Tho equations of state of an elastico-viscous liquid are taken to be any set of integro-differential equations (with the appropriate invariance properties) relating deformation history, stress history and temperature history, subject only to the absence of compressibility, of any inherent anisotropy, and of any special reference configuration with a permanent significance as a ground state. A rheological history (i.e. deformation, stress and temperature histories taken together) that satisfies the equations of state can be found, in terms of stress functions capable of experimental determination, by considering the general liquid in some very simple state of flow; of which steady isothermal simple shearing and steady isothermal pure shearing are discussed in detail and are shown to involve essentially different rheological histories. Then such p articular solutions of the equations of state can be used to solve other flow problems. A rheological history to time t is most easily represented as a convected metric tensor, stress tensor and temperature, all functions of past time t' (^ t), at a particle ﻉi in a convected system of reference. Steady rectilinear flow, as in a pipe of arbitrary section, and steady rotational flow in which each particle moves in a circle about an axis of symmetry, caused by the rotation of coaxial surfaces of revolution of arbitrary section, are discussed, and in each case the stress distribution is determined and a general condition is found for that type of flow to be possible. If the condition is not satisfied, some secondary flow transverse to the assumed primary stream lines is inevitable. Helical flow under a constant pressure gradient, along an annular gap between circular cylinders in relative rotation, is possible in all liquids; but some other flows that seem at first sight no more complicated cannot be analyzed from a knowledge only of the rheological histories of elements in steady simple and pure shearing. Liquids of the Roberts (1953) type, with a normal stress difference equivalent to an extra simple tension along the stream lines in simple shearing, are capable of steady rectilinear flow in all circumstances. But these liquids, in common with other types, can in general be expected to develop a radial-axial secondary flow (as is often observed) in the mound of liquid 'climbing' up near the inner cylinder, when the Weissenberg climbing effect is being demonstrated in a liquid contained between coaxial vertical cylinders in relative rotation.


Different multicasting schemes in optical packet switched networks are discussed, including the parallel mode, serial mode, and hybrid mode multicasting schemes. Simulated modeling technique is applied to compare the network-level performance of the three multicasting schemes. A conclusion can be drawn from the results that since the hybrid-mode multicasting scheme can increase the multicast success ratio and reduce the packet retransmission times compared with the other two schemes, it is the best choice for delivering multicasting sessions in the optical packet switched networks.


Using cross-section data from household surveys, we estimate several categories of household poverty and vulnerability in Indonesia by combining the available information on current consumption levels, estimates of vulnerability to poverty, and estimates of expected consumption levels. The results indicate that the level of vulnerability to poverty among Indonesian households after the crisis unambiguously increased from pre-crisis levels. Furthermore, not only did the poverty rate in Indonesia increase significantly because of the crisis, but also much of this increase was due to an increase in chronic poverty. Likewise, the number of households that have high vulnerability to poverty has almost tripled. As a result, the total number of households in the vulnerable category has jumped from 18 percent of the population in 1996 to more than one third of the population in 1999.


The meaning of the grit in TDK is determination of defeating obstacles in a job. While Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007) clarified the grit, they said "the grit is determination on longtime goals and desire level". And the also emphasized the grit's importance in success and intelligence measurement. Even Duckworth and Quinn (2009) defended that the grit as explanatory of academic success is more effective than intelligence grade. There are studies defending the grit's relation with self-arrangement, self-discipline and goal tendency and the grit's importance in explaining these concepts (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). In this research the relation between prospective teachers' successes and grits are examined according to gender and age factors. In this research descriptive survey model was used aiming to put forward the relation between success and grit. In 2015-2016 Education Year Spring Term in NEU Education Faculty 270 last class students in different departments participated in this research. As a tool to collect data, the Grit Scale developed by Duchworth and Quinn and adapted to Turkish by Saricam et al. (2015) was used. In this research frequency, mean, standard deviation and nonparametric statistic techniques were used to analyze the data. Mann-Whitney-U and Kruskal-Wallis tests are applied to determine whether there was a meaningful difference among the opinions of the students according to gender and success factors. The data gathered as a result of measurements during research was done in computer by SPSS software. It is seen that the grit point means of Education faculty last class students are in intermediate level, the girls', the 25+ ages' and the German department students' grit point means are higher than other groups' grit point means. When looked at the difference between the experimental and the control groups, it was seen that the students in the experimental group had more achievement scores compared to the students in the control group. The experimental method adopted created significance in favor of the experimental group.


Laboratory studies using bench-scale activated sludge units and a Warburg respirometer show that an aerated aqueous microbial system can rapidly remove the organo-phosphate insecticide, Malathion, from solution and that the major mechanism of removal is microbial action. Following shock loading, there is an immediate nonrecoverable uptake of the compound followed by a rapid removal rate. Microbial systems of 2,000 mg per 1 solids can assimilate loadings of 100 mg per 1 Malathion with no observable toxic effect. Daily loadings can be effectively assimilated for prolonged periods of time when sufficient nutrients are present; however, repeated exposure results in considerable destruction of the predator population. The toxicity of the compound to a mixed biota is a function of the number of organisms present and not on the volume of water in which they are dispersed. High Malathion-to-microorganism ratios inhibit microbial activity whereas low ratios stimulate respiration. Acclimated systems are more resistant to toxic effects and are more efficient in using Malathion as an energy source. Degradation of Malathion is not as rapid when other, more biologically soft substrates are available.


The author of this article using comparative method of study analizes how in the European Union countries are regulated the variuos aspects of narcotic drug crimes. It is looked more precisely what position the countries of EU took regulating such questions as the use, possession of drugs, illegal trafficing in narcotic drugs and their clasification. The author analizes Lithuanian criminal laws too - the ones in force now and the newly accepted Criminal code which is not in force yet - the aim of it - to see how and if they reflect the positions of EU laws. The aim of the article - to look at different EU countries' positions and evaluate, how unified policy is in the EU countries and look if Lithuanian laws conform to EU laws and position. The positions of EU countries are analized using the last three Conventions of United Nations organization (1961, 1977, 1988), because the all European Countries are the participants of these Conventions and by joining them obliged to fulfill their regulations. The statistical information which is given in the article is taken from the European Monitoring Centre. After analizing the positions of various European Union countries the author makes the conclusion that there are differences in the EU countries while regulating the questions of criminal amenability for disposition of narcotic drugs but those differences are not essential and that it is natural because the international documents give the basic principles and guidances while the incorporation of them into national legal system is left to the discretion of the participating countries.


Coaching as a profession is a complex role that requires professional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal knowledge . In order for coaches to develop expertise in these areas, continued education can be beneficial. The case study presented focuses on the development and dissemination of a coach-education intervention designed to challenge coach thinking surrounding the coach-expectancy cycle. The coach-expectancy cycle is a well-researched model of coach behavior that follows a 4-stage cyclical pattern in which coaches develop biases based on their previous experiences. These biases then affect coach behavior toward athletes, which in turn affects athlete performance and motivation. Finally, athlete performance reinforces coach expectations. The authors developed a 2-hr theory-based intervention promoting mitigation of the cycle in a group of youth-soccer coaches. Theories used, the intervention, and practitioner reflections are discussed.


A chirped pulse, spectrally broadened in a photonic bandgap optical fiber by 120 fs Ti:Sapphire laser pulses, is parametrically amplified in a BBO crystal pumped by a frequency doubled nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulse. Without changing the frequency of the Ti:Sapphire, a spectral tunability of the amplified pulses is demonstrated. The possibility to achieve broader spectral range amplification is confirmed for a non-collinear pump-signal interaction geometry. For optimal non-collinear interaction geometry, the pulse duration of the original and amplified pulse are similar. Finally, we demonstrate that the combination of two BBO crystals makes it possible to spectrally shape the amplified pulses.


ABSTRACT The Holocene epoch in geological history of the last 10,000–12,000 years has given way to a new geological epoch which natural scientists are calling the Anthropocene, marked by humanity's emergence as the main driver of change in the Earth system as a whole, threatening the future of civilization, a majority of ecosystems on the planet, and the human species itself. From a historical-materialist perspective, this planetary emergency constitutes a crisis of civilization. Human civilization arose in the relatively benign environment of the Holocene. In contrast, the Anthropocene is an epoch of increased ecological constraints and dangers, marked by what has been called the Great climacteric, objectively requiring the creation of a new more sustainable society, or ecological civilization. The making of such an ecological civilization is closely linked to the long revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism.


The paper deals with the topic of deindustrialization as a process of a decreasing relative importance of manufacturing. While the decrease of manufacturing in major developed and developed economies is undeniable, the developing and newly industrialized economies are starting to experience this phenomenon as well. The results of the paper show that the so-called premature deindustrialization is mainly caused by outsourcing. Furthermore, the data suggest the existence of an upper limit of outsourcing for major developed economies. In these economies, the decrease of manufacturing is more likely caused by other relevant factors. Last but not least, a few transition economies face to a slightly decreasing value of outsourcing on a much lower level. This could be explained by a fragmentation of the entire value chain across the European Union. The empirical results are based on the Input-Output methodology, the observation period of fifteen years from 2000 to 2014 and a sample of 43 countries.


The upcoming detection of gravitational waves by terrestrial interferometers will usher in the era of gravitational-wave astronomy. This will be particularly true when space-based detectors will come of age and measure the mass and spin of massive black holes with exquisite precision and up to very high redshifts, thus allowing for better understanding of the symbiotic evolution of black holes with galaxies, and for high-precision tests of General Relativity in strong-field, highly dynamical regimes. Such ambitious goals require that astrophysical environmental pollution of gravitational-wave signals be constrained to negligible levels, so that neither detection nor estimation of the source parameters are significantly affected. Here, we consider the main sources for space-based detectors - the inspiral, merger and ringdown of massive black-hole binaries and extreme mass-ratio inspirals - and account for various effects on their gravitational waveforms, including electromagnetic fields, cosmological evolution, accretion disks, dark matter, "firewalls" and possible deviations from General Relativity. We discover that the black-hole quasinormal modes are sharply different in the presence of matter, but the ringdown signal observed by interferometers is typically unaffected. The effect of accretion disks and dark matter depends critically on their geometry and density profile, but is negligible for most sources, except for few special extreme mass-ratio inspirals. Electromagnetic fields and cosmological effects are always negligible. We finally explore the implications of our findings for proposed tests of General Relativity with gravitational waves, and conclude that environmental effects will not prevent the development of precision gravitational-wave astronomy.


Anytime search is a pragmatic approach for trading solution cost and solving time. It can also be used for solving problems within a time bound. Three frameworks for constructing anytime algorithms from bounded suboptimal search have been proposed: continuing search, repairing search, and restarting search, but what combination of suboptimal search and anytime framework performs best? An extensive empirical evaluation results in several novel algorithms and reveals that the relative performance of frameworks is essentially fixed, with the repairing framework having the strongest overall performance. As part of our study, we present two enhancements to Anytime Window A* that allow it to solve a wider range of problems and hastens its convergance on optimal solutions.


When Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor in July 1853, opening Japan to the West, a century and a half of economic, cultural, and occasionally violent clashes between Americans and Japanese began. Walter LaFeber, one of America's leading historians, has written the first book to tell the entire story behind the disagreements, tensions, and skirmishes between Japan - a compact, homogenous, closely knit society terrified of disorder - and America - a sprawling, open-ended society that fears economic depression and continually seeks an international marketplace. Using both American and Japanese sources, LaFeber provides the history behind the vicissitudes of rearming Japan, the present-day tensions in U.S.-Japan trade talks, Japan's continuing importance in financing America's huge deficit, and both nations' drive to develop China - a shadow that has darkened American-Japanese relations from the beginning. "Broad and deeply researched...The Clash is beautifully written, with clear arguments and no irrelevancies."-Gaddis Smith, Boston Globe "[This] work will easily become the best history of U.S.-Japanese relations in any language." -Akira Iriye, professor of history, Harvard University "[LaFeber] succeeds brilliantly...[W]ell-researched, meticulously sourced and highly readable."-Don Oberdorfer, Washington Post Book World


Next to the Bible itself, the English Bible was -- and is -- the most influential book ever published. The most famous of all English Bibles, the King James Version, was the culmination of centuries of work by various translators, from John Wycliffe, the fourteenth-century catalyst of English Bible translation, to the committee of scholars who collaborated on the King James translation. "Wide as the Waters" examines the life and work of Wycliffe and recounts the tribulations of his successors, including William Tyndale, who was martyred, Miles Coverdale, and others who came to bitter ends. It traces the story of the English Bible through the tumultuous reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I, a time of fierce contest between Catholics and Protes-tants in England, as the struggle to establish a vernacular Bible was fought among competing factions. In the course of that struggle, Sir Thomas More, later made a Catholic saint, helped orchestrate the assault on the English Bible, only to find his own true faith the plaything of his king.In 1604, a committee of fifty-four scholars, the flower of Oxford and Cambridge, collaborated on the new translation for King James. Their collective expertise in biblical languages and related fields has probably never been matched, and the translation they produced -- substantially based on the earlier work of Wycliffe, Tyndale, and others -- would shape English literature and speech for centuries. As the great English historian Macaulay wrote of their version, "If everything else in our language should perish, it alone would suffice to show the extent of its beauty and power." To this day its common expressions, such as "labor of love," "lick the dust," "a thorn in the flesh," "the root of all evil," "the fat of the land," "the sweat of thy brow," "to cast pearls before swine," and "the shadow of death," are heard in everyday speech.The impact of the English Bible on law and society was profound. It gave every literate person access to the sacred text, which helped to foster the spirit of inquiry through reading and reflection. This, in turn, accelerated the growth of commercial printing and the proliferation of books. Once people were free to interpret the word of God according to the light of their own understanding, they began to question the authority of their inherited institutions, both religious and secular. This led to reformation within the Church, and to the rise of constitutional government in England and the end of the divine right of kings. England fought a Civil War in the light (and shadow) of such concepts, and by them confirmed the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In time, the new world of ideas that the English Bible helped inspire spread across the Atlantic to America, and eventually, like Wycliffe's sea-borne scattered ashes, all the world over, "as wide as the waters be.""Wide as the Waters" is a story about a crucial epoch in the history of Christianity, about the English language and society, and about a book that changed the course of human events.


One of the outstanding challenges in large vocabulary automatic speech recognition (ASR) is the reduction of development costs required to build a new recognition system or adapt an existing one to a new task, language or dialect. The state-of-the-art ASR systems are based on the principles of the statistical learning paradigm, using information provided by two stochastic models, an acoustic (AM) and a language (LM) model. The standard methods used to estimate the parameters of such models are founded on two main assumptions : the training data sets are large enough, and the training data match well the target task. It is well-known that a great part of system development costs is due to the construction of corpora that fulfill these requirements. In particular, manually transcribing the audio data is the most expensive and time-consuming endeavor. For some applications, such as the recognition of low resourced languages or dialects, finding and collecting data is also a hard (and expensive) task. As a means to lower the cost required for ASR system development, this thesis proposes and studies methods that aim to alleviate the need for manually transcribing audio data for a given target task. Two axes of research are explored. First, unsupervised training methods are explored in order to build three of the main components of ASR systems : the acoustic model, the multi-layer perceptron (MLP) used to extract acoustic features and the language model. The unsupervised training methods aim to estimate the model parameters using a large amount of automatically (and inaccurately) transcribed audio data, obtained thanks to an existing recognition system. A novel method for unsupervised AM training that copes well with the automatic audio transcripts is proposed : the use of multiple recognition hypotheses (rather than the best one) leads to consistent gains in performance over the standard approach. Unsupervised MLP training is proposed as an alternative to build efficient acoustic models in a fully unsupervised way. Compared to cross-lingual MLPs trained in a supervised manner, the unsupervised MLP leads to competitive performance levels even if trained on only about half of the data amount. Unsupervised LM training approaches are proposed to estimate standard back-off n-gram and neural network language models. It is shown that unsupervised LM training leads to additive gains in performance on top of unsupervised AM training. Second, this thesis proposes the use of model interpolation as a rapid and flexible way to build task specific acoustic models. In reported experiments, models obtained via interpolation outperform the baseline pooled models and equivalent maximum a posteriori (MAP) adapted models. Interpolation proves to be especially useful for low resourced dialect ASR. When only a few (2 to 3 hours) or no acoustic data truly matching the target dialect are available for AM training, model interpolation leads to substantial performance gains compared to the standard training methods.


Abstract In recent years there has been an increasing use of visual methods in ageing research. There are, however, limited reflections and critical explorations of the implications of using visual methods in research with people in mid to later life. This paper examines key methodological complexities when researching the daily lives of people as they grow older and the possibilities and limitations of using participant-generated visual diaries. The paper will draw on our experiences of an empirical study, which included a sample of 62 women and men aged 50 years and over with different daily routines. Participant-led photography was drawn upon as a means to create visual diaries, followed by in-depth, photo-elicitation interviews. The paper will critically reflect on the use of visual methods for researching the daily lives of people in mid to later life, as well as suggesting some wider tensions within visual methods that warrant attention. First, we explore the extent to which photography facilitates a 'collaborative' research process; second, complexities around capturing the 'everydayness' of daily routines are explored; third, the representation and presentation of 'self' by participants within their images and interview narratives is examined; and, finally, we highlight particular emotional considerations in visualising daily life.


Digital media have transformed the social practices of science communication. They have extended the number of channels that scientists, media professionals, other stakeholders and citizens use to communicate scientific information. Social media provide opportunities to communicate in more immediate and informal ways, while digital technologies have the potential to make the various processes of research more visible in the public sphere. Some digital media also offer, on occasion, opportunities for interaction and engagement. Similarly, ideas about public engagement are shifting and extending social practices, partially influencing governance strategies, and science communication policies and practices. In this paper I explore this developing context via a personal journey from an analogue to a digital scholar. In so doing, I discuss some of the demands that a globalised digital landscape introduces for science communication researchers and document some of the skills and competencies required to be a digital scholar of science communication.


Before Brown details the ferment in civil rights that took place across the South before the momentous Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954. This collection refutes the notion that the movement began with the Supreme Court decision, and suggests, rather, that the movement originated in the 1930s and earlier, spurred by the Great Depression and, later, World War II - events that would radically shape the course of politics in the South and the nation into the next century. This work explores the growth of the movement through its various manifestations - the activities of politicians, civil rights leaders, religious figures, labor unionists, and grass-roots activists - throughout the 1940s and 1950s. It discusses the critical leadership roles played by women and offers a new perspective on the relationship between the NAACP and the Communist Party. Before Brown shows clearly that, as the drive toward racial equality advanced and national political attitudes shifted, the validity of white supremacy came increasingly into question. Institutionalized racism in the South had always offered white citizens material advantages by preserving their economic superiority and making them feel part of a privileged class. When these rewards were threatened by the civil rights movement, a white backlash occurred.


Tracing the diffusion of legal concepts between different countries is at the core of comparative law. However, this diffusion is not limited to statutes and cases, but pervades through public spheres. This is visible in published materials of all sorts. How to trace this diffusion in public sphere? If cases are important to reconstruct the logics of diffusion in legislative and judicial spheres, one cannot rely on a limited number of sources to assess its importance in general public spheres. In contrast with highly abstracted library databases, where searches have to be conducted by title and indexed topics, the Google books corpus gives access to plain-text search for a significant share of all the material ever published since the 17th century. I will present in this paper how to conduct analysis on serialized quantitative time series from the Google Books corpus, using GCorpusAnalytics (http://github.com/Erispoe/GCorpusAnalytics), a tool I developed at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). I will expose an application of this tool for the exploration of the diffusion of direct democracy instruments from Switzerland to the United States at the end of the 19th century. Specifically, I will show how a quantitative analysis of the Google Books corpus reveals that Switzerland was indeed the reference, and not New England, and how we can trace the influence of key literature in the public debate at the time. Additionally, I will present the possibility of querying the Google Case Law corpus in time series.


mefa is an R package for multivariate data handling in ecology and biogeography. It provides object classes to represent the data coded by samples, taxa and segments (i.e., subpopulations, repeated measures). It supports easy processing of the data along with relational data tables for samples and taxa. An object of class mefa is a project specific compendium of the dataset and can be easily used in further analyses. Methods are provided for extraction, aggregation, conversion, plotting, summary and reporting of mefa objects. Reports can be generated in plain text or LaTex. This paper presents worked examples on a variety of ecological analyses.


Extracted from text ... 2 Over the last 20 years, capacity building or capacity development has become the dominant strategy in national policies and international technical cooperation. The term 'capacity develop-ment' is increasingly being preferred to 'capacity building' as it embraces the fact that the challenge is not to build, but to further strengthen and develop the existing capacity. There are many definitions of Developing capacity to realise socio-economic rights The example of HIV/Aids and the right to food in South Africa Ida-Eline Engh capacity development. However, their main focus is generally on the ability of individuals, groups, institutions and organisations to identify ..


The importance of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in eukaryotic cellular regulation has become increasingly apparent during the last decade. In plants, regulated degradation by the ubiquitin/26S proteasome has been implicated in diverse signalling events including embryogenesis, hormone signalling and disease resistance. Ubiquitin moieties are ligated to target proteins through the sequential activities of E1, E2 and E3 enzymes leading either to proteasomal degradation or other regulatory outcomes in the cell. It is now established that ubiquitination is a reversible process and that removal of ubiquitin from target proteins by deubiquitinating enzymes (also termed ubiquitin proteases) can also serve a regulatory function. Deubiquitinating enzymes are proteases with specificity for the isopeptide linkages formed during ubiquitin ligation events.
Current understanding of deubiquitinating enzyme function in plants is relatively limited and the aim of this project was to establish novel findings in this emerging field. This study reports an extensive analysis of the deubiquitinating enzymes in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome and functional characterisation of two closely related Arabidopsis Ubiquitin Specific Proteases: AtUBP12 and AtUBP13 and their respective orthologs in the solanaceous plants tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and Nicotiana benthamiana.
Previous work suggested the potential involvement of NbUBP12 in disease resistance, in this study, established methodologies in Arabidopsis, tobacco and Nicotiana benthamiana were applied to investigate this possibility. Transcript induction studies in Arabidopsis reported the induction of both AtUBP12 and AtUBP13 by avirulent Pseudomonas and exogenously applied Salicylic acid (SA). Pathology assays in single allele Arabidopsis ubp12 and ubp13 mutants reported no alteration in resistance against virulent and avirulent strains of Pseudomonas, raising the possibility that AtUBP12 and AtUBP13 are functionally redundant. Investigations into redundancy between AtUBP12 and AtUBP13 were conducted using transgenic RNAi based cosupression and the isolation of genetic crosses between ubp12 and ubp13 mutant alleles. Collectively these approaches provide the first report that AtUBP12 and AtUBP13 are functionally redundant and are required for normal plant development with homozygous ubp12 ubp13 double mutants exhibiting a seedling lethal phenotype. Phenotypic analysis of ubp12 and ubp13 mutants indicated that functional redundancy between these genes was not complete with the novel observation of early flowering in ubp12 alleles under both long and short day photoperiods. Short day early flowering in ubp12 mutants was accompanied by the development aerial rosettes and suggests the crucial involvement of deubiquitination in the floral transition.
The cDNA sequence of the tobacco AtUBP12 ortholog NtUBP12 was determined and utilised for VIGS based NbUBP12 gene silencing studies during disease resistance signalling in N. benthamiana. Loss of function studies indicated that NbUBP12 functions as a negative regulator of hypersensitive cell death (HR) induced by the Cladisporium fulvum elicitor Avr9 and R gene independent viral resistance against TMV. These findings represent the first reported link between deubiquitination and plant disease resistance. Respective cDNAs for AtUBP12 and NtUBP12 were cloned and expressed to demonstrate the function of their gene products by in vitro ubiquitin protease activity assays. Ubiquitin protease activity of UBP12 was directly implicated in C.fulvum Avr9 elicited cell death during tobacco transient overexpression assays. This experimental approach confirmed that UBP12 activity negatively regulates the Avr9 elicited HR with overexpression of AtUBP12 causing HR suppression and the corresponding AtUBP12 C208S active site mutant conferring a dominant negative HR promotion effect.
Overall the presented data reports several novel insights which implicate Arabidopsis UBPs: AtUBP12 and AtUBP13 in plant development and suggests they also may stabilise common substrates which regulate disease resistance. AtUBP12 is also specifically implicated as a floral suppressor and in vitro assays have demonstrated that AtUBP12 and NtUBP12 encode functional ubiquitin proteases. In solanaceous plants, UBP12 activity negatively regulates the defence associated HR and virus resistance.


This book deals with the application of new techniques based on time-frequency system representations and statistical approaches to the study, characterization, and control of nonlinear and non-stationary inter-area oscillations in power systems. The main focus is on the study of nonlinear, time-varying wide-area oscillatory problems associated with critical system perturbations. Techniques that explicitly address and treat nonlinearity are given and efficient methods to generate time-varying system approximations from both measured and simulated data are discussed. The theoretical basis for these methods is described as well as application properties and performance. Analysis techniques discussed include parametric methods such as Prony analysis, Yule-Walker based methods, Least-Squares methods, Wavelets and Fourier-based methods, and non-parametric methods such as Periodogram averaging and the Hilbert-Huang transform, as well as higher order statistical approaches. Emphasis is placed on the modeling and control of complex time-varying behavior which has not been present in previous work. Through case studies of synthetic and real-life test systems, the authors explain how an understanding of temporal, nonlinear behavior can be incorporated in the analysis and design process of complex control systems. Examples include computer simulations and actual system measurements from power systems in North America, Australia, India and Mexico. Particular attention is given to the vital new ideas of dynamic security assessment in real-time implementations and the evaluation of spatio-temporal behavior in systems with embedded f Flexible ac Transmission Systems (FACTS). Future applications of these methodologies focusing on the implementation of smart wide-area monitoring, protection control systems based on methods of analysis of time series are also discussed.


Systems of classification are important for guiding research activities and providing a common platform for discussion and investigation. One such system is assigning microbial taxa to the roles of mutualists and pathogens. Yet, there are often challenges and even inconsistencies in reports of research findings when microbial taxa display behaviors outside of these two static conditions (e.g. commensal). Over the last two decades, there has been some effort to highlight a continuum of symbiosis, wherein certain microbial taxa may exhibit mutualistic or pathogenic traits depending on environmental contexts, life stages, and plant host associations. However, gaps remain in understanding how to apply the continuum approach to host-microbe pairs across a range of environmental and ecological factors. This commentary presents an alternative framework for evaluating the continuum of symbiosis using dominant archetypes that define symbiotic ranges. We focus particularly on fungi and bacteria, though we recognize that archaea and other microeukaryotes play important roles in host-microbe interactions that may be described by this approach. This framework is centered in eco-evolutionary theory and aims to enhance communication among researchers, as well as prioritize holistic consideration of the factors shaping microbial life strategies. We discuss the influence of plant-mediated factors, habitat constraints, co-evolutionary forces, and the genetic contributions which shape different microbial lifestyles. Looking to the future, using a continuum of symbiosis paradigm will enable greater flexibility in defining the roles of target microbes and facilitate a more holistic view of the complex and dynamic relationship between microbes and plants.


Adolescence is a sensitive period for increases in normative but also debilitating social fears and worries. As the interpretation of interpersonal cues is pertinent to social anxiety, investigating mechanisms that may underlie biases in social cue appraisal is important. Fifty-one adolescents from the community aged 14 to 19 were presented with self-and other-relevant naturalistic social scenes for 5 seconds and then required to rate either a negative or a positive interpretation of the scene. Eye-tracking data were collected during the free viewing period to index attentional deployment. Individual differences in social worries were measured via self-report. Social anxiety levels significantly predicted biases in interpretation ratings across scenes. Additionally, cumulative attentional deployment to peer cues also predicted these interpretation biases: participants who spent more time on facial displays perceived more threat, i.e. endorsed more negative and less positive interpretations. Self-relevant scenes yielded greater tendencies to draw negative interpretations. Finally, older adolescents also selected more benign interpretations. Social anxiety is associated with a bias in interpreting social cues; a cognitive bias that is also influenced by attentional deployment. This study contributes to our understanding of the possible attention mechanisms that shape cognitions relevant to social anxiety in this at-risk age group.


Flood risk can be reduced by means of flood forecasting, warning and response systems (FFWRS). These systems include a forecasting sub-system which is imperfect, meaning that inherent uncertainties in hydrological forecasts may result in false alarms and missed floods, or surprises. This forecasting uncertainty decreases the potential reduction of flood risk, but is seldom accounted for in estimates of the benefits of FFWRSs. In the present paper, a method to estimate the benefits of (imperfect) FFWRSs in reducing flood risk is presented. These benefits include not only the reduction of flood losses due to a warning response, but also consider the costs of the warning response itself, as well as the costs associated with forecasting uncertainty. The method allows for estimation of the benefits of FFWRSs that use either deterministic or probabilistic forecasts. Through application to a case study, it is shown that FFWRSs using a probabilistic forecast have the potential to realise higher benefits at all lead-times. However, it is also shown that provision of warning at increasing lead time does not necessarily lead to an increasing reduction of flood risk, but rather that an optimal lead-time at which warnings are provided can be established as a function of forecast uncertainty and the cost-loss ratio of the user receiving and responding to the warning.


Intolerance behaviors that are not anticipated may give birth to the danger of radicalism both psychologically and physically.  This study aims at exploring the way to select and discover informational sources related to the topics; at investigating a means of estimating, accepting, and determining the best thing in the future; at analyzing a means of building new knowledge associated with gained information; and discovering a means of providing and broadcasting information on the website.  This study used case study method in order to observe the reality of information literacy and the danger of intolerance among the net generation Observation findings show that the doctrine of intolerance was spread through group discussions of religious Student Activity Unit (UKM). The massive spread of radical viruses is supported by the dominance of the internet as the main medium in information searching. The condition is made worse by low information literacy skills. The results of this study expected to be able to be used as references relating to information literacy for the net generation to anticipate the danger of intolerance which is the forerunner of radicalism. The results showed that the low reading abilities led to a conservative interpretation of religious meanings, which considered one's understanding more correct and accused others as infidels. This phenomenon can be seen from the discovery of limited new knowledge. Hence, the knowledge of information literacy must be introduced in lecture rooms and within intra-university activities.


Thus it appears that the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well. In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta [sic], since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial; and I doubt if that philosophy is not to be referred to a previous state of existence, so remote is its sublimity from our conceptions. I lay down the book and go to my well for water, and lo! there I meet the servant of the Bramin [sic], priest of Brahma and Vishnu, and Indra, who sits in his temple on the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the same well. The purc Walden water is mingled with the sacred waters of the Ganges. With favouring winds it is wafted past the site of the fabulous islands of Atlantis and the Hesperides, makes the Periplus of Hanno, and floating by Ternate and Tidore and the mouth of the Persian Gulf, melts in the tropic gales of the Indian seas, and is landed in ports of which Alexander only heard the names.


BACKGROUND
 Early warning scores in general wards are commonly limited by intermittent manual measurements; these are recognised as being time consuming and for impacting monitoring frequency. Wearable devices may support healthcare staff, improve patient safety and promote early deterioration detection. However available ambulatory monitoring devices need to be tested and validated before clinical implementation.

 OBJECTIVE
 The objective of this study is to determine the agreement between a chest-worn patch (VitalPatch®) and gold standard reference device for heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) measurements during movement and during gradual de-saturation in a controlled environment.

 METHODS
 After both VitalPatch and gold standard device (Philips MX450) were placed, participants performed 7 different movements: At rest, Sit-to-Stand, Tapping, Rubbing, Drinking, Turning Pages, and Using a Tablet. In a controlled environment. Participants were then made hypoxic gradually down to 80% peripheral oxygen saturations. The primary outcome measures were the accuracy, defined as the mean absolute error (MAE) of the VitalPatch estimates when compared with their gold-standards. We defined these to be clinical acceptable if within 5 beats per minute (bpm) for HR and 3 respirations per minute (rpm) for RR.

 RESULTS
 We acquired complete datasets of 29 participants. In the movement phase, HR estimates were within the pre-specified limits for all movements. For RR, estimates were also inside the acceptable range, with the exception of the Sit-to-Stand and Turning Pages movements, showing a MAE (95% CI) of 3.05 (2.48, 3.58) rpm and 3.45 (2.71, 4.11) rpm, respectively. For the hypoxia phase, these were always within the limits with an overall MAE for HR and RR of 0.72 (0.66, 0.78) bpm and 1.89 (1.75, 2.03) rpm, respectively. There were no significant differences in the VitalPatch performance across a range of oxygen desaturations.

 CONCLUSIONS
 The VitalPatch was highly accurate throughout movement tests except for its RR estimation during two movements. This device was reliable throughout the hypoxia stages, with no significant accuracy differences in normoxia (≥ 90%), mild (89.9 - 85%) and severe hypoxia (< 85%).

 CLINICALTRIAL
 ISRCTN61535692


In metallic alloys, the formation of macrostructure involves different length and time scales. The macrostructure strongly influences the mechanical properties of the materials.  Modeling of macrostructure provides valuable insights for tailoring of the structure. In the present study simulation of macrostructure in Al-20Sn has been carried out. Expression for nucleation rate and growth rate were tuned to get a match with the experimentally observed macrostructure. The study incorporates the motion of grains due to Brownian motion. Incorporation of Brownian motion resulted in more uniform distribution locally, which has been experimentally observed. Both simulation and macrograph showed few columnar grains and absence of sharp columnar to equiaxed transition.


Objective: A lack of emergency savings renders low-income households vulnerable to material hardships resulting from unexpected expenses or loss of income. Having emergency savings helps these households respond to unexpected events, maintain consumption, and avoid high-cost credit products. Because many low-income households receive sizable federal tax refunds, tax time is an opportunity for these households to allocate a portion of refunds to savings. We hypothesized that low-income tax filers who deposit at least part of their tax refunds into a savings account will experience less material and health care hardship compared to non-depositors. Method: Using data from a household financial survey of a large-scale tax-time savings initiative, we examined the effects of saving tax refunds on material and health care hardship outcomes 6 months after filing taxes among a sample of low-income filers (n = 7,537). We used propensity score analysis to adjust for self-selection bias. Results: Six months after filing taxes, depositors have statistically significant better outcomes than non-depositors for five of six hardship outcomes. Also, Black filers have statistically significant worse outcomes than White filers for half of hardship indicators. Conclusions: Findings affirm the importance of saving refunds at tax time as a way to lower the likelihood of experiencing various hardships. Findings concerning race suggest that Black households face greater hardship risks than White households, reflecting broader patterns of social inequality.


Leptin is the primary hormone in mammals that regulates adipose stores. Arctic adapted cetaceans maintain enormous adipose depots, suggesting possible modifications of leptin or receptor function. Determining expression of these genes is the first step to understanding the extreme physiology of these animals, and the uniqueness of these animals presents special challenges in estimating and comparing expression levels of mRNA transcripts. Here, we compare expression of two model genes, leptin and leptin-receptor gene-related product (OB-RGRP), using two quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) methods: "relative" and "absolute". To assess the expression of leptin and OB-RGRP in cetacean tissues, we first examined how relative expression of those genes might differ when normalized to four common endogenous control genes. We performed relative expression qPCR assays measuring the amplification of these two model target genes relative to amplification of 18S ribosomal RNA (18S), ubiquitously expressed transcript (Uxt), ribosomal protein 9 (Rs9) and ribosomal protein 15 (Rs15) endogenous controls. Results demonstrated significant differences in the expression of both genes when different control genes were employed; emphasizing a limitation of relative qPCR assays, especially in studies where differences in physiology and/or a lack of knowledge regarding levels and patterns of expression of common control genes may possibly affect data interpretation. To validate the absolute quantitative qPCR methods, we evaluated the effects of plasmid structure, the purity of the plasmid standard preparation and the influence of type of qPCR "background" material on qPCR amplification efficiencies and copy number determination of both model genes, in multiple tissues from one male bowhead whale. Results indicate that linear plasmids are more reliable than circular plasmid standards, no significant differences in copy number estimation based upon background material used, and that the use of ethanol precipitated, linearized plasmid preparation produce the most reliable results.


Disjunctive Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a powerful declarative programming paradigm whose main decision problems are located on the second level of the polynomial hierarchy. Identifying tractable fragments and developing efficient algorithms for such fragments are thus important objectives in order to complement the sophisticated ASP systems available to date. Hard problems can become tractable if some problem parameter is bounded by a fixed constant; such problems are then called fixed-parameter tractable (FPT). While several FPT results for ASP exist, parameters that relate to directed or signed graphs representing the program at hand have been neglected so far. In this paper, we first give some negative observations showing that directed width measures on the dependency graph of a program do not lead to FPT results. We then consider the graph parameter of signed clique-width and present a novel dynamic programming algorithm that is FPT w.r.t. this parameter. Clique-width is more general than the well-known treewidth, and, to the best of our knowledge, ours is the first FPT algorithm for bounded clique-width for reasoning problems beyond SAT.


BACKGROUND
Autism and Asperger syndrome (ASP) are neurobiological conditions with overlapping behavioral symptoms and of unknown etiologies. Results from previous autism neuroimaging studies have been difficult to replicate, possibly owing to site differences in subject samples, scanning procedures, and image-processing methods. We sought (1) to determine whether low-functioning autism (LFA; IQ<70), high-functioning autism (HFA; IQ>or=70), and ASP constitute distinct biological entities as evidenced by neuroanatomical measures, and (2) to assess for intersite differences.

METHODS
Case-control study examining coronally oriented 124-section spoiled gradient echo images acquired on 3 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, and processed by BrainImage 5.X. Participants were recruited and underwent scanning at 2 academic medicine departments. Participants included 4 age-matched groups of volunteer boys aged 7.8 to 17.9 years (13 patients with LFA, 18 with HFA, 21 with ASP, and 21 control subjects), and 3 volunteer adults for neuroimaging reliability. Main outcome measures included volumetric measures of total, white, and gray matter for cerebral and cerebellar tissues.

RESULTS
Intersite differences were seen for subject age, IQ, and cerebellum measures. Cerebral gray matter volume was enlarged in both HFA and LFA compared with controls (P =.009 and P =.04, respectively). Cerebral gray matter volume in ASP was intermediate between that of HFA and controls, but nonsignificant. Exploratory analyses revealed a negative correlation between cerebral gray matter volume and performance IQ within HFA but not ASP. A positive correlation between cerebral white matter volume and performance IQ was observed within ASP but not HFA.

CONCLUSIONS
Lack of replication between previous autism MRI studies could be due to intersite differences in MRI systems and subjects' age and IQ. Cerebral gray tissue findings suggest that ASP is on the mild end of the autism spectrum. However, exploratory assessments of brain-IQ relationships reveal differences between HFA and ASP, indicating that these conditions may be neurodevelopmentally different when patterns of multiple measures are examined. Further investigations of brain-behavior relationships are indicated to confirm these findings.


Calanus helgolandicus is a key copepod species occurring in the North East Atlantic that is responding to oceanic warming through an expansion of its geographic range. This range extension has led to concerns about how this may affect ecosystem trophodynamics. Here I investigate the interannual variability and seasonality of C. helgolandicus, using a ~28 year time-series from the western English Channel (station L4). I focus specifically on the role of mortality, as a key life history process that is challenging to quantify and historically has received little attention. C. helgolandicus abundance remained within a narrow ~four-fold interannual envelope, which was a consequence of multiple losses that removed ~99% of the potential population. Loss of early life stages occurred through the incidence of non-viable eggs and abnormal nauplii (both higher in spring), and via predation; egg mortality rates were positively correlated with C. helgolandicus copepodite abundance and total copepod biomass, indicative of intraguild predation and cannibalism. By contrast, late-stage copepodite mortality rates were highest in autumn, and were positively related to gelatinous predator abundance and biomass (medusae, ctenophores and chaetognaths). Molecular gut-content analyses revealed that two abundant jellyfish species present during 2015 (Pleurobrachia pileus and Leuckartiara octona) both preyed on C. helgolandicus. Adult male consumptive mortality rates were ~6 times higher than that of adult females; whereas male non-consumptive rates were only ~1.5 times that of females, providing evidence that predation was the primary mortality source in males. Non-consumptive mortality rates contributed 0-54% (median of 4.5%) to total mortality and were positively related to the 72-hour maximum wind speed, implying that turbulence created during extreme weather events may increase zooplankton mortality. I conclude that C. helgolandicus population control is modulated via a series of mortality-related losses occurring through the different development stages; from reduced egg viability to predation of copepodites by gelatinous carnivores. Although I find little evidence for changing ecosystem trophodynamics at L4, my results contribute to the knowledge of C. helgolandicus population dynamics at a site near the centre of its distribution, and suggest that a future expanding population may be a valuable food source for a variety of predators.


CONTEXT
The frequency of remission of type 2 diabetes achievable with lifestyle intervention is unclear.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the association of a long-term intensive weight-loss intervention with the frequency of remission from type 2 diabetes to prediabetes or normoglycemia.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Ancillary observational analysis of a 4-year randomized controlled trial (baseline visit, August 2001-April 2004; last follow-up, April 2008) comparing an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) with a diabetes support and education control condition (DSE) among 4503 US adults with body mass index of 25 or higher and type 2 diabetes.

INTERVENTIONS
Participants were randomly assigned to receive the ILI, which included weekly group and individual counseling in the first 6 months followed by 3 sessions per month for the second 6 months and twice-monthly contact and regular refresher group series and campaigns in years 2 to 4 (n=2241) or the DSE, which was an offer of 3 group sessions per year on diet, physical activity, and social support (n=2262).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Partial or complete remission of diabetes, defined as transition from meeting diabetes criteria to a prediabetes or nondiabetic level of glycemia (fasting plasma glucose <126 mg/dL and hemoglobin A1c <6.5% with no antihyperglycemic medication). RESULTS Intensive lifestyle intervention participants lost significantly more weight than DSE participants at year 1 (net difference, -7.9%; 95% CI, -8.3% to -7.6%) and at year 4 (-3.9%; 95% CI, -4.4% to -3.5%) and had greater fitness increases at year 1 (net difference, 15.4%; 95% CI, 13.7%-17.0%) and at year 4 (6.4%; 95% CI, 4.7%-8.1%) (P < .001 for each). The ILI group was significantly more likely to experience any remission (partial or complete), with prevalences of 11.5% (95% CI, 10.1%-12.8%) during the first year and 7.3% (95% CI, 6.2%-8.4%) at year 4, compared with 2.0% for the DSE group at both time points (95% CIs, 1.4%-2.6% at year 1 and 1.5%-2.7% at year 4) (P < .001 for each). Among ILI participants, 9.2% (95% CI, 7.9%-10.4%), 6.4% (95% CI, 5.3%-7.4%), and 3.5% (95% CI, 2.7%-4.3%) had continuous, sustained remission for at least 2, at least 3, and 4 years, respectively, compared with less than 2% of DSE participants (1.7% [95% CI, 1.2%-2.3%] for at least 2 years; 1.3% [95% CI, 0.8%-1.7%] for at least 3 years; and 0.5% [95% CI, 0.2%-0.8%] for 4 years).

CONCLUSIONS
In these exploratory analyses of overweight adults, an intensive lifestyle intervention was associated with a greater likelihood of partial remission of type 2 diabetes compared with diabetes support and education. However, the absolute remission rates were modest. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00017953.


Popular belief holds that eye contact increases the success of persuasive communication, and prior research suggests that speakers who direct their gaze more toward their listeners are perceived as more persuasive. In contrast, we demonstrate that more eye contact between the listener and speaker during persuasive communication predicts less attitude change in the direction advocated. In Study 1, participants freely watched videos of speakers expressing various views on controversial sociopolitical issues. Greater direct gaze at the speaker's eyes was associated with less attitude change in the direction advocated by the speaker. In Study 2, we instructed participants to look at either the eyes or the mouths of speakers presenting arguments counter to participants' own attitudes. Intentionally maintaining direct eye contact led to less persuasion than did gazing at the mouth. These findings suggest that efforts at increasing eye contact may be counterproductive across a variety of persuasion contexts.


Genotype x environment (G × E) interaction in canola ( Brassica
napus L.) cultivar seed yield is unknown in Chile. The interaction
was performed with the SREG (Sites Regression) model. Two experiments
were conducted in five and thirteen environments in the 2008-2009
season in Central South Chile. The experimental design was a randomized
complete block (RCBD) in each environment with four replicates and 26
open-pollinated or hybrid canola genotypes in Experiment 1, and RCBD
with three replicates and 17 genotypes in Experiment 2. ANOVA was used
to determine the significance of the G × E interaction. Biplots
were used to graphically interpret and determine the best cultivar in
each environment and the corresponding mega-environments. The G ×
E interaction was significant for seed yield in many locations in one
cropping season. Most of the analyzed seed yield variation was due to
environment and G × E effects. Principal components (PC1 and PC2)
of the Sites Regression (SREG) model, with five and eight environments,
accumulated 74.5% and 61.1% of the total variation, respectively. Two
mega-environments were formed; the first being the Chillan
environment while the second included the remaining environments. Six
of the evaluated cultivars, all hybrids except 'Goya', were
superior. The mean vs. stability analysis indicated that the Monalisa
hybrid had the highest yield and was the most stable cultivar across
all environments. Although the information is for only 1 yr, results
could change with data from several years of experimentation. Hence,
the study was carried out in many locations in order to provide
validity to the results.


Cities around the world are undergoing profound changes. In this global era, we live in a world of rising knowledge economies, digital technologies, and awareness of environmental issues. The so-called "modern infrastructural ideal" of spatially and socially ubiquitous centrally-governed infrastructures providing exclusive, homogeneous services over extensive areas, has been the standard of reference for the provision of basic essential services, such as water and energy supply. This book argues that, after decades of undisputed domination, this ideal is being increasingly questioned and that the network ideology that supports it may be waning.

In order to begin exploring the highly diverse, fluid and unstable landscapes emerging beyond the networked city, this book identifies dynamics through which a 'break' with previous configurations has been operated, and new brittle zones of socio-technical controversy through which urban infrastructure (and its wider meaning) are being negotiated and fought over. It uncovers, across a diverse set of urban contexts, new ways in which processes of urbanization and infrastructure production are being combined with crucial sociopolitical implications: through shifting political economies of infrastructure which rework resource distribution and value creation; through new infrastructural spaces and territorialities which rebundle socio-technical systems for particular interests and claims; and through changing offsets between individual and collective appropriation, experience and mobilization of infrastructure.

With contributions from leading authorities in the field and drawing on theoretical advances and original empirical material, this book is a major contribution to an ongoing infrastructural turn in urban studies, and will be of interest to all those concerned by the diverse forms and contested outcomes of contemporary urban change across North and South.


Dr R. V. Beavon writes questioning submarine welding of ash-flow tuffs as suggested by Francis & Howells (1973). The irregular basal contacts, and associated soft-sediment structures below mildly transgressive ash-flow deposits, were probably caused by pre-eruption uplift, tilting and superficial slumping of wet sediment during and immediately preceeding ash-flow eruption, emplacement and consolidation. Beavon (1963) has described the emplacement of a grossly transgressive (unconformable) ash-flow deposit, preceeded by a volcano-tectonic uplift that induced significant gravity gliding of an older tuff sheet and its weak basement of watery sediment. The resultant landslide (or lahar) may have been partly contemporaneous with one of the most voluminous ash-flows in Snowdonia. Smaller scale slump structures, analogous in age and origin to those described by Francis & Howells (1973) have been described in thin welded tuffs that were subjected to penecontemporaneous erosion (Beavon 1963, p. 486). If we imagine eruptive mechanisms consisting of (1) volcano-tectonic uplift, (2) eruption and emplacement of ash-flow and (3) welding of ash-flow during volcano-tectonic subsidence (cf. Smith & Bailey 1968), operating, to a degree commensurate with the volume of effusions, in an extensive near-shore tidal flat, then the Welsh Ordovician characteristic of subaerial welded tuffs interbedded with marine sediments should be regarded as the norm. If the interpretation offered herein is correct, then it may be possible to recognize important eruptions where the volume of welded tuff was reduced by penecontemporaneous erosion. Perhaps the authors will comment on the possibility of stratigraphic correlation on the basis of the degree of


Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production is the most important cause of betalactam resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. Although it may also be found in other Gramnegative bacteria, ESBL is most commonly produced by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. In this study, we aimed to investigate the distribution of β-lactamase genes in ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains. One hundred and twenty isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from clinical samples were used in this study. The identification and the antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed by VITEK 2 system in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. ESBL production was determined accoring to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The DNA isolation was performed with a commercial kit following company recommendations. blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M genes were amplified by multiplex PCR with specific primers. Of the 120 isolates collected, 84 isolates were of E. coli and 36 isolates were of K. pneumoniae. blaTEM gene was the most prevalent type (85.8%) followed by blaCTX-M (83.3%) and blaSHV (24.2%). No blaSHV gene was detected in the E. coli strains. Among 120 ESBL-producing strains, 10.8% were susceptible to cefepime, 10.0% to ceftazidime, while 5.0% to ceftriaxone. In conclusion, blaTEM gene was the most frequently encountered ESBL of E. coli and K. pneumonia in our hospital. Further molecular surveillance and epidemiological studies of such resistant bacteria are recommended for monitoring and controlling the spread of ESBL producing strains.


The red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata is a long-lived, slow-growing sessile invertebrate of ecological and conservation importance in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. We develop a series of size-based matrix models for two Paramuricea clavata populations. These models were used to estimate basic life history traits for this species and to evaluate the viability of the red gorgonian populations we studied. As for many other slow-growing species, sensitivity and elasticity analysis demonstrate that gorgonian population growth is far more sensitive to changes in survival rates than to growth, shrinkage, or reproductive rates. The slow growth and low mortality of red gorgonians results in low damping ratios, indicating slow convergence to stable size structures (at least 50 years). The stable distributions predicted by the model did not differ from the observed ones. However, our simulations point out the fragility of this species, showing both populations in decline and high risk of extinction over moderate time horizons. These declines appear to be related to a recent increase in anthropogenic disturbances. Relative to their life span, the values of recruitment elasticity for Paramuricea clavata are lower than those reported for other marine organisms but are similar to those reported for some long-lived plants. These values and the delayed age of sexual maturity, in combination with the longevity of the species, show a clear fecundity/mortality trade-off. Full demographic studies of sessile marine species are quite scarce but can provide insight into population dynamics and life history patterns for these difficult and under-studied species. While our work shows clear results for the red gorgonian, the variability in some of our estimates suggest that future work should include data collection over longer temporal and spatial scales to better understand the long-term effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on red gorgonian populations.


The issue in the title is known and is being analyzed for a long time, however its complexity makes the setting of both – the future of it and contemporary form – emerge a lot of questions marks. I do not intend to leave most of them aside. I do make an attempt however to present its complexity and as well the importance in the reflextion upon life and activity of scholars. In these remarks I do recall several ways of presenting it and do make an attempt to stress out those of research possibilities which may lead to interesting outcomes. In the end part of the remakrs I do present some of them. I treat this step as an invitation to further discussion on the sensibility and anger of scholars.


How much do you really know about Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin? The Google Guys skips past the general Google story and focuses on what really drives the company's founders. Richard L. Brandt shows the company as the brainchild of two brilliant individuals and looks at Google's business decisions in light of its founders' ambition and beliefs. Larry is the main strategist, with business acumen and practical drive, while Sergey is the primary technologist and idealist, with brilliant ideas and strong moral positions. But they work closely together, almost like complementary halves of a single brain. Through interviews with current and former employees, competitors, partners, and senior Google management, plus conversations with the founders themselves, Brandt demystifies the company while clarifying a number of misconceptions.


"A remark you made" is the title of a wonderful tune by the famous jazz-rock group "Weather Report", issued on the influential "Heavy weather" LP some 30 years ago. In an age where planning and rationalizing is the main issue in most contexts, whether it's a matter of studying, teaching, doing research or using a diet, "A remark you made" is a symbol of attending to the unplanned, unforeseen and often, unwanted. In most accounts on cognitive development one is overtly focused on the manageable, on the predictable and expected, and not so attentive to the opposite. "A remark you made" makes us think again and reconsider what might be of value, in what we otherwise might neglect. A remark made by Terry Anderson at a conference last year (2006) was rather telling. Anderson is the renown distance educator from Athabasca University, Alberta Canada, and editor of our fellow e-journal "The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning". I recite it here totally from my own memory, and I have never approached him to have it verified, falsified or commented. That doesn't matter in this context. Standing on the podium, he lowered his voice and asked if any Danes were present in the room. There weren't! Then he explained that his argument might be presented differently with Danes present: "You see – Danes seem to think that learning alone is no longer possible!" That remark caused quite a good laugh, not the least because any comment – good or bad – about fellow Scandinavians generally is considered to be a good joke. But it was also a comment on how not only distance education, or open and flexible learning, but learning theory in general is driven by the sociocultural learning theory, - and according to Anderson, particularly so in Denmark! Our first contribution in this issue is about the theory of media theory developed by one of our editors: Lars Qvortrup. Lars is now the rector of the Danish "Royal School of Library and Information Science". His presentation rests on an understanding of learning that makes it totally an individual experience, namely radical constructivism, as presented by Niklas Luhmann. In Denmark it would be fair to say that constructivism and social constructivism are two vital, but different approaches to learning, and in distance education in particular. In most other contexts nowadays, ideas about dialogues, scaffolding, collaboration, and mentoring relies on the theoretical tradition from Lev Vygotsky, via several contemporary interpretations and developments performed by J. Wertsch, J. Lave, R. Scardamalia, E.Wenger etc. Since Timothy Koschmann placed the development of educational psychology to fit with an evolutionary scheme, he unavoidably suggested a normative taxonomy, in which learning in a social context was placed at the top, and behaviourism at the bottom. This has led to a normative regime in higher education and elsewhere in which learning through working in social contexts, such as in seminars, groups and projects has gained a superior position. The paradox is that learning in this way is, for the most part, not very flexible. On the contrary, the more you add assignments that demand contributions and collaboration from more than one person, the less flexible it gets. How do we then come to terms with the paradox? In practice, the average design of a distance education programme allows students to work in flexible manners, which opens for collaborative work for those who prefer to work collaboratively, and a straightforward independent course progression for what usually is the majority: students working for themselves. In a recently published PhD thesis by dr.Ulf Olsson of Karlstad University, he demonstrates that working independently, not relying on social activity in the virtual classroom, pays off in order to survive in the distance education classroom (Olsson 2007). Therefore it seems that holding learning in the social context as a moral predicament has some serious consequences. First, it devalues personal knowledge, and explains how individuals learn poorly. Second, it builds on a sort of normality, or even moralism that dismisses the learning strategies that are based on individual achievement. Since adult education was founded gradually as an academic field, individual and collective learning has been taken seriously as a question of variance, of adapting to different learning styles and contexts. Making the social contexts of learning the superior is out of line with a policy for flexible learning anyhow. Joakim Samuelson's article in this journal reveals a closer look at what happens when classrooms are dominated by computers. Even if computers in the classroom have been expected to promote communication and dialogic exchanges of knowledge, Samuelson demonstrates in the case he reports from that this is hardly the case. Students prefer to work alone, also in primary grades. Stephen Dobson and Rune Sarroma Haustätter tell a fascinating story in their paper about how the Internet changes educational knowledge. Their frame of reference is not the classroom, but public debate. Initially Dobson, Brudal and Tobiassen published an article about a particular tradition in Norway. Students finishing their thirteen-year long junior and secondary education celebrate this by partying and performing a collective masquerade for two weeks, in a manner that has caused parents and teachers much concern over the years. Dobson et.al. interpreted this ritual differently, finding it to be a rite-de-passage with serious care-taking and gentle socialisation into a new and different position as independent students. Gradually this "new knowledge" generated by educational researchers became one of the hottest topics in the public debate. Dobson and Hausstätter discuss how this knowledge is interpreted and codified according to the schemes of the sociology of education. Finally in this issue AnnBritt Enochson presents her findings from a study she made on how tweens - children between 11 and thirteen - address each other on a very busy Swedish site for children: LunarStorm. While most attention is given in the media to the misuse of the Internet, this report suggests that in the vast majority of instances, kids address each other in a polite and inviting manner. In the casual context, communicating is a necessary and enjoyable exercise for kids. Reframing communication in the context of schooling separates communication for social purposes and for subject matters. The dream of social constructivism is that the two modes of communication merge. In many instances that is a process of chasing rainbows. As the editor writes these lines, international media reports that the composer of "A remark you made", Joe Zawinul just died (Sep.12.2007). We thank him for the musical remarks he made for us all. Literature: Dobson, S, Brudalen, R. and Tobiassen, H. (2006) Courting risk. The attempt to understand youth cultures. Young Vol. 14, No.1 (49-59) Koschmann, T. (1996). Paradigmshifts and instructional technology: An introduction. I T. Koschmann (red.), CSCL: Theory and Practice of an Emerging Paradigm. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Olsson, U. (2007) Flexibel utbildning. För vem? [Flexible education. For whom?] PhD dissertation. Karlstad University, Karlstad.


Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of vertigo in the otolaryngology clinic. The liberatory maneuvers are the treatment of choice in this entity. In a low percentage of patients, about 5-10%, we found no response to the maneuvers. The occlusion of the posterior semicircular canal is offered for intractable cases. We report a case of woman with an intractable BPPV in which an occlusion of the posterior semicircular was done. We describe the indications, how to perform the surgery and the functional results of this technique.


In the course of the presently reported study, covering the Homa Lagoon, Izmir Bay, Turkey, we col - lected a total of 2690 fish specimens belonging to 15 families and representing 29 species: Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758); Atherina hepsetus Linnaeus, 1758; Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810; Belone belone (Linnaeus, 1761); Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus, 1758; Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792); Aphanius fasciatus (Valenciennes, 1821); Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758); Gobius niger Linnaeus, 1758; Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso, 1810); Pomatoschistus minutus (Pallas, 1770); Zosterisessor ophiocephalus (Pallas, 1814); Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758); Chelon labrasus (Risso, 1827); Liza aurata (Risso, 1810); Liza ramada (Risso, 1827); Liza saliens (Risso, 1810); Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758; Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758; Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758; Syngnathus acus Linnaeus, 1758; Syngnathus typhle Linnaeus, 1758; Diplodus annularis (Linnaeus, 1758); Diplodus vulgaris (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817); Lithognathus mormyrus (Linnaeus, 1758); Sarpa salpa (Linnaeus, 1758); Sparus aurata Linnaeus, 1758; Platichthys flesus (Linnaeus, 1758); Solea solea (Linnaeus, 1758). The fish were weighed, and measured and their length-weight relations were determined. Samples were collected during 2009-2010 using four different types of fishing gear (beach seine, fyke nets, barrier trap, and trammel nets; mesh size: 25, 28, and 30 mm) that allowed both adult and juve - nile specimens to be captured. Significant length-weight relations were found for all species. The exponent b var - ied between 2.753 for Pomatoschistus marmoratus and 3.650 for Aphanius fasciatus (mean value = 3.115). The length-weight parameters of the same species may be different in the population because of feeding, repro - duction activities and fishing etc. Therefore, we need to know length-weight relations of fish, which are captured in a given place in a certain period of time. Length-weight relations for 5 out of the 29 fish species are present - ed for the first time from Homa Lagoon in the Turkish Aegean Sea .


In the topological classification of phase portraits no distinctions are made between a focus and a node and neither are they made between a strong and a weak focus or between foci of different orders. These distinction are however important in the production of limit cycles close to the foci in perturbations of the systems. The distinction between the one direction node and the two directions node, which plays a role in understanding the behavior of solution curves around the singularities at infinity, is also missing in the topological classification. In this work we introduce the notion of equivalence relation of singularities which incorporates these important purely algebraic features. The equivalence relation is finer than the one and also finer than the equivalence relation introduced in J_L. We also list all possibilities we have for singularities finite and infinite taking into consideration these finer distinctions and introduce notations for each one of them. Our long term goal is to use this finer equivalence relation to classify the quadratic family according to their different configurations of singularities, finite and infinite. In this work we accomplish a first step of this larger project. We give a complete global classification, using the equivalence relation, of the whole quadratic class according to the configuration of singularities at infinity of the systems. Our classification theorem is stated in terms of invariant polynomials and hence it can be applied to any family of quadratic systems with respect to any particular normal form. The theorem we give also contains the bifurcation diagram, done in the 12-parameter space, of the configurations of singularities at infinity, and this bifurcation set is algebraic in the parameter space. To determine the bifurcation diagram of configurations of singularities at infinity for any family of quadratic systems, given in any normal form, becomes thus a simple task using computer algebra calculations.


How do human groups maintain a high level of cooperation despite a low level of genetic relatedness among group members? We suggest that many humans have a predisposition to punish those who violate group-beneficial norms, even when this imposes a fitness cost on the punisher. Such altruistic punishment is widely observed to sustain high levels of cooperation in behavioral experiments and in natural settings. We offer a model of cooperation and punishment that we call STRONG RECIPROCITY: where members of a group benefit from mutual adherence to a social norm, strong reciprocators obey the norm and punish its violators, even though as a result they receive lower payoffs than other group members, such as selfish agents who violate the norm and do not punish, and pure cooperators who adhere to the norm but free-ride by never punishing. Our agent-based simulations show that, under assumptions approximating likely human environments over the 100000 years prior to the domestication of animals and plants, the proliferation of strong reciprocators when initially rare is highly likely, and that substantial frequencies of all three behavioral types can be sustained in a population. As a result, high levels of cooperation are sustained. Our results do not require that group members be related or that group extinctions occur.


Since the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force in 1994, production within the three NAFTA countries has become more specialized as foreign direct investment and trade have been allowed to thrive and firms have taken advantage of economies of scale and lower wages in Mexico. Extensive regional supply chains for producing motor vehicles, chemicals, wearing apparel, among other commodities have emerged. Using a global trade model tailored to include supply chains, we examine the impact of the United States (US) extricating itself from the NAFTA. US tariffs on imports of goods from Canada and Mexico, currently covered under the NAFTA, are assumed to rise to US most favored nation (MFN) rates, compelling Canada and Mexico to reciprocate under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Overall, the results show that the US's reversal of NAFTA leads to a decline in real GDP, trade and investment in the US, Canada and Mexico, with most of the losses resulting from Canada and Mexico's reciprocation. The losses in low skilled employment are most significant, with employment declining by 256,000, 125,000, and 951,000 in the US, Canada and Mexico respectively. Production and specialization of production across the NAFTA region declines, particularly in those sectors with the highest levels of vertical specialization across NAFTA. The motor vehicles and services sectors in all three NAFTA countries decline, along with production of US meat, food, and textiles; Canadian chemicals and metals; and Mexican textiles, wearing apparel, electronics and machinery.


Color constancy is the capability to determine colors of objects independent of the color of the light source. This paper deals with the different color constancy algorithms to evaluate the performance of existing color constancy algorithms. The combined effect of two color constancy algorithms i.e. White Patch Retinex (WPR) and Gray World (GW) and gamma correction used for dynamic range correction for image enhancement. The main limitation of the color constancy integrated with gamma correction proves to be efficient for dark regions but produce poor results for brighter regions. To reduce this problem in this paper we have proposed a new algorithm which will integrate the color constancy with histogram stretching and average filter to provide accurate results in dark, medium and brighter regions. The proposed algorithm is designed and implemented in MATLAB using image processing toolbox. The proposed algorithm provides significant as it has shown significantly better results in poor, high and medium intensity images as well as it reduce noise which may be introduced during color correction time.


Although criminal jurisdiction is usually exercised by governments, offences can also be proscribed by international law, and punishment can be imposed by international tribunals. This article critically examines the legitimacy of such exercises of international criminal jurisdiction. It reasons that criminal law can plausibly be justified as a cooperative institution that achieves the public good of a rule of law, with its attendant benefits of social peace and equal dignity of persons. It then argues that such a beneficial rule of law requires a punishing authority with the executive capacity to protect those it claims to regulate. It would follow that criminal prohibitions may not be justifiable if they cannot be enforced systematically. Because the international legal system generally lacks the executive capacity required for a rule of law, the article suggests that international criminal punishment is justifiable as supportive of a rule of law only in rare circumstances. Finally, the article considers whether an alternative expressive rationale can, nevertheless, justify occasional prosecutions as useful in legitimizing international humanitarian norms. It questions whether the expressive benefits of such prosecutions can outweigh the expressive risks of promising protection the international legal system cannot deliver.


The Sumatran orang-utan Pongo abelii is categorized as Critically Endangered on the 2002 IUCN Red List. Although several reports have suggested that the species occurs in the region to the south of Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, their distribution is poorly known. In order to determine whether orang-utans still occur in this region we surveyed areas in which orang-utans have been reported as well as a number of other forested areas. Orang-utan signs were found in only two areas. This indicates that habitat loss and hunting have recently caused local extinctions. We combine these results with other available information to provide a summary of the current distribution of P. abelii in Sumatra and, based on our surveys, previous population estimates, and estimates of losses, we speculate that only c. 3,500 orang-utans still occur in the wild in Sumatra at the end of 2002.


Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy is greatly improved by the simultaneous measurement of the photoacoustic signal amplitude and phase. Saturation effects, sample dilation, and optical scattering, even in heterogeneous samples, can be easily corrected to give the absorption coefficient real value. Quantitative analyses without any special sample preparation or special photoacoustic cell are now possible. Moreover, the phase of the photoacoustic signal permits depth localization of the absorbing species within the thermal diffusion length. Surface analyses are thus possible that have a depth resolution at least one order of magnitude higher than that obtained by changing the thermal diffusion length. In this paper we illustrate the advantages of phase analysis in Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy with the detection of sorbed water in polyethylene.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of physical health and mental health on quality of life reports in people with serious mental illness. Examining the role of physical health is especially important in this population due to increased rates of medical comorbidity. This study differs from previous research as it directly compares the influence of mental health factors to physical health factors in a quality of life model. A total of 49 participants completed a quality of life inventory, a health survey, and provided subjective ratings of current clinical symptoms. Results indicate that people with SMI are at least as concerned with their physical health as they are their mental health. Findings further suggest that physical health is a stronger predictor of overall quality of life, even after controlling for depressive and psychiatric symptoms, and limitations due to mental health. Areas of future research are discussed.


Using microarray gene expression analysis, we first observed a profound elevation of human β-defensin-2 (hBD-2) message in IL-17-treated primary human airway epithelial cells. Further comparison of this stimulation with a panel of cytokines (IL-1α, 1β, 2–13, and 15–18; IFN-γ; GM-CSF; and TNF-α) demonstrated that IL-17 was the most potent cytokine to induce hBD-2 message (>75-fold). IL-17-induced stimulation of hBD-2 was time and dose dependent, and this stimulation also occurred at the protein level. Further studies demonstrated that hBD-2 stimulation was attenuated by IL-17R-specific Ab, but not by IL-1R antagonist or the neutralizing anti-IL-6 Ab. This suggests an IL-17R-mediated signaling pathway rather than an IL-17-induced IL-1αβ and/or IL-6 autocrine/paracrine loop. hBD-2 stimulation was sensitive to the inhibition of the JAK pathway, and to the inhibitors that affect NF-κB translocation and the DNA-binding activity of its p65 NF-κB subunit. Transient transfection of airway epithelial cells with an hBD-2 promoter-luciferase reporter gene expression construct demonstrated that IL-17 stimulated promoter-reporter gene activity, suggesting a transcriptional mechanism for hBD-2 induction. These results support an IL-17R-mediated signaling pathway involving JAK and NF-κB in the transcriptional stimulation of hBD-2 gene expression in airway epithelium. Because IL-17 has been identified in a number of airway diseases, especially diseases related to microbial infection, these findings provide a new insight into how IL-17 may play an important link between innate and adaptive immunity, thereby combating infection locally within the airway epithelium.


The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was hallmark legislation aimed at combating violence against women. While violence against women is a national issue that affects women of all race/ethnicities, it affects Native American women the most, as Native women experience the highest rates of violence. Violence against Native women is rooted in colonization because it decreases the power of tribal government, diminishes tribal sovereignty, and devalues Native Americans, which in turn leaves Native women more vulnerable to victimization. As such, amendments to VAWA must take particular action on violence against Native women, including actions that support decolonization. The 2013 VAWA reauthorization acknowledged colonization and was the federal government's first step in the decolonization process. It restored tribal jurisdiction over some VAWA crimes, but there are still gaps regarding protecting Native women. This policy analysis examines the proposed VAWA reauthorization, HR 1620, and provides three specific recommendations in order to better protect Native women: (1) allow tribes to write their own rape laws, (2) expand tribal jurisdiction to all VAWA crimes and stranger and acquaintance violence, and (3) enhance tribes' abilities to secure VAWA funds and resources. These recommendations are discussed in terms of existing literature and implications for Native people and Native communities.


Many professionals, from academics to executives, have not acquired the capacity to write correctly, cohesively, concisely, or convincingly. This paper attempts to redress this shortfall, at least partly. First, this paper delineates the four key objectives that writers should pursue while they construct their arguments. Specifically, past studies, extracted from an array of fields, shows that readers are more likely to trust and appreciate arguments that are written unambiguously, simply, and concisely as well as aligned to the conventions that epitomize credibility. Second, this paper demonstrates that authors of scholarly articles do not always achieve these objectives. Indeed, these authors often violate the principles that have been formulated to fulfill these objectives, such as including a noun phrase after the word this . Finally, this paper stipulates the principles that writers, including scholars and managers, should follow, prioritized in order of importance.


Excess sodium (Na) intake is directly related to hypertension and an increased risk of developing many chronic diseases, but there is currently no method to directly quantify Na retained in the body. Because of this, the locations of Na storage and its exchange mechanisms are not well known. This information is critical for understanding the impact of increased Na intake in modern diets. In order to non-invasively quantify Na in bone and soft tissue, a compact deuterium-deuterium (DD) neutron generator-based in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) system was developed. MCNP was used to design a custom irradiation assembly to maximize Na activation in hand bone while minimizing dose. In order to test the system, live pigs were used. Two 100% efficient high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors collected Na-24 counts over 24 hours post irradiation. From the pig studies, a two-compartment model of exchange was developed to quantify Na in bone and in soft tissue. The right legs of four live pigs, two on a low Na diet and two on a high Na diet, both for 14 days, were irradiated inside the customized irradiation cave for 10 minutes (45 mSv dose to the leg) and then measured with the HPGe detectors. The spectra were analyzed to obtain the net Na counts at different time points. Analysis shows exponential decrease of Na in the leg during the first one hour of measurement, while the change was minimal at the second hour, and the counts were stabilized at the second and third 2 hour measurements, taken 7 and 21 hours post irradiation. Bone Na and soft tissue Na concentrations were calculated using calibration lines created with bone and soft tissue equivalent Na phantoms as well as the parameters obtained from the two-compartment model. The results show that the difference in bone and soft tissue Na between the pigs on high vs low Na diets was significant. With these results, we conclude that DD neutron generator-based IVNAA can be used to accurately quantify Na in bone and soft tissue in vivo and the system is a potential valuable tool for nutrition studies.


The paper reports an investigation of gender-related effects in the Western Australian Calculus Tertiary Entrance Examinations for the period 1995–2000, three years before and three years after graphics calculators were introduced. Consideration is given to students' total examination scores, scores on questions grouped by curriculum component and students' actual use of graphics calculators on two questions from the year 2000 examination. Results show that over the six-year period the performance of girls—on the examination as a whole and in most curriculum components—was superior to that of boys at the lower end of the achievement scale, while boys recorded the best performance at the top end of the scale. The results are partially explained by the participation rate in calculus for girls being lower than that for boys. Where superior performance is recorded for girls it is frequently attributable to competence with analytic methods. Superior performance favouring boys typically occurred on questions where diagram played a role in the solution.


Does a healthy respect for the deliverances of experience require us to give up any claim to non-trivial a priori knowledge? One way it might not would be if the very admission of something as an episode of experience required the use of substantive a priori knowledge — if there were certain a priori standards that a representation had to meet in order to count as an experience, rather than as a memory or daydream. What is surprising is that we can find elements of this essentially Kantian line about experience even in the work of empiricists such as Locke and Bas van Fraassen.


There are numerous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) indicators measured by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The present paper seeks to improve the measurement of the ICT indicator, 'proportion of individuals using the Internet'. It is also a base indicator that is used in many composite indices. Errors in such base indicators ripple through the system, and should be minimized. There are significant shortcomings in the current method of estimating the proportion of Internet users in countries where demand-side data is unavailable. In the absence of demand-side surveys, governments calculate the proportion of Internet users based on the number of subscriptions, using a multiplier, which leads to unrealistic values. The reported number of subscriptions is also often inaccurate. This paper explores the possibility of using readily available income and education data components of the Human Development Index (HDI) to define a new index, and using it to obtain a more accurate estimate of the Internet penetration rate. A regression analysis, between the Internet penetration rate and this new index, for countries where demand-side surveys have been conducted yields a direct correlation between the two. Using this data, a model was derived which enables the estimation of Internet penetration rate given the income and education level. It is proposed that this evidence based estimation of Internet penetration rate be used in the absence of demand side surveys instead of arbitrary multipliers provided by country administrations. If national circumstances justify higher numbers, that should be supported by a demand-side survey.