Combinations of Prompt and Target Response Modalities and Their Impact on Emergent Relations and Teaching Efficiency.

In the present study, native Spanish speakers were taught a small English vocabulary (Spanish-to-English intraverbals). Four different training conditions were created by combining textual and echoic prompts with written and vocal target responses. The efficiency of each training condition was examined by analysing emergent relations (i.e., tacts) and the total number of sessions required to reach mastery under each training condition. All combinations of prompt-response modalities generated increases in correct responding on tests for emergent relations but when target responses were written, mastery criterion was reached faster. Results are discussed in terms of efficiency for emergent relations and recommendations for future directions are provided.

Differential efficiency of the endocytic machinery in tonic and phasic synapses

Efficient synaptic vesicle membrane recycling is one of the key factors required to sustain neurotransmission. We investigated potential differences in the compensatory endocytic machineries in two glutamatergic synapses with phasic and tonic patterns of activity in the lamprey spinal cord. Post-embedding immunocytochemistry demonstrated that proteins involved in synaptic vesicle recycling, including dynamin, intersectin, and synapsin, occur at higher levels (labeling per vesicle) in tonic dorsal column synapses than in phasic reticulospinal synapses. Synaptic vesicle protein 2 occurred at similar levels in the two types of synapse. After challenging the synapses with high potassium stimulation for 30 min the vesicle pool in the tonic synapse was maintained at a normal level, while that in the phasic synapse was partly depleted along with expansion of the plasma membrane and accumulation of clathrin-coated intermediates at the periactive zone. Thus, our results indicate that an increased efficiency of the endocytic machinery in a synapse may be one of the factors underlying the ability to sustain neurotransmission at high rates.

Efficiency analysis of flat plate collectors for building facade integration

A theoretical approach has been used to evaluate the performance of facade integrated solar collectors based on the physical collector parameters such as absorber plate absorptance, transmittance of the glazed cover plate and insulation thickness. A 1D steady state model, based on the Hottel Whillier Bliss equation, was employed to determine the effect of changing parameters to meet façade integration criteria.

Efficiency of starfish mopping in reducing predation on cultivated benthic mussels (Mytilus edulis Linnaeus)

The starfish, Asterias rubens, preys on mussels (Mytilus edulis), which are relaid during benthic cultivation processes. Starfish mops, a modified dredge used to remove starfish from mussel cultivation beds, are used in several fisheries today but few studies have attempted to quantify the effectiveness of this method in removing starfish. This study tested the effectiveness of starfish mopping to reduce starfish numbers on mussel beds in Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland. Video surveys to determine starfish densities on mussel beds were conducted between October 2013 and December 2014 using a GoPro™ camera attached to starfish mops. This allowed us to firstly test whether starfish density varied among mussel beds and to investigate how fluctuations in starfish numbers may vary in relationship to starfish ecology. We then estimated the efficiency of mops at removing starfish from mussel beds by comparing densities of starfish on beds, as determined using video footage, with densities removed by mops. Starfish abundance was similar among different mussel beds during this study. The efficiency of mops at removing estimated starfish aggregations varied among mussel beds (4–78%) and the mean reduction in starfish abundance was 27% (± SE 3.2). The effectiveness of mops at reducing starfish abundance was shown to decline as the initial density of starfish on mussel beds increased. It can be recommended that the exact deployment technique of mops on mussel beds should vary depending on the density of starfish locally. The area of mussel bed covered by mops during a tow, for example, should be less when starfish densities are high, to maintain efficiencies throughout the full length of tows and to optimise the removal of starfish from mussel beds. This strategy, by reducing abundance of a major predator, could assist in reducing losses in the mussel cultivation industry.

Joint Optimization of Area Spectral Efficiency and Delay over PPP Interfered Ad-Hoc Networks

To evaluate the performance of the co-channel transmission based communication, we propose a new metric for area spectral efficiency (ASE) of interference limited ad-hoc network by assuming that the nodes are randomly distributed according to a Poisson point processes (PPP). We introduce a utility function, U = ASE/delay and derive the optimal ALOHA transmission probability p and the SIR threshold τ that jointly maximize the ASE and minimize the local delay. Finally, numerical results have been conducted to confirm that the joint optimization based on the U metric achieves a significant performance gain compared to conventional systems.

A Tractable Approach to Uplink Spectral Efficiency of Two-Tier Massive MIMO Cellular HetNets

This letter investigates the uplink spectral efficiency (SE) of a two-tier cellular network, where massive multiple-input multiple-output macro base stations are overlaid with dense small cells. Macro user equipments (MUEs) and small cells with single user equipment uniformly scattered are modeled as two independent homogeneous Poisson point processes. By applying stochastic geometry, we analyze the SE of the multiuser uplink at a macro base station that employs a zero-forcing detector and we obtain a novel lower bound as well as its approximation. According to the simple and near-exact analytical expression, we observe that the ideal way to improve the SE is by increasing the MUE density and the base station antennas synchronously rather than increasing them individually. Furthermore, a large value of path loss exponent has a positive effect on the SE due to the reduced aggregated interference.

Improved Efficiency for Partial Oxidation of Methane by Controlled Copper Deposition on Surface-Modified ZSM-5

The mono(μ-oxo) dicopper cores present in the pores of Cu-ZSM-5 are active for the partial oxidation of methane to methanol. However, copper on the external surface reduces the ratio of active, selective sites to unselective sites. More efficient catalysts are obtained by controlling the copper deposition during synthesis. Herein, the external exchange sites of ZSM-5 samples were passivated by bis(trimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) followed by calcination, promoting selective deposition of intraporous copper during aqueous copper ion exchange. At an optimum level of 1–2 wt % SiO2, IR studies showed a 64 % relative reduction in external copper species and temperature-programmed oxidation analysis showed an associated increase in the formation of methanol compared with unmodified Cu-ZSM-5 samples. It is, therefore, reported that the modified zeolites contained a significantly higher proportion of active, selective copper species than their unmodified counterparts with activity for partial methane oxidation to methanol.

Latent vs. Observed Variables: Analysis of Irrigation Water Efficiency Using SEM and SUR

In this paper we compare conceptualising single factor technical and allocative efficiency as indicators of a single latent variable, or as separate observed variables. In the former case, the impacts on both efficiency types are analysed by means of structural equation modeling (SEM), in the latter by seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). We compare estimation results of the two approaches based on a dataset on single factor irrigation water use efficiency obtained from a survey of 360 farmers in the Guanzhong Plain, China. The main methodological findings are that SEM allows identification of the most important dimension of irrigation water efficiency (technical efficiency) via comparison of their factor scores and reliability. Moreover, it reduces multicollinearity and attenuation bias. It thus is preferable to SUR. The SEM estimates show that perception of water scarcity is the most important positive determinant of both types of efficiency, followed by irrigation infrastructure, income and water price. Furthermore, there is a strong negative reverse effect from efficiency on perception.

What a girl's gotta do: the labor of the biopolitical celebrity in austerity Britain

This article debunks the widespread view that young female celebrities, especially those who rise to fame through reality shows and other forms of media-orchestrated self-exposure, dodge “real” work out of laziness, fatalism, and a misguided sense of entitlement. Instead, the authors argue that becoming a celebrity in a neoliberal economy such as that of the United Kingdom, where austerity measures disproportionately disadvantage the young, women, and the poor, is not as irregular or exceptional a choice as previously thought, especially since the precariousness of celebrity earning power adheres to the current demands of the neoliberal economy on its workforce. What is more, becoming a celebrity involves different forms of labor that are best described as biopolitical, since such labor fully involves and consumes the human body and its capacities as a living organism. Weight gain and weight loss, pregnancy, physical transformation through plastic surgery, physical symptoms of emotional distress, and even illness and death are all photographically documented and supplemented by extended textual commentary, usually with direct input from the celebrity, reinforcing and expanding on the visual content. As well as casting celebrity work as labor, the authors also maintain that the workings of celebrity should always be examined in the context of wider cultural, social and real economies.

Public-private partnerships and efficiency in public procurement of primary healthcare infrastructure: a qualitative research in the NHS UK

Aim There is growing interest in the contribution of public-private partnerships (PPPs) bridging the shortage of financial resources and management expertise in developing public healthcare infrastructure. However, few studies have evidenced PPPs’ ability in increasing efficiency in public procurement of primary healthcare infrastructure. The aim of this study was to assess to what extent PPPs would increase efficiency in public procurement of primary healthcare facilities. Subject and Methods A qualitative analysis, adopting a realistic research evaluation method, used data collected from a purposive sample of public (n=23) and private sector staff (n=2) directly involved in the UK National Health Service Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT). Results We find a positive association of LIFT helping to bridge public sector capital shortages for developing primary care surgeries. LIFT is negatively associated with inefficient procurement because it borrows finance from private banks, leaving public agencies paying high interest rates. The study shows that some contextual factors and mechanisms in LIFT play a major part in obstructing public staff from increasing procurement efficiency. Conclusion PPP’s ability to increase efficiency may be determined by contextual factors and mechanisms that restrict discretion over critical decisions by frontline public sector staff. Developing their capacity in monitoring PPP activities may make partnerships more efficient.

Using data envelopment analysis to assess the efficiency of social security systems: the case of income protection in old age

As the number of pensioners in Europe rises relative to the number of people in employment, the gap between the contributions and the benefit levels increases, and consequently ensuring adequate pensions on a sustainable basis has become a major challenge. This study aims to explore the potential of using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique in order to access the efficiency of the income protection in old age, one of the most important branches of Social Security. To this effect, we collected data from the 27 European Union Member States regarding this branch. Our results show important differences among the Member States and stress the importance of identifying best practices to achieve more adequate, sustainable and modernised pension systems. Our results also highlight the importance of using DEA as a decision support tool for policy makers.

Development of a Piggybac based direct reprogramming system for derivation of integration free induced pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSc) have great potential for applications in regenerative medicine, disease modeling and basic research. Several methods have been developed for their derivation. The original method of Takahashi and Yamanaka involved the use of retroviral vectors which result in insertional mutagenesis, presence in the genome of potential oncogenes and effects of residual transgene expression on differentiation bias of each particular iPSc line. Other methods have been developed, using different viral vectors (adenovirus and Sendai virus), transient plasmid transfection, mRNA transduction, protein transduction and use of small molecules. However, these methods suffer from low efficiencies; can be extremely labor intensive, or both. An additional method makes use of the piggybac transposon, which has the advantage of inserting its payload into the host genome and being perfectly excised upon re-expression of the transposon transposase. Briefly, a policistronic cassette expressing Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and C-Myc flanked by piggybac terminal repeats is delivered to the cells along with a plasmid transiently expressing piggybac transposase. Once reprogramming occurs, the cells are re-transfected with transposase and subclones free of tranposon integrations screened for. The procedure is therefore very labor intensive, requiring multiple manipulations and successive rounds of cloning and screening. The original method for reprogramming with the the PiggyBac transposon was created by Woltjen et al in 2009 (schematized here) and describes a process with which it is possible to obtain insert-free iPSc. Insert-free iPSc enables the establishment of better cellular models of iPS and adds a new level of security to the use of these cells in regenerative medicine. Due to the fact that it was based on several low efficiency steps, the overall efficiency of the method is very low (<1%). Moreover, the stochastic transfection, integration, excision and the inexistence of an active way of selection leaves this method in need of extensive characterization and screening of the final clones. In this work we aime to develop a non-integrative iPSc derivation system in which integration and excision of the transgenes can be controlled by simple media manipulations, avoiding labor intensive and potentially mutagenic procedures. To reach our goal we developed a two vector system which is simultaneously delivered to original population of fibroblasts. The first vector, Remo I, carries the reprogramming cassette and GFP under the regulation of a constitutive promoter (CAG). The second vector, Eneas, carries the piggybac transposase associated with an estrogen receptor fragment (ERT2), regulated in a TET-OFF fashion, and its equivalent reverse trans-activator associated with a positive-negative selection cassette under a constitutive promoter. We tested its functionality in HEK 293T cells. The protocol is divided in two the following steps: 1) Obtaining acceptable transfection efficiency into human fibroblasts. 2) Testing the functionality of the construct 3) Determining the ideal concentration of DOX for repressing mPB-ERT2 expression 4) Determining the ideal concentration of TM for transposition into the genome 5) Determining the ideal Windows of no DOX/TM pulse for transposition into the genome 6) 3, 4 and 5) for transposition out of the genome 7) Determination of the ideal concentration of GCV for negative selection We successfully demonstrated that ENEAS behaved as expected in terms of DOX regulation of the expression of mPB-ERT2. We also demonstrated that by delivering the plasmid into 293T HEK cells and manipulating the levels of DOX and TM in the medium, we could obtain puromycin resistant lines. The number of puromycin resistant colonies obtained was significantly higher when DOX as absent, suggesting that the colonies resulted from transposition events. Presence of TM added an extra layer of regulation, albeit weaker. Our PCR analysis, while not a clean as would be desired, suggested that transposition was indeed occurring, although a background level of random integration could not be ruled out. Finally, our attempt to determine whether we could use GVC to select clones that had successfully mobilized PB out of the genome was unsuccessful. Unexpectedly, 293T HEK cells that had been transfected with ENEAS and selected for puromycin resistance were insensitive to GCV.

Anderson County's labor potential: with a projection for the future

This report by the State Development Board and the Anderson Chamber of Commerce is a survey of present labor availability and future labor supply in Anderson County. Statistics include employment status, school enrollment including college, projection of school dropouts, and projection of new entries in work force with and without high school education.

South Carolina Energy Office pre-approved Energy Efficiency Products and Measures

South Carolina law (48-52-640) requires state agencies to submit a disclaimer statement to the State Energy Office with its annual report stating that it did not purchase an energy conservation product that had not been certified by the State Energy Office. This is a list of preapproved products, retrofits and upgrades.