The publication of Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class delivered a clarion call to American higher education. Members of the "creative class," in Florida's description, are like those students we all love to teach: intelligent, open-minded risk-takers who have self-confidence, enjoy tackling challenges, value domestic and global diversity, and engage in synthetic, flexible, and creative problem solving. When these students graduate, they will earn on average twice as much as members of the other two dominant American classes: the service class and the working class. Florida's description of the kind of place the members of the creative class seek sounds remarkably like the ideal college campus: "environments that let them be creative-that value their input, challenge them, have mechanisms for mobilizing resources around ideas and are receptive to both small changes and the occasional big idea" (2002, 40). In short, the fusion of Puritan work ethic and bohemianisin that characterizes the creative class sums up the ideal college experience that allows the nonconformity of the 1960s to be transformed into an economic manifesto for the 1990s. Florida's subsequent hook The Flight of the Creative Class (2005)-along with other studies like Joel Mokyr's Lever of Riches (1990), which links creativity to technological innovation and American global economic superiority-provide a strong mandate for colleges and universities to nurture creativity in their students. What college or university would not want to recruit and graduate "the natural-indeed the only possible-leaders of twenty-first-century society" (Florida 2002, 315)? As Steven Tepper (2004) has pointed out, many colleges and universities are taking up the gauntlet thrown down by Florida, Mokyr, and others by creating centers and programs designed to foster creativity among their students. He has suggested, in fact, that colleges should be encouraged to create these centers by the institution of a national "creativity index" to rank schools by how well they foster innovation among faculty and students. Given this mandate, how can research into creativity help guide college and university initiatives of the kind Tepper wants to see? There was relatively little research into creativity until the 1950s, largely, one suspects, because popular descriptions of the creative act as a visitation of the muse or serendipitous inspiration removed the topic from scientific consideration. Think of Archimedes jumping from his bath to shout "Eureka!" or Coleridge writing "Kubla Khan" in an opium-induced reverie. It would be hard enough to investigate scientifically, much less to teach, creativity conceived of in this way. Early Research on Creativity Only in the past fifty years have scholars begun to study the act of creativity rigorously, first in the realm of psychology and later more broadly in areas like sociology and economics. This research, most scholars agree, was initiated by J. P. Guilford in his 1950 American Psychological Association presidential address, which challenged his colleagues to study the neglected but important field of creativity. Before 1950, by Guilford s count, only 0.2 percent of the entries in Psychological Abstracts pertained to creativity. Early research focused mostly on identifying individuals who were exceptionally promising as creative leaders (Guilford 1950; Torrance 1962; Barron 1955). This approach to creativity, treating it as distinct from but analogous to intellectual ability, produced attempts to identify personalitytraits that enhanced creativity or to measure creativity in the way that intelligence was being measured with an IQ test. Although such research advanced the scientific exploration of creativity, it did little to encourage educators to attend to creativity research since it emphasized nature rather than nurture. But in the last quarter of the twentieth century, creativity research began to demystify the creative act by exploring the cognitive processes that constitute creativity and by examining how creative individuals are stimulated or restricted by their environments. …


A composite-cavity laser diode is used to monitor the reflectivity or the displacement of the external-cavity mirror for micromechanical photonics devices. Optical disk bits are read out in the near field from the difference in medium reflectivity with an antireflection-coated laser diode and a photodiode. Microbeam vibration is also detected in the near field from the phase difference with an uncoated laser diode and a photodiode. In both cases the carrier-to-noise ratio is very high (more than 45 dB) because of the lack of mode-hopping noise resulting from the extremely short (less than 3 µm) external-cavity length and strong light feedback. These composite-cavity laser diode microdevices are fabricated on a gallium arsenide substrate to eliminate the need for optical alignment.


The effect of four years of deficit irrigation on water savings, yield, crop load, plant growth, and juice composition was determined on Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown on the Central Coast of California. The growing season was divided into three periods. The first was from budburst to fruit set, during which there was no irrigation. The second was from fruit set to three weeks post-fruit set, during which 75% of calculated crop water use (ETc) was applied for all treatments. The third began three weeks post-fruit set and continued to harvest, during which irrigation resumed whenever the leaf water potential (LWP) reached −1.2 MPa in one of three sustained deficit irrigation treatments equal to 25/35% (LOW), 50% (MED), and 75/65% (HIGH) of ETc. The sum of rainfall and irrigation applied during the growing season ranged from 91 to 196 mm, from 145 to 234 mm, and from 198 to 273 mm for the LOW, MED, and HIGH treatments, respectively. Total water use, including soil water during the growing season, ranged from 250 to 359 mm, 288 to 418 mm, and 313 to 378 mm for the LOW, MED, and HIGH treatments, respectively. Yield was linearly related to the sum of irrigation and rain and to the total available water (rain, irrigation, and stored soil water) during the growing season. Yield was consistently lower in the LOW treatment across all years than in the MED and HIGH treatments; while yields in the MED and HIGH treatments were not different. Average pruning weight and cane weight declined in all treatments over the four years of the study, as did average berry size. Berry and wine composition was not affected by irrigation treatment within a given year, but were different across years due to climate, irrigation schedules, and harvest dates. Our results illustrate potential applied water savings during the growing season with moderate deficit irrigation (i.e., MED), with minimal or no significant effect on fruit yield and juice composition, while severe reduction of applied water (i.e., LOW) led to loss of yield without changing juice composition and would not be considered economically sustainable.


This study aimed at exploring the perceived and the actual written feedback preferences between EFL students and teachers in the UAE. To achieve this aim a convergent parallel mixed-method research design was employed. The quantitative means featured self-report questionnaires for both teachers and students regarding their different types of feedback preferences. Teachers of cycle 3 (n=67) and eleventh grade students (n=116) in public schools participated in this study. Moreover, the qualitative means were collected through interviews which were conducted with teachers (n=23) and students (n=22) who were selected from the initial pool of both samples. Additionally, 28 documents from actual written feedback by teachers were incorporated for in-depth analysis to investigate the actual feedback provided by the teachers. Results of the study revealed that there were more similarities than variations among the teachers and students' feedback preferences. Moreover, there were some variations among teachers' perceived preferences and their actual practices of feedback provision. Furthermore, the students' preferences aligned with their teachers actual practices. Additionally, when the teachers interviewed, the teachers revealed some factors that affect the use of feedback, such as schools' demands and orientations regarding feedback, students' proficiency levels and the nature of tasks and lessons objectives. Students viewed direct correction as viable option for them but it is not necessary needed with easy and simple tasks errors. The study offered some recommendations for teachers, curriculum planning, instruction and research.


Do developing countries mostly experience old competition problems or do they also experience new ones? And even when developing countries experience old problems do they do so in new ways? Are the perceptions of competition and solutions for competition problems generally accepted and prevalent in the developed world adequate for and beneficial to developing countries? Or do developing countries require their own unique approach to addressing their particular competition concerns? The volume edited by Tembinkosi Bonakale, Eleanor M. Fox and Liberty Mncube combines the regulatory experience of Bonakale and McNube as Commissioner and Chief Economist of the Competition Commission of South Africa respectively and Fox's extensive experience of competition in the developing world to ask these and related questions and to bring an invaluable insight into and solutions for competition challenges faced by BRICS and developing countries which are not only practical but also anchored in sound competition theory.


Introduction We developed a new evaluation method to identify promising practices for promoting healthy weight among employees at small and medium-sized worksites. Methods We used a structured rating and selection process to select 9 worksites with approximately 100 to 3,000 employees from a pool of worksites with health promotion programs reputed to be exemplary. A site visit over 2 sequential half-days at each site included interviews with senior management, program staff, vendors, and wellness committees; observation guided by a written environmental assessment; and structured review of program data on health outcomes of wellness program participants. The team corroborated findings from interviews, observations, and reviews of aggregate data on health outcomes of participants. Using the site visit reports, the project team and a separate panel of experts identified worksite health promotion practices that were promising, innovative, feasible to implement in a variety of settings, sustainable, and relevant for public health. Results Innovative practices included peer coaching, wellness screening coupled with motivational interviewing and follow-up, free access to fitness facilities, and incentives such as days of paid leave for participation in wellness programs. Introduction of incentives was associated with higher participation rates. To build the business case for their programs, staff at several worksites used aggregate data on decreases in high blood pressure, serum cholesterol concentrations, and body weight in longitudinal samples of program participants. Conclusion The evaluation method identified promising practices implemented at small and medium-sized worksites to promote healthy weight and related favorable health outcomes.


Algorithms developed by the author for recognizing persons by their iris patterns have now been tested in many field and laboratory trials, producing no false matches in several million comparison tests. The recognition principle is the failure of a test of statistical independence on iris phase structure encoded by multi-scale quadrature wavelets. The combinatorial complexity of this phase information across different persons spans about 249 degrees of freedom and generates a discrimination entropy of about 3.2 b/mm/sup 2/ over the iris, enabling real-time decisions about personal identity with extremely high confidence. The high confidence levels are important because they allow very large databases to be searched exhaustively (one-to-many "identification mode") without making false matches, despite so many chances. Biometrics that lack this property can only survive one-to-one ("verification") or few comparisons. The paper explains the iris recognition algorithms and presents results of 9.1 million comparisons among eye images from trials in Britain, the USA, Japan, and Korea.


This environmental assessment for the China Sichuan Urban Development Project, which improves infrastructure bottlenecks and environmental conditions, anticipates environmental risks and proposes measures to mitigate them. Offset water pollution, particularly wastewater discharge, lowering of the water table, and sedimentation by using oil-water separators, and sedimentation tanks and filters. Treat domestic wastewater and sewage with temporary septic tanks, and then use to irrigate farm or wood land; Sprinkle water to reduce dust from machines and trucks. Regulate traffic, use sound insulation, and plant greenbelts to control noise. Set up a waste transfer station and dispose of solid waste in trash cans or dust bins. Use retaining walls and gutters, and recover vegetation to conserve soil and water.


The wildland fire environment in the U.S. is becoming increasingly complex due to a century of fire suppression policies, development in wildland-urban interface areas, and an expected increase in fire activity due to climate change. As more attention is focused on wildfire management, the role of U.S. federal wildland firefighters is quickly changing. Unlike most structure fire departments, federal wildland firefighters do not have a standardized "medic" position on crews and are provided very little medical training, leaving them particularly vulnerable to medical emergencies when responding to remote incidents. The history of firefighter safety policy creation is marked by reactions to visceral accidents, yet there are examples of more proactive approaches to safety policy creation within individual agencies. This research explores injury rates at various scales, particularly smaller incidents (Types 4-5), prescribed fires, and daily project work where planning for medical emergencies is more difficult. A detailed policy analysis using a "Science and Technology Studies" (STS) framework will attempt to uncover how firefighter safety knowledge is produced and operationalized, what size fires these policies apply to, and at which levels of organizational management these policies are implemented. As a former Forest Service firefighter, I intend to investigate major safety issues faced by federal firefighters with the goal of producing research that will increase the availability of medical training and resources to these individuals.


This paper presents a multi-camera motion capture system aiming to provide caregivers with timely access to the patient's health status through mobile communication devices. The major components include video capture, object detection, video coding and transmission, error concealment, and video analysis. Our contribution is twofold. First, several novel ideas are developed, including fast object detection, and content-aware and adaptive video coding and transmission. Second, all components are seamlessly integrated in a unified optimization framework dedicated for online data transmission. In the scenario, the subject walked on a treadmill with four tripod cameras capturing the video from different viewpoints. After video compression and transmission over a wireless sensor network, the remote receiver recovered the videos and performed multi-view motion capture for gait analysis. Experimental results show that the presented system design achieves better video quality than traditional video coding and transmission scheme, while the requirement for a low-cost, noninvasive and real-time healthcare monitoring system is accommodated.


This thesis discusses epistemological and ethical issues in classification and diagnosis of psychiatric conditions, and briefly discusses realism about psychiatric conditions. I use autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) as a case study to examine whether the explanatory and predictive power of classification and diagnosis could be improved if psychiatry adopts a cause-based framework in place of a symptom-based framework. However, there is significant debate regarding the sort of explanatory pattern that will adequately represent the complex causation involved in psychiatric conditions. I develop a preliminary list of criteria for adequate explanatory patterns in psychiatry, and use these criteria to analyze explanations of ASDs. I show that explanatory patterns unable to meet these criteria limit the validity and reliability of diagnosis. However, I argue that an integrated pattern that includes biological, cognitive and social levels of explanation may meet the criteria. Thus, diagnosis of ASDs could improve if psychiatry adopted a cause-based framework informed by an intergrated explanation pattern. More accurate diagnosis of ASDs may allow earlier access to Intensive Behaviourial Intervention/Applied Behavioural Analysis treatment programs, which may increase the effectiveness of this treatment and reduce the amount of resources individuals with ASDs require from governments over their lifespans. Explaining these conditions using an intergrated pattern of explanation can further challenge myths regarding the causes of ASDs, and may provide support for Canadian lawsuits petitioning for expanded public funding of IBI/ABA programs.


The Supreme Court has, since 1972, decided more than fifty cases involving persons with mental disabilities, a docket spanning virtually every aspect of constitutional law and criminal procedure. These cases have dealt with the substantive and procedural limitations on the commitment power, the conditions of confinement in psychiatric institutions, the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to persons institutionalized because of mental illness, the substantive and procedural aspects of the criminal incompetency inquiry and the insanity defense, the relationship between mental disability and sexually violent predator laws, and all aspects of the death penalty. Thousands of cases have been decided in every state in the nation dealing with similar issues. In fact, in the Supreme Court's first modern mental disability law case – finding that the due process clause is implicated in all decisions related to both the "nature and duration" of the commitment process – it expressed surprise that there were not more mental disability law cases brought to its attention.However, a study of constitutional law, criminal procedure, civil rights and/or federal courts casebooks reveal virtually no mental disability law cases. Policies and practices of exclusion are not unique. By way of example, more than a decade ago, Toni Massaro pointed out that constitutional criminal procedure has been treated as a subject "separate from basic constitutional law materials and courses." Mental disability law has been "ghettoized" in the same way that criminal procedure has been ghettoized. It is a ghettoization that in some ways is far more troubling than the criminal procedure ghettoization, since all law schools offer courses in basic criminal procedure, and these courses are regularly well-subscribed. On the other hand, there are courses in "mental disability law" offered only at about half of all American law schools, and, at many schools, those courses are offered infrequently and only by adjuncts (who often have no legal training). This ghettoization reflects a hard truth that has passed under the radar of most civil rights teachers and civil rights students. Mental disability law is simply not a topic taken seriously as a civil rights topic (or as a constitutional law topic or as a federal courts topic). And this failure of inclusion goes directly to the heart of the challenge of teaching mental disability law. It is hidden (nearly totally hidden) from the traditional law school curriculum. It is not in the curriculum at many law schools. It is largely invisible to students and professors alike.I believe this ghettoization is a reflection of the invidious sanism that permeates the legal academy in the same way it permeates the rest of society. Law teachers are not immune to sanism – "an irrational prejudice of the same quality and character of other irrational prejudices that cause (and are reflected in) prevailing social attitudes of racism, sexism, homophobia, and ethnic bigotry."In this essay, I reconsider this ghettoization from four overlapping vantage points. First, I consider how "mental disability law" became a part of the law school curriculum, growing out of and largely supplanting courses in "psychiatry and the law" (and why this title change is not just a question of phraseology). Second, I discuss the significance of the notion that "mental disability law" can be cabined in one 2- or 3-credit course (implying that "all" mental disability law can be surveyed in that period of time, in a way that law school faculty would never think "all" tax law or real estate law or securities law could be so taught), and the significance of the reality that so many schools offer no course or only one course sporadically (often, without any involvement of a full-time faculty member). Third, I examine the Online Mental Disability Law program at New York Law School (where I teach) from four different perspectives: (a) the pedagogy, (b) the range of subject matters taught, (c) the interdisciplinarity of the students and the faculty, and (d) the internationality of the students and intersectionality of our course offerings. Finally, and most importantly, I explain why it is absolutely essential for any mental disability law course (or sequence of courses) to consider the concepts of sanism and pretextuality, the significance of "ordinary common sense" (OCS) and heuristic reasoning, and the impact of therapeutic jurisprudence.


This paper tests a number of hypotheses on the use and effectiveness of patents and trade secrets designed to protect innovation. While previous studies have often considered patents and trade secrets as substitutes for one another, we investigate the complementary role of the two protection methods. We identify protection strategies for single innovation firms and hence overcome the assignment problem of existing empirical studies, i.e. whether firms using both protection methods do so for the same innovation or for different innovations. Employing firm panel data from Germany, we find fairly few differences between the determinants for choosing secrecy and patenting. Single innovators that combine both strategies, 39% of the group, tend to aim at a higher level of innovation and act in a more uncertain technological environment. Firms combining both protection methods yield significantly higher sales with new-to-market innovations. Using only secrecy has slightly stronger positive impacts on firm profitability.


Background Vertebrobasilar stroke associated with the anterior approach to the cervical spine is rare and has not been reported in cervical disc arthroplasty surgery. We report the case of a 60-year-old patient who underwent cervical disc arthroplasty at C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7. Postoperatively, due to symptoms and signs of a cerebellar stroke, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was obtained confirming this diagnosis. Despite thorough investigation no specific identifiable cause for the stroke has been identified. We hypothesis an unrecognised period of intraoperative hypotension may have caused a temporary reduction in vertebrobasilar blood flow. Methods A retrospective review of the patient's case notes and a focused review of literature has been performed. Results Now two years postoperatively the patient has regained full power but has residual problems with balance. She has neuralgic pain down the right side of her body which following investigation is believed to result from the stroke. Conclusions / Level of Evidence Surgeons should be aware vertebrobasilar stroke is a possible rare perioperative complication associated with anterior cervical decompression and disc arthroplasty. Level V. keywords: cervical arthroplasty, Anterior Cervical Decompression, disc replacement, Vertebrobasilar, Stroke, Complication by guest on August 7, 2019 http://ijssurgery.com/ Downloaded from Volume 9 Article 4 doi: 10.14444/2004 Introduction The anterior approach to the cervical spine is commonly used for the surgical treatment of degenerative cervical disc disease. Complications involving the vertebral arteries are recognised but rare.1-6 These include intra-operative haemorrhage, late-onset haemorrhage, arteriovenous fistulae, pseudoaneurysm, dissection, partial or complete thrombosis, embolic events, cerebral ischemia, stroke and death.7 These complications may result from direct trauma, compression or traction of the vertebral arteries during surgery. Complications may become evident with intraoperative or postoperative haemorrhage or with abnormal postoperative neurological signs or symptoms and confirmed with vascular and cerebral imaging. To our knowledge no other cases of vertebrobasilar stroke, associated with anterior cervical decompression and disc arthroplasty, have been reported. Further to this, all other reports of vertebral artery complications, which we identified in the literature, have been able to directly associate a cause for the complication. In the case we report, despite extensive investigation, no specific cause for the complications has been identified. Case Report A 60-year-old female presented with worsening radiculopathy in the right C5, C6 and C7 dermatomal distributions. She had no motor deficit or signs of myelopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed foraminal stenosis and focal cord compression at corresponding levels. The patient was offered and consented to surgery in the form of anterior cervical decompression and disc arthroplasty at C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7. She attended for anaesthetic pre-operative assessment several weeks prior to surgery. A history of controlled hypertension with a sitting blood pressure of 130/80 mmHg in clinic was noted. Her body mass index was 22. She was a non-smoker and had normal serum cholesterol levels. She underwent elective C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 anterior cervical decompression and disc arthroplasty using NuNec (Pioneer Surgical, Marquette, MI) prostheses (Figure 1). Surgery was performed in a standard manner using a right-sided anterior retropharangeal approach. Of note her neck was maintained in a neutral position with her head positioned on a head ring and taped securely in position. Over distraction of the vertebral bodies was also not utilised for implant insertion. General anaesthetic was uncomplicated and intraoperative haemorrhage was well controlled with a total blood loss of 200 millilitres. Invasive blood pressure monitoring was not used. The documented intermittent noninvasive systolic blood pressure did not fall below 90 mmHg throughout the procedure. by guest on August 7, 2019 http://ijssurgery.com/ Downloaded from When the patient had adequately regained consciousness from anaesthesia she complained of a headache, diplopia and left sided weakness. On examination she was found to have 3/5 power on the Medical Research Council scale 8 in the left arm and leg. Given these symptoms an urgent MRI of the brain and cervical spine were obtained. A large left inferior cerebellar signal abnormality indicating a cerebellar infarct or ischemia with some abnormal signal in the adjacent brainstem was found (Figure 2). MRI imaging of the cervical spine showed satisfactory decompression of the cord and foramina and no changes in the cord itself. Subsequently carotid and vertebral artery angiography and carotid doppler examinations were performed and were reported by the radiologists as showing patent carotid and vertebral vessels with no structural abnormalities and a patent Circle of Willis (Figure 3). Transthoracic cardiac echocardiogram did not reveal any thrombus. Fig. 1. Postoperative anteroposterior and lateral radiographs showing cervical disc arthroplasty implants at C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7. by guest on August 7, 2019 http://ijssurgery.com/ Downloaded from Fig. 2. Postoperative MRI brain showing left inferior cerebellar signal abnormality indicating infarction or ischemia. A: Apparent diffusion coefficient MRI. B: Diffusion MRI. C: Axial T2 flair MRI image. Fig. 3. MRI angiography displaying no structural abnormality with patent carotid vessels and patent Circle of Willis. by guest on August 7, 2019 http://ijssurgery.com/ Downloaded from The patient was transferred to the stroke rehabilitation ward where her condition improved with physiotherapy and she was discharged home twelve days postoperatively. She was initially followed-up as an outpatient by the stroke team but has now been discharged from their care. The patient is now two years following surgery. She has regained full power but has residual problems with balance, mobilising with one stick. More significantly for the patient, she has suffered from neuralgic pain down the whole right side of her body throughout follow-up despite analgesics. The cause of this pain has been investigated with MRI imaging of the whole spine and brain and electromyography studies. No neural compression has been identified and the intracerebral changes have not progressed. We therefore hypothesise that her symptoms are a consequence of the stroke sustained at the time of surgery. Discussion Vertebrobasilar stroke following anterior cervical decompression and disc arthroplasty is an unreported complication. While the risk of complications involving the vertebral arteries is more likely related to the approach and decompression rather than the implant used we feel the risk of occlusion of the vertebrobasilar vessels is likely to be lower with arthroplasty than fusion as will be discussed further. The reported incidence of vertebral artery complications associated with other anterior cervical procedures is 0.3-0.5%.1,5 Most reported cases are a result of direct operative trauma with increased risk linked to tortuous vertebral arteries or far lateral bone removal.1,4 There are, however, a few cases where no direct trauma has been reported. Vertebral artery dissection resulting in posterior circulatory stroke has been reported after cervical corpectomy. In the absence of surgical trauma the authors hypothesise that cervical traction may be implicated.9 A further case reports a large ischaemic brain stem stroke in a previously asymptomatic patient while undergoing C5-C6 discectomy for infection. The authors implicate basilar artery occlusion based on the findings of brain computer tomography. The authors hypothesize that the prolonged neck hyperextension that they employed in addition to the surgical manipulation of a severely inflamed vertebral system may have contributed to the aetiology of the occlusion.10 In contrast to cervical fusions where neck hyperextension may be utilised, in cervical disc arthroplasty surgery the neck is maintained in a neutral position. Our standard surgical procedure, in patients undergoing cervical arthroplasty, is to secure the neck in a neutral position. This is done with the head positioned on a head-ring and taped securely in position. This procedure was adhered to in the reported case. We therefore feel it is unlikely that an occlusion of the vertebral vessels has been caused by hyperextension or rotation of the cervical spine. There was no traction applied during the procedure and over distraction of the vertebral bodies was not required due to the cam lock design of the NuNec disc prosthesis. Postoperative imaging did not show any vessel abnormality consistent with surgical trauma or pre-existing arterial disease. There was no evidence of an embolic source. by guest on August 7, 2019 http://ijssurgery.com/ Downloaded from The only cardiovascular risk factor, in the patient was hypertension, which was controlled with antihypertensive medications. This may have contributed in this case, however, as her cerebral blood flow autoregulatory curve may have shifted upwards rendering her more at risk for reduced blood flow during episodes of hypotension than a normotensive patient. According to the anaesthetic documentation the systolic blood pressure was maintained above 90 mmHg intraoperatively. The precise cause of the patient's stroke therefore remains unexplained. Given the lack of a structural injury or occlusion of the vertebral arteries there may have been a temporary lack of vertebrobasilar blood flow. We hypothesise this may have been due to an unrecognised intraoperative hypotensive episode.This case serves to demonstrate to other surgeons, that despite precautions, a vertebrobasilar stroke is a possible rare perioperative complication associated with anterior cervical decompressi


Acute stress decreases pain perception. Hohmann et al. show that, in rats, endocannabinoid signaling is involved in mediating stress-induced analgesia (SIA): Antagonists of the CB1 endocannabinoid receptor block SIA, as does chronic exposure to CB1 agonists (which produces tolerance to cannabinoids), but opiate antagonists do not. Rats sacrificed at various times after exposure to foot shock (an acute stress) showed increased concentration of 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in the dorsal midbrain after 2 minutes and a return to baseline for this endocannabinoid by 15 minutes. The concentration of anandamide peaked approximately 15 minutes after shock. The authors developed a selective inhibitor (an N-biphenyl carbamate) of the 2-AG-hydrolyzing enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) and showed that microinjection of this inhibitor into the periaqueductal gray region enhanced SIA and that this effect was blocked by administration of the CB1 antagonist rimonabant. Inhibition of the anandamide-metabolizing enzyme also enhanced SIA, and this was also blocked by rimonabant. Thus, endocannabinoid-metabolizing enzymes may serve as targets for treatment of pain and stress disorders. A. G. Hohmann, R. L. Suplita, N. M. Bolton, M. H. Neely, D. Fegley, R. Mangieri, J. F. Krey, J. M. Walker, P. V. Holmes, J. D. Crystal, A. Duranti, A. Tontini, M. Mor, G. Tarzia, D. Piomelli, An endocannabinoid mechanism for stress-induced analgesia. Nature 435, 1108-1112 (2005). [PubMed]


INTRODUCTION
Tuberculosis is a public health problem in developing countries and in spite of receiving adequate anti-tuberculous therapy, patients often continues to have several post-tuberculous sequelae, especially airflow limitation.

AIM
To evaluate pulmonary function by spirometry among post-tuberculosis cases with airway obstruction and their relationship with smoking.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
All patients who presented to the pulmonary medicine Outpatient Department (OPD) with symptoms of obstructive airway disease and had completed adequate anti-tuberculous therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis were taken up for study. They were initially evaluated with sputum smear for Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) and chest X-ray. Patients without evidence of active tuberculosis underwent spirometry and those having post-bronchodilator Forced Expiratory Volume in first second (FEV1)/ Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) FEV1/FVC<0.7 were taken up for final analysis. Spirometric parameters were compared between smokers and non-smokers.

RESULTS
Out of 138 finally selected cases, 84.06% were male and 71.01% were within age range of 40-69 years. Significant positive association was found between extent of radiologic lesion and severity of airflow obstruction. Purely obstructive pattern was found in 27.54% cases and 72.46% showed mixed pattern. Patients with mixed ventilatory abnormality had worse pulmonary function and poorer bronchodilator reversibility than patients with pure obstruction. Comparison of post-bronchodilator FEV1, FVC, Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) and Forced Expiratory Flow (FEF) 25-75 between smokers and non-smokers did not show statistically significant difference.

CONCLUSION
Majority of patients with post-tuberculous obstructive airway disease have associated restrictive component. But smoking did not cause significant alteration in pulmonary function among such patients.


A human protein kinase, p53-related protein kinase (PRPK), was cloned from an interleukin-2-activated cytotoxic T-cell subtraction library. PRPK appears to be a homologue of a growth-related yeast serine/threonine protein kinase, YGR262c. However, a complementation assay using YGR262c-disrupted yeast indicated that PRPK is not functionally identical to the yeast enzyme. PRPK expression was observed in interleukin-2-activated cytotoxic T-cells, some human epithelial tumor cell lines, and the testes. The intrinsic transcriptional activity of p53 was up-regulated by a transient transfection of PRPK to COS-7 cells. PRPK was shown to bind to p53 and to phosphorylate p53 at Ser-15. These results indicate that PRPK may play an important role in the cell cycle and cell apoptosis through phosphorylation of p53.


Please click here for information on Set 2: Thermal Packaging ToolsThermal and mechanical packaging — the enabling technologies for the physical implementation of electronic systems -- are responsible for much of the progress in miniaturization, reliability, and functional density achieved by electronic, microelectronic, and nanoelectronic products during the past 50 years. The inherent inefficiency of electronic devices and their sensitivity to heat have placed thermal packaging on the critical path of nearly every product development effort in traditional, as well as emerging, electronic product categories.Successful thermal packaging is the key differentiator in electronic products, as diverse as supercomputers and cell phones, and continues to be of pivotal importance in the refinement of traditional products and in the development of products for new applications. The Encyclopedia of Thermal Packaging, compiled in multi-volume sets (Set 1: Thermal Packaging Techniques, Set 2: Thermal Packaging Tools, Set 3: Thermal Packaging Applications, and Set 4: Thermal Packaging Configurations) will provide a comprehensive, one-stop treatment of the techniques, tools, applications, and configurations of electronic thermal packaging. Each of the author-written sets presents the accumulated wisdom and shared perspectives of a few luminaries in the thermal management of electronics.Set 1: Thermal Packaging TechniquesThe first set of the Encyclopedia, Thermal Packaging Techniques, focuses on the technology "building blocks" used to assemble a complete thermal management system and provide detailed descriptions of the underlying phenomena, modeling equations, and correlations, as well as guidance for achieving the optimal designs of individual "building blocks" and their insertion in the overall thermal solution. Specific volumes deal with microchannel coolers, cold plates, immersion cooling modules, thermoelectric microcoolers, and cooling devices for solid state lighting systems, as well as techniques and procedures for the experimental characterization of thermal management components. These "building blocks" are the essential elements in the creation of a complete, cost-effective thermal management system.The four sets in the Encyclopedia of Thermal Packaging will provide the novice and student with a complete reference for a quick ascent on the thermal packaging "learning curve," the practitioner with a validated set of techniques and tools to face every challenge, and researchers with a clear definition of the state-of-the-art and emerging needs to guide their future efforts. This encyclopedia will, thus, be of great interest to packaging engineers, electronic product development engineers, and product managers, as well as to researchers in thermal management of electronic and photonic components and systems, and most beneficial to undergraduate and graduate students studying mechanical, electrical, and electronic engineering. Foreword(s)Foreword (English) (85 KB)Foreword (Japanese) (342 KB)


The cocoa sector has, historically, been the backbone of the Ghanaian economy. Many households depend directly on the cocoa sector for livelihoods, and aspects of the cocoa industry, such as input supplies to farmers and cocoa pricing, have historically featured prominently in national and local politics. This paper examines the basic underlying political economy dynamics of the cocoa value chain, with particular focus on how the interests, powers and interactions of various actors along the value chain have contributed to agricultural commercialisation in Ghana. The paper also explores the challenges affecting the cocoa value chain, social difference within the chain, and how various segments of the cocoa value chain have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana since March 2020.


Aims As part of the WHO Harm from others' drinking project, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Chile, Nigeria and Vietnam undertook scoping studies to examine: which service agencies in low and middle income countries responded to people affected by others' drinking; how commonly key informants from these agencies indicated alcohol was part of the problems they managed; and whether any routine reporting systems collected information on alcohol's harm to others (AHTO) and the types and examples of harms experienced across the six countries. Methods Researchers synthetised within country peer-review literature, reports, news and agency website information. Additionally, researchers interviewed key informants to investigate current structures, functions and practices of service agencies, and in particular their recording practices surrounding cases involving others' drinking. Results 111 key informants agreed to participate from 91 purposively selected agencies from health, social protection, justice and police, and 'other' sectors. National and provincial level data, as well as state-run and civil society agency data were collected. Diverse service response systems managed AHTO in the different countries. A large range in the percentage of all cases attributed to AHTO was identified. Case story examples from each country illustrate the different responses to, and the nature of, many severe problems experienced because of others' drinking. Conclusions AHTO was a major issue for service systems in LMIC, and significantly contributed to their workload, yet, very few recording systems routinely collected AHTO data. Recommendations are outlined to improve AHTO data collection across multiple sectors and enable LMIC to better identify and respond to AHTO.


Aim: To determine the applicability of an anatomical model of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, named the "3D fess slices®", in teaching anatomy. Methods: This study was conducted during the academic year 2012/2013 and included two groups of students: students of the Clinical Anatomy course of the University of Zurich (N = 94) and students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka (N = 116). The students from Rijeka were in their first (N = 29) and the third year (N = 23) of the School of Dental Medicine, and fifth year of Otorhinolaryngology course of the School of Medicine (N = 64). After studying the anatomical model of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, the students filled out a survey formed by one of the authors (TSV). Results: All students answered highly positive to the last question of the survey and in that way demonstrated outstanding motivation to learn anatomy using the "3D fess slices®" anatomical models, which facilitated the understanding of certain parts of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. Conclusion: The "3D fess slices®" anatomical model proved to be a useful supplement in teaching the anatomy of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. Our results demonstrated that including this or similar anatomical models in teaching will contribute to medical education.


There's a serial killer on the loose in Los Angeles and the local authorities need help fast. For some reason the killer has been leaving a string of maddeningly arcane clues at each crime scene. Each of these clues, it seems, is an indecipherable roadmap to the next murder. Onto the scene comes L, the mysterious super-sleuth. Despite his peculiar working habits - he's never shown his face in public, for example - he's the most decorated detective in the world and has never tackled a cased he hasn't been able to crack. But this time he needs help. Enlisting the services of an FBI agent named Naomi Misora, L starts snooping around the City of Angels. It soon becomes apparent that the killing spree is a psychotic riddle designed specifically to engage L in a battle of wits. Stuck in the middle between killer and investigator, it's up to Misora to navigate both the dead bodies and the egos to solve the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases.


Sir John Evans is one of the founding fathers of Palaeolithic archaeology. In 1859 he, along with Joseph Prestwich, demonstrated the provenance of artefacts in the drift and that they were the product of the human hand, so proving the greater antiquity of humankind. This paper traces the origins of John Evans' experimental flint knapping back to 1859 and explores how these experiments influenced his argument that the flints from the Somme were the product of the human hand. The paper also briefly explores the influence of John Evans' experimental flint knapping on his approach to lithic analysis and the identification of fakes and frauds. Full reference: Lamdin-Whymark, H. 2009. Sir John Evans: experimental flint knapping and the origins of lithic research. In R. Hosfield, F. Wenban-Smith & M. Pope (eds.) Great Prehistorians: 150 Years of Palaeolithic Research, 1859–2009 (Special Volume 30 of Lithics: The Journal of the Lithic Studies Society): 45–52. Lithic Studies Society, London. Keywords: Sir John Evans, Ancient Stone Implements, experimental flintknapping, archaeological fakes, Flint Jack


Indentation techniques are employed for the measurement of mechanical properties of a wide range of materials. In particular, techniques focused at small length-scales, such as nanoindentation and AFM indentation, allow for local characterization of material properties in heterogeneous materials including natural tissues and biomimetic materials. Typical elastic analysis for spherical indentation is applicable in the absence of time-dependent deformation, but is inappropriate for materials with time-dependent responses. Recent analyses for the viscoelastic indentation problem, based on elastic-viscoelastic correspondence, have begun to address the issue of time-dependent deformation during an indentation test. The viscoelastic analysis has been shown to fit experimental indentation data well, and has been demonstrated as useful for characterization of viscoelasticity in polymeric materials and in hydrated mineralized tissues. However, a viscoelastic analysis is not necessarily sufficient for multi-phase materials with fluid flow. In the current work, a poroelastic analysis-based on fluid motion through a porous elastic network-is used to examine spherical indentation creep responses of hydrated biological materials. Both analytical and finite element approaches are considered for the poroelastic Hertzian indentation problem. Modeling results are compared with experimental data from nanoindentation of hydrated bone immersed in water and polar solvents (ethanol, methanol, acetone). Baseline (water-immersed) bone responses are characterized using the poroelastic model and numerical results are compared with altered hydration states due to polar solvents. © 2007 Materials Research Society.


Stochastic modeling is a challenging task for low-cost sensors whose errors can have complex spectral structures. This makes the tuning process of the INS/GNSS Kalman filter often sensitive and difficult. For example, first-order Gauss–Markov processes are very often used in inertial sensor models. But the estimation of their parameters is a non-trivial task if the error structure is mixed with other types of noises. Such an estimation is often attempted by computing and analyzing Allan variance plots. This contribution demonstrates solving situations when the estimation of error parameters by graphical interpretation is rather difficult. The novel strategy performs direct estimation of these parameters by means of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The algorithm results are first analyzed with a critical and practical point of view using simulations with typically encountered error signals. These simulations show that the EM algorithm seems to perform better than the Allan variance and offers a procedure to estimate first-order Gauss–Markov processes mixed with other types of noises. At the same time, the conducted tests revealed limits of this approach that are related to the convergence and stability issues. Suggestions are given to circumvent or mitigate these problems when complexity of error structure is 'reasonable'. This work also highlights the fact that the suggested approach via EM algorithm and the Allan variance may not be able to estimate the parameters of complex error models reasonably well and shows the need for new estimation procedures to be developed in this context. Finally, an empirical scenario is presented to support the former findings. There, the positive effect of using the more sophisticated EM-based error modeling on a filtered trajectory is highlighted.


Abstract What probability can we assign to the outlook for global deflation? Recently, much of the discussion around monetary policy in the United States, Eurozone and Japan has focused on the threat of deflation and how to avoid it. How likely is deflation for each of these countries, and more broadly, for the global economy as a whole? This paper provides an early-warning-system (EWS) to predict the probability of inflation/deflation in the near term. Specifically, we utilize an ordered probit approach to estimate the six-month ahead probability of three distinct scenarios for the inflation outlook: inflationary pressure, deflationary pressure or price stability. We build models for five regions to generate a signal for each region's inflation outlook. Our first model assesses the inflation/deflation outlook for the global economy, while the second model generates the likelihood of each inflation scenario for the advanced economies. Our final three models forecast the probability of inflation/deflation for the United States, the Eurozone and Japan. Our global model suggests deflationary pressure is more likely than the other two inflation scenarios, with the model forecasting a 99 percent chance of deflationary pressure in the next six months. The advanced economies model suggests a 58 percent chance of deflationary pressure. The probability of deflationary pressure for the United States is 60 percent, 72 percent for Japan and 56 percent for the Eurozone. Since 2013, all five models have consistently suggested that deflationary pressure is the most likely of the three scenarios. Given the historical accuracy of these models, and by combining all these signals into one framework, we predict that the risk of deflationary pressure is much higher than the other two inflation scenarios for the global economy in the near term.


The insulin signalling system is one of the most conserved endocrine systems of Animalia from mollusc to man. In decapod Crustacea, such as the Eastern spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi (Sv) and the red-claw crayfish, Cherax quadricarinatus (Cq), insulin endocrinology governs male sexual differentiation through the action of a male-specific, insulin-like androgenic gland peptide (IAG). To understand the bioactivity of IAG it is necessary to consider its bio-regulators such as the insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP). This work has employed various molecular modelling approaches to represent S. verreauxi IGFBP and IAG, along with additional Sv-ILP ligands, in order to characterise their binding interactions. Firstly, we present Sv- and Cq-ILP2: neuroendocrine factors that share closest homology with Drosophila ILP8 (Dilp8). We then describe the binding interaction of the N-terminal domain of Sv-IGFBP and each ILP through a synergy of computational analyses. In-depth interaction mapping and computational alanine scanning of IGFBP_N' highlight the conserved involvement of the hotspot residues Q67, G70, D71, S72, G91, G92, T93 and D94. The significance of the negatively charged residues D71 and D94 was then further exemplified by structural electrostatics. The functional importance of the negative surface charge of IGFBP is exemplified in the complementary electropositive charge on the reciprocal binding interface of all three ILP ligands. When examined, this electrostatic complementarity is the inverse of vertebrate homologues; such physicochemical divergences elucidate towards ligand-binding specificity between Phyla.


Abstract Petrographic and geochemical data from reduction features in the Abo Formation (Permian) of central New Mexico provide insight into the source of iron for hematite precipitation in red beds. Reduction features in the Abo Formation include isolated reduction spots as well as zones of reduction associated with fractures and coarser-grained beds. The reduction features contain less iron and more copper than the host rock (mean values in ppm: host rock, Fe = 6456, Cu = 9; reduced Fe = 3730, Cu = 113). Hematite relics are present in reduced areas associated with fractures and reduced bedding but are absent in reduction spots. Hematite apparently never formed in the reduction spots because of localized reducing conditions present at the time of pervasive reddening. Reduced fractures and bedding most likely result from migration of reducing pore fluids flowing through more permeable areas, and postdate hematite precipitation. Iron-bearing sand and silt grains, which are typically regarded to be the principal source of iron for hematite precipitation in red beds, are uncommon (average < 1%) in the Abo Formation. Where present these grains are not significantly altered in either red host rock or in the white reduction features. Therefore, detrital iron-bearing clay-size material is the primary source of iron in the Abo Formation. Although compositionally variable, the clay-rich areas contain a mean of 8.4% FeO(total) in the host rock and a mean of 4.6% FeO(total) in reduction spots. Chemical and mineralogical data from clay-rich areas suggest that ferric oxyhydroxides associated with the clays are a more important iron source than iron from the clay crystal structure. Low whole-rock iron content of the Abo Formation relative to other red bed units is consistent with clay and associated ferric oxyhydroxides being the principal iron source. The Abo Formation may represent a clay-dominated end member in a continuum of red beds in which the iron needed for reddening is derived from clays and coarser iron bearing framework grains.


Many financial contracts can be regarded as derivative securities where the underlying state variable is one or more rates of interest. A partial list of such contracts would include zero-coupon bonds, coupon paying bonds, callable bonds, convertible bonds, retractable/extendable bonds, etc., along with a number of popular interest rate derivatives such as swaps, swaptions, caps, and floors. A commonly used strategy for valuing these contracts is to base a continuous time model for the stochastic behaviour of the short term rate of interest. Three key features of most of the models currently in use are (i) the drift, or expected change over a short time period in the level of the short term interest rate, is a linear function; (ii) the conditional variance of changes in short term interest rates is not strongly related to the level of interest rates; and (iii) the short term interest rate is assumed to follow a diffusion process, which effectively means that it cannot change too rapidly over short periods of time. Each of these assumptions appears to be made primarily for modelling convenience, as they make it possible in some cases to derive analytical expressions for the values of bonds and European-style bond options. If such solutions are not available, then numerical techniques such as Monte Carlo simulation or the numerical solution of partial differential equations are needed. However, available econometric evidence indicates that all of the assumptions noted above are questionable: changes in short term interest rates may be characterized by drift which is nonlinear and by conditional variance that depends more heavily on the level of interest rates than is assumed in models with analytic solutions. Moreover, they may be better approximated by a jump-diffusion process which allows for sudden discontinuous changes. Consequently, it is of interest to develop numerical techniques to value interest rate derivative securities for cases where the short term interest rate follows a jump-diffusion process featuring non-linear drift. This thesis describes and illustrates the use of such techniques.


We studied electromigration in polycrystalline gold and single crystalline silver nanowires. The gold wires are prepared using a two step electron beam lithography process. The silver wires grow self organized and epitaxially along step edges on Si (001) substrates and have a typical width of 200 – 500 nm and a length up to 100 μm. Electromigration measurements are carried out in‐situ in a scanning electron microscope at room temperature. For the gold wires we observe a mass flow from the cathode to the anode side of the wire, as it is expected. Surprisingly, we find the opposite behavior for the epitaxial grown silver wires with a mass flow against the electron flow. Moreover, changing the polarity during the experiment, voids are closed and created reversibly.


Algal blooms in ice-covered marine ecosystems usually start at the bottom and inside the sea ice. Pelagic bloomsoccur after ice break up in a strongly stratified layer close to the sea surface. During this period, algae mightbe exposed to fast changing and very high irradiances. Previous studies have shown that this can be ratherdetrimental for their growth and food quality (measured in terms of fatty acid composition). To investigatethese effects under controlled conditions, we performed in situ experiments with four different Arctic diatomspecies (3 pelagic, 1 ice algae) exposed at 0.5 and 8 m depth for 40 hours, respectively, in a high Arctic fjord(79°N) during spring. Experiments were performed with and without previous acclimation to ambient light. Thespecific impact of UV radiation was also addressed. Three out of four species showed a significant reduction incell numbers at 0.5 m compared to 8 m after 40 hours. In two of them, we also found a reduction of growth dueto UV radiation at 0.5 m. A moderate reduction of the relative amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids was foundin three species, but it was less pronounced than anticipated. It therefore seems that diatoms can adapt ratherwell to high irradiances, although the amount and quality of biomass produced might be impaired slightly.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Previous data from our institution indicate that mechanically ventilated premature infants are at increased risk for cystic periventricular leukomalacia (CPVL), particularly if hypocapnia occurs. High-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) may produce substantial hypocapnia. We sought to investigate whether hypocapnia during HFJV is associated with the development of CPVL.

METHODS
Sixty-seven premature infants (mean gestational age, 27.2 weeks; mean birth weight, 1001 g) underwent HFJV for a mean of 44 (range, 8 to 70) hours during the first 3 days of life. All infants were followed with serial neurosonograms at least weekly until 6 to 8 weeks of age and every 2 to 4 weeks thereafter until discharge. To assess the cumulative effects of hypotension, acidosis, hypoxemia, and hypocarbia during the first 3 days of life on the development of PVL, we developed a quantitative assessment in which we assigned threshold levels at particular critical values of these parameters (such as a mean PaCO2 of 20 mm Hg) and calculated an area above the curve between longitudinally connected values of these parameters and the threshold levels.

RESULTS
Nine of the 67 infants died before 21 days of life. Of the 58 who survived beyond 21 days, large CPVL (> 5 mm in size) developed in 18 infants. Infants with cysts were similar in birth weight, gestational age, and virtually all other antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum parameters compared with the 40 neonates in whom CPVL did not develop. However, infants with CPVL were significantly more likely to have moderate or severe periventricular echodensities preceding development of CPVL and periventricular echodensities that persisted for a longer period. We did not find an effect of hypotension, acidosis, or hypoxemia on the development of CPVL. There were no differences in the mean PaCO2, the absolute low PaCO2 values, the ranges of low PaCO2 between groups, or area above the curve measurements at threshold levels of 15 and 20 mm Hg, respectively. However, logistic regression analysis revealed that infants with CPVL were independently significantly more likely to have greater cumulative hypocarbia below a threshold level of 25 mm Hg during the first day of life (odds ratio, 5.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.33 to 22.2).

CONCLUSIONS
Hypocarbia produced by treatment with HFJV during the first 3 days of life is associated with the subsequent development of CPVL. The mechanisms for the development of CPVL among premature infants treated with HFJV need to be established.


This thesis proposes a legal and organizational approach to better understand processes
of modernisation and the emergence of nationalist conflict. Theories of nationalism
tend to be significantly influenced by state-centred and rather abstract positivist
interpretations of law. Legal perspectives that have proposed understating law in
relation to findings developed through the empirical study of law, such as legal realism
or legal pluralism, have questioned positivist conceptions of law, emphasising the
historical processes that created such conceptions of law, and the relationship between
legal praxis and conceptions of society. Presumptions about personhood and society
such as those influencing nationalist conflict may not be unrelated to legal existence
and legal practice. Social actors' interpretations of law, and the capacity of social
authorities to mobilize human and material resources in defence of certain conceptions
of law, may have been able to influence legal and political histories of European states,
as well as the national or regional identities that would develop in relation to legal
recognition and legitimate exercise of types and degrees of social powers. The
historical study of Spanish and Basque nationalisms, although generally involving
constant references to law – especially to constitutional law and to the fueros – tends
to overlook the influence that social actors' perceptions of legal order may have had
in shaping the emergence of nationalist conflicts. Often, the focus is directed towards
factors related to ethno-linguistic features or political ideologies. This thesis studies a
historical puzzle, one that appears to have been influenced by legally defined entities,
that have influenced the legal and political history of the state, and that may have
influenced the development of a Basque-Spanish nationalist conflict: the different
jurisdictional and ideological paths followed by key social majorities in Navarre and
Euskadi between 1876 and 1936 after at least a century of displaying a rather similar
position in regards to the state.


Spherical near-field (SNF) antenna test systems offer unique advantages over other types of measurement configurations and have become increasingly popular as a result. To yield accurate far-field radiation patterns, it is critical that the rotators of the SNF scanner are properly aligned. Many techniques using optical instruments, laser trackers, low cost devices or even electrical measurements have been developed to align these systems. While these alignment procedures have been used in practice with great success, some residual alignment errors always remain. This paper expands on prior work by analyzing the effects of spherical alignment errors for a variety of different measurement grids on a theta-over-phi SNF scanner. Results are presented using a combination of physical alignment perturbations (measured) and errors induced via simulation. A variety of antenna types and directions of radiation within the measurement sphere are considered.


This paper summarizes our work involving the successive refinements of a conservative superstep protocol. The refined protocols are known as the SST, SLS, and FET protocols. Each of the refinements improves the safetime bound, which in turn reduces the number of supersteps. In general, this helps to reduce the synchronization overhead and thus the execution time. However, a change in the number of supersteps can also introduce load imbalances within supersteps into the simulation. This observation becomes apparent with the FET protocol in particular. The performance of the refined protocols is compared through several semiconductor supply-chain simulation models. The results from the experiments strongly indicate the feasibility of using parallel discrete-event simulation techniques in the simulation of large scale systems such as a supply-chain.


Autism covers a large spectrum of disorders that affect the individual's way of interacting socially and is often revealed by the individual's lack of interest in gazing at human faces. Currently Autism is diagnosed in children no younger than 2 years old. This paper presents a new monitoring device, the WearCam, to help forming a diagnosis of this neurodevelopmental disorder at an earlier age than currently possible. The WearCam consists of a wireless camera located on the forefront of the child. The WearCam collects videos from the viewpoint of the child's head. Color detection, face detection and gaze detection are run on the data in order to locate the approximate gaze direction of the child and determine where her attention is drawn to (persons, objects, etc.). We report on early tests of the camera within normally developing children. Firstly the technical characteristics of the current prototype of the WearCam will be described. Afterwards the type of data collected with this device with young children will be shown.


My essay first takes me into the arena in which science, spirituality, and theology meet. I comment on the enterprise of science and how scientists could well benefit from reciprocal interactions with theologians and religious leaders. Next, I discuss the evolution of social morality and the ways in which various aspects of social play behavior relate to the notion of "behaving fairly." The contributions of spiritual and religious perspectives are important in our coming to a fuller understanding of the evolution of morality. I go on to discuss animal emotions, the concept of personhood, and how our special relationships with other animals, especially the companions with whom we share our homes, help us to define our place in nature, our humanness. It is when we take the life of another being in the ritual of compassionately euthanizing them ("putting them to sleep") that who we are in the grand scheme of things comes to the fore. I end with a discussion of the importance of ethological studies, behavioral research in which a serious attempt is made to understand animals in their own worlds, inquiries in which it is asked, "What is it like to be another species?" Species other than nonhuman primates need to be studied. I plead for developing compassionate, heartfelt, and holistic science that allows for interdisciplinary talk about respect, grace, spirituality, religion, love, Earth, and God.


Summary Computational models can help researchers to interpret data, understand biological function, and make quantitative predictions. The Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) is a file format for representing computational models in a declarative form that can be exchanged between different software systems. SBML is oriented towards describing biological processes of the sort common in research on a number of topics, including metabolic pathways, cell signaling pathways, and many others. By supporting SBML as an input/output format, different tools can all operate on an identical representation of a model, removing opportunities for translation errors and assuring a common starting point for analyses and simulations. This document provides the specification for Version 5 of SBML Level 2. The specification defines the data structures prescribed by SBML as well as their encoding in XML, the eXtensible Markup Language. This specification also defines validation rules that determine the validity of an SBML document, and provides many examples of models in SBML form. Other materials and software are available from the SBML project web site, http://sbml.org/.


We examine theoretically the role of reserves management and macro-prudential capital controls as ex-post and ex-ante safeguards, respectively, against sudden stops, and argue that these measures are complements rather than substitutes. Absent capital controls, reserves to be deployed ex post are partially undone ex ante by short-term capital flows, a form of moral hazard from the insurance provided by reserves in sudden stops. Ex ante capital controls offset this distortion and thereby increase the benefit of holding reserves. Thus, these instruments are complements. With foreign investment flows into both domestic and external borrowing markets, capital controls need to account for the possibility of regulatory arbitrage between the markets. Through the lens of the model, we analyze movements in foreign reserves, external debt, and the range of capital controls being employed by one large emerging market, viz. India.


This thesis undertakes a sustained engagement with theoretical debates within and between the fields of human rights and environmental sustainability, which, it is argued here, inevitably come together in the context of globalisation. At issue in this thesis are questions about the nature of and rationale for human rights, the necessary and sufficient conditions of environmental sustainability, the impact of globalisation on human rights and environmental sustainability, and the interaction between them. The aim of the thesis is to interrogate a variety of arguments about human rights and environmental sustainability in order to assess their coherence and consistency, and to evaluate competing perspectives. The central questions animating this inquiry are, to what extent can environmental threats to human security be conceptualised as a human rights issue, and do human rights provide an adequate and appropriate framework in terms of which to respond to the environmental impacts of globalisation?
The thesis begins by examining the impact of globalisation on human rights and environmental sustainability. There follows, in chapter 3, a detailed analysis of possible justifications of support for universal human rights, looking at philosophical foundations, the idea that there might be an overlapping consensus on human rights, and the idea of human rights as a sentimental education. Chapter 4 focuses on criticisms that have been levelled at the contemporary human rights regime and evaluates a proposed alternative, Thomas Pogge's idea of an institutional model of human rights. Thereafter the focus of the thesis shifts to environmental sustainability. Firstly, chapter 5 investigates definitions of environmental sustainability and proposes an evaluative framework for assessing different models of economic organisation. Secondly, chapter 6 looks at the political changes that might be appropriate to an environmentally sustainable society by examining green (re-)interpretations of the concepts of citizenship, democracy, and justice. In chapter 7 the two fields of inquiry are reintegrated, firstly by addressing the question of whether rights or sustainability can or should be prioritised at the expense of the other, and secondly by considering the plausibility and merit of the idea of claiming that there are environmental human rights.
The conclusion advanced in the thesis is that human rights do not provide a sufficient framework in terms of which to respond to the environmental impacts of globalisation, however, a renewed understanding of human rights, informed by a sense of the social and ecological embeddedness of human life, may be a fruitful feature of an environmentally sustainable society. Moreover, it is argued here that human rights and environmental sustainability share some illuminating features, in that support for each is most coherently justified in terms of a sentimental concern for the fate of others, though informed by a sense of the social and ecological embeddedness of human life. This informed sentimentalism is ultimately held to be a stronger motivation to act in defence of human rights or environmental sustainability than rational self-interest in the context of globalisation.


FSM-16 was synthesized and loaded with 2 and 4 wt % Fe, Co, and Ni by impregnation method. These catalytic materials were tested in the production of carbon nanotubes using the CVD method. The synthesized materials were characterized by XRD, 29Si- NMR, N₂ [Nitrogen] physisorption, and SEM-EDS. The effect of metal concentration on structural characteristics of the mesoporous material was studied. XRD results demonstrated that Fe, Co and Ni modified FSM-16 had hexagonal mesoporous structure. However, both XRD and 29Si-NMR characterization proved, as the metal concentration increased, hexagonal mesoporous structure was partially lost. According to BET results, the surface area, pore volume and pore diameter decreased due to metal impregnation. This was an indication of deterioration of silica matrix. SEM results exhibited the morphological differences between FSM-16 and Fe, Co, and Ni modified FSM-16. Effect of experimental parameters such as metal concentration, reaction temperature and acetylene flow rate for CNTs growth were investigated by using Fe-FSM-16, Co-FSM- 16, and Ni-FSM-16. Synthesized CNTs were characterized by SEM, Raman spectroscopy and TGA. It was found that metal concentration (2-4 wt %), and reaction temparature (500-800oC [degrees Celsius] were critical for CNTs formation. While each catalyst exhibited high production of CNTs at 700oC [degrees Celsius] ; and, they were inactive at 500oC [degrees Celsius]. The diameter of CNTs changed with synthesis temperature, in particular the diameter of the CNTs increased with the reaction temperature. Ni-FSM-16 and Co-FSM-16 showed somewhat lower reactivity in formation CNTs with respect to Fe-FSM-16. Among the catalysts, 4 wt % Fe-FSM-16 improved the formation of CNTs. The effect of acetylene flow rate for CNTs diameters which grown on the 4 wt % Fe-FSM-16 was studied. It was observed that acetylene flow rate did not affect on the diameter of the synthesized CNTs significantly. Diameters of CNTs were almost the same, observed to be in the range of 20-35 nm. Raman measurement indicated that the synthesized products were MWCNTs since no SWCNTs characteristic features appeared in the RBM region. The characterization results demonstrated that CNTs formation with high efficiency was performed by using 4 wt % Fe-FSM-16 with 80 mL/min acetylene flow rate at 700oC [degrees Celsius] for 30 min.


Anger is a powerful mobilizing force in American politics on both sides of the political aisle, but does it motivate all groups equally? This book offers a new conceptualization of anger as a political resource that mobilizes black and white Americans differentially to exacerbate political inequality. Drawing on survey data from the last forty years, experiments, and rhetoric analysis, Phoenix finds that - from Reagan to Trump - black Americans register significantly less anger than their white counterparts and that anger (in contrast to pride) has a weaker mobilizing effect on their political participation. The book examines both the causes of this and the consequences. Pointing to black Americans' tempered expectations of politics and the stigmas associated with black anger, it shows how race and lived experience moderate the emergence of emotions and their impact on behavior. The book makes multiple theoretical contributions and offers important practical insights for political strategy.


As we have entered the Internet-of-Things (IoT) era, further blessed with rapid advances in several key technological areas including DevOps, AI/ML, 5G/6G/, neurocomputing, to name a few, it is imperative we think big and aim high. This new venture will require professionals in both software engineering and services computing to collaborate with an unprecedented intensity, and jointly develop the new interdisciplinary field hereby named Software Services Engineering (SSE). In SSE, the ever-deepening system dynamics emerging from both environments and humans in varying contexts are imposing steep challenges to both researchers and practitioners. Humans, both developers and the vast number of end users, are embedded ever closer to IoT environments, and are being afforded ample opportunities to continuously inject inputs during system development and after deployment. In fact, humans are increasingly playing the roles of both sensor and actuator. Traditional requirements engineering researchers are being lured more than ever into exploiting the IoT environments where human users are deeply embedded, to gather contextual information that inevitably introduces lots of ambiguity and uncertainty. Provisioning of highly adaptable and scalable microservices would be key to timely meeting ever-changing human desires and ever-evolving system requirements in the nimblest manner. As such, an ultra-agile and field-programmable development methodology and environment will be imperative to achieving such ultrafine grained microservices provisioning. Such ultra-agility and ultrafine granularity requirements imposed to the services industry obligate company executives to expect extreme manageability assurance to become the centroid of system operations and administration. The ultimate goal in pursuit of such a noble dream will be to provide genuinely individualized and trustworthy service, possibly enabled by AI, but it should be both explainable and ethical. Facing such grand challenges, this declaration samples a subset of burning issues in SSE through observations in seven themes, only meant to be starting points for the SSE community to further investigate. Through our declarations we also call for heightened attention to an assorted array of existing, barely emerging or non-existent services computing and software engineering methods for a concerted effort to research and explore.


In July of 2004, Michigan and Utah enacted child protection registry laws that prohibit businesses from sending e-mail advertisements for certain types of goods and services to "contact points" (e.g. individual or school e-mail domains) listed on registries maintained by each state. The prohibited goods and services include alcohol, tobacco, pornography, and illegal drugs. This Article summarizes these statutes and provides guidance to businesses concerning statutory compliance. The Article also highlights certain concerns about the scope and ambiguities in the statutory language. Despite ongoing debate surrounding these statutes, companies that choose to market via the Internet must understand their statutory obligations. Other states may enact similar legislation. Organizations that sell, advertise, or handle promotions for products and services on a nationwide basis may face compliance issues in multiple jurisdictions.


Abstract A knowledge-driven algorithm to automatically delineate the tumour region of human liver from computed tomography (CT) images for computer-aided liver diagnosis system is proposed in this paper. Automatic segmentation of liver tumours from computed tomography images is difficult due to the ambiguous nature of liver and tumour boundaries, the complicated appearance of tumours, the variation in the contrast of liver tissues and vessels, the different sizes and shapes of tumour, and the presence of many small metastases. Hence, the proposed algorithm first segments the liver and then extracts the tumour region from this segmented result. It uses a region-growing algorithm supported by pre-processing and post-processing for segmenting liver and a possibilistic alternative fuzzy C-means clustering technique for segmenting the tumour region. The proposed algorithm is assessed by comparing the automatic segmented tumour results with manual segmented results established by human experts for 25 CT data sets. The evaluation shows good segmentation based on performance measures like accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and precision.


Abstract This paper explains the historical development of analogue and digital speedometer dial designs using the linguistics theory base of pragmatics, which asks researchers to explain a visual design by describing its purpose as well as how its various visual features meet people's needs, how people read dials and how people use dials to coordinate with one another or machines. The paper is useful for researchers interested in methodologies for studying the development of language-like visual communication, and for those interested in the history of information graphics, machine interfaces or speedometer dials in particular. A range of dial designs from the early 1900s to the current day are described and analyzed. In this paper, results show that drivers read speedometers to avoid fines, keep safe, change gears, set cruise control or record high speeds. Designs also, however, serve marketing and aesthetic purposes. Features of analogue displays are described with the paper concluding with a taxonomy of dial features. The entire system of speed containment could be improved since even with easy-to-read dials, drivers continue to speed. Dials that work with satellite systems to continually display the current speed limit may be the way of the future. Introduction This paper provides a case study of how the linguistics theory base of pragmatics can be used to explain the development of visual standards. In particular, the paper looks at the visual design of speedometer dials, which have developed in response to improved understanding of driver, safety and market needs, and changing visual styles, laws and technology. Linguistics provides a helpful theory base for understanding a design such as a speedometer dial since the design is closely attached to particular meanings and as such can be said to be language-like. The linguist Harley (2001) said that "Pragmatics is concerned with how we get things done with language and how we work out what the purpose is behind the speaker's utterance" (337). He further explained that the field has two main branches, the first of which is how we extract meaning from language by drawing inferences, and the second is how we work together to maintain conversations. Another linguist, Clark (1996) said that the most useful way to study language use is from both social and individual perspectives. These explanations from pragmatics are also obviously useful for the study of visual languages. A pragmatic approach to studying visuals is concerned with how we get things done with a particular design and how we read that design. In the particular case of speedometer dials, a pragmatic approach asks how individuals read and use the dials, and how the dials help people to coordinate with one another and with their vehicles. A pragmatic approach is also helpful in understanding how a visual design develops over time. Such an approach looks at the initial need for the visual, how the visual meets the need and then how designers incrementally modify the visual over time as the design environment changes (e.g., technology changes) and designers come to better understand user needs. Mitchell (2008) has provided a methodology for studying the development of designs from a pragmatic approach, which involves the following: 1. Selecting a category of visual communication and identifying the social situations in which it is used 2. Formulating open questions about the visual form...and the situations in which it is used 3. Collecting examples of the visual communication 4 Selecting research tools to study how the design is used 5. Writing descriptions of the visual communication and the situation in which it is used 6 Selecting methods for and conducting analyses 7. Discovering themes within the data and applying existing theories as appropriate (4). This paper applies this methodology to explaining the development of speedometer dial designs. …


This essay addresses the current fiscal situation of the U.S. economy – in particular the federal budget deficit and mounting public debt. The essay argues that the most urgent step to be taken is to raise federal taxes, despite the possible dampening effect on short-term growth (which can be palliated in other ways). Failure to raise taxes substantially, and soon, will greatly compound the harm to the U.S. economy from the profligate fiscal policies of the past decade.


Red sea bream iridoviral disease (RSIVD) is caused by red sea bream iridovirus (RSIV), a double stranded DNA of Icosahedral virus with a diameter of 120-240 nm [1]. RSIV is  one  of the  species  of  the Megalocytivirus,  Genus  of  the  Iridoviridae Family,  first reported to infect red sea bream (Pagrus major) fish, at Sikoku Island, Japan 1991, and since then it has been noted to cause considerable economic losses to fisheries in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia and also in Indonesia [2,3,4]. Rapid transmission with high mortality rates in fish populations infected becomes a serious threat to the aquaculture fishery business. Stained imprints or tissue sections [1], monoclonal antibody technique (MAb), Immunofluorescent Antibody Tests (IFAT) [5], Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) [6] Electron Microscope and Multiplex PCR [2] methods have been introduced.  Although it is very effective for detecting RSIVD in infected fish, but requires training and specialized equipment at a high cost. Co-agglutination test is a diagnostic method, used both in humans and animals in detecting bacterial or viral diseases [7], this method is fast, easy to use, and does not require special equipment. Test results from co-agglutination are easily seen macroscopically, so it is suitable if developed in RSIVD detection in the field case. This study aims to create and conduct RSIVD co-agglutination kit field tests supported by molecular studies and diagnostic analysis of the sensitivity and specificity of the accuracy and reliability of the kit. Then the test results will be compared from the pooling and individual samples.


Departing from a recent work by Helmut Miiller-Sievers tbe author charts the intricacies of the debate between preformationism and epigeneticism and its theoretico-epistemological repercussions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Although the most common interpretation equals preformationism to mechanism and fixism, on one side, and evolutionism to epigeneticism and organicism, on the other, the actual picture, once key authors are analyzed, is far more complex. All preformationist theories were, in principle, mechanistic, but not all mechanistic theories were preformationist: they could also be epigenetist, which means that not all epigenetist theories were necessarily organicist. Although all organicist theories were, in principle, evolutionary, not all mechanistic theories were fixist. And finally, all preformationist theories were, in principle, fixist, hut not all fixist theories were preformationist. The redefinition of the notion of embryonic preformation in the first decades of the nineteenth-century resulted, in turn, in a new concept of the "organism," crystallizing a view of nature that combined fixism (at a phylogenetical level) and evolutionism (at the embryological level).


SUMMARY Identification of the major loci responsible for insecticide resistance in malaria vectors would aid the development and implementation of effective resistance management strategies, which are urgently needed to tackle the growing threat posed by resistance to the limited insecticides available for malaria control. Genome-wide association studies in the major malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, have been hindered by the high degree of within-population structuring and very low levels of linkage disequilibrium hence we revisited the use of quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping to study resistance phenotypes in this vector species. Earlier work, identified two major QTL associated with pyrethroid resistance in A. gambiae s.s. from East Africa using genetic crossing of laboratory-colonized resistant and susceptible strains. In this study, we report the results from genetic mapping of pyrethroid resistance in three isofemale pedigrees established from wild-caught female A. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes from Benin. We identified two QTL on chromosomes 2L and 3R in these field populations, in similar genomic locations to the QTL identified in laboratory strains. The relative merits of two alternative study designs are discussed and suggestions made for future genetic mapping studies of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes.


Integrating environmental accounting into economic entities is an urgent necessity for sustainable development and for getting long-term benefits. Sustainable development means providing the present needs of mankind without affecting the development of future generations, so we consider it is absolutely necessary to emphasize the importance of rational consumption of non-renewable resources and expanding consumption of renewable resources, increasing investment in green technologies, minimizing pollution, developing research and innovation, using biotechnologies, the increase of recycling of materials, the implementation of environmental management systems, all of these considerations being necessary to be applied in the economic entities to increase their profitability. The purpose of this paper is to present the cost typology used by the environmental accounting and its integration into the information system of the economic entities.


Introduction Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterised by restriction of energy intake, fears of gaining weight and related body image disturbances. The oxytocinergic system has been proposed as a pathophysiological candidate for AN. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide involved in bodily processes (eg, breast feeding) and in the onset of social behaviours (eg, bonding). Studies investigating the effect of intranasal oxytocin (IN-OT) in AN showed that it can improve attentional bias for high-calorie food and fat bodies stimuli, and related stress. However, less is known about the effect of IN-OT on bodily awareness and body image distortions, key features of the disorder linked to its development, prognosis and maintenance. Here, we aim to investigate the effect of IN-OT on the perception of affective, C-tactile-optimal touch, known to be impaired in AN and on multisensory integration processes underlying a body ownership illusion (ie, rubber hand illusion). For exploratory purposes, we will also investigate the effect of IN-OT on another interoceptive modality, namely cardiac awareness and its relationship with affective touch. Design, methods and analysis Forty women with AN and forty matched healthy controls will be recruited and tested in two separate sessions; self-administering IN-OT (40 IU) or placebo, intranasally, in a pseudo-randomised manner. The data from this double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study will be analysed using linear mixed models that allow the use of both fixed (treatment levels) and random (subjects) effects in the same analysis. To address our main hypotheses, separate analyses will be run for the affective touch task, where the primary outcome dependent variable will be the pleasantness of the touch, and for the rubber hand illusion, where we will investigate multisensory integration quantified as subjective embodiment towards the rubber hand. In the latter, we will manipulate the synchronicity of touch and the size of the hand. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval has been obtained by National Research Ethics Service NRES Committee London (Queen's Square Committee, ref number 14/LO/1593). The results will be disseminated through conference presentations and publication in peer-reviewed journals.


The determination of endothelial cell density (ECD) is a crucial activity in eye banks for the assessment of corneal tissue quality. These cells are responsible for corneal transparency, and ECD correlates with graft survival. ECD is mainly assessed with a manual "naked-eye" procedure under a transmitted light microscope in Europe and using a specular microscope in the United States. Interbank and intrabank variability has been previously demonstrated. In order to facilitate training and continuing education of technicians and reliability assessment of eye banks' ECD determination, we use micro-optics technologies to fabricate test mosaics that exactly reproduce the image of human corneal endothelium. The description of the fabrication process is detailed, and comparisons are made between amplitude and phase mosaics.


The leading email marketing firm shows you how to create high-impact, low-cost campaigns Email marketing is an incredibly cost-effective way to establish and build relationships that drive business success. But, it can also be a challenge because the inbox is a hostile environment. Whether your email is noteworthyor an annoying waste of your customer's timedepends on your ability to stick to stick the fundamentals of good marketing and authentic relationship building. The Constant Contact Guide to Email Marketing presents best practices and relationship-building principles from Americas leading email marketing firm. With over 280,000 small business and non-profit clients, Constant Contact is constantly testing and learning what works and what doesn't, and it's all here. There's no other email guide on the market that provides this level of comprehensive, practical guidance. Whether you're starting your own small business or need to grow on a shoestring budget, this book will get you up to speed fast. Learn about: Ten email pitfalls that will get your business into trouble Ten things your customers expect you to do The "soft" benefits of email marketing Using email in combination with other marketing efforts How four types of permissions can make or break your strategy Building an email list that is valuable and effective Creating valuable content Choosing an effective, professional email format Ensuring your emails are delivered, opened, and read With The Constant Contact Guide to Email Marketing, you'll learn to avoid the common mistakes of email marketing, give your customers content they love, and combine an effective email marketing strategy with your traditional marketing effortsgiving you way more bang for your marketing buck.


The U.S. feature film industry as a gendered organization, in which networks bound by race, gender, class and overt heterosexuality tend to exclude members of other groups. Hollywood filmmaking is a production process with high uncertainty about how to produce hits, resulting in discretion given to managers to use their personal networks to limit risk. This combination of organizational qualities limits diversity among filmmakers, such that previous research has shown women remain vastly underrepresented both on-screen and behind the camera. Crowdfunding has recently emerged as an alternative to corporate funding and traditional venture capitalism, where people donate small amounts of money online to fund business projects. Given underrepresentation of marginalized groups in the film industry and filmmakers' difficulty funding their projects, I show the use of crowdfunding to answer (1) whether it offers a more gender-equal opportunity than direct funding by major studios and (2) whether the films produced through crowdfunding are more female-centered when compared to non-crowdfunded films. Using a sample of 124 crowdfunded and traditionally funded feature films, released between 2012 and 2014; I found that crowdfunded films were more likely to employ female filmmakers and protagonist(s) than traditionally funded films. Additionally crowdfunded films had more filmmakers who are racial minorities, and filmmakers and protagonist(s) who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. These results suggest that while women are far from achieving equity in the film industry as filmmakers or protagonists, crowdfunding may provide an alternative avenue for attaining financing for films, outside of the structure of Hollywood studios.


Replacement of fossil materials by renewable feedstocks is forced by depletion and envi- ronmental concerns but requires new technologies for energy generation or production of chemicals. Co-processing of petroleum with renewable feedstocks in current refinery infrastructure is an attractive option in the mid-term to increase renewable fuel capac -ity, as the capital investment and operational costs would be marginal. In this chapter, various strategies for admixing of phenolic compounds as renewable feeds into standard refineries are described. Starting from the role of renewable resources (e.g. biomass, lig - nin and bio-oil) in the current and future energy and chemical community, an overview on the present energy supply situation and the role of phenolic compounds are dis- cussed. Later, a summary on co-feeding of phenolic model compounds with conventional feeds in refineries are illustrated. The co-processing of upgraded bio-oil in refinery units [e.g. fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydrotreating] is summarized, showing the potential utilisation of bio-feeds via such processes. Finally, some concluding remarks address the perspectives for further research and development to overcome future challenges.