Spatial and Individual Influence on Commuting Behaviour in Germany

In regional planning literature it is often argued that regional deconcentration process and urban sprawl tend to increase the amount and distance of commuting (Vandersmissen et al. 2003). Supported by improved traffic infrastructure and falling transport costs the spatial division of labour and housing location extends the travel-to-work areas and allows to compensate for locational disadvantages of local labour markets (Moss et al. 2004). On the other hand, the contrary hypothesis is postulated, too. Since both working and living places are deconcentrating shorter commuting distances may happen because centre-orientated connections are substituted by intra-peripheral commuting patterns (Gordon; Richardson 1991: 419). The intention of the paper is to analyse the influence of spatial structure on commuting behaviour of employees: e.g. does commuting behaviour differ between type of regions and what are the reasons for these differences? There are several ways how the locational conditions of the living area may influence the commuting behaviour. Firstly, the more jobs are available, the less is c.p. the necessity for long-distance commuting. Thus, the lower the regional density of jobs the more frequent and longer commuting should be expected. In addition, the variety of local jobs should have an influence on the commuting behaviour. As in rural regions less varied jobs are available, there should be a pressure on the local residents to increase their job opportunities by extending their commuting distance. However, apart from regional influences, individual characteristics may effect commuting behaviour, too. For example, highly qualified employees are expected to commute to longer distances since they could be more interested in realizing their investment in human capital. Conversely, long-distance commuting should be c.p. less attractive for part-time employees because of the less favourable relation between work and commuting time. The empirical analysis consists of two parts: Firstly, regional differences in commuting behaviour are analyzed. The focus of investigation lies on regions and the relationship between the regional characteristics of living places and the regional amount of commuting. The second part includes individual influences. As they can only observed at the level of individuals, the focus of investigation changes from regions to individuals: In addition to regional effects the commuting behaviour of individuals is explained by individual characteristics such as education or occupation. The data base is given by the social security statistics. It covers all employees in the social security system and contains information about each individual. As data on both the living and the working places are available, the statistics allows a much greater regional differentiation than the frequently used surveys. The other information relate to some personal characteristics (like sex or education) as well as to the occupation such as full-/part-time or the sector of employment.

Highly elevated serum levels of CA 19-9 in choledocholithiasis: a case report

We present a case of a 79-year-old woman admitted to our hospital with pain in the right upper abdominal quadrate radiated to the back, jaundice, fever and chills. The laboratory tests showed serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels of 99.070 U/ml (normal values: 0-37 U/ml). The rest of the biochemistry showed alkaline phosphatase of 550 IU/l, direct bilirubin: 17.5 mg/dl, total bilirubin: 28.4 mg/dl. Abdominal sonography demonstrated dilated common bile duct. Two weeks postoperatively, the carbohydrate antigen 19-9 fell to 970 U/ml and returned within normal range (31 U/ml) two months later. Furthermore, the magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography performed postoperatively demonstrated normal configuration of the biliary tree and the common bile duct

Tuning the spontaneous light emission in phoxonic cavities

The modulation of spontaneous light emission of active centers through elastic waves in Si/SiO_2 multilayer phoxonic structures that support dual photonic-phononic localized modes, in the bulk or at the surface, is studied by means of rigorous full electrodynamic and elastodynamic calculations. Our results show that strong dynamic modulation of the spontaneous emission can be achieved through an enhanced acousto-optic interaction when light and elastic energy are simultaneously localized in the same region

Πολιτικές επιπτώσεις των καταστροφών: Όταν οι φυσικές/ανθρωπογενείς καταστροφές γίνονται πολιτικές καταστροφές

Οι φυσικές/ανθρωπογενείς καταστροφές έχουν πολλές άμεσες και έμμεσες συνέπειες. Ανάμεσα στις πολλές έμμεσες συνέπειες είναι και οι πολιτικές κρίσεις – καταστροφές. Σε όλη την ιστορία έχουμε πολλά τέτοια παραδείγματα: 1) την έκρηξη του ηφαιστείου της Σαντορίνης, η οποία είχε σαν αποτέλεσμα την καταστροφή του Μινωϊκού Πολιτισμού (αν και οι επιστήμονες δεν έχουν κατασταλάξει για το αν αυτή προκλήθηκε από τσουνάμι, ηφαιστειακή στάχτη ή καταστροφή του εμπορίου κ.α.), 2) τον σεισμό της Λισαβόνας το 1755 που ήταν η αρχή της αμφισβήτησης της θεοκρατίας και η λεγόμενη «οργή του Θεού» άρχισε να θεωρείται απλώς ένα γεωφυσικό φαινόμενο, γεγονότα που οδήγησαν στην παρακμή της Ιεράς Εξέτασης και την έλευση του ορθολογισμού, 3) τις φωτιές της Μεσσηνίας το καλοκαίρι του 2007, που το κόμμα της Νέας Δημοκρατίας για να μην χάσει έναν παραδοσιακά δικό της νομό κατέβασε σαν υποψήφιο τον μελλοντικό πρόεδρό της, Αντώνη Σαμαρά. Βλέπουμε λοιπόν ότι οι φυσικές/ανθρωπογενείς καταστροφές μπορεί να έχουν σαν αποτέλεσμα μικρές ή και μεγάλες πολιτικές αναταράξεις κι αυτό που πρέπει να εξετάσουμε είναι σε ποιο βαθμό η όποια καταστροφή επηρεάζει την έλευση της πολιτικής κρίσης, αν ήταν η αιτία για την όποια αλλαγή ή αν αποτέλεσε απλώς την αφορμή. Η βιβλιογραφία είναι ατελείωτη για ένα τέτοιο θέμα καθώς αφορά μια έμμεση επίπτωση των φυσικών/ανθρωπογενών καταστροφών, άρα αφορά μια μακροπρόθεσμη επίπτωση που έγκειται στην κριτική ματιά σαν ένα συνοδό αποτέλεσμα μη μετρήσιμο, υποθετικό, μη τεκμηριωμένο και εύκολα αμφισβητήσιμο. Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία θα προσπαθήσουμε να αποδείξουμε, όσο αυτό είναι δυνατόν, ότι οι φυσικές/ανθρωπογενείς καταστροφές μπορούν να φέρουν και πολιτικές κρίσεις και αυτές να είναι μετρήσιμες, αποδεδειγμένες και στον μέγιστο αδιαμφισβήτητο βαθμό. O σεισμός του Κόμπε της Ιαπωνίας το 1995 κόστισε πάνω από 130 δισ. δολάρια και οι ζημιές ήταν τόσο μεγάλες που οδήγησαν έναν τόσο υπάκουο λαό στο σημείο να κατηγορεί την κυβέρνησή του για καθυστέρηση στην απόκριση και να ζητάει να λάβει βοήθεια από την ιαπωνική μαφία, την Γιακούζα. Αυτό το γεγονός αποτέλεσε φοβερό πολιτικό πλήγμα για την Ιαπωνική κυβέρνηση, που στην προσπάθεια της να ανατρέψει αυτό το αρνητικό κλίμα άλλαξε πλήρως την Πολιτική Προστασίας της χώρας και κήρυξε την μέρα του σεισμού ως «Ημέρα Πρόληψης Καταστροφών και Εθελοντισμού».Natural / man-made disasters have many direct and indirect consequences. Among the many indirect consequences are political crises - disasters. Throughout history, we have many examples: 1) the eruption of the volcano of Santorini, which has resulted in the destruction of Minoan civilization (although scientists have not settled on whether it was caused by tsunami, volcanic ash or trade disaster etc.), 2) the Lisbon earthquake in 1755, which was the beginning of the contestation of theocracy and the so-called «God's wrath» began to be considered just a geophysical phenomenon, events that led to the decline of the Holy Examination and the advent of rationality, 3) the fires of Messinia in the summer of 2007, when the New Republic party for not losing a traditionally winning area got its own candidate as the future chairman Antonis Samaras. We see therefore that natural / man-made disasters can result in small or even great political turbulence and what we need to consider is to what extent has any disaster affected the coming of the political crisis, if it was the cause of any change or whether it was just the occasion. The bibliography is endless for such an issue as it relates to an indirect impact of natural / man-made disasters, therefore it is concerned as a long – term impact which is subjected to critical view as a session result that is not measurable, hypothetical, unjustified, and easily questionable. In this diploma thesis we will try to prove, as far as possible, that natural / man-made disasters can bring political crises and that they are measurable, proven and to the utmost indisputable extent. Japan's Kobe earthquake in 1995 cost over 130 billion dollars and the damage was so great that it has led such solemn people to accuse their government of delaying the response and seek assistance from the Japanese Mafia, Yakuza. This was a terrible political blow for the Japanese government, which in its attempt to overthrow this negative climate completely changed the country's protection policy and declared the day of the earthquake as a "Day of Disaster Prevention and Volunteerism Day"

ReForm: A Tool for Rapid Requirements Formalization

Formal methods practices can sometimes be challenging to adopt in industrial environments. On the other hand, the need for formalization and verification in the design of complex systems is now more evident than ever. To the end of easing integration of formal methods in industrial model based system engineering workflows, UTRC Ireland has developed a tool aiming to render requirements formalization as effortless as possible to the industrial engineer. The developed approach is an end-to-end solution, starting with natural language requirements as input and going all the way down to auto-generated monitors in MATLAB / Simulink. We employ natural language processing and machine learning techniques for (semi-)automatic pattern extraction from requirements, which drastically reduces the required formalization workload for both legacy and new requirements. For monitor generation, we provide our own approach which outperforms existing state-of-the-art tools by orders of magnitude in some cases

Metagenomics : tools and insights for analyzing next-generation sequencing data derived from biodiversity studies

Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) have allowed significant breakthroughs in microbial ecology studies. This has led to the rapid expansion of research in the field and the establishment of “metagenomics”, often defined as the analysis of DNA from microbial communities in environmental samples without prior need for culturing. Many metagenomics statistical/computational tools and databases have been developed in order to allow the exploitation of the huge influx of data. In this review article, we provide an overview of the sequencing technologies and how they are uniquely suited to various types of metagenomic studies. We focus on the currently available bioinformatics techniques, tools, and methodologies for performing each individual step of a typical metagenomic dataset analysis. We also provide future trends in the field with respect to tools and technologies currently under development. Moreover, we discuss data management, distribution, and integration tools that are capable of performing comparative metagenomic analyses of multiple datasets using well-established databases, as well as commonly used annotation standards

New constraints on extensional tectonics and seismic hazard in northern Attica, Greece: the case of the Milesi Fault

Northern Attica in Greece is characterized by a set of north dipping, subparallel normal faults. These faults were considered to have low tectonic activity, based on historical earthquake reports, instrumental seismicity, and slip rate estimates. This study presents new data for one of these faults, the Milesi Fault. We run GIS based geomorphological analyses on fault offset distribution, field mapping of post-glacial fault scarps, and ground penetrating radar profiling to image hanging-wall deformation. The first palaeoseismological trenching in this part of Greece allowed obtaining direct data on slip rates and palaeoearthquakes. The trenching revealed downthrown and buried palaeosols, which were dated by radiocarbon. The results of our investigations show that the slip rates are higher than previously thought and that at least four palaeoearthquakes with magnitudes of around M6.2 occurred during the last 4,000-6,000 years. We calculate an average recurrence interval of 1,000-1,500 years and a maximum throw rate of ~0.4-0.45 mm/a. Based on the new geological earthquake data we developed a seismic hazard scenario, which also incorporates geological site effects. Intensities up to IX must be expected for Northern Attica and the south- eastern part of Evia. Earthquake environmental effects like liquefaction and mass movements are also likely to occur. This scenario is in contrast to the official Greek seismic hazard zonation that is based on historical records and assigns different hazard zones for municipalities that will experience the same intensity by earthquakes on the Milesi Fault. We show that the seismic hazard is likely underestimated in our study area and emphasize the need to incorporate geological information in such assessments.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggv44

Candida albicans keratitis in an immunocompromised patient

H Mohammed J Hassan1, Theocharis Papanikolaou2, Georgios Mariatos1, Amany Hammad3, Hala Hassan41Ophthalmology Department, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, South Yorkshire, England, UK; 2Ophthalmology Department, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, England, UK; 3Ophthalmology Department, Rotherham Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, England, UK; 4Corneal and External Disease Service, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, England, UKPurpose: When investigating a case of unexplained corneal ulceration, we need to think of fungal infection and any predisposing factors.Methods: A case study of a corneal ulceration in a patient who was HIV positive with a devastating visual outcome.Results: Therapeutic corneal graft was necessary due to corneal perforation. Immunocompromised state of patient was retrospectively diagnosed.Conclusions: Candida albicans keratitis is an opportunistic infection of a compromised cornea, and sometimes unknowingly compromised host, which can be initially misdiagnosed. Despite intensive antifungal therapy, occasionally patients require corneal grafting to improve vision, and before it is possible to establish an accurate diagnosis.Keywords: fungal keratitis, corneal perforation, keratoplasty, human immunodeficiency virus, HI

Water Buffaloes grazing behaviour at the Lake Kerkini National Park, Northern Greece

The monthly variation of Greek water buffaloes’ grazing behaviour was investigated at the Lake Kerkini National Park in Greece. Direct observations were carried out on six female buffaloes for two consecutive days every month for a one-year period, and the time spent (in minutes) on their grazing-related activities (feeding, moving, wallowing, standing, ruminating, drinking, and lying) was recorded. Moreover, social and aggressive interactions and selfgrooming were recorded as number of events. Also, the daily distance travelled by buffaloes was recorded with a handheld GPS. Buffaloes travelled on average 6.9 km/day, and they walked their longest distance in June (10.7 km/day) and their shortest in September (2.9 km/day). They spent more time (P<0.05) on feeding (309.2 min/day) compared to moving (121.7 min/day), wallowing (27.9 min/day), standing (20.2 min/day), ruminating (15.4 min/day), drinking (4.7 min/day) and lying (4.2 min/day). Greek water buffaloes seem to be sociable rather than aggressive animals as they devote to these activities on average 18.2 vs 0.5 events/day. We can conclude that the animals adjust their grazing behaviour to climatic conditions and the availability of forage resources