Philosophers, psychologists, and educators all acknowledge the need to support individuals to develop argument skills. Less clear is how to do so. Here, we examine a particular program, the "Argue with Me" dialogue-based pedagogical approach, having this objective. Reviewing approximately 30 studies that have used the "Argue with Me" (AWM) method with students of different backgrounds and educational levels—primary, middle, high school, and university—across five different countries, we examine its strengths and limitations in terms of what develops and how this development occurs. Dense engagement in goal-based activities involving extended dialogic practice and reflection is shown to be effective in fostering argument skills and dispositions. Studies examining the mechanisms of such development identify the role of meta-level understanding regarding the purpose of argument. This understanding is epistemological in nature and supports the development of dialogic skills at the strategic level. In addition to examining the AWM method as a means for supporting the development of argument skills, this review examines how empirical research employing the method in varying contexts provides insights into the nature of argument skills and their development, as well as the relations between argument skills and other skills or forms of understanding. For instance, we examine how studies employing the AWM method answer questions such as "How general or content-specific are argument skills?" or "How do dialogic argument and individual written or spoken argument connect as they develop?" We address these questions by examining evidence regarding the transfer of gains across topics, domains, and individual vs. dialogic modes of expression. Finally, the pedagogical implications of the "Argue with Me" approach are discussed, especially with regard to its potential both as a stand-alone method for developing argument skills and integrated into traditional literacy and social studies curricula.


Removing local communities from lands that they have been exploiting for generations without consultation or adequate compensation can result in retaliation and hostile attitudes toward the objectives of the protected areas.Therefore, this study examines the application of willingness to participate of local communities in the conservation of national parks. For the empirical observations, Iran's Khabr National Park was studied. The required data were collected using questionnaires fulfilling and interviewing with locals and tourists of the Khabr National Park. For analyzing the data, the logit econometric model was applied. Results indicated that 80 percent of them were eager to participate and they wanted the park to be managed by private sectors. Therefore, it is recommended that the government provide a condition where the private sector act and engage people in the conservation of the park. Factors such as a history of participation in previous projects, being Indigenous, lack of management organization, and familiarity with the environment were determined as the factors which affected the participation in this project.


Objectives were to examine the relationship between insurance knowledge and insurance coverage and to determine the predictors of satisfaction with preparations for financial emergencies. The systems approach to managerial behaviors developed by Deacon and Firebaugh (1988) was used as the theoretical framework for the study. Personal interviews with 123 household money managers were conducted in central Iowa in fall 1986. Male and highly-educated money managers had more insurance knowledge than female and less-educated money managers. High-income households and households in which the money manager was knowledgeable about insurance issues tended to have broad insurance coverage. The household money managers were more likely to be satisfied with their households' preparations for financial emergencies if they were retired or disables and if their households had a high net worth and broad insurance coverage. Results may be used by financial counselors and educators to help money managers prepare to meet various financial emergencies.


It is an honour to write a foreword for the Bibliotek I Samehalle's book on the Library Practice for Young Learners project (LPYL) and also a challenge. The "honour" is due to the significance of the LPYL project, which is a project rooted in our past and present realities but which reaches out to future possibilities. I believe that it thus has a real chance of "making a difference" to South African education. The vision of the original partners, the Library & information Workers Organisation (LIWO), BIS and the Education Policy Unit (Natal), deserves gratitude and respect. They realised the importance of school libraries as a force for educational transformation an area of action often neglected by the mainstream library profession. They then recognised that the South African landscape called for innovative models of school libraries. It is important perhaps to acknowledge upfront the links between the LPYL project and the national Department of Education's school library policy-writing process. Jenni Karlsson of the EPU (Natal) was largely responsible for the drafting of the National Policy Framework for School Library Standards (Department of Education, 1998) and she is a leading partner in the LPYL. From the beginning the intention of the LPYL project was to pilot certain of the models described in the policy document (a document which has apparently since been shelved by Government). Whatever the underlying intention, the result was an elegantly-designed project that provides us so far with at least three useful case studies for the future (Naiker & Mbokazi, 2002).


The ability to hear a target sound (T) masked by another sound (M) improves when the T and M are spatially separated, a phenomenon known as spatial release from masking (SRM). Target detectability is also influenced by temporal characteristics of T and M (e.g., by the presence or absence of amplitude modulation). The current study examines how SRM is influenced by amplitude modulation. Detection thresholds were measured for a broadband noise target (T) temporally and spectrally centered within a broadband noise masker (M). Thresholds were measured for all combinations of five spatial configurations of T and M and five modulation conditions (all combinations of T and M modulated and unmodulated; when both T and M were modulated, the modulation could either be equal or pi out of phase). In all cases, the amplitude modulation, if present, had a rate of 40 Hz and depth of 0.5. Modulation had a complex effect on detection threshold. Thresholds improved by as much as 6 dB (relative to the no‐modulation control)...


With a given power demand pattern supplied by a set of pulverized fuel coal- fired (PC) power generation units at various locations, different power dispatching solutions will result in different fuel consumptions, CO2 emissions, and power generation costs. This is due to the performance differences of their shut-down and start-up processes as well as those under the operational conditions, and to fuel prices differences between different power stations. In this paper, a methodology characterized with a multi- objective optimization approach based on a fast evolutionary algorithm is employed to optimize the daily total power generation operating cost and the daily total CO2 emissions. The shut down and start-up processes are divided into 7 sub-operations : load-decreasing, shutdown, boiler ignition preparation, ignition-warning up, connecting to grid, load-increasing and stabilization process, according to their characteristics in order to calculate the fuel consumptions, the CO2 emissions and the cost. Available data have been used to derive the models that characterize the emission and cost performances of typical PC units as well as their rating and partial load performances. From the results of the multi-objective optimization, the so called Pareto Optimal Frontiers (POFs) are used to evaluate the effect of CO2 tax on the optimal power dispatching solutions. The influence of SO2 tax on the CO2 abatement marginal cost is also analyzed.


Purpose:

The purpose of the paper is to explore the issues of strategic and supply chain alignment in the apparel supply chain now, and to establish future scenarios for the development of the apparel supply chain in the context of emerging retail strategy and a changing trading environment.

Approach:
The approach adopted is a Disaggregative Delphi study based on interviews with experts from across the UK apparel supply chain, a survey ranking variables as important now and in 5 years' time and development of three future scenarios from which emerging supply chain configurations are presented.

Findings:

The findings reveal a gap between retail strategy and supply chain practice, with cost and design integrity dominating supply chain decisions. Three future supply chain configurations are developed that illustrate varying tendencies towards enhanced standardisation and cost efficiency; proximity supported flexibility; and responsiveness to niche market demands, respectively.
Research implications and limitations:

There is a lingering gap between theory and practice in the apparel supply chain, with a persistent focus on cost, limited adoption of fast fashion and an emerging emphasis on standardisation downstream. The supply chain configurations revealed reflect the difference between upstream and downstream practices which impacts on theory, as most extant research is retail centric. The research is limited to the apparel industry, but there is opportunity to generalise to other low-cost, fast moving consumer sectors.

Practical implications:

The findings illustrate the opportunity for innovation in the apparel supply chain in response to growing multi-channel distribution and delays in product development, to align the supply chain with retail strategy. The lingering focus on cost, slow uptake of new technologies and deterioration in relationships is challenged.

Originality and value:

Empirical evidence in the apparel supply chain is dominated by single case approaches and the retail perspective. This paper is unique in that it explores the whole apparel supply chain from multiple expert perspectives, while also developing scenarios to inform future research and practice. It introduces the concept of the Dissaggregative Delphi to supply chain 'futures' studies, reflecting the lack of a one-size-fits-all solution. The research explores the supply chain response to shifting retail strategy and reveals the emerging importance of downstream standardisation in future supply chain configurations – at the expense of responsiveness elsewhere in the supply chain.


Currently 300,000 students attend the nation's 105 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). These institutions award 28 percent of bachelor's degrees to African-American students and prepare students for graduate and professional programs throughout the country (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2004). While their effect on higher education is well known, there is much to be learned about exactly how they achieve it. Over the past 35 years, many researchers have shown an interest in Black colleges. However, much of the research now available is dated and doesn't speak directly to current national and global trends. For example, a good deal of the historical research stops in the 1930s, missing the impact of the post-war period, the Cold War, and much of the Civil Rights Movement on Black colleges (Anderson, 1988; Anderson & Moss, 1999; Watkins, 2001). Although there has been significant sociological research, it is most often focused on the impact of Black colleges on student experiences--thus ignoring a cadre of other issues, such as governance, academic freedom, faculty, administration, and fund raising (e.g., Conrad et al, 1997; Fleming, 1984; Freeman, 1998; Garibaldi, 1991; Ross, 2003). On occasion, scholars have authored philosophical research on Black colleges (e.g., Allen & Jewel, 2002; Price, 1998). However, at a time when Black access to historically White institutions is once again in decline, we need additional scholarship to treat more comprehensively the basic assumptions and questions behind the African-American institutions that might fill the higher education gap. The social foundations of education offer an important context for the study of Black colleges. Like most fields, the social foundations of education (henceforth referred to as "social foundations") exist within an historical context of contested norms and ideas. One of the primary characteristics of social foundations research is the promotion of social justice in both the educational process and in society generally. In this regard, social foundations research speaks directly to the history and development of HBCUs. Although their origins remain controversial, Black colleges were founded with the ostensible mission of uplift for the former slaves. Over the years, they have solidified this mission and become key players in the overall struggle for social equality among African Americans. The hallmark of this struggle has been the pursuit of social justice within the context of the racial discrimination that has permeated American life. Despite the obvious similarity in the goals of both social foundations and Black colleges there has been little research on HBCUs from "within" the contemporary social foundations research community. The reasons for this are numerous. With the rise of higher education as a sub-discipline within education, the study of HBCUs found what seemed to be a natural home. Yet, many of those producing research in the social foundations area of education have remained focused on research related to public schooling at the K-12 level. Another possible reason for the lack of connection could be that (compared to the whole field of education) relatively few African-American scholars work within the area of social foundations. This special issue of Educational Foundations was conceived of as a way to showcase research that addresses this gap in the literature. Thus, the articles that we selected use a social foundations lens to explore various issues related to Black colleges. Their topics run the gamut: Greek life, multiculturalism, institutional impact, student activism. Black fraternities and sororities have had a significant impact on the campuses of Black colleges and universities (Brown et al, 2005). These organizations have a long history of providing leadership opportunities and career advancement to African Americans. Moreover, they have instilled an ethos of service and giving back in their members (Gasman, 2005; Gasman et al, 2008). …


The problem addressed in this phenomenological study was the lack of documentation that supported the lived experiences of crisis intervention team (CIT)-trained police officers related to their field encounters with persons with mental illnesses. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of officers among CIT-trained police officers who respond to persons with mental illnesses in field encounters to address the problem. The protection motivation theory was aligned closest with the teachings of CIT training as described by the study participants' lived experiences. Participants provided the study's collected data, which was composed of completed questionnaires and transcribed interviews. The empirical theoretical framework method of analysis used was a combination of inductive coding and theme analysis that established the results of this study. Key findings of the study identified a significant amount of frustration expressed in the lived experiences of the CIT-trained police officers. Frustration was experienced by officers who applied the protection motivation theory to ensure the well-being of persons experiencing a mental crisis. There was considerable pushback from the public mental health facilities, which added to the frustration experienced by CIT-trained police officers who attempted to navigate treatment with the limited resources available to help persons in mental crisis. The positive social change produced from this study included recommendations to police leadership and mental health advocates to encourage certain CIT-training-related practices that directly impact CIT field encounters with persons in mental crises. Specialized training may promote improved departmental outcomes such as sustainability of gains for those in crises and enable police officer accountability and reliability.


Blood-based anti-amyloid-β (Aβ) immunoglobulins (IgGs) and peripheral inflammation are factors correlating with development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). IgG functionality can drastically change from anti- to pro-inflammatory via alterations in the IgG-Fc N-glycan structure. Herein, we tested if IgG-Fc glycosylation in plasma is indeed altered during the development of AD. Samples from age-matched subjects of 23 controls, 58 patients with stable mild cognitive impairment (SMCI), 34 patients with progressive (P)MCI, and 31 patients with AD were investigated. Label-free shotgun proteomics was applied without glycoprotein enrichment. Glycans on peptides EEQYNSTYR (IgG1) and EEQFNSTFR (IgG2) were quantified, and their abundances were normalized to total IgGn glycoform abundance. Univariate and multivariate statistics were employed to investigate the correlations between the patients groups and the abundances of the IgG glycoforms as well as those of inflammatory mediating proteins. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were found, with a lower abundance of complex galactosylated and sialylated forms in AD. For females, a decline in glycoform complexity correlated with disease progress but an inverse change was found in males prior to the onset of AD. Principal component analysis (PCA; Males: R(2)X(cum) = 0.65, Q(2)(cum) = 0.34; Females: R(2)X(cum) = 0.62, Q(2)(cum) = 0.36), confirmed the gender similarities (for controls, SMCI and AD) as well as differences (for PMCI), and showed a close correlation between pro-inflammatory protein markers, AD, female PMCI, and truncated IgG-Fc glycans. The differences observed between genders prior to the onset of AD may indicate a lower ability in females to suppress peripheral inflammation, which may lead to exacerbated disease progression.


In many Australian communities, outdoor municipal pools are much loved yet constantly threatened with closure. Threats of closure inspire impassioned responses and it is clear that these seasonal pools offer much more than physical infrastructure. At first glance, the concept of 'emotional geography' seems to capture this 'more', and this essay, based on research at one such pool, demonstrates how pools afford sociality, embodied experiences and practices of emplacement that emotionally connect people to each other, to nature and to an imagined historical community. However, participants' narratives also revealed affective intensities, and multisensory evocations of place and self synchronically encountered, that the concept of 'emotional geography' cannot capture. To understand the cultural meaning and personal significance of seasonal pools in Australia, we have to feel our way through the placial folding of affective intensities and emotional lives.


Spectrally different object colors that match for one illuminant generally do not remain matched when the illuminant is replaced by another. However, all possible colors that match under one illuminant are, with any other illuminant, confined to a region of color space that has a closed boundary. This boundary, called the theoretical chromaticity-mismatch limits of metamers due to a change of illuminant, can be computed by means of a linear-programming technique. The size and shape of the theoretical limits in color space depend on the two illuminants involved and on the color of the metamers. A number of examples are given, and some practical implications of the method are discussed.


Dentine Hypersensitivity is a common clinical condition, albeit of a low severity, and various in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed to test various approaches in managing the condition. This review investigates the use of bioactive glasses and their efficacy in treating Dentine Hypersensitivity. Significant progress was observed in the introduction of bioactive glasses in previous toothpaste formulations due to its ability to produce a Hydroxyapatite-like layer. Nevertheless, the results of the present review would suggest that a higher quality evidence was required to sufficiently support the use and effectiveness of bioactive glasses in treating Dentine Hypersensitivity. This observation is particularly pertinent in the absence of evidence relating to the effect of abrasivity of the glasses as well as the ability of strontium incorporation into the glasses. And the exact loading of the glass into dentifrice formulations. Overall, in vitro studies do appear to demonstrate that bioactive glass formulations may be an effective material to occlude dentine tubules which may in turn, reduce the fluid flow within the dentinal tubules and subsequently help manage Dentine Hypersensitivity.


Rationale In order to assess the cardioprotective efficacy of a novel therapy for reducing myocardial infarct (MI) size, a reliable in vivo measure of the area-at-risk (AAR) is required. Although T2-weighted cardiac MRI (T2-MRI), which detects myocardial oedema, has been used to measure the AAR, some cardioprotective therapies have been found to reduce the extent of oedema, thereby interfering with the measured AAR by T2-MRI. Here, we investigate cardiac arterial spin labelling (ASL)-MRI as an alternative method for in vivo measuring the AAR following acute myocardial infarction. Methodology and Results B6sv129 mice (10–14 weeks old) were subjected to an in vivo left main coronary artery ligation for 30 minutes followed by 72 hours reperfusion after which MRI was performed to retrospectively measure the AAR. MRI showed regions of elevated T2 signal corresponding to the AAR delineated by Evan's Blue staining (AAR/LV%: T2-MRI 60.4±2.4 versus histology 64.3±2.5: N=6/group; P>0.05). However, in ischaemic preconditioned (IPC)-treated animals, T2-MRI significantly underestimated the AAR (AAR/LV%: T2-MRI 46.0±13.2 versus histology 59.8±7.8: N=10/group; P<0.05), as IPC has reduced the extent of myocardial oedema. Interestingly, ASL-MRI revealed regions of attenuated ASL signal (indicating reduced myocardial blood flow) corresponding to the AAR delineated by Evan's Blue (AAR/LV%: ASL-MRI 60.6±4.3 versus histology 64.3±3.9: N=6/group; P>0.05). Crucially, the AAR measured by ASL-MRI was not affected by IPC (AAR/LV%: ASL-MRI 53.4±7.9 versus histology 58.0±3.0: N=8/group; P>0.05). Conclusions Here we show cardiac ASL-MRI to be a novel approach for in vivo measuring the AAR following acute myocardial infarction, which unlike T2-MRI is not affected by the cardioprotective intervention, IPC.


The equations governing the fluid dynamics and combined conduction/convection heat transfer in a heat sink are presented in dimensionless form for both laminar and turbulent flow. A scheme presented for solving these equations permits the determination of heat sink dimensions that display the lowest thermal resistance between the hottest portion of the heat sink and the incoming fluid. Results from the present method are applied to heat sinks reported by previous investigators to study effects of their restrictions regarding the nature of the flow (laminar or turbulent), the ratio of fin thickness to channel width, or the aspect ratio of the fluid channel. Results indicate that when the pressure drop through the channels is small, laminar solutions yield lower thermal resistance than turbulent solutions. Conversely, when the pressure drop is large, the optimal thermal resistance is found in the turbulent region. With the relaxation of these constraints, configurations and dimensions found using the present procedure produce significant improvement in thermal resistance over those presented by all three previous studies. >


Network function virtualization (NFV) is a promising technique aimed at reducing capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenditures (OPEX), and improving the flexibility and scalability of an entire network. In contrast to traditional dispatching, NFV can separate network functions from proprietary infrastructure and gather these functions into a resource pool that can efficiently modify and adjust service function chains (SFCs). However, this emerging technique has some challenges. A major problem is reliability, which involves ensuring the availability of deployed SFCs, namely, the probability of successfully chaining a series of virtual network functions while considering both the feasibility and the specific requirements of clients, because the substrate network remains vulnerable to earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters. Based on the premise of users' demands for SFC requirements, we present an ensure reliability cost saving algorithm to reduce the CAPEX and OPEX of telecommunication service providers by reducing the reliability of the SFC deployments. The results of extensive experiments indicate that the proposed algorithms perform efficiently in terms of the blocking ratio, resource consumption, time consumption, and the first block.


We study local government incentives to misreport the information required to implement a formula grant. We focus specifically on population, in theory the easiest variable for the grantor to verify. We analyze the Spanish case and show how a switch from the use of census to registered population data (the latter administered by the municipalities) led to a manipulation of the population numbers used by central government to allocate grants to municipalities. As a result, registers included a proportion of 'ghost' citizens, that is, people who presented no trace of actually residing in the municipality. We identify the effects of grants on population over-reporting taking profit of notches in the grant scheme (i.e., one based on weighted population with the weights increasing at specific population thresholds). We document an excess mass of municipalities to the right of the notch threshold and a density hole to the left of it. There are several indications that manipulation (rather than real population responses) is the mechanism at work.


The purpose of this study was to identify the plant science concepts which should be taught in secondary agriculture programs of the future as perceived by innovators in the field of plant science. The Delphi technique was used to gain the perceptions of a nation-wide panel of plant science professionals. The panel was comprised of three groups of plant scientists: secondary plant science teachers, university plant scientists, and plant scientists working in industry. The secondary plant science teachers were selected from the national and regional winners of the agriscience teacher award. The university plant scientists and plant scientists working in industry were chosen for their expertise and innovativeness through multiple nominations from their peers. The Delphi panel identified 191 concepts and reached consensus in prioritizing by importance. The highest rated concept was the "Scientific method of research." New concepts were added in each of the three rounds used in the study giving credibility to the synergistic effect. It is this researcher's view that a refined list of these prioritized concepts, keeping scope, sequence, and difficulty levels in mind, be considered when developing new secondary plant science curricula.


A algorithm combining the Gauss Pseudospectral Method (GPM) with a Generalized Polynomial Chaos (gPC) method to solve nonlinear stochastic optimal control problems with constraint uncertainties is presented. The GPM and gPC have been shown to be spectrally accurate numerical methods for solving deterministic optimal control problems and stochastic differential equations, respectively. The gPC uses collocation nodes to sample the random space, which are then inserted into the differential equations and solved using standard solvers to generate a set of deterministic solutions used to characterize the distribution of the solution by constructing a polynomial representation of the output as a function of uncertain parameters. The proposed algorithm investigates using GPM optimization software in place of deterministic differential equation solvers traditionally used in the gPC, providing minimum cost deterministic solutions that meet path, control, and boundary constraints. A trajectory optimization problem is considered where the objectives are to find the path through a two-dimensional space that minimizes the probability a vehicle will be 'killed' by lethal threats whose locations are uncertain and to characterize the effects those uncertainties have on the solution by estimating the statistical properties.


We presented the numerical technique to approximately solve the pulse propagation equation. Two efficient methods for this problem, the Split-Step Fourier and the fourth order Runge-Kutta methods are considered. Their high accuracy are shown by comparison with analytical solutions in some particular situations. Our numerical experiments are implemented for soliton propagation and interacting high order solitons. We also numerically investigate an important technique to create ultrashort pulses, which is known as the pulse compression. It is based on high order soliton propagation in Kerr media when the effect of stimulated Raman scattering is taken into account.


One of the most cited features of the supposed migrant "ethnolect" in Australian English is the pronunciation of word-final -er. This article presents data from sociolinguistic interviews that support the view that there is a pronunciation difference between Anglo and non-Anglo speakers in Sydney, and that this difference is most pronounced in Greek and, to a lesser extent, Lebanese speakers. The variant the Greek and Lebanese speakers tend to use more than the Anglo speakers is backed and lengthened, and commonly used in words with final High Rising Tone (HRT). There is some evidence that Greeks are leading a change to a more backed variant. I show that length, backing, and HRT make up a style of speaking that I call "new (er)". This style is indexical of being Greek for some, but more basically creates a stance of authoritative connection. These findings are significant for understanding the spread of new linguistic features, and how the meanings of some linguistic variables contribute to linguistic change.


This article discusses Canadian, U.K., U.S., French, and Swedish models of worker ownership and the legal principles which apply to them. Based on the evidence that, in contrast to other traditional forms of workplace organization, worker participation in ownership and management gives rise to greater efficiency and productivity, lower employee absentee rates, greater job satisfaction, reduced need for managerial supervision, the lowest cost per job created and a democratic workplace, the article argues for comprehensive legislation to address the relevant issues surrounding worker ownership, so that worker co-operatives and other forms of worker ownership can reach their full potential in Canada.


Can Challenges of Oral Cancer Diagnosis be Resolved?
Early oral cancer detection and accurate diagnosis remain the most challenging aspects of oral oncology. Heterogeneity in oral cancer (mostly squamous cell carcinoma) renders accurate classification problematic, which in turn impacts on treatment decision and patient outcome. Early oral cancer detection coupled with appropriate treatment can significantly improve patient outcome, reduce mortality and alleviate public healthcare costs. Clinical diagnosis of early potentially malignant oral lesion is one of the first challenges of dental practitioners when encountering an oral lesion. Whilst most oral lesions are clinically well characterized and easy to identify, the main problem is to be able to identify which lesions are potentially malignant.


Many companies like credit card, insurance,
bank, retail industry require direct marketing. Data mining can help those institutes
to set marketing goal. Data mining techniques have good prospects in their target
audiences and improve the likelihood of response. In this work we have investigated
two data mining techniques: the Naive Bayes and the C4.5 decision tree algorithms.
The goal of this work is to predict whether a client will subscribe a term deposit.
We also made comparative study of performance of those two algorithms. Publicly
available UCI data is used to train and test the performance of the algorithms.
Besides, we extract actionable knowledge from decision tree that focuses to take
interesting and important decision in business area.


The aim of this paper is the study of the enhanced cooperation mechanism in the framework of the Lisbon Treaty as it applies to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the EU. The concept of enhanced cooperation was introduced into the EU Treaty structure by the Treaty of Amsterdam, although initially the CFSP was excluded. The Treaty of Nice extended a limited possibility of enhanced cooperation to the CFSP, while still excluding from its scope all 'matters having military or defence implications'. The Treaty of Lisbon, at the same time as emphasising solidarity and the building of a common policy, accepts the extension of enhanced cooperation and flexibility into the defence sphere. The object of this paper, as well as outlining the ways in which enhanced cooperation has applied to the CFSP and the ways in which this will be affected by the Treaty of Lisbon, is to examine the extent to which foreign policy, security and defence lend themselves to enhanced cooperation and other forms of flexibility. The conclusion is that there is a need to distinguish between foreign policy and defence; the development of an active and credible EU foreign policy cannot readily accommodate differentiated integration as it depends for its force not primarily on either legally binding instruments or coercion but on political weight. On the other hand, military and defence capacities and initiatives are perhaps inherently differentiated.


The present research used van Manen's application of hermeneutic phenomenology as philosophy and method to explore stroke rehabilitation experience across two different settings, i.e. (i) a conventional setting (National Health Service or NHS stroke unit) and (ii) an unconventional setting (Conductive Education or CE). Interviews, observations and reflective diaries were used to collect data on 24 volunteering stroke patients' experiences. High levels of dis empowerment and negative images of self as well as the nature of motivation were indicated to be thematic of stroke rehabilitation experience in the stroke unit. In the CE setting stroke rehabilitation experience was characterised by increased selfconfidence, unconditional positive regard from conductors, challenging activities and body-half integration. A juxtaposition of stroke rehabilitation experience in the CE setting with stroke rehabilitation experience in the NHS stroke unit brought to light an important difference between the physical body-split caused by stroke, and a much wider and deeper disintegration of being. The juxtaposition further indicated that (i) the approach used in the NHS stroke unit is biomedical in spite of the presence of a multi-disciplinary team, and (ii) that the one adopted by CE is a person-centred approach characterised by holistic principles, with an overall focus on mobility. A reflective evaluation of this hermeneutic phenomenological study ensues, including a discussion on the difference between person-centredness and holism. The better understanding gained regarding stroke rehabilitation experience across the two settings was then used to make recommendations regarding what could constitute a holistic approach to stroke rehabilitation. Finally, the researcher's experience of 'being-immersed' in others' lived experiences was discussed in order to illustrate the holistic effect the research process had on the researcher's well-being, and the development of a tool which addresses researcher emotions holistically is also presented.


Long‐term relative sea‐level cycles (0·5 to 6 Myr) have yet to be fully understood for the Cretaceous. During the Aptian, in the northern Maestrat Basin (Eastern Iberian Peninsula), fault‐controlled subsidence created depositional space, but eustasy governed changes in depositional trends. Relative sea‐level history was reconstructed by sequence stratigraphic analysis. Two forced regressive stages of relative sea‐level were recognized within three depositional sequences. The first stage is late Early Aptian age (intra Dufrenoyia furcata Zone) and is characterized by foreshore to upper shoreface sedimentary wedges, which occur detached from a highstand carbonate platform, and were deposited above basin marls. The amplitude of relative sea‐level drop was in the order of tens of metres, with a duration of <1 Myr. The second stage of relative sea‐level fall occurred within the Late Aptian and is recorded by an incised valley that, when restored to its pre‐contractional attitude, was >2 km wide and cut ≥115 m down into the underlying Aptian succession. With the subsequent transgression, the incision was backfilled with peritidal to shallow subtidal deposits. The changes in depositional trends, lithofacies evolution and geometric relation of the stratigraphic units characterized are similar to those observed in coeval rocks within the Maestrat Basin, as well as in other correlative basins elsewhere. The pace and magnitude of the two relative sea‐level drops identified fall within the glacio‐eustatic domain. In the Maestrat Basin, terrestrial palynological studies provide evidence that the late Early and Late Aptian climate was cooler than the earliest part of the Early Aptian and the Albian Stage, which were characterized by warmer environmental conditions. The outcrops documented here are significant because they preserve the results of Aptian long‐term sea‐level trends that are often only recognizable on larger scales (i.e. seismic), such as for the Arabian Plate.


Clinical research employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is often conducted within the connectionist paradigm, focusing on patterns of connectivity between voxels, regions of interest (ROIs) or spatially distributed functional networks. Connectivity-based analyses are concerned with pairwise correlations of the temporal activation associated with restrictions of the whole-brain hemodynamic signal to locations of a priori interest. There is a more abstract question however that such spatially granular correlation-based approaches do not elucidate: Are the broad spatiotemporal organizing principles of brains in certain populations distinguishable from those of others? Global patterns (in space and time) of hemodynamic activation are rarely scrutinized for features that might characterize complex psychiatric conditions, aging effects or gender—among other variables of potential interest to researchers. We introduce a canonical, transparent technique for characterizing the role in overall brain activation of spatially scaled periodic patterns with given temporal recurrence rates. A core feature of our technique is the spatiotemporal spectral profile (STSP), a readily interpretable 2D reduction of the native four-dimensional brain × time frequency domain that is still "big enough" to capture important group differences in globally patterned brain activation. Its power to distinguish populations of interest is demonstrated on a large balanced multi-site resting fMRI dataset with nearly equal numbers of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Our analysis reveals striking differences in the spatiotemporal organization of brain activity that correlate with the presence of diagnosed schizophrenia, as well as with gender and age. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that a 4D frequency domain analysis of full volume fMRI data exposes clinically or demographically relevant differences in resting-state brain function.


Stochastic resonance has received significant attention recently in the signal processing community with emphasis on signal detection. The basic notion is that the performance of some suboptimal detectors can be improved by adding independent noise to the measured (and already noise contaminated) observation. The notion of adding noise makes sense if the observation is the result of nonlinear processing, and there exist proven scenarios where the signal-to-noise ratio improves by adding independent noise. This paper reviews a set of parametric and nonparametric sub-optimal radar target classification systems and explores (via computer simulation) the impact of adding independent noise to the observation on the performance of such sub-optimal systems. Although noise is not added in an optimal fashion, it does have an impact on the probability of classification error. Real radar scattering data of commercial aircraft models is used in this study. The focus is on exploring scenarios where added noise may improve radar target classification.


A significant challenge of our time is conserving biological diversity while maintaining economic development and cultural values. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has established biosphere reserves within its Man and the Biosphere program as a model means for accomplishing this very challenge. The East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve (ECBR), spreading across Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine, represents a large social-ecological system (SES) that has been protected under the biosphere reserve designation since 1998. We have explored its successes and failures in improving human livelihoods while safeguarding its ecosystems. The SES framework, which includes governance system, actors, resources, and external influences, was used as a frame of analysis. The outcomes of this protected area have been mixed; its creation led to national and international collaboration, yet some actor groups remain excluded. Implementation of protocols arising from the Carpathian Convention has been slow, while deforestation, hunting, erosion, temperature extremes, and changes in species behavior remain significant threats but have also been factors in ecological adaptation. The loss of cultural links and traditional knowledge has also been significant. Nevertheless, this remains a highly biodiverse area. Political barriers and institutional blockages will have to be removed to ensure this reserve fulfills its role as a model region for international collaboration and capacity building. These insights drawn from the ECBR demonstrate that biosphere reserves are indeed learning sites for sustainable development and that this case is exemplary in illustrating the challenges, but more importantly, the opportunities that arise when ensuring parallel care and respect for people and ecosystems through the model of transboundary protected areas around the world.


Geophysical gravity-driven flows -- including avalanches, debris flows, pyroclastic flows and submarine turbidity currents -- are multiphase natural hazards that flow under the influence of gravity. Despite their differences, they share much of the same physics, having the potential to pick up material from beneath, a process called basal entrainment during which the flow may increase in volume and velocity manyfold. Due to their complexity and unpredictability there are still many unanswered questions about their mechanics, so that many of the theoretical models in use are based on insufficient data sets and may not apply to a general case. Here, basal entrainment by geophysical gravity-driven flows is studied by isolating the process in idealised laboratory experiments. The avalanche is simplified and controlled in such a way that any changes can be confidently attributed to the entrainment process alone. Further, the methods available in the laboratory allow the continuous, passive study of entrainment, so that for the first time full data sets of internal measurements are obtained, from experiments ranging from simple to complex. The data obtained is easily exploited for confirmation of the mathematical models developed in this thesis. Experiments which simulated entraining avalanches as Newtonian dam-breaks along a horizontal flume and as viscoplastic dam-breaks along an inclined flume both showed an increase in front position, dependent on the amount of material available, amongst other changes. The experimental results allow the development of a theoretical thin-film model in both cases which is solved numerically and compares favourably with the data obtained. The Newtonian model reproduced the flow characteristics excellently and the viscoplastic model successfully simulated the effects of entrainable material. The possibility of performing similar experiments using a granular suspension is also investigated, with promising results. This work shows that the effect of entrainment on gravity-driven flows can be quantified and modelled mathematically as a non-local transport process. This has implications for hazard modelling: if the quantity of available loose material is known, and its characteristics are similar to those of the flowing avalanche, the avalanche and the entrainable bed can be modelled as a continuous flow over a rigid base. Thus it is suggested that the models developed be tested in more realistic cases, e.g. in the case of an avalanche entraining material with different characteristics, or in a more complex geometry, in order to better mimic what happens in nature.


Intended for MBAs, this case concerns the valuation of Netflix, Inc., which was the largest U.S. online movie rental subscription service in early 2009. After reviewing Netflix's historical financial and customer relationship performance, this case presents three approaches for valuing the firm in early 2009. The first is a company-level discounted cash flow analysis based on pro forma projections of revenues, earnings, and cash flow. The second approach attempts to judge whether the prevailing market value of Netflix was reasonable by comparing selected company ratios with those of comparable companies. The final approach is based on the assumption that Netflix's enterprise value (EV) was the sum of its current and future subscribers' values (discounted present values, to be exact). There is also a spreadsheet available for students (UVA-S-F-1610).


The rapid growth of demands that is being observed during the last few years shows the unavailability of current solutions to provide QoS. Since it is expected that these demands will continue to increase rapidly, much research is conducted so that more effective QoS schemes will be proposed. Current research is focusing on two architectures, the IntServ [6] and the DiffServ [5]. Researchers also understand the need to control the congestion level in the network, since congestion is one of the reasons that current Internet provides poor QoS. Recently, Resource Management in DiffServ (RMD) and Intergraded Dynamic Congestion Control (IDCC), two schemes, which aim at providing QoS, were proposed. Each one is focusing on a different issue that must be solved, in the context of QoS. RMD proposed in [1], extends the DiffServ principles with new ones, necessary to provide dynamic resource management and admission control in DiffServ domain. IDCC is controlling the traffic using information on the status of each queue in the network. It is based on a nonlinear model of the network that is generated using fluid flow consideration [16, 26, 27, 28]. Both schemes, RMD and IDCC, are using the basic principles of DiffServ architecture to aggregate the flow to classes. The aim of this Master Thesis is to integrate RMD and IDCC, in a more effective scheme, which will use the same framework and will be able to handle both real time and elastic applications. The basic goal is to secure high utilization and bounded delay and loss. Furthermore, the network is to comply with the demands each traffic class sets. In order to evaluate the proposed scheme, NS-2 simulator was used. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the integrated RMD IDCC scheme, since it secures all the desired network behavior and especially the expected high utilization, and bounded delay and loss.


The purpose of this research was firstly to compare the differences in online performance between two groups trained to use the Online Public Access Catalogue at the M L Sultan Technikon using two different types of instruction, namely the teaching methods of concept-based and procedural instruction. Secondly, the objective of the research was to compare these two teaching methods in relation to first year students at the M L Sultan Technikon with differing levels of library experience, computer experience and English language experience. To meet the objectives of the research, literature was reviewed and analysed from various sources. Original research was conducted using the method of a quasi-experiment. A random sample of 120 students were split between two teaching conditions, with sixty participants in a concept-based teaching condition and sixty participants in a procedural teaching condition. Research instruments used were a background questionnaire to collect demographic information, a pre-and post test to evaluate significant differences between the teaching methods, an evaluation questionnaire to collect affective responses, direct observation, and transaction log monitoring of the searches conducted. In a one-hour lecture the concept-based group were taught general search concepts using model-based instruction techniques and the procedural lecture demonstrated methods of searching in a step-by-step fashion. Data analysis made use of Microsoft Access 97 and Excell 97 software to code and verify the data, and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), v9.0 to conduct statistical analysis. The research found that first year students were generally inexperienced in the use of the online information retrieval system. The majority of the participants in the study did not have any computer experience, and made use of English as a second language. Others, although not in the majority were found to have low levels of library experience. Performance on pre-tests were generally low for these participants while those who had experience in the use of libraries, computers and who regarded English as a first language were able to make fair use of the system for simple tasks such as author and title. This suggested that prerequisite competencies needed for online searching were, library literacy, computer literacy and some proficiency in the use of English. Performance on search tasks found no significant differences on simple tasks between the teaching conditions. However, variances in performance as a result of individual differences were found. On difficult tasks participants fared better with concept-based instruction resulting in significant differences in performance. The findings of this research supported the need for online instruction to novice end-users, taking cognisance of the need for suitable venues equipped with adequate hardware, provision of staff, and allocation of sufficient time for such instruction. The research proposes that model-based teaching be encouraged, especially for difficult tasks. In the decisions made however, instruction must take note of the background of participants. Further proposals for instruction and other related aspects are discussed in the research.


Currently, dental patients are expectingthat restorative material should fulfill both aesthetic and functional excellence. Composite resin can meet these requirements but with the major limitation of shrinkage during polymerization. This shrinkage will be manifested as marginal leakage,marginal staining, subsequent secondary caries,cuspal deflection, tooth or restoration fracture, postoperative sensitivity which ultimately ends by a failed restoration.Polymerization shrinkage of composite resin generates high degree of stress at the tooth/restoration interface owing to the failure of resin-based composites. The magnitude of these stressesdepends on the composition of resin composites, its ability to flow before solidification,cavity configuration and curing characteristics of the composites.Since, polymerization shrinkage cannot be completely eliminated, various techniques has been suggested in the manipulation for resin based composites to minimize the shrinkage and associated stresses. The purpose of this article is to review on theorigin of polymerization shrinkage, various factors involved in the process of polymerization shrinkage,the clinical factors affecting polymerization stress and the various material science advances and techniques that are currently available to deal with polymerization shrinkage in a clinical practice.


The serial discontinuity concept (SDC) proposes that hypolimnetic‐releasing impoundments cause major disruptions to the naturally occurring physical, chemical and biological gradients of rivers but that this impact diminishes with distance downstream. Such a gradient in discharge, flow velocity and temperature regime occurs below a large hypolimnetic‐releasing impoundment, the Hume Dam, on the River Murray in south‐eastern Australia. To examine the effects of this disturbance gradient on a warm‐water large‐bodied freshwater fish, the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), a bioenergetics model was developed and calibrated to explore energy expended under differing water velocities and temperature regimes. Model simulations predicted negative growth of juveniles directly downstream of the impoundment, due largely to the energetic costs associated with active and, to a lesser extent, standard metabolism outweighing the achievable energetic gains through food consumption. As flow velocity and temperature regimes became more favourable downstream, so did the simulated growth of the species. It was not until +239 km downstream of the impoundment that the model predicted that flow velocity and temperature regimes were suitable for greater weight gains. The modelled growth responses of juvenile Murray cod are consistent with the predictions of the SDC, emphasising that changes in the bioenergetics of individuals are likely to be reflected in reduced growth rates under the changed flow velocity and temperature regimes imposed by disturbance gradients. This research represents a valuable step in the biological understanding of Murray cod within variable riverine environments and emphasises the urgency required to mitigate impacts associated with hypolimnetic impoundments.


Meta-planning, or learning to guide planning from experience, is a promising approach to improving the computational cost of planning. A general meta-planning strategy is to learn to impose constraints on the states considered and actions taken by the agent. We observe that (1) imposing a constraint can induce context-specific independences that render some aspects of the domain irrelevant, and (2) an agent can take advantage of this fact by imposing constraints on its own behavior. These observations lead us to propose the context-specific abstract Markov decision process (CAMP), an abstraction of a factored MDP that affords efficient planning. We then describe how to learn constraints to impose so the CAMP optimizes a trade-off between rewards and computational cost. Our experiments consider five planners across four domains, including robotic navigation among movable obstacles (NAMO), robotic task and motion planning for sequential manipulation, and classical planning. We find planning with learned CAMPs to consistently outperform baselines, including Stilman's NAMO-specific algorithm. Video: this https URL


This paper explores in what circumstances patent owners can be expected to join unilaterally a patent pool. We develop a simple model in which owners of patents reading on a standard grant licences to competing manufacturers. Manufacturers must sink a fixed cost to enter the market for standard compliant products, and are thus exposed to a hold up when royalties are set after their entry. We show that the formation of non-cooperative patent pools nearly always fails if it takes place once manufacturers have incurred fixed costs - as is usually the case. By contrast, allowing the formation of patent pools ex ante facilitates the emergence of stable non-cooperative patent pools. Such ex ante pools yield lower prices and higher licensing profits than ex post patent pools would. We discuss the policy implications of these results concerning the credibilty of licensing commitments required by standard setting bodies.


Ca2+ ions play a vital signalling role in a vast range of physiological and pathological processes. NAADP is a major component of the intracellular Ca2+ signalling milieu, releasing Ca2+ from acidic organelles to generate both local and global responses. Over the past 7 years, Two-pore Channels (TPCs) have emerged as the likely target for NAADP. However, unlike many of the other channels within their voltage-gated ion channel superfamily, TPCs remain poorly characterised at a molecular level. Their pharmacology is also limited to a handful of non-selective inhibitors of other channels. Furthermore, the functional interplay between TPC-mediated local and global Ca2+ signalling remains ill-defined. This thesis takes a highly interdisciplinary approach to address these shortcomings- to investigate the molecular physiology of the TPCs. First, I dissected both of the divergent pore regions from human TPC2 and expressed them individually in HeLa cells, where they depleted the ER of Ca2+. After heterologous expression in E. coli cells, I purified a stable, folded and functional pore- only tetramer. My results suggest that both pore regions from TPC2 assemble and function even in the absence of their partner, retaining several key properties of the wildtype channel. Second, to diversify the TPC pharmacology away from non- selective channel inhibitors, I virtually screened a library of FDA-approved drugs against a structural model of TPC2. By cross-referencing these data with in vitro drug screens against a TPC-mediated disease, I identified eight novel, putative TPC inhibitors with reasonable potency and selectivity. Finally, I generated a computational model of local lysosome-ER Ca2+ signalling, guided by experimental observations. The model suggests that Ca2+ microdomains can both drive and modulate global signalling responses, depending on the 'expression' pattern of TPCs. Together this research provides a set of tools and an experimental framework with which to further characterise the molecular physiology of TPCs.


Various types of solids conveyed with rainfall and snowmelt runoff into receiving waters cause numerous environmental impacts, including reduced sunlight penetration, blanketing of fish spawning substrates, and transport of pollutants contributing to aquatic pollution. For the assessment of such impacts, it is important to measure solids concentrations in both runoff and snowmelt. In this study, accuracies of three analytical methods used to measure solids were assessed: (a) A TSS (total suspended solids) method, (b) Suspended sediment method (SSC-B), and (c) a multiple filter method (MFM). For rainfall runoff samples containing 90% of particles smaller than 5 µm, the MFM measurements produced concentrations significantly higher than those obtained with SSC-B and TSS methods, at a 95% confidence level. In the case of snowmelt runoff, the SSC-B and MFM methods yielded similar concentrations, which were 10-20% higher than those measured by the TSS method, and the coefficient of variation of repeated TSS readings was up to three times higher than that of the former methods. The results indicate the importance of choosing the "best" analytical method for assessing the operational and environmental impacts of solids conveyed by urban runoff and snowmelt.


TiCl 4 and ZrCl 4 each react with aryl substituted heteroaromatic ligands such as 2-Phenyl-1H-indole, to thermally undergo one-pot direct orthometallations, and yield new types of cyclometallated complexes. TiCl 4 coordinates at ambient temperature to form the indole complex ( 1 ), which undergoes isomerization to the indolenine ( 2 ). DFT calculations indicate that complex ( 2 ) is more stable than ( 1 ) by 6.4 kcal/mol. Upon warming to about 105°C, extrusion of HCl takes place with simultaneous orthometallation ( 3 ), yielding a metallacyclic complex ( 4 ). The mechanism of the orthometallation has been investigated by DFT, and the transition state c onfir med by IRC. At the elevated temperature the transition state ( 3 ) involves the synchronous transformation of four atoms, Ti, ortho C, H, and the apical Cl. The ortho C of the phenyl group acquires a partial positive charge through conjugation, forming a (C-H)δ + ...Clδ - interaction, with a simultaneous elongation and breaking of the Ti-Cl bond, resulting in the formation of a Ti-C bond. The latter bond is created at the same time a Ti-Cl bond is breaking, and an HCl is being formed, as illustrated in transition state ( 3 ). This HCl is retained in the crystal structure of the final product ( 4 ), by electrostatic interaction with one of the chloride ligands. The reaction sequence may be repeated with ZrCl 4 in place of TiCl 4 . Complex ( 4 ) has been isolated and characterized by solid state 13 C NMR CPMAS/DDMAS spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared and analytical data. The intermediate structures ( 1 through 4 ), as well as the sequence of ligand transformations to produce the ortho-metallated complex are supported by DFT calculations. The new cyclometallated complexes are thermally stable, unlike several other complexes featuring a Ti-C bond. They may have important applications, such as in α-olefin polymerization catalysis, and as building blocks in metalodrugs for cancer therapy.


In this research, the writer focuses on the analysis of implicature or implied meaning found in the life insurance's advertisements published This study is limited on analyzing the advertisement containing pictures. They could be used as the context of the analysis. Therefore, the writer could find out the implicature of the slogans. There are three steps in doing this research; collecting data, analyzing data and presenting the result of data analysis. In collecting the data, 12 slogans of the advertisements were taken from internet. Those data were chosen based on some characteristics. They should have illustrations and pictures in order to help the writer in finding the implicature. Furthermore, the data are analyzed by applying the pragmatics identity method to investigate the data descriptively. The theory used is proposed by Grice and Mey. The finding of the data is presented by using formal and informal method. From the analysis, the writer found some implied meanings in the life insurance slogans. They are related to financial solution, safe and enjoyable life, health protection, solution to future plans, and a great life solution which can be acquired when joining the company of the life insurance. In general, the slogans promote the quality of the company implicitly. Keywords: implicature, context, implied meaning


Rats offered chow, lard, and 30% sucrose solution (choice) rapidly become obese. We tested metabolic disturbances in rats offered choice, chow+lard, or chow+30% sucrose solution [chow+liquid sucrose (LS)] and compared them with rats fed a composite 60% kcal fat, 7% sucrose diet [high-fat diet (HFD)], or a 10% kcal fat, 35% sucrose diet [low-fat diet (LFD)]. Choice rats had the highest energy intake, but HFD rats gained the most weight. After 23 days carcass fat was the same for choice, HFD, chow+lard, and chow+LS groups. Glucose clearance was the same for all groups during an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (GTT) on day 12, but fasting insulin was increased in choice, LFD fed, and chow+LS rats. By contrast, only choice and chow+LS rats were resistant to an intraperitoneal injection of 2 mg leptin/kg on day 17. In experiment 2 choice rats were insulin insensitive during an intraperitoneal GTT, but this was corrected in an oral GTT due to GLP-1 release. UCP-1 protein was increased in brown fat and inguinal white fat in choice rats, and this was associated with a significant increase in energy expenditure of choice rats during the dark period whether expenditure was expressed on a per animal or a metabolic body size basis. The increase in expenditure obviously was not great enough to prevent development of obesity. Further studies are required to determine the mechanistic basis of the rapid onset of leptin resistance in choice rats and how consumption of sucrose solution drives this process.


In this paper, we propose a novel SAT-based planning approach to solve totally ordered hierarchical planning problems. Our approach called "Tree-like Reduction Exploration" (Tree-REX) makes two contributions: (1) it allows to rapidly solve hierarchical planning problems by making effective use of incremental SAT solving, and (2) it implements an anytime approach that gradually improves plan quality (makespan) as time resources are allotted. Incremental SAT solving is important as it reduces the encoding volume of planning problems, it builds on information obtained from previous search iterations and speeds up the search for plans. We show that Tree-REX outperforms state-of-the-art SAT-based HTN planning with respect to run times and plan quality on most of the considered IPC domains.


We continue to investigate the use of trust management techniques to specify dynamic policies in complex integrated service-oriented networks. For this work, we use the DoD GIG's service-oriented architecture as a focal point. In this research's initial phase, we are developing prototype dynamic trust management policy services for a service-oriented architecture. In our research's next phase, we will develop and analyze policies with properties that maintain strict separation between services while allowing exceptions. Finally, we are developing improved trust management languages and systems that more explicitly support dynamic policies in service-oriented architectures, based on the semantic and performance experiences gained in the research's first phases. Our focus will be twofold. First, we will explore adding trust-management language features that better support dynamic policies, based both on our experiences in the initial research and on the GIG's specific requirements. Second, we will conduct experiments to measure the performance implications of incorporating the trust management layer in the various layers of such systems. A significant open research question is whether trust management is architecturally best implemented as a low-level operating system service, an application-layer service, or somewhere in between.


Abstract The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation for the Witches' broom disease of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) phytoplasma for the EU territory. The pest has been reported in a few countries in the Middle East and is not known to occur in the EU. The disease is caused by a well‐defined phytoplasma strain in the 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia' species, for which efficient molecular detection assays are available. The most important known natural host is Citrus aurantifolia, which is only grown for ornamental purposes in the EU. Sweet limes, rough lemon and trifoliate orange are also naturally infected by that phytoplasma. The latter can be transmitted by grafting also to some citrus species. Other citrus species were reported to be resistant; however, their susceptibility has been assessed only by symptom observations, and the possible presence of phytoplasmas in symptomless plants cannot be ruled out. The phytoplasma is transmitted by the leafhopper Hishimonus phycitis, which is not known to occur in the EU. There is no information on the vector status of other phloem feeding insects of citrus present in the EU. The pest is listed in Annex IIAI of Directive 2000/29/EC. The main pathways for entry, plants for planting and the vector insect, are closed by existing legislation on import of citrus plants. Nevertheless, should the pest enter, it could establish and spread. In countries where Witches' broom disease of lime (WBDL) is present, it has significant impact. The main knowledge gaps concern (1) and vertical transmission of the phytoplasma to H. phycitis eggs (2) lack of information regarding susceptibility of citrus crops grown in the EU (3) status of potential insect vectors in the EU. Therefore, the WBDL phytoplasma meets the criteria assessed by EFSA for consideration as a potential Union quarantine pest.


SYNOPSIS Objective . This article identifies patterns of mothering in low-income families from three ethnic groups and explores whether those patterns yield similar associations with child outcomes. Design . A person-centered within-group approach was used to examine observed patterns of mothering among European American (n = 740), African American (n = 604), and Mexican American (n = 322) low-income mothers and their 1-year-olds who were participating in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Cluster analytic techniques were employed using four dimensions of mothering coded from videotapes: supportiveness, directiveness/intrusiveness, negative regard, and detachment. Results . Three similar mothering patterns were seen within each ethnic group: Supportive (48%–52%), Directive (29%–30%), and Detached (14%–19%). Although the patterns of mothering were similar, mean scores on discrete mothering behaviors differed across ethnic groups. A fourth pattern—Harsh—was found among European American and African American mothers and was characterized by high levels of negativity (5%–7%). Associations between mothering patterns and three child outcomes at ages 2 and 3 years (cognitive test score, emotional regulation, and engagement of mother) validated cluster solutions and revealed some variation in prediction across ethnic groups. However, Supportive mothering was optimal in all three ethnic groups. Conclusions . Within-group analyses permitted identification of ethnically meaningful mothering patterns. Across the ethnic groups, within-group structures of mothering were similar with comparable predictive power for child outcomes despite group differences in the magnitudes of mean scores for constructs such as supportiveness and directiveness.


Though the motions of macroscopic objects must ultimately be governed by quantum mechanics, the distinctive features of quantum mechanics can be hidden or washed out by thermal excitations and coupling to the environment. For the work of this thesis, we tried to develop a hybrid system consisting a classical and a quantum component, which can be used to probe the quantum nature of both these components. This hybrid system quadratically coupled a nanomechanical oscillator (NMO) with a single spin in presence of a uniform external magnetic field.

The NMO was fabricated out of single-layer graphene, grown using Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and patterned using various lithography and etching techniques. The NMO was driven electrically and detected optically. The NMO's resonant frequencies, and their stabilities were studied.

The spin originated from a nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in a diamond nanocrystal which is positioned on the NMO. In presence of an external magnetic field, we show that the NV centers are excellent $\theta^{2}$ sensors. Their sensitivity is shown to increase much faster than linearly with the external magnetic field and diverges as the external field approaches an internally-defined limit.

Both these components of the hybrid system get coupled by physical placement of NV-containing diamond nanocrystals on top of NMO undergoing torsional mode of oscillation, in presence of an external magnetic field. The capability of the NV centers to detect the quadratic behavior of the oscillation angle of the NMO with excellent sensitivity, ensures quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement of both components of the hybrid system. This enables a bridge between the quantum and classical worlds for a simple readout of the NV center spin and observation of the discrete states of the NMO. This system could become the building block for a wide range of quantum nanomechanical devices.


The last half-century in particular has seen the recurrent use of religious Islam as ideology, often referred to as political Islam or Islamism, in groups espousing the establishment of an Islamic state. Attention was drawn to Afghanistan when it became the rallying point for Islamists in the 1980s. However, the earlier appearance of an Islamist movement in Afghanistan in the 1960s and its subsequent development offer an instructive, unique lesson in understanding Islam and Islamism in Afghan society. This overview of the Islamist movement in Afghanistan is divided into three parts: It begins by defining the differing manifestations of Islam in Afghanistan, indicating how Islamism differs from or draws upon each manifestation in constructing its own vision. Then, the broader context of Islamism elsewhere in the Muslim world is discussed and analyzed. Although the theoretical basis for Islamism was constructed in the 1960s by Abu 'Ala Mawdudi in Pakistan and Sayyid Qutb in Egypt, this paper will show that the Islamist movement in Afghanistan did not mirror those in either of these countries. To this end, this paper reviews the thought of the above-mentioned theoreticians of Islamism, and outlines historical and social conditions that colored the implementation of their models in their respective countries. This leads back to a discussion of the Afghan context, which makes up the final part of the paper. It is necessary to review salient aspects of the traditional structure of Afghan society, and the role Islam has historically played in Afghanistan to understand how the Islamist experience was shaped and constrained by this structure, as well as how the Islamist experience has altered it. As Afghanistan is now faced with the monumental task of rebuilding a state and legal system, Islamists are attempting to influence the reconstruction. This overview will underscore for those observing and participating in this process the importance of understanding the Afghan Islamist perspective, its historical underpinnings, and current demands.


AND-34, a novel GDP exchange factor, is expressed constitutively at significant levels in murine splenic B cells, but not in murine splenic T cells or thymocytes. In B cell lines, anti-IgM treatment up-regulates AND-34 transcript levels. B cell AND-34 associates with both the docking molecules p130Cas and HEF1. AND-34 binds by its GDP exchange factor domain to the C terminus of HEF1, a region of HEF1 previously implicated in apoptotic, adhesion, and cell cycle-regulated signaling. Overexpression of AND-34 in murine B cell lines activates the Rho family GTPase Cdc42, but not Rac, Rho, RalA, or Rap1. Consistent with this, a subpopulation of AND-34 overexpressing B cells have long filamentous actin-containing cellular extensions. AND-34 overexpression augments both autophosphorylation and kinase activity of the Cdc42/Rac-responsive serine/threonine kinase PAK1. As previously reported for lymphoid cells transfected with constitutively active Cdc42, AND-34 overexpression inhibits SDF-1α-induced B cell polarization. These studies suggest that p130Cas and HEF1-associated AND-34 may regulate B cell adhesion and motility through a Cdc42-mediated signaling pathway.


Faculty members play a central role in the development, implementation, and long-term sustainability of online and blended education programs. Therefore, faculty recruitment and retention strategies for these programs must align with the needs of the faculty. This article highlights the results of an institutional study conducted at a public comprehensive university in 2012 that examined factors influencing faculty participation and retention in online and blended education. This article also provides a comparative overview of the results of a similar institutional study conducted at The George Washington University (GWU) in 1997 that examined factors influencing faculty participation in distance education. The original surveys from the 1997 GWU study were updated for the 2012 Armstrong study. The results revealed that while technology and learning platforms have continued to evolve over the past 15 years, many of the needs and concerns of faculty are relatively similar. The results also revealed that faculty involvement is quintessential in the development and expansion of online and blended programs as well as in the design of faculty development initiatives.


This paper presents the implementation of a vehicle and powertrain model of the parallel hybrid electric vehicle which can be used for several purposes: as a model for estimating fuel consumption, as a model for estimating performance, and as a control model for the hybrid powertrain optimisation. The model is specified as a multi-domain physical model in MATLAB Simscape, which captures the key electrical, mechanical and thermal energy flows in the vehicles. By applying hand crafted boundary conditions, this model can be simulated either in the forwards or backwards direction, and it can easily be simplified as required to address specific control problems.

Modelling in the forwards direction, the driver inputs are specified, and the vehicle response is the model output. In the backwards direction, the vehicle velocity as a function of time is the specified input, and the engine torque, and fuel consumption are the model outputs.

The model represents a parallel hybrid vehicle, which is being developed in the TC48 project. The project goal is to produce a prototype of a plug-in parallel hybrid system which is integrated into existing front wheel drive powertrains with modest additional engineering, cost, volume, and mass requirements.

This paper explains the motivation for the project, and presents examples of the simulations which were used to guide the design. The vehicle simulation models used to evaluate the layout options are described and discussed. Sensitivity analyses are presented which informed the design decisions.

A novel use of the Simscape component of MATLAB/Simulink which allows the same model structure to be used for both forwards and backwards simulations is demonstrated. This method has the possibility for more general application, and a toolbox is being developed which assists the generation of mathematical models of this type.


Traditional fault-tolerance mechanisms concentrate almost entirely on responding to, avoiding, or tolerating unexpected faults or security violations. However, scheduled events, such as software upgrades, account for most of the system unavailability and often introduce data corruption or latent errors. Through two empirical studies, this dissertation identifies the leading causes of upgrade failure—breaking hidden dependencies—and of planned downtime—complex data conversions—in distributed enterprise systems. These findings represent the foundation of a new benchmark for software-upgrade dependability.
This dissertation further introduces the AIR properties—A TOMICITY, ISOLATION and RUNTIME-TESTING—required for improving the dependability of distributed systems that undergo major software upgrades. The AIR properties are realized in Imago, a system designed to reduce both planned and unplanned downtime by upgrading distributed systems end-to-end. Imago builds upon the idea of isolating the production system from the upgrade operations, in order to avoid breaking hidden dependencies and to decouple the data conversions from the normal system operation. Imago includes novel mechanisms, such as providing a parallel universe for the new version, performing data conversions opportunistically, intercepting the live workload at the ingress and egress points or executing an atomic switchover to the new version, which allow it to deliver the AIR properties.
Imago harnesses opportunities provided by the emerging cloud-computing technologies, by trading resource overhead (needed by the parallel universe) for an improved dependability of the software upgrades. This approach separates the functional aspects of the upgrade from the mechanisms for online upgrade, enabling an upgrade-as-a-service model. This dissertation also describes techniques for assessing the impact of software upgrades, in order to reason about the implications of relaxing the AIR guarantees .


The Powers of Genre describes a method for interpreting oral literature that enables dialogue between insiders and outsiders to a tradition. Seitel illustrates this method with lively examples from Haya (from Northwestern Tanzania) proverbs, folktales, and heroic verse. He then focuses on a single epic ballad to demonstrate, among other things, why stanzas need not rhyme, and how significance needs time in oral poetry and narrative. He makes a controversial claim that an heroic age, similar to that of Ancient Greece, existed in Sub-Saharan Africa. The work should interest anyone who works in oral literature and narrative - folklorists, literary critics, anthropologists, linguists, and Africanists.


Transparent electrodes made from metal oxides suffer from poor flexibility and durability. Highly transparent and electrically conductive thin films were assembled as a potential indium tin oxide (ITO) replacement using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), stabilized with negatively charged deoxycholate (DOC), and positively charged poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) [PDDA]. Ellipsometry, quartz crystal microbalance, and UV-vis were used to measure the linear growth of these films as a function of the number of bilayers deposited, while TEM and SEM were used to visualize the morphology of these films. The PDDA/(SWNT + DOC) system produced transparent (>82% visible light transmittance) and electrically conductive (∼160 S cm−1) 20-bilayer films with a 38.4 nm thickness. Moreover, a series of post-treatments, involving heating and nitric acid doping, were used to increase conductivity to 1430 S cm−1 (Rs ≈ 300 Ω sq−1), with no change in transparency, owing to the removal of PDDA and the charge transfer doping. This study demonstrates high visible light transmittance and electrical conductivity of SWNT-based thin films, which are potentially useful as flexible transparent electrodes for a variety of optoelectronic applications.


Participation in academic discussions and peer collaboration activities is instrumental to student engagement, motivation, and mastery of course content. These activities also improve 21st century skills, such as listening, managing diverse viewpoints, and communicating effectively. Although online learning options in the United States have dramatically increased in the past decade, there is limited evidence that online high school courses offer sufficient opportunities for students to communicate and collaborate with teachers and peers. The purpose of this mixed-methods study seeks to find out if, how, and why students interact with others in online courses. Findings from observations of five high school students engaging in online coursework indicate that they rarely, if ever, engage in peer collaboration and academic discourse activities. Teacher perspectives (n = 49), shared through an online questionnaire, show that academic discourse activities are considered valuable and feasible, but there are numerous challenges to successful implementation in online learning environments (such as scheduling and timing issues). Taken together, findings reveal a troubling contradiction: Whereas many online educators report facilitating activities promoting meaningful communicative exchanges, direct observation shows that students seldom encounter such opportunities, and when they are offered, students often choose to opt out. Further exploration sheds light on several constraints as well as possible affordances for providing interactive activities in online learning environments.


Tourism is one of the most dynamic and far-reaching economic sectors in the world. Numerous different and complex activities are involved in the efficient development of tourism. These activities interrelate economic, environmental, social, cultural and political dimensions in the overall supply chain. However, apart from its key role as a driver of socio-economic progress, tourism is responsible for environmental deterioration, not only in areas popular with tourists, but also by enhancing climate change globally. This paper presents a robust method based on the Green Tourism Supply Chain Management (GTSCM) concept, which can be used to estimate the effect on the environment that can be attributed to each link of the supply chain. The overall approach is based on Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) theory and corresponding models. A case study to demonstrate the applicability of this approach is presented for two large seaside hotels located in Chalkidiki, Greece. Chalkidiki is the most popular tourist destination in Northern Greece. A LCIA questionnaire was developed and input data for the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) obtained from the hotel managers. For this LCA SimaPro 8 software was used. The LCIA methods chosen were Eco-indicator 99 and CML 2001. The effect on fossil fuel consumption of both hotels due to their use of local transport and electricity was considerable but less than that needed for transporting the tourists by air to Chalkidiki. This paper clearly indicates that LCA and Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) can form the basis for promoting GTSCM in the tourism industry.


Since the development of the first protein kinase inhibitor in the early 1980s, followed by the FDA approval of imatinib in 2001, kinases are one of the most intensively pursued targets in current medicinal chemistry research. These proteins are overrepresented in various diseases such as cancer, inflammation or autoimmune pathologies and play important roles in their physiopathogenic processes. Despite the development and approval of numerous potent kinase inhibitors, drug resistance and off‐target side effects are commonly encountered with kinase inhibitors. Thus, development of novel strategies to overcome these problems is necessary. Since 2013, many research groups have proposed the conversion of potent kinase inhibitors into PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera (PROTAC) compounds and shared relevant and encouraging results using this new technology, which degrades proteins by employing the cellular machinery. Generally, this strategy brings enhancements in biological effects compared to the use of only the parent inhibitor. In this review article, recent findings related to the PROTAC technology applied to kinases are discussed, with a special focus on publications since 2018.


In this article, we explore an alternative to the analytical Gauss–Bonnet approach for computing the solvent‐accessible surface area (SASA) and its nuclear gradients. These two key quantities are required to evaluate the nonelectrostatic contribution to the solvation energy and its nuclear gradients in implicit solvation models. We extend a previously proposed analytical approach for finite systems based on the stereographic projection technique to infinite periodic systems such as polymers, nanotubes, helices, or surfaces and detail its implementation in the Crystal code. We provide the full derivation of the SASA nuclear gradients, and introduce an iterative perturbation scheme of the atomic coordinates to stabilize the gradients calculation for certain difficult symmetric systems. An excellent agreement of computed SASA with reference analytical values is found for finite systems, while the SASA size‐extensivity is verified for infinite periodic systems. In addition, correctness of the analytical gradients is confirmed by the excellent agreement obtained with numerical gradients and by the translational invariance achieved, both for finite and infinite periodic systems. Overall therefore, the stereographic projection approach appears as a general, simple, and efficient technique to compute the key quantities required for the calculation of the nonelectrostatic contribution to the solvation energy and its nuclear gradients in implicit solvation models applicable to both finite and infinite periodic systems.


New possible nanotechnology applications of some original developments and results of studying the regularities and micromechanisms (physics) of the hydrogen °uoride gas activa- tor in°uence on oxidation of titanium, zirconium and zirconium-based alloys with niobium, and also - on nitriding, boriding and carbiding a series of refractory metals (Ti, Zr, Nb, Mo, W, Ta) are elaborated. The new possible nanotechnology applications of the techniques and physics of creating a compound-like nanosegregation or the liquid-like nanosegregation at grain bound- aries in nanostructured metals, i.e. creating of speci¯c cellular type natural nanocomposites, are considered as well.


Abstract Increasing research has been devoted to examining collaborations between public and private actors in environmental regulation under neoliberal democracies. However, this public-private interaction in authoritarian regimes remains understudied. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature through an empirical examination of the interaction between environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and procuratorates in China's environmental public interest litigation. We find emerging complementarity: NGOs focus on new issues and target high-profile defendants to increase the socio-legal impact of their civil litigation, whereas procuratorates increasingly engage in administrative litigation against government agencies. This complementarity is shaped by the different legal opportunities for Chinese NGOs and procuratorates, as well as their respective institutional objectives and capacities. Their divergent regulatory preferences have also fostered synergy between these two actors, allowing them to collaborate on legal experimentation and innovation.


Limit cycle oscillations (LCOs) have been observed in flight for certain modern high-performance aircraft. The nonlinear physical mechanism responsible for the LCOs is still in doubt, even to the point of it not yet being determined whether the nonlinearity is principally in the flexible elastic structure of the aircraft or due to the fluid behavior in the surrounding aerodynamic flowfield. One observation from flight tests is that by changing the angle of attack of aircraft, the flight velocity at which LCOs begin may be raised or lowered and that the amplitude of the LCOs may be reduced. It has been suggested that this sensitivity to angle of attack indicates the nonlinearity is in the fluid rather than in the structure. We show that such effects of an angle of attack change can be the result of a structural nonlinearity. Specifically, an investigation to determine the effects of a steady angle of attack on nonlinear flutter and LCO of a delta wing-plate model in low subsonic flow has been made. A three-dimensional time domain vortex lattice aerodynamic model and a reduced order aerodynamic technique were used, and the structure is modeled using von Karman plate theory that allows for geometric strain-displacement nonlinearities in the delta wing structure. The results provide new insights into nonlinear aeroelastic phenomena not previously widely appreciated, i.e., LCOs for low aspect ratio wings that have a platelike nonlinear structural behavior. The effects of a steady angle of attack on both the flutter boundary and the LCOs are found to be significant. For a small steady angle of attack, α 0 ≤ 0.1 deg, the flutter onset velocity increases, whereas for larger α 0 , it decreases. Moreover, as α 0 increases, the maximum LCO amplitude decreases substantially. Such effects have been observed by Bunton and Denegri in flight flutter experiments. It is noted that the present theoretical results do not prove that the LCOs phenomena observed in flight are due to structural nonlinearities; however, the results of the present analysis are consistent with those observed in flight and do show that a structural nonlinearity can give rise to the observed effects of angle of attack on the LCOs.


Search for an unknown set A,Card(A) = s, of significant variables of a linear model with random IID discrete binary carriers and finitely supported IID noise is studied. Two statistics T1, Ts, based on maximization of Shannon Information (SI) of the corresponding classes of joint empirical input-output distributions, are proposed inspired by the related study in Csiszar and Korner (1981). The first one compares sequences of values of each variable and of the output separately. The second one explores the relation between the subsets of the (N x t) design matrix corresponding to each subset of variables of given cardinality and the output sequence. Here N is the number of experiments and t is the total number of variables. Both statistics are shown to be asymptotically as efficient as the ML-test for the corresponding classes of joint empirical distributions in the artificial case when ML-test is applicable: if the unknown parameters bλ, λ Є A, of the model and the distribution of errors are known. Our tests do not require this information. Therefore, they are asymptotically uniformly most efficient in the corresponding classes of tests. The second statistic is shown to provide asymptotically best rate of search for the set A of significant variables when tCE but requires about ts log t cycles of computing. This may appear in accessible for actual computations in some applications. The first statistic requires only t log t cycles of computing operations and provides the best order of magnitude of the characteristics studied for the second class of tests.


Chemotherapy could be greatly improved if drug carriers could deliver the chemotherapeutic agents specifically to the cancer cells. SINTEF Materials and Chemistry have developed a novel, multimodal polymeric nanoparticle platform which is promising for drug delivery and other medical applications. In this thesis, nanoparticles made of biodegradable poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) were used to investigate intracellular localization of the nanoparticles. In addition, the effect of drug encapsulated in the nanoparticles was evaluated. PC3 cells and HeLa cells were used. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to study colocalization between the nanoparticles and lysosomes. Lysosomes were stained with CellLight® LysosomesGFP, while the nanoparticles were loaded with the fluorescent dye NR668. Very few nanoparticles were taken up by PC3 cells, but most of them was found to colocalize with lysosomes. The results from these experiments strengthens the hypothesize of endocytotic uptake of the nanoparticles. AlamarBlue® cell viability assay was used to study the impact of encapsulated drug on cell proliferation, while flow cytometry was used to assess the impact of encapsulated drug on the cell cycle distribution. Drug encapsulated in nanoparticles was found to work very similar to free drug. This indicates that the nanoparticles or the released drug are able to escape the lysosomes. In addition it proves that the encapsulation process does not alter this drug in such a way that it becomes ineffective.


Introduction: COVID-19 has a long incubation period, is highly contagious but lacks definite cure. It has evolved into a pandemic resulting in global outcry. Preventive measures include hand washing or sanitization, maintaining social distance, face mask, quarantine etc. Orthopaedic surgeons are considered a high-risk group, due to the aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) they need to perform. A good knowledge and attitude are essential to prevent the contraction and spread of the virus.
Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study done in the form of online survey via e-mail among the registered Orthopaedic surgeons of Nepal. A four-point Likert scale was used for single option answer. Ethical approval was obtained. Descriptive analysis of data was performed by Microsoft Excel.
Result: Out of 123 responses, on the main issues regarding hand washing, social distancing and face masks, majority (>85%) of the Orthopaedicians had a good knowledge and attitude. Around 14% disagreed on Orthopaedic surgeries being AGPs. Majority (>90%) had a positive perception about implementation of preventive measures. More than 90% of the respondents believed that hospital meetings/teaching learning activities/presentations can be effectively conducted through virtual platforms.
Conclusion: Study found that most Orthopaedic surgeons have good knowledge and attitude regarding COVID-19. Importance of hand hygiene, social distancing, surgical mask, and well-ventilated rooms were well understood. Most perceived AGPs is a high risk procedure. Study found need of awareness on doffing of PPE. Online platforms were felt effective for most meetings and clinical consultations.