The transmembrane protein Tim-3, which is associated with T cell exhaustion, enhances T cell receptor signaling pathways. During infection, antigen-specific T cells expand in numbers and gain effector functions. Later, most cells die off, leaving a small pool of memory T cells; however, during chronic viral infection, effector cells fail to develop into memory cells but become "exhausted" and poorly secrete effector cytokines. Exhausted cells are characterized by the presence of inhibitory receptors, such as PD-1, that inhibit T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Tim-3 is another membrane glycoprotein receptor found on exhausted T cells; however, unlike PD-1, it does not have inhibitory motifs through which it could recruit proteins to inhibit TCR signaling. Through reporter assays for the transcription factors NFAT and NF-κB, which are downstream of the TCR, Lee et al. showed that ectopic expression of mouse Tim-3 in a human T cell line enhanced basal and TCR-dependent reporter activity, which depended mostly on two membrane-proximal tyrosine residues in the cytoplasmic tail of Tim-3, and did not require its extracellular domains. Tim-3 underwent basal and TCR-stimulated phosphorylation at particular tyrosine residues, and in vitro kinase assays showed that Tim-3 was phosphorylated by Fyn and another Src family kinase, Lck. Coexpression of either kinase with Tim-3 in kinase-deficient cells enhanced NFAT and NF-κB reporter activity compared with that in cells expressing Tim-3 alone. Doxycycline-induced expression of the gene encoding Tim-3 in a T cell line enhanced TCR-dependent activation of phospholipase C–γ1 and secretion of the cytokine IL-2, two indicators of T cell activation. Finally, retroviral overexpression of Tim-3 in primary mouse T cells enhanced their secretion of interferon-γ, indicating increased effector function. Together, these data suggest that Tim-3 enhances TCR signaling, leading the authors to speculate that this could be a mechanism by which the glycoprotein induces T cell exhaustion. J. Lee, E. W. Su, C. Zhu, S. Hainline, J. Phuah, J. A. Moroco, T. E. Smithgall, V. K. Kuchroo, L. P. Kane, Phosphotyrosine-dependent coupling of Tim-3 to T-cell receptor signaling pathways. Mol. Cell. Biol. 31, 3963–3974 (2011). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The Trusts and Estates course is about the law of gratuitous transfers at death, that is, the law of succession. Lately such courses have come to cover both probate succession by will and intestacy, and non-probate succession by inter vivos trust, pay-on-death contract, and other such will substitutes. The organizing principle of the American law of succession, both probate and non-probate, is freedom of disposition. My suggestion in this essay, which I have implemented in my Trusts and Estates class and in the casebook for which I am the surviving co-author, is that the Trusts and Estates course can likewise be organized around this principle. The Trusts and Estates course is perhaps best conceptualized as a survey of the law and policy of implementing freedom of disposition. (This essay was prepared for the Teaching Trusts and Estates special issue of the St. Louis University Law Journal.)


The 2014-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform defines new rules for farmers including maintenance of the ecological focus area (EFA). Sustainability is also a requirement to meet consumer expectations and a competitive advantage for firms. This paper aims to evaluate the farmers' intention to implement sustainable practices related to the EFA measure and to the private sustainability schemes proposed by the food industry. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was applied on a sample of durum wheat producers to analyse intentions 1) to maintain 7% of the arable land as an EFA, and 2) to implement the private sustainability scheme. Structural equation modelling was applied to test for the relative importance of intention determinants. The farmers' attitude and past behaviour positively affect intentions to implement the EFA, while perceived behavioural control and attitudes predict intentions to adopt the private sustainability scheme. These results suggest possible interventions that public authorities and supply chain leaders might implement to stimulate farmers' sustainable behaviours.


Markets are one of the most salient institutions produced by humans, and economists have traditionally analyzed the workings of the market mechanism. Recently, however, economists and others have begun to appreciate the many institution-related events and phenomena that have a significant impact on economic performance. Examples include the demise of the communist states, the emergence of Silicon Valley and e-commerce, the European currency unification, and the East Asian financial crises. In this book Masahiko Aoki uses modern game theory to develop a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding issues related to economic institutions. The wide-ranging discussion considers how institutions evolve, why their overall arrangements are robust and diverse across economies, and why they do or do not change in response to environmental factors such as technological progress, global market integration, and demographic change.


Due to its high lateral resolution, Raman microspectrsocopy is rapidly becoming an accepted technique for the subcellular imaging of single cells. Although the potential of the technique has frequently been demonstrated, many improvements have still to be realised to enhance the relevancy of the data collected. Although often employed, chemical fixation of cells can cause modifications to the molecular composition and therefore influence the observations made. However, the weak contribution of water to Raman spectra offers the potential to study live cells cultured in vitro using an immersion lens, giving the possibility to record highly specific spectra from cells in their original state. Unfortunately, in common 2-D culture models, the contribution of the substrates to the spectra recorded requires significant data pre-processing causing difficulties in developing automated methods for the correction of the spectra. Moreover, the 2-D in vitro cell model is not ideal and dissimilarities between different optical substrates within in vitro cell cultures results in morphological and functional changes to the cells. The interaction between the cells and their microenvironment is crucial to their behavior but also their response to different external agents such as radiation or anticancer drugs. In order to create an experimental model closer to the real conditions encountered by the cell in vivo, 3-D collagen gels have been evaluated as a substrate for the spectroscopic study of live cells. It is demonstrated that neither the medium used for cell culture nor the collagen gels themselves contribute to the spectra collected. Thus the background contributions are reduced to that of the water. Spectral measurements can be made in full cell culture medium, allowing prolonged measurement times. Optimizations made in the use of collagen gels for live cells analysis by Raman spectroscopy are encouraging and studying live cells within a collagenous microenvironment seems perfectly accessible.


Two adult raters viewed videotapes of children with and without SLI in spontaneous conversations. Raters identified violations of conversational rules and assigned each to a category based on a system developed by Bishop and Adams (1989). Children with SLI produced significantly more violations than their typical peers. All but two of the violations were analyzed as falling under the Gricean maxims of relation and quantity, consistent with results of earlier studies of younger, typically-developing children. These findings confirm that children with SLI exhibit lower pragmatic competence than their typically developing peers, inviting further study comparing children with SLI with younger controls to investigate the contributions of language development and cognitive maturation.


The aim of this study is to identify the extent to which listed banks in Ghana comply with International Financial Reporting Standards, with particular reference to financial instruments IFRS 7. The level of mandatory compliance with IFRS 7 was measured using a mandatory disclosure index (MDI) from a self-constructed compliance checklist. The sample consisted of six listed banks and covers the period 2008 and 2009.The overall results show a high degree of compliance with IFRS 7, though not absolute.  The study recommends that though the enforcement mechanism seems to be working well in the short-run resulting in high compliance, effort should be made to sustain it in the long run. Keywords: IFRS, Compliance, Listed Banks, mandatory disclosure index


The omentum is a large peritoneal fold. It begins at the stomach and extends down-wards to cover the abdominal organs. It serves a primarily protective role, especially in defending against infective agents and to promote tissue reparation after injuries. The omentum is characterized by extensive vascularization, sign of a metabolically active environment. Furthermore, omentum is the tissue with the highest production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the body. The lipids contained in this tissue carry out very important activities for the organism, and the presence of neutral glycerides, phospholipids, glycolipids, and gangliosides suggests the potential usefulness of heterologous omental lipid fractions in dermatology. Omentum stimulates vascular proliferation, therefore is possible to speculate its topical use in therapies designed to regenerate skin tissue in clinical conditions characterized by fragile skin. Dermatological products containing purified omental lipids are commercially available. Pure porcine omental lipids (P.O.L.) could be use in topical products in different textures (cream, fluid, emulsions, and cleanser) and at different concentrations (10-25%) for the treatment of fragile skin or other skin conditions at risk of ulcer formation (the so-called dermatoporosis of the elderly, severe skin xerosis in diabetic subjects, skin at risk of pressure ulcers). This review summarizes the pharmacological rationale of purified porcine omental lipids in topical formulations for the use in fragile skin conditions and the clinical efficacy data available in the scientific literature. Several clinical controlled trials conducted in 320 subjects have shown that topical porcine purified omental lipids are able to prevent the formation of pressure ulcers in hospitalized high-risk subjects, to improve wound healing process, to normalize skin hydration in diabetic subjects with moderate-severe skin xerosis and to improve clinical evolution of diabetic foot. Therefore, purified omental lipid could be an effective tool for the management of fragile skin and the skin at high risk of ulcer formation.


This article analyses the development of EC consumer law by looking in detail at the approach taken by the European Court of Justice in its case law in this field, and the impact that this had had upon national law in certain areas. It contends that the Court has taken contrasting approaches to the desirable extent of consumer protection laws, depending upon whether that protection derives from national laws which operate as derogations from the EC's Treaty rules on the internal market or from positive legislative activity at EC level. In the former area, the Court has been unwilling to accept many such national consumer protection measures, regularly finding them not to be necessary for achieving the relevant goal or to be disproportionate to that end. In the latter area, however, the Court has consistently given an expansive interpretation to the provisions in the directives on consumer protection. The reasons behind this difference in approach are discussed and it is suggested that the Court's support for more interventionist consumer protection measures when interpreting the scope of EC legislation sometimes fails in fact to secure the protection which the Court seems to require, or only does so at the cost of far-reaching effects upon other areas of law and practice in the relevant sectors. In conclusion, it is suggested that these differences relate to the Court's perception of its function in interpreting and applying the primary rules of the EC Treaty, on the one hand, and in promoting the objectives of secondary law adopted under that Treaty, on the other. Two fundamentally conflicting policies are the result: free trade is the priority of primary legislation while interventionist consumer protection lies at the heart of the case law on secondary legislation. Yet the Court's holdings merely point to a deeper-level tension in the fabric of the Community's philosophy of market regulation.


In recent years the mammalian mitochondrial protein complex for iron-sulfur cluster assembly has been the focus of major studies. This is partly because of its high relevance in cell metabolism, but also because mutations of the involved proteins are the cause of several human diseases. Cysteine desulfurase NFS1 is the key enzyme of the complex. At present, it is well known that the active form of NFS1 is stabilized by the small protein ISD11. In this work, the structure of the human mitochondrial ACP-ISD11 heterodimer was solved at 2.0 Å resolution. ACP-ISD11 forms a cooperative unit stabilized by several ionic interactions, hydrogen bonds and also by apolar interactions. The 4'-phosphopantetheine-acyl chain, which is covalently bound to ACP, interacts with several residues of ISD11, modulating together with ACP the foldability of ISD11. Recombinant human ACP-ISD11 was able to interact with the NFS1 desulfurase, thus yielding an active enzyme, and the core complex NFS1/ACP-ISD11 was activated by frataxin and ISCU proteins. Internal motions of ACP-ISD11 were studied by molecular dynamic simulations, showing the persistence of the interactions between both protein chains. The conformation of the dimer is similar to the one found in the context of the supercomplex core (NFS1/ACP-ISD11)2, which contains the E. coli ACP instead of the human variant. This fact suggests a sequential mechanism for supercomplex consolidation, in which the ACP-ISD11 complex may fold independently and after that, the NFS1 dimer is stabilized.


The radiosounding network in the Arctic, despite being sparse, is a crucial part of the atmospheric observing system for weather prediction and reanalysis. The spatial coverage of the network was evaluated using a numerical weather prediction model, comparing radiosonde observations from Arctic land stations and expeditions in the central Arctic Ocean with operational analyses and background fields (12‐hr forecasts) from European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts for January 2016 to September 2018. The results show that the impact of radiosonde observations on analyses has large geographical variation. In data‐sparse areas, such as the central Arctic Ocean, high‐quality radiosonde observations substantially improve the analyses, while satellite observations are not able to compensate for the large spatial gap in the radiosounding network. In areas where the network is reasonably dense, the quality of background field is more related to how radiosonde observations are utilized in the assimilation and to the quality of those observations.


This paper focuses on the education and training of business coaches, specifically at the Masters/graduate level. The paper first reviews the knowledge and skills required of business coaches, comparing the recommendations of professional associations and the literature. Next the paper reviews the approaches to education which are best suited to help students acquire knowledge and skills, and how these may be assessed. The paper discusses the challenge of developing both knowledge and skills, and the use of e-learning as an on-going support for students. The benefits of authentic assessment and a varied approach to learning are also reviewed. Thirdly, the paper reports on the experiences of a new Master of Business Coaching at Sydney Business School, University of Wollongong, Australia, providing both performance and perception data from the first cohort of students. Possible reasons for the students' strong performance are suggested.


The paper after reviewing the existing literature on tax assignment across levels of government discusses the merits and drawbacks in the attribution of taxes on consumption to intermediate levels of government. Then it considers three options of consumption taxation for the Italian regions: a general consumption tax (retail sales tax); a specific tax on durables; and a specific tax on local utilities. Using data from ISTAT and the Bank of Italy we compare the redistributive effects at regional level of the three options. As expected, all the alternatives are regressive although the specific tax on utilities shows a higher incidence for the poorest families especially in the Northern regions. Therefore, from an equity perspective a general consumption tax should be preferred. Otherwise specific measures to correct the reverse redistributive effects of the tax on local utilities should be introduced.


This article presents a conceptual analysis of collaboration scripts used in face-to-face and computer-mediated collaborative learning. Collaboration scripts are scaffolds that aim to improve collaboration through structuring the interactive processes between two or more learning partners. Collaboration scripts consist of at least five components: (a) learning objectives, (b) type of activities, (c) sequencing, (d) role distribution, and (e) type of representation. These components serve as a basis for comparing prototypical collaboration script approaches for face-to-face vs. computer-mediated learning. As our analysis reveals, collaboration scripts for face-to-face learning often focus on supporting collaborators to engage in activities that are specifically related to individual knowledge acquisition. Scripts for computer-mediated collaboration are typically concerned with facilitating communicativecoordinative processes that occur among group members. The two research lines can be consolidated to facilitate the design of collaboration scripts which both support participation and coordination and induce learning activities closely related to individual knowledge acquisition and metacognition. However, research on collaboration scripts needs to consider the learners' internal collaboration scripts as a further determinant of collaboration behavior. The article closes with the presentation of a conceptual framework incorporating both external and internal collaboration scripts.


Reconstruction and application of genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) have facilitated metabolic engineering by providing a platform on which systematic computational analysis of metabolic networks can be performed. In this study, a GEM of Escherichia coli NZN111 was employed by the analysis of production and growth coupling (APGC) algorithm to identify genetic strategies for the overproduction of succinate. Through in silico simulation and reaction expression analysis, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PPC), encoded by gapA, pgk, tpiA, and ppc, respectively, were selected for experimental overexpression. The results showed that overexpressing any of these could improve both growth and succinate production. Specifically, overexpression of GAPDH or PGK showed a significant effect with up to 24% increase in succinate production. These results indicate that the APGC algorithm can be effectively used to guide genetic manipulation for strain design by identifying genome-wide gene amplification targets.


The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a coordination compact. Tariff bindings illustrate a mechanism for making commitments credible. Reciprocity illustrates a means for redistributing cooperative gains. The Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) principle illustrates an attempt to keep coordination "virtuous" (cooperative) rather than "vicious" (collusive). Yet international trade policy coordination has clearly become more difficult. The postwar hegemonic environment has evolved into a more general strategic environment with several influential governments and blocs. Such coalitions are a natural evolutionary development, yet one that inexorably undermines MFN. Economic developments make a country's comparative advantage increasingly sensitive to sectoral predation by others, especially through subsidies and performance requirements aimed at mobile multinational firms, which are themselves internationally coordinated. Immobile workers and others correspondingly bear the burdens of sharper adjustments, and look to government to turn its trade policy narrowly inward in order to ease their load. Such "domestication" of trade policy is the antithesis of international coordination, and runs the risk of creating a strategic paralysis of recurring unproductivity. What changes might restore the liberalizing impetus of trade policy coordination? Several are considered in the paper. One is extension of the "Codes" approach to multilateral negotiations under the GATT, especially to Subsidies and Safeguards . Many reflections in the paper are framed in categories from recent economic thinking about policy coordination in "strategic" environments -- those with small numbers of self-consciously interdependent agents. The paper argues that these are the appropriate environments in which to analyze international coordination of trade policy.


Datacenter networks deal with a variety of workloads, ranging from latency-sensitive small flows to bandwidth-hungry large flows. Load balancing schemes based on flow hashing, e.g., ECMP, cause congestion when hash collisions occur and can perform poorly in asymmetric topologies. Recent proposals to load balance the network require centralized traffic engineering, multipath-aware transport, or expensive specialized hardware. We propose a mechanism that avoids these limitations by (i) pushing load-balancing functionality into the soft network edge (e.g., virtual switches) such that no changes are required in the transport layer, customer VMs, or networking hardware, and (ii) load balancing on fine-grained, near-uniform units of data (flowcells) that fit within end-host segment offload optimizations used to support fast networking speeds. We design and implement such a soft-edge load balancing scheme, called Presto, and evaluate it on a 10 Gbps physical testbed. We demonstrate the computational impact of packet reordering on receivers and propose a mechanism to handle reordering in the TCP receive offload functionality. Presto's performance closely tracks that of a single, non-blocking switch over many workloads and is adaptive to failures and topology asymmetry.


The literature on the relationship between entrepreneurship, firm formation and economic development often describes entrepreneurship as a complex phenomenon, led by individuals, embedded in a broad economic and societal context, which, in regional terms, influences the quality and results of the entrepreneurial process. From a micro-economic perspective, the region is shaped by the myriad of laborious and innovative actions of entrepreneurs, looking for opportunities, taking risks, starting businesses and generating economic and social associations. Competition, trust, networks, mentalities, the education system, public policies, all are ingredients that can provide opportunities for many actors at the local level (institutions, businesses, population, etc.) and thus, for the region as a whole to thrive. Often these elements can offer the opportunities of economic convergence between regions and countries. On the other hand, we found that the potential of entrepreneurship to generate benefits and an impetus for the economic growth of regions were not fully researched and understood, despite suggestive empirical evidence and a rich literature in regional studies. In this article we analysed, at the level of the 8 development regions of Romania, the relation between the firm's formation and the evolution of the Gross Domestic Product, respectively the relation between employment/active population and the evolution of the Gross Domestic Product. We did not find clear evidence that the pace of setting up new businesses has a certain effect on economic growth or employment, but we found that in some regions, better equipped in terms of infrastructure, qualification and diversity of human capital, entrepreneurial dynamics could moderately influence the positive evolution of these macroeconomic indicators.


The hospital activities display all of the characteristics of a very complex sociotechnic organisation. Consequently, the design of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) softwares which support this type of activity is very difficult. The Study of the procedure of these projects shows communication information problems between project partners. This article proposes the principles of an approach, based on Software Engineering (SE) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) methods and models, allowing improving the transmission of information during design or re-engineering projects within complex organisation.


This chapter responds to a chorus of commentary about the potential for conflict between the international investment law regime and an array of national and international actions being undertaken to mitigate and adapt to global climate change. Contrary to conventional wisdom, while some climate-friendly regulations may indeed be facially incompatible with the obligations imposed on states by typical international investment agreements (IIAs), many climate policies – especially those related to clean energy finance and technology transfer – involve principles common to foreign investment law and are largely compatible with that regime. Moreover, pending the unlikely negotiation of a single global agreement on climate change, states are initiating a host of national, bilateral and regional initiatives to encourage certain kinds of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in the hope of catalyzing low-carbon growth. These sorts of strategies will benefit from a flexible and responsive set of rules governing climate-friendly FDI, something the international investment law regime is uniquely positioned to provide. Meanwhile, international investment law is itself undergoing a transformation of sorts, as more serious consideration is given to the environmental and social impacts of foreign investment and as global capital flows become increasingly multidirectional, calling into question longstanding distinctions between FDI host countries and the home countries of investors. Rather than signaling conflict, recent trends in climate change policy and international investment law indicate that both regimes may be entering a new phase characterized by coordination, harmonization, and mutual learning. This chapter maps this emerging territory and identifies key opportunities to shape the interaction between the two disciplines.


The heat wave hypothesis is that a market's return and volatility are explained with its past values and are determined by country-specific effects. The meteor shower hypothesis refers that a market's return and volatility can not be explained just with its past values and there are return and volatility spillovers to a market from others. In this study, the heat wave and meteor shower hypotheses are tested for Turkish and US index futures markets. In this context, the cointegration relationship and the return and volatility spillovers between markets are examined for 2010-2012 period using daily data with applying Johansen cointegration test and multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model. In the study, the finding is reached that there is no long term relationship between US and Turkish markets. In terms of return spillovers across markets, there are one way spillovers from US market to Turkish market. The results for volatility spillovers across markets indicate that there are one way shocks spillovers from US market to Turkish market volatility. Thus, it is concluded that as US market supports the heat wave hypothesis, the Turkish market supports the meteor shower hypothesis. These results reflect the difference of information processing of markets and the US market is more informationally efficient.


Depression and sexual dysfunction are both common in the general population. When they co-exist they have the potential to impact negatively on each other in a bidirectional manner. Medication used to treat depression may cause additional problems with the sexual response cycle; although no drug is completely innocent, serotonergic agents such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are most frequently implicated in antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction. Adherence to long-term treatment may be compromised, which may have serious consequences. Various psychological and pharmacological strategies, including the ad hoc use of sildenafil, may offer some respite.


This paper examines cross price elasticities of substitution for labor, capital, and fertilizer for the agricultural sector in Africa with a translog production function. The data are from the Food Agricultural Organization and World Development Indicators Database. The elastisities are calculated directly from the estimated parameters of a production function. Those elastisities include the Allen Substitution Elasticity (AES), factor price substitution elasticity, and Hicks elasticity of complementary (HEC).
Allen elastiticies of substitution of all inputs are positive. Results show that only labor and capital are complements among the inputs in HEC and factor price substitution elasticities. Own price elasticities for labor, capital, and fertilizer are inelastic. Labor is the most sensitive of the inputs to input prices. Furthermore, HEC shows that fertilizer demand is elastic with respect to the capital price and inelastic with respect to the wage.


Pacific Island countries (PICs) are developing countries representing one of the culturally richest and most diverse regions worldwide. A decade ago, the realization evolved at international level that intangible cultural heritage (ICH) represents a development tool with an inherent commercial value. Regional initiatives are currently trying to balance objectives of development and protection of ICH with the need for commercial exploitation and effects of commodification. Yet, the same cannot be said about the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between PICs and the EU. The article advocates that current EU efforts in supporting regional and national processes meant to establish a preliminary level of legal protection for Pacific ICH are insufficient and inappropriate to the 'living' character of ICH. It promotes a more context-oriented design of intellectual property rights (IPR) provisions in EU policy instruments aimed at sustainable development of the Pacific region.


"I began these pages for myself, in order to think out my own particular pattern of living, my own individual balance of life, work and human relationships." Lindbergh (1983) p.9. In this thesis, I use self-study research as I focus on the topic of living legacy. This is a personal story, using narrative methodology and method as a means of uncovering and naming life lessons learned. I write to gain insight into my interpretation of the concept of living legacy what living legacy means to me and why this concept is significant to me and how living legacy impacts the person that I am in the present. Using a narrative lens, I inquire into stories that connect me to my spirit, my gender, education and theology, through my living legacy lessons, and I seek the impact these stories hold for me in my life today. I utilize a variety of methods including personal journals, course work, and arts-based research experiences as I explore the connections to my emerging perceptions ofmy living legacy lessons. This thesis represents the beginning of a continuing journey of self-discovery. I take the journey in order to uncover hidden and ongoing lessons of living legacy and the impact they have on the student and educator that I am.


The scientific study of networks, including computer networks, social networks, and biological networks, has received an enormous amount of interest in the last few years. The rise of the Internet and the wide availability of inexpensive computers have made it possible to gather and analyze network data on a large scale, and the development of a variety of new theoretical tools has allowed us to extract new knowledge from many different kinds of networks.The study of networks is broadly interdisciplinary and important developments have occurred in many fields, including mathematics, physics, computer and information sciences, biology, and the social sciences. This book brings together for the first time the most important breakthroughs in each of these fields and presents them in a coherent fashion, highlighting the strong interconnections between work in different areas. Subjects covered include the measurement and structure of networks in many branches of science, methods for analyzing network data, including methods developed in physics, statistics, and sociology, the fundamentals of graph theory, computer algorithms, and spectral methods, mathematical models of networks, including random graph models and generative models, and theories of dynamical processes taking place on networks.


Background Diastolic dysfunction is the hemodynamic hallmark of hypertensive heart disease. Tau (τ) has been used to describe left ventricle relaxation. The relationship between τ and afterload has been controversial. Our goal was to demonstrate this relationship in mice, because genetically-modified mouse models have been used extensively for studies in cardiovascular diseases. Methods Increased arterial load was produced by phenylephrine administration (50 µg/kg iv) (n = 10). A series of pressure-volume loops was recorded with a Millar conductance catheter in vivo as the left ventricle pressure reached the maximum. The arterial load was expressed as Ea (effective arterial elastance). Tau values were computed using three mathematical methods: τWeiss, τGlantz, and τLogistic. Results A correlation plot between τ and Ea showed a biphasic relationship a flat phase I and an inclined phase II. The existence of an inflection point was proved mathematically with biphasic linear regression. Pressure-volume area (PVA), a parameter linearly related to myocardial O2 consumption (MVO2), was found to be directly proportional to Ea. The plot of τ versus PVA was also biphasic. Conclusion We concluded that a small increase of the arterial load by phenylephrine increased PVA (index of MVO2) but had little effect on τ. However, after an inflection point, further increase of arterial load and PVA resulted in the linear increase of τ.


On 16-17 April 2018, CAIDA hosted its eleventh Workshop on Active Internet Measurements (AIMS-11). This workshop series provides a forum for stakeholders in Internet active measurement projects to communicate their interests and concerns, and explore cooperative approaches to maximizing the collective benefit of deployed infrastructure and gathered data. An overarching theme this year was scaling the storage, indexing, annotation, and usage of Internet measurements. We discussed tradeoffs in use of commercial cloud services to to make measurement results more accessible and informative to researchers in various disciplines. Other agenda topics included status updates on recent measurement infrastructures and community feedback; measurement of poorly configured infrastructure; and recent successes and approaches to evolving challenges in geolocation, topology, route hijacking, and performance measurement. We review highlights of discussions of the talks. This report does not cover each topic discussed; for more details examine workshop presentations linked from the workshop web page:
 http://www.caida.org/workshops/aims/1904/.


Robot motion is analyzed and planned for conveyor tracking considering the speed of the conveyor belt and the locations of the part and the robot. The joint torque limit, joint velocity, acceleration, and jerk limits of the robot are taken into account in the motion analysis and planning. To include the robot arm dynamics, the problem is formulated as second order state equations using a parametric function. The conveyor tracking problem is then converted to an optimal tracking problem. The solution that minimizes the specified performance index is obtained using the dynamic programming approach. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the significance of the proposed method for conveyor tracking of the robot in a workcell.<<ETX>>


In many situations, agents optimize their own operations locally but their local problems are interdependent. We consider the problem of coordinating these local problems to find a globally optimal solution. We model the coordination problem as a Distributed Constraint Optimization Problem that can take advantage of the locality of interactions, and then show how incremental elicitation and solving techniques can minimize the effort required. We illustrate the approach on an example of coordinating logistics service providers, for example couriers in a delivery company.


How have state legislatures acted to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care? This article examines trends over time in state legislation related to disparities in care and access, proposed legislation during one biennial session, and contemporary legislative attitudes and awareness of the issue. The mix of strategies adopted across the states reflects the differing ways that states understand gaps in minority health and changing strategies over time. Historically, California, Florida, and Louisiana (all states with substantial minority populations) have been the most active in dealing with minority health issues through statutes. In the eighteen months of the 2001-2002 legislative session that we studied, the most common bills called for studies of disparities and appropriations for identifiable minority health initiatives. Measures that successfully cleared the legislature include measures related to cultural competence and minority health awareness month. Finally, the article discusses issues and limitations in using legislative action to measure the level of state policy activity with regard to health disparities. To ground the description of trends in disparity legislation, the authors integrated comments by state legislators with a discussion of problems in interpreting legislative activity.


Background & Aim: Spinal cord injury (SCI) has a very long history, and its cases form a large proportion of patients admitted to trauma centers in Iran. Studies show that repair after spinal cord injury can be done. In fact, many pharmaceutical agents, such as erythropoietin (EPO), are applied to reduce secondary injury following the initial disorder and to maintain the nerve tissue. Methods & Materials/Patients: In this clinical trial, 60 patients with acute spinal cord injury classified as A to C according to Frankel classification grading system were selected and matched with regard to the Frankel classes, the cervical and dorsal levels and then divided into two groups A and B (each containing 30 patients). Group A, in addition to receive conventional treatment, took EPO and was evaluated in terms of hospitalization period outcomes (mean length of stay, lower extremity thrombosis, intubation, bedsores) and was compared with group B (receiving conventional medicines, such as methylprednisolone). Results: Of the 60 patients, 15 patients were female and 45 were male, with the age range of 19-72 years. The mean length of stay in the case and control group was 10.6±6.52 and 13.8±10.37 days, respectively. Six patients died during hospitalization, including three patients in the case group and three patients in the control group. 12 patients were intubated during this period, including five patients in the case group and seven patients in the control group. Of the 29 patients with bedsores, 14 patients were in the case group and 15 patients were in the control group. None of the patients had lower extremity venous thrombosis during hospitalization. Conclusion: No significant difference was found between the case and control group in the hospital stay length, intubation, bedsores and lower extremities venous thrombosis.


PURPOSE
This study compared access to 5 livelihood assets among disabled and non-disabled youth, to inform health professionals on inequities related to disability and to monitor the transformation agenda aimed at creating an inclusive society.

METHODS
Fieldworkers interviewed 989 youth (18 - 35 years; 523 (52.9%) disabled youth (DY), 466 (47.1%) non-disabled youth (NDY)) at 9 sites in 5 South African provinces. Descriptive statistics were used to describe demographic characteristics and livelihood assets. Chi-squared and t-tests were used for comparisons.

RESULTS
Doctors at hospitals and nurses at clinics are health professionals most frequently seen. Far fewer DY than NDY attended and completed school. Unemployment was markedly more common among DY than among NDY. Barriers to accessing employment for DY were poor health and lack of skills development, and a lack of job opportunities for NDY. Both groups received the same amount of support from immediate household members, but significantly more NDY received support from extended family, friends, partners, and neighbours. They spent significantly more time engaging in all free-time activities. NDY reported more access to bathrooms, phone, and newspapers, as well as public services and the business sector. Participation and access were limited for both groups because of inaccessible public transport.

CONCLUSION
This paper shows that DY have a greater struggle to access livelihood assets than non-disabled peers. The Disability Studies Academic Programme at the University of Cape Town is an initiative that seeks to take specific focused action with disability organisations in order to address the inequities faced by disabled youth to ensure their inclusion in development to the same degree as their non-disabled peers.


We investigate how to exploit structural similarities of an individual's potential outcomes (POs) under different treatments to obtain better estimates of conditional average treatment effects in finite samples. Especially when it is unknown whether a treatment has an effect at all, it is natural to hypothesize that the POs are similar - yet, some existing strategies for treatment effect estimation employ regularization schemes that implicitly encourage heterogeneity even when it does not exist and fail to fully make use of shared structure. In this paper, we investigate and compare three end-to-end learning strategies to overcome this problem - based on regularization, reparametrization and a flexible multi-task architecture - each encoding inductive bias favoring shared behavior across POs. To build understanding of their relative strengths, we implement all strategies using neural networks and conduct a wide range of semi-synthetic experiments. We observe that all three approaches can lead to substantial improvements upon numerous baselines and gain insight into performance differences across various experimental settings.


About the book:
This collection is based on the papers given at a conference at the University of Nottingham in September 2005. The conference was intended to explore Rome as a site for the making of films, and also its changing role as a setting for cinematic narrative. The resulting collection of essays will contribute to the burgeoning genre of studies on cinema and the city, by focusing on one particularly rich case study both for the nature of the films discussed, and the complexities of the city and its representation. The volume will also reach beyond film studies in so far as the subject draws on and informs other approaches to Rome's cultural history (geography, art history, urban history, classics).

The essays address topics ranging from the interwar period to the present. A diverse set of cinematic interactions and interventions are placed within the context of the evolving architectural, social and political fabric of Rome in a period of rapid and often traumatic historical change. Implicit in the conception of the conference was the idea that cinematic representations of the city inherit and rework established habits of visualisation used to produce images of the Eternal city. Three other tropes which constitute key elements in Rome's international reputation can be seen as being embedded in cinematic narratives. Firstly, the trope of transformation – artisic, psychological, spiritual; secondly, the city's reputation as a cosmopolitan crossroad. Thirdly, Rome's status as a locus classicus for the juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern, which was given a new relevance and complexity in films which sought to focus on aspects of contemporary life, be it in the Fascist era, or the extreme contrasts of poverty and international bohemianism of the postwar era.


This dissertation introduces the 'Edna Iles's Medtner Collection' (EIMC), held by the British Library in London, and provides a detailed analysis of her 'Notes on the Interpretation of Medtner's Works'. Nikolay Medtner (1880–1951) was one of Russia's leading, early-20th-century composers, who spent the latter part of his life in the UK. He wrote mainly for the piano, composing 14 piano sonatas, three piano concertos, 108 songs, three violin sonatas, a piano quintet and more than 90 pieces for solo piano. Although he performed and recorded, and was considered a prominent composer while he was resident in the UK, his wider renown in the West was limited.

Edna Iles (1905–2003) was an English pianist and Medtner's last pupil. She took numerous notes during and immediately following her lessons and, in 1997, donated all of her Medtner-related materials to the British Library. I am the fourth person to consult it. The scope of the EIMC is impressive: Medtner manuscripts, newspaper cuttings, photographs and letters, all of which she carefully organized before donating. Importantly, her 'Notes on the Interpretation of Medtner's Works' contain unique information about how he taught and thought his music should be interpreted. She was, in fact, the only Medtner student to leave systematic written evidence of his pedagogy; the recordings she made of his music further demonstrate her mastery of his principles. She became, in effect, his disciple. This dissertation assesses the new light her 'Notes' shed on our knowledge of his methods and pianism.

The Introduction provides details of Medtner reception history and introduces all available sources on Medtner performance practice. Chapter 1 summarizes the lives of Medtner and Iles, and elucidates the nature of their relationship. Chapters 2 through to 4 discuss the disciplines of Medtner's approach to playing – basic piano technique, articulation, practicing, pedaling and memorization – corroborated elsewhere. Chapters 5 and 6 unravel the more intellectual concepts of fil rouge, tempo, phrasing, voicing and his distinction between energetic and rounded music that form the core of Iles's 'Notes' and represent the EIMC's most original contribution to Medtner performance practice. Chapter 7 provides the opportunity to observe and apply Medtner's interpretive philosophy to a single work (Sonate-Idylle, Op. 56) by blending the advice conveyed in his printed scores with the methodology and insights he communicated to Iles. The Conclusions affirm the importance of the EIMC as a uniquely detailed primary source on Medtnerian performance practice.

An inventory of the Edna Iles Medtner Collection and transcript of her 'Notes on Interpretation of Medtner's Works' can be found in Appendices One and Two. Appendix Three offers a facsimile of exercises Medtner gave to Iles, preserved in her own handwriting. Appendices Four and Five provide a discography of Medtner piano works and pertinent contextual photographic evidence.


We investigate the relationship between structure and robustness in the metabolic networks of Escherichia coli, Methanosarcina barkeri, Staphylococcus aureus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, using a cascading failure model based on a topological flux balance criterion. We find that, compared to appropriate null models, the metabolic networks are exceptionally robust. Furthermore, by decomposing each network into rigid clusters and branched metabolites, we demonstrate that the enhanced robustness is related to the organization of branched metabolites, as rigid cluster formations in the metabolic networks appear to be consistent with null model behavior. Finally, we show that cascading in the metabolic networks can be described as a percolation process.


Vestured pits are present on pits of secondary xylem vessels of all studied Echium species, roots as well as stems. Variations in vesturing presence do occur in the genus (across wide circular pit cavities; along margins of elliptical pit apertures; aggregated to various degrees; variously abundant), but these are difficult to define precisely and are related primarily to organography and ecology rather than to the taxonomic system. The Macaronesian species have been reported to form a single clade. Wood anatomical features other than vesturing are also closely keyed to species ecology and, in particular subclades, growth forms. Woodiness, exemplified by most species of the insular clade of Echium, has been claimed to have evolved as a mechanism to promote outcrossing on islands. This alleged indirect selection is questioned here. The bases for secondary woodiness on island areas are multiple and are reviewed here (lessened temperature and moisture extremes; retention of branches instead of reproducing by seed as a form of economy; lack of mammalian herbivores; superior dispersal and colonization abilities of less woody clades; ability to occupy geologically new or recently altered areas). These features may, individually and collectively, serve to increase the ability of species to become woody on islands. Vesture presence can be cited for some groups that have radiated well on Macaronesian islands (Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae) as well as on certain major land areas (Acacia and Eucalyptus on Australia all have vestured pits on vessels). Plant species can be viewed as having an umbrella of features relevant to woodiness and growth form, with thresholds in tolerance of cold, drought, etc. In an island environment, there is alleviation, moderation, and transcendence of these thresholds and restrictions so that survival of vegetative structures into the next growing season is achieved. Advantageous radiation into new growth forms is made possible by this extension of the growing


The Educators: Female Education 492pp Essays on Various Subjects, Principally Designed for Young Women [1777] Hannah More 220pp A Plan for the Conduct of Female Education in Boarding Schools [1797] Erasmus Darwin 126pp Female Accomplishments, Masters and Governesses in Practical Education [1798] Maria Edgeworth 36pp Some Account of a Proposed New College for Women [1868] Women in the Universities of England and Scotland [1869] Emily Davies 25pp, 42pp The Education of Girls: its Present and its Future [1869] Elizabeth C Wolstoneholme-Elmy 41pp Relation of School to Work in Work and Play in Girls' Schools [1898] Dorothea Beale 7pp Volume 2: The Workers: Women and Labour 706pp "Educated Destitution" from Essays on Women's Work [1866] Bessie Rayner Parkes 8pp Medicine as a Profession for Women [1869] Sophia Jex-Blake 44pp A Working Woman's Speech Clementina Black 8pp Marriage as a Trade [1909] Cecily Hamilton 263pp Women and Labour [1911] Olive Shreiner 276pp The Working Life of Women [1911] B L (Elizabeth Leigh) Hutchins 22pp The Married Working Woman: A Study [1911] Anna Martin 49pp Volume 3: The Suffragists: Towards the Vote479pp The Political Disabilities of Women [1872] Lydia Becker 33pp Liberty, Equality and Fraternity a Reply to Mr fitzjames Stephen's Sticture on the subjection of Women [1873] Lydia Becker 29pp The Women's Suffrage Movement [1905] Emily Davies 15pp Women's Suffrage: A Short History of a Great Movement [1912] Millicent Fawcett 92pp The ABC of Votes for Women [1909-1910] Marion Holmes 13pp The Future of the Womne's Movement [1913] Helena Swanwick 226pp The Latest Intelligence from the Planet Venus [1871] Anon 10pp Volume 4: The Rebels: Irish Feminists376pp Letter to the editor of The Crisis [1833] 15pp Letter by Vlasta [1833] 29pp A Letter from Anna Wheeler [1832] 6pp Anna Wheeler An Address to Both Houses of Parliament for the Suppression of Old Women of both Sexes [1839] Rosina Bulwer Lytton 18pp A Hibernian Tale [1800] Maria Edgeworth 33pp The Bondage of Women [1893] 19pp Irish Leaders and Martyrs [1893] 5pp Lady Jane Wilde Extracts from Women, Ideals and the Nation [1909] Constance Markievicz 3pp Why I became a Suffragette [1907] Charlotte Despard 8pp Women and Politics: A Reply [1907] Eva Gore-Booth 8pp Prisoners in the Free State [1937] How We Beat the Terrorist Proclamation Must we Fight Again for Ireland's Honour? An Phoblacht [1933] Maud Gonne McBride 6pp, 5pp, 4pp The Tale of a Great Sham Ann Parnell 157pp Volume 5: The Opponents: The Anti-Suffragists562pp Queen Victoria and Women's Rights [1909-1910] Anon 1pp Suffrage Fallacies - Sir Almoroth Wright on "Militant Hysteria" [1912] 14pp The Unexpugated Case Against Woman Suffrage [1913] Sir Almroth Wright 100pp, Woman or Suffragette? [1907] Marie Corelli 40pp The Fraud of Feminism [1913] Ernest Belford Bax 179pp BAnti-Suffragist Anxieties [1910] Bertrand Russell 26pp Is Woman Suffrage Inevitable [1908] Mrs Humphry Ward 2pp The "Physical Force" Fallacy [1913] Laurence


Political economy debates have focused on the internationalization of private capital. But foreign states increasingly enter domestic markets as financial investors. How do policy makers in recipient countries react? Do they treat purchases as a threat and impose restrictions or see them as beneficial and welcome them? What are the wider implications for debates about state capacities to govern domestic economies in the face of internationalization of financial markets? In response, the book develops the concept of 'internationalized statism'—governments welcoming and using foreign state investments to govern their domestic economies—and applies it to the most prominent overseas state investors: Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). Many SWFs are from Asia and the Middle East and their number and size have greatly expanded, reaching $9 trillion by 2020. The book examines policies towards non-Western SWFs buying company shares in four countries: the US, the UK, France, and Germany. Although the US has imposed significant legal restrictions, the others have pursued internationalized statism in ways that are surprising given both popular and political economy classifications. The book argues that the policy patterns found are related to domestic politics, notably the preferences and capacities of the political executive and legislature, rather than solely economic needs or national security risks. The phenomenon of internationalized statism underlines that overseas state investment provides policy makers in recipient states with new allies and resources. The study of SWFs shows how and why internationalization and liberalization of financial markets offer national policy makers opportunities to govern their domestic economies.


Creative Research helps readers define their research problem, decide on an appropriate research process and then undertake the project.

Throughout the book, Hilary Collins introduces and analyzes different techniques and procedures for collecting and analyzing a variety of data. The skills necessary to promote the effectiveness and validity of research within the creative industries are highlighted in case studies, all of which also demonstrate what a well-designed research project can achieve.

New to the second edition are detailed explorations of design thinking and ethnography as well as all new case studies on emerging tools and photographic enthnography.


In 2005, lean thinking was trialled to improve processes in the construction phase of a highways maintenance project. The trial was undertaken by a partnering framework; those involved were already working in a collaborative environment, and it was thought this would be conducive to introducing lean thinking. The scheme involved resurfacing and deep patching of two four lane carriageways and the provision of concrete protection to eight bridge piers. During the construction phase, a buffered programme, four-week look-ahead programmes and weekly programme plans were used to: undertake constraints analysis; measure planned activities completed each week; and analyse root causes of delay. On completion, the Project Team were interviewed on the successes and failures of using lean thinking on the project. Both problems and benefits were encountered in applying lean to the project. There were some issues with the way that lean was presented and certain improvements to the process were identified so that lean could be continued on other schemes undertaken within the framework, including: ensuring a better understanding of lean thinking and its application in a highways context; adopting some of the analyses as a formal process and measurement tool; and investigating principles of lean thinking outside programme management.


Taking German history and culture as a starting point, this essay suggests a historical approach to reconceptualizing different forms of literary engagement with colonial discourse, colonial legacies and (post)colonial memory in the context of Comparative Postcolonial Studies. The deliberate blending of a historical, a conceptual and a political understanding of the 'postcolonial' in postcolonial scholarship raises problems of periodization and historical terminology when, for example, anti-colonial discourse from the colonial period or colonialist discourse in Weimar Germany are labelled 'postcolonial'. The colonial revisionism of Germany's interwar period is more usefully classed as post-imperial, as are particular strands of retrospective engagement with colonial history and legacy in British, French and other European literatures and cultures after 1945. At the same time, some recent developments in Francophone, Anglophone and German literature, e.g. Afropolitan writing, move beyond defining features of postcolonial discourse and raise the question of the post-postcolonial.


In the study of geochemical mass balances at subduction zones, the composition of the mantle wedge prior to additions from the slab is a critically important yet poorly constrained parameter. Deconvolving the influence of ancient versus modern enrichments is particularly
difficult, especially when considering elements that are highly mobile. Here we provide an alternative approach, using less mobile elements, and a filter to remove the effects of recent slab additions. We provide new Hf isotope data for 30 Mariana Trough (MT) backarc basin lavas. Once filtered, Hf and Nd isotope ratios are highly correlated, of Indian mid-oceanic ridge basalt character, and display variations similar to ocean ridges of comparable lengths.
The isotopic variability observed in this "ambient mantle" provides a new paradigm for the interpretation of the varied volcanic products of the arc. Thus, shoshonites associated with the northern termination of the backarc basin rift axis reflect the interaction of a subducted
sediment melt with an isotopically enriched mantle source. In contrast, the large volcanoes of the Central Island province have a consistent offset in Nd isotope compositions from the MT array resulting from fluid addition. Existing data for smaller edifices in the submarine portion of the arc have larger variations resulting from fluid addition on a more local scale. We suggest that the similar characterization of ambient mantle elsewhere may help to resolve many conflicting geochemical observations in arc lavas worldwide.


Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time was a publishing phenomenon. Translated into thirty languages, it has sold over nine million copies worldwide. It continues to captivate and inspire new readers every year. When it was first published in 1988 the ideas discussed in it were at the cutting edge of what was then known about the universe. In the intervening years there have been extraordinary advances in our understanding of the space and time. The technology for observing the micro- and macro-cosmic world has developed in leaps and bounds. During the same period cosmology and the theoretical sciences have entered a new golden age. Professor Stephen Hawking has been at the heart of this new scientific renaissance. Now, in The Universe in a Nutshell, Stephen Hawking brings us fully up-to-date with the advances in scientific thinking. We are now nearer than we have ever been to a full understanding of the universe. In a fascinating and accessible discussion that ranges from quantum mechanics, to time travel, black holes to uncertainty theory, to the search for science's Holy Grail - the unified field theory (or in layman's terms the 'theory of absolutely everything') Professor Hawking once more takes us to the cutting edge of modern thinking. Beautifully illustrated throughout, with original artwork commissioned for this project, The Universe in a Nutshell is guaranteed to be the biggest science book of 2001.


From a literature review it has been possible to point out, starting from Greek and Latin literature references, the development of at least 160 catastrophic seismic events in the Mediterranean area in the last two century. Studies and researches have shown that about 60% of such events have been recorded in Italy as well as more than 50% of the recorded damages. This data can be ascribed to the high intensity of the recorded earthquakes in Italy, but also to both the high density of population and the presence of many structures under-designed or designed following old codes and construction practice: for this reasons the seismic risk in Italy is very high. In fact, the seismic risk is defined by the convolution of three terms: hazard vulnerability and exposure. The hazard is linked to the probability that, in the analyzed area, a seismic event occurs in a given period of time. The vulnerability, also known as fragility, is related to the propensity of people and goods to be injured or damaged during a seismic event. The exposure is rather closely related to the aftermath analysis of a seismic event and in particular to location, consistency, quality and value of goods and activities on the territory that may be affected directly or indirectly from the event of earthquake. Moreover by analysing the data provided by the 14th census of population and buildings (2001) in Italy, it is possible to have a clear idea regarding the period of construction of the existing reinforced concrete buildings; such data show that about one million of building units (35%) have been built before the first code with seismic provisions, Legge 2/2/74 n.64 [1], was issued. As a result a significant portion of the total seismic risk in Italy, evaluated in economic terms, comes from the various type of damages endured by the existing buildings. This is the case for several other European countries in which the average service life for buildings is larger than that of countries like the United States. Therefore, management of existing building stock is a major concern in such regions. This is the reason why, more recent European seismic guidelines (e.g., EC8 [2], OPCM [3], NTC [4]) pay particular attention to seismic assessment of existing structures, which is distinguished from that of the new construction by lack of information about both the original features and the current state of building in consideration. The assessment of existing structures is subjected to numerous sources of uncertainty.


Abstract The way of conducting communication during the image crisis is a special type of challenge for the company. Lack of preparation of the company for proper communication management may be crucial in averting and/or reducing the effects of crises. The paper presents the results of research conducted among experts from the PR industry and representatives of the largest Polish enterprises from the 500 List compiled by "Rzeczpospolita" daily newspaper. The vast majority of Polish enterprises show an open-minded approach to crisis communication. Companies from oppressive industries, where crises occur more often, are better prepared for crisis communication. The determinants of effective communication in the situation of image threats are, according to the leaders of public relations agencies, anti-crisis preparation, presence of procedures, openness and honesty in communication processes as well as quick response time.


Ginger (rhizome of Zingiber officinale) is a well known herb for its culinary and wide range of medicinal uses and is considered an essential component of the kitchen pharmacy. More commonly, ginger has been traditionally used in disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, as a stomachic, laxative, sialogogue, gastric emptying enhancer, appetizer, antiemetic, antidyspepsic, antispasmodic, and antiulcer agent with sufficient scientific support. Similarly, ginger has been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, antimigraine, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, diuretic, hypocholesterolemic, and antihypertensive activities. Recently, ginger has gained wide attention for its therapeutic role as a safe and effective preventive treatment option for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Ginger has a long history of safety, as it has been used for centuries not only for medicinal purposes, but also as a food and spice. Although some health risk and safety concerns exist in the literature about its use by pregnant women, the clinical evidence of harm is lacking. Ginger might, therefore, be used as an effective treatment option for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. In this article, we focus attention on these aspects of ginger.


The argument presented in this book is that the recent 'spiritual' trajectory of Roy Bhaskar's work, upon which he first embarked with the publication of his From East to West, undermines the fundamental achievements of his earlier work. The problem with Bhaskar's new philosophical system (Transcendental Dialectical Critical Realism or simply Meta-Reality), from the critical-realist Marxist perspective endorsed here, is that it marks both a departure from and a negation of the earlier concerns of Bhaskar to develop a realist philosophy of science and under-labour for an emancipatory materialist socio-historical science. The end-result is a meta-philosophy which is irrealist, speculative, under-theorized, internally self-contradictory, and which cannot provide philosophical guidance to liberatory social practices. In opposition to theist ontological logics more generally (including the rather more rational theism presented by Margaret Archer, Andrew Collier and Doug Porpora), the argument of this book is that the earth-bound materialist dialectics of the classical Marxist tradition, and the naturalistic humanism these dialectics under-labour on the terrain of socio-historical being, offer a much more promising way forward for critical realist theory and for liberatory politics and ethics.


There is a drastic need for new and improved anti-trypanosomal drugs to be developed due to the alarming rate of resurgence of trypanosomiasis, development of drug resistance, lack of efficacy of chemotherapy, drug-related adverse effects and drawbacks of the existing useful drugs. A novel, affordable, safe, and efficacious anti-trypanosomal drug should be to able combat the almost neglected yet life-threatening trypanosomiasis. We have established metabolomic methods to screen diverse biological sources of potentially novel and sustainable sources of antitrypanosomal drugs. Metabolomic profiling was done on organic extracts of diverse natural sources by using high resolution LCFTMS and NMR. The secondary metabolite profiles of anti-trypanosomal acitve extracts were then compared to those of the inactive samples with the aid of SIEVE and MZmine, both are automated label-free differential expression softwares. Together with high resolution NMR, principal component analysis and off-line databases were utilised to identify resonances that quantifies and confirms the presence of the secondary metabolite of interest. Preliminary highthroughput chromatographic separation of the active secondary metabolites was achieved on the active extracts exhibiting an interesting chemical profile. From African propolis we have identified active extracts to contain new highly oxygenated phloroglucinol derivatives. Tools of metabolomics were also applied to biotechnologically optimize the production of bioactive secondary metabolites in marine-derived fungi and endophytes. At small scales, efficient cultivation processes are developed to later scale-up to a fermenter system. Through tools of metabolomics and genomics, the production of other potential novel drugs can be optimised to solve and come up with a sustainable solution to address the supply problem. A novel anti-trypanosomal active macrolide lactone from a Streptomyces spp. was derived from the sponge Haliclona collected from the Irish Sea. Metabolomic studies through SIEVE showed that amino acid catabolism is an important source of building blocks for macrolide formation. Amino acid utilization is regulated through the process, which indirectly regulates macrolide biosynthesis.


In laboratory experiments a traditional drinking water treatment method, coagulation/flocculation followed by solid/liquid phase separation has been applied in order to decrease arsenic concentration below 10 μg/L (which is the new Hungarian standard for arsenic). The goal of the research work was to examine the transition of the dissolved arsenic to solid form, to determine the factors which have significant effect on arsenic removal efficiency. The organic content of the water highly affected the arsenic removal process. The difference in the required coagulant dosage can be order of one magnitude depending on the organic content of the water. The phosphorous content also increases the required coagulant dose, since ferric phosphate precipitates are formed, decreasing the amount of coagulant available for arsenic removal. pH also proved to have significant influence when experiments were carried out at wide pH range. However, under more realistic conditions (pH is between 7.5 and 8), the effect of pH was not that significant. The inorganic carbon content at some extent favors the liquid/solid transition of arsenate, since it contributes to the buffering capacity of the water, therefore enhances the metal hydroxide formation process. However, the excess inorganic carbon has disadvantageous effect, since it competes with the arsenate ions for the free sites of metal hydroxides. Two oxidants (chlorine and potassium permanganate) and two coagulants (ferric chloride and aluminum sulfate) were studied in pilot scale experiments. The pilot plant was operated at Hajdubagos, where the arsenic, iron and manganese concentration of the raw water is above the standard. In the experiments it was found the potassium permanganate + ferric chloride combination was the most efficient.


Abstract As the capabilities of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model full aircraft configurations improve, and the speeds of massively parallel machines increase, it is expected that CFD simulations will be used more and more to steer or in some cases even replace traditional flight test analyses. The mission of the US Air Force SEEK EAGLE office is to clear any new weapon configurations and loadings for operational use. As more complex weapons are developed and highly asymmetric loadings are requested, the SEEK EAGLE office is tasked with providing operational clearances for literally thousands of different flight configurations. High-fidelity CFD simulations employing the turbulent Navier—Stokes equations are in a prime position to help reduce some of the required wind-tunnel and/or flight test workload. However, these types of CFD simulations are still too time consuming to populate a full stability and control parameter database in a brute-force manner. This article reviews results previously published by the authors, which validate the ability of high-fidelity CFD techniques to compute static force and moment characteristics of aircraft configurations. A methodology to generate efficient but non-linear reduced-order aerodynamic loads models from dynamic CFD solutions, which in-turn may be used to quickly analyse various stability and control characteristics at a particular flight condition, is introduced, and the results based on the US Air Force F-16C fighter aircraft that exemplify the process are discussed.


We discuss modern developments in quantum optics with organic molecules, clusters and nanoparticles -- in particular recent realizations of near-field matter-wave interferometry. A unified theoretical description in phase space allows us to describe quantum interferometry in position space and in the time domain on an equal footing. In order to establish matter-wave interferometers as a universal tool, which can accept and address a variety of nanoparticles, we elaborate on new quantum optical elements, such as diffraction gratings made of matter and light, as well as their absorptive and dispersive interaction with complex materials. We present Talbot-Lau interferometry (TLI), the Kapitza-Dirac-Talbot-Lau interferometer (KDTLI) and interferometry with pulsed optical gratings (OTIMA) as the most advanced devices to study the quantum wave nature of composite matter. These experiments define the current mass and complexity record in interferometric explorations of quantum macroscopicity and they open new avenues to quantum assisted metrology with applications in physical chemistry and biomolecular physics.


Usage-based pricing has rapidly become one of the most controversial topics in Internet policy. Both wired and wireless broadband providers are migrating from flat-rate pricing to a variety of consumption-based pricing models. Some consumer groups have viewed the change to usage-based pricing with skepticism, fearing it will usher in an era of higher prices, deteriorating service, and increasingly anticompetitive conduct.This article evaluates the merits of data caps, tiered-service plans, and other usage-based pricing strategies. It finds that usage-based broadband pricing is not inherently anti-consumer or anti-competitive. Rather, it reflects a cluster of pricing strategies through which a broadband company might recover its costs and fund future investment. Under a flat-rate plan, lighter users cross-subsidize heavier users. By aligning costs with broadband use, usage-based pricing shifts more network costs onto those who use the network the most.Critics claim that usage-based pricing is unfair, because the marginal costs of data transport are low, and therefore heavier users do not cost more than lighters. But this argument ignores the significant fixed costs of building and maintaining a network. The central challenge for broadband pricing is allocating those fixed costs across the customer base. Unlimited flat-rate pricing is one strategy, but not necessarily the most efficient. Usage-based pricing is a form of price discrimination that allows broadband providers to recover more of their fixed costs from customers with relatively inelastic demand. This strategy more closely approximates Ramsey pricing and therefore may be a more efficient way of recovering fixed costs without distorting consumer preferences.Pricing experimentation may also help narrow the digital divide. By recovering more fixed costs from heavier users, firms may have more freedom to extend service at a lower rate to light users who are unable or unwilling to pay the unlimited flat rate. There is evidence that these opportunities are beginning to emerge from companies engaged in usage-based pricing.Usage-based pricing may also help alleviate network congestion, though the case is less clear. Unlimited flat-rate pricing encourages overconsumption of network resources, which can create congestion during peak periods. Usage-based pricing encourages consumers to use less bandwidth and to demand more bandwidth-efficient practices by Internet content and service providers. But it is not clear that current pricing strategies will help mitigate peak-time congestion. To use pricing to shift consumption to off-peak periods, companies would need to show peak times are predictable. Fixed networks show regular peak times, but congestion is not currently a significant problem for fixed providers. On the wireless side, congestion is problematic but peak times are less predictable. With current technology, usage-based pricing may reduce aggregate demand and help chronically over-congested networks, but firms likely cannot yet use differentiated pricing to reduce peak-time congestion levels.Unquestionably, some vertically-integrated broadband providers may use usage-based pricing anticompetitively to shield cable affiliates from Internet-based video competition. While these risks exist, the literature suggests that vertical restraints on trade can be pro-competitive or anticompetitive. Regulators should remain vigilant with regard to potentially anticompetitive conduct, but should intervene only when a firm exploits market power in a way that causes actual consumer harm. Regulators should also assure that broadband providers have transparent pricing practices and give consumers tools to estimate monthly data use.Only through experimentation and empirical measurement will providers find the optimal pricing solution — which, by network, may vary dramatically. Thus far, regulators have correctly rejected the call to interfere with this pricing flexibility, absent a demonstration of market failure and consumer harm. This study shows why they would be wise to continue doing so.A working paper version was published by the Mercatus Center in October 2012.


Any attempt to capture the processes and difficulties faced by a developing country, pre- and post-democracy, in its quest to redress inequalities and achieve the twin goals of gender equality and the emancipation of women, will necessarily be both factual and subjective. Women's activism in South Africa is closely intertwined with the complex political history of resistance. The inherited legacy of the past, particularly for black women, includes oppression and discrimination based on gender but also on factors such as race, class, religion, ethnicity and geographic location. These factors have all played a role in shaping women's struggles against oppression and discrimination. It has been argued that race and class divisions have differentially shaped the political consciousness of women. For example, white middle-class women's struggles were largely focused on issues of political equality and their legal status, while the political struggles for black women involved claims for political and economic equality within the transformation of the state. The task of redressing systemic structural discrimination in general and gender discrimination in particular, required a multi-pronged approach by South African activists. The approaches included the constitutionalisation of gender equality and non-sexism, affirmative action measures and also setting up structures and systems to address gender equality and the advancement of women.
The existing international discourse and vision was one of promotion of the concept of National Gender Machineries (NGM), as one mechanism to address women's inequalities. The vision was to develop structures, mechanisms and strategies for achieving equality for women in all spheres of life, both private and public. The United Nations Decade for Women (1975-1985) had also led to demands for the generation of data on the status of women, for policies to address women's needs in development, and also for setting up national machinery to promote women's integration into development. The 'Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women' document, which was adopted at the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade of the Women: Equality, Development and Peace in 1985, also called on governments to establish appropriate government machinery for monitoring and improving the status of women. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 urged 'governments, institutions, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their efforts for the protection and promotion of human rights of women and the girl-child'. The 1995 'Beijing Platform of Action', Strategic objective H, similarly calls on governments to create and strengthen national mechanisms for the advancement of women; integrate gender perspectives in legislation, public policies, programmes and projects; and to generate and disseminate gender disaggregated data and information for planning and evaluation. This vision was followed by activists in South Africa.
This article does not claim to be a full analysis of the success or failure of South Africa's NGM, but is rather a history of developments in the quest for gender equality, and also the personal experiences of women activists. Its focus is on the progress of the development of the NGM reflected in policy documents, assessments of progress and academic analyses of the situation. It draws on the first-hand experience of activists to a limited extent only. This limits the analysis to some extent as does the fact that it is written by a lawyer and not an anthropologist or sociologist. The other limitations include a recognition that it is difficult to judge whether the twin goals of gender equality and women's emancipation, through the setting up of gender structures, are a realistic outcome after approximately eight years of existence; and a realistic approach that recognizes the impact of deeply embedded structural and systemic challenges that existed pre-1994 and continue to exist in a rapidly changing climate of political and economic change. Despite such limitations, the paper attempts to make visible numerous relevant analyses which resonate and which also provide the basis for some conclusions.


The use of satellite tracking for the fundamental and applied study of marine turtles began in the 1980s but has undergone rapid growth in recent years. To provide a background against which to judge the past success and future directions of these research efforts we carried out a com- prehensive review of over 130 scientific papers on the use of this technique in this taxon. We show how satellite tracking has changed over time as well as outlining biases in spatial, species and life- stage coverage. Descriptions of migration routes and other habitats have offered novel insights into the basic life history patterns of some species, highlighted focal areas for conservation and reinforced the multi-national nature of the stakeholders of many populations. In foraging areas, knowledge is growing as to how animals move within dynamic seascapes, thus facilitating our understanding of 3-dimensional habitat use and seasonal patterns of behaviour. More experimental approaches have elucidated navigational capabilities and post-release survival following fisheries interaction and long-term captivity. In addition, through the Internet and other media, satellite tracking appears to have been effective in engaging public attention in many countries. Finally, we discuss why the use of the technique has increased so markedly over time and point out key areas of concern that we feel should be addressed by the community of researchers and donors who focus on sea turtles.


Such contemporary trends as population aging require new adjustments. Social compact is a fuzzy phrase in U.S. political discourse. When that sturdy band of Pilgrims pledged their collective futures to one another on the Mayflower, they viewed their pact as a sacred trust. Now, a "compact" carries less theological weight than a "covenant" It has less standing under the law than a "contract." But we still attach significance to social compacts because we presume (or hope) that they promote unity between generations. This connection was already evident in one of the classic texts that defines our American identity. In 1831 the French government sent Gustave de Beaumont and Alexis de Tocqueville to the New World to study the U.S. penal system. The two young aristocrats inspected prisons and toured the northeast extensively for nine months. After reporting back to officials, Tocqueville wrote two volumes of observations based on their experiences. Democracy in America is "one of the great and enduring works of political literature,' declared Henry Steele Commager (1967, p. 195), saying it combines "a great theme with a philosophy profound enough to comprehend it, a temperament judicious enough to interpret it, an intelligence acute enough to master it, (and) a style adequate to its demands" Democracy in America is a masterpiece because Tocqueville succeeded in elevating what might simply have been another European's travel account into a (perceptive) critique of long-term developments in western history, one full of (pretty accurate) forecasts about future trends. The Frenchman relied on his powers of inductive reasoning as well as his discerning eye in analyzing the strengths and shortcomings of modem democracy. "I confess that in America I saw more than America," he wrote in the introduction to his first volume (1835). "I sought there the image of democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have to fear or to hope from its progress" The scope of Democracy in America extends far beyond what the author actually witnessed. His critique of governance, comity, and values in Jacksonian America illuminated how democratic upheavals had transformed social relations and class-based politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Tocqueville believed that traditional rules of order, once held in tight control by aristocracies, were in the 1830s giving way to new social compacts renegotiated so as to empower ordinary men and women. "Among the novel objects that attracted my attention during my stay in the United States, nothing struck me more than the general equality of condition among the people;' Tocqueville asserted in the opening lines of Democracy in America. "It creates opinions, gives birth to new sentiments, founds novel customs, and modifies whatever it does not produce." Understanding America, declared this soon of the Enlightenment, was away of gazing into the future. Tocqueville made clear that "progress" to date had not invariably promoted benevolence. Fascinated by the democratic ethos born of revolution, he nevertheless remembered that Parisian crowds in the 1790s had beheaded his noble grandfather. Tocqueville wondered whether the ind/i/dua/ and restlessness he associated with U.S. democracy would alter the citizenry's capacity to enter into social compacts in order to work together for mutually beneficial ends. THE SOCIAL COMPACT IN TOCQUEVILLE'S AMERICA Tocqueville elaborated his ambivalence about the future prospects of social compacts in the second volume of Democracy in America (1840). Whereas patriarchs held sway in aristocracies, generational succession in democracies gave rise to new voices. Such a radical transition, to Tocqueville's surprise, had not fundamentally disrupted ties between young and old, rich and poor, or men and women. The prevalence of relative equality in the United States was a far more critical factor in reworking social relations. …


Demographic crisis remains one of the main challenges to socio-economic development of Russia. The COVID–19 pandemic has aggravated preconditions for a possible recovery from depopulation. The present article substantiates the need to develop and approve the RF social doctrine upon completion of national projects in 2018–2024. The authors suggest their own approach to overcoming the socio-demographic crisis with regard to the long-term demographic dynamics in Russia. Various scenarios of the "post-coronavirus" future of both specific countries and the world as a whole are proposed.


In this paper, we show that in a model where investors have heterogeneous preferences, the expected return of risky assets depends on the idiosyncratic coskewness beta, which measures the co-movement of the individual stock variance and the market return. We find that there is a negative (positive) relation between idiosyncratic coskewness and equity returns when idiosyncratic coskewness betas are positive (negative). Standard risk factors, such as the market, size, book-to-market, and momentum cannot explain the findings. We construct two idiosyncratic coskewness factors to capture the market-wide effect of idiosyncratic coskewness. The two idiosyncratic coskewness factors can also explain the negative and significant relation between the maximum daily return over the past one month (MAX) and expected stock returns documented in Bali, Cakici, and Whitelaw (2009). In addition, when we control for these two idiosyncratic coskewness factors, the return difference for distress-sorted portfolios found in Campbell, Hilscher, and Szilagyi (2008) becomes insignificant. Furthermore, the two idiosyncratic coskewness factors help us understand the idiosyncratic volatility puzzle found in Ang, Hodrick, Xing, and Zhang (2006). They reduce the return difference between portfolios with the smallest and largest idiosyncratic volatility by more than 60%, although the difference is still statistically significant.


We examine the role of cross-border input linkages in governing how international relative price changes influence demand for domestic value added. We define a novel value-added real effective exchange rate (REER), which aggregates bilateral value-added price changes, and link this REER to demand for value added. Input linkages enable countries to gain competitiveness following depreciations by supply chain partners, and hence counterbalance beggar-thy-neighbor effects. Cross-country differences in input linkages also imply that the elasticity of demand for value added is country specific. Using global input-output data, we demonstrate these conceptual insights are quantitatively important and compute historical value-added REERs.


Purpose: Modulated electron radiotherapy (MERT) has been demonstrated to be an ideal treatment for lesions close to the surface in terms of dose coverage and sparing of underlying critical organs and normal tissues. The purpose of this study was to obtain the parameters and devise strategies for segment matching which are necessary for efficient MERT treatment planning.Methods: In this study we used EGS4nrc/BEAMnrc and MCSim code for Monte Carlo calculations. The Computational Environment for Radiotherapy research (CERR) tool was used for viewing and comparing plans. A water phantom, delineated with stepped target idealized for two segments with sizes from 2 to 6 cm and electron beam energies of 6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV were used for the calculations. The variation in dose distribution with different energies of abutte electron segments and change in segment size were studied. In order to obtain homogenous dose at the segment match, various gaps and smoothing between segments were introduced. Finally, a salivary gland MERT plan was executed using the segment match optimization scheme. Results: As the energy difference between two consecutive segments increased, dose uniformity at the segment junction decreased. For small segments (< 4 cm) optimization can be improved by introducing a gap (1–2 mm) between segments. However, for larger segments, smoothing was found to be more beneficial than gapping the segments. The salivary gland case was successful in terms of dose coverage and homogeneity aided by the segment matching techniques described. Conclusions: We conclude that use of bigger segments, and smaller differences in energy for abutting segments, should be prioritized for MERT planning. This study provides an optimization regimen of segment matching for MERT treatment planning with gaps/smoothing, depending on segment size and energy in order to provide better dose coverage and expedite the forward planning process. Varian Master Research Agreement


An analysis of naming patterns among ethnic-Chinese Singaporeans. The study of names (or, to give it its Sunday name, onomastics) has not always been accorded high academic prestige and is often thought of as a non-specialist's hobby horse. The fact that most books on naming in bookshops seem to address only prospective parents who need to name their child also does not give the study a high standing. In the university context, this is not something that receives a lot of attention, except within semantics and philosophy where the status of names (as opposed to other words) has been discussed; and within the history of English where place names are studied in relation to their etymology. In this journal, though, attention has been given to commercial names (Banu & Sussex (2001), McArthur (2000)) because of interesting instances of hybridisation involving English and other languages.


This paper established the effect of Strategic Value-based Management on the performance of organizations in Kenya and specifically the performance of hotels in Kenyan Coast. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Multiple Regression was used to determine whether hotels in Mombasa use Value- based management and whether Value-based management influences their performance. The regression results indicated that valuebased management had a positive effect on the performance of hotels. However, although there was a positive relationship between the use of VBM and performance, it was concluded that not many hotels had adopted Value-based management strategies and this justifies another study on other determinants of the performance of these hotels apart from value -based management. The study was based on a survey of 70 managers of classified hotels in Mombasa and was relating the performance of these hotels to the probability of using value-based management visa vis not using value-based management through Regression Analysis.


The development of the human consciousness : Can a 'postmodern church' accommodate 'mythology'? Ken Wilber's contribution to pastoral care
Postmodern theologians like Hal Taussig are not very optimistic about the future of Christianity. To them, the theistic (mythological) understanding of God is of little use in the postmodern world of the 21st century. Taussig prefers the grassroots Christianity, which has room for persons of all sexual orientations, and advocates ecological sensitivity. The question is : What do the followers of this spirituality teach their children about God? The solution is what Wilber calls 'the conveyer belt' and God's 'Kosmic address'. Everyone starts at square one, 'traditional' and grassroots Christians alike, and move along this conveyer belt. Along the way, there are seven stages and three perspectives, i.e. the first, second and third-person perspective, through which human consciousness could evolve. That means that any given person could have one of 21 different possible understandings and experiences of God. A questionnaire could assist pastors to determine at which stage or level of evolution an individual is, as well as the 'Kosmic address' that God has for that individual. Through spiritual exercises, pastors could then support the individual's further growth towards mature human consciousness.


This special issue explores and analyzes gender mainstreaming in the development of Bangladesh. The majority of the papers in this issue were presented at an international conference titled 'Gender mainstreaming in Politics, Administration and Development in South Asiai and Beyond' in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2017. The papers in this special issue cover only a few studies from Bangladesh. Gender mainstreaming, which was introduced as a strategy for the promotion of gender equality by the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995, has received considerable global attention. However, many countries are facing numerous challenges inimplementing this concept, not only due to the lack of willingness of political and administrative leaders but also due to an issue of conceptual clarity.


Wavelet-based statistical analysis methods for fMRI are able to detect brain activity without smoothing the data. Typically, the statistical inference is performed in the wavelet domain by testing the t-values of each wavelet coefficient; subsequently, an activity map is reconstructed from the significant coefficients. The limitation of this approach is that there is no direct statistical interpretation of the reconstructed map. In this paper, we propose a new methodology that takes advantage of wavelet processing but keeps the statistical meaning in the spatial domain. We derive a spatial threshold with a proper nonstationary component and determine optimal threshold values by minimizing an approximation error. The sensitivity of our method is comparable to SPM's (Statistical Parametric Mapping).