Results of ongoing interdisciplinary investigation of the TAG Hydrothermal Field since discovery in 1972 by the NOAA Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) Project are synthesized to document the first and only known active submarine hydrothermal field on a slow-spreading oceanic ridge. The structural setting of the field is the E wall of the rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at lat. 26°N where high-intensity hydrothermal activity is favoured by exceptionally close spacing of faults (tens of metres) that enhances permeability and facilitates voluminous circulation, and by projection of the wall directly over intrusive heat sources beneath the rift valley that increases thermal gradients which vigorously drive the upwelling limb of a sub-seafloor hydrothermal convection cell discharging through faults in the wall. A low in residual magnetic intensity coincides with the field and is attributed to hydrothermal alteration of the magnetic mineral component of basalt in the discharge zone. Hydrothermal precipitates in the form of manganese oxide crusts of extreme purity (40% Mn) and rapid deposition rate (200 mm 10-6 yr) cover about 10% of the sea-floor within the field, distributed along faults sub-parallel to the rift valley. The composition and mineralogy of basalts exposed at the sea-floor is indicative of low-temperature zeolite metamorphic facies. Thin sediments of the field exhibit average metal-to-aluminum ratios and non-detrital metal accumulation rates (Fe, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Cr) that are high relative to other areas of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Present hydrothermal activity is evidenced in the near-bottom water by temperature anomalies and excesses of the primordial isotope 3He, and in the surrounding water column by increases in weak-acid soluble suspended particulate matter enriched in certain metals (Fe × 10; Mn 10%). The observed distribution of hydrothermal products indicates that the special structural and thermal conditions that have concentrated hydrothermal activity in the TAG Hydrothermal Field have persisted for at least 1.4 × 106yr.


The antioxidant and antihyperglycamic effects of herbal cocktail namely: Vernonia amygdalina, Gongronema latifolium, Allium sativium, Ocimum gratissmun and Aloe barbadensis were studied on alloxan-induced diabetic rat. Twenty (20) albino Wistar rats were equally divided into five groups. Groups 1 and 2 served as normal and untreated Diabetic controls. Test groups 3, 4 and 5 were treated with 10mg/kg glibenclamide, 200mg and 400mg/kg of extract for 28 days. The result showed a dose dependant significant increase (P<0.05) in serum concentrations of vitamin C, glutathione and catalase activity in test groups when compared to untreated diabetic control. Similarly, the extract significantly reduced (P<0.05) glucose concentration of diabetic rats at both concentrations when compared to untreated diabetic Rats. The results confirmed the already established use of these plants in traditional medicine and equally established their useful synergistic effect in reducing blood sugar and in relieving oxidant stress. Key words : Antioxidant, catalase, glutathione, alloxan, antihyperglycaemia


Well-defined breeding objectives form the basis of sound genetic improvement programmes. Breeding objectives for Holstein cattle in South Africa were developed in the current study. Economic values were calculated for those economically relevant traits that had adequate bio-economic data, namely milk volume, fat yield, protein yield, liveweight, longevity, calving interval and somatic cell score (SCS). A bio-economic herd model for pasture-based and concentrate-fed systems in South Africa was used to calculate economic values by determining changes in profit arising from an independent unit increase in each trait. Alternative payment systems were used from four major milk buyers in South Africa. Relative economic values, standardized to the value of protein yield, were used to compare the relative importance of traits. Protein yield and longevity consistently had positive economic values and the converse was true for liveweight and calving interval. Economic value for volume was positive or negative, depending on whether the payment system rewarded or ignored volume. Sensitivity analysis showed that economic values were reasonably robust against fluctuations in the cost of feed and price of beef; with the exception of fat yield, whose value became negative when feed price exceeded ZAR 3.50. Generally, protein yield was the most important trait, although volume, longevity and SCS were more important in some situations. Calving interval was the least important trait, its value ranging from 4% to 22% of protein yield, although the model may have underestimated its value. Further work should focus on facilitating the wide adoption of these breeding objectives by industry.


There are many difficulties associated with problematic social-emotional skills in childhood. These range from poor academic performance (Brinbaum, et al., 2003; Delany-Black et al., 2002; Wallach, 1994), school suspension (LippincottWilliams & Wilkins, 2004), school drop-out (Farmer & Farmer 1999; Gagnon, Craig, Trombley, Zhou, & Vitaro, 1995), aggression (Cicchetti & Toth, 1995), and poor peer relations (Izard et al., 2001; Schultz, Izard, & Ackerman, 2000; Schultz, Izard, Ackerman, & Youngstrom, 2001). Preschool programming provides an early opportunity to build social-emotional skills and avoid some of these adverse outcomes. The question for many school districts is how to design a preschool program format that is both consistent with best practice and fits within a feasibility framework. The goal of this research study was to provide information that could be used by school districts to guide preschool program development. The study looked at the differential outcomes on dependent measures of social-emotional functioning for children aged 3 to 5-years who participated in an 8-month preschool program (n=74). The children were in 2 treatment groups (i.e., those receiving a classroom-based social skills intervention and those receiving the classroom intervention plus a home-based intervention) and a non-treatment control group. The groups also differed in group membership. The treatment group children met a criterion such as having a diagnosis or low socio-economic status. The control group consisted of children who met these same criteria, but also had members who were invited by teachers or attended based on parent request. Therefore, the control group was more heterogeneous than either treatment group. The implications of this study for school districts developing a model for preschool programming are discussed. In addition, the limitations of this study as well as potential directions for future research are reviewed.


Prior to 1914, Germany dominated the worldwide production of synthetic organic dyes and pharmaceuticals like aspirin. When World War I disrupted the supply of German chemicals to the United States, American entrepreneurs responded to the shortages and high prices by trying to manufacture chemicals domestically. Learning the complex science and industry, however, posed a serious challenge. This book explains how the United States built a synthetic organic chemicals industry in World War I and the 1920s. Kathryn Steen argues that Americans' intense anti-German sentiment in World War I helped to forge a concentrated effort among firms, the federal government, and universities to make the United States independent of "foreign chemicals."Besides mobilization efforts to make high explosives and war gases, federal policies included protective tariffs, gathering and publishing market information, and, most dramatically, confiscation of German-owned chemical subsidiaries and patents. Meanwhile, firms and universities worked hard to develop scientific and manufacturing expertise. Against a backdrop of hostilities and intrigue, Steen shows how chemicals were deeply entwined with national and international politics and policy during the war and subsequent isolationism of the turbulent early twentieth century.


The goal of asthma management during pregnancy is to keep the mother symptom free and to prevent complications in the fetus. Asthma is a common chronic condition in pregnancy that, if inadequately treated, has the potential to cause adverse effects for both mother and fetus. Aggressive treatment during pregnancy can decrease costs associated with asthma now and additional costs later if the fetus has a poor outcome due to maternal asthma. A stepwise approach to the management of asthma during pregnancy has been developed and is not unlike the management of the nonpregnant patient. Although there are no double-blind, placebo-controlled studies on asthma medications in pregnant women, large cohort studies have shown the efficacy of aggressive management. With adequate control of asthma from the preconception time through delivery, studies have shown similar outcomes in asthmatic patients compared with nonasthmatics, thus obtaining the goal of a symptom-free mother and a healthy baby.


Macroprudential policy has become increasingly popular in the aftermath of the Global Crisis, but it remains controversial. This column argues that vigorous disagreement is both inevitable and healthy, reflecting differing fundamental views of how the financial system really works. By embracing the divergence of views instead of seeing it as problematic, macroprudential policymaking will be made easier and more effective.


This article seeks to share lessons from an ongoing six-year project to overcome the barriers to the use of facilitation and mediation (ADR) processes for addressing regional and interjurisdictional planning disputes throughout Southern California. The participants in this effort originally assumed that the successful use of mediation in high profile disputes would lead to greater acceptance of ADR processes by governmental officials. After several failed attempts, project leaders concluded that it would be appropriate to refocus the original methodology and strategy for promoting the use of ADR. The new strategy focuses on the establishment of mediation services for community-based disputes referred to city government. Despite the participation of experienced experts in the field of public policy mediation and an extensive expenditure of time and resources, the anticipated results have not been achieved to date. Nevertheless, participants have learned important lessons regarding approaches that are more effective in increasing city officials' reliance on ADR processes.


The effect of insulin-induced hypoglycaemia on gastro-jejunal motility was studied in five, healthy, male subjects using tethered, pressure sensitive, radiotelemetry capsules. Thirty minutes after the intravenous injection of soluble insulin (0.15 unit/kg body weight), a significant reduction in blood glucose concentration (control: 5.26 +/- 0.19 SEM mmol/l; insulin: 1.48 +/- 0.44 mmol/l; P less than 0.001) was associated with a rise in heart rate (mean peak rise 29 +/- 8 beats/min, P less than 0.05), systolic arterial blood pressure (mean peak rise 28 +/- 4 mmHg, P less than 0.01) and plasma pancreatic polypeptide concentration (control: 20 +/- 7 pmol/l; insulin: 287 +/- 66 pmol/l; P less than 0.01). These events coincided with a short period of jejunal motor activity, which was not associated with gastric motor activity nor with raised plasma motilin concentrations. During the control study, there were no changes in blood glucose concentration, heart rate, arterial blood pressure or plasma pancreatic polypeptide concentrations, and there was no jejunal motor activity. The interval between successive gastric migrating motor complexes (MMC) was not significantly different in the insulin and control studies (control: median interval 110 min, range 108-148 min; insulin: median interval 124 min, range 115-125 min), suggesting that the fasting gastrojejunal MMC and jejunal motor activity arose independently. Insulin-induced hypoglycaemia is accompanied by jejunal motor activity, which may underlie the abdominal symptoms associated with hypoglycaemia.


A nonlinear peek into electronic symmetry Strong interactions among electrons in some materials can cause them to assume configurations that are less symmetric than the underlying crystal lattice. These so-called electronic nematic states usually have inversion symmetry, but theorists have predicted that in metals with strong spin-orbit coupling, the inversion symmetry can be lost. Harter et al. teased out the symmetry of the electronic order in the compound Cd2Re2O7 (see the Perspective by Dodge). They found that a known structural transition in this material is a consequence of another, previously hidden electronic order that breaks inversion symmetry. Science, this issue p. 295; see also p. 246 Optical second-harmonic generation anisotropy measurements are used to deduce the symmetry of an electronic order. Strong electron interactions can drive metallic systems toward a variety of well-known symmetry-broken phases, but the instabilities of correlated metals with strong spin-orbit coupling have only recently begun to be explored. We uncovered a multipolar nematic phase of matter in the metallic pyrochlore Cd2Re2O7 using spatially resolved second-harmonic optical anisotropy measurements. Like previously discovered electronic nematic phases, this multipolar phase spontaneously breaks rotational symmetry while preserving translational invariance. However, it has the distinguishing property of being odd under spatial inversion, which is allowed only in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. By examining the critical behavior of the multipolar nematic order parameter, we show that it drives the thermal phase transition near 200 kelvin in Cd2Re2O7 and induces a parity-breaking lattice distortion as a secondary order.


The present computational study demonstrates that softening of an open cell nanoporous aluminum structure subjected to tensile loading can be significantly reduced when the size of ligaments and the joints that connect them in the structure is designed to be sufficiently small. It is found using molecular dynamics simulations that the softening becomes slightly slower with increasing porosity for the structures with porosity less than or equal to 72%, and stress localization is observed during softening. In contrast, for structures with more than 75% porosity, softening is much slower, and stress delocalization occurs during softening. It is argued that at relatively high porosity, softening is governed by both the ligament size and the joint size because their compliance becomes high enough to allow the overloading stress due to ligament rupture to be redistributed more effectively throughout the structure.


Abstract Several studies have shown that beans are the leading source of protein and are an important source of calories for many of the poorest families in Kenya. Two dry bean cultivars ( Chelelang and Ciankui ) have been reported to be suitable for growing under conditions prevalent in the area around Ndaragwa in highland of Aberdare Ranges. Unreliability of potato cultivation for food and as a source of income in this area compelled farmers to venture into commercial dry bean production. The purpose of this study was to compare qualities of three dry beans ( Chelelang , Ciakui and Mwitemania ) varieties as influenced by plant densities in the highland of Aberdare Ranges and recommend the best performer(s) to the farmers for commercial production. The objectives of the study were; to compare growth, yields and seed quality of three dry bean cultivars; Mwitemania , Chelelang and Ciankui , to determine the effect of different plant densities on growth, yields and seed quality of the three dry bean cultivars when grown under varying conditions and to determine the effect of plant densities on pest attack of the three dry bean varieties. The following growth parameters were recorded; growth vigor in each variety, the number of pods per plant, pods length, plant resistance to aphids attack, height of plants and above the ground biomass as well as yields. Each plot layout measured 4x4 m. There were 9 plots in each of the 3 blocks. A path of about 1m was left between blocks. Each plot received treatment combinations assigned randomly. Using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) the experiment was replicated three times. Plant densities were; 1 seed / hill, 2 seeds / hill and 3 seeds/ hill. All the trials received similar treatments. Data was collected, organized, and analyzed by use of SPSS (Version 22) and the means separated by use of Least Significant Difference (LSD). Results indicated that there were significant differences in all the three varieties in the mean number of pods, pod length, plant height, Plant resistance to aphids attack and above the ground biomass as well as yield and harvest index. Ciankui and Chelelang were found to be suitable for the study area. It is hoped that small scale farmers in Nyandarua will adopt growing of Ciankui and Chelelang and use the corresponding production activities so that they can realize high yield. The main objective of the experiment was finally achieved. Key words: bean varieties, Aberdare ranges, plant densities


Distributed language representation has become the most widely used technique for language representation in various natural language processing tasks. Most of the natural language processing models that are based on deep learning techniques use already pre-trained distributed word representations, commonly called word embeddings. Determining the most qualitative word embeddings is of crucial importance for such models. However, selecting the appropriate word embeddings is a perplexing task since the projected embedding space is not intuitive to humans. In this paper, we explore different approaches for creating distributed word representations. We perform an intrinsic evaluation of several state-of-the-art word embedding methods. Their performance on capturing word similarities is analysed with existing benchmark datasets for word pairs similarities. The research in this paper conducts a correlation analysis between ground truth word similarities and similarities obtained by different word embedding methods.


Educational Intervention to Impact Parental Decisions to Consent to Human Papillomavirus Vaccine by Tawa B. Ibikunle-Salami MSN, Indiana Wesleyan University, 2010 BSN, Indiana Wesleyan University, 2005 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University September 2015 Abstract Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a global health issue that is transmitted sexually and affects both genders. Evidence shows that approximately 79 million people are affected in the United States with 14 million newly affected yearly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that teens and young adults under age 25 are at particular risk, so it is important to begin the vaccination series between 9 and 17 years of age. Parental voluntary acceptance of HPV vaccine for their minor children was noted as a problem in a clinic in Northwest Indiana, and 8% clinic HPV series completion rate is significantly lower than the targeted federal goal of 80% by 2020. A literature review indicated that an educational intervention provided by healthcare professionals could serve as one of the strongest predictors of HPV vaccine acceptance. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based parental educational process to support providers' influence on parents of children ages 9 to 17 to provide consent for the HPV vaccine. The project goals focused on parental knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. The clinic providers will utilize assessment tools validated by experts and evidence-based educational materials to promote HPV and HPV vaccine awareness. The theoretical foundations of the project were the theory of reasoned action and Pathman's pipeline that target the parents directly through individual educational sessions to achieve knowledge gain and behavioral change. Implementation of educational materials by clinic providers may improve parental knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine acceptance. Social change may result from the integration of the project into clinical practice to increase the HPV vaccine acceptance rates, which will ultimately reduce the effects of HPV and its sequelae leading to long-term wellness promotion.Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a global health issue that is transmitted sexually and affects both genders. Evidence shows that approximately 79 million people are affected in the United States with 14 million newly affected yearly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that teens and young adults under age 25 are at particular risk, so it is important to begin the vaccination series between 9 and 17 years of age. Parental voluntary acceptance of HPV vaccine for their minor children was noted as a problem in a clinic in Northwest Indiana, and 8% clinic HPV series completion rate is significantly lower than the targeted federal goal of 80% by 2020. A literature review indicated that an educational intervention provided by healthcare professionals could serve as one of the strongest predictors of HPV vaccine acceptance. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based parental educational process to support providers' influence on parents of children ages 9 to 17 to provide consent for the HPV vaccine. The project goals focused on parental knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. The clinic providers will utilize assessment tools validated by experts and evidence-based educational materials to promote HPV and HPV vaccine awareness. The theoretical foundations of the project were the theory of reasoned action and Pathman's pipeline that target the parents directly through individual educational sessions to achieve knowledge gain and behavioral change. Implementation of educational materials by clinic providers may improve parental knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine acceptance. Social change may result from the integration of the project into clinical practice to increase the HPV vaccine acceptance rates, which will ultimately reduce the effects of HPV and its sequelae leading to long-term wellness promotion.


Objective: Many new bioactive drugs isolated from plants having hypoglycaemic effects showed anti diabetic activity equal and sometimes even more potent than known oral hypoglycaemic agents. In this present study, designed to evaluate antihyperglycermic and antioxidants effect on ethanolic leaf extracts Barleria cristata (EtBc) in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats at dose level 400mg/kg body weight for the treatment of 45 days. Method and materials: The experimental rats were randomly divided into five groups as a control, streptozotocin induced with diabetes (45mg/kg bw) without any treatment, treated with standard drug glibenclamide (1.25 mg/kg bw), EtBc (400 mg/kg bw) in diabetic induced rats and treated with EtBc alone without diabetic rats. At the end of 45 day animals were sacrificed, collect the serum, liver, kidney and pancreas for estimate the glucose, insulin, C-peptide, glycosylated hemoglobin, hemoglobin in serum, protein, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants and lipid peroxidation in tissues. Results: After the adminstration of EtBc, blood glucose levels were showed significantly reduction (P<0.05) in diabetic rats and it has been observed alternation occured in body and organ weight and it was also normalized the serum level of glycemic profile like insulin, C-peptide, total hemoglobin and glycosylated hemoglobin levels similar to that of control rats. Antioxidants enzymes were return to back their levels as control in different tissues when compared to diabetic rats and also observed no significance difference between control and EtBc alone group rats at the end of 45 day. Therefore it was suggested that Barleria cristata may act by potentiation of pancreatic secretion of insulin or increasing glucose uptake by muscle cells. Conclusion: In this study, suggested the efficacy of Barleria cristata proved the maintenance of glucose homeostasis and may be used as a therapeutic agent in the management of diabetes mellitus.


The story of Annapolis resonates in every century of American history. Annapolis has been home to tobacco plantations, political intrigue, international commerce, the U.S. Naval Academy, ballooning population growth, and colonial, state, and national government. Jane Wilson McWilliams's captivating history explores Annapolis from its settlement in 1650 to its historic preservation campaign of the late twentieth century. McWilliams brings alive the people of Annapolis as she recounts their fortunes and foibles. Be they black or white, slave or master, woman or man, each has a place in this book. With unsurpassed detail and graceful prose, she describes the innermost workings of Maryland's capital city-its social, civic, and religious institutions; its powerful political leaders; and its art, architecture, and neighborhoods. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book chronicles more than three hundred years of Annapolis history. As unique as the city it describes, Annapolis, City on the Severn builds on the most recent scholarship and offers readers a fascinating portrait into the past of this great city.


In this project I have investigated how a set of rules can be applied to a particular sight and program. Inspired by the rules of the 'divine 'proportion I applied its system of repetition and algorithm in a particular site and created a bridge with a diverse program beyond the simple intention of bridging two ends.This project is a way of approaching the complexity of designing an architectural space. It is a helping guide on how, through a system I could evaluate and pay attention to spatial qualities.My system is based on the divine proportion and its parts. I have broken up the divine rectangle and used the parts to create a structure that connects the tow ends on this specific sight. In this project I have been investigating and testing how a sett of rules can be applied on a sight to crate proportion, composition and rhythm. The classic rule that is about movement in space, giving function to the space, the relation to the human body and a space being more diverse. These rules are the basics of the foundation of or field.The metaphor I have used is the broken tail of a lizard, that from the point of where it brakes takes another shape and creates a new structure, overlapping and connecting the old and the new. I have called this "the nature's broken proportions". By that I mean, when the symmetry in the creation in the new tail is broken or reduced, it no longer is a continuation of the lizard's body in that time and space, but an individually separated continuity with its own symmetry. It exist in parallel and as an extension of its past. The system I have created have helped me to define the boundaries and provided a clear structure of my design. This project is to me about connecting my intuition on how life is withe how I design space. The structure and boundaries provided by this system of "broken proportions", has given me the tools to evaluate the quality of the spaces I created. I found freedom in my abstraction of this system by breaking up the logarithmic spiral, which is about continuity. This is a designing tool I used to create my bridge.My work is an illustration of a subjective idea, of breaking the continuity in space and time. Through using this system I could evaluate qualities like dimension, proportion, composition, rhythm, direction, sectioning and levels. All these quality's given by this system, creates an abstract interpretation about my personal view of movement of this bridge.


Environmental Information in European Transboundary Water Management aims to examine the role of information in transboundary river basin and water management, and the way it is used (or not) in policy and decision and decision-making within the wider European area. While having forward-looking perspective justified by the ongoing implementation of the EU water Framework Directive among EU Member States and Candidates Countries, many of the chapters draw on the experiences gained from the past and existing transboundary river basin co-operation experiences.

Chapters are organised according to a framework that shows the sharing of water resources to be based upon a foundation of integrated water resources management, supported by three pillars:

Politics - concerned with the enabling of sharing water resources, including the recognition of differences in riparian interests and international collaboration.

Technical cooperation - concerned with concrete co-operation including exchange of information; tools and techniques to produce, use and disseminate information; joint research programmes; joint river basin plans; and joint ventures i.e. jointly performed water management actions.

Legal-institutional - dealing with institutions and legal instruments that support the vision of fair and equitable sharing of international water resources; this pillar finds its basis in internationally laid down principles of cross border co-operation.

Environmental Information in European Transboundary Water Management will appeal to professionals involved in the various aspects of transboundary river basin co-operation, both on strategic and operational levels, but also to the academic community concerned with the study of transboundary river basin or water management. It will also be an important source for graduate students in (transboundary) river basin management.

ISBN: 9781843390381 (Print)

ISBN: 9781780402666 (eBook)


Through nutrient recovery by urine separation, the VUNA project aims to develop an effective sanitation system that simultaneously helps address important issues such as environmental pollution and water scarcity. Refinement of the nutrient recovery process presents several challenges: at a technical level, as nitrifying bacteria are sensitive to several parameters; and from a public health perspective, as nutrient recovery from urine implies exposure to pathogens. As part of this problematic, the present study focused on four main objectives: operating nitrification reactors, characterising both virus and bacteria inactivation, and evaluating different inactivation mechanisms. Indicator organisms (bacteriophages and bacteria) were used as surrogates for human pathogens. In a first set of experiments, the bacteriophage MS2 was spiked continuously over 60 days in a continuous flow nitrification reactor. Nitrification did not affect the bacteriophage concentration within the reactor. The second set of experiments consisted of the operation of small scale batch and semi-batch reactors to test in total three different bacteriophages (X147, MS2, Qbeta) and two bacteria (Salmonella typhimerium, Enterococcus spp.) under varying parameters. Pathogens can be inactivated or affected by different mechanisms. Four possible inactivation mechanisms were further evaluated: 1) effect of biological activity in a nitrification treatment system, 2) effect of the air-water interface in a buffer (PBS) and nitrified urine, 3) effect of the complexity of solution, 4) effect of ambient temperature. Results indicated that nitrification caused bacterial inactivation but did not influence the bacteriophages concentration. Air-water interface did not affect bacteria and showed mixed results for bacteriophages. Ambient temperature was not an inactivating parameter for neither of the groups studied. Finally, the bacteriophages presented signs of resistance, possibly due to a protective effect of the complex solution in the nitrification reactor.


This project examines an organization that lacks adequate metrics for the evaluation of quality software maintenance of a product. A database and software solution will be implemented in order to organize data and report significant information to management. Prior to the implementation of this database, inaccurate statistics have been reported and no relevant metrics have been established. The statistics that have been reported are superficial and unfiltered. The database and software solution to be implemented will be populated by an automated feed from three separate databases. Each of the databases contains information that is relevant to the metrics that will be defined. Once the database is populated, management will be able to run a report, called the Payroll Report Card. The establishment of this system will define the company's metrics and will measure the true quality of the organization's software changes. This will serve as a case study for software development organizations who seek to define metrics and improve quality with a limited budget.


Pastoralists traditionally relied on herd mobility to cope with drought. In the pastoral areas of Kajiado, Kenya this strategy is now threatened by increased individual land ownership as compared to communal access. Drought frequency as related to El-Nino and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is predicated to increase with climate change. The aim of the study was investigate the use of herd mobility strategy in the ENSO related 1999/2000 la Nina induced drought under different land tenure types and varying household cattle wealth. The study found that despite changes in land tenure, herd mobility was used as a coping strategy. Households rich in livestock applied the herd mobility strategy more than the poorer ones by moving a larger proportion of their herds. Poorer households applied the strategy of keeping drought resistant animals more than richer ones by having a higher proportion of goats and sheep than cattle. Institutional land units of Kiboko Range Research Station and Chyulu National Reserve which had higher herbaceous biomass were the most favored refuge areas for livestock during the drought. In conclusion poorer families are likely to be impacted more from increased incidents of ENSO droughts due inability to use the herd mobility option. Key words : La-Nina, climate change, drought, pastoralist, herd mobility, land use type.


Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) are of great public health importance, causing diarrhoea, haemorrhagic colitis and haemolytic uraemic syndrome. A wealth of evidence from cell line and animal studies has linked colonic pathogenesis with EHEC induction of mucosal attaching/effacing (A/E) lesions, which are characterised by intimate bacterial attachment to intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), microvillous effacement and actin polymerisation. However, the clinical relevance of A/E lesions has been called into question by the fact that adherent bacteria have not been located on colonic biopsies taken from EHEC-infected patients. In addition, in vitro organ culture (IVOC) of human intestinal biopsies with EHEC has not yielded signs of bacterial colonisation or A/E lesion formation. In this study, we have re-evaluated the colonic IVOC model and demonstrated for the first time that EHEC colonise the colonic epithelium ex vivo and induce A/E lesion formation. High levels of oxygen, as used in previous IVOC studies, were found to inhibit EHEC-IEC interactions. Adherence was dependent on expression of the bacterial adhesin intimin and the type III secretion system (T3SS). In contrast, EHEC adherence to the widely-used T84 colonic carcinoma cell line was associated with microvillous effacement but not actin polymerisation, and was not dependent on intimin or the T3SS, highlighting the importance of using physiologically relevant intestinal models when conducting EHEC research.
EHEC pathogenesis has also been linked to induction of an inflammatory response in the colonic mucosa, characterised by recruitment of neutrophils to the epithelium. This process has been associated with expression of the neutrophil chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) by cultured IECs following exposure to EHEC flagellin. However, other aspects of the innate immune system, such as expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), have been neglected. We have demonstrated that EHEC induces expression of the AMP human β-defensin-2 (hBD2) and IL-8 in human colonic IECs both in vitro and ex vivo. Induction was dependent on exposure of IECs to flagellin, and was mediated by mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling. Furthermore, we present evidence that IL-8 is secreted apically in polarised T84 cells following apical stimulation, suggesting that this cytokine may be secreted into the lumen during infection. Put together, this PhD project has shed new
light on EHEC-IEC interactions and has re-established the IVOC model as an important tool for future EHEC research.


  Abstract—Approximately 75% of energy consumption in petrochemical and refining industries is used by furnaces and heaters. Ambient air conditions (pressure, temperature and relative humidity) and operational conditions such as combustion air preheating and using excess air for combustion, can affect the furnace efficiency. If the furnaces are operated at optimized conditions, the huge amounts of savings in energy consumptions would be achieved. By modeling and optimizing of a furnace the optimal operation conditions can be obtained. The aim of this paper is providing a mathematical model which is able to calculate furnace efficiency with change in operating and combustion air conditions. In this paper the furnace of atmospheric distillation unit of a refinery in Iran was considered as a case study. Presented model, first examines changes in ambient air conditions and then presented optimized design of the furnace including excess air reduction and preheating of burning air methods. The furnace is modeled mathematically and simulated by software. Verification of the developed model against the design data highlighted the reliability of the model predictions. The optimal operation conditions to get the maximum efficiency are introduced. The most commonly used optimization methods (excess air reduction and air preheating) are applied to the furnace. The results shows that the preheating of air up to 485.6 and reducing of the excess air until 15%, reduces the exhaust gas temperature from 1000 to 402 and increases the furnace efficiency from 63% to 89% . This is a significant saving in energy. Also by increasing the heat transfer area, the furnace capacity could be increases up to 30% without any change in furnace efficiency. The results show that by investment of 5.23 M$, could be earn 5.81 M$/Yr saving in energy costs, then the payback period was 0.9 year. Economical results also show that the investment purchases and saving benefits cover each other with acceptable payback period in all cases of optimization methods.


Founded in 1365, not long after the Great Plague ravaged Europe, the University of Vienna was revitalized in 1384 by prominent theologians displaced from Paris--among them Henry of Langenstein. Beginning with the 1384 revival, Michael Shank explores the history of the university and its ties with European intellectual life and the city of Vienna. In so doing he links the abstract discussions of university theologians with the burning of John Hus and Jerome of Prague at the Council of Constance (1415-16) and the destruction of the Jewish community of Lower Austria (1421).Like most other scholars of the period, Henry of Langenstein (d. 1397) at one time believed that Aristotle's syllogistic was universally valid even in Trinitarian theology. In touch with the vibrant Jewish community in Vienna, Langenstein had high hopes of converting its members by logical argument. When he failed in his purpose, he lost his confidence in Aristotle's syllogistic as a universal tool of apologetics and handmaiden to Trinitarian theology. ("Unless you believe, you shall not understand," he quoted from Isaiah, in order to express his change of opinion.) During the next generation, the intellectual climate at the university changed from academic openness to increasing rigidity, and theologians turned from argument to persecution.Originally published in 1988.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.


Quasi experimental research with 2x2 factorial was designed to describe the influence of method-based context toward reading interest in writing skills. It was assumed that reading interest played an important role in writing and based approaches context would make it easier for students to produce their writing. The results shown that generally there were differences on students' writing product outcomesat SMKN-2 Sawahlunto with CTL experiment) and conventional approaches (control), both that had high or low reading interest. In addition, there was a connection between approaches in learning and reading interest on students' success in writing exposition text. CTL approach affected high writing skill and reading interest. It is suggested that students' interest in reading is a concern to support writing exposition text.


Abstract The use of corrosion resistant and adhesion promoting films and coatings is established industrial practice for many fatigue sensitive components and structures. However, recent environmental legislation restricting the use of a range of toxic heavy metals and their derivative processes, such as chromic acid anodising (CAA), has meant that a number of new coatings systems and pretreatments are currently being developed to replace the traditional processes still in use. Typical of these new systems are the boric–sulphuric acid anodising (BSAA) process, which can be modified to provide excellent adhesive bonding properties, the sulphuric acid anodising process, which includes an additional electrolytic phosphoric acid deoxidising stage (EPAD) to produce a duplex oxide layer, and the recently patented ACDC sulphuric acid anodising process which produces a two layered oxide film which can be tailored to produce different porosity volume fractions within each layer. This communication reports the preliminary findings of a study carried out to assess the fatigue response of Al2618:T6 aluminium alloys to these new processes. In contrast to CAA anodising, the initial results indicate that the EPAD and ACDC processes do not appear to have a significant effect on fatigue.


The language of contemporary cultural theory shows remarkable similarities with the patterns of thought which characterised Victorian racial theory. Far from being marked by a separation from the racialised thinking of the past, Colonial Desire shows we are operating in complicity with historical ways of viewing 'the other', both sexually and racially. Colonial Desire is a controversial and bracing study of the history of Englishness and 'culture'. Robert Young argues that the theories advanced today about post-colonialism and ethnicity are disturbingly close to the colonial discourse of the nineteenth century. 'Englishness', Young argues, has been less fixed and stable than uncertain, fissured with difference and a desire for otherness.


We celebrate great writers not only by reconstructing their ideas but also by thinking in their spirit. Many aspects of Raymond Aron's legacy could, today, be exploited by writers of an Aronian turn of mind. They might draw on his philosophy of history; his defense of the specificity of politics; his acute awareness of the burdens of responsibility imposed on great powers. In this article, I flag a different topic: Aron's concern with the impact of regimes and local cultures on political discussion. Of special interest to him were state-sponsored ideology and self-induced groupthink (the 'opium of the intellectuals'). After briefly describing Aron's views of both of these phenomena within the context of official and unofficial Marxism, I examine two modalities of communicative inhibition that have emerged since his death. Both turn on the emergence of Islamism as a major modern political ideology; both entail impediments to free speech: the vilification of political disagreement as 'phobic' and, relatedly, the political use of law ('lawfare') to halt debate on matters sensitive to Islamists.


The theory of R. L. Gregory that certain visual illusions are caused by the inappropriate action of a constancy-scaling mechanism was critically examined. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to replicate his experimental findings that certain ambiguous figures, such as the M-L illusion, appear 3-dimensional in a particular way when presented in reduced cue conditions. It was noted that the depth effect reported by Gregory was not large enough to explain all the illusory distortion in his figures. It was suggested that this might be because his apparatus allowed certain cues which could be used to determine the true form of the figures and thus destroy or reduce any 3-dimensional effects. The experimental results suggested that this was not so. In later experiments it proved possible to repeat Gregory's results only by inducing Ss to adopt a specific perceptual set. If this was not done Ss tended to see the figures in different ways which often changed over time. Combined analysis of the results of all Ss on many different figures showed a slight tendency for the central part of any Gestalt or figure to appear nearer than other parts. Two possible hypotheses were advanced to explain this result but further experimentation suggested that both were inadequate. Experimental evidence is provided that the Ponzo illusion is the result, of a shrinkage of the lower line rather than an expansion of the upper line, as is generally thought. This and other evidence is interpreted as suggesting that even this illusion may not have a perspective component. Taken as a whole the results suggest that any perspective theory of the illusions will prove inadequate. It is finally suggested that further research be directed towards inhibition type theories.


DuP 697 (5-bromo-2[4-fluorophenyl]-3-[4-methylsulfonylphenyl]-thiophene) is a potent inhibitor of paw swelling in nonestablished and established adjuvant arthritis in rats (ED50 = 0.03 and 0.18 mg/kg/day, respectively). DuP 697 had no effect on phenylquinone writhing in rats (ED50 greater than 100 mg/kg), but was analgetic against inflammation-related pain in the Randall-Selitto assay (ED30 = 3.5 mg/kg) and was a very potent antipyretic agent (ED50 = 0.05 mg/kg). The drug was not ulcerogenic in rats at single doses up to 400 mg/kg. DuP 697 (5 mg/kg i.v.) did not alter renal blood flow or the renal vascular response to angiotensin II in furosemide-pretreated, volume-depleted rats. In contrast, indomethacin (5 mg/kg i.v.) decreased renal blood flow and potentiated the renal vascular response to angiotensin II in these animals. DuP 697 was a moderate inhibitor of bull seminal vesicle prostaglandin (PG) synthesis (IC50 = 2.4 X 10(-5) M) and a potent inhibitor of rat brain PG synthesis (IC50 = 4.5 X 10(-6) M) but was ineffective against rat kidney PG synthesis (IC50 7.5 X 10(-5) M). These differential effects of DuP 697 on PG synthesis by various tissues may account for its high potency as an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic agent and its minimal toxicity profile.


First paragraphs: I was surprised to have been asked recently by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to write a policy paper on family farming in North America in recognition of the International Year of the Family Farm (Ikerd, 2014). I questioned whether the FAO actually wanted me to write the paper, because of my nonconventional views of American agriculture. In the process, however, I discovered that much of the rest of the world is awakening to the realization that the values of traditional family farming are essential to ensure global food security. The U.S., Canada, and Australia have found few allies in their championing of industrial agriculture as being necessary to avoid massive hunger in the future. The concept of multifunctional agriculture, as commonly used in international trade and policy discussions, refers to the multiple potential benefits of agriculture, emphasizing the importance of non-economic benefits of agriculture. Farms in this context are inherently multifunctional in that they have multiple ecological, social, and economic impacts on nature and society. A global report,  Agriculture at a Crossroads,  points out that multifunctional agriculture "provides food, feed, fiber, fuel and other goods...has a major influence on other essential ecosystem services such as water supply and carbon sequestration or release...plays an important social role, providing employment and a way of life...is a medium of cultural transmission and cultural practices worldwide...[and] provide[s] a foundation for local economies" (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development [IAASTD], p. 6)....


Qatari society is witnessing an increase in cultural diversity due to a large number of immigrants from different cultures. This cultural diversity may create a kind of cultural isolation between non-Qataris and Qatari people. International migration has led to diverse and plural cultural identities and ethnic groups in the same society. Studies have shown that immigrants face problems of adaptation to, and integration with, the culture in the communities to which they migrate. This study aims to identify the degree of social integration between expatriates and Qataris Methodology: This study used a focus group (14 focus groups, total of 65 participants from different nationalities) with an open-ended question. By using convenience and snowball sampling techniques Results: The primary arenas of interaction between Qatari and non-Qatari were in work/educational contexts. For example, participants from all groups revealed that while they have good working relationships with Qataris (or expatriates), these relationships remain in the public sphere at work or school and generally do not extend beyond these boundaries. Barriers to Integration: Language: Considered as the major barrier by most expatriates to relationship with Qataris. Culture diversity: Foreigners who share an important identity such as religion (e.g., Muslims, Arabs) are more able to make relationship with Qatari people and more likely to assimilate into Qatari society. Transient nature of expatriates: Most expatriates come to Qatar on 2-4 year work visas. This was mentioned as a barrier to social integration by both expatriates and Qataris. Appearance of Qataris: The national dress is worn by most Qatari men and women, and several focus groups mentioned that this attire can be intimidating and act as a barrier to casual interactions. Security and lack of security: While the expatriates expressed comfort and a sense of security in Qatar, the nationals showed lack of security. Conclusions: The results showed some manifestations and causes of cultural isolation between Qataris and expatriates. It showed that immigrants who come to work in Qatar faced difficulties in communicating with the Qatari people.


Software metrics are measurements of development processes, products, and resources. Once these measurements have been specified and collected they can be used as variables in empirically calibrated models for a wide range of project management purposes; including the task of predicting development effort based on some combination of size, complexity, and developer experience metrics. One difficulty encountered when using traditional algorithmic approaches to estimation has been the collection of the appropriate metrics required to use the model in its predictive capacity. Project managers are generally unable to make precise quantitative estimates for the independent variables, especially early in system development when these models are at their most valuable. The alternative of using qualitative values for the inputs, as in fuzzy logic, has been suggested but the stability and consistency of such labels has yet to be established, as well as considering the elicitation techniques available for deriving the membership functions. In this paper we examine the perceptions of data model size, functionality size, developer experience, and project effort in terms of three fuzzy membership functions from two separate surveys of project managers, each with a very different approach. The consistency of results across the two surveys is examined, and some discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches is provided.


Parents of children categorized as behaviorally inhibited or uninhibited at age 30 months were assessed on measures of affectivity, personality, and behavior. Parents of inhibited children showed lower extraversion, higher avoidance and shyness, and faster drawing times on a task involving uncertainty than did parents of uninhibited children. Faster speed on the uncertainty task was interpreted as evidence of increased anxious responding. The Extroversion, Avoidance, Shyness, and Sociability scales loaded heavily on a singe factor, the scores of which differed significantly by group. Child behavioral inhibition (BI) negatively correlated with maternal scores on the Extroversion scale and the extracted factor and positively correlated with maternal scores on the Avoidance scale. BI correlated with both maternal and paternal scores on the uncertainty task in the predicted direction; Low parental extraversion, high parental avoidance and shyness, and parental tendency toward anxious responding were associated with BI children


People call it "post-war," but All the People covers a period in U.S. history that features battles of another kind-from Cold War combat overseas to struggles for equality at home to learning to live with the threat of terrorism on U.S. soil. During these years, the United States began to be a nation for all its people, outlawing school segregation, protesting war in Vietnam, and campaigning for equal rights for women. From Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall to seamstress Rosa Parks, extraordinary individuals led us back to the ideals espoused by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. But mostly-as it always has been in the United States-it was ordinary citizens who marched and voted and hoped and dreamed and made things happen. All the People includes the events of September 11, 2001, and a discussion of how many aspects of the terrorist attacks have brought to the forefront the qualities that keep America strong: representative democracy, freedom of speech and press, and, especially in the face of religious totalitarianism, the basic freedom of religious tolerance.


We study the dynamics emergent from a two-dimensional reaction–diffusion process modeled via a finite lattice dynamical system, as well as an analogous PDE system, involving spatially nonlocal interactions. These models govern the evolution of cells in a bioactive porous medium, with the evolution of the local cell density depending on a coupled quasi-static fluid flow problem. We demonstrate differences emergent from the choice of a discrete lattice or a continuum for the spatial domain of such a process. We find long-time oscillations and steady states in cell density in both lattice and continuum models, but that the continuum model only exhibits solutions with vertical symmetry, independent of initial data, whereas the finite lattice admits asymmetric oscillations and steady states arising from symmetry-breaking bifurcations. We conjecture that it is the structure of the finite lattice which allows for more complicated asymmetric dynamics. Our analysis suggests that the origin of both types of oscillations is a nonlocal reaction–diffusion mechanism mediated by quasi-static fluid flow.


CHOICE OUTSTANDING BOOK OF THE YEAR 2005 Despite the growth of interest in the history of anthropology as a over the last two decades, surprisingly little has been published in English on the development of anthropology in East and Southeast Asia and its relationship to the rest of the academic "world-system." The anthropological experience in this region has been varied. Japanese anthropology developed early, and ranks second only to that of the United States in terms of size. Anthropology in China has finally recovered from the experience of invasion, war, and revolution, and now flourishes both on the mainland and in Taiwan. Scholars in Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines have also attempted to break with the legacy of colonialism and develop research relevant to their own national needs. This book includes accounts of these developments by some of the most distinguished scholars in the region. Also discussed are issues of language, authorship, and audience; and the effects these have on writing by anthropologists, whether "native" or "foreign." The book will be invaluable to anyone with an interest in the anthropology of East and Southeast Asia or the development of anthropology as a global discipline. Shinji Yamashita is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at The University of Tokyo. Joseph Bosco is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. J.S. Eades is Professor of Asia Pacific Studies and Director of the Media Resource Center, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, and Senior Honorary Research Fellow in Anthropology, University of Kent.


"Landmarks" addresses a wide range of questions relevant to the recent history of anthropology and its importance to contemporary issues. These questions include the significance of anthropology for Third World studies; the debate on whether anthropology is a scientific or a humanistic subject; anthropology as a means of reflecting on ourselves as well as others; and the criticisms of anthropological work that have emerged out of postmodernism. Drawing on his research findings in Papua New Guinea since 1964, and his more recent work on the cross-cultural study of medicine, the author examines the extent to which we can achieve understanding between different cultures and the relative merits of approaches that stress indigenous categories or those of the observer. He concludes that the discipline now requires reconstruction rather than deconstruction, and advances the call for holistic models of human behaviour which reconceptualise the relationship between body and mind.


This paper is concerned with the concept of equilibrium and quality of service (QoS) provisioning in self-configuring wireless networks with non-cooperative radio devices (RD). In contrast with the Nash equilibrium (NE), where RDs are interested in selfishly maximizing its QoS, we present a concept of equilibrium, named satisfaction equilibrium (SE), where RDs are interested only in guaranteing a minimum QoS. We provide the conditions for the existence and the uniqueness of the SE. Later, in order to provide an equilibrium selection framework for the SE, we introduce the concept of effort or cost of satisfaction, for instance, in terms of transmit power levels, constellation sizes, etc. Using the idea of effort, the set of efficient SE (ESE) is defined. At the ESE, transmitters satisfy their minimum QoS incurring in the lowest effort. We prove that contrary to the (generalized) NE, at least one ESE always exists whenever the network is able to simultaneously support the individual QoS requests. Finally, we provide a fully decentralized algorithm to allow self-configuring networks to converge to one of the SE relying only on local information.


Purpose: To investigate the association between solar radiation (UVR) and its components (UVA, UVB and blue light) with age related maculopathy and macular degeneration in the seven country EUREYE study. Methods: 4760 randomly sampled people aged 65 and over participated in an eye examination and risk factor assessment. Fundus images were graded at a single reading centre using the International ARM Epidemiological Study Group classification and stratified into 5 exclusive stages based on the grading in the worst eye.Stage 4 (AMD) was characterised as neovascular or geographic atrophy. History of outdoor exposure was assessed by a questionnaire on lifetime residence, occupational and leisure time behaviour (all day and middle of the day ie11 am to 3 pm),use of protective eyewear and hats and mapped to meteorological data to provide personal exposures to UVA, UVB and blue light . Multiple logistic regression for cluster data was used. Results: Analyses adjusted for age, sex and smoking showed little evidence for an association of quintiles of light exposure and ARM grades 1, 2 and 3 compared to grade 0. There was a two fold association of high middle of the day light exposures with AMD in countries, apart from Spain . Different patterns were observed in analyses by type of AMD with increased odds for the highest quintile of exposure for neovascular but not for geographic AMD, eg for UVB, OR= 2.52 (95% CI 1.16, 4.44) p=0.02. There was little difference in the effects of type of light exposure i.e. whether UVA, UVB or blue light . These results were not materially affected by adjusting for vitamin C, lutein or zeaxanthein and associations were stronger in those with low plasma levels of these vitamins and high exposures to UVR. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence for the adverse effect of high sunlight exposure and support recommendations on ocular protection


The life sciences offer opportunities for revolutionizing human welfare activities. Enriched by inputs from genomic research, biotechnology is a major force for development in all countries. Entwined with culture and socio-ethical values, biotechnology contributes to solving problems like food and water insecurity that impede national development and threaten peace in the developing world. The lack of facilities and professional skills in biotechnology limits R & D initiatives in the developing and the least developed countries (LDCs); and, restricts their full participation in take-off activities in national and self-reliant regional ventures in sustainable development. The practice of biotechnology different in many developing countries is nevertheless impressive. The establishment of biotechnology parks and medicinal plant farms in several developing countries is indicative of biotechnology being accorded high policy status in national development; of its significance in the eradication of poverty; and of its use in the empowerment of women in applying the technology for human and social welfare. This review provides several examples of different types of biotech activities that are being employed for development in the developing world.


This paper presents dynamic feedback, a technique that enables computations to adapt dynamically to different execution environments. A compiler that uses dynamic feedback produces several different versions of the same source code; each version uses a different optimization policy. The generated code alternately performs sampling phases and production phases. Each sampling phase measures the overhead of each version in the current environment. Each production phase uses the version with the least overhead in the previous sampling phase. The computation periodically resamples to adjust dynamically to changes in the environment.We have implemented dynamic feedback in the context of a parallelizing compiler for object-based programs. The generated code uses dynamic feedback to automatically choose the best synchronization optimization policy. Our experimental results show that the synchronization optimization policy has a significant impact on the overall performance of the computation, that the best policy varies from program to program, that the compiler is unable to statically choose the best policy, and that dynamic feedback enables the generated code to exhibit performance that is comparable to that of code that has been manually tuned to use the best policy. We have also performed a theoretical analysis which provides, under certain assumptions, a guaranteed optimality bound for dynamic feedback relative to a hypothetical (and unrealizable) optimal algorithm that uses the best policy at every point during the execution.


The interaction of a single-mode field with both a weak Kerr medium and a parametric nonlinearity in an intrinsically nonlinear optomechanical system is studied. The nonlinearities due to the optomechanical coupling and Kerr-down conversion lead to bistability and tristability in the mean intracavity photon number. Also, our work demonstrates that the lower bound of the resolved sideband regime and the minimum attainable phonon number can be less than those of a bare cavity by controlling the parametric nonlinearity and the phase of the driving field. Moreover, we find that in the system under consideration the degree of entanglement between the mechanical and optical modes is dependent on the two stability parameters of the system. For both cooling and entanglement, while parametric nonlinearity increases the optomechanical coupling, the weak Kerr nonlinearity is very useful for extending the domain of the stability region to the desired range in which the minimum effective temperature and maximal entanglement are attainable. Also, as shown in this paper, the present scheme allows us to have significant entanglement in the tristable regime for the lower and middle branches, which makes the current scheme distinct from the bare optomechanical system.


A green and supramolecular approach is demonstrated to enhance the transparency/toughness/adhesive strength of epoxy cross-linked networks. A monocyclic carbonate (MCC) was synthesized by a reaction between CO2 and an epoxy monomer under moderate pressure. By incorporating the one-end reactive MCC into an epoxy network (composed of triamino oligoetheramine and digylcidyl ether bisphenol A), elongation up to 67% was achieved. The epoxy network containing 10 wt% MCC displayed >100% increase in toughness vis-a-vis the pristine network. In addition, two segmental motions were exhibited by the toughened networks, where the lower Tg orients at 55–60 °C and the higher Tg at 73–93 °C. The second Tg is attributed to additional hydrogen bonded regions of the epoxy network (because of the hydrogen bonding spacer unit) as recognized by FTIR studies. Furthermore, studies using density functional theory (DFT) substantiated the existence of two different regions that are responsible for the two Tgs (the second Tg is induced by MCC units via additional hydrogen bonding). The FESEM and AFM investigations further established that no phase separation is present in the networks. The adhesive strengths (LSS) of the epoxy networks increased from ∼17 to 22 MPa due to H-bonding interactions. The networks can perform as self-standing films due to their flexible nature. The networks are transparent (visible transparency increased to >80% by addition of MCC from 68% of the neat epoxy network) and are thermally stable (T10% > 250 °C).


The kinase ATM stimulates antioxidant metabolism to prevent oxidative stress in cells. Antioxidant role of ATM The kinase ATM is integral to repairing damaged DNA. Hence, its loss has severe consequences for the development of disease. However, ATM also separately functions in the response to reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS cause oxidative stress, a classic feature of cells in patients with the neurodegenerative disease ataxia telangiectasia (A-T), for which ATM was named. Using a mutant that impairs only the ROS-responsive function of ATM, Zhang et al. found that ROS produced by the mitochondria trigger the dimerization of ATM, which indirectly increased the expression and activity of an enzyme that shifts glucose flux from glycolysis and lactic acid production to the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and NADPH production, thereby increasing the antioxidant capacity of cells. These findings show how loss of the ROS-sensing, antioxidant function of ATM may contribute to the phenotypes of A-T. Mitochondria are integral to cellular energy metabolism and ATP production and are involved in regulating many cellular processes. Mitochondria produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which not only can damage cellular components but also participate in signal transduction. The kinase ATM, which is mutated in the neurodegenerative, autosomal recessive disease ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), is a key player in the nuclear DNA damage response. However, ATM also performs a redox-sensing function mediated through formation of ROS-dependent disulfide-linked dimers. We found that mitochondria-derived hydrogen peroxide promoted ATM dimerization. In HeLa cells, ATM dimers were localized to the nucleus and inhibited by the redox regulatory protein thioredoxin 1 (TRX1), suggesting the existence of a ROS-mediated, stress-signaling relay from mitochondria to the nucleus. ATM dimer formation did not affect its association with chromatin in the absence or presence of nuclear DNA damage, consistent with the separation of its redox and DNA damage signaling functions. Comparative analysis of U2OS cells expressing either wild-type ATM or the redox sensing–deficient C2991L mutant revealed that one function of ATM redox sensing is to promote glucose flux through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) by increasing the abundance and activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), thereby increasing cellular antioxidant capacity. The PPP produces the coenzyme NADPH needed for a robust antioxidant response, including the regeneration of TRX1, indicating the existence of a regulatory feedback loop involving ATM and TRX1. We propose that loss of the mitochondrial ROS-sensing function of ATM may cause cellular ROS accumulation and oxidative stress in A-T.


Kernel Support Vector Machine delivers state-of-the-art results in non-linear classification , but the need to maintain a large number of support vectors poses a challenge in large scale training and testing. In contrast , linear SVM is much more scalable even on limited computing recourses (e.g. daily life PCs), but the learned model cannot capture non-linear concepts. To scale up kernel SVM on limited resources, we propose a low-rank linearization approach that transforms a non-linear SVM to a linear one via a novel, approximate empirical kernel map computed from efficient low-rank approximation of kernel matrices. We call it LLSVM (Low-rank Linearized SVM). We theoretically study the gap between the solutions of the optimal and approximate kernel map, which is used in turn to provide important guidance on the sampling based kernel approximations. Our algorithm inherits high efficiency of linear SVMs and rich repesentability of kernel classifiers. Evaluation against large-scale linear and kernel SVMs on several truly large data sets shows that the proposed method achieves a better tradeoff between scalability and model representability.


Multivariate time series data are becoming increasingly common in numerous real world applications, e.g., power plant monitoring, health care, wearable devices, automobile, etc. As a result, multivariate time series retrieval, i.e., given the current multivariate time series segment, how to obtain its relevant time series segments in the historical data (or in the database), attracts significant amount of interest in many fields. Building such a system, however, is challenging since it requires a compact representation of the raw time series which can explicitly encode the temporal dynamics as well as the correlations (interactions) between different pairs of time series (sensors). Furthermore, it requires query efficiency and expects a returned ranking list with high precision on the top. Despite the fact that various approaches have been developed, few of them can jointly resolve these two challenges. To cope with this issue, in this paper we propose a Deep r-th root of Rank Supervised Joint Binary Embedding (Deep r-RSJBE) to perform multivariate time series retrieval. Given a raw multivariate time series segment, we employ Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) units to encode the temporal dynamics and utilize Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to encode the correlations (interactions) between different pairs of time series (sensors). Subsequently, a joint binary embedding is pursued to incorporate both the temporal dynamics and the correlations. Finally, we develop a novel r-th root ranking loss to optimize the precision at the top of a Hamming distance ranking list. Thoroughly empirical studies based upon three publicly available time series datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of Deep r-RSJBE.


The paper uses household-level data from more than 200 household income surveys from 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries to explore the (revised) median voter hypothesis and the political determinants of the recent decrease of Latin American inequality. We find that more unequal market-income countries, and greater market-income inequality within a given country, are associated with greater pro-poor redistribution, although such redistribution is rather weak in Latin America compared to the economically advanced countries. We also find that more pro-left political orientation of national legislatures has been associated with greater redistribution. We thus argue that there are political roots to the recent decrease of inequality in Latin America.


Horticultural production in most parts of the tropics is extremely difficult due to high rate of infection by the soil-borne diseases. At the moment, utilization of hydroponics systems for the commercial production of crops is very limited. This study, therefore, attempted to investigate the potential of growing gypsophila using different hydroponics systems. The experiments were laid out in a split-plot design. Three hydroponics systems were used as the main plots, i.e. elevated tray, ground lay bed and bag culture systems. The sub-plots were allocated to three different aggregate/medium components, i.e., sawdust, river sand and vermiculite. Throughout the production period, plants grown using river sand had the lowest plant height. The highest plant height (52.9 cm) was obtained from plants grown in vermiculite at 12 weeks after transplanting (WAT). Plant height of gypsophila plants grown using sawdust at 12 WAT was almost double that of those grown using sand. There was a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in number of shoots/plant in gypsophila grown in sand medium in all three hydroponics systems. The highest number of shoots/plant was obtained from plants grown in sawdust in all hydroponics systems. The highest cut flower stem length (67.0 cm) was obtained from plants grown in sawdust in the bag culture hydroponics system, while the lowest cut flower stem length (25.0 cm) was observed in plants grown in sand in the elevated tray hydroponics system. The highest number of branches/plant was generally observed in plants grown in the bag culture hydroponics system when compared to the elevated tray and ground lay bed hydroponics systems. For the hydroponics culture of gypsophila, sawdust should be used as growing medium. To induce highest vegetative growth, flower yield and quality, the plants should be grown using bag culture hydroponics system.


This study aims to identify and explain the impact on business continuity shadaqah Muslim businessmen in Surabaya. It is the basis for explaining the impact of interview questions Sadaqah on business continuity in terms of operating income, number of employees, provide the best performance, business development, business growth, business resilience. This study used a qualitative approach with a case study strategy. Data was collected through interviews and direct observation to study the object. The analysis technique used in this study is a qualitative analysis of explanatory approach to explain the results of interviews and direct observation. The results of this study indicate that there is a Sadaqah impact on business continuity Muslim businessmen in Surabaya. The more routine Muslim businessmen in doing charity it will affect the performance of the business that will have an impact on business continuity achieved.


Squatters' colonies form essential feature of the social, political, cultural and topographic landscape of West Bengal. 'Destitution and despair' of East Bengali Hindu refugees as the 'impetus behind' and 'impervious unity and unanimous struggle' of refugees as the 'means for success' in establishment of these colonies have been part of the official account and popular discourse relating to refugee movement in Bengal. Refugee women's agency in land grabbing movement and counter-eviction struggle are celebrated as the steps towards shattering the patriarchal demarcation between private and public. Present article offers a micro-sociological study of a squatters' colony, and based on the narratives of real life experiences of colony-people who lived through the struggle of self-rehabilitation, it tends to highlight the varied nature of needs, perceptions and aspirations of refugees; contest and negotiation of power; conflict and clash between selfish/ egoistic interest and community-centred interest; political battles; and patriarchal exploitation of gender roles that were pervasive in the colony life during those days of self-rehabilitation. It also focuses on how the temptation of generalization in meta-narrative analyses tends to obscure the obvious dynamics of life- cohesion versus conflict, exploitation versus subversion of power-politics within the squatters' colonies, which micro-level social researches may bring forward and thereby signify the scope for re-writing history.


In Pragmatism in Islamic Law , Ibrahim presents a detailed history of Sunni legal pluralism and the ways in which it was employed to accommodate the changing needs of society. Since the formative period of Islamic law, jurists have debated whether it is acceptable for a law to be selected based on its utility, rather than weighing conflicting articulations of the law to determine the most likely expression of the divine will. Virtually unanimous opposition to the utilitarian approach, referred to as "pragmatic eclecticism," emerged among early Islamic jurists. However, due to a host of changing institutional and socioeconomic transformations, a trend toward the legitimization of pragmatic eclecticism arose in the thirteenth century. Subsequently, the Mamluk authorities institutionalized this pragmatism when Sultan Baybars appointed four chief judges representing the four Sunni schools in Cairo in 1265 CE. After a brief attempt to reverse Mamluk pluralism by imposing the Hanafi school in the sixteenth century, Egypt's new rulers, the Ottomans, embraced this pluralistic pragmatism. In examining over a thousand cases from three seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Egyptian courts, Ibrahim traces the internal logic of pragmatic eclecticism under the Ottomans. An array of archival sources documents the manner in which Egyptian society's subaltern classes navigated Sunni legal pluralism as a tool to avoid more austere legal doctrines. The ensuing portrait challenges the assumption made by many modern historians that the utilitarian approaches adopted by nineteenth- and twentieth-century Muslim reformers constituted a clear rupture with early Islamic legal history. In contrast, many of the legal strategies exercised in Egypt's partial codification of family law in the twentieth century were rooted in premodern Islamic jurisprudence.


A thorough study of the energy sources and uses in Iran is rather difficult due to the lack of accurate statistical data. The information provided by many sources do not always agree with each other and are often incomplete. In making this study, the information available were employed to construct the tables, but primarily the data that seemed to be most consistent and most complete were used to plot the curves.

A more complete study of the energy picture in Iran requires much more time than was available to the writer and requires a thorough examination of the many reports and information published by the governmental and private organizations over the past several years.

In this paper, background information on the geography and people are given first, followed by a brief description of energy sources and uses.


Title of Thesis: DECODING OF WALKING KINEMATICS FROM NON-INVASIVELY ACQUIRED ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC SIGNALS IN STROKE PATIENTS Kevin Christopher Nathan, Master of Science, 2012 Thesis directed by: Professor Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX Visiting Professor, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Our group has recently shown the feasibility of decoding kinematics of controlled walking from the lower frequency range of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals during a precision walking task. Here, we turn our attention to stroke survivors who have had lesions resulting in hemiparetic gait. We recorded the EEG of stroke recovery patients during a precision treadmill walking task while tracking bilaterally the kinematics of the hips, knees, and ankles. In offline analyses, we applied a Wiener Filter and two unscented Kalman filters of 1 st and 10 th orders to predict estimates of the kinematic parameters from scalp EEG. Decoding accuracies from four patients who have had cortical and subcortical strokes were comparable with previous studies in healthy subjects. With improved decoding of EEG signals from damaged brains, we hope we can soon correlate activity to more intentional and normal-form walking that can guide users of a powered lower-body prosthetic or exoskeleton.


Objective: To establish a classification of bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) that includes both leaflet morphology and aortic shape. Setting: Two academic medical centres of the University of Washington, Seattle. Patients: 191 adult patients with BAV. Interventions: Review of clinical data and transthoracic echocardiograms. Main outcome measures: Assessment of leaflet morphology; valve function; aortic shape and dimensions. Results: We identified three morphologies: type 1, fusion of right and left coronary cusp (n = 152); type 2, right and non-coronary fusion (n = 39); and type 3, left and non-coronary fusion (n = 1). Comparing type 1 and 2 BAV, there were no significant differences in age, height, weight, blood pressure or aortic valve function. Type 1 was more common in men (69 vs 45%). The aortic sinuses were larger in type 1, while type 2 had larger arch dimensions. Myxomatous mitral valves were more common in type 2 BAV (13% vs 2.6%, p<0.05). Three aortic shapes were defined: normal (N), sinus effacement (E), and ascending dilatation (A). Comparing type 1 to type 2 BAV, shape N was more common in type 1 (60% vs 32%), and type A was more common in type 2 (35% vs 54%,); type E was rare (p<0.01 across all groups). Conclusion: A comprehensive BAV phenotype includes aortic shape. Type 1 BAV is associated with male gender and normal aortic shape but a larger sinus diameter. Type 2 leaflet morphology is associated with ascending aorta dilatation , larger arch dimensions and higher prevalence of myxomatous mitral valve disease.


This thesis examines teacher personal and cultural presage
variables within a black South African cultural dimension. I
seek to understand what effects value variables have on the
mediation of change and to know why these sometimes act as
barriers to the implementation of classroom innovation - in
this instance, a communicative language teaching approach.
Finally, I itemize the implications of value change for the
professional development of teachers following ELT INSET
programmes and set out a series of practical proposals on
the basis of my conclusions.
I argue the need for congruence between teacher values and
values inherent in a CLT approach and discuss ways in which
value redeployment occur. I outline acceptance of change in
terms of a theoretical construct of 'practicality ethics'
and argue that personal values must be examined within black
South African cultural dimensions of allocentriccollectivism,
high uncertainty avoidance and high power
distance.
I analyze paradigms of western education and review the
principles underlying a CLT approach. I link my analysis to
the requirements of the DET's English language syllabus and
contrast concepts of teacher roles and classroom power
relationships in traditional African pedagogy with those of
a CLT approach in terms of 'ideal' and 'indigenous'
mediational operators, and I examine dissonances between the
two. A narrative-descriptive background account of two case
studies is given through the use of life histories, diaries,
documents and interviews to support an itemistic cross-case
analysis of cultural and personal values held in relation to
black South African cultural dimensions. I then analyse a
series of videoed lessons and I provide a descriptive
overview of classroom interaction patterns. Classroom events
are discussed in terms of types of teacher questions asked,
turn allocations, wait-time and power-relationships, class
participation and ritualization, and teacher evaluation,
repair and feedback.
I conclude that African societies emphasize collective moral
values whereas societies geared towards a Western-urbanscientific-
technological paradigm stress idiocentricprofessional
values. I do not assert that individuals
rigidly conform to this bipolarity but application of either
or both value systems lie along


HTTPS aims at securing communication over the Web by providing a cryptographic protection layer that ensures the confidentiality and integrity of communication and enables client/server authentication. However, HTTPS is based on the SSL/TLS protocol suites that have been shown to be vulnerable to various attacks in the years. This has required fixes and mitigations both in the servers and in the browsers, producing a complicated mixture of protocol versions and implementations in the wild, which makes it unclear which attacks are still effective on the modern Web and what is their import on web application security. In this paper, we present the first systematic quantitative evaluation of web application insecurity due to cryptographic vulnerabilities. We specify attack conditions against TLS using attack trees and we crawl the Alexa Top 10k to assess the import of these issues on page integrity, authentication credentials and web tracking. Our results show that the security of a consistent number of websites is severely harmed by cryptographic weaknesses that, in many cases, are due to external or related-domain hosts. This empirically, yet systematically demonstrates how a relatively limited number of exploitable HTTPS vulnerabilities are amplified by the complexity of the web ecosystem.


Building progress consists of master planning, design detail, construction, acceptance and management phases. Due to lack of communication, there are many gaps between the adjacent phases in building progress, such as, the big gap between construction and acceptance phase. The gaps lead to miss part of design intent when buildings were functioned. Although many prevailing evaluation systems like GOBAS or LEED mean to cover a whole building progress, in reality, they only pay much attention to design phase and generally ignore commissioning phase after construction. It leads an inefficiently facility management of HVAC systems and components. Energy diagnose and re-commissioning by on-site measurement can solve these problems, to improve systems' efficiency and bridge the gap between acceptance and management phase, finally realize a real green building. In this paper, it presents a case study result of applying this approach in a green office building in Beijing and shows how re-commissioning and energy diagnose contribute significantly to reach a real green building for long-term functioning. That Green Office Building was certified as Golden Level by LEED, and evaluated as Level B by GOBAS. All these evaluation did before construction phase. But the actual power consumption, 74kWh/m 2 .a, is twice as the designed consumption, and is only a bit less than other common office building. One month on-site measurement and half a year of data collected after acceptance phase show that some energy-efficient equipment do not run in a proper way. By re-commissioning, most of the systems in the Green Building work well.


This case examines the various considerations relevant to selecting and compensating workers in a context where their work involves a pro-social component. This is relevant to not only health care in Zambia, but to NGO and public sector workers who are both motivated by the mission of their positions and the remuneration. Zambia was facing a healthcare human resource crisis with less than half of the healthcare workers needed to meet health needs. Yet, it was simultaneously burdened by high incidence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, malnutrition, and respiratory and diarrheal diseases. The Zambian Ministry of Health (MoH) realized that in the short term, it would be impossible to train the number of doctors and nurses needed to fill this gap. Thus, they were considering incorporating the primarily volunteer community health worker (CHW) force into salaried health workers of the MoH. Given the high level of personal commitment and dedication combined with the proper education and skill needed to be an effective community health worker, the MoH was struggling to identify the best strategy to recruit and retain motivated and capable CHWs.Learning Objective: The purpose of this case is to explore how to best recruit and compensate individuals that are hired for a task with a pro-social component. Various incentive schemes and their potential effects on selection and motivation are examined.


Multi-core technology produces a new scenario for communicating processes in an MPI cluster environment and consequently the involved trade-offs need to be uncovered. This motivation guided our research and lead to a new approach for setting up more efficient clusters built with commodities. Thus, alternatively to the utilization of non-commodity interconnects such as Myrinet and Infiniband, we present a proposal based on leaving cores idle relatively to application processing in order to build economically more accessible clusters of commodities with higher performance. Execution of fine-grained IS algorithm from NAS parallel benchmark revealed a speedup of up to 25%. Interestingly, a cluster set up according to the proposal was able to outperform a single multi-core SMP host in which all processes communicate inside the host. Therefore, empirical results indicate that our proposal has been successful for medium and fine-grained algorithms.


Those who advocate for an absolute moral rule forbidding torture must deal with the important challenge that, sometimes, there is even greater human suffering if torture is not employed. The "ticking time bomb" scenario, in which many will die if a bomb's location is not tortured out of a hapless detainee, provides a paradigmatic case. The root of the problem is that a simple moral rule against torture does not build in protection for other important values. The rule is able, as a result, to demand conduct in derogation of those values. The problem is very likely not, however, that the rule is not valid. Rather, it is merely a problem of defective formulation. The challenge is to formulate moral rules in such a way that they are absolute and, yet, sensitive to circumstances (such as consequences). The approach suggested in this paper is to take explicit account of mental states in formulating moral rules. For example, a defined wrong could consist of doing a specified act in the presence or absence of some specified belief as to consequences or other circumstances. The honest belief criterion can make the rule, as a practical matter, sensitive to circumstances even while its command is nonetheless absolute. The rule is absolute because the agent either has the requisite belief or does not and is commanded to act accordingly, without exception. Yet, the rule is sensitive to circumstances because, as a practical matter, agents' honest beliefs will tend to have a high correlation with actual states of affairs. Taking explicit account of mental states in formulating moral rules allows rules that are both absolute in their command and, yet, morally sensitive to circumstances.


Face animation, one of the hottest topics in computer vision, has achieved a promising performance with the help of generative models. However, it remains a critical challenge to generate identity preserving and photo-realistic images due to the sophisticated motion deformation and complex facial detail modeling. To address these problems, we propose a Face Neural Volume Rendering (FNeVR) network to fully explore the potential of 2D motion warping and 3D volume rendering in a unified framework. In FNeVR, we design a 3D Face Volume Rendering (FVR) module to enhance the facial details for image rendering. Specifically, we first extract 3D information with a well-designed architecture, and then introduce an orthogonal adaptive ray-sampling module for efficient rendering. We also design a lightweight pose editor, enabling FNeVR to edit the facial pose in a simple yet effective way. Extensive experiments show that our FNeVR obtains the best overall quality and performance on widely used talking-head benchmarks.


Coral mortality may result in macroalgal proliferation or a phase shift into an alga-dominated state. Subtidal, high-latitude western Indian Ocean coral communities at Sodwana Bay on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, South Africa, have experienced some mortality because of warm-water anomalies, storms and other causes, but the response of the macroalgae is unknown. We investigated the abundance and diversity of benthic algae on different hard natural substrata (dead digitate, brain and plate corals and beach rock) on Two-Mile Reef, Sodwana Bay. We also compared algal communities colonising ceramic, marble and pretreated ceramic tiles placed on the reef for six months. We identified 95 algae (14 Chlorophyta, 11 Phaeophyceae, 69 Rhodophyta and one cyanobacterium). Assemblages on natural and artificial substrata were dominated by the brown alga Lobophora variegata (Lamouroux) Womersley ex Oliveira and non-geniculate corallines (Rhodophyta, Corallinaceae). Cluster and ordination analyses revealed that the algae showed no affinity for particular substrata, whether natural or artificial. Algal cover was occasionally higher on rougher tiles and crustose corallines were significantly more abundant on marble than ceramic tiles. Two-Mile Reef had 23.1% dead and 48.4% live scleractinian coral cover, where dead corals were colonised indiscriminately by many small algal species, but there was no evidence of algal proliferation. The results provide a baseline for monitoring this high-latitude reef system.


RATIONALE
Previous studies have shown that children may take on higher extents of caring activities if their parents are affected by severe illness or disability, especially when their parents lack access to formal and informal care.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
This study examined the extent and nature of caring activities done by patients' children; differences in caring activities between different types of parental illness; factors associated with caring activities.

DESIGN
An explorative cross-sectional multicentre study.

METHODS
Parents as patients in specialised healthcare services, and their children, were recruited from five health trusts in Norway. The sample included 246 children aged 8-17 years and their 238 parents with severe physical illness (neurological disease or cancer) (n = 135), mental illness (n = 75) or substance abuse (n = 28).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Multidimensional Assessment of Caring Activities (MACA-YC18).

RESULTS
A large number of children with ill parents are performing various caring activities. Increased caring activities among children due to their parent's illness were confirmed by their parents, especially with regard to personal care. We found no significant differences in the extent of caring activities between illness types, but there were some differences in the nature of these activities. Factors significantly associated with the extent and nature of caring activities were as follows: better social skills and higher external locus of control among the children; and poorer physical parental health. Parent's access to home-based services was limited.

STUDY LIMITATIONS
In recruitment of participants for the study, a sampling bias may have occurred.

CONCLUSION
To promote coping and to prevent inappropriate or extensive caring activities among children with ill parents, there is a need for increased access to flexible home-based services adapted to the type of parental illness.


Nanoflake-like α-CoMoO4 was prepared with the aid of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), as an electrode material for supercapacitors by scalable solution combustion synthesis (SCS). The specific capacitance of the fabricated hybrid device (CoMoO4/CTAB vs. activated carbon (AC)) was 39 F g−1, a marginal increase compared to that of the as-prepared (parent) CoMoO4 (24 F g−1). To achieve better energy storage, modification was carried out on CoMoO4 by grafting chitosan onto it in the presence of a weak acetic acid (AA) or citric acid (CA) crosslinking agent. The biopolymer chitosan is cross-linked when using CA as a cross-linker, while in the case of acetic acid, grafting of chitosan/AA does not occur. The improved properties of CTAB- and polymer-modified CoMoO4 were evaluated using physical and electrochemical methods and compared with the as-prepared (parent) compound. The polymer-modified composite exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 71 F g−1 at 2 mA cm−2 with a capacity retention of 81% after 2000 cycles, about twofold higher than that of the CTAB-modified electrode. The influence of surfactant and chitosan concentrations on the specific capacitance is also established. A solid state capacitor was fabricated using CoMoO4vs. AC, with chitosan as the gel separator. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images support the cross-linking strategy and nanowafer-like morphology with a honeycomb arrangement.