Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure is the main clinical feature of COVID-19 responsible for ICU admission In patients who develop respiratory failure,the choice of respiratory support depends on changes in respiratory mechanics, and the goal of this article is to differentiate between clinical and pathophysiological features beneath the respiratory failure in order to select optimal treatment In patients with preserved respiratory mechanics, lung compliance is normal and hypoxemia is caused by loss of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction Prone positioning combined with high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) or non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is the therapy of choice in these patients When acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is present, therapeutic approach is similar as with other viral pneumonias - initiation of mechanical ventilation via endotracheal tube, positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) set to levels in which cyclic opening and closure of alveoli is avoided and fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) set to lowest possible levels needed to achieve arterial oxygen saturation of 90% In order to avoid patient-ventilator dyssynchrony the use of sedatives (such as midazolam or dexmedetomidine) and neuromuscular relaxants is recommended Extracorporeal support methods, such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal which are proven to be effective when treating ARDS caused by other causes have not shown adequate efficacy in COVID-19 patients © 2020 Hrvatski Lijecnicki Zbor All rights reserved


A macroeconomic model provides an analytical framework to describe the structure and behavior of the economy. Knowledge of the mechanisms at work provides a basis for discussing government policies and creates a demand for access to information and data. This implies that the model can be useful in terms of strengthening civil society in Angola. However, the construction of MODUCAN has proved a time consuming and difficult task, particularly because of the restricted access to data. The full dataset for the model as it stands today has been accessible only for the years 2002 through 2005. Thus, at this point in time we are left with the structure for a model and a potential that has not been completely realized. The data needed to improve the model exists, but has not yet been made public by the government.


Variable-temperature O-17 NMR spectroscopy, spanning a temperature range from -238 to 1000 degrees C, has been used to investigate mechanisms for ionic conduction in Bi26Mo10O69, a material that contains both MoO42- tetrahedra and [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns. Two O-17 NMR resonances are observed that are assigned to oxygen atoms in the MoO42- tetrahedra and in the [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns. On the basis of the nutation curves for the two groups of resonances, extremely rapid, but local, reorientational motion of the MoO42- units occurs at -70 degrees C and above (with a frequency of >50 kHz), whereas the Bi-O oxygen ions are rigid in this temperature regime. This is confirmed by both an analysis of the line broadening of the MoO42- satellite transitions (under MAS) and the spin-lattice relaxation (T-1) times of these sites, the T-1 times indicating that the MoO42- reorientation rates rapidly increase, reaching > 100 MHz at 400 degrees C. Line narrowing of the MoO42- central-transition resonance indicates that exchange between the tetrahedral units, a motion required for long-range anionic conduction, is much slower, involving only jump rates of approximately 1 kHz at 200 degrees C. Both the changes in line width of the MoO42- resonance, and the jump in the T-1 times of the oxygen atoms in the [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns at around the triclinic-monoclinic phase transition temperature (310 degrees C) are consistent with a mechanism for motion involving all the oxygen atoms. The predicted conductivity based on the [Bi-O] T-1 times is now of the order of that extracted from ac impedance measurements reported by Vannier et al. (J. Solid State Chem. 1996, 122, 394). On the basis of this detailed NMR analysis, we propose that motion at ambient temperatures primarily involves the MoO42- tetrahedral rotation: exchange between these sites is very slow. At higher temperatures (above 310 degrees C) the conduction process now appears to involve the oxygen atoms coordinated to Bi3+, in the [Bi12O14](infinity)(8-) columns, and most likely in the partially vacant O[19] site. The involvement of these sites allows for long-range conduction processes that do not involve concerted, multiple Mo-O bond breakages.


Research interest in early mathematics curriculum-based measurement (EM-CBM) has increased substantially throughout the course of the past decade. There has been a significant increase in the number of published studies regarding the validation of EM-CBM. Currently, however, there is no quantification or summarization of the multitude of research studies.  Curriculum-based measurement can be used in various ways in a school: (a) screening students, (b) monitoring progress, (c) identifying student strengths and weaknesses, and (d) predicting student performance on standardized assessments. Mathematics criterion measures are standardized, norm-referenced, individually administered tests. The purpose of administering mathematics criterion measures in the studies that will be synthesized in the proposed meta-analysis was to establish validity of early mathematics curriculum-based measurement. Mathematics criterion measures are also administered in order to measure an individual's math achievement level, as compared with same aged peers in a norm-referenced group. Finally, math criterion tests are necessary in order to define the construct that early mathematics CBM is purportedly measuring. A meta-analysis technique was used to quantify the predictor-criterion relationship between EM-CBM and standardized norm-referenced math achievement tests. Research databases were searched to collect all relevant publications. The articles included reported correlation coefficients between EM-CBM and norm referenced standardized achievement tests, used a clear, standardized administration and scoring criteria, administered standardized math criterion assessments concurrently with, or after, the administration of the EM-CBM, and included a sample of participants in the grades between Pre-K and 2. Correlation coefficients were obtained for each predictor-criterion relationship of interest and used as the primary units of analyses. The first hypothesis was that there would be a strong, positive correlation between the predictor and criterion measures. The results support this hypothesis and indicate that the mean correlation between early numeracy and math achievement is .49. This correlation coefficient signifies a moderate-to-strong relationship between the two variables. The second objective of this study was to examine the variables which influence the relationship between early numeracy and math achievement and determine which variables are moderators. There were six variables that were identified as moderators: correlation type, predictor skill, criterion skill, grade level, procedural integrity, and predictor category. Specifically, these six variables were qualitative variables found to influence the strength of the relationship between the predictor and criterion variables.


In their wide-ranging, insightful and provocative paper, Ograjenšek & Gal (2016) restate and enunciate our shared goal to help motivate students to learn to use data to provide answers to real-world problems. They also provide specific suggestions about additional ways to create more opportunities for scaffolding and practice of qualitative thinking in our courses and curriculum. I commend them for this guidance—which is wholly consistent with the sentiments of many—including Brown & Kass (2009), the INGEnIOuS project, http://www.ingeniousmathstat.org and Cobb (2015). All suggest a broad definition of statistics, encourage efforts to ensure that statistics is a vibrant choice for students and call for major (radical?) changes to our curriculum to support this shift. While there have been major efforts in recent years to adapt our curriculum to provide exposure to the excitement of statistics [see for example several of the rich datasets in Gould, (2010)], students need to be more directly engaged with a broad range of new data-related topics to be successful in our increasingly diverse discipline (Horton, 2016; Ridgway, 2015). The growth of data science poses many challenges and opportunities. As the authors describe, to be relevant in this world awash in data, statistics students need exposure to quantitative and qualitative approaches for the planning and design of studies, conduct and analysis, as well as interpretation and communication of results and implications. I will briefly consider the implications of this paper as well as barriers for implementation of the approaches enunciated in this paper in two distinct areas: (1) our introductory courses as well as (2) our undergraduate programs in statistics.


The author defines morality, ethics, moral issues and responsibilities, in dialogue with various ethical approaches, but especially those of Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, Alan Gewirth and the Setswana traditional idea of batho (humanness). He then proceeds to discuss the morality of certain issues arising as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the light of these four ethical approaches. Discussing perSonal responsibility; he argues that individuals do not only have the right to be healthy but have the duty to see to it that they are, since it is only when they are healthy that they are able to perform the other duties they have.


Neurological symptoms in cancer patients have a great impact on quality of life and need an interdisciplinary approach. They lead to significant impairment in activities of daily living (gait disorders, dizziness), a loss of patients independency (vegetative disturbances, wheel-chair dependency) and interfere with social activities (ban of driving in case of epilepsy). In this article we describe three main and serious neurological problems in the context of oncological patients. These are chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy, malignant spinal cord compression and epileptic seizures. Our aim is to increase the awareness of neurological complications in cancer patients to improve patients care.


In an Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS) cloud, the scheduler deploys VMs to servers according to service level objectives (SLOs). Clients and service providers must both trust the infrastructure. In particular they must be sure that the VM scheduler takes decisions that are consistent with its advertised behaviour. The difficulties to master every theoretical and practical aspects of a VM scheduler implementation leads however to faulty behaviours that break SLOs and reduce the provider revenues. We present SafePlace, a specification and testing framework that exhibits inconsistencies in VM schedulers. SafePlace mixes a DSL to formalise scheduling decisions with fuzz testing to generate a large spectrum of test cases and automatically report implementation faults. We evaluate SafePlace on the VM scheduler BtrPlace. Without any code modification, SafePlace allows to write test campaigns that are 3.83 times smaller than BtrPlace unit tests. SafePlace performs 200 tests per second, exhibited new non-trivial bugs, and outperforms the BtrPlace runtime assertion system.


Abstract It has recently been argued that barren intervals of marine sedimentary rock are less common in the Cenozoic than in the Paleozoic, and that this arises as a direct consequence of widespread epeiric seas and the prevalence of dysaerobic conditions at such times. We show, using an independent and more direct measure of rock outcrop through time in western Europe, that barren marine sedimentary rocks do become less frequent toward the present, but that this is not linked to any epeiric-seas effect. The proportion of barren to fossiliferous rock outcrop correlates well with the inferred Phanerozoic marine diversity curve (although more so in the Paleozoic than in the post-Paleozoic), and shows no correlation or only a weak negative correlation with area over which the sediments have been deposited. We therefore concluded that the Phanerozoic trend in fossiliferousness most likely records the degree to which space is occupied in the shallow marine realm.


Application down time is one of the major reasons for revenue loss in the modern enterprise. While aggressive release schedules cause frail software to be released, application failures occurring in the field cost millions to the technical support organizations in personnel time. Since developers usually don't have direct access to the field environment for a variety of privacy and security reasons, problems are reproduced, analyzed and fixed in very different lab environments. However, the complexity and diversity of application environments make it difficult to accurately replicate the production environment. The indiscriminate collection of data provided by the bug reports often overwhelm or even mis- lead the developer. A typical issue requires time consuming rounds of clarifications and interactions with the end user, even after which the issue may not manifest.
This dissertation introduces vPlay, a software problem determination system which captures software bugs as they occur in the field into small and self-contained recordings, and allows them to be deterministically reproduced across different operating systems and heterogeneous environments. vPlay makes two key advances over the state of the art. First, the recorded bug can be reproduced in a completely different operating system environment without any kind of dependency on the source. vPlay packages up every piece of data necessary to correctly reproduce the bug on any stateless target machine in the developer environment, without the application, its binaries, and other support data. Second, the data captured by vPlay is small, typically amounting to a few megabytes. vPlay achieves this without requiring changes to the applications, base kernel or hardware.
vPlay employs a recording mechanism which provides data level independence between the application and its source environment by adopting a state machine model of the application to capture every piece of state accessed by the application. vPlay minimizes the size of the recording through a new technique called partial checkpointing, to efficiently capture the partial intermediate state of the application required to replay just the last few moments of its execution prior to the failure. The recorded state is saved as a partial checkpoint along with metadata representing the information specific to the source environment, such as call- ing convention used for the system calls on the source system, to make it portable across operating systems. A partial checkpoint is loaded by a partial checkpoint loader, which itself is designed to be portable across different operating systems. Partial checkpointing is combined with a logging mechanism, which monitors the application to identify and record relevant accessed state for root cause analysis and to record application's nondeterministic events.
vPlay introduces a new type of virtualization abstraction called vPlay Container, to natively replay an application built for one operating system on another. vPlay Container relies on the self-contained recording produced by vPlay to decouple the application from the target operating system environment in three key areas. The application is decoupled from (1) the address space and its content by transparently fulfilling its memory accesses, (2) the instructions and the processor MMU structures such as segment descriptor tables through a binary translation technique designed specifically for user application code, (3) the operating system interface and its services by abstracting the system call interface through emulation and replay. To facilitate root cause analysis, vPlay Container integrates with a standard debugger to enable the user to set breakpoints and single step the replayed execution of the application to examine the contents of variables and other program state at each source line.
We have implemented a vPlay prototype which can record unmodified Linux applications and natively replay them on different versions of Linux as well as Windows. Experiments with several applications including Apache and MySQL show that vPlay can reproduce real bugs and be used in production with modest recording overhead.


We use data from the Trajectoires et Origines survey to analyze the labor-market outcomes of both second-generation immigrants and their French native counterparts. Second-generation immigrants have on average a lower probability of employment and lower wages than French natives. We find however considerable differences between second-generation immigrants depending on their origin: while those originating from Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey are less likely to be employed and receive lower wages than French natives, second-generation immigrants with Asian or Southern- and Eastern-European origins do not differ significantly from their French native counterparts. The employment gap between French natives and second generation immigrants is mainly explained by differences in their education; education is also an important determinant of the ethnic wage gap. Finally we show that these differences in educational attainment are mainly explained by family background. Although the role of discrimination cannot be denied, our findings do point out the importance of family background in explaining lifelong ethnic inequalities.


Israeli–Palestinian cooperation on healthcare initiatives demonstrates the potential for progress toward peace through nongovernmental partnerships while formal government negotiations falter. Health interventions create space for opposing groups to engage peacefully and collaboratively, but disagreement persists about the politicization of humanitarian assistance. Together with other sectors of society, the healthcare community can contribute to achieving and maintaining peace between Israelis and Palestinians as part of a multitrack peacework strategy. The Arab Spring's revitalization of democracy and civil society throughout the region creates opportunities for broad-based, civilian-motivated movements for change. Drawing on events during the 2008–2009 Gaza War and experiences with various healthcare programs, I describe three mechanisms by which peace can be advanced through health initiatives and review what evidence is available to support this approach.


Abstract Built by outside powers and targeted against local insurgents, the new national armies of Afghanistan and Iraq are fragile institutions. The legitimacy of these forces is limited in the deeply divided societies in which they exist. Whereas low levels of legitimacy exert a disintegrative pressure upon an army, cohesion counterweighs such pressure. This article engages the theory of military unit cohesion for the purpose of increasing understanding of the challenges to cohesion faced by the new armies of Afghanistan and Iraq. Two main sources of legitimacy for the new armies are discussed: the (ethnic/sectarian) composition of the forces, and their respective missions. Challenges to cohesion are found to depend on how soldiers are recruited and units composed: ethnically/sectarian mixed units may disintegrate because of weak horizontal cohesion; homogeneous units (particularly when recruited as groups and not individually) may splinter off because of weak vertical cohesion. The article also argues that promoting an image of the army as 'national' within a society may reduce disintegrative pressures.


The Internet is becoming the preferred place for finding information. Millions of people go online in search of health and medical information. Likewise, health care professionals must be able to retrieve and manage information in an efficient, effective manner. The development of health technology and informatics (HTI) has been rapid, yet little is known about the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students with regard to using HTI. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to explore nursing students' knowledge of and attitudes toward using HTI and to use an e-learning workshop to enhance the effective use of HTI. In Phase I, 115 first-year full-time nursing students were invited to complete a 13-item questionnaire regarding knowledge of and attitudes toward computer and Internet use, knowledge of HTI, and attitudes toward the future development of HTI. Participants perceived themselves to be knowledgeable in computer and Internet use, while knowledge of HTI was perceived to be low and attitudes toward the future development of HTI were generally positive. Phase II was an e-learning HTI workshop; topics included an introduction to HTI, examples of HTI in use, and the application and implementation of various HTI projects. There were 30 participants in the E-learning workshop, and their feedback was positive. Nurses and all health care professionals must be prepared to participate in the development of health technology and informatics. Teaching and learning activities should be geared toward mastery of HTI in the nursing education curriculum in order to enhance health care quality and safety.


A microfluidic analyser platform for a number of key water quality parameters has been developed. The platform utilises colorimetric reagent chemistry for detection and quantification of phosphate, nitrate, pH and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The system integrates microfluidic analytical systems, optical detection systems, and wireless communications into a low-cost, portable device capable of autonomous operation under environmental conditions for extended periods. The platform has been successfully tested and validated under various conditions including deployments in freshwater, estuarine water and municipal wastewater.
The system uses the vanadomolybophosphoric acid method for phosphate detection, the chromotropic acid method for nitrate detection, a combination of pH indicators for pH measurement, and a variation of the standard method using dichromate for COD analysis. In each case a colour change is developed after mixing the water sample with a reagent (or combination of reagents) in a microfluidic manifold where mixing and reaction take place. The colour change is detected using a light emitting diode (LED) and photodiode based optical detector, allowing quantification of the target analyte in the original sample. Data is stored on a Flash memory chip and also transmitted to the user via wireless communications. Wireless communication modes such as GSM or ZigBee radio are chosen according to the specific application in question. In this paper we describe the design and operation of the analyser platform and present data from laboratory and field trials of the system.


Certification Boards visiting architecture schools regularly demand more 'technology' in the curriculum, and an increased 'integration' of design and technology in the teaching programme. The persistence of this over many years, despite substantial changes in what is meant by technology, suggests that it is not easily achieved, or by any means a straightforward matter. Their reference is to building technology which now needs to be distinguished from information technology where students are often more competent than their elders. Building technology is seldom theorised (with a few notable exceptions) by either design theorists or those who teach technology. Even so called hi-tech architecture (which uses marine technology aesthetically rather than technically) is not theorised. It is sometimes assumed that everything taught in an architecture school should be useful or necessary for a competent architect. Each subject claims this status, but this essential knowledge already crowds the curriculum. The level of understanding demonstrated by the students nevertheless appears to be minimal when compared with their precocious design abilities. It is proposed that integration with design of half-understood technologies is too much to ask of any student during, or even after, five years of study. This paper starts to unravel some aspects of the teaching of technology and discusses issues around the notion of integration.


Vascular smooth muscle (VSM) maturation is developmentally regulated and differs between vascular beds. The maturation and contribution of VSM function to tissue blood flow and blood pressure regulation during early gestation are unknown. The carotid artery (CA) contributes to fetal cerebral blood flow regulation and well being. We studied CA VSM contractility, protein contents, and phenotype beginning in the midthird of ovine development. CAs were collected from early (88-101 day of gestation) and late (138-150 day; term = day 150) fetal (n = 14), newborn (6-8 day old; n = 7), and adult (n = 5) sheep to measure forces in endothelium-denuded rings with KCl, phenylephrine, and ANG II; changes in cellular proteins, including total and soluble protein, actin and myosin, myosin heavy chain isoforms (MHC), filamin, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen; and vascular remodeling. KCl and phenylephrine elicited age- and dose-dependent contraction responses (P < 0.001) at all ages except early fetal, which were unresponsive. In contrast, ANG II elicited dose responses only in adults, with contractility increasing greater than fivefold vs. that shown in fetal or neonatal animals (P < 0.001). Increased contractility paralleled age-dependent increases (P < 0.01) in soluble protein, actin and myosin, filamin, adult smooth muscle MHC-2 (SM2) and medial wall thickness and reciprocal decreases (P < 0.001) in nonmuscle MHC-B, proliferating cell nuclear antigen and medial cellular density. VSM nonreceptor- and receptor-mediated contractions are absent or markedly attenuated in midgestation and increase age dependently, paralleling the transition from synthetic to contractile VSM phenotype and, in the case of ANG II, paralleling the switch to the AT(1) receptor. The mechanisms regulating VSM maturation and thus blood pressure and tissue perfusion in early development remain to be determined.


As fundamental units of neuronal communication, chemical synapses are composed of presynaptic and postsynaptic specializations that form at specific locations with defined shape and size. Synaptic assembly must be tightly regulated to prevent overgrowth of the synapse size and number, but the molecular mechanisms that inhibit synapse assembly are poorly understood. We identified regulator of synaptogenesis–1 (RSY-1) as an evolutionarily conserved molecule that locally antagonized presynaptic assembly. The loss of RSY-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans led to formation of extra synapses and recruitment of excessive synaptic material to presynaptic sites. RSY-1 directly interacted with and negatively regulated SYD-2/liprin-alpha, a master assembly molecule that recruits numerous synaptic components to presynaptic sites. RSY-1 also bound and regulated SYD-1, a synaptic protein required for proper functioning of SYD-2. Thus, local inhibitory mechanisms govern synapse formation.


A 36 weeks and 5 days gestational age male newborn, birth weight 3.1 Kg and Apgar Scores of 7 and 9 at the end of the first and 5th minutes respectively. With a rare association of Prune belly syndrome and patent Urachus. The baby was found to have a sinus just lateral to the umbilical stump from which urine was continuously coming out. The baby did not pass urine through the urethra, and an attempt to catheterize the urethra failed .A catheter was put into the sinus with ease; urine could be aspirated using a 10 cc syringe. A sinogram was done through the catheter which showed a connection between the sinus and a small contracted urinary bladder (patent urachus). (Figure 1) shows corrugated appearance of the abdomen due to absent abdominal muscles, the urine flow through the urachus caused the wet appearance of the abdomen. Figure 1: Urachus at the lateral side of the umbilical cord Figure 2: Catheter inserted into the urachus


Closure-based approaches to labor market inequality argue that artificial restrictions on the supply of labor to an occupation or other labor market position drive up its wages, thereby contributing to between-occupation inequality. To date, the closure argument has been neither elaborated nor tested in a comparative context. In this chapter, we develop a theoretical argument to account for differences in the prevalence and wage effects of closure practices across countries and assess its predictions in the United Kingdom, a liberal market economy (LME), and Germany, a coordinated market economy (CME). Using newly collected occupation-level data on licensure, educational credentialing, unionization, and apprenticeships that are linked to individual-level wage data, we show that closure increases mean occupation wages in both countries. However, the prevalence and payoff of closure practices varies systematically across the two countries, with vocational credentialing and unionization having particularly strong effects in Germany relative to other sources of closure, and tertiary credentialing and licensure having particularly strong effects in the UK. The labor markets of both countries, then, are entirely polluted by rents that affect betweenoccupation wage inequality. This chapter is co-authored by Kim A. Weeden and is available as Bol, Thijs, and Kim A. Weeden. nd. "Occupational Closure and Wage Inequality in Germany and the United Kingdom." Working paper, AMCIS, University of Amsterdam, and is currently under review. Why does education pay off? 104 5.


Fast and Frugal Trees (FFTs) are a quintessential family of simple heuristics that allow effective and efficient binary classification decisions and often perform remarkably well when compared to more complex methods. This half-day tutorial will familiarize participants with examples of FFTs and elucidate the theoretical link between FFTs and signal detection theory (SDT). A range of presentations, practical exercises and interactive tools will enable participants to construct and evaluate FFTs for different data sets.


A three-dimensional optical correlator using a lens array is proposed and demonstrated. The proposed method captures three-dimensional objects using the lens array and transforms them into sub-images. Through successive two-dimensional correlations between the sub-images, a three-dimensional optical correlation is accomplished. As a result, the proposed method is capable of detecting out-of-plane rotations of threedimensional objects as well as three-dimensional shifts.


Racial and income disparities persist in diabetes management in America. One third of African and Hispanic Americans with diabetes receive the recommended diabetes services (hemoglobin A1c [A1c] testing, retinal and foot examinations) shown to reduce diabetes complications and mortality, compared to half of whites with diabetes. National data for Asian Americans are limited, but studies suggest that those with language and cultural barriers have difficulty accessing health services. A diabetic registry has been shown to improve process and clinical outcomes in a population with diabetes. This study examined whether a community center that serves primarily low-income Asian American immigrants in Santa Clara County, California, could improve diabetes care and outcomes by implementing a diabetic registry. The registry was built using the Access 2007 software program. A total of 580 patients with diabetes were identified by reviewing charts, the appointment database, and reimbursement records from Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance companies. Utilizing the registry, medical assistants contacted patients for follow-up appointments, and medical providers checked and tracked the patients' A1c results. Among the 431 patients who returned for treatment, the mean A1c was reduced from 7.27% to 6.97% over 8 months (P<0.001). Although 10.8% of the patients changed from controlled to uncontrolled diabetes post intervention, 32.6% of patients with uncontrolled diabetes converted to controlled diabetes (P<0.001). The diabetes control rate improved from 47% to 59% at the end of the study. This study demonstrated that a diabetic registry is an effective tool to manage an underserved population with diabetes, thereby reducing disparities in diabetes management.


This thesis investigates the meaning of "psychology" in psychological warfare by explaining the factors that permit the existence o f religious extremist behavior. Such attention are been given because the problem is relatively understudied in Malaysia and that has resulted in the inability to develop an ideal psychological warfare model to deal with the problem. Since 2001, Malaysia has been labeled as a breeding ground for religious extremist leaders. The recurring number of religious extremist cases magnifies our limited understanding on the psychological context of the problem and if left unattained, can prolong the situation. To propose a theoretical solution to the problem, three research objectives were formulated and they are: (1) how existential psychology can be used to explain religious extremism, (2) how behavioral psychology can be used to explain religious extremism and (3) how psychoanalytical psychology can be used to explain religious extremism. Conclusively, discourse analysis on 37 psychological constructs extracted from three psychological paradigms o f Frankl, Pavlov & Skinner, and Freud have enabled this study to theorize a multi-factor stand to look at the problem, hence confirming the root cause of it. Some "Enabling Factors" emerged to authenticate the conceptual model in terms of framing the roots and types of religious extremist behavior. These "Enabling Factors" are divided into three categories consist o f Single-Psychological Factor, Double-Psychological Factor, and Triple-Psychological Factor. The results show, religious extremist behavior falls in the Triple-Psychological Factor category. This means, in order for religious extremist behavior to emerge, there must be simultaneous psychological problem o f (1) severe inability to develop meaning to life, (2) prolonged environmental stimulation toward aggressiveness and violent, and (3) inability to adopt mature defense mechanisms due to the development of fixation, blind obsession in ritual practice and condoning a destructive worldview towards life. In summary, overcoming these enabling factors is a highly recommended psychological warfare skill in an attempt to understand religious extremism and to halt the problem before it begins. This is a small but significant breakthrough in psychological warfare research as this conceptual model offers a new approach to the prevention o f extremist behavior by providing in-depth psychological knowledge on the root causes of the problem and subsequently weaponized psychological warfare initiative for peace purposes.


Certain steroid hormone receptors undergo ligand-induced degradation via the proteasome. Lonard et al. provide intriguing evidence that the proteasome is important both for degrading the estrogen-bound estrogen receptor α (ERα) and for promoting the transcriptional activity of these activated receptors. Disruption of proteasome activity, either with inhibitors or in cells with a temperature-sensitive mutation in the ubiquitin-activating enzyme UBA, resulted in stabilization of ERα and inhibition of estrogen-stimulated transcriptional activation of reporter genes. Analysis of mutant estrogen receptors indicated that the ability of the proteasome to regulate ERα activity and to promote ERα degradation was dependent on the receptor's interaction with coactivators, but not on DNA binding. The coactivators were also targets for proteasome-mediated degradation. Thus, the ability of the proteasome to stimulate ERα transcriptional activity may be by influencing the ER-coactivator interaction. Lonard, D.M., Nawaz, Z., Smith, C.L., O'Malley, B.W. (2000) The 26S proteasome is required for estrogen receptor-α and coactivator turnover and for efficient estrogen receptor-α transactivation. Mol. Cell 5: 939-948. [Online Journal]


The article presents an overview of the history and present state in artificial intelligence and law investigations. It discusses what features of legal knowledge determine specific features of computer knowledge-based legal systems and what problems these systems work on. Computer modelling methods and their use for the modelling of legal reasoning are considered as well. Knowledge-based legal systems usually use hybrid methods that integrate several methods. The main methods are deduction, induction and analogy. Deduction is usually used to model legal norms and heuristics. It is the main method in the countries with statute law traditions, and Lithuania is one of such countries. Induction is used to generalize concrete cases and obtain deductive rules. Analogy is used to make a decision on the ground of previous decisions made in similar cases. Induction and analogy are applied in case-based reasoning. The article also overviews some other methods used to model legal reasoning: argumentation, deontic logic, hypertext, neural networks. Issues of computer modelling in legal drafting are discussed separately.


In the smart grid, real-time pricing policy is an important mechanism for incentivizing the consumers to dynamically change or shift their electricity consumption, thereby improving the reliability of the grid. Retailers are incorporated to the smart grid with distributed control mechanism in order to reduce the amount of communication overhead associated with the direction interaction between utility companies and consumers. The retailer procures electricity from both traditional and renewable energy sources, and sells it to its consumers. The consumers include residential users that can only consume power, and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) that can either consume power or supply power stored in its battery to the grid. In this work, a novel four-stage nested game model is proposed to model the interaction of the electricity retailer, utility companies, and consumers. The objective of the retailer is to maximize its overall profit as well as perform frequency regulation, whereas the goal of each consumer is to maximize a predefined utility function. In the game theoretic framework, the retailer should decide the amounts of electricity purchased from the renewable and traditional energy sources, respectively, as well as the real-time pricing scheme for its consumers. The consumers will react to the pricing mechanism and maximize their utility functions by adjusting the electricity demand. The optimal solution of the nested game is provided through: (i) finding the subgame perfect equilibrium (SPE) of all the consumers, and (ii) optimizing the retailer's action using the backward induction method. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed game theoretic modeling and optimization framework.


Consider these two seemingly unrelated recent scandals: The publicized fall from grace of cyclist Lance Armstrong, and the truly ruinous Madoff pyramid scheme. These cases (as well as a plethora of more mundane scenarios discussed throughout this article) share a common feature, hitherto scantly discussed by courts and legal scholars: causal ambiguity in restitution claims involving multiple claimants. In such cases, a wrongdoer was enriched at the expense of others – sometimes a great many others – and it is therefore difficult to determine exactly which possible victim is indeed the source of the wrongdoer's enrichment. In such cases, it can be near impossible to preponderantly prove the identity of the claimant at whose expense the wrongdoer was enriched. This article is the first to identify this problem as a reoccurring pattern in restitutionary claims.

By making this novel contribution, the article fills an important gap in the literature and identifies a new paradigm within the law of restitution, that of causal ambiguity in multiple-claimant cases. This vacuum in the literature on restitutionary claims is especially striking, considering the vast scholarship on a closely related topic, namely causal ambiguity in multiple-defendant tort cases.

The article argues and demonstrates that the existing rules of the law of restitution do not provide appropriate solutions in multiple-claimant cases. Under existing law, many deserving claimants – sometimes all of them – can be left with no remedy, thereby denied of their rights and not compensated for harms they suffered at the hands of a wrongdoer. Drawing on the more developed literature on causal ambiguity in tort law, we propose a solution for this injustice by presenting, for the first time, a new concept of probabilistic restitution. The article shows that the proposed regime can lead to just and efficient outcomes, serving the goals of both interpersonal justice and deterrence.


This paper examines whether there is any link between export openness and the temporary workers ratio at firms. First, we investigate the effect of export openness on sales volatility using Japanese firm-level data. Next, we examine whether firms will increase the number of temporary workers as their sales volatility changes. Finally, we calculate to what extent changes in the temporary workers ratio are attributable to the sales volatility that is caused by exporting. We find statistically significant evidence that a foreign demand shock through exports affects the sales volatility at the firm level and that increases in the sales volatility induce the extensive use of temporary workers. Indeed, we find that those firms that incur a higher fixed employment cost make extensive use of temporary workers when the sales growth volatility rises. However, quantitative evaluation of the effects of exporting on the temporary workers ratio shows that the magnitude of these effects is quite small. We conclude that the impacts of firms' exporting status and export share on the temporary workers ratio are statistically significant but economically negligible in size. Thus, it is not appropriate to attribute the cause of increases in the temporary workers ratio to increased foreign shocks that occur because of exporting.


Abstract. This study focusses on the variability of temperature, ozone and circulation characteristics in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere with regard to the influence of the 11-year solar cycle. It is based on attribution analysis using multiple nonlinear techniques (support vector regression, neural networks) besides the multiple linear regression approach. The analysis was applied to several current reanalysis data sets for the 1979–2013 period, including MERRA, ERA-Interim and JRA-55, with the aim to compare how these types of data resolve especially the double-peaked solar response in temperature and ozone variables and the consequent changes induced by these anomalies. Equatorial temperature signals in the tropical stratosphere were found to be in qualitative agreement with previous attribution studies, although the agreement with observational results was incomplete, especially for JRA-55. The analysis also pointed to the solar signal in the ozone data sets (i.e. MERRA and ERA-Interim) not being consistent with the observed double-peaked ozone anomaly extracted from satellite measurements. The results obtained by linear regression were confirmed by the nonlinear approach through all data sets, suggesting that linear regression is a relevant tool to sufficiently resolve the solar signal in the middle atmosphere. The seasonal evolution of the solar response was also discussed in terms of dynamical causalities in the winter hemispheres. The hypothetical mechanism of a weaker Brewer–Dobson circulation at solar maxima was reviewed together with a discussion of polar vortex behaviour.


In an effort to achieve life objective, human beings need social interaction with their environment. Life objective of Balinese community (Hindu) as stated in Bhagawad Gita is ?Moksrtham Jagathita ya Caiti Dharma?, that is achieving moksa trough truth way of moksa abstractly, which means unite with Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa. In reality, moksa mean ?sukha tan pawali duka?. For achieving this, human being try to keep harmonic relationship among three elements i.e. relationship among human being, relationship with their environment, and relationship with god. The implementation of the relationship of the three elements is trough yadnya expenditure, known as panca yadnya. For instance, dewa yadnya expenditure is for keeping relationship between human being and god, butha yadnya is for keeping relationship between human being and his environment, and manusa yadnya is for keeping relationship among human beings. Aims of this study including four matters : 1) identification of kind of ceremony (dewa yadnya) for six month, 2) kind and quantity of material used, 3) time spent and number of labor used, 4) value of money (Rupiah) spend for the ceremonies. This study done in Gianyar regency with sample of 52 Hindu households in five pekraman villages and 30 banjar adat. Household sample and village sample are choosen by using stratified random sampling. The findings shows that 1) the number of household offering in Gianyar Regency in every rerahinan day is 42,46 units; 2) material of dewa yadnya consist of at least 21 kinds or equal to 13,535.98 ton per year. Among other, 2999.78 ton of flower; 5521.26 ton of coconut leafe and , 1824.58 ton of coconut; 3) time spent for running cremation ceremony from preparation until the ?D? day is 5531 effective hours, consist of 3,032 man hour and 2,499 woman hour, or 699 mandays wich is consist of 386,44 mandays (man) and 312,38 mandays (woman; 4) Total expenditure (Gianyar regency) for yadnya is Rp. 651.877.818.490. On average, for every household this amount of money is used for keeping good relationship among them (manusa yadnya) about Rp. 4,791,693.47, for butha yadnya is about Rp. 164,615.38, and for dewa yadnya is about Rp. 3,618,328.08.,-


Abstract Commercial bentonite from the Kopernica deposit, Slovakia, is currently mined by the CERTECH Company, Poland, to produce materials intended for animal-care applications and other industrial purposes. The present study aimed to assess the mineralogical, petrographic and physicochemical characteristics of three bentonite varieties from Kopernica used by the company. The X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), nuclear magnetic resonance, thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and chemical analyses showed that the main component of the rocks is montmorillonite with the average structural formula Ca0.31K0.08Na0.04(Al3.23Mg0.54Fe0.23)[(Si7.80Al0.20)O20](OH)4. In addition, opal-C/CT, biotite, potassium feldspar and plagioclase, quartz, clinoptilolite and kaolinite are present. Key information about the textural relationships between the mineral components identified was obtained from detailed thin-section petrography and FESEM studies. The rocks studied have fragmented, eutaxitic texture. They are composed of pumice fragments collapsed into lenticular masses (fiamme) which were strongly deformed and altered, though the shard structures were retained. The compressed glass shards were moulded around pyroclastic grains such as crystal fragments of quartz, biotite and zoned plagioclases, and clasts of volcanic rocks. Observations by FESEM showed that the axes of shards and the walls of the flattened vacuoles are outlined by the inward-growing microlites of silica (axiolitic texture), whilst the interiors of shards are altered to clay. Grain-size distribution, textural properties and microscope observations of grain-size fractions reveal that the Kopernica bentonite contains montmorillonite-opal aggregates difficult to disperse in water.


Cosmology is the study of the universe as a whole. It deals with the origin and evolution of the universe. Our current understanding of our universe is based on the application of theory of general relativity to the universe. The standard theory of cosmology is able to explain many of the observational facts about the universe with great success, such as the expansion of the universe, primordial nucleosynthesis, origin and spectrum of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation(CMBR) etc. Despite of its great success, it remains silent about some of the most profound questions related to the initial conditions of our universe. There are problems such as the horizon problem and the flatness problem for which the standard theory of cosmology offers no solution. The solution to these problems is provided by the theory of inflation. In addition to solving the above problems, Inflation, as a bonus, provides seed for structure formation in the universe. The theory of Inflation was proposed to solve the problems associated with the standard (FRW) cosmology. Inflation postulates the existence of a field φ, the inflaton, associated with which was the potential V (φ). The field was slowly rolling for some duration from its local minima to global minima. During this small duration of slow roll, φ was the dominant form of energy. The space experienced a period of exponential expansion. We have learned a great deal about inflation, but, we don't know much about the potential V (φ) itself. There exist hundreds of models of inflaton, with different V (φ)s. The predictions of any successful model should match with the observational/experimental values of the parameters involved. Here we study few such models to find out if they can be the potential inflaton. Also we explore the basic ideas about structure formation due to the quantum fluctuations in inflaton.


The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) levels the playing field of trade between the United States and the six CAFTA-DR partner countries. Half of U.S. farm products gain immediate tariff-free access to the markets of the CAFTA-DR region. All Tariffs will be eliminated in 20 years. Under CAFTA-DR, tariffs on an important U.S. fresh fruit export to the region, fresh apples, declined from an initial base of 15%-25% in CAFTA-DR countries to zero immediately upon enforcement. The specific objective of this research is to analyze the impact of tariff elimination under CAFTA-DR on the trade of U.S. fresh apples. Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used for the analysis involving an excess-supply-excess-demand model with monthly trade data from January 2000 to December 2010. The more telling empirical results indicate that for each of the six CAFTA-DR countries, tariff elimination positively promotes U.S. apple exports to this region.


Web Services, as the new building blocks of today's Internet provide the power to access distributed and heterogeneous information objects, which is the base for more advanced use like in electronic commerce. But, the access to these information objects is not always unrestricted. The owner of the information objects may control access due to different reasons. This paper introduces a novel approach for declaring information object related access restrictions, based on a valid XML encoding. The paper shows, how the access restrictions can be declared using XACML and Xpath. Based on the specified 'fine grained' policies, multiple policies can be applicable. If these policies declare positive and negative permissions for the same subject, policy inconsistencies exist. The paper also focuses on specifying the ground of policy inconsistencies and how to solve them.


The complexity of modern careers requires personal agency in managing career development and employability capital as personal resources for career success. Individuals' employability capital also serves as a valuable resource for the sustainable performance of organizations. Individuals' ability to proactively engage in career self-management behaviors through the use of a comprehensive range of self-regulatory capabilities, known as career metacapacities, contributes to their employability capital. Organizational career development supports initiatives that consider individuals' proactivity in light of conditions that influence their motivational states, and availability of personal resources helps organizations benefit from individuals who bring information, knowledge, capacities, and relationship networks (i.e., employability capital) into their work that ultimately contribute to the organization's capability to sustain performance in uncertain, highly competitive business markets. Career development support practices should embrace the individualization of modern-day careers, the need for whole-life management, and the multiple meanings that career success has for individuals.


Optimal strategies for identifying children with hypercholesterolemia have not been established. Several groups have advocated that testing of serum cholesterol levels be limited to those children who have family histories of hyperlipidemia or premature coronary heart disease. We studied the ability of comprehensive family histories to identify children with hyperlipidemia in a group of 114 children (mean age, 8 +/- 4 years) who were referred for treatment of hypercholesterolemia. A positive family history was defined according to guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The mean fasting total cholesterol in the children was 5.74 +/- 1.42 mmol/L (222 mg/dL). Family history was negative for hypercholesterolemia or premature coronary heart disease in 22 (22%) of 100 children with total cholesterol levels greater than the 75th percentile for their ages, in 13 (18.3%) of 71 children with total cholesterol levels greater than the 95th percentile for their ages, and in four (11.8%) of 34 children with presumed heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. Of the 78 children who had both hypercholesterolemia and positive family histories, hyperlipidemia was reported in 72 families, whereas premature heart disease was reported in only 27. We conclude that in a population of children referred because of known hypercholesterolemia, a detailed family history not only fails to identify many children with mild hypercholesterolemia, but also fails to identify a significant proportion of children with markedly elevated cholesterol levels. Additionally, in families of children with hypercholesterolemia, a history of hyperlipidemia is more common than a history of premature heart disease.


Lysogeny has been reported for a few freshwater cyanobacteria cultures, but it is unknown how prevalent it is in freshwater cyanobacteria in situ. Here we tested for lysogeny in (a) cultures of eight Australian species of subtropical freshwater cyanobacteria; (b) seven strains of one species: Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii; and (c) six cyanobacterial blooms in drinking water reservoirs in South East Queensland, Australia. Lysogenic infection in the cyanobacteria was induced through mitomycin C addition. By measuring the decline in host cell numbers and the concomitant increase in cyanophages over the course of the experiment, we observed lysogenic infection in five of the eight species of cyanobacteria (i.e. Nodularia spumigena, Anabaena circinalis, Anabaenopsis arnoldii, Aphanizomenon ovalisporum, Microcystis botrys, Microcystis aeruginosa, C. raciborskii and Anabaena spp., and in four of the seven strains of C. raciborskii) but only in two of the six natural cyanobacteria blooms. Lysogeny dominated laboratory culture strains whereas in natural blooms of cyanobacteria few species were lysogenic (i.e. not mitomycin C inducible). Thus, lysogenic laboratory cultures may not necessarily reflect the genetics nor the physiology of a natural cyanobacterial population, and more information on both forms is needed to understand better how cyanobacteria behave and exist in their natural habitat.


The province of Benguet is lacking in medical health services. The province has 165 public hospital beds, of which no more than 138 are in use, and 171 private hospital beds. While total number of beds is 336, the actual number in use is 309 beds. The inadequate number of beds coupled with the lack of tertiary health services has resulted in over 2000 patients a year being sent to the Baguio General hospital and Medical Center in Baguio further increasing the overcrowding in the Baguio hospital and imposing additional costs on patients in Benguet. This study completed an integrated financial, economic, stakeholder, sensitivity and risk analysis of the project which targets to complete the referral structure by raising the quality and quantity of medical services that can be offered at the Benguet General Hospital to the level of a tertiary medical facility.


Coral reefs are considered among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, yet little is known about the diversity of plankton in the surrounding water column. Moreover, few studies have utilised genomic methods to investigate zooplankton diversity in any habitat. This study investigated the diversity of taxa by sampling 45 stations around three reef systems in the central/southern Red Sea. The diversity of metazoan plankton was investigated by targeting the 18S rRNA gene and clustering OTUs at 97% sequence similarity. A total of 754 and 854 metazoan OTUs were observed in the data set for the 1380F and 1389F primer sets respectively. The phylum Arthropoda dominated both primer sets accounting for ~60% of reads followed by Cnidaria (~ 20%). Only about 20% of OTUs were shared between all three reef systems and the relation between geographic distance and Jaccard Similarity measures was not significant. Cluster analysis showed that there was no distinct split between reefs and stations from different reefs clustered together both for metazoans as a whole and for the phyla Arthropoda, Cnidaria and Chordata separately. This suggests that distance may not be a determining factor in the taxonomic composition of stations.


"Whose Music?" combines historical, musicological, and sociological materials and styles of analysis in ways that connect to the field of sociology. The analyses of social class systems presented here speak in translatable ways to analyses of musical forms. Not only that, both are connected to an understanding of the organizations through which works are distributed to their audiences. Perhaps most importantly for the contemporary reader, this book depicts the part of the process by which dominant class groups justify their domination--cultural and otherwise.


The role of information technology in modern education has increased significantly over the past two decades [14]. The opportunity to develop an interactive software system with the aim of enhancing fundamental problem-solving skills of learners enrolled for the Computer Science, Information Technology and Mathematics programs at tertiary institutions is possible with object-oriented programming techniques and multi-dimensional graphic design. The definition of fundamental problem-solving skills includes cognitive functional skills such as logical thinking, conceptualism with prior knowledge, relationship forming and objective analysis. Experiments done for this research indicate that given the right educational tools, cognitive functional skills of learners can be stimulated, developed and enhanced. This, in turn, may lead to an increase in the graduation rates of learners enrolled for the Computer Science, Information Technology and Mathematics program and ultimately contribute to the reshaping of the educational experience.


Despite an overall increase in total road salt used over the past 14 years (the data record in this manuscript), there has been a 26% reduction in the rate (normalized as tonnes of salt per cm of snow per km of road) of road salt application by the City of Toronto since that city implemented mitigations from the Road Salt Code of Practice. The ecological benefit of the reduced use of road salt was approximated by comparing the estimated 26% salt reduction to the distribution of chloride tolerances that has been recently published by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (i.e., CCME). Species sensitivity distributions predict that between 1 and 14% of taxa would benefit from a 26% reduction in chloride concentrations in surface waters. Assuming that a typical 'healthy' Canadian watercourse might support between 100 and 200 species of fish, invertebrates and plants, the Code of Practice might provide benefit to between 14 and 28 species. However, the net ecological benefit of implementing the Code may be undermined in rapidly urbanizing watersheds where road networks continue to expand at a rate of 3–5% per year and chloride loads to urban streams are steadily increasing.


Objective: Rurally situated African Americans suffer from stress and drug-related health disparities. Unfortunately, research on potential mechanisms that underlie this public health problem have received limited focus in the scientific literature. This study investigated the effects of perceived stress, alcohol consumption, and genotype on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) Axis. Methods: A rural sample of African American emerging adults (n = 84) completed a battery of assessments and provided six samples of salivary cortisol at wakeup, 30 min post wakeup, 90 min post wakeup, 3:00 PM, 3:30 PM, and 4:30 PM. Results: Participants with a TT genotype of the CRHR1 (rs4792887) gene tended to produce the most basal cortisol throughout the day while participants with a CC genotype produced the least amount. Increased levels of perceived stress or alcohol consumption were associated with a blunted cortisol awakening response (CAR). Moreover, the CAR was obliterated for participants who reported both higher stress and alcohol consumption. Conclusion: Perceived stress and alcohol consumption had a deleterious effect on the HPA-Axis. Furthermore, genotype predicted level of cortisol production throughout the day. These findings support the need to further investigate the relationship between stress dysregulation, drug-use vulnerability, and associated health disparities that affect this community.


The process of immunologic tolerance is critical in preventing autoimmune disease and maintaining immune system homeostasis. Increased understanding regarding cytokine networks has led to the development of neutralizing antibodies against tumor necrosis factor (TNF ) and against interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 signaling in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, there remains an unmet need, given the significant number of patients not achieving remission or whose condition fails to respond to these drugs. Mesenchymal (stromal) stem cells (MSCs) are promising tools for the repair of damaged joint tissue such as cartilage, bone, and tendons. Moreover, MSCs have potent antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, both in vitro and in vivo (1). Research into MSC therapy for Crohn's disease, type 1 diabetes mellitus, graft-versushost disease (GVHD), and multiple sclerosis continues apace with ongoing phase II/III trials (http://www. clinicaltrials.gov). There have been conflicting reports regarding the effects of MSCs in autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly in the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model of RA (2–8). Conversely, promising results in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were recently reported (9), even in the face of conflicting results in murine models of SLE. In the present review, we examine MSCs as a possible cellular therapy for RA, SLE, and systemic sclerosis (SSc), and critically assess possible reasons for conflicting results in the literature. We also address whether MSC dysfunction could play a role in the pathogenesis of these conditions. Finally, we examine the possible mechanisms of action of MSCs at the cellular level, including their effects on Treg cells and Th17 cell populations.


Space Syntax developed from the work of Benedikt in 1979 and then Hillier and Hanson in 1984. Benedikt created visual maps within building plans by drawing the contours of equal visual areas calling the resulting map an 'isovist field.' He theorized that these isovists fields would correspond to the pattern of people's movements and provide insight into how a space was navigated. This theory was confirmed by Hillier who together with Hanson went on to develop the approach by using a grid of nodes. Lines drawn from each node established the connectedness of that point to the remainder of the grid points within the space being studied. And it was from this that the visual graph analysis approach and spatial syntax emerged. The spatial tool has the ability to draw out spatial patterns from 2D floor plans that would not otherwise be easily quantified and it is this quality that is the subject of this paper. The paper applies the approach to the last 5 remaining households at El Hol camp in Syria of refugees from the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. The basic house data was collected in February 2003. The results support the idea of an "intimacy gradient" being inherent in the building design which may not have been otherwise identified. And that this gradient appears to be important, it is certainly vernacular, extremely subtle and perhaps fundamental at least to the design of this housing. It will be interesting to compare and discuss whether that was the case for housing in Gujarat and other areas. This paper seeks to extend earlier qualitative work on "Talking to the Building" presented at i-Rec 2008 and the use of Quality of Life surveys to measure whether people were "happy" presented at both i-Rec 2006 and 2008 as a way to understand and also verify the needs of the building's occupants


This paper examines the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis in Australia using the ARDL cointegration framework. Evidence was found of a significant long-run relationship between real exchange rate and Australia-US productivity differential during the period of 1950-2003. The results indicate that a one per cent increase in labour productivity in Australia relative to the US will lead to 5.6 per cent appreciation in the real exchange rate of Australia. The estimated coefficient for the error correction term is -0.1983 and is highly significant, indicating that the deviation from the long term real exchange rate equilibrium path is corrected by nearly 20 per cent over the following year. The Author suspects that the elasticity coefficient is "over-estimated" due to the exclusion of relevant explanatory variables in the analytical model. The real exchange rate movements are affected by real fundamentals and policy-induced shifts in its real fundamentals. The fundamentals include the terms of trade, government expenditure, real interest rate differentials, net foreign liabilities among others along with labour productivity differential. Abstract This paper examines the Balassa-Samuelson hypothesis in Australia using the ARDL cointegration framework. Evidence was found of a significant long-run relationship between real exchange rate and Australia-US productivity differential during the period of 1950-2003. The results indicate that a one per cent increase in labour productivity in Australia relative to the US will lead to 5.6 per cent appreciation in the real exchange rate of Australia. The estimated coefficient for the error correction term is -0.1983 and is highly significant, indicating that the deviation from the long term real exchange rate equilibrium path is corrected by nearly 20 per cent over the following year. The Author suspects that the elasticity coefficient is "over-estimated" due to the exclusion of relevant explanatory variables in the analytical model. The real exchange rate movements are affected by real fundamentals and policy-induced shifts in its real fundamentals. The fundamentals include the terms of trade, government expenditure, real interest rate differentials, net foreign liabilities among others along with labour productivity differential.


RANKOVA, Z., L. NACHEVA, A. ZHIVONDOV and P. GERCHEVA, 2015. Behaviour of the sour-sweet cherry hybrid 20-192 after treatment with soil herbicides under in vitro conditions. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 21: 1194–1197 The experiment was carried out at the Laboratory of Biotechnology within the Fruit-Growing Institute – Plovdiv with in vitro propagated and rooted plants of the newly bred rootstock for sweet and sour cherry 20-192. The interspecific hybrid No. 20-192 (Prunus cerasus L.× Prunus avium L.) was introduced into culture and propagated in vitro in MS nutrient medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) supplemented with BAP и IBA. Root-formation was established after about 20 days. Treatment with herbicides was carried out under in vitro conditions 35 days after culturing in the rooting medium when the rootlets reached a length of about 2 cm. The effect of the soil herbicides napropamid (Devrinol 4F), pendimethalin (Stomp 33 EC) and oxyfluorfen + metolachlor (Metofen), each of them applied at three different doses, was studied with the aim of developing a system of rapid preliminary screening. The results obtained showed that after treatment with the soil herbicides napropamid and pendimethalin under in vitro conditions, visual symptoms of phytotoxicity and growth suppression were not observed in the plants of the vegetative rootstock 20-192. Strong phytotoxicity expressed in necrosis and dying of the plants was observed after treatment with high doses of Metofen. The studied herbicides did not exert a depressing effect on stem growth at the doses used. After treatment with high doses of napropamid, plant growth suppression was established, expressed in a lower mean weight of a plant.


We welcome your rapid responses, whether in direct response to an article in Career Focus or as a way of sharing your own ideas. As long as it isn't libellous or offensive, we'll post it on our website. We print a selection of rapid reponses here and the writer of the best each month wins an Oxford Handbook of their choice. Letter of the month prize is donated by OUP.


Position control devices enable precise selection, but significant clutching degrades performance. Clutching can be reduced with high control-display gain or pointer acceleration, but there are human and device limits. Elastic rate control eliminates clutching completely, but can make precise selection difficult. We show that hybrid position-rate control can outperform position control by 20% when there is significant clutching, even when using pointer acceleration. Unlike previous work, our RubberEdge technique eliminates trajectory and velocity discontinuities. We derive predictive models for position control with clutching and hybrid control, and present a prototype RubberEdge position-rate control device including initial user feedback.


Foreign affairs have been traditionally seen as an exclusive competence of central governments. However, over the last 30 years, European paradiplomacy has been progressively developing not least because of the institutional opportunities that the Union composite constitutional order provides for the participation of the regional tier in its decision-making processes. The present paper examines how the European multilevel systems have allowed for the creation of such 'sub-national constitutional space' enabling their constituent units to be active in the international arena. It does so by examining the treaty-making powers of the sub-state entities, the mechanisms that allow their participation in the foreign policy making of the central government and the implementation of the international treaties. Finally, it focuses on their autonomous external representation at the EU level. It argues that, despite conventional wisdom, States do not enjoy a monopoly of competences in the area of foreign affairs.


All plants in natural ecosystems are thought to be symbiotic with mycorrhizal and/or endophytic fungi. Collectively, these fungi express different symbiotic lifestyles ranging from parasitism to mutualism. Analysis of Colletotrichum species indicates that individual isolates can express either parasitic or mutualistic lifestyles depending on the host genotype colonized. The endophyte colonization pattern and lifestyle expression indicate that plants can be discerned as either disease, non-disease, or non-hosts. Fitness benefits conferred by fungi expressing mutualistic lifestyles include biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, growth enhancement, and increased reproductive success. Analysis of plant–endophyte associations in high stress habitats revealed that at least some fungal endophytes confer habitat-specific stress tolerance to host plants. Without the habitat-adapted fungal endophytes, the plants are unable to survive in their native habitats. Moreover, the endophytes have a broad host range encompassing both monocots and eudicots, and confer habitat-specific stress tolerance to both plant groups.


Podcasts are seen by many educators as having significant pedagogical potential, especially in higher education. The benefits of students, working in groups, to create their own podcasts, have been described by a number of studies. The podcast creation process is seen as having significant knowledge-creation value and benefits linked to enhanced intellectual engagement with subject matter. This article describes how groups of second year undergraduate students, on an Education and Subject Studies honours degree course at a small university college in the UK, engaged in a podcast creation assignment. The students were able to demonstrate enhanced levels of academic competencies when the podcasts they created and the reflective journals they produced alongside them were assessed as part of their on-going assessment towards the award of the degree classification. The findings indicate that when compared with the marks achieved in six other assignments, marked using comparable criteria, the students' achievement in the podcast creation assignment was significantly better, ANOVA F=5.378 p< 0.001. Content analysis of the students' reflective journals was used to generate a list of the features of the podcast creation process which may have had an impact on this enhanced student performance and which could be incorporated into other assessment methods.


Since the Reagan and Thatcher revolutions of the 1980s, there has been little consensus on what welfare ought to do or how it ought to function. At the same time, post-Wall continental Europe searches for a "third way" between state-planned socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. In Reflexive Democracy, Kevin Olson takes on this contemporary conceptual crisis. He calls for a "political turn" in considerations of the welfare state, arguing that it should no longer be understood in primarily economic terms--as a redistributive and regulatory mechanism--but in political terms, as a means of living up to deep-seated values of political equality. Drawing on arguments by T. H. Marshall and Jurgen Habermas, Olson proposes a conception of political equality as the normative basis of the welfare state. He argues that there are inextricable connections between democracy and welfare: the welfare state both promotes political equality and depends on it for its own political legitimacy. The paradox of political equality as a precondition for political equality is best solved, Olson argues, by guaranteeing citizens the means for equal participation. This is a reflexive conception of democracy, in which democratic politics circles back to sustain the conditions of equality that make it possible.This view, Olson writes, is meant not to replace traditional economic concerns but to reveal deep interconnections between democratic equality and economic justice. It counters paternalistic ideas of welfare reform by focusing on citizen participation. This conception moves beyond simple equality in the possession of goods and resources to propose a rich, materially grounded conception of democratic equality.


This paper examines the social and political challenges related to the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) kiosk projects for rural development in India. Specifically, the paper focuses on the Akshaya project, a franchise of rural computer-service kiosks, which was implemented in Kerala as a public-private sector collaboration. The Akshaya project has the twin goals of social development through increased access to computers for rural people and financial viability through market-driven entrepreneurship. Using interview and participant observation methods, we examine the challenges that state actors and entrepreneurs face in simultaneously addressing social and financial sustainability. The preliminary evidence suggests that there is a tension between these goals at a macro level (within the state) and a micro level (for entrepreneurs and potential consumers) that makes it difficult to run a financially self-sustaining ICT kiosk project that also meets social development goals. The paper demonstrates that the implementation of ICTs for development is not simply a technical process of delivering services to the poor, but is a highly political process that involves tradeoffs and prioritization of particular goals to attain sustainability. Branding this project is a challenge for the state and entrepreneurs due to consumer perceptions of what development is, with particular expectations of state provided services, versus what business is


A relationship between burial depth and sonic interval transit times has been established for normally compacted Upper Jurassic to Tertiary shale intervals from 32 carefully selected Norwegian Shelf wells located between the Danish-Norwegian sector border and 66°N. The normal shale interval transit time trend is expressed as At= 191 exp( -0.000 27z), where At is the shale transit time (JJS/ft) and z is burial depth in metres. During the late Cenozoic, mainland Norway and the eastern part of the Norwegian Shelf experienced uplift and erosion, which resulted in shale over-compaction. Twenty-nine wells were identified as being located within the uplifted area south of 66°N, and the established normal interval transit time trend was used to quantify magnitudes of net uplift and erosion from shale intervals in each well. The average standard deviation of the quantification was 260 m and the maximum magnitude of net uplift and erosion determined in the wells was 610 m. The late Cenozoic uplift binge-line is sub-parallel to the present-day Norwegian coastline, as are the iso-uplift curves whose magnitudes increase landwards. Compared to earlier studies, the magnitudes presented here differ slightly from those of other workers, probably because of the different methods employed.


Law school course offerings have proliferated in recent decades. From the perspective of the individual student, an expanded curriculum may create exciting educational opportunities while posing trade-offs between a generalist education and specialization. Law schools face two key challenges. First, they must structure the curriculum so that the experiences of individual law students have some coherence. Second they must incorporate the full range of formal knowledge, professional skill, and values. This section of the forthcoming book Building on Best Practices: Transforming Legal Education in a Changing World (Lexis 2015) identifies three approaches – not mutually exclusive – to structuring the law school curriculum: provide course advising with structured pathways through the curriculum and concentrations; integrate the curriculum: connect the individual courses that a student takes, both those taken concurrently and across the years the student is enrolled in law school; engage in a particular type of integration: sequence the curriculum by structuring offerings from introductory to intermediate to advanced, so that later classes build on the concepts and skills learned in earlier ones.


This paper presents an interdisciplinary sociotechnical methodology for quantifying the value of demand side participation (DSP) in deferring network reinforcement. The methodology forecasts how many years load growth a section of network can accommodate before components exceed their standard rating. The approach identifies components within the network which are thermally vulnerable and uses power flow sensitivity factors to assess the value of applying real power reductions, through demand side participation, at different substations to relieve thermally constrained components. The third stage of the methodology socially characterises the load points. This is achieved by using socio-demographic data to map out the number and type of customers connected to each load point. This information is used to gauge the potential social acceptance of demand side participation schemes for different types of consumer. The final stage combines the power flow sensitivity factors, calculated in stage 2, with the social findings, calculated in stage 3, to calculate the optimum socio-technical solution. The methodology is illustrated by a case study that uses an existing rural distribution network in northern England.


Oceanic islands host a disproportionately high fraction of endangered or recently extinct endemic species. We report on species extinctions among endemic Azorean beetles following 97% habitat loss since AD 1440. We infer extinctions from historical and contemporary records and examine the influence of three predictors: geographical range, habitat specialization and body size. Of 55 endemic beetle species investigated (out of 63), seven can be considered extinct. Single-island endemics (SIEs) were more prone to extinction than multi-island endemics. Within SIEs restricted to native habitat, larger species were more extinction-prone. We thus show a hierarchical path to extinction in Azorean beetles: species with small geographical range face extinction first, with the larger bodied ones being the most threatened. Our study provides a clear warning of the impact of habitat loss on island endemic biotas.


In this article it is argued that apartheid, as idea-historical phenomenon, needs to be understood against the background of a short comparison between modern and premodern thought. Apartheid was, in many respects, a theoretical and practical manifestation of modernism. As such, it was by no means a modern anomaly, or a phenomenon that contradicted the fundamental assumptions of modern philosophical and political thought. The first section of this article addresses only a single aspect of traditional thought, namely the idea of being understood as circular event. Traditional thought understood being as emanating from, and returning to a first principle, namely the Good (Plato), the One (Plotinus), or God (Aquinas). The ensuing section discusses only a single aspect of modernism, namely its understanding of being not as circular event, but as a neutral, spatial, and linear grid upon which reality can be mapped. Once mapped on such a grid, according to modernism, being can be experienced as a "standing reserve" (or as an always available resource) to be controlled and used at will by the modern subject. In the third section of this article, it is argued that apartheid was made possible by the above ontological presupposition. According to the apartheid state, being could, in principle, be spatialised on a neutral grid, and thus directed and controlled from the vantage point of the sovereign subject. The concluding section focuses on the much-discredited community, the Afrikaners. Despite disclaimers among Afrikaners, the heavy burden of the apartheid legacy rests squarely on their shoulders. However, it will also be argued that Afrikaners, if given the opportunity, may provide us in future with important examples of a politics that moves beyond the spatialising and geometrising ambitions of the modern state. In a hermeneutical re-appropriation of their own pre-modern tradition, Afrikaners may, in collaboration with other communities, help show a way toward a traditional politics of place (rather than the modern politics of space).


: Integrated performance simulation of buildings and heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC) systems can help reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers suffcient capabilities and flexibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation to integrate different BPS tools. Co-simulation approach represents a particular case of simulation scenario where at least two simulators solve coupled differential-algebraic systems of equations and exchange data that couples these equations during the time integration. This article analyzes how co-simulation influences consistency, stability and accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution. Consistency and zero-stability are studied for a general class of the problem, while a detailed consistency and absolute stability analysis is given for a simple two-body problem. Since the accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution is reduced in co-simulation, the article concludes by discussing ways for how to improve accuracy. Abstract Integrated performance simulation of buildings and heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC) systems can help reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool o(cid:27)ers su(cid:30)cient capabilities and (cid:29)exibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation to integrate di(cid:27)erent BPS tools. Co-simulation approach represents a particular case of simulation scenario where at least two simulators solve coupled di(cid:27)erential-algebraic systems of equations and exchange data that couples these equations during the time integration. This article analyzes how co-simulation in(cid:29)uences consistency, stability and accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution. Consistency and zero-stability are studied for a general class of the problem, while a detailed consistency and absolute stability analysis is given for a simple two-body problem. Since the accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution is reduced in co-simulation, the article concludes by discussing ways for how to improve accuracy.


Background: The detection of timing of ovulation is an important step in the evaluation and management of subfertility. Ultrasonography plays a vital role in monitoring follicular growth. Aims: To assess the value of ultrasound scanning of the ovaries in the periovulatory period to detect ovulation and to correlate the results with basal body temperature (BBT) chart and other presumptive evidences of ovulation. Methods: In this prospective study, a total of 60 subfertile patients were selected from the outpatient department of obstetrics and gynaecology, BPKIHS, Dharan. BBT charting, midcycle abdominal pain record & premenstrual endometrial biopsy were performed in all patients i.e. in spontaneous ovulating and anovulating (induced later). Ultrasonographic periovulatory follicular tracking was usually started around 10 th day of the cycle. The results were then correlated with BBT mainly and also with mittelschmerz and endometrial biopsy. Results: In this series fifty five patients, who demonstrated sixty ovulations (with failed inductions in five patients) were monitored for hundred ten cycles. The mean preovulatory follicular diameter was 20.55 mm and 21.76 mm in spontaneous and induced cycles respectively. Majority (36%) demonstrated ovulation by disappearance of follicles accompanied by increase in the amount of fluid in the pouch of Douglas (POD). In this study five cases (14.2%) out of thirty five showing biphasic BBT were anovulatoty. Whereas five cases out of twenty one showing monophasic BBT were ovulating. Amongst the inconclusive group, one (25%) patient was ovulating and the rest four (75%) were anovulatoty. Only 35% patients experienced midcycle pain. Ipsilateral pain was commoner (16.6%) than contralateral (6.6%) and central pain (11.6%). Conclusion: Ultrasonographic follicular tracking is a reliable method of ovulation detection. Ovulation precedes the initial rise in temperature in most women confirming the limited value of the rise in BBT as a predictor of ovulation.


The plea for using more "realistic," community‐level, investigations to assess the ecological impacts of global change has recently intensified. Such experiments are typically more complex, longer, more expensive, and harder to interpret than simple organism‐level benchtop experiments. Are they worth the extra effort? Using outdoor mesocosms, we investigated the effects of ocean warming (OW) and acidification (OA), their combination (OAW), and their natural fluctuations on coastal communities of the western Baltic Sea during all four seasons. These communities are dominated by the perennial and canopy‐forming macrophyte Fucus vesiculosus—an important ecosystem engineer Baltic‐wide. We, additionally, assessed the direct response of organisms to temperature and pH in benchtop experiments, and examined how well organism‐level responses can predict community‐level responses to the dominant driver, OW. OW affected the mesocosm communities substantially stronger than acidification. OW provoked structural and functional shifts in the community that differed in strength and direction among seasons. The organism‐level response to OW matched well the community‐level response of a given species only under warm and cold thermal stress, that is, in summer and winter. In other seasons, shifts in biotic interactions masked the direct OW effects. The combination of direct OW effects and OW‐driven shifts of biotic interactions is likely to jeopardize the future of the habitat‐forming macroalga F. vesiculosus in the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, we conclude that seasonal mesocosm experiments are essential for our understanding of global change impact because they take into account the important fluctuations of abiotic and biotic pressures.


Dynamic Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Processing with Energy Storage Applications Farhad Fazlollahi Department of Chemical Engineering, BYU Doctor of Philosophy The cryogenic carbon captureTM (CCC) process provides energyand cost-efficient carbon capture and can be configured to provide an energy storage system using an open-loop natural gas (NG) refrigeration system, which is called energy storing cryogenic carbon capture (CCC-ESTM). This investigation focuses on the transient operation and especially on the dynamic response of this energy storage system and explores its efficiency, effectiveness, design, and operation. This investigation included four tasks. The first task explores the steady-state design of four different natural gas liquefaction processes simulated by Aspen HYSYS. These processes differ from traditional LNG process in that the CCC process vaporizes the LNG and the cold vapors return through the LNG heat exchangers, exchanging sensible heat with the incoming flows. The comparisons include costs and energy performance with individually optimized processes, each operating at three operating conditions: energy storage, energy recovery, and balanced operation. The second task examines steady-state and transient models and optimization of natural gas liquefaction using Aspen HYSYS. Steady-state exergy and heat exchanger efficiency analyses characterize the performance of several potential systems. Transient analyses of the optimal steady-state model produced most of the results discussed here. The third task explores transient Aspen HYSYS modeling and optimization of two natural gas liquefaction processes and identifies the rate-limiting process components during load variations. Novel flowrate variations included in this investigation drive transient responses of all units, especially compressors and heat exchangers. Model-predictive controls (MPC) effectively manages such heat exchangers and compares favorably with results using traditional controls. The last task shows how an unprocessed natural gas (NG) pretreatment system can remove more than 90% of the CO2 from NG with CCC technology using Aspen Plus simulations and experimental data. This task shows how CCC-based technology can treat NG streams to prepare them for LNG use. Data from an experimental bench-scale apparatus verify simulation results. Simulated results on carbon (CO2) capture qualitatively and quantitatively agree with experimental results as a function of feedstock properties.


While estimators that incorporate both direct covariate adjustment and inverse probability weighting have drawn considerable interest, their finite sample properties have been challenged in seminal papers, such as Freedman and Berk (2008). We derive a doubly robust ATO estimator and demonstrate excellent finite sample performance for ATO and ATM doubly robust estimators in the setting of Freedman and Berk (2008). The methods and performance of variance estimators for IPW and IPW doubly robust estimators incorporating the recently defined ATO weights are an important open question in the field. We derive the large-sample variance estimator for the ATO doubly robust estimator for generalized linear models with identity, log, or logistic links. We conduct simulations to compare this estimator to common model-fitting practices, demonstrating under which conditions our estimated variance is preferred. Unobserved confounding remains a limitation for doubly robust estimators. We have worked to reframe the seminal work of Rosenbaum and Rubin (1983), Lin, Psaty, and Kronmal (1998), and Vanderweele and Ding (2017) to a formulation of a sensitivity to unmeasured confounders analysis that appeals to medical researchers. We offer guidelines to researchers for anchoring the tipping point analysis in the context of the study and introduce the R package tipr.


Drawing on Baxter's medieval and early modern sources, this study examines the roots and manifold ramifications of his Trinitarian, exemplaristic logic, placing him within a scholastic paradigm of 'faith seeking understanding' and demonstrating his indebtedness to Scotist and Nominalist thought.


Ticket pricing in professional sports is transitioning from a cost-based to demand-based approach. It has been argued that consumer perceptions of fairness regarding demand-based ticket pricing could influence purchase decisions. Perceptions of unfair pricing practices can lead to dissatisfaction and negatively affect purchase behavior. However, familiarity with demand-based pricing strategies could mitigate perceptions that real-time price fluctuations are unfair to the consumer. Guided by transaction utility theory, the current study examined the relationship between various ticket offers, consumer perceptions of fairness, familiarity, and intentions to purchase professional sports tickets. The findings support previous theory suggesting perceptions of fairness and purchase intentions differ based on specific transaction conditions. Source of the ticket, reference price, and familiarity played a role in these perceptions. This study extends the body of knowledge in sport consumer behavior by highlighting the value of fairness perceptions, familiarity, reference price, source of the ticket, and the use of price as a marketing tool.


During the process of health behavior change, individuals pass different phases characterized by different demands and challenges that have to be mastered. To overcome these demands successfully, phase-specific self-efficacy beliefs are important. The present study distinguishes between task self-efficacy, maintenance self-efficacy, and recovery self-efficacy. These phase-specific beliefs were studied in a sample of 484 cardiac patients during rehabilitation treatment and at follow-up 2 and 4 months after discharge to predict physical exercise at 4 and 12 months follow-up. The three phase-specific self-efficacies showed sufficient discriminant validity and allowed for differential predictions of intentions and behavior. Persons in the maintenance phase benefited more from maintenance self-efficacy in terms of physical exercise than persons not in the maintenance phase. Those who had to resume their physical exercise after a health related break profited more from recovery self-efficacy in terms of physica...


This paper discusses the memorialization of people with HIV/AIDS during the 1990s through analysis of Jonathan Larson's 1997 Broadway show RENT . The paper underscores the ways in which memory and memorialization occurred in the events surrounding the creation of RENT , and is supplemented by musical and primary source analysis of the script and libretto. Other primary sources consulted include individual performances, anniversaries, tours, and interviews with cast, crew, and friends of the playwright. The role of Larson, the deceased playwright of RENT , is examined through the lens of memory studies. Applying Alison Landsberg's concept of prosthetic memory to live performance art aided in addressing the role of prosthetic memory internal and external to RENT. The paper also calls attention to historiographical debates in the field of theater history.


This study was completed using the phenomenological research strategy to understand the effect that falling and the fear of falling has on independently living residents at a continuing care retirement community in eastern North Carolina. To understand the residents' perspectives, interviews, the Mini Mental State Exam [MMSE], and a poetry exercise were employed. The residents completed one to two interviews, lasting approximately 45 minutes in length, took the MMSE, and wrote down key words and phrases regarding their singular perspectives on falling and the fear of falling. Fifteen men and women, aged 78-94, participated. The researcher used the interviews, the MMSE, the poetry activity, field notes, the researcher's journal, blueprints and other facility-related information, and observation to construct a particular description of falls, the language used regarding falls and the fear of falling, the relevance of the physical environment, and activities, roles, and routines each participant had related to falls and the fear of falling.