A new optical channel drop filter was proposed based on two-dimensional (2D) 45° photonic crystal ring resonators. Its spectral information including intensity, dropped efficiency and quality factor affected by different physical parameters were numerically analyzed with 2D finite-difference time-domain technique. Near 100% dropped efficiency can be achieved at 1550-nm channel.


Problem statement: The statistical modeling for predicting network traffic has now become a major tool used for network and is of significant interest in many domains: Adaptive application, congestion and admission control, wireless, network management and network anomalies. To comprehend the properties of IP-network traffic and system conditions, many kinds of reports based on measured network traffic data have been reported by several researchers. The goal of the present contribution was to complement these previous researches by predicting network traffic data. Approach: The Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) was realized by an appropriate combination of fuzzy systems and neural networks. It was applied in different applications which have been increased in recent years and have multidisciplinary in several domains with a high accuracy. For this reason, we used a set of input and output data of packet transmission over Internet Protocol (IP) networks as input and output of ANFIS to develop a model for predicting data. Results: ANFIS was compared with some existing model based on Volterra system with Laguerre functions. The obtained results demonstrate that the sequences of generated values have the same statistical characteristics as those really observed. Furthermore, the relative error using ANFIS model was better than this obtained by Volterra system model. Conclusion: The developed model fits well real data and can be used for predicting purpose with a high accuracy.


Purpose: To evaluate the vascular occlusion in Coats' disease Methods: In this non-comparative case series, 13 consecutive patients with Coats' disease from January 2011 to September 2011 were included. The hypercoagulability states were evaluated in these patients. Results: The mean age of the patients in this series was 15.4 years. All but one patient had high anti-Cytomegalovirus antibody (IgG) level and two third of the patients had higher than normal levels of alpha-2 globulin. Conclusions: It seems that there is a possible relation between history of old Cytomegalovirus old infection and ocular vascular changes in Coats' disease deserving more evaluations in a larger series.


Local grain prices in Estonia and price influencing factors, 1840–1900

The article examines the prices of rye and oats on local markets in 1841–1900 and discusses the factors aff ecting them. In Estonian and international scholarly literature, the grain prices have generally been studied on the basis of data from cities. Instead, this article focuses on local markets and their integration. International historiography considers it to be an important issue that is very diffi cult to address. Local grain prices are discussed from the peasant's point of view. Different sections of the rural population could act as buyers or sellers on the grain market, and farms could become buyers during bad harvests.
Crop yields and export prices are considered the two most important factors aff ecting the internal market prices in the short run. The changes in nominal prices over the decades and price diff erentials between the Estonian districts (Kreise) are examined. Price level convergence and similar price dynamics in different regions give evidence of significant market integration. The first is measured by the coefficient of variation and the second by the correlation coefficient. The coefficient of variation was rather insignificant and did not change over the decades under consideration, and the districts had similar price trends for rye and oats. Only recovery from sharp changes in supply and demand did not proceed in the same way. In the pre-railway time, the regional prices in Estonia were largely determined by demand and supply on the domestic market; breakthrough came with the development of railway transportation. In the pre-railway time, the local prices in the Estonian districts exceeded export prices. The development of a railway network made the local crop yields have much less impact on the local prices than the yields in Russia Proper.
One central question regarding any famine is whether markets functioned to ease the famine or to exacerbate the shortage. In the nineteenth century, the Baltics were an agricultural surplus region despite the fact that the area was repeatedly struck by famines until the end of the 1860s. The third section of the article discusses why the market failed to ease the deficit in food consumption and what stance was taken by the governing elites in relation to the market and price regulation. In the crisis years, the market failed to move sufficient amounts of cereals into famine-stricken areas, since the need for food there was not translated into effective demand because of lack of market-based entitlement and a shortage of purchasing power. State authorities avoided actions to limit exports and refused to ban distillation, which both would have significantly increased the supply on the internal market. Their main anti-crisis initiative was to distribute advance loans to the needy. The grain was bought up from merchants and the local lords of the manors and paid for by state resources.
During the crises in the 1840s and 1860s the grain prices doubled, and in the 1840s the lords of the manors could make profi t from selling their grain stocks to the state for disbursal to needy peasants. The authorities, however, also forced the lords of the manors to give relief loans to their peasants in the mid-century. With the support of guberniya authorities (Governors and Governor-Generals), the Baltic nobilities could effectively avert any attempts of direct market regulation and price control.

KEYWORDS: 19th century, economic history, Baltic provinces, Estonia, grain prices, famines, crop yields, market integration and regulation.

KERSTI LUST (b. 1976) is an independent scholar.

Correspondence: Institute of History and Archaeology, University of Tartu, Ulikooli 18, 50090 Tartu, Estonia. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


Numerical Analysis on the Effects of Blade Loading on Vortex Shedding and Boundary Layer Behavior in a Transonic Axial Compressor Kenneth P. Clark Department of Mechanical Engineering, BYU Master of Science Multiple high-fidelity, time-accurate computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the effects of upstream stator loading and rotor shock strength on vortex shedding characteristics in a single stage transonic compressor. Various configurations of a transonic axial compressor stage, including three stator/rotor axial spacings of close, mid, and far in conjunction with three stator loadings of decreased, nominal, and increased were simulated in order to understand the flow physics of transonic blade-row interactions. Lowspeed compressors typically have reduced stator/rotor axial spacing in order to decrease engine weight, and also because there is an increase in efficiency with reduced axial spacing. The presence of a rotor bow shock in high-speed compressors causes additional losses as the shock interacts with the upstream stator trailing edge. This research analyzes the strength of shockinduced vortices due to these unsteady blade-row interactions. The time-accurate URANS code, TURBO, was used to generate periodic, quarter annulus simulations of the Blade Row Interaction compressor rig. Both time-averaged and timeaccurate results compare well with experimentally-observed trends. It was observed that vortex shedding was synchronized to the passing of a rotor bow shock. "Normal" and "large" shock-induced vortices formed on the stator trailing edge immediately after the shock passing, but the "large" vortices were strengthened at the trailing edge due to a low-velocity region on the suction surface. This low velocity region was generated upstream of mid-chord on the suction surface from a shock-induced thickening of the boundary layer or separation bubble, due to the rotor bow shock reflecting off the stator trailing edge and propagating upstream. The circulation of the shock-induced vortices increased with shock strength (decreased axial spacing) and stator loading. Most design tools do not directly account for unsteady effects such as blade-row interactions, so a model is developed to help designers account for shock-induced vortex strength with varying shock strength and stator loading. An understanding of the unsteady interactions associated with blade loading and rotor shock strength in transonic stages will help compressor designers account for unsteady flow physics early in the design process.


Cells in our tissues are exposed to complex arrays of biochemical and biophysical cues from their protein- and sugar-rich extracellular matrix (ECM). In concert with cell- intrinsic regulatory cascades, these temporally and spatially coordinated signals instruct cells to acquire specific fates, controlling, for example, cell division, differentiation, migration or apoptosis. Conversely, cells are constantly secreting signals that can trigger structural and biochemical microenvironmental changes, as is most evident during proteolytic remodeling of the ECM. The resulting reciprocal and dynamic cell-matrix interaction is crucial for tissue development, maintenance and regeneration and, if gone awry, it can be involved in disease progression such as tumor metastasis. Recent efforts in the development of synthetic biomaterials for tissue engineering aimed to mimic the cell-instructive and cell-responsive function of ECMs. This chapter focuses on the molecular design, function and application of such smart biomaterials as cell-responsive artificial ECMs that can for example actively participate in cascades of morphogenesis during tissue regeneration (see also other chapters in this book).


This review highlights synthetic routes for producing nanostructured magnesium hydroxide and focuses on how these various preparative approaches can produce Mg(OH)2 nanoparticles with controlled size and morphology. Mg(OH)2 nanocrystals with rod-, needle-, hollow tube- or platelet-like morphology can be synthesised by the modification of chemical and physical experimental parameters such as the selection of magnesium precursor, solvent and temperature or by employing surface modifiers and templates. Techniques based on hydrothermal/solvothermal treatments, microwave heating and (co-)precipitation are dominant in the production of Mg(OH)2 at the nanoscale, but other materials design approaches are now emerging. Bulk Mg(OH)2 has been extensively studied over decades and finds use in a wide range of applications. Moreover, the hydroxide can also serve as a precursor for other commercially important materials such as MgO. Nanostructuring the material has proven extremely useful in modifying some of its most important properties – not least enhancing the performance of Mg(OH)2 as a non-toxic flame retardant – but equally it is creating new avenues of applied research. We evaluate herein the latest efforts to design novel synthesis routes to nano-Mg(OH)2, to understand the mechanisms of crystallite growth and to tailor microstructure towards specific properties and applications.


ABSTRACT As with other businesses, tourist companies are taking advantage of modern technologies. Chatbots are a recent technology that hotels, travel agencies, and airline companies are adopting. Despite this industry-wide implementation, there is no evidence about the factors that explain why consumers are willing to interact with chatbots. This work proposes a model to explain chatbot usage intention. The model and its hypotheses were tested by structural equations with the PLS technique. The study was conducted on a sample of 476 individuals who had travelled on vacation in the previous 12 months. The study reveals that the intentions behind using chatbots are directly influenced by the following factors: the chatbots' expected performance, the habit of using chatbots, the hedonic component in using them, the predisposition to using self-service technologies, the social influences, and the fact that the chatbot behaves like a human. The inconvenience and problems related to communicating with the chatbot were found to have a negative influence. Lastly, the possibility that chatbots could replace jobs had a surprisingly positive influence, and not a negative one.


Insurance is one of the longer-term financial sectors. As our author, Shirley Beglinger, points out, insurance thinks long-term about finance but also about location.

Insurers have clustered around London since the 16th century. Continental financiers were attracted to Sir Thomas Gresham's homage to their bourses when he opened the Royal Exchange (Byrsa Londinensis) in London in 1571, as wars on the Continent forced them to decamp from the bourses of Antwerp and Bruges.

Despite the surprising nimbleness and jitteriness of some insurers, Shirley has a positive view of insurance clustering and London's global role. She puts her finger accurately on the weaknesses of North American markets, Chinese markets, Middle Eastern markets and others. One might point to London's decades of downward-drifting market share or the 'Spanish practices' of a market that seems to feel revulsion towards much technology, but Shirley argues it's only London's market to lose. To paraphrase Johnson, "when an insurer is tired of London, he is tired of [life] insurance."

Londoners will hope that future decisions over regulation and tax only strengthen their insurance cluster. Other financial centres will always examine an opportunity to poach business, and Shirley highlights perhaps Singapore as the leading long-term contender. London is heading toward a half-a-millennia run of success. Shirley wills London a good ten centuries. That's what Long Finance is about.


The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has a long history of coping with natural hazards such as hurricanes, floods, and coastal storm surges. However, climate change is expected to exacerbate the threat of natural hazards and pose new ones. As a result of climate change, average temperatures and sea levels are known to be rising, precipitation patterns might change, and hurricanes could intensify. Many of these changes are already occurring, and are projected to become more severe in the future. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) supports a wide-range of projects in the LAC region. Climate change-related risks could adversely affect the financial, economic, environmental, and social performance of current and future IDB investments in the region. This factsheet identifies climate change risks and risk management options that can be incorporated into IDB-investments for the tourism sector.


Introduction: Diabetes is prevalent in India. This study was conducted to assess the impact of ingestion of fenugreek seed on fasting blood glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels in patients of Type 2 diabetes mellitus controlled with diet, exercise and oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) or insulin. Aims: Assessment of impact of ingestion of Trigonella foenum-graecum or fenugreek seed in patients with Type 2 diabetes controlled with OHAs and insulin on fasting blood sugar levels and HbA1C levels. Settings and Design: Prospective, randomized control trial in a single center. Materials and Methods: Total sixty patients of Type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosed at least 6 months prior and on OHAs and insulin were included in the study. Patients were randomized to receive 10 gm of fenugreek seeds soaked in hot water and another group was not. Strict dietary and exercise controls were followed as per the guidelines of American Diabetic Association protocols. The parameters assessed were demographic profile on the first visits and fasting blood sugar levels and HbA1C every month till 6 months. Results: A total of sixty patients were enrolled in the study divided into two groups each containing thirty patients. One group of patients received 10 gm of fenugreek seeds soaked in hot water every day, while the second group did not received. Statistical analysis shows that there is significant reduction in fasting blood glucose levels in the 5th month in the study group (P = 0.0421) while significant reduction in HbA1C in the 6th month (P = 0.0201). Conclusion: A simple complementary addition of fenugreek seeds can have a synergistic effect along with diet control and exercise on fasting blood glucose and HbA1c but is of delayed occurrence.


Hierarchical structuring of materials offers exciting opportunities to construct functional devices that exploit the ordering at different length scales to impart key functional properties. Herein, multiple processes are combined to create complex materials organized at the molecular, nano, and microscales for selective detection of testosterone by label‐free opto‐chemical sensing. Molecular imprinting is used to construct molecular scale analyte‐selective cavities. Microphase separation produces a porous polymer film within which sensitized silver halide nanocolloids are dispersed by a process of infusion and controled precipitation, then converted to periodic layers of silver nanoparticles by holographic patterning followed by chemical development. Testosterone binding is followed via wavelength changes of the holographic reflection peak as a function of testosterone concentration and incubation time. Polymer cross‐linking and film porosity are optimized with respect to the needs of both molecular recognition and hologram quality. The silver halide infusion step does not destroy the molecular selectivity of the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP). Selective, label‐free sensing of testosterone is possible at concentrations down to 1 μm. The approach is generic and should be applicable to many types of molecules and conventional MIP formulations, individually or in multiplexed arrays.


Abstract In this paper a systematic design method of fuzzy control systems is applied to the pressurized water reactor's (PWR) power control. The paper includes three parts. In the first part, a simplified time-varying linear model of the PWR power system is constructed, and its inner structure and time-varying characteristics are analyzed. That provides a solid basis for study and design of the nuclear reactor power control system. In the second part, a systematic design method of fuzzy control systems is introduced and applied to control the nuclear reactor power process. The design procedures and parameters are given in detail. This systematic design method has some notable advantages. The control of a global fuzzy model can be decomposed into controlling a set of linear submodels. Each submodel controller can be independently designed by using a linear quadratic regulator approach. This systematic design method gives a sufficient and necessary condition to guarantee the stability of fuzzy control systems; thus, better control performance can be obtained due to the accurate control gains. In the third part, the control performance of the nuclear reactor fuzzy control system is examined by simulation experiments, including nuclear reactor power shutdown, start-up, and adjustment operations. The satisfactory experiment results have shown that the systematic design method for fuzzy control systems is effective and feasible.


Neutrino-driven winds following core-collapse supernova explosions are an exciting astrophysical site for the formation of the lighter heavy elements between strontium up to (possibly) silver. Observations of very old stars, so-called ultra-metal poor stars, show scatter in the abundances of these elements, whereas they exhibit a robust abundance pattern for the elements beyond barium. Therefore, the origin of the lighter heavy elements in the universe is associated to the r-process and at least one additional process. Although it is not clear if neutrino-driven winds are neutron- or proton-rich, the necessary astrophysical conditions to synthesize lighter heavy elements are already found in wind simulations. Here, we assume that the missing component corresponds to the weak r-process occurring in slightly neutron-rich winds. Despite the fast progress in theoretical and experimental nuclear astrophysics in the last years, the astrophysical as well as the nuclear physics uncertainties are still very large. In this thesis, we address the impact of the astrophysics and nuclear physics uncertainties on the wind nucleosynthesis. We present possible astrophysical conditions and key reactions in neutron-rich winds.

In the first part of this thesis, we quantify the astrophysical uncertainties in neutrino-driven winds. A systematic study using trajectories from hydrodynamic simulations is from a computational point of view not feasible. In addition, there are still uncertainties in the core-collapse supernova mechanism and the wind evolution. Thus, we calculate steady-state trajectories and investigate the nucleosynthesis. In the final abundances, we identify different nucleosynthesis groups by the different neutron, alpha, and seed abundances. The groups mainly distinguish in the position of the nucleosynthesis path relative to the valley of stability. Each group exhibits characteristic abundance peaks. We show that the abundance patterns are only sensitive to specific reactions if the nucleosynthesis path overcomes the neutron shell closure at $N=50$.

In the second part of this thesis, we investigate the impact of nuclear physics uncertainties on the wind nucleosynthesis with our main focus on the $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions. The $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions are essential to redistribute matter and to reach heavier nuclei in neutron-rich winds. The uncertainties of the $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reaction rates arise from the statistical model and its nuclear physics input, mainly the alpha optical potential. In a first sensitivity study, we vary the $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reaction rates by constant factors, which are within their uncertainties, and find a critical influence on the nucleosynthesis evolution. Therefore, we perform a Monte Carlo sensitivity study within the astrophysical uncertainties studied in the first part of this thesis to identify individual critical $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions. The key $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions are identified by analyzing the correlations between reaction rate modifications and resulting abundance changes. We find that the uncertainties of the $^{82}\mathrm{Ge}(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$, $^{84}\mathrm{Se}(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$, and $^{85}\mathrm{Se}(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reaction rates critically affect the nucleosynthesis, and especially the abundances for nuclei with atomic numbers $Z=36-39$. The reduction of these rate uncertainties will significantly decrease the influence of nuclear physics uncertainties on the wind nucleosynthesis. Since the nucleosynthesis path proceeds close to the valley of stability, these reactions can be measured with new radioactive beam facilities like FRIB or FAIR in the near future. Once the nuclear physics uncertainties are reduced by experiments, observations from very old stars will constrain the astrophysical conditions in neutrino-driven winds and improve our understanding of core-collapse supernovae and neutrino-driven winds.


Since the first operational IPTV networks have been deployed, service providers and operators have struggled to make their subscribers happy and satisfied with their services. To keep them as customers in the long term, they have been looking for ways to identify impairments to the perceived quality of experience. It is now well understood that this can only be achieved if the service providers have virtual eyes throughout their networks. In this article we provide an overview of the Real- Time Transport Protocol and its application to IPTV. We describe the monitoring and reporting features offered by RTP, and emphasize how they can be used to enhance subscriber QoE.


ABSTRACT In one of the earliest events in human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-infected cells, the major immediate-early (IE) protein IE1 initially targets to and then disrupts the nuclear structures known as PML oncogenic domains (PODs) or nuclear domain 10. Recent studies have suggested that modification of PML by SUMO is essential to form PODs and that IE1 both binds to PML and may disrupt PODs by preventing or removing SUMO adducts on PML. In this study, we showed that in contrast to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) IE110 (ICP0), the loss of sumoylated forms of PML by cotransfected IE1 was resistant to the proteasome inhibitor MG132 and that IE1 did not reduce the level of unmodified PML. Reduced sumoylation of PML was also observed in U373 cells after infection with wild-type HCMV and proved to require IE1 protein expression. Mutational analysis revealed that the central hydrophobic domain of IE1, including Leu174, is required for both PML binding and loss of PML sumoylation and confirmed that all IE1 mutants tested that were deficient in these functions also failed both to target to PODs and to disrupt PODs. These same mutants were also inactive in several reporter gene transactivation assays and in inhibition of PML-mediated repression. Importantly, a viral DNA genome containing an IE1 gene with a deletion [IE1(Δ290-320)] that was defective in these activities was not infectious when transfected into permissive fibroblast cells, but the mutant IE1(K450R), which is defective in IE1 sumoylation, remained infectious. Our mutational analysis strengthens the idea that interference by IE1 with both the sumoylation of PML and its repressor activity requires a physical interaction with PML that also leads to disruption of PODs. These activities of IE1 also correlate with several unusual transcriptional transactivation functions of IE1 and may be requirements for efficient initiation of the lytic cycle in vivo.


Abstract Gunung Padang is the oldest prehistoric megaliths in Indonesia which has a function as a place of worship for the people who settled there about 2000 BC according to its orientation and philosophy. Meanwhile after dark ages, people knowledge on building shelter arises therefore many traditional houses are build and had their philosophy implemented such as the vertical and horizontal beliefs in relation of human, nature, and divinity. This study concerns architecture identity correlation of place in the two eras because of cultural transition which can be observed until now. Gunung Padang has a similar vertical concept identity compare to Sundanese traditional roof according to both philosophy if the highest place is the most sacred place and describes the relationship between human, nature and divinity. The purpose of this study is to examine the correlation between Gunung Padang and the Sundanese traditional roof concept in religion and cultural aspect. Qualitative methods that leverages vernacular theory is used of the analysis methods. Key Words: Gunung Padang, identity, Sundanese traditional roof.


ABSTRACT Rhizoliths from the Pleistocene Ironshore Formation are formed of a brown micrite core surrounded by sediment that is well cemented with 1) calcite rhomb chains, 2) isolated calcite rhombs, 3) calcified spherical bodies, 4) Types I and II calcified epilithic and chasmolithic filaments, and 5) grain-coating calcite needle mats. The friable host sediment has significantly less cement and lacks the grain-coating calcite needle mats and Type II calcified filaments of the rhizoliths. The sediment, however, contains calcite needles and a cryptocrystalline cement which do not occur in the rhizolith. The contrast in the amount and type of cement between the rhizoliths and the encasing sediment points to the significant role that plants can play in carbonate diagenesis. Not only do the plant roots act as conduits for water of varying composition, they also provide sites at which algae, fungi, and bacteria thrive. These microorganisms serve to promote diagenesis in the rhizoliths. The occurrence of the sediments in a coastal setting means that they are subjected to many different types of water ranging from freshwater to saltwater. Such variability along with the associated changes in the water chemistry may be responsible for the considerable variation in the cement associated with the rhizoliths.


The notion that all (or in weaker sense, some) natural phenomena can be modelled as a computable process, some kind of algorithm is recently gaining scientific recognition, and more research is dedicated to the rigorous explorations of the mapping between natural phenomena and the formalised computational systems. There is some debate and controversy as to how much of the natural can be expressed in the models of the artificial, although due to formalised nature of mathematics and physics itself, it is generally accepted that computation is viable way to model physical reality. Contemporary developments in computer science and in physics not only do no refute computationalism – they provide more data and evidence in support of the basic theses. In this article we discuss some of the aspects of contemporary computationalist efforts based on the traditional notions of Turning Machine computation. Then we present an extended notion of computation, that goes beyond the traditional Turing limit. We propose a new interactive computation model called Evolvable Virtual Machines (EVMs). The EVM model uses the notion of many independently asynchronously executing processes, that communicate between each other and with the outside environment. We present some of the pitfalls of traditional computationalism, and compare it to our new, extended computationalist model, based on the notion of massively concurrent interactive computation (hypercomputation). We argue, that hypercomputationalism based on the collection of asynchronously concurrently communicating computational machines is a more compact and more appropriate way of representing natural phenomena (or the Universe in general). It is theoretically sound, and does not violate any of the current state-of-the-art physical theories. We discuss the details of our computational architecture, and present some of the implications of the hypercomputationalism on contemporary physical, life sciences, and


AbstractWhile Eric A. Posner and David Weisbach advocate that climate change and poverty be tackled separately, the realisation that only a single cumulative carbon emissions budget is available to accommodate all nations through all centuries of the current millennium shows why efforts to confront these two challenges are inextricably linked. Once carbon dioxide from fossil fuels reaches the atmosphere, most molecules remain for several centuries. Therefore, most additions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere are effectively net additions to a rapidly swelling total accumulation. Total cumulative atmospheric carbon correlates strongly with maximum surface temperature. It is, consequently, urgent to cease pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, so the use of fossil fuels by anyone must rapidly be reduced to near zero. All viable methods for reducing the burning of fossil fuel depend on raising its price, through either permit trading or taxes. Raising the price of fossil fuel will drive many additional poor people into "energy poverty," making vital energy unaffordable for them. We can avoid being responsible for radical increases in poverty only if our efforts to make carbon fuels more expensive are accompanied by rigorous efforts to make non-carbon fuels less expensive. Feasible mechanisms to lower non-carbon prices while rainng carbon prices are available now, and the US ought to cease its opposition to them. We can thereby exit the carbon era soon enough with far less human suffering.Table of ContentsI. Introduction 382II. Creating the Third Human Revolution: Changing the Context and Opening New Options 385III. The Carbon Budget: Cumulative and Limited 387IV. Searching for an Exit 390V. The Moral Significance of the Carbon Budget: Using Up What Others Need 394VI. The Other Half of the Story: Not Exacerbating Poverty 396VII. Conclusion: The Past Is Not Even Past 401"The goal of any action must, in the end, be to reduce the worldwide supply of fossil fuels . . . "'"The past is never dead. It's not even past."2I. INTRODUCTIONEric A. Posner and David Weisbach propose the following thesis: "The problem of widespread poverty is urgent. So is the problem of reducing emissions. . . . But no principle of justice requires that these problems be addressed simultaneously or multilaterally."3 1 aim to show why it is not possible to accept their thesis of the separability of the solutions to poverty and climate. Rather than repeat here arguments that I have made over the last two decades, I shall very briefly sketch a single constructive approach that might make a substantial contribution on both fronts, in the process suggesting further reasons why climate and poverty are inextricably entangled.4We will cause severe damage if we do not rapidly get a grip on our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but we will also cause severe damage if we do get a grip exclusively by the means that is currendy most discussed, raising the price of fossil fuels. Fortunately, we have available a realistic complementary means, the combination of which with the standard policy options of trading in emissions permits and carbon taxes would avoid both kinds of damage. This is what I shall recommend.My primary focus here is on the nature of the problem of the mitigation of climate change because I think that there is a strong general tendency to misconstrue it. The wrong way to think of the political and moral problem is to consider it exclusively a problem of international distributive justice, when it is primarily a matter of avoiding doing damage by either of two routes, exacerbating climate change by continuing to emit large quantities of GHGs or placing insuperable obstacles in the way of Third World development by the method we create in order to reduce the emissions of GHGs. …


Integrin-mediated cell adhesion is known to regulate gene expression through the activation of the transcription factor AP-1. Troussard et al. show that this event does indeed occur when cells interact with the extracellular matrix component fibronectin (FN). Based on earlier evidence that FN stimulates integrin-linked kinase (ILK) and the known inhibitory effect of ILK on glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3), the authors determined that in transfected cells, the regulation of AP-1 by FN is mediated through stimulation of ILK and the subsequent inhibition of GSK-3. Although ILK is known to activate protein kinase B (PKB/AKT), this apparently was not involved in the stimulation of AP-1 by FN. The authors propose that inhibition of GSK-3 might prevent phosphorylation of the DNA-binding domain of c-jun, a central component of all AP-1 protein complexes. This would then promote binding to DNA and stimulation of AP-1 activity. Troussard, A.A., Tan, C., Yoganathan, N., and Dedhar, S. (1999) Cell-extracellular matrix interactions stimulate the AP-1 transcription factor in an integrin-linked kinase- and glycogen synthase kinase 3-dependent manner. Mol. Cell. Biol. 19: 7420-7427. [Online Journal]


The intention of this study is to provide a holistic approach to interpretation of Berio's Sequenza IV, illuminating some of the complexities and ambiguities of the score and offering possibilities for performance. Comparison of the original with the revised version of the score is shown to offer considerable insight upon performance decisions. Analytical observations are applied to the practical issues of interpretation and projection, such as the articulation of melody, phrasing, clusters and grace-notes. Consideration is given to stylistic issues, such as the appropriation of tonality and its implications for performance, and the use of time and rubato.


OF THESIS COMPARISON OF TREATMENT BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE SEX OFFENDERS IN THE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM The purpose of the historical research study is to explore the correctional system's rehabilitation and treatment perspective for both male and female sex offenders. Treatment has been deemed essential for all offenders; while it might not mean a cure, it does give offenders some tools that could prevent fiuther offenses. Literature emphasizes the importance of treatment and rehabilitation for the sex offender. Historically, the female offender has been ignored in the area of treatment and rehabilitation. Sexual offenses are generally perceived as a male phenomenon. This study will give an in-depth view of treatment process and the research on the effectiveness of current programs offered in the correctional facility. It will also analyze differences, offer conclusions, and make recommendations.


Reducing Sexual Assault and Re-Assault on College Campuses Amanda K. Gilmore Chair of Supervisory Committee William H. George, Ph.D., Professor, Adult Clinical Psychology Department of Psychology Underage college women are at high risk for alcohol use and sexual assault and targeting both alcohol use and sexual assault is needed for this population. The current 3 studies examined the etiology and reduction of sexual assault and re-assault on college campuses among women. Study 1 was a prospective assessment of the use of sexual assault protective behavioral strategies (PBS) on subsequent sexual assault incidence and severity. The use of sexual assault PBS at Time 1 was associated with less sexual assault incidence and severity at Time 2. Study 2 furthered this by examining the relationship between sexual assault PBS, drinking PBS, sexual assault, and re-assault. Both sexual assault PBS and drinking PBS were associated with sexual assault and re-assault in college. Study 3 was a randomized controlled trial assessing the efficacy of a combined intervention targeting both sexual assault risk and alcohol use in college women to reduce sexual assault and re-assault. The combined intervention decreased incapacitated rape, sexual assault incidence and severity, and frequency of heavy-episodic drinking for women with higher incidence and severity of sexual assault at baseline. Taken together, targeting both alcohol use and sexual assault risk in college women may be an effective way to decrease sexual assault and re-assault on college campuses.


Conservation agriculture's underlying principles—minimal soil disturbance, soil cover and crop rotation—are increasingly recognized as essential for sustainable agriculture. This article summarizes three contrasting cases of adapting conservation agriculture (CA) to smallholder conditions in the (sub)tropics: a) irrigated rice-wheat systems in South Asia; b) rainfed maize/wheat and irrigated wheat systems in Mexico; and c) rainfed maize in Southern Africa. In the South Asia case, farm surveys show rapid and widespread adoption of zero tillage wheat—primarily due to a substantial cost saving (15–16%). In the other cases, uptake so far has been limited—although long-term trials show continuously higher and more stable yields both for maize and wheat. Under marginal conditions CA can generate substantial yield increases—averaging some 50% over conventional smallholder maize yields of 1 ton per ha over 6 years in on-farm trails in Southern Africa. The diverse experiences attest to the wide adaptability of CA systems, which can generate clear economic and potentially enormous environmental benefits. The case studies and wider literature however also reiterate the substantial challenges in terms of targeting, adapting and adopting CA—particularly for smallholders in the (sub)tropics. CA systems are best developed in situ through a multi-stakeholder adaptive learning process to create viable CA-based options that are technically sound, economically attractive, and socially acceptable.


We present a probabilistic model for the retrieval of multimodal documents. The model is based on Bayesian decision theory and combines models for text-based search with models for visual search. The textual model is based on the language modelling approach to text retrieval, and the visual information is modelled as a mixture of Gaussian densities. Both models have proved successful on various standard retrieval tasks. We evaluate the multimodal model on the search task of TREC′s video track. We found that the disclosure of video material based on visual information only is still too difficult. Even with purely visual information needs, text-based retrieval still outperforms visual approaches. The probabilistic model is useful for text, visual, and multimedia retrieval. Unfortunately, simplifying assumptions that reduce its computational complexity degrade retrieval effectiveness. Regarding the question whether the model can effectively combine information from different modalities, we conclude that whenever both modalities yield reasonable scores, a combined run outperforms the individual runs.


Mixing of semi-dry flue gas desulfurization solids and fly-ash from coal-fired power plants results in a solid waste contaminated by calcium sulfite. Therefore, it becomes useless for industry and is often landfilled. To support decision-making on process configurations to monetize this solid residue a gate-to-gate life cycle assessment was performed, considering three scenarios: BASE case – standard 360 MW power plant, CASE I – base plant adopting dry thermal oxidation treatment of spray dryer solids, CASE II ‒ bypass of desulfurization system. Cases I and II allow commercialization of the solid residue as class C fly-ash. Evaluated alternatives were compared based on quantitative potential environmental impacts, using United States Environmental Protection Agency waste reduction algorithm. Based on the results, the BASE case was more aggressive to the environment, due to solid waste production. CASE II increased photochemical oxidation and acidification potentials. CASE I was the more environmentally friendly but demands additional capital and operational expenditure.


Grouping processes provide reliable pre-processed information to higher level computer vision functions by eliminating irrelevant items and preserving salient, organized structures that are more likely to belong to objects. Applications involving object detection or recognition are particularly benefiting from them. In this dissertation, we consider the problem of grouping pixels into contours and lines. A common characteristic of the images we deal with here is the high heterogeneity of the structures that compose both foreground and background. Besides resulting in complete prohibition of any kind of mid- or high-level modeling of foreground objects, this heterogeneity is also responsible for high amounts of clutter produced by background contents. In this context, we developed three general and powerful methods based on iterative tensor voting. In tensor voting, segments are represented as second-order tensors and communicate with each other through a voting scheme that incorporates the Gestalt principles of visual perception. Derived from experiments with human beings, such principles provide low level cues that allow computer algorithms to assess structural agreement among neighboring pixels. By iterating the classical tensor voting, we aim at reinforcing this agreement within real structures and weakening local, fortuitous configurations of clutter elements. Besides exploring the benefits of multi-scale analysis and tunable tensor fields, the approaches introduced in this dissertation are all fundamented on the conservative removal of background elements and re-voting on the retained ones. We have performed extensive experiments to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of our approaches using both synthetic and real images from benchmarked datasets. Our experiments are enriched with tests on real, challenging microscopic images of breast cells. Our results and comparisons indicate that the proposed method improves contour and line segmentation considerably, especially under severe background clutter. Results also demonstrate the method's capacity of producing high quality detection of breast cells and segmentation of their membranes.


We have developed a modulation phase-shift (MPS) system for measuring relative group delay (RGD) in optical components with high absolute accuracy and simultaneously high temporal and wavelength resolution. Our 200-MHz system has a 3.2-pm wavelength resolution and has demonstrated a group-delay resolution of 0.072 ps for repeated measurements of an artifact based on a hydrogen-cyanide gas cell. The expanded uncertainty (2/spl sigma/) is /spl plusmn/0.46 ps for a single spectral measurement (/spl sim/ 3.4-pm steps) of a narrow 20-ps group-delay feature of the artifact. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the sources of measurement uncertainty for this technique have been described and quantified. A method for predicting the group delay of the gas-cell artifact from measured absorption spectra is described, and an uncertainty analysis for the prediction method is also presented. The implementation required to achieve results of the highest accuracy for both measurements and predictions is discussed.


Abstract: Resistance testing is an important tool in today's anti-HIV therapy management for improving the success of antiretroviral therapy. Routinely, the genetic sequence of viral target proteins is obtained. These sequences are then inspected for mutations that might confer resistance to antiretroviral drugs. However, interpretation of the genomic data is challenging. In recent years, approaches that employ supervised statistical learning methods were made available to assist the interpretation of the complex genetic information (e.g. geno2pheno and VircoTYPE). However, these methods rely on large amounts of labeled training data, which are expensive and labor-intensive to obtain. This work evaluates the application of semi-supervised learning (SSL) for improving the prediction of resistance from the viral genome.


We study the steady state solutions of a generalized logistic type equation on a complete Riemannian manifold. We provide sufficient conditions for existence, respectively non-existence of positive solutions, which depend on the relative size of the coefficients and their mutual interaction with the geometry of the manifold, which is mostly taken into account by means of conditions on the volume growth of geodesic balls.


Productivity growth has slowed in the United States in the past decade, and some analysts expect growth to remain low in coming years. Besides being an important determinant of living standards and GDP, productivity growth also affects the fiscal outlook, because expenditures and revenues tend to move with GDP and because productivity growth might have a direct effect on government borrowing costs. The author calculates the likely effects of slower productivity growth on the long-term budget outlooks of federal and state and local governments. In particular, she examines how projections of deficits and debt change if annual labor productivity growth is 0.6 percentage points slower than in Congressional Budget Office's current baseline. For the federal government, she finds that the effect of slower productivity growth is to worsen primary deficits, because some outlays are invariant to changes in productivity growth while revenues move more than one for one with it. These increased deficits imply that the federal debt will reach 146 to 173 percent of GDP by 2042, compared with the baseline estimate of 130 percent of GDP, with the range depending on the assumption about how interest rates move with productivity growth. Changes in productivity growth appear less important for the state and local sector. Revenues are more likely to move one for one with productivity growth, because state and local income taxes are less progressive than federal taxes and because sales taxes and property taxes make up a much larger fraction of tax collections. A slowdown in productivity growth is likely to exert some upward pressure on state and local spending relative to GDP, stemming from the somewhat heavier burden of pension spending and increased eligibility for Medicaid and other poverty-related programs, but these increases are likely to be small.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate current provider practice of the management of hypertension among African Americans in a primary care clinic in Louisville, KY. Specific aims of the study were to: 1) assess provider adherence to the JNC 8 guidelines related to African Americans with hypertension and, 2) assess provider adherence to hypertension lifestyle education and counseling. Methods: This descriptive study used a retrospective chart review to evaluate provider management of hypertension. Medical records of African American men and women in a primary care practice in Louisville, KY were reviewed. A random sample of 100 charts, 50 male and 50 female patients with a diagnosis of essential hypertension (ICD9: 401 or ICD10: I-10) who were seen in the office between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, were reviewed. Results: The majority of providers (60%) adhered to the JNC 8 guideline by prescribing calcium channel blockers, thiazide diuretics, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers according to the guideline algorithm. Patients whose blood pressure readings were within normal range were more likely to have been prescribed JNC 8 adherent medications and received lifestyle counseling. Conclusion: Practitioners that incorporate lifestyle counseling and JNC 8 adherence into their treatment of African Americans with hypertension are more likely to have patients with optimal blood pressure control. HYPERTENSION AND AFRICAN AMERICANS 2 Hypertension and African Americans: A Retrospective Review of Provider Education on Lifestyle Counseling and Medication Management


This thesis presents a generic framework for grid-enabled visualisation and computational steering that is amenable to characterisation using mathematical models based on benchmarked resources. The models enable designers, providers or users to select the most suited interactive computational steering and rendering resources available to them on the Grid. The framework for visualisation aims at giving a greater performance than a desktop computer can provide, achieved at a cost much cheaper than a CAVE, while allowing simultaneous usage by multiple users. This framework provides multiscale multimodal multiuser grid-enabled visualisation and has the potential to assist the penetration of the Grid into the domain of advanced interactive 3-d visualisation and geographical rendering from a user's desktop. While the existing desktop tools and techniques for interactive visualisation are of a general purpose nature and offer limited compute and data intensive graphical visualisation and interactivity, this framework leverages the power of the grid to offer: 1) more advanced visualisation 2) real time interactivity with the rendered content; 3) and integration with key data intensive graphical applications that would benefit from the use of the grid. The framework is conceptual, to allow users to analyse and/or design for their own specific application, but a comprehensive example application has been implemented. To enable the characterisation of a framework for grid-enabled visualisation and computational steering, a mathematical model is constructed to help identify the complicated relationships between the variables of the architectures and systems used. The creation of this model allows for it to be used in a number of ways, from the prediction of application performance on a grid, the comparison of site and grid performance, to suggesting for grid providers. A roadmap is presented for the future evolution of this approach.


Description: A lively, thought-provoking exploration of the latest theory and practice in the psychology of women and gender Edited by Rhoda Unger, a pioneer in feminist psychology, this handbook provides an extraordinarily balanced, in-depth treatment of major contemporary theories, trends, and advances in the field of women and gender. Bringing together contributions from leading U.S. and international scholars, it presents integrated coverage of a variety of approaches-ranging from traditional experiments to postmodern analyses. Conceptual models discussed include those that look within the individual, between individuals and groups, and beyond the person-to the social-structural frameworks in which people are embedded as well as biological and evolutionary perspectives. Multicultural and cross-cultural issues are emphasized throughout, including key variables such as sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and social class. Researchers and clinicians alike will appreciate the thorough review of the latest thinking about gender and its impact on physical and mental health-which includes the emerging trends in feminist therapy and sociocultural issues important in the treatment of women of color. In addressing developmental issues, the book offers thought-provoking discussions of new research into possible biological influences on genderspecific behaviors; the role of early conditioning by parents, school, and the media; the role of mother and mothering; gender in old age; and more. Power and gender, as well as the latest research findings on American men's ambivalence toward women, sexual harassment, and violence against women, are among the timely topics explored in viewing gender as a systemic phenomenon. Handbook of the Psychology of Women and Gender is must reading for mental health researchers and practitioners, as well as scholars in a variety of disciplines who want to stay current with the latest psychological/psychosocial thinking on women and gender.


In many solid-state materials, new phenomena evolve due to strong electron interactions. In this Lecture, review will be given on some advanced topics, including high temperature superconductivity, unconventional magnetism and dielectricity. Experimental techniques to study these physical properties will be introduced, and the physics behind the new phenomena will be discussed.


ABSTRACT The Mac/IdeS protein of group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a secreted cysteine protease with cleavage specificity for IgG and is highly expressed in the GAS serotype M1T1 clone, which is the serotype most frequently isolated from patients with life-threatening invasive infections. While studies of Mac/IdeS with recombinant protein have shown that the protein can potentially prevent opsonophagocytosis of GAS by neutrophils, the role of the protein in immune evasion as physiologically produced by the living organism has not been studied. Here we examined the contribution of Mac/IdeS to invasive GAS disease by generating a mutant lacking Mac/IdeS in the hyperinvasive M1T1 background. While Mac/IdeS was highly expressed and proteolytically active in the hyperinvasive strain, elimination of the bacterial protease did not significantly influence GAS phagocytic uptake, oxidative-burst induction, cathelicidin sensitivity, resistance to neutrophil or macrophage killing, or pathogenicity in pre- or postimmune mouse infectious challenges. We conclude that in the highly virulent M1T1 background, Mac/IdeS is not essential for either phagocyte resistance or virulence. Given the conservation of Mac/IdeS and homologues across GAS strains, it is possible that Mac/IdeS serves another important function in GAS ecology or contributes to virulence in other strain backgrounds. IMPORTANCE Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes human infections ranging from strep throat to life-threatening conditions such as flesh-eating disease and toxic shock syndrome. Common disease-associated clones of GAS can cause both mild and severe infections because of a characteristic mutation and subsequent change in the expression of several genes that develops under host immune selection. One of these genes encodes Mac/IdeS, a protease that has been shown to cleave antibodies important to the immune defense system. In this study, we found that while Mac/IdeS is highly expressed in hypervirulent GAS, it does not significantly contribute to the ability of the bacteria to survive white blood cell killing or produce invasive infection in the mouse. These data underscore the importance of correlating studies on virulence factor function with physiologic expression levels and the complexity of streptococcal pathogenesis and contribute to our overall understanding of how GAS causes disease. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes human infections ranging from strep throat to life-threatening conditions such as flesh-eating disease and toxic shock syndrome. Common disease-associated clones of GAS can cause both mild and severe infections because of a characteristic mutation and subsequent change in the expression of several genes that develops under host immune selection. One of these genes encodes Mac/IdeS, a protease that has been shown to cleave antibodies important to the immune defense system. In this study, we found that while Mac/IdeS is highly expressed in hypervirulent GAS, it does not significantly contribute to the ability of the bacteria to survive white blood cell killing or produce invasive infection in the mouse. These data underscore the importance of correlating studies on virulence factor function with physiologic expression levels and the complexity of streptococcal pathogenesis and contribute to our overall understanding of how GAS causes disease.


The author presents principled arguments, consequentialist arguments, arguments by analogy and arguments by authority in support of her conclusion that Canadian law schools should have compulsory legal ethics education. Among other things, she argues that legal ethics education is an imperfect but essential way to meet the obligations that arise from the public trust placed in the legal profession. She also explores a number of benefits that can accrue to students, law schools, the legal profession and society in general when ethics is a compulsory component of legal education.


Macrobicyclic cryptands incorporating amine groups along with oxygen donors that are laterally non-symmetric constitute an important class of organic compounds. These molecules can form inclusion complexes with different transition and main group metal ions. It is also possible to modify the binding characteristics of these compounds through attachment of different groups. Some of these metal complexes can be useful homogeneous catalysts in different organic transformations. If there are chiral centers present in the cryptands, they can be useful in asymmetric syntheses. The three secondary amine groups present in the bridges can be partially or completely derivatized with different fluorophores for fluorescence signaling of transition, inner-transition and heavy metal ions. It is also possible to sequentially attach different fluorophores to study single- as well as multi-step Förster resonance energy transfer. Different donor/acceptor groups can be attached to study second and third order optical nonlinearity. The present article describes several aspects of the chemistry of laterally non-symmetric cryptands and provides future directions for research in this area.


ABSTRACT Aim: Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Giving chemotherapy before surgery for patients with locally advanced cancer cervix might have comparable benefit to concurrent chemoradiotherapy, and may have fewer side effects. Study Objectives: This systemic review aimed to provide comprehensive summary of the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery in the management of locally advanced cancer cervix towards a standard treatment for this aggressive cancer. Methods: Searching method: The data source included the USA national library of medicine, medline search, and the National Cancer Institute PDQ Clinical Protocols. Inclusion criteria for consideration in the current systemic review included studies published between January 1997 and December 2012, histologies included squamous cell carcinoma, adenosquamous, and/or, adenocarcinoma, patients should be chemotherapy naive or cancer cervix chemotherapy naive, and have good performance status. Results: Results: Searching the above scientific websites identified 49 publications, of them 18 trials were excluded because they didn't fit with the inclusion criteria of the current systemic review. Thirty-One studies were identified eligible. Data were collected from 1784 patients enrolled in the current systemic review study. The mean age was 45.2 y.o., and the mean tumour size was 4.7 cm. The most commonly used chemotherapy was cisplatin. The mean chemotherapy cycles were 2.7 cycles. Patients underwent surgery after chemotherapy by mean time of 2.5 weeks. Chemotherapy achieved an objective response rate of 84%. Survival data showed the 5 year PFS, OS were 68.8%, 74.2% respectively. Treatment protocol was tolerated with mild early toxicity profile. Leucopenia, and neutropenia were the commonest encountered side effects. Late toxicity was generally mild, and mainly included bladder dysfunction, and vaginal dehiscence. The current study assessed the quality of included studies using the Newcastle- Ottawa quality assessment scale, and generally the included studies achieved reasonable score. Conclusions: Conclusion: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery is a reasonable alternative treatment option for locally advanced cancer cervix. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


ABSTRACT In a small-scale harmonization study involving nine laboratories in eight European countries, the intra- and interlaboratory performances of two commercially available systems, i.e., the VetMIC microplate system and Etest, for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of nonenterococcal lactic acid bacteria (NELAB) and bifidobacteria were analyzed. In addition, one laboratory also performed standard broth microdilution as a reference method. MICs of tetracycline, erythromycin, ampicillin, gentamicin, clindamycin, and streptomycin for the type strains of 25 species of NELAB and bifidobacteria and MICs of vancomycin for a selection of relevant taxa were determined. The previously described lactic acid bacterium susceptibility test medium (LSM) and related mixed-medium formulations, all including Iso-Sensitest broth as a basic component, were used as test media. The overall agreement of median MIC ranges ± 1 log2 dilution determined by the VetMIC and Etest methods with the median MICs determined by the reference method was very good for tetracycline, ampicillin, and streptomycin (92.3 to 100%) but low for erythromycin (19.5 to 30.7%) and clindamycin (50.0 to 80.8%). There was a consensus among the participating laboratories that VetMIC was preferred over Etest because of its lower cost, better growth support, and more uniform criteria for MIC end point reading. With the range for acceptable intralaboratory reproducibility being defined as the median MIC ± 1 log2 dilution, VetMIC results (with 69.2% of all data sets in the acceptable range) were shown to display greater reproducibility than Etest results (with 58.8% of all data sets in the acceptable range). Also at the interlaboratory level, the proportion of MIC values obtained with VetMIC that belonged to the complete agreement category (60.0%) was higher than the proportion of such values obtained with Etest (47.0%), which indicates a higher degree of interlaboratory reproducibility for the former method. Apart from some agent-specific effects, the majority of VetMIC and Etest replicate data sets were situated within a 1- to 2-log2 dilution range, suggesting that the two methods can be considered to be equivalent for recognizing resistance phenotypes. This multicenter study has further validated the standard use of LSM and related mixed-medium formulations with commercially available systems and formed the basis for the ongoing development of the ISO 10932/IDF 223 standard for susceptibility testing of NELAB and bifidobacteria.


The improvement of sanitation conditions in slums(1) is difficult in part because of economic and institutional environments that often prevent private or public investment in infrastructure. This analysis of sanitation conditions in informal settlements in Nairobi and Kampala compares user practices. It also identifies the main actors involved in the provision of overlapping sanitation systems, involving a multitude of small-scale providers, along with the challenges these present. The paper goes on to describe a new market-based approach in Nairobi, developed by a social enterprise, Sanergy, which is responsible for the construction of facilities and the collection and treatment of wastes. The system improves user satisfaction, community wellbeing and environmental quality, pointing to a clear opportunity for such market-based interventions where a customer base already pays for sub-standard services. There remain challenges, however, around the ability to scale up and finance these providers, especially in complex operating environments that increase transactional costs for companies.


In States and Markets, Susan Strange identified a source of structural power called the knowledge structure. This thesis sets out to do two things. First it tries to work out the logical consequences of the notion that knowledge is a source of structural power. Second, it tries to test Strange's model for its explanatory power, by using it to construct historical narrative on the development of tekhne, sophia, and nous in antiquity. On the question of the logical consequences for international political theory of the notion of 'knowledge as power', I argue that it radically undermines many of Strange's own assumptions about the nature of science, technology and ideology. The reason for this is that her assumptions derive from a discourse which has traditionally legitimised itself by excluding power from talk about its constitution. When Strange supplements the notion of knowledge-as-truth with the notion of knowledge-as-power, she obliges us to reconsider the Socratic question of knowledge-as-virtue, because we are confronted with our own agency. That is why I have chosen the ancient world for a case study to test the explanatory power of Strange's multi-faceted model of the global political economy. By putting her model to work as a means to assimilate the wealth of archaeological and philological scholarship in this field, its heuristic value is demonstrated. It traces the first structuration of knowledge back to primary and secondary state formation in the Near East. Then it analyses the Iliad and the Odyssey as orally preserved norms for managing the values of security, wealth, freedom and justice in the wake of the collapse of bronze-age civilisation in the Mediterranean. It then accounts for the discovery of secular consciousness as the result of a novel interface between the oral and the written. The narrative culminates with the mediation of a communal crisis over the values of security, wealth, freedom and justice by Solon, which initiated the transformation of Prometheus from the crafty trickster depicted by Hesiod into the democratic revolutionary characterised by Aeschylus. The thesis concludes with a theory of contribution based upon four points of consensus identified within the literature of International Political Economy.


There exists, for any connected graph G, a minimum set of vertices that, when removed, disconnects G. Such a set of vertices is known as a minimum cut-set, the cardinality of which is known as the connectivity number κ(G) of G. A connectivity preserving [connectivity reducing, respectively] spanning subgraph G ⊆ G may be constructed by removing certain edges of G in such a way that κ(G) = κ(G) [κ(G) < κ(G), respectively]. The problem of constructing such a connectivity preserving or reducing spanning subgraph of minimum weight is known to be NP–complete. This thesis contains a summary of the most recent results (as in 2006) from a comprehensive survey of literature on topics related to the connectivity of graphs. Secondly, the computational problems of constructing a minimum weight connectivity preserving or connectivity reducing spanning subgraph for a given graph G are considered in this thesis. In particular, three algorithms are developed for constructing such spanning subgraphs. The theoretical basis for each algorithm is established and discussed in detail. The practicality of the algorithms are compared in terms of their worst-case running times as well as their solution qualities. The fastest of these three algorithms has a worst-case running time that compares favourably with the fastest algorithm in the literature. Finally, a computerised decision support system, called Connectivity Algorithms, is developed which is capable of implementing the three algorithms described above for a user-specified input graph. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za


Never before has the term 'circular migration' been used and mentioned by so many diverse actors ranging from scholars, think tank experts, policy makers, migration stakeholders, and officials from the European Union (EU), the United Nations and the World Bank. Over the last seven years or so, a plethora of studies, reports, policy briefs, communications and recommendations have been produced to address the logic and relevance of circular migration.
Clearly, in the West, this plethoric production coincides with the renewed attention paid by European leaders to the regulated temporary stay of foreign workers. In 2005, the Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) underlined 'the need to grasp the developmental opportunities that this important shift (i.e., circular migration) in migration patterns provides for countries of origin', even if, as noted by Stephen Castles, this positive assumption of circular migration remained undefined in the GCIM Report. The same year, the European Commission presented policy recommendations aimed at 'encouraging circular migration, by giving a priority for further temporary employment to workers who have already worked under such schemes and have returned at the end of their contract, and also offering appropriate rewards to participating migrants'. Later, in May 2007, the European Commission defined circular migration 'as a form of migration that is managed in a way allowing some degree of legal mobility back and forth between two countries'.
The objective of this chapter is not to review the literature that has proliferated like a ripple effect on circular migration over the last few years, nor is it aimed at explaining whether 'circular migration programmes' are a winner in the so-called management of international migration, serving the interests of countries of destination and of origin as well as those of migrants. Rather, this chapter sets out to contextualise the introduction of EU-sponsored circular migration programmes while explaining that something anchored in the past may account for policy-makers' current focus on temporary and circular migration. In other words, this chapter shows that circular migration programmes do not only build upon past practices designed to regulate the movement of international migrants (e.g., with temporary labour migrant schemes); they also react against such inherited practices in a subtle manner by linking the adoption of temporary and circular migration programmes with new security-driven safeguards. This unquestioned though questionable linkage is reflective of the consolidation of powerful drivers and predominant schemes of understanding that today structure migration talks and orient policy options as applied to the management of international migration.


Neuropsychological Society is the official journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, an organization of over 4,500 international members from a variety of disciplines. The Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society welcomes original, creative, high quality research papers covering all areas of neuropsychology. The focus of articles may be primarily experimental, applied, or clinical. Contributions will broadly reflect the interest of all areas of neuropsychology, including but not limited to: development of cognitive processes, brain-behavior relationships, adult and pediatric neuropsychology, neurobehavioral syndromes (such as aphasia or apraxia), and the interfaces of neuropsychology with related areas such as behavioral neurology, neuropsychiatry, genetics, and cognitive neuroscience. Papers that utilize behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological measures are appropriate.


Abstract Mixed-layer minerals with optical properties similar to metamorphic vermiculite were identified in rocks belonging to a Palaeozoic and a Triassic formation separated by an angular unconformity and exposed in the Coastal Range of central Chile. Both formations are affected by low-grade metamorphism. The mixed-layer minerals were studied by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microprobe (EMPA), and transmission/ analytical electron microscopy (TEM/AEM). Two types of phyllosilicates were identified: chlorite-vermiculite and mica-chlorite, which are present in the Palaeozoic and Triassic rocks respectively. Chlorite-vermiculite mixed layers form packets with well-defined boundaries and mainly show 1:1 ordered sequences. On the contrary, mica-chlorite mixed layers show, in most cases, random sequences evolving laterally toward chlorite. The AEM data indicate compositions close to that of chlorite in the ternary Si-Al-(Fe+Mg+Mn) diagrams for both types of mixed-layer phyllosilicates. Relative to the coexisting chlorite, they have lower (Fe+Mg) contents, and a higher Si/Al ratio. They are interpreted as products of the transformation of chlorite, developed during prograde metamorphism, and probably represent intermediate, metastable phases, in the chlorite to biotite transformation.


Imaging of the Amazon deep-sea fan with long-range side-scan sonar (GLORIA) has, for the first time, revealed the anatomy, trends, and growth pattern of distributary channels on this fan. Only one channel-levee system was active at any given time and extended from the Amazon Submarine Canyon downslope onto the lower fan (> 4,200 m). Formation of new channel-levee systems occurred when a currently active channel-levee system was cut off and abandoned through avulsion, and a new channel-levee system was established nearby. Through time, successive channel-levee formation and abandonment built two broad levee complexes consisting of groups of overlapping, coalescing segments of channel-levee systems across the present fan surface. These, plus older, now buried levee compl xes, indicate that fan growth is radially outward and downslope through development of successive levee complexes. The most striking characteristic of the distributary channels is their intricate, often recurving, meanders with sinuosities of up to 2.5. Cutoffs and abandoned meander loops indicate that the channels migrate laterally through time. Channel bifurcation results predominantly from avulsion when flows breach a channel levee, thereby abandoning the present channel and establishing a new channel-levee segment nearby. No clear evidence of channel branching (i.e., division of a single channel into two active segments) or braiding was observed. The formation, maintenance, and modification of such extensive and intricate meander systems presumably requires large volumes of relatively continuous turbidity flow through channels for relatively long time periods. "Classic" sporadic turbidity-current events are apparently too infrequent to form the meandering channels. However, the bulk of sediments forming the channel-levee systems consists of fine terrigenous (hemipelagic) sediments, which were deposited relatively continuously throughout entire intervals (~ 100,000 years) of glacio-eustatic sea level lowering (e.g., Wisconsin). Although defining precisely what "continuous" means is not yet possible in terms of frequency of individual flow events (per year, decade, etc), this type of more continuous, high-volume flow is probably an important factor that promotes channel meandering. Another important factor that appears to cause channel meandering is changes in the slope of the fan surface (i.e., valley slope) encountered by a channel-levee system as it builds across the fan. The channel is apparently able to maintain a preferred gradient or slope along its thalweg, despite an increase in the slope of the fan surface, simply by meandering.


Physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth leading cause of non-communicable disease worldwide (Kohl et al. 2012) and is associated with a range of diseases including Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity (HSE, 2012; Department of Health (DH), 2011). Currently, 61.9% of adults are overweight and obese in the UK (HSE, 2012). The beneficial effects of regular physical activity including protection from serious illness such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) easily exceed the effectiveness of drugs or other medical treatments (Department of Health, 2009).

The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the South Gloucestershire Exercise on Prescription (EOP) Scheme.
Overall, there were 2,505 participants in the programme aged 18-94 years old (M = 53.02, SD = 15.40) with a modal age of 66. Most participants were female (60.6%) (n = 1,517) versus 39.4% of males (n = 987), and the majority were White British (95%). Frequent reasons for programme referral were a BMI >30 and depression. Proportionally, postcodes B37 and B16 had the highest number of service users (n = 407; n = 389) and the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) ranged from 5.9-21.1. A total of 312 (12.5%) participants presented with a longstanding illness. This may not be an accurate representation of the service users as a whole due to a high degree of missing data.

• There was a significant increase in the number of reported 30 minute exercise sessions per week between the start and the end of the programme.
• There was a significant decrease in reported systolic blood pressure and waist measurement between the start and the end of the programme.
• The programme did not appear to make a difference to the service users' weight, BMI, hip measurement, or diastolic blood pressure.
• There was a significant increase in reported well-being WEMWBS scores between the start and the end of the programme


Abstract After reviewing current opinions about the social function of literature in second-century BCE Rome, I focus on two controversial fragments assigned to Cato the Censor's Origines . In the first, Cato portrays the ancestors in a convivial setting as they sing the praises and the manly deeds of famous men; in the second, he gestures towards the pontifex maximus ' specialized use of writing and the functioning of the tabula as a locus of memory. By drawing on the field of performance studies, I identify the performative features inherent in both of these fragments and map out how these features inform the positioning of Cato in relation to the identity politics of his time, professionalism, and writing. The aim of this study is to return the Origines to its immediate socio-cultural purview, but working towards this aim will also entail a shift in perspective and a reassessment of our notions of ""poetry"" and ""prose."" In fact, by stressing the performance dimension that underlies the genesis of the Origines as a text, this article will also expose the shortcomings inherent in the hyper-literary approaches that have been so far adopted.


This article examines whether market forces encourage private education entrepreneurs to strategically outsmart the competition in ways that improve the quality of their programs or service delivery. Based on interviews with eighty private education entrepreneurs, we find that market competition does not inform how they understand their role in the wider education sector or how they made sense of their actions. Instead entrepreneurs tie their program, hiring and customer service decisions to an ideological commitment to students and by defining themselves as educators. Drawing on the sense-making literature, we suggest that this worldview guides their actions more so than the principle of supply and demand. This paper opens the black box of private education organizations, and offers a nuanced addition to mounting research that challenges the connection between market competition and school performance.


Lynching in Bolivia has been portrayed as a largely routinized and primarily urban occurrence that is a direct response to the state's inability to provide security. Using a recent case of rural lynching as a starting point, I will evaluate the idea of rural Bolivian lynching in Indigenous communities as vigilantism. I contrast what little is known about rural lynching in Bolivia to the known pattern of urban lynching and ask whether these are distinct phenomena. Finally, I discuss the idea of ancestral validation and the punishment rights implied by a western-style state sanctioning aspects of non-western justice. I ask, do our existing models for such extreme cases as fatal vigilantism exclude lynching in rural Indigenous Bolivian communities? At the heart of this discussion is how we define a cultural practice versus how we define deviance in a multicultural society; how we nest authority structures and how we afford them legitimate rights to the use of force and other extreme control measures.


This article is a five-year update to the author's book, Progressive Library Organizations: A Worldwide History, published by McFarland in 2015. It includes information on all the organizations covered in the book except the Library and Information Workers Organisation of South Africa which folded in 2000. These six organizations are from Austria, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US. The analysis is based on several new interviews in 2017, documents, publications, correspondence, and much personal experience. These organizations are in various states of health, and two of them have transformed into new structures. We can take heart that activist librarians continue to organize themselves to push back against the neoliberalism that pervades our profession and the world at-large.


The regimes in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, while broadly conforming to the category of "hybrid regimes," should not be treated as a half-way stage in a process of transition to democracy, but rather as stable, based on the institutional structures of clientelism. The authors identify the origin of these regimes and show how their emergence is, to a large extent, the consequence of the strategies that the new rulers chose in order to secure their authority in the years following independence. Even in Georgia, the recent "colored revolution" had little impact on the institutional parameters of the hybrid regime. The quintessential features that underpin the hybrid regimes of the Caucasus are the clientelism that constitutes the informal dynamic of these regimes and the "stickiness" of the informal institutions that define state power. Given the specific internal and external constraints in which these regimes are embedded, the degree of democracy that they have reached may be at an equilibrium outcome.


A technique to analyze short-period (<1 hour) gravity wave structure in all-sky images of the airglow emissions is described. The technique involves spatial calibration, star removal, geographic projection, regridding, and flat fielding of the data prior to the determination of the horizontal wave parameters (wavelength, velocity, and period), by use of standard two-dimensional Fourier analysis techniques. The method was developed to exploit the information that is now available with wide-field solid state imaging systems. This technique permits interactive and quantitative investigations of large, complex data sets. Such studies are important for investigating gravity wave characteristics, their interaction with the airglow emissions, and their geographic and seasonal variability. We study one event of this type here and present possible evidence of a nonlinear wave-wave interaction in the upper atmosphere.


Abstract. The quality of image-based point clouds generated from images of UAV aerial flights is subject to various influencing factors. In addition to the performance of the sensor used (a digital camera), the image data format (e.g. TIF or JPG) is another important quality parameter. At the UAV test field at the former Zollern colliery (Dortmund, Germany), set up by Bochum University of Applied Sciences, a medium-format camera from Phase One (IXU 1000) was used to capture UAV image data in RAW format. This investigation aims at evaluating the influence of the image data format on point clouds generated by a Dense Image Matching process. Furthermore, the effects of different data filters, which are part of the evaluation programs, were considered. The processing was carried out with two software packages from Agisoft and Pix4D on the basis of both generated TIF or JPG data sets. The point clouds generated are the basis for the investigation presented in this contribution. Point cloud comparisons with reference data from terrestrial laser scanning were performed on selected test areas representing object-typical surfaces (with varying surface structures). In addition to these area-based comparisons, selected linear objects (profiles) were evaluated between the different data sets. Furthermore, height point deviations from the dense point clouds were determined using check points. Differences in the results generated through the two software packages used could be detected. The reasons for these differences are filtering settings used for the generation of dense point clouds. It can also be assumed that there are differences in the algorithms for point cloud generation which are implemented in the two software packages. The slightly compressed JPG image data used for the point cloud generation did not show any significant changes in the quality of the examined point clouds compared to the uncompressed TIF data sets.


an interview-essay with Jayce Salloum and Molly Hankwitz on some of the video works of Jayce Salloum Molly Hankwitz: As a video artist/cultural producer who has worked on a specific geographic region of the globe, the Middle East, the politics of representation in general, and the representation of resistance in South Lebanon specifically, can you discuss issues of representation with respect to your work which specifically deal with the subject of resistance and who would you most like your videotapes to be affecting and why? Jayce Salloum: Perhaps it's best to talk about this in terms of process. The process of producing and the process of viewing/reading or the reception of the material in an experiential sense. At times this work does feel like intervention, or prodding, poking with a stick, pushing or tugging at something, like seams and creases, or disjoints and fissures. I'd love to think of these as cracks in the underbelly or an implosion of the stereotypes, the conventions, but that may be wishful thinking. Intervention does not have to start out as a obvious public act, but in a psychological sense something has to take place within the viewer/reader. Somewhere in the midst of this transaction the work serves as a means of exchange. Redefinition is possible on some scale at least within the work itself and the various discursive activities that take place around it. Maybe the most we can hope for is some type of lasting effect in our community, what ever community that is, and that in itself may take all of our energies. I think of what I'm doing as rather obscure and provisional, the years it takes to get a project off the ground and out there takes such a toll that one has to be making it for oneself first, and then for a small circle of friends and colleagues expanding outward, occasionally growing exponentially. This has happened with some of the videotapes and within other activist/cultural communities. Any 'audience' beyond the immediate one is a rather amorphous object to predict, so I set up the work to be 'read' on different levels by different viewers, at times in different languages, and sometimes through the structure and familiarity of content, specific audiences would have over others. I always try to construct an active audience, not providing easy answers or passive information as pabulum, but often aiming to provoke, producing a 'productive frustration' in the viewer where the viewers are responsible for how they're perceiving, or at least raising questions about the baggage they've brought to the work and the responses they have within a very particular/problematized 'field' or set of inquiries. I'm not into this knee-jerk game of show and tell PBS (public television) style. I don't think 'understanding' is possible, or that the 'subject' can ever be 'known', as far as the western viewer understanding the other culture. The most we can hope for is a kind of empathy, an awareness of the situation on the ground and some sense of the subjectivities at stake. This is both a visual/aural sense as well as a sense of the political/subjective positions. I am still asked about balance and objectivity, as if there is a place where context is equivocal or there is a parity of voices and access to an audience. This question is not only naive, (often times the work isn't shown because of the overt politics of the tapes or because programmers can't find an opposing voice to 'balance' it out), it also betrays a very narrow and simplistic understanding of media. There is no such thing as Objectivity' in this domain, you have to look to and through the subjective for whatever 'truths' you find. Balance has to be looked at in a greater context than what you are seeing in one particular moment. We forget there is a whole history of misinformation, misrepresentation and blatant lies accepted as 'truths' here in this county and others like it, especially considering the history of the Middle East, and the more recent Israeli and other western aggressions there. …


Conjoint analysis is a widely used marketing research tool for analyzing consumer preferences for a set of product/service attributes and estimating part-worths for the levels of each attribute. Although numerous studies have confirmed the reliability and validity of part-worth estimates, several studies have reported what was called the Number of Levels (NOL) effect, especially in full-profile conjoint designs. The NOL effect occurs in conjoint analysis when the estimated relative importance weight of an attribute increases as a function of the number of levels by which it is defined. This study investigates the NOL effect for Adaptive and Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis (ACA and CBC), two increasingly popular data collection methods. Three experiments were conducted with 684 physicians in Canada to test the hypothesis that NOL effect will be observed for both ACA and CBC but the effect will be stronger for CBC than ACA. The findings suggest that while CBC suffers from the NOL effect, ACA does not. The results also suggest that a less important attribute may be more susceptible to the NOL effect. Given the findings, it is recommended that when CBC is used it is better to have equal number of levels across all attributes in the conjoint design whenever possible. Also, relative importance weights from two different studies where the number of levels differ should not be compared. ACA does not seem to have these limitations.


Resource Legacies and Priming Regulate Microbial Communities in Antarctica's Dry Valleys Sabrina Deni Saurey Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, BYU Master of Science Multiple mechanisms control bacterial community structure but two in particular, the "legacy" of past environmental conditions, and the "priming" of bacteria to respond to seasonal or reoccurring fluctuations in resources, have the potential to determine both bacterial communities, as well as, temporal shifts in active bacterial taxa. To begin to evaluate the legacy effects of resources on microbial communities, we added four limiting resources annually (i.e., water only; C-mannitol + water; N-NH4NO3 + water; and C, N + water) and measured shifts in bacterial community composition after seven years in a cold desert ecosystem in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Further, to investigate the ecological significance of priming, we conducted a series of stable isotope probing experiments (i.e., O-DNA SIP with O-labeled water, C-DNA SIP with C-labeled mannitol, N-DNA with NNH4NO3, and a combined C and N SIP) and characterized the responding (i.e., isotopically labeled) and seed bank (i.e., unlabeled) bacterial communities. We performed each of the SIPs in soil microcosms corresponding to a single resource manipulation (e.g., C-labeled mannitol in C addition soils). We hypothesized that all long-term additions of nutrients and water will lead to a distinct bacterial community—a legacy effect due to the nutrient and water impoverished state of Antarctica soils. We also hypothesized that the stronger the legacy effects demonstrated by a specific community the more adapted or primed bacterial species will be to take advantage of the resource and respond. As hypothesized, resource additions created distinct bacterial legacy but to different degrees among the treatments. The extent of the resource legacy effects was greatest in the CN, intermediate in water and N, and lowest in C communities relative to the control communities, suggesting that C induced changes in communities were intensified by tandem N additions and that water alone created a more distinct legacy than water and C additions combined. Contrary to our hypothesis, the stronger the legacy effects, the less adapted or primed the community was to take advantage of resource additions. For example, the CN treatment that induced the greatest effect on bacterial communities had the lowest number of species (20.9%) in common between the responding and seed bank communities. This inverse relationship may be due to only two species (i.e., Arthrobacter, Actinobacteria and Massilia, Betaproteobacteria) really being primed to take advantage of CN and these species constituting over 75% of the seed bank community. Water, N, and C additions had similar levels of priming with 38.4%, 41.4%, and 36.3% of the responding species being present in the seed bank community, respectively. But of these three treatments, only the priming with water resulted in a unique responding community, suggesting that water, a universal bacterial resource, was enough to prime bacteria. Furthermore, water generates the most diverse responding community of all the resources with stemming from all of the fourteen dominant phyla. We did find patterns of ecological coherence among the responders, especially in the major responders (i.e., responders that increased in relative recovery by at least ten-fold). These responders were predominantly found in only three phyla (i.e., Actinobacteria, Bacteriodetes, and Gammaproteobacteria) regardless of resource addition. Alternatively minor responders (i.e., responders that increased in relative recovery at least twofold) were contained in fourteen different phyla with specific taxa stimulated by CN (i.e., Betaproteobacteria) and N and water (i.e., Deltaproteobacteria). Further, resource additions elicited responses from 37% of bacterial species with species specializing on a specific resource (e.g., Chloroflexi) or being a generalist (e.g., Planctomycetes and Gammaproteobacteria). Our results offer the first direct links between legacy and priming effects on bacterial community composition and demonstrate that these mechanisms are not always complimentary leading to the formation of similar communities but may both be essential to maintain the high levels of bacterial diversity. Further, all resources produced elicited responders that were either specialists of generalists demonstrating that even bacteria in the extreme environment of Antarctica respond to pulses of resources.