Against the backdrop of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, this paper analyzes the measurement issues in gender-based indices constructed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and suggests alternatives for choice of variables, functional form, and weights. While the UNDP Gender Inequality Index (GII) conceptually reflects the loss in achievement due to inequality between men and women in three dimensions--health, empowerment, and labor force participation--we argue that the assumptions and the choice of variables to capture these dimensions remain inadequate and erroneous, resulting in only the partial capture of gender inequalities. Since the dimensions used for the GII are different from those in the UNDP's Human Development Index (HDI), we cannot say that a higher value in the GII represents a loss in the HDI due to gender inequalities. The technical obscurity remains how to interpret GII by combining women-specific indicators with indicators that are disaggregated for both men and women. The GII is a partial construct, as it does not capture many significant dimensions of gender inequality. Though this requires a data revolution, we tried to reconstruct the GII in the context of Asia-Pacific using three scenarios: (1) improving the set of variables incorporating unpaid care work, pay gaps, intrahousehold decision making, exposure to knowledge networks, and feminization of governance at local levels; (2) constructing a decomposed index to specify the direction of gender gaps; and (3) compiling an alternative index using Principal Components Index for assigning weights. The choice of countries under the three scenarios is constrained by data paucity. The results reveal that the UNDP GII overestimates the gap between the two genders, and that using women-specific indicators leads to a fallacious estimation of gender inequality. The estimates are illustrative. The implication of the results broadly suggests a return to the UNDP Gender Development Index for capturing gender development, with an improvised set of choices and variables.


In this essay i examine the adaption process of the book Robinson Crusoe (1719) and the movie Robinson Crusoe from 1997. From my findings i will discuss the didactic potential of working with classic literature in a widened textual sense. I aim to answer the following questions:1. What could be found in the adaption process between text and movie?2. How can film be used as didactical tool in teaching classical literature in upper secondary school?The methods i have used in this essay are narrative method which means that you study the story as a whole and it´s parts. In specific I have studied the plot, use of time and the characters. I have found that the characters have been modernized in order to fit in a changed society. Which is also shown is the polarization of the characters´ religion. A women is added to the story which change the cultural context in comparison to the original story. I found several potential didactic dimensions; for example the use of a female character in the movie which can engage a larger audience, different living conditions and the questions of different religions.


Facing an anticipated shortage declaration on the Colorado River and reductions in surface water for agricultural use, rural stakeholder groups are concerned about how water cutbacks will affect their local economies. Local farm groups and county governments often lack the analytical tools to measure such impacts. While one can learn much from large-scale hydro-economic models, data, cost, and time limitations have been barriers to such model development. This article introduces three basic modeling approaches, using relatively low-cost and accessible data, to examine local economic impacts of water reallocations from agriculture. An empirical application estimates the effect of agricultural water reductions to Pinal County, Arizona, the county that would be most affected by a Colorado River Shortage Declaration. Water cutbacks to agriculture are modeled using two variants of a "rationing" model, which assumes that farmers will fallow their acres that generate the lowest gross returns (Rationing Model I) or the lowest net returns (Rationing Model II) per acre-foot of water. Rationing models have modest data requirements given that crop and region specific data are available. Building off these simpler rationing models, an input-output (I-O) model provides more detailed information about the impacts on different rural stakeholder groups as well as the impacts to non-agricultural sectors and the local tax base. Given imminent water cutbacks, access to low-cost data and information that are easy to interpret is essential for effective community dialogue.


A textual analysis of the word diakrinō in Acts 11:12 was undertaken to establish whether the verse contradicts the theory that Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus remain distinct in a theologically significant manner, as some English translations imply. The study finds no clear evidence in the text to sustain the translation that there is 'no distinction' between the two. Diakrinō in Acts 11:12 is very unlikely to denote distinction in the sense of differentiation, and even less likely to indicate wavering or doubting on account of the distinction which observant Jews like Peter made between fellow Jews and Gentiles. Instead, diakrinō in this text is most likely intended to denote contestation or dispute: Peter was told to obey without dispute, not without making distinction between Gentiles and Jews.


The survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein is essential for cytoplasmic assembly of spliceosomal snRNPs. Although the normal proportion of endogenous snRNAs is unevenly altered in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) tissues, the biogenesis of individual snRNPs is not dramatically affected in SMN-deficient cells. The SMN protein is also required for normal Cajal body (CB) formation, but the functional consequences of CB disruption upon SMN deficiency have not yet been analyzed at the level of macromolecular snRNPs assembly. Here, we show that the SMN protein is required for tri-snRNPs formation and that the level of the minor U4atac/U6atac/U5 tri-snRNPs is dramatically decreased in lymphoblasts derived from a patient suffering from a severe form of SMA. We found also that splicing of some, but not all, minor introns is inhibited in these cells, demonstrating links between SMN deficiency and differential alterations of splicing events mediated by the minor spliceosome. Our results suggest that SMA might result from the inefficient splicing of one or only a few pre-mRNAs carrying minor introns and coding for proteins required for motor neurons function and/or organization.


The robust dispersal capability of the coyote (Canis latrans) would suggest a pattern of widespread gene flow across North America, yet historical legacies, dispersal barriers, and habitat affinities may produce or reinforce genetic structure. In the northeastern United States, some coyotes carry genetic signatures from past hybridization events with eastern wolves (C. lupus lycaon). These so-called "coywolves" may have differential predation or competitive success compared with the western origin coyotes with whom they share the contemporary landscape. We sampled coyote populations from New York (n1⁄4 156) and Wyoming, USA (n1⁄4 8) in 2006–2007 and from South Carolina, USA, in 2010 and confirmed regional genetic structure among these coyote populations. Then, within the putative contact zone between the northeastern and western coyote colonization fronts (New York State), we evaluated evidence for broadand fine-sale genetic structure, and a genetic gradient among New York coyotes using a suite of spatial genetic analyses. Although broad-scale analyses indicated New York coyotes were highly intermixed, subtle isolation-by-distance was detected, and local spatial autocorrelation indicated potentially shorter dispersal distances and larger group sizes for coyotes in the Northeastern Highlands (Adirondack Mountains and foothills). Yet we failed to detect a distinct contact zone between 2 coyote types in New York, indicating that local abundance and ecological context rather than genetic lineage are likely to determine the local ecological effects of coyotes in this region. We suggest that the contact zone between coyote colonization fronts has either eroded or moved further south. 2019 The Wildlife Society.


Preeclampsia is multisystem specific disorder in pregnancy. Preeclampsia has signed by increased cytokine Interleukin-6 and β hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin). Spirulina is green-blue alga has bioactive compound namely antioxidant, vitamin, mineral. And has benefit namely antinflamation. The aim of this research was to know how spirulina influence to repair trophoblast in Hcg concentration on rat pregnancy (biology material collecting). The type of this research is an experimental laboratoric with post test only control group design. A total of 25 rats with pre-eclampsia models induced by Interleukin 6 are divided into 5 groups: the untreated control group, the positive control group with Interleukin 6 induction for three days, the treatment group with a dose of 10 mg / day, 20 mg / day and 40 mg of spirulina. / day for five day, then the blood serum produced was measured with β hCG levels using ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). The results of the Spirulina 10 mg / day are higher at 85.11 ± 25.70 mIU / ml from a dose of spirulina 20 mg / day at 79.65 ± 10.65 mIU / ml . In the level of β hCG, the dose group of spirulina 10 mg / day and the group there is no significant difference (0.730> 0.05), the β hCG level group of spirulina 40 mg / day was 93.28 ± 17, 12 mIU / ml from the dose group of spirulina 10 mg / day was 85.11 ± 25.70 mIU / ml. The administration of spirulina for five days was able to reduce β hCG levels at a dose of 10 mg / day, 20 mg / day and 40 mg / day and the dose that was most effective in reducing β hCG levels significantly (P <0.05) was a dose of 10 mg than dose of 20 mg / day and 40 mg / day.


The Renewable Energy Reader is a concise, reader-friendly sourcebook for U.S. renewable energy law. Each chapter provides historical background as well as illustrations and technology charts to give readers context for better understanding renewable energy sources and related legal issues. Each chapter also includes closely-edited excerpts from some of the most prominent primary and secondary legal sources - articles, cases, statutes, and regulations - highlighting current and potential legal challenges to the advancement of renewable resources. The Reader provides an accessible reference for lawyers, law students, policy-makers, and the general public, providing an overview of the significant legal implications of renewable energy development.K.K. DuVivier is a professor of law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She worked as a geologist before law school and, prior to entering academia, practiced law in the natural resource area for eight years first at the national law firms of Arnold & Porter and Sherman & Howard and then as an Assistant City Attorney in the land use department for the City and County of Denver. In developing the Reader, Professor DuVivier visited renewable energy facilities across the country and collaborated closely with renewable energy experts, including several from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a 32-year leader in renewable energy research and development.


In this paper we consider a dynamic nonzero-sum game between the polluting firms and the authorities. Although the proposed game is not easily solvable for the feedback case, i.e., it is not the linear quadratic case of game and not a degenerated case, we calculate explicitly a stationary feedback equilibrium. In the proposed game the regulator has the ability to turn the optimal allocation of their efforts between abatement and taxation of the polluting firms. During the game, the regulator's criterion is the minimization of the total discounted costs, while the criterion of the polluting firms is their utility maximization. Next, sensitivity analyses regarding the efficiency parameters of both players are provided. The conclusions are that a farsighted regulator should put much effort in abatement measures (instead of taxation measures) as well as in the improvement of abatement efficiency.


In addition to adequate data, the formulation of transport forecasts relies upon a knowledge of the relationships between the demand for transport and those factors which influence it. These relationships are described with mathematical functions and the their model parameters. The parameters derived from revealed preference (RP) data are often subject to too many impon-derables and are thus of only limited value in many cases. The main cause of this uncertainty is data which is either insufficiently detailed or unsuitable for estimating transport demand functions. For this reason, an earlier SVI study concerning the sensitivity of passenger transport to sup-ply- side and price changes recommended that research should be conducted in parallel with major transport infrastructure investments. In this way this recommended project would be able to check and validate the quality of the findings from alternative or supplementary stated preference (SP) (Vrtic et al., 2000), as both forecast and actual changes in demand would be known to it. The launch of intercity tilting-trains (known as ICNs) in 2001 and further supply-side im-provements to road and rail transport supply offered an opportunity to conduct ex ante/ex post surveys in order to verify the forecasting approaches in a defined period. This mix of qualita-tive and quantitative changes is a particular challenge for forecasting and the attendant data collection process. Nonetheless, it is a challenge that must be overcome again and again in day-to-day practice. As the supply-side changes are generally small, it was expected that changes on the demand side will be concentrated at the level of mode and route choice. The principal aim of this research remit was to verify and identify the limits and possibilities of the three data sources for forecasting by means of an ex ante/ex post analysis. However, this study also offered an opportunity to analyse other aspects of importance to transport fore-casting. Here, in addition to the study methodology, the quality and accessibility of the avail-able bodies of data proved to be crucial factors in modelling transport movements and events. In a first stage the study estimated a detailed public transport route choice model and cali-brated national network models for both road and rail demand. This is an essential preliminary stage to the calculation of modal shifts in demand for transport and the subsequent review of the different forecasts. In the case of mode choice changes, the three most common ap-proaches to forecasting were to be tested: • Direct elasticity, known from previous studies • RP models, i.e. model parameters based on RP data • SP models, i.e. model parameters based on SP data The primary benefits of this study can be summarized as follows: - It sets out the opportunities and limits, as well as the advantages and disadvan-tages, of the three data sources for forecasting under review. - This the first study to provide models of route and mode choice which have been estimated from SP data. The model parameters estimated using this data provide the basis for the practical application of mode and route choice models following supply-side transport changes. - The estimated model parameters, current figures and the relative valuations dem-onstrate the importance of individual variables to mode and route choice. They were estimated for each trip purpose. - The study showed that in this case the forecasts derived from the SP-data were more consistent and more precise than either the estimates from the direct elastic-ities or the RP data. - Verifying transport forecasts shows how and where further improvements can or must still be made with regard to both data bases and methodology. - The study describes the possibilities and methodical foundation for common SP/RP estimates of model parameters.


1. The role of agricultural policies in addressing the development needs of poorer countries is high on the political agenda, for both structural reasons and as a result of recent market developments. In the first place, there is a growing consensus that agriculture has been neglected in national development strategies, and that there is a need for greater investment in the sector, both to achieve immediate poverty reduction and to stimulate broader pro-poor economic development. This is a core message of the World Bank's latest World Development Report (World Bank, 2008). In the case of Africa, members of the African Union committed in 2003 to allocate at least 10% of their national budgets to agriculture and rural development, while more recently the G8 pledged to provide EUR 1 billion of support for investment in African agriculture. As agricultural development receives greater priority, there is a need to clarify the supporting role that agricultural policies should play.


The purpose of this paper is to discuss populist actions that are expected follow technological change on the labor market.1 The causes and consequences of possible technological unemployment will be addressed and to what extent it could be expected that the rapid technological change leads to unemployment (or that the labor market adapts in a similar way to previous technological changes as has been seen in history so far). A transforming labor market will constitute challenges for the future – possible wage polarization and heterogeneous distribution of unemployment in the labor force might create a demand for policy solutions that have an illiberal direction. In the paper it will be argued that the threat of populism will come from a disgruntled middle class rather than as commonly believed the poorer strata of the wage distribution.


Contamination by fungi and mycotoxins in nuts has achieved much attention in recent years. In fact, the fungal metabolites produced by the species of Aspergillus, Penicillium (aflatoxins and ochratoxins), Fusarium (trichothecenes, zearalenones and fumonisins) and Alternaria (alternariotoxins) with toxic and/or carcinogenic effects are considered a threat to human and animal health. In this chapter we will discuss the main fungal taxa and related mycotoxins most frequently associated with these materials. In this regard, the first results on the level of contamination by fungi and mycotoxins in samples of almonds and pistachios of different origins will be reported. The main strategies to reduce the risk of contamination will also be recommended.


Young adults with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody often experience poor outcomes across a number of domains, on average, relative to their peers. While government funding for services targeting these groups of young people has increased in recent years, research on the effectiveness of such services is limited, and few of the programs that have been rigorously tested have been found to improve outcomes.The Youth Villages Transitional Living Evaluation is testing whether the Transitional Living program, operated by the social service organization Youth Villages, makes a difference in the lives of young men and women with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody. The program, which was renamed "YVLifeSet" in April 2015, is intended to help these young people make a successful transition to adulthood by providing intensive, individualized, and clinically focused case management, support, and counseling.The evaluation uses a rigorous random assignment design and is set in Tennessee, where Youth Villages operates its largest Transitional Living program. From October 2010 to October 2012, more than 1,300 young people were assigned, at random, to either a program group, which was offered the Transitional Living program's services, or to a control group, which was not offered those services. Using survey and administrative data, the evaluation team measured outcomes for both groups over time to assess whether Transitional Living services led to better outcomes for the program group compared with the control group's outcomes.This is the third major report in the evaluation. The first report provides a detailed description of the Transitional Living program model and assesses its implementation. The second report assesses whether the program improved key outcomes during the first year after young people were enrolled in the study. That report relies largely on survey data to analyze the program's impacts in the six domains that it was designed to affect: education; employment and earnings; housing stability and economic well-being; social support; health and safety; and criminal involvement. This third report uses administrative data to assess the program's impacts in three of the original six domains — education; employment and earnings; and criminal involvement — during the second year after study enrollment. Taken together, the one- and two-year results show that participation in the Transitional Living program had modest, positive impacts on a broad range of outcomes. The program boosted earnings, increased housing stability and economic well-being, and improved some outcomes related to health and safety. However, it did not improve outcomes in the areas of education, social support, or criminal involvement.These results indicate that the Transitional Living program can improve multiple outcomes for young adults with histories of foster care or juvenile justice custody, a notable finding given how few other programs that serve these populations have been shown to have an effect. As a next step, Youth Villages aims to build on the areas where the program has already been successful by testing modifications to the YVLifeSet model; the hope is that such modifications will further improve young people's outcomes, particularly in domains where the program has not yet produced positive impacts.


Antonin Scalia's coauthored treatise on legal interpretation is also a melodrama, with sharply drawn good guys and bad guys. The hero is the Faithful and Impartial Judge, the servant of Democracy. The argument is weak and inconsistent with Scalia's actual practice as a judge. The book nonetheless nicely accomplishes what it is trying to do. Scalia is one of the authors, to be sure, but he is also the protagonist of a narrative. The author's preeminent concern is seeing to it that you perceive the protagonist as the author intends: as the champion of judicial restraint, against all those liberal oligarchs. If you buy the story of Virtuous Scalia, that empowers Judicial Activist Scalia.


Risk assessment logics when working with men's violence against women
Over the past two decades, social workers' assessment and decision-making skills in client cases have been the subject of increased attention. The profession's ability to conduct accurate assessments has been questioned. One way to seek to improve assessment work has been to implement various risk assessment tools. This article describes how social workers reason in risk assessment situations involving women exposed to violence by a previous male partner. The assessments studied here have been carried out with the assessment tool FREDA. The analysis reveals three logics in the social workers' reasoning: the addiction logic, the normalization logic and the safety logic. These logics illustrate how social workers' deliberations and assessments are not governed in a rectilinear manner by the standardized tool but that risk is negotiated also by drawing on other knowledge sources. Although standardization can be seen as a way for professionals to strive for more secure social work, the participants at the same time acknowledge the uncertainty associated with assessment work in which future violence is to be predicted. This however can have consequences for how the victims of violence are expected to live their lives.


This qualitative study aims to explore the parents' or other family members' experiences in
participating in music therapy sessions with their children with special needs. This aim
leads to three research questions which were; 1) Can music therapy help to achieve aims set
out for individual children with special needs and their parents or other family members 2)
What are the functions of music therapy in nurturing communication between the parents or
other family members and their children? and 3) How can the music therapist develop ways
in which parents or other family members can use music to help their children?
Six children who are attending the Special Education Centre, region 9 in Thailand, aged
four to twelve years old with their family members who are their primary carers,
participated in 24 music therapy sessions. Each session was videoed and the video
recordings were discussed every two weeks with the carers. The carers were interviewed
three times by the research assistants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was
employ to evaluate data collected from interviews. Furthermore, there were two home
visits, one after a month when the 24th session was finished and another visit was two
months after the 24th session was finished.
From the interview analysis, there are 28 themes under five categories namely: 1) The
carers' expectations of the music therapy 2) The carers' experience of seeing their children
in the music therapy sessions 3) The carers' experiences of seeing themselves in the
sessions 4) The carers' experiences of reviewing the video recordings from the music
therapy sessions and 5) The carers' experiences of using music at home.
It can be summarised that music therapy made a positive impact on the children and their
carers. The finding highlighted how the music therapy enhanced the social and
communication skills of the children. Moreover, involving the carers in the sessions
enabled the carers to have positive experiences with their children and these experiences
led the carers to see and interact with their children differently. The findings suggest the
ways to work with the carers in a therapeutic process and how to encourage the carers to
use music at home with their children


The growth of electronic publication and informatics archives makes it possible to harvest vast quantities of knowledge about knowledge, or "metaknowledge." We review the expanding scope of metaknowledge research, which uncovers regularities in scientific claims and infers the beliefs, preferences, research tools, and strategies behind those regularities. Metaknowledge research also investigates the effect of knowledge context on content. Teams and collaboration networks, institutional prestige, and new technologies all shape the substance and direction of research. We argue that as metaknowledge grows in breadth and quality, it will enable researchers to reshape science—to identify areas in need of reexamination, reweight former certainties, and point out new paths that cut across revealed assumptions, heuristics, and disciplinary boundaries.


Functional verification is a complex and time-consuming task in the design process. Recently, various approaches have been developed to improve verification efficiency, including advanced coverage analysis techniques, coverage-driven verification methodologies and coverage-directed stimulus generation techniques. One remaining challenge is to fully automate functional coverage closure. This paper presents a novel approach for coverage-directed stimulus generation based on inductive learning from examples. Test sequences and their related coverage are examined to induce general rules which describe the characteristics of these tests. Coverage closure can be automated by applying the rule learning to clusters similar to the target coverage hole and combining the resulting rules to obtain directives for test generation. The validity of the approach is demonstrated on a pilot case study


The transmission from a single subwavelength slit in a metal film with periodic dielectric bars on its surfaces has been analyzed numerically by the finite-difference time-domain method. Results show that the role of the periodic dielectric bars is just the same as that of the periodic grooves directly on the surfaces. With the modulations of dielectric bars on the input and output surfaces of the metal film, light transmission through the subwavelength slit is enhanced extraordinarily and confined to directional emission. The CDEW model is employed to explain the mechanism of the transmission enhancement and directional emission caused by the periodic dielectric bars.


In this paper a new methodology to identify the most accurate rainfall threshold in relation to some events is presented. The rainfall thresholds definition is one of the most important aspects in controlling slope stability in colluvial and detritic materials. For this purpose this study investigates the most important rainfall thresholds presented in literature: both empirical and physically based ones. With the aim of contributing to the landslide hazard forecasting, a comparison among the main rainfall thresholds and real cases was carried out. Data from different locations (in Alpine areas) and triggering rainfalls have been analyzed in order to define a methodology for choosing the best threshold in relation to the local conditions of the slope. On the basis of the available database, a detailed description of the applicability of the rainfall thresholds to features of the territory is presented. The effect of the geo-morphological conditions of the case studies is actually important in the choosing of the rainfall threshold. This paper suggests a methodology with some determinant rules for choosing the best available rainfall thresholds for the investigated case. This procedure is a useful instrument for civil protection services interested in landslide hazard management, especially for landslide reactivation.


Network covert channels are used to hide communication inside network protocols. Various techniques for covert channels have arisen in the past few decades. We surveyed and analyzed 109 techniques developed between 1987 and 2013 and show that these techniques can be reduced to only 11 different patterns. Moreover, the majority (69.7%) of techniques can be categorized into only four different patterns (i.e., most techniques we surveyed are similar). We represent the patterns in a hierarchical catalog using a pattern language. Our pattern catalog will serve as a base for future covert channel novelty evaluation. Furthermore, we apply the concept of pattern variations to network covert channels. With pattern variations, the context of a pattern can change. For example, a channel developed for IPv4 can automatically be adapted to other network protocols. We also propose the pattern-based covert channel optimizations pattern hopping and pattern combination. Finally, we lay the foundation for pattern-based countermeasures: whereas many current countermeasures were developed for specific channels, a pattern-oriented approach allows application of one countermeasure to multiple channels. Hence, future countermeasure development can focus on patterns, and the development of real-world protection against covert channels is greatly simplified.


Official statistics contain very limited information on occupational skin diseases among self-employed farmers. In the National Register of Occupational Diseases, there is no special category for self-employed farmers, irrespective the separate insurance institution and fundamental differences in labour legislation. Statistics published by the Agricultural Social Insurance Institution lack medically relevant data. This study was aimed at filling this gap through creating detailed statistics of occupational dermatoses among private farmers. Cases of occupational dermatoses diagnosed from 1991 to 1999 were included in the analyses. Results: the first case was recorded in 1992; altogether there were 101 cases by the end of 1999. There was a clear increase in the number of diagnosed cases – from 0 in 1991 to 27 cases in 1999. Allergic contact dermatitis was the most common diagnosis (86%). The health impairment ranged from 2 to 36% (median 20%). The most frequently identified causes for the diseases were plant dusts and animal allergens, followed by metals, pesticides, and rubber chemicals. Despite the rapid increase in the numbers of diagnosed cases, there is evidence that only a small percentage of cases is detected nowadays. The reasons for this are lack of prophylactic health checks for self-employed farmers, their difficult access to occupational safety and health services, and finally lack of knowledge on this topic both among farmers and doctors in rural areas.


This study conducted a series of content analyses of the articles published by International Journal of Science Education, Science Education, and Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 1998 to 2002. A total of 802 research papers were analyzed in terms of the authors' nationality, research types and topics. It was found that researchers in four major English‐speaking countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada, contributed to a majority of the publications, but the researchers from other non‐English countries may have, to a certain extent, gradually played a valuable role on the published work. This probably implies that science education research may have progressively become an important field recognized by the international academic community. This study also found that most of the published articles were categorized as empirical studies, while position, theoretical and review papers were rarely presented in the journals. Although the research topic of students' conceptions and conceptual change was the most frequently investigated one in these five years, a declining trend was observed when analyzed by year. Moreover, in 1998–2002, the research topics related to student learning contexts, and social, cultural and gender issues were also received relatively more attention among science educators.


Abstract. The aim of this study was to model the surface urban heat island (SUHI) based on remote sensing data, urban morphology parameters and partial least square (PLS) regression using Santa Rosa, California, USA as a case study. Night-time Land surface temperature (LST) was estimated for all the available Landsat 8 night-time data from august to November for the year 2013. Urban morphology parameters such as Building Volume (BV) and Sky View Factor (SVF) were calculated using available LIDAR data of the study area and Normalized Difference Vegetation (NDVI), Index based Built-up Index (IBI) were calculated using Landsat 8 data sets and were used to identify the impact of urban surface characteristics on land surface temperature. Partial least square (PLS) regression analysis was used to assess the correlation and statistically significance of the variables on LST and model the night time LST of the study area. The results of the analysis showed that the LST has a strong positive relationship with IBI and BV and negative relationship with SVF and NDVI and also at night-time, results showed that SVF has a stronger impact on LST differences than NDVI where areas with high density trees had higher temperature than obstacle free vegetated areas. The result of night time LST modelling of the study area was R-square with value of 0.81 between estimated and predicted LST and RMSE with value of 1.02 °C.


LATA K. MCGINN & WILLIAM C. SANDERSON: Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Northvale, NJ, Jason Aronson Inc. 1999, 296 pp., $40.00, ISBN 0-76-570-2118. Drs. Lata McGinn and William Sanderson have responded to the demands of the health care environment by producing an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) protocol for the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Increasingly, clinicians are being required by managed care companies and other agencies to employ treatments that have empirical support. Unfortunately, few clinicians have formal training in these evidence-based treatments since limited numbers of doctoral programs in clinical psychology, psychiatry residency training programs, and psychology and social work internships employ faculty with expertise in these evidence-based treatment approaches. The age-old problem has been transporting these treatments developed in university "laboratories" to the "real world." McGinn and Sanderson achieve this goal by presenting a detailed, session-by-session guide that helps clinicians carefully assess and systematically treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These authors have developed a comprehensive treatment for OCD that creatively combines psychoeducation and cognitive restructuring, with traditional exposure and response prevention techniques. The techniques described in this book draw primarily from the previous work of Aaron Beck, Edna Foa, Gail Steketee, and Paul Salkovskis. McGinn and Sanderson describe a patient diagnosed with OCD and weave this clinical material throughout the book to highlight the specific techniques presented. The first chapter of the book offers a succinct review of a cognitive-behavioral model of OCD. The authors describe the integration of the recent advances in employing cognitive restructuring with the traditional behavioral strategies. Each of the remaining eight chapters in the book is considered a "session." This structure helps clinicians organize their treatment around several content areas and stages. It is understood by the reader that this treatment is not actually completed in 8 sessions but rather each "session" is typically extended over several visits. Each session has its goals outlined at the beginning of each chapter which, when used later as a reference, helps the reader quickly review the highlights. Session I involves the assessment of OCD which contains two primary components. First, the authors review how to establish the diagnosis and which common comorbid conditions to consider. Second, is a review of general elements of any initial assessment as well as key elements in the assessment of OCD. For example, onset and course of the disorder, prior treatments, degree of insight, are some of the general domains of any assessment, whereas anxiety triggers (internal and external), avoidance behaviors, and ritualized thoughts and behaviors, are specific assessment areas relevant to OCD. …


The purpose of this article is first to make visible, examine, and illuminate the young generation's perception of what they learn and how they learn during their visits to youth clubs and similar meeting places; second, through visitors' own comments, interviews with visitors, and analysis of staff's diaries, to reflect on and analyze the unconscious learning that might have been visible; and third, to discuss how these particular contexts contribute to learning. The research was conducted using two questionnaires, staff daily notes in diaries, and through interviews with young people visiting youth clubs and similar meeting places. The results of the empirical study show that there is a gap between the youngsters' perception of what they learn or verbalize with the help of youth leaders and what they actually learn. To conclude, these meeting places can have a compensatory function to schools; a sort of expanded learning to help young people develop their citizenship. However, I shall take a critical view and argue that youth clubs and similar meeting places lack in making visible what young visitors actually can learn from their visits. To make it possible I suggest that the learning situations must be verbalized, discussed and made visible together with the youth leaders and the group of visitors or the individual visitors.


Lake Ohrid shared by the Republics of Albania
and Macedonia is formed by a tectonically active graben within the south Balkans and suggested to be the oldest lake in Europe. Several studies have shown that the lake provides a valuable record of climatic and environmental changes and a distal tephrostratigraphic record of volcanic eruptions from Italy. Fault structures identified in seismic data demonstrate that sediments have also the potential to record tectonic activity in the region. Here, we provide an example of linking seismic and sedimentological information with tectonic activity and historical documents. Historical documents indicate that a major earthquake destroyed the city of Lychnidus (today: city of Ohrid) in the early 6th century AD. Multichannel
seismic profiles, parametric sediment echosounder profiles, and a 10.08m long sediment record from the western part of the lake indicate a 2m thick mass wasting deposit, which is tentatively correlated with this earthquake. The mass wasting deposit is chronologically well constrained, as it directly overlays the AD472/AD 512 tephra. Moreover, radiocarbon dates and cross correlation with other sediment sequences
with similar geochemical characteristics of the Holocene indicate that the mass wasting event took place prior to the onset of the Medieval Warm Period, and is attributed it to one of the known earthquakes in the region in the early 6th century AD.


It seemed that the issue of maternal ideology as a device to curb social menaces has not attracted scholars. Thus, the study examined the use of maternal ideology in mobile telephone network (MTN®) as a means of influencing recipients against vices instead of the primary assignment of the product advertising. The author utilised an advert of MTN, Sharing is good, as an object of analysis. The theoretical underpinning of the investigation was the concept of Theme as a functional approach to social semiotics. Theme interconnects the text with visual images to elucidate the meaning-making potential of the framework. The study revealed that the mother and the daughter operate in the same functional environment without any objections from either. The relationship demonstrates humility, complementarity, shareability and generosity. The message of the advert could influence corrupt elements of society such as terrorists, kidnappers, and violence campaigners to abandon nefarious acts and to embrace good behaviours. The idea propagated, perhaps, deserves voluntary emulation. Thus, the article argues that national and international stakeholders could make policy to direct advertising professionals to communicate their thoughts with materials that can support peace and harmony in our society. Such an exercise could persuade advertisers to reduce their focus on mental capitalism alone.

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


Objective : This study examined the effect of a 10-week intensive medical-surgical course on ability to perform 16 common, acute care skills among Philippine educated nursing students seeking licensure in California. The aims of the study were to (1) determine competency in performing skills at the start of the medical-surgical course and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the medical-surgical course in improving skill competency. Methods : Twenty-three Philippine educated nursing students participated in a 4-hour skills competency test procedure that involved 4 patient care stations and 16 common acute care skills. During the last week of the 10-week medical-surgical course that included 24 open simulation lab practice hours, these same 23 students repeated the testing procedure. Results : At the start of the course skill competency scores were low with many of the participants unable to complete the skills stations. A significant improvement occurred in scores for 14 of the 16 skills when tested in the final week of the medical-surgical nursing course under the same conditions ( p < .05). Conclusions : Conducting the nursing skills competency testing procedure at the start of the course informed faculty about the abilities of Philippine educated nursing student participants. Because of potential differences in nursing education abroad, graduates of nursing programs in the Philippines might benefit from competency testing to evaluate initial skill levels, followed by intensive review of commonly performed nursing skills in the United States, if warranted by initial results.


Delirium is a complex neuropsychiatric syndrome with an acute onset and fluctuating course; it is common in all medical settings. Delirium occurs in about 15-20% of all general admissions to hospital1; it occurs with higher frequency in elderly people and in those with pre-existing cognitive impairment.2 Delirium has many synonyms, reflecting its ubiquitous nature rather than distinct conditions. These synonyms include acute brain failure, acute confusional state, and post-operative psychosis. Delirium has not been well studied owing to methodological difficulties and a lack of consensus about its definition. Thus, delirium has been underappreciated as an independent entity that requires therapeutic intervention beyond identification of the syndrome and amelioration of the underlying cause. The development of a clearer definition, improved detection and assessment tools, and recognition of the significant independent morbidity associated with delirium have substantially changed this situation. These developments coupled with a greater awareness of the needs of an increasingly large population of elderly people3 make a review of the day to day management of patients with delirium timely.

#### Summary points

Delirium is especially common in elderly patients and poses a substantial challenge for clinicians

Delirium comprises a wide of range of symptoms, but the prevailing narrow definition impedes diagnosis and efforts to improve treatment

Diagnosis can be improved by clinicians becoming more aware of hypoactive presentations, incorporating cognitive assessment into routine practice, and using simple screening instruments

Environmental strategies for treatment are free of adverse effects but are underutilised

Neuroleptics (such as haloperidol) continue to be used as first line treatment, but benzodiazepines are indicated in specific situations

This review is based on the results of a Medline search for articles published between 1980 and 1999 using the key words "delirium," "acute confusion," "management," and "treatment"; as well as hand searching for articles in major journals …


Groundwater lowering can produce dramatic changes in the physiological performance and survival of plant species. The impact of decreasing water availability due to climate change and anthropogenic groundwater extraction on coastal dune ecosystems has become of increasing concern, with uncertainties about how vegetation will respond in both the short and long terms. We aimed to evaluate the water‐use responses of different plant functional types to increasing groundwater table depth and how this would affect their physiology in Mediterranean coastal dune systems differing in aridity. We modelled water‐table depth, quantified the contribution of different soil layers to plant water through Bayesian isotope mixing models and used a combination of spectral and isotope data to characterize plant ecophysiology. We found that increasing depth to groundwater triggered water uptake adjustments towards deeper soil layers only in the dry season. These adjustments in water source use were made by conifer trees (Pinus pinea, P. pinaster) and hygrophytic shrubs (Erica scoparia, Salix repens) but not by the xerophytic shrub Corema album. Moreover, we observed a greater use of groundwater under semi‐arid conditions. Accompanying the greater use of water from deep soil layers as a response to increasing groundwater depth, the semi‐arid dimorphic‐rooted conifer tree P. pinea and hygrophytic shrub E. scoparia declined their water content (WI), without implications on photosynthetic parameters, such as chlorophyll content (CHL), photochemical index (PRI) and δ¹³C. Unexpectedly, under semi‐arid conditions, the shallow‐rooted xerophytic shrub C. album, associated with an absence of water source use adjustments, showed a decline in WI, CHL and PRI with groundwater table lowering. We provide insight into how different species, belonging to different functional types, are acclimating to groundwater changes in a region experiencing climatic drought and a scarcity in groundwater due to anthropogenic exploitation. Greater depth to groundwater combined with limited precipitation can have a significant effect on plants' water source use and ecophysiology in semi‐arid coastal dune ecosystems. A plain language summary is available for this article.


While mid-level perceptual cues have long been of interest in the human vision community, their role in computer vision has remained limited. In this report, we evaluate several algorithms which make use of mid-level processing in order to improve boundary detection. Our first technique builds a probabilistic model of the relation between prototypical local shapes of edges and the presence or absence of a boundary. We also present a more explicit local model of curvilinear continuity using piecewise linear representations of contours and the Constrained Delaunay Triangulation (CDT). Lastly we consider a global random field on the whole CDT which captures continuity along with the frequency of different of junction types. All three models are trained on human labeled groundtruth. We measure how each model, by incorporating mid-level structure, improves boundary detection. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such cues have been shown quantitatively useful for a large set of natural images. Better boundary detection has immediate application in the problem of object recognition.


We studied surface-pressure patterns corresponding to reduced precipitation, high evaporation potential, and enhanced forest-fire danger for West Virginia, which experienced extensive forest-fire damage in November 1987. From five years of daily weather maps we identified eight weather patterns that describe distinctive flow situations throughout the year. Map patterns labeled extended-high, back-of-high, and pre-high were the most frequently occurring patterns that accompany forest fires in West Virginia and the nearby four-stare region. Of these, back-of-high accounted for a disproportionately large amount of fire-related damage. Examination of evaporation acid precipitation data showed that these three patterns and high-to-the-south patterns ail led to drying conditions and all other patterns led to moistening conditions. Surface-pressure fields generated by the Canadian Climate Centre global circulation model for simulations of the present (1xCO2) climate and 2xCO2 climate were studied to determine whether forest-fire potential would change under increased atmospheric CO2. The analysis showed a tendency for increased frequency of drying in the NE US, but the results were not statistically significant.


Clathrin-mediated endocytosis involves the sequential assembly of more than 60 proteins at the plasma membrane. An important fraction of these proteins regulates the assembly of an actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3)-branched actin network, which is essential to generate the force during membrane invagination. We performed, on wild-type (WT) yeast and mutant strains lacking putative actin crosslinkers, a side-by-side comparison of in vivo endocytic phenotypes and in vitro rigidity measurements of reconstituted actin patches. We found a clear correlation between softer actin networks and a decreased efficiency of endocytosis. Our observations support a chain-of-consequences model in which loss of actin crosslinking softens Arp2/3-branched actin networks, directly limiting the transmission of the force. Additionally, the lifetime of failed endocytic patches increases, leading to a larger number of patches and a reduced pool of polymerizable actin, which slows down actin assembly and further impairs endocytosis.


In samples of pure natural gas hydrates from Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin, virtually no helium and neon components are present providing evidence that the light noble gases are not incorporated into the structure of natural methane hydrates. In contrast, the hydrates contain significant amounts of argon, krypton and xenon. These gases show a distinct fractionation pattern, with the heavier ones preferentially incorporated into the gas hydrate structure. The hydrate methane is devoid of 14C indicating that there is no contribution of a recent (14C‐active) organic carbon reservoir to the hydrate carbon pool. On the basis of the δ13C and δ2H signature, it appears that microbial CO2‐reduction is the dominant CH4 production pathway.


A reverse flow theorem for acoustic propagation in compressible potential flow has been obtained directly from the field equations without recourse to energy conservation arguments. A reciprocity theorem for the scattering matrix for the propagation of acoustic modes in a duct with either acoustically rigid walls or acoustically absorbing walls follows. It is found that for a source at a specific end of the duct, suitably scaled reflection matrices in direct and reverse flow have a reciprocal relationship. Scaled transmission matrices obtained for direct flow and reversed flow with simultaneous switching of source location from one end to the other also have a reciprocal relationship. A related reverse flow theorem specialized to one-dimensional acoustic propagation has also been obtained. Reciprocity relationships for the scattering coefficients for propagation are derived, and are found to be similar though much simpler than in the case of multi-mode propagation. In one-dimensional flow, reciprocal relations and power conservation arguments are used to show that scaled power reflection and transmission coefficients are invariant to flow reversal and switching of source location from one end of the duct to the other. Numerical verification of the reciprocal relationships is given in a companion paper.


Abstract:Intelligent behavior requires being able to acquire information and to use it to make and implement effective decisions. In exploring ways to help organizations function intelligently in crisis situations, a group decision support environment has been developed and a set of crisis planning tools designed. Intended to complement strategic planning systems, these tools are expected to help planners develop and communicate an understanding of high-priority issues so that intelligent decisions can be made and implemented during crises. The paper characterizes intelligent organizations, defines organizational crises, discusses the consequences of crises, and presents a crisis-management framework. Finally, the use of the tools is illustrated with a crisis planning case.


In spite of being the second largest recipient of FDI in the world, China shows limited evidence of considerable FDI benefits on growth (Fan and Hu 2007; Luo 2007; Ran et al. 2007). Motivated by Alfaro et al.s (2003) model, this study tests whether poor financial market development might be responsible for the relatively low benefits of FDI on growth in China. We apply BlundellBond system GMM estimators to a panel of Chinese provinces. Our results indicate that poor financial intermediation does indeed limit the transmission of FDI benefits within the Chinese economy. Moreover, the study reveals preliminary evidence that banks credits to unproductive State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) constitute poor financial intermediation with negative growth implications. In contrast, credits to small private enterprises are associated with a positive impact of FDI on growth.


The Notch signalling pathway regulates cell fate choices during both vertebrate and invertebrate development. In the Drosophila wing disc, the activation of Notch by its ligands Delta and Serrate is required to make the dorsoventral boundary, where several genes, such as wingless and cut, are expressed in a 2- to 4-cell-wide domain. The interactions between Notch and its ligands are modulated by Fringe via a mechanism that may involve post-transcriptional modifications of Notch. The ligands themselves also help to restrict Notch activity to the dorsoventral boundary cells, because they antagonise the activation of the receptor in the cells where their expression is high. This function of the ligands is critical to establish the polarity of signalling, but very little is known about the mechanisms involved in the interactions between Notch and its ligands that result in suppression of Notch activity. The extracellular domain of Notch contains an array of 36 EGF repeats, two of which, repeats 11 and 12, are necessary for direct interactions between Notch with Delta and Serrate. We investigate here the function of a region of the Notch extracellular domain where several missense mutations, called Abruptex, are localised. These Notch alleles are characterised by phenotypes opposite to the loss of Notch function and also by complex complementation patterns. We find that, in Abruptex mutant discs, only the negative effects of the ligands and Fringe are affected, resulting in the failure to restrict the expression of cut and wingless to the dorsoventral boundary. We suggest that Abruptex alleles identify a domain in the Notch protein that mediates the interactions between Notch, its ligands and Fringe that result in suppression of Notch activity.


Objectives: While reproductive factors might plausibly be involved in the aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the female predominance remains unexplained. A study was undertaken to address the possible impact of live births, pregnancy losses and pregnancy complications on the subsequent risk of RA in a nationwide cohort study. Methods: National register data were used to link reproductive histories and later RA hospitalisations in a cohort of 4.4 million Danes. As a measure of relative risk associated with different reproductive histories, ratios of first inpatient RA hospitalisation rates (RRs) were used with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) obtained by Poisson regression analysis. Results: Overall, 7017 women and 3041 men were admitted to hospital with RA in 1977–2004 (88.8 million person-years). The risk of RA was inversely associated with age at birth of first child in both women and men (p for trend <0.001). Overall, nulliparity and a history of pregnancy loss were not associated with RA risk but, compared with one-child mothers, women with two (RR 0.84; 95% CI 0.78 to 0.90) or three (RR 0.83; 95% CI 0.77 to 0.91) children were at reduced risk. The risk of RA was increased in women with a history of hyperemesis (RR 1.70; 95% CI 1.06 to 2.54), gestational hypertension (RR 1.49; 95% CI 1.06 to 2.02) or pre-eclampsia (RR 1.42; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.84). Conclusions: One-child mothers and young parents are at increased risk of RA later in life, possibly due to socioeconomic factors. The novel finding of a significantly increased risk of RA in women whose pregnancies were complicated by hyperemesis, gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia might reflect reduced immune adaptability to pregnancy in women disposed to RA or a role of fetal microchimerism in the aetiology of RA.


Interest in British Sign Language (BSL) is growing at a fantastic rate, and classes for hearing people are mushrooming all over the country. This lively introduction to the principles of the language and its vocabulary will therefore be widely welcomed, giving a vivid insight into a form of communication that can appear quite difficult for those whose first language is English. As the author takes pains to stress, BSL is not a mimed version of English. Equally rich and complex, it is visual, gestural and spatial, able to convey information and subtleties of meaning as fluently as any spoken language. Once learners have ceased to think in terms of individual words, they will come to revel in a language that involves the whole person: facial and bodily expression and movement, eye contact and gaze, lip pattern and the fluid movements of the signs themselves, all combining to form an integrated language system with rules of its own. Using detailed drawings throughout to illustrate the nuances of meaning, the author groups the signs according to type, introducing each theme and showing how facial expressions, hand and finger movements and placements are used and combined to vary the sense of what is being communicated. Her aim is to equip the reader with a basic understanding of the principles of sign language and a working knowledge of its vocabulary. In an ideal world BSL would be part of every school's curriculum, whether the pupils were deaf or not, thus giving deaf people the status in society which is their right. Meanwhile, this book will make an important contribution to the growing interest in learning the language, so that more and more people will appreciate that signs really do make sense.


The Collembola, or Springtails, are one of the lesser known
orders of the Insecta, differing from all others in possessing
not more than six abdominal segments and in having in most
species a peculiar forked spring by which they are able to
leap with great agility.
They are a very primitive group of insects, entirely
apterous, and have recently been shown to be the earliest
fossil insects.
The Collembola have been divided by Borner into two
suborders, ( 1) the ARTHROPLEONA, comprising the more elongated forms in which the segmentation of the thorax and
abdomen is well defined, and (2) the SYMPHYPLEONA or
globular foTms with little or no segmentation.
The latter suborder contains two families, the NEELIDAE,
a group of peculiar insects with antennre much shorter than
the head and inserted low down on the face, and the SMINTHURIDAE,
with antennae longer than the head and situated
well up towards the vertex.
To this latter family belong most of the Collembola
which are of serious economic importance. Owing to the
immense numbers in which they usually occur the amount
of damage caused to clover and other crops is often of very
serious importance.


Few issues have aroused more heated public debate than that of day care for children of working parents. Who should be responsible for providing child care--government, employers, schools, communities? What types of care are best? This volume explores the critical need for a more coherent policy on child care and offers recommendations for the actions needed to develop such a policy. Who Cares for America's Children? looks at the barriers to developing a national child care policy, evaluates the factors in child care that are most important to children's development, and examines ways of protecting children's physical well-being and fostering their development in child care settings. It also describes the "patchwork quilt" of child care services currently in use in America and the diversity of support programs available, such as referral services. Child care providers (whether government, employers, commercial for-profit, or not-for-profit), child care specialists, policymakers, researchers, and concerned parents will find this comprehensive volume an invaluable resource on child care in America.


The present research explores how consumers use labeling in online consumption communities as a social practice. Through the analysis of conversations in an online consumption community of vegetarians, this paper presents a typology of strategies for using labels to serve specific functions. (1) Construction strategy: Consumers invent new practices under one label to account for the variety of practices associated with a label while benefiting from the awareness surrounding it. Its purpose is to accommodate and promote emerging practices. (2) Reconstruction strategy: Consumers use static definitions of a label that selectively exclude community members they do not perceive to be "true" to the label for policing and demarcating community boundaries. (3) Conversion strategy: Consumers maintain use of a label despite conflicts to promote group cohesion and unity. (4) Invalidation strategy: Consumers abandon a label, because it has lost meaning for the practice to which they adhere. This paper presents a theoretical framework for when, how, and why online consumption community members use labels to describe themselves, their consumption activity, and the community to which they belong. This also provides marketers with insights into when and how to use such community-based labels to communicate with consumers.


Outwardly, the establishment considers charter schools a thorn in its side, Mr. Goenner notes - but who knows? Someday this same establishment may silently thank the charter school movement for its own rebirth. Michigan has established itself as a leading pioneer in the charter school movement now sweeping the country. Last year 43 charter schools operated in Michigan, serving approximately 5,700 students. These numbers are projected to double for the 1996-97 school year. Charter schools are responding to the needs of parents, students, and communities by infusing competition and market forces into education. By creating a more responsive system, charter schools are helping to revitalize public schooling. A key player in this revitalization has been Central Michigan University. Established in 1892, Central Michigan University is one of the largest teacher preparation institutions in the nation. It is committed to educational excellence and school reform and is leading Michigan's charter initiative. Legislative Battles Michigan's charter law was established to achieve the following six goals: 1) improve the learning environment, 2) stimulate innovative teaching methods, 3) create new professional opportunities for teachers through site-based management, 4) hold schools accountable for pupil achievement, 5) provide parents and students with greater educational choices, and 6) determine whether state funds can be more effectively, efficiently, and equitably distributed.(1) In 1993 Michigan became the ninth state to have a charter school law.(2) The Michigan Education Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others brought suit challenging the law, which was ruled unconstitutional in Ingham County District Court. In response, legislators quickly addressed the court ruling by enacting a second charter law (Act No. 416 of the Public Acts of 1994).(3) The original law is on appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court after the Michigan Court of Appeals narrowly upheld the lower court's ruling in the spring of 1996. The current law gives the state board of education supervision over the charter schools, and this change, along with a few other concessions, has so far been enough to keep it from being challenged. Michigan's law allows four different entities to authorize charter schools: state public universities, Community colleges, intermediate school districts, and local school districts. However, state public universities are limited to authorizing a combined total of 85 charters. This is an important point because, of the 43 charters that operated, 33 were authorized by universities (28 of them by Central Michigan University), eight were authorized by intermediate school districts, and only two were sponsored by local school districts.(4) New legislation will increase the combined number of charters that can be issued by state universities to 100 charters in 1997,125 charters in 1998, and 150 charters in 1999.(5) However, no single university may charter more than 50% of the annual cap. Public Response Parental demand for more educational options has been overwhelming. On average, charter schools in Michigan receive between three and four student applications for each available seat.(6) One school, Excel Academy in Grand Rapids, received nearly 200 applications in less than three weeks. The authorizers of charter schools are also being overwhelmed by applicants. Central Michigan University alone has received more than 150 requests for charter applications during the past year but has been legally constrained from serving them all. With the cap in place, universities will find themselves unable to meet the demand for new charters. Critics fear that charters will prove to be the forerunners of vouchers. But they are mistaken. Charter schools are neither about creating voucher systems nor about creating a few schools for a few children. Rather, charter schools are a vehicle for infusing competition and market forces into public education, a proven method for responsive change and improvement. …


A systematic review is a summary of existing evidence that answers a specific clinical question, contains a thorough, unbiased search of the relevant literature, explicit criteria for assessing studies and structured presentation of the results. A systematic review that incorporates quantitative pooling of similar studies to produce an overall summary of treatment effects is a meta-analysis. A systematic review should have clear, focused clinical objectives containing four elements expressed through the acronym PICO (Patient, group of patients, or problem, an Intervention, a Comparison intervention and specific Outcomes). Explicit and thorough search of the literature is a pre-requisite of any good systematic review. Reviews should have pre-defined explicit criteria for what studies would be included and the analysis should include only those studies that fit the inclusion criteria. The quality (risk of bias) of the primary studies should be critically appraised. Particularly the role of publication and language bias should be acknowledged and addressed by the review, whenever possible. Structured reporting of the results with quantitative pooling of the data must be attempted, whenever appropriate. The review should include interpretation of the data, including implications for clinical practice and further research. Overall, the current quality of reporting of systematic reviews remains highly variable.


The confidence limit is a standard measure of the accuracy of the result in any statistical analysis. Most of the confidence limits are derived as follows. The data are first divided into subsections and then, under the ergodic assumption, the temporal mean is substituted for the ensemble mean. Next, the confidence limit is defined as a range of standard deviations from this mean. However, such a confidence limit is valid only for linear and stationary processes. Furthermore, in order for the ergodic assumption to be valid, the subsections have to be statistically independent. For non‐stationary and nonlinear processes, such an analysis is no longer valid. The confidence limit of the method here termed EMD/HSA (for empirical mode decomposition/Hilbert spectral analysis) is introduced by using various adjustable stopping criteria in the sifting processes of the EMD step to generate a sample set of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). The EMD technique acts as a pre‐processor for HSA on the original data, producing a set of components (IMFs) from the original data that equal the original data when added back together. Each IMF represents a scale in the data, from smallest to largest. The ensemble mean and standard deviation of the IMF sample sets obtained with different stopping criteria are calculated, and these form a simple random sample set. The confidence limit for EMD/HSA is then defined as a range of standard deviations from the ensemble mean. Without evoking the ergodic assumption, subdivision of the data stream into short sections is unnecessary; hence, the results and the confidence limit retain the full‐frequency resolution of the full dataset. This new confidence limit can be applied to the analysis of nonlinear and non‐stationary processes by these new techniques. Data from length‐of‐day measurements and a particularly violent recent earthquake are used to demonstrate how the confidence limit is obtained and applied. By providing a confidence limit for this new approach, a stable range of stopping criteria for the decomposition or sifting phase (EMD) has been established, making the results of the final processing with HSA, and the entire EMD/HSA method, more definitive.


China is experiencing a dramatically increasing process of rural-urban migration, which is almost parallel with the phenomenal economic growth and development in China in the last decades. Given the massive scale of rural-urban migration in China, the health services access and health constraints not only matter to rural-urban migrants but also have important implications for broad public health concerns. However, this issue has not been paid enough attention in academic research.

This study focuses on the multifaceted reality of health constraints and health services access among migrants by originally exploring the social strata, social networks, and the understanding of health and health services among migrants. The research questions are stated as follows: What constraints and difficulties do migrants face with respect to their health and health services access? Is there a hierarchical structure in health services access and medical treatment access among migrants? When there is a shortage of financial resources, do they resort to informal social support (such as informal social networks/ guanxi) to obtain help and why? What are their understanding and experience of health and why?

Furthermore, this study investigates the health constraints and health services access of rural-urban migrants in the absence of equal social protection by the government. By conducting 36 qualitative interviews in Dengcun Village, a migrant community in Beijing, China, this paper: (1) Investigates issues concerning environmental health risks of migrants, their health seeking behaviours, and the constraints they encountered in accessing health services with respect to the social strata among migrants. It argues that the main obstacles to access health services are not only the shortage of financial resources among rural-urban migrants, but also lie in the institutional blindness regarding health security provision, rural-urban dualism and the household registration system in China. (2) Highlights the key function that social networks play in health and health services access among migrants in China, which has rarely been discussed in previous studies. Examines the range of social networks among migrants, from which they can acquire support, including financial and spiritual, when they are dealing with health problems. The study argues that social networks resemble a double-edged sword to rural-urban migrants in terms of health care access. The fact that migrants lack savings may not be the sole and essential reason for their extreme vulnerability in times of illness. Some migrants, who are in financial difficulties though, may have some assistance, including financial support and emotional support from their social networks. However, on the other hand, the assistance from social networks on their health and heath care access is limited, not only because their social networks is limited, but because the social networks should not bear the responsibility to support health services access of migrants, similar to or more than the state and migrants' employers. (3) Discusses the understanding of health among migrants, and further analyses that although many migrants have not formed proper understanding of the connotation of health and have limited knowledge of health, prime responsibility should not be put on the migrants because their poor understanding of health mainly results from their rural perspective while health and health services access depend on the social-economic environment in which they live and work.


Abstract:Racist hate crimes have increased in Sweden since 2006 when reports started, but they have also been followed by a variety of protests. This article analyzes the so-called #HijabUppropet (#HijabOutcry), a call initiated by Muslim feminist activists in response to a racist attack on a Muslim woman, which encouraged all "sisters" in Sweden to temporarily veil themselves in solidarity. The hijab outcry was widely heard and both celebrated and debated. Drawing on postcolonial feminist theory, this article shows how the initial protest against racism was partly reduced to a matter of being for or against the veil and the right to choose. Despite intentions to normalize the veil, the flow of comments and pictures on social media turned veils into examples of odd, exotic, and beautiful elements that enrich Swedish culture. The white secular subject was again reinstalled as the ideal and it seemed as though Muslim women could not pass as agents of Swedish feminist solidarity. Yet, at the same time, the debate in the aftermath of the hijab outcry had the effect of initiating an uneasy feeling of not belonging among white non-Muslim participators. This was a feeling that might affect future acts of solidarity—confronting a Swedish context of secular pride and whiteness—where Muslim women must struggle to be recognized as political subjects.


This paper proposed a novel predictive variable-structure-switching-based current controller for a three-phase load driven by a power inverter. The design specifications are robustness to load electrical parameters, fast dynamic response, reduced switching frequency, and simple hardware implementation. In order to meet previous specifications, a sliding mode controller has been developed, which is designed as finite-state automata, and implemented with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) device. The switching strategy implemented within the state transition diagram provides for a minimum number of switches by the three-phase inverter that is confirmed through simulation and experimental results. Its regulation using the proposed control law provides good transient response by the brushless ac motor control. However, this does not limit the wider applicability of the proposed controller that is suitable for different types of ac loads (rectifier and inverter) and ac motors (induction, synchronous, and reluctance). A new logical FPGA torque and speed controller is developed, analyzed, and experimentally verified.


: In this paper the problem of vehiclular platoons control with time delay and switching topology is considered. Due to data transmitions and sensors mesuarements, time delay should be investigated in system's modeling and controller design. Changes in communication topology may cause the internal and string instability of the vehicular platoons. Based on constant spacing policy, a robust controller is designed to provide internal and string stability of the vehicular platoons. By using Lyapunov-Krassovski and Lyapunov-Razumikhn theorems, two new approaches are presented to perform the internal stability of the proposed switched linear time-delay system. In continuance, a new theorem is presented to attain conditions satisfying string stability. Several simulation studies are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.


The use of antigen-specific T cells for adoptive therapy offers an opportunity to dissect the requirements for effective immunotherapy. We postulate that basic principles established from murine studies of adoptive immunotherapy performed decades ago may be operative in human clinical trials. We examine the use of CD4 helper T cells as a means to augment in vivo persistence and the use of pre-infusion lymphodepletion to condition patients prior to adoptive transfer. Adoptive CD4 T cell therapy The class II-restricted epitopes for tyrosinase and NY-ESO-1 were used to generate antigen-specific CD4 T cell clones from the peripheral blood of patients with metastatic melanoma. All patients had progressive disease refractory to conventional therapy and tumor expressing the targeted antigen. Among 9 patients treated in a dose escalation study of a single infusion of antigen-specific CD4 T cells at cell doses of 10 9 , 3.3 x 10 9 and 10 10 / m 2 , one complete, and a total of three mixed, partial and stable responses were observed; in two patients failing at lower dose levels, clinical responses were observed when re-treated with higher doses of CD4 T cells suggesting a dose-response effect. For some patients, we observed the development of endogenous CD4 and CD8 T cell responses to non-targeted melanoma-associated antigens. Tumors from these patients expressed absent to low levels of Class II, suggesting that localized recruitment of non-specific effectors by infused antigen-specific CD4 T cells may have led to tumor killing that was augmented by the expansion of endogenous tumor-associated antigen-specific T cells through cross-presentation. Infused antigen-specific CD4 T cells may have additionally contributed by 9licensing9 dendritic cells and engendering a pro-inflammatory milieu. To more directly assess the contribution and efficacy of CD4 T cells to the CD8 T cell response, a study using adoptively transferred CD8 T cells in the absence or presence of co-administered CD4 T cells is currently underway. Adoptive therapy following lymphodepletion Strategies to deplete regulatory cells and/or enhance homeostatic mechanisms to augment in vivo persistence and function were applied in clinical trials of adoptive therapy using first, fludarabine, and subsequently, high-dose cyclophosphamide. While fludarabine lymphodepletion led to elevated levels of serum IL-7 and IL-15 and an increase in persistence of transferred T cells of nearly 3-fold (up to 21 days), recovery from lymphodepletion led to an increase in the regulatory : effector T cell ratio and only modest clinical responses. The use of high-dose cyclophosphamide preceding adoptive transfer of antigen-specific CD8 T cell clones followed by low dose IL-2 (250,000 U/m 2 ) appears in early studies to provide an extended duration of in vivo persistence (more than 300 days) accompanied in some cases by complete and partial responses in patients with refractory metastatic melanoma. This abstract was published in Cancer Immunity , a Cancer Research Institute journal that ceased publication in 2013 and is now provided online in association with Cancer Immunology Research .


In this Article, we offer both a legal and a pragmatic framework for defending against copyright trolls. Lawsuits alleging online copyright infringement by John Doe defendants have accounted for roughly half of all copyright cases filed in the United States over the past three years. In the typical case, the plaintiff's claims of infringement rely on a poorly substantiated form pleading and are targeted indiscriminately at non-infringers as well as infringers. This practice is a sub-set of the broader problem of opportunistic litigation, but it persists due to certain unique features of copyright law and the technical complexity of Internet technology. The plaintiffs bringing these cases target hundreds or thousands of defendants nationwide and seek quick settlements priced just low enough that it is less expensive for the defendant to pay rather than to defend the claim, regardless of the merits of the claim.
We report new empirical data on the continued growth of this form of copyright trolling in the United States. We also undertake a detailed analysis of the legal and factual underpinnings of these cases. Despite their underlying weakness, plaintiffs have exploited information asymmetries, the high cost of federal court litigation, and the extravagant threat of statutory damages for copyright infringement to leverage settlements from the guilty and the innocent alike. We analyze the weaknesses of the typical plaintiff's case and integrate that analysis into a strategy roadmap for defense lawyers and pro se defendants. In short, as our title suggests, we provide a useful guide to the defense against the dark arts of copyright trolling.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multi-system inflammatory disease where genetic susceptibility coupled with largely undefined environmental factors is reported to underlie the aetiology of the disease. One such factor is low vitamin D status. The primary source of vitamin D is endogenous synthesis following exposure of the skin to UVB light. Photosensitivity, sunlight avoidance and the use of sun protection factor in combination with medications prescribed to treat the symptoms of the disease, puts SLE patients at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. Decreased conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to the metabolically active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, is possible, due to renal impairment common in SLE putting additional stress on vitamin D metabolism. The majority of studies have identified low 25-hydroxyvitamin D in SLE patients, albeit using varying cut-offs (<25 to <80 nmol/l). Of these studies, fifteen have investigated a link between status and disease activity with conflicting results. Variation with disease activity index measures used alongside methodological limitations within the study design may partially explain these findings. This review discusses the importance of optimal vitamin D status in SLE, critically evaluates research carried out to date that has investigated vitamin D in SLE, and highlights the need for a well-designed observational study that controls for diet, medication use, dietary supplements, UV exposure and seasonality, that uses sensitive methods for measuring vitamin D status and disease activity in SLE to conclusively establish the role of vitamin D in SLE.


An environmental Index known as Site Sensitivity Index (SSI) was developed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), India to quantify and compare the sensitivity of different sanitary landfill sites on the basis of accessibility, receptor, environmental, socio-economic, waste management practices, climatological and geological criteria. The SSI integrates parametric effects of all attributes about suitability of site for landfilling and generates a single number expressing the sensitivity of the site for municipal solid waste disposal. The index is based on the impact of 32 attributes and their relative significance as assessed by a group of experts. It therefore necessitates ascertaining all 32 attributes for the selected sites and then compare their respective suitability based on SSI. In case, data related with any or a few attribute(s) are not available, comparing and finalization of landfill site is not possible using this approach. This paper attempts to estimate and report the error introduced in the value of SSI due to unavailability of such required data. An attempt has been made to classify attributes into high, medium and low weight categories based upon their significance in finding the SSI. The SSIs have been calculated for two sites of Varanasi, one site of Bangalore and one arbitrarily selected most sensitive site. The analysis of this study indicates that the error may be high (>10%) if more than two data of high weight category are not available, whereas a marginal error (5-10%) is incurred if up to 10 parameters having low or middle weights are not available. A software program has been developed in Visual Basic to calculate SSI based on available data and guide the user about the importance of the missing attributes.


Abstract The lamproite of Gaussberg is an ultrapotassic rock where leucite, olivine and clinopyroxene microphenocrysts occur in a glass-rich groundmass, containing microliths of leucite, clinopyroxene, apatite, phlogopite and rare K-richterite. Abundant silicate melt inclusions occur in olivine, leucite and, rarely, in clinopyroxene microphenocrysts. Raman investigations on melt inclusions showed the presence of pure CO2 in the shrinkage bubbles. On the other hand, the glass of the groundmass is CO2-poor and contains up to 0.70 wt.% of dissolved H2O, as estimated by infrared spectra. It is inferred that CO2 was released at every stage of evolution of the lamproite magma (CO2-rich shrinkage bubbles), whereas H2O was retained for longer in the liquid. At Gaussberg, CO2 seems to have a major role at relatively high pressure where it favoured the crystallization of H2O-poor microphenocrysts; the uprise of the magma to the surface decreased the solubility of CO2 and caused a relative increase in water activity. As a consequence, phlogopite and K-richterite appeared in the groundmass. The glass composition of both the groundmass and melt inclusions suggests different evolutions for the residual liquids of the investigated samples. Sample G886 shows the typical evolution of a lamproite magma, where the residual liquid evolves toward peralkaline and Na-rich composition and crystallizes K-richterite in the latest stage. Sample G895 derives from mixing/mingling of different batches of magma; effectively glasses from melt inclusions in leucite and clinopyroxene are more alkaline than those found in early crystallized olivine. Leucite and clinopyroxene crystallized early from a relatively more alkaline batch of lamproite magma and, successively, a less alkaline, olivine-bearing magma batch assimilated them during its rise to the surface.


Abstract Chronic pain due to surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy is prevalent in long-term cancer survivors. Chronic pain due to successful cancer treatment should be treated as chronic nonmalignant pain, primarily with nonpharmacological strategies. Based on complete national data from the Cancer Registry of Norway and the Norwegian prescription database, the aim of this study was to compare the use of nonopioid analgesics, opioids, and benzodiazepines 10 years after cancer diagnosis in long-term cancer survivors and the age- and sex-adjusted general population. The 1-year periodic prevalence of use was higher in long-term cancer survivors in all the studied drug classes: opioids (143.5 vs 129.6/1000), paracetamol (88.3 vs 80.7/1000), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (229.1 vs 221.7), gabapentinoids (13.4 vs 10.0/1000), benzodiazepines (88.3 vs 77.9/1000), and benzodiazepine-like hypnotics (118.1 vs 97.4/1000). The prevalence of persistent and high-dose opioid use (>365 defined daily doses [DDDs] and >730 DDDs, respectively, during 365 days, and prescriptions all quarters of the year) was also higher in the cancer survivors than in the general population (6.5 vs 4.8/1000 for persistent use and 2.7 vs 1.3/1000 for high-dose use). Less than 10% of persistent and high-dose users received only long-acting opioid formulations. Furthermore, most long-term cancer survivors with persistent or high-dose opioid use were also high-dose users (>100 DDDs/year) of either benzodiazepines or benzodiazepine-like hypnotics. It is an issue of concern that most of those using opioids did not adhere to guidelines regarding opioid formulation and comedication with other drugs with addictive properties.


Mass spectrometry is a versatile, powerful analytical tool for chemical and biomolecule identification, quantitation, and structural analysis. Tandem mass spectrometry is key component in expanding the capabilities of mass spectrometry beyond just a molecular weight detector. Another key component is the discovery of electrospray ionization allowing not only liquid samples to be ionized but also generation of multiply charged ions enabling mass spectrometry analysis of large biomolecules. The fragmentation pathway of ion during tandem mass spectrometry is highly dependent on the nature of the ion as well as the form of dissociation technique employed. To-date, no single form of ion or dissociation method can provide all the structure information needed; therefore, it is common to use multiple forms of ions, different charge carrier or modifications, with a variety of other dissociation techniques to generate complimentary information. Practically, it is not always easy to generate the desired form of ion via ionization methods and is one of the limitations. Gas-phase ion/ion reactions provide an easy approach in manipulation of ions, either through changing the ion type or covalent modifications, in the gas-phase with the goal of enhancing the capabilities of mass spectrometers for either molecular weight or structural analysis. In this dissertation, studies of new gas-phase ion/ion chemistry for biomolecules such as carbohydrates and phopho/sulfopeptides were performed, and exploration into mass spectrometry analysis of IgGs is discussed. Ion/ion reactions with carbohydrates were investigated with the goal of finding a charge-transfer or covalent modification reaction which can increase the structural information of carbohydrates upon tandem mass spectrometry. No luck was achieved with charge transfer ion/ion reactions which increased the overall fragmentation information in tandem mass spectrometry. Novel gas-phase covalent chemistry was discovered where alkoxides were found to form ester and ethers. It was also discovered the aldehyde functional group at the reducing end of carbohydrates are susceptible to Schiff-base modifications. Schiff-base has been previously reported in peptides and this is the first time it has been discovered for carbohydrates. In the next project a gas-phase approach for the rapid screening of polypeptide anions for phosphorylation or sulfonation based on binding strengths to guanidinium-containing reagent ions was developed. The approach relies on the generation of a complex via reaction of mixtures of deprotonated polypeptide anions with dicationic guanidinium-containing reagent ions and subsequent dipolar DC collisional activation of the complexes. The relative strengths of the electrostatic interactions of guanidinium with deprotonated acidic sites follows the order carboxylate Hyaluronic acid, a linear carbohydrate polymer with repeating units of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl D-glucosamine, was found to exhibit unique properties in its electrospray ionization mass spectrum that was never seen before. Electrospray of hyaluronic acid in aqueous solution in the negative polarity presented an incredibly intriguing mass spectrum, which we termed "emerald city" consisting of max charge or max charge-1 anions of hyaluronic acid. This is the first biomolecule observed to have the capability to deprotonate at every acid site that is possible. These set of highly charge anions exhibits unique characteristics upon use as a charge inversion reagent to charged invert multiply protonated proteins. A max of thirty-three protons was transferred when myoglobin 24+ was charge-inverted to a max charge state of 9- in the negative mode. Further research should be conducted to fully understand this phenomenal and its possible utilities. Lastly, mass spectrometry analysis of monoclonal antibodies was performed. Monoclonal antibodies are 150 kDa sized protein complexes and is a major area of interest for pharmaceutical industry. Mass spectrometry analysis of big proteins is an emerging area for mass spectrometry and is quite different compared to small and medium molecule analysis on the mass spectrometer. Detailed in the last chapter are methods developed for sample cleanup of immunoglobulin G as well as the application of q2 DDC for removal of loosely bound adducts to achieve sharper peaks in the mass spectrum. Studies of protein denaturation was also conducted with methods such as circular dichroism and differential ion mobility also employed. And finally, a photochemical reaction setup was shown to cleave twelve out of sixteen total disulfide bonds in the immunoglobulin G within seconds compared to traditional solution phase reactions which can take hours.


Introduction Conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons are likely to remain the main component of the energy mix needed to meet the growing global energy demand in the next 50 years. The worldwide production of crude oil could drop by nearly 40 million B/D by 2020 from existing projects, and an additional 25 million B/D of oil will need to be produced for the supply to keep pace with consumption. Scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations are needed, not only to secure supply of affordable hydrocarbons, but also to minimize the environmental impact of hydrocarbon recovery and utilization. The lifecycle of an oilfield is typically characterized by three main stages: production buildup, plateau production, and declining production. Sustaining the required production levels over the duration of the lifecycle requires a good understanding of and the ability to control the recovery mechanisms involved. For primary recovery (i.e., natural depletion of reservoir pressure), the lifecycle is generally short and the recovery factor does not exceed 20% in most cases. For secondary recovery, relying on either natural or artificial water or gas injection, the incremental recovery ranges from 15 to 25%. Globally, the overall recovery factors for combined primary and secondary recovery range between 35 and 45%. Increasing the recovery factor of maturing waterflooding projects by 10 to 30% could contribute significantly to the much-needed energy supply. To accomplish this, operators and service companies need to find ways to maximize recovery while minimizing operational costs and environmental imprint. This paper provides an overview of the options that oil and gas operators and service companies are considering as they look for solutions to the above needs and plan possible technology development scenarios. Emerging developments in such sciences as physics, chemistry, biotechnology, computing sciences, and nanotechnologies that are deemed capable of changing the hydrocarbon recovery game are highlighted.


Knowledge-graph-aware recommendation systems have increasingly attracted attention in both industry and academic recently. Many existing knowledge-aware recommendation methods have achieved better performance, which usually perform recommendation by reasoning on the paths between users and items in knowledge graphs. However, they ignore the users' personal clicked history sequences that can better reflect users' preferences within a period of time for recommendation. In this paper, we propose a knowledge-aware attentional reasoning network KARN that incorporates the users' clicked history sequences and path connectivity between users and items for recommendation. The proposed KARN not only develops an attention-based RNN to capture the user's history interests from the user's clicked history sequences, but also a hierarchical attentional neural network to reason on paths between users and items for inferring the potential user intents on items. Based on both user's history interest and potential intent, KARN can predict the clicking probability of the user with respective to a candidate item. We conduct experiment on Amazon review dataset, and the experimental results demonstrate the superiority and effectiveness of our proposed KARN model.