfr \bfa \bfc \bft . The importance of myocardial perfusion at the outset of cardiac disease remains largely understudied. To address this topic we present a mathematical model that considers the systemic circulation, the coronary vessels, the myocardium, and the interactions among these components. The core of the whole model is the description of the myocardium as a multicompartment poromechanics system. A novel decomposition of the poroelastic Helmholtz potential involved in the poromechanics model allows for a quasi-incompressible model that adequately describes the physical interaction among all components in the porous medium. We further provide a rigorous mathematical analysis that gives guidelines for the choice of the Helmholtz potential. To reduce the computational cost of our integrated model we propose decoupling the deformation of the tissue and systemic circulation from the porous flow in the myocardium and coronary vessels, which allows us to apply the model also in combination with precomputed cardiac displacements, obtained form other models or medical imaging data. We test the methodology through the simulation of a heartbeat in healthy conditions that replicates the systolic impediment phenomenon, which is particularly challenging to capture as it arises from the interaction of several parts of the model.


Providing learning materials and support services that are adapted to the needs of individuals has the potential to enable learners to obtain maximal benefit from university level studies. This paper describes EU4ALL project which has been exploring how to present customized learning materials and services for people with disabilities. A number of the technical components of the EU4ALL framework are described. This is followed with a brief description of prototype implementations. This is then followed by a discussion of a number of research directions that may enhance the adaptability, usability and accessibility of information and support systems can be used and consumed by a diverse user population.


We study the transport of charge carriers through finite graphene structures. The use of numerical exact kernel polynomial and Green function techniques allows us to treat actual sized samples beyond the Dirac-cone approximation. Particularly we investigate disordered nanoribbons, normal-conductor/graphene interfaces and normal-conductor/graphene/normal-conductor junctions with a focus on the behavior of the local density of states, single-particle spectral function, optical conductivity and conductance. We demonstrate that the contacts and bulk disorder will have a major impact on the electronic properties of graphene-based devices.


Taking a reflexive auto-ethnographic approach, this article explores the unique process of transcultural adoption by which Aboriginal people have selectively extended their family formations to include as well as "manage" outsiders. Focussing on my longstanding friendship and research collaboration with the respected Ngukurr Elder, and skilful historian, Rosalind Munur, I discuss some of the ways in which adoption into her family has profoundly reset my understanding of the discipline of history and contributed to a new and extended sense of family and personhood. I explore these changes within the concept of a feminist ethics of risk (Welch) that is tied to Aboriginal women's agency. In recounting this story, I draw attention to some of the ethical and epistemological responsibilities of engaging with Aboriginal Australia.


This study documents the regional and temporal patterns of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) RNA and protein expression after parasagittal fluid-percussion (F-P) brain injury (1.7 to 2.2 atm) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. In situ hybridization was conducted in 28 rats with a 35S-labeled antisense riboprobe to GFAP at 0.5, 2, and 6 hours and 1, 3, and 30 days after traumatic brain injury (TBI) or sham procedures. Immunocytochemical staining of GFAP was conducted in 20 rats at 1, 3, 7, and 30 days after TBI or sham procedures. At 0.5 and 2 hours after TBI, increased GFAP mRNA was restricted to superficial cortical areas underlying the impact site. At 24 hours, increased GFAP mRNA was observed throughout the traumatized hemisphere except within the histopathologically vulnerable lateral parietal cortex and external capsule. Contralateral expression within the hippocampus and cingulate and lateral cortices was also observed. Three days after TBI, GFAP mRNA expression was prominent overlying pial surfaces, in cortical regions surrounding the contusion, and within the hippocampus and lateral thalamus. Immunocytochemical visualization of GFAP at 1 and 3 days demonstrated reactive astrocytes overlying the pial surface, surrounding the cortical contusion, and within ipsilateral white matter tracts, hippocampus, and lateral thalamus. At 30 days, GFAP mRNA and protein expression were present within the deeper cortical layers of the lateral somatosensory cortex and lateral thalamus and throughout ipsilateral white matter tracts. These data demonstrate a complex pattern of GFAP mRNA and protein expression within gray and white matter tracts following F-P brain injury. Patterns of GFAP gene expression may be a sensitive molecular marker for evaluating the global response of the brain to focal injury in terms of progressive neurodegenerative as well as regenerative processes.


Argumentation is an important part of education in different disciplines such as science teaching and psychology. Numerous research studies have revealed that the use of argumentation practices in courses have a positive impact on students' both cognitive (critical thinking, reasoning, etc.) and affective abilities. Recently, the number of studies on argumentation in the field of mathematics education has increased. It is expected that prospective teachers today are key elements of the argumentation process as they can encourage students to produce strong mathematical arguments; hence, they themselves are also expected to develop their own argumentation skills. In the literature, there is a need for studies on the reasoning processes and argumentation structures of prospective teachers. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the global argumentation structures used by prospective middle school mathematics teachers while they were solving geometry tasks. In line with this purpose, a qualitative case study was conducted with 8 prospective teachers who were enrolled in the elementary mathematics education department of a state university located in Ankara. Two argumentation applications were conducted with the participants. In the first application, two problems on triangles and in the second one two problems on circles were solved by the participants. Then, the global argumentation structures of the participants were examined. The results showed that mathematical reasoning of prospective middle school mathematics teachers was weak and, therefore, they mostly used simple global argumentation structures. On the other hand, it was found that the researcher's directions lead participants to use more complex global argumentation structures. Therefore, it was concluded that the teachers who orchestrate the argumentation process should have sufficient knowledge and experience regarding argumentation. This result revealed the importance of focusing on the development of mathematical reasoning skills of prospective teachers. Based on this, it is recommended that necessary adjustments be made in teacher training programs to include argumentation so that prospective teachers can be equipped with the ability to orchestrate argumentation in their lessons.


This paper presents the design and implementation of two spiking neural network based sorting algorithms with time complexity of O(1). These algorithms are inspired from artificial neural network based sorting algorithms. A number comparator circuit using spiking network as a building block has been proposed and been used in the sorting algorithms to compare numbers. This comparator circuit is generic and can be used in other algorithms. Results show that both these algorithms take constant time to sort any count of numbers once the circuit is setup with sufficient input lines and input sequence of numbers is configured in the network.


High energy ball milling (HEBM) had been carried out to produce submicron size titanium aluminide intermetallics (TiAl) using elemental powders of Ti and Al alongwith Ni-P coated graphite. 1% graphite powders was added to stoichiometric composition of Ti48Al and ball milling was conducted for different milling time at varying rpm. The effect of milling time and rpm on particle size has been studied. The prepared samples have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scaning elecron microscopy (SEM). Grain size as low as 500 nm could be achieved. Formation of Ti3Al, TiAl and carbon containing intermetallic compounds had been confirmed through X-ray diffraction. Milling time and rpm of mill is found to be important factors which control the final particle size.


Marbles containing high-pressure mineral assemblage was found from the Sanandaj-Sirjan metamorphic belt in the Nahavand area in western Iran.  The high-pressure marbles occur as small bodies or lenses within pelitic schist layers and show compositional banding of carbonate- and silicate- rich bands.  Textural analysis revealed two metamorphic stages.  The early stage is testified by relicts of the minerals such as rounded jadeite-bearing diopside, epidote (clinozoisite), amphibole 1 (pargasite-edenite) and titanite 1. The second stage (main stage) documented to have phlogopite, chlorite, amphibole 2 (tremolite) and titanite 2. P-T-XCO2 estimates for the early stage of metamorphism give an average pressure, temperature and XCO2 of 13.5 kbar, 670 oC and 0.35, whereas the second stage has been constrained at P=3.8 kbar, T=500 oC and XCO2=0.45.  The high-pressure mineral assemblage documented in the Nahavand area, were formed during the subduction stage, while the second metamorphic blastesis were recorded during the exhumation event.


The formation of the Amerasian Basin of the modern Arctic remains enigmatic in terms of both timing and method of formation. Most models used to describe its formation involve movement of the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate across the basin's current location. Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology has been shown to be an inexpensive yet powerful method by which the tectonic correlation and proximity between multiple terranes over geologic time can be approximated. Five detrital zircon samples were collected from Late Jurassic sandstones from the Lower Yana River area and compared to previous results from detrital zircons collected from nearby Triassic strata. Jurassic samples had detrital zircon age populations of 147–210 Ma, 223–396 Ma, 1639–2183 Ma, and 2281–3116 Ma. Comparison of all detrital zircon ages from the Lower Yana River to those dated from Triassic and Jurassic sandstones of Chukotka, the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt, and the In'yali-Debin synclinorium supports the interpretation that Chukotka was separated from the Kular area during the Triassic. Jurassic detrital zircon age populations suggest that the Anyui Ocean had closed by the Tithonian, bringing Chukotka to a location where it could be fed by similar depositional systems as the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt and the Lower Yana River area. Sedimentological and detrital data presented here also suggest that the Yana fault does not represent a regional suture between the Kolyma-Omolon superterrane and the Siberian craton.


We trace the development of Google Earth and consider various artifacts, natural and anthropogenic, ancient and modern. These artifacts are only obvious from high elevations and some have a mathematical form and artistic appeal. We also illustrate how Google Earth's high-altitude imagery can be fruitful inspiration for mathart and provide some example.


Introduction: Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) is one of the common causes of acute kidney injury. Various studies have been conducted to reduce the risk of CI-AKI. Objectives: In this study, we examined the effectiveness of lovastatin in preventing CI-AKI in patients who required iodinated contrast injection. Patients and Methods: This double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 122 patients scheduled for coronary angiography, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan, and pulmonary CT angiography. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of receiving lovastatin and placebo. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at baseline and 48 hours after iodinated contrast injection was calculated. Results: The incidence of CI-AKI in all study population was 3.3% (1.6% in lovastatin group, and 5% in placebo group; P = 0.309). A significant difference in the mean changes of eGFR (the differences in the mean of eGFR at the 48 hours after iodinated contrast injection versus baseline) between placebo and lovastatin group was observed (P < 0.001). This finding showed that, after intervention a further decline in the mean of eGFR in the placebo group than the lovastatin group was happened. Conclusion: After iodinated contrast agent administration, in the lovastatin group mean change eGFR was significantly less than the placebo group. This finding indicated that highdose short-term lovastatin treatment may be effective on CI-AKI prevention.


Catheterization of the urinary bladder of rats and mice is necessary for a variety of clinical and experimental reasons. The anatomy of the female mouse and rat is unique in that the urinary orifice is external and just anterior to the vaginal opening. This characteristic makes the bladder of these species easier to catheterize than that of other species. Methods cited in the literature do not adequately describe techniques that facilitate ease of urinary bladder catheterization (1). We describe a simple technique for urinary catheterization in adult female mice and rats.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non coding RNAs of 18-25 nt, capable of regulating mRNA translation and gene expression at post-transcriptional level. Alteration of miRNAs expression is often associated with human diseases, such as cancers and neurodegenerative pathologies. The main objective of this study is an analysis of the post-transcriptional regulation played by miRNAs of two important genes, MAPT and GRN, involved in Frontotemporal Dementia with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). This is one of the major degenerative dementia syndromes, characterized by atrophy of the prefrontal and anterior temporal lobes. Several studies identified 44 pathogenic mutations in MAPT, which encodes for microtubule associated tau protein. In the brain tau has important functions in the assembly and stability of microtubules, that are fundamental for neuronal integrity and function. Disruption of tau role due to tau aggregations cause devastating effects that trigger neurodegeneration. To date 69 different mutations were found in GRN in the presence of FTD. GRN encodes a secreted precursor protein called progranulin that is expressed in neurons, microglia and represents an important growth factor involved in the regulation of multiple processes. The study identified miRNAs that can bind to GRN and MAPT mRNAs, affecting the translation efficiency of these transcripts, with a consequently reduction of the protein production. The project combined standard bioinformatic tools with a novel capture affinity assay, called miR-CATCH, in order to identify the best putative miRNAs. The assay was performed with specific biotinylated anti-sense oligonucleotides for the pull-down of GRN and MAPT mRNAs in different neuroblastoma cell lines. The binding of selected miRNAs on the 3'UTR regions of these genes, was validated using over-expressing vectors and reporter constructs to perform luciferase assays. Regulation of selected miRNAs over-expression on progranulin and tau proteins was investigated in a neuroblastoma cell line, using western blot. This effect was further analyzed with Real Time PCR reactions and polysomal analysis to understand if the selected miRNAs control progranulin and tau expression through a mechanism of translational repression or transcripts degradation. Two of the analyzed candidates, miR-659-3p and miR-608 were found important for the regulation of both genes, GRN and MAPT implicated in the disease, with a subsequent control on the endogenous progranulin and tau production in neuroblastoma cell line. Whereas miR-939-5p and miR-615-5p are only involved in the regulation of GRN expression. In addition we identified several SNPs located on miRNAs binding sites that are predicted to increase or decrease miRNAs binding. Since neurological disorders are strongly influenced by common genetic variability, SNPs or variations that overlapped miRNA-binding sites, could represent potential and important risks factors for generation of FTD.


The behavior of walking involves our action of seeing things. It is the intention of this research that the cognitive process of perceiving things along the path can affect the way we sense the length of the journey. The theory generally accepted in this line of thought is the 'feature accumulation theory'. It assumes that if the journey includes many objects or memorable features, then our memory recalls that journey much farther than it really was. This study set up a real-life experiment by asking university students about their mental memory of the two different routes in the campus. One is a longer path that has not much to look at except trees and the other a shorter path yet with many buildings, sign boards and street furnitures. The subjects processed their mental image in the brain based on their experience. They showed a strong tendency that the path with more features were remembered longer while that with less features shorter. More interestingly, it was found that as their experience increases, they become more accurate about the exact length of the questioned paths. The result corroborates the theory that human perception of space is based on the topological understanding of surroundings rather than geometric understanding.


In this paper we compare the energy efficiency of single-hop, multi-hop, selective decode-and-forward and incremental decode-and-forward in wireless sensor networks. The system is constrained by maximum packet loss and end-to-end throughput requirements. For meeting the end-to-end throughput requirement, we assume that the nodes in multi-hop and cooperative transmission schemes operate at a spectral efficiency which is twice that of the single-hop transmission. Our analysis includes the energy consumption of the RF circuitry and contradicts some previous results in the literature, showing that the cooperative transmission may be considerably more energy efficient than the non-cooperative transmission even in small transmission ranges, specially if a feedback channel is available.


Stringent legislation concerning the pollution of atmosphere by engine exhaust gases have been tightened recently and hence placed an extensive pressure on engine manufacturers to meet these emission standards. Two-stroke engines are known for their high emission levels in particular unburnt HC and NOx. Different research and development programmes were initiated in order to eliminate this fundamental weakness of two-stroke engines. Hence a number of techniques have been studied and used to achieve improvements in fuel economy and emission levels of two-stroke engines. Most recently, the use of radical combustion process in two-stroke engines has been reported as a promising way to achieve these improvements. The hot residual gases excessively present in two-stroke engines seems to have a major role on the onset of abnormal combustion especially at light loads where there is excessive cyclic variation and irregular combustion. The variation of residual gas distribution at the vanicity of the spark plug due to improper local scavenging is the main factor that affect the initial period of combustion. The divergent effect of the residual gases on the abnormal and knocking combustion and the irregular combustion and misfiring are the most important aspects of combustion process in two-stroke engines A new combustion process initiated by the generation of a radicals from the previous combustion cycle could be of potential influence on the emission levels and fuel consumption of two-stroke engines. These radicals are used as local energy spots during the mixing process with the fresh charge. The establishment of such combustion process required a certain running conditions. These conditions included the amount of the residual gases to be trapped each cycle and recirculated to the next cycle, the mixing process of the fresh air-fuel charge and the residual gases to form a stratified mixture, the combustion chamber and piston geometry, the air-fuel ratio, the compression ratio, and the exhaust gases temperature.


This study evaluated the longitudinal psychometric properties of the Authoritative School Climate Survey (ASCS) using a statewide sample of middle and high schools across 8 years. Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the longitudinal measurement invariance of three scales on the ASCS: disciplinary structure, teacher respect for students, and students' willingness to seek help. These scales demonstrated strong factorial invariance across all time points for both middle and high schools. Results support the use of these scales in evaluating longitudinal change in school climate.


The author introduces a previously unknown East Slavic manuscript copy of the Florilegium translated from Greek into Old Church Slavonic upon the initiative of the Bulgarian tsar Simeon (893–927). This newly identified copy is present in a miscellany (Moscow, Russian State Archive of Early Acts, F. Mazurin's collection (f. 196), inventory 1, Nr. 616)) written in the third quarter of the 16th century in the Ruthenian lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), but after 1656 removed to be carried abroad (tentatively, in Moscow). The Tsar Simeon's Florilegium is known solely from its later manuscript copies written by East Slavic and Serbian scribes. The earliest manuscript was carefully written and richly decorated in 1073 for Sviatoslav Yaroslavich, the Grand Prince of Kiev (1073–1076) and is now known as Sviatoslav's Izbornik or the Izbornik of 1073. Currently, 3 Serbian and 28 East Slavic manuscript copies (full or partial), written prior to the 19th century, are known. At least 10 of the East Slavic copies belong to the Cyrillic manuscript tradition of the GDL. Some of them are not merely valuable but also provide unique textual evidence, as is the copy contained in the manuscript No 5/1082 in the collection of the Kirillo-Belozersk monastery, now kept in the Russian National Library in St Petersburg: the manuscript contains one of the two known copies of the Laudatio to the Tsar Simeon and is the only one which preserves his name (since in the other copy of 1073 his name had been erased and replaced with the name of Sviatoslav, for whom the manuscript was created). The author demonstrates that the above mentioned manuscript, which is now kept at the Russian State Archive of Early Acts in Moscow, should actually be recognized as another one, previously unknown, copy of the Tsar Simeon's Florilegium. The same manuscript also contains a unique copy of the Cyrillic manual of Hebrew – an interesting written monument of Christian East Orthodox and Jewish cultural collaboration which took place probably in Kiev in the second half of the 15th century. All the texts chosen from a full copy of the Tsar Simeon's Florilegium to be included in this manuscript are identified by the author and indicated in the article. Their list contains almost 170 entries which form nearly 40% of the total number in the Florilegium. The newly identified manuscript copy additionally highlights the significance of the Cyrillic written tradition of the GDL in preserving the Tsar Simeon's Florilegium and in disseminating its text in the East Slavic milieu during the Middle Ages.


In this manuscript, we report our ground-breaking result on development of artificial multicellular structures capable for neuron like spiking activity. These structures are self-growing ensembles of vesicles whose membranes are combinations of phospholipid and viscous amphipathic molecules. The vesicles grow from a porous gel, and an osmotic pressure difference between the interior of the gel and its surrounding drives the growth. The vesicles' membranes have also incorporated pore forming proteins. The growing ensembles exhibit spike-like dynamics in electrical potential recorded on the electrodes inserted in the ensembles. We speculate that the spike-like electrical activity is due to the breaking and leaking of the compartments, fusion, and fission of the vesicles during the growth. We demonstrate the spontaneous growth of multi-cellular lipid compartments, which can also incorporate liposomes with membrane proteins, and their generation of an electrical spike-like signal. The bottom-up development of a multicellular artificial molecular system like this report would lead the transition of material's complexity toward information transfer emulating that of a nervous system. The evidence of neuromorphic electrical activity in multicellular systems of lipid vesicles is a promising indication of feasibility of future designs of self-growing artificial proto-brains. We, therefore, think that this manuscript should attract outstanding interest from the wide community of scientists, engineers and laymen, especially those interested in in artificial life, molecular computing, origins of life, artificial cell, molecular robotics, and synthetic biology.


Policy optimization methods have shown great promise in solving complex reinforcement and imitation learning tasks. While model-free methods are broadly applicable, they often require many samples to optimize complex policies. Model-based methods greatly improve sample-efficiency but at the cost of poor generalization, requiring a carefully handcrafted model of the system dynamics for each task. Recently, hybrid methods have been successful in trading off applicability for improved sample-complexity. However, these have been limited to continuous action spaces. In this work, we present a new hybrid method based on an approximation of the dynamics as an expectation over the next state under the current policy. This relaxation allows us to derive a novel hybrid policy gradient estimator, combining score function and pathwise derivative estimators, that is applicable to discrete action spaces. We show significant gains in sample complexity, ranging between 1.7 and 25 times, when learning parameterized policies on Cart Pole, Acrobot, Mountain Car and Hand Mass. Our method is applicable to both discrete and continuous action spaces, when competing pathwise methods are limited to the latter.


There is growing interest in the role that apex predators play in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and maintaining tro- phic cascades. In line with the mesopredator release hypothesis, Australian dingoes (Canis lupus dingo and hybrids) are assumed by many to regulate the abundance of invasive mesopredators, such as red foxes Vulpes vulpes and feral cats Felis catus, thereby providing indirect benefits to various threatened vertebrates. Several recent papers have claimed to provide evidence for the bio- diversity benefits of dingoes in this way. Nevertheless, in this paper we highlight several critical weaknesses in the methodologi- cal approaches used in many of these reports, including lack of consideration for seasonal and habitat differences in activity, the complication of simple track-based indices by incorporating difficult-to-meet assumptions, and a reduction in sensitivity for as- sessing populations by using binary measures rather than potentially continuous measures. Of the 20 studies reviewed, 15 of them (75%) contained serious methodological flaws, which may partly explain the inconclusive nature of the literature investigating interactions between invasive Australian predators. We therefore assert that most of the "growing body of evidence" for meso- predator release is merely an inconclusive growing body of literature only. We encourage those interested in studying the eco- logical roles of dingoes relative to invasive mesopredators and native prey species to account for the factors we identify, and cau- tion the value of studies that have not done so (Current Zoology 57 (5): 568-583, 2011).


Recent onshore New Jersey drilling (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 150X) provided excellent recovery of lower to middle Miocene sequences that we dated with Sr isotopic stratigraphy. Sequence boundaries correlate with deep-sea δ 18 O increases (inferred glacioeustatic lowerings), indicating a primary control by global sea-level change. Maryland Miocene outcrops appear to correlate with New Jersey sequences and the δ 18 O record, although diagenesis and intense bioturbation limit Sr isotopic age resolution in Maryland. The early Miocene is not well represented in Maryland due to regional tectonics; in contrast, early Miocene accommodation in New Jersey was provided by flexural effects due to sediment loading.


During high rate severe plastic deformation (HRSPD), strain and strain-rate are not the only external factors that determine microstructural transformations in materials, temperature-rise due to heat generation from deformation processes, also plays an important role. Temperature may influence the microstructure directly by controlling grain growth kinetics and it may also have an indirect effect through the interactive effect on material behavior, which in turn, influences strain and strain-rate parameters. This complex thermomechanics of HRSPD can lead to myriad of microstructure and consequently, material properties and phenomenon. These deformation parameters can be utilized as a 'fingerprint' for the resulting microstructure, and the properties and phenomenon related to it. Here, we capture some of these microstructural transformations by relating grain and sub-grain sizes, to the deformation parameters. In doing so, we find evidence of continuous dynamic recrystallization operative under these HRSPD conditions, where the interplay of strain, strain rate and temperatures offer varying degrees of multimodality in the grain-size distributions.


[Abstract]: To sustain global growth and competitiveness, large corporations as well as medium sized manufacturing companies from the Western world expand their operations to emerging industrial economies in Asia and elsewhere. India, although geographically far and culturally complex, is becoming more and more a fulcrum of business expansion for German enterprises because of the abundance of skilled and qualified human resources in the sub continent. The contributions of the people in the German and Indian organisations are certainly determinant factors for successful entrepreneurship. Hence understanding the impacts of cultural affiliations of people working in these different environments and human resource management become important to adapt existing or develop future oriented HRM models to foster increasing multiculturalism. Moreover, the fact that cross-cultural research studies involving German and Indian organisations are rare makes this research a meaningful endeavour.

With this background, the research focuses on the HRM practices and diversity climate in Indian and German organisations in the manufacturing industries. The purpose of this study is to explore the differences of HRM and diversity management concepts in these organisations and understand their implications. As a result, the research question formulated was:

What are the HRM practices and diversity management practices in German and Indian manufacturing companies and how do they differ?

This research question poses a number of research issues to be investigated. In summary, besides demographic differences, research issues concerning four HRM practices (Hiring, performance appraisals, pay or compensation and training and development), cultural differences that could have impact on these HRM practices, the respective diversity climates and the eventual relationship between HRM practices and diversity climates in the sampled companies were examined. Both quantitative and qualitative research techniques were adopted for examining these research issues while the study as such was conducted under the post positivism paradigm, a methodology widely used in management research.

Perceptions regarding the aforementioned research issues of 64 German managers and 77 Indian managers employed in manufacturing companies, most of them in the automobile industry were sought using two questionnaires adapted for this study and tested in previous research studies. Although, a priori, India and Germany are two distinct nations in terms of cultural and several macro economic dimensions, this research formulates a null hypothesis in terms of the perceptual differences among German and Indian managers. Conclusions and interpretations are based on both quantitative and descriptive analysis of mean scores whereas hypothesis testing was undertaken using Chi-Square calculations within the cross-tab functions of the SPSS. For understanding the relationship between HRM practices and diversity climates non parametric test of correlation using Kendall's tau –b was conducted.

The results of the quantitative analysis show no significant differences of perceptions among the two manager clusters and thus suggest, in general, the acceptance of the null hypothesis concerning all four HRM practices. Even in case of cultural dimensions, the differences found by other researchers such as Hofstede (1991) could not be confirmed with the method used in the study. In addition, the correlation analysis establishes links between HRM practices and diversity climates and suggests the rejection of null hypothesis. However, several trends implying perceptual differences could be found and these are described in the respective sections.

The research contributes to the body of knowledge in many ways. While it confirms certain debates in contemporary research, it highlights some contradicting aspects in a multicultural business context. The results also highlight emerging issues in international HRM and diversity management and thus stimulate future research. Finally, some strategic recommendations are presented to support German and Indian organisations to consolidate their growth and prosperity on their transitional path to true multicultural global organisations. The extended knowledge about HRM practices and diversity climates in German and Indian companies is useful for further studies on the relationship between HRM and diversity management and the performance levels of these companies.


Abstract All species need to reproduce to maintain viable populations, but heat stress kills sperm cells across the animal kingdom and rising frequencies of heatwaves are a threat to biodiversity. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are managed micro-livestock with globally viable populations; therefore, they could serve as environmental biomonitors for heat-induced reductions in fertility. Here, we exposed queens to a range of temperatures (5 to 42 °C) and measured the impact on viability of their stored sperm. Fitting a non-linear regression model shows that temperatures of 13 to 39 °C are safe for queens at a tolerance threshold of 20% loss of sperm viability. We found that exposing queens to 42 °C for 4 h reduced sperm viability by 56% and induced expression of ATP-independent heat-shock proteins (HSPs) in their spermathecae, but not in their ovaries. The strict ATP-independent heat-shock response in the spermatheca points to a tightly controlled ATP economy for stored sperm. Drones (males) are mortally heat-sensitive, with only 42% of drones surviving 6 h at 42 °C. Conversely, 100% of queens survived. This sex-biased heat tolerance may be a quality control mechanism to ensure that queens are inseminated only with high-quality sperm. Finally, we quantified HSP expression in queens that failed in the field and found that 45% possessed a heat-shock signature similar to the laboratory heat-shocked queens. These signatures could serve as biomarkers for heat stress to enable post-failure diagnostics for the beekeeping industry, as well as surveying the prevalence of heat-induced loss of sperm viability in diverse landscapes.


The synchrony / asynchrony dichotomy prevalent in models of genetic regulatory networks can be replaced by a parameter, s, which is the probability of a node being updated in a single time step. Here we apply the idea of such parameterized synchrony to study the dynamics of the genetic regulatory network extracted from an artificial genome model. We find that the relationship between degree of synchrony and the number of limit cycles is not linear. The number and length of limit cycles peaks at intermediate values of s. The proportion of state space explored and the length of transient trajectories also follows this pattern. The richer behavior found at intermediate values of the synchrony parameter is much more characteristic of biological systems than either full synchrony or complete asynchrony.


We compare the optical response of isolated nanowires, double-wire systems, and Π-structures, and show that their radiation is well described in terms of their electric and magnetic dipole moments. We also show that both dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability can be negative at optical and near infrared frequencies, and demonstrate the connection between the geometry of the system and its resonance characteristics. We conclude that plasmonic nanowires can be employed for novel negative-index materials. Finally, we demonstrate that it is possible to construct a nanowire-based 'transparent nanoresonator' with dramatically enhanced intensity and metal concentration below 5%.


This paper discusses the US engagement in Afghanistan with particular reference to their withdrawal within a specified period of fourteen months. An agreement has been reached between the US and Taliban on February 29, 2020, at Doha (Qatar) followed by the intra-Afghan talks, which is expected to bring lasting peace and stability in the country. The issues of deadlock between the Afghan government and the Taliban and the pandemic COVID-19 are some of the obstacles in the way of peace. The theory of bargain provides a theoretical framework for the paper. The paper focuses on the post-withdrawal scenario of the US troops and ground realities that will help in prognosticating the future of Afghanistan. Keeping in view the post-US-Taliban agreement, it is difficult to say with certainty that peace and stability may shape the future destiny of the country since more than 1,300 casualties have happened in Afghanistan during the last three months despite the singing of the agreement.


Course objectives, like research objectives and product requirements, help provide clarity and direction for faculty and students. Unfortunately, course and laboratory objectives are not always clearly stated. Without a clear set of objectives, it can be hard to design a learning experience and determine whether students are achieving the intended outcomes of the course or laboratory. In this paper, a common set of laboratory objectives, concepts, and components of a laboratory apparatus for undergraduate control systems laboratories were identified. A panel of 40 control systems faculty members completed a multi-round Delphi survey to bring them toward consensus on the common aspects of their laboratories. These panelists identified 15 laboratory objectives, 26 concepts, and 15 components common to their laboratories. Then an 45 additional faculty members and practitioners completed a follow-up survey to gather feedback on the results. In both surveys, each participant rated the importance of each item. While average ratings differed slightly between the two groups, the order in which the items were ranked was similar. Important examples of common learning objectives include connecting theory to what is implemented in the laboratory, designing controllers, and modeling systems. The most common component in both groups was MathWorks software. Some of the common concepts include block diagrams, stability, and PID control. Defining common aspects of undergraduate control systems laboratories enables common development, detailed comparisons, and simplified adaptation of equipment and experiments between campuses and programs.


The background to this study is the overall aim to learn more about health effects of exposure. At the fertilizer production factory in Heroya Industripark, Porsgrunn, Norway is the occurrence of chronic occupational pulmonary disease (COPD) 9%. Questions have been raised if there is a correlation between decline in lung function and working conditions in fertilizer production. Occupational aerosols are known risk factors for COPD and gas exposure and dust affects the lung function. The study has been performed at seven different work places at Heroya Industripark. Average measurements for a sample of workers show low exposure. Those low exposures are not seen as an explanation to the occurrence of COPD. Instead questions were raised about health effects of exposure peaks. The aim is to develop a method using PIMEX in epidemiological studies. More precisely is the aim to identify peaks of work place exposure and use the data to refine questionnaires in follow up studies on lung function. In focus are work tasks when workers accomplish rounds during 30-90 minutes in the plant to control and maintain the production. Measurements were conducted at 20 rounds during a week in May 2009. Two PIMEX equipments with telemetry equipment for wireless transmission of the monitoring signal were used. One person was recording working operations while another was carrying the laptop and handling the PIMEX program during the monitoring. In this study was for example peak exposure of ammonia identified in connection with filter cleaning. That information can be used as basis to better understand the correlation between exposure and health effects. One way is to combine the information about peak exposure with information about how often the worker perform work tasks causing the peak. That information can then be related to the occurrence of COPD and decline in lung function. The identification of peaks also gives the possibility to identify when health measurements shall be done. For example, doing spirometry measurements directly before and after the peak exposure. Another experience from this study was to walk around during the measurements. The camera person and the laptop person had to walk close together because of short cables between the camera and the laptop. The plant had several floors and the pair went up and down many stairs during the rounds. Some experiences are: - The pair, recording person and laptop person, must synchronies their movements. - The telemetry for the monitoring signal went well. - High battery capacity is needed. - It is difficult to record the worker all the time if he/she walks fast and the work place has many stairs and small passages. - It is good to have some kind of equipment to carry the laptop with when using it walking around.


With conventional centrifugal (CEN) pumps, less than 50% of southern Bangladesh's farmers invest in irrigation, partly due to high diesel energy costs. New policies are prioritizing sustainable crop intensification in Bangladesh's delta. This objective is unlikely to be achieved without fundamental changes in the energetics and economics of irrigation. Where surface water is available, axial flow pumps (AFPs) may comprise part of the solution to this problem. Comparing the hydraulic, energetic and economic performance of prototype AFPs and CEN pumps, the latter produced less yet consistent rates of discharge than AFPs at all heads. AFP discharge was conversely larger than CEN pumps, but inversely related to increasing head. Discharge per unit of fuel was highest for AFPs (+51 and +21% at 1‐ and 2‐m lifts), but declined with rising head until convergence with CEN pumps at 2.8 m. High AFP discharge reduced irrigation time requirements. On average, AFPs can save between US$70 and 38 ha–1 season–1 for boro rice at 1‐ and 3‐m heads, respectively, and between US$15 and 8, and 26 and 14 ha–1 season–1 for wheat and maize. Fuel efficiency reductions above 2.8 m highlight the importance of improved prototyping and technology targeting to ensure AFP deployment in environments where the greatest efficiency gains are achievable. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Summary 1. The standard spatial capture–recapture design for sampling animal populations uses a fixed array of detectors, each operated for the same time. However, methods are needed to deal with the unbalanced data that may result from unevenness of effort due to logistical constraints, partial equipment failure or pooling of data for analysis. 2. We describe adjustments for varying effort for three types of data each with a different probability distribution for the number of observations per individual per detector per sampling occasion. A linear adjustment to the expected count is appropriate for Poisson-distributed counts (e.g. faeces per searched quadrat). A linear adjustment on the hazard scale is appropriate for binary (Bernoulli-distributed) observations at either traps or binary proximity detectors (e.g. automatic cameras). Data pooled from varying numbers of binary detectors have a binomial distribution; adjustment is achieved by varying the size parameter of the binomial. 3. We compared a hazard-based adjustment to a more conventional covariate approach in simulations of one temporal and one spatial scenario for varying effort. The hazard-based approach was the more parsimonious and appeared more resistant to bias and confounding. 4. We analysed a dataset comprising DNA identifications of female grizzly bears Ursus arctos sampled asynchronously with hair snares in British Columbia in 2007. Adjustment for variation in sampling interval had negligible effect on density estimates, but unmasked an apparent decline in detection probability over the season. Duration-dependent decay in sample quality is an alternative explanation for the decline that could be included in future models. 5. Allowing for known variation in effort ensures that estimates of detection probability relate to a consistent unit of effort and improves the fit of detection models. Failure to account for varying effort may result in confounding between effort and density variation in time or space. Adjustment for effort allows rigorous analysis of unbalanced data with little extra cost in terms of precision or processing time. We suggest it should become routine in capture–recapture analyses. The methods have been made available in the R package secr.


This paper charts 100 years of sociology in Cyprus, detailing the sources, the contributions and the potential for public sociology. The paper connects Cypriot sociology to the broader critical thought in global sociological debates and explores the development of sociological and social thought in Cyprus in a small post-colonial, divided country. It critiques explanations for its marginal position as an academic discipline in Cyprus. This paper challenges the prevailing view that Cypriot society is 'isolated', 'insular' and 'barren' when it comes to producing ideas, theories and sociology, including the effects of the Cyprus problem and the 'deficient modernisation thesis', best expounded by Caesar Mavratsas. It then provides the first taxonomy of the sources and themes on the evolution of Cypriot sociology before it focuses on current issues and developments. The paper argues that, despite this relative marginality at an institutional level, there is an abundance of sociological thinking outside, often against or beyond the outmoded policy and sociology, often used as apologetics for the establishment. Public sociology and critical sociology provide serious challenge to hegemonic knowledge regarding different issues such as the Cyprus problem, state formations, ethnic conflict/relations class, gender, sexuality and migration. The paper examines how the combination of these historical factors, together with the particular organization of institutional and class power, shaped all aspects of social and cultural life, including the development of sociology as a discipline. The paper concludes on the potential for critical and public sociology derived from the magma of Cypriot society.


The design rules for centrically compressed stainless steel equal-leg angle members are not explicitly stated in the current European standard SRPS EN 1993-1-4. This paper summarizes the results of extensive research conducted on this type of structural elements aiming to define recommendations for their design. Based on a systematic experimental investigation, a detailed numerical analysis was performed, and a database of columns' resistances were defined. Material and geometric nonlinear analysis included three key stainless steel alloys, austenitic, ferritic and duplex. The design curves for flexural and flexural-torsional buckling check have been proposed in accordance with European codified procedures.


The phosphorylation state of human and bovine spinal cord neurofilaments (NF) was studied by direct phosphate analysis and carbocyanine dye ("Stains-all") binding to NF polypeptides resolved on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. Electrophoretically purified NF-H (200 kDa), NF-M (160 kDa), and NF-L (68 kDa) of human origin contained 24, 18, and 4 mol phosphate/mol protein, whereas bovine NF contained 53, 23, and 5 mol phosphate/mol protein, respectively. Incubation of NF preparations with E. coli alkaline phosphatase removed about 55% of the phosphate from NF-H, about 30% of the phosphate from both human and bovine NF-M, but did not change the phosphate content of NF-L. This treatment also inhibited or substantially reduced the binding of electroblotted NF-H and NF-M to 2 anti-NF monoclonal antibodies known to recognize phosphorylated sites on projection side arms. "Stains-all" was found to be a very sensitive probe for detection of phosphorylated cytoskeletal proteins. Without the phosphatase treatment, NF and other phosphoproteins, MAP1, MAP2, tubulin, and tau, all bound the carbocyanine dye on SDS gels, forming blue dye-protein complexes. Measured densitometrically at 615 nm, the staining intensity (relative units/mol protein) was 9, 9, and 3 for human and 10, 13, and 6 for bovine NF-H, NF-M, and NF-L, respectively. NF-H bound the dye less efficiently than was expected from its phosphate content. After phosphatase treatment, NF-H, with half of its phosphate residues remaining, no longer formed blue complex with "Stains-all," the staining intensity of NF-M decreased by 20–40%, and the staining of NF- L was not changed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In order to enhance the cooling performance, better understanding of the effects of coolant parameters is necessary. In this project, a total of five input parameters for actively cooled and activated cutting fluid were studied. An aerosol spectrometer was used to measure the particle size spatial distribution of the cooling mist in the fluid. Taguchi method was used in the design of experiments. It was found that the unit volume net specific particle counts exhibit the behavior of oscillation and attenuation of a second order dynamic system. Cooling mist particle spatial frequency ranges from 0.01269/μm to 2.5/μm, the weighted average size ranges from 0.3051μm to 3.714μm and the particle size difference for 99.8% count attenuation ranges from 0.5μm to 19.7μm. The order of importance of the input parameters was studied and the coolant concentration was found as the most important input parameter for the unit volume net particle counts.


In Japanese history the establishment of the ie, or family system, on which patriarchal authority was based, represents one of the most important turning points. The ie that came into being from the late eleventh century onwards, differs from the uji that had characterised previous eras, not so much on account of its patriarchal system but because it would place the married couple in prime position. The family, previously made up of a man engaging in occasional relationships with a number of women, would gradually become a more stable nucleus comprising of a husband with a wife who enjoyed a legally recognised position of privilege compared with all the other concubines. After her husband's death, she would naturally become a sort of substitute figure, often gaining considerable authority and prestige. With the threat of the Mongolian invasions (from 1274 and 1281) and the consequent increase in limitations on women's inheritance rights, many widows were forced to take vows as a sign of loyalty and tangible proof of their choice not to remarry if they were to secure their husband's property.
The literary production of Nun Abutsu (1225 ca.-1283 ca.) written in a period which led to the inevitable breakdown of the economic, social, and political balance of Japan, offers a realistic description of women's ambitions, duties and concerns in an era of great transformation. In a close reading of her major works Abutsu no fumi (The letter of Abutsu, 1264 ca.), Utatane (Fitful slumbers, XIII century) and Izayoi nikki (The Diary of the sixteenth night moon, 1280 ca.), the book casts light on some important issues in Japanese women's history: the gradual shift from uxorical to virilocal marriage, the consequences of this process for inheritance patterns, the meaning of women's participation in the intellectual life of their time.


The feedback from the prosthetic user population is important as it is a part of the process to improve the current technology and ongoing rehabilitation. Thus, the relationship between mobility and life participation in adults with lower extremity conditions needs further investigation. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between functional mobility and quality of life among transfemoral amputees. The target group of study (transfemoral amputees) was recruited at three centres in Klang Valley. Two sets of self-report measures such as the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) and Prosthetic Limb Users Survey of Mobility (PLUS-MTM) were distributed through paper or online form. The independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation were used to test relationships. Data from 30 participants were extracted and included in the study. Average scores for LEFS and PLUS-MTM are 51.53 and 51.84, respectively. The statistical analyses for T-test and ANOVA showed that no significant differences (p > 0.05) were found in LEFS Scores and PLUS-MTM T-Scores among groups of transfemoral amputees classified by gender, ethnicity and aetiology. LEFS Score has a moderate positive correlation with the PLUS-M T-Score (r = 0.600, p < 0.001). Results from the study indicate that both LEFS and PLUS-MTM can be supported as reliable self-report measures to test the functional mobility, quality of life, and daily life activities among transfemoral amputees. LEFS instrument is relevant to assess the functional level and PLUS-MTM helps in evaluating prosthetic mobility.


Non-random sorting can bias observational measures of institutional quality and distort quality-based polices. I develop alternative quasi-experimental approaches to quality estimation that accommodate nonlinear causal effects, institutional specialization, and unobserved selection-on-gains. I use this framework to compute empirical Bayes posteriors of the quality of 4,821 U.S. hospitals, combining estimates from ambulance referral quasi-experiments with predictions from observational risk-adjustment models. Higher-spending, higher-volume, and privately-owned hospitals are of higher quality, and most healthcare markets exhibit positive Roy selection-on-gains. I then simulate Medicare reimbursement and consumer guidance programs based on different hospital quality measures. Higher-spending providers tend to see moderately larger performance-linked subsidies when quality posteriors replace conventional rankings, while teaching hospitals are reimbursed relatively less. Admissions policy simulations highlight limitations of consumer guidance programs in settings with unobserved Roy selection: redirecting patients to top-ranked hospitals may worsen expected survival when based on observational rankings, while quasi-experimental rankings appear to generate modest gains.


In current geo-economic conditions, we need to consider the foreign economic factor as an instrument for structural changes, for the diversification of regional economy, as well as for the realization of a policy of import substitution, including exportoriented one. The article generalizes and systemizes preconditions and sources of the research of regional foreign economic activity in the works of the scientific school of the Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of RAS since the middle of the 1980s. The Institute was one of the first among the regional centres of the academic science of the country, which has addressed the foreign economic relations of a region. The purpose of the article is to systematize both the evolution of scientific definitions and the development of the Ural school of regional foreign economic research during the 30-years period. We apply the interdisciplinary approach and a broad range of methods: a historical method, an economic and statistical method, a comparative analysis, etc. The paper has systemized and characterized the research directions carried out by the staff of the Institute and in cooperation with Russian and Ural colleagues from other institutions. There are geo-economic shifts; international comparative research; regions' involvement into global economic relations; realization of Ural export potential in terms of neo-industrialization and import substitution; international economic cooperation in the framework of SCO, BRICS, Eurasian Economic Union, etc. The Academician A. I. Tatarkin played an invaluable role as the Head of the Institute from 1990 to 2016. He initiated, facilitated and led many research directions. Thanks to this, the Institute of the Ural Branch of RAS over the years has being a kind of regional research-communicational platform, where scientists can search the mechanisms and tools for the realization of the foreign economic potential of the region with an account of national priorities. It underlines a high practical importance of the research in this sphere


on nasal application of "asthmolysine" (containing adrenalin and posthypophyseal hormone) was measured on patients suffering from asthma. We found that both hormones were resorbed from the nasal mucosa and that about 530% of the effect of the same subcutaneous dose could be achieved by this route. However, the effect was unstable and variable, and, therefore, we did not propose intranasal insulin treatment for the treatment of diabetes. In contrast to this, in certain cases of asthma the intranasal application of antiasthmatic preparations could enlarge our therapeutic possibilities. JOHN HANKISS


We report here on our numerical study of the two‐dimensional Riemann problem for the compressible Euler equations. Compared with the relatively simple 1‐D configurations, the 2‐D case consists of a plethora of geometric wave patterns that pose a computational challenge for high‐resolution methods. The main feature in the present computations of these 2‐D waves is the use of the Riemann‐solvers‐free central schemes presented by Kurganov et al. This family of central schemes avoids the intricate and time‐consuming computation of the eigensystem of the problem and hence offers a considerably simpler alternative to upwind methods. The numerical results illustrate that despite their simplicity, the central schemes are able to recover with comparable high resolution, the various features observed in the earlier, more expensive computations. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 18: 584–608, 2002


Enantioselective Liquid-Liquid Extraction (ELLE) is a technology for chiral separation that has great potential for application on all scales, from analytical to industrial production scale. Although many chiral selectors are available for techniques such as chromatography, they are usually not applicable to ELLE. By discussing recent technological advances, it is demonstrated that the technology is moving towards maturity for commercial application. Multistage countercurrent extraction models were used for predicting extraction performances for two different systems. For the enantioseparation of phenylglycinol with an azophenolic crown ether the enantioselectivity was found to be 10, and it was predicted that for 98 percent e.e. 4 stages were sufficient. For the separation of 3, 5-dinitrobenzoyl-leucine using a cinchona alkaloid derivative the selectivity was 3.43 and 12 stages are required for 99 percent e.e. Using bench-scaled centrifugal contactor separator equipment the model predictions were experimentally validated and very stable operation for over 10hr. was proven. Extrapolation of the results shows that separation of 50 mol racemate per week with only about 0.1 mol extractant is possible in the bench scaled equipment. However, for broad application of ELLE, exploratory research to develop extensive libraries for chiral selectors is needed to speed up the development.


Trade policy is a classic field for the study of private influence on policy-making. Firms and industries can gain clear advantages by protecting their markets from foreign competition or by gaining access to other countries. A large portion of the literature on international political economy therefore explains policy choices with reference to the demands of constituent interests (see Frieden and Martin 2002). For anybody interested in business lobbying, trade policy would seem to be the most appropriate place to start. And yet, comparing trade policy lobbying in the U.S. and the EU leaves many observers surprised. Aggressive business lobbying on trade issues is much less common in Brussels than it is in Washington, D.C. (e.g. Coen 1999; cf. Woll 2006). Shaffer (2003: 6) underlines that U.S. firms and trade associations are very proactive in business–government relations on trade policy. This "bottom-up" approach contrasts with the "top down" EU approach where public authority, in particular the European Commission, plays the predominant entrepreneurial role (...).


A recent study has shown normal sperm chromatin structure in a patient with globozoospermia. However, the poor success rate following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with the use of this sperm suggests that sperm nuclear abnormalities may be present. We report here a study of the sperm DNA integrity and chromosome aneuploidy and diploidy rates of a patient with 100% round-headed sperm. The sperm chromatin packaging quality was assessed by using flow cytometry after staining the DNA with propidium iodide. DNA fragmentation, possibly indicative of apoptosis, was evaluated by flow cytometry using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated fluorescein-dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay. The sperm chromosome aneuploidy and diploidy rates were evaluated by fluorescence in-situ hybridization using alpha-centromeric probes for chromosomes 8, 12, 18, X and Y. The patient with globozoospermia had a significantly higher number of sperm with chromatin decondensation (35 +/- 1.1%) and positive for the TUNEL assay (37 +/- 1.7%) compared with that found in four normal controls (4.7 +/- 0.4 and 22.5 +/- 1.2% respectively). In contrast, the total sperm aneuploidy (0.16%) and diploidy (0.05%) rates for the chromosomes studied were within the range found in 14 normozoospermic men. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of round-headed sperm that has shown an elevated number of sperm with abnormal chromatin structure and DNA strand breaks.


Key-words: Neogene; Stratigraphy; Algarve; Portugal.

A synthesis about the Neogene and Quaternary of Algarve (Southern Portugal) is presented. New isotopic 87Sr/86Sr ages as well as biostratigraphic data about the Miocene deposits allow to present a new stratigraphic frame for the previously characterized units. The Lagos-Portimao Formation corresponds to deposits of "temperate carbonate platform" sedimentological type, developed during a long time span (lower Burdigalian to Upper Serravallian). A major change in sedimentation conditions (carbonate to siliciclastic environments) occurred in the Lower Tortonian with the deposition of yellowish sands.
Spongoliths rich in microfossils are represented in Algarve inland. Their age is not well established; calcareous nannofossils indicate the CN5a zone (Upper Scrravallian) while foraminifera point out at least N16 zone (Lower Tortonian). In the Upper Tortonian, the sedimentation is widespread in Eastern Algarve, related with the Guadalquivir Basin infill. The deposits begin with detrital limestones, locally very rich in Heterostegina, passing to fossiliferous conglomerates and siltstones (Cacela Formation).
Coarse-grained conglomerates at Galvana (Faro) pose some age problems. K/Ar age on glauconite indicates 6.72±0.17 Ma. However, glauconites may be reworked from older deposits (Cacela Formation). The Galvana Conglomerate could be related to Pliocene deposits are not well characterized. Olhos de Agua sands, with a thin marine intercalation rich in marine vertebrates (fishes, a crocodile, cetaceans, sirenians), may be Upper Pliocene; however, the vertebrates point out to a Serravallian to Tortonian age. 87Sr/86Sr ages on oysters from above the level with vertebratcs point out to 3.0(+2.5-1.0) Ma. Similar sand deposits occur at Morgadinho (Luz de Tavira). These sands are overlain by marls, lignitc clays, lacustrine limestones and a silty calcareous crust. A smaIl mammals association indicate an age span between Upper Pliocene and Lower Middle Pleistocene (MN17-MN20). A Biharian mammal fauna (Lower Pleistocene) was collected at Algoz in similar deposits. In the present state of knowledge, Morgadinho and Algoz deposits may be correlative.


Monocyte-macrophage polypeptides (monokines) cause synovial cells to increase the levels of putative mediators of destruction and inflammation. This interaction may account for some of the properties of rheumatoid pannus. We report here that samples of purified human interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and recombinant IL-1 alpha stimulate both the plasminogen activator activity and prostaglandin E2 levels of human synovial fibroblast-like cells. The same holds true for purified pig IL-1 (catabolin) and recombinant murine IL-1. The elevation in plasminogen activator activity was inhibited by indomethacin, and this suggests that endogenous prostanoids are important in the IL-1-mediated stimulation of proteinase activity.


Our understanding of the mechanisms of cancer development and progression has improved with the application of novel techniques that allow a comprehensive molecular tumour profiling. The application of discoveries and technologies from translational research to the clinical setting has facilitated the identification of novel drug targets and treatment strategies. The term "precision medicine" refers to the application of patient-specific genetic information (germline and somatic) to select the optimal treatment for individual patients with the goal of improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced toxicity. It involves the use of biomarkers that provide unique patient- and tumour-specific molecular information. There has been a growing interest in cancer diagnostics using circulating tumour DNA as a source for tumour biomarkers. Liquid biopsy is less invasive than tumour biopsy, offering the potential to mirror the genetic diversity within a tumour, also enabling longitudinal measurements to monitor genetic changes in a tumour over time, avoiding re-biopsies. The use and improvement of these technologies will continue to advance the field of precision medicine by putting their application into standard clinical practice.


Today, the advent of information technologies (IT) is changing the way the world
communicates. The growth of internet related technologies provides building organizations with
low-cost tools that can optimize project communications. In particular, the recent development
of project specific "intranets", can enhance project communication by giving all members of the
project team access to a common, centralized database of construction information.
This study looked at the effect of project specific intranet systems on the
communications of the project team. More specifically, the study analyzed several
communication variables including timeliness, completeness, understanding, barriers, speed and
procedures. Additionally, graphic models were developed to help describe the intranet's role in
the project communication network.. The methodology triangulated three data collection
methods to measure variables on three case studies. This triangulation included the comparison
of information benchmarks, an examination of communication effectiveness, and the use of
social network analysis.
The study found that when used properly, project specific intranet systems act as a key
actor in a project communication network. Intranets also have a positive effect on the timeliness
and understanding of project information, and their use can improve the speed with which
information is transferred between project players. On the negative side, intranet use seems to
contribute to the information overload of project participants.
But the success of the project intranet is largely a function of project participation. For
positive results several key players need to use the system on a regular basis. These key players
include the architect, the project manager, the site superintendent and key office engineers.
When one of these primary players refuses to participate, then the system quickly loses its
effectiveness.


Twenty-five dogs with signs of atopic dermatitis were included in this study. Additionally, 10 healthy dogs were chosen as healthy skin controls. Skin biopsy specimens were taken from these dogs and evaluated for the following cells: basal cell layer including the number of mitotic figures in this layer, spinous cell layer, macrophages, melanocytes, mast cells and dendritic cells. Identification of mast cells and dendritic cells was performed by means of immunohistochemistry. Histological and statistical investigations showed that the number of mitotic figures in the basal cell layer as well as the number of mast cells, melanocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages was significantly higher in the skin of dogs with atopic dermatitis compared to the healthy dogs (p < 0.01). This finding indicates multilateral quantitative activation within the cellular elements of the skin immune system. Furthermore, marked morphological heterogeneity and distinct degranulation patterns observed among mast cells in atopic skin points to their significant functional activation and confirms that canine atopic dermatitis is still notably a mast cell-dependent disease. Canine, SIS, atopic dermatitis, mast cells, epidermal dendritic cells


Severe motor impairments can affect the ability to communicate. The ability to see has a decisive influence on the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems available to the user. To better understand the initial impressions users have of AAC systems we asked naïve healthy participants to compare two visual (a visual P300 brain-computer interface (BCI) and an eye-tracker) and two non-visual systems (an auditory and a tactile P300 BCI). Eleven healthy participants performed 20 selections in a five choice task with each system. The visual P300 BCI used face stimuli, the auditory P300 BCI used Japanese Hiragana syllables and the tactile P300 BCI used a stimulator on the small left finger, middle left finger, right thumb, middle right finger and small right finger. The eye-tracker required a dwell time of 3 s on the target for selection. We calculated accuracies and information-transfer rates (ITRs) for each control method using the selection time that yielded the highest ITR and an accuracy above 70% for each system. Accuracies of 88% were achieved with the visual P300 BCI (4.8 s selection time, 20.9 bits/min), of 70% with the auditory BCI (19.9 s, 3.3 bits/min), of 71% with the tactile BCI (18 s, 3.4 bits/min) and of 100% with the eye-tracker (5.1 s, 28.2 bits/min). Performance between eye-tracker and visual BCI correlated strongly, correlation between tactile and auditory BCI performance was lower. Our data showed no advantage for either non-visual system in terms of ITR but a lower correlation of performance which suggests that choosing the system which suits a particular user is of higher importance for non-visual systems than visual systems.


This study is conducted with the aim to compare the performance of Islamic bond funds to the performance conventional bond funds. The performance comparisons
are made over several classified period, namely overall period, normal or pre crisis period and crisis period to cater for performance inconsistency of the funds and the
influence of economic conditions. Two samples were generated and utilized in this study. The first sample is intents to maximize the number of bond funds included in
the study and the length of the study by including the data for all the active bond funds over the period December 2003 to August 2009. In order to overcome biasness due to market condition or market influence, only Jensen Index which is market and risk adjust return is used as performance measure and the basis of comparison for funds in this sample. The number of bond funds included in the sample is 20 Islamic bond funds and 48 conventional bond funds. The second sample is set to allow for a fair comparison between funds that are launched at different years when risk adjusted
return, namely Sharpe, Adjusted Sharpe, Jensen and Adjusted Jensen and Treynor Index, are used. The number of bond funds included in the sample is 18 Islamic bond funds and 45 conventional bond funds. In addition of non adjusted and risk adjusted return, the risk and diversification of the funds are also compared.Using the larger sample and Jensen Index, it is found that the conventional bond fund outperformed Islamic bond funds during the normal or pre crisis period. On average during the overall period of study the two types of bond funds performed equally
well. Based on the second sample with complete data for all funds, the study finds that their performances as measured by all the indices for all the clustered periods are
similar. The performance of both types of fund also does not change significantly from pre crisis period to crisis period. The risk of conventional bond funds however
is found to increase during the crisis in compared to before the crisis. These findings provide evidence that Islamic bonds are more stable than conventional bonds and are less affected by the crisis.


Evidence shows that spatial dynamics in Semarang Metropolitan Region tend not to encourage sustainable development. Spatial interactions, especially in journeys to work, have been using inefficient transport energy. A sprawling growth process that is still continuing also shares in the ineffective cost of development, especially in public infrastructure. Residential areas have also been expanding to land that is supposedly conserved. Furthermore, rural urban linkages have not been able to properly alleviate poverty and minimize economic inequality, as seen in the fluctuating nature in poverty incidence and increasing individual as well as spatial inequality. All this prompts an important question to be answered, which is: 'How can spatial dynamics in a metropolitan region be facilitated to ensure sustainable development?' This paper seeks an operational model of sustainable metropolitan development applicable to Semarang Metropolitan Region, which is the first important step towards answering the research question. Sustaining metropolitan development requires that the structure and function be able to minimize the use of energy and natural resources, encourage the socially optimal situation, strengthen regional comparative advantages, and encourage involvement of the majority of people in productive activities. A good system of interactions between spatial units in a metropolitan region can thus help ensuring sustainable development. It would increase the efficiency of interactions between cities, which means minimizing the use of energy, strengthening good spatial linkages and thus encouraging people to participate in productive activities. Further discussions lead to a set of strategies that is needed for facilitating the spatial dynamics of Semarang Metropolitan Region towards sustaining the development. However, an in-depth study using the case of a suburb that has an exceptional role in the spatial dynamics of Semarang Metropolitan Region is needed to answer the research question completely. This is especially needed in this era of participatory approaches to development. The suburb of Bandungan, which has been quickly becoming a regional centre for certain functions, especially tourism and a market for agricultural products, is perfectly matched with the purpose and thus recommended as the case study.


What does media welfare mean from a normative perspective? The notion of media welfare and "the media welfare state" has mainly been used descriptively, to depict the particular way in which the media are organized in the Nordic welfare states. In this article, we explore media welfare from a normative perspective. Our intention is to open up a discussion about the normative and political implications of the notion of media welfare and to bring the concept into the contemporary discussion on normative perspectives regarding the media.


A newborn girl with pyloric atresia with junctional epidermolysis bullosa (PA‐JEB) developed vomiting and blisters after birth. Radiography revealed pyloric atresia, and a resection of atretic segment and gastroduodenostomy were carried out at 4 days after birth. Physical examination revealed multiple bullae on the trunk and extremities ( Fig. 1 ). Light microscopy of a skin biopsy specimen showed subepidermal bullae with few inflammatory cells. Electron microscopy showed separation in the lamina lucida and rudimentary hemidesmosomes ( Fig. 2 ). A direct immunofluorescence (IF) mapping study was negative for immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, IgM, C3, and fibrin. To determine the cleavage level, an IF mapping study was performed on 6 μm cryostat sections of a frozen skin biopsy specimen, using bullous pemphigoid (BP) antibody, monoclonal antibody against type IV collagen (Dako, Copenhagen, Denmark), monoclonal antibody (LH 7.2) against type VII collagen (Serotec, Oxford, UK), and epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) serum. The staining for BP was identified on the epidermal side. The staining for monoclonal antibody against type IV collagen, type VII collagen, and EBA was identified on the dermal side. This pattern was compatible with the diagnosis of JEB. We also performed an IF mapping study using GB3 monoclonal antibody (Sera Laboratory, Cambridge, UK), which recognizes laminin 5 monoclonal antibody against β4 integrin (Chemicon, Los Angeles, CA), and linear IgA dermatosis (LAD) antibody, which binds to the epidermal side of salt‐split skin substrate ( Fig. 3 ). The patient's skin has normal laminin 5 expression, but an absence of detectable β4 integrin and reduced epidermal LAD antigen expression. Despite nutritional support with parenteral nutrition and special formula feeding, chronic diarrhea and bloody mucoid stools persisted and malnutrition was not improved.


Author(s): Forthman, Michael | Advisor(s): Weirauch, Christiane | Abstract: The predominantly circumtropical millipede assassin bugs (Ectrichodiinae) comprise the fifth largest subfamily of Reduviidae with 736 described species in 121 genera. Ectrichodiinae appear to be specialized millipede predators and stand out among other Reduviidae in the high proportions of aposematically colored and sexually dimorphic species. These phenomena make Ectrichodiinae an attractive group for ecological, behavioral, and evolutionary research, but is hindered by a lack of thorough taxonomic treatments and phylogenetic hypotheses. This dissertation improves our knowledge of Ectrichodiinae life history, diversity, and phylogeny by: 1) reviewing Ectrichodiinae predatory behaviors and supplementing this with field observations; 2) revising the Madagascan fauna; 3) investigating historical biogeographic patterns of Madagascan Ectrichodiinae; and 4) constructing the most comprehensive Ectrichodiinae+ Tribelocephalinae phylogeny to study the evolution of aposematic coloration and sexual dimorphism. (1) About 2% of Ectrichodiinae species are documented to prey on juliform and, to a lesser extent, polydesmid millipedes. The majority of observations suggest that immatures typically exhibit communal predation, while adults usually engage in solitary predation. (2) The taxonomic monograph includes description of 63 new species and three new genera of endemic Madagascan Ectrichodiinae, as well as redescriptions and synonymies of previously described taxa. (3) Madagascan Ectrichodiinae do not form a monophyletic group, with lineages exhibiting close relationships with Oriental or Afrotropical taxa. Ectrichodiinae colonized Madagascar in the last 68 my via transoceanic dispersal at least twice from the Oriental region and once from the Afrotropical region; a single out-of-Madagascar dispersal event to the Afrotropical region is recovered in some analyses. Dispersal between these regions were likely facilitated by islands and/or ocean currents. (4) Ectrichodiinae are not monophyletic with respect to Tribelocephalinae. Aposematic coloration evolved from a cryptic ancestor early in the evolutionary history of Ectrichodiinae+Tribelocephalinae, with subsequent reversals and regains. A positive association between the prevalence of aposematic coloration and body length is recovered when phylogenetic logistic regressions are conducted on ultrametric trees, but is not supported when phylograms are used. Extreme sexual dimorphism is shown to evolve multiple times from a more limited condition. Based on phylogenetic results, a new Ectrichodiinae classification is proposed.


One of the main challenges in today's world of vastly distributed sources of information is to re-combine information sources to provide uniform access. We propose a distributed data management system that should provide the "glue" for combining data sources. This system advocates services as a means to access data. New services are defined on demand and their creation is supported by a behaviorist approach that incorporates new service ideas provided by the user. Services can be based on data and/or on the output of existing services. To increase the usability of services in the system we utilize two ontologies to denote relevant metadata. Service ontology structures existing services and helps in discovering new ones. Parameter ontology structures the parameters used in services and supports the creation of new services. Our proposal of a services-based data management system exhibits similarities to the newsgroup approach in that both "systems" are examples of semantic search engines based on user interaction. By exploring these similarities and by looking at some statistics of newsgroup user/posting behavior, we validate our services-based approach.


The mechanics of a spark-induced coherent structure (called a 'spot') in the turbulent mixing layer of a 12.7 cm diameter incompressible air jet has been investigated through phase-locked measurements at three streamwise stations. Phase averages have been obtained from 200 realizations of X-wire (time-series) data after these are optimally time-aligned with respect to one another through an iterative process of maximization of cross-correlation of individual realizations with the ensemble average. Realizations that are grossly out of alignment owing to turbulence-induced distortions have been rejected; the rejection ratio increases with increasing radial position. Data include phase-average time series of background turbulence intensities, coherent and background Reynolds stresses, vorticity and intermittency at different transverse positions. Spatial distributions of these properties over the extent of the spot have been presented as contour maps. The computed pseudo-stream-functions have been compared with the phase-average streamlines inferred from the measured distributions of the velocity vector. Comparison with the phase-average intermittency contours show that the pseudo-stream-functions are reliable and, even though the integration involved produces smoothed-out stream functions, are most useful in deducing the structure dynamics and its convection velocity. The spark-induced spot is an elongated large-scale coherent vortical structure spanning the entire thickness of the mixing layer, which moves downstream at a convection velocity of about 0.68Ue. The dynamics of the turbulent mixing layer spot, whose signature is buried in the large-amplitude background fluctuations, is much more complicated than that of the boundary-layer spot. The spot transports jet-core fluid outwards at its front and entrains ambient fluid primarily at its back; the outward-momentum transport dominates the inward transport. The Reynolds stress contribution by the spot structure is noticeably larger than that due to the background turbulence. The coherent structure vorticity is significantly modified by the structure-induced organization of the background Reynolds stress at the locations of 'saddle points' of the latter's distribution. The vorticity, intermittency and other turbulence measures, zone averaged over the extent of the spot, compare well with the time-average values, thus suggesting that the spark-induced 'spot' is probably not different from a naturally occurring large-scale coherent structure.


From May to September 1988, eight employees of a microbiology laboratory developed acute brucellosis (attack rate, 31%). Seven of the eight affected employees had clinical illness ranging from a nonspecific, flulike illness to severe hepatitis. Blood cultures obtained from five of the affected employees (63%) were positive for Brucella melitensis, biotype 3. Comparison of cases and controls showed that there were no risk factors besides employment in the laboratory. Based on work locations, assignments, and interviews, it was found that person-to-person, droplet, food-borne, and waterborne spread were unlikely. Our investigation disclosed that 6 weeks before the outbreak began, a frozen brucella isolate from a patient hospitalized 3 years earlier had been thawed and subcultured without the use of a biologic safety cabinet. This clinical isolate was subsequently identified as B. melitensis, biotype 3, identical to the employee isolates. It is presumed that transmission occurred via the airborne route. This outbreak reemphasized that all work on Brucella species, an established biosafety level 3 organism, must be conducted under a biologic safety hood. Furthermore, it might be prudent to perform all clinical "setups" under a safety hood since aerosolization commonly occurs during the initial processing of specimens and the majority of these specimens are from patients with uncertain diagnoses.


In recent years, street art has become embedded in popular culture and received growing attention from the art market and art institutions. Work by street artists has entered galleries, auction houses and museums, and some artists have been given the opportunity to create large-scale sanctioned public art projects. Simultaneously, widespread photographic documentation of street artworks and the circulation of images online have provided artists with a potentially global audience.

The Street Art World investigates street art as a relatively newly established field within contemporary art. With the American sociologist Howard S. Becker's notion of "art worlds" as a central point of departure, the book seeks to characterise street art by studying and participating in the everyday interaction among the artists, gallerists, collectors, critics, curators, bloggers and street art enthusiasts that make up the social environment (the street art world) in which the term street art is continuously given its meaning.

Major themes addressed in the book include:

(1) The social construction of the meaning of the term street art and the resulting difficulties in formally defining what street art is.

(2) The often contradictory attitudes within the street art world towards art history and the institutions of art.

(3) The relationship between street art, the art market and the institutional art world.

(4) The relationship between street art and public art.

(5) Street art's potential to affect the viewer's perception of public space, and the possible challenges the increasing digital mediation of street art may pose to bringing this potential to fruition.

While the book presents central characteristics of the street art movement, it also acknowledges that it is not feasible to pin down the nature of street art once and for all, since street art is a product of complex social processes.


The widely-recognised importance of robust health policy processes suggests the need for capacity to ensure these. Whilst research exists on capacity or policy processes, little is known about how these two are related. This study starts to fill this gap by developing a conceptual framework and testing in the Republic of Tajikistan, where independence reinforced the need for Ministry of Health's (MOH) capacity to conduct country-level policy processes.

The following overarching research question guided this qualitative study: What are the key elements of, and main effects on, MOH capacity to conduct health policy processes in RT and how has this capacity changed since independence? Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, document reviews and observations of policy event. A framework approach was used for analysis, drawing on the conceptual framework.

An understanding of what constitutes robust health policy processes is important and six characteristics were identified: holistic, evidence-informed, efficient, effective, feasible and sustainable. The conceptual framework distinguishes five components: MOH capacity to conduct policy processes (comprising elements of policy cycle, use of evidence, leadership and governance, and resources), actors, context, policy contents and policy results. This study explored the MOH capacity related to its management or response to the first three components.

Though positive changes since independence were identified, the study found that MOH capacity is lacking in all following areas: recognising and managing stages of policy cycle, considering wider context, managing involvement of policy actors, ensuring evidence-informed policy processes, applying good governance and effective leadership, and establishing and effectively using resources.

Each area is dynamic, interrelated with others and involves intra-relationships, with implications for overall MOH capacity. Two underlying issues are important: the need for both ability and willingness and the inter-relationships and interdependence between different capacity levels. As a result of the study a revised framework was developed.


Time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) was used to investigate the relationship between molecular structure and the one- and two-photon absorption (OPA and TPA, respectively) properties of novel and recently synthesized conjugated energetic molecules (CEMs). The molecular structures of CEMs can be strategically altered to influence the heat of formation and oxygen balance, two factors that can contribute to the sensitivity and strength of an explosive material. OPA and TPA are sensitive to changes in molecular structure as well, influencing the optical range of excitation. We found calculated vertical excitation energies to be in good agreement with experiment for most molecules. Peak TPA intensities were found to be significant and on the order of 10(2) GM. Natural transition orbitals for essential electronic states defining TPA peaks of relatively large intensity were used to examine the character of relevant transitions. Modification of molecular substituents, such as additional oxygen or other functional groups, produces significant changes in electronic structure, OPA, and TPA and improves oxygen balance. The results show that certain molecules are apt to undergo nonlinear absorption, opening the possibility for controlled, direct optical initiation of CEMs through photochemical pathways.


Background: We investigated the impact of follow-up duration to determine whether two immunohistochemical prognostic panels, IHC4 and Mammostrat, provide information on the risk of early or late distant recurrence using the Edinburgh Breast Conservation Series and the Tamoxifen vs Exemestane Adjuvant Multinational (TEAM) trial. Methods: The multivariable fractional polynomial time (MFPT) algorithm was used to determine which variables had possible non-proportional effects. The performance of the scores was assessed at various lengths of follow-up and Cox regression modelling was performed over the intervals of 0–5 years and 4 5 years. Results: We observed a strong time dependence of both the IHC4 and Mammostrat scores, with their effects decreasing over time. In the first 5 years of follow-up only, the addition of both scores to clinical factors provided statistically significant information ( P o 0.05), with increases in R 2 between 5 and 6% and increases in D-statistic between 0.16 and 0.21. Conclusions: Our analyses confirm that the IHC4 and Mammostrat scores are strong prognostic factors for time to distant recurrence but this is restricted to the first 5 years after diagnosis. This provides evidence for their combined use to predict early recurrence events in order to select those patients who may/will benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Prediction of residual risk following adjuvant endocrine treatment in early breast cancer has become a critical component in the selection of treatment options. In addition, recent data on the impact of up to 10 years of adjuvant endocrine therapy in early breast cancer suggest that some women may benefit from extended treatment with tamoxifen(Goss et al , 2003; Davies et al , 2013; Gray et al , 2013). At present, patients and their clinicians may be presented with three time-related choices related to the treatment of luminal breast cancers: (1) whether it is beneficial to treat patients with adjuvant chemotherapy and therefore delay endocrine therapy; (2) whether to follow a switch strategy for endocrine therapy; and (3) whether to extend endocrine therapy after 5 years for a total of 10 years. Multiple diagnostic algorithms have been developed to provide information on residual risk for patients facing these choices; however, there is limited information on how time impacts the risk assessments provided by these diagnostic tools.


This book provides a concise and factual account of the problems which beset disorders of ocular motility, particularly those developing in early childhood. It is designed for the guidance of the parents of such children, and represents a revision and condensation of the monograph Strabismus in Childhood by Herbert M. Katzin and Geraldine Wilson which appeared in 1968 and which was based on the book Rehabilitation of the Child's Eyes by Richard Scobee. The book deals with the mechanisms which are concerned in the development of normal binocular function and with the defects which are liable to interfere with this process so that there is the production of a squint. This sequence provides a ready explanation for the various motor and sensory disorders which form part of the squint and also a basis for the methods of treatment which are adopted to secure a satisfactory functional result. It is almost tedious to find fault with the text which is largely uncontroversial and represents an up-to-date approach to the whole subject, but it is marred by the statement that the retina becomes fully developed and sensitive enough to register focused images only between the ages of 2 and 3 years and also by the statement that the lack of development of an infant's eyes accounts for the type of convergent squint which usually disappears within the first 8 months. Surely these remarks belong to a bygone age, and in


We investigate gazetteer matching between natural features in Switzerland. We produce a gold standard dataset for a subset of features from 8 natural feature types in GeoNames aligned with their corresponding match(es) in SwissNames3D, an authoritative gazetteer. Based on this dataset, we comment on feature type alignments between the two resources and on type-specific differences to take into consideration for the matching task. We present preliminary results of rule-based matching and plans for future work.