Plants are of fundamental importance to the structure, functioning and service provision of many ecosystems. However, herbivores can have negative ecological and socioeconomic effects on plant communities through consumption, trampling and alteration of nutrient cycles. In this thesis I address a particular herbivore-plant interaction: the grazing of plants in chalk river catchments, principally the submerged macrophyte water crowfoot (Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans (Syne) S.D. Webster) and terrestrial pasture grass species, by flocks of non-breeding mute swans (Cygnus olor Gmelin, 1789). This research was carried out over two years in the River Frome catchment (Dorset, UK).
Based on a meta-analysis of previous waterfowl grazing studies I show that waterfowl biomass density (kg ha-1) rather than individual density (ind. ha-1) is a better predictor of reductions in plant standing crop. Most studies to date have analysed such reductions using only individual densities, despite large between-taxa variation in waterfowl body mass, diet and intake rates. I quantified the abundance, species richness, evenness, flowering and dominance of the chalk river aquatic plant community in relation to biotic and abiotic factors during the growth-, peak-, and recession-phases of the growth cycle. The relative importance of herbivory, riparian shading, water temperature and distance downstream varied between different phases of the plant growth cycle, highlighting the importance of seasonal patterns in regulation of plant community structure.
The River Frome swan population varied seasonally, being highest in the winter. The population was dominated by non-breeding adults and juveniles that lived in flocks. These flocks exhibited strong seasonal habitat switches between terrestrial pasture in winter and spring, and river in summer and autumn. I provided evidence that this switch was linked to the seasonal decrease in water velocity between spring and summer, which reduced the metabolic costs of river feeding and increased the relative profitability of aquatic food resources. I used a mathematical population model and an individual-based behavioural model respectively to explore two management options for the alleviation of the swan grazing conflict in chalk rivers: population control and habitat alterations. Population control measures, such as clutch manipulations, fertility control, culling or translocations, were predicted to be unsuccessful except at impractically high levels of management effort, due to the effects of immigration and high survival rates in offsetting removed eggs or individuals. Habitat alterations, in particular the narrowing of river channels to cause a local increase in water velocity and thus swan foraging costs, are more promising management options as they require lower management effort, are less ethically controversial, and address the fundamental reason why swans select their food resources, the rate of net energy gain ('profitability').


In general, the growth of big data sources have changed the threat landscape of privacy and statistics in at least three major ways. First, when surveys were initially founded as the principal source of statistical information, whether one participated in a survey was largely unknown. Now, as government record systems and corporate big data sources are increasingly used that include all or a large portion of a given universe, that privacy protection is eroded. Second, in the past, little outside information was generally available to match with published summaries. Now the ubiquity of auxiliary information enables many more inferences from summary data. Third, in the past, typical privacy attacks relied on linking outside data through well-known public characteristics -- PII or BII. Now, datasets can be linked through behavioral fingerprints. The current state of the practice in privacy lags well behind the state of the art in this area. Most commercial organizations, and most NSOs in other countries continue to rely (at most) on traditional aggregation and suppression methods to protect privacy – with no formal analysis of privacy loss or of the utility of the information gathered. The U.S. Census Bureau, because of its size, institutional capacity, and strong reputation for privacy protection could establish leadership in modernizing privacy practices.


Empirical bond length - bond valence relations provide insight into the link between structure of and ion transport in solid electrolytes. Building on our earlier systematic adjustment of bond valence (BV) parameters to the bond softness, here we discuss how the squared BV mismatch can be linked to the absolute energy scale and used as a general Morse-type interaction potential for analyzing low-energy pathways in ion conducting solid or mixed conductors either by an energy landscape approach or by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. For a wide range of Lithium oxides we could thus model ion transport revealing significant differences to an earlier geometric approach. Our novel BV-based force-field has also been applied to investigate a range of mixed conductors, focusing on cathode materials for lithium ion battery (LIB) applications to promote a systematic design of LIB cathodes that combine high energy density with high power density. To demonstrate the versatility of the new BV-based force-field it is applied in exploring various strategies to enhance the power performance of safe low cost LIB materials (LiFePO 4 , LiVPO 4 F, LiFeSO 4 F, etc.). Received: 11 October 2010; Revised: 26 October 2010; Accepted: 28 October 2010


IMPORTANCE
Data on the effectiveness and safety of long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain are limited. Opioid adherence monitoring includes urine drug testing. Determining whether a patient's opioid prescription should be discontinued after an unexpected urine test result can be clinically complex.

OBJECTIVE
To review safe opioid prescribing practices and appropriate interpretation and management of unexpected urine drug test results.

EVIDENCE REVIEW
Systematic reviews of the effectiveness and safety of long-term opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain. Clinical management recommendations are derived from clinical guidelines generated by several professional medical organizations including the American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and the Federation of State Medical Boards.

FINDINGS
Informed consent and patient-prescriber agreements are important strategies to ensure that patients understand treatment goals and potential opioid risks. Monitoring for benefit and opioid misuse is accomplished by having frequent face-to-face assessments, performing urine drug tests, monitoring pill counts, and reviewing prescription drug monitoring program data, when available.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The underlying causes for worrisome behaviors such as urine drug test results that are negative for the prescribed opioid should be fully investigated. Subsequent opioid prescriptions should be based on the revised risk and benefit assessment.


The aim of this paper is to estimate the future carbon balance of wood use in Germany combining a national forest inventory data‐driven forest growth model with information about German harvested wood products markets and taking into account material and energy substitution effects. In a scenario analysis, we assess impacts of different forest management options, change of market share of harvested wood products as well as changes of the national energy mix. Additionally, the model settings and assumptions that predominantly determine the results are identified and discussed. The simulation results show that only a radical change of forest management in Germany would cause net carbon emissions. The continuation of current forest management or a higher share of high yield tree species as well as a change of market shares of wood and wood products would result in a net carbon sequestration in German forest and harvested wood products carbon pools. Considering substitution effects, even the net carbon emissions of a radically changed forest management would be over compensated and the carbon balance of all other scenarios would become even more positive. Looking at the most decisive factors regarding our simulation results, the initial treatment of the forest carbon pool, the starting year for the simulations and the present forest structure are most crucial for further accumulated net carbon pool changes. WIREs Energy Environ 2018, 7:e260. doi: 10.1002/wene.260


Unification has confronted Germans with a challenge of historical proportions. Namely, consolidating two former independent nation-states into one. The intention, of course, is to forge a new national identity and clearly define a commonly accepted historical and political purpose for the new nation-state which affords it a legitimate political community. Political community implies a clear sense of common identity among citizens with the new German state. Yet, as all too many observers have noted, consensus and solidarity have been hampered in Germany since its re-unification in 1990 by the persistence of divergent political attitudes and perceptions of a just and legitimate democratic community prevailing within each of the two parts of the unified nation-state. 1 After more than ten years of German unification, Eastern Germans regularly express feelings of 'relative deprivation' and 'the loss of self-respect', despite the fact that wages, pensions and per capita income are almost double their previous levels, following nearly a trillion dollars of German investment into Eastern Germany between 1991 and 2001. The significance of this growing gap in perceptions is underscored when we are reminded that Eastern Germans were relatively more likely to engage in frequent political and economic protest activities than other East and Central European countries, the populations of which had experienced much higher economic dislocation and deprivation during the period 1989–93. 2 A variety of survey data indicate that the two parts of Germany are distinctly apart on a number of crucial issues that reflect a general difficulty in achieving a common political community. For instance, based on Eurobarometer data from spring 2002, when asked if they 'tended to trust' or whether they 'tended not to trust' eight specified institutions within the German polity, 56 per cent of Western German respondents, on average, tended to support these institutions, while only 46 per cent of Eastern Germans tended to trust the same institutions. The gap was considerably wider for the institution reflecting the broader political culture of a society


Ectodermal Dysplasia (ED) represents a group of hereditary conditions in which anatomical structures derived from the ectoderm show defects in its development. It is observed aplasia or hypoplasia of the tissues, among them the changes of dental relevance, as the anomalies regarding the number and morphology of the teeth. Due to the particularity of the cases, the dental surgeon must adapt the operative techniques and the choice of dental materials to each individual, according to the perceived need and condition. The objective of the present study is to report the clinical case of a 10 - year old male patient with ectodermal dysplasia who was attended in the discipline of Patients with Special Needs of Dentistry of the Federal University of Fluminense and its multidisciplinary aspects.KeywordsChildren with disabilities; Dental care for disabled; Ectodermal dysplasia; Oral rehabilitation.


Mary Lois Walker Morris was a Mormon woman who challenged both American ideas about marriage and the U.S. legal system. Before the Manifesto provides a glimpse into her world as the polygamous wife of a prominent Salt Lake City businessman, during a time of great transition in Utah. This account of her life as a convert, milliner, active community member, mother, and wife begins in England, where her family joined the Mormon church, details her journey across the plains, and describes life in Utah in the 1880s. Her experiences were unusual as, following her first husband's deathbed request, she married his brother as a plural wife in the Old Testament tradition of levirate marriage. Mary Morris's memoir frames her 1879 to 1887 diary with both reflections on earlier years and passages that parallel entries in the day book, giving readers a better understanding of how she retrospectively saw her life. The thoroughly annotated diary offers the daily experience of a woman who kept a largely self-sufficient household, had a wide social network, ran her own business, wrote poetry, and was intellectually curious. The years of "the Raid" (federal prosecution of polygamists) led Mary and Elias Morris to hide their marriage on "the underground," and her to perjury during Elias's trial for unlawful cohabitation. The book ends with Mary Lois's arrival at the Salt Lake Depot after three years in exile in Mexico with a polygamist colony.


Our goal in this project was to design scalable numerical algorithms needed by SciDAC applications that adapt to use evolving hardware resources as efficiently as possible. Our primary challenge is minimizing communication costs, where communication means moving data either between levels of a memory hierarchy (L1 cache to L2 cache to main memory etc.) or between processors over a network. Floating point rates are improving exponentially faster than bandwidth, which is improving exponentially faster than latency. So our goal is to minimize communication. We describe our progress in this area, both for direct and iterative linear algebra. In both areas we have (1) identified lower bounds on the amount of communication (measured both by the number of words moved and the number of messages) required to perform these algorithms, (2) analyzed existing algorithms, which by and large do not attain these lower bounds, and (3) identified or invented new algorithms that do attain them, and evaluated their speedups, which can be quite large.


BACKGROUND
Ovulation induction with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is the second-line treatment in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who do not ovulate or conceive on clomiphene citrate (CC).

OBJECTIVES
To compare the effectiveness and safety of gonadotrophins as a second-line treatment for ovulation induction in women with CC-resistant PCOS.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Menstrual Disorders & Subfertility Group's Specialist Register of controlled trials, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE (1966 to October 2014), EMBASE (1980 to October 2014), CINAHL (1982 to October 2014), National Research Register and web-based trials databases such as Current Controlled Trials. There was no language restriction.

SELECTION CRITERIA
All randomised controlled trials reporting data on comparing clinical outcomes in women with PCOS who did not ovulate or conceive on CC, and undergoing ovulation induction with urinary FSH (uFSH: FSH-P or FSH-HP), HMG/HP-HMG or recombinant FSH. We included trials reporting on ovulation induction followed by intercourse or intrauterine insemination. We excluded studies that used co-treatment with CC, metformin, LH or letrozole.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Three review authors (NW, MN and MvW) independently selected studies for inclusion, assessed study quality and extracted study data. Primary outcomes were live birth rate per woman (effectiveness outcome) and incidence of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) per woman (safety outcome). Secondary outcomes were clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, multiple pregnancy, total gonadotrophin dose and total duration of stimulation per woman. We combined data using a fixed-effect model to calculate the odds ratio (OR). We summarised the overall quality of evidence for the main outcomes using GRADE criteria.

MAIN RESULTS
The review includes 14 trials with 1726 women. Ten trials compared rFSH versus urinary-derived gonadotrophins (three rFSH versus HMG and seven rFSH versus FSH-HP), four trials compared FSH-P with HMG. We found no trials that compared FSH-HP with FSH-P.We found no evidence of a difference in live birth for rFSH versus urinary-derived gonadotrophins (OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.99, 5 trials, 505 women, I² = 0%, low-quality evidence) or clinical pregnancy rate (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.39, 8 trials, 1330 women, I² = 0, low-quality evidence). This suggests that for the observed average live birth per woman with urinary-derived FSH of 16%, the chance of live birth following rFSH is between 13% and 26%.For the comparison HMG or HP-HMG versus FSH-P there was also no difference in the evidence on live birth rate (OR 1.36, 95% CI 0.58 to 3.18, 3 trials, 138 women, I² = 0%, low-quality evidence). This suggests that for a woman with a live birth rate of 18% with HMG or HP-HMG, the chance of live birth following uFSH is between 9% and 37%.Trial authors used various definitions for OHSS. Pooling the data, we found no evidence of a difference for rFSH versus urinary-derived gonadotrophins (OR 1.52, 95% CI 0.81 to 2.84, 10 trials, 1565 women, I(2) = 0%, very low-quality evidence) and for HMG or HP-HMG versus FSH-P (OR 9.95, 95% CI 0.47 to 210.19, 2 trials, 53 women, I² = 0%, very low-quality evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
In women with PCOS and CC resistance or CC failure, we found no evidence of a difference in live birth and OHSS rates between urinary-derived gonadotrophins and rFSH or HMG/HP-HMG. Evidence for all outcomes was of low or very low quality. We suggest weighing costs and convenience in the decision to use one or the other.


Coherent diffractive imaging is a method by which iterative methods are employed to recover image information about a finite object from its coherent diffraction pattern. We employ methods borrowed from density functional theory to show that an image can be recovered in a single non-iterative step for a finite sample subject to phase-curved illumination. The result also yields a new approach to quantitative x-ray phase-contrast imaging.


We present a high quality computational CMOS imager with integrated early image processing general-purpose filter. The early processor identifies in real-time areas of interest within the field of view, and reduces data volume and data-bandwidth to the external processor. Unlike other computational imagers, this approach does not compromise signal integrity, and unlike high-speed imagers, it does not overwhelm the external processor. On focal plane integration of image pre-processing allows an efficient implementation of a variety of computationally intensive applications such as autonomous navigation, object avoidance or intercept, and recognition. A proof of concept imager has been built and high-speed operation of the imager-processor has been confirmed.


Mobility will be one key issue for future broadband access. Consequently, many research projects are currently focusing on wireless ATM networks. Within the European ACTS research program the "Magic WAND" project is developing mobile terminals and access points based on wireless ATM technology. The terminals will communicate at a speed up to 20 Mbit/s in the 5 GHz band within multiple picocells of approximately 50 meters in diameter. This technology supports applications and services demanding both high bandwidth and mobile network access, two contradicting requirements in the past. We take a look at typical multimedia applications and evaluate the key components of the WAND system necessary to support their quality of service (QoS) requirements. One major challenge is to guarantee QoS transparently over the wireless link. We present our solutions for a QoS-supported mobile audio/videoconferencing subsystem and analyse how video compression algorithms behave under the conditions of a wireless medium.


ABSTRACT The use of computer-based distance learning has grown rapidly in recent years and, for those students who find their learning style suited for online study, these courses have provided a flexible option for the completion of course work. However, some students who would prefer to take a course in a traditional on-campus lecture format find it necessary, due to such reasons as family or job obligations, to take an online course to complete their degree requirements. To better serve this latter type of students, a model was developed for a blended course that combines the flexibility of computer-based distance learning with the benefits of face-to-face instruction. This paper presents a description of the In-Class, ONline (ICON) model of instruction that has as its goal the use of appropriate technology to provide quality instruction while reducing the amount of time a student is required to be on campus. In particular, the ICON model's structure consists of an in-class component that focuses on concept development and mastery, an on-line component comprised of tutorial materials and formative assessment tools to gauge student progress, and a resource component that consists of the textbook and a workbook designed to coordinate the in-class and on-line activities. The efficacy of the ICON model as applied to an introductory Astronomy course is then discussed through a preliminary analysis of student satisfaction with the model and its components and a comparison of grades with a traditional classroom-only section. KEYWORDS Teaching and learning in science, distance learning, learning environments


Optimizing flow in dammed rivers Hydropower dams radically alter river flow regimes, often with consequences for the functioning and productivity of the waters downstream. Where fisheries in large tropical river systems are affected, there can be knock-on effects on food security. For the Mekong River, Sabo et al. used a data-based time series modeling approach to estimate the features of the flow regime that optimize the fishery that is crucial to food security in Cambodia (see the Perspective by Poff and Olden). Fish futures can be maximized within a managed hydrologic system with careful prescription of flows. Such data-driven approaches can be used to link hydrology to ecology and food production and specify design principles that could help to deliver food security in other river systems. Science, this issue p. eaao1053; see also p. 1252 An algorithm is developed to manage river flow that could augment future fisheries yield, despite diverse other ongoing human uses. INTRODUCTION The Mekong River provides renewable energy and food security for a population of more than 60 million people in six countries: China, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Seasonal rains flood the river's floodplain and delta. This flood pulse fuels what is likely the world's largest freshwater fishery in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake, with >2 million tonnes of annual harvest valued at ~$2 billion. Hydropower development is crucial to the region's economic prosperity and is simultaneously a threat to fisheries and agriculture that thrived in the natural-flow regime. The Mekong is testament to the food, energy, and water challenges facing tropical rivers globally. RATIONALE We hypothesized that high fisheries yields are driven by measurable attributes of hydrologic variability, and that these relationships can be used to design and implement future flow regimes that improve fisheries yield through control of impending hydropower operations. Hydrologic attributes that drive strong fisheries yields were identified using a data-driven approach that combined 17 years of discharge and standardized harvest data with several time-series methods in the frequency and time domains. We then analyzed century-scale time series of discharge data on the Mekong and associated hydroclimate data sets to understand how current dams, independent of climate, have changed key drivers of the fishery since the early 1960s. Finally, we used estimated hydrologic drivers of the historical bag net, or "Dai," fishery on the Tonle Sap River—the largest commercial fishery in the Mekong—to design better fisheries futures by comparing designed flows to current and pre-dam (natural-flow) regimes. RESULTS Our analysis identified several features of hydrologic variability that portend strong fisheries yield. These include two "high-level" descriptors: flood pulse extent (FPExt) and net annual anomaly (NAA). FPExt, which combines flood magnitude and duration, has long been hypothesized to drive fisheries yield in ecosystems subject to flood pulses, such as the Mekong. NAA is the annual sum of daily residual flows standardized to the long-term average hydrograph. Hence, NAA is a compact measure of hydrologic variance and can be further decomposed into nine shape "components." Several of these components drive high fisheries yields, including a long low-flow period followed by a short, strong flood pulse with multiple peaks. All essential drivers of the flood pulse fishery have been changing since the closure of the first Mekong tributary dam and are independent of changes associated with climate observed over the past century. The direction of these changes is consistent with declining fisheries yield in the Tonle Sap. Projection of the fishery driven by a hypothetical "designer" hydrograph capturing the key shape features associated with strong yield improved harvest relative to current conditions; yield was projected to exceed that of the natural-flow regime by a factor of 3.7. This result was robust to the inclusion of density-dependent recruitment in our time-series model. CONCLUSION A data-driven approach reveals a new perspective on hydrologic drivers of fishery productivity in the Mekong. The extent of the flood pulse is paramount, as previous literature suggests, but so are other descriptors of hydrologic variation, including anomalous low flows. Variance is key—specifically, the sequence and timing of within-year anomalous high and low flows. A focus on variance shifts the conversation from "How much water do we need?" to "When do we need it the most, and when can we spare it?" Beneficial components of variance in the hydrograph can be described by a simple Fourier series—an asymmetric rectangular pulse train. A quantitative ecological objective function fills a critical gap in the balancing of fisheries harvest with other important objective functions including hydropower generation, rice production, and transportation. This opens the possibility of specifying and implementing flow regimes to manage rivers to satisfice trade-offs between fishery productivity and other ecosystem services provided by tropical rivers subject to flood pulses. Subsistence fisher tending nets on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. PHOTO BY J. L. SABO Rivers provide unrivaled opportunity for clean energy via hydropower, but little is known about the potential impact of dam-building on the food security these rivers provide. In tropical rivers, rainfall drives a periodic flood pulse fueling fish production and delivering nutrition to more than 150 million people worldwide. Hydropower will modulate this flood pulse, thereby threatening food security. We identified variance components of the Mekong River flood pulse that predict yield in one of the largest freshwater fisheries in the world. We used these variance components to design an algorithm for a managed hydrograph to explore future yields. This algorithm mimics attributes of discharge variance that drive fishery yield: prolonged low flows followed by a short flood pulse. Designed flows increased yield by a factor of 3.7 relative to historical hydrology. Managing desired components of discharge variance will lead to greater efficiency in the Lower Mekong Basin food system.


The early Solar System contained a wide range of abiotic organic compounds. As the Solar System evolved, these organic molecules were incorporated into planetesimals and eventually planetary bodies, such as the parent bodies of meteorites. One particular class of meteorites, the carbonaceous meteorites, contains a large variety of extraterrestrial organic compounds. These compounds represent a record of the chemical reactions and conditions in the early Solar System. Different formation mechanisms and sources (interstellar, nebular or parent body) contributed to the inventory of meteoritic organic molecules. Their subsequent delivery to the early Earth may have contributed the first prebiotic building blocks of life.


Two different numerical methods are used to demonstrate the existence of and calculate non-symmetric gravity waves on deep water. It is found that they appear via spontaneous symmetry-breaking bifurcations from symmetric waves. The structure of the bifurcation tree is the same as the one found by Zufiria (1987) for waves on water of finite depth using a weakly nonlinear Hamiltonian model. One of the methods is based on the quadratic relations between the Stokes coefficients discovered by Longuet-Higgins (1978a). The other method is a new one based on the Hamiltonian structure of the water-wave problem.


[1] This paper demonstrates how the availability of specific infrared channels impacts the ability of two future meteorological satellite imagers to estimate cloud-top pressure. Both of the imagers are planned for launch by the United States, one for a geostationary platform and the other for a polar-orbiting platform. The geostationary imager, the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), will be flown first on the GOES-R platform. In addition to the split window channels at 11 and 12 μm, it has one spectral channel located at 13.3 μm where there is relatively strong absorption of H2O and CO2. The polar-orbiting imager, called the Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and flown on the National Polar-Orbiting Environmental satellite Suite (NPOESS), has spectral channels in window regions only. The lack of an absorbing channel on VIIRS is shown to have negative consequences for the inference of cloud-top pressure. This paper investigates the impact on the ability of a satellite imager such as VIIRS to confidently estimate cloud-top pressure due to the absence of infrared absorption channels. The solution space is defined as the depth of the atmospheric layer in which a cloud can be placed where the calculated top-of-atmosphere radiances match the measurements used in the cloud-top pressure retrieval. For optically thin cirrus, the channels used by the operational VIIRS algorithm provide a solution space of over 200 hPa. However, the inclusion of the single CO2 channel at 13.3 μm on the ABI narrows the solution space to under 30 hPa. Our imager-based analysis is performed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, which provides the relevant channel information with sufficient spatial resolution and radiometric accuracy. Additional results are provided using data from the current GOES and POES imagers. Active lidar data from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation/Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIPSO/CALIOP) observations are used to provide cloud boundaries for verification.


Plant cell walls are composed predominantly of cellulose, a range of non-cellulosic polysaccharides and lignin. The walls account for a large proportion not only of crop residues such as wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse, but also of residues of the timber industry and specialist grasses and other plants being grown specifically for biofuel production. The polysaccharide components of plant cell walls have long been recognized as an extraordinarily large source of fermentable sugars that might be used for the production of bioethanol and other renewable liquid transport fuels. Estimates place annual plant cellulose production from captured light energy in the order of hundreds of billions of tons. Lignin is synthesized in the same order of magnitude and, as a very large polymer of phenylpropanoid residues, lignin is also an abundant, high energy macromolecule. However, one of the major functions of these cell wall constituents in plants is to provide the extreme tensile and compressive strengths that enable plants to resist the forces of gravity and a broad range of other mechanical forces. Over millions of years these wall constituents have evolved under natural selection to generate extremely tough and resilient biomaterials. The rapid degradation of these tough cell wall composites to fermentable sugars is therefore a difficult task and has significantly slowed the development of a viable lignocellulose-based biofuels industry. However, good progress has been made in overcoming this so-called recalcitrance of lignocellulosic feedstocks for the biofuels industry, through modifications to the lignocellulose itself, innovative pre-treatments of the biomass, improved enzymes and the development of superior yeasts and other microorganisms for the fermentation process. Nevertheless, it has been argued that bioethanol might not be the best or only biofuel that can be generated from lignocellulosic biomass sources and that hydrocarbons with intrinsically higher energy densities might be produced using emerging and continuous flow systems that are capable of converting a broad range of plant and other biomasses to bio-oils through so-called 'agnostic' technologies such as hydrothermal liquefaction. Continued attention to regulatory frameworks and ongoing government support will be required for the next phase of development of internationally viable biofuels industries.


Cross-Cultural Management: With Insights from Brain Science explores a broad range of topics on the impact of culture in international business and vice versa, and the impact of businesses and individuals in shaping a culture. It provides critical and in-depth information on globalization, global/glocal leadership, cross-cultural marketing, and cross-cultural negotiation. It also discusses many other topics that are not typically found in the mainstream management textbooks such as diversity management, bias management, cross-cultural motivation strategies, and change management. While most literature in the field is dominated by the static paradigm, that is, culture is fixed, nation equates to culture, and values are binary, this book takes a different approach. It regards national values as a first-best-guess and balances it with an introduction of the dynamic paradigm. This school of thought posits that culture is not static, context is the software of the mind, opposing values coexist, change is constant, and individuals can develop a multicultural mind. A unique feature of this book is the contribution of an interdisciplinary approach. It's the first textbook of cross-cultural management that incorporates latest findings from the emerging discipline of cultural neuroscience and evolutionary biology in the discussion. Such a holistic approach is meant to help readers gain a deeper and broader understanding of the subjects.


We propose a new type of Y-branch power splitter and beam expander with scales of microns in two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals (PCs) by drilling air holes in a silicon slice. Its functionality and performance are numerically investigated and simulated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Simulation results show that the splitter can split a TE polarized light beam into two parallel sub-beams and the distance between them is tunable by changing the parameters of the splitter, while the expander can expand a narrow beam into a wider one, which is realized in an integrated optical circuit. The proposed device is based on the avoiding of anomalous reflection effect and the coupling transmission of defect modes of the interfaces.


Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) methods have been used to verify the hybridogenic origin and to identify the parental species of some ornamental cultivars in the subgenus Melanocrommyum of the genus Allium. The cultivars had been selected from seed obtained after uncontrolled pollination in breeders' fields. The combination of GISH analysis with RAPD markers is very suitable for testing the hybridogenic origin of plants and to ascertain the parental species of the hybrids in such cases. As suspected, A. macleanii and A. cristophii are the parental species of 'Globemaster'. The parental species of cultivar 'Globus' are A. karataviense and A. stipitatum, and not A. cristophii and A. giganteum as has been assumed on morphological grounds. Cultivars 'Lucy Ball' and 'Gladiator' are of hybrid origin, though only one of the parental species, A. hollandicum, could be confirmed. The cultivars 'Purple Sensation', 'Mount Everest', 'White Giant', 'Michael H. Hoog' and 'Mars' are not hybrids since neither GISH nor RAPD suggest the presence of a second genome. 'Purple Sensation' belongs to A. hollandicum, 'Mount Everest', 'White Giant' and 'Mars' to A. stipitatum, 'Michael H. Hoog' to A. rosenorum.


This study researches the problem of gender stereotypes that Spanish language undergraduates uphold against Hispanics and develops critical pedagogical approaches through the reading of a literary text for the deconstruction of such stereotypes so that students can think and act in less biased and prejudiced ways. This thesis develops the argument that stereotyping is a form of oppression, and through empirical research in three case studies, this research demonstrates that stereotypical oppression can be addressed by Critical Pedagogyfor the development of "critical cultural awareness". This thesis provides answers to three operational sub-questions addressed in each of the three case studies, which contribute to answering the main overarching question in this study of how can Critical Pedagogy help in the deconstruction of stereotypes for the development of "critical cultural awareness".
This study found that a literary text can bring stereotypical thinking out to the fore for analysis and reflection, and that a reader-response approach to literature can trigger past experiences that reveal essentialising discourses of otherness. The research reviews the effectiveness of the use of an "identity-focused" critical pedagogical intervention for the development of a "self-regulation strategy" as a mental reasoning exercise to control bias and stereotyping. The results indicate that students tend to transpose stereotypical binaries and create new ones, whilst developing further views of cultural realities as being fluid, dynamic and contradictory, constantly being reconstructed and renegotiated. However, the findings indicate that a "self-regulation strategy" may be insufficient to appreciate the oppressive nature of stereotyping. Therefore, a Critical "Pedagogy-of-the-Oppressed" intervention is implemented, whereby students describe and "name" their own experiences of suffering stereotyping during their year-abroad experiences with narratives of stigmatisation, discrimination, exclusion and marginalisation. A tentative pedagogical model, a teaching tool and a "grammar of interculture" emerge from this study for the deconstruction of stereotypes in the development of "critical cultural awareness" for practical teaching practice and classroom use.


This study provides an example of how implicit price and demand models can be developed and used for empirical analysis. In particular, empirical application of these models can quantify the impact of implicit economic variables representing preference, relative price, production efficiency, the degree of price sensitivity to quantity supplied, and substitutability on market price and demand for domestic and imported products. Furthermore, the simultaneous impact of these implicit economic variables on market price and demand can be quantified using these implicit price and demand models.


Abstract To begin the discussion, I propose distinctions between four archaeological approaches to time. I call these clock time, phase time, social time, and characterization. Main points in the other papers are that Postclassic phases tend to be a century or more earlier than recently thought, that Aztec I may be much earlier than thought, and that there may be considerable temporal overlap among Postclassic phases. The evidence is fairly good for the first of these points, but less clear for the other two—more data are needed. I propose a slightly revised Teotihuacan chronology and mention some issues about the nature of the Teotihuacan to post-Teotihuacan transition.


The idea that climatic cycles such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation significantly affect infectious disease, raised by Rita R. Colwell (Association Affairs, 20 Dec., p 2025) in the context of cholera outbreaks, is supported by recent findings from veterinary, entomological, and botanical epidemiology (1, 2). Botanical epidemiologists have found that plant systems have unique advantages for macro-scale, long-term epidemiological studies. Weather and climate are important driving forces affecting plant disease development. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual cereal rust survey, a program started in 1917 to monitor rust outbreaks over North America, accumulates time series of disease intensity, yield loss, and races of rust fungi in cereal crops (3). With these data, consistent and significant coherence patterns between El Niño and wheat rust intensity have been found in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres (2). Studies of El Niño-disease associations and their underlying mechanisms could lead to the development of early warning systems. Colwell advocates the use of satellite surveillance for predicting cholera outbreaks, while others propose using El Niño forecasts for malaria alerts (4). Outbreaks of wheat scab in eastern China can be predicted successfully 4 months in advance by measuring sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific (R2 = 0.86; P < 0.001) (5); the mechanism for this association is thought to be the El Niño-dependent advance of the summer monsoon through East Asia, whereby increased precipitation causes increased infection by the scab pathogen. El Niño-disease studies are important also in the context of climate change research: infectious diseases driven by multiyear climatic cycles are likely to respond to slow, decadal changes in climate as well.


I INTRODUCTION Ongoing tort reform efforts attest to the significant burden that medical liability imposes on the health care system. (1) General attempts to curb excesses can narrow socioeconomic disparities, but as Clark Havighurst and Barak Richman observe, such measures may leave intact some of the regressive characteristics of the framework they supplant. (2) Therefore, it seems appropriate to question whether tort law offers a proper platform for distributive justice. Would restrictions or other changes in medical liability unduly sacrifice individual justice for corporate justice? Would solutions outside tort law enhance distributive justice as--or perhaps more--effectively, while still giving each person his or her due? To help resolve these questions, this article continues where Havighurst and Richman left off with medical malpractice. Part II revisits their suggested reforms to show how a tort-centered approach might aggravate socioeconomic disparities without dramatically leveling the playing field. Parts III through V of the article explain why pharmaceutical litigation again teaches that discretion may be the better part of valor when it comes to amending tort law for the sake of distributive justice. Although it is difficult to determine how the billions of dollars in products liability translate in terms of additional burdens on the health care system, further scrutiny is warranted before overarching pronouncements are made about the progressive or regressive tendencies of medical torts, considering the sheer scale of mass pharmaceutical litigation. Accordingly, Part III first discusses how traditional perceptions of class actions and market forces create the expectation that--economic damages aside-pharmaceutical torts afford average Americans a relatively fair opportunity for restitution. Part IV surveys major pharmaceutical products liability cases from the past two to three decades to illustrate how overriding concerns for individual justice render class actions inert as a vehicle for distributive justice. Part V highlights important differences between individually adjudicated, plaintiff-by-plaintiff drug liability cases and ordinary, patient-by-patient medical malpractice litigation that help preserve mass pharmaceutical actions. To capture some of the divergent influences on distributive justice, Part VI explores the downstream effects of drug liability and the litigation process itself. The article concludes that, until empirical evidence clarifies the net distributive impact of pharmaceutical torts, the capacity for tort reform to rectify distributive injustices in health care will remain far from obvious. (3) II MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Beginning first in the medical malpractice context, Havighurst and Richman note that defensive medicine and liability insurance exacerbate distributive injustices in health care. (4) Wealthier patients receive more care and siphon more money from the malpractice insurance pool because of their greater propensity and capacity to sue. (5) Litigious inclinations aside, higher-income patients also command a disproportionate share of the liability funds because of higher economic damage assessments. (6) Thus, the fallout from malpractice claims (defensive medicine and the passing of liability costs onto patients) and the adjudication process itself (income-based compensation) exert regressive effects. Recognizing both these facets of malpractice suits, Havighurst and Richman propose solutions that address each in turn. (7) Their plea for freedom to negotiate care could substantially decrease the estimated $70-$126 billion spent on defensive medicine per year. (8) However, less affluent patients may suffer a severe disadvantage with regard to information. "Care by contract" may prompt them to forego services that preserve health and save money in the long run. (9) The state of affairs might thereby transform from one in which less wealthy patients pay for care they do not want, to one where they want--or need--care that they can even less afford. …


Cotard's syndrome is a rare disorder. The central feature is a nihilistic delusion concerning one's own body (including loss of body parts, being dead or not existing at all). The syndrome is not mentioned in DSM-IV-TR or the International Classification of Diseases-10, since there is growing consensus that the syndrome is part of an underlying disorder. Although not a separate diagnostic entity, the phenomenologic study of rare monothematic delusional disorders (such as Cotard's syndrome) remains important to have a better understanding of the pathophysiology of delusions. In this report, historical aspects, classification, course and epidemiology are briefly reviewed, different pathophysiologic hypotheses are described and therapeutic options are discussed


Technical Drawing is an essential skill in the fashion industry. Technical drawings contain information that is essential for designers, buyers, machinists, pattern cutters, and production teams. TECHNICAL DRAWING Volume 1, BASIC COURSE BOOK, explains the basics of making a technical drawing. First, the standard format and tools are introduced. This is followed by step-to-step instructions on how to draw a number of different types of garments. Then techniques are shown for rendering textiles and adding individual style to the drawings. Design templates can be downloaded for free from The Pepin Press website.


Ecological evaluation of riverbed geomorphology is essential for environmental assessment of river works as well as for establishment of target images in river management planning. In this paper, we analyzed inter-relationships between the reach-scale channel configuration (RSCC) and habitat structure on the riverbed based on the historical changes of riverbed geomorphology on the Kizu River in Japan. The analyses used nine sets of aerial photos taken from 1948 to 2012, which resulted in a total of eight RSCC types classified as Single Sinuous, Semi-Wandering-Straight, S-W-Sinuous, Wandering-Straight, W-Sinuous, Bifurcated-Straight, B-Sinuous, and Braided Sinuous. Aquatic habitats were classified into four lotic habitats (Main Slow, Secondary Slow, Gently Bending Riffle, and Sharply Bending Riffle) and four lentic habitats (Bar-Head Wando, Bar-Tail Wando, Active Pond, and Terrace Pond), and their richness and diversity indices were analyzed in relation to RSCC types. The results showed that Braided Sinuous channels had the maximum number of habitats, and Wandering-Straight and Bifurcated-Sinuous channels showed higher habitat diversity than the others. These results indicated that the target image of the Kizu River management will be Braided-Sinuous channels in terms of habitat abundance, whereas they will be Wandering-Straight and Bifurcated-Sinuous channels from the aspect of habitat diversity.


Background The use of large doses of opioid analgesics to treat pain after cardiac surgery can prolong the time to tracheal extubation and interfere with recovery of bowel and bladder function in the postoperative period. Therefore, the authors investigated the efficacy of a continuous infusion of bupivacaine 0.25% or 0.5%, at the median sternotomy site, for 48 h after cardiac surgery in reducing the opioid analgesic requirement and improving the recovery process. Methods In this prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, 36 consenting patients undergoing open-heart surgery with a standardized general anesthetic technique had two indwelling infusion catheters placed at the median sternotomy incision site at the end of surgery. The patients were randomly assigned to receive normal saline (control), bupivacaine 0.25% or bupivacaine 0.5%via an elastomeric infusion pump at a constant rate of 4 ml/h for 48 h. Patients evaluated their chest pain using an 11-point verbal rating scale, with 0 = no pain to 10 = worst pain imaginable. In addition, the postoperative opioid analgesic requirements and opioid-related adverse effects were recorded. Patient satisfaction with their pain management was assessed at specific intervals during the postoperative period using a 100-point verbal rating scale, with 1 = highly dissatisfied to 100 = highly satisfied. Finally, serum bupivacaine concentrations were measured 24 and 48 h after surgery. Results Compared with the control group, there was a statistically significant reduction in verbal rating scale pain scores and patient-controlled analgesia morphine use in the bupivacaine-0.5% group. Patient satisfaction with their pain management was also improved in the bupivacaine-0.5% (vs. control) group. However, there were no significant differences in patient-controlled analgesia morphine use between the bupivacaine-0.25% and control groups. Although the duration of the intensive care unit stay (30 vs. 34 h, respectively) was not significantly decreased, the time to ambulation (1 ± 0.5 vs. 2 ± 1 days, respectively) and the duration of hospital stay (4.2 vs. 5.7 days, respectively) were lower in the bupivacaine-0.5% group than in the control group. Mean ± SD serum bupivacaine concentrations at 48 h in the bupivacaine-0.25% and bupivacaine-0.5% groups were 0.5 ± 0.5 and 1.3 ± 0.7 &mgr;g/ml, respectively. Conclusion A continuous infusion of bupivacaine 0.5% at 4 ml/h is effective for decreasing pain and the need for opioid analgesic medication as well as for improving patient satisfaction with their pain management after cardiac surgery. Patients in the bupivacaine-0.5% group were able to ambulate earlier, leading to a reduced length of hospital stay.


Detection of climate change requires a network of stable ground-based long-term measurements. Building upon earlier work, we first explore requirements of such measurements (such as maximum random uncertainty and sampling frequency) to ensure a minimum random uncertainty in monthly mean temperatures and to ensure effective detection of trends. In agreement with previous work we find that only for individual measurement random uncertainties > 0.2 K does the measurement random uncertainty start to contribute significantly to the random uncertainty in the monthly mean. For trend analysis, we find that the quality of the trend determination is only compromised when the measurement random uncertainty exceeds 2 K and measurements are made just once or twice a month. In the second part of the study we provide guidance on how to most effectively design a measurement network. To this end we developed a method to objectively identify the optimal location of sites for detecting projected trends in upper-air temperatures and total column ozone in the shortest possible time. This is done by first estimating the spatial distribution of the minimum length of time during which measurements have to be made in order to detect projected trends in temperature and ozone. This quantity is calculated from the unforced variance in the signal and the degree of autocorrelation, both estimated from historical data sets and assumed not to change in the future, and the projected trends as estimated from chemistry–climate models. The optimal site locations are then selected by an iterative procedure based on the minimum time required to detect a trend and a minimal distance between different measurement sites. While the optimal sites identified here result from our use of only one of a wide range of objective strategies, these results provide additional incentives for initiating measurement programmes at these sites or, if already in operation, to continue to be supported.


A continuous monitoring process for arm rehabilitation activities are important to provide information of rehabilitation results to be analyzed by therapist. The purpose of monitoring is to help them to improve rehabilitation process. Moreover, a portable and simple home-based rehabilitation device can help patients to improve daily rehabilitation activity. Some previous studies regarding home-based rehabilitation process have shown improvement in promoting human movement recovery. But existing rehabilitation devices are expensive and need to be supervised by physical therapist. Some devices are not so efficient to be used at home due to large size and complex system. In this current work, flex sensor, force sensitive resistors and accelerometer were assessed in order to be implemented as a sensory unit for a portable arm rehabilitation device. Analog signal from the sensors will be conveyed to an Arduino microcontroller for data processing and logging. The results of rehabilitation activity can be used for further monitoring and analysis. Experiments were carried out to determine the feasibility of each sensor towards the design of the new rehabilitation monitoring device. The experiments demonstrate the capabilities of the sensors to produce extended information regarding arm movement activity which can be implemented in the design. A liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor will show to the user the achievement of their exercise activity on daily basis.


ABSTRACT This paper provides insights and lessons about how Western tourism operators can build and maintain business-to-business relationships with Chinese tourism providers. The case analyses how Tangalooma Island Resort Pty Ltd approached the challenge of developing business networks and how they have sustained this activity for over a decade to become a major destination for Chinese visitors to Australia. While there is no shortage of research on the Chinese notion of guanxi, this study uses a novel multi-dimensional cultural intelligence perspective to synthesise Chinese and Australian views on the drivers of long-term commercial success. The frameworks and insights provided make a valuable and timely contribution to our understanding of how Western firms can approach China tourism opportunities, and importantly, provide lessons on the nuances of effective relationship development between Western and Chinese individuals and firms. This critical single case study highlights the importance of business negotiation and need for deepening cultural logic with appropriate pacing by key protagonists in the Western firm. Nurturing and growing interpersonal cultural skills is fundamental and helps build inter-firm bonds, resource ties and activity links. This is discussed using the actors–activities–resources model promoted within the context of industrial marketing and purchasing. Future research could extend the findings through additional case studies, or further empirical validation.


This paper addresses the permutation of a flexible job shop problem that minimizes the makespan and total idleness as a bi-objective problem. This optimization problem is an NP-hard one because a large solution space allocated to it. We use a duplicate genetic algorithm (DGA) to solve the problem, which is developed a genetic algorithm procedure. Since the proposed DGA is working based on the GA, it often offers a better solution than the standard GA because it includes the rational and appropriate justification. The proposed DGA is used the useful features and concepts of elitism and local search, simultaneously. It provides local search for the best solution in every generation with the neighborhood structure in several stages and stores them in an external list for reuse as a secondary population of the GA. The performance of the proposed GA is evaluated by a number of numerical experiments. By comparing the results of the DGA other algorithms, we realize that our proposed DGA is efficient and appropriate for solving the given problem.


The observed power spectrum of high-degree solar p-modes ( �> 200) shows discrepancies with the power spectrum predicted by the stochastic excitement and damping theory. In an attempt to explain these discrepancies, the present paper is concerned with the influence of the observed subsurface flows on the trapped acoustic modes (p-modes). The effect of these inhomogeneous background flows is investigated by means of a non-modal analysis and a multi-layer model. It is shown that the rotational and meridional components of the velocity field change the wavelengths of the oscillation modes which, in turn, results in modifications of the corresponding modal frequencies. The magnitudes of the frequency residuals depend on the spatial scales of the modes and on the gradients of the different components of the flow velocity. Together with other mechanisms (e.g. the scattering of modes by the large-scale convection), the non-modal effect of the variation of the frequencies in time may contribute: 1) to the observed widening of the corresponding peaks in the observed power spectrum with increasing angular degree; 2) to the partial dissipation of spectral power, and, as a result; 3) to the discrepancies between the predicted and the observed power spectrum of solar p-modes.


Ethnic heterogeneity can potentially be related to the occurrence of conflicts with longlasting economic effects. Two main measures of ethnic heterogeneity are employed in the econometric literature on ethnic diversity and conflict: the Gini heterogeneity or fractionalization index and the discrete polarization index. However, still no broad consensus is reached on which distributional aspect of ethnic diversity is associated with the outbreak of conflict. In this paper we argue that the relative importance of each pattern of ethnic diversity depends on the trade-off between the groups' power and its interaction with other groups. Following the Esteban and Ray [On the measurement of polarization, Econometrica, 62(4), 1994] approach to social antagonism, we axiomatically derive a parametric class of indices of conflict potential that combines the groups' effective power and the between-groups interaction. We use a discrete metric to define the distances between groups and we do not treat each group as a unitary actor. Moreover, we assume that the effective power of a group depends not only on its own relative size but also on the relative size of all the other groups in the population. We show that for certain parameter values the obtained indices reduce to the existing indices of ethnic diversity, while in general the derived indices combine in a non-linear way three different aspects of ethnic diversity, namely the fractionalization, the polarization and the ethnic dominance. The power component of the extreme element of the class of indices is given by the relative Penrose-Banzhaf index of voting power. The results from our empirical exercise show that the derived extreme index outperforms the existing indices of ethnic diversity in the explanation of ethnic conflict onset.


Seismic-velocity models for Archean and Proterozoic provinces throughout the world are analyzed. The thickness of the crust in Archean provinces is generally found to be about 35 km (except at collisional boundaries), whereas Proterozoic crust has a significantly greater thickness of about 45 km and has a substantially thicker high-velocity (>7.0 km/s) layer at the base. We consider two models that may explain these differences. The first model attributes the difference to a change in the composition of the upper mantle. The higher temperatures in the Archean mantle led to the eruption of komatiitic lavas, resulting in an ultradepleted lithosphere unable to produce significant volumes of basaltic melt. Proterozoic crust developed above fertile mantle, and subsequent partial melting resulted in basaltic underplating and crustal inflation. In the second model, convection in the hot Archean mantle is considered to have been too turbulent to sustain stable long-lived subduction zones. By the Proterozoic the mantle had cooled sufficiently for substantial island and continental arcs to be constructed, and the high-velocity basal layer was formed by basaltic underplating.


Perfect reconstruction (PR) filter banks have found numerous applications, and have received much attention in the literature. For linear filter banks, necessary and sufficient conditions for PR have been established for most practical situations. Recently, nonlinear filter banks have been proposed for image coding applications. These filters are generally simple, and produce better results than linear filters of same complexity. Nevertheless, the lack of general PR conditions limits these filters to cases where one of the filters is the identity. In this paper, we present a framework that allows, for the first time, the design of PR nonlinear filter banks including (non-trivial) filters on all channels. Although the framework does not include all nonlinear PR filter banks, it does include all previously published nonlinear filter banks, as well as all linear ones. This framework suggest new possibilities for the design of nonlinear PR filter banks.


The aim of my research has been to explore, in the area of probation, the influence of the shift away from traditional social work values towards an emphasis on punishment, enforcement and the management of risk. In particular my focus has been on how this shift has influenced the methods by which practitioners undertake their role, with an increasing focus on risk assessment removing them from the principles engendered within their professional disciplines and further away from an empathetic and meaningful relationship with their clients. I examine the consequences of this shift through the ways in which criminal justice legislation, policy and practice have developed and impacted upon particular categories of offenders. The theoretical orientation of my work involves a dual focus on the deconstruction of the client and the practitioner. The former is redefined from welfare citizen to carrier of risk and criminogenic needs, while the latter is fragmented and deskilled into an operator of routine risk assessment and prediction techniques. I argue that an important outcome of these procedures is the deployment of a concept of 'pre-emptive criminalisation'. My research work, which is the basis of this submission, comprised three components: a comparative study of three mental health White Papers, a research study of the working of OASys (the Offender Assessment System) and a study of the effectiveness of risk assessment in the parole process. The research techniques involved mainly the reading of policy documents and the content analysis of OASys reports. My findings, detailed in my various publications, include an argument that the effectiveness of risk predictions involve precisely the type of high level practitioner skills now being undermined by deskilling and also illustrate the role of such risk predictors in the pre-emptive criminalisation of clients. The thesis concludes with an acknowledgement of the limitations of the type of research I have conducted and suggestions for directions in which it might be further developed.


PANCZOVÁ, Zuzana. Conspiracy Theories and Rumours as Key Elements of Political Propaganda: The Cold War in the USA and Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. Rumours and hearsay can be important communication devices in civil society. Their influence tends to intensify in times of social crises and long-term conflict, which then can function as a test of trust in official authorities. The Cold War took place in an almost apocalyptic atmosphere fearing the outbreak of a fatal nuclear conflict. On both sides, combat was waged not only in the fields of armaments, economics or technology, but also on a psychological level, as a way to gain the trust and sympathy of citizens. The dividing line between East and West was also a demarcation between two frequently mirrored images of the enemy presented by representatives of state power and the state-controlled media. However, in contrast to official propaganda, there was also a less manageable spontaneous public debate, which responded to the intervention of state supervision, questioned official interpretations and sought its own answers to important social events. In this paper, the function of rumours and conspiracy theories during the Cold War is described on both sides of the conflict, as indicators of public opinion and as tools for influencing it. The "potato beetle" case and narratives about an alleged communist conspiracy in the USA during the period of "McCarthyism" became symbols of the conspiratorial rhetoric of the Cold War. The article also serves as a starting point for reflections on the differences in the spread of political rumours in totalitarian and democratic societies.


Species distributions can be analysed under two perspectives: the niche-based approach, which focuses on species–environment relationships; and the dispersal-based approach, which focuses on metapopulation dynamics. The degree to which each of these two components affect species distributions may depend on habitat fragmentation, species traits and phylogenetic constraints. We analysed the distributions of 36 stream insect species across 60 stream sites in three drainage basins at high latitudes in Finland. We used binomial generalised linear models (GLMs) in which the predictor variables were environmental factors (E models), within-basin spatial variables as defined by Moran's eigenvector maps (M models), among-basin variability (B models), or a combination of the three (E + M + B models) sets of variables. Based on a comparative analysis, model performance was evaluated across all the species using Gaussian GLMs whereby the deviance accounted for by binomial GLMs was fitted on selected explanatory variables: niche position, niche breadth, site occupancy, biological traits and taxonomic relatedness. For each type of model, a reduced Gaussian GLM was eventually obtained after variable selection (Bayesian information criterion). We found that niche position was the only variable selected in all reduced models, implying that marginal species were better predicted than non-marginal species. The influence of niche position was strongest in models based on environmental variables (E models) or a combination of all types of variables (E + M + B models), and weakest in spatial autocorrelation models (M models). This suggests that species–environment relationships prevail over dispersal processes in determining stream insect distributions at a regional scale. Our findings have clear implications for biodiversity conservation strategies, and they also emphasise the benefits of considering both the niche-based and dispersal-based approaches in species distribution modelling studies.


The production of electricity and fuels by concentrated solar radiation is an option for efficient large scale processes. The radiation can either be used to replace fossil fuels for heating established processes like steam or dry reforming of methane. Or at higher temperature to drive thermochemical cycles for water or CO2 splitting into hydrogen, oxygen and CO. Presently most of the technologies are developed with high flux solar simulators. However some scale-up demonstrations on solar towers have been operated. The concentrator systems, mainly heliostat fields, are similar to installations for power production. However the chemical reactions require a different heating regime. Therefore a special optics and control systems have to be developed to achieve the very high temperatures necessary to carry out thermochemical cycles constantly and homogeneously in the whole solar receiver. The presentation will give an overview of the concentrating solar fuel production processes. It will give insight in how to design the required heliostat fields, secondary optics, and control systems.


The purpose of this article is to demonstrate and account for the weak emergence of 'voice' in the writing of students embarking upon their postgraduate studies in Geosciences. The two elements of 'voice' that are emphasised are 'voice' as style of expression and 'voice' as the ability to write distinctly, yet building upon previous knowledge. Two cycles of writing by two groups of students were tested for 'voice' by using a scale especially designed for this purpose. Findings based on the first cycle revealed that few students were writing at the expected level. Accounting for these findings involved an analysis of high school and undergraduate writing experiences. Findings after the second cycle showed very little improvement despite the comprehensive support given to the writers. 'Voice' is a crucial element in academic writing, yet difficult to conceptualise and to teach. Ongoing research on voice is considered essential for the students and the discipline.


These notes, based on lectures given at the summer school on Asymptotic Analysis in General Relativity, collect material on the Einstein equations, the geometry of black hole spacetimes, and the analysis of fields on black hole backgrounds. The Kerr model of a rotating black hole in vacuum is expected to be unique and stable. The problem of proving these fundamental facts provides the background for the material presented in these notes.
Among the many topics which are relevant for the uniqueness and stability problems are the theory of fields on black hole spacetimes, in particular for gravitational perturbations of the Kerr black hole, and more generally, the study of nonlinear field equations in the presence of trapping. The study of these questions requires tools from several different fields, including Lorentzian geometry, hyperbolic differential equations and spin geometry, which are all relevant to the black hole stability problem.


Background: Benzodiazepines, narcotics, and propofol in different combinations are administered to provide sedation and analgesia during colonoscopy. The study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of midazolam-pentazocine with the propofol-fentanyl combination for sedation and analgesia during colonoscopy. Patients and Methods: This prospective randomized, double-blind study was conducted in 62 adults aged 18–82 years scheduled for colonoscopy. Patients were assigned into two groups, Group A (n = 31) received midazolam 2.5–5.0 mg with pentazocine 15–30 mg, whereas Group B (n = 31) received propofol 0.5 mg/kg with fentanyl 0.5ug/kg before the procedure. Efficacy was measured by the depth of sedation using Ramsay sedation score (RSS), pain score, and recovery from sedation, whereas safety was evaluated with heart rate, blood pressure (BP), and oxygen saturation. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with respect to demographic and clinical data. The patients in Group B were more sedated with a mean RSS of 4.1 ± 0.79 compared with 2.07 ± 0.74 in Group A (P = 0.001). The mean pain score during the procedure was lower in Group B 3.19 ± 1.9 compared with 4.8 ± 1.9 in Group A (P = 0.001). The recovery time was faster in Group B compared with Group A, 24 versus 46 min, respectively (P = 0.001). The systolic BP at 5 and 10 min was lower in Group B (P = 0.024 and P = 0.001), respectively, as well as the diastolic BP at 5 and 10 min (P = 0.042 and P = 0.04), respectively. Hypotension was observed in six patients in Group B compared to two patients in Group A. There was no difference in the heart rates in both groups. Two patients in both groups had desaturation <90%, and oxygen was administered to maintain the oxygenation. No patient developed apnea that would have warranted endotracheal intubation. Conclusion: Propofol-fentanyl combination provided better sedation, less painful procedure, and shorter recovery time with minimal cardiorespiratory complication.


Copious material is available from the World Wide Web (WWW) in response to any userprovided query. It becomes tedious for the user to manually extract real required information from this material. Large document collections, such as those delivered by Internet search engines, are difficult and time-consuming for users to read and analyse. The detection of common and distinctive topics within a document set, together with the generation of multi-document summaries, can greatly ease the burden of information management. In the paper, a technique is proposed called Mining Unstructured Data From Web Using Soft Computing that creates the clusters of web documents using fuzzy clustering which focuses on this problem of mining the useful information from the collected web documents. Keywords--Search Engine, Web documents, Fuzzy Clustering, Soft computing


The European Convention on Human Rights
and Jurisdictional Links during Military Operations

Keywords: International law; International human rights law; European Convention on Human Rights; Jurisdiction
This paper intends to discuss the applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to alleged violations which arise during the course of military operations conducted by Contracting Parties to the Convention.
The scope and application of the ECHR is restricted by Article 1 to events occurring 'within the jurisdiction' of a Contracting Party to the treaty. Although it is generally accepted that the treaty will apply to any alleged violation which occurs within the territory of a Contracting Party, the issue becomes much more complex when concerned with events which occur beyond a state's borders. In the 2011 Al-Skeini and Others v United Kingdom judgment the European Court of Human Rights attempted to clarify this by stating that although jurisdiction was primarily territorial it could arise extraterritorially in two situations – where a Contracting Party exercised effective control of an area beyond its own territorial borders, and where a state's agents exercised authority or control over individuals abroad.
Using as a basis for discussion an incident wherein a French Military helicopter attack is alleged to have killed six civilians in the town of Konna, Mali, in January 2013, this paper will discuss the possible applicability of the Convention to military operations abroad. Through a detailed analysis of recent case law which has largely emanated the Iraq War and northern Cyprus, this paper will consider whether the exceptions outlined in Al-Skeini, particularly the second exception of a state agent's exercise of authority and control, would apply in a range of military activities. The piece concludes by attempting to formulate guidelines for when an individual will fall within a Contracting Party's 'jurisdiction' for the purposes of Article 1 of the Convention.


In this paper, a special two-stage input signal based neuro-fuzzy model for Hammerstein-Wiener processes is presented. The input and output non-linear static parts of the Hammerstein-Wiener process are described by two independent neuro-fuzzy models without any prior process knowledge, thus avoiding the inevitable restrictions on static non-linear function encountered by using the polynomial approach. To construct the neuro-fuzzy-based Hammerstein-Wiener model, special two-stage input signal is carried out, and an analytical solution is developed to calculate the parameters of the linear dynamic part and two static non-linear functions. Examples are used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method and a comparison with polynomial approach is made.


Purpose It has been implied that the collagen binding integrin α11β1 plays a role in carcinogenesis. As still relatively little is known about how the stromal integrin α11β1 affects different aspects of tumor development, we wanted to examine the direct effects on primary tumor growth, fibrosis, tumor interstitial fluid pressure (PIF) and metastasis in murine 4T1 mammary and RM11 prostate tumors, using an in vivo SCID integrin α11-deficient mouse model. Methods Tumor growth was measured using a caliper, PIF by the wick-in-needle technique, activated fibroblasts by α-SMA immunofluorescence staining and fibrosis by transmission electron microscopy and picrosirius-red staining. Metastases were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin stained sections. Results RM11 tumor growth was significantly reduced in the SCID integrin α11-deficient (α11-KO) compared to in SCID integrin α11 wild type (WT) mice, whereas there was no similar effect in the 4T1 tumor model. The 4T1 model demonstrated an alteration in collagen fibril diameter in the integrin α11-KO mice compared to WT, which was not found in the RM11 model. There were no significant differences in the amount of activated fibroblasts, total collagen content, collagen organization or PIF in the tumors in integrin α11-deficient mice compared to WT mice. There was also no difference in lung metastases between the two groups. Conclusion Deficiency of stromal integrin α11β1 showed different effects on tumor growth and collagen fibril diameter depending on tumor type, but no effect on tumor PIF or development of lung metastasis.


The aim of the project was to enhance product quality management in fresh fish supply chains through improved logistics management and ensured traceability effectiveness. The study provides insights into seafood companies' perspectives on the benefits of implementing traceability. Knowledge on the net benefits of implementing traceability and the distribution of costs and benefits among actors can support decision making. Comprehensive literature review on the necessary components to ensure traceability and a framework developed to assess traceability system effectiveness enable researchers and practitioners in the food/seafood sector to locate problems and take necessary actions to ensure effective traceability. In addition, more efficient use of recorded data provides an approach to enhance quality management. Data on ambient temperatures during logistics steps can be used to calculate the product warm up time. The results on temperature profiling pinpointed several hazardous steps in air transportation related to handling, storage and transport operations. Pros and cons of two transport modes, air vs. sea, were analysed. Several factors were found to influence product temperature and shelf life during logistics processes, namely, presence/absence of precooling, mode of transport, product location and logistics length. These findings help to improve logistics management as well as to make decisions on transport alternatives so as to improve quality management. The new photochromic time-temperature indicator (TTI) was found to give reproducible responses and reflect well the temperature conditions of fresh fish supply chains. The results show that a right charging time could be defined to suit the shelf life of the fresh fish product concerned. The TTI of a right charging level placed on the bottom surfaces of fresh cod retail packs was found to reflect well the temperature conditions of the product and the shelf life declared by sensory evaluation, except for the case of severely superchilled conditions, and other methods of quality control. The results indicate the potential of using the new TTI to continuously monitor product temperature history, quality and shelf life in fresh fish supply chains.


Using density functional calculations, we study a set of candidate defects for Fermi-level pinning at GaAs/oxide interfaces. The set of considered defects comprises both bulklike and interfacial defects, including As antisites, Ga and As dangling bonds, the As-As dimer/dangling bond defect, and several defect complexes. The defects are generated within atomistic model structures representing the GaAs/Al2O3 interface. Formation energies of bulklike defects are obtained and compared with those of corresponding bulk defects, while interfacial defects are studied through their relative defect energies. Finite-size corrections to the defect energies are applied through a scheme that accounts for the interfacial geometry of our models. Defect levels are defined as thermodynamic transition levels between different charge states and are calculated for all considered defects. Through an alignment procedure based on hybrid functional calculations, the defect levels are then positioned within the calculated band gap of GaAs that reproduces the experimental one, thereby enabling direct comparisons with the experimental density of defect states. Our study shows that several As-related defects show a similar amphoteric bistability between an As-As dimer state and a configuration with two doubly occupied As dangling bonds. The associated charge transition levels generally lie in the midgap region, in accord with experimental observations. This mechanism is proposed as the origin of the observed Fermi-level pinning at GaAs/oxide interfaces.


In the last decade, the proliferation of billions of new Internet-enabled devices and users has significantly expanded concerns about cybersecurity. But should we believe the prophets of cyber war or worry about online government surveillance? Are such security concerns real, exaggerated or just poorly understood?

In this comprehensive text, Damien Van Puyvelde and Aaron F. Brantly provide a cutting-edge introduction to the key concepts, controversies and policy debates in cybersecurity. Exploring the interactions of individuals, groups and states in cyberspace, and the integrated security risks to which these give rise, they examine cyberspace as a complex socio-technical-economic domain that fosters both great potential and peril.

Structured around ten chapters, the book explores the complexities and challenges of cybersecurity using case studies – from the Morris Worm and Titan Rain to BlackEnergy and the Cyber Caliphate – to highlight the evolution of attacks that can exploit and damage individual systems and critical infrastructures. With questions for group discussion and suggestions for further reading throughout, Cybersecurity will be essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the challenges and opportunities presented by the continued expansion of cyberspace.


The security of cryptographic algorithms can be considered in two contexts. On the one hand, these algorithms can be proven secure mathematically. On the other hand, physical attacks can weaken the implementation of an algorithm yet proven secure. Under the common name of physical attacks, different attacks are regrouped: side channel attacks and fault injection attacks. This paper presents a common formalism for these attacks and highlights their underlying principles. All physical attacks on symmetric algorithms can be described with a 3-step process. Moreover it is possible to compare different physical attacks, by separating the theoretical attack path and the experimental parts of the attacks.


On March 16, 2013, Cyprus announced that it would accept a bailout that required imposing a one-time levy on bank deposits. It has been argued that, by making traditional deposit accounts seem less secure, the bailout announcement prompted some to consider—or reconsider—using the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Relying on rank data for a subset of apps, existing studies maintain that interest in bitcoin increased following the announcement, especially in countries with troubled banks. We argue that (1) focusing on a subset of apps does not allow one to distinguish a general increase in the demand for bitcoin apps from a substitution between bitcoin apps and (2) changes in rank data are a poor predictor of changes in the number of downloads. In order to address these concerns, we collect rank data for all fifteen bitcoin apps available at the time and use an established technique to estimate an index of downloads for each country considered. We find that, while downloads of bitcoin apps increased following the announcement, the observed effect was not especially pronounced in countries thought to have had troubled banking systems at the time.


This doctoral research presents the results of a pioneering archaeological enquiry in the
Shira region of Bauchi State, northeastern Nigeria. The prime aims of this work in what is
a hitherto uninvestigated region are to sketch out an occupational sequence and to
characterise past materiahl culture. Shira is renowned for being the earliest established
settlement (12th to 19th century AD) in present-day northern Bauchi region and it lies on a
primary trade route linking two important precolonial polities, the Bornu Empire and the
Hausa city-states; as well as connecting with the Adamawa region.
The thesis uses archaeology as its prime source of data, but cross-references it with
historical and ethnographic data, in order to investigate the evolution and chronological
development of the Shira region in the second millennium AD. The artefacts and the spatial
organization which characterise the past settlements are studied, and data collected through
ethnographic enquiries on present social practices are examined with a view of offering
comparative material for the archaeological data. This aspect of the enquiry was mainly
concerned with tangible materials such as pottery or the practice of blacksmithing, but it
also considered non-material aspects such as the present socio-political patterns and
subsistence economy in particular.
An archaeological survey in the form of field walking was an important component of the
investigation. A 16km2 selected area close to Shira town was examined in order to assess
settlement evidence and archaeological potential. The survey located and recorded 64 sites,
5 of which later became the subject of detailed investigation. The survey collections and
the excavations carried out at these 5 abandoned sites underpin this thesis and provide a
characterisation of past material culture. Six radiocarbon dates place the occupation of the
settlements investigated within the second millennium AD. Pottery was the most abundant
artefacts recovered from the archaeological survey and excavations around the Shira town.
Rims and decorated sherds were analyzed in detail and non-diagnostic material, namely
undecorated body sherds, quantified and discarded.
Ultimately, these new archaeological data indicate that there exist a great number of past
sites around Shira town, of various natures and occurring across a series of hilltops and
intervening plains. As such this thesis provides important new data on the past of this part
of West Africa.


Non-ICSID investment arbitration awards can be challenged either in the courts of primary jurisdiction at the seat of the arbitration or, when opposing an application for enforcement, in the courts of secondary jurisdiction at the place of enforcement. Either way, it will be the degree of arbitration-friendliness of the national court that determines whether or not a challenge to set aside or refuse enforcement of the award will succeed. Although MENA courts are more arbitration-friendly than is commonly thought, there remains some uncertainty over how reliable they are in enforcing (investment) arbitration awards against state entities. There is little (if any) practical guidance to date. Investors are therefore advised to tread carefully before committing to arbitration in a MENA jurisdiction or seeking enforcement of a non-ICSID award there.


We report the first observation of the baryonic flavor-changing neutral current decay Λ(b)(0)→Λμ(+)μ(-) with 24 signal events and a statistical significance of 5.8 Gaussian standard deviations. This measurement uses a pp collisions data sample corresponding to 6.8 fb(-1) at √s = 1.96 TeV collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. The total and differential branching ratios for Λ(b)(0)→Λμ(+)μ(-) are measured. We find B(Λ(b)(0)→Λμ(+)μ(-))=[1.73 ± 0.42(stat) ± (syst)] × 10(-6). We also report the first measurement of the differential branching ratio of B(s)(0)→ϕμ(+)μ(-), using 49 signal events. In addition, we report branching ratios for B(+)→K(+)μ(+)μ(-), B(0)→K(0)μ(+)μ(-), and B→K(*)(892)μ(+)μ(-) decays.


Abstract Physical activity is important to prevent chronic disease and improve mental health. Physical activity education needs to be delivered in an efficient, effective and persuasive way by health professionals to increase participation. Message framing can be used to influence health decision-making and motivate behavior change. This systematic review investigates the influence of different message framing characteristics on potential physical activity participation. A search of relevant databases, reference lists and grey literature was performed. Systematic review was performed. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of participants were healthy adults with the exception of one study who included overweight people. All studies investigated gain and loss as well as at least one other message framing characteristic and how this influenced physical activity participation. The other characteristics included: source credibility (n = 4), presentation of affect (n = 1), number of arguments (n = 1), type of activity (n = 1), narrative versus statistical (n = 3), intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation (n = 1), social endorsement (n = 1), kernel type (n = 1) and ease of imagination (n = 2). There is no consistent consensus for the best message frame to increase physical activity participation. Further research is needed.


Abstract Studies increasingly highlight the limits of state building conducted 'from the top-down'. Building on the literature and using a Rosenauian concept in a novel way, this article posits that international interventions create a 'bifurcation of the two worlds'. Departing from a study of Kosovo and Timor-Leste, the article posits that the massive arrival of staff involved in international governance will create a social gap between the international and the local 'worlds', which will in turn become a target of narratives of resistance by local actors. This bifurcation is exemplified by the 'white car syndrome', a concept representing the horde of white UN vehicles accompanying major interventions and developed in this contribution. Thus, the article attempts to shed new light on the legitimacy crises that Kosovo and Timor-Leste experienced at the beginning of the current century, while demonstrating and increasing the linkages between development studies and peace studies.


Abstract We report the two-step synthesis of a novel chiral rod-based porous coordination polymer (PCP). The chemical approach consists of the use of a previously prepared bis(ethylenediamine) copper monomer [Cu(en)]2(NO3)2 [where en = ethylenediamine] reacting with the cytidine 5′-monophosphate (CMP) nucleotide. The bis(ethylenediamine) copper compound—stabilized by axial coordination of nitrate counter-anions—reacts in the presence of sodium salt of CMP to yield right-handed copper(II) chains of P helicity with formula [Cu2(en)2(CMP)2]·5H2O (1). The axial coordination of the CMP2- ligands through the N3 and O2 sites (free nitrogen and carbonyl groups) of the cytosine nucleobase and oxygen atoms of phosphate moieties, ensure stabilization of the neutral chiral polymer. The supramolecular organization involves strong hydrogen bonding interactions to build supramolecular chains of the same helicity. The resulting PCP constitutes one of the few examples of CMP compounds exhibiting coordination involving both nucleobase and phosphate moieties, where a highly stable metal complex is used as precursor for the rational construction of rod-based hydrogen metal-organic frameworks (HMOFs). Furthermore, it shows the intrinsic capability of biomolecules to act as chiral transfer systems. Graphical Abstract


The article presents a comparative analysis of genocide in Rwanda and Darfur. The first half of the article examines the patterns and origins of violence in both cases and uses the comparison to generate some theoretical inferences about the causes of genocide. The analysis finds that both cases demonstrate a similar character of violence but that in Rwanda the violence was more intense, more exterminatory, and more participatory than in Darfur. Both episodes took place in the midst of civil war, in periods of political transition, in countries with histories of ethnic nationalism, and in areas where the conflicting ethnic populations lived in relative proximity. However, in Rwanda the state is more compact, centralized, and effective, which may explain the variation in intensity. The second half of the article focuses on the international response to genocide in both cases. After Rwanda, observers emphasized the importance of using the label ''genocide'' and creating domestic constituencies. Darfur showed that both strategies are insufficient. In response to Darfur, US officials declared ''genocide'' to be occurring, and there emerged a politically diverse civil-society coalition to lobby the administration. Yet the net outcome for both cases, in terms of the absence of an effective policy to halt genocide, was the same. The article argues that focusing too intently on a ''genocide'' determination may be counterproductive, that international politics matter yet mobilization on Darfur outside of North America was weak, and that protocols for the use of force to prevent genocide should be clarified. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com. Recommended Citation Straus, Scott (2006) "Rwanda and Darfur: A Comparative Analysis," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 1: Article 8. Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol1/iss1/8 Rwanda and Darfur: A Comparative Analysis Scott Straus Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison The article presents a comparative analysis of genocide in Rwanda and Darfur. The first half of the article examines the patterns and origins of violence in both cases and uses the comparison to generate some theoretical inferences about the causes of genocide. The analysis finds that both cases demonstrate a similar character of violence but that in Rwanda the violence was more intense, more exterminatory, and more participatory than in Darfur. Both episodes took place in the midst of civil war, in periods of political transition, in countries with histories of ethnic nationalism, and in areas where the conflicting ethnic populations lived in relative proximity. However, in Rwanda the state is more compact, centralized, and effective, which may explain the variation in intensity. The second half of the article focuses on the international response to genocide in both cases. After Rwanda, observers emphasized the importance of using the label ''genocide'' and creating domestic constituencies. Darfur showed that both strategies are insufficient. In response to Darfur, US officials declared ''genocide'' to be occurring, and there emerged a politically diverse civil-society coalition to lobby the administration. Yet the net outcome for both cases, in terms of the absence of an effective policy to halt genocide, was the same. The article argues that focusing too intently on a ''genocide'' determination may be counterproductive, that international politics matter yet mobilization on Darfur outside of North America was weak, and that protocols for the use of force to prevent genocide should be clarified.


If you would like to learn more about current soil fertility issues and research being conducted at universities across the North Central region, then consider attending the 45th Annual North Central Extension-Industry Soil Fertility Conference on November 4-5, 2015, from 1 p.m. to noon, at the Holiday Inn Airport in Des Moines, Iowa. The conference will include invited presentations from university and industry leaders, research reports from university soil fertility researchers, and posters outlining research by graduate students at universities across the North Central region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin).