By the middle of March, the Democratic primary had effectively ended and the enormity of the Covid-19 pandemic and its human and economic cost began to sink in. The response to the pandemic had already been thoroughly politicized several weeks earlier such that news and information about the pandemic were mediated by political media systems. While the rest of the American media ecosystem focused on describing the pandemic, its economic costs, and criticizing the president for his response, conservative media presented a thoroughly partisan view of events and proactively defended and supported the actions and inactions of the president. For audiences of conservative media, information about the pandemic was communicated not through politically neutral public health authorities but was instead filtered and propagated through media channels shaped by many decades of partisan politics. The mainstream media coverage of the pandemic that got the most attention was highly critical of the president's response, which may have deepened the politically-rooted differences in perspectives on the pandemic. Compared to conservative media, there was far greater deference among media sources on the center and left to views and perspectives of public health authorities and experts.

This report, based on an ecosystem-wide analysis of political media coverage, spans the period of March, April, and May, when the spread and magnitude of the pandemic in the United States became clear, and the response of the government was communicated to the public and debated in the media. In March, coverage of the pandemic dominated political media on both sides of the political spectrum, though significantly less so on the right. The proportion of media attention to the pandemic diminished in April and May on the left. On the right, attention to the pandemic dropped off steeply. In April, conservative media and their audiences devoted substantial attention to coverage of the allegations of sexual harassment by Tara Reade against Joe Biden. In May, there was far more attention in conservative media to relitigating the origins of the Russia investigation under the banner of Obamagate than to the pandemic, which had already exacted a terrible cost and was nowhere near being under control. The collective judgment of the conservative media ecosystem was that this largely unsubstantiated storyline rooted in grievance politics was more deserving of the attention of the American public. For Biden supporters, the drop in attention to Covid-19 was picked up by negative coverage of the Trump administration on other issues. Sanders supporters followed a similar path until the death of George Floyd at the end May took up their attention. This was not replicated in the Biden set. Consistent with our findings in January-February, at the peak of the primaries season, Sanders supporters here too appear more focused on progressive issues, while Biden supporters are largely focused on criticism or rejection of Trump.

The basic asymmetric and polarized structure of American political media has changed little over the past several years, and this time period is no exception. The potent role of conservative media in the election victory of Trump in 2016 rested on two distinct factors: first, Trump's success in securing favorable coverage and strong support in conservative media, and second, the success that conservative media had in influencing media coverage outside of conservative media. The willingness of conservative media and audiences to defend and support Trump is clearly evident during these months. Trump continued to receive strong support in conservative media, which acted to divert, deflect, and reframe negative coverage, despite the rash of negative coverage criticizing the administration's response to the pandemic. The evidence also points to a further isolation of conservative media in American political discourse and a system less able to shape discourse and coverage outside of its own confines, leaving Americans in more starkly divided epistemic worlds. The administration-friendly narratives about the pandemic and Obamagate got little to no traction outside of conservative media. This finding matches what we found in a prior report in which we describe the inability of conservative media to shape coverage of the Hunter Biden scandal outside of right-wing media during January and February 2020, a pattern that is repeated in October 2020.

Neither President Trump nor conservative media have lost their ability to influence the media agenda. For example, in a recent report we describe how Trump was able to create a controversy about mail-in voter fraud that prompted media coverage across the political spectrum. The sexual harassment allegations lodged by Tara Reade against Joe Biden ultimately got a public airing—something conservative media pushed hard on. Despite the fact that the impetus to address this topic came also from the left, the media attention garnered in conservative media was not matched in the center and left. The key difference is that while President Trump and conservative media can still make news, their power to interpret and frame the narrative around key events beyond conservative media is more constrained than in 2016. The asymmetric credibility gap between conservative media and the rest of the media ecosystem appears to have deepened. And professional media seem to succumb less readily to the "bias of balance" problem that had bedeviled much of mainstream coverage of Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.

There is plentiful evidence of disinformation in political discourse among partisan media and on social media. The problem is far more acute on the right than the left and considerable attention on the far right is tied to the growing QAnon conspiracy. This development is a troubling symptom of the state of political discourse in the United States and translates into real-world costs. However, the impact of top-down propaganda and disinformation is still a greater problem in the United States, particularly so in relation to Covid-19, as tens of millions of Americans have taken unnecessary risks and helped spread the pandemic because they were misinformed about the dangers of contracting the disease and the value of measures deemed effective by public health authorities in reducing the chance of infection, such as social distancing or mask wearing.

Many people, including public health specialists and the general public, have come to the conclusion that compared to the relative successes of other countries in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States response has been a failure, costing innumerable lives and leaving tens of thousands with long-term health problems, while deepening and extending the economic and social consequences of the pandemic. A large minority of Americans fundamentally disagree with this assessment. These divergent worldviews, the symptom of a larger epistemic crisis in the United States tied to asymmetrically polarized media systems, greatly complicate efforts to effectively meet such collection action challenges, and undermine democratic governance. In this paper, we describe how American media ecosystems are able to sustain such different worldviews and contribute to the mishandling and miscommunication of the pandemic. This report is the second in a series of reports that cover the months running up to the November election.


Database systems and database design technology have undergone significant evolution in recent years. The relational data model and relational database systems dominate business applications; in turn, they are extended by other technologies like data warehousing, OLAP, and data mining. How do you model and design your database application in consideration of new technology or new business needs? In the extensively revised fifth edition, you'll get clear explanations, lots of terrific examples and an illustrative case, and the really practical advice you have come to count on--with design rules that are applicable to any SQL-based system. But you'll also get plenty to help you grow from a new database designer to an experienced designer developing industrial-sized systems. In-depth detail and plenty of real-world, practical examples throughout Loaded with design rules and illustrative case studies that are applicable to any SQL, UML, or XML-based system Immediately useful to anyone tasked with the creation of data models for the integration of large-scale enterprise data.


As a Samoan educator, I have frequently heard the claim that Pasifika students need to learn how to learn to succeed at university. As part of the He Vaka Moana Fellowship in 2018, I sought to explore this claim by conducting talanoa with 24 Pasifika students who had taken a Pacific Studies course at the University of Auckland. The talanoa focused on their thoughts about learning and learning processes inside and outside the university. This study demonstrates that Pasifika students know how to learn and frequently reflect on their learning processes. These findings are important for recognising that Pasifika students' learning processes are not an issue, but that educators need to be more aware of how Pasifika students learn at university to successfully support Pasifika student achievement.


OBJECTIVE
To report the prevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in calves and calf groups (ie, calves from the same farm) in beef breeding herds and evaluate the ability of biosecurity risk assessment questionnaires to identify calf groups with positive results for BVDV.

DESIGN
Nonrandom survey.

ANIMALS
12,030 calves born in spring from 102 operations.

PROCEDURES
Cow-calf producers that voluntarily enrolled in a screening project submitted ear notch specimens from calves and answered a 29-question survey instrument. Ear notch specimens were tested for BVDV with an antigen-capture ELISA (ACE), and ear notch specimens with positive ACE results for BVDV were immediately retested by performing immunohistochemistry (IHC). Follow-up testing, 3 to 4 weeks after initial positive ACE results, was done by use of a second IHC test and virus isolation on a subsequently submitted ear notch specimen from the same calves to identify those that were persistently infected (PI).

RESULTS
102 producers submitted ear notch specimens for BVDV screening. Initially, 24 of 12,030 calves had positive ACE results for BVDV. A second ear notch specimen was submitted for 20 of these 24 calves. Of 20 retested calves, 12 had positive ICH results for BVDV, confirming PI status. The 12 PI calves came from 4 calf groups (3 singletons and 1 calf group with 9 PI calves).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Prevalence of BVDV in calf groups was low, and questions designed to identify high-risk biosecurity behaviors had little value in identifying calf groups with positive results for BVDV.


This paper summarises the key findings of an evaluation of a pilot CPD project to support the development of innovative curriculum materials and CPD activities. It explores how the technologies available through CAD/CAM and EiSS can be mutually supportive and help teachers to develop KS3 activities that involve designing and making a functional electronic product to a high standard using CAD/CAM and PIC technologies. The paper introduces the pilot project and outlines the methodology used for both the project and for the evaluation of the project. An outline of events is presented along with a short description of the four schemes of work that were developed and trialled. A summary of the findings from the evaluation is then presented. These are divided into.  Development of subject knowledge;  Development of pedagogic knowledge;  Adaptation based on school centred knowledge;  Outcomes of student interaction, and;  Discussion on integrating CAD/CAM and electronics.


The topic of ethical implications of the exploding applications of big data, machine learning and genuine AI has quickly captured the attention of industry practitioners, public observers like journalists, politicians and definitely conference organisers over the past year. It is a vast topic in its own right, deserving all the multidisciplinary attention it gets. In this short commentary, I will limit myself to reviewing some salient features of bias in the context of models used in the financial industry, and, more importantly for the practitioner, suggest some process and governance measures that boards and senior management of financial services companies can take to identify, monitor and mitigate this risk exposure.


New Venture Support Networks (NVSN) are a political instrument for the purpose of contributing to regional economic development by fostering more and qualitatively better start-ups. NVSN bundle together different available sources of information and consultation for potential entrepreneurs, including e.g. authorities, universities, financial institutions, trade associations and private consultants. Achieving effective cooperation between such a wide range of institutions is not a simple task. The initial situation is often characterised by conflicts between the varying individual interests of the participants and the politically defined goal of fostering more and better start-ups. Moreover, since the network has been established by a political initiative for a pre-determined funding period, the actor relations within it are "artificial" (as opposed to naturally developed). Thus, the actors lack common experiences, social bonds, values and other common motivators contributing to trust-based cooperative relationships. Such relationships are a crucial factor in turning the "artificial" network into a "real" one, which continues to exist also after the political funding period is over. Our hypothesis is that certain key actors are a critical success factor in developing NVSN into "real" networks. Following the "promoter model" – an expansion of champion models that has established itself in the German innovation management literature – we suggest that there are administrative, organisational and know-how related barriers that are detrimental to the development of NVSN. The overcoming of these barriers requires a combination of different organisational resources, which the promoter model discusses in terms of three different ideal types: promoter by power, promoter by know-how, and relationship promoter. One person can act in one or more of these roles simultaneously and the roles can appear in different combinations, known as promoter structures. The specific research objectives of the proposed paper are to identify a) the types of barriers faced in the different developmental stages of NVSN and b) the roles the key actors play and the resources they use in coping with them. Our sample consists of key actors in five regional NVSN in Germany, which were established in 1998 as part of the governmental initiative "EXIST – Entrepreneurs from Universities". The author team is also involved in one of these networks. Using a grounded theory based qualitative approach, we intend to map the development process of these NVSN with respect to the above research objectives. The contribution of the study is two-fold: 1) It presents the first application of the promoter model in the context of NVSN and produces tentative results that can be used as a basis for further research. 2) It offers practical implications to NVSN by analysing how their effectiveness and continuity could be improved by an effective use of promoter structures.


Telomerase, shelterin proteins and various interacting factors, named non-shelterin proteins, are involved in the regulation of telomere length (TL). Altered expression of any of these telomere-associated genes can lead to telomere dysfunction, causing genomic instability and disease development. In this study, we investigated the expression profile of a set of non-shelterin genes involved in essential processes such as replication (RPA1), DNA damage repair pathways (MRE11-RAD50-NBS1) and stabilization of telomerase complex (DKC1), in 35 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and 40 cases with multiple myeloma (MM). Results were correlated with hTERT expression, TL and clinical parameters. Overall, a significant increase in DKC1, RAD50, MRE11, NBS1 and RPA1 expression along with an upregulation of hTERT in MM compared with MGUS was observed (p≤0.032). Interestingly, in both entities high mRNA levels of non-shelterin genes were associated with short TLs and increased hTERT expression. Significant differences were observed for DKC1 in MM (p ≤0.026), suggesting an important role for this gene in the maintenance of short telomeres by telomerase in myeloma plasma cells. With regard to clinical associations, we observed a significant increase in DKC1, RAD50, MRE11 and RPA1 expression in MM cases with high bone marrow infiltration (p≤0.03) and a tendency towards cases with advanced ISS stage, providing the first evidence of non-shelterin genes associated to risk factors in MM. Taken together, our findings bring new insights into the intricate mechanisms by which telomere-associated proteins collaborate in the maintenance of plasma cells immortalization and suggest a role for the upregulation of these genes in the progression of the disease.


This thesis studies the mission of autonomous inspection of a wind turbine using a multicopter. Emphasis was placed on recognition and tracking using image processing methods. The Hough line transform was used to extract features of the wind turbine. Hub position was estimated by an algorithm tailored to identify the three-point star resemblance and was tracked by utilizing the Kalman filter. Distance and yaw orientation of the wind turbine were estimated using the pinhole camera model and coordinate transformations. Restricting computational demand was a goal in the program design. Experiments showed accurate position tracking at long range, but with deteriorating performance as range was decreased. Lack of distinctive measurable lengths in the image caused inaccuracy in estimation of distance and yaw orientation. Execution frequency of below 7 Hz was achieved on a single-board computer which was found to be sufficient for reliable control in flight.


BACKGROUND Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading worldwide. Effective screening for patients is important to limit the epidemic. However, some defects make the currently applied diagnosis methods are still not very ideal for early warning of patients. We aimed to develop a diagnostic model that allows for the quick screening of highly suspected patients using easy-to-get variables. METHODS A total of 1,311 patients receiving severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleicacid detection were included, whom with a positive result were classified into COVID-19 group. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to construct the diagnostic model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used for model validation. RESULTS After analysis, signs of pneumonia on CT, history of close contact, fever, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), Tmax and sex were included in the diagnostic model. Age and meaningful respiratory symptoms were enrolled into COVID-19 early warning score (COVID-19 EWS). The areas under the ROC curve (AUROC) indicated that both of the diagnostic model (training dataset 0.956 [95%CI 0.935-0.977, P < 0.001]; validation dataset 0.960 [95%CI 0.919-1.0, P < 0.001] ) and COVID-19 EWS (training dataset 0.956 [95%CI 0.934-0.978, P < 0.001] ; validate dataset 0.966 [95%CI 0.929-1, P < 0.001]) had good discrimination capacity. In addition, we also obtained the cut-off values of disease severity predictors, such as CT score, CD8+ T cell count, CD4+ T cell count, and so on. CONCLUSIONS The new developed COVID-19 EWS was a considerable tool for early and relatively accurately warning of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.


This book explores design tools based on evolutionary computation (EC), oriented primarily toward conceptual design of architectural and civil engineering structures. EC tools are well suited for exploration in a way which promotes creative design. The multiplicity of solutions generated by EC techniques is less likely to cause design fixation, and so promote a more thorough exploration of possible solutions. The use of such tools also allows the designer greater latitude in exploring design criteria, such as aesthetics, by utilizing an interactive human-computer interface. This book begins with a survey of techniques that have been used in early phases of architectural design, and establishes a set of successful attributes, which are then discussed in the context of EC techniques. Finally, a specific implementation developed by the author is described. Several examples are given in the area of architectural engineering, and comparisons are made with results obtained with more conventional optimization tools. This book is especially useful for designers interested in new methods for generating and exploring structural form, and is accessible to non-programmers in either field.


Sources and evolution of ultrafine particles were investigated both horizontally and vertically in the large urban agglomerate of Barcelona, Spain. Within the SAPUSS project (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies), a large number of instruments was deployed simultaneously at different monitoring sites (road, two urban background, regional background, urban tower 150 m a.s.l., urban background tower site 80 m a.s.l.) during a 4 week period in September–October 2010. Particle number concentrations ( N >5 nm ) are highly correlated with black carbon (BC) at all sites only under strong vehicular traffic influences. By contrast, under cleaner atmospheric conditions (low condensation sink, CS) such correlation diverges towards much higher N /BC ratios at all sites, indicating additional sources of particles including secondary production of freshly nucleated particles. Size-resolved aerosol distributions ( N 10–500 ) as well as particle number concentrations ( N >5 nm ) allow us to identify three types of nucleation and growth events: (1) a regional type event originating in the whole study region and impacting almost simultaneously the urban city of Barcelona and the surrounding urban background area; (2) a regional type event impacting only the regional background area but not the urban agglomerate; (3) an urban type event which originates only within the city centre but whose growth continues while transported away from the city to the regional background. Furthermore, during these clean air days, higher N are found at tower level than at ground level only in the city centre whereas such a difference is not so pronounced at the remote urban background tower. In other words, this study suggests that the column of air above the city ground level possesses the optimal combination between low CS and high vapour source, hence enhancing the concentrations of freshly nucleated particles. By contrast, within stagnant polluted atmospheric conditions, higher N and BC concentrations are always measured at ground level relative to tower level at all sites. Our study suggests that the city centre of Barcelona is a source of non-volatile traffic primary particles (29–39% of N >5 nm ), but other sources, including secondary freshly nucleated particles contribute up to 61–71% of particle number ( N >5 nm ) at all sites. We suggest that organic compounds evaporating from freshly emitted traffic particles are a possible candidate for new particle formation within the city and urban plume.


Stratal surfaces (chronostratigraphic surfaces) are believed to generate primary seismic reflections, and thus have been previously used as impedance boundaries in seismic modeling. These models created sharp impedance boundaries that corresponded with what were interpreted as key chronostratigraphic stratal surfaces. The models created in this study show that seismic reflectors more closely follow facies boundaries as long as there is enough impedance contrast between the overlying and underlying strata. In the produced seismic profiles, the facies are distributed as they were deterministically measured in outcrop. Facies, petrophysical property distributions, and stratal geometry play an important role in the generation of seismic reflection. Chronostratigraphically significant stratal surfaces with no impedance contrast are a direct control on nothing. However, these surfaces may or may not mark boundaries between facies which have different impedance properties (i.e. impedance facies). Some chronostratigraphically significant surfaces show no difference in impedance facies across their surface and thus are not marked by a seismic reflection. In other instances the impedance facies contrasts across key surfaces may be sharp. Such contrast in impedance can also occur across a boundary in the absence of any obvious lithology change, such as a cross-contact relationship between two shales with very different impedance values. Nevertheless, the apparent reflection of a "key surface" in seismic data is at the mercy of the rocks juxtaposed across the surface. AAPG International Conference Barcelona, Spain September 21-24, 2003


Phosphite is a major weapon in management of Phytophthora diseases of trees. Application of phosphite makes plants resistant to infection. However, we know very little about the mechanism by which phosphite makes plants resistant. This is due largely to the lack of a simple inexpensive method for measuring phosphite in plant tissues. We have been developing new approaches to measuring phosphite in plant tissues. We arc also investigating how phosphite makes plants resistant to infection. For this we are using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The advantage of using this plant species is that mutants in the known defence pathways are available. This will allow us to pinpoint which pathways are involved in mediating resistance in phosphite treated plants.


The general functions of integrins in attachment, gene expression, motility, polarity, shape, proliferation, and survival are well known. These critical functions provide reason for their wide expression across cell types. In particular, integrins are expressed in varying stem cell populations as well as other cell populations throughout the human body. Integrin alpha-6 (ITGA6) is a particular isoform of the integrin family, which is expressed across stem cell populations and has been shown to play an integral role in embryonic pluripotent stem cell selfrenewal (Villa-Diaz 2016). Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) share the same morphology and gene expression but they do not share the same origin, since hESCs are obtained from the inner cell mass of blastocyst embryos, while hiPSCs are derived from somatic cells via genetic reprogramming. This similarity is what makes hiPSCs so widely applicable to regenerative medicine as they are more ethically obtained and derived. In this research, hiPSCs were utilized as a model to determine the role of ITGA6 in hiPSC development and pluripotency. To address this objective, we knocked out ITGA6 in human gingival fibroblasts using 3 constructs of CRISPR-Cas9 single-guided (sg) RNAs that target specific sequences of nucleic acids in ITGA6, and we utilized a CRISPR-Cas9 sg control, which did not target any specific sequence of nucleic acids, and WT human gingival fibroblasts as control groups. These five groups of human gingival fibroblasts were then reprogrammed utilizing 4 crucial factors to generate iPSCs: Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc (Takahashi & Yamanaka 2006). Twenty-eight days post-infection the reprogrammed fibroblasts were passaged upon colony formation, or used for RNA and protein expression analysis by qRT-PCR and immunocytochemistry (ICC), respectively. Colony formation, RNA expression, and protein translation, were compared to the wildtype fibroblast-group. Pluripotency was determined by the expression of key markers of 2 An investigation of the role of integrin alpha-6 pluripotent stem cells such as Sox2, NANOG, KLF-4, and Oct4. Development of hiPSCs was tested through the proliferation of undifferentiated colonies over a two-week period. We confirmed that vectors targeting ITGA6 expressed significantly lower levels of ITGA6 mRNA, with Cas9 sgITGA6 15 consistently having the lowest expression of ITGA6 across the three independent replicates. As expected, formation of hiPSCs was obtained from the wild-type group. The groups from CRISPR-Cas9 sgITGA6 10 and 14 groups, as well as the control developed an average of 3-5 colonies per replicate, which expressed ITGA6 and were able to passage and survive. In the Cas9/15 group only one colony developed within the thee replicates, which was consistent with its lower ITGA6 mRNA expression. However, the one colony that did develop also expressed ITGA6. All together these data suggest that the knock-out of this gene did not have 100% efficiency because every colony that developed expressed ITGA6, which led us to the conclude that ITGA6 is crucial for the development and maintenance of hiPSCs. 3 An investigation of the role of integrin alpha-6


. The purpose of this research is to design and develop an environmental model of learning and simulation based on constructivist decision making. For students in Industrial Electrical Technology the target group used in this research is 1) Undergraduate students Department of Industrial Electrical technology, 20 people 2) Model designer 1 person 3) Model developer 1 person 4) Instructor in electrical machinery course the study model used in this research is phase 3 model research. The use of the model uses multiple studies, including survey research and case studies using pre-experimental research. That has been tested before and after studying. The results show that the process using the model there is a group of learners. The most suitable from the context study in phase 1 is 3 people per group. The method of using model consists of importing into lessons. It encourages learners to ask questions about events and explain demonstrations for factors that promote successful use of the model. The model developer who taught with the successful results of using the model found that 1) decision making, learners have the ability to make decisions. Which is consistent with the decision framework of Fred C. Lunenburg (2010) and Plunkett & Attner & Allen (1994). 2) The student's learning achievement between before and after learning showed that the student's achievement with the model Environment 3) The students' opinions showed that the content was very good, media and simulation were very good, and the design of the model was very good, indicating that the environmental model States Created to be suitable and responsive to learning management that promotes decision making and problem solving


Inter- and intra-specific variation in destruxin production was detected in Metarhizium and may be important in determining virulence and/or specificity against insects. Strains of M. anisopliae var. anisopliae produced different amounts of destruxins A, B and E, but strain V220 did not produce any destruxins. M. anisopliae var. majus, M. flavoviride and M. album which are reported to be specific towards Coleoptera, Orthoptera and Hemiptera, respectively, had different destruxin profiles with destruxin A predominant. In time course studies on M. anisopliae var. anisopliae V245, destruxin E levels declined with time while destruxin A levels increased. The most virulent strains, Ma23 and V245, produced large quantities of destruxins but some low toxin producers were also virulent, suggesting that destruxins are not the only pathogenicity determinants. Some weakly to moderately pathogenic strains were highly pathogenic when injected into Galleria mellonella larvae, demonstrating the importance of the cuticle as a barrier to fungal infection. Only trace amounts of destruxin A or a combination of A and B could be detected in Galleria larvae infected with M. anisopoliae var. anisopliae or M. anisopliae var. majus. No destruxins were detected in larvae infected with M. flavoviride. Destruxin production may be influenced by the nutrients in insects or culture media.


The representation of music structures is, from Musicology to Artificial Intelligence, a widely known research focus. It entails several generic Knowledge Representation problems like structured knowledge representation, time representation and causality. In this paper, we focus the problem of representing and reasoning about time in the framework of a structured music representation approach, intended to support the development of a Case-Based generative composition system. The basic idea of this system is to use Music Analysis as foundation for a generative process of composition, providing a structured and constrained way of composing novel pieces, although keeping the essential traits of the composer's style. We propose a solution that combines a tree-like representation with a pseudo-dating scheme to provide an efficient and expressive means to deal with the problem.


Early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) allows patients and families extended time for care planning, often facilitated by social workers. Detection methods are continually improving as research efforts focus on creating more reliable and valid diagnostic tests across dementia types. Imaging amyloid in the brain, a hallmark of AD, may allow for the detection of AD pathology before memory symptoms are noticeable, or at the earliest stages of illness. Although social workers provide critical support to patients and families throughout the diagnostic process and the progression of illness, social work research has yet to substantially address dementia diagnostic technologies and their potential to impact care management approaches.This dissertation explores what biopsychosocial factors, including demographic, cognition, health, and family-related factors, are associated with amyloid imaging (AI) research interest for AD, for those with varied levels of cognitive impairment, as well as for individuals with dementia (IWDs). Applying a biopsychosocial framework to the investigation of who seeks to use such technologies, and – possibly more importantly - who misses out, brings a social work perspective to this research area. Using a secondary data sample extracted from registry data of an Alzheimer Disease Center, multinomial logistic regression was used to model biopsychosocial factors associated with differing levels of AI research interest and participation. For the full sample, younger age, better cognition, and experience of cognitive diagnostic change were related to both AI interest and participation. For IWDs, absence of medical comorbidity and having a spousal or partner care relationship were associated with AI interest and participation. Participation in diagnostic disclosure, and the receipt of extended social work support, points to the critical role social workers may play in facilitating amyloid imaging research participation. Older age groups and those with more impaired cognition may benefit from tailored counseling approaches that address concerns and needs. For IWDs, medical comorbidity may create a barrier to seeking AI, while the significance of spousal and partner care relationships intimates that these care partners have more time to devote to AI. These findings support social work roles in multidisciplinary dementia care teams using AI, and enrich the content of AI counseling protocols by identifying participant-specific factors that impact AI participation.


This paper offers a framework to establish a micro-based budget and welfare evaluation of a joint reform in personal income taxes, social security contributions and indirect taxes. One often lacks an encompassing model for both labour supply decisions in real world tax and benefit contexts and the allocation of disposable income to commodities. In this paper we therefore elicit the assumptions which allow us to combine different submodels, such that an assessment of a joint reform becomes possible in a consistent conceptual framework. In addition, we characterise households' labour supply decisions by a random utility random opportunity (RURO) model of job choice. This allows us to incorporate effects from the demand side of the labour market into our analysis. We apply this framework to a recently enacted Belgian tax reform which shifts the burden away from labour taxes. We find substantial empirical evidence that, both from a distributional and from a budgetary perspective, it is important to account for indirect taxes, for labour demand-side effects and for unobserved job characteristics, when assessing this kind of joint tax reform. As for the budgetary effects, the cost recovery effects of the tax shift are modest. This is, among other things, explained by a more encompassing income effect in our job choice model, than is found in the more classic discrete choice model of labour supply.


A study was carried out to determine the toxicity of unripe fruits of Solanum incanum L in sheep. The sheep were orally drenched with dried unripe fruits powder of S. incanum L at dose rates varying from 1,200mg to 3,600 mg/Kg /day for 9 weeks. Clinical signs were observed daily while blood with and without anticoagulant was taken weekly for haematological and biochemical analysis. Clinical signs started on day two with bloat. All  sheep groups showed bloat and coughing. Signs of cerebellar hyperplasia were manifested in 25%, 75% and 25% of sheep in groups 2, 3, and 4 respectively, manifested by staggering gait, lateral recumbency, leg paddling movements, coma and death. The mortality rate was 25% for group 2 and 100% for groups 3 and 4. All sheep groups had pneumonia, froth in the bronchi, lung emphysema and congestion in the brain, liver and kidneys while groups 3 and 5 had hemorrhagic ulcers on distal abomasum to proximal duodenum and hemorrhagic enteritis from duodenum to colon. On histology, all sheep showed necrosis of the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum and Wallerian degeneration of neurons; lung emphysema and interstitial pneumonia, hemorrhagic enteritis, tubular necrosis in the kidneys and hepatocyte necrosis. The results indicate that S. incanum L is highly toxic to sheep and allowing sheep to graze on the plant is dangerous to their health.


Antimicrobial usage is common in Asian aquaculture. This study aimed to determine the quality of antimicrobial products used by Vietnamese striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) farmers. Twenty one antimicrobial products (11 products contained a single antimicrobial and 10 products contained a mixture of two different antimicrobials) commonly used by catfish farmers were obtained from so-called chemical shops located in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry was used to analyze concentration of sulfonamides, trimethoprim, amoxicillin, cefalexin and ciprofloxacin whereas concentrations of florfenicol and doxycycline were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with UV detection. Results revealed that only 4/11 products with a single antimicrobial and 2/10 products with a mixture of antimicrobials contained active substances within ±10% of the concentration declared on the product label. Two products with antimicrobial mixtures did not contain any of the declared antimicrobials. Comparing two batches, analysis of 11 products revealed that only one product contained a concentration of active compound that varied with less than 10% in both batches. Several product labels provided inadequate information on how to calculate therapeutic dosage and further stated withdrawal time despite lack of pharmacokinetic data on the antimicrobials in catfish. There is an urgent need to strengthen approval procedures and in particular regularly to monitor the quality of antimicrobials used in Vietnamese aquaculture.


The world is filling with ever more kinds of media, in ever more contexts and formats. Glowing rectangles have become part of the scene; screens, large and small, appear everywhere. Physical locations are increasingly tagged and digitally augmented. Sensors, processors, and memory are not found only in chic smart phones but also built into everyday objects. Amid this flood, your attention practices matter more than ever. You might not be able to tune this world out. So it is worth remembering that underneath all these augmentations and data flows, fixed forms persist, and that to notice them can improve other sensibilities. In Ambient Commons , Malcolm McCullough explores the workings of attention though a rediscovery of surroundings. Not all that informs has been written and sent; not all attention involves deliberate thought. The intrinsic structure of space -- the layout of a studio, for example, or a plaza -- becomes part of any mental engagement with it. McCullough desc ibes what he calls the Ambient: an increasing tendency to perceive information superabundance whole, where individual signals matter less and at least some mediation assumes inhabitable form. He explores how the fixed forms of architecture and the city play a cognitive role in the flow of ambient information. As a persistently inhabited world, can the Ambient be understood as a shared cultural resource, to be socially curated, voluntarily limited, and self-governed as if a commons? Ambient Commons invites you to look past current obsessions with smart phones to rethink attention itself, to care for more situated, often inescapable forms of information.


Financial Instrument Pricing Using C++ Daniel J. Duffy 2018-10-01 An integrated guide to C++ and computational finance This complete guide to C++ and computational finance is a follow-up and major extension to Daniel J. Duffy's 2004 edition of Financial Instrument Pricing Using C++. Both C++ and computational finance have evolved and changed dramatically in the last ten years and this book documents these improvements. Duffy focuses on these developments and the advantages for the quant developer by: Delving into a detailed account of the new C++11 standard and its applicability to computational finance. Using de-facto standard libraries, such as Boost and Eigen to improve developer productivity. Developing multiparadigm software using the object-oriented, generic, and functional programming styles. Designing flexible numerical algorithms: modern numerical methods and multiparadigm design patterns. Providing a detailed explanation of the Finite Difference Methods through six chapters, including new developments such as ADE, Method of Lines (MOL), and Uncertain Volatility Models. Developing applications, from financial model to algorithmic design and code, through a coherent approach. Generating interoperability with Excel add-ins, C#, and C++/CLI. Using random number generation in C++11 and Monte Carlo simulation. Duffy adopted a spiral model approach while writing each chapter of Financial Instrument Pricing Using C++ 2e: analyse a little, design a little, and code a little. Each cycle ends with a working prototype in C++ and shows how a given algorithm or numerical method works. Additionally, each chapter contains non-trivial exercises and projects that discuss improvements and extensions to the material. This book is for designers and application developers in computational finance, and assumes the reader has some fundamental experience of C++ and derivatives pricing. HOW TO RECEIVE THE SOURCE CODE Once you have purchased a copy of the book please send an email to the author dduffyATdatasim.nl requesting your personal and non-transferable copy of the source code. Proof of purchase is needed. The subject of the mail should be "C++ Book Source Code Request". You will receive a reply with a zip file attachment.


The concomitant vertebral artery injury as a complication during posterior C1&2 screw fixation has been described before and found to occur in approximately 3% of cases and may remain asymptomatic (30%) or cause sequelae that include an arterial steal phenomenon with cerebral hypoperfusion, increased flow in cerebral veins resulting in intracranial venous congestion or hemorrhage, headaches, a bruit, tinnitus or vertigo. The nature of the fistula and its associated symptoms, the onset and nature of the injury and the concurrent clinical status of the patient, and the necessity of treatment, these factors influence choosing the treatment modality and approach which range between conservative management, endovascular techniques to occlude the fistula, and/or on rare occasions direct surgical clipping could be used also, see Abstract E-008 table 2 in (Endovascular therapy of arteriovenous fistulae with electrolytically detachable coils. 1999), E-008 tables 1 and 2 in (Herrera et al., 2008). Variable endovascular techniques have been described in many publications, (Kattner, Roth, Nardone, & Giannotta, 2004), (Gonzalez et al., 2001), (Lee et al., 2007), (Beaujeux et al), (Feyyaz Baltacıoğlu, 2009), (Chuhan Jiang, Xianli Lv, Youxiang Li, Jingbo Zhang, Zhongxue Wu, 2009), (Macdonald, Millar, & Barker, 2010), (Andreou, Ioannidis, & Nasis, 2008), (Li et al., 2007), (Guo et al., 1998). In this case, we are first to report the practical use of Amplatzer Vascular Plug (II), which has been only known to be used in treating peripheral vascular AVF, and it has never been reported to be used in treating AVFs until the time of submitting this case-report. Amplatzer Vascular Plug Family, are designed to provide optimal embolization of peripheral veins and arteries through single device occlusion, full cross-sectional vessel coverage, controlled and precise deployment. Using the Amplatzer Vascular plug is a very efficient and cost-effective alternative to coils or surgery. It can also be repositioned or recaptured, if necessary. The Amplatzer Vascular Plug (II), is a unique multi-segmented, multilayered device, that reduces the time to occlusion for transcatheter embolization procedures. Its adjustable lobes are designed to better conform to vessel landing zone. (AGA medical corporation, 2010), (Cil B, Peynircioğlu B, Canyiğlit M, Geyik S, Ciftçi T., 2008). Conclusion Using Amplatzer Vascular Plug (II) in treating vertebral AVFs has never been previously reported. In this case; the large size of the AVF and the and the altered and complicated vertebral vascular anatomy secondary to the previous cervical surgeries were strong indications to choose a larger vascular plug in attempt to cause a complete occlusion of the AVF and attempt complete cure of its clinical sequelae on our patient.


Locally testable codes, i.e., codes where membership in the code is testable with a constant number of queries, have played a central role in complexity theory. It is well known that a code must be a ``low-density parity check'' (LDPC) code for it to be locally testable, but few LDPC codes are known to be locally testable, and even fewer classes of LDPC codes are known not to be locally testable. Indeed, most previous examples of codes that are not locally testable were also not LDPC. The only exception was in the work of Ben-Sasson et al. [SIAM J. Computing, 2005] who showed that random LDPC codes are not locally testable. Random codes lack ``structure'' and in particular ``symmetries'' motivating the possibility that ``symmetric LDPC'' codes are locally testable, a question raised in the work of Alon et al. [IEEE Trans. Inf. Th., 2005]. If true such a result would capture many of the basic ingredients of known locally testable codes. In this work we rule out such a possibility by giving a highly symmetric (``2-transitive'') family of LDPC codes that are not testable with a constant number of queries. We do so by continuing the exploration of ``affine-invariant codes'' --- codes where the coordinates of the words are associated with a finite field, and the code is invariant under affine transformations of the field. New to our study is the use of fields that have many subfields, and showing that such a setting allows sufficient richness to provide new obstacles to local testability, even in the presence of structure and symmetry.


Background: Many research designs have analyzed various socioeconomic factors that influence a person's physical health, such as diabetes. Whether or not these same factors are associated with a person's mental health have received less attention. Some studies indicate that gender disparities and the migration process may be associated with differential mental health outcomes. Objective: This research examines the relationship between gender, immigrant status, and self-perceived mental health (SPMH) in the Canadian population aged 18 and over. Method: The analysis draws on the latest available Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) public use microdata file, which captured information from a nationally representative sample of 58,574 adults. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore interactions of gender and immigrant status on SPMH, controlling for a range of socioeconomic variables including education and income. Survey weights were applied to allow for generalization of the results to the Canadian population. Results: The relationships between gender, immigrant status, and SPMH were significant, with females more likely to report good SPMH than men (odds ratio=1.16, p<0.05), and immigrants more likely to report good SPMH than non-immigrants (odds ratio=1.05). Discussion: Results indicate that the "healthy immigrant effect" often reported for diabetes and other physical health measures may also be protective for mental health. Women are more likely to rate their mental health as good. However, our examination did not account for clinical diagnosis of mental illness. More research is needed to inform evidence-based policy and practice guidelines in addressing potential gendered and immigration differences in both measured and perceived mental health.


This paper presents a study on switched control of vehicle suspension based on motion-mode detection. This control strategy can be potentially implemented via the interconnected suspension such as hydraulically interconnected suspension by actively switching its interconnection configuration in terms of the dominant vehicle body motion-mode. The design of the switched control law is developed focusing on three vehicle body motion-modes: bounce, pitch, and roll. At first, an H∞ optimal controller will be designed for each motion-mode with the use of a common quadratic Lyapunov function, which guarantees the stability of the switched system under arbitrary switching functions. Then, a motion-mode detection method based on the calculation of the motion-mode energy is introduced. And then, the possible implementation of the control system in practice is discussed. Finally, numerical simulations are used to validate the proposed study.


H2O2 and HCHO concentrations measured in snowpits and in a shallow core at Siple Dome are presented and discussed in respect topost-depositional processes. Air-firn transfer studies show that physical uptake and release of HCHO and H2O2 by the snow significantlyaffect their concentrations preserved in firn and ice on one hand and atmospheric concentrations on the other hand. Numerical modelssimulating this air-snow transfer successfully reproduce HCHO and H2O2 concentration profiles in snowpits at various Antarctic sites,among other Siple Dome. Sensitivity studies revealed the relative importance of atmospheric concentration, temperature and accumulationrate on the concentrations preserved in ice cores and represent another step towards the quantitative reconstruction of the atmosphericHCHO and H2O2 concentrations and the closely linked oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere based on ice core records. Due to therelatively low accumulation rate and high temperatures at Siple Dome, H2O2 is not well preserved in the firn and ice and drops belowdetection limit with increasing depth. HCHO is low as well, but still above detection limit. The modeling studies and measurements frompits and shallow cores indicate that the Inland Ice core would have the potential to become the best Antarctic HCHO and H2O2paleoclimate record.


Abstract. We present the developmental considerations, design, and deployment of an
autonomous modular terrestrial rover for ice-sheet exploration that is
inexpensive, easy to construct, and allows for instrumentation
customization. The total construction cost for this rover is less than USD 3000,
approximately one-tenth the cost of existing platforms, and it can be built
using facilities frequently available at academic institutions (machine
shop, 3-D printer, open-source hardware and software). Instrumentation
deployed on this rover can be customized; the rover presented in this study
was equipped with a dual-frequency GPS receiver and a digital SLR camera for
constructing digital elevation models using structure-from-motion (SfM)
photogrammetry. We deployed this prototype rover on the Northeast Greenland
Ice Stream to map local variations in snow accumulation and surface
topography. The rover conducted four autonomous missions based out of the
East Greenland Ice-Core Project (EastGRIP) camp during July 2017, measuring
surface elevation transects across the hazardous ice-stream shear margins.
During these missions, the rover proved capable of driving over 20 km on a
single charge with a drawbar pull of 250 N, sufficient to tow instrumentation of up to 100 kg. The rover also acquired photographs
that were subsequently used to construct digital elevation models of a site
monitored for spatiotemporal variability in snow accumulation, demonstrating
adequate stability for high-resolution imaging applications. Due to its low
cost, low-power requirements, and simple modular design, mass deployments of
this rover design are practicable. Operation of the rover in hazardous areas
circumvents the substantial expense and risk to personnel associated with
conventional, crewed deployments. Thus, this rover is an investigatory
platform that enables direct exploration of polar environments considered
too hazardous for conventional field expeditions.


The article deals with problem of criminal policy after taking into action provisions of the new Penal Code of Lithuania, adopted in September 26, 2000. The author starts describing the directions in criminal policy after proclaiming independence in 1990 till 2000. He points out two periods: first 1990–1997 and the second 1998–2003. 1997–1998 was crucial time of change in criminal policy. The author touches upon and investigates problems emerging due to criminalization and decriminalization of particular offences in the new Code. He provides patterns of deeds that are not included in the new Penal Code. Further the author provides examples and arguments why he finds that the new Penal Code provides for the grounds for more modest criminal policy. They are following: 1. The new Penal Code abolishes supplementary penalties and provides for the rule – one penalty for one offence. 2. As a rule sanctions for particular offences include two or more alternatives to imprisonment. 3. Minimum term of imprisonment for particular offences is lowered and in major sanctions is three months. The author investigates impacts of notion of criminal offences on criminal policy. He comes to conclusion that in some cases notion of criminal offence can be considered as tightening of criminal policy, but in other cases it can be considered as a step towards more lienent criminal policy. Further the author investigates the impact of new provisions of the Code on particular categories of offenders. He observes the cases are still in courts or have been already resolved and outcome of the new Code towards such an offenders. The author deals with the provisions of the article 3 of the Penal Code on temporal validity of criminal laws. He draws particular attention to the gaps in the new Penal Code and their consequences after making amendments to the Penal Code by the Law of July 4, 2003. He pays attention to the most difficult situations when applying provisions of the article 3 of the Penal Code.


Several strange signs called 'crop circles' have been discovered in the fields of southern England. These mysterious circles are puzzling to everyone, even scientists. There are several theories about who-or what-made them. Could it be humans who did it? Or could it be something else...


This article explores the praxis that informs higher education, and how students with special educational needs make sense of their experiences concerning higher education. The discourse that this article challenges is oppression, inequalities, exclusion and marginalization of students with SEN. This article also creates a forum of amplification for voices of the voiceless. The article operationalises the theory of discourse analysis. A theoretical framework adopted in this article views marginalization or exclusion, as a serious threat to any academic industrial complex in the world. The methodological disposition that broadly informs this study is post-structural theories and further employs deconstruction as a strategy for interpreting and analyzing data. Deconstruction is a strategy for revealing the under-layers of meanings in a text that were suppressed. Findings in this study could empower SEN students. I have come to realize that empowerment is not a gift of the powerful, but something that the excluded and dominated collectively provide for themselves.


Abstract Panguite (IMA 2010-057), (Ti4+,Sc,Al,Mg,Zr,Ca)1.8O3, is a new titania, occurring as fine-grained crystals with Ti-rich davisite in an ultra-refractory inclusion within an amoeboid olivine inclusion from the Allende CV3 carbonaceous chondrite. The phase was characterized by SEM, EBSD, synchrotron micro-diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and EPMA. The mean chemical composition of the type panguite is (wt%) TiO2 47.97, ZrO2 14.61, Sc2O3 10.67, Al2O3 7.58, MgO 5.54, Y2O3 5.38, CaO 3.34, SiO2 1.89, FeO 1.81, V2O3 0.95, Cr2O3 0.54, HfO2 0.28, sum 100.56 with a corresponding empirical formula calculated on the basis of 3 O atoms of [(Ti0.79Zr0.16Si0.04)4+Σ0.99(Sc0.20Al0.20Y0.06V0.02Cr0.01)3+Σ0.49 (Mg0.18Ca0.08Fe0.03)2+Σ0.29]Σ1.77O3. Synchrotron micro-Laue diffraction (i.e., an energy scan by a high-flux X-ray monochromatic beam and white beam diffraction) on one type domain at sub-micrometer resolution revealed that panguite is an orthorhombic mineral in space group Pbca. The structure is a subgroup of the Ia3 bixbyite-type. The cell parameters are a = 9.781(1), b = 9.778(2), and c = 9.815(1) Å, yielding V = 938.7(1) Å3, Z = 16, and a calculated density of 3.746 g/cm3. Panguite is not only a new mineral, but also a new titania material, likely formed by condensation. It is one of the oldest minerals in the solar system.


Organizational knowledge is one of the most important assets of an enterprise. Therefore, many organizations invest in enterprise social media (ESM) to establish electronic networks of practice and to foster knowledge exchange among employees. ESM improves interaction transparency and can be regarded as a sociotechnical system that provides a language for communication and symbolic action as well as a better sense of others' social identity. Accordingly, the individual characteristics of knowledge seekers and contributors determine why and how interactions occur. However, existing studies tend to focus only on knowledge contributors' characteristics and to treat knowledge as an object that needs to be transferred. To address this gap, this study conceptualizes and empirically tests a multilevel model of knowledge exchange in electronic networks of practice (ENoP) that includes the characteristics of knowledge seekers and knowledge contributors as well as their dyadic relationship from an activity-centered language/action point of view. A dataset of 15,505 enterprise microblogging messages reveals that knowledge seekers' characteristics and relational factors drive knowledge exchanges in social media-enabled ENoP. Focusing on organizations with knowledge exchanges supported by information technology, our research extends prior findings by providing the first evidence that the communicative act expressed by question-answer pairs impacts the quality of knowledge exchanged.


Recent literature has emphasized that individuals display different depths of reasoning when playing games. In this paper, we explore gender differences in strategic sophistication and study whether these differences are endogenous. We report results from two different experiments employing the beauty contest. In the first, large study, we show that females react very strongly to incentives to the extent that gender differences disappear when a monetary prize is awarded. In the second study, we use a within subject design to analyze how depth of reasoning varies with gender priming and the gender composition of the set of players. We corroborate that females display higher levels of sophistication and even overtake males when incentives are provided and gender is primed. On the other hand, males who believe that females are better in the game display higher sophistication when playing against females.


Summary Cilia are structurally and functionally diverse organelles, whose malfunction leads to ciliopathies. While recent studies have uncovered common ciliary transport mechanisms, limited information is available on the proteome of cilia, particularly that of sensory subtypes, which could provide insight into their functional and developmental diversities. In the present study, we performed proteomic analysis of unique, multiple 9+0 cilia in choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs). The analysis of juvenile swine CPEC cilia identified 868 proteins. Among them, 396 were shared with the proteome of 9+0 photoreceptor cilia (outer segment), whereas only 152 were shared with the proteome of 9+2 cilia and flagella. Various signaling molecules were enriched in a CPEC-specific ciliome subset, implicating multiplicity of sensory functions. The ciliome also included molecules for ciliary motility such as Rsph9. In CPECs from juvenile swine or adult mouse, Rsph9 was localized to a subpopulation of cilia, whereas they were non-motile. Live imaging of mouse choroid plexus revealed that neonatal CPEC cilia could beat vigorously, and the motility waned and was lost within 1–2 weeks. The beating characteristics of neonatal CPEC cilia were variable and different from those of typical 9+2 cilia of ependyma, yet an Efhc1-mediated mechanism to regulate the beating frequency was shared in both types of cilia. Notably, ultrastructural analysis revealed the presence of not only 9+0 but also 9+2 and atypical ciliary subtypes in neonatal CPEC. Overall, these results identified both conserved and variable components of sensory cilia, and demonstrated a novel mode of ciliary development in mammals.


The capabilities of a new photoelectron spectrometer are characterised in the study of (C6F6)n– and (C6F6)I– clusters. The photoelectron spectrometer consists of a series of vacuum chambers that facilitate a molecular beam of gas-phase anions. These anions and clusters are generated at the point of intersection between an electron beam and the supersonic expansion produced by a high temperature Even-Lavie pulsed valve. The anions are extracted orthogonally and mass-separated in a Wiley-McLaren time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The analyte is addressed by a laser pulse produced by either a tuneable nanosecond OPO for one-photon frequency-resolved measurements or a femtosecond pump-probe regime for two-photon time-resolved measurements. The kinetic energy of the resulting photoelectrons are measured in a velocity-map imaging spectrometer.

C6F6- is of interest due to the prediction that it ought to host a meta-stable binding mode of the excess electron known as a correlation-bound state (CBS). Similar to other non-valence binding modes, such as the dipole-bound state, this CBS is thought to act as a doorway state in the mechanism of low energy electron capture.

The CBS is characterised by a large and diffuse orbital in which the excess electron is bound primarily through charge:induced-dipole interactions with the molecule's valence orbital system. In the CBS, C6F6- is predicted to adopt a planar geometry like that of the neutral species, in contrast to the buckled geometry adopted when the excess electron occupies a valence orbital.

Frequency- and time-resolved measurements of the anion were made in an effort to generate and observe the CBS. Initially, frequency resolved measurements of (C6F6)n– revealed a vertical detachment energy of 1.60 ± 0.07 eV for n = 1, increasing by 200 meV per additional cluster unit up to n = 5. The broad shape of the direct detachment peak confirms the disparity in geometry between the anion and neutral species. However, no evidence of the CBS was evident in these data.

In subsequent explorations, an in-situ electron donor was employed to mimic the electron impact process. An I– ion was introduced to the neutral C6F6 molecule to produce clusters of (C6F6)I–. Frequency-resolved measurements of this cluster revealed a mechanism for electron loss below the threshold for the single-photon direct detachment process. This suggested the presence of a charge-transfer channel centred around hv = 3.3 eV.

Time-resolved measurements of (C6F6)I– confirmed the presence of the charge-transfer state and revealed an instantaneous and coherent transfer of the electron onwards into the valence orbital system of the C6F6 molecule. This transfer of charge causes the molecule to vibrate as its geometry changes from planar to buckled. The oscillations observed in the photoelectron spectra are coherent and sinusoidal and have a frequency of 121 ± 2 cm−1. This compares very favourably to the frequency of 122 cm−1 calculated by time-dependent density functional theory for the bending mode of C6F6 along the coordinate between the planar and buckled geometries. I argue that this charge-transfer state exhibits the predicted characteristics of a CBS.


Aircraft fire training simulators are key facilities in airport used for firefighters to do firefighting trainings. In order to protect the safety of firefighters, the monitoring system should be applied to monitor the internal environment of the simulator. In accordance with the requirements of the training environment, a kind of monitoring system based on MCU and GPRS communication components are built. The parameterized PID controller, the sensor detection module, the fan and spray drive module are consisted of closed-loop to achieve real-time control and regulation on the smoke and temperature of the internal simulator. Using GPRS module, the internal scenes of the simulator are sent to the command center through the information transmission system. Based on the information transported from training site, command center can take the appropriate training programs to guide firefighters. Use this system, the training safety is ensured and the training efficiency is improved at the same time.


Research literature is full of research-based instructional strategies that highly effective teachers utilize on a consistent and systematic basis. And, it is well known that in multiple fields there exists a gap between what people know and what they actually do, commonly referred to as the knowing-doing gap. This study sought to examine whether this same gap exists in the field of education. In other words, this study sought to describe what high school mathematics, science, English, and social studies teachers know about effective instructional strategies and what they actually do in their classrooms.
The researcher reviewed studies, books, journal articles, and other professional literature in order to identify what the most effective teachers know and ostensibly should do in their classrooms. The result was the identification of ten highly effective instructional strategies: learning objectives, accessing prior knowledge, delivery of new declarative information, delivery of new procedural information, application of new information, summarizing or generalizing, note taking, comparing similarities and differences, providing reinforcement or recognizing effort, and cooperative learning or small group work.
From these ten strategies, the researcher developed a web-based survey designed to measure all ten of these strategies. High school mathematics, science, English, and social studies teachers were invited to participate in the study. From the survey three teachers expressed a desire to complete a follow-up interview and of those three, two completed the interview.
The results indicated that there may be a gap between what teachers profess to know and what they actually do in their classrooms. Given these findings of what teachers know and what teachers do, the researcher recommends that teacher preparation courses, educational service units, and district level professional development focus on efforts to help close the teacher knowing-doing gap, and ultimately improve student learning.
Advisor: Larry L. Dlugosh


Gap formation and its effects on regeneration have been reported as being important in forest development, but seldom studies concentrated on the gap closure process by lateral extension growth of canopy trees surrounding gaps. We monitored the closure process of 12 artificial gaps for 7 years with three size classes: small (from 68 m2 to 125 m2), middle (from 174 m2 to 321 m2), and large (from 514 m2 to 621 m2); and investigated the regeneration twice in a temperate secondary forest, Northeast China. The closure process can be described through quadratic functions, which showed the closure rates slowed down with gap ages. Large gaps had a higher closure rate (39 m2 a–1) than middle gaps (25 m2 a–1) and small gaps (11 m2 a–1). According to the quadratic equations, the lateral growth could last 11, 13 and 16 years for small, middle and large gaps with a remaining size of 12, 69 and 223 m2, respectively. As expected, regeneration exhibited the highest seedling density and volume in large gaps. There was no significant difference in regeneration density between middle gaps, small gaps and forest understory in the final investigation; but the volume of regenerated woody species increased significantly from small gaps to large gaps compared with forest understory. These results may provide references on the choice of appropriate gap sizes to promote the regeneration in temperate secondary forests.


Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health problem in Nigeria. Carrier prevalence is about 25% and it affects about 2 - 3% of the Nigerian population. The disease runs a chronic course, characterized by recurrent ill-health, progressive organ damage and shortened life-span. There is a need for SCD control through public education and other preventive measures. Objective: This study aimed at assessing the level of knowledge regarding SCD among a cross-section of new tertiary graduates in Nigeria, as well as factors influencing their knowledge. It also describes their attitudes and patterns of control practices engaged by the respondents regarding SCD. Method: This was an analytic, cross-sectional study among 370 new tertiary graduates (youth corps members) in Benin City, Nigeria. Bio-data, data on knowledge, their attitude and control practices of sickle cell disease were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Association between the mean level of knowledge and other variables such as age, gender, course of study, etc were tested using one way analysis of variance. Results: Most of the study participants were aged 22 - 29 years. A large proportion (63.5%) of the respondents was females. Only 17.8% of the respondents had a good knowledge of SCD despite high level of awareness (98.4%). Those who studied courses related to medical sciences had significantly higher mean knowledge score. About 94.6% of the respondents knew their SCD carrier status and 80.8% were willing to avoid carrier marriages. Only 38.1% will accept prenatal diagnosis/selective abortion if locally available. Conclusion: Most participants demonstrated moderate level of public health knowledge regarding SCD in Nigeria. Considering the relative lack of prenatal diagnostic services, low acceptability of selective abortion among the respondents, sub-optimal care of affected persons and poor access to haemopoeitic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in our environment, stronger efforts should be directed and sustained at primary prevention through public education and screening regarding SCD.


Phenology is essential to our understanding of bio- geochemical cycles and the climate system. We develop a global mechanistic model of leaf phenology based on the hy- pothesis that phenology is a strategy for optimal carbon gain at the canopy level so that trees adjust leaf gains and losses in response to environmental factors such as light, temperature and soil moisture, to achieve maximum carbon assimilation. We fit this model to five years of satellite observations of leaf area index (LAI) using a Bayesian fitting algorithm. We show that our model is able to reproduce phenological pat- terns for all vegetation types and use it to explore variations in growing season length and the climate factors that limit leaf growth for different biomes. Phenology in wet tropical areas is limited by leaf age physiological constraints while at higher latitude leaf seasonality is limited by low temperature and light availability. Leaf growth in grassland regions is lim- ited by water availability but often in combination with other factors. This model will advance the current understanding of phenology for ecosystem carbon models and our ability to predict future phenological behaviour.


A study on heat pump thermodynamic characteristics has been made in the laboratory on a specially designed and instrumented air to water heat pump system. The design, using refrigerant R12, was based on the requirement to produce domestic hot water at a temperature of about 50 °C and was assembled in the laboratory. All the experimental data were fed to a microcomputer and stored on disk automatically from appropriate transducers via amplifier and 16 channel analogue to digital converters. The measurements taken were R12 pressures and temperatures, water and R12 mass flow rates, air speed, fan and compressor input powers, water and air inlet and outlet temperatures, wet and dry bulb temperatures. The time interval between the observations could be varied. The results showed, as expected, that the COP was higher at higher air inlet temperatures and at lower hot water output temperatures. The optimum air speed was found to be at a speed when the fan input power was about 4% of the condenser heat output. It was also found that the hot water can be produced at a temperature higher than the appropriate R12 condensing temperature corresponding to condensing pressure. This was achieved by condenser design to take advantage of discharge superheat and by further heating the water using heat recovery from the compressor. Of the input power to the compressor, typically about 85% was transferred to the refrigerant, 50 % by the compression work and 35% due to the heating of the refrigerant by the cylinder wall, and the remaining 15% (of the input power) was rejected to the cooling medium. The evaporator effectiveness was found to be about 75% and sensitive to the air speed. Using the data collected, a steady state computer model was developed. For given input conditions s air inlet temperature, air speed, the degree of suction superheat , water inlet and outlet temperatures; the model is capable of predicting the refrigerant cycle, compressor efficiency, evaporator effectiveness, condenser water flow rate and system Cop.


This study investigates the sensitivity of simulated emissions and airborne NO2 and benzene concentrations to model input parameters. Emission factors were estimated using Mobile6.2 and ambient concentrations were estimated using AERMOD. The simulation was performed for Huron Church Road in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, an arterial road 9 km in length with an average vehicle speed of 50 km/h. Eight scenarios were developed such that one input parameter was changed at a time in the first seven scenarios and compared with the base case. Results showed that emission factors were most sensitive to the choice of vehicle composition (Ontario versus default), followed by the choice of vehicle age distribution (Ontario versus default), and the average speed of vehicles. Simulated concentrations were sensitive to the hour-of-day variation in emission (mainly due to variation in vehicle counts) and when this was not considered, the annual mean concentrations were likely overestimated by up to 27% and maximum hourly concentrations were underestimated. The findings provide insights into determining the level of details of input parameters required for estimation of emissions and concentrations.


The study was conducted to determine the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for HIV infection among factory workers at two sites in Ethiopia. During February 1997-December 2001, a structured questionnaire was used for obtaining information on sociodemographics, sexual behaviour, and reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) from a cohort of 1679 individuals. Serum samples were screened for antibodies against HIV, Treponema pallidum haemaglutination (TPHA), and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). The overall baseline prevalence of HIV was 9.4%-8.5% among males and 12.4% among females. For both the sexes, the factors independently associated with an increased risk of HIV infection were widowhood and having had antibodies against TPHA and HSV-2. The risk factors specific for males were being orthodox Christian, having had a higher lifetime number of sexual partners, and genital discharge in the past five years. The risk factors for females, included low income, one or more rape(s) over lifetime, and casual sex in the last year. The overall incidence of HIV infection was 0.4 per 100 person-years. The highest rate of incidence was observed among young women aged less than 30 years (1 per 100 person-years). The study confirmed that high-risk sexual behaviour and STIs play major roles in the spread of HIV infection in the Ethiopians of both the sexes, but the factors, such as rape and low economic status, make women more vulnerable than men.


AIMS
To examine the distribution of dyadic care types in multiple chronic conditions, compare self-care and caregiver contributions to patients' self-care in each care type and identify the patient and caregiver characteristics associated with each care type.

DESIGN
Secondary analysis of a multicentre, cross-sectional study.

METHODS
Patient-caregiver dyads were enrolled from outpatient clinics and community settings. The Dyadic Symptom Management Type Scale was used to categorize dyads by type. Self-care, self-efficacy, comorbidities and cognitive impairment were measured in patients, whereas caregiver contributions to patient self-care, self-efficacy, caregiver burden and hours of caregiving were measured in caregivers. Sociodemographic characteristics perceived social support and mutuality were measured in both patients and caregivers. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

RESULTS
A sample of 541 patient-caregiver dyads was examined. The most frequent dyadic care type was the collaborative-oriented (63%). In the patient-oriented type, patients scored higher on self-care compared with caregivers; in the caregiver-oriented and collaborative types, caregivers scored higher than patients supporting the typology. The patient-oriented type was associated with younger, healthier male patients with better cognitive status, who scored higher for mutuality and whose caregivers scored lower for burden. The caregiver-oriented type was associated with older, less educated patients, with caregivers experiencing higher burden and unemployment. The collaborative type was associated with sicker patients, with the caregiver more probably to be female and employed, with higher perceived social support, mutuality and burden. The incongruent dyadic care type was associated with lower caregiver mutuality.

IMPACT
In the context of multiple chronic conditions, clinicians should consider targeting any educational interventions aimed at improving patient self-care and caregiver contributions to self-care by dyadic care types.


During the last few decades, it has become more and more important to assess, maintain and strengthen structures like bridges, dams and buildings. This is mainly due to the fact that: (a) many structures are getting old and many have started to deteriorate, (b) there is sometimes a need to increase the load carrying capacity of an existing structure due to e.g. a demand for higher loads or (c) the cost to build new infrastructure is often higher than to repair/strengthen existing structures. Therefore it is of great interest to find methods to evaluate existing concrete structures in an efficient way. In this thesis parameters influencing the evaluation process have been investigated and analysed and the results are presented in the appended papers. Below, findings from the main areas are presented. The development and variation of compressive and tensile strength of concrete are presented for old concrete bridges in Sweden. The mean increase in concrete compressive strength was about 70% for twenty bridges built during 1931-1962 (a rather high dispersion must be taken into consideration). The increase is related to the original 28-day concrete compressive strength which varied between 18 and 51 MPa. The compressive strength within a typical reinforced railway concrete trough bridge was approximately 15% higher in the longitudinal beams than in the bottom slab (measured on drilled cores). A pullout test method, the Capo-test, has been examined as an alternative to drilled cores to determine the in-place concrete compressive strength. A strength relationship is proposed between the compressive strength of a drilled core with the diameter and the height of about 100 mm, fcore, and the pullout force, F, from the Capo-test. A probabilistic approach has been proposed for the evaluation of the shear force fatigue capacity of a concrete bridge slab. In the reliability analysis three different combinations of shear and fatigue models have been compared. The models have been used to determine the safety index (and the probability of failure) after another 5 or 25 years of traffic with higher axle loads (300 kN) than the bridge already has been exposed to. The most interesting combination seems to be the shear model of Hedman & Losberg (1975)/BBK04 (2004) and the fatigue model of Tepfers (1979). Results and analyses are presented from cyclic uniaxial tensile tests performed on new and old concrete. The results from the tests indicate that the deformation criterion proposed by Balazs (1991) for bond slip may also be applied to plain concrete exposed to cyclic tensile load. A method is proposed for how the deformation criterion may be used also for assessment of existing structures. The load carrying capacity of damaged prestressed concrete railway sleepers has been investigated. The sleepers had an age of five to ten years and the damage, in form of more or less severe cracking, is believed to be caused by delayed ettringite formation. The following tests have been performed: (a) bending capacity of the midsection and the rail section, (b) horizontal load capacity of the fastener, (c) control of the concrete properties and (d) fatigue capacity in bending of the rail section. A visual inspection and classification of the damages are also presented. The test results show that railway sleepers are quite robust. Small cracks do not seem to influence the load carrying capacity and it is first when the cracking is very severe that the load carrying capacity is reduced significantly. (A). http://www3.banverket.se/raildokuffe/pdf/MR0308.pdf


Background Neighbourhood safety is important for older adults' health, including injury prevention and safety promotion, but there is a dearth of information about this construct in the literature. Methods During 2014, we conducted a systematic literature review on the associations among identifiable neighbourhood safety factors, health outcomes, and health behaviours of older adults (≥50) in the U.S. using MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, SportDis, and Transportation Databases. Results Of 32 articles identified for our final review, 16 (50%) examined health outcomes, such as health status and the other 16 focused on health behaviours, such as physical activity. Five domains of neighbourhood safety were identified: general neighbourhood safety; crime-related safety; traffic-related safety; fall-related safety; and proxies for safety (e.g., vandalism, graffiti). Although falls are the leading cause of injuries in older adults, fall-related safety was the least frequently addressed safety domain. General neighbourhood safety, traffic-related safety, and proxies for safety appeared most relevant to health behaviours, while crime-related safety was most pertinent to health outcomes, such as mental health and physical function. Traffic-related safety showed more consistent associations for physical activity, while crime-related safety was more consistently associated with walking. We also found that specific measures or constructs of safety were not applied consistently across the different studies making it difficult to compare study findings. Conclusions This review identified several patterns as well as many important gaps in the existing studies dealing with neighbourhood safety-injury prevention among older adults. We recommend that multi-dimensional neighbourhood safety factors should be considered in establishing location interventions, particularly related to injury prevention and safety promotion, which require further attention in future studies in the U.S. as well as globally.


Urban agriculture has been increasingly popular as a form of modern agriculture in urban settings. It includes community gardens, fruit orchards, home gardens, veggie patches, public open spaces, reserves, urban forest, and recreational landscaping. However, irrigation using urban water supply has been identified as a major constraints for the development of urban agriculture. This study presents a sustainable water management trial at Butler, a northern sub-urban development in Perth, Western Australia, for urban irrigation. The trial system consists of a number of water saving features including untreated fit-for-purpose groundwater supplied via a third pipe network, drip irrigation, local weather station, soil moisture sensors connected with a local weather station, night time irrigation, soil enhancement with conditioning and mulching, and use of native plants and vegetation. The trial outcome was compared against controlled areas in terms of irrigation efficiency and sustainable water management for urban agriculture. The study demonstrated that a fit-for-purpose irrigation along with water sensitive land management could be a sustainable alternative for urban agriculture that would achieve a significant water saving and irrigation efficiency at urban settings. However, quality of untreated groundwater can be an issue while utilizing it for irrigation, but the research has shown that it can be managed with innovative irrigation techniques. This indicates that the fit-for-purpose irrigation system with water sensitive land management practices would be highly supportive in sustainable development of urban agriculture, vegetation and recreational landscaping.


Using molecular tools, the spread of phytoplasma diseases in a papaya plantation was investigated for 3 years to identify phytoplasma strains affecting papaya, insect vectors and alternative plant hosts. Five phytoplasma strains (SPLL-V4, TBB, CaWB, StLL and WaLLvar) were associated with papaya yellow crinkle disease and one phytoplasma strain (PDB) was associated with papaya dieback disease. The most prevalent strains were TBB and SPLL-V4 which occurred in 94% of infected papaya. There was a significant correlation between phyllody and TBB, and virescence and SPLL-V4, although other phytoplasma types could also be associated with either phyllody or virescence. No mixed infections were detected in diseased papaya. Disease progress curves for TBB and SPLL-V4 showed a sigmoid response reaching a maximum disease incidence of 16% after 24 months. The rate of disease spread was best described by a logistic model which showed that TBB spread at a slightly higher rate than SPLL-V4. Ten phytoplasma strains were detected in 14 alternative plant species; however, TBB and SPLL-V4 were present in only a few individual plants of some of these species, so these alternative hosts would probably not have provided a significant infection source to papaya. Very few phytoplasmas were detected in leafhoppers collected over 3 years with TBB and SPLL-V4 only detected in Orosius spp.


Background: Ischemic stroke is one of the major causes of mortality and disability worldwide. Limitation of cerebral blood flow due to thrombosis can cause ischemic stroke that in turn affect cellular homeostasis due to insufficient oxygen and nutrient supply. Aims: Re-establishment of cerebral blood flow can cause further deterioration of ischemic brain tissue by a series of inflammatory, apoptotic and oxidative events resulting in cerebral ischemic-reperfusion injury which in turn leads to neuronal cell death and neurological impairments. Methods and materials: This study was carried out to evaluate the potential neuroprotective effects of Resatorvid in a global model of cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury in rats. A 24 Wistar-albino rats (weighing 200-300 grams) were divided randomly into 3 groups (n= 8 in each group), a sham (negative control) group, control (ischemic reperfusion group) and Resatorvid group (1mg / kg) intraperitoneally. Rats were exposed to 30 minutes of ischemia followed by 1 hour of reperfusion. At the end of the reperfusion, rats were sacrificed and brain tissue samples were obtained for histopathological scoring and inflammatory markers measuring. Tissue levels of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1b), IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) were significantly lower in Resatorvid pre-treated group as compared to control group (p > 0.05) in addition the histopathological score in Resatorvid group were much lower than the control group. Results: we see that administration of Resatorvid can be useful preventive method in attenuating the degree of brain injury during ischemic reperfusion process as shown by a significant reduction of brain inflammatory markers and lower histopathological damage in comparison with control group. Conclusion: the results of the present study revealed that pre-treatment with Resatorvid could confer neuroprotection in global cerebral ischemic reperfusion injury due to it is anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects.


Natural Flood Management (NFM) techniques aim to reduce downstream flooding by storing and slowing the flow of stormwater to river channels. These techniques include a range of measures, including setback stormwater outfalls and the physical restoration of channels and floodplains, to improve the natural functioning of catchments. An additional benefit of NFM measures is the potential reduction in sediment and pollutant delivery to the channel. Urban development releases a variety of heavy metal and nutrient pollutants that enter rivers through stormwater outfalls with adverse effects on the aquatic ecosystem. In this study, the influence of channel modification and quality of the river habitat on the sediment quality surrounding stormwater outfalls was assessed. Sediment samples were taken at several outfalls within the Johnson Creek catchment, Oregon, USA, and analysed for a variety of urban pollutants. The level of river habitat quality and modification at each site were assessed using a semi‐quantitative scoring methodology. Significant increases in pollutant levels were observed at outfalls, with a greater and more variable increase at direct compared to setback outfalls. Removal efficiency of certain pollutants was found to be significantly correlated to the level of habitat quality or modification (for Fe, Ba, Sn, Mg, P, K) indicating that more natural reaches had greater potential for pollutant removal. The findings highlight the multiple benefits associated with NFM and river restoration approaches in relation to sediment quality and pollutant content. © 2016 The Authors River Research and Applications Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We report a sensitive, label-free method for detecting single-stranded DNA and discriminating between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using arrays of silicon photonic microring resonators. In only a 10 min assay, DNA is detected at subpicomole levels with a dynamic range of 3 orders of magnitude. Following quantitation, sequence discrimination with single nucleotide resolution is achieved isothermally by monitoring the dissociation kinetics of the duplex in real-time using an array of SNP-specific capture probes. By leveraging the capabilities of the microring resonator platform, we successfully generate multiplexed arrays to quickly screen for the presence and identity of SNPs and show the robustness of this methodology by analyzing multiple target sequences of varying GC content. Furthermore, we show that this technique can be used to distinguish both homozygote and heterozygote alleles.


In "Blood Relations", Janet Adelman confronts her resistance to "The Merchant of Venice" as both a critic and a Jew. With her distinctive psychological acumen, she argues that Shakespeare's play frames the uneasy relationship between Christian and Jew specifically in familial terms in order to recapitulate the vexed familial relationship between Christianity and Judaism.Adelman locates the promise - or threat - of Jewish conversion as a particular site of tension in the play. Drawing on a variety of cultural materials, she demonstrates that, despite the triumph of its Christians, "The Merchant of Venice" reflects Christian anxiety and guilt about its simultaneous dependence on and disavowal of Judaism. In this startling psycho-theological analysis, both the insistence that Shylock's daughter Jessica remain racially bound to her father after her conversion and the depiction of Shylock as a bloody-minded monster are understood as antidotes to Christian uneasiness about a Judaism it can neither own nor disown.In taking seriously the religious discourse of "The Merchant of Venice", Adelman offers in "Blood Relations" an indispensable book on the play and on the fascinating question of Jews and Judaism in Renaissance England and beyond.


The response to refining of wheat straw and eucalyptus pulps as well as the relationships between refining, fiber properties, and paper properties are described in this paper. Pulps were bleached applying different bleaching sequences and thereafter refined to varying degrees. Pulp and fiber properties were investigated and set into relation to the final sheet properties. The results show that wheat straw pulps respond to refining more easily than eucalyptus pulps and that the differences are due mainly to morphological and ultrastructural differences as well as fines content and xylan content. The development of strength properties of the different pulps was found to be strongly correlated to the number of dislocations, i.e. weak points in the fiber wall, as well as to the morphological appearance of the pulp fibers after refining. A higher initial number and a faster development of dislocations together with the creation of large amounts of fines explain the slower and lower development of strength properties of wheat straw pulps than of eucalyptus pulps. Removal of fines from wheat straw pulps improved not only the drainability of the pulp suspension but also the mechanical and optical sheet properties. This indicates that the fines in the wheat straw pulps act mainly as filler with low bonding properties. The fact that fractionated D(EOP)D wheat straw pulps can deliver good mechanical sheet properties at very good drainability with no or only minor refining is very interesting when evaluating the potential of replacing or partially replacing eucalyptus with domestic Chinese raw materials in furnishes for production of different paper products.


In an article titled "The Impact of Right-to-Carry Laws and the NRC Report: Lessons for the Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy" published in the American Law and Economics Review in 2011, Abhay Aneja, John Donohue III, and Alexandria Zhang report on their inability to replicate regression estimates appearing in the 2005 National Research Council (NRC) report Firearms and Violence: A Critical Review. They suggest that there are flaws in the data that John Lott had supplied to the NRC. This suggestion could sow seeds of doubt with respect to the many studies that have used that data. The source of the replication problem, however, was that Aneja, Donohue, and Zhang did not estimate the correct model specification—a problem that they have acknowledged in subsequent communications. However, in these later communications they do not make clear that the basis for their doubts about the Lott-originated data has disappeared.


Firm-level institutions constitute the internal organizational environment which define the context in which strategic decisions are made and implemented. Effective and successful strategy implementation requires apt institutionalization of the strategy. Logically, firm-level institutions have an indirect effect on corporate performance through their direct effect on strategy implementation. In this study, a direct effect of the firm-level institutions on corporate performance was investigated. Based on a survey of 23 companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, ten firm-level institutions were captured under two broad dimensions of administrative systems and resource competencies. Performance implications of these firm-level institutions were then examined. The study reports that for the surveyed companies, most of the firm-level institutions were manifest to a large extent. The results also indicate that a very strong positive relationship exists between firm-level institutions and various indicators of corporate performance. However, the overall results for the effect of firm-level institutions on corporate performance were statistically not significant. The results partially concur with pertinent theories as well as similar empirical studies. Based on the findings, implications for theory, methodology, and managerial practice as well as areas for further study are identified.