We consider the determination of optimal portfolios under the threat of a crash. Our main assumption is that upper bounds for both the crash size and the number of crashes occurring before the time horizon are given. We make no probabilistic assumption on the crash size or the crash time distribution. The optimal strategies in the presence of a crash possibility are characterized by a balance problem between insurance against the crash and good performance in the crash-free situation. Explicit solutions for the log-utility case are given. Our main finding is that constant portfolios are no longer optimal ones.


The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has experienced a decline in membership in recent years generating much debate about the professional commitment of a new generation of athletic trainers. The purpose of this study therefore was to compare the contributing factors of job satisfaction and intention to leave athletic training in Certified Athletic Trainers (ATs) employed in NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions. A web-based questionnaire was utilized to examine both job satisfaction and intention to leave the profession of athletic training. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) consisted of 36 items based on a 6-point Likert scale. The JSS produced 8 subscales of job satisfaction which were used for all data analysis. The Intention to Leave Survey (ITLS) was an original instrument consisting of 7 items. A 4-point Likert scale was designed to determine a respondent's intent to leave and to what degree they have actively pursued such intentions. All NATA certified members in district 3 employed in a college or university job setting were solicited via e-mail for participation in the study. In addition, 60 ATs from each of the remaining nine NATA districts who met the inclusion criteria were also solicited. There was a follow-up solicitation after two weeks for a total of two solicitations over a three week data collection period. Only respondents that were employed in clinical or dual appointment were included in the data analysis. 191 ATs completed all sections of the survey. The subjects represented NCAA division I (n=106, 55.5%), division II (n=37, 19.4%), and division III (n=48, 25.1%). In addition, subjects were also divided by job title into head athletic trainer (n=63, 33.0%), assistant/associate athletic trainer (n=103, 53.9%), and graduate assistant/intern athletic trainer (n=25, 13.1%). Separate factorial ANOVAs compared the mean scores of each of the 8 JSS subscales by NCAA division and job title. A factorial ANOVA was also used to compare the mean scores of the ITLS and NCAA division and job title. A step-wise multiple regression was used to determine the strength of the relationships between the 8 JSS subscales and the total ITLS score. The alpha level was set at .05. The factorial ANOVAs revealed significant differences for job title in the JSS subscales of fringe benefits (p= .001) and operating conditions (p=.000). Significance was also seen in the interaction between NCAA division and job title in the JSS subscale of nature of work (p= .043). The multiple regression revealed the JSS subscales of nature of work (r= -.45), pay/rewards (r= -.43), and promotion (r= -.41) were the most significant indicators of intention to leave. The results of this study suggest there is a strong negative correlation between various facets job satisfaction and intent to leave the profession of athletic training. NCAA division seems to have no impact on an individual's job satisfaction or intention to leave the profession. In addition, only fringe benefits and operating conditions seem to be affected by job title. These results suggest that ATs have similar levels of job satisfaction regardless of NCAA division and their job title is not a major factor in job satisfaction.


Jane Waldfogel, Terry-Ann Craigie, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn review recent studies that use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) to examine why children who grow up in single-mother and cohabiting families fare worse than children born into married-couple households. They also present findings from their own new research.Analysts have investigated five key pathways through which family structure might influence child well-being: parental resources, parental mental health, parental relationship quality, parenting quality, and father involvement. It is also important to consider the role of the selection of different types of men and women into different family types, as well as family stability. But analysts remain uncertain how each of these elements shapes children's outcomes.In addition to providing an overview of findings from other studies using FFCWS, Waldfogel, Craigie, and Brooks-Gunn report their own estimates of the effect of a consistently defined set of family structure and stability categories on cognitive, behavioral, and health outcomes of children in the FFCWS study at age five. The authors find that the links between fragile families and child outcomes are not uniform. Family instability, for example, seems to matter more than family structure for cognitive and health outcomes, whereas growing up with a single mother (whether that family structure is stable or unstable over time) seems to matter more than instability for behavior problems. Overall, their results are consistent with other research findings that children raised by stable single or cohabiting parents are at less risk than those raised by unstable single or cohabiting parents.The authors conclude by pointing to three types of policy reforms that could improve outcomes for children. The first is to reduce the share of children growing up in fragile families (for example, through reducing the rate of unwed births or promoting family stability among unwed parents). The second is to address the pathways that place such children at risk (for example, through boosting resources in single-parent homes or fostering father involvement in fragile families). The third is to address directly the risks these children face (for example, through high-quality early childhood education or home-visiting policies).


A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.


Learning is a developmental journey, and geography curriculum plays a key role in supporting student progression. In this article, we argue that the concept of 'self-authorship' is a useful guiding principle in supporting curriculum revision and reform. A series of international case studies illustrate how self-authorship can be enacted in different ways within geography curricula in a range of contexts. The role of a range of collaborators and the co-curriculum in supporting the student journey are highlighted. The article concludes by suggesting that the key strength of the concept is its non-prescriptive nature.


Many DJs, gigging musicians, and electronic music producers understand how to play their instruments or make music on the computer, but they lack the basic knowledge of music theory needed to take their music-making to the next level and compose truly professional tracks. Beneath all the enormously different styles of modern electronic music lie certain fundamentals of the musical language that are exactly the same no matter what kind of music you write. It is very important to acquire an understanding of these fundamentals if you are to develop as a musician and music producer. Put simply, you need to know what you are doing with regard to the music that you are writing. Music Theory for Computer Musicians explains these music theory fundamentals in the most simple and accessible way possible. Concepts are taught using the MIDI keyboard environment and todays computer composing and recording software. By reading this book and following the exercises contained within it, you, the aspiring music producer/computer musician, will find yourself making great progress toward understanding and using these fundamentals of the music language. The result will be a great improvement in your ability to write and produce your own original music!


In this Article, Professors Goodman, Caldwell, and Chase address prosecutorial arbitrariness of charging decisions in capital cases. After outlining the constitutional limits on imposing the death penalty established as a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia, the authors discuss the study that they conducted on behalf of the California Commission for the Fair Administration of Justice (CCFAJ). In this study, the authors surveyed California district attorneys to learn more about how they decide whether to seek the death penalty in qualifying cases, and sought statistical information about each death-eligible case. The response to this survey by the California district attorneys offices, as outlined in this Article and discussed more fully in the authors' report to the CCFAJ, was limited, with nearly one-third failing to provide any response at all, and only fourteen of the fifty-eight offices completing the survey in full.The authors then provide an expanded analysis of prosecutorial arbitrariness in charging decisions in all thirty-seven U.S. states that still allow death sentences. They focused on each state's statutory scheme setting forth criteria for seeking the death penalty, and determined that the more expansive the list of death-qualifying criteria is, the greater the potential for prosecutorial abuse of discretion in filing capital cases. The authors also provide the following statistics for each state between 1996 and 2006: state population, number of statutory foundational death qualifiers, number of death sentences, number of sentences to life without parole, and the number of sentences for premeditated murder. This is followed by a discussion of the Federal Death Penalty Act and the Federal Protocol in filing death penalty cases. The authors suggest that these be used as models to reduce the potential for prosecutorial arbitrariness in capital cases. They also address the need to balance prosecutorial discretion with fairness in seeking the death penalty.Finally, they provide several suggestions for for ensuring a more just use of capital punishment. These include narrowing the statutory categories of death-eligible crimes, implementing and following publicly disclosed charging criteria and procedures, increased and centralized review of charging decisions, curtailing the ability of elected officials to seek the death penalty, judicial review of charging decisions, and improved record keeping for capital case statistics.


Our ability to reliably name colors provides a link between visual perception and symbolic cognition. In this paper, we investigate how a statistical model of color naming can enable user interfaces to meaningfully mimic this link and support novel interactions. We present a method for constructing a probabilistic model of color naming from a large, unconstrained set of human color name judgments. We describe how the model can be used to map between colors and names and define metrics for color saliency (how reliably a color is named) and color name distance (the similarity between colors based on naming patterns). We then present a series of applications that demonstrate how color naming models can enhance graphical interfaces: a color dictionary & thesaurus, name-based pixel selection methods for image editing, and evaluation aids for color palette design.


Abstract : Acoustic waves are used in SONAR systems for the detection and classification of objects which may be swimming in the water column, proud on the seafloor or buried below the sediment. In some applications, such as low frequency detection and classification of structurally complex objects immersed in a fluid, signal processing techniques must be aided by a-priori model based knowledge of the target echo. Because objects of interest in practical applications have a complex geometry and a detailed internal structure, consisting of elastic materials and fluid partitions, mathematical techniques capable of dealing with generic 3-D geometries, and capable of coupling different physical domains (i.e. the solid and the fluid domains) must be used. For these reasons the Finite Element (FE) Method is the technique of choice for many researchers in the field. A FEMlab application for computing the scattering from undersea targets is presented, and guidelines for the discretization of the computational domain in the presence of structure-borne guided elastic waves are given. It is found that the guided elastic waves impose strict requirements on the meshing of the elastic structure and of the surrounding water volume. The presented results are relevant also to other areas of acoustics, where one is interested in modeling scattering or radiation from elastic structures and within elastic structures. Such areas include non destructive testing, vehicle noise prediction and control acoustic transducer design, MEMS, architectural acoustics and medical acoustics.


There is no reason for the Supreme Court to have granted certiorari in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. Unless, of course, the Court plans to overrule Grutter v. Bollinger — the case on which the Texas affirmative action plan at issue in Fisher was based. If that is its plan, the Court can invalidate the Texas program on some narrow ground that masks the magnitude of what it is doing. Or it can explicitly overrule Grutter — a case that no longer commands majority support on a Supreme Court whose politics of affirmative action has now been refashioned by personnel changes. The author predicts that the Court will invalidate the Texas plan in a narrow opinion that leaves open the theoretical possibility of some future affirmative action plans surviving constitutional scrutiny. But ironically — as a proponent of racial justice — she hopes that any decision to invalidate the Texas plan expressly overrules Grutter and articulates the Court's apparent preference for shutting the door on affirmative action completely, rather than disingenuously allowing the light of false hope to seep through a crack in the doorway. If the Supreme Court closes the door, the political process can react directly to the Court's racial ideology, rather than continuing to be distracted by the Court's coquettish conception of racial equality. With any luck, this will put the future of affirmative action back in the hands of the political branches — which, of course, is where it belonged to begin with.


Abstract The objective of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant activities of six medicinal plants growing in Algerian Aurès Mountains. Total phenolic and flavonoids contents were measured using colorimetric methods, and the antioxidant capacities were evaluated using the DPPH radical scavenging and β-carotene bleaching tests. Juniperus phoenica L. had significantly the higher total phenolic compounds (53.6±3.86 mg GAE.g−1 DM) (p<0.05); followed by Romarinus officinalis L. (26.1±3.15 mg GAE.g−1 DM) and Artemisia campestris L. (20.5±1.99 mg GAE.g−1 DM). Artemisia campestris L. had significantly the higher flavonoid contents (11.1±0.56 mg QE.g−1 DM) than other studied plants (p<0.05). The best antiradical activity was observed in Thymus algeriensis extracts (EC50=11.1±0.33 µg.ml−1) and Romarinus officinalis L. (EC50=15.3±0.9 µg.ml−1). β-carotene bleaching test showed that the herbs' phenolic compounds Antioxidant Activity (AA%) value was found in the range of 64-84%, whereas that of the standard antioxidant ascorbic acid was 51±2.4%. The present results indicate that medicinal plants from the Algerian Aurès mountains could be explored in food and pharmaceutical industries for development of natural's antioxidant agents.


A coin set is a strictly increasing list of positive integers that always begins with 1. A coin set is called greedy when the simple greedy change-making algorithm always produces the fewest number of coins in change. Here, the greedy change-making algorithm repeatedly selects the largest denomination coin less than the remaining amount until it has assembled the correct change. Pearson has provided an efficient algorithm for determining whether a coin set is greedy. We study a stricter property on coin sets, called total greediness, which requires that all initial subsequences of the coin set also be greedy, and a simple property makes it easy to test if a coin set is totally greedy. We begin to explore the theory of greedy obstructions– those coin sets that cannot be extended to greedy coin sets by the addition of coins in larger denominations.


Civil wars typically have been terminated by a variety of means, including military victories, negotiated settlements and ceasefires, and "draws." Three very different historical trends in the means by which civil wars have ended can be identified for the post–World War II period. A number of explanations have been developed to account for those trends, some of which focus on international factors and others on national or actor-level variables. Efforts to explain why civil wars end as they do are considered important because one of the most contested issues among political scientists who study civil wars is how "best" to end a civil war if the goal is to achieve a stable peace. Several factors have contributed to this debate, among them conflicting results produced by various studies on this topic as well as different understandings of the concepts war termination, civil war resolution, peace-building, and stable peace.


In the 1st project, successful development of 2nd generation of a palladium catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of carboxylic acids to aldehydes was accomplished. This project was done in cooperation with Dipl. Chem. Thomas Fett from Boeringer Ingelheim, Austria. The new catalyst is highly effective for the conversion of diversely functionalized aromatic, heteroaromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids to the corresponding aldehydes in the presence of pivalic anhydride at 5 bar hydrogen pressure, which was otherwise achieved either at 30 bar of hydrogen pressure or by using waste intensive hypophosphite bases as reducing agent. Our method has increased the synthetic importance of this valuable transformation. Selective hydrogenation of carboxylic acids to the corresponding aldehydes is now possible with industrial hydrogenation equipment as well as laboratory scale glass autoclaves. It might also convince the synthetic organic chemists to use this transformation for routine aldehyde synthesis in the laboratories.
In the 2nd project, a microwave assisted Cu-catalyzed protodecarboxylation of arenecarboxylic acids to arenes is achieved. This work was done in collaboration with Dipl. Chem. Filipe Manjolinho under the supervision of Dr. Nuria Rodriguez. In the presence of 1-5 mol% of inexpensive CuI/1,10-phenanthroline catalyst generated in situ under microwave radiations, diversely functionalized arenes and heteroarene carboxylic acids have been decarboxylated to the corresponding arenes in good yields at 190 °C in 5-15 min. The loss of volatile arenes with the release of CO2 is controled by the use of sealed high pressure resistant microwave vessels. These reactions are highly beneficial for parallel synthesis in drug discovery due to their short reaction time. Microwave technology will also help in the future to develop more effective catalysts for protodecarboxylation rections.
Based on the microwave assisted protodecarboxylation strategy, decarboxylative coupling of arenecarboxylic acids with aryl triflates and tosylates was also conducted under microwave radiation which provided higher yields of the corresponding biphenyls from deactivated substrates in short reaction time compared to the conventional heating.
In the 3rd project, crystalline, potassium (trifluoromethyl)trimethoxyborate was successfully applied for the synthesis of benzotrifluorides under the oxidative conditions. This project was done in cooperation with Dipl. Chem. Annette Buba. In the presence of Cu(OAc)2 and molecular oxygen, arylboronates were coupled with K+[CF3B(OMe)3] in DMSO at 60 °C. A variety of benzotriflurides was synthesized in good yields under the optimized reaction conditions. This protocol for the oxidative trifluoromethylation of arylboronates is the base for the development of decarboxylative trifluoromethylation reaction of arenecarboxylic acids.
The 4th project discloses the simple and straightforward synthesis of trifluoromethylated alcohols by nucleophilic addition of potassium (trifluoromethyl)trimethoxyborate to carbonyl compounds. This project was done in cooperation with Dr. Thomas Knauber and Dipl. Chem. Annette Buba. In the presence of K+[CF3B(OMe)3] in THF at 60 °C, diversely functionalized aldehydes and ketones were successfully converted into the corresponding trifluoromethylated alcohols.
The 3rd and 4th projects demonstrate the successful establishment of crystalline and shelf stable potassium (trifluoromethyl)trimethoxyborate as highly versatile CF3-source in nucleophilic trifluoromethylation reactions. These new protocols are characterized by their user-friendliness and broad applicability under mild reaction conditions, thus they are beneficial for late stage introduction of CF3-group into organic molecules.


The Camden Memory Tests consist of 5 new measures. Each test was developed to fulfil a clinical need that was not met by existing memory tests and they are intended to be used separately. The Pictorial Recognition Memory Test is an exceptionally easy test that can provide useful clinical information in the assessment of patients unable to cope with the demands of more difficult tests. It can also be used to identify subjects who are 'faking' memory disorders. The Topographical Recognition Memory Test provides a culture-free measure of visual memory that is a useful alternative to the more commonly used Recognition Memory Test for faces. The Paired-Associate Learning Test provides a more satisfactory measure of verbal recall and verbal learning than is at present available. The Short Recognition Memory Test for Words and The Short Recognition Memory Test for Faces were both developed to provide a short and quick version of the standard Recognition Memory Test with only the minimum loss of discriminative power. Each of the 5 individual tests has been standardised in a large representative cross section of an urban population including subjects between the ages of 70 and 85. Validation studies are presented. The localising power of the Topographical Recognition Memory Test and the Paired-Associate Learning Test has been established by assessing patients with unilateral cerebral lesions and the discriminative power of the Short Recognition Memory Test for Words and for Faces has been established by assessing patients with dementing illnesses.


The three lines of defense model (TLoD) aims to provide a simple and effective way to improve coordination and enhance communications on risk management and control by clarifying the essential roles and duties of different governance functions. Without effective coordination of these governance functions, work can be duplicated or key risks may be missed or misjudged. To address these challenges, professional standards recommend that the chief audit executive (CAE) coordinates activities with other internal and external governance stakeholders (assurance providers). We consider survey responses from 415 CAEs from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland to analyze determinants that help to implement the TLoD without any challenges and to explore the extent of (coordination) challenges between the internal audit function and the respective governance stakeholders. Our results show a great variance in the extent of coordination challenges dependent on different determinants and the respective governance stakeholder.


Old stories, rather than being a means to shorten the long winter nights or make children's eyelids heavy, were the hidden treasures of peoples' social and psychological history. They contained, more than anything else, archetypal motifs which were expressed through various symbols. One such old stories was SamakAyyar which appeared in the north-eastern region of the Iranian plateau. The initial narrators of SamakAyyar were most probably the Aryan branch of the Indo-Aryan settlers. The fact that Aryans were neighbouring the Hindu cultures on the one hand, and the common ancestors as well as ideas of the two nations on the other, resulted in the footprints of Buddhist beliefs and Hindu rituals in this story. The influence of these beliefs can clearly be observed in the description of the buildings which appear in the story.Suchbuildings become sacred due to their association with the story plot, i.e. the journey from childhood to maturity. Whether a prison, palace or a castle, the structural image of these buildings, generally and frequently, resemble the Hindu temple. It seems as though such similarity follows the same sense as that in the construction of sacred buildings, especially Hindu temples. The inner journey, moving in circular directions, and the relationship between heaven and earth are instances of this holy meaning. Such concepts are discussed in the analysis of the symbolic meaning of the buildings in the story.


J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbitt", "The Lord of the Rings" and "Silmarillion" have long been recognized as among the most popular fiction of the 20th century, and most critical analysis of Tolkien has centred on these novels. Granted access by the Tolkien estate and the Bodleian Library in Oxford to Tolkien's unpublished writings, Verlyn Flieger uses them here to shed new light on his better known works, revealing a new dimension of his fictive vision and giving added depth of meaning to his writing. Tolkien's concern with time - past and present, real and "faerie" - captures the wonder and peril of travel into other worlds, other times, other modes of consciousness. Reading his work, we "fall wide asleep" into a dream more real than ordinary waking experience, and emerge with a new perception of the waking world. Flieger explores Tolkien's use of dream as time-travel in his unfinished stories "The Lost Road" and "The Notion Club Papers" as well as in "The Lord of the Rings" and his shorter fiction and poetry. Analyzing Tolkien's treatment of time and time-travel, Flieger shows that he was not just a mythmaker and writer of escapist fantasy but a man whose relationship to his own century was troubled and critical. He achieved in his fiction a double perspective of time that enabled him to see in the mirror of the past the clouded reflection of the present. "A Question of Time" places J.R.R. Tolkien firmly in the mainstream of modern writers, and should appeal to anyone interested in imaginative fiction.


A comparative study of predictions obtainable using the conformal and indirect interfaces for Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) analysis in an exhaust manifold was undertaken with a view to ascertain the degree of closeness of certain pre-defined physical quantities. The Indirect Mapped Interface feature has been incorporated in the latest release version (V7.02) of the multidisciplinary engineering simulation tool STAR-CCM+ and enables the use of non-conformal mesh at the interface between solid and fluid domains for CHT simulations. A steady-state analysis was performed for base mesh size values of 2 mm and 4 mm using the RANS k-epsilon turbulence model. Predicted results for the conformal and nonconformal meshes at the two base mesh size values were observed to be in good agreement.


One of the bright milestones toward the development of a vibrant biodefense vaccine industry was the passage of the Project BioShield Act of 2004. That statute was designed to provide protections and countermeasures against chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents that may be used in a terrorist attack against the United States. It encourages the development of effective countermeasures by establishing the Special Reserve Fund of $5.6 billion to be spent over ten years to assure pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers that there is a ready market for their products through purchases by the government for the Strategic National Stockpile. The Act was intended to stimulate the next generation of countermeasures against a broad array of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents, all of which were seen by Congress as weapons that could be deployed against the United States in the War on Terror. Unfortunately, implementation of the act has been plagued by bureaucratic ineptness. The foremost example of that failure arises from the fact that the Special Reserve Fund can only be used to purchase countermeasures addressed to biopathogens or toxins which have been found to present a material threat against the United States as determined by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Employing an opaque, bureaucratized, lengthy process for determining material threats, DHS has to date only recognized four CBRN threats despite the fact that for years other branches of the government, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense, have recognized dozens of these threats. Accordingly, the Special Reserve Fund cannot be used to purchase countermeasures which address many likely terrorist biological and chemical weapons, and the purposes of the Act have been severely undercut.


Absentee voting is becoming more prevalent throughout the United States. While there has been some research focused on who votes by absentee ballot, little research has considered another important question about absentee voting: Which absentee ballots are counted, and which are not? Research following the 2000 presidential election has studied the problem of uncounted ballots for precinct voters, but not for absentee voters. To study which absentee ballots are counted we use data from Los Angeles County – the nation's largest and most diverse voting jurisdiction – for the November 2002 general election. We develop three hypotheses regarding the likelihood that various types of ballots will be counted, which we test with our unique absentee voting dataset. We find that uniform service personnel, overseas civilians, and language minority voters have a much higher likelihood that their ballots will not be counted compared with the general absentee voting population. We conclude our paper with a discussion of the implications of our research for the current debates about absentee voting.


Diagnose and solve your PC problems with this easy-to-understand guideWritten by veteran For Dummies author Dan Gookin, this straightforward guide shows you how to diagnose and solve the most common hardware and software problems your PC may encounter. In addition, he presents advice for preventing PC problems in the first placeand clearly explains how to create a safe and secure PC environment.Walks you through ways to diagnose the most common PC hardware, software, and operating system problemsOffers clear and easy-to-understand solutions for confidently handling these problemsShares valuable advice about maintaining your system to maximize its lifespanReviews an array of useful toolsCovers Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Internet Explorer 8Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition helps you to confidently handle whatever PC problems you may encounter.


Orientation: The intractability of public service delivery and a polarised societal landscape heighten anxiety and reinforce a propensity for public service organisations to be used for defensive purposes. Research purpose: This article employs social defense theory to explore manifestations of anxiety and defense within South African public service organisations. Motivation for the study: Dominant discourse on public service institutions over-relies on political, sociological and public administration theories and tends to ignore psychosocial explanations. Further, whilst the psychodynamics of social service work are generally understood, the unconscious dynamics of generic public service work remain under-theorised. Research design, approach and method: This conceptual article draws on my personal observations as a reflective citizen and experiences as a consultant to government departments. Main findings: Herein, an argument is advanced that the deployment of ill-qualified party loyalists to key positions in the public service is perverse: it serves as a collective defense against the impossible aspects of the task at hand. The appointees, in turn, deploy organisational processes to defend against feelings of incompetence and the inevitability of failure. This practice, coupled with acute resource constraints, sets up front line staff for scapegoating. Practical/managerial implications: An appreciation of the multiple meanings of public service work and the defensive role played by public institutions stands to inform purposeful change towards sustainable public service organisational practice. Contribution/value-add: The discussion seeks to contribute to attempts that employ systems psychodynamics to make sense of anxiety and defense within organisations in general and public service institutions in particular.


Gus Ramone is "good police," a former Internal Affairs investigator now working homicide for the city's Violent Crime branch. His new case involves the death of a local teenager named Asa whose body has been found in a local community garden. The murder unearths intense memories of a case Ramone worked as a patrol cop twenty years earlier, when he and his partner, Dan "Doc" Holiday, assisted a legendary detective named T. C. Cook. The series of murders, all involving local teenage victims, was never solved. In the years since, Holiday has left the force under a cloud of morals charges, and now finds work as a bodyguard and driver. Cook has retired, but he has never stopped agonizing about the "Night Gardener" killings. The new case draws the three men together on a grim mission to finish the work that has haunted them for years. All the love, regret, and anger that once burned between them comes rushing back, and old ghosts walk once more as the men try to lay to rest the monster who has stalked their dreams. Bigger and even more unstoppable than his previous thrillers, George Pelecanos achieves in The Night Garderner what his brilliant career has been building toward: a novel that is a perfect union of suspense, character, and unstoppable fate.


The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ("the Committee") released a consultative document that included a regulatory capital charge for operational risk. The complexity of the object "operational risk" led from the time of the document's release to vigorous and recurring discussions. We show that for a production unit of a bank with well-defined workflow processes where a comprehensive self-assessment based on six risk factors has been carried out, operational risk can be unambiguously defined and modelled. Using techniques from extreme value theory, we calculate risk measures for independent and dependent risk factors, re-spectively. The results of this modelling exercise are relevant for the implementation of a risk management framework: Frequency dependence among the risk factors only slightly changes the independency results, severity dependence on the contrary changes the independency results significantly, the risk factor "fraud" dominates all other factors and finally, only 10 percent of all processes have a 98 percent contribution to the resulting VaR. Since the definition and maintenance of processes is very costly, this last results is of major practical relevance. Performing a sensitivity analysis, it turns out that the key 10% of relevant processes is rather robust under this stress testing.


In AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, the Supreme Court potentially allowed for the evisceration of class arbitration, and indeed most class actions, in consumer and employment settings where contracts contain a pre-dispute arbitration provision that only authorizes claims brought in an individual capacity or that expressly bans representative class actions in arbitration or court ("class action waivers"). The debate over the enforceability of class action waivers, which had been percolating for years in both state and federal courts, came to the forefront in Concepcion when the Court agreed to review application of the California Supreme Court's ruling in Discover Bank v. Superior Court, which deemed some class action waivers in adhesion contracts unconscionable, exculpatory, and thus illegal under California law. In a 5–4 decision, the Concepcion Court stated that California's judicial rule invalidating class action waivers as unconscionable "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress [in the FAA]." Therefore, according to the Court, the FAA preempted the California law. In light of Concepcion, a number of state and federal courts have enforced class action waivers in consumer arbitration contracts over objections that the waivers effectively immunize defendants from liability or violate state law standards of unconscionability or public policy. This Article examines the implications of Concepcion on the future of class actions, in court or arbitration, and analyzes the federalism issues at stake in the Court's interpretation of FAA preemption of state law. First, it sets forth the regulatory framework governing arbitration under the FAA and key Supreme Court decisions involving questions of class arbitration prior to Concepcion. Then, it analyzes Concepcion and the decision's scope and parameters. It also contemplates Concepcion's impact, examining how federal and state courts have since interpreted Concepcion's application to challenges to class action waivers in cases involving statutory claims at the state and federal level. This is followed by an introduction of potential legislative responses, and an argument that the Concepcion decision, based on a dated and deluded conception of arbitration, improperly guts the FAA savings clause, violates the reserved role of states under the FAA to "regulate contracts, including arbitration clauses, under general contract law principles," and threatens the ability of parties in some cases to vindicate their statutory rights. The Article concludes by advocating for a narrow construction of the decision and the guarantee of a procedural option by which rights, which sometimes require collective action, can be meaningfully vindicated.


Although gravitropism forces trees to grow vertically, stems have shown to prefer specific orientations. Apart from wind deforming the tree shape, lateral light can result in prevailing inclination directions. In recent years a species dependent interaction between gravitropism and phototropism, resulting in trunks leaning down-slope, has been confirmed, but a terrestrial investigation of such factors is limited to small scale surveys. ALS offers the opportunity to investigate trees remotely. This study shall clarify whether ALS detected tree trunks can be used to identify prevailing trunk inclinations. In particular, the effect of topography, wind, soil properties and scan direction are investigated empirically using linear regression models. 299.000 significantly inclined stems were investigated. Species-specific prevailing trunk orientations could be observed. About 58% of the inclination and 19% of the orientation could be explained by the linear models, while the tree species, tree height, aspect and slope could be identified as significant factors. The models indicate that deciduous trees tend to lean down-slope, while conifers tend to lean leeward. This study has shown that ALS is suitable to investigate the trunk orientation on larger scales. It provides empirical evidence for the effect of phototropism and wind on the trunk orientation.


A prime focus of police-reform advocates is the transparency of police discipline. Indeed, transparency is one of, the most popular accountability solutions for a wide swath of policing problems. This Article examines the "transparency cure" as it applies to Police Disciplinary Records ("PDRs"). These records are part of an officer's personnel file and contain reported wrongdoing from supervisors, Internal Affairs Bureaus, and Citizen Complaint Review Boards.

This Article argues that making PDRs public is worthy of skeptical examination. It problematizes the notion that transparency is a worthy end goal for those who desire to see police-reform in general. Transparency is often seen as a solution with no downside, but this Article argues that, in the realm of PDRs, it comes with at least two major tradeoffs. First, making PDRs public may not lead to the accountability that advocates seek, and in fact may cause retrenchment from police departments. Second, transparency on an individual level necessarily comes with major privacy tradeoffs.

The problem with individualized transparency is not theoretical. In fact, it has been much critiqued by scholars in a different but comparable realm: the wide dissemination of criminal records. PDRs and criminal records have similar problems: due process issues, inaccuracy, arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement, and permanent reputational harm. Indeed, the rhetoric used by law enforcement to defend their privacy rights sounds almost identical to the critiques that scholars make of criminal record transparency.

This Article argues that the comparison of PDRs and criminal records is instructive because it allows us to view criminal records through a new lens. As with criminal record publication, forced PDR transparency will likely not solve the problems advocates hope it will. Thus, this Article concludes that a more nuanced regime should be put in place for PDRs, and that advocates should use law enforcement rhetoric to support a more privacy-protective regime for criminal records.


Among the many approaches to formal reasoning about programs, Dynamic Logic enjoys the singular advantage of being strongly related to classical logic. Its variants constitute natural generalizations and extensions of classical formalisms. For example, Propositional Dynamic Logic (PDL) can be described as a blend of three complementary classical ingredients: propositional calculus, modal logic, and the algebra of regular events. In First-Order Dynamic Logic (DL), the propositional calculus is replaced by classical first-order predicate calculus. Dynamic Logic is a system of remarkable unity that is theoretically rich as well as of practical value. It can be used for formalizing correctness specifications and proving rigorously that those specifications are met by a particular program. Other uses include determining the equivalence of programs, comparing the expressive power of various programming constructs, and synthesizing programs from specifications.This book provides the first comprehensive introduction to Dynamic Logic. It is divided into three parts. The first part reviews the appropriate fundamental concepts of logic and computability theory and can stand alone as an introduction to these topics. The second part discusses PDL and its variants, and the third part discusses DL and its variants. Examples are provided throughout, and exercises and a short historical section are included at the end of each chapter.


Patent law has a general set of legal rules to govern the validity and infringement of patents in a wide variety of technologies. With a very few exceptions, the statute does not distinguish between different technologies in setting and applying legal standards. In theory, then, we have a unified patent system that provides technology-neutral protection to all kinds of technologies.Of late, however, we have noticed an increasing divergence between the rules themselves and the application of the rules to different industries. The best examples are biotechnology and computer software. In biotechnology cases, the Federal Circuit has bent over backwards to find biotechnological inventions nonobvious, even if the prior art demonstrates a clear plan for producing the invention. On the other hand, the court has imposed stringent enablement and written description requirements on biotechnology patents that do not show up in other disciplines. In computer software cases, the situation is reversed. The Federal Circuit has essentially excused software inventions from compliance with the enablement and best mode requirements, but has done so in a way that raises serious questions about how stringently it will read the nonobviousness requirements. As a practical matter, it appears that while patent law is technology-neutral in theory, it is technology-specific in application.The paper explains how the application of the same general legal standards can lead to such different results in diverse industries. Much of the variance in patent standards is attributable to the use of a legal construct, the "person having ordinary skill in the art" (PHOSITA), to determine obviousness and enablement. The more skill those in the art have, the less information an applicant has to disclose in order to meet the enablement requirement - but the harder it is to meet the nonobviousness requirement. The level of skill in the art affects not just patent validity, but also patent scope. We do not challenge the idea that the standards in each industry should vary with the level of skill in that industry. We think the use of the PHOSITA provides needed flexibility for patent law, permitting it to adapt to new technologies without losing its essential character. We fear, however, that the Federal Circuit has not applied that standard properly in either the biotechnology or computer software fields. The court has a perception of both fields that was set in earlier cases but which does not reflect the modern realities of either industry. The changes in an industry over time present significant structural problems for patent law, both because law is necessarily backward-looking and precedent-bound and because applying different standards to similar inventions raises concerns about horizontal equity. Nonetheless, we believe the courts must take more care than they currently do to ensure that their assessments of patent validity are rooted in understandings of the technology that were accurate at the time the invention was made.


This study measures costs associated with first-time homeless families and individuals incurred by homeless and mainstream service delivery systems in six study communities. Unaccompanied individuals were studied in Des Moines, Iowa; Houston, Texas; and Jacksonville, Florida. Families were studied in Houston, Texas; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Upstate South Carolina; and Washington, DC. Past research has primarily documented costs associated with homelessness for individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness or severe mental illness. Newer work has been published on the costs incurred within the homeless system for families experiencing first-time homelessness. This study provides additional findings that help to improve our understanding of homelessness and its associated costs. It presents ideas about opportunities for cost savings, and it advances an approach for measuring costs that, coupled with other evaluation methods, can help communities understand the cost-effectiveness of different homelessness interventions.


The Internet has caused a revolution in trading. Especially cheap items are now easy to buy and sell on the Internet. As a consequence, sellers nowadays offer a wide range of products on the web, creating an abundance of choice for consumers. Consumers have the opportunity to browse on different auction sites for the item they really want. Along with this success story, however, came the stories of people being cheated by fraudulent online sellers. These frauds cover a range from not delivering what has been promised, the overrating of a product's condition, to deliberate acts of theft. They are a result of so-called asymmetric information. Trust and reputation mechanisms are intended to address this asymmetric information distribution. This article surveys the most common trust and reputation systems.


Abstract. With the rapid development of the economy, the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission from China since 2000 is of increasing concern. In this study, we estimate the annual SO2 emission in China after 2000 using a technology-based methodology specifically for China. From 2000 to 2006, total SO2 emission in China increased by 53%, from 21.7 Tg to 33.2 Tg, at an annual growth rate of 7.3%. Emissions from power plants are the main sources of SO2 in China and they increased from 10.6 Tg to 18.6 Tg in the same period. Geographically, emission from north China increased by 85%, whereas that from the south increased by only 28%. The emission growth rate slowed around 2005, and emissions began to decrease after 2006 mainly due to the wide application of flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) devices in power plants in response to a new policy of China's government. This paper shows that the trend of estimated SO2 emission in China is consistent with the trends of SO2 concentration and acid rain pH and frequency in China, as well as with the increasing trends of background SO2 and sulfate concentration in East Asia. A longitudinal gradient in the percentage change of urban SO2 concentration in Japan is found during 2000–2007, indicating that the decrease of urban SO2 is lower in areas close to the Asian continent. This implies that the transport of increasing SO2 from the Asian continent partially counteracts the local reduction of SO2 emission downwind. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) products of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) are found to be highly correlated with the surface solar radiation (SSR) measurements in East Asia. Using MODIS AOD data as a surrogate of SSR, we found that China and East Asia excluding Japan underwent a continuous dimming after 2000, which is in line with the dramatic increase in SO2 emission in East Asia. The trends of AOD from both satellite retrievals and model over East Asia are also consistent with the trend of SO2 emission in China, especially during the second half of the year, when sulfur contributes the largest fraction of AOD. The arrested growth in SO2 emissions since 2006 is also reflected in the decreasing trends of SO2 and SO42− concentrations, acid rain pH values and frequencies, and AOD over East Asia.


Reading is a hobby to open the knowledge windows. Besides, it can provide the inspiration and spirit to face this life. By this way, concomitant with the technology development, many companies serve the e-book or book in soft file. The system of this book of course will be much easier. No worry to forget bringing the leg ulcers a practical approach to management book. You can open the device and get the book by on-line.


The relative scope of federal and state power under the U.S. Constitution has been a major bone of contention for over 200 years. Courts have sometimes enforced substantial limits on federal authority by striking down federal laws deemed to be outside the scope of Congress' enumerated powers under Article I of the Constitution. Very often, the judiciary has also constrained state power by invalidating state laws as violations of constitutional rights.While judicial review has therefore promoted both centralization and state autonomy at different times, on balance it has strengthened the former at the expense of the latter. This pattern has been especially prevalent since the 1930s, as the Supreme Court largely abandoned earlier efforts to police limits on congressional power, while simultaneously enforcing a growing array of individual rights against state and local governments.This chapter examines the impact of judicial review on American federalism without attempting a normative judgment. It briefly outlines the structure of American federalism and judicial review, and then describes the history of judicial review of structural limits on federal power. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Supreme Court engaged in limited, but significant efforts to constrain congressional power. These efforts were to a large extent abandoned after the constitutional revolution of the New Deal period in the 1930s. The Supreme Court has recently attempted to revive judicial enforcement of limits on federal power. But so far these efforts have had only a limited effect. The chapter then summarizes the history of judicial review of state laws. The range of issues on which federal courts have invalidated state laws is extremely broad. Overall, the impact of these rulings in curbing state autonomy significantly exceeds the effects of the courts' more limited efforts to constrain federal power. The last part of the chapter briefly explains why the latter result was not accidental. Because federal judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the chance that they will resist the political agenda of the dominant political coalition in the federal government is reduced. Even when federal judges do want to invalidate federal legislation, they may hesitate to do so when the result might create a political confrontation that the courts are likely to lose. Federal judges face fewer political risks when they strike down state legislation.


Desperate for junior officers to meet the wartime demands of its rapid expansion and to replace the mounting casualties in its Pacific battles, the U.S. Marine Corps convened a Special Officer Candidate School (SOCS) at Camp Lejeune in 1944. This special class was to augment the regular Officer Candidates School (OCS) at Quantico, which was operating at full capacity. The young candidates had been enlisted in the V-12 officers procurement program and called to active duty from colleges and universities across the country. Destined to fight in some of the bloodiest battles of the war then answer the call to arms again in Korea, the Marines of this special class, who called themselves the "SOCS 400," served in the Minuteman tradition established at Lexington and Concord nearly two centuries earlier. Their compelling story is told for the first time by a former Marine and reporter for some of the nation's best news organizations. He chronicles their experiences from induction through training and combat to the lives they later led.Eliminating some of the traditional training of young Marine officers, this special OCS curriculum concentrated on infantry tactics and weapons, and ninety percent of the class wound up as platoon leaders on Iwo and Okinawa. Forty-eight of them were killed, 168 wounded, for a casualty rate of some 58 per cent. For their heroic actions they earned a host of decorations, including five Navy Crosses. Eight more were wounded in Korea and one more earned a Navy Cross. Many believe they had the highest casualty and decoration rates of any Marine OCS class in World War II. This book focuses on ten men representing all six Marine divisions and nearly every section of the country and all types of colleges and universities. The story's appeal bridges professional and general interests.


Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) result from insufficient iodine intake, and may lead to many adverse effects on growth, development and thyroid diseases in humans.
Pakistan is a country with history of iodine deficiency.
Before reunification both parts of Germany were iodine deficient. In the Eastern part, however, due to mandatory iodine prophylaxis adaptation in 1983, the iodine status of the population improved from moderate to mild iodine deficiency. After the reunification of Germany in 1989 "voluntary principle" was adopted leading again to a decrease in iodine intake. Germany and Pakistan present different socioeconomics, cultural values and adaptations to the IDD eradication but have resemblance in history of iodine deficiency. In the recent years Germany has improved in IDD eradication more than Pakistan. The purpose of this research was to study the regional influence on iodine nutritional status of pregnant women in Pakistan and to monitor the effectiveness of the iodine fortification programme in the North-East German population.
Pregnant women data was obtained from randomly selected (public and private) prenatal clinics in five districts of the KPK province of Pakistan. Women visited there for their routine checkup between March and September 2012. Data were obtained from almost 250 pregnant women from each district reaching to a total of 1260 in all five districts.
The SHIP project consists of two population-based cohorts, for which only individuals with German citizenship and main residency in the study area were recruited. In the first SHIP cohort; SHIP-0, individuals aged 20-79 years were selected from population registries by a two-stage cluster sampling method. The net sample (without migrated or deceased persons) comprised 6265 eligible subjects, of which 4308 (response 68.8%) participated between 1997 and 2001. A separate stratified random sample of 8826 adults aged 20-79 years was drawn for SHIP-Trend, of which 4420 subjects participated between 2008 and 2012 (response 50.1%) in SHIP-Trend-0.
All the pregnant women were asked to complete a short interview questionnaire containing the information related to sources and reasons for intake and non-intake of iodized salt. The questionnaire also comprised questions related to knowledge of iodized salt nutrition. Information on the number of previous pregnancies and/or abortions (fetal loss due to various reasons, not including voluntary termination of pregnancy) was also obtained. The gestational age of the pregnant women was determined from the first day of the last regular menstrual period with gestational ages of ≤14.9, 28.9, and ≥29 weeks comprising the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively. For goiter assessment in pregnant women the WHO/UNICEF/IGN recommended palpation method was used. UIC was measured using a modification of the Sandell-Kolthoff reaction with spectrophotometric detection. Evaluation of group iodine status was based on median UIC categories defined by the WHO/IGN. These are: recommended – median 150-249 μg/L; mild iodine deficiency – median <150 μg/L.
For the analysis of monitoring trends of thyroid diseases in SHIP, diagnosed thyroid disorders were assessed by computer-assisted personal interviews. Medication data were obtained online using the IDOM program (online drug-database leaded medication assessment) and classified according to the Anatomical-Therapeutic-Chemical (ATC) classification system.In SHIP population goiter assessment was based on thyroid volume determined with ultrasonography. Goiter was defined as a thyroid volume exceeding 18 mL in women and 25 mL in men. Urinary iodine concentrations were measured from spot urine samples by a photometric procedure. Urinary creatinine concentrations were determined with the Jaffe method. Evaluation of group iodine status was based on median UIC categories defined by the WHO/IGN. The iodine/creatinine ratio was calculated by dividing urinary iodine by urinary creatinine concentrations. Serum TSH, fT3, fT4 levels in SHIP study were measured by an immunochemiluminescent procedure. A method comparison between the two TSH laboratory methods showed only negligible differences. High and low serum TSH levels were based on the reference range established from data for SHIP-0 (0.25 mIU/L - 2.12 mIU/L) and SHIP-TREND-0 (0.49 mIU/L - 3.29 mIU/L) respectively (21,22). Anti-TPO Abs were measured by an enzyme immunoassay in the whole SHIP study. The anti-TPO Abs status was defined as follows: normal 60 IU/ml in men and > 100 IU/ml in women; positive: > 200 IU/ml in both sexes.
Thyroid ultrasonography was performed in SHIP-0 using an ultrasound VST-Gateway with a 5 MHz linear array transducer. In SHIP-Trend-0 ultrasonography was performed with a portable device using a 13-MHz linear array transducer. In both studies intra- and inter-observer reliabilities were assessed before the start of the study and semi-annually during the study. For thyroid volume all inter-observer and inter-device variabilities showed mean differences (±2 SD)of < 5% (<25%). Thyroid volume was calculated as length x width x depth x 0.479 (ml) for each lobe (26). The normal thyroid echo pattern was classified as homogeneous. A homogeneous echo pattern with reduced echogenicity was defined as hypoechogenic. Nodular changes exceeding 10 mm in diameter were defined as thyroid nodules.
Multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusting for age was used to regress the outcome measures (knowledge about IDD, iodized salt intake, UIC <150mIU/L and goiter prevalence) on regional influences (as exposure) in each specific district. These results are presented as odd ratios and their 95% confidence interval.
For the analysis in SHIP, all analyses were standardized by base-weights to account for different sampling probabilities. In SHIP-Trend-0, additionally, inverse probability weights for study participation were calculated, which were multiplied with the base-weights. Differences in median levels between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0 were tested by median regression models; prevalence differences between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0 were tested by Poisson regression models.
The majority of pregnant women (88.0%) had no knowledge about IDD. A very high (79%) percentage of pregnant women were not taking iodized salt, out of which 36.6% reported that iodized salt would negatively affect reproduction and for 17.0%, it was too expensive. Iodized salt intake in pregnant women was high in the big cities (Peshawar, Nowshehra) and in the urban areas (27.0%)
In 41.3% of the pregnant women, we observed a UIC of >150mIU/L. The median UIC level for the pregnant women was 131µg/L. The total goiter prevalence in pregnant women was 25.5%. The prevalence of UIC <150mIU/L in pregnant women did not differ between rural and urban areas. The results based on logistic regression analysis shows that the prevalence on knowledge about IDD, iodized salt intake, UIC <150mIU/L, and goiter did not differ in pregnant women between urban and rural areas. In district Lakki Marwat except, the pregnant women from urban residence had higher odds of having knowledge on IDD and iodized salt intake than their rural counterparts.
The prevalence of diagnosed thyroid disorders increased from 7.6% [CI 6.9-8.5] in SHIP-0 to 18.9% [CI 17.6-20.1] in SHIP-Trend-0. Likewise, the prevalence of thyroid medication intake increased from 6.2% [CI 5.5-7.0] to 11.1% [CI 10.1-12.2]. The median urinary iodine excretion levels decreased significantly, which was more pronounced in females than in males. The median iodine-to-creatinine ratio declined in all sex- and age-groups with stronger decrease in females than in males. The prevalence of median urinary iodine excretion levels <100µg/L increased between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0. Median serum TSH levels increased significantly between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0, resulting in a right shift of the serum TSH level distribution. The prevalence of high serum TSH levels remained almost stable between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0. Likewise, the prevalence of low TSH remained almost stable between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0. The prevalence of increased anti-TPO Abs and positive anti-TPO Abs decreased from SHIP-0 to SHIP-Trend-0 in the whole study population. The prevalence of hypoechogenic thyroid pattern decreased from SHIP-0 to SHIP-Trend-0. The median thyroid volume remained similar between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0 in the whole study population. Goiter prevalence decreased significantly; more pronounced in males than in females, while the prevalence of thyroid nodules increased between SHIP-0 and SHIP-Trend-0.
In pregnant women in Pakistan due to insufficient awareness campaigns and low literacy ratio in rural areas urinary iodine excretion levels indicate a stable iodine supply, which is still not sufficient. Our results show that rural/urban disparity is affecting the IDD prevention program in rural districts, but not in general. The SHIP data indicate that the improved iodine supply over the past two decades in Germany is paralleled by a reduction in prevalence of IDDs, while no increase was observed in markers of autoimmune thyroid disorders arguing for an optimal iodine supply of the general adult population in Northeast Germany. The increase in prevalence of diagnosed thyroid disorders and the intake of thyroid medication might be because of inappropriate therapeutical decisions which should be made with caution, based on regional TSH reference ranges, its prognostic value, and compliance with treatment.


Aim: To determine how accurately pre-operative stress radiographs predict the final outcome in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery. Methods: Records of 20 patients were reviewed retrospectively. Pre-operative correction was measured by comparing the initial Cobb angle of the main structural curves on plain standing radiographs to values measured at corresponding levels after correction on traction and fulcrum bending radiographs. Post-operative correction was obtained by measurements at corresponding levels of the instrumented and uninstrumented curves. Results: Mean correction of the main instrumented curve by traction was 24.2° (40.9%), and by fulcrum bending 32.3° (56.0%). Post-operative correction yielded a mean value of 41.1° (68.2%). Expressing pre-operative values as a percentage of final correction, traction views predicted 60%, and fulcrum bending radiographs 82% of the final correction. If agreement within 10° of pre- and post-operative values is regarded as clinically significant, only 18% of traction and 45% of fulcrum bending views came within that range. Discussion: We concluded that fulcrum bending views are of superior predictive value in terms of surgical correction to be expected, but still correlate poorly with final surgical correction achieved.


When mice with ovarian cancer are stressed, their tumors grow and spread more quickly, but that effect can be blocked using a medication commonly prescribed for heart disease, according to a preclinical study by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The finding, published in the journal Nature Medicine, available on-line, provides the first measurable link between psychological stress and the biological processes that make ovarian tumors grow and spread. Specifically, the researchers showed that stress hormones bind to receptors directly on tumor cells and, in turn, stimulate new blood vessel growth and other factors thatlead to faster and more aggressive tumors. "This study provides a new understanding of how chronic stress and stress factors drive tumor growth," says Anil Sood, M.D., associate professor of gynecologic oncology and cancer biology and director of ovarian cancer research. Dr. Sood is also a member of the Editorial Board of Cancer Biology & Therapy. In fact, when the researchers blocked the stress hormone receptors in their experimental system using a heart disease drug called propranolol, also known as a "beta blocker," they were able to stop the negative effects of stress on tumor growth. The researchers used the beta blocker because the same hormone receptors, called beta adrenergic receptors, are found in the heart and normally work to maintain blood flow. "The concept of stress hormone receptors directly driving cancer growth is very new," says Sood, the study's senior author. "Not much had been known about how often these receptors are expressed in cancer, and more importantly, whether they had any functional significance. Our research opens a new area of investigation." The research began when Sood and his colleague Susan Lutgendorf found an association between ovarian cancer patients who reported high levels of stress in their lives and an increase in a factor that stimulates blood vessel growth in tumors. By contrast, patients who had more social support in their lives had lower levels of this factor. Sood wondered if hormones associated withchronic stress might affect how cancers grow. Sood's research team, led by investigators Premal Thaker, M.D., Liz Han, M.D., and Aparna Kamat, M.D., in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, developed a mouse model of ovarian cancer to study the link. In their experiments, the researchers confined the mice in a small space for zero, two or six hours during the day. The confinement caused the mice to produce the same stress hormones as humans produce when they are under stress. These beta adrenergic hormones are sometimes called the "fight-or-flight" hormones because they are released when people are fearful or threatened, and are also responsible for causing the heart to beat harder and faster. Sood and his colleagues found that, surprisingly, cancer cells make receptors for these hormones on their surface and that when these receptors are activated they set in motion a chain of events that leads to formation of new blood vessels that feed tumors, a process called angiogenesis. New blood vessel formation is known to allow tumors to grow and spread more rapidly. "We were quite surprised to find these beta adrenergic receptors on ovarian cancer cells," says Sood. "In fact, we found them in 17 of 19 ovarian cancer cell lines we tested." After three weeks, the researchers measured the number and size of tumors in the mice. The number of tumors was 2.5 times greater in the mice that had been in the 2-hour stress group and 3.6 times greater in the 6-hour stress group compared to the mice with no stress. In addition, tumor growth was confined in the no-stress mice, but had spread to the liver or spleen in half of the stressed mice. In additional experiments, the researchers gave the stressed mice propranolol, which blocked the effect of stress hormones. The medication completely neutralized the effect of stress on tumor growth," says Sood. "Beta blockers have been shown to be protective against cardiac disease," he says. "No one has studied their effect on chronic stress as it relates to cancer in humans. There is a lot of interest now in this area of combining behavioral interventions to reduce stress, as well as using beta blockers in cancer patients." In follow-up studies, Sood and his team are in the process of further refining the role of stress in cancer using animal models and examining the hormone receptor status of cancers besides ovarian cancer. Other members of the research team included Chunhua Lu, M.D., Nicholas Jennings, Guillermo Armaiz-Pena, James Bankson, Ph.D., Murali Ravoori, Ph.D., William Merritt, M.D., Yvonne Lin, M.D., Selanere Mangala, Ph.D., Tae Jin Kim, M.D., Robert Coleman, M.D., Charles Landen, M.D., Yang Li, Edward Felix, Robert Newman, Ph.D. Mary Lloyd, David Gershenson, M.D., Vikas Kundra, M.D., Ph.D., Gabriel Lopez-Bernstein, M.D., of M. D. Anderson, and Steven Cole, Ph.D., Jesusa Arevalo, Rie Takahashi, of UCLA, and Susan Lutgendorf of the University of Iowa. The research was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the M. D. Anderson Ovarian Cancer SPORE, a Program Project Development Grant from the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Inc., and a Donna Marie Cimitile-Fotheringham Award for Ovarian Cancer Research.


Amy Chua's World on Fire is a stimulating book that links the 1990s spread of democracy and market reforms with perceptions of increasing ethnic violence. Chua points out that many developing countries have market-dominant minority groups that wield disproportionate economic power. In the presence of such minorities, Chua argues, the simultaneous introduction of markets and democracy can lead to ethnic violence. Market liberalization can exacerbate minority control over the economy, while democratization provides incentives for demagogues to target the minority group. While her model has explanatory power in some contexts, the book pays insufficient attention to social science techniques and evidence. She defines her explanatory variables, democracy and markets, too broadly to facilitate a test of her theory. In discussing incidents of ethnic violence and tension, her approach to evidence is anecdotal, and she does not consider the number and intensity of cases where democratization and markets may have reduced ethnic tension. Recent studies suggest that the number and intensity of ethnic conflicts are in decline around the world, an important finding that should lead to caution in hastily adopting policies based on Chua's analysis. Both democratization and a reduction in ethnic tension, it is argued, can be facilitated by the international community.


DC Super Hero Girls (DCSHG) is a trans-media franchise that
includes not just screen media texts but a wide array of themed merchandise aimed
at a multi-generational market. I argue here that key components of the franchise
present a queered version of girlhood that critiques femininity as a gender role
while presenting femaleness as encompassing a variety of signifiers, acts, and presentations
that can be read as queer (particularly by the so-called big girls in the
audience). This is evident in the representation of queer relationships that exist in
the sexualized zone of the canonical material, allowing the DCSHG characters to
inhabit a liminal proto-queer space between homosocial/gender non-conforming
and lesbian that is considered more appropriate for young girls. I examine the way
in which the DC Super Hero Girls franchise rejects and reforms familiar elements
of comics, super heroism, and princess culture to create that space for girls.


From the Publisher:
PHP and PostgreSQL are free open-source products that are ideally suited for creating sophisticated Web applications and services. PHP is an efficient and easy-to-learn programming language that is used on an estimated seven million Web domains. PostgreSQL is considered to be the most advanced opensource relational database management system. It competes with costly commercial products such as Oracle and IBM's DB2. PHP and PostgreSQL Advanced Web Programming is aimed at developers and programmers with basic knowledge of databases and Web scripting languages who want to develop powerful, secure, and inexpensive Web applications for themselves and their clients. Beginning with the necessary instructions for installing and setting up PHP and PostgreSQL, this book quickly covers the basic features of PHP and PostgreSQL before moving into indepth coverage of using PHP and PostgreSQL in tandem and related advanced topics. Beyond the coverage of just syntax and function, this book provides a complete picture of developing Web applications and services using PHP and PostgreSQL. This includes practical discussions on performance tuning, security, session management, regular expressions, and much more.


Consumption of low crude protein (CP) diets causes elevation in fat accumulation in chickens, and this effect is independent of dietary essential amino acid levels. Thyroid hormones, because of their metabolic regulatory characteristics, might be an effective factor in lipogenesis. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the influence of low CP diets on hormonal function of the thyroid. Two hundred and sixteen male broiler chicks, 10 - 25 days of age, were fed experimental diets that contained 230, 210, 190 and 170 g CP/kg with adequate amounts of total and digestible essential amino acids at or above NRC (1994) recommendations. Two other diets were the same as the 190 and 170 g CP/kg diets but contained additional glycine and glutamic acid. Reduction in CP below 190 g/kg led to a decline in body weight and feed intake and an increase in fat deposition in body, as would be expected. Plasma T4 concentration decreased significantly in the birds on the 170 g CP/kg diet and supplementation of glycine and glutamic acid had no effect on hormonal levels of the thyroid despite the reduction in whole-body and abdominal cavity fat deposition. Plasma T3 concentration was not affected. Therefore, it is concluded that a reduction in circulatory levels of T4 that occurs in broiler chicks fed diets containing below 190 g CP/kg though with adequate essential amino acids, may be an effective method of increasing fat deposition.


This project analyzes the ways in which concepts of the student-writer have been politicized and pedagogically polemicized as either primarily personal or social categories. The pedagogical rhetoric of the personal narrative as a genre has followed the same divisive path with expressivist and social-epistemic teaching models appearing to be at odds with each other, and this terminological fragmentation of teaching philosophies and the ideological framing of the personal narrative have constructed false pedagogical binaries. Given the politics of personal writing within contested pedagogical perspectives, this thesis examines the perception of the divided student-writer, exploring how postmodern epistemologies and poststructural linguistics affect the way rhetoricians and composition theorists view the place of the student-writer within a larger social network. The thesis concludes with an investigation of student writing in one first-year composition course and puts forth a rhetorical model using personal narrative to mediate fractures between expressivist and social-epistemic approaches to composition instruction.


In 1997, the .Joint Italian-Libyan Archaeological Mission in the Akakus and Messak (Libyan Sahara)., presently directed by Savino di Lernia, started a program of historical archaeology aimed at recovering remains of the Garamantian period, ca 800 BC to 350 AD. One of the selected sites is Fewet, a small but well nucleated oasis some 10 km SW of Ghat. After a first sounding in 2001, part of the settlement was excavated in 2002-2003, and the adjacent necropolis was surveyed in 2003. The excavated settlement is a rounded compound, with a perimeter wall of stones and mud bricks and a series of small dwelling units, with partition walls in mud bricks, around a central empty space and a communal well. One half of the compound is well preserved, with smashed pottery and remains of carbonized seeds and basketry on the sandy floors. The site is radiocarbon dated to the 2nd-1st centuries BC. The necropolis, including ca 1000 tumuli (but the survey is not yet complete) extends over the entire course of Garamantian history, about one millennium or more, and the typological development - from conical to drum-shaped tumuli - is confirmed by the associated pottery from Final Pastoral to Post-Garamantian times. The site of Fewet provides a good example of a small rural settlement at the SW border of the Garamantian kingdom, and the entire research project (geology and palaeo-environmental studies, archaeological excavation and survey) helps to figure out the life and the material culture in a small Saharan oasis of the proto-historical period.


Particulate matter and its dispersion near urban roadways has become an issue of increasing concern because of the possible health risks to humans associated with the inhalation of small particulates. Despite the potential health risk, little is known about the concentration of particulates near urban roadways or the particulates emission rates of various vehicles. This research focused on particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (microns), typically denoted PM sub 2.5, because of the high potential health risks of such small particles. Data were collected along roadways on the University of Washington campus. The results of the data collection and subsequent statistical analysis revealed, as expected, that urban buses are far and away the major source of particulate emissions and that buses with low exhaust pipes are more of a threat to pedestrian traffic. More interestingly, our findings suggest that procedure AP-42 for calculating particulate matter near urban roadways is grossly inaccurate, producing values that are one to two orders of magnitude higher than actually observed PM sub 2.5 values.


If I had my life to live over I'd like to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I've been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.1(p145–146)


This book is the eagerly awaited successor to Robert Gilpin's 1987 The Political Economy of International Relations, the classic statement of the field of international political economy that continues to command the attention of students, researchers, and policymakers. The world economy and political system have changed dramatically since the 1987 book was published. The end of the Cold War has unleashed new economic and political forces, and new regionalisms have emerged. Computing power is increasingly an impetus to the world economy, and technological developments have changed and are changing almost every aspect of contemporary economic affairs. Gilpin's Global Political Economy considers each of these developments. Reflecting a lifetime of scholarship, it offers a masterful survey of the approaches that have been used to understand international economic relations and the problems faced in the new economy. Gilpin focuses on the powerful economic, political, and technological forces that have transformed the world. He gives particular attention to economic globalization, its real and alleged implications for economic affairs, and the degree to which its nature, extent, and significance have been exaggerated and misunderstood. Moreover, he demonstrates that national policies and domestic economies remain the most critical determinants of economic affairs. The book also stresses the importance of economic regionalism, multinational corporations, and financial upheavals. Gilpin integrates economic and political analysis in his discussion of "global political economy." He employs the conventional theory of international trade, insights from the theory of industrial organization, and endogenous growth theory. In addition, ideas from political science, history, and other disciplines are employed to enrich understanding of the new international economic order. This wide-ranging book is destined to become a landmark in the field.


Many of the sciences (including economics) have been dominated by a naturalist worldview that generally assumes that the universe and life are purposeless and that mankind is simply a more complex, material version of everything else in the natural world. The renowned scholar and author C. S. Lewis offers an important link with the work of economists who have seen scholars' embrace of positivism and scientism as contrary to the development of knowledge regarding human action. In examining naturalism, Lewis shows that material "facts" alone cannot provide any conclusions without some independent basis to evaluate such data. He claims that the analysis of any world requires the existence of scientists whose views are not mechanically determined by the world they are examining. In so doing, Lewis clearly understands that reason, free will, and individual choice are not illusions; they are intrinsic and objective truths ‐ nonnegotiable presuppositions ‐ upon which human inquiry and economic science rest. Such understanding necessitates a theistic dualism of both a material and immaterial, natural and supernatural, physical and metaphysical reality.


We obtain three results concerning topological paths ands circles in the end compactification $|G|$ of a locally finite connected graph $G$. Confirming a conjecture of Diestel we show that through every edge set $E\in {\cal C}$ there is a topological Euler tour, a continuous map from the circle $S^1$ to the end compactification $|G|$ of $G$ that traverses every edge in $E$ exactly once and traverses no other edge. Second, we show that for every sequence $(\tau_i)_{i\in \Bbb N}$ of topological $x$–$y$ paths in $|G|$ there is a topological $x$–$y$ path in $|G|$ all of whose edges lie eventually in every member of some fixed subsequence of $(\tau_i)$. It is pointed out that this simple fact has several applications some of which reach out of the realm of $|G|$. Third, we show that every set of edges not containing a finite odd cut of $G$ extends to an element of $\cal C$.


[Three photographs mounted on sheet of paper] Photograph 1 is of part of a wedding party, consisting of: a young woman in a lace wedding gown; an older woman - designer Lilli Wolff - in a yellow and white dress; and an older woman in a blue dress. Photograph 2 is of a wedding party consisting of: a woman in a pink satin dress; a man in a tuxedo; and older woman - designer Lilli Wolff - in a blue satin dress; a young woman in a lace bridal gown; and older woman in a white dress; a woman mostly obscured in background; a woman facing background, wearing a blue dress. Photograph 3 is of a miniature wedding dress doll(?) in a box, resting on a chair in an unidentified interior.


Each year, the UCLA School of Law hosts the Melville B. Nimmer Memorial Lecture. Since 1986, the lecture series has served as a forum for leading scholars in the fields of copyright and First Amendment law. In recent years, the lecture has been presented by many distinguished scholars. The UCLA Law Review has published these lectures and proudly continues that tradition by publishing an Article by this year's presenter, Professor Neil Weinstock Netanel.


This paper argues that the various rhetorical modes in which hate is expressed on the Web are tailored to the types of messages offered. The unique technologies of the Web, that differentiate it from the earlier media of communication, facilitate the various rhetorical modes. The Web, as an unregulated medium, fosters the worldwide dissemination of both 'actionable' and 'non-actionable' hate messages. The actionable hate messages, regardless of their intensity and potential to excite violent actions, are not legally restricted through any international censorship regulations; the power of restricting such messages is national, if such messages counter national laws and conventions. The questions explored here are: Does the Internet and the Web facilitate the spreading of hate messages? Should Internet hate materials be regulated? If so, how might that be done? What criteria should be used to differentiate between hate and non-hate materials? Is it possible to draw and enforce a line between hate and non-hate messages? What input would measures against hate messages have on the Internet culture itself?


Human Genome Science (HGS) aspired to dominate the emergent field of genomics by discovering expressed gene sequences and developing therapeutic and diagnostic products based on proprietary genes. While HGS' accomplishments fell short of their own lofty expectations, by the time HGS was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline, the company had extensive intellectual property and had launched a product with >$1 billion market potential. Nevertheless, HGS' acquisition price was less than the total capital investments in the company. This work examines HGS' history and accomplishments in the context of the business plan described by the company at their IPO. We focus specifically on the company's valuation over time, which was highly correlated with general market indices, but negatively correlated with metrics of technical or clinical progress. The history of HGS points to the challenge of accounting for the value created by a science-based business plan. Earnings-based metrics, present value calculations, and "fair value" assessments did not account for HGS' progress in executing their stated business plan. This work highlights the critical need for accounting practices that credit value to the progress of translational science and enable investors to profit from such investments.


The Definitive Refactoring Guide, Fully Revamped for Ruby With refactoring, programmers can transform even the most chaotic software into well-designed systems that are far easier to evolve and maintain. Whats more, they can do it one step at a time, through a series of simple, proven steps. Now, theres an authoritative and extensively updated version of Martin Fowlers classic refactoring book that utilizes Ruby examples and idioms throughoutnot code adapted from Java or any other environment. The authors introduce a detailed catalog of more than 70 proven Ruby refactorings, with specific guidance on when to apply each of them, step-by-step instructions for using them, and example code illustrating how they work. Many of the authors refactorings use powerful Ruby-specific features, and all code samples are available for download. Leveraging Fowlers original concepts, the authors show how to perform refactoring in a controlled, efficient, incremental manner, so you methodically improve your codes structure without introducing new bugs. Whatever your role in writing or maintaining Ruby code, this book will be an indispensable resource. This book will help you Understand the core principles of refactoring and the reasons for doing it Recognize bad smells in your Ruby code Rework bad designs into well-designed code, one step at a time Build tests to make sure your refactorings work properly Understand the challenges of refactoring and how they can be overcome Compose methods to package code properly Move features between objects to place responsibilities where they fit best Organize data to make it easier to work with Simplify conditional expressions and make more effective use of polymorphism Create interfaces that are easier to understand and use Generalize more effectively Perform larger refactorings that transform entire software systems and may take months or years Successfully refactor Ruby on Rails code


"Thank you very much for that presentation. I thank the staff for the work on this Final Rule. "Access to the information made available under this Final Rule will not only support the Commission's market surveillance and analysis efforts but will also help in monitoring the efficiency of markets we regulate. On-going access to e-Tags for power flows across interchanges will make it possible for the Commission to identify or analyze various behaviors by market participants to determine if they are part of a potentially manipulative scheme. E-Tag information will also allow the Commission to better understand how transmission is used and the relationship between transmission scheduling practices and market rules. This could, for example, help us to understand how interchange pricing methodologies between RTOs may create incentives to schedule interchange transactions in ways that create loop flows and resulting market inefficiencies. Similarly, access to E-Tags will enable the Commission to identify the extent to which the contract path system in bilateral markets results in loop flows such that market efficiencies are compromised."


This book focuses on giving students insight into all facets of traffic and highway engineering. Students generally come to this course with little knowledge or understanding of the importance of transportation, much less of the extensive career opportunities within the field. Transportation is an extremely broad field, and courses must either cover all transportation modes or focus on specifics. While many topics can be covered with a survey approach, this often lacks sufficient depth and students leave the course without a full understanding of any of the fields. This text focuses exclusively on traffic and highway engineering beginning with a discussion of the pivotal role transportation plays in today's society, including employment opportunities, historical impact, and the impact of transportation on our daily lives. This approach gives students a sense of what the field is about as well as an opportunity to consider some of its challenges. Later chapters focus on specific issues facing transportation engineers. The book uses tools such as working problems, diagrams and tables, reference material, and realistic examples to demonstrate how the material is applied.


Entrepreneurship and the development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) are key drivers of economic growth and job creation. The OECD review series on Boosting Local Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Creation, of which this study is a part, examines the capacity of local economies to support successful new enterprise creation and the growth of small enterprises and make recommendations on how this capacity can be enhanced through local policies. The reviews entail an assessment of entrepreneurship and SME performance at the local level, the local framework conditions affecting this performance and the policies in place to back entrepreneurship and SME development. The reviews involve a comprehensive examination of conditions and policies including the key domains of skills, financing, business support infrastructure and innovation. In the case of Lombardy, the economically most powerful region of Italy, the review includes a specific assessment of local entrepreneurship policies against the framework of the European Union's Small Business Act (SBA). The SBA prioritises the role of business-friendly regulations for the creation of new start-ups and the development of existing small enterprises. SMEs and their clusters constitute the backbone of Lombardy economical structure. In such a context and given the impact of the persisting current financial and economic downturn, supporting the development of innovative SME and their networks is a priority for addressing the recovery challenge.


Despite the strong emphasis on public participation in the National Water Act (NWA), South Africa has yet to implement a comprehensive and functional approach to public engagement at the level of Water Management Areas. Part of the problem is that actual requirements are not explicitly articulated anywhere. This has led to the situation where public participatory processes are poorly conceptualised, misdirected and often perceived as confusing by stakeholders. 'Participation fatigue' is the consequence of this accompanied by a growing frustration with the implementation of the content of the Act. The intention for decentralised democratic water resources management is consequently seriously jeopardised if the public participation processes are not clearly presented in the public domain. In this paper we draw on a number of sources, namely a national pilot integrated catchment management programme called the Save the Sand Project initiated in the north-eastern part of SA, a Water Research Commission project on public participation and a DWAF project that funded the exploration of public participation in the Sand River Catchment. The latter (2005 -2007) supported a better understanding of public participation processes and dynamics in a high-density rural catchment, the findings from which are reported here. Additionally this paper is referenced against the current discourse on public participation in water resources aimed at elucidating public participation in integrated water resource management (IWRM) in South Africa. The focus of the work reported in this paper is specifically on the development and implementation of catchment management strategies as the locus of decentralised, democratised, participatory water resource management. In this paper we start out by discussing how complexities surrounding public engagement might present newly established catchment management agencies (CMAs) with serious challenges and then move on to a proposed framework for focusing public engagement on specific IWRM tasks. The framework outlines tasks where multi-stakeholder platforms collaboratively design strategic water management actions that are assembled as the catchment management strategy (CMS), a statutory obligation for CMAs. Keywords: public participation, catchment management strategies, National Water Act, integrated water resource management