A COMPARISON OF EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL ELECTRON-ENERGY DISTRIBUTION-FUNCTIONS IN A MULTICUSP ION-SOURCE

Experimental and theoretical electron energy distribution functions (EEDFS) measured in and calculated for the driver of a multicusp ion source operating in hydrogen are compared. The results show that atomic physics based theoretical models can accurately predict the EEDF in such discharges if some appropriate experimentally determined quantities are used as input parameters. The magnitude and shape of the EEDF is found to be particularly sensitive to the effective surface area to volume ratio for electrons.

Adaptive Measurement-Based Policy-Driven QoS Management with Fuzzy-Rule-based Resource Allocation

Fixed and wireless networks are increasingly converging towards common connectivity with IP-based core networks. Providing effective end-to-end resource and QoS management in such complex heterogeneous converged network scenarios requires unified, adaptive and scalable solutions to integrate and co-ordinate diverse QoS mechanisms of different access technologies with IP-based QoS. Policy-Based Network Management (PBNM) is one approach that could be employed to address this challenge. Hence, a policy-based framework for end-to-end QoS management in converged networks, CNQF (Converged Networks QoS Management Framework) has been proposed within our project. In this paper, the CNQF architecture, a Java implementation of its prototype and experimental validation of key elements are discussed. We then present a fuzzy-based CNQF resource management approach and study the performance of our implementation with real traffic flows on an experimental testbed. The results demonstrate the efficacy of our resource-adaptive approach for practical PBNM systems

Identification of benzimidazole resistance in Cladobotryum dendroides using a PCR-based method

Cladobotryutn dendroides, causal agent of cobweb disease of Agaricus bisporus, has become increasingly resistant to methylbenzimidazole carbamate (MBC) fungicides following the extensive use of MBC in cultivated mushroom production in Ireland. Of 38 isolates of C. dendroides obtained from Irish mushroom units, 34 were resistant to carbendazim. Primers based on conserved regions of the -tubulin gene were used to amplify and sequence a portion of the -tubulin gene in C. dendroides. A point mutation was detected at codon 50 in isolates resistant to benzimidazole fungicides, causing an amino acid substitution from tyrosine to cysteine. Species-specific PCR primers were designed to amplify the region of the -tubulin gene containing this substitution. The point mutation removed an Ace I restriction site in the -tubulin gene sequence of resistant isolates. Digestion of the PCR product with Ace I thus provides a rapid diagnostic test to differentiate sensitive and resistant isolates of this fungus. EMBL accession number: YI2256.

Limits of Dissent, Perils of Activism: Spaces of Resistance and the New Security Logic

On 26 December 2003 an Israeli activist was shot by the Israeli Army while he was participating in a demonstration organized by Anarchists Against the Wall (AAtW) in the West Bank. This was the first time Israeli Soldiers have deliberately shot live bullets at a Jewish-Israeli activist. This paper is an attempt to understand the set of conditions, the enveloping frameworks, and the new discourses that have made this event, and similar shootings that soon followed, possible. Situating the actions of AAtW within a much wider context of securitization—of identities, movements, and bodies—we examine strategies of resistance which are deployed in highly securitized public spaces. We claim that an unexpected matrix of identity in which abnormality is configured as security threat render the bodies of activists especially precarious. The paper thus provides an account of the new rationales of security technologies and tactics which increasingly govern public spaces.

High-Efficiency Harmonic-Peaking Class-EF Power Amplifiers with Enhanced Maximum Operating Frequency

The recently introduced Class-EF power amplifier (PA) has a peak switch voltage lower than that of the Class-E PA. However, the value of the transistor output capacitance at high frequencies is typically larger than the required Class-EF optimum shunt capacitance. Consequently, soft-switching operation that minimizes power dissipation during off-to-on transition cannot be achieved at high frequencies. Two new Class-EF PA variants with transmission-line load networks, namely, third-harmonic-peaking (THP) and fifth-harmonic-peaking (FHP) Class-EF PAs are proposed in this paper. These permit operation at higher frequencies at no expense to other PA figures of merit. Analytical expressions are derived in order to obtain circuit component values, which satisfy the required Class-EF impedances at fundamental frequency, all even harmonics, and the first few odd harmonics as well as simultaneously providing impedance matching to a 50- Ω load. Furthermore, a novel open-circuit and shorted stub arrangement, which has substantial practical benefits, is proposed to replace the normal quarter-wave line connected at the transistor's drain. Using GaN HEMTs, two PA prototypes were built. Measured peak drain efficiency of 91% and output power of 39.5 dBm were obtained at 2.22 GHz for the THP Class-EF PA. The FHP Class-EF PA delivered output power of 41.9 dBm with 85% drain efficiency at 1.52 GHz.

Arsenic(III,V) adsorption onto charred dolomite: charring optimization and batch studies

In this work, the removal of arsenic from aqueous solutions onto thermally processed dolomite is investigated. The dolomite was thermally processed (charred) at temperatures of 600, 700 and 800 degrees C for 1, 2, 4 and 8 h. Isotherm experiments were carried out on these samples over a wide pH range. A complete arsenic removal was achieved over the pH range studied when using the 800 degrees C charred dolomite. However, at this temperature, thermal degradation of the dolomite weakens its structure due to the decomposition of the magnesium carbonate, leading to a partial dissolution. For this reason, the dolomitic sorbent chosen for further investigations was the 8 h at 700 degrees C material. Isotherm studies indicated that the Langmuir model was successful in describing the process to a better extent than the Freundlich model for the As(V) adsorption on the selected charred dolomite. However, for the As(III) adsorption, the Freundlich model was more successful in describing the process. The maximum adsorption capacities of charred dolomite for arsenite and arsenate ions are 1.846 and 2.157 mg/g, respectively. It was found that both the pseudo first- and second-order kinetic models are able to describe the experimental data (R-2 > 0.980). The data suggest the charring process allows dissociation of the dolomite to calcium carbonate and magnesium oxide, which accelerates the process of arsenic oxide and arsenic carbonate precipitation. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Old truths and new politics:Does truth commission 'publicness' impact democratization?

This article analyzes the relationship between truth and politics by asking whether the 'publicness' of a truth commission - defined by whether it has public hearings, releases a public report, and names perpetrators - contributes to democratization. The article reviews scholarship relevant to the potential democratizing effects of truth commissions and derives mechanisms that help explain this relationship. Work from the transitional justice field as well as democratization and political transition more generally is considered. Using a newly-constructed Truth Commission Publicness Dataset (TCPD), the analysis finds that even after statistically controlling for initial levels of democracy, democratic trends in the years prior to a commission, level of wealth, amnesties and/or trials, the influence of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and different cutoff points for measuring democratization across a number of models, more publicness predicts higher levels of democracy years after the commission has finished its work. The more public a truth commission is, the more it will contribute to democratization. The finding that more public truth commissions are associated with higher levels of democratization indicates particular strategies that policymakers, donors, and civil society activists may take to improve prospects for democracy in a country planning a truth commission in the wake of violence and/or government abuse. © The Author(s) 2012.

Building Information Modelling Energy Performance Assessment on Domestic Dwellings: A Comparative Study

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is growing in pace, not only in design and construction stages, but also in the analysis of facilities throughout their life cycle. With this continued growth and utilisation of BIM processes, comes the possibility to adopt such procedures, to accurately measure the energy efficiency of buildings, to accurately estimate their energy usage. To this end, the aim of this research is to investigate if the introduction of BIM Energy Performance Assessment in the form of software analysis, provides accurate results, when compared with actual energy consumption recorded. Through selective sampling, three domestic case studies are scrutinised, with baseline figures taken from existing energy providers, the results scrutinised and compared with calculations provided from two separate BIM energy analysis software packages. Of the numerous software packages available, criterion sampling is used to select two of the most prominent platforms available on the market today. The two packages selected for scrutiny are Integrated Environmental Solutions - Virtual Environment (IES-VE) and Green Building Studio (GBS). The results indicate that IES-VE estimated the energy use in region of ±8% in two out of three case studies while GBS estimated usage approximately ±5%. The findings indicate that the introduction of BIM energy performance assessment, using proprietary software analysis, is a viable alternative to manual calculations of building energy use, mainly due to the accuracy and speed of assessing, even the most complex models. Given the surge in accurate and detailed BIM models and the importance placed on the continued monitoring and control of buildings energy use within today’s environmentally conscious society, this provides an alternative means by which to accurately assess a buildings energy usage, in a quick and cost effective manner.

Bdellovibrio predation in the presence of decoys:Three-way bacterial interactions revealed by mathematical and experimental analyses

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a small, gram-negative, motile bacterium that preys upon other gram-negative bacteria, including several known human pathogens. Its predation efficiency is usually studied in pure cultures containing solely B. bacteriovorus and a suitable prey. However, in natural environments, as well as in any possible biomedical uses as an antimicrobial, Bdellovibrio is predatory in the presence of diverse decoys, including live nonsusceptible bacteria, eukaryotic cells, and cell debris. Here we gathered and mathematically modeled data from three-member cultures containing predator, prey, and nonsusceptible bacterial decoys. Specifically, we studied the rate of predation of planktonic late-log-phase Escherichia coli S17-1 prey by B. bacteriovorus HD100, both in the presence and in the absence of Bacillus subtilis nonsporulating strain 671, which acted as a live bacterial decoy. Interestingly, we found that although addition of the live Bacillus decoy did decrease the rate of Bdellovibrio predation in liquid cultures, this addition also resulted in a partially compensatory enhancement of the availability of prey for predation. This effect resulted in a higher final yield of Bdellovibrio than would be predicted for a simple inert decoy. Our mathematical model accounts for both negative and positive effects of predator-prey-decoy interactions in the closed batch environment. In addition, it informs considerations for predator dosing in any future therapeutic applications and sheds some light on considerations for modeling the massively complex interactions of real mixed bacterial populations in nature.

Convergent genetic and expression data implicate immunity in Alzheimer's disease

Background: Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is heritable with 20 genes showing genome-wide association in the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP). To identify the biology underlying the disease, we extended these genetic data in a pathway analysis.

Methods: The ALIGATOR and GSEA algorithms were used in the IGAP data to identify associated functional pathways and correlated gene expression networks in human brain.

Results: ALIGATOR identified an excess of curated biological pathways showing enrichment of association. Enriched areas of biology included the immune response (P = 3.27 X 10(-12) after multiple testing correction for pathways), regulation of endocytosis (P = 1.31 X 10(-11)), cholesterol transport (P = 2.96 X 10(-9)), and proteasome-ubiquitin activity (P = 1.34 X 10(-6)). Correlated gene expression analysis identified four significant network modules, all related to the immune response (corrected P = .002-.05).

Conclusions: The immime response, regulation of endocytosis, cholesterol transport, and protein ubiquitination represent prime targets for AD therapeutics. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Alzheimer's Association.

Age-related prevalence and met need for correctable and uncorrectable near vision impairment in a multi-country study

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence, potential determinants, and proportion of met need for near vision impairment (NVI) correctable with refraction approximately 2 years after initial examination of a multi-country cohort. Design: Population-based, prospective cohort study. Participants: People aged ≥35 years examined at baseline in semi-rural (Shunyi) and urban (Guangzhou) sites in China; rural sites in Nepal (Kaski), India (Madurai), and Niger (Dosso); a semi-urban site (Durban) in South Africa; and an urban site (Los Angeles) in the United States. Methods: Near visual acuity (NVA) with and without current near correction was measured at 40 cm using a logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution near vision tumbling E chart. Participants with uncorrected binocular NVA ≤20/40 were tested with plus sphere lenses to obtain best-corrected binocular NVA. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of total NVI (defined as uncorrected NVA ≤20/40) and NVI correctable and uncorrectable to >20/40, and current spectacle wearing among those with bilateral NVA ≤20/63 improving to >20/40 with near correction (met need). Results: Among 13 671 baseline participants, 10 533 (77.2%) attended the follow-up examination. The prevalence of correctable NVI increased with age from 35 to 50-60 years and then decreased at all sites. Multiple logistic regression modeling suggested that correctable NVI was not associated with gender at any site, whereas more educated persons aged >54 years were associated with a higher prevalence of correctable NVI in Nepal and India. Although near vision spectacles were provided free at baseline, wear among those who could benefit was <40% at all but 2 centers (Guangzhou and Los Angeles). Conclusions: Prevalence of correctable NVI is greatest among persons of working age, and rates of correction are low in many settings, suggesting that strategies targeting the workplace may be needed.