Mapping the UK Webspace: Fifteen Years of British Universities on the Web

This paper maps the national UK web presence on the basis of an analysis of the .uk domain from 1996 to 2010. It reviews previous attempts to use web archives to understand national web domains and describes the dataset. Next, it presents an analysis of the .uk domain, including the overall number of links in the archive and changes in the link density of different second-level domains over time. We then explore changes over time within a particular second-level domain, the academic subdomain .ac.uk, and compare linking practices with variables, including institutional affiliation, league table ranking, and geographic location. We do not detect institutional affiliation affecting linking practices and find only partial evidence of league table ranking affecting network centrality, but find a clear inverse relationship between the density of links and the geographical distance between universities. This echoes prior findings regarding offline academic activity, which allows us to argue that real-world factors like geography continue to shape academic relationships even in the Internet age. We conclude with directions for future uses of web archive resources in this emerging area of research.Comment: To appear in the proceeding of WebSci 201

Carbon Removal and Optoelectronic Property Tuning in Copper Arsenic Sulfide Thin Films through Ligand Exchange and Alloying

Solution processed thin film solar cells are attractive alternatives to conventional energy sources due to low waste generation, flexibility in substrate choice, and scalability. The novel semiconductor Cu3AsS4 in the enargite phase has a near ideal band gap of 1.4 eV and has earth abundant constituent elements; yet single-junction solar cells have yielded low efficiencies due to a secondary carbonaceous phase present, among other issues. This carbonaceous phase may be eliminated by exchanging the carbonaceous ligands with molecular metal chalcogenides. To characterize the ligand exchanged particles, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used. Heat treatments of these nanoparticles yielded films with no residual carbonaceous phase. This, along with the control over properties such as the band gap, will draw attention to the material system and allow for further optimization for the use of the Cu-As-S material system in photovoltaic applications

CAROL - Robotic Catalyst Removal

PresentationWorleyParsons has developed the industry’s first commercial robot for catalyst unloading from refinery and petrochemical vessels. The development of CAROLTM (Catalyst Removal Amphirol) responds to increasingly stringent requirements to reduce human risk in inert confined-space entry. It is the culmination of a three-year development effort from conception and design to prototyping and testing and represents a potential game-changer in the industry. The number of fixed-bed catalytic vessels in the global refining and petrochemical industry is estimated to exceed 58,000. Based on current technology a rough estimate of the number of worker days of risk exposure due to confined-space entry during catalyst unloading exceeds 10,000 days per year. Current practices for catalyst removal from each of these vessels pose a risk to safety and/or the environment. CAROL provides an alternative option that minimizes risk to workers. CAROL is a simple, one-of-a kind machine that has been demonstrated to achieve vacuum catalyst removal without the placement of workers inside the vessel. A review of operating characteristics in a single bed test vessel is provided. Additionally, two case studies from commercial field trials are presented. This paper showcases the challenges associated with current catalyst removal techniques, and the inherent safety advantages that CAROL has shown. The presentation includes video of the test vehicle operating characteristics and discussion on industry acceptance progress and preliminary test results

Do Bilinguals Have an Advantage in Theory of Mind? A Meta-Analysis

Bilingualism might help children develop Theory of Mind, but the evidence is mixed. To address the disagreement in the literature, a meta-analysis was conducted on studies that compared bilingual and monolingual children on false belief and other Theory of Mind tests. The meta-analysis of 16 studies and 1,283 children revealed a small bilingual advantage (Cohen's d = 0.22, p = 0.050). A secondary analysis was conducted on studies (k = 8) that statistically adjusted the Theory of Mind scores to correct for a bilingual disadvantage in language proficiency. This secondary analysis indicated a medium-size bilingual advantage (Cohen's d = 0.58, p < 0.001). There was no evidence for publication bias in either analysis. Taken together, the results provide support for a beneficial effect of acquiring two languages on mental state reasoning. Explanations for this bilingual advantage, which include bilingual-monolingual differences in executive functioning, metalinguistic awareness, and socio-pragmatic abilities, are discussed

A Machine Learning Algorithm for Himawari-8 Total Suspended Solids Retrievals in the Great Barrier Reef

Remote sensing of ocean colour has been fundamental to the synoptic-scale monitoring of marine water quality in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). However, ocean colour sensors onboard low orbit satellites, such as the Sentinel-3 constellation, have insufficient revisit capability to fully resolve diurnal variability in highly dynamic coastal environments. To overcome this limitation, this work presents a physics-based coastal ocean colour algorithm for the Advanced Himawari Imager onboard the Himawari-8 geostationary satellite. Despite being designed for meteorological applications, Himawari-8 offers the opportunity to estimate ocean colour features every 10 min, in four broad visible and near-infrared spectral bands, and at 1 km2 spatial resolution. Coupled ocean–atmosphere radiative transfer simulations of the Himawari-8 bands were carried out for a realistic range of in-water and atmospheric optical properties of the GBR and for a wide range of solar and observation geometries. The simulated data were used to develop an inverse model based on artificial neural network techniques to estimate total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations directly from the Himawari-8 top-of-atmosphere spectral reflectance observations. The algorithm was validated with concurrent in situ data across the coastal GBR and its detection limits were assessed. TSS retrievals presented relative errors up to 75% and absolute errors of 2 mg L−1 within the validation range of 0.14 to 24 mg L−1, with a detection limit of 0.25 mg L−1. We discuss potential applications of Himawari-8 diurnal TSS products for improved monitoring and management of water quality in the GBR

SNP Assay Development for Linkage Map Construction, Anchoring Whole-Genome Sequence, and Other Genetic and Genomic Applications in Common Bean.

A total of 992,682 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was identified as ideal for Illumina Infinium II BeadChip design after sequencing a diverse set of 17 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) varieties with the aid of next-generation sequencing technology. From these, two BeadChips each with >5000 SNPs were designed. The BARCBean6K_1 BeadChip was selected for the purpose of optimizing polymorphism among market classes and, when possible, SNPs were targeted to sequence scaffolds in the Phaseolus vulgaris 14× genome assembly with sequence lengths >10 kb. The BARCBean6K_2 BeadChip was designed with the objective of anchoring additional scaffolds and to facilitate orientation of large scaffolds. Analysis of 267 F2 plants from a cross of varieties Stampede × Red Hawk with the two BeadChips resulted in linkage maps with a total of 7040 markers including 7015 SNPs. With the linkage map, a total of 432.3 Mb of sequence from 2766 scaffolds was anchored to create the Phaseolus vulgaris v1.0 assembly, which accounted for approximately 89% of the 487 Mb of available sequence scaffolds of the Phaseolus vulgaris v0.9 assembly. A core set of 6000 SNPs (BARCBean6K_3 BeadChip) with high genotyping quality and polymorphism was selected based on the genotyping of 365 dry bean and 134 snap bean accessions with the BARCBean6K_1 and BARCBean6K_2 BeadChips. The BARCBean6K_3 BeadChip is a useful tool for genetics and genomics research and it is widely used by breeders and geneticists in the United States and abroad

The Role and Responsibility of the Public

It\u27s the title of the conference—the court of public opinion—and the topic of this panel. Professor Christopher Schroeder of Duke Law School is joined by media and public policy professor Kim Gross, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice Scott Bullock, and litigation director of the ACLU Steve Shapiro to contemplate both the influence of the media on public opinion and ways to use the media as an advocacy tool. Gross discusses her research into the influence of media coverage on the public, followed by Bullock and Shapiro who explain the ways in which public interest law may choose to incorporate a media strategy into a larger legal battle. Questions/themes/discussion topics Media framing How media coverage can influence public opinion Factors that influence the media\u27s power How the Duke lacrosse case differs from typical crime coverage Legal strategies of public interest organizations Winning in the court of law, but losing in the court of public opinion Losing in the court of law, but winning in the court of public opinio

Plasma levels of mannan-binding lectin-associated serine proteases are increased in type 1 diabetes patients with insulin resistance.

Activation of the lectin pathway of the complement system, as demonstrated by elevated levels of mannan-binding lectin proteins (MBL), contributes to vascular pathology in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Vascular complications are greatest in T1D individuals with concomitant insulin resistance (IR), however, whether IR amplifies activiation of the lectin pathway in T1D is unknown. We pooled pre-treatment data from two RCTs and performed a cross-sectional analysis on 46 T1D individuals. We employed estimated glucose disposal rate (eGDR), a validated IR surrogate with cut-points of: 8.7 mg/kg/min to determine IR status, with lower eGDR values conferring higher degrees of IR. Plasma levels of MBL-associated proteases (MASP-1, MASP-2, MASP-3) and their regulatory protein MAp44 were compared among eGDR classifications. In a subset of 14 individuals, we assessed change in MASPs and MAp44 following improvement in IR. We found that MASP-1, MASP-2, MASP-3, and MAp44 levels increased in a stepwise fashion across eGDR thresholds with elevated MASPs and MAp44 levels conferring greater degrees of IR. In a subset of 14 patients, improvement in IR was associated with significant reductions in MASPs, but not MAp44, levels. In conclusion, IR in T1D amplifies levels of MASP-1/2/3 and their regulator MAp44, and improvement of IR normalises MASP-1/2/3 levels. Given that elevated levels of these proteins contribute to vascular pathology, amplification of the lectin pathway of the complement system may offer mechanistic insight into the relationship between IR and vascular complications in T1D

MODELING THE ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE/NUTSEDGE PEST COMPLEX: PERSPECTIVES FROM WEED SCIENCE, NEMATOLOGY AND STATISTICS

Previous research by the authors has established that southern root-knot nematode (SRKN, Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood) and yellow and purple nutsedge (YNS, Cyperus esculentus L. and PNS, C. rotundus L.) form a pest-complex that adversely affects a wide variety of crops in the southern and western U.S. These pests appear to have co-evolved a mutually-beneficial relationship that promotes the survival of both nematodes and weeds to the detriment of crops. Traditional management has usually targeted one pest at a time, but managing this pest complex requires that all members of the complex be managed simultaneously. A series of experiments was performed to determine if this specific pest complex could be managed through crop-rotation using a non-dormant M. incognita-resistant variety of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) which can aggressively compete with, and hence decrease, occurrence of both species of nutsedges (NS), and subsequently decrease SRKN by decreasing the availability of root systems of host plants. A previous journal article discussed predicting counts of SRKN second-stage juveniles (SRKN-J2) as a function of YNS and PNS plant counts from a two-year alfalfa rotation experiment, using the Poisson distribution and a scale parameter to handle problems of overdispersion. In this paper, we examine three generalizations of the Poisson distribution that allow for the count variance being larger than the mean count: the Generalized Poisson, the Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP), and the Poisson Hurdle. The ZIP and Hurdle Poisson distributions both account for zero counts as a separate part of the distribution, while the Generalized Poisson incorporates a separate parameter that increases the variance relative to the mean. Different biological scenarios are presented for which each of these three general Poisson distributions might be logically appropriate. In addition, we use the alfalfa rotation data to present comparisons of fitted regression models of the three general Poisson distributions to the results from the previous analysis using the Poisson. For this data, there was no single probability distribution that worked best for all six sampling dates (three in each of the two years). This is not surprising in that over time the alfalfa rotation was, as planned, decreasing both nutsedge and nematode counts, thus presenting a moving target for the modeling process