Abstract. On the basis of the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and the climate model simulations covering 1979 through 2005, the temperature trends and their uncertainties have been examined to note the similarities or differences compared to the radiosonde observations, reanalyses and the third Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) simulations. The results show noticeable discrepancies for the estimated temperature trends in the four data groups (radiosonde, reanalysis, CMIP3 and CMIP5), although similarities can be observed. Compared to the CMIP3 model simulations, the simulations in some of the CMIP5 models were improved. The CMIP5 models displayed a negative temperature trend in the stratosphere closer to the strong negative trend seen in the observations. However, the positive tropospheric trend in the tropics is overestimated by the CMIP5 models relative to CMIP3 models. While some of the models produce temperature trend patterns more highly correlated with the observed patterns in CMIP5, the other models (such as CCSM4 and IPSL_CM5A-LR) exhibit the reverse tendency. The CMIP5 temperature trend uncertainty was significantly reduced in most areas, especially in the Arctic and Antarctic stratosphere, compared to the CMIP3 simulations. Similar to the CMIP3, the CMIP5 simulations overestimated the tropospheric warming in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere and underestimated the stratospheric cooling. The crossover point where tropospheric warming changes into stratospheric cooling occurred near 100 hPa in the tropics, which is higher than in the radiosonde and reanalysis data. The result is likely related to the overestimation of convective activity over the tropical areas in both the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models. Generally, for the temperature trend estimates associated with the numerical models including the reanalyses and global climate models, the uncertainty in the stratosphere is much larger than that in the troposphere, and the uncertainty in the Antarctic is the largest. In addition, note that the reanalyses show the largest uncertainty in the lower tropical stratosphere, and the CMIP3 simulations show the largest uncertainty in both the south and north polar regions.


The planning and execution of the Airport Acceptance Rate (AAR) for major metroplex airports is a complex and critical function of traffic managers in the National Airspace System (NAS). Despite the importance of AAR planning, traffic managers currently have no widely available decision support to provide guidance for runway selection and the determination of a sustainable AAR. The AAR Decision Support Capability (AARDSC), currently under development as part of the Collaborative Air Traffic Management Technology Work Package 4 (CATMT WP4), will provide such guidance. This report provides an initial analysis of the impacts of surface winds and winds aloft on the key factors associated with the AAR (the selection of runway configuration and aircraft ground speed and spacing on final approach) and the capabilities of currently available weather forecasts to accurately predict those impacts. The report was limited in scope by the schedule and available resources, and is intended as a foundation for a comprehensive forecast assessment in follow-on work. Surface wind forecasts from the Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) and numerical prediction models (the High Resolution Rapid Refresh [HRRR], Rapid Refresh [RAP] and Rapid Update Cycle [RUC], collectively described as "MODEL") were compared to observed winds gathered from METAR reports at Newark International Airport (EWR). TAF and METAR were compared for 639 days of operations from 2011–2013. MODEL forecasts and METAR were compared for 21 days of operation, 16 of which had Traffic Management Initiatives (TMI) in place to mitigate adverse weather impacts. Winds aloft were translated into several wind impact metrics. The impacts of winds aloft forecast errors were evaluated by comparing impact metrics calculated from MODEL forecasts with those calculated from analysis fields for the 21 case days. Forecasts were evaluated at horizons of 2, 4, 6, and 8 hours.


The main objective of this work is to study experimentally the primary instability of non-Newtonian film flows down an inclined plane. We focus on low-concentration shear-thinning aqueous solutions obeying the Carreau law. The experimental study essentially consists of measuring wavelengths in marginal conditions, which yields the primary stability threshold for a given slope. The experimental results for neutral curves presented in the $(Re,f_{c})$ and $(Re,k)$ planes (where $f_{c}$ is the driving frequency, $k$ is the wavenumber and $Re$ is the Reynolds number) are in good agreement with the numerical results obtained by a resolution of the generalized Orr–Sommerfeld equation. The long-wave asymptotic extension of our results is consistent with former theoretical predictions of the critical Reynolds number. This is the first experimental evidence of the destabilizing effect of the shear-thinning behaviour in comparison with the Newtonian case: the critical Reynolds number is smaller, and the ratio between the critical wave celerity and the flow velocity at the free surface is larger.


Healthcare is regarded as one of the fundamental rights of every human. Healthcare organizations (HCO) are making great efforts to provide to their customers the best possible healthcare services therefore HCO need to constantly view knowledge as one of the organization's strategic asset. Knowledge in HCOs need to be discovered, created, shared and applied. However, the studies on KM implementation in HCO is deemed insufficient. The aim of this study is to investigate the perception of healthcare professionals (HCP) on KM practices in HCO in Malaysia. The investigation includes the HCPs perceived benefits, supporting factors and challenges in implementing KM in their organization. This study adopts a case study research design. Questionnaires were distributed online to HCPs of a HCO. The findings indicate that HCPs were aware of the KM but not convinced with its capabilities and the benefit it could bring to the organization.


In order to improve aviation security, many airports apply Threat Image Projection (TIP) and computer-based X-ray image interpretation training (CBT). One difference between TIP and CBT X-ray images is the algorithm used to merge virtual threat items into X-ray images of passenger bags, resulting in different color nuances. In this study, we tested the influence of merging algorithms on threat object detection performance, reaction time and confidence rating of 12 airport security screeners. The image merging algorithms of the individually adaptive CBT X-Ray Tutor were used. We have found that the hit rate was higher for TIP images compared to CBT images. Accordingly, the mean of confidence ratings was increased for TIP images. The reaction times tended to be shorter for TIP images. The results of our study indicate that the CBT merging algorithm used in this study is more realistic than the tested TIP image merging algorithm.


In cases of wrongful birth, parents seek compensation for any damage related to birth of a disabled child. The claim is made against the health-care provider for negligent failure to detect foetal defects, which has as a consequence loss of the opportunity of the parents to decide to terminate the pregnancy in a timely manner. Case law on this topic is absent in Estonia. Accordingly, the article proposes a reasoned solution for Estonian law on the question of recoverable damages in cases of wrongful birth through analysis of Estonian, German, and United States legal literature and case law. The grounds for the health-care provider's liability under the Estonian Law of Obligations Act are analysed. The main focus is on analysis of compensation for the disabled child's maintenance costs and non-pecuniary damage. Among other factors, the article examines the ethics dilemma of avoiding the birth of a disabled child, limits to compensation, and the extent of the damages due.


Action can only be spontaneous and impulsive if not guided by contemplation; contemplation, on the other hand, may only be luxurious playfulness if not either purposed - or suitable - to motivate action. This volume seeks to prove what may seem self-evident to common sense, but adhering to common sense is never pointless nor excessive. Next to this, Thinking in Action is the offspring of friendship, respect and commitment between two academic communities, the Hellenic and the Serbian philosophical communities, that admittedly have a lot in common, especially with regard to philosophy, and hopefully as many differences as needed in order to secure a long-lasting and fertile exchange of ideas; it is also the natural-born child of necessity: philosophy is about argumentation, debate and confrontation. Thinking in Action inaugurates Hellenic-Serbian Philosophical Dialogue Series that entertains no hesitation in being as ambitious as any philosophical series could be: it seeks to establish a permanent, wide and rich channel of fruitful philosophical interaction between the two philosophical communities. Having high aspirations is one thing; meeting these aspirations as well as the expectations of the reader is a totally different one. We wish Thinking in Action, the first volume of the Hellenic-Serbian Philosophical Dialogue Series, apart from being the initial step of a long journey, will also be a fascinating one to the reader.


The neuronal high voltage-activated calcium channels are a family of ion channels composed from up to five different alpha1 and four different beta subunits. The neuronal distribution and subunit composition of calcium channels were investigated using subunit-specific antibodies and riboprobes. The beta subunit-specific antibodies identified the presence of beta1a in skeletal muscle; beta2 in heart; and beta2, beta3, and beta4 in brain. The beta3 protein was widely distributed in rat brain, with prominent labeling of olfactory bulb, cortex, hippocampus, and habenula. The beta4 protein was also widely expressed, most prominently in the cerebellum. beta2 protein was expressed at only low levels. In situ hybridization with beta subunit-specific riboprobes confirmed the differential expression pattern of the individual subunits. Hybridization with riboprobes specific for the alpha1A, alpha1B, alpha1C, and alpha1D subunits showed a broad distribution of alpha1A and alpha1B transcripts, whereas the expression level of alpha1C and alpha1D mRNA was lower and more spatially restricted. The overall expression pattern and cellular localization suggested that beta4 may associate predominantly, but probably not exclusively, with the alpha1A subunit, and beta3 with the alpha1B subunit. In certain brain areas such as the habenula, the beta3 subunit may associate with other alpha1 subunits too. Furthermore, the beta2 subunit may form complexes with different alpha1 subunits in brain and cardiac muscle. These results demonstrate that a given beta subunit may associate with different alpha1 subunits in a cell type-dependent manner, contributing to the diversity of the neuronal calcium channels.


The synthesis of a new tetralactam macrocycle and the simultaneous formation of catenanes and larger octalactam macrocycles is reported. These species bear 2,2'-biquinoline moieties suitably positioned to bind a metal center at the outer periphery of the macrocycles. (1)H NMR chemical shifts permit the unambiguous distinction of transoid and cisoid conformations of the biquinoline moiety, thereby allowing an unequivocal identification of the catenane and octalactam structures, despite the fact that both have the same elemental composition and bear identical structural subunits. With the aid of an anion template effect, rotaxanes can be prepared from the smaller tetralactam macrocycle. These reveal significantly altered requirements in terms of the stopper size as compared to previously reported tetralactam wheels. Several copper(I)-mediated dimers and a (bpy)(2)Ru(II) complex (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine) have been synthesized from the tetralactam macrocycle and the rotaxanes. The anion binding abilities of the tetralactam macrocycle and its (bpy)(2)Ru(II) complex in DMSO have been compared by (1)H NMR titration experiments, which revealed significantly enhanced binding by the metal complex. Mass spectrometry has been used to study the potential formation of larger assemblies of copper(I) and the catenane built-up from two tetralactam macrocycles. Indeed, a 2:2 complex was identified. In contrast, the octalactam macrocycle of the same elemental composition yields only 1:1 complexes, with the Cu(I) ion connecting its two biquinoline moieties in the center of a figure-eight-shaped molecule. Molecular modeling studies support the structural assignments made.


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic musculoskeletal condition that commonly affects the knee and other joints. The disability associated with OA results in a considerable economic burden particularly joint replacement surgery and job-related loss of productivity. Until now, most cures research has focused on treatments to reduce pain and prevent functional decline. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory have short-term clinical benefits with some effect sizes which are generally small to moderate. Intra-articular therapies for OA (such as Hyaluronic Acid and corticosteroids) are also proposed but their benefits are limited to a few weeks. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection into the affected joint is receiving increasing interest such as biologic therapy for OA. Current variability in the numerous PRP preparation and injection protocol in addition to considerable heterogeneity between studies make it difficult to establish recommendations regarding which type of PRP to use and for which indications. This manuscript will advance a systematic review of biological effect of PRP as a treatment for knee OA.


Neonatal Formulary bridges a gap between a standard formulary (stating doses, indications, etc.) and a standard neonatal textbook by expanding information about the conditions for which each drug is used. Much of drug use during pregnancy, lactation, and in neonates and young infants is 'off license' (i.e. using licensed drugs but for an indication that is outside the licensed use—in many cases simply because the studies and the licensing application did not include data about neonatal use). The book offers information to allow practitioners to make informed choices whether to use such a drug or not by presenting data from published studies to support such a use. Part 1 concentrates on drug prescribing and drug administration, presenting general information on drug storage, drug licensing, and drug prescribing. It also explains to the reader why the metabolism of drugs differs in premature and sick infants and why the practice of extrapolating doses from adult studies is wrong. Patient safety, excipients, and therapies that affect drug metabolism (such as therapeutic hypothermia) are also covered. Part 2 consists of drug monographs for over 250 drugs that may find use in the neonatal population but which nonetheless may also find use outside the neonatal unit. Each monograph is divided into sections covering use, pharmacology, treatment, drug interactions, or other administration information, supply, and administration, and references. The monographs also contain links to Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and national guidelines supported by bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or the Royal Colleges. Part 3 contains brief notes on a range of additional drugs and groups of drugs that are often taken by mothers during pregnancy, labour, or during breast feeding where effects on either the fetus or infant can be seen. This information will help to provide safe and effective prescribing of drugs to all mothers and their babies.


Information and communication technology standards are increasingly intertwined with functions that are paradigmatic responsibilities of governments. The degree of openness in technical standards can have public policy implications in several areas: a nation's innovation and competition policy; the ability of governments to efficiently and cost effectively perform services such as national security, disaster response, and e-health administration; and the ways in which standards serve as a form of regulation making decisions such as the extent of user privacy on the Internet. Because of these possible policy implications, governments have a vested interest in promoting open technical standards adhering to principles of transparency, cost efficiency, and interoperability. This paper examines various possibilities for governments to engage with information and communication technology standardization (e.g. development, regulation, funding, adoption) and ultimately recommends that governments, as significant parts of technology markets, can exert market influence, as well as provide efficient e-Governance functions, through procurement policies that promote open standards, often through electronic government interoperability frameworks (e-GIFs) specifying information technology standards for e-Governance infrastructures. These procurement policies are the least interventionist of possible roles for governments in standardization because they do not mandate that private industry adopt particular standards and do not intervene directly in the standards-development process. Drawing from roundtable discussions with government officials at the United Nations Development Programme's Global Meeting on Government Interoperability Frameworks in Brazil, this paper surveys a number of existing government interoperability frameworks (Brazil, the European Union, Japan, and South Africa) and recommends best practices for these emerging e-Governance frameworks.


An Automated Tool for High Resolution Visualization Applied to Transient Watershed Models Noah Robert Taylor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science Numeric hydrologic models can aid in water resource management by providing predictive simulations of water behavior. As computers become more advanced, the models developed also become more complex using more data to represent larger areas for forecasting hydrologic behavior. Unfortunately, as the simulations use more data, the output often becomes difficult to manage and share without investing time and effort into setting up server environments or decreasing the quality of the output to compensate for an efficient and effective user experience. A proposed solution to facilitate the accessibility of massive hydrologic model output is through the web-based visualization tool developed at Carnegie Mellon University called Time Machine. For a more efficient and automated workflow, a Python tool named TMAPS was developed from this research for rendering hydrologic model results, geoprocessing the rendered output, and generating Time Machines seamlessly. The tool can be installed from the CI-WATER GitHub repository and allows the user to 1) select the output parameters and visualization settings desired to be rendered, 2) run the code on a local or HPC setup, and 3) use a web browser interface to view the tiled transient results seamlessly while maintaining high quality. Currently, the only hydrologic model supported is ADHydro a large-scale highresolution multi-physics watershed simulation. In an effort to facilitate organizing the library of Time Machine products, an app was created through Tethys a server-based Django application designed to aid in the development and sharing of water resource engineering apps.


The need for reliable integrated circuits is becoming of paramount importance as they are increasingly used in a range of safety critical applications or domestic products. In the past reliability has been achieved at the IC level by comprehensive testing of the device after manufacture. The use of scan design and BILBO techniques have assisted designers in achieving the necessary high test coverages with little effort. However these methods only address the problem of testing for permanent faults after fabrication or periodically during the lifetime of a system. These 'classical' techniques do not tackle the more serious problem of intermittent faults, which will come to dominate VLSI circuits as device geometries decrease. To deal with intermittent faults and maintain reliable operation concurrent test methods need to be used. The paper will present one possible method of detecting and correcting single intermittent faults that occur during normal operation and also assist the designer in post fabrication testing. The chosen technique uses information redundancy in the form of a SEC/DED Hamming code and will be illustrated by the design of a 32-bit CMOS RISC processor. The processor is capable of detecting and correcting errors arising from faults as they occur without the need to halt normal operations or recourse to any specialised software. A detailed appraisal of the costs involved in using this technique will be given in terms of the extra silicon area needed and the reduction in throughput of the processor.


Response time variability in software applications can severely degrade the quality of the user experience. To reduce this variability, request replication emerges as an effective solution by spawning multiple copies of each request and using the result of the first one to complete. Most previous studies have mainly focused on the  mean latency for systems implementing replica cancellation, i.e., all replicas of a request are canceled once the first one finishes. Instead, we develop models to obtain the response-time distribution  for systems where replica cancellation may be too expensive or infeasible to implement, as in "fast" systems, such as web services, or in legacy systems. Furthermore, we introduce a novel service model to explicitly consider correlation in the processing times of the request replicas, and design an efficient algorithm to parameterize the model from real data. Extensive evaluations on a MATLAB benchmark and a three-tier web application (MediaWiki) show remarkable accuracy, e.g., 7 (4 percent) average error on the 99th percentile response time for the benchmark (respectively, MediaWiki), the requests of which execute in the order of seconds (respectively, milliseconds). Insights into optimal replication levels are thereby gained from this precise quantitative analysis, under a wide variety of system scenarios.


Alk signaling promotes nuclear exclusion of the Gli family transcription factor Lmd in the fruit fly. The activity of Gli transcription factors is regulated by Hedgehog signaling, but Popichenko et al. report that activity of the Drosophila melanogaster Gli family transcription factor Lame duck (Lmd) was inhibited by signaling from the receptor tyrosine kinase anaplastic lymphoma kinase (Alk), which is transduced through the extracellular signal–regulated protein kinase (ERK) pathway. In the visceral mesoderm of the fly embryo, founder cells (FCs) and fusion-competent myoblasts (FCMs) fuse with one another to generate myotubes. Although lmd was expressed in both FCs and FCMs, Lmd protein was restricted to the FCMs and required for FCM specification. In alk mutants, FCs were absent and Lmd was present in all visceral mesoderm cells. When Alk signaling was activated throughout the visceral mesoderm by ectopic expression of the gene encoding its ligand Jelly belly (Jeb), all cells expressed FC markers and showed ERK activation but lacked Lmd and FCM markers. The depletion of Lmd from visceral mesoderm cells in response to overexpression of jeb required the ubiquitin ligase Mib2, implying that Lmd may undergo ubiquitin-mediated degradation in FC cells. In human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells, fluorescently tagged Lmd was cytoplasmically localized when Alk signaling was activated and nuclearly localized when the cells were treated with an Alk inhibitor. Live-cell imaging revealed that removing the Alk inhibitor resulted in gradual relocalization of Lmd to the cytoplasm. Treatment with an inhibitor of mitogen-activated or extracellular signal–regulated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibited Alk-dependent relocalization of tagged Lmd. Experiments in fly embryos and in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells indicated that the N-terminal portion of Lmd was required for Alk-dependent relocalization, and mass spectroscopy revealed that Alk signaling induced phosphorylation of several amino acids in this N-terminal region. These results imply a model in which Alk signaling through the ERK pathway promotes FC identity by stimulating Lmd phosphorylation, its exclusion from the nucleus, and its degradation in the cytoplasm, thus preventing Lmd from stimulating the expression of FCM-specific genes. D. Popichenko, F. Hugosson, C. Sjögren, M. Dogru, Y. Yamazaki, G. Wolfstetter, C. Schönherr, M. Fallah, B. Hallberg, H. Nguyen, R. H. Palmer, Jeb/Alk signalling regulates the Lame duck GLI family transcription factor in the Drosophila visceral mesoderm. Development 140, 3156–3166 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Unavoidable variations in size and position of the building blocks of photonic crystals cause light scattering and extinction of coherent beams. We present a model for both two- and three-dimensional photonic crystals that relates the extinction length to the magnitude of the variations. The predicted lengths agree well with our experiments on high-quality opals and inverse opals, and with literature data analyzed by us. As a result, control over photons is limited to distances up to 50 lattice parameters 15 m in state-of-the-art structures, thereby impeding applications that require large photonic crystals, such as proposed optical integrated circuits. Conversely, scattering in photonic crystals may lead to different physics such as Anderson localization and nonclassical diffusion.


Today, it is black-letter law that Congress may create non-Article III courts in the District of Columbia and staff them with judges who lack salary protection and life tenure. Forty-five years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the District's non-Article III court system. And since that decision, judges and scholars alike have accepted that the District is an exception to Article III.

This Article challenges that consensus. It shows that, as a historical matter, Article III's judicial protections were long believed to apply to the District. And it demonstrates that the various functional justifications for non-Article III adjudication do not apply to courts in the capital. In short, this Article demonstrates that the current D.C. court system likely violates Article III.

This conclusion should be significant in its own right, since the right to an Article III judge has long been viewed as an essential constitu-tional safeguard. Indeed, the modern history of the D.C. court sys- tem reveals the troubling influence of crime and race on Congress's decision to create a non-Article III court system in the capital. But the historical research presented in this Article also has broader implica-tions outside the seat of government. Most directly, it suggests a new limit on Congress's power to create non-Article III tribunals on public lands.


Miospores from the clastic intervals between the Robinson Limestone and the Peghorn Limestone in the Brigantian (Mississippian) stratotype section at Janny Wood, Cumbria, are assigned to the Tripartites vetustus–Rotaspora fracta (VF) Assemblage Biozone. The species Murospora parthenopia , normally considered to be restricted to the underlying Raistrickia nigra–Triquitrites marginatus (NM) Biozone, is also recorded. Tripartites vetustus is recorded from the stratigraphically deepest sample, meaning that the base of the VF Biozone lies within the Asbian and not at the base of the Brigantian. The base of the VF Biozone cannot be proven in Janny Wood. A review of independent palaeontological controls on the age of the first appearance of T. vetustus in Britain indicates a lack of stratigraphical precision at the local level. Supplementary material: A full biostratigraphical range chart and a spreadsheet of biostratigraphical data are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4199306


Power-line networking is one of several ways to connect the computers in home. It uses
the electrical wiring in house to create a network. Power-line networking is based on the
concept of no new wires. Because it requires no new wiring, and the network adds no
cost to electric bill, power-line networking is the cheapest method of connecting
computers in different rooms.
Small office user and home user (SOHO) have problems in creating a communication
medium between them. Besides that, the user needs high-quality internet call with highavailability at low cost. So on this project paper, we would like to do a comparative
study on performance of VoIP using Power line and wired (CAT5) to find the best result
for creating communication at low cost.
So this project paper is want to analysis the performance VoIP using Power line and to
compare it with wired .It is testing only in direct LAN. The performance also focuses on
measurement of the performance based on packet loss, jitter, delay throughput and
bandwidth. Measurement performance on packet loss, jitter and delay is using
NetQuality whereas throughput and bandwidth were using NetstatLive. For get the
persist result, testing are doing in 15 time for a week for jitter, packet loss and delay.10
time per week for throughput and bandwidth. . The average of the result will compare
with performance VoIP using power line and with wired.
The conclusion for this comparative the performance communication of the wired
performance is better than power line. This is proven from the QoS performances that
had been analyzed. It is Analyze quality of voice in more parameter and get the
persistence result using the better tools with quality voice, It is recommended to future
works not only focused on analysis to Direct LAN. Also focus on analysis the
performance at Indirect LAN such as at other block or layer and It is recommended to
future works to testing at the other application telephony such as soft phone.


The thesis proposes measuring social capital by means of Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and presents international social capital estimates for the late-nineteenth century in the form of a Social Development Index (SDI) for 1870 and 1890. The analysis is based on a nineteenth-century international database containing a wide range of socio-economic variables. These indicators are compared to midtwentieth century social indicators, facilitating the study of the evolution of social capital in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. One of the conclusions that arise from the PhD thesis is the persistence of social indicators in the medium term. In the very long run, a significant decline in the relative position of the Western European countries and the United States is found. The new series are then used as empirical evidence to show that comparative social evolution trajectories can improve economic performance predictions. In fact, the results show that the relationship between social development and per capita income already existed in the late-nineteenth century. This relationship upholds after controlling for foreign trade volume and structure, urbanization, education, quality of institutions, political stability, government expenditure, population growth, and climate. Finally, the thesis presents an application of the proposed SDI into an Economic Geography framework. In particular, it shows how a better definition of the formal and informal institutional setup can help testing economic geography hypothesis on international trade. In order to do this, indicators of access to markets are calculated for 1994 and other benchmark years going back to 1962 making use of bilateral trade data. Then, the proposed alternative socio-institutional measures illustrate how the importance of access to markets is not unconditional on the institutional setup. Poor government effectiveness undermines the positive benefits of geographical location. Only when a country reaches a certain threshold of institutional quality can it effectively benefit from location.


Membrane localization of the small GTP-binding protein Ras is essential for its function. Upon activation, Ras binds to the serine-threonine kinase Raf-1. Inouye et al. suggest that Ras must dimerize at the membrane to activate Raf-1. Purified, GTP-bound Ras that was incorporated into liposomes formed dimers that activated Raf-1 in the absence of other membrane proteins. This effect did not occur in the absence of liposomes. Ras fusion proteins that formed dimers could bypass incorporation into liposomes for Raf-1 activation, and Ras fusion proteins induced to dimerize in intact cells also activated Raf-1. It remains unclear how Ras might dimerize in the membrane. Inouye, K., Mizutani, S., Koide, H., and Kaziro, Y. (2000) Formation of the Ras dimer is essential for Raf-1 activation. J. Biol. Chem. 275: 3737-3740. [Abstract] [Full Text]


This is a comprehensive and accessible overview of what is known about the structure and mechanics of bone, bones, and teeth. In it, John Currey incorporates critical new concepts and findings from the two decades of research since the publication of his highly regarded The Mechanical Adaptations of Bones. Crucially, Currey shows how bone structure and bone's mechanical properties are intimately bound up with each other and how the mechanical properties of the material interact with the structure of whole bones to produce an adapted structure.

 For bone tissue, the book discusses stiffness, strength, viscoelasticity, fatigue, and fracture mechanics properties. For whole bones, subjects dealt with include buckling, the optimum hollowness of long bones, impact fracture, and properties of cancellous bone. The effects of mineralization on stiffness and toughness and the role of microcracking in the fracture process receive particular attention. As a zoologist, Currey views bone and bones as solutions to the design problems that vertebrates have faced during their evolution and throughout the book considers what bones have been adapted to do. He covers the full range of bones and bony tissues, as well as dentin and enamel, and uses both human and non-human examples.

 Copiously illustrated, engagingly written, and assuming little in the way of prior knowledge or mathematical background, Bones is both an ideal introduction to the field and also a reference sure to be frequently consulted by practicing researchers.


The current study investigated cultural, familial, and individual differences in social support seeking processes between Japan and the United States by applying face negotiation theory (FNT). The application of FNT contributed to understanding social support seeking processes by utilizing such concepts as national cultures, and horizontal-vertical individualism and collectivism (I-C) as cultural variables, family communication patterns (FCP) as meso-cultural variables, self-construals as culturally influenced individual variables, and face concerns as situational and relational variables. Using the FNT framework, the current study focused on the following five aspects: (a) cross-cultural comparisons of the amount of social support seeking and coping styles, (b) relationships between national cultures and social support seeking styles, (c) relationships between vertical and horizontal I-C and social support seeking, (d) relationships among national cultures, FCP, and social support seeking, and (e) an overall model of face-negotiation processes. In total, nine hypotheses and seven research questions were posed. A questionnaire survey was administered to 252 Japanese university students and vii 262 U.S. American university students. Many hypotheses were supported in the following areas: a) cross-cultural differences in the amount of social support seeking were found, with the Japanese less likely to seek social support than U.S. Americans, b) FCP, including both conversation and conformity orientations, was a positive predictor of social support seeking, c) vertical collectivism was a positive predictor of the amount of social support seeking, d) the effects of national cultures were fully mediated by FCP with regard to social support seeking. However, hypotheses on the overall face-negotiation model were not supported because self-construals and face concerns had little impact on social support seeking. The current study did not make a clear explanation of the roles of self-construals and face concerns to social support seeking. Nonetheless, the current study was successful in explaining the multilayered cultural effects of national cultures and FCP on social support seeking processes. The results of the current study may directly contribute to understanding a social ecological model to explain and predict interpersonal behavior across cultures from macroand meso-levels of culture. However, the potential for extending the FNT framework from conflict communication to social support seeking processes needs to be further explored. Because the present study revealed that Japanese participants tended to seek social support less than their U.S. American counterparts due to cultural, familial, and personal differences, more training and pedagogy may be concentrated in these areas. Both the Japanese and U.S. Americans may benefit from being able to reconsider and reflect on their communication processes by knowing different approaches to supportive communication. In doing so, they may gain a wider perspective and build better interpersonal communication skills.


The photopic negative response (PhNR) in response to a brief flash is a negative-going wave following the b-wave of the cone electroretinogram (ERG) that is driven by retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The function of RGCs is objectively evaluated by analysing the PhNR. We reviewed articles regarding clinical use of the PhNR. The PhNR was well correlated with the visual sensitivity obtained by standard automated perimetry and morphometric parameters of the inner retina and optic nerve head in optic nerve and retinal diseases. Moreover, combining the PhNR with focal or multifocal ERG techniques enables the objective assessment of local function of RGCs. The PhNR is therefore likely to become established as an objective functional test for optic nerve and retinal diseases involving RGC injury.


Japan is suffering from a "device gap." Compared to its American and European counterparts, Japan lags in adopting innovative medical devices and making new treatments and procedures available to its patients. Many blame its government and bureaucracy for Japan's delayed access to modern medicine and new medical devices. Christa Altenstetter examines the contextual social, historical, and political conditions of Japan's medical field to make sense of the state of the country's medical profession and its regulatory framework. She explores the development of regulatory frameworks and considers possibilities for eventual reform and modernization. More specifically, Altenstetter looks into how physicians and device companies connect to the government and bureaucracy, the relationships connecting Japanese patients to their medical system and governmental bureaucracy, and how the relationships between policymakers and the medical profession are changing. The issues addressed here are becoming increasingly relevant as numerous countries in Asia, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe are only now beginning to regulate medical technology, following the lead of the US and the European Union. Those interested in global medicine and Asian studies will find this book both informative and compelling.


In this study, we examine the effects of common ownership on labor market outcomes. We find that an increase in common ownership in a labor market is associated with decreases in both wages per employee and the employment-to-population ratio. We conduct an event study based on the acquisition of Barclays Global Investors by BlackRock in 2009. Using a synthetic control method, we find that markets that were more affected by the acquisition experienced post-acquisition decreases in annual wages per employee and employment-to-population ratio relative to the counterfactual of no acquisition. The estimated treatment effects of the acquisition were stronger in markets with higher unemployment rates, lower personal income per capita, lower population density, and stricter enforcement of noncompete clauses.


We present a deformable model based registration method to estimate bone fragment position and shape from intraoperative X-ray images for two-part bone fracture. Conventional deformable models are generated from CT volume images of normal persons. Thus it is difficult to describe diseased or broken bone shapes. For applying deformable model based registration to bone fractures, we propose a novel mathematical manner in the optimization process of registration. In the pre-processing, contour points on each X-ray image are interactively labelled as each of the fragment parts. In the registration stage, optimizations for bone position estimation and bone shape deformation are recursively performed by following the mathematical manner of projection onto convex sets (POCS). Our method provides not only fragment positions and a reduced bone shape but also relative transformation matrix between one fragment and the other. Because the relative matrix can lead the reducing motion path, our method effectively performs in the registration process for bone fracture surgeries. In the experiments, the error was 0.9 mm for translation and 11.8 degree for rotation. The shape estimation error was 10.9 % of the error volume ratio comparing with the whole volume of the deformable models.


Approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms that children in all countries have fundamental rights, including rights to education. To date, 192 states are signatories to or have in some form ratified the accord. Children are still imperilled in many countries, however, and are often not made aware of their guaranteed rights. In Empowering Children, R. Brian Howe and Katherine Covell assert that educating children about their basic rights is a necessary means not only of fulfilling a country?s legal obligations, but also of advancing education about democratic principles and the practice of citizenship. The authors contend that children?s rights education empowers children as persons and as rights-respecting citizens in democratic societies. Such education has a ?contagion effect? that brings about a general social knowledge on human rights and social responsibility. Although there remain obstacles to the implementation of children?s rights in many countries, Howe and Covell argue that reforming schools and enhancing teacher education are absolutely essential to the creation of a new culture of respect toward children as citizens. Their thorough and passionate work marks a significant advance in the field.


The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent UK lockdown were a catalyst for mass waiting. This paper will focus on a phenomenon, a particular form of waiting observed in shopping queues during lock down in the North East of England. Waiting practices formed through the COVID-19 pandemic have opened new forms of feeling, requiring new forms of articulation. As such the paper experiments with language and form speculatively describing feelings and temporalities through a metaphor, suspension. Initially the paper outlines what waiting is and does in order to provide a touchstone when considering the feelings formed within new practices of waiting. It then outlines and considers what liquid suspension can open as a writing device. Then working with suspension and aligned concepts of surface and viscosity, the paper explores the morphologies of mood and sensation felt and shared within COVID-19 pandemic shopping queues.


Internet has greatly influenced the way individuals socialize, create and exploit economic opportunities and knowledge resources. However, previous studies on assessment of impact have largely been empirical and limited to examining the factors influencing adoption and usage of Internet only from a social and economic perspective. These have not considered the role of knowledge enhancement and exchange. In addition, few studies measure impact in an integrated manner and are based on theory. Consequently, the constituent dimensions of impact, their inter-relationships and their intensity have not been articulated. To develop a construct for measuring impact of Internet use, we have used two theoretical and complementary domains: Social Capital and Social Cognitive Theory. Since Internet is considered a network for social exchanges, a study of Perceived Impact of Internet would need to take into account the aspect of social capital consequent to adoption and usage of Internet. On another dimension, usage of Internet could lead to increase in economic capital due to enhanced opportunities for business or profession. Internet is also a source of knowledge that could enhance economic or social benefits by creating opportunities for businesses or professional growth. Thus what constitutes impact is a complex construct broadly manifested along social, economic and knowledge dimensions. Further, most studies of Internet impact have not examined the role of outcome expectations and self-efficacy, two important constructs from theory of Social Cognition, in driving Internet use. Our study is driven by the need to develop a theoretical model for measuring impact by identifying the underlying dimensions that constitute impact and creating a construct for measuring the same. Lack of studies of impact of Internet in developing countries, especially in rural areas was another driver. We have used a survey based instrument administered to Internet users covering two of the poorer districts in Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh, India. Principal Component Analysis was used to identify the latent perceptual dimensions that constitute impact. Subsequently, we used linear regression to posit the strengths of each identified dimension in contributing to Perceived Impact. The model highlights the importance of using Internet for overcoming vulnerabilities in a rural context, negative disconfirmation with respect to having Enhanced Scope of Work through Internet use and social context of knowledge creation and cognition. The negative disconfirmation could be attributed to possibly low self-efficacy or not completely fulfilled outcome expectations from available services. Lack of content in local language, poor presence of local websites, low presence of associates and partners on the Internet, and inadequate quality of Internet connectivity contribute to this.


Background & Aim : Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders in the postpartum period. Few studies have been done about the impact of kangaroo skin contact on maternal anxiety. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of short abdominal skin-to-skin and Kangaroo skin contact between mother and newborn on mother's anxiety. Methods : This single-blind clinical trial was accomplished on 68 qualified pregnant women, in Torbat Heydariyeh in 1394. The women were randomly divided into two groups Experimental (Kangaroo skin contact) and control (abdominal skin contact). A questionnaire about demographics, fertility, medical, information about stage 1, 2 and 3 of labor, Mother and infant's Information and STAI: Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety inventory were completed for the two groups after delivery. After encoding, the data were analyzed with SPSS software version 20, Mann-Whitney tests, t, chi-square and 0/05>p was considered significant. Results : There was no significant difference in maternal State (p= 0.58) and Trait (p=0.63) anxiety between short kangaroo contact skin group and abdominal skin contact group, 2 months after birth. However, it was found that anxiety in the short kangaroo care group was much lower than that in the skin-to-skin group (P=0.04). Conclusion : The effect of short Kangaroo skin contact on maternal anxiety was similar to abdominal skin contact.


River pollution is an increasingly serious issue that can lead to an imbalance in an ecosystem. Chemicals found in fertilizers and pesticides, such as phosphate and nitrogen, often end up in nearby water and can have a negative effect on surrounding plant life. In this experiment, we assessed the effect of water containing different nitrogen levels on the height and number of mature flowers of the English daisy (Bellis perennis). We compared English daisy plants exposed to water with high levels of added nitrogen (representing high pollution), low levels of added nitrogen (representing low pollution), and tap water. The high pollution treatment caused plants to decrease in height over three weeks. Plants in the low pollution treatment increased in height the first week, but then decreased during weeks two and three. The plants treated with tap water stayed fairly constant in height during the experiment. There was a small increase in the number of mature flowers in the low pollution treatment, while the plants exposed to the high pollution treatment and tap water treatment both lost similar numbers of flowers. This indicates that there is a negative effect of pollution on plant height and an inconclusive effect on number of mature flowers. Further studies, including beginning plants from seedlings and investigating the effects of different chemical pollutants, are needed to determine the full effect of water pollution on the English daisy.


Wavelength conversion based on four-wave mixing (FWM) has been demonstrated using a 40-m dispersion flattened highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (HNL-PCF). A conversion efficiency of -26 dB for a pump power of 19.5 dBm and a conversion bandwidth of 28 nm have been obtained, which are limited by the continuous wave (CW) laser wavelength range and tunability of optical band pass filters (OBPFs).


Impoliteness, often described as non-cooperative and norm-disrupting verbal behavior (Keinpointner 2008; Culpeper et al. 2003; Beebe 1995), can also serve important sociability functions. When tension is present between individual and group face wants, impoliteness can be used to establish, reinforce, or (re)negotiate values salient to the group (Culpeper 2011; Lea at al. 1992; Graham 2007). The intersection of impoliteness with group face concerns is especially important in polylogous online contexts (Blitvich 2010; Lorenzo-Dus at al. 2011; Perelmutter 2013). This study examines the intersection between individual and group face concerns by examining impoliteness in an online Russian-language forum dedicated to discussions of marital infidelity. This forum is frequented by both mistresses and cheated-upon wives. Mistresses post confessions, expecting and sometimes even soliciting shaming responses from other forum members; wives engage in troubles-telling and are mocked by mistresses; mistresses and wives insult and shame each other. Since the overarching societal norms and expectations of family mores and gendered behavior in the post-Soviet society are often unclear, these shaming practices help Russian-speaking women construct and negotiate their identities within a group of peers. These negotiations integrate individual, group, and societal face concerns.


The design and operation of a new vaporizing assembly used for Q-plasma sources are described in this article. The vaporizing system, consisting of two ovens and an effuser, is used to vaporize and direct atoms onto a hot ionizer plate. The hot plate, which may be of tantalum, tungsten, or rhenium, singly ionizes the atoms on contact. The main advantages of this new assembly, compared to previous designs, are the production of higher plasma densities and the control of the radial plasma profile. The heaters of the two atomic beam ovens are independently controlled and monitored so that the gradients of the radial plasma profile can be modified. Plasma production with two ion species can also be performed.


Studies have been made of the quantitative rôle of pent-1-ene and pent-2-ene in the combustion of pentane at temperatures below 400°C. The present results show that, under these conditions, pentenes are initial and direct products of pentane combustion and pent-2-ene is the principal conjugate alkene formed [1-14C]Pent-1-ene and [2-14C]pent-2-ene have been synthesized and the combustion of pentane has also been investigated in the presence of small concentrations of these specifically labelled compounds; control experiments have shown that the pentenes, in the amounts added, do not interfere appreciably with the kinetics of pentane combustion. Measurements of the variation with time of the specific activities and concentrations of the pentenes enable the separate rates of formation and destruction of the conjugate alkenes to be determined. Hence it is possible to calculate the total quantities of these compounds formed at different stages of reaction and to show to what extent these are greater than the net amounts revealed by conventional analytical measurements; the differences are found to be most marked at small conversions. The reactivity ratios of pentane and the pentenes have also been determined. The rates of destruction of both pentenes are much greater than that of pentane; pent-2-ene is removed from the system roughly twice as fast as pent-1-ene. An important contrast between the behaviour of pentane and butane is that, between 300 and 400°C, but-1-ene is a much more abundant product than but-2-ene. However, with both alkanes, the relative amounts of the alk-1-enes formed become greater as the temperature is increased; indeed, the rate of formation of pent-1-ene considerably exceeds that of pent-2-ene at the instant of the passage of a strong cool flame. Comparison of the total amounts of conjugate alkenes formed from the two alkanes at 315°C shows that only ca. 30% of the pentane consumed is converted to pentenes, whereas nearly 75% of the butane which has reacted is converted to butenes. Thus there is clearly a sharp decrease in the quantitative importance of conjugate alkenes as the carbon chain length is increased from C4 to C5. This suggests that the predominant reaction of pentyl radicals, under the conditions used, is to add on oxygen to form pentylperoxy radicals.


Abstract. Most universities students depend on the use of proprietary software as it has prominent capabilities to meet their needs. Although the proprietary software such as Adobe Flash Professional has a high capability to create a web-based multimedia system, budget constraints become the main reason why free software will be used as an alternative to proprietary software. This study is carried out to evaluate the potential free software for developing a web-based multimedia in cartography projects specifically for students in developing countries. Wix and Weebly are the two software that has been potentially explored among the ten selected software in the market. The current commercial software (Adobe Flash Professional) was also applied as a benchmark to the selected free software. This three software were individually utilised to design and develop a web-based multimedia of e-sport system and their technical capabilities were comparatively assessed according to elements of a common multimedia, website and other mapping assessment aspects. The finding showed that each of the software has unique characteristics and has successfully generated the end products according to the standard web-based multimedia title. Although these free software could produce a better looking, more flexible and time saving mapping platform than the end product created from the Adobe Flash Professional, they have limitation in creating menu function. This exploratory and cases study has also demonstrated that the alternative free software has potentials to replace the current proprietary software, while Wix is the best among the two selected software.


: The gap in reading skills between low-income children and their higher income peers emerges early in life. To help boost the reading skills of low-income children, we conducted an RCT with low-income parents of young children in Chicago. The RCT aimed to increase parental reading time and child's literacy skills. Parents were randomized into 4 groups: 1) a control group, and groups that received 2) a digital library tablet, 3) a digital library tablet with reminder texts, and 4) a digital library tablet with goal-setting texts. Both reminders and goal setting text messages were designed to nudge parents to manage present bias. Relative to the digital library tablet treatment, we find that goal-setting messages led to an increase (.32 SD) in parent reading time but had no effect on literacy skills. Unexpectedly, reminders messages led to a decrease in literacy skills, despite no significant difference in reading time. This demonstrates that nudging might have the unintended consequence of reducing the quality of the task (reading). Another important result is that technology may help boost the reading skills of low-income children: children in the digital library tablet group increase their literacy skills by .29 SD relative to the control group. All results are robust to controlling for school fixed effects, age and in the case of literacy skills, baseline assessment scores. JEL Codes: C93, D80, D91, I20


The reactions of lithium and sodium aluminum hydride with alcs. and phenols in ether solvents were studied as a route to mono-, di- and triorganyloxyhydridoaluminates MAlH4-n(OR)n. However, the stability of these compds. towards disproportionation is strongly dependent on the steric demand of the org. group and the solvent. This process gives MAlH4 and more highly substituted organyloxyalumohydrides, as shown by 27Al NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structures of nine organyloxyhydridoaluminates were detd. by x-ray structure anal. Both Al-H-M and Al-O-M bridges were found for the coordination of the cation M (Li or Na). The species LiAlH3(OR) was stable only for R = 2,6-tBu2C6H3; it is dimeric in the solid state. Four stable solvated compds. MAlH2(OR)2 were obtained for M = Li, R = tBu2MeC (M = Li, Na), 2,6-tBu2C6H3 and M = Na, R = CPh3, all of which are mol. complexes in the solid state. Reductive ring opening of THF occurs for MAlH2(OC6H3tBu2-2,6)2 (M = Li, Na). Triorganyloxyhydridoaluminates are the most stable compds. in this series. For M = Li, R = tBu2MeC, CPh3, 2,6-iPr2C6H3 and M = Na, R = CPh3, crystal structures were detd. Depending on the bulk of the group R, both M-H-Al and M-O-Al bridges (smaller R groups) are obsd. [on SciFinder (R)]


The literature is full of examples of inbreeding avoidance, while recent mathematical models predict that inbreeding tolerance or even inbreeding preference should be expected under several realistic conditions like e.g. polygyny. We investigated male and female mate preferences with respect to relatedness in the fruit fly D. melanogaster. Experiments offered the choice between a first order relative (full-sibling or parent) and an unrelated individual with the same age and mating history. We found that females significantly preferred mating with their brothers, thus supporting inbreeding preference. Moreover, females did not avoid mating with their fathers, and males did not avoid mating with their sisters, thus supporting inbreeding tolerance. Our experiments therefore add empirical evidence for inbreeding preference, which strengthens the prediction that inbreeding tolerance and preference can evolve under specific circumstances through the positive effects on inclusive fitness.


We present results and analyses from first-principles calculations aimed at exploring the size- and edge-dependent properties of a wide range of MXene nanoribbons cut from two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting MXenes. The nanoribbons are classified by their edge types (armchair versus zigzag), the composition and sequencing of the terminating atomic lines, and the lowest-energy structural models of their 2D counterparts. The semiconducting versus metallic nature of the nanoribbons is well explained using an electron counting rule for the edge dangling bonds. For semiconducting nanoribbons, the band-gap evolution as a function of ribbon size is shown to be dependent on the lowest-energy structural model, and determined by a combination of factors such as quantum confinement, the energetic location of the edge states, and the strength of the $d\text{\ensuremath{-}}d$ hybridization. Nanoribbons cut from 2D MXenes with asymmetric surfaces are found to have bent ground-state structures with curvatures increasing as the size of the ribbon decreases.


Rapid developments in organic electronics promise low cost devices for applications such as OLED, organic transistors and organic photovoltaics on large-area glass or flexible substrates in the near future. The technology is very attractive as most device layers can be solution printed. But when directly patterned deposition is impossible, a post-patterning step is required and laser processing is gradually emerging as a key-enabling tool. DPSS lasers offer several advantages including maskless, non-contact, dry patterning, but also scalable large area processing, well suited to roll-to-roll manufacturing at μm resolutions. However, very few reports discuss in detail the merits of DPSS laser patterning technology, especially on flexible substrates. This paper describes the potential of ultrafast DPSS laser technology for OLED fabrication on foil and, specifically, picosecond laser ablation of PEDOT:PSS on multilayered barrier/foil or metal grids aimed as a synthetic alternative to inorganic transparent conductive electrodes. Key requirements include: (a) the complete removal of PEDOT layers without residue, (b) the complete absence of surface contamination from redeposited laser debris to avoid short circuiting and (c) no loss in performance of from laser exposure. We will demonstrate that with careful optimisation and appropriate choice of ultrafast laser, the above criteria can be fulfilled. A suitable process window exists resulting in clean laser structuring without damage to the underlying heat sensitive barrier layers whilst also containing laser debris. A low temperature ablation most likely proceeds via a stress-assisted (film fracture and ejection) process as opposed to vaporisation or other phase change commonly encountered with longer pulse lasers.


Piezoelectric (PZT) (Pb(Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 )O 3 ) thick film-based microtransducers demonstrate excellent piezoelectric performances. PZT thick films on Si-based substrate can be used as piezoelectric actuators and sensors with the introduction of microelectromechanical system technology and the screen printing method. However, the thick films made just by the screen printing method have high porosity compared with bulk product, and the PZT thick films on Si-based substrate have problems regarding degradation of active materials and interface properties owing to inter-diffusion or reaction between Si substrate and PZT materials at high temperature for sintering. Thus, the authors have fabricated screen printed PZT thick films on Si substrate using the screen printing method and sol infiltration for enhancing densification. Ethanol-based photo-cross-linkable sol and conventional diol-based sol were used to compare influence of patterning process. Thick films with relative high densities at low temperature, 800°C and without inter-diffusion and reaction between the layers and thick film were accomplished. Also, it was revealed that the PZT thick film treated by ethanol-based photo-cross-linkable sol showed better electrical properties as well as excellent patternability.


The standard supervised learning paradigm works effectively when training data shares the same distribution as the upcoming testing samples. However, this stationary assumption is often violated in real-world applications, especially when testing data appear in an online fashion. In this paper, we formulate and investigate the problem of \emph{online label shift} (OLaS): the learner trains an initial model from the labeled offline data and then deploys it to an unlabeled online environment where the underlying label distribution changes over time but the label-conditional density does not. The non-stationarity nature and the lack of supervision make the problem challenging to be tackled. To address the difficulty, we construct a new unbiased risk estimator that utilizes the unlabeled data, which exhibits many benign properties albeit with potential non-convexity. Building upon that, we propose novel online ensemble algorithms to deal with the non-stationarity of the environments. Our approach enjoys optimal \emph{dynamic regret}, indicating that the performance is competitive with a clairvoyant who knows the online environments in hindsight and then chooses the best decision for each round. The obtained dynamic regret bound scales with the intensity and pattern of label distribution shift, hence exhibiting the adaptivity in the OLaS problem. Extensive experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness and support our theoretical findings.


Assessing financial conditions in China is challenging given the wide range of conventional and unconventional policy tools the authorities wield to influence economic and market variables. We utilise principal component analysis to construct a new index that captures the most important policy and market dimensions of Chinese financial conditions over time. We then study the relationship between the index and key domestic and international economic variables, as well as asset prices, within a Bayesian VAR framework. We find evidence that exogenous shocks to Chinese financial conditions have strong spillover effects, particularly to global industrial activity, and emerging market bond spreads and equity prices. However, a variant of our model that allows for time-variation in the parameters implies that these spillover effects have been diminishing over time. When compared to the effects of US economic and financial conditions, our results suggest that Chinese economic shocks have weaker spillovers but financial shocks have stronger spillovers, particularly to emerging markets.


This thesis is focused on the design and analysis of optical fiber probes for glucose sensing in the peritoneal cavity. The probes are to be used as absorption cells for near-infrared absorption spectroscopy of peritoneal fluid. A design based on miniature spherical cavities with highly reflective walls is proposed for investigation. The design is based on optical fibers entering a spherical cavity through a microfluidic channel. Active pumping of peritoneal fluid is envisioned, along with possibilities of achieving in-vivo rinsing of the probe. A Monte Carlo model is implemented to study the behaviour of the spherical cavity probe in turbid media. Results from the model suggest that the probe is resistant to losses due to light scattering, and that optical path lengths much longer than the physical size of the probe are obtainable. Early prototypes of spherical cavities are designed and fabricated in aluminium and PTFE. Investigation of the performance of the fabricated cavities, using several fiber configurations, is done experimentally. The cavities behave as expected, and the results suggest possibilities of significant performance increases when moving to a more sophisticated fabrication process. Experimental work with spherical cavities filled with fluids of various optical properties is needed to better understand the proposed design and to verify parts of the results from the model.


The demand for ever smaller, higher-performance integrated circuits and more efficient, cost-effective solar cells continues to push the frontiers of process technology. Fabrication of silicon devices requires extremely precise control of impurities and crystallographic defects. Failure to do so not only reduces performance, efficiency, and yield, it threatens the very survival of commercial enterprises in today's fiercely competitive and price-sensitive global market. The presence of oxygen in silicon is an unavoidable consequence of the Czochralski process, which remains the most popular method for large-scale production of single-crystal silicon. Oxygen precipitates that form during thermal processing cause distortion of the surrounding silicon lattice and can lead to the formation of dislocation loops. Localized deformation caused by both of these defects introduces potential wells that trap diffusing impurities such as metal atoms, which is highly desirable if done far away from sensitive device regions. Unfortunately, dislocations also reduce the mechanical strength of silicon, which can cause wafer warpage and breakage. Engineers must negotiate this and other complex tradeoffs when designing fabrication processes. Accomplishing this in a complex, modern process involving a large number of thermal steps is impossible without the aid of computational models. In this dissertation, new models for oxygen precipitation and dislocation loop evolution are described. An oxygen model using kinetic rate equations to evolve the complete precipitate size distribution was developed first. This was then used to create a reduced model tracking only the moments of the size distribution. The moment-based model was found to run significantly faster than its full counterpart while accurately capturing the evolution of oxygen precipitates. The reduced model was fitted to experimental data and a sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the results. Source code for both models is included. A moment-based model for dislocation loop formation from {311} defects in ion-implanted silicon was also developed and validated against experimental data. Ab initio density functional theory calculations of stacking faults and edge dislocations were performed to extract energies and elastic properties. This allowed the effect of applied stress on the evolution of {311} defects and dislocation loops to be investigated.


It seems to be taken for granted by many commentators that the sharp decline in prices of computers, telecommunications equipment and software resulting from the technological improvements in the information and communications technology (ICT)-producing sector is good for jobs and is a major driving force behind the non-inflationary employment miracle and booming stock market in the latter half of the nineties in the U.S. and their recurrence since 2004. We show that, in our model, a technical improvement in the ICT-producing sector by itself cannot explain a simultaneous increase in employment and a rise in firms valuation (or Tobins Q ratio). There are two cases. If the elasticity of equipment price (pI ) with respect to ICT-producing sectors productivity is less than one, labors value marginal productivity increases thus pulling up the demand wage and expanding employment. However, the increased output by adding to the capital stock and thus driving down future capital rentals causes a decline in firms valuation, q per unit, even though Tobins Q (= q=pI ) is up. If the elasticity is greater than one, equipment prices fall so dramatically that labors value marginal productivity declines, employment in the ICT-using sector expands proportionately more than the increase in capital stock, thus raising future capital rentals, so both firms valuation and Tobins Q rise; but then real demand wage falls and employment contracts. The key to generating a booming stock market alongside employment expansion is to hypothesize that when technical improvement in the ICT-producing sector occurs, the market forms an expectation of future productivity gains to be reaped in the ICT-using sector. Then we can explain not only the stock market boom and associated rise in investment spending and employment in the period 1995-2000 but also the subsequent decline in employment, in Tobins Q and in investment spending in 2001, with consumption holding up well as productivity gains in the ICT-using sector were realized. An anticipation of a future TFP improvement in the ICT-using sector can once more play the role of raising the stock market.


Optical thin-film structures exhibiting high reflectivity and a nearly constant negative group-delay dispersion over frequency ranges as broad as 80 THz are presented. This attractive combination makes these coatings well suited for intracavity dispersion control in broadband femtosecond solid-state lasers. We address design issues and the principle of operation of these novel devices.


This article examines the modern "turn to the self", in order to see if Western society is heading towards the ideal of authenticity or towards a sort of dangerous narcissism. Might it be that the right to be different and unique is degrading to a supposed right to be indifferent and egotistic" First this paper focuses on some sociological data about the increasing consciousness of self-identity and the value attributed to autonomy and privacy since the sixteenth century. In the second part, those data serve as a background to illuminate the present debate on authenticity. Finally, an appropriate theological answer is sketched to respond to the modern quest for self-fulfillment.


Abstract. Land surface temperature is the link between soil-vegetation-atmosphere fluxes and soil water content through the energy water balance. This paper analyses the representativeness of land surface temperature (LST) for a distributed hydrological water balance model (FEST-EWB) using LST from AHS (airborne hyperspectral scanner), with a spatial resolution between 2–4 m, LST from MODIS, with a spatial resolution of 1000 m, and thermal infrared radiometric ground measurements that are compared with the representative equilibrium temperature that closes the energy balance equation in the distributed hydrological model. Diurnal and nocturnal images are analyzed due to the non stable behaviour of the thermodynamic temperature and to the non linear effects induced by spatial heterogeneity. Spatial autocorrelation and scale of fluctuation of land surface temperature from FEST-EWB and AHS are analysed at different aggregation areas to better understand the scale of representativeness of land surface temperature in a hydrological process. The study site is the agricultural area of Barrax (Spain) that is a heterogeneous area with a patchwork of irrigated and non irrigated vegetated fields and bare soil. The used data set was collected during a field campaign from 10 to 15 July 2005 in the framework of the SEN2FLEX project.


We develop a model which can be used to analyse the scenario of exploring quantum network with a distracted sense of direction. Using this model we analyse the behaviour of quantum mobile agents operating with non-adaptive and adaptive strategies which can be employed in this scenario. We introduce the notion of node visiting suitable for analysing quantum superpositions of states by distinguishing between visiting and attaining a position. We show that without a proper model of adaptiveness, it is not possible for the party representing the distraction in the sense of direction, to obtain the results analogous to the classical case. Moreover, with additional control resources the total number of attained positions is maintained if the number of visited positions is strictly limited.


Together with many other universities worldwide, the University of Gottingen has aimed to unlock the full potential of networked digital scientific communication by strengthening open access as early as the late 1990s. Open science policies at the institutional level consequently followed and have been with us for over a decade. However, for several reasons, their adoption often is still far from complete when it comes to the practices of researchers or research groups. To improve this situation at our university, there is dedicated support at the infrastructural level: the university library collaborates with several campus units in developing and running services, activities and projects in support of open access and open science. This article outlines our main activity areas and aligns them with the overall rationale to reach higher uptake and acceptance of open science practice at the university. The mentioned examples of our activities highlight how we seek to advance open science along the needs and perspectives of diverse audiences and by running it as a multi-stakeholder endeavor. Therefore, our activities involve library colleagues with diverse backgrounds, faculty and early career researchers, research managers, as well as project and infrastructure staff. We conclude with a summary of achievements and challenges to be faced.


Kenyan runners, and especially those originating from the Kalenjin tribe, have dominated international middle- and long-distance running for over 40 years, prompting significant interest in the factors contributing to their success. Proposed explanations have included environmental factors, psychological advantage and favourable physiological characteristics, which may be genetically conferred or environmentally determined. Running is inherent within local Kenyan tradition and culture, and the Kenyan way of life, which involves many outdoor activities and pastimes in addition to mostly unfavourable living conditions, is conducive to enhanced distance running performance. Despite economic deprivation, Kenya has produced world and international running champions repeatedly over the past few decades; these champions have become role models for the younger generations, who take up running in the hope of a better future for themselves. Favourable environmental conditions such as altitude, diet and anthropometry, in addition to the motivational and socio-economic factors mentioned above, have all been proposed as possible reasons for the unsurpassed achievements of Kenyan distance runners. However, the fact that the majority of internationally successful runners originate from a small tribe that accounts for approximately 3% of the total Kenyan population also points to a possible genetic component. Whether this is subject to influence from other co-factors, such as altitude or training effects acquired during childhood, remains as yet unresolved.


Stock market is one of the attractive places for investment among the investors of Bangladesh. There are two stock exchanges namely Dhaka stock exchange (DSE) and Chittagong stock exchange (CSE). People invest their money in both primary and secondary market(s) for the purpose of gaining profit. But the investment situation was not good in Bangladeshi market in the recent past. The investors witnessed two severe stock market crashes in Bangladesh in the years 1996 and 2010. Since then investors encountered much frustration due to gambling, syndication, insider trading, enactment of many laws and their short term and sudden but adverse effect, fluctuating and volatile market conditions, rumor, etc., in freely investing their hard money in this market. This has negatively impacted the natural and stable growth of investment in this market. The main objective of the study is to examine the factors affecting investment decisions in the stock market from the perspectives of Bangladesh. The present study is the result of the collection of both primary and secondary data and their analyses of which the primary data have been collected from the sample size of 100 respondents using 'random sampling' method through survey on investors of brokerage houses in Chittagong and Comilla. A structured self-administered questionnaire comprising of closed (i.e., dichotomous – yes/no), open-ended, non-forced, balanced and odd numbered noncomparative itemized questions using Likert 5 rating scale of measurement has been used for the survey. On the other hand, secondary data have been collected through extensive literature review. In this regard, recent articles and research papers published in the referred journals and peer reviewed international conference proceedings, survey reports, internship reports, annual reports and sustainability reports of the operators, web sites, newspapers, etc., relevant to the literature of the subject matter have also been studied. The study found relationship between the factors and investment decisions. The factors including risk factors, stockholder's whimsical attitude, earning per share, political instability, uncontrollable macroeconomic factors, etc. have been found damaging and demotivating the investors of the stock market in Bangladesh unless effective measures will be taken to correct the same.


Background: To describe the average effects and the interindividual variability after a comprehensive outpatient cardiovascular rehabilitation (CCR) program using concurrent exercise training prescribed according to cardiovascular risk stratification on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), anthropometric/body composition, quality of life and emotional health in patients of four cardiovascular disease profiles. Methods: CRF, anthropometric/body composition, quality of life, and emotional health were measured before and after a CCR and analyzed in heart valve surgery (HVS), heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), post-acute myocardial infarction (post-AMI), and in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Twenty, twenty-four, and thirty-two exercise sessions were prescribed according to mild, moderate, and severe baseline cardiovascular risk, respectively. In addition to concurrent exercise training, nutritional counseling, psychological support, and lifestyle education programs were performed. Results: The main outcomes by delta changes comparisons (Δ) revealed no significant differences at anthropometric/body composition as ΔBody fat decreases (HVS Δ−1.1, HFrEF Δ−1.0, post-AMI Δ−1.4, CAD Δ−1.2 kg) and ΔSkeletal muscle mass increases (HVS Δ+1.4, HFrEF Δ+0.8, post-AMI Δ+0.9, CAD Δ+0.9 kg), and CRF performance as ΔVO2peak increases (HVS Δ+4.3, HFrEF Δ+4.8, post-AMI Δ+4.1, CAD Δ+5.1 mL/kg/min) outcomes among HVS, HFrEF, post-AMI, and CAD (p > 0.05). Secondary outcomes showed significant pre-post delta changes in METs (HVS Δ+1.8, HFrEF Δ+0.7, post-AMI Δ+1.4, CAD Δ+1.4), and maximal O2pulse (HVS Δ+3.1, post-AMI Δ+2.1, CAD Δ+1.9). In addition, quality of life had a significant improvement in physical functioning (HVS Δ+17.0, HFrEF Δ+12.1, post-AMI Δ+9.8, CAD Δ+11.2), physical role (HVS Δ+28.4, HFrEF Δ+26.8, post-AMI Δ+25.6, CAD Δ+25.3), vitality (HVS Δ+18.4, HFrEF Δ+14.3, post-AMI Δ+14.2, CAD Δ+10.6) and social functioning (HVS Δ+20.4, HFrEF Δ+25.3, post-AMI Δ+20.4, CAD Δ+14.8) in all cardiovascular disease. For anxiety (HVS Δ−3.6, HFrEF Δ−2.3, post-AMI Δ−3.0, CAD Δ−3.1) and depression (HVS Δ−2.8, HFrEF Δ−3.4, post-AMI Δ−3.2, CAD Δ−2.3) significant changes were also observed. Conclusions: A CCR program that prescribes the number of exercise sessions using a cardiovascular risk stratification improves CRF, QoL, and emotional health, and the average results show a wide interindividual variability (~25% of non-responders) in this sample of four CVD profile of patients.


"Its publication should be a major event for cognitive linguistics and should pose a major challenge for cognitive science. In addition, it should have repercussions in a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology and psychology to epistemology and the philosophy of science. . . . Lakoff asks: What do categories of language and thought reveal about the human mind? Offering both general theory and minute details, Lakoff shows that categories reveal a great deal." David E. Leary, "American Scientist""


Management of large, transboundary river systems can be politically and strategically problematic. Accurate flow forecasting based on public domain data offers the potential for improved resource allocation and infrastructure management. This study investigates the scope for reservoir inflow forecasting in data sparse regions using public domain information. Four strategically important headwater reservoirs in Central Asia are used to pilot forecasting methodologies (Toktogul, Andijan and Kayrakkum in Kyrgyzstan and Nurek in Tajikistan). Two approaches are developed. First, statistical forecasting of monthly inflow is undertaken using relationships with satellite precipitation estimates as well as reanalysis precipitation and temperature products. Second, mean summer inflows to reservoirs are conditioned on the tercile of preceding winter large scale climate modes (El Nino Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, or Indian Ocean Dipole). The transferability of both approaches is evaluated through implementation to a basin in Morocco. A methodology for operationalising seasonal forecasts of inflows to Nurek reservoir in Tajikistan is also presented.

The statistical models outperformed the long-term average mean monthly inflows into Toktogul and Andijan reservoirs at lead times of 1-4 months using operationally available predictors. Stratifying models to forecast monthly inflows for only summer months (April-September) improved skill over long term average mean monthly inflows. Individual months Nino 3.4 during October-January were significantly (p < 0.01) correlated to following mean summer inflows Toktogul, Andijan and Nurek reservoirs during the period 1941-1980. Significant differences (p < 0.01) occurred in summer inflows into all reservoirs following opposing phases of winter Nino 3.4 during the period 1941-1980. Over the period 1941-2016 (1993-1999 missing), there exists only a 22% chance of positive summer inflow anomalies into Nurek reservoir following November-December La Nina conditions. Cross validated model skill assessed using the Heidke Hit Proportion outperforms chance, with a hit rate of 51-59% depending upon the period of record used. This climate mode forecasting approach could be extended to natural hazards (e.g. avalanches and mudflows) or to facilitate regional electricity hedging (between neighbouring countries experiencing reduced/increased demand). Further research is needed to evaluate the potential for forecasting winter energy demand, potentially reducing the impact of winter energy crises across the region.


Higher education institutions have continued to acquire technologies with alacrity. However, the transition from adoption to application in teaching and learning has been below expectations. This exploratory study investigated the lack of cadence between adoption and effective implementation of educational technology initiatives. The study was based on PHEA-ETI projects that ran between June 2008 and June 2012. The projects entailed implementation of technology initiatives for example animating science content among others. A questionnaire was sent to all persons involved in the implementation of the projects. Out of the 163 targeted respondents, 105 usable responses were received. Team leaders were interviewed with focus groups held with implementation teams. The study adopted: top management, financial motivation, organizational culture. The new model added the variables: team leadership, monitoring and evaluation and innovation efficacy. When the data was analysed using SPSS version 17, the results confirmed determinants from earlier studies while also showing that team leadership and project efficacy were significant factors to consider in technology innovation implementation.


Marlene Dumas (born in 1953 in Capetown, South Africa) is one of the most prominent and influential painters working today. In an era dominated by the mass media and a proliferation of images, her work is a testament to the meaning and potency of painting. Her intense, psychologically-charged works explores themes such as sexuality, love, death and guilt, often referencing art history and current affairs. Dumas often draws on her expansive visual archive for inspiration and uses the nuances of language to great effect. Her paintings and drawings are characterised by their extraordinary immediacy, expressiveness and sometimes controversial subject matter. This fully-illustrated exhibition catalogue accompanies a major exhibition at Tate Modern in 2015, curated by Tate, the Stendelijk Museum and the Fondation Beyeler in close collaboration with the artist. It will provide a survey of the artist's remarkable oeuvre from the mid-70s to the present day. It will include over 100 artworks displaying her most important paintings and drawings alongside lesser-known works from the early period of her career. Essays from a wide range of contributors will examine the key themes and motifs in her work and will reflect on Dumas' entire career.


Apart from some cases related to the glories of nineteenth-century structural engineering and some isolated examples representing the avant-garde of the moment, world's fair architecture of the eclectic period continues to be quite an unexplored subject within the panorama of recent architecture. This article analyzes the function of nineteenth-century world's fair architecture by considering the interpretation and display of past traditions in local and international exhibitions, the different strategies implemented in their conception, and current approaches to interpretation. Finally, a reflection is made about the role of world's fair architecture in the creation of the architecture and urban planning of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century cities. This paper is an elaboration of some ideas presented in the book: Fernando Vegas López-Manzanares, La Arquitectura de la Exposición Regional Valenciana de 1909 y de la Exposición Nacional de 1910 (Valencia: Ediciones Generales de la Construcción, 2003).


Programable spatial light modulators (SLMs) have significantly advanced the configurable optical trapping of particles. Typically, these devices are utilized in the Fourier plane of an optical system, but direct imaging of an amplitude pattern can potentially result in increased simplicity and computational speed. Here we demonstrate high-resolution direct imaging of a digital micromirror device (DMD) at high numerical apertures (NA), which we apply to the optical trapping of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). We utilise a (1200 x 1920) pixel DMD and commercially available 0.45 NA microscope objectives, finding that atoms confined in a hybrid optical/magnetic or all-optical potential can be patterned using repulsive blue-detuned (532 nm) light with 630(10) nm full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) resolution, within 5% of the diffraction limit. The result is near arbitrary control of the density the BEC without the need for expensive custom optics. We also introduce the technique of time-averaged DMD potentials, demonstrating the ability to produce multiple grayscale levels with minimal heating of the atomic cloud, by utilising the high switching speed (20 kHz maximum) of the DMD. These techniques will enable the realization and control of diverse optical potentials for superfluid dynamics and atomtronics applications with quantum gases. The performance of this system in a direct imaging configuration has wider application for optical trapping at non-trivial NAs.


This four volume collection brings together papers from a range of different journals from different fields, sub-disciplines and disciplines that address the central problem of the relation between culture and society. In doing so, it frames understandings of experience, text, meaning, power, stratification, identity, representation, practice, discourse, materiality, image, technology, and the many other concepts and categories in the context of this fundamental interrelationship.

Although the themes of culture and society provide the broad parameters of these four volumes, Cultural Theory makes visible some of the different objects of theoretical discourse that different schools of thought and theoretical paradigms have thrown before us. The four volumes traverse the disciplines of, amongst others, sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, literary theory, media and communication studies, and science and technology studies, to provide a sense of the development and extension of cultural theory from initial and longstanding questions about power and agency, ordinary and popular cultural practice, and representation to ones about the body, sensory experience and identity to the changing natural and built environment and questions about global humanity and justice to developments in the global cultural economy concerning information, technology and value.

Throughout this collection, the editor offers a coherent, complex, and multiply inflected narrative which is both grounded in the substantive histories of the field and oriented to some of its most exciting and forward looking ideas and prospects.


We report Magnetospheric Multiscale observations of macroscopic and electron‐scale current layers in asymmetric reconnection. By intercomparing plasma, magnetic, and electric field data at multiple crossings of a reconnecting magnetopause on 22 October 2015, when the average interspacecraft separation was ~10 km, we demonstrate that the ion and electron moments are sufficiently accurate to provide reliable current density measurements at 30 ms cadence. These measurements, which resolve current layers narrower than the interspacecraft separation, reveal electron‐scale filamentary Hall currents and electron vorticity within the reconnection exhaust far downstream of the X line and even in the magnetosheath. Slightly downstream of the X line, intense (up to 3 μA/m2) electron currents, a super‐Alfvénic outflowing electron jet, and nongyrotropic crescent shape electron distributions were observed deep inside the ion‐scale magnetopause current sheet and embedded in the ion diffusion region. These characteristics are similar to those attributed to the electron dissipation/diffusion region around the X line.


This study deals with the development of political communication in Nigeria, from the colonial, independence and post-colonial periods. Also background information is given on the political communication systems in the precolonial period. It is argued that the patterns of pre-colonial systems still persist, particulary in the rural areas of Nigeria.
Hence, the thesis undertakes to examine in detail, the political communication relationships between 'two separate but relatively autonomous environments in Nigeria with particular reference to the 1983 general elections. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first is a historical theoretical and methodological - analysis of politics and communication in Nigeria and the second a specific study of the 1983 general elections.
The first chapter analyses the classical conceptions of political development and the development of political communication. The classical models are discussed and defined in three main stages: traditional, transitional, and modern nation-state. Chapter Two examines the pclitical communication trends that have led to the assumption that modern communication systems are all powerful politically. This leads to my analysis, criticisms and rejeciton of the linear model of communication development. Following my rejection, of the linear model, I suggested a theoretical and methodological framework for this study. Chapter Three looks at the structure of political and communication systems in the precolonial Nigeria. Kinship and religion are established as the mechanisms of sociopolitical and economic relationships in the pre-colonial period. Chapter Four centres on the impact of colonial administration on the precolonial institutions and the development of party politics, Christian religion and western education. Chapters Five and Six analyse the development of mass media and their relationship to different groups. Chapter Seven critically evaluates the political role of mass media as factors that influence electorates' political opinion.
Part two presents an empirical analysis of the 1983 general elections with particular reference to Imo State. Under it, Chapter Eight sets out the method of the research. Major problems encountered in the fieldwork and how they were solved are stated. Chapters Nine, Ten,, Eleven and Twelve establish the characteristics and attributes of five groups of participants, their membership of voluntary organisations, their political participation and relationship to channels of communication respectively. In Chapter Thirteen political issues are discussed in relation to voters' views. Ln Chapter Fourteens the relationship between the mass media, political personalities and issues are examined. Finally Chapter Fifteen attempts to assess the role and direction of political communication development in Nigeria today - Some suggestions are made as regards to the most useful approach to political communication in Nigeria.


ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE IS A TOUR DE FORCE, an important work of history as it was lived, a narrative of multiple betrayals on both sides of the Cold War that ends with triumph and a new beginning in America. In this true-life thriller Kati Marton, an award-winning journalist, exposes the cruel mechanics of the Communist Terror State using the secret police files on her parents, as well as dozens of interviews that reveal how her family was spied on and betrayed by friends, colleagues, and even their children's babysitter. In this moving and brave memoir, Marton searches for and finds her parents and love.