Non-Symbolic Fragmentation

This paper reports on the use of non-symbolic fragmentation of data for securing communications. Non-symbolic fragmentation, or NSF, relies on breaking up data into non-symbolic fragments, which are (usually irregularly-sized) chunks whose boundaries do not necessarily coincide with the boundaries of the symbols making up the data. For example, ASCII data is broken up into fragments which may include 8-bit fragments but also include many other sized fragments. Fragments are then separated with a form of path diversity. The secrecy of the transmission relies on the secrecy of one or more of a number of things: the ordering of the fragments, the sizes of the fragments, and the use of path diversity. Once NSF is in place, it can help secure many forms of communication, and is useful for exchanging sensitive information, and for commercial transactions. A sample implementation is described with an evaluation of the technology

A theoretical study of the mechanism of palladium-diphosphine catalysed copolymerisation of olefins and carbon monoxide

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Relations entre pression, débit, mouvement ds lèvres, et impédances amont et aval pour le trombone

International audienceThis experimental study investigates ten subjects playing the trombone in the lower and mid-high range of the instrument, B[2 to F4. Several techniques are combined to show the pressures and the impedance spectra upstream and downstream of the lips, the acoustic and total flows into the instrument , the component of the acoustic flow due to the sweeping motion of the lips, and high speed video images of the lip motion and aperture. The waveforms confirm that the inertance of the air in the channel between the lips is usually negligible. For lower notes, the flow caused by the sweeping motion of the lips contributes substantially to the total flow into the mouthpiece. The phase relations among the waveforms are qualitatively similar across the range studied, with no discontinuous behavior. The players normally played at frequencies about 1.1% above that of the impedance peak of the bore, but could play below as well as above this frequency and bend from above to below without discontinuity. The observed lip motion is consistent with two-degree-of-freedom models having varying effective lengths. These provide insight into why lips can auto-oscillate with an inertive or compliant load, or without a downstream resonator

The link between practice nurse training and asthma outcomes

This article details the results of a study undertaken to establish whether or not there is a link between the level of practice nurse training and clinical outcomes in asthma management. General practices within one health district voluntarily ‘opted in' to an asthma management initiative which involved clinical audit of 30 asthma patients. Thirty two (41%) practices submitted details on 954 asthma patients. Positive patient outcomes were associated with practices that had clinics organized by a specially trained asthma nurse (n=11). Fewer patients in this group suffered from asthma symptoms, they had fewer acute attacks, were given more aggressive short course systemic steroids and fewer patients lost days as a result of asthma, when compared with practices where the clinics were run by nurses who did not have the diploma qualification (n=14). The authors conclude that there is a strong case for recommending that all general practices should employ a nurse who has undertaken specialized training in asthma in order to improve patient management

Theorizing discourses of Zimbabwe, 1860-1900 : a Foucauldian analysis of colonial narratives.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.This study seeks to understand colonial narratives of Zimbabwe 1860-1900 as a locus of transgression and opposition. I investigate the range and complexity of discourses within the imperial project open to both European male and female writers, their shifts over time or within one or more texts. Narratives of the explorer, missionary, hunter and soldier are examined as a literary genre in which attempts were made to re-imagine the Western self through an encounter with Africans. I consider how positions from which the European in the colonies could speak and write were reformulated. This study will employ Foucauldian discourse theory in an analysis of the British 'civilizing mission' in Central Southern Africa. The Introduction examines existing historical and theoretical approaches in this field and argues for a particular use of Foucualt's insights and vocabulary. Chapter One is concerned with the way European explorers constituted notions of 'civilized nations' in Europe and 'primitive tribes' in Africa . I then question how this process of division and exclusion was reinforced by the mythography of an EI Dorado in the African interior. In Chapter Two I consider how Colonial Man was constituted in different ways by Victorian discourses of adventure, travel and conquest. I also attempt to account for the effects that followed the activation, within colonial culture, of structures of exclusion and division based on race or class. Chapter Three focuses on the economic dimension of a dissident LMS missionary and the sustained resistance to Western philanthropy among the Ndebele. I also examine the later Mashonaland mission where the missionary-administrator became instrumental in the division and control of Africans. In the final chapter I consider discursive formations which sought to constrain African resistance during the 1896-7 Chimurenga and the institutionalization of a settler order in the post-Chimurenga era

Research and in situ conservation of owl monkeys enhances environmental law enforcement at the Colombian-Peruvian border

This study reports on impacts of illegal trade in owl monkeys (Aotus nancymaae, A. vociferans) for the biomedical research market in the Colombian-Peruvian Amazonian border. Through freedom of information requests and interviews with hunters we found that 912 owl monkeys, including A. nancymaae captured in Peru, were trapped over a 3-month period in 2012 to supply a malaria research facility based in Leticia, Colombia, which had trapping permits for the use of only 800 A. vociferans annually yet experimentation took place using A. nancymaae. High levels of extraction in Peru have had population-level impacts with significantly lower densities of Aotus spp. (3-24individuals/km2) compared to Colombian sites with low hunting pressure (26-44individuals/km2). Post-experimental release of this species in Colombian territory has created a new distribution whose status and impacts on resident populations of A. vociferans remain unknown. The trapping method has also had environmental impact, with loss of over 65,000 trees (including sleeping sites), annually. As Aotus species are registered under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II, international trade requires official permission and evidence that extraction does not impact wild populations. However, no official records exist and CITES legislation has failed, due principally to a lack of appropriate monitoring by national authorities responsible for compliance. Of further concern is that we had previously documented and reported the illegal trade to the appropriate governmental authorities yet still no action was taken-as demonstrated by the continuing trade in 2013. Enforcement eventually occurred when a non-governmental organization initiated legal action against organizations responsible. A successful second instance ruling by the Colombian State's Council in 2013 revoked trapping permits. Using the trade in owl monkeys as a case study we consider implementation, compliance, and enforcement of CITES in the border area to identify mechanisms to improve enforcement of environmental legislation. Am. J. Primatol. 76:658-669, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Preparation of magnetic carboxymethylchitosan nanoparticles for adsorption of heavy metals ions

The remediation of metal and heavy metal contaminants from water ecosystems is a long-standing problem in the field of water management. The development of efficient, cost effective, and environmentally friendly natural polymer-based adsorbents is reported here. Magnetic chitosan (CS) and carboxymethylchitosan (CMC) nanocomposites have been synthesized by a simple one-step chemical coprecipitation method. The nanoparticles were assessed for the removal of Pb2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+ ions from aqueous solution. Kinetic and thermodynamic models were used to describe and understand the adsorption process of the ions onto the nanomaterials. The interactions between the ions and the biopolymer-based composites are reversible, which means that the nanoparticles can be regenerated in weakly acidic or EDTA containing solution without losing their activity and stability for water cleanup applications

Situation awareness measurement: A review of applicability for C4i environments

The construct of situation awareness (SA) has become a core theme within the human factors (HF) research community. Consequently, there have been numerous attempts to develop reliable and valid measures of SA but there is a lack of techniques developed specifically for the assessment of SA in command, control, communication, computers and intelligence (C4i) environments. During the design, development and evaluation of novel systems, technology and procedures, valid and reliable situation awareness measurement techniques are required for the assessment of individual and team SA, in order to determine the improvements (or in some cases decrements) resulting from proposed design and technological interventions. The paper presents a review of existing situation awareness measurement techniques for their suitability for use in the assessment of SA in C4i environments. Seventeen SA measures were evaluated against a set of HF methods criteria. It was concluded that current SA measurement techniques are inadequate by themselves for use in the assessment of SA in C4i environments, and a multiple-measure approach utilising different approaches is recommended

Humans do not always act selfishly: social identity and helping in emergency evacuation simulation

To monitor and predict the behaviour of a crowd, it is imperative that the technology used is based on an accurate understanding of crowd psychology. However, most simulations of evacuation scenarios rely on outdated assumptions about the way people behave or only consider the locomotion of pedestrian movement. We present a social model for pedestrian simulation based on self-categorisation processes during an emergency evacuation. We demonstrate the impact of this new model on the behaviour of pedestrians and on evacuation times. In addition to the Optimal Steps Model for locomotion, we add a realistic social model of collective behaviour