This paper presents a comparative study of among one Multi Scale filter (wavelet), nine single scale spatial adaptive filters (viz. Anistropic Diffusion (PMAD)) that are widely used for speckle noise reduction in biomedical ultrasound B-Scan images. The main objective of this study is to identify the efficient and optimum speckle filter in terms of preserving the edge details of the images with effective denoising. The performance of the filters are best estimated by calculating twenty-one established performance metrics along with execution time in order to determine the effective and optimum-despeckling algorithm for real time implementation. To do this, we have developed a cumulative speckle reduction (CSR) algorithm in the MATLAB environment, which performs all despeckle filtering functions as well as performance metrics calculation in a single trial. In the case of diffusion filter implementation, provision is given to execute the diffusion filter for several trials to identify the best iteration in terms of denoising the speckle and preserving the diagnostic information found in the B-scan images. The algorithm has been experimented with more than 200 digital ultrasound B-scan images of kidney, abdomen, liver and choroids. Based on the visual inspection of the despeckled images and the calculation of the performance metrics, it is found that SRAD and Wavelet despeckling filters are exhibiting fairly well performance over the other standard spatial filters.


This dissertation evaluates the potential of chemiluminescence analysis for two types of clinical applications: (1) rapid analysis with a flow injection system which consumes small reagent volumes (25 (mu)L) and (2) a new approach to chemiluminescence immunoassay. The first application studied uses the firefly reaction with a flow system to analyze for adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Two flow configurations called the "valve within a valve" and "merging zones" configurations were evaluated with respect to effect of parameters such as flow and sample volume on precision, sensitivity and sample throughput. With the appropriate choice of parameters, both systems achieve precisions of 1-2% relative standard deviation and throughputs of 5-10 measurements per minute. The merging zones configuration consumes smaller volumes of sample. The second project demonstrates a new approach to immunoassay based on chemical excitation of fluorophor labelled immunochemicals using the peroxyoxalate reaction. The effects of fluorophors, esters, and solvents, etc. on the chemiluminescence measurement were evaluated. The conditions for achieving the best precision (1-3% R.S.D.) with a high water component in the measurement were rhodamine B in Tris buffer adjusted to pH 8.00, 10('-3) M bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate (TCPO) in ethyl acetate and 10('-3) M hydrogen peroxide in acetonitrile in the ratio 5:2:3. Under these conditions, the detection limit for rhodamine B is 10('-9) M. The detection limit is established by variations in the background chemiluminescence. The possibility of both homogeneous and heterogeneous immunoassays was evaluated. It was shown that the chemiluminescence excitation efficiency decreases when fluorophors were bound to albumin but increases when the fluorophor was coupled to folic acid. The feasibility of a homogeneous immunoassay was demonstrated by binding albumin to rhodamine labelled antiserum. It was shown that the chemiluminescence intensity of the fluorophor labelled antibody decreases with increasing concentrations of bound antigen. The heterogeneous chemiluminescence immunoassay was evaluated by comparison with a commercially available fluorescence immunoassay kit by Bio Rad. Both immunoassays are limited by imprecision of mixing of the solvent systems for the chemiluminescence measurement.


We proposed a new signal qualification method SAM2TJ for high density optical disc. We took the similar approach of MLSE[1] kwon for the good correlation with bER of Blu-ray discs, and optimized for over 30GB high density Blu-ray disc with the adaptive PRML detection system.


The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP) World Heritage Site, is one of the most important remaining protected areas for the conservation of Crocodylus niloticus (Nile crocodile) in the Republic of South Africa Although crocodiles are present at low densities in some of the wetlands throughout the GSLWP, at Kosi Bay and Lake Sibaya, the majority is found at Lake St Lucia Concern about the status of the crocodile population at Lake Sibaya prompted a quantitative assessment of the present situation to direct appropriate management action to secure the future viability of this population Due to the complex nature of crocodile surveys, and the paucity of available scientific literature in South Africa, a literature review of global crocodilian survey techniques provided the basis for a survey strategy to determine an index of relative abundance of the crocodile population at Lake Sibaya The population was estimated in 2003 through aerial and spotlight surveys and nest surveys were conducted in 2003 and 2004. The highest count dwing the 2003 aerial surveys was 36 crocodiles, suggesting a decline of 66% during the past 13 years in the population index based on earlier surveys. Sixty five crocodiles were cowlted during the spotlight surveys, 72% more than the highest aerial count (excluding hatchlings), which indicates the importance of using a combined survey approach. A correction factor of 1.72 was calculated for future aerial surveys and the population is estimated at 112 crocodiles, \\-ith a variance of22.49 and standard error of 4.47. Three nests were found during the 2003 nest survey, but none during 2004. Crocodiles rarely produce every year in the wild, and the Lake Sibaya population might display a low reproductive frequency, similar to the nearby Lake St Lucia population Sixty three potential nesting areas were identified and evaluated in terms of their relative suitability for nesting. These sites could play an important role in increasing the population to support a sustainable use progralllffie at Lake Sibaya. Despite legal protection, the population is clearly under threat as a result of direct and secondary pressures. To secure the future viability of this population, I recommend that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife develop an integrated crocodile management plan through collaboration with The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park Authority and the local communities


Background/Aims We sought to examine whether the presence of gallstone disease (GD) in patients with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with liver fibrosis and histological nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) score. Methods We included 441 Turkish patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD. GD was diagnosed in the presence of sonographic evidence of gallstones, echogenic material within the gallbladder with constant shadowing and little or no visualization of the gallbladder or absence of gallbladder at ultrasonography, coupled with a history of cholecystectomy. Results Fifty-four patients (12.2%) had GD (GD+ subjects). Compared with the GD- subjects, GD+ patients were older, had a higher body mass index and were more likely to be female and have metabolic syndrome. However, GD+ patients did not have a higher risk of advanced fibrosis or definite NASH on histology. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, the prevalence of GD in NAFLD patients was not associated with significant fibrosis (≥2) (odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53 to 2.21; p=0.68) or definite NASH (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.495 to 2.12; p=0.84). Conclusions The presence of GD is not independently associated with advanced fibrosis and definite NASH in adult Turkish patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD.


Aim/Purpose: Many disciplines have addressed the issue of "fake news." This topic is of central concern to the transdiscipline of Informing Science, which endeavors to understand all issues related to informing. This paper endeavors to build a model to address not only fake news but all informing and misin-forming. To do this, it explores how errors get into informing systems, the issue of bias, and the models previously created to explore the complexity of informing. That is, this paper examines models and frameworks proposed to explore informing in the presence of bias, misinformation, disinformation, and fake news from the perspective of Informing Science. It concludes by intro-ducing a more nuanced model that considers some of the topics explored in the paper

Methodology: The issue of informing and disinforming crosses many disciplinary perspectives. Each discipline puts on blinders that limit what it can contribute to its understanding of research topics. It is like trying to study a forest by seeing only the trees and not the animals or the animals but not the trees. Research perspectives that cross disciplinary boundaries are needed to more fully understand complex phenomena.
This paper lays out some fundamental cross-disciplinary issues including how errors find their way into informing systems, the issue of bias, and the frameworks used to model this phenomenon.

Contribution: The paper introduces the competition framework for understanding informing and misinforming. This framework addresses many of the limitation of prior frameworks.

Future Research: The concluding framework offers insights into understanding informing and disinforming. But this framework offers no insights into other forms of informing that are less well explored, such as song, dance, physical art, and architecture. Likewise, this framework does nothing to help the un-derstanding of informing via fideism or psychedelic revelation.


The history of education in many developing nations is a template of ineffectual and expensive instruction. Despite nearly half a century of higher education in the Pacific, up to 50% of the teachers in many countries such as the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands still have no more than a high school education. Similar trends are found in Asia and Africa. Past experience in Oceania demonstrates that face-to-face university training has been neither scalable nor sustainable. This paper compares two educational approaches-face-to-face and blended learning. The face-to-face, WorldTeach program in the Marshall Islands employed foreign volunteer teachers living on site to give local teachers a year's leave for additional training. The blended chemistry course, which combined online and face-to-face learning, was delivered simultaneously to teacher candidates in Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. The blended course utilized online instructors and tutors, and face-to-face tutors. This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both case studies and recommends that nations consider blended learning as an approach to make education more accessible and affordable, especially in emerging nations. As brick-and-mortar campuses and instructor travel become more expensive, blended learning becomes an increasingly attractive educational option.


This paper considers the question of whether there is a human-animal or 'anthropological difference'. It starts with a historical introduction to the project of philosophical anthropology (sct. 1). Section 2 explains the philosophical quest for an anthropological difference. Sections 3–4 are methodological and explain how philosophical anthropology should be pursued in my view, namely as impure conceptual analysis. The following two sections discuss two fundamental objections to the very idea of such a difference, biological continuity (sct. 5) and Darwinist anti-essentialism (sct. 6). Section 7 discusses various possible responses to this second objection – potentiality, normality and typicality. It ends by abandoning the idea of an essence possessed by all and only individual human beings. Instead, anthropological differences are to be sought in the realm of capacities underlying specifically human societies (forms of communication and action). The final section argues that if there is such a thing as the anthropological difference, it is connected to language. But it favours a more modest line according to which there are several anthropological differences which jointly underlie the gap separating us from our animal cousins.


Treatment of trigeminal neurolagia by percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy was assessed in a series of 45 patients during the period from May 2008 through June 2012 with a follow up period ranging from 2 to 24 months postoperatively. All patients enrolled in the present study were considered medical failures before the procedure. Achievement of substantial pain relief was reported in 42 patients (93.3 %) and no further medical treatment was needed. Outcome also included reduction in facial sensation in 30 patients (66.7 %) and recurrence in 4 patients (8.9 %). Failure of treatment was seen in 3 patients (6.7 %).
Conclusion: percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol rhizotomy offers safe and reliable relief of pain in patients with trigeminal neuralgia; low recurrence rate and long lasting reduction in facial sensations are the major disadvantages; nonetheless, it is by far, in our opinion, the method of choice in elderly particularly high risk patients.


Just as the heart beats in the darkness of the body, / So I, despite this cage, continue to beat with life. / Those who have no courage or honor / Consider themselves free, / I am flying on the wings of thought, / And so, even in this cage, / I know a greater freedom. --Abdul Rahim (1) I. INTRODUCTION There is an age-old principle "that the authority of war must be tempered by limitations that mitigate the suffering inevitably caused by war." (2) In the wake of more than ten years in the armed conflict in Afghanistan, much debate exists surrounding the inception and passage of the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2012 ("NDAA") (3) and its detainee provisions. (4) This article focuses specifically on the NDAA's detainee provisions and its implications regarding the equal protection guarantees under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. To better understand the breadth of the NDAA's detainee provisions, consider the following dramatis personae. (5) It is the year 2013, and political unrest in Afghanistan and the Middle East has reached a critical tipping point. The United States is greatly accelerating its 2014 timetables for ending the armed conflict in Afghanistan, and it is drawing down its combat forces at an accelerated pace and fast-forwarding the transition of its military and government advisors into a supervisory role for the Afghan government. (6) The political winds shifted in a tumultuous direction after American soldiers at Bagram air base burned copies of the Koran--desecrating the Muslim Holy Book sparked a snowball effect of instability and violence in the region. (7) American troops faced increased opposition from the Taliban in previously liberated provincial outposts in Afghanistan; there were civilian uprisings castigating the Koran burnings; some Afghan soldiers undergoing military training retaliated against their U.S. Army instructors; and there were killings of innocent Afghan civilians at the hands of American forces. Violence and unrest in the region touched Omaid Parsa's life in remarkable and horrifying ways. Omaid is a twenty-nine-year-old Afghan journalist; he works for the al-Jazeera news network and lives in his native Kandahar province with his wife and three children. Omaid was on assignment in Kabul to cover the recent Koran burnings at the U.S. controlled Bagram air base. The Koran burnings sparked intense violence against American service members in the region. Local news outlets reported a recent incident in which an American soldier killed sixteen Afghan civilians in Omaid's native Kandahar. (8) Tragically, Omaid learned that his family was among the dead and mourned their loss. The United States apologized to the victims' families and the Afghan people and assured them that the U.S. military would prosecute the soldier for his crimes. (9) The people of Afghanistan demanded that the United States Government hand over the soldier for prosecution in an Afghan tribunal. (10) In the end, the Afghan central government relented to the American promise of justice. Omaid openly criticized his government's actions as placating U.S. interests while ignoring the Afghan people's call for justice. He wrote critical pieces that lambasted Hamid Karzai's government for failing to prosecute the U.S. soldier's killing of sixteen innocent Afghan civilians in an Afghan tribunal. The Afghan government's decision excited further unrest and tension in the region. Soon after, unknown government operatives broke into Omaid's home, captured him in the night, and tortured him for writing critical news pieces against the Afghan government. Omaid's captors transferred him to U.S. controlled Bagram air base where they falsely claimed that he was part of al-Qaeda, that he substantially supported the Taliban regime and its associated forces with monetary aid, and that he gained access to terrorist training-manuals for distribution to the people in Kandahar province. …


Vol. 7 May 1993 NEWS & FEATURES 619 VACANT: one ecological nitch. WANTED: an animal that can run like a horse, but can also nibble the most juicy leaves at the tops of trees. If you had to design such a beast from scratch, you would probably end up drawing a horse-like quadruped with a long neck. You would figure that the animal should be able to hear predators and alarm calls and you would equip it with wellhooded ears. Because it would receive alarm calls, it should also be able to send them. So you would equip it with a larynx. You would then pencil in a nerve running from the brain to the larynx, a distance of perhaps 20 cm. When checking your design against the real world, you would find a great similarity to the giraffe. However, the nerve to the larynx is actually several meters in length! From the brain, it runs down the neck to the chest where it loops round a major blood vessel and then returns up the neck to the larynx.


Earth modeling plays a decisive role in seismic imaging. Presently, methods such as tomography and full-waveform inversion (FWI) are widely used to generate 3D high-resolution velocity models across sedimentary basins. However, given the nonunique nature of the solution, the relative fidelity of these velocity models remains low. Moreover, earth-model building must incorporate a dual strategy. In particular, it must derive a velocity model for migration and yield a series of rock properties such as density, temperature, effective stress, and pore pressure. These large-scale, basin-sized rock properties are used for drilling purposes and as an initial model for small-scale reservoir property inversion. Hence, one must inquire: How can we improve an earth model built at basin-scale using seismic data? Traditional workflows will simply convert seismic-derived velocity into rock properties, thereby propagating the uncertainty without addressing the issue. To alleviate this problem and fully exploit the potential of seismic data, an alternate workflow will be discussed. The new workflow involves using rock physics to link rock properties with velocity, and the physical range of the rock properties is used to constrain velocity when derived from surface seismic data; this way we reinforce the reliability of the final earth model. The application of this new workflow is demonstrated using Gulf of Mexico examples.


Within participatory geography and relational aesthetic art literature there have been calls to focus on how participation is framed, who is included and excluded, the types of relations involved and the effects of such practices. Linked to these concerns, questions have also been raised around how participants are framed and understood in participatory projects. For instance, as self-determining and knowing subjects who become politically affirmed through participation, or as subjects caught up in complex processes of becoming. In this article I show how the participatory art project 'Productive Bodies' in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, enabled participants to articulate the complex contradictions surrounding waged work, redundancy and unemployment. I suggest that participatory art projects can be a useful way for subjects to explore these complex processes of becoming. Useful because in this case, the project enabled participants to both acknowledge dominant disciplining discourses around waged work, while also creating space to imagine and enact alternatives to more dominant and limiting discourses. I argue that participatory art projects like Productive Bodies can help subjects move away from cognitive understandings of social change and political demands because the process understands subjects as always-already affected by wider societal discourses. Such an understanding recognises the complexity of subjectivities whereby subjects are both complicit in perpetuating and subjecting themselves to more dominant discourses, but also often desirous of change. Participatory art projects like Productive Bodies can enable subjects to articulate these complexities, while also catching glimpses of other selves and other societal relations through affectual-embodied encounters.


This paper advocates a new conception of the properties which determine the distribution of finite clausal complements (FCCs) in English. I argue against the orthodox view that FCCs are selected by matrix predicates on the basis of their interpretive type (Grimshaw 1979; Rizzi 1997; Ginzburg & Sag 2000), and propose that distribution rather depends on the specification of the FCC in terms of the syntactically encoded properties [+/-wh, +/-factive]. This proposal is motivated by new distributional patterns which emerge when the typology of English FCCs is expanded to take into account complementiser-how clauses (CHCs) (Legate 2010; Nye 2012). CHCs have their own unique interpretation, yet, strikingly, have exactly the same distribution as embedded exclamatives. This is unexpected under the traditional view of FCC selection, but is explained if CHCs and exclamatives are selected on the basis of a common [+wh, +factive] syntactic specification.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To describe the experience of hope in women with advanced ovarian cancer.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Grounded theory methodology with interviews.

SETTING
Oncology clinics in the northeastern United States.

PARTICIPANTS
20 women aged 42-73 who had completed initial chemotherapy and had no evidence of recurrence.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH
A personal data form and focused interview guide supported data collection. The core variable and related themes were identified using the constant comparative process. Demographic and treatment information was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
The process of hope in women with advanced ovarian cancer.

FINDINGS
Facing the death sentence emerged as the main concern. The core variable in dealing with the concern was transforming the death threat. The three phases of the trajectory were shock (reverberating from the impact), aftershock (grasping reality), and rebuilding (living the new paradigm). Healthcare provider communication and spirituality influenced women's abilities to transform the death sentence. Support and perceived control emerged as key dimensions of the core variable.

CONCLUSIONS
Women experience significant distress and trauma symptoms associated with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Hope was linked closely to the core variable and was necessary for finding meaning in the experience. Women with high support and perceived control seemed most hopeful and able to transform the death sentence.

INTERPRETATIONS
Evidence-based interventions and strategies are needed to foster improved provider communication, symptom management, and peer support for women facing ovarian cancer. Future nursing research should focus on strategies that enhance support, perceived control, hope, and spirituality.


We study the cross-entropy method (CEM) for the non-convex optimization of a continuous and parameterized objective function and introduce a differentiable variant that enables us to differentiate the output of CEM with respect to the objective function's parameters. In the machine learning setting this brings CEM inside of the end-to-end learning pipeline where this has otherwise been impossible. We show applications in a synthetic energy-based structured prediction task and in non-convex continuous control. In the control setting we show how to embed optimal action sequences into a lower-dimensional space. DCEM enables us to fine-tune CEM-based controllers with policy optimization.


Avian intestinal spirochaetosis (AIS) is a condition of laying and breeding hens resulting from colonisation of the large intestine with anaerobic intestinal spirochaetes of the genus Brachyspira. The main causative species in Australia are B. intermedia and B. pilosicoli. Infection with these species can lead to wet litter and reduced egg production. Currently, little is known about how these organisms enter flocks and spread, or how to control them. The economic losses to the poultry industry caused by AIS are thought to be significant, however problems with diagnostic techniques have resulted in this disease often being overlooked.

The major aims of this thesis were to expand understanding of the epidemiology and cycles of transmission of B. intermedia and B. pilosicoli, measure the effectiveness of six disinfectants, develop faster and more reliable diagnostic identification methods, and to investigate effects of diet on colonisation by the spirochaetes.

An epidemiological study on a laying hen farm detected infection with three different Brachyspira species, with multiple strains of these species being present. Infection appeared to have originated from other birds on the site rather than from environmental sources. Experiments showed that B. intermedia and B. pilosicoli survived in chicken faeces for between 2 and 17 hours at 37oC. B. intermedia tended to survive longer than B. pilosicoli, but the maximum survival time for both species at 4oC was only 72-84 hours.

A study was then conducted into the efficacy of some common disinfectants in inactivating B. intermedia and B. pilosicoli. Six disinfectants were evaluated at their recommended working concentrations. All but alkaline salts inactivated two different concentrations of both spirochaete species in less than one minute in the presence of organic matter. Taken together, these results suggest that it should be relatively easy to break the cycle of infection by emptying, cleaning and disinfecting sheds between batches of birds.

To improve diagnostic methodology, a two-step nested duplex PCR (D-PCR) was developed for detection of B. pilosicoli and B. intermedia, using DNA extracted from washed chicken faeces. The new test could provide results within 24 hours of sample receipt, and detected 4-5% more positive faecal samples than selective culture followed by individual species-specific PCRs.

Finally, studies were conducted in experimentally-infected laying hens to investigate potential interactions between diet and colonisation with B. intermedia or B. pilosicoli. In the first experiment, the addition of zinc bacitracin or dietary enzymes to a wheat-based diet reduced colonisation by B. intermedia. In subsequent experiments, it was shown that diets based on wheat predisposed to colonisation with B. intermedia compared to diets based on barley or barley and sorghum. Subsequently, wheat variety Westonia was shown to increase susceptibility to B. intermedia but decrease it to B. pilosicoli, compared to a diet based on wheat variety Stiletto. There was no clear relationship between the soluble non-starch polysaccharide content of a given diet, the viscosity of the digesta in the ileum, or colonization with the spirochaete species. Addition of different dietary enzymes did not significantly reduce the digesta viscosity in the ileum, or significantly influence faecal water content.

In flocks with persistent problems with AIS consideration should be given to modifying the diet, and, in particular, cereals other than wheat should be used. The wheat variety could be altered, but the addition of dietary enzymes to such wheat-based diets is not particularly reliable as a sole means of controlling AIS.


The scope of this paper is to present certain insights and advances towards the synthesis and transistor-level implementation of high dynamic range (> 120 dB), micropower, CMOS Sinh companding filters. In particular, we present detailed technical insights on a recently proposed Sinh integrator which may serve as the basic building block for higher-order filter structures. The particular integrator exhibits a promising simulated linearity performance mainly because it does not rely on the complementarity of both N- and P-type MOS transistors to achieve its Class-AB operation. Rather, it is designed with single-type devices in its signal processing path. The integrator is evaluated through detailed simulation results obtained by performing both large-signal transient and periodic steady-state (PSS) analyses in Cadence IC Design Frameworkreg with the parameters of the commercially available AMS 0.35-mum CMOS process. SNR, SNDR, IP3 and mismatch are some of the performance figures reported in this work. A detailed head-to-head comparison with a typical pseudo-differential Class-AB Log-domain integrator, designed in the same technology and with identical specifications, is also performed in order to reveal any potential benefits of the Sinh circuit paradigm.


JOEM Volume 58, Num al Medicine Forum is prepared by the ACOEM Occupational and edical Practice Committee and does not necessarily represent an official ACOEM position. The Forum is intended for health professionals and is not intended to provide medical or legal advice, including illness prevention, diagnosis or treatment, or regulatory compliance. Such advice should be obtained directly from a physician and/or attorney.


The importance of top-down effects in structuring ecological communities has been widely debated by ecologists. One way in which to examine these processes is to study the secondary effects of predator removal on communities. This study examined the role of predatory fishes in structuring communities of coral reef fishes, by using a network of marine reserves (the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park) as a natural experiment. We hypothesized that reefs with high densities of piscivores (marine reserves) would have distinct fish communities from those where piscivores have been depleted through fishing, due to variation in predation pressure. We predicted that predator depletion would result in "prey release", and a corresponding increase in prey densities along a gradient of fishing intensity, causing a change in the community composition of reef fishes. To address this, fish counts and habitat surveys were conducted at four locations on the Great Barrier Reef. At each location, comparisons were made amongst three marine park zones that varied in their exposure to fishing practices; no- take marine reserves, limited fishing areas, and open fishing areas.

The density and biomass of predators varied consistently among zones at each location. Furthermore, we found strong evidence for prey release at all four locations, resulting in distinct fish assemblages amongst zones. Reefs open to fishing had much lower densities of piscivores, and higher densities of prey and herbivorous fishes compared to marine reserves. This broad pattern was consistent amongst locations, and persisted at the level of species, trophic groups, families and communities. Habitat characteristics did not vary significantly amongst zones in a consistent manner amongst locations. Although habitat relationships were strong for specialist species such as butterflyfishes, densities of predators were stronger predictors of prey density for most species, and the trophic composition of reef fish communities differed significantly amongst zones at all locations. Results from this study support the concept that top-down effects can be strong divers of prey populations and influence community structure in highly diverse systems. These data emphasize the vital role of predators, and reinforce the importance of preserving and restoring top-down trophic interactions in ecological systems.


Proteins are among the most complex molecules in the cell and they play a major role in life itself. The complexity is not restricted to just structure and function, but also embraces the protein folding reaction. Within the field of protein folding, the focus of this thesis is on the features of the folding transition state in terms of growing contacts, common nucleation motifs and the contribution of charged residues to stability and folding kinetics. During the resent decade, the importance of a certain residue in structure formation has been deduced from Φ-value analysis. As a complement to Φ-value analysis, I present how scatter in a Hammond plot is related to site-specific information of contact formation, Φ´(βTS), and this new formalism was experimentally tested on the protein L23. The results show that the contacts with highest Φ growth at the barrier top were distributed like a second layer outside the folding nucleus. This contact layer is the critical interactions needed to be formed to overcome the entropic barrier. Furthermore, the nature of the folding nucleus has been shown to be very similar among proteins with homologous structures and, in the split β-α-β family the proteins favour a two-strand-helix motif. Here I show that the two-strand-helix motif is also present in the ribosomal protein S6 from A. aeolicus even though the nucleation and core composition of this protein differ from other related structure-homologues. In contrast to nucleation and contact growth, which are events driven by the hydrophobic effect, my most recent work is focused on electrostatic effects. By pH titration and protein engineering the charge content of S6 from T. thermophilus was altered and the results show that the charged groups at the protein surface might not be crucial for protein stability but, indeed, have impact on folding kinetics. Furthermore, by site-specific removal of all acidic groups the entire pH dependence of protein stability was depleted.


Apart from advection and diffusion/dispersion, other physical and chemical processes can affect the movement of solute through a porous medium. The classical advection‐dispersion equation does not usually model adequately the breakthrough curves resulting from such effects. The two‐region model (TRM) is an attempt to model succinctly and easily the effects of physical and/or chemical nonequilibrium. Physical nonequilibrium is the focus of this paper. The additional parameters appearing in the TRM are the ratio of mobile to total pore fluid, β, and the apparent transfer rate of the solute between the mobile and the immobile regions, α. Meaning is ascribed to these parameters by identifying the various ways in which physical nonequilibrium can arise. An examination of published data shows that the dominant trend is a linear variation of the transfer rate α with mobile fluid velocity Vm. In order to develop an approach incorporating all porous media types, timescales of solute transport are identified and compared to the mass transfer timescale (1/α). It was found that the local advection timescale best characterizes the mass transfer timescale. Two trends were observed for the mobile water fraction β. For aggregated/saturated porous media, β was found to be constant or decreased with increasing pore water velocity, while for partially saturated soils, β was constant or increased with increasing moisture content.


Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada, is made of ice-rich permafrost and is affected by high rates of coastal erosion, likely to increase with decreasing summer sea ice extent. During an interdisciplinary expedition to Herschel Island in July 2014, geotechnical investigations were carried out in shallow water environments of up to 20 m water depth and at different beaches. The free-fall penetrometer BlueDrop was deployed at 299 positions. Apart from obtaining vertical profiles of sediment strength and the pore pressure response upon impact, the pore pressure evolution over a period of one hour after deployment was investigated. The focus area for these tests was Pauline Cove, located at the south-eastern side of the island, being sheltered by a spit from the open Beaufort Sea and affected by a number of old and young retrogressive thaw slumps, delivering large amounts of mud. The sediment resistance profiles revealed up to three distinct layers of sediment strength, expressing different consolidation states, or possibly changes in sediment composition. This stratification was supported by the pore pressure results, including pore pressure evolution "on-the-flight" during penetrometer penetration as well as pore pressure evolution at maximum penetration depth with the penetrometer being at rest. The sediment surface layer 1 was characterized by a thickness of 5–20 cm depending on the respective location, low sediment resistance and predominantly hydrostatic pressure. It most likely has frequently been reworked by wave action, and exhibited similar geotechnical signatures as fluid mud. Layer 2 reached sediment depths of 30–60 cm, showed an increase in sediment resistance and distinct subhydrostatic pore pressures during penetration, while pore pressures increased in an asymptotic manner to suprahydrostatic (160–180% of hydrostatic pressure) over an observation period of 30–50 minutes. Based on comparison to other examples from the literature, it was hypothesized that layer 2 was composed of overconsolidated mud. Layer 3 featured a significant increase in sediment resistance as well as pore pressure during penetration. As soon as the probe came to rest, the pressure decreased significantly to subhydrostatic conditions, before swinging back to being suprahydrostatic and then slowly dissipating. A similar behavior has been associated to silty sands and high bulk densities. Here, it may suggest a change in sediment composition, likely influenced by coarser nearshore and beach sediments, representing also a denser sediment matrix. The pore pressure results will complement the geological and geotechnical characterization of the coastal zone of Hershel Island, and contribute to the investigation of erosion and deposition processes.
Copyright © 2015 by ASME


This paper contains the introduction to the new book, All Judges Are Political—Except When They Are Not: Acceptable Hypocrisies and the Rule of Law (Stanford University Press, 2010). The book begins with the observation that Americans are divided in their beliefs about whether courts operate on the basis of unbiased legal principle or of political interest. This division in public opinion in turn breeds suspicion that judges do not actually mean what they say, that judicial professions of impartiality are just fig leaves used to hide the pursuit of partisan purposes. Comparing law to the practice of common courtesy, the book explains how our courts not only survive under such suspicions of hypocrisy, but actually depend on them. Law, like courtesy, furnishes a means of getting along: it frames disputes in collectively acceptable ways, and it is a habitual practice, drummed into the minds of citizens by popular culture and formal institutions. The rule of law, understood as the rules of etiquette, is neither particularly fair nor free of paradoxical tensions, but it endures. Although pervasive public skepticism raises fears of judicial crisis and institutional collapse, such skepticism is also an expression of how our legal system ordinarily functions.


ObjectivesThe proportion of chronic pain patients with suspected neuropathic pain who will have clinically meaningful pain relief with intravenous (IV) lidocaine and the clinical characteristics that identify these patients have not been described previously. MethodsWe conducted a cohort study of 99 patients who underwent IV lidocaine infusions for suspected neuropathic pain. An 11-point Numerical Rating Score (NRS) of pain intensity was recorded at the beginning and end of each infusion. A predefined literature-based criteria for "clinically meaningful" reductions in pain score was used to classify patients as responders or nonresponders. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine clinical variables that predicted an increased likelihood of being a lidocaine responder. ResultsThe mean reduction in NRS during lidocaine infusions was 2.34 (95% confidence interval 2.83-1.85, P<0.001). Forty-two percent of patients (95% confidence interval 32.5%-52.8%) had NRS reductions of 30% or greater and met the predefined criteria as lidocaine responders. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that advancing age and pain severity significantly increased the odds of being a lidocaine responder. Controlled for all other factors, each decade of advancing age increased the odds of being a lidocaine responder by 36%. Each 1-point increase, on an 11-point scale of baseline pain severity, increased the odds of being a lidocaine responder by 29%. DiscussionIV lidocaine effectively reduces pain in a minority of patients suspected of having neuropathic pain. Pain severity and patient age can be used to target therapy to those most likely to respond.


This study aims to determine the immediate factors in occupational stress at individual level that impact job performance amongst lecturers holding the post of DS45 at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). The objectives of this study were achieved by examining the relationship between job performance (dependent variable) and five factors identified as independent variables which include working condition, resources and communication, workload, work-relationship with the Dean, and work-relationship with colleagues. Results from the online questionnaire collected from 228 respondents were analyzed using the multiple regression analysis. The analysis revealed that 31.1 percent and 45.1 percent of the variance were explained by model 1 and model 2 respectively, with working condition, workload, work-relationship with the Dean, and work-relationship with colleagues (total four factors) significant. Although the relationship between dependent variable and independent variables when regressed together produced an acceptable result, further research should be done in order for this model to be proposed as a general model for developing a framework regarding occupational stress at individual level and job performance among university lecturers. It is hoped that this study has contributed to studies in this field and played its part in paving the way for future studies to identify a more sustainable and replicable model, hence assisting the higher education industry to face the challenge of the 21st century.


While the term restaurant revenue management was defined in this journal in 1998, the history of publications in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CHQ) related to managing restaurant profitability spans nearly fifty years. Of the 160 published articles related to restaurant profitability, more than one-quarter have appeared in the CHQ, which is more than three times that of any other journal. This article presents a new, decision-based framework for restaurant profitability, which expands on the earlier revenue-focused framework. The existing CHQ articles are categorized using the framework, and the gaps are used as the basis for identifying a large number of worthwhile, but as yet unanswered research questions related to restaurant profitability.


This study developed and evaluated a shoe cushioning system to reduce impact force patterns during running. The shoe cushioning system is composed with a polyurethane pocket, which contains water and porous grains to absorb the force against the weight inside the pocket. Load-displacement curves for the shoe cushioning system were obtained from an instrumented testing machine and the results were compared with various pockets that have air, water or grains. Mechanical testing showed that the pocket with 5 g particles was the best for the shoe cushioning system. This founding will be helpful to designing the shoe.


This paper derives tradeoffs between three basic costs of a parallel algorithm: synchronization, data movement, and computational cost. Our theoretical model counts the amount of work and data movement as a maximum of any execution path during the parallel computation. By considering this metric, rather than the total communication volume over the whole machine, we obtain new insight into the characteristics of parallel schedules for algorithms with non-trivial dependency structures. The tradeoffs we derive are lower bounds on the execution time of the algorithm which are independent of the number of processors, but dependent on the problem size. Therefore, these tradeoffs provide lower bounds on the parallel execution time of any algorithm computed by a system composed of any number of homogeneous components each with associated computational, communication, and synchronization payloads. We first state our results for general graphs, based on expansion parameters, then we apply the theorem to a number of specific algorithms in numerical linear algebra, namely triangular substitution, Gaussian elimination, and Krylov subspace methods. Our lower bound for LU factorization demonstrates the optimality of Tiskin's LU algorithm [24] answering an open question posed in his paper, as well as of the 2.5D LU [20] algorithm which has analogous costs. We treat the computations in a general manner by noting that the computations share a similar dependency hypergraph structure and analyzing the communication requirements of lattice hypergraph structures.


Local adaptation has received little attention in host-parasitoid associations. Here we combine data on the outcome of parasitism in 20 sympatric populations of Drosophila melanogaster and its parasitoid Asobara tabida. We present data on resistance and virulence when each host is tested against a single allopatric strain of parasitoid, and when each parasitoid is tested against a single allopatric strain of host. We argue that the extent to which these allopatric interactions can be used to predict sympatric interactions sets an upper bound to the importance of local adaptation. In a statistical model, we found that 56% of the variance in the outcome of sympatric interactions could be explained by parasitoid virulence and host resistance measured using the allopatric reference strains, with the former being the much more important of the two. The geographical distance between the provenances of the sympatric and reference parasitoid (but not host) populationswas also statistically significant and increased the variance explained to69%; but against expectation, parasitoid success was negatively correlatedwith distance. We also explore the factors determining the frequency with which neither host nor parasitoid survive. We conclude that, although the critical tests have yet to be performed, the available evidence points towards local adaptation not being of major importance in this system.


OBJECTIVE: to identify characteristics and associations between maternal age and gestation, delivery, and livebirths of adolescent and young adult mothers in the city of Feira de Santana, state of Bahia, Brazil. METHODS: we carried out a cross-sectional, epidemiological study with a population of livebirths and adolescent mothers (aged 10-16 and 17-19 years) and young adult mothers (aged 20-24 years). The information were obtained from the Livebirths Information System (SINASC-1998) for a total of 5,279 livebirths. Study variables were classified into socio-demographic factors (age, schooling of the mother, sex of the newborn) and related to term, delivery, gestational age, birth weight, and Apgar score. Data were processed using prevalence ratio and multivariate analysis. Logistic regression was used to control confounding factors (prenatal and gestational age) and to establish an association between maternal age and birth weight. RESULTS: in 1998, 21.6% of all livebirths in the city of Feira de Santana were from adolescent mothers; out of these mothers, 51.2% had not finished junior high or elementary school. Prevalence ratio and adjusted odds ratio for the 10-16 years of age group indicated increased prevalence of illiteracy, no prenatal examination, and low birth weight and a low prevalence of adequate weight of the newborn in comparison to other age groups studied. Logistic regression showed a positive association between maternal age and low birth weight. We also observed that the SINASC database lacked information in many different fields. CONCLUSIONS: our results indicated, for adolescent mothers, a high prevalence of livebirths and low schooling. Also, especially for the 10-16 years of age group, we observed increased risks for illiteracy, no prenatal examinations, low birth weight, and inadequate weight of the newborn in comparison to other age groups.


The Energy Performance of Building Directive obligated all European countries to reduce the energy requirements of buildings while simultaneously improving indoor environment quality. Any such improvements not only enhance the health of the occupants and their productivity, but also provide further economic benefits at the national level. Accomplishing this task requires a method that allows building professionals to resolve conflicts between visual and thermal comfort, energy demands, and life-cycle costs. To overcome these conflicts, this study exploits the incorporation of building information modelling (BIM), the design of experiments as an optimization algorithm, and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) into a multi-criteria decision-making method. Any such incorporation can (i) create constructive communication between building professionals, such as architects, engineers, and energy experts; (ii) allow the analysis of the performance of multiple construction solutions with respect to visual and thermal comfort, energy demand, and life-cycle costs; and (iii) help to select a trade-off solution, thereby making a suitable decision. Three types of energy-efficient windows, and five types of ground floors, roofs, and external wall constructions were considered as optimization variables. The incorporation of several methods allowed the analysis of the performance of 375 construction solutions based on a combination of optimization variables, and helped to select a trade-off solution. The results showed the strength of incorporation for analyzing big-data through the intelligent use of BIM and a simulation in the field of the built environment, energy, and costs. However, when applying AHP, the results are strongly contingent on pairwise comparisons.


Spatial soil data applications require sound geospatial data including coordinates and a coordinate reference system. However, when it comes to legacy soil data we frequently find them to be missing or incorrect. This paper assesses the quality of the geospatial data of legacy soil observations in Brazil, and evaluates geospatial data sources (survey reports, maps, spatial data infrastructures, web mapping services) and expert knowledge as a means to fix inconsistencies. The analyses included several consistency checks performed on 6,195 observations from the Brazilian Soil Information System. The positional accuracy of geospatial data sources was estimated so as to obtain an indication of the quality for fixing inconsistencies. The coordinates of 20 soil observations, estimated using the web mapping service, were validated with the true coordinates measured in the field. Overall, inconsistencies of different types and magnitudes were found in half of the observations, causing mild to severe misplacements. The involuntary substitution of symbols and numeric characters with similar appearance when recording geospatial data was the most common typing mistake. Among the geospatial data sources, the web mapping service was the most useful, due to operational advantages and lower positional error (~6 m). However, the quality of the description of the observation location controls the accuracy of estimated coordinates. Thus, the error of coordinates estimated using the web mapping service ranged between 30 and 1000 m. This is equivalent to coordinates measured from arc-seconds to arc-minutes, respectively. Under this scenario, the feedback from soil survey experts is crucial to improving the quality of geospatial data.


Jonathan Scott Strong Integrating the TI-83 Plus Calculator into the Classroom A Workshop for Teachers 2002 Dr. Ted Johnson Educational Leadership The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of a technology workshop involving the TI-83 Plus graphing calculator on an existing math curriculum and on teaching methodology. The workshop was developed with three goals in mind: 1) to inform teachers of the many functions of the TI-83 Plus, 2) to inform the teachers of how it could be integrated into their classroom, and 3) to promote student-based classrooms instead of teacher-based classrooms. The entire math department was used as a sample for this project. The intern administered surveys both before and after the workshop was implemented to see if these three goals were accomplished. The survey included both opened ended questions and a closed-ended section, which used a Likert scale. The "before surveys" were compared with the "after surveys" using their averages and T-tests. The intern also conducted a one-on-one interview with each workshop participant after the implementation of the workshops. This allowed the intern to ask further questions about the workshops and about the teachers' perceptions of using the TI-83 Plus in the math classroom. The statistical results showed that there was no significant change in curriculum or teaching style after the implementation of the workshops. However, the teachers were more aware of the functions and uses of the TI-83 Plus in the math classroom.


In the rapidly urbanizing world, the informal settlement has been forming a significant part of the common urban scene in many cities in the developing countries. It holds a particular role in the city as it houses millions of urban poor who has no access to the public housing. However it does not only offer accommodation but also economic opportunities that enables the inhabitants to survive. The informal settlement displays a very specific and particular mechanism of survival that is significantly characterized by the notion of flexibility in term of production and spatial occupation. This research aims to investigate the local spatial economy or the spatial dynamic of survivability in the informal settlement. It focuses on the notion of space and locations of the process of survival in such settlement by analyzing the way the spaces are organized and negotiated as one of the most important tool of production and the place of production. It analyzes the dynamics by relating it to the notions of the social capital and the life chances in the informal settlement. Moreover in order to offer a deeper understanding of the problem, apart from the looking at the actual and the localized problem, it will also look at the root of the problems by relating it to its past as an element of a colonial city; and analyse the major economic forces that contribute to its creation by relating it with the Dual City theory in order to accentuate the nature of the problem and its position in the metropolitan context. The research employs the case of kampong to illustrate the case of the informal settlement in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia. The result of the research shows that the dynamic of the survivability in the informal settlement is characterized by a multi-tier relationship between the formal and the informal economy. The continuity of its production is related to the wider economic sector; namely the formal sector, that creates demands and economic opportunities for them. It is also strongly bounded with its actual location; dislocation would therefore destroy the local livelihood. The local economic activities are also determined by the flexibility of the local spatial organization and production. These particular characters enable the inhabitants to manoeuvre in order to survive amidst the limited capital and resource. The process of production is highly depended on the intensity social relation that makes the spatial negotiation and the flexible production possible to take place. The local survivability therefore is in the same time very flexible and fragile.


of the Thesis This thesis is a critical exploration of Serbian film during the 1990s and its potential to provide a critique of the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. In this dissertation I focus upon how selected films provide insight into the ideological discourse of the 1990s within the Serbian socio-political and cultural context. I discuss a range of Serbian films produced during the 1990s, and I analyse in detail several films, in particular Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (Lepa sela, lepo gore, Srdjan Dragojevic, 1995) and Wounds (Rane, Srdjan Dragojevic, 1998), in which I focus on the depiction of nationalist and religious elements in the films. I analyse cinematic representations of the nationalist-religious ideology, its characteristics, impacts and promotion. On the basis of this analysis I consider the extent to which these cinematic representations are subversive. My dissertation has seven chapters. In chapter 1, which is an introduction to the thesis, I state my research questions and methodology. In chapter 2 I discuss the research context and I consider literature relevant to my research. Since I am basing my research upon different fields, I divide this chapter into three parts: the first one is devoted to the field of film and religion in which I position this study; the second part is on the literature that I used for the exploration of the socio-political context of the 1990s; and the last part is devoted to literature written on Balkan, Yugoslav and Serbian cinema. In chapter 3 I provide an analysis of the Serbian socio-cultural and political context of the 1990s. Chapter 3 is divided into eight parts, in which I primarily focus on the creation, characteristics and impacts of the nationalist-religious ideology. This discussion includes an analysis of the interaction between the Church and the state in the promotion of this ideological discourse. This chapter is important for the further analysis of Serbian film, its contextualization, and understanding the main issues which films communicated. In chapter 4 I analyse Serbian films produced during the 1990s. In the first part of this chapter, and for the purpose of contextualization of Serbian film, I first briefly discuss the cinematic tradition of former Yugoslavia: the Black Wave movement. I move on to discuss the cinematic context of the 1990s and the films produced over this period of time. I particularly focus on several films which dealt with the political-ideological context of the 1990s. I discuss the most significant films which dealt with the war, violence, ideology and the collapse of Serbian society under the Milosevic regime. The aim of this chapter is to provide a cinematic context for the analysed films and a clearer understanding of Serbian film of the 1990s as politically engaged cinema. Chapter 5 is devoted to the film Pretty Village, Pretty Flame while in chapter 6 I analyse the film Wounds. I analyse these two films separately because of their unique depictions of the nationalist-religious ideology. Both chapters are structured the same way and are divided into two major parts. In the first part of each chapter I consider the film's plot, its genre and its production, as well as discussing the film's critical reception. In the second part of each chapter I analyse the film narrative and images. At the end of each chapter I discuss the results of my analysis. Chapter 7 is the last chapter of my thesis and is devoted to the conclusion. In this final chapter I discuss the findings based on the cinematic and contextual analysis in the previous chapters. As part of my final remarks, I outline the contributions this study has made and future research that can be developed on the basis of this thesis.


The quality and safety of food and most agricultural products during storage time in cold stores and distribution is highly dependent on management and monitoring of time-temperature history concept. Control of temperature should be taken into account throughout the cold chain, from farm or factory to consumers ( i.e. farm-to-fork) , to ensure food safety and hygiene and to maintain product quality. Microbiological and biochemical changes take place in food stuffs, and therefore the end quality depends on the temperature and moisture history of products. In order to control the end quality, it is therefore necessary to trace and control the temperature. The Radio frequency identity (RFID) and the Temperature monitoring tags are showing a future in completing the cold chain of perishable products (such as dairy, meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables). Time-Temperature indicators or integrators labels (TTIs) are another traceability tools that could be used as an intelligent shelf life decision system for quality optimization of the food and agricultural products during chill chain. In this paper some important tools for traceability and monitoring of safety and quality of main agricultural products in cold supply chain were reviewed.


The naturalistic rock art of Yunnan Province is poorly known outside of China despite two decades of investigation by local researchers. The authors report on the first major international study of this art, its place in antiquity and its resemblance to some of the rock art of Europe, southern Africa and elsewhere. While not arguing a direct connection between China, Europe and other widely separated places, this article suggests that rock-art studies about the nature of style, culture contact and the transmission of iconography across space and time need to take better account of the results of neuroscience research, similar economic/ecological circumstances and the probability of independent invention.


The surface characteristics of fractured specimens are important in hydraulic fracturing laboratory experiments. In this paper, we present a three-dimensional (3D) scanning device assembled to study these surface characteristics. Cube-shaped rock specimens were produced in the laboratory and subjected to triaxial loading until the specimen split in two in a hydraulic fracturing experiment. Each fractured specimen was placed on a rotating platform and scanned to produce 3D superficial coordinates of the surface of the fractured specimen. The scanned data were processed to produce high-precision digital images of the fractured model, a surface contour map and accurate values of the superficial area and specimen volume. The images produced by processing the 3D scanner data provided detailed information on the morphology of the fractured surface and mechanism of fracture propagation. High-precision 3D mapping of the fractured surfaces is essential for quantitative analysis of fractured specimens. The 3D scanning technology presented here is an important tool for the study of fracture characteristics in hydraulic fracturing experiments.


Gibran Khalil Gibran (1882-1931), the Lebanese writer, poet, artist and philosopher, was the bearer of faith in the unity of all religions. He was a key figure in the history of modern EnglishandArabic literature in early 20th Century.The present paper is to show how Gibran represents the world and undesirable social practices in the time of writing his greatest book The Prophet (1923). Gibran lets the readers fell that the prophet (Al-Mustafa) doesn't belong to this very world; he comes to Orphalese to teach humanity and to correct the society under the tenets of all major religious. Each character in The Prophet, except Al-Mustafa, resamples one member of the deformed society who seeks deliverance. Gibran shortens the process of life and its needs in the 28 texts allowing the readers take an active role to interpret and to dictate the context on oblique hints and innuendo. Gibran views the world as a place that lacks love and peace, where individuals' life is depraved and corrupted. The most obvious, Gibran is speaking through the mouth of Al-Mustafa preaching many commandments, disciplines and rituals.


Background Our teaching hospital has a level 3 maternity unit and a neonatal intensive care unit for 29 preterm infants. Over 3,000 bags of paediatric parenteral nutrition are prescribed annually. Their production is outsourced to another hospital. Until 2010, only pharmacy residents and pharmacists were in charge of this activity. Purpose To design and implement a skills matrix to shift this activity towards the hospital pharmacy technicians. Materials and Methods A multidisciplinary working group (a pharmacist, a chief technician, a pharmacy resident, two pharmacist technicians (PTs)) defined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) needed and skill levels according to our Process Map. They established a training programme and finally a Gantt chart. Results Our matrix includes two levels: level 2 consists of the delivery of parenteral nutrition; level 1 also includes ordering and checking nutrition bags, the management of nonconforming products and monthly management. Of the 11 pharmacy technicians, 100% gained level 2 and 55% level 1 between January and May 2011 as defined. The activity shift was fully completed after 6 months. SOPs were reviewed and approved entirely during 2011. Experience feedback meetings have been set on a regular basis with the clinical ward to maintain standards since June 2012. Pharmacy technicians have expanded their skills and this has enabled us to save pharmacists' time (0.3 Full Time Equivalent). PTs were examined again in September 2012 in order to assess their skills and knowledge after one year, using interactive real-life exercises. Conclusions The skills matrix is a simple and attractive management tool for identifying needs, assessing and developing individual skills. It provides not only a clear insight into individual skills but also into transversal competencies in a Pharmacy Department. It is particularly adapted to conducting change in a peaceful and positive manner and very important for annual individual assessment. No conflict of interest.


Recently, the EU has demonstrated determination to safeguard the privacy of its citizens concerned with online exposure of their data on the Internet. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) addressed this concern in a decision against the Internet giant, Google. In this article, this case is placed in the context of a larger debate relating to the 'right to be forgotten' and the 'right to know'. The article argues that the case is not about the victory of privacy rights over the right to know, but rather the upholding of private interest protection when the public interest is absent. Even though in this case the CJEU ruled in favour of the right to be forgotten, it has not dismissed the right to know- it provides safeguards to protect public information from being undermined. The article focuses on the weighing of human rights and the implication for the future of privacy rights and the right to know in the EU. The case is a reminder of the value and the ownership of information in society and educates citizens and companies on how to behave in a digital world. It brings the protection of personal data to a whole new level and may affect the future regulation of Internet companies. Key words: Right to be forgotten, privacy, data protection, information rights, human rights, search engines, the Internet


Glucose limitation is a major stress condition that cells must respond to by altering their metabolism to ensure survival. Rsv1 is a zinc finger protein previously shown to be required for survival during stationary phase. In this study, we present a novel mechanism regulated by Rsv1 in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe that is involved in altering glucose metabolic flux. We found that rsv1 gene expression is induced by Rst2 and Atf1, two transcription factors regulated by the cAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKA) pathway and the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, respectively. The downstream target genes of Rsv1 were identified by genome‐wide ChIP sequencing of Rsv1‐bound DNA sites and RNA sequencing analysis of Rsv1‐dependent transcripts that were differentially expressed under glucose starvation. Rsv1 directly regulated the expression of at least 21 genes that mostly encode transporters and proteins related to sugar metabolism. Among these, gcd1, which encodes glucose dehydrogenase in the gluconate shunt for the pentose phosphate pathway, was most remarkably repressed by Rsv1. The defect in survival of Δrsv1 mutant under glucose starvation condition was mitigated by additional deletion of a gcd1, idn1, or a gene for a putative lactonase (SPCC16c4.10), suggesting the critical importance of downregulating the gluconate shunt and pentose phosphate pathway for long‐term survival. These results show an intricate response to glucose starvation: increasing the synthesis of a transcription factor via two signal transduction pathways, which sheds light on the importance of remodeling a metabolic circuit to secure glucose for cell survival.


Abstract This report details the investigation of renal disease associated with neurologic signs and deaths in a captive research colony of the endangered swift parrot (Lathamus discolor). The syndrome affected birds irregularly during 11 months from October 1999 to September 2000. Ten birds from 4 aviaries were clinically affected, and 9 birds died. The most common clinical signs were weight loss, neurologic dysfunction (ataxia and generalized tremors), and articular gout. At necropsy, common findings included gross nephropathy, visceral gout, and gonadal regression or inflammation. Histopathologic changes included renal tubular degeneration and accumulations of black crystals, assumed to be urates, in renal tubules and collecting ducts. These histopathologic changes are nonspecific and could be associated with a wide variety of nephrotoxins including, but not limited to, heavy metals, organic solvents, phenol, antibacterial agents, pesticides, and ethylene glycol. The syndrome was associated with the feeding of a high-protein diet and the presence of nesting boxes and other environmental factors. A number of potentially toxic substances were found in the swift parrots' environment, including nitrate fertilizer, zinc from galvanized wire, and potentially toxic wood fragments (Tasmanian sassafras [Atherosperma moschatum]). However, not all affected birds were exposed to these toxins, or diagnostic testing ruled them out of consideration. Regardless of the initial cause of renal damage, the overall renal pathologic changes were consistent with a urate nephropathy. There is still uncertainty as to the initial cause of the neurologic disease and renal damage despite the intensive investigation described here. The immediate deterioration of 2 swift parrots after the reintroduction of the high-protein diet led us to suspect that dietary levels of protein might be a contributing factor to the renal disease.


The subpolar Southern Ocean is a region of great climatic importance, hosting intense air - sea - ice interactions with far-reaching consequences for global ocean circulation and sea level. Glaciological measurements suggest that these interactions may be undergoing a profound change as a result of an accelerating glacial discharge into the Antarctic coastal seas, yet current evidence of this change is suggestive at best. n this work, we analyse the altimetric record of sea surface height (SSH) during the largely ice-free summer season to show that the subpolar Southern Ocean has experienced a pronounced, quasi-circumpolar positive trend in summertime SSH of ~1 mm / yr above the global-mean sea level rise since the early 1990s. The signal is generally amplified near the coast and in the Pacific sector, is broadly consistent in magnitude and geography with in situ observations of upper-ocean freshening in several sectors of the Antarctic shelf seas, and exhibits a magnitude that will be shown to be consistent with that implied by glaciological measurements of the accelerating glacial discharge. All in all, our analysis indicates that the widespread sea level rise in the subpolar Southern Ocean primarily reflects a halosteric response to the recent acceleration in Antarctic ice mass loss on decadal time scales, although wind forcing plays a significant role in explaining SSH variability on interannual and shorter time scales.


This article provides insight into the process of stereotyping from two different perspectives: the perceiver and the target. From the perceiver's perspective, motivational and cognitive reasons for relying on stereotypes for judgment are discussed. From the targets' perspective, stereotype threat research is reviewed. From both perspectives, it is clear that stereotypes represent a dual-edged sword for both perceiver and target group members. Finally, research incorporating both perspectives provides useful interventions for prejudice reduction.


Robert Owen was one of the most important and controversial figures of his generation. Born in 1771, he lived through the Age of Revolutions and was personally touched by the ideas and dramatic changes that characterised that era. Profiting enormously through the first half of his lifetime from the rise of industry, he devoted much of his time thereafter to espousing social and economic philosophy which could serve as a corrective to what he saw as the 'excesses' of progress. Much of this derived from his own experience in managing cotton mills and strongly emphasised the importance of environment, education and, ultimately, co-operation. He gained fame – even notoriety – as a social reformer, applying radical ideas in the mills at New Lanark, and subsequently at the experimental community of New Harmony, Indiana, USA. Long after his death in 1858 his ideas continued to inspire others. The hagiography generated by his disciples did neither his name nor reputation much good, since they transformed the 'Social Father' of their movement into the 'Father of Socialism' a sobriquet that ill fits him, yet it sticks to this day.


We present wide-field, deep narrowband H2, Brγ, Hα, [S ii], [O iii], and broadband I- and K-band images of the Carina star formation region. The new images provide a large-scale overview of all the H2 and Brγ emission present in over a square degree centered on this signature star-forming complex. By comparing these images with archival Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer images we observe how intense UV radiation from O and B stars affects star formation in molecular clouds. We use the images to locate new candidate outflows and identify the principal shock waves and irradiated interfaces within dozens of distinct areas of star-forming activity. Shocked molecular gas in jets traces the parts of the flow that are most shielded from the intense UV radiation. Combining the H2 and optical images gives a more complete view of the jets, which are sometimes only visible in H2. The Carina region hosts several compact young clusters, and the gas within these clusters is affected by radiation from both the cluster stars and the massive stars nearby. The Carina Nebula is ideal for studying the physics of young H ii regions and photodissociation region (PDR), as it contains multiple examples of walls and irradiated pillars at various stages of development. Some of the pillars have detached from their host molecular clouds to form proplyds. Fluorescent H2 outlines the interfaces between the ionized and molecular gas, and after removing continuum, we detect spatial offsets between the Brγ and H2 emission along the irradiated interfaces. These spatial offsets can be used to test current models of PDRs once synthetic maps of these lines become available.


With relatively new staff in all the Troy University campus libraries technical services departments, it was critical to collaborate on policies and procedures for consistency. Developing an online manual housed on a wiki that could be used and contributed to by staff on all three campuses was essential to this goal. Multi-campus meetings and online discussions are additional methods we use to promote collaboration. This article will include a literature review of collaboration and wikis along with methods the Troy University Libraries Technical Services departments are using to establish communication across the campuses.


Tabletop and tangible interfaces are often described in terms of their support for shared access to digital resources. However, it is not always the case that collaborators want to share and help one another. In this paper we detail a video-analysis of a series of prototyping sessions with children who used both cardboard objects and an interactive tabletop surface. We show how the material qualities of the digital interface and physical objects affect the kinds of bodily strategies adopted by children to stop others from accessing them. We discuss how children fight for and maintain control of physical versus digital objects in terms of embodied interaction and what this means when designing collaborative applications for shareable interfaces.


Introduction Embryonic stem cells are touted as a source of promising treatment for debilitating diseases such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many others. (1) In order to exploit the therapeutic potential of stem cells, extensive research is required on the risks and benefits of their use. (2) Respect for ethical boundaries should be included in this risk-benefit evaluation. Different sources of stem cells have different therapeutic potential. The four sources of stem cells are: embryonic stem cells (hESC), adult stem cells (ASC), stem cells of aborted foetuses, and finally, umbilical cord stem cells. hESC are either totipotent or pluripotent. Totipotent cells are found when the embryo is composed of eight cells or less. Each totipotent cell is capable of developing into a complete organism. (3) Pluripotent cells can differentiate into many cellular types but they cannot create an entire organism (i.e. an embryo), hESC that come from the blastocyst, an embryonic structure found six days post-fertilization, are pluripotent. (4) Spare embryos at the blastocyst stage can provide pluripotent hESC. For their part, ASC are multipotent, that is, they can differentiate into certain specialized cellular types. (5) but most often are committed to a single function. (6) Their principal function is to replace differentiated cells in a particular tissue when it is damaged or old. (7) Cells from aborted foetuses are multipotent. These cells can come, for example, from neural foetal tissue and be derived into neural stem ceils. Cells from the umbilical cord also form part of this multipotent cell type category. Haematopoietic stem cells can be extracted from the umbilical cord and represent an interesting alternative to bone marrow graft. (8) The therapeutic potential of each of these stem cell types remains to be established. Each seems full of promise but only research will tell. The most controversial is that which requires the creation of embryos for the research. Indeed, current restrictions on the deliberate creation of embryos for research (9) have led researchers to go to another existing source of embryos: surplus embryos left over from in vitro fertilization (IVF). Access depends on the donation by the couple of embryos for research purposes. It is spare embryos of pluripotent potential that are the subject of this paper. To date, donor consent to research on surplus embryos has been general in nature. Since March 4, 2002, however, the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research: Guidelines for CIHR-Eunded Research (hereinafter referred to as the "CIHR Guidelines") require a specific consent for stem cell research. The major reasons provided are as follows: immortalized cell lines will be created that will continue to divide indefinitely and could be used in different research projects for many years; these cell lines could have an important commercial value (10) (without profiting the embryo donors themselves) and such research necessarily requires the destruction of embryos. In Canada, in the absence of the adoption of An Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproductive Technologies and Related Research (Bill C-13), (11) it is the CIHR Guidelines that govern the ethical review of stem cell research protocols. Since 1998, the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Human, (hereinafter referred to as "the Tri-Council Policy Statement") governs the process of ethical review of research. Obviously, the general common law and civil law principles and procedures governing consent also apply. We will begin our study of the issue of consent to stem cell research with a brief analysis of Bill C-13, followed by the Tri-Council, Policy Statement and the CIHR Guidelines. We will then examine the conformity of the consent forms used in eight Canadian fertility centres prior to 2003 against these norms. Finally, we will argue that stem cell research on spare embryos is not really that unique. …


Publishing environmental resources to the linked environmental data requires resource publishers to conform to a set of universally recognised linked data principles. These principles, however, do not consider domain-specific semantics that are crucial for building a semantically unified environmental information space over the linked environmental data. In this paper we present an approach to publishing agro-environmental resources to the linked environmental data that extends the universal linked data principles by taking into account domain semantics of the agro-environmental domain. The approach relies on an underlying environmental resource model and introduces a set of publishing principles that should enable semantic integration of the linked agro-environmental resources. According to the proposed principles this integration happens over time as a result of conjoint acting of the resource providers and resource users. In order to prove feasibility of the approach we developed a supporting software system called AGROPub. In this paper we demonstrate three main use-cases of the system: resource annotation and publishing; resource linking; resource evaluation, on the example of some real-world agro-environmental resources. The processes realised by these three AGROPub use-cases, all together, should enable the full integration of the linked agro-environmental resources into the semantically unified environmental information space.


This paper analyzes the resolution complexity of a random CSP model named model RBmix, the instance of which is composed by constraints with different length. For model RBmix, the existence of phase transitions has been established and the threshold points have been located exactly. By encoding the random instances into CNF formulas, it is proved that almost all instances of model RBmix have no tree-like resolution proofs of less than exponential size. Thus the model RBmix can generate abundant hard instances in the threshold. This result is of great significance for algorithm testing and complexity analysis in NP-complete problems.


This study examines the morphological behaviour of the infinitive in French and Occitan in diachrony, finding that the infinitive and the rest of the verb paradigm exhibit differential behaviour. The infinitive is the last member of the paradigm to undergo analogical change, or undergoes an idiosyncratic change; in cases of conjugational class shift, the infinitive is typically affected last, if at all; in paradigms presenting overabundance, overabundant forms are either confined to the infinitive, or to paradigm cells excluding the infinitive; and the availability (or otherwise) of infinitives in defective paradigms provides strong evidence for a distinction between 'decay' and 'arrested development' as subtypes of defectiveness. The study proposes that treating the infinitive as a morphologically mixed category, a member of two paradigms at once, can account both for cases in which the infinitive simultaneously displays properties of nouns and verbs, and for the idiosyncratic behaviour of the infinitive.


This paper identifies a new factor, the age of the housing stock, that affects where high- and low-income neighborhoods are located in U.S. cities. High-income households, driven by a high demand for housing services, tend to locate in areas of the city where the housing stock is relatively young. Because cities develop and redevelop from the center outward over time, the location of these neighborhoods varies over the city's history. The model predicts a suburban location for the rich in an initial period, when young dwellings are found only in the suburbs, while predicting eventual gentrification once central redevelopment creates a young downtown housing stock. Controlling for other determinants of where the poor live (e.g., proximity to amenities and public transit), empirical work indicates that if the influence of spatial variation in dwelling ages were eliminated, central-city/suburban disparities in neighborhood economic status would be reduced by up to 10 percentage points. Model estimates further predict that between 2000 and 2020, central-city/suburban differences in economic status will narrow in cities of all sizes, and especially in the larger metropolitan areas as American cities become more gentrified.


Organizations and companies need practical tools and guidelines to kick-off the implementation of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (TAI) systems. AI development companies are still in the beginning of this process or have not even started yet. The findings of this article address to decrease the entry level barrier for AI ethics implementation by introducing the Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Implementation (TAII) Framework. The outcome is comparatively unique given that it considers a meta perspective of implementing TAI within organizations. As such, this research aims to fill a literature gap for management guidance to tackle trustworthy AI implementation while considering ethical dependencies within the company. The TAII Framework takes a holistic approach to identify the systemic relationships of ethics for the company ecosystem and considers corporate values, business models, and common good aspects like the Sustainable Development Goals and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The TAII Framework creates guidance to initiate the implementation of AI ethics in organizations without requiring a deep background in philosophy and considers the social impacts outside of a software and data engineering setting. Depending on the legal regulation or area of application, the TAII Framework can be adapted and used with different regulations and ethical principles.


The article deals with the main peculiarities and problems of strategic personnel management in public sector. Today, strategic management has moved beyond forprofit business organizations to include governmental agencies, hospitals, and other not-for-profit public organizations. Although strategic management in public organizations has not been as well researched as that in for-profit or business organizations, it is important for these organizations as well. Personnel management of public organization is very important, because personnel is not only the most important resource of public organizations, but also the most sensitive field, therefore when managing it, it is necessary to invoke modern prime methods and refer to the new personnel management scientific research results. Changed creed and cultural values change personnel management methods radically. During the public management reforms the main attention is paid not to traditional personnel administration means, but to such, which would stimulate growth of personnel motivation, qualification, efficiency and flexibility. Strategic goal orientation in personnel management helps to find and solidify long-term personnel policy goals and, following these goals, to coordinate individual functions of personnel management. Having organised personnel management and each component of it in every specific organization in such way it is possible to achieve the best results. There are some essential problems in personnel system of public organization. The most important are the following problems: lack of motivation; status of officials; lack of possibilities to pursue career and to develop; limitations of motivation and salary systems; automatic position preferment; limited possibilities to select personnel. Personnel management strategy is an active, longterm approach, forming a total concept of the organization, to the most common aspects of the organization personnel. In its turn it is related with management strategies. Four versions of the connections of these strategies are possible: Personnel and management strategies exist separate from each other; Personnel strategy arises from management strategy; Management strategy arises from personnel strategy; Personnel and organization strategies are developed in mutual interaction and coordination way.


In this controversial book Geoffrey Partington looks at the nature and history of teacher education in England and Wales. Starting with a discussion of theories of teaching, he explores the various ideologies and the policies implemented by governments in the post-war period. In the later sections of the book he presents the results of interviews with education practitioners before concluding with a plea to government to free-up the education system as a whole and teacher education in particular.


We demonstrate an isotropic depolarizing channel with a controllable degree of depolarization. The depolarizer is composed of four birefringent crystals and half-wave plates. Quantum process tomography results of the depolarization effect on single photons agree well with the theoretical prediction. This depolarizer can be used to test quantum communication protocols with photons.


Background: In 2005, the US Congress allocated $612 million for a national Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to encourage walking and bicycling to schools. We analyzed motor vehicle crash data to assess the effectiveness of SRTS interventions in reducing school-aged pedestrian injury in New York City. Methods: Using geocoded motor vehicle crash data for 168 806 pedestrian injuries in New York City between 2001 and 2010, annual pedestrian injury rates per 10 000 population were calculated for different age groups and for census tracts with and without SRTS interventions during school-travel hours (defined as 7 am to 9 am and 2 pm to 4 pm, Monday through Friday during September through June). Results: During the study period, the annual rate of pedestrian injury decreased 33% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30 to 36) among school-aged children (5- to 19-year-olds) and 14% (95% CI: 12 to 16) in other age groups. The annual rate of school-aged pedestrian injury during school-travel hours decreased 44% (95% CI: 17 to 65) from 8.0 injuries per 10 000 population in the preintervention period (2001–2008) to 4.4 injuries per 10 000 population in the postintervention period (2009–2010) in census tracts with SRTS interventions. The rate remained virtually unchanged in census tracts without SRTS interventions (0% [95% CI: –8 to 8]). Conclusions: Implementation of the SRTS program in New York City has contributed to a marked reduction in pedestrian injury in school-aged children.


This book constitutes the proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Information Theoretic Security, ICITS 2012, held in Montreal, Canada, in August 2012. The 11 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 46 submissions. In addition 11 papers were selected for the workshop track, abstracts of 7 of these contributions are also included in this book. Topics of interest are: physical layer security; multiparty computations; codes, lattices and cryptography; authentication codes; randomness extraction; cryptography from noisy channels; wiretap channels; bounded-storage models; information-theoretic reductions; quantum cryptography; quantum information theory; nonlocality and nonsignaling; key and message rates; secret sharing; physical models and assumptions; network coding security; adversarial channel models; information-theoretic tools in computational settings; implementation challenges; and biometric security.


Because of its cytosolic localization, Listeria monocytogenes (LM) has long been considered an attractive tool for delivering tumor-associated antigens (TAA) antigens in vivoto combat cancer. LM directly infects antigen-presenting cells (APC) such as monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (DC), thereby delivering the TAA into their cytoplasm, resulting in processing, and presentation of the antigen to the immune system. This activates adaptive and innate immune responses to the TAA, mediating tumor cell cytolysis. Recently we discovered additional pathways by which Listeria can be harnessedto induce tumor cell death, which suggest new directions in the development of vaccines or therapies against cancer. In one approach, we have used Listeria to induce immune responses that destroy tumor vasculature. Another new pathway involves selective infection of cancer cells with Listeria, followed by tumor cell death through the production of high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and through Listeria-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). This review will focus on the most recent studies on the multiple pathways of LM and how they can be harnessed in the battle against cancer.


The robustness of a parallel-jaw grasp can be estimated by Monte Carlo sampling of perturbations in pose and friction but this is not computationally efficient. As an alternative, we consider fast methods using large-scale supervised learning, where the input is a description of a local surface patch at each of two contact points. We train and test with disjoint subsets of a corpus of 1.66 million grasps where robustness is estimated by Monte Carlo sampling using Dex-Net 1.0. We use the BIDMach machine learning toolkit to compare the performance of two supervised learning methods: Random Forests and Deep Learning. We find that both of these methods learn to estimate grasp robustness fairly reliably in terms of Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and ROC Area Under Curve (AUC) on a held-out test set. Speedups over Monte Carlo sampling are approximately 7500x for Random Forests and 1500x for Deep Learning.


Attempts to strengthen a chromium-modified titanium trialuminide by a combination of grain size refinement and dispersoid strengthening led to a new means to synthesize such materials. This Reactive Mechanical Alloying/Milling process uses in situ reactions between the metallic powders and elements from a process control agent and/or a gaseous environment to assemble a dispersed small hard particle phase within the matrix by a bottom-up approach. In the current research milled powders of the trialuminide alloy along with titanium carbide were produced. The amount of the carbide can be varied widely with simple processing changes and in this case the milling process created trialuminide grain sizes and carbide particles that are the smallest known from such a process. Characterization of these materials required the development of x-ray diffraction means to determine particle sizes by deconvoluting and synthesizing components of the complex multiphase diffraction patterns and to carry out whole pattern analysis to analyze the diffuse scattering that developed from larger than usual highly defective grain boundary regions. These identified regions provide an important mass transport capability in the processing and not only facilitate the alloy development, but add to the understanding of the mechanical alloying process. Consolidation of the milled powder that consisted of small crystallites of the alloy and dispersed carbide particles two nanometers in size formed a unique, somewhat coarsened, microstructure producing an ultra-high strength solid material composed of the chromium-modified titanium trialuminide alloy matrix with small platelets of the complex carbides Ti2AlC and Ti3AlC2. This synthesis process provides the unique ability to nano-engineer a wide variety of composite materials, or special alloys, and has shown the ability to be extended to a wide variety of metallic materials.


The North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis is endangered, in part, due to vessel- strike mortality. We use vessel traffic and right whale survey data (~3 nautical miles (n miles), ~5.6 km resolution) for the Bay of Fundy and on the Scotian Shelf (northwest Atlantic) to determine the relative risk of lethal vessel encounters by using 2 estimates: (1) the event — the relative proba- bility of a vessel encountering a right whale, and (2) the consequence — the probability of a lethal injury arising from an encounter. For the Bay of Fundy region our estimates demonstrate that the rel- ative risk of lethal collision could be reduced by 62% by means of an amendment to the traffic sepa- ration scheme (TSS) that intersects a Right Whale Conservation Area. In the Roseway Basin region of the Scotian Shelf, the majority of vessels navigate outside of a Right Whale Conservation Area, although the highest relative risk is concentrated within the Conservation Area where fewer vessels navigate at greater speed. Here, our estimates demonstrate that a seasonal recommendatory area to be avoided (ATBA) could be designed to reduce the risk imposed by vessels upon right whales in the region. Our estimates contributed to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adoption of a TSS amendment in the Bay of Fundy and an ATBA on the Scotian Shelf. Thus, the goal of achieving the greatest reduction in the risk of lethal vessel-encounters with whales, balanced by some minimal disruption to vessel operations while maintaining safe navigation, can be achieved.