Gender and Slave Emancipation in the Atlantic World. Edited by Pamela Scully and Diana Paton. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2005. Pp. ix, 376; 2 maps. $84.95 cloth, $23.95 paper. From the moment readers pick up Gender and Slave Emancipation in the Atlantic World, they are introduced to some of its main themes. The visually striking cover illustration and design are perfectly appropriate for the editors' major premises that "gender was central to slave emancipation and to the making of the nineteenth-century Atlantic world" (p. 1) and thaf'lgjender both helped construct and was itself constructed through class and racial categories" (p. 2). Pamela Scully and Diana Paton's introductory essay "Gender and Slave Emancipation in Comparative Perspective" therefore goes further than merely examining the gendered experiences of emancipation, exploring how gender was constructed by the social transformation wrought by the end of slavery. This perspective implies more than focusing attention on the experiences of slave women in defining their freedom. Men and women fought to define their gender roles particularly in terms of the creation of families, which further implied the struggle of men to assert their authority over women and children as heads of households. Although arguing for how a multiplicity of Atlantic Worlds decenters the American-Europe nexus is hardly new, the essays in this volume collectively show how very different historical contexts can together underscore common experiences of struggles over appropriate feminine and masculine roles, family formation, household labor practices, and participation in the public sphere. Stressing that the period of emancipation stretched over a century from the revolutionary transformation of Haiti to the much more gradual end of slavery in the French colonies in West Africa, Paton and Scully point out that there were further intermediate struggles for partial freedoms before emancipation and more struggles to define and claim the freedom promised after the official end of slavery in various colonies and states. The tensions around expectations of emancipation for state officials, slave owners, freed people, abolitionists, and missionaries all played themselves out in struggles over what were considered the rights and obligations of the men and women, categorized further by race and class, who were members of these social groups. The collection contains the introduction by Paton and Scully, fourteen chapters, and a very useful bibliographic essay written by Paton. The editors have ordered the chapters into three thematic sections: Pan I "Men, Women, and Citizens"; Part II "Families, Land, and Labor"; and Part III "The Public Sphere in the Age of Emancipation." This choice of themes helps the reader digest the range of case studies offered and they can be read fruitfully in many different combinations. Most obviously, each chapter focuses on a specific geographical region. Seven cover the Caribbean, three the United States, and two each for Brazil and Africa. The thematic division of the chapters helps to mitigate the obvious concentration on the Caribbean. The introduction by Paton and Scullythe only comparative essay of the collection-elegantly weaves the chapters into a coherent narrative form that makes sensible the choice of placement into the broader sections. One way to read across the sections is to examine a theme common to many of the chapters, the role of children in the process of emancipation. It is well known that slave women experienced not only sexual exploitation but also the added burden of bearing children who were slaves and therefore themselves experienced exploitation from a young age through the absence of parental care, claims to labor, and sexual abuse. The gendering of emancipation was foremost experienced through the withdrawal of women's labor as a strategy for their own and their children's protection through the reconstitution of families. …


Solution-Guided Multi-Point Constructive Search (SGMPCS) is a novel constructive search technique that performs a series of resource-limited tree searches where each search begins either from an empty solution (as in randomized restart) or from a solution that has been encountered during the search. A small number of these "elite" solutions is maintained during the search. We introduce the technique and perform three sets of experiments on the job shop scheduling problem. First, a systematic, fully crossed study of SGMPCS is carried out to evaluate the performance impact of various parameter settings. Second, we inquire into the diversity of the elite solution set, showing, contrary to expectations, that a less diverse set leads to stronger performance. Finally, we compare the best parameter setting of SGMPCS from the first two experiments to chronological backtracking, limited discrepancy search, randomized restart, and a sophisticated tabu search algorithm on a set of well-known benchmark problems. Results demonstrate that SGMPCS is significantly better than the other constructive techniques tested, though lags behind the tabu search.


Most industrial, commercial, and educational facilities depend heavily on telecommunications, data, and computer networks. In many petrochemical installations, the functions of all three types of facilities are combined into one location. These facilities often experience problems with signal quality and noise on communication lines because of the proximity of high-speed, low-level signals to higher power lines. Additionally, electrical safety and various code issues must be addressed. Topics such as multiple ground systems, connections to ground, potential difference, circulating currents, and wiring methods are discussed. Eleven different systems must be bonded together. Three areas specific to networks require special attention. These are equipment bonding, isolated earth ground, and isolated power systems. Finally, cathodic protection systems have a unique impact on grounding systems.


The Great Recession, which was preceded by the financial crisis, resulted in higher unemployment and inequality. We propose a simple model where firms producing varieties face labor-market frictions and credit constraints. In the model, tighter credit leads to lower output, lower number of vacancies, and higher directed-search unemployment. Where workers are more productive at higher levels of firm output, lower credit supply increases firm capital intensity, raises inequality by increasing the rental of capital relative to the wage, and has an ambiguous effect on welfare. At initial high levels of labor share in total costs tighter credit lowers welfare. This pattern reverses during an expansionary phase caused by higher credit availability.


Extracted from text ... The Vienna School of Clinical Research (VSCR)
mined number of courses and workshops can lead to the acquisition
of a VSCR diploma (basic and advanced level) for certification
of special experience in clinical research.
The School does have an admission criteria, a limit to the numbers
admitted per module, selection criteria for scholarships, and
accreditation processes. More information is available on the
School's website: www.vscr.at.
I have been fortunate to receive a scholarship from the School to
do some courses in 2004/2005. I am following the Health Outcomes
Research stream, and have so far done 2 of the 3 ..


Lamont and Frazzini (2007) document that a trading strategy consisting of buying every stock expected to announce within the coming month and selling short every stock not expected to announce the coming month generates a l arge and statistically significant earnings announcement premium in the U.S. stock mar et between 1972 and 2004. Lamont and Frazzini (2007) claim that the main explanation for the earnings announcement premium is uninformed or irrational demand by individual in vestors, coupled with imperfect arbitrage by sophisticated investors. Their results are not in accordance with weak-form market efficiency in the U.S. stock market in the sense th at historical information can be used to predict future stock prices. This thesis will test if related trading strategies based on predicted quarterly earnings announcement dates gen erat s an earnings announcement premium at the Oslo Stock Exchange in the period be twe n 1999 and 2007. Contrasting with the results of Lamont and Frazzini (2007) the results presented in this thesis, that are not statistically significant, sho w that various versions of the trading strategy based on predicted earnings announcement dates seem to generate negative monthly average excess returns. Further, a L/S portfolio trading st rategy based on actual announcement dates does not generate average monthly returns statistic lly significantly larger than zero. This indicates that improved methods for predicting earn ings announcement dates would not assist in forming L/S portfolios generating positiv e excess returns over the sample period. Consequently, it seems there was no earnings announ cement premium at the Oslo Stock Exchange in the sample period between 1999 and 2007 . The results presented in this thesis can therefore not reject market efficiency at the Oslo Stock Exchange. The main reasons for the presented results, which a re differing from the results of Lamont and Frazzini (2007), are the following: Firstly, th ere is a possibility that the dataset of earnings announcement dates utilised in this analys is is not representative for the sample period regarding the real coverage of earnings anno u cement dates. Moreover, there is a possibility that the patterns found by Lamont and F razzini (2007) are random, and caused by for example data-mining, and that in reality there is no earnings announcement premium.


Although
cross-cultural influences on human behavior have been the subject of many
scholarly works, few studies have focused on the life experiences of women from
hyphenated cultural identities and how these experiences inform a woman's view of herself as a
sexual being. In particular, the influence of cross-cultural experiences on
women with combined Western and Eastern culture references, such as Israeli-Iranian women,
is poorly understood. This study analyzed four interviews with second-generation
Israeli-Iranian women who described how their sexual self-concepts evolved as a
result of living between both cultures, in the "space of the hyphen." I used
the Listening Guide methodology to inform the interviews and the data analysis,
which revealed the influence of family power, patriarchal social practices and
the women's desire to distinguish themselves from cultural norms. This paper is
presented as a case study. It introduces multilayered views and processes
associated with each woman's outlook of her evolving sexual self-concept. I
found that each woman's sexual self-concept took into account her behaviors,
cognitions and emotions that were developed during each life stage and also
that it informed her sexual subjectivity. I briefly discuss the implications
that the findings have for how the combination of Western and Eastern cultures
influenced the women's lives. I also discuss how the findings may assist
academics, clinicians, policy makers and healthcare professionals in developing
innovative interventions in which gender roles and sexual self-concept are
addressed.


Abstract Generally, South African researchers working in the fields of nutrition and dietetics collect food intake data as a first step towards determining the nutritional status of various populations. However, on publication, the majority of the results obtained from these studies are expressed in terms of nutrient intake, whereas food intake data are either not included, or are presented in non-uniform formats. Subsequently, other researchers who wish to determine what foods South Africans are eating are not able to access food intake data from existing studies. For example, if the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG), which are expressly based on food, and not nutrient intakes, are to be revised regularly as stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO), very little additional food intake data from the decade following publication of the first FBDG in 2001 would be available for adult South Africans. It is probable that the consumption of certain foods may have increased because of urbanisation and Westernisation of large sectors of the population. Conversely, economic factors, including the present recession, household food insecurity and poor food choices, may have reduced the intake of nutrient-dense foods in the past decade. The present review describes the disparity in reporting of food intake data, and deficiencies in making data that are available in electronic storage systems accessible to researchers working in the fields of public health nutrition, food production and utilisation, community nutrition and education. The creation of a working committee to make food intake data more accessible is proposed.


Here we investigate the interaction between ecology and climate concerning the distribution of rainforest species differentially distributed along altitudinal gradients of eastern Australia. The potential distributions of the two species closely associated with different rainforest types were modelled to infer the potential contribution of post-glacial warming on spatial distribution and altitudinal range shift. Nothofagus moorei is an integral element of cool temperate rainforest, including cloud forests at high elevation. This distinct climatic envelope is at increased risk with future global warming. Elaeocarpus grandis on the other hand is a lowland species and typical element of subtropical rainforest occupying a climatic envelope that may shift upwards into areas currently occupied by N. moorei. Climate envelope models were used to infer range shift differences between the two species in the past (21 thousand years ago), current and future (2050) scenarios, and to provide a framework to explain observed genetic diversity/structure of both species. The models suggest continuing contraction of the highland cool temperate climatic envelope and expansion of the lowland warm subtropical envelope, with both showing a core average increase in elevation in response to post-glacial warming. Spatial and altitudinal overlap between the species climatic envelopes was at a maximum during the last glacial maximum and is predicted to be a minimum at 2050.


In the 1950s and 1960s, the relationship between Italy and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia improved despite the Cold War. For the Italian artists involved in the New Tendencies, this new situation provided opportunities for recognition as an alternative to Art Informel, the dominant style in the international art market. Getulio Alviani, Enzo Mari and Eugenio Carmi, are three of the key Italian artists in this period who exhibited in Yugoslavian museums and galleries. Using new archival material, this paper sheds light on a unique postwar revival of Constructivism within a peripheral artist network far from New York and Paris.


Historically, pregnant women were advised to refrain from exercise because of concerns about fetal risk. Simultaneously, they were advised to increase their caloric intake during pregnancy. However (in part because of these misguided recommendations), some of the weight gained during pregnancy was usually retained. Elevated maternal weight is associated with a higher birth weight of offspring and contributes to the intergenerational transmission of obesity.1 Consequently, pregnancy has evolved as a major contributor to the worldwide obesity epidemic and multiple related maternal and fetal comorbidities, some of which have potential lifelong consequences.


This paper examines the Salman Rushdie papers deposited in the Robert W Woodruff Library [Manuscript, Archives and Rare Books Library] of Emory University. Although at first glance this is by and large an old fashioned archive (of 215 boxes and 55 oversized papers), it is also a digital archive in the sense that much of the author's drafts, letters and sundry material are preserved in computers. The archive has managed to preserve the hard disks in their original form by simulating and incorporating these disks into a PC. The paper examines how the Rushdie archive has been catalogued and what a researcher trained in research methods and textual criticism may do with the archive. Its theoretical template comes from Derrida's short monograph Archive Fever as it reads the Rushdie archive as a repository as well as a 'consignment' which exists within certain laws and power structures. To explore an archive's concealed or repressed items, the paper carefully traces Rushdie's interest in the Islamic genesis of secrecy with reference to the available holograph notes and related material on the 'satanic verses' in the archive.


Micro-channels were fabricated in hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBGF) and suspended-core holey fiber (SC-HF) by femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser irradiation. Gaseous access was demonstrated via these engineered ports to the core of HC-PBGF and the hollow cladding of SC-HF. Femtosecond laser micro-machining caused no additional transmission loss in HC-PBGFs. This allowed a novel gas cell to be produced, in which gaseous access was provided solely through two micro-channels. Acetylene diffusion was also confirmed through a micro-channel leading to a single cladding airhole in SC-HF. This further highlighted the fabrication technique's precision, selectivity, and potential for developing fiber-based micro-fluidic devices.


Supervisors' cultural backgrounds can influence supervision content, process, and outcomes (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004; Brown & Brown-Landrum, 1995). Although the empirical literature on multicultural supervision has greatly increased in recent years (Borders, 2005), no study has focused primarily on international supervisors. Since clinical supervisors take a vital role in enhancing the development of supervisees, it is important to understand the relationship between international supervisors' cultural factors (e.g., acculturation), their perceptions of supervisor credibility (e.g., social influence), and supervisor self-efficacy in cross-cultural dyads of clinical supervision. This study used social influence theory (Strong, 1968) as a framework to conceptualize supervisor credibility. Thirty-seven international supervisors who worked or were currently working with U.S. - born supervisees were surveyed to investigate factors (i.e., supervision self-efficacy, acculturation) that might impact international supervisors' social influence variables. The Supervisor Rating Form-Short (SRF-S), the Counselor Supervisor Self-Efficacy Scale (CSSES), and the American International Relations Survey (AIRS) were used. The sample represented 5 continents (i.e., Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America), with 65% (n = 24) of the sample from Asia. Pearson Product-Moment Coefficients revealed significant relationships between supervisor self-efficacy and social influence variables (i.e., expertness, attractiveness, trustworthiness), and between attractiveness and perceived prejudice (i.e., one aspect of acculturation). Supervisor self-efficacy did not mediate the relationship between acculturation and social influence variables. Multiple regression analyses revealed that gender, first language preference, and perceived racial appearance did not serve as predictors of perceived social influence variables. Results suggest that supervisor self-efficacy might have a significant and broader impact on international supervisors' self-perceptions of their social influence, compared with their acculturation levels. As the first empirical study of international supervisors' social influence, this study provides implications for researchers, counselor educators, and clinical supervisors.


The largeand small-signal stability analysis of a power system incorporated with photovoltaic (PV) generator is investigated in this paper. The PV generator is designed such that the power delivered at maximum power point (MPP) at full solar illumination is about 0.65 pu. The study is carried out at different solar illuminations and compared with the case of no PV generation. A DC–DC buck–boost switch mode converter is used at the terminals of the PV array to keep the constant injected voltage at different realistic solar illuminations. The dynamic response of the delta angle of the PV generating bus is extracted. The results show that injecting power from PV panels improves the dynamic stability of the power system. Additionally, the higher the solar illumination is, the better the response of the system as both the overshoot and the pre-fault steady-state value of the delta angle of the synchronous generator are reduced. For the small-signal stability, Jacobian matrix and eigenvalues of the linearized model around the operating point are obtained. Time domain simulations based on the nonlinear dynamical model after successive step changes in the input mechanical power of the synchronous generator have been addressed. All of the numerical simulations are executed via MATLAB TM software environment by building the code required.


The Crab Nebula was detected with the Milagro experiment at a statistical significance of 17 standard deviations over the lifetime of the experiment. The experiment was sensitive to approximately 100 GeV–100 TeV gamma-ray air showers by observing the particle footprint reaching the ground. The fraction of detectors recording signals from photons at the ground is a suitable proxy for the energy of the primary particle and has been used to measure the photon energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula between ∼1 and ∼100 TeV. The TeV emission is believed to be caused by inverse-Compton upscattering of ambient photons by an energetic electron population. The location of a TeV steepening or cutoff in the energy spectrum reveals important details about the underlying electron population. We describe the experiment and the technique for distinguishing gamma-ray events from the much more-abundant hadronic events. We describe the calculation of the significance of the excess from the Crab and how the energy spectrum is fitted. The differential photon energy spectrum, including the statistical errors from the fit, obtained using a simple power-law hypothesis for data between 2005 September and 2008 March is (6.5 ± 0.4) × 10−14(E/10 TeV)−3.1±0.1(cm2 s TeV )−1 between ∼1 TeV and ∼100 TeV. Allowing for a possible exponential cutoff, the photon energy spectrum is fitted as (2.5+0.7− 0.4) × 10−12(E/3 TeV)−2.5 ± 0.4exp (− E/32+39− 18 TeV) (cm2 s TeV)−1. The results are subject to an ∼30% systematic uncertainty in the overall flux and an ∼0.1 systematic uncertainty in the power-law indices quoted. Uncertainty in the overall energy scale has been absorbed into these errors. Fixing the spectral index to values that have been measured below 1 TeV by IACT experiments (2.4–2.6), the fit to the Milagro data suggests that Crab exhibits a spectral steepening or cutoff between about 20–40 TeV.


The document presents an overview of definitions and methods in the area of immune correlates of vaccine-induced protection. This subject has far-reaching implications for the evaluation of vaccine efficacy, for passive protection, e.g. maternal immunity and risk screening, e.g. tuberculin testing or rubella antibody testing of pregnant women, as well as for basic understanding of pathogenesis and immunity.


Established forest BMPs rely heavily on the forest floor to disconnect upslope activities from stream systems. Optimizing the buffer length required to negate the storm runoff contribution of upslope activities has been a point of interest for soil scientist, hydrologist, and conservation professionals for the last century. Minimum buffer lengths have been recommended or mandated throughout the U.S; however, a gap exists in the understanding of the effectiveness of these practices in controlling sediment movement and minimizing risks of sediment delivery to forest streams. The fundamental question that has not yet been answered is, "Do current management practices disconnect forest road sediment and water?" This paper reports findings of investigations to assess sediment travel distances downslope of forest roads in the Coastal Plain of Alabama, relate sediment travel distances to BMP recommendations, and describe deposition patterns within buffer zones. Sediment deposition depths and lengths within buffers from randomly selected National Forest roads were measured downslope of road lead-off ditch structures. The mean distance sediment was tracked across the forest floor was 27 meters. Sediment transport distances were less than 30 m for 45 percent of sites evaluated in National Forests in Alabama. This paper also presents special issues related to the connectivity and the role of the forest buffer in minimizing the connection of forest roads and streams in this sensitive region.


Pollinators feed on the pollen, nectar, and other plant exudates that are associated with flowers. As a result of this feeding activity, pollen becomes attached to them. Analysis of this pollen can reveal what they eat, their dispersal patterns in and around cropping systems, and their role in pollination. However, finding pollen on and or in a pollinator depends on the technique used to recover pollen. Two very easy techniques are described in detail that have been used to recover pollen from a variety of pollinators including beneficial and harmful insects, spiders, bats, and other pollinators. These techniques can be used to recover pollen from internal tissues (gut, alimentary canal, crop, etc.), external tissues (proboscis, legs, eyes, etc.), or both. By using the proper technique, better pollen recovery can be made and thus better data can be obtained about the pollinators, the foods they eat, the plants they pollinate, their migration routes and source zones.


An interference filter of the reflection type consists in its simplest form of a perfectly reflecting mirror on which is placed a thin layer of a dielectric material. The outer surface of the dielectric is coated with a very thin metallic film. When properly constructed such a filter reflects 100 percent of radiation at the frequencies 2nν0, and 0 percent of radiation at the frequencies (2n + 1)ν0.A transmission filter consists of a thin dielectric layer, both sides of which are coated with very thin metallic films. A well made filter will transmit up to approximately 40 percent of the incident radiation at the frequencies nν0. The transmission bands can be made quite narrow, and the transmission between the maxima may be less than 1 percent although it does not fall to zero.The theory, which consists of a straightforward application of the Maxwell equations, is initially applied to a single metallic film backed by dielectric media. The reflection and transmission coefficients, as well as the phase shifts, are obtained and are given in terms of the thickness and the optical constants of the film.The reflection coefficient for the reflection filter is developed next and is expressed as a function of the properties of a single metallic film. The general formula is quite complicated but degenerates to a simple form when the wave-length becomes long (i.e. for the infra-red region). By using the filter at oblique incidence it is shown that polarized radiation may be produced.The transmission filter is studied and its properties may again be formulated in terms of the properties of a single metallic film. The values of the optical constants are deduced, which lead to the construction of an efficient transmission filter. Silver films have approximately these values in the visible region of the spectrum, but fail to possess them either in the ultraviolet or in the infra-red region. The theory shows that when the filter is tilted so that the angle of incidence is no longer normal, the transmission band shifts towards shorter wave-lengths, and splits into two bands, one of which is polarized parallel and the other perpendicular to the plane of incidence. This phenomenon is observed with experimental filters.


In this article we explain how and why, in our roles as a Dean and a visiting professor, we encourage practitioner-researchers in our faculties and elsewhere to enerate and make public their descriptionptions and explanations of practice as their living educational theories, by addressing the question, i?½How do I/we improve my/our work?i?½ (Whitehead, 1989), as we also do, and as we are doing here. Grounded in inclusional logics and values, these accounts constitute a reconceptualisation of theory from normative propositional forms to new living forms. A key feature of these living theories is the articulation of the relationally dynamic standards of judgement we use to test the validity of our research claims. Working collaboratively with others, as we research our practices in higher education settings, however, can be problematic, since we are developing new participative discourses within institutional cultures whose aims often include the perpetuation of divisive and exclusionary politically-constituted discourses, using technocratic epistemologies, to control what counts as knowledge and who should be seen as a knower. We experience such tensions keenly, especially in South African higher education contexts, where a commitment to democratic educational enquiry often means wrestling with the ontological insecurities of transforming existing logics of domination into new inclusive epistemologies within a post-apartheid democratic university culture. This is, however, the task we have set ourselves. In this paper, we explain how, by subjecting our accounts to public critique as we research how to encourage the development of new institutional epistemologies, we are aiming to contribute to the education of the social formation of the higher education community. We are doing this by showing how it is possible to develop high quality research programmes that are grounded in inclusional and transformational logics and that focus on demonstrating their methodological rigour through an analysis of the transformation of ontological values into the epistemological standards of judgement against which the validity of research claims can be tested. We explain how the development of such new inclusional institutional epistemologies can act as the grounds for a form of social solidarity that can contribute to forms of sustainable social evolution and, in a South African context, can contribute to South Africai?½s renaissance, and how our explanations for these processes can contribute to the education of wider social formations.


Crystalline acrylic and methacrylic acids can be polymerized by ultra-violet irradiation a t temperatures not far removed from their melting points. In both cases the reaction proceeds in such a way as to give non-crystalline and disoriented polymer. Irradiation of methacrylic acid under these conditions gives a measurable free radical concentration, whereas no free radicals are detectable by electron spin resonance in irradiated acrylic acid. The production of observable free radicals in methacrylic acid crystals is very temperature dependent, decreasing with reduction in temperature. The polymerizations have been studied in some detail by observing the changes in the optical retardation of thin single crystals while undergoing reaction. In this way a post-irradiation reaction was observed with methacrylic acid but not with acrylic acid samples. The most striking observations were those obtained when the crystals were subjected to small mechanical compressive stresses, when the polymerization reaction was generally retarded or stopped. To account for the results obtained it is suggested that the polymerization reaction takes place in association with crystal dislocations. The effect of mechanical stress is considered to arise from the displacement of dislocations. Two possible mechanisms, depending on the properties of crystal dislocations, have been suggested. Although more experimental data are required it is thought that the observed pressure effect will be of considerable importance in the elucidation of the details of the polymerization.


Legendary British-born designer Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895), with enormous talent for design and promotion, built his fashion house into an empire during the last quarter of the 19th century—the first business of its kind with global reach. His company, through his heirs, endured until 1952, when his great-grandson retired. Profusely illustrated, this astonishing book explores Worth's success in the realm of haute couture after 1890. Hundreds of photographs selected from the V&A's unique archive of more than 7,000 official house records capture the Worth style and offer valuable insights into the daily routine at Maison Worth in Paris. Images and text tell the intriguing story of these creations, providing historical context and describing Worth's international clientele of elegant women of wealth and power.


Cardio Vascular Disease (CVD) leads to sudden cardiac death due to irregular phenomenon of the cardiac signal by the abnormal case of blood vessel and cardiac structure. For last three decades, there is an enhanced interest in research for cardiac diseases.. As a result, the death rate by cardiac disease in men has been falling gradually compared with relatively increasing the death rate for women due to CVD. The main reason for this phenomenon is due to the lack of seriousness to female CVD and different symptoms of female CVD compared with the symptoms of male CVD. Usually, because the CVDs for women accompany with ordinary symptoms not attributable to the heart abnormality signal such as unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, anxiety, chest discomfort, and indigestion dyspepsia, most women CVD patients do not realize that these symptoms are actually related to the CVD symptoms. Therefore, periodic ECG signal observation is required not only for women who have been diagnosed with heart disease but also for persons who want to examine their heart activity. Electrocardiogram (ECG) is used to diagnose abnormality of heart. Among the medical checkup methods for CVDs, it is very an effective method for the diagnosis of cardiac disease and the early detection of heart abnormality to monitor ECG periodically. This dissertation proposes an effective ECG monitoring system for woman by attaching the system on woman's brassiere by using augmented chest lead attachment method. The suggested system called "E-Bra system" in this dissertation consists of an ECG transmission system and a computer installed program called "E-Bra pro" in order to display and analyze the ECG transmitted from the transmission module. The ECG transmission module consists of three parts such as ECG physical signal detection part with 3 stage amplifier and two electrodes, data acquisition with AD converter, and data transmission part with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) communication, and it has very compact size that is attachable at the bottom layer of a brassiere for women. However, the ECG signal measured from the transmission module includes not only pure ECG components information; P waves QRS complex, and T wave, but also a motion artifact component (MA) due to subject movements. The MA component is one of the reasons for misdiagnosis. Therefore, the main purpose of the E-Bra system is to provide a reliable ECG data set identical to the quality of an ECG data set collected in hospital. Unfortunately, removing MA is a big challenge because the frequency range of the MA is duplicated on the frequency range of the pure ECG components, P-QRS-T. In this dissertation, two motion artifact removal algorithms (MARAs) with adaptive filter structure and independent component analysis concept are suggested, and the performance of the two MARAs will be evaluated by correlation values and signal noise ratio (SNR) values.


As a community organizer focusing on sustainable agriculture, Reggie Knox has become a kind of Renaissance Man of sustainable agriculture, working with a remarkable number of organizations serving farmers. He currently works with California FarmLink, helping keep the state's farmland in agricultural production while connecting farmers with technical and financial assistance as well as affordable land. He coordinated the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) Lighthouse Farm Network, connecting a statewide network of growers, advisors, researchers, and other agricultural professionals interested in reducing pesticide use; he eventually became CAFF's state program director. He worked with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) on national standards development. Knox grew up in Davis, California, and spent summers in the Sierra Nevada, where he developed enthusiasm for natural history. As a child he worked in a backyard plot with his father; in high school, he created an extensive garden with some friends as an independent study project. As an undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz, Knox became interested in the intersections of agriculture and community development when he took a course with prominent California agriculture scholar Bill Friedland on the economics and politics of United States agriculture. He double-majored in earth science and community studies. Knox's early farming experiences began during his senior year in college. Various internships and jobs connected him with influential local farmers such as Frances Corr and Dennis Tamura of Blue Heron Farm, Sam Earnshaw and Jo Ann Baumgartner of Neptune Farms, and Mark Lipson of Molino Creek Farm. He interned with Lipson in the offices of CCOF (a position that eventually became a paid job), and with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (then called the Soil Conservation Service). Knox also conducted a ten-month field study in France, working with a regional natural park. A Rotary Foundation scholarship took him to Sri Lanka to do agricultural research and consulting. He spent six months in Japan, including a visit to Masanobu Fukuoka's model no-till grain farm. He attended an International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) conference in Burkina Faso, traveled in Northern Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Botswana, and consulted for AID in Madagascar. This interview with Reggie Knox, conducted by Sarah Rabkin in her Soquel home on December 8, 2008, reveals some of the ways in which these varied experiences and influences have informed Knox's current work, contributing to his efficacy as an agrarian community organizer.


Why simply play music or go online when you can use your iPhone or iPad for some really fun projects, such as building a metal detector, hacking a radio control truck, or tracking a model rocket in flight? Learn how to build these and other cool things by using iOS device sensors and inexpensive hardware such as Arduino and a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Shield. This hands-on book shows you how to write simple applications with techBASIC, an Apple-approved development environment that runs on iOS devices. By using code and example programs built into techBASIC, youll learn how to write apps directly on your Apple device and have it interact with other hardware.Build a metal detector with the iOS magnetometer Use the HiJack hardware platform to create a plant moisture sensor Put your iPhone on a small rocket to collect acceleration and rotation data Hack a radio control truck with Arduino and Bluetooth LE Create an arcade game with an iPad controller and two iPhone paddles Control a candy machine with an iOS device, a micro servo, and a WiFi connection


In late February 2010 the extraordinary windstorm Xynthia crossed over southwestern and central Europe and caused severe damage, affecting particularly the Spanish and French Atlantic coasts. The storm was embedded in uncommon large‐scale atmospheric and boundary conditions prior to and during its development, namely enhanced sea‐surface temperatures (SST) within the low‐level entrainment zone of air masses, an unusual southerly position of the polar jet stream, and a remarkable split jet structure in the upper troposphere. To analyse the processes that led to the rapid intensification of this exceptional storm originating close to the subtropics (30°N), the sensitivity of the cyclone intensification to latent heat release is determined using the regional climate model COSMO‐CLM forced with European Centre for Medium‐range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis (ERA)‐Interim data. A control simulation with observed SST shows that moist and warm air masses originating from the subtropical North Atlantic were involved in the cyclogenesis process and led to the formation of a vertical tower with high values of potential vorticity (PV). Sensitivity studies with reduced SST or increased laminar boundary roughness for heat led to reduced surface latent heat fluxes. This induced both a weaker and partly retarded development of the cyclone and a weakening of the PV tower, together with reduced diabatic heating rates, particularly at lower and mid‐levels. We infer that diabatic processes played a crucial role during the phase of rapid deepening of Xynthia and thus to its intensity over the southeastern North Atlantic. We suggest that windstorms such as Xynthia may occur more frequently under future climate conditions due to the warming SSTs and potentially enhanced latent‐heat release, thus increasing the windstorm risk for southwestern Europe.


Market Surveillance plays important mechanism roles in constructing market models. From data analysis perspective, we view it valuable for smart trading in designing legal and profitable trading strategies and smart regulation in maintaining market integrity, transparency and fairness. The existing trading pattern analysis only focuses on interday data which discloses explicit and high-level market dynamics. In the mean time, the existing market surveillance systems available from large exchanges are facing crucial challenges of diversified, dynamic, distributed and cyber-based misuse, mis-disclosure and misdealing of information, announcement and orders in one market or crossing multiple markets. Therefore, there is a crucial need to develop innovative and workable methods for smart trading and surveillance. To deal with such issues, we propose the innovative concept microstructure pattern analysis and corresponding approaches in this paper. Microstructure pattern analysis studies trading behaviour patterns of traders in market microstructure data by utilizing market microstructure knowledge. The identified market microstructure patterns are then used for powering market trading and surveillance agents for automatically detecting/designing profitable and legal trading strategies or monitoring abnormal market dynamics and trader's behaviour. Such trading/surveillance agent-driven market trading/surveillance systems can greatly enhance the analytical, discovery and decision-support capability of market trading/surveillance than the current predefined rule/alert-based systems.


In this project, antigen-containing microspheres were produced using a range of biodegradable polymers by single and double emulsion solvent evaporation and spray drying techniques. The proteins used in this study were mainly BSA, tetanus toxoid, F1 and V, Y. pestis subunit vaccines and the cytokine, interferon-gamma. The polymer chosen for use in the vaccine preparation will directly determine the characteristics of the formulation. Full in vitro analysis of the preparations was carried out, including surface hydrophobicity and drug release profiles. The influence of the surfactants employed on microsphere surface hydrophobicity was demonstrated. Preparations produced with polyhydroxybutyrate and poly(DTH carbonate) polymers were also shown to be more hydrophobic than PLA microspheres, which may enhance particle uptake by antigen presenting cells and Peyer's patches. Systematic immunisation with microspheres with a range of properties showed differences in the time course and extent of the immune response generated, which would allow optimisation of the dosing schedule to provide maximal response in a single dose preparation. Both systematic and mucosal responses were induced following oral delivery of microencapsulated tetanus toxoid indicating that the encapsulation of the antigen into a microsphere preparation provides protection in the gut and allows targeting of the mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue. Co-encapsulation of adjuvants for further enhancement of immune response was also carried out and the effect on loading and release pattern assessed. Co-encapsulated F1 and interferon-gamma was administered i.p. and the immune responses compared with singly encapsulated and free subunit antigen.


The paper introduces a new dynamic panel model for large data sets of time series, each of them characterized by a series-specific Markov switching process. By introducing a neighbourhood system based on a network structure, the model accounts for local and global interactions among the switching processes. We develop an efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm for the posterior approximation based on the Metropolis adjusted Langevin sampling method. We study efficiency and convergence of the proposed MCMC algorithm through several simulation experiments. In the empirical application, we deal with US states coincident indices, produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and find evidence that local interactions of state-level cycles with geographically and economically networks play a substantial role in the common movements of US regional business cycles.


What is the difference between Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy? How Radiation Therapy Works Types of Cancer Treated Radiation Therapy Planning Types of Radiation Therapy External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) Photon Beam Therapy Proton Beam Therapy How are Photon and Proton Beam Therapies different from each other? Brachytherapy (BT) Radiation Therapy Combined with Surgery Advantages and Disadvantages of Radiation Therapy Possible Side Effects of Radiation Therapy The Future of Radiation Therapy Know the Flow: Radiation Therapy FAQs About Radiation Therapy


Online recordings of lectures provide students with anytime-anyplace access to lectures. Research shows that students prefer courses accompanied by online recordings and an increasing number of universities provide recorded lectures. This paper presents the results of a study into the use of recorded lectures at two universities in the Netherlands. The goal of the study is to gain a better understanding of the way that this group of students use recorded lectures. This understanding will enable the creation of usage scenarios that need to be supported. Our results show that students use recorded lectures as a replacement for missed lectures and for study tasks, like preparing for an exam. A large proportion of the students report that they watch 75100% of a recorded lecture when the view one. The fact that students did not mention the quality of the actual lectures appears not to influence the use of the recorded lectures. Recorded lectures for courses that only use the blackboard are viewed less often. There are also interesting differences in the use of recorded lectures of the different groups of students at the two universities. To increase the credibility and validity of the results, we need a more direct way to measure the use of recorded lectures by students. Methodological triangulation using the log data for the recorded lectures can provide this. Keywords: recorded lectures; web lectures; online lectures; video lectures (Published: 24 September 2012) Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2012, 20 : 17299 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v20i0.17299


In this essay, we argue that pervasive digitization gives birth to a new type of product architecture: the layered modular architecture. The layered modular architecture extends the modular architecture of physical products by incorporating four loosely coupled layers of devices, networks, services, and contents created by digital technology. We posit that this new architecture instigates profound changes in the ways that firms organize for innovation in the future. We develop (1) a conceptual framework to describe the emerging organizing logic of digital innovation and (2) an information systems research agenda for digital strategy and the creation and management of corporate information technology infrastructures.


The aim of this study was to compare the thermal behaviour of clays containing illite and kaolinite in various proportions. The clays contained small amounts of K and Fe, which act as fluxing agents. In order to investigate the phase formations during heating, the samples were examined in a differential scanning calorimeter at temperatures up to 1300°C. The thermal expansion of the samples was determined by dilatometer measurements from room temperature up to 1150°C. Phases were identified using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. In all samples, most of the kaolinite was transformed into metakaolinite during heating up to 650°C, while illite remained unchanged up to 950°C. There was no influence of K and Fe on dehydroxylation. Metakaolinite formed at temperatures above 950°C leading to a Si-Al spinel. Furthermore, mullite was formed in the temperature interval 1050-1150°C. In this temperature range, the mechanism of mullite formation depended on the amount of K and Fe in the samples, changing the temperature of formation of mullite. It was observed by x-ray diffraction that most of the illite was transformed into a Si-Al spinel phase at 1050°C, and during further heating transformed into mullite. An increased amount of illite in the clays slightly decreased the melting temperature. The dilatometer measurements showed expansion and shrinkage for the dehydroxylation and spinel-phase formation, respectively.


Non-resolving inflammation, which may be maintained by infection, pollution, and metabolic stimulants and their interactions with immunogenetic predisposition, provides a fertile field for cancer development. This is strongly evident in hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, the framework of a hypothesis called Cancer Evo-Dev is presented, based on the advances in hepatitis B virusinduced hepatocarcinogenesis. Several aspects central to this theory are as follows: (1) immune imbalance caused by the interaction of immunogenetic predispositions and hepatitis B virus infection maintains non-resolving inflammation; (2) active inflammation executants promote mutations in viral and host genomes via disbalancing mutagenic forces including cytidine deaminases and mutation-repairing forces including uracil-DNA glycosylases, thus promoting cancer-related somatic mutations and viral mutations; (3) a small percentage of the cells whose somatic mutations alter the survival signalling adapt to the inflammatory microenvironment, de-differentiate via demethylating role of cytidine deaminases, and reversely develop into tumor-initiating cells (TICs); (4) under the cultivation of some factors like POSTN from tumorinfiltrating fibroblasts and M2 macrophages, TICs acquire the stemness, cancer-stem cells obtain distinct metastatic and drug-resistant potentials under the selection pressure from distinct microenvironments; (5) glycolysis persistence in the presence of oxygen provides essential energy for cell survival and the raw material for DNA synthesis. Thus, cancer development is characterized by an evolutionary process of "mutation-selection-adaptation". The framework of Cancer Evo-Dev can be verified in other cancers. Cancer Evo-Dev lays theoretical foundation for understanding the mechanisms by which inflammation promotes cancer development, and it also plays a role in specific prophylaxis, prediction, and targeted treatment of cancers.


This article investigates the contemporary economic role of Crete through its history of many centuries. More specifically, it considers the effect of the natural, climatic and marine environment in the productive economic activity, in the international trade and its relations with its neighbors, as well as Crete's modern financial, developmental characteristics and its position in the Mediterranean, in Europe and the World. From the review of the relative, with the economy of Crete, bibliography, ranging from antiquity until today, as well as from the analysis of modern related quantitative data, it is realized that the basic elements that determine the economic identity and the position of Crete in the international environment during its extensive history are the ground and the products that it produces, the marine environment and the interconnections that it creates with the world, the climate, and the favorable conditions that it shapes for the flora and the fauna and its human resource, as this develops in the particular historical environment each time. These are the characteristics, along with the multiform and rich accumulated cultural reserve, which Crete can evolve and strengthen in the contemporary world so that it cures its disadvantages and most importantly so that it takes advantage of the developmental surplus of possibilities that it allocates. Crete has all the prerequisite conditions- productive and human resources, research and technological infrastructure, democratically programmed institutions- and allocates the initial conditions for a developmental take off, in the frame of flexible specialization, intelligent and viable growth.


The National Football League (NFL) combine is a final opportunity for collegiate seniors to showcase physical talent to NFL personnel responsible for draft decisions. Potential draftees complete tests of speed, agility, and power; the results of these tests are distributed to all NFL teams. Due to the importance of combine performance to draft order and corresponding financial incentives, training facilities now specialize in teaching technical strategies to improve combine scoring performance. Many athletes now participate in combine preparation programs which may have resulted in increased performance of recent cohorts. Purpose: To determine if NFL combine performances in the 40-yard sprint, pro agility, vertical and broad jumps have improved from 2000-2009 and if the improvements varied by position. Methods: Combine data were obtained from publically available sources previously used for publication. Data included 1904 football players participating in the combine during the following years: 2000 (n=190), 2001 (n=159), 2002 (n=169), 2003 (n=175), 2004 (n=177), 2005 (n=200), 2006 (n=215), 2007 (n=205), 2008 (n=200), 2009 (n=214). Each player completed the following tests: body mass determination (BM), 40-yard sprint (SP), pro-agility (AG), vertical jump (VJ), and broad jump (BR). Peak power (PP) was calculated using Sayers equation. Based upon collegiate positions, players were divided into 3 groups: Skill Players (n =833), Big Skill Players (n=391), and Lineman (n=680). A two-factor ANOVA (draft-year x position) was completed on each dependent variable. For brevity, only main effects and interactions are reported. Alpha was set at p<0.05 prior to analysis. Results: Body mass did not vary by draft-year (p=0.94) but there was a significant main effect for position (p<0.001). Significant main effects were detected for draft-year (p<0.001) and position (p<0.001) for SP. An interaction effect was present for draft-year by position for AG. Significant main effects were evident for draft-year (p<0.001) and position (p<0.001) for VJ. BR scores varied by draft-year (p<0.001) and position (p<0.001). Significant main effects were identified for power by draft-year (p<0.001) and position (p<0.001). No interaction effects were present for BM, SP, VJ, BJ, and Power. Conclusion: Visual trend analysis suggests there was a systematic improvement in SP and BR during the past 10 years. These improvements do not differ by position grouping. Variations in AG, VJ and power by draft-year were not systematic and likely reflect normal variation in draft cohort talent. Further research is needed to determine if players participating in combine preparation programs score higher than athletes who do not.


ii ABSTRACT This research work describes the design of a fault current limiter (FCL) using digital logic and a microcontroller based data acquisition system for an ultra fast pilot protection system. These systems have been designed according to the requirements of the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) system (or loop), a 1 MW green energy hub. The FREEDM loop merges advanced power electronics technology with information technology to form an efficient power grid that can be integrated with the existing power system. With the addition of loads to the FREEDM system, the level of fault current rises because of increased energy flow to supply the loads, and this requires the design of a limiter which can limit this current to a level which the existing switchgear can interrupt. The FCL limits the fault current to around three times the rated current. Fast switching Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) with its gate control logic implements a switching strategy which enables this operation. A complete simulation of the system was built on Simulink and it was verified that the FCL limits the fault current to 1000 A compared to more than 3000 A fault current in the non-existence of a FCL. This setting is made user-defined. In FREEDM system, there is a need to interrupt a fault faster or make intelligent decisions relating to fault events, to ensure maximum availability of power to the loads connected to the system. This necessitates fast acquisition of data which is performed by the designed data acquisition system. The microcontroller acquires the data from a current transformer (CT). Measurements are made at different points in the FREEDM system and merged together, to input it to the intelligent protection algorithm that has been developed by another student on the project. The algorithm will generate a tripping signal in the event of a fault. The developed hardware and the programmed software to accomplish data acquisition and transmission are presented here. The designed FCL ensures that the existing switchgear equipments need not be replaced thus aiding future power system expansion. The developed data acquisition system enables fast fault sensing in protection schemes improving its reliability. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank my advisor and chair Dr. George Karady for his advice and continued support throughout my work. I am deeply indebted to the FREEDM system research centre for providing me this opportunity to work on …


Distributed embedded systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable to attack as they are connected to external networks. Unfortunately, they often have no built-in authentication capability. Multicast authentication mechanisms required to secure embedded networks must function within the unique constraints of these systems, making it difficult to apply previously proposed schemes. We propose an authentication approach using message authentication codes which exploits the time-triggered nature of many embedded systems by putting only a few authentication code bits in each message, and by requiring authentication to be confirmed by the correct reception of multiple messages. This approach can work for both state transition commands and reactive control messages, and enables a tradeoff among per-message authentication cost, application-level latency, and the probability of induced system failure. Authentication parameters can be tuned on a per-message basis while satisfying typical wired embedded network constraints.


In this paper we investigate photo sharing practices among young people on the ephemeral social media platform Snapchat. What kind of photos are exchanged amongst 12–17 year olds via this app where pictures are elicited after up to 10 seconds? How is the content of the photos perceived by the young people themselves? We employ an Internet-mediated mixed methods approach. The primary empirical material consists of an online survey focusing on photo-elicitation practices on the two platforms Snapchat and Instagram conducted in 2015 and 2016 amongst Danish young people. Our results suggest that Snapchat is a site for intimacy in that pictures of double chins, ugliness and self-exposure are shared. These activities of photo-sharing and photo-communication bind young people in closeness and friendships. In this respect Snapchat differs from, for instance, Instagram where the pictures shared tend to be more polished, neat and perfect. The intimacy shared and maintained on Snapchat does, however, also cover nudes, dickpics and tarnished pictures. In this respect, intimacy entails both the comfort of sharing and the dramas of disruptions.


Educators have for a long time felt the need for knowing something about the immediate social and economic environment of the pupils in our schools. In his study published in 1916, Holley pointed out in much detail certain facts showing the relationships between the persistency of children in school and their home conditions. The study by Counts published in 1922, showed that in four American cities, the secondary school population was of a highly selective nature. This investigation is an attempt along the lines of the above studies, yet more intensively, to survey the social, economic, and educational characteristics of a single secondary school population,-that of Cheltenham Township Public School System. More specifically this study is concerned with questions such as these: What is the distribution of the secondary school group among the grades in the school system? How is it distributed among the curricula which the senior high school offers? What is the home background of the pupils in terms of parental occupations, ethnic origins, parental education, and so forth? What community contacts of a recreational and educational nature do the children have? Of what clubs are they members? What hold does the Church have on them? The Sunday School? The theatre? The movies? Of what library facilities do they avail themselves? What is their intelligence? What are their hopes for future education? For life occupations? How prevalent are physical defects among them? How successful are they in their school work? And finally, are there any significant relationships between any of these characteristics? Answers to questions of this sort should paint a more intimate picture of the secondary school population. It's believed that some of the facts obtained may be of use m evaluating the school curriculum and the program of guidance, and in indicating desirable modifications of them. The value of such information for the purpose of curriculum making is now generally assumed in order that the schools may adapt themselves to local needs.


Due to prevalent use of sensors and network monitoring tools, big volumes of data or "big data" today traverse the enterprise data processing pipelines in a streaming fashion. While some companies prefer to deploy their data processing infrastructures and services as private clouds, others completely outsource these services to public clouds. In either case, attempting to store the data first for subsequent analysis creates additional resource costs and unwanted delays in obtaining actionable information. As a result, enterprises increasingly employ data or event stream processing systems and further want to extend them with complex online analytic and mining capabilities. In this paper, we present implementation details for doing both correlation analysis and association rule mining (ARM) over streams. Specifically, we implement Pearson-Product Moment Correlation for analytics and Apriori & FPGrowth algorithms for stream mining inside a popular event stream processing engine called Esper. As a unique contribution, we conduct experiments and present performance results of these new tools with different tumbling and sliding time-windows over two different stream types: one for moving bus trajectories and another for web logs from a music site. We find that while tumbling windows may be more preferable for performance in certain applications, sliding windows can provide additional benefits with rule mining. We hope that our findings can shed light on the design of other cloud analytics systems.


Disk-oriented approaches to online storage are becoming increasingly problematic: they do not scale gracefully to meet the needs of large-scale Web applications, and improvements in disk capacity have far outstripped improvements in access latency and bandwidth. This paper argues for a new approach to datacenter storage called RAMCloud, where information is kept entirely in DRAM and large-scale systems are created by aggregating the main memories of thousands of commodity servers. We believe that RAMClouds can provide durable and available storage with 100-1000x the throughput of disk-based systems and 100-1000x lower access latency. The combination of low latency and large scale will enable a new breed of dataintensive applications.


Words are the prototypical regulatory subjects for trademark and advertising law, despite our increasingly audiovisual economy. This word-focused baseline means that the Lanham Act often misconceives its object, resulting in confusion and incoherence. This Article explores some of the ways courts have attempted to fit images into a word-centric model, while not fully recognizing the particular ways in which images make meaning in trademark and other forms of advertising. While problems interpreting images are likely to persist, this Article suggests some ways in which courts could pay closer attention to the special features of images as compared to words.


Background: This study aimed at assessing and economic analysis of the existing market of treatment devices of infectious waste in Iranian hospitals. Material and Methods: In the current descriptiveanalytical study which was performed in 2013, the data resulting from national crosssectional study in Center of Environmental and Occupation Health in 2012 and interview with relevant authorities in 14 Tehran's hospital with at least three years experience using the facilities were utilized. Results: Until 2012, 883 hospitals have been active in nationwide that more than 64% of them owned by university of medical sciences and SBMU and TUMS with 114 and 45 centers have the highest number of hospitals respectively. Also hospital beds per 1000 population in the country were calculated 1.78. About 80% of hospitals utilized wet thermal and mostly based on autoclave machines for treatment which market share of domestic products is about 55% that Koosha Company, TEM and KAZU have the largest share with 39%, 23.5% and 12.9% respectively. Conclusion: Existence a large heterogeneity in the type and function of the studied devices has created possible of Cartel in an oligopoly atmosphere which with a targeted regulation and policy making toward protectionism, it can be observed price decreasing, enhancing effectiveness, quality and safety increasing of infectious waste treatment facilities.


In this paper, we address the relation between domain differences and domain adaptation for dependency parsing. Our quantitative analyses showed that it is the inconsistent behavior of same features cross-domain, rather than word or feature coverage, that is the major cause of performances decrease of out-domain model. We further studied those ambiguous features in depth and found that the set of ambiguous features is small and has concentric distributions. Based on the analyses, we proposed a DA method. The DA method can automatically learn which features are ambiguous cross domain according to errors made by out-domain model on in-domain training data. Our method is also extended to utilize multiple out-domain models. The results of dependency parser adaptation from WSJ to Genia and Question bank showed that our method achieved significant improvements on small in-domain datasets where DA is mostly in need. Additionally, we achieved improvement on the published best results of CoNLL07 shared task on domain adaptation, which confirms the significance of our analyses and our method.


In manufacturing industry, the automation of robot trajectory planning and robot code generation lowers the development and assessment times of new products and models, increasing the flexibility of a robotic production line. This is of increasing importance in a number of industries where new products and new models are constantly being developed. This paper presents a method that automatically generates robot code for collision free trajectories. Starting with a collision free piecewise linear joint space trajectory, a direct transcription optimal control method is used, iteratively, to improve the trajectory while maintaining a desired clearance. The final solution is a collision free robot trajectory defined by a set of parameters, e.g. joint space via points and TCP-zone radii, that can be used to automatically generate functional RAPID code for an industrial robot. The algorithm is designed to be easily extendable. For example, by changing the constraints on the trajectory or by including energy consumption as an objective. A successful test of the algorithm has been carried out on an industrial stud welding station using the ABB virtual controller, indicating a 10% improvement in motion time.


Theory predicts a positive relationship between market concentration and profitability in most scenarios. In empirical work, however, this relation is frequently not found or only a weak connection is observed. We compare the performance of concentration and market share variables, which are generated on the basis of the official industry classification, with information collected directly from firms. Information from companies on the number of competitors, their relative size and the intensity of price competition is highly significant in explaining profit levels, while none of the concentration indices performs well. Hence, the poor quality of industry data is responsible for the loose connection that is usually found between concentration and profitability.


The main objective of this research aims to describe and analyse the current characteristics of organisational culture at the Nusantara College, one of the higher education institutions for Indonesian civil service. The research employed a qualitative case study as its method using three data collection techniques, namely, semi-structured interviews, participant observations and document analysis. This research applied an analytical framework from previous studies in analysing organisational culture in which the analysis focused on the tangible aspects of culture: artefacts, behavioural and verbal manifestations, and intangible aspects of cultural beliefs and values. The findings from this study demonstrated the distinct cultural characteristics of the college culture and discovered main cultural concepts that are generated from the artefacts, behaviour and verbal manifestations, and cultural beliefs and values. Further analysis on the relationships among these cultural concepts revealed that the current organisational culture of the college was characterised as having three cultures that are operating simultaneously. The first was the familial culture that signified the familial values and practices among the members of the college. The culture was demonstrated in the behaviour of treating the colleagues as extended family members where they helped and assisted each other in carrying out their tasks. The second was the scholarly culture, which perpetuated academic values and practices among the members. The idea of pursuing knowledge through research and teaching, facilitating students' learning, and practising honesty, objectivity and integrity were reflected in the academic events and activities of the college. The third was the bureaucratic culture that manifested in the structural values and practices among the members. The culture was represented in the practice of top-down decision-making processes, centralised career promotion, and giving much power and authority for semor managers . The findings of the research also revealed that these three cultures were the result of the interaction with the college's broader cultural setting. It was observed that the familial culture was the influence of the collectivist culture of Indonesian society. The scholarly culture stemmed from the role of the college as an academic institution, whereas the bureaucratic culture was the impact from the working c:ulture of the government institutions. With the three cultures operating at the same time, it was noted that the college members faced working dilemma and conflicts in their operations. The scholarly values and practices, for instance, sometimes contradicted the bureaucratic culture. To overcome the problems, this study suggested the college leaders to provide a clear priority on which culture the members should operate. As the college's vision was to provide high quality teaching, learning and research, it was suggested that the college should prioritise coordinated actions to strengthen scholarly culture among the members.


Hohfeld had (at least) three major insights:
(1) freedom to do something is different from having the right to limit the free actions of others;
(2) property entails a bundle of rights that can be disaggregated in various ways;
(3) freedom from regulation is not a self-regarding act because it makes others vulnerable to the effects of one's actions.
These insights are useful in analyzing recent disputes in public accommodations law. Can public accommodations engage in statutorily-prohibited discrimination when service violates the owner's religious beliefs? This question entails understanding about the substantive norms of businesses open to the public and the appropriate scope of religious liberty. But before addressing the substantive issue, we face a problem of conceptualization. What rights are actually at stake in these kinds of cases? That is where Wesley Hohfeld's analytical scheme of legal rights is helpful.
Claims of religious liberty may either be Hohfeldian privileges (freedom to act without legal constraint) or Hohfeldian claim-rights (legal claims to the aid of the state in constraining the free actions of others). When a hotel refuses to serve a customer, it is seeking both the freedom to deny service (which makes customers vulnerable to being told they are unwelcome) and the right to exclude the customer (which entails a duty to stay off the property without the owner's consent). Hohfeld distinguished these types of legal entitlements and argued that a privilege to express distaste for the customer's being or "lifestyle" is logically different from having a legal right to prevent the customer from entering the store. And both of those are distinguishable from granting the customer the Hohfeldian power to demand service (with a corresponding obligation on the store to sell its goods or services to the customer) or granting the store owner an immunity from being compelled to provide such service (which corresponds to a vulnerabilty on the customer's part since the customer needs to call ahead to see if she will be able to obtain service).
All this matters because claims of religious liberty usually entail claims to have the right to control the behavior of others. The same is true of those who claim they have a right to free access to public accommodations; those claims entail an obligation on stores to provide service. Neither side is actually asking to "just be left alone." That means that neither side is actually talking about freedom from regulation; each is demanding a legal rule that affects and regulates the behavior of others and the state must make a choice between these conflicting entitlements.
Choosing whether a public accommodation can deny service to customers to whom the owner objects requires, as Hohfeld said, a judgment of "justice and policy." It cannot be decided as a logical deduction from the abstract concept of freedom or religious liberty.


The sharing economy – the rapidly evolving sector of peer-to-peer transactions epitomized by Airbnb and Uber – is the subject of heated debate about whether activities taking place within it are so novel that no laws apply, or whether they should be subject to the same regulations as their analog counterparts. The debate has proved frustrating and controversial in large part because we lack a doctrinally cohesive and normatively satisfying way of talking about the underlying activities taking place in the sharing economy. In part, this is because property-sharing activities – renting your car to someone for a day, paying to spend the weekend in a stranger's house – blur the familiar binary divisions of personal and commercial, gratuitous and non-gratuitous, formal and informal, that the law employs to characterize human activities. Because we lack a coherent analysis of these underlying property-sharing activities, any judgment about the sharing economy's social value or attempts to regulate it are incomplete and confusing at best, and possibly inaccurate or counter-productive. This Article brings clarity and coherence to this discourse by unpacking the underlying activities taking place within the sharing economy and developing a conceptual framework and taxonomy of sharing. By being more precise about what we mean when we talk about the sharing economy and situating these activities with respect to existing legal institutions and shifting social norms, this Article provides an essential foundation for future scholarship on the sharing economy, as well as for policymakers evaluating regulatory responses to the sharing economy.


Abstract Professional development activities are learning environments for teachers just as classroom activities are a learning environment for students. Research on effective teaching is guided by the learning goals for students, and how these goals can best be achieved. It follows that research on effective professional development should be guided by the learning goals for teachers, and how these goals can best be achieved. This paper argues that systematic data documenting effective teacher learning environments have not accumulated because what it means to become an effective teacher has not been made sufficiently clear. Obstacles that have discouraged the development of learning goals for teachers are also discussed. Once teachers' learning goals are made explicit, the types of learning environments that encourage the achievement of those goals could be investigated systematically. Introduction The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has established detailed academic standards to guide K-12 learning goals for students. However, it is unlikely that many K-12 teachers have learned to adjust their teaching with these new learning goals and Standards as the product. Teachers are expected to teach more content in a deep and meaningful manner without sufficient support (Lampert& Ball, 1999). To compound the situation once teachers are in the field, the U.S. education system has no proven mechanism to systematically improve teaching in our classrooms (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Research in the area of professional development for mathematics teachers must become more rigorous and attend to the specific learning environments that benefit teachers' development. Yet, the research will not become more systematic until the learning goals for teachers and teacher development programs are more clearly defined. Purpose The purpose of this review is to draw lessons from the research on learning environments for students to aid in thinking about learning environments for teachers. The classroom is a learning environment for students just as professional development activities are learning! environments for teachers. Research on effective teaching is guided by the learning goals for students, and how these goals can best be achieved. It follows that research on effective professional development should be guided by the learning goals for teachers, and how these goals can best be achieved. The thesis of this paper is that research on professional development lags behind research on mathematics classroom teaching because in part the learning goals for teachers have not yet been made explicit. Systematic data documenting effective professional development learning environments have not accumulated because what it means to become an effective teacher has not been made sufficiently clear. It will be argued that, although setting specific learning goals for teachers that are linked with particular student outcomes is now within reach, there are multiple reasons that learning goals for teachers have not yet been fully developed. And it will be asserted further that once there is consensus for mathematics teachers' professional learning goals, researchers will be able to analyze the specific nature of the learning environments that achieve those desired goals or standards. Learning Environments Students and teachers as learners present different cognitive profiles, but their learning environments are similar in a number of ways. A deep understanding of the mathematical content is a goal for both students and teachers as learners. Ideally, teachers enter the field with a deep mathematical understanding, but for many, this is not the case (Silver & Stein, 1996). Pre-service teacher training programs have not provided teachers the time necessary to understand the mathematical and pedagogical content (Post, Cramer, Harel, Kieren, & Lesh; 1998). As a result, prospective teachers entering the field have a narrow understanding of the content that is centered about procedures (Ball, 1990). …


We offer the first independent scholarly evaluation of the claims, forecasts, and causal inferences of the State Failure Task Force and their efforts to forecast when states will fail. State failure refers to the collapse of the authority of the central government to impose order, as in civil wars, revolutionary wars, genocides, politicides, and adverse or disruptive regime transitions. This task force, set up at the behest of Vice President Gore in 1994, has been led by a group of distinguished academics working as consultants to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. State Failure Task Force reports and publications have received attention in the media, in academia, and from public policy decision-makers. In this article, we identify several methodological errors in the task force work that cause their reported forecast probabilities of conflict to be too large, their causal inferences to be biased in unpredictable directions, and their claims of forecasting performance to be exaggerated. However, we also find that the task force has amassed the best and most carefully collected data on state failure in existence, and the required corrections which we provide, although very large in effect, are easy to implement. We also reanalyze their data with better statistical procedures and demonstrate how to improve forecasting performance to levels significantly greater than even corrected versions of their models. Although still a highly uncertain endeavor, we are as a consequence able to offer the first accurate forecasts of state failure, along with procedures and results that may be of practical use in informing foreign policy decision making. We also describe a number of strong empirical regularities that may help in ascertaining the causes of state failure.


Aflatoxins (AFs) are highly toxic second metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. They are widely detected in cereals, spices, and drinks worldwide. Aflatoxin contamination of foods and crops poses a high health risk for humans and livestock. It is well known that environmental conditions and substrates could influence fungal growth and aflatoxin production. This study tested the effect of water activity (0.82, 0.86, 0.90, 0.94, and 0.98 aw) and incubation temperatures (20°, 27°, and 35°C) on the growth and aflatoxin production of A. flavus and A. parasiticus on ground flax seeds and ground niger seeds. The effect of oil contents of ground niger seeds on fungal growth and aflatoxin production was also investigated in this study. These two fungal species could not grow on any of the tested substrates with 0.82 aw at 20°, 27°, or 35°C. Aspergillus flavus grew most rapidly on flax seeds with 0.90 aw at 27°C and also 0.94 aw at 27° or 35°C. However, on niger seeds, A. flavus grew best at 0.90 or 0.94 aw incubated at 35°C as well as at 0.94 or 0.98 aw incubated at 27°C. Aspergillus parasiticus showed the optimum growth on flax seeds with 0.90 aw at 35°C, whereas on niger seeds, the optimum occurred on seeds with 0.90 aw at 35°C and also on seeds with 0.94 aw at 27° or 35°C. The optimum conditions for A. flavus to produce high levels of aflatoxins (270-299 μg/kg) on flax seeds were 0.90 aw at 35°C; whereas, the optimum conditions for A. flavus to produce aflatoxin (203-278 μg/kg) on niger seeds were 0.90 or 0.98 aw at 27°C and also 0.90 aw at 35°C. Aspergillus parasiticus produced high levels of aflatoxins (284-365 μg/kg) on flax seeds under the following three conditions, 0.86 or 0.98 aw at 35°C and 0.94 aw at 27°C; A. parasiticus produced 200-384 μg/kg of aflatoxins on niger seeds under nine out of 12 tested incubation conditions. Reducing mean oil contents from 35.2 to 10.5% of ground niger seeds had very little effect on the growth of the two fungi but significantly decreased their aflatoxin production under certain incubation conditions. On de-oiled niger seeds inoculated with A. flavus, only 13μg/kg of AFB1 was found on seeds with 0.94 aw at 27°C; whereas, on de-oiled niger seeds inoculated with A. parasiticus, high levels of aflatoxins (245-345 μg/kg) were only detected under the three following incubation conditions, 0.90 or 0.94 aw at 27°C, and 0.86 aw at 35°C. This study showed that the optimum growth and aflatoxin production by A. flavus and A. parasiticus were not identical and influenced by incubation conditions, including temperature, water activity, and growth substrates. The results of this study could help establish guidelines for post-harvest and storage conditions for oil seeds to prevent fungal growth and aflatoxin formation.


It has been well documented that mRNA is associated with the cytoskeleton , and that this relationship is involved translation and mRNA sorting. The molecular components involved in the attachment of mRNA to the cytoskeleton are only poorly understood. The objective of this thesis was to directly visualize the interaction of mRNA with the cytoskeleton , with sufficient resolution to identify the filament systems and structures involved. This work required the development of novel in situ hybridization methods for use with electron microscopy. This allowed resolution to visualize single mRNA molecules and individual filaments. The development of a silver enhancement methodology for both the light and electron microscopic detection of biotinated oligo-dT probes permitted a synoptic view of the intracellular distribution of poly(A) mRNA. At the light microscope, the distribution of poly(A) mRNA did not resemble the individual distribution patterns of microfilaments, intermediate filaments or microtubules. Ultrastructural examination revealed that poly(A) mRNA was not uniformly distributed along cytoskeletal filaments, but clustered at their intersections. The composition of these mRNA containing structures was investigated by both morphologic and in situ hybridization analysis using antibodies to cytoskeletal proteins. In thin sections, polysomes were observed attached to both microfilaments and intermediate filaments. To permit the simultaneous detection of oligo-dT hybridization and specific cytoskeletal proteins, a double labelling method using colloidal gold conjugated antibodies was developed. The majority of poly(A) mRNA was associated with the actin cytoskeleton with 72% of the hybridization localized within 5nm of labelled microfilament. Within the actin cytoskeleton , poly(A) mRNA was localized to intersections of orthogonal networks. Greater than 50% of poly(A) colocalized with the actin crosslinking proteins, filamin and a-actinin, but not vinculin. significant amount of poly(A) mRNA was found to be associated with intermediate filaments. The double label gold analysis demonstrated that 33% of the hybridization signal localized within 5nm of labelled vimentin filaments. Prior disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton using cytochalasin did not disrupt the association of mRNA with vimentin. These observations are consistent with our morphologic results of polysome-intermediate filament associations, and indicate that microfilaments are not the only filament system to which mRNA is bound. Furthermore, a small amount of hybridization signal (12%) consistently was observed along microtubules, providing an additional cytoskeletal network to distribute mRNA. To further characterize the spatial organization of mRNA within the cytoskeleton ultrastructural methods were developed to directly visualize individual mRNA molecules. First, oligonucleotide probes chemically modified with a single hapten and directly conjugated primary reagents were used to permit detection of an individual hybridized probe molecule by a single gold particle. Second, biotin and digoxigenin labelled oligonucleotide probes were used to simultaneously visualize the intermolecular and intramolecular relationships of two nucleic acid sequences. Third, reverse transcriptase was used to extend hybridized primers in situ which permitted visualization of the poly(A) sequence concomittant with the conformation of an mRNA molecule. These methods have permitted analysis of how single mRNA molecules may be positioned with respect to each other within the cytoskeleton. The ultrastructural visualization of m RNA within its structural environment has demonstrated heterogeneous interactions with the cytoskeleton. Future work will be needed to further characterize the mechanism of mRNA attachment. The proteins which bridge nucleic acid sequences to specific intersections can be identified. It wil be interesting to learn how the identified mRNA-cytoskeletal interactions might be involved in the regulation of both mRNA translation and intracellular location. Lastly, and perhaps the most challenging goal, is to investigate whether the identified mRNA-cytoskeletal interactions are used by the cell to influence its own shape, polarity and architecture.


Methane hydrate, which is usually found under deep seabed or permafrost zones, is a potential energy resource for future years. Depressurization of horizontal wells bored in methane hydrate layer is considered as one possible method for hydrate dissociation and methane extraction from the hosting soil. Since hydrate is likely to behave as a bonding material to sandy soils, supported well construction is necessary to avoid well-collapse due to the loss of the apparent cohesion during depressurization. This paper describes both physical and numerical modeling of such horizontal support wells. The experimental part involves depressurization of small well models in a large pressure cell, while the numerical part simulates the corresponding problem. While the experiment models simulate only gas saturated initial conditions, the numerical analysis simulates both gas-saturated and more realistic water-saturated conditions based on effective stress coupled flow-deformation formulation of these three phases. © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group.


Problem statement: Poultry industry is intensive and consistently applies an all-in, all-out system with the aim of minimizing infection pressure and targeting specific pathogens like Salmonella which remains one of the leading causes of food-borne illness, many questions regarding the introduction and persistence in animal production still remain. Therefore disinfection during production break is a routine part of the biosecurity programs of poultry houses. The correct usage of disinfectants is an important key of a successful biosecurity program in poultry farms and in-turn the role of the scientist was to evaluate the efficacy of these disinfection programs. Approach: In this study five commercial disinfectants [Green work (green non anionic surfactant), Sanidate RTU (hydrogen peroxide compound), Hi-yeild®consan 20® (phenolic compound), Tektrol® (quaternary ammonium compound) and Kreso®D (phenolic compound)] were evaluated against Salmonella typhimurium in two different experimental conditions. In Experiment I, S. typhimurium was inoculated into fresh poultry litter (aluminum trays L: 30 cm × W: 25 cm × D: 6 cm filled with wood shavings) by inoculums size of ~107 CFU mL-1 and then mixed with 100 g of fresh poultry droppings. Sample sizes of 3 g were obtained daily for the bacterial counts. Green work achieved100% killing of S. typhimurium by day 7 (p≤0.0001); Sanidate RTU achieved100% killing by day 6 (p≤0.001); Hi-yield® Consan®, Tektrol® and Kreso® D achieved100% killing by day 5 (p≤0.001). Disinfectants were also compared to each other in their efficacy each day. At day 1, Green work was inferior to all other disinfectants at (p≤0.05). On day 2, Kreso® D was significantly superior to Tektrol®, Hi-yield® Consan®, Sanidate RTU and Green work at p≤0.01, p≤0.01, p≤0.01, p≤0.005; respectively. At day 4 Kreso® D was significantly superior to Hiyield ® Consan® at p≤0.01, Tektrol® was also significantly superior to Green work at p≤0.01. In experiment II; MIC use-dilution test was used to evaluate the five disinfectants against S. typhimurium (~107CFU mL-1) in the absence of organic matter. Results: Hourly samples were collected for the bacterial counts. Maximum efficacy (100% killing efficacy against S. typhimurium) was achieved for Green Work after 16 h (p≤0.0001), with Sanidate RTU after 8 h (p≤0.0001), with Hi-yield® Consan® and Kreso® D after 2 h at (p≤0.0001) and with Tektrol® after 4 h (p≤0.0001). In presence of organic matter Green work and Sanidate RTUachieved 100% killing efficacy against S. typhimurium after 16 h (p≤0.0001), Hi-yield® Consan® and Kreso® D after 2 h at (p≤0.0001); Tektrol® after 8 h (p≤0.0001). When disinfectants were compared to each other in relation to time; we found that there was no kind of significance between their efficacies. When compared to other tested disinfectants, Kreso® D which is a phenolic compound revealed superior activity against Salmonella typhimurium in the two experiments. Conclusion: The study showed that many disinfectants regardless to their constituents continues to give a very powerful efficacy against the most virulent bacterial strains, but the question remain can they be used in the presence of live birds. Further studies are required to explore the safety and the efficacy of these compounds when applied in poultry farms in the presence of live birds.


Background: Women's health undergoes physiological, pathological and psychological changes after menopause. Reduced estrogen levels have been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Estrogen is also known to affect the salivary gland functions. To understand the association between serum estrogen, osteoporosis and salivary calcium, the present cross-sectional study was undertaken. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine salivary calcium levels and its use for the diagnosis of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Methodology: Ninety individuals divided into three groups of healthy controls, pregnant women and postmenopausal women were selected. Serum estrogen, salivary calcium and bone mineral density (BMD) at the heel region were estimated. Statistical analysis using the Mann–Whitney U-test was done to compare the results within the groups. Results: Mean estrogen levels were 115.8 ± 80.18 pg/mmol in control group, 7729.4 ± 907.6 pg/mmol in pregnant group and 51.2 ± 74.51 pg/mmol in postmenopausal group, respectively. The mean salivary calcium in control, pregnant and postmenopausal groups was 3.12 ± 0.63, 3.19 ± 0.62 and 7.12 ± 0.79 μg/dl, respectively. Paired comparison within the groups showed high statistical significance (P = 0.0000) in the salivary calcium levels. The mean BMD of −2.3 (standard deviation [SD] ± 0.83) in the postmenopausal group was significantly lower than −0.6 (SD ± 0.99) and −0.2 (SD ± 1.42) of pregnant and control groups, respectively. Conclusion: A negative correlation was found between estrogen and bone density. A significant difference in salivary calcium was noted in the study groups, highlighting the role of salivary calcium in the detection of early bone changes in postmenopausal women.


Euroland is now in its fourth year of unsatisfactory growth. What are the reasons for this and what can be done about it? This report arrives at the following conclusions:
1. Demographic change is already now reducing the growth potential and squeezing government finances.
2. Insufficient investment is the main driver of the productivity slowdown that has weakened growth.
3. To stimulate investment, better coordination among fiscal, structural and monetary policy is needed: Ideally a combination of structural reform, fiscal consolidation and low interest rates. The ECB – as the only widely respected economic policy-making institution in the EU with room for manoeuvre – should become more proactive in pursuing economic policy coordination in order to obtain more progress on structural reform and fiscal consolidation.
4. To foster a more balanced expansion of the world economy and reduce the risk of brutal exchange rate movements, greater cooperation among the central banks of the US, the EU, Japan and China is needed, giving rise to a G4.