Administrative agencies are generally designed to operate at arm's length, making rules and adjudicating cases. But the banking agencies are different: they are designed to supervise. They work cooperatively with banks and their remedial powers are so extensive they rarely use them. Oversight proceeds through informal, confidential dialogue.
Today, supervision faces extinction: banks oppose it, the banking agencies restrict it, and scholars misconstrue it. Recently, the critique has turned legal. Supervision's skeptics draw on a uniform, flattened view of administrative law to argue that supervision is inconsistent with norms of due process and transparency. These arguments erode the intellectual and political foundations of supervision. They also obscure its distinguished past and deny its continued necessity.
This Article rescues supervision and recovers its historical pedigree. It argues that our current understanding of supervision is both historically and conceptually limited. Understanding supervision requires understanding the theory of banking motivating it and revealing the broader institutional order that depends on it. This Article terms that order the "American Monetary Settlement" ("AMS"). The AMS is designed to solve an extremely difficult governance problem—creating an elastic money supply. It uses specially chartered banks to create money and supervisors to act as outsourcers, overseeing the managers who operate banks.
Supervision is now under increasing pressure due to fundamental changes in the political economy of finance. Beginning in the 1950s, the government started to allow nonbanks to expand the money supply, devaluing the banking franchise. Then, the government weakened the link between supervision and money creation by permitting banks to engage in unrelated business activities. This transformation undermined the normative foundations of supervisory governance, jeopardizing the AMS and ceding public power to private actors. Supervision must be preserved if the AMS is to survive.


Objectives Much research has been conducted to describe medical mistakes resulting in patient harm using databases that capture these events for medical organizations. The objective of this study was to describe patients' perceptions regarding disclosure and their actions after harm. Methods We analyzed a patient harm survey database composed of responses from a voluntary online survey administered to patients by ProPublica, an independent nonprofit news organization, during a 1-year period (May 2012 to May 2013). We collected data on patient demographics and characteristics related to the acknowledgment of patient harms, the reporting of patient harm to an oversight agency, whether the patient or the family obtained the harm-associated medical records, as well as the presence of a malpractice claim. Results There were 236 respondents reporting a patient harm (mean age, 49.1 y). In 11.4% (27/236) of harms, an apology by the medical organization or the clinician was made. In 42.8% (101/236) of harms, a complaint was filed with an oversight agency. In 66.5% (157/236) of harms, the patient or the family member obtained a copy of the pertinent medical records. A malpractice claim was reported in 19.9% (47/236) of events. Conclusions In this sample of self-reported patient harms, we found a perception of inadequate apology. Nearly half of patient harm events are reported to an oversight agency, and roughly one-fifth result in a malpractice claim.


The immune and reproductive functions of human NK cells are regulated by interactions of the C1 and C2 epitopes of HLA-C with C1-specific and C2-specific lineage III killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIR). This rapidly evolving and diverse system of ligands and receptors is restricted to humans and great apes. In this context, the orangutan has particular relevance because it represents an evolutionary intermediate, one having the C1 epitope and corresponding KIR but lacking the C2 epitope. Through a combination of direct sequencing, KIR genotyping, and data mining from the Great Ape Genome Project, we characterized the KIR alleles and haplotypes for panels of 10 Bornean orangutans and 19 Sumatran orangutans. The orangutan KIR haplotypes have between 5 and 10 KIR genes. The seven orangutan lineage III KIR genes all locate to the centromeric region of the KIR locus, whereas their human counterparts also populate the telomeric region. One lineage III KIR gene is Bornean specific, one is Sumatran specific, and five are shared. Of 12 KIR gene–content haplotypes, 5 are Bornean specific, 5 are Sumatran specific, and 2 are shared. The haplotypes have different combinations of genes encoding activating and inhibitory C1 receptors that can be of higher or lower affinity. All haplotypes encode an inhibitory C1 receptor, but only some haplotypes encode an activating C1 receptor. Of 130 KIR alleles, 55 are Bornean specific, 65 are Sumatran specific, and 10 are shared.


By the beginning of the twentieth century, photography had become accessible to average Americans as a means of documenting their lives. Although most people did not yet own cameras, they flocked to commercial photographers for affordable portraits that became the family heirlooms we gape at in wonder today. One of the most accomplished of these photographers was Joseph Judd Pennell of Junction City, Kansas. Pennell had one of the best equipped studios in the state and took thousands of photographs recording the public life of his town. People from all walks of life posed for his camera, and his images not only constitute one of America's great photography collections but also one of the richest visual documentations we have of this era. "Our Town on the Plains" reproduces more than one hundred of Pennell's best photographs. Taken from 1893 to 1922, these wonderfully crisp images depict life in Junction City and nearby Fort Riley: people posing with studio props or in front of their homes, group shots of schools and clubs, commissioned photographs of buildings and businesses, public events like parades and unveilings, and ordinary people at work on their farms and in their shops. These photographs suggest a world of solid civic and personal values, with Pennell's wide-angle lens lending a sense of spaciousness to everyday life. We see a baseball diamond from the late 1800s and a bar so typical of its day it was used in the opening credits of Cheers, images as inspiring as Teddy Roosevelt on the campaign trail or as nostalgic as storefront windows with groceries or corsets. They also depict a time of major transition in American life, as some people pose with their horse and buggy and others with their automobile. James Shortridge's text, interwoven with Pennell's images, takes readers on a stroll through Junction City in this golden age and points out many of the changes that were sweeping America. An introductory essay by art historian John Pultz reviews Pennell's career during the heyday of studio photography. Pennell's work is widely celebrated, having appeared in numerous books and PBS documentaries. "Our Town on the Plains" now preserves some of the best of those photographs in a volume through which we can visit our past and, in the process, discover ourselves.


People who helped exterminate Jews during the shoah (Hebrew for "holocaust") often claimed that they only did what was expected of them. Intrigued by hearing the same response from individuals who rescued Jews, David R. Blumenthal proposes that the notion of ordinariness used to characterize nazi evil is equally applicable to goodness. In this provocative book, Blumenthal develops a new theory of human behavior that identifies the social and psychological factors that foster both good and evil behavior. Drawing on lessons primarily from the shoah but also from well-known obedience and altruism experiments, My Lai, and the civil rights movement, Blumenthal deftly interweaves insights from psychology, history, and social theory to create a new way of looking at human behavior. Blumenthal identifies the factors - social hierarchy, education, and childhood discipline - that shape both good and evil attitudes and actions. Considering how our religious and educational institutions might do a better job of encouraging goodness and discouraging evil, he then makes specific recommendations for cultivating goodness in people, stressing the importance of the social context of education. He reinforces his ideas through stories, teachings, and case histories from the Jewish tradition that convey important lessons in resistance and goodness. Appendices include the ethical code of the Israel Defense Forces, material on non-violence from the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center, a suggested syllabus for a Jewish elementary school, and a list of prosocial sources on the Web, as well as a complete bibliography. If people can commit acts of evil without thinking, why can't even more commit acts of kindness? Writing with power and insight, Blumenthal shows readers of all faiths how we might replace patterns of evil with empathy, justice, and caring, and through a renewed attention to moral education, perhaps prevent future shoahs.


Real-time automatic and continuous information gathering through EcoGrid offers an unique and immense opportunity for long term ecological monitoring and planning. However, the vast amount of raw data gathered must be dealt with efficiently and effectively so that they may be timely turned into useable information to assist ecological management. In addition, Ecological data tends to subject to environmental changes and exception-prone so that their qualities vary. Adaptive business process modelling (BPM) techniques provide rich conceptualisation to support workflow systems to perform integrated analytical and documentation tasks flexibly and efficiently. We present one such BPM and show how adaptive workflow systems, like those developed at AIAI, can take advantage of enterprise models represented in FBPML to provide effective support to users in real grid environments.


Objective: To assess the costs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention care according to international guidelines, in a primary healthcare clinic in rural Nigeria, participating in a health insurance programme. Methods: A micro-costing study was conducted from a healthcare provider perspective. Activities per patient per year (e.g. consultations, diagnostic tests) were based on clinical practice in the study clinic. Direct (e.g. staff, drugs) and indirect cost items (overheads) for each activity were measured. A cohort study, patient and staff observations, and interviews in the study clinic provided patient resource utilization data. Univariate sensitivity analyses were performed. Scenario analyses evaluated cost-saving options. The main outcome was the costs of CVD prevention care per patient per year. Results: The costs of CVD prevention care were United States dollars (USD) 144 (range 130–158) per patient per year. Direct costs were USD 82 and indirect costs were USD 62. The main cost drivers were drugs (USD 39) and diagnostic tests (USD 36). The costs of hypertension care were USD 118 (107–132) and that of diabetes care USD 263 (236–289) per patient per year. A combination of task-shifting from doctors to nurses, reduction of appointment frequencies, and minimal organ damage screening would result in a direct cost reduction of 42%. Conclusion: This is the first study to report the costs of CVD prevention care in sub-Saharan Africa, based on prospectively collected operational data. The costs observed in our study are unaffordable in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the need for innovative financing mechanisms to fund CVD prevention care.


OBJECTIVE
The risk-benefit profile of antidepressant medications in bipolar disorder is controversial. When conclusive evidence is lacking, expert consensus can guide treatment decisions. The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) convened a task force to seek consensus recommendations on the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorders.

METHOD
An expert task force iteratively developed consensus through serial consensus-based revisions using the Delphi method. Initial survey items were based on systematic review of the literature. Subsequent surveys included new or reworded items and items that needed to be rerated. This process resulted in the final ISBD Task Force clinical recommendations on antidepressant use in bipolar disorder.

RESULTS
There is striking incongruity between the wide use of and the weak evidence base for the efficacy and safety of antidepressant drugs in bipolar disorder. Few well-designed, long-term trials of prophylactic benefits have been conducted, and there is insufficient evidence for treatment benefits with antidepressants combined with mood stabilizers. A major concern is the risk for mood switch to hypomania, mania, and mixed states. Integrating the evidence and the experience of the task force members, a consensus was reached on 12 statements on the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorder.

CONCLUSIONS
Because of limited data, the task force could not make broad statements endorsing antidepressant use but acknowledged that individual bipolar patients may benefit from antidepressants. Regarding safety, serotonin reuptake inhibitors and bupropion may have lower rates of manic switch than tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants and norepinephrine-serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The frequency and severity of antidepressant-associated mood elevations appear to be greater in bipolar I than bipolar II disorder. Hence, in bipolar I patients antidepressants should be prescribed only as an adjunct to mood-stabilizing medications.


The potential of grasslands as a carbon (C) sink in Europe is large despite the number of uncertainties related to the effect of grazing systems on C sequestration. The EIP-AGRI Focus Group (FG) 'Grazing for Carbon', a temporary group of 20 selected European experts from research and practice, shared knowledge and experience from different disciplines on the relationship between grazing and soil C. The FG explored grazing management strategies, drivers and barriers for different grazing systems, as well as tools and business models to support them successfully. The overall aim was to identify how to increase the soil C content in grazing systems. Six priorities were addressed: the effects and trade-offs associated with approaches to sequestering C in different grazing systems, the effect of grazing on C and soil nutrients, the role of plant mixtures and native species, general guidelines for optimal grazing, effective monitoring of soil C as a tool for soil quality evaluation and incentives to promote the adoption of grazing systems to optimise soil C content.


The paper tests the presence of cointegration by estimating the impact of monetary policy on household and corporate loans, while taking account of developments in the macroeconomic environment. The testing is applied using the Johansen procedure based on a factor-augmented vector error correction model (FAVEC model), which is augmented by the factor of the macroeconomic environment, for the period from January 2003 to December 2010. Factor analysis is used to estimate the macroeconomic environment factor, which reflects developments in domestic economic activity based on a large number of time series. The monetary policy indicator, which adequately represents the complexity of the CNB measures, is also defined. The paper confirms the existence of a long-run relation between household loans, the macroeconomic environment factor and the monetary policy indicator. At the same time, no such a relation was confirmed for corporate loans. This is probably due to the fact that, in contrast to households, enterprises raised substantial funds from other financing sources (particularly abroad) in preceding years, and not only from commercial banks. This has limited the impact of monetary policy on corporate loans. Impulse response functions estimated on the basis of the FAVEC model showed that a restrictive monetary policy shock leads to a decrease in household loans, while a positive shock in the macroeconomic environment factor, which generally represents an increase in overall economic activity, has a favourable impact on bank loans to households. The identification of the long-run relation yields the conclusion that CNB measures were justified; without them credit growth would certainly have been larger, which means that external imbalances in the Croatian economy would have been worse. On the other hand, the recent crisis and the halt in bank lending coupled with the weak credit channel of monetary policy in Croatia limited the impact of incentives for credit growth. This could in future undermine the longrun relation estimated in this paper.


Congress and many researchers and practitioners in the field of housing counseling have asked whether pre-purchase homeownership counseling for higher risk borrowers leads to better borrower outcomes and reduced lender risk relative to no counseling. Prior research has suggested there are benefits of pre-purchase homeownership counseling, but those benefits have been questioned for over 20 years by concerns that those who choose counseling may be different than those that who do not choose to get counseling (selection bias). HUD designed The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration as a rigorous, large-scale, randomized experiment to definitively answer the question about the relative efficacy of homebuyer education and counseling on higher risk borrowers. This Early Insights report demonstrates that HUD has successfully implemented the first large-scale national experiment of homebuyer education and counseling that promises to become a foundational source of evidence for policymakers, lenders, and housing counseling practitioners and advocates regarding the impacts of homebuyer education and counseling.


This project is aimed at gathering the proposed requirements for a proposed website for the Early Learning Initiative. This project will use the business analysis approach stated by the book A Guide to The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK). This project will also feature some aspects of the IEEE template as guideline. Throughout the process of this project meeting with key stakeholders to elicit requirements from them that will help the project progress. Then ultimately come up with solutions to these requirements. My client is the Early Learning Initiative (ELI) who are located at the National College of Ireland (NCI). This projected is based upon gathering the requirements for their own potential website. The ELI team consist of seven full time staff and six-part time staff, they also have approximately twenty-five home visitors.

By following the business analysis techniques that is recommended by BABOK this project will show a step by step process into gathering the requirements elicited by stakeholders then by using various business analysis techniques that will include brainstorming, interviews, surveys, document analysis, estimating, focus groups, prototyping, metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs), MoSCoW, non-functional requirements analysis, observation and workshops. Once the requirements are elicited by the stakeholders the final document will show how each requirement should be gathered, implemented and then analysis for these requirements that will show the results.

Each technique chosen may need a different kind of technology to be used such asMicrosoft Office, Summons/Trap, Survey Monkey, YouTube, Dropbox, HTML5, CSS3, Adobe Photoshop and 9Cloud.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To (a) develop the Women With Vulvar Neoplasia-Patient-Reported Outcome (WOMAN-PRO) instrument as a measure of women's post-vulvar surgery symptom experience and informational needs, (b) examine its content validity, (c) describe modifications based on pilot testing, and (d) examine the content validity of the revised instrument.

DESIGN
Mixed-methods research project.

SETTING
One Swiss and two German university hospitals.

SAMPLE
10 patients and 6 clinicians participated in the pilot test.

METHODS
The instrument was developed based on literature searches, clinician feedback, and patient interviews. Thirty-seven items were first pilot tested by patients and clinicians. The revised 36 items were pilot tested by patients. The content validity index (CVI) for each item and the entire instrument was calculated.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Symptom experience and informational needs of patients with vulvar neoplasia.

FINDINGS
The initial pilot test showed excellent scale CVI based on feedback from patients (CVI = 0.98) and clinicians (CVI = 0.92). After revising six items based on low individual CVIs and participant comments, the revised WOMAN-PRO showed excellent item and scale content validity (CVI = 1).

CONCLUSIONS
The newly developed WOMAN-PRO instrument can guide patients and clinicians in assessing symptoms, informational needs, and related distress.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Use of the WOMAN-PRO instrument in clinical practice can offer patients guidance in self-assessment and early recognition of symptoms. The instrument also can provide clinicians with systematic information about key symptoms from a patient perspective, as well as women's unmet informational needs. If the results of additional psychometric testing are promising, the WOMAN-PRO tool may provide an outcome measure for clinical trials.


Parental alienation syndrome is an alleged disorder that was first coined by Dr. Richard Gardner in 1985. Dr. Gardner defined this alleged syndrome as one that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes and involves a child's unjustified denigration against a parent. Although more than thirty years have passed since parental alienation syndrome was first introduced by Dr. Gardner, it is yet to be recognized or accepted in the medical community. Moreover, there are also legitimate questions concerning the alleged syndrome's admissibility and reliability as evidence in family law proceedings, and the negative effects parental alienation syndrome poses on child custody cases are undeniable. This Note argues that parental alienation syndrome should not be recognized in Massachusetts child custody disputes because it is not a medically recognized syndrome, nor does it pass either of the evidentiary reliability standards used in the Commonwealth.. This Note proposes that parties involved in child custody disputes should be educated on the junk science of parental alienation syndrome and informed of the laws available to assist them when issues arise concerning parental behavior that may negatively impact a child.


The scaling properties of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in spun fibers are studied. Simple equations have been obtained to describe the scaling properties of spun fibers as a function of intrinsic fiber birefringence, spin parameters, and mode-coupling length under both optimal and nonoptimal spin conditions. In particular, a counterintuitive result is found for fibers with perfect spin optimization, in which case the fiber PMD increases as the mode-coupling length is shortened. The results are verified with direct numerical modeling.


Lucas's critique of adaptive expectations argues that treating expectations as exogenous when they are endogenous can lead to important policy mistakes. More broadly the critique is of treating the endogenous as exogenous. Here we make the same argument with respect to social norms. Typically social norms are treated as exogenous in the face of substantial evidence that they are endogenous. We present a simple stylized model of endogenous social norms and show how ignoring endogeneity can lead to erroneous conclusions. We first examine how misunderstanding of the optimal nature of social norms may lead to misinterpretation of evidence and misguided policy prescriptions. This point we illustrate with two examples. In the first we show how populist working class resentment of the lax supervision of professional classes may be wrongly attributed to political power. In the second we show how the impact of double-blind laboratory treatments is properly understood only in the context of optimal social norms. Our second setting is one of social norms that may change in response to changed circumstances. In our first illustrative application we show that public good production can decrease when it is subsidized and that this is nevertheless evidence of an increase in welfare. In the second we show how changes in the minimum wage can have different consequences depending on the scope of coverage. Finally, we turn to the issue of internalization of social norms. This is widely understood to be important but like other aspects of social norms internalization is not fixed or magical but endogenous. Here we show how the naive idea that laboratory results carry over directly to the field can lead to mistaken conclusions while at the same time showing how appropriate use of laboratory results can serve as important confirmation for hypotheses about the field. JEL Classification Numbers: A1, D7, D9


Classification problems encountered in real-life applications often have domain-specific structural information available on the measured data, which cannot be readily accommodated by conventional machine learning algorithms. Ignoring the structure and blindly running a conventional algorithm on the numerical data can compromise the quality of solutions.
This thesis provides answers to two such complementary settings: one where there is a hierarchy among multiple class labels (output structure), and one where the input features are known to be sequentially correlated (input structure). Probabilistic graphical models are used to encode the dependencies, and model parameters are estimated using efficient inference algorithms. While both scenarios are motivated by real bioinformatics problems, namely gene function prediction and aneuploidy-based cancer classification, they have applications in other domains as well, such as computer graphics, music, and text classification.
The first part focuses on structure among a group of output classes. Large numbers of overlapping classes are found to be organized in hierarchies in many domains. In multi-label classification over such a hierarchy, members of a class must also belong to all of its parents. Training an independent classifier for each class is a common approach, but this may yield labels for a given example that collectively violate this constraint. We propose a principled method of resolving such inconsistencies to increase accuracy over all classes. Our approach is to view the hierarchy as a graphical model, and then to employ Bayesian inference to infer the most likely set of hierarchically consistent class labels from independent base classifier predictions. This method is applicable over any type of base classification algorithm. Experiments on synthetic data, as well as real data sets from bioinformatics and computer graphics domains, illustrate its behavior under a range of conditions, and demonstrate that it is able to improve accuracy at all levels of a hierarchy.
The second part focuses on structure among input features, in the form of a sequential relationship. Generic non-sequential machine learning models assume no importance in the order of inputs. Conversely, sequence models (e.g. Hidden Markov Models) need to assume stationarity to keep the number of parameters manageable, modeling only sequence-wide stability and losing the significance of particular positions. We propose a fixed-length sequence classification method that combines sequential correlations with positional features in a sparsely regularized solution, with training and inference algorithms in linear-time of sequence length. Motivated by the problem of tumor classification by genetic copy number changes, our method can identify copy number alteration regions in noisy array-CGH data, and locate the genes of clinical relevance driving these alterations and affecting the cancer label. Experiments on synthetic array-CGH data modeled from real human breast tumors, as well as real tumor datasets from breast cancer, bladder cancer, and uveal melanoma, demonstrate that the our method matches or exceeds state-of-the-art methods in accuracy, and is able to produce biologically significant predictions for clinically relevant genes.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Syphilis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection disproportionately affects men who have sex with men (MSM), and the rate of coinfection has been increasing over the last decade. HIV and syphilis coinfection is particularly challenging because the infections interact synergistically thereby increasing the risk of acquisition and transmission as well as accelerating disease progression. Areas covered: This paper reviews and summarizes the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical management and prevention of HIV and syphilis coinfection among MSM. Expert commentary: Research does not support a different syphilis treatment for coinfected individuals; however, coinfection may warrant a recommendation for antiretroviral therapy. In order to reverse the epidemic of syphilis and HIV coinfection, there needs to be greater awareness, improved cultural sensitivity among health care providers, improved access to preventative services and increased screening for syphilis and HIV.


Aims and objectives
This study has three aims. The first aim is to explore how therapists experience erotic feelings in therapy. The second aim is to examine how therapists' experience of the erotic is constructed, and the third aim is to identify how therapists' accounts construct the social world. The objectives of the study are to (1) make meaning of therapists' experience, (2) theorise the basic social processes, contexts and structural conditions that influence the construction of their experience, and (3) suggest practical applications (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2013, 2014).

Methodology
The Constructionist model of Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2013) is used to analyse the collected qualitative data.

Method
Data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with thirteen therapists. The participants were six male and seven female who had more than five years of post-qualification experience. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed.

Results
The findings suggest that the majority of participants are not prepared for their encounter with the erotic. Most of them perceive it as a mysterious phenomenon, view it as a professional taboo, and argue that it has personal and sensitive meaning for both themselves and their clients. The majority of participants appear to encounter a series of challenges, which they process internally while they handle the erotic explicitly, implicitly or not at all. Participants' understanding of the erotic is mostly influenced by their clinical experience and the quality of supervision they receive. Their experience of the erotic is constructed through their interaction with society, training institutions, the profession and the regulation of clinical practice. At the same time, due to the inter-relationship between social systems and therapeutic practice, participants' accounts construct the social world. Participants understand the erotic as a product of therapy and highlight that it can be either constructive or destructive. At last, they advocate that a practical approach to learning, open conversations on the subject and strategies to overcome the restrictions set by society, culture and regulation are required to enable their work with the erotic.

Discussion
Research findings and implications for practice are discussed. The methodology used to conduct the study is evaluated. Suggestions for further research are provided.


Supersymmetric models of particle physics predict new superpartner matter states for each particle in the Standard Model. These superpartners will have wide ranging implications, from cosmology to observations at high energy accelerators, such as CERN's LHC. In this 2006 text, the authors develop the basic concepts of supersymmetry and show how it can be incorporated into a theoretical framework for describing unified theories of elementary particles. They develop the technical tools of supersymmetry using four-component spinor notation familiar to high energy experimentalists and phenomenologists. The text takes the reader from an abstract formalism to a straightforward recipe for writing supersymmetric gauge theories of particle physics, and ultimately to the calculations necessary for practical applications at colliders and in cosmology. This is a comprehensive, practical and accessible introduction to supersymmetry for experimental and phenomenological particle physicists and graduate students. It has been reissued as an Open Access publication on Cambridge Core.


ABSTRACT A catalogue of types of Hawaiian land and freshwater snails (Mollusca: Gastropoda) deposited in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, was recently published in Zoosystema. Type material of an additional species, Lymnaea affinis Souleyet, 1852, has since been found and is here documented and a lectotype designated.


Inverse treatment planning in radiation therapy is formulated as solving optimization problems. The objective function and constraints consist of multiple terms designed for different clinical and practical considerations. Weighting factors of these terms are needed to define the optimization problem. While a treatment planning optimization engine can solve the optimization problem with given weights, adjusting the weights to yield a high-quality plan is typically performed by a human planner. Yet the weight-tuning task is labor intensive, time consuming, and it critically affects the final plan quality. An automatic weight-tuning approach is strongly desired. The procedure of weight adjustment to improve the plan quality is essentially a decision-making problem. Motivated by the tremendous success in deep learning for decision making with human-level intelligence, we propose a novel framework to adjust the weights in a human-like manner. This study used inverse treatment planning in high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDRBT) for cervical cancer as an example. We developed a weight-tuning policy network (WTPN) that observes dose volume histograms of a plan and outputs an action to adjust organ weighting factors, similar to the behaviors of a human planner. We trained the WTPN via end-to-end deep reinforcement learning. Experience replay was performed with the epsilon greedy algorithm. After training was completed, we applied the trained WTPN to guide treatment planning of five testing patient cases. It was found that the trained WTPN successfully learnt the treatment planning goals and was able to guide the weight tuning process. On average, the quality score of plans generated under the WTPN's guidance was improved by ~8.5% compared to the initial plan with arbitrarily set weights, and by 10.7% compared to the plans generated by human planners. To our knowledge, this was the first time that a tool was developed to adjust organ weights for the treatment planning optimization problem in a human-like fashion based on intelligence learnt from a training process, which was different from existing strategies based on pre-defined rules. The study demonstrated potential feasibility to develop intelligent treatment planning approaches via deep reinforcement learning.


Populations of the Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica embark on some of the longest migrations known among birds. The baueri race breeds in western Alaska and spends the non-breeding season a hemisphere away in New Zealand and eastern Australia; the menzbieri race breeds in Siberia and migrates to western and northern Australia. Although the Siberian birds are known to follow the coast of Asia during both migrations, the southern pathway followed by the Alaska breeders has remained unknown. Two questions have particular ecological importance: (1) do Alaska godwits migrate directly across the Pacific, a distance of 11000 km; and (2) are they capable of doing this in a single flight without stopping to rest or refuel? We explored six lines of evidence to answer these questions. The distribution of resightings of marked birds of the baueri and menzbieri races was significantly different between northward and southward flights, with virtually no marked baueri resighted along the Asian mainland during southward migration. The timing of southward migration of the two races further indicates the absence of a coastal Asia route by baueri, with peak passage of godwits in general occurring there a month prior to the departure of most birds from Alaska. The use of a direct route across the Pacific is also supported by significantly more records of godwits reported from within a direct migration corridor than elsewhere in Oceania, and during the September to November period than at other times of the year. The annual but rare occurrence of Hudsonian Godwits Limosa haemastica in New Zealand and the absence of records of this species along the Asian mainland also support a direct flight, and are best explained by Hudsonian Godwits accompanying Bar-tailed Godwits from known communal staging areas in Alaska. Flight simulation models, extreme fat loads, and the apparent evolution of a wind-selected migration from Alaska further support a direct, non-stop flight.


Climate change is a big issue in today's world and holds a potential risk to society, it
is therefore important to gauge what the publics understanding of the issue is.
The focus of this study is to try and understand what the public think about climate
change being reported in the media and if newspapers influence people's opinions and
attitudes towards climate change.
The research carried out consisted of examining several examples of newspaper
headlines about climate change from tabloid and broadsheet newspapers and also
conducting a questionnaire in the North West of England to find out people's attitudes
and knowledge about climate change in the media and the influence tabloids and
broadsheets it could have on them.
The study found that most participants thought they had a good understanding of the
climate change issue and the most commonly acknowledged sources of this
knowledge were school and newspapers. There were some differences between the
opinions of broadsheet and tabloid readers; broadsheet readers tended to think that
newspaper information was not entirely trustworthy and were aware that newspapers
can be very persuasive, whereas tabloid readers appeared more inclined to believe
what they read.


We have designed and experimentally demonstrated radio-over-fiber (ROF) systems to simultaneously generate optical millimeter-wave (mm-wave) and centralized lightwaves using one low-bandwidth intensity modulator (IM) with low-frequency local oscillator (LO) signals while simplifying the transmission design and reducing the cost of the base station (BS). The techniques based on double-sideband (DSB) and single-sideband (SSB) signals for ROF systems are discussed in detail in terms of architecture efficiency, bandwidth requirement, and fiber transmission performance. The repetitive frequency of the optical mm-wave carriers are four times of that of the LO in central office (CO) by using DSB scheme. Full-duplex transmission services have been successfully realized over 20-km single-mode fiber (SMF) based on wavelength-reuse technique. In order to mitigate chromatic dispersion, the SSB technique has also been investigated in this paper. We had realized an ROF system that attained dispersion-free transmission and a negative power penalty by using SSB generation. We also quantified the optical carrier-to-sideband ratio (CSR) of downstream transmission in this ROF link and established that the performance of ROF system can be significantly improved when the optical signals are transmitted at a CSR value of 0 dB. The proposed architectures require much less bandwidth of the modulators, receiver sensitivity, system operation efficiency, and reliability.


Abstract The interplay of inertia and deformability has a substantial impact on the transport of soft particles suspended in a fluid. However, to date a thorough understanding of these systems is still missing, and only a limited number of experimental and theoretical studies are available. We combine the finite-element, immersed-boundary and lattice-Boltzmann methods to simulate three-dimensional suspensions of soft particles subjected to planar Poiseuille flow at finite Reynolds numbers. Our findings confirm that the particle deformation and inclination increase when inertia is present. We observe that the Segré–Silberberg effect is suppressed with respect to the particle deformability. Depending on the deformability and strength of inertial effects, inward or outward lateral migration of the particles takes place. In particular, for increasing Reynolds numbers and strongly deformable particles, a hitherto unreported distinct flow focusing effect emerges, which is accompanied by a non-monotonic behaviour of the apparent suspension viscosity and thickness of the particle-free layer close to the channel walls. This effect can be explained by the behaviour of a single particle and the change of the particle collision mechanism when both deformability and inertia effects are relevant.


The purpose of this ethno methodological exploratory descriptive case study was to investigate and understand teacher perceptions of the relationships between teachers and students and how those teachers perceive relationships affect student academic performance and behaviour in a small town elementary school. The relationship between a teacher and a student is defined as a formalized interpersonal association between an authority figure and a subordinate who interact on nearly a day-to-day basis. A cross-case analysis of five individual case studies of elementary grade classroom teachers teaching in a 500 student preschool through fifth grade predominately Caucasian middle-income small town school located approximately an hour from a large Midwestern metropolitan city was used to investigate the following research questions: (a) What teacher and student behaviours do teachers perceive contribute most directly to developing and maintaining positive and supportive teacher-student relationships? (b) To what extent do teachers perceive their interactions with students influence the academic and behavioural success of students in their classrooms? (c) How do teachers perceive their interactions with students influence their students' future academic and behavioural success? (d) How do teachers perceive school culture affects student behaviour and academic performance and achievement? Through analysis of teacher interviews, classroom observations, and participant journals, four predominate themes were determined: Relationships; (b) culture; (c) high quality instruction; and (d) behavior management. The data from this study showed that these teachers believe that there is value in forming and maintaining positive and supportive relationships with their students in providing for their students' academic achievement and behavioral success. The data also showed that these teachers feel the classroom and school culture influences academics and behavior and believe it is important to understand and respond to individual student cultures. These teachers all spoke of and wrote about the importance of planning high quality instruction in providing for academic and behavioral success and high quality instruction was observed in each teacher's classroom. These teachers felt a system-wide positive behavior management plan and classroom management procedures that taught students how to behave and supported positive behavior through student accountability also was important in providing for academic and behavioral success.


Proteases regulate a large number of biological processes in plants, such as metabolism, physiology, growth, and defense. In this study, we carried out virus-induced gene silencing assays with pepper cDNA clones to elucidate the biological roles of protease superfamilies. A total of 153 representative protease genes from pepper cDNA were selected and cloned into a Tobacco rattle virus-ligation independent cloning vector in a loss-of-function study. Silencing of 61 proteases resulted in altered phenotypes, such as the inhibition of shoot growth, abnormal leaf shape, leaf color change, and lethality. Furthermore, the silencing experiments revealed that multiple proteases play a role in cell death and immune response against avirulent and virulent pathogens. Among these 153 proteases, 34 modulated the hypersensitive cell death response caused by infection with an avirulent pathogen, and 16 proteases affected disease symptom development caused by a virulent pathogen. Specifically, we provide experimental evidence for the roles of multiple protease genes in plant development and immune defense following pathogen infection. With these results, we created a broad sketch of each protease function. This information will provide basic information for further understanding the roles of the protease superfamily in plant growth, development, and defense.


Developing and Managing Electronic Journal Collections By Donnelyn Curtis, Virginia M. Scheschy, and Adolfo R. Tarango. How-To-Do-It 'Manuals, no. 1.02. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000. 267p. $55 (ISBN 1-55570-383-6) LC 00-55423. Managing Electronic Serials/ Essays Based on the ALCTS Electronic Serials Institutes, 1997--1999. Ed. Pamela M.\Bluh. ALCTS Papers on Library Technical Services & Collections, no. 9. Chicago: ALA 2001. 189p. $38 (ISBN 0-8389-3510-9) LC00-67646. Selecting and Managing Electronic Resources By Vicki L. (Gregory How-To-Do-It 'Manuals,' no. 101 New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000. * 109p $55 (ISBN 1-55570-382-8 Successes and Failures of Digital Libraries/Eds. Susan Harum and Michael Twidale. 35th Annual, Clinic on, Library Applications of Data Processing, 1998. Champaign, Ill.: Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Univ. of Illinois, 2000. l34p. $30 (ISBN 0-87845-107-2; ISSN 0069-4789). Collection Development in a Digital Environment/ Ed: Sul H Lee. Binghamton; N.Y.: Haworth, 1999. 118p. $49.95 (ISBN 0-7890 0794-0) $19.95 pbk. (ISBN 0-7890-0827-0) LC 99-39118. Electronic Collection Management/Ed. Suzan D. McGinnis Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth 2000. 159p, $69.95 (ISBN 0-7890-1308-) $34.95 pbk. (ISBN 0-7890-1309-6) LC 00-53864. As the literature about electronic resources proliferates, it is increasingly difficult to examine the large number of new publications to sort out those likely to be of greatest interest and use to LRTS - readers. As a strategy for dealing with the increased number of publications in a new area of growing interest, the review editor requested a "megareview" covering not one, two, or three titles but eight recent books with seemingly interchangeable titles, all on the subject of managing electronic resources in libraries. Careful examination of these titles reveals that four are dual publications, issued simultaneously as monographs and as journal issues, two from worth Press and two from the Graduate' School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana--Campaign. One is a set of conference papers bearing both an ISBN and an ISSN. The other three are ordinary monographs, although one, from ALCTS, consists of a set of multiauthored papers that originated as a conference program and subsequently grew into several well attended regional institutes before publication in book form. In this review, in order to give each title a fair share of attention and space, first each is described briefly; next they are examined as an integrated body of literature; and finally, they are evaluated in the broader context of available literature on the subject. Managing Electronic Serials includes eleven chapters by different authors, a bibliography, biographical sketches of the authors, and an index. Most papers include references, and some of the lists are quite extensive. The eleven chapters are "Seriality and the Web," by Regina Romano Reynolds; "Saddlepoints in Serials," by Ronald L. Larsen; "Electronic Serials into the Millennium," by Friedemann A. Weigel; "Managing Electronic Serials: An Overview," by Sharon Cline McKay; "Management and Technical Considerations for Acquiring and Accessing Electronic Serials," by George Machovec; "Seven Common Myths about Acquiring and Accessing E-journals," by Dan Tonkery; "How Intellectual Property Laws Affecting Libraries Are Changing," by Sarah E. Sully; "A License to Kill for...," by Faye A. Chadwell; "Cataloging Electronic Resources: The Practicalities," by Nonna J. Fair, Steven C. Shadle, and Beverley Geer; "Nuts and Bolts: Public Service in an Electronic Environment," by Raye Lynn Thomas; and "Another New Frontier: Trailblazing Electronically," by Thomas W Leonhardt. The best chapters in Managing Electronic Serials are Larsen's, the keynote address at the first regional institute, which provides an excellent overview of the issues to be addressed in collecting, managing, and utilizing electronic serials; and Chadwell's, which furnishes librarians with a guide to obtaining better custom-negotiated licenses instead of passively accepting the standard licenses that vendors offer for their products. …


High-speed railway (HSR), as an important deployment scenario for both the present and the future mobile wideband radio communication systems, has attracted more and more attention all over the world with the rapid increasing demand of the high data rate communication service on traveling. For the purpose of capturing the wideband channel characteristics of HSR, a channel measurement campaign was conducted at the center frequency of 2.35 GHz with 50 MHz bandwith in the U-shape cutting scenario of Zhengzhou--Xian HSR line in China. Based on the field measured data, we analyze the small scale characteristics in detail, which maily include path number, root mean square delay spread (rms DS), and doppler shift. It is found that the distribution of the path number is well fitted by a Gamma distribution. The statistics of rms DS in the U- shape cutting scenario are larger than the results in other scenario of HSR. In addition, an increasing tendency of rms DS against the transmitter-to- receiver distance is observed and can be modeled by a linear function. Finally, the doppler frequency shift is verified and meets the theoretical value.


This paper uses a unique survey of Roma and non-Roma in South Eastern Europe to evaluate competing explanations for the poor performance of Roma in the labour market. The analysis seeks to identify the determinants of educational achievement, employment and wages for Roma and non-Roma. LIML methods are employed to control for endogenous schooling and two sources of sample selection bias in the estimates. Nonlinear and linear decomposition techniques are applied in order to identify the extent of discrimination. The key results are that: the employment returns to education are lower for Roma than for non-Roma whilst the wage returns are broadly similar for the two groups; the similar wage gains translate into a smaller absolute wage gain for Roma than for non-Roma given their lower average wages; the marginal absolute gains from education for Roma are only a little over one-third of the marginal absolute gains to education for majority populations; and, there is evidence to support the idea that a substantial part of the differential in labour market outcomes is due to discrimination. Explanations of why Roma fare so badly tend to fall into one of two camps: 'low education' vs. 'discrimination'. The analysis suggests that both of these explanations have some basis in fact. Moreover, a direct implication of the lower absolute returns to education accruing to Roma is that their lower educational participation is, at least partially, due to rational economic calculus. Consequently, policy needs to address both low educational participation and labour market discrimination contemporaneously.


There are over 200,000 abandoned mines covering hundreds of thousands of acres in the western United States. Seen from the air, they create surreal, haunting, yet somehow beautiful landscapes of mind-boggling scale. But these scarred landscapes are only temporary: by law, mining companies are required to reclaim them, and the process of renewal exposes many physical, philosophical, technological, environmental, political, regulatory, and ethical issues.Using aerial photography, maps, designs, charts, and analyses, Alan Berger provides a colorful and insightful overview of the possibilities-and dangers-of converting these altered landscapes. Reclaiming the American West covers the historical background and policy, as well as representational, technical, and design challenges presented by working with these enormous toxic sites, many of which have been converted into landscapes of extraordinary beauty. In addition, the book gives us an unprecedented vantage point above the sublime landscapes.


To enhance the quality of patient care, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has previously adopted guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) based upon the PSI model. We audited retrospectively the management of CAP inpatients admitted to Hamad General Hospital from 1 January until 31 June, 2008 with the objective of establishing whether these HMC guidelines were being implemented appropriately. Sixty-nine patients with CAP were admitted during the study period. Guidelines for the assessment of disease severity at presentation were not followed in all patients. Appropriate antibiotic therapy was instituted in 52 (75.4%) cases. Ten patients died (14.5%). The rate of use of a severity assessment score to stratify patients with CAP based on recognized guidelines was zero and the death rate of 14.5% might reflect that noncompliance.


Drawing upon media agenda-setting theory and previous studies in organizational impression management, this paper empirically investigates the influence of tax avoidance news on corporate tax reporting. This study is based on the pronounced discontinuity in the amount of news articles related to tax avoidance in the United Kingdom over two periods (2010-2011 and 2012-2013). A difference-in-differences design is employed in order to enable a comparison of the media effects on those firms that have been reported in tax avoidance news versus those without media attention. Using a sample of annual reports of UK FTSE 100 companies across the period 2010 to 2013, I test the impact of tax avoidance news on quality and quantity of tax disclosure. The results suggest that the recent increase in media attention on tax avoidance does not stimulate firms to improve the quality and the quantity of tax disclosure in their corporate reporting. Rather, firms can be discouraged from discussing the most relevant tax items in their reporting, as shown in the case of financial firms which were the subject of the largest amount of tax avoidance news.


Many of Michigan's loamy soils exhibit varying degrees of fragipan expression, which may be variously influenced by their parent materials. We examined three soils in northern Michigan with varying degrees of fragipan expression to assess development of fragipans formed in acidic and calcareous glacial drift. To accomplish this, soil characterizations were made through field, physical, chemical, and micromorphological observations and analyses. The soils have bisequal horizonation: an upper sequum associated with podzolization processes and lower sequum associated with lessivage. Protofragipans and fragipans are found only in the lower sequum. The soils experience periodic episaturation and contain at least one lithologic discontinuity, often near the protofragipan or fragipan. The protofragipan and fragipans have loamy sand to loam textures, weak platy to subangular blocky structure, higher bulk densities (1.5-1.9 g cm -3 ) and lower pH values (4.8-6.8) than adjacent horizons, brittle failure, and fine vesicular pores. Eluvial protofragipan and fragipan horizons contain albic materials that tongue into underlying argillic horizons. Illuvial fragipans exhibit clay coats, flows, and bridging. Thin-section characterizations confirm the presence of closely packed fabrics, intergrain bridging by clays, and void pedofeatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides evidence of eluviation, reorganization of silt and clay, fluctuating redox conditions, degraded void pedofeatures, and the presence of surficially amorphous (bonding) materials in the protofragipan and fragipans. Soil extraction data do not preclude the presence of a fragic-property (brittleness) agent. Results, therefore, indicate that these protofragipans and fragipans are pedogenic and can form, with variable expression, in both acidic and calcareous glacial parent materials.


This contribution discusses the connection between variability in radio and optical with structural variations observed with VLBI. Structural changes do not have to start in the core, and intensity variations may be caused by components in the jet outside the core. The scenario is probably more complicated than present day theories assume.


Studies on the metabolic transformations of labeled pyridoxine showed that its utilization by tumor animals and tumor cells differs greatly from that seen in control animals. When [3,4-14C] and/or tritium labeled pyridoxine at the 6th ring carbon is administered i.p. to tumor-bearing animals and its fate is subsequently determined at different time intervals (using HPLC separation of the labeled metabolites following acid extraction from tissues), in addition to other differences, synthesis of a novel labeled product occurs which begins with the onset of tumor growth. It is either absent or present only at minimal levels in normal animals and regenerating rat liver. It is present in all tumor sources examined to date, i.e. serum of tumor rats, a spectrum of rat hepatomas, solid human tumors, tumor cells in culture and plasma of cancer patients. The novel product is a conjugate of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate with the structure Adenosine-N6-Diethylthioether-N1- Pyridoximine-5'-phosphate. This communication reports on the occurrence and distribution of the novel product in different tumor tissues and cells as well as the blood of cancer patients with active disease and in remission, and in normal volunteers. The results show significantly higher levels of this product in the blood of patients with different malignancies and in the active state. The novel vitamin B6 compound may be a good candidate as a marker for tumor presence and/or metastasis.


Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally transmitted trait, whereby a plant is unable to produce viable pollen. Studies have revealed
that this trait is a tool for enabling effi cient and reliable coexistence between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM cultivation by biocontainment of GM maize (Zea mays L.) pollen. Maize has three types of male-sterile cytoplasm (T, S, and C), the fertility of which can be restored by nuclear rf genes or by interactions with the environment. Twenty-two CMS versions of modern European maize hybrids were evaluated in 17 environments in Switzerland, France, and Bulgaria, with two or three sowing dates, in 2005 and 2006. Stable and unstable male sterility occurred in all three CMS types. T-cytoplasm hybrids were the most stable, while S-cytoplasm hybrids often showed partial restoration
of fertility. C-cytoplasm was similar to T-cytoplasm with regard to maintaining male sterility. Climatic factors, especially air temperature,
evapotranspiration, and water vapor, during the 10 d before anthesis as well as during anthesis, were correlated positively or negatively with the
partial reversion to male fertility of CMS hybrids, indicating an interaction between genetic and climatic factors. This study illustrates that T- and
C-cytoplasm in particular open up viable prospects for containing transgenic pollen, especially for Bt-maize.


This research is concerned with studying the dynamic performance of reconfigurable Manufacturing Planning and Control (MPC) systems. Such goal requires two main tasks. The first task is to develop a dynamic MPC system model that has the ability to reconfigure to different MPC policies. The second task is to design a supervisory control unit that has as input the high level strategic market decisions and constraints together with a feedback of the current manufacturing system state and then select the optimal suitable operation mode or policy at these conditions. This paper addresses the first task of the proposed research and presents and analyses a dynamic reconfigurable MPC model. The response of the developed model to sudden demand changes under different parameters settings is analysed. In addition, the stability limits of the system are also studied. The results give a better understanding of the dynamics of reconfigurable MPC systems and the different trade-off decisions required when selecting an MPC policy and the limits for parameters settings. These results represent the first step towards designing the supervisory control unit which will be responsible for managing the reconfiguration of the whole system.


The Iceland Greenland Seas Project (IGP) is a coordinated atmosphere–ocean research program investigating climate processes in the source region of the densest waters of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. During February and March 2018, a field campaign was executed over the Iceland and southern Greenland Seas that utilized a range of observing platforms to investigate critical processes in the region, including a research vessel, a research aircraft, moorings, sea gliders, floats, and a meteorological buoy. A remarkable feature of the field campaign was the highly coordinated deployment of the observing platforms, whereby the research vessel and aircraft tracks were planned in concert to allow simultaneous sampling of the atmosphere, the ocean, and their interactions. This joint planning was supported by tailor-made convection-permitting weather forecasts and novel diagnostics from an ensemble prediction system. The scientific aims of the IGP are to characterize the atmospheric forcing and the ocean response of coupled processes; in particular, cold-air outbreaks in the vicinity of the marginal ice zone and their triggering of oceanic heat loss, and the role of freshwater in the generation of dense water masses. The campaign observed the life cycle of a long-lasting cold-air outbreak over the Iceland Sea and the development of a cold-air outbreak over the Greenland Sea. Repeated profiling revealed the immediate impact on the ocean, while a comprehensive hydrographic survey provided a rare picture of these subpolar seas in winter. A joint atmosphere–ocean approach is also being used in the analysis phase, with coupled observational analysis and coordinated numerical modeling activities underway.


On September 25, 2013 The Guardian released a report that alleged human rights abuses at the construction sites for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Further investigation from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has estimated that over 4,000 migrant workers will die before a soccer ball is kicked in 2022. Subsequent reports claim that the abuses and deaths have continued since the initial Guardian report. Despite these reports, as of December 2014, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will still take place as planned. Using rhetorical analysis based on Michel Foucault's method of genealogy, this research analyzes how FIFA uses rhetoric in the media to maintain organizational power in the face of these human rights abuse allegations. The findings indicate that FIFA's use of contradictory rhetoric and distancing rhetoric regarding their responsibility towards the workers' rights problems helps to establish and maintain a favorable subjective truth about FIFA's role the situation. Inoculation theory is applied to further explain how this sort of rhetoric helps FIFA to maintain power and remain inactive on the human rights issue.


Abstract. Wildlife populations are under increasing pressure from a variety of threatening processes, ranging from climate change to habitat loss, that can incite a physiological stress response. The stress response influences immune function, with potential consequences for patterns of infection and transmission of disease among and within wildlife, domesticated animals and humans. This is concerning because stress may exacerbate the impact of disease on species vulnerable to extinction, with consequences for biodiversity conservation globally. Furthermore, stress may shape the role of wildlife in the spread of emerging infectious diseases (EID) such as Hendra virus (HeV) and Ebola virus. However, we still have a limited understanding of the influence of physiological stress on infectious disease in wildlife. We highlight key reasons why an improved understanding of the relationship between stress and wildlife disease could benefit conservation, and animal and public health, and discuss approaches for future investigation. In particular, we recommend that increased attention be given to the influence of anthropogenic stressors including climate change, habitat loss and management interventions on disease dynamics in wildlife populations.


Both scholars and international actors frequently stress the important role played by anti-civilian ideologies in escalating risks of mass atrocities against civilians. Yet strategies to combat and counter anti-civilian ideologies remain an uncertain and understudied component of atrocity prevention, and scepticism about their efficacy is to be expected. This paper provides a preliminary framework for thinking about strategies and interventions designed to counter the ideological causes of mass atrocities. First, I briefly clarify what existing research seems to suggest the role of ideology in mass atrocities is, and is not. I caution against cruder or overly strong theses about the role ideology plays, but clarify that whilst ideology's actual causal impact is varying and complex, it is also significant. Second, I clarify what ideological interventions and strategies might be reasonably expected to do, and comparatively assess them against more dominant existing prevention tools to show that their preventive potential is sufficiently high to warrant usage. Finally, I provide guidelines on how the effort to formulate ideological strategies and interventions for preventing mass atrocities should best proceed.


The feasibility of using thermal energy harvesting to power a wireless sensor node for temperature monitoring of industrial devices is explored and evaluated in this paper. The thermal energy harvesting equipment and energy conversion circuit have been designed and fabricated. A series of experiments with various sleep periods for the sensor node are undertaken. The experimental results show that the thermal energy harvesting equipment and energy conversion circuit are able to power a commercial wireless node when the sleep period of the node is more than 16s, equating to a duty cycle of 5.4%. The results also indicate that the wireless sensor network based on the proposed autonomous wireless sensor node can monitor the industrial device temperature successfully.


Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common condition of the lower urinary tract (LUT) that is characterised by urinary urgency, with or without incontinence, accompanied by frequency and nocturia as a result of involuntary urinary bladder contractions. OAB affects millions of people worldwide and has a significant impact on quality of life. A significant amount of research has been undertaken, and is still on-going, investigating the underlying mechanisms of bladder dysfunction and the development of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of LUT conditions.It is now clear that the simplistic ideology of the bladder acting as a passive reservoir is far more complicated, and involves complex mechanisms between the different components of the bladder wall.The recently emerging role of the bladder urothelium and sub-urothelium in regulating bladder functions has laid the foundation for a hypothesis supporting a mechanosensory basis for OAB. The urothelium expresses several different types of receptors and ion channels, and upon stimulation releases mediators such as ATP, nitric oxide and acetylcholine. These mediators act on receptors in the urothelium and in the underlying nerves and muscle to mediate bladder activity, and although these mechanisms are still not completely understood there is evidence to suggest that in pathological conditions, these pathways may be altered. The aim of this project was to investigate the mechanisms, structures and transmitters involved in these mechano-sensory pathways in the bladder wall using in vitro pharmacology, histology, immunohistochemistry and mediator assaysSpontaneous phasic contractions (PCs) developed in tissue strips isolated from the dome, body and trigone regions of the pig bladder, and the amplitude and frequency of these PCs was measured. Functional and structural differences were observed between the different bladder regions, particularly in the trigone versus the dome and body. Removal of the mucosa significantly increased the development time of PCs in the dome and body but not in the trigone. Mucosa removal also significantly decreased the frequency of contractions in the dome and body but not in the trigone. Since increased PCs of the bladder are associated with OAB, the mechanisms regulating these contractions were explored. Phasic contractions amplitude could be increased by low concentrations of the muscarinic receptor agonist carbamylcholine (carbachol - CCh), and functional differences were observed in the trigone compared to the dome and body regions. The muscarinic receptor subtype involved in mediating the effect of CCh was also investigated, but from the results obtained it was not possible to determine which subtype was responsible.Research into the role of interstitial cells (ICC) in the bladder has grown in the past decade since this specialised class of cells was discovered in the urinary bladder. It is postulated that these cells may be involved as mediators of mechanosensory function in the bladder. The expression of c-Kit, a tyrosine kinase receptor, on ICC allowed for the functional role of these cells in PCs of the bladder to be investigated, and to attempt to determine their localization in the different bladder layers using immunohistochemistry. Imatinib, a tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor, had no effect on the amplitude or frequency of PCs in tissue strips from the different bladder regions, suggesting that c-Kit positive ICC may not be involved in PCs in the pig bladder. A population of cells staining positive for vimentin, but lacking specific c-Kit staining, was identified but cannot be conclusively identified as ICC.Investigation and measurement of ATP release using a luciferase assay kit in response to stretch was also performed in the dome and body regions of the bladder. ATP release was found to increase with stretch. The presence of a heterogeneous population of cells in the bladder including detrusor smooth muscle cells, urothelial cells and ICC makes it difficult to determine the exact source of ATP, although literature suggests the urothelium to be the dominant source.In summary, the data presented in this thesis support a role for the urothelium and suburothelium the complex physiological processes of the pig urinary bladder. Further research is required into the integrated physiology of the bladder wall, and this may contribute to the discovery of new targets for pharmacological agents to treat lower urinary tract conditions.


We report on the observation of efficient and ultra-broadband white light supercontinuum generated by focusing femtosecond pulses from an optical parametric amplifier at 1.5 microm in silica glass. The characteristic white light spectrum is extending from 400 nm up to at least 1750 nm. At sufficiently high input powers stable white light patterns associated with the interference of spatially coherent filamentary sources were observed and analyzed. Unlike focusing with 800 nm pulses from a Ti-sapphire laser, the stable fringes formed for each spectral component were pronounced owing to significantly reduced destructive impact of optical breakdown on filamentation of femtosecond pulses at 1.5 microm. By taking advantage of this property, the formation of optical waveguides in silica glass with considerably broader range of writing parameters as compared to those fabricated with 800 nm pulses, was demonstrated.


We provide evidence that bond fund managers misclassify their holdings, and that these misclassifications have a real and significant impact on investor capital flows. In particular, many funds report more investment grade assets than are actually held in their portfolios to important information intermediaries, making these funds appear significantly less risky. This results in pervasive misclassification across the universe of US fixed income mutual funds. The problem is widespread - resulting in up to 31.4% of funds being misclassified with safer profiles, when compared against their true, publicly reported holdings. "Misclassified funds" – i.e., those that hold risky bonds, but claim to hold safer bonds – appear to on-average outperform the low-risk funds in their peer groups. Within category groups, "Misclassified funds" moreover receive higher Morningstar Ratings (significantly more Morningstar Stars) and higher investor flows due to this perceived on-average outperformance. However, when we correctly classify them based on their actual risk, these funds are mediocre performers. These Misclassified funds also significantly underperform precisely when junk-bonds crash in returns. Misreporting is stronger following several quarters of large negative returns.


This thesis is concerned with how fans experience, create meaning from, and
contribute to the creation of a spectacle. Existing theorizations of spectacle are
limited and often undifferentiated. Furthermore, there is little knowledge of how
an event becomes a spectacle.This research addresses these gaps. In particular, it
aims to develop a better understanding of the concept of spectacle and process of
spectacularization in the context of a rock music event. It investigates the
contribution of the spectators to the creation of spectacle, arguing that the
spectators of U2's '360°' tour (2009W2011) as human agents are more than passive
consumers of commercial entertainment. A comprehensive theoretical framework,
drawing on the concepts of community, identity and power, helps to address
questions of belonging and identity, embodied experiences and politics.
Adopting a social constructionist philosophical position, the research draws on a
blend of netnography, ethnography and critical sociology. Rich qualitative data
were collected in three phases, including preliminary online research of selected
U2W related websites, in depth semi structured interviews with 26 fans, and U2's
Show director, and a qualitative content analysis of documentary material. Three
overarching, partly overlapping and prominent themes emerged from the
interview data: community and identity, enchantment, and politics. Thematic
analyses of the findings revealed that U2's concerts gave individuals a sense of
belonging to a global community of fans. They also provided an enchanting, liminal
space, which offered transcendent experiences and increased fans' awareness of
certain socio political issues, although this was highly regulated and
choreographed. Despite the temporary and episodic nature of U2's shows, the
community was real for many of the fans, and was perpetuated online. This
research contributes to re defining an re theorizing the spectacle in the context
of rock music events. Consequently, any contemporary attempts to define modern
spectacles in the context of rock music events need to include the notions of
community, enchantment, and politics, and account for visual, artistic, spiritual and
spatial aspects as well as scale.


This book analyses and describes Speech and Thought Presentation (S&TP) in French from a broad theoretical perspective, building bridges between linguistic, stylistic and narratological frameworks that have until now been developed separately. It combines the French theorie de l'enonciation and different Anglo-Saxon approaches of reported discourse into a harmonious whole, in order to create a new and exciting paradigm for our conception of S&TP strategies. Basing its findings on actual corpora and going beyond the canonical categories of reported discourse, it shows that the study of S&TP strategies is essential to our understanding of phenomena as diverse as the evolution and categorization of literary genres, the production and staging of 'orality' in literature, the various conceptualizations of the notion of 'Truth' in fiction and non-fiction, the expression of points of view in narrative, the structuring of rhetorical strategies and the construction of the 'Self' versus the representation of the 'Other' in discourse.


Outdoor virtual environments (OVEs) are becoming increasingly popular, as they allow a sense of presence in places that are inaccessible or protected from human intervention. These virtual environments (VEs) need to address physical modalities other than vision and hearing. We analyze the influence of four different physical modalities (vision, hearing, haptics, and olfaction) on the sense of presence on a virtual journey through the sea and the Laurissilva Forest of Funchal, Portugal. We applied Slater et al.'s (2010) method together with data gathered by the Emotiv EPOC EEG in an OVE setting. In such a setting, the combination of haptics and hearing are more important than the typical virtual environment (vision and hearing) in terms of place and plausibility illusions. Our analysis is particularly important for designers interested in crafting similar VEs because we classify different physical modalities according to their importance in enhancing presence.


In the search for novel payloads to design new antibody–drug conjugates (ADC), marine compounds represent an interesting opportunity given their unique chemical features. PM050489 is a marine compound that binds β-tubulin at a new site and disrupts the microtubule network, hence leading to mitotic aberrations and cell death. PM050489 has been conjugated to trastuzumab via Cys residues through a noncleavable linker, and the resulting ADC, named MI130004, has been studied. Analysis of MI130004 delivered data consistent with the presence of two molecules of PM050489 per antibody molecule, likely bound to both sides of the intermolecular disulfide bond connecting the antibody light and heavy chains. The antitumor activity of MI130004 was analyzed in vitro and in vivo in different cell lines of diverse tumor origin (breast, ovary, and gastric cancer) expressing different levels of HER2. MI130004 showed very high in vitro potency and good selectivity for tumor cells that overexpressed HER2. At the cellular level, MI130004 impaired tubulin polymerization, causing disorganization and disintegration of the microtubule network, which ultimately led to mitotic failure, mirroring the effect of its payload. Treatment with MI130004 in mice carrying histologically diverse tumors expressing HER2 induced a long-lasting antitumor effect with statistically significant inhibition of tumor growth coupled with increases in median survival time compared with vehicle or trastuzumab. These results strongly suggest that MI130004 is endowed with remarkable anticancer activity and confirm the extraordinary potential of marine compounds for the design of new ADCs. Mol Cancer Ther; 17(4); 786–94. ©2018 AACR.


Objectives: To investigate whether serum neurofilament light (NfL) concentration is increased in familial Alzheimer disease (FAD), both pre and post symptom onset, and whether it is associated with markers of disease stage and severity. Methods: We recruited 48 individuals from families with PSEN1 or APP mutations to a cross-sectional study: 18 had symptomatic Alzheimer disease (AD) and 30 were asymptomatic but at 50% risk of carrying a mutation. Serum NfL was measured using an ultrasensitive immunoassay on the single molecule array (Simoa) platform. Cognitive testing and MRI were performed; 33 participants had serial MRI, allowing calculation of atrophy rates. Genetic testing established mutation status. A generalized least squares regression model was used to compare serum NfL among symptomatic mutation carriers, presymptomatic carriers, and noncarriers, adjusting for age and sex. Spearman coefficients assessed associations between serum NfL and (1) estimated years to/from symptom onset (EYO), (2) cognitive measures, and (3) MRI measures of atrophy. Results: Nineteen of the asymptomatic participants were mutation carriers (mean EYO −9.6); 11 were noncarriers. Compared with noncarriers, serum NfL concentration was higher in both symptomatic (p < 0.0001) and presymptomatic mutation carriers (p = 0.007). Across all mutation carriers, serum NfL correlated with EYO (ρ = 0.81, p < 0.0001) and multiple cognitive and imaging measures, including Mini-Mental State Examination (ρ = −0.62, p = 0.0001), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale sum of boxes (ρ = 0.79, p < 0.0001), baseline brain volume (ρ = −0.62, p = 0.0002), and whole-brain atrophy rate (ρ = 0.53, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Serum NfL concentration is increased in FAD prior to symptom onset and correlates with measures of disease stage and severity. Serum NfL may thus be a feasible biomarker of early AD-related neurodegeneration.


Abstract. We present observations of polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE) using the Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System in Northern Norway (69.30° N, 16.04° E). The radar is able to resolve PMSE at high spatial and temporal resolution and to perform pulse-to-pulse beam steering. In this experiment, 81 oblique beam directions were used with off-zenith angles up to 25°. For each beam pointing direction and range gate, coherent radar imaging was applied to determine the mean backscatter location. The location of the mean scatterer in the beam volume was calculated by the deviation from the nominal off-zenith angle of the brightest pixel. It shows that in tilted beams with an off-zenith angle greater than 5°, structures appear at the altitudinal edges of the PMSE layer. Our results indicate that the mean influence of the location of the maximum depends on the tilt of the beam and on the observed area of the PMSE layer. At the upper/lower edge of the PMSE layer, the mean backscatter has a greater/smaller off-zenith angle than the nominal off-zenith angle. This effect intensifies with greater off-zenith beam pointing direction, so the beam filling factor plays an important role in the observation of PMSE layers for oblique beams.


With increasing production and use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their inevitable release during the life cycle of CNT-based products, these engineered nanomaterials are likely to accumulate in environmental compartments such as wastewater and biosolids, sediments, and biosolids-amended soils. Subsequent uptake of CNTs by agricultural crops could increase the risk of human exposure through the food chain. Unambiguous detection of CNTs in crop plants is essential for food safety assessment. In this study, we developed a method for the detection of multiwall CNTs (MWCNTs) in tissues of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), coupling digestion and Raman analysis. Five digestion reagents, including sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, ammonium hydroxide, and hydrogen peroxide, were examined. Nitric acid showed the best performance, removing 98–99% leaf/stem/root biomass (dry weight) and minimizing matrix background signals that can interfere with MWCNT Raman signals. Application of nitric acid digestion-Raman analysis to spiked lettuce tissues suggested a detection limit of 25 mg kg−1 dry weight or lower. We then applied this method to lettuce plants grown hydroponically with 0, 5, 10, and 20 mg L−1 pristine (p-) or carboxyl-functionalized (c-) MWCNT. Both p-MWCNT and c-MWCNT were detected in the root, stem, and leaf tissues of most exposed lettuce plants, indicating uptake and translocation of both MWCNTs in this edible plant. Comparisons of the plants grown with 20 mg L−1 p-MWCNT or c-MWCNT suggested that carboxylation facilitated uptake and translocation of MWCNT in lettuce. Our results demonstrated that nitric acid digestion in conjunction with Raman analysis is an effective approach for detecting MWCNTs in food crops, contributing to the potential development of new analytical platforms for studying the environmental fate of CNTs in the soil–plant system and human exposure through the food chain.


Abstract. Sensitivity analysis of atmospheric models is necessary to identify the processes that lead to uncertainty in model predictions, to help understand model diversity through comparison of driving processes, and to prioritise research. Assessing the effect of parameter uncertainty in complex models is challenging and often limited by CPU constraints. Here we present a cost-effective application of variance-based sensitivity analysis to quantify the sensitivity of a 3-D global aerosol model to uncertain parameters. A Gaussian process emulator is used to estimate the model output across multi-dimensional parameter space, using information from a small number of model runs at points chosen using a Latin hypercube space-filling design. Gaussian process emulation is a Bayesian approach that uses information from the model runs along with some prior assumptions about the model behaviour to predict model output everywhere in the uncertainty space. We use the Gaussian process emulator to calculate the percentage of expected output variance explained by uncertainty in global aerosol model parameters and their interactions. To demonstrate the technique, we show examples of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) sensitivity to 8 model parameters in polluted and remote marine environments as a function of altitude. In the polluted environment 95 % of the variance of CCN concentration is described by uncertainty in the 8 parameters (excluding their interaction effects) and is dominated by the uncertainty in the sulphur emissions, which explains 80 % of the variance. However, in the remote region parameter interaction effects become important, accounting for up to 40 % of the total variance. Some parameters are shown to have a negligible individual effect but a substantial interaction effect. Such sensitivities would not be detected in the commonly used single parameter perturbation experiments, which would therefore underpredict total uncertainty. Gaussian process emulation is shown to be an efficient and useful technique for quantifying parameter sensitivity in complex global atmospheric models.


Over the past 20 y, the hormone melatonin was found to be produced in extrapineal sites, including cells of the immune system. Despite the increasing data regarding the biological effects of melatonin on the regulation of the immune system, the effect of this molecule on T cell survival remains largely unknown. Activation-induced cell death plays a critical role in the maintenance of the homeostasis of the immune system by eliminating self-reactive or chronically stimulated T cells. Because activated T cells not only synthesize melatonin but also respond to it, we investigated whether melatonin could modulate activation-induced cell death. We found that melatonin protects human and murine CD4+ T cells from apoptosis by inhibiting CD95 ligand mRNA and protein upregulation in response to TCR/CD3 stimulation. This inhibition is a result of the interference with calmodulin/calcineurin activation of NFAT that prevents the translocation of NFAT to the nucleus. Accordingly, melatonin has no effect on T cells transfected with a constitutively active form of NFAT capable of migrating to the nucleus and transactivating target genes in the absence of calcineurin activity. Our results revealed a novel biochemical pathway that regulates the expression of CD95 ligand and potentially other downstream targets of NFAT activation.


This study aimed to determine low-income housing adaptations for flooding, which causes living problems and housing damage, and the results from improvement. Three low-income settlements in Chiang Mai which experienced different flood types, i.e. flash floods in Samukeepattana, drainage floods in Bansanku, and river floods in Kampangam, were chosen for the study. Almost all of the residents improved their houses to protect the property from flood damage by changing building materials to flood damage resistant materials for walls, floors, and other parts of the structure that were below the base of annual flood elevation. They could only build some parts of their own homes, so hiring skilled workers or contractors was still important. Building materials which have no need for any special tools and are easy to access and use for construction, as well as low cost, are selected for construction. The residents in the three slums faced living problems for only a short time and were able to cope with them. This may be due to the location of the three slums near the city where assistance is readily available. But the housing and the existence in the slums can endure only the regular floods and residence still have problems in unusual floods, which have been experienced 1-2 times during the past 10 years. The residents accept the need for evacuations and prepare for them. When faced with extreme floods, residence have evacuated to the nearest safe place such as schools and public building, and come back to repair the houses after the flood. These are the distinguishing characteristics of low-income living which can withstand serious situations due to the simple lifestyle. Therefore, preparation of living areas for use during severe floods and encouraging production of affordable flood resistant materials should be areas of concern when formulating disaster assistance policies for low income people. Keywords—Flooding, low-income settlement, housing, adaptation.


Leadership in the Health Sector: A Discourse of the Leadership Model of Utilitarianism is concerned with examining the appropriateness of Utilitarianism as a leadership model that may be employed and utilized by leaders in the public health industry. The research is predicated on the proposition that leadership is as much a problem in the health industry as it is for all humanity. Most leaderships fail due to the employment of inappropriate leadership theories. The appropriateness of any leadership model can only be determined after the model has been subjected to adequate critical analysis. Hence, this research adopts the philosophical methods of exposition and criticism in unravelling its subject matter. This research is significant in exposing a leadership model with an underlying ethical content which can serve as a paradigm for leadership and decision making in the health industry. The paper identifies the control and management of HIV/AIDS as well as the enhancement of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) coverage in third world countries as critical health issues that can be strengthened through the adoption of the leadership paradigm of utilitarianism. The paper concludes that the utilitarian normative axiom of the greatest happiness for the greatest number will ultimately lead to the engendering of democratic culture in the policy and decision making processes bordering on health issues. However, the work cautions that the majority principle enshrined in axiom of utilitarianism is all too vulnerable to abuse by any leader with a totalitarian bent. Hence a leader who adopts utilitarianism as a normative principle is advised against allowing the good of the majority to always supersede and dominate that of the minority.


The aim of this study was to understand reasons for dropout from a dance-talent program in the UK, using a mixed methods design. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten dropout students to explore the influencing factors in their decision to leave the program. In order to triangulate these findings, reasons for dropout were then examined from descriptive records of 147 young dancers who had withdrawn from the talent program over a four-year period. Overall, the most frequently cited reasons for dropping out were conflicting demands, change in aspirations, course content, difficulty making friends, and lost passion. Injury, financial factors, low perceived competence, and teacher behavior emerged as minor reasons. Intervention strategies that focus on changes in course content may be the easiest to implement and most effective means to enhance student retention.


ABSTRACT When embarking on a piece of research it is important to decide on which ontological basis the researcher stands. Do they see the world in absolute terms thereby having a positivist view or do they believe in observing through the constructions of the mind like the constructionists. Because it is from the ontological position that informs the epistemology, i.e. the empiricist who believes that knowledge can be gained via the senses would therefore take on an experimental methodology. Therefore the epistemological stance of how to approach the study and interpret knowledge is key and when this is decided, then the researcher will know which method of data collection to use; is essential for a logical and correct process to be followed and adhered to in order for research into MSM and to stand up to the rigour of peer review [Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C. M., & Ormston, R. (2014). Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. London: Sage]. Qualitatively Interpersonal Phenomenological Analysis is chosen for investigating the straight men who have sex occasionally with men (MSM) as it fits with the epistemology stance of the researcher and with the focus on trying to obtain ideas, values and beliefs of the MSM population in order to curb the spread of HIV among straight women.


The investigation of human usage patterns in marine protected areas has not previously been a priority for conservation managers. However, increased visitation and impacts from the wide variety of recreational activities being undertaken, particularly in multiple-use marine parks, have highlighted the importance of monitoring these activities to ensure the sustainable use and future management of these areas. Ningaloo Reef is the largest fringing coral reef in Australia extending ~ 300km along the Western Australian coast. The Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP), originally gazetted in 1987, was extended southwards in 2004 to encompass the whole of this area. A wide variety of shore and boat-based recreational activities, such as fishing, SCUBA diving, snorkelling, kayaking and surfing, are known to occur in the NMP and camping is popular along the adjacent coastal strip. As part of the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Ningaloo Collaboration Cluster, a project is underway to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of human usage in the NMP. To complement this current project, all available historical human use datasets relating to the NMP and adjacent coastal strip were collated and reviewed. These datasets include; long term monitoring of camping, vehicle counts, recreational fishing and boating surveys by relevant state government agencies, as well as various university managed projects investigating tourism. This information has been summarised to highlight the time periods for which these data exist, their spatial extent and key findings. Whilst these data provide an indication of activities in parts of the NMP during the specific project timeframes, few encompass the whole NMP and the collection of the majority of this information has been at a relatively coarse spatial scale. This review has highlighted the need for further collection of human usage data at appropriate temporal and spatial scales in order to provide decision support for the management of recreational activities in the NMP.


EFFECTS OF DISINFECTANTS AND ANTI-BROWNING AGENTS ON THE SHELF-LIFE OF CAULIFLOWER FLORETS Joel David Harris Currently, when cauliflower florets are packed in a MA package, they can last 8 to 10 days at 7.2oC. The goal of this research was to develop a prepackaging methodology that could extend shelf-life of cauliflower florets to at least 14 days at 7.2oC. Various methodologies were used to treat the cauliflower florets, utilizing six GRAS (generally recognized as safe) chemicals and included various combinations, concentrations, and contact times. Chemicals included gaseous ozone, calcium chloride, citric acid, ascorbic acid, chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite. The combination of 250 ppm ascorbic acid and 500 ppm citric acid pre-wash (30 seconds) and a 100 ppm hypochlorite wash (30 seconds, with pH adjusted to 6.5) proved to significantly reduce overall floret browning that develops in storage but did not reduce levels enough for it to be considered a commercially viable method. Further studies should explore the synergistic effects of combining enzymatic browning inhibitor treatments with microbial browning inhibitor treatments.


The townships of Johannesburg developed as racially exclusive and deprived urban areas where many young people were directly exposed to the physical and systemic brutality of white minority rule in South Africa. This thesis demonstrates how these conditions proved fertile ground for some township youth to engage in violent confrontations with the state and within their communities. Physical violence proved for some township youth to be a necessary reaction to provocation or a method to claim masculine status and gain self-determination within their immediate environment and on a national scale. The author does not aim to provide justifications for youth violence or give explanations of individual motives, however emphasis will be placed on exploring risk factors and complexities of criminal and political violence in the townships of Johannesburg. The analysis of youth involvement in violence as victims and perpetrators prior to and during apartheid sheds light on continuities and differences of the politics and repertoires of violence in the urban landscapes of democratic South Africa. The author draws modern occurrences of youth violence in townships into a historical perspective and diffuses claims that current young generations of township dwellers are more aggressive and occupied with non-political struggles.