BACKGROUND
In 1989, Gail and colleagues developed a model for estimating the risk of breast cancer in women participating in a program of annual mammographic screening (designated herein as model 1). A modification of this model to project the absolute risk of developing only invasive breast cancer is referred to herein as model 2. We assessed the validity of both models by employing data from women enrolled in the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial.

METHODS
We used data from 5969 white women who were at least 35 years of age and without a history of breast cancer. These women were in the placebo arm of the trial and were screened annually. The average follow-up period was 48.4 months. We compared the observed number of breast cancers with the predicted numbers from the models.

RESULTS
In terms of absolute risk, the ratios of total expected to observed numbers of cancers (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) were 0.84 (0. 73-0.97) for model 1 and 1.03 (0.88-1.21) for model 2, respectively. Within the age groups of 49 years or less, 50-59 years, and 60 years or more, the ratios of expected to observed numbers of breast cancers (95% CIs) for model 1 were 0.91 (0.73-1.14), 0.96 (0.73-1. 28), and 0.66 (0.52-0.86), respectively. Thus, model 1 underestimated breast cancer risk in women more than 59 years of age. For model 2, the risk ratios (95% CIs) were 0.93 (0.72-1.22), 1.13 (0.83-1.55), and 1.05 (0.80-1.41), respectively. Both models exhibited a tendency to overestimate risk for women classified in the higher quintiles of predicted 5-year risk and to underestimate risk for those in the lower quintiles of the same.

CONCLUSION
Despite some limitations, these methods provide useful information on breast cancer risk for women who plan to participate in an annual mammographic screening program.


We evaluate the fluxes measured by the magnetic flux loops installed in LHD by using a three dimensional MHD equilibrium analysis code, ANIMEC, which enable us to directly determine the calibration function between the anisotropic pressure and the measured fluxes for the non-axisymmetric plasmas for the first time. The result indicates that the diamagnetic flux represents a nearly single-valued function of the beta perpendicular with respect to the field, and the saddle loop flux represents a nearly single-valued function of an equally weighted average of the beta values parallel and perpendicular to the field, regardless of the pressure anisotropy or the amount of energetic trapped particles. The values of the beta perpendicular to the field and the equal weighting averaged beta estimated by the single-valued functions (calibration functions) are investigated in order to clarify the magnitude of deviation from those original values, and the range of anisotropy where the beta value evaluated by the magnet...


Basidiocarps of Echinodontium tinctorium were collected from three widely separated localities in Idaho and Arizona. Freezing basidiospore prints at 20 C for ten weeks stimulated germination. The role of low temperatures in breaking spore dormancy is discussed relative to environmental adaptation. Single-spore isolates of a single basidiocarp from each location were paired separately in all possible combinations. Four mating types were identified from each basidiocarp in I&ho. Four types of macroscopic interactions were observed in pairings between sympatric isolates. Basidiospores and cells of hyphae derived from basidiospores were monokaryotic (uninucleate), lacked clamp connections, and appeared haploid. Heterokaryotic hyphae derived from compatible matings were dikaryotic, exhibited clamp connections, and resembled generative contextual hyphae of basidiocarps. Complete intercompatibility between allopatric isolates demonstrated that the incompatibility factors were multiallelic. The fungus apparently does not fruit in culture, although mating results and cytological data indicate that it is heterothallic with a bifactorial (tetrapolar) mating system in which sexual incompatibility is controlled by multiple alleles at two loci on separate chromosomes.


Lipophilic bisphosphonates combined with rapamycin inhibit the growth of KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinomas in mouse models. Bone Drugs' Cousins Treating Cancer Bisphosphonates are a class of drugs that are commonly used to treat osteoporosis and other disorders associated with bone resorption. A new group of related compounds called lipophilic bisphosphonates does not bind to bone, but has activity against some of the enzymes involved in the metabolism and activation of KRAS, a well-known oncogene. Here, Xia et al. show that lipophilic bisphosphonates are toxic to KRAS-mutant lung cancer cells in vitro. The lipophilic bisphosphonates alone were less effective in vivo, but rapamycin boosted their effectiveness in mouse models by facilitating autophagy and inhibiting a pathway that promotes tumor cell survival. Lung cancer is the most common human malignancy and leads to about one-third of all cancer-related deaths. Lung adenocarcinomas harboring KRAS mutations, in contrast to those with EGFR and EML4-ALK mutations, have not been successfully targeted. We describe a combination therapy for treating these malignancies with two agents: a lipophilic bisphosphonate and rapamycin. This drug combination is much more effective than either agent acting alone in the KRAS G12D–induced mouse lung model. Lipophilic bisphosphonates inhibit both farnesyl and geranylgeranyldiphosphate synthases, effectively blocking prenylation of KRAS and other small G proteins (heterotrimeric GTP-binding protein, heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding proteins) critical for tumor growth and cell survival. Bisphosphonate treatment of cells initiated autophagy but was ultimately unsuccessful and led to p62 accumulation and concomitant nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation, resulting in dampened efficacy in vivo. However, we found that rapamycin, in addition to inhibiting the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, facilitated autophagy and prevented p62 accumulation–induced NF-κB activation and tumor cell proliferation. Overall, these results suggest that using lipophilic bisphosphonates in combination with rapamycin may provide an effective strategy for targeting lung adenocarcinomas harboring KRAS mutations.


The purpose of this paper is to present analysis of the CPA Australia database of small business responses to a series of surveys conducted from July 2001 to August 2002. The survey responses have been collated and reported based on the general findings by CPA Australia. Unfortunately, no in depth analysis was undertaken using the demographic data collected, nor a comparison across the question responses. Although the general survey findings have been useful to both government and business groups, there was an opportunity to explore the diversity across demographically distinct groups. This is important given that policy and government support are normally targeted to different groups, at different times and for different purposes.

The first survey conducted in July 2001 concentrated on the introduction and implementation of a new tax system that was instituted by the government of the day on 1st July 2000. The survey captured unique perspectives on small business behaviour, perceptions and reactions to a change in legislation that impacted so directly on their daily operations. The second survey conducted in March 2002 obtained small business and public accountant's responses on a range of employment issues. Legislation can impede small business hiring new staff and it is important to recognize how. The understanding of small business owners of human resources practices, including hiring, motivating and performance management; as well as government related matters such as payroll tax, workcover, superannuation, and unfair dismissal laws are captured in the survey responses. Business Risk was the focus of the final surveyed conducted in August 2002. Unfortunately, small business owners are unaware of some of the business risks and therefore do not manage them properly. The increase in competition, the global nature of business, the insurance industry instability, the constant change in technology, natural disasters and the accepted movement of staff are all risks that impact on small business and their ability to grow.

Each survey was conducted via the phone with 600 small businesses and 105 public practice accountants across Australia. The analyses of the data across demographic groupings create a picture of the business landscape for the benefit of policy makers and small business themselves.


Good information and records management is assumed to promote organizational efficiency. Despite established management regimes and available technology, many organizations still consider information and records management challenging. The reason may be cultural factors. This study based on a literature review, aims to explore the academic discourse on information culture and to discuss its relevance for records management. The findings show that the concept information culture is used in various ways: as an explanatory framework; as an analytical and evaluative tool; or as normative standard. The research on information culture addresses several areas: business performance, systems implementation , the manifestation of information culture in different organizations, and a few concerns records management practices. The research settings and the objects of study varied, why general conclusions are difficult to draw, but often a positive correlation between culture and performance is assumed. The focus has been on how information is used, shared and disseminated, while the production and management , that is the vital object of records management, has with few exceptions been neglected. If information culture should fully function as an analytical framework concerning records management, a widened and more inclusive conceptualization is required, which also will enrich information culture as a theoretical concept.


The interconnection network Torus-Butterfly is a new Cartesian product network that has constant degree, low diameter, low network cost. Its also can be embedded in linear array with minimum dilation and expansion. That describes the good performance of this interconnection networks. Another metrics that also commonly used to describe the performance of interconnection networks is bisection width. This paper discuss about the bisection width of Torus - Butterfly interconnection


This article investigates the usefulness of Reintegrative Shaming Theory (RST) in explaining the bullying of siblings in families and peers in schools. Questionnaires were completed by 182 children aged 11-12 years in ten primary schools in Nicosia, Cyprus, about sibling and peer bullying. A vignette-based methodology was used to investigate children's expectations of the type of shaming their parents would offer in response to their possible wrong doing. Children were also asked questions about the emotions they would have felt (i.e. shame, remorse, guilt or anger) if they were in the position of the child in the vignette. The level of bonding toward each parent was also examined. In agreement with the theory, a path analysis showed that mother bonding influenced children's expectations of the type of shaming offered by parents. Disintegrative shaming (i.e. shaming offered in a stigmatizing or rejecting way) had a direct effect on the way children managed their shame. Shame management directly influenced sibling and peer bullying. Father bonding had no direct or indirect effects in the model. Against the theory, reintegrative shaming (i.e. shaming offered in the context of approving the wrongdoer while rejecting the wrongdoing) did not have a direct effect on shame management. Beyond the postulates of RST, mother bonding-a plausible indicator of family functioning-had a direct effect on sibling and peer bullying. Mother bonding had a stronger effect for boys than for girls. It is concluded that RST is useful in explaining the link between family factors and bullying, and that RST has cross-cultural applicability.


We propose a novel approach to establish cryptographic keys among mobile users and a networking infrastructure. Our approach comes at a low cost and can either be used as an alternative to existing solutions or can be employed in a complementary way. Our basic observation is that users are often very mobile. As they interact with the infrastructure, each of them leaves a unique trace behind, known both to the users and the infrastructure. We can leverage this shared information to create shared secret keys, with little or no change of existing mobile communication systems. We show that we can achieve (almost passively) a rate of roughly 0∶1 bits per second.


The article examines a legislation, related to the state-private partnership and municipal-private partnerships, specifics of its application in the state system. There is also analysis done of a possible impact of the new legislation on investment activity in circumstances of current economic crisis. There are demonstrated legislation opportunities and limitations for realizing state-private partnership projects with participation of state (municipal) institutions in health care.


Daily evaporation was measured for sands that dry without contact with a water table. Selected sands from an ephemeral streambed were packed in cylinders, wetted, and weighed to determine evaporation loss under field climatic conditions. In summer and early fall tests, first-day evaporation from the sands was less than half the loss from an adjacent Class A Weather Bureau pan. During the first week, evaporation rates for the sands were lower than those reported for irrigated soil. The maximum depth of drying during the three-week tests was less than one foot.


In this study, factors affecting farm level marketable supply of cotton were analyzed using Robust OLS regression analysis. The results obtained from this analysis indicated that number of oxen owned by household, land allocated for cotton in hectare, the productivity of cotton per hectare, and access to credit for cotton significant factors affecting farm level cotton marketable supply. In order to evaluate the efficiency of cotton market chain that can have great influence on farm level marketable supply of cotton, structure-conductperformance approach was adopted. Market concentration ratio (CR4) at District level was found to be 49.76 percent and there were observed barriers to enter into cotton market. These structural characteristics indicate oligopolistic structure of cotton market at District level. The study suggested that cotton market at ginneries and textile factories level is highly oligopolized by two ginneries and three textile factories. Buying, selling, and pricing strategies, which are indicators of market conduct showed deviation of cotton market from competitive market norms. Performance of cotton market chain was analyzed using Marketing Margins supplemented with analysis of costs incurred and gross profits generated for different market chain actors. The analysis showed poor performance of the chain in that farmers were the most disadvantaged chain actors, and assemblers and ginneries were better-remunerated ones. The major constraints and opportunities in cotton marketing in the chain were also identified. Based on the study, policy interventions required to increase farm level marketable supply of cotton are suggested and forwarded.


Abstract This article demonstrates how performance may further understanding of – and offer new perspectives on – indeterminate music, and in particular the ways in which performers realize the indeterminate aspects of the scores. Cage's Solo for Piano (1957–8), one of the most celebrated indeterminate scores, is used as the model for such an approach. The close involvement that performers have with the score and the music over what is often a prolonged period of time leads to a particular kind of understanding, different from that of non-performers, which, when articulated, can offer valuable insights. After a brief outline of the score, the article begins by discussing the performances of other pianists, notably David Tudor. It then examines in detail the author's own approach to making a realization, discussing the implications of such an approach from both practical and aesthetic perspectives.


The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 ushered in a financial crisis whose ramifications are still being felt. Within the EU, collapse not only led to a change in regulatory rhetoric, emphasising the need to secure the stability of EU money markets, but also to a significant widening and deepening of technocratic supervisory structures for European financial services. This paper accordingly investigates the newly established European System for Financial Supervision and, in particular, semi-autonomous EU agencies for banking, insurance and securities, for its ability to provide robust regulation and supervision within Europe. However, it analyses this increase in technocratic governance at supranational level in light of the worrying question of whether it has undermined capacity for political action within Europe. At a time when readily-apparent failings in established technocratic governance in Europe (monetary union) have led only to more technocratisation (proposed fiscal union), perhaps to the point of systemic collapse, the general European trend to expert-led and evidence-based supervision must be doubted; not simply because it has failed on its own terms, but also because it has established a technology of expertise, or dominant rationality, which further encourages abdication of political responsibility for economic crisis.


This chapter presents the recent research on the various strategies for power plant flexible operations to meet the requirement of load balance. The aim of this study is to investigate whether it is feasible to integrate the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) with the thermal power plant steam-water cycle. Optional thermal charge and discharge locations in the cycle have been proposed and compared. Dynamic modelling and simulations have been carried out to demonstrate the capability of TES integration in supporting the flexible operation of the power plant. The simulation software named SimuEngine is adopted and a 600 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant model is implemented onto the software platform. Three TES charging strategies and two TES discharging strategies are proposed and verified via the simulation platform. The simulation results show that it is feasible to extract steam from steam turbines to charge the TES and to discharge the stored thermal energy back to the power generation processes. The improved capability of the plant flexible operation is further studied in supporting the responses to the grid load demand changes. The results demonstrated that the TES integration has led to much faster and more flexible responses to the load demand changes.


Abstract A system containing a combination of getters (Zr-Mn-Fe, SAES St909; and Zr2Fe, SAES St198) was used to process the nitrogen-hydrogen-helium atmosphere in a glovebox used for handling metal tritide samples. During routine operations, the glovebox atmosphere is recirculated and hydrogenous impurities (i.e. CQ4, Q2O, and NQ3, where Q [is equivalent to] H, D, T) are decomposed (cracked) and removed by Zr-Mn-Fe without absorbing elemental hydrogen isotopes. If the tritium content of the glovebox atmosphere becomes unacceptably high, the getter system can rapidly strip the glovebox atmosphere of all hydrogen isotopes by absorption on the Zr2Fe, thus lessening the burden on the facility waste gas treatment system. The getter system was designed for high flowrate (> 100 l/min), which is achieved by using a honeycomb support for the getter pellets and 1.27-cm diameter tubing throughout the system for reduced pressure drop. The novel getter bed design also includes an integral preheater and copper liner to accommodate swelling of the getter pellets, which occurs during loading with oxygen and carbon impurities. Non-tritium functional tests were conducted to determine the gettering efficiencies at different getter bed temperatures and flowrates by recirculating gas through the system from a 6-m3 glovebox containing known concentrations of impurities.


We identified the multifunctional chaperon protein p32 as a protein kinase C (PKC)-binding protein interacting with PKCalpha, PKCzeta, PKCdelta, and PKC mu. We have analyzed the interaction of PKC mu with p32 in detail, and we show here in vivo association of PKC mu, as revealed from yeast two-hybrid analysis, precipitation assays using glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins, and reciprocal coimmunoprecipitation. In SKW 6.4 cells, PKC mu is constitutively associated with p32 at mitochondrial membranes, evident from colocalization with cytochrome c. p32 interacts with PKC mu in a compartment-specific manner, as it can be coimmunoprecipitated mainly from the particulate and not from the soluble fraction, despite the presence of p32 in both fractions. Although p32 binds to the kinase domain of PKC mu, it does not serve as a substrate. Interestingly, PKC mu-p32 immunocomplexes precipitated from the particulate fraction of two distinct cell lines, SKW 6.4 and 293T, show no detectable substrate phosphorylation. In support of a kinase regulatory function of p32, addition of p32 to in vitro kinase assays blocked, in a dose-dependent manner, aldolase but not autophosphorylation of PKC mu, suggesting a steric hindrance of substrate within the kinase domain. Together, these findings identify p32 as a novel, compartment-specific regulator of PKC mu kinase activity.


In Anthropology and Social Theory the award-winning anthropologist Sherry B. Ortner draws on her longstanding interest in theories of cultural practice to rethink key concepts of culture, agency, and subjectivity for the social sciences of the twenty-first century. The seven theoretical and interpretive essays in this volume each advocate reconfiguring, rather than abandoning, the concept of culture. Similarly, they all suggest that a theory which depends on the interested action of social beings—specifically practice theory, associated especially with the work of Pierre Bourdieu—requires a more developed notion of human agency and a richer conception of human subjectivity. Ortner shows how social theory must both build upon and move beyond classic practice theory in order to understand the contemporary world.

Some of the essays reflect explicitly on theoretical concerns: the relationship between agency and power, the problematic quality of ethnographic studies of resistance, and the possibility of producing an anthropology of subjectivity. Others are ethnographic studies that apply Ortner's theoretical framework. In these, she investigates aspects of social class, looking at the relationship between race and middle-class identity in the United States, the often invisible nature of class as a cultural identity and as an analytical category in social inquiry, and the role that public culture and media play in the creation of the class anxieties of Generation X. Written with Ortner's characteristic lucidity, these essays constitute a major statement about the future of social theory from one of the leading anthropologists of our time.


Previously unrecorded structures inside a mantled gneiss dome are described and interpreted as having important geological implications. The gneisses which make up this basement structure were domed on at least three scales near the thermal acme of the post-Umkondo 500 m.y. orogeny in the Zambezi orogenic belt. Groups of domes on one scale occur inside those of successively larger scales, forming a hierarchy of structures which are interpreted as being due mainly to gravitational, rather than lateral forces. The rocks involved have an essentially uniform density at the present and it is argued that a concentration of the regional orogenic thermal gradient would have induced unstable density gradients capable of driving thermal convection below the range of temperatures at which the rocks would have melted. For the domes (or convection cells) to have been preserved in the manner in which they are found the convection can only have been due to marginal mechanical instability and must have been stabilized after the first half-cycle of motion. Heat is conducted faster parallel to a gneissose foliation than normal to it and, in restricted ranges of thermal gradients, the mechanism of heat transfer, conduction or convection-with-conduction, may depend solely on the attitude of the foliation in relation to the thermal gradient. The hierarchy of structures is interpreted as a chain reaction of alternations of conduction and convection caused by the rotation of this thermal anisotropy as the structures formed. The genetic model suggested is tested and found to be geologically acceptable in termsthe thicknesses of the convecting layers, their effective viscosities, and the time necessary for each structural pattern to develop. It is argued that had the regional orogenic thermal gradient persisted or been exceeded the incipient convection preserved in Fungwi would have become cyclic. This would have resulted in the homogenization of the granite- syenitic gneiss to what would subsequently look like a normal magmatic rock in a very short time geologically. Other basement domes in the region are interpreted as recording a predictable sequence of normal gneiss domesto completely 'igneous' plutons. The production of homogeneous rocks from a gneissose basement by convective overturn may be anticipated as a reasonably common orogenic phenomenon inside local thickenings of mechanically uniform rock sequences. It is suggested that this simple mechanism is a link often assumed or alluded to by earlier writers who have described migma and magma domes in close proximity.


Target MOTAD and other direct utility-maximization models provide one way of computing SSD-efficient mixtures. These models are appropriate when the utility function is known and can also be used to identify part of the set of SSD-efficient mixtures even when the utility function is not known. However, they do not always identify all SSD-efficient mixtures. A grid method was proposed by Bawa, Lindenberg, and Rafsky. A third approach, which extends the work of Dybvig and Ross, is presented here. It is illustrated by applying it to data from Anderson, Dillon, and Hardaker.


This research has been carried out to study the sustainability of the Tunisian olive-growing farms and to compare the sustainability level of organic with conventional farms. A survey was conducted with 62 olive growers in the region of Sfax in Tunisia. First, a diagnosis of the situation of the farms was undertaken comparing between organic and conventional farms. Second, an empirical analysis was achieved to asses the sustainability of organic farms versus conventional farms following the French "IDEA" method developed by Vilain [1] 1. The "IDEA" indicators showed a greater ranking for the organic farms. The analysis indicated the sustainability of organic farming on the three scales adopted; ecological scale, through the soil fertility and reduction of pollution, socio-territorial scale through employment creation, reinforcement of the spirit of collective work and the products quality, and finally on the economic scale by enhancing profitability, responding to demand and prices allowing organic farming adopters to reach better incomes.


In overcoming the shortcomings of the classical control charts in a short runs production, Quesenberry (1991 & 1995a – d) proposed Q charts for attributes and variables data. An approach to enhance the performance of a variable Q chart based on individual measurements using a robust estimator of scale is proposed. Monte carlo simulations are conducted to show that the proposed robust Q chart is superior to the present Q chart. Q chart; in-control; out-of-control (o.o.c.)


Recent research has highlighted that in the last few years the evolution of regional
disparities in many European states has become pro-cyclical. This represents a
change with respect to the predominantly anti-cyclical pattern of the 1960s and
1970s. This paper addresses the question of whether and when this change has taken
place in the southern periphery of Europe, before analyzing the factors that may
have played a role in such a change. The analysis relies on a regional database that
includes the evolution of the GDP per capita of NUTS II regions in five European
countries (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) between 1980 and 2000. The
results of the analysis support the hypothesis of a change towards a pro-cyclical
evolution of regional disparities in the cases of Italy, Portugal, and Spain, but not in
those of Greece and France. A relationship between these pro-cyclical patters and
the emergence of less dynamic sheltered economies is also detected in peripheral
regions. This lack of dynamism is related to the fact that numerous peripheral areas
in southern Europe have become increasingly dependent on factors such as transfers
or public investment and employment, and therefore are less exposed to changes in
market conditions.


Abstract: In this article, we present a pragmatic approach to neuroethics, referring back to John Dewey and his articulation of the "common good" and its discovery through systematic methods. Pragmatic neuroethics bridges philosophy and social sciences and, at a very basic level, considers that ethics is not dissociable from lived experiences and everyday moral choices. We reflect on the integration between empirical methods and normative questions, using as our platform recent bioethical and neuropsychological research into moral cognition, action, and experience. Finally, we present the protocol of a study concerning teenagers' morality in everyday life, discussing our epistemological choices as an example of a pragmatic approach in empirical ethics. We hope that this article conveys that even though the scope of neuroethics is broad, it is important not to move too far from the real life encounters that give rise to moral questions in the first place.


The poor do not represent themselves in the Press; despite being the first victims of economic crises, they are instead presented by journalistic mediators. This thesis utilises the methodology outlined in Fredric Jameson's seminal text The Political Unconscious Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act (1981) to unearth that mediation. The thesis posits that, by examining journalistic responses to poverty and protest, during a time of recognised and short-term economic crisis, it is possible to unearth the political unconscious, and strategies of containment employed which are intended to conceal the relationship between labour and value, in order to defend the status quo. It is further posited that an investigation of three politically and commercially competitive newspapers will reveal a broad strategy of containment beyond the political binary of left and right. As such, the study considers the liberal Manchester Guardian, the conservative Manchester Courier and the radical Manchester Examiner and Times. The analysis focuses on the reporting of political agitation in Stevenson Square, Manchester, during the Lancashire Cotton Crisis and the American Civil War and around the subject of legislation employed to manage poverty. The Cotton Crisis between 1861 and 1865, saw destitution among unemployed cotton workers, who faced the Labour Test when seeking 'famine relief' in order to survive. This economic crisis is of recognised international political and historical significance and is well-researched, but there has not been a broad study of the journalistic response in its representation of poverty and protest in Manchester. The British response to the American Civil War, spanning the same time period, is the focus of much debate, with a focus on Manchester, as is the responses to relief payments to the unemployed, with reference to the city, but analysis of political protest in Manchester in reaction to poverty legislation is scant. Further, available research, while extensive in regard to the history of the Victorian press, is less developed into the ideology of mid nineteenth-century journalism as specifically contributing to an understanding and presentation of poverty. The response of the unemployed workers is researched with regard to the experience of poverty, particularly in terms of poetry and dialect, but the journalistically reported words of their political protests during the Cotton Crisis has not, until now, been thoroughly analysed. This thesis, in considering journalistic copy totalling 43,000 words from late 1862 to early 1863, argues that the political unconscious masked the horror of poverty and mediated the collective experience of working class existence to defend the status quo.


Industry represents one of the most interesting sectors when analysing Croatian final energy demand. Croatian industry represents 20% of nation's GDP and employs 25% of total labour force making it a significant subject for the economy. Today, with around 60 PJ of final energy demand it is the third most energy intensive sector in Croatia after transport and households. Implementing mechanisms that would lead to improvements in energy efficiency in this sector seems relevant. Through this paper, long-term energy demand projections for Croatian industry will be shown. The central point for development of the model will be parameters influencing the industry in Croatia. Energy demand predictions in this paper are based upon bottom-up approach model. IED model produces results which can be compared to Croatian National Energy Strategy. One of the conclusions shown in this paper is significant possibilities for energy efficiency improvements and lower energy demand in the future.


[1] A three-dimensional finite volume model with horizontally varying, but fixed in time mesh, is used to compute the baroclinic circulation of the Irish Sea during 1995. Tidal forcing was applied along the model's open boundary with meteorological forcing taken from observations. Initial calculations were performed with a mesh that had high resolution in the well mixed near coastal region; a necessary requirement in order to reproduce tides in the region, although offshore in the stratified area the mesh was slightly coarser than that used in earlier finite difference models. Subsequent calculations were performed using an enhanced resolution which is significantly finer than earlier finite difference models in the offshore region which is thermally stratified in summer due to solar heating and low tidal mixing. This produces a cold water bottom dome separated from the well mixed shallow water regions by strong tidal fronts. Calculations show that both model meshes can reproduce the observed major features of the baroclinic circulation of the western Irish Sea, with the coarse mesh model giving comparable results to earlier finite difference models. In the case of the finer mesh model there are sharper horizontal density gradients in the region of the fronts, which show the presence of baroclinic instability and associated small scale variability as observed in satellite images but not found in the coarser mesh model due to lack of resolution. Results from the fine mesh model show significantly more spatial variability comparable to that found in the measurements.


Knowledge creation and mobilization is the economic driver of industrial economies, yet developing countries moving from a developing, to a developed economy, are struggling through this transition period. A variety of theories and a range of speculations have been offered as to why some nations are more innovative than others however, little of this literature examines the theoretical applicability of innovation theory based on industrial societies to developing nations. This thesis examines the theoretical rationale for applying technology transfer models developed on experiences from industrial economies to the market realities of transitional economies. In the fifteen years since the 1994-95 collapse of Mexico"s financial sector and resulting economic crisis, the Mexican economy has made impressive progress towards macro-economic consolidation and stability. The OECD (2004) observes that inflation has fallen from a rate ranging around 50% before and during the economic collapse of 1995, to a rate of about 4% in 2006. Trade liberalization that has been experienced as a partner in the North American Free Trade Agreement has allowed Mexico to consolidate its export base and to specialize in mediumand high-technology manufacturing. However, the industrial sector in Mexico still shows a lack of interest in developing, adopting and investing in technology. The Mexican industrial sector is lead by multinational firms that have located in Mexico due to the cheap costs of labour, while most of the research and development performed by these firms takes place outside of Mexico. Innovation and technology transfer are fundamental components that drive the knowledge economy. As countries transition from developing countries to developed countries, technology transfer plays an important role in facilitating this transition. In Mexico, technology transfer is not efficient. This thesis explores the national system of innovation in Mexico by contrasting the technology transfer process against the theoretical rationale of technology transfer. This highlights the crucial barriers and challenges of the Mexican technology transfer process that will need to be addressed to facilitate Mexico's transition to the developed world.


People with visual impairments often require mobility assistance of sighted guides but they are not always available. Recent technological strides have opened up new directions for sighted guidance services, assigning guides from a network of remote workers to provide real-time assistance via audio/video communication. However, little has been known regarding desirable support characteristics of remote guides or challenges experienced in guide practices without the requisite expertise. To recommend support strategies that contribute to facilitating a successful platform for remote sighted guidance, this paper presents a comparative study of the performance of trained and untrained sighted guides who are recruited for a remote scenario in assisting people with visual impairments in indoor navigation. As an outcome of this research, we provide a deeper understanding of design opportunities for HCI to scaffold requirements of remote guides, such that their collaborative efforts and environmental knowledge influence the user experience. Based on our empirical insights, we suggest to develop the expertise of remote guides through: a) preliminary guidance cooperation awareness b) guidelines for verbal description methods, and c) approaches to compensate for the lack of environmental knowledge.


There is an intimate connection between the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and energy supply (and energy consumption) which is a good indication of the level of economic development of a country. The GDP per capita is often used to measure the living standard of a country and measures of the total energy use are useful for addressing energy intensity issues. In order to measure the energy use, one of the most common tools is the ratio of energy supply and consumption to GDP. There are two types of energy intensities such as the total primary energy supply (TPES)/GDP and the total final energy consumption (TFEC)/GDP. These are useful tools in making comparisons for both energy and GDP projections for countries. This paper deals with these parameters and their usage and their effects on the country's economy. In addition, an application for Canada in terms of energy intensities for supply and consumption was done and, hence, the present situation and future projections for energy resources and energy intensities for Canada were presented. In order to attain accurate projections for the Canadian energy sector, new correlations were developed between the GDP, TPES, TFEC, TPES/GDP, TFC/GDP and the population of Canada.


Objectives: This study examined the relationship between patients' object relations and interpersonal process in psychotherapy. Namely, we tested the hypothesis that the quality of patients' object relations is positively associated with both patient- and therapist-rated alliance quality.

Design: Psychotherapy was administered naturalistically, with quantitative data collection before and during treatment.

Methods: Participants included 73 adult outpatients and 23 therapists at two mental health clinics. Using the Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, we measured four dimensions of patients' object relations at baseline — alienation, insecure attachment, egocentricity, and social incompetence. Using the Working Alliance Inventory, we measured alliance from patient and therapist perspectives. Control variables included time, patient demographics, symptom severity, and clinic. We employed hierarchical linear modelling to analyse data with a nested structure, with 138 sessions at Level 1, 73 patients at Level 2, and 23 therapists at Level 3.

Results: Patient alienation and insecure attachment were associated with lower patient-rated alliance, while egocentricity was associated with higher patient-rated alliance. Patients' object relations were not significantly associated with therapist-rated alliance. On average, patients perceived the alliance more positively than their therapists, with a weak positive correlation between the alliance perspectives.

Conclusions: The results suggest that object relation dimensions may be important patient characteristics for forecasting therapeutic relationship quality. They also call for more attention to differences between alliance rating perspectives.

Practitioner points:

• Treatment may benefit from more attention to the quality of patients' object relations.

• If patients present with high levels of alienation and insecure attachment, therapists may need to pay especially close attention to the therapeutic alliance, and prudently address any ruptures in its quality.

• When monitoring the alliance quality, it is important to consider that patients and therapists may have different perspectives. Therapists relying solely on their own perceptions are at risk of missing alliance difficulties, and patients' object relations may be uniquely predictive of their own sense of the alliance. Therefore, it may be helpful to ask patients in session and through standardized measures for feedback on how they perceive the goals and tasks of treatment and the emotional bond with their therapist. Again, any alliance tensions could then be addressed directly as a means to maintaining engagement in the service of better outcome.


Objects in our everyday environment rarely appear in isolation. But rather, they often appear together and interact in a predictable manner. The representation of such contextual grouping is useful in both object recognition and in our subsequent interaction with the objects. Indeed, behavioral studies have demonstrated that objects pairs are processed more efficiently when they appear together in a contextually consistent than inconsistent manner. However, the neural mechanism mediating such enhancement is still under debate. In the current study, using fMRI multi-voxel pattern analysis, we examined neural representations of contextually consistent and inconsistent object pairs in human retinotopically defined early visual areas as well as object processing regions in lateral and ventral visual cortex. In these pre-defined regions of interest, we obtained fMRI response patterns for two objects shown either in a contextually consistent manner (i.e., a cake above a cake stand, and a cooking pot above a burner) or in a contextually inconsistent manner (i.e., a cake above a burner, and a cooking pot above a cake stand). We also obtained fMRI response patterns for each object shown alone. We then linearly combined the patterns for the individual objects and tested the similarity between our synthesized two-object patterns and the actual two-object patterns using a linear classifier. In multiple ventral visual areas, preliminary results showed that the difference between the actual and the synthesized two-object patterns was greater for the contextually consistent than the contextually inconsistent object pairs. This suggests stronger nonlinear interaction between the two objects when they form a contextually consistent pair. These results illustrate one way in which contextual grouping may be represented in the human brain Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


Eleven surface sediment cores were taken with a Rumohr corer during the oceanographic cruise Cimar 8 Fiordos (July 2002; between the Corcovado Gulf and Pulluche Channel). These cores were used to determine the vertical distribution of organic carbon, total nitrogen, and their atomic ratio (C/N) for use as a diagenesis indicator. The grains observed were mostly clay-silt in four of the sediment cores and more heterogeneous in the other seven cores. Organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations were higher in the four clay-silt cores than in the sandy cores, although in terms of their vertical distribution, both concentrations were relatively homogenous at most stations. Nevertheless, exponential decreases characteristic of first-order diagenetic degradation were observed in cores from three stations. The C:N ratio fluctuated between 7 and 10, indicating that the organic material in the sediments was mostly marine in origin. Values were lower at more oceanic stations and greater at more coastal stations; the contribution of terrigenous materials was greater at the latter. We inferred a slower break down of organic carbon as compared to total nitrogen from a steady-state first-order degradation kinetics model, that was applied to stations where both fractions had exponential vertical distributions. Remineralization percentages were between 23 and 34% (organic carbon) and 33 and 43% (total nitrogen) and accumulation percentages were between 77 and 66% (organic carbon) and 67 and 57% (total nitrogen).


Methods based on l1-relaxation, such as basis pursuit and the Lasso, are very popular for sparse regression in high dimensions. The conditions for success of these methods are now well-understood: (1) exact recovery in the noiseless setting is possible if and only if the design matrix X satisfies the restricted nullspace property, and (2) the squared l2-error of a Lasso estimate decays at the minimax optimal rate k log p / n, where k is the sparsity of the p-dimensional regression problem with additive Gaussian noise, whenever the design satisfies a restricted eigenvalue condition. The key issue is thus to determine when the design matrix X satisfies these desirable properties. Thus far, there have been numerous results showing that the restricted isometry property, which implies both the restricted nullspace and eigenvalue conditions, is satisfied when all entries of X are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.), or the rows are unitary. This paper proves directly that the restricted nullspace and eigenvalue conditions hold with high probability for quite general classes of Gaussian matrices for which the predictors may be highly dependent, and hence restricted isometry conditions can be violated with high probability. In this way, our results extend the attractive theoretical guarantees on l1-relaxations to a much broader class of problems than the case of completely independent or unitary designs.


Transhumance system of livelihood of the Brokpa pastoral nomads inhabiting in the yak tracts of Arunachal Pradesh with special emphasis on climate change adaptation was assessed in the present study. A representative sample of the 240 Brokpa pastoral nomads from all the yak rearing tracts of Arunachal Pradesh was selected randomly. The Brokpa pastoral nomads mainly depend upon livestock, like yak, yak-cattle hybrid etc, rearing for their livelihood. They perceived that season cycle has been changed in lower and mid altitude. They also perceived that onset of summer is getting started 1-2 month(s) earlier than before and also extended by 2-3 months. Therefore, Brokpa pastoral nomads of Arunachal Pradesh have expanded their migration duration by 2-3 months in searching of congenial environment for their livestock specially yak and yak-cattle hybrid. They adopted 10 coping mechanisms to cope up with negative impact of climate change. Among the coping mechanisms, 'duration of migration has expanded by 2-3 months' and 'change in pasture utilization practice' were found to be mostly adopted.


Research on Software-as-a-Service has received an increasing attention. However, most of the existing literature focuses on the general business model, its adoption and diffusion or on the technological implementation. The impact potentials on a process level and especially on development processes have rarely been analyzed. The objective of this paper is the impact analysis of the key characteristics of the Software-as-a-Service concept on development processes of Softwareas-a-Service vendors. For this purpose, Software-as-a-Service definitions in research publications will be analyzed to extract the key characteristics of the concept. These are subsequently evaluated against their development process impact. Implications for the software and service development processes are derived to form a basis for an assessment of current methodologies. The results suggest the need for a continious process of software development and service operations actvities with a close linkage between the functions and high customer involvment. The service character challanges the development-focused methodologies and the Software-as-a-Service marketing concepts push for a continious flow of enhancements. The centrality of the vendor controlled infrastructure advances the information quality of development decisions by offering possibilities to evaluate user behavior within the system. The current methodologies are, however, not able to cover the new requirements and opportunities.


In comparison with the semantically and pragmatically related adverbs really,actually and in fact, the adverb truly has been studied much less extensively.One reason for the neglect may be its relatively low frequency. This is obvious ifone consults the British National Corpus (BNC). This article takes a close lookat truly on the basis of a sample of 200 instances from the BNC. It looks at therelative frequency and meaning of the various syntactic patterns in which itoccurs in PDE. Lenker (2007) notes that in her diachronic corpus truly occursas a clause-integrated manner adverb, a clause-integrated emphasiser, a propositionalmodifier, and a discourse marker. The present article compares thesefindings with the usage of truly in PDE. It also examines parallels and differenceswith the adverb really.


The work in this thesis focuses on the characterization, modeling and emulation of both the supercapacitor and the new supercapattery energy storage device. The characterization involves the selection of dynamic models and experimental methodologies to derive model parameters. The characterizing processes focus on predicting short-term device dynamics, energy retention (self-discharging) and losses and round-trip efficiency. A methodology involving a pulse current method is applied for the first time to identify a model parameter to give fast device dynamic characteristics and a new constant power cycling method is used for evaluating round-trip efficiency. Experimental results are shown for a number of supercapacitor and supercapattery devices and good results are obtained. The derived models from the characterization results are implemented into the emulator system and the emulator system is used to mimic the dynamic characteristics of a scaled-up 1kW supercapattery device. The thesis also addresses voltage equalizing circuits and reports a study that investigates efficiency, a cell voltage deviation and voltage equalizing time for different control methods.


Federal commitment to wetlands protection is increasing. The Bush Administration has embraced an as yet undefined goal of 'no net loss of wetlands' and various Federal agencies with jurisdiction over wetlands regulation have used this Presidential commitment as a license to strengthen federal regulatory controls over activities that occur in or affect wetlands. Although 'no net loss' has not been given a workable definition, it is clear that this goal calls for more stringent Federal regulation than mandated by current programs. For example, in response to the Administration's apparent commitment, some regulators have already begun to modify existing policies that have allowed the use of various means of compensation to offset impacts on wetlands. Perhaps most importantly, the growing public debate over the 'no net loss' policy and the various associated Federal administrative actions have provoked a public concern with the current Federal regulatory program and the Section 404 program. This concern has found its way to the halls of Congress, where a wide variety of bills are being debated. This paper examines the recent trend in Federal policy to greater protection of wetlands and the potential effects of this the development of water projects affecting the nation's wetland discusses the prospects for legislative reform of the Section 404 process.


Creating customer value and building stockholder value are the cornerstones for
excellence in any business endeavour. In an under-developed economy, financial
institutions may accomplish these objectives through a customer focus strategy and
implementation of some quality management principles. However, with the increasing
accessibility to new technologies and intensified competition, managers have been
alerted and become more aware of the fact that achieving excellence is made even more
difficult - financial institutions must now do much more to excel in the competitive
retail banking environment of the new millennium. It is believed, and the findings of the
present work support, that the formulation of a robust improvement model capable of
guiding through the whole excellence pursuant process will provide a solid foundation
for successfully meeting the challenge. The burning desire to enhance competitiveness and drive for achieving business
excellence have nurtured the development of a new Business Excellence Model for
successful implementation of TQM in retail banking. It was found that existing TQM
and business excellence models provide only prescriptive and indicative roadmaps for
companies to follow but fail to provide a complete coverage of TQM concepts, holistic
measure of business excellence and validated links between TQM elements and
business excellence. Hence, some financial institutions may cast doubts on their
applicability of TQM because the relationships between TQM principles and the results
of business excellence are not assessed. As such, it should be valuable to develop and
provide a model, which is capable of covering the TQM essence in a structured way to
drive total quality improvement efforts. The present research aims to develop a theory-driven as well as practical model for
retail banks and the retail banking sector to achieve business excellence. In the process,
Hong Kong retail banks and the Hong Kong retail banking sector were chosen as the
context for the present research to obtain valuable data on how successful
implementation of TQM essence could contribute to business excellence in a Chinese
society. Both employees and customers inputs, being the important sources of
stakeholder information, have been the basis for analysis. Top performing bank's
executives were interviewed to identify the core activities and factors that determine
their bank's success. Further, data were collected from executives of 47 retail banks in
Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling was employed to develop the new Business
Excellence Model (BEM). SEM's software programme was employed to analyse the
goodness of fit of the new BEM. The forces of excellence indices and business
excellence indices of the sampled retail banks were computed using the Partial Least
Squares (PLS) technique. The same procedure was also applied to the data collected
ll
from retail customers in the survey to measure the level of customer satisfaction of the
retail banking sector. The indices of the BEM were then matched to the customer
satisfaction indices of retail banks and retail banking sector for higher level of analysis.
Findings of the present work indicate that the new BEM fits the data of the 47 retail
banks very well. The BEM is a valid and reliable model for enabling retail banks to
review the current level of practice in relation to their critical success factors
continuously. With the new BEM, they can now measure and drive improvement in
their critical activities and finally achieving business excellence. Similar results obtained
for customer focus dimension of the BEM and the customer satisfaction measurement
have further substantiated the robustness and usefulness of the new BEM. Hence, the
new Business Excellence Model should be a valuable means for retail banks and the
retail banking sector to pursue business excellence and to gain a competitive edge in
the new millennium.


Cancer of the Gallbladder commonly occurs in elderly population and is fifth common can-cer in women. The aetiology of cancer gallbladder is not well understood. The present study was conducted to compare expression of the CCK receptors in the blood and gallbladder tis-sue in cases of cholelithiasis, cancer gallbladder and normal gallbladder. Forty- nine cases comprising 22 cancer gallbladders, 19 cholelithiasis and 8 normal gallbladders obtained from patients operated for biliary trauma or Whipple's procedure. RNA extraction and cDNA formation for CCK-A and CCK-B receptors were carried out. Real Time PCR was performed. Both CCK-A and CCK-B receptors were expressed in all tissues and blood samples studied in the normal, cholelithiasis or carcinoma gallbladder. Although there was higher expression of CCK-A receptor in the cholelithiasis group as compared to normal group and decreased expression of CCK-A receptors in the carcinoma gallbladder group as compared to normal group yet this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This is a preliminary study reported a comparative expression of cholecycstolinin receptors of gallbladder tissues and blood samples from patients with normal gallbladder, cholelithia-sis, and carcinoma gall bladder. The resulted insignificant data could possibly be due to small sample size. So far previous reports are not available to compare our results.


Since Criminology was taught for the first time on tertiary level in 1949 at the University of Pretoria, it has strongly adhered to the principles of the positivistic paradigm. An important contributory factor was the inaugural address The deterministic viewpoint in Sociology by the late Professor G. Cronje, who studied Criminology under the guidance of W.A. Bonger.


This paper compares the growth prospects of China and India through a growth accounting analysis. Consistent time series for capital stock and employment are constructed using available survey data, and recent revisions to the national accounts for both countries are incorporated. The results allow for a discussion of the sources of growth in both countries, and a consideration of each country's rate of potential growth in light of the outlook for national savings, as demographic shifts occur in each country.


The contemporary model of microfinance has its roots in a small local experiment in Bangladesh in the early 1970s undertaken by Dr Muhammad Yunus, the US-educated Bangladeshi economist and future 2006 Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient. Yunus's idea of supporting tiny informal microenterprises and selfemployment as the solution to widespread poverty rapidly caught on, and by the 1990s the concept of microfinance was the international development community's highest-profile and most generously funded poverty reduction policy. Neoclassical economic theorists and neoliberal policy-makers both fully concurred with the microfinance model's celebration of self-help and the individual entrepreneur, and its implicit antipathy to any form of state intervention. The immense feel-good appeal of microfinance is essentially based on the widespread assumption that simply 'reaching the poor' with a tiny microcredit will automatically establish a sustainable economic and social development trajectory, a trajectory animated by the poor themselves acting as micro-entrepreneurs getting involving in tiny incomegenerating activities. We reject this view, however. We argue that while the microfinance model may well generate some narrow positive short run outcomes for a few lucky individuals, these positive outcomes are very limited in number and anyway swamped by much wider longer run downsides and opportunity costs at the community and national level. Our view is that microfinance actually constitutes a powerful institutional and political barrier to sustainable economic and social development, and so also to poverty reduction. Finally, we suggest that continued support for microfinance in international development policy circles cannot be divorced from its supreme serviceability to the neoliberal/globalisation agenda.


Description:
A Sydney-based biotechnology company is moving from the development of proteomics technology to the commercialization of its first instruments in the worldwide proteomics market. The case study highlights the range of activities engaged in by the 120-person company, the internal challenges Proteome Systems faces as it moves to commercialize its technologies, and how it addresses these challenges. In the long term, Proteome Systems wants to be a drug-discovery company, and now, in late 2003, the CEO is considering the acquisition of a US-based drug-discovery company to boost Proteome Systems' own drug-discovery efforts.

Learning Objective:
Provides insight into how a young company based far away from its primary markets organizes its operations as it moves from a technology-development focus toward commercializing products.

Setting:
Sydney; Biotechnology industry; AUD $21 million; 120 employees; 2003


Henry Kissinger dominated American foreign relations like no other figure in recent history. He negotiated an end to American involvement in the Vietnam War, opened relations with Communist China, and orchestrated detente with the Soviet Union. Yet he is also the man behind the secret bombing of Cambodia and policies leading to the overthrow of Chile's President Salvador Allende. Which is more accurate, the picture of Kissinger the skilled diplomat or Kissinger the war criminal? In The Flawed Architect, the first major reassessment of Kissinger in over a decade, historian Jussi Hanhimaki paints a subtle, carefully composed portrait of America's most famous and infamous statesman. Drawing on extensive research from newly declassified files, the author follows Kissinger from his beginnings in the Nixon administration up to the current controversy fed by Christopher Hitchens over whether Kissinger is a war criminal. Hanhimaki guides the reader through White House power struggles and debates behind the Cambodia and Laos invasions, the search for a strategy in Vietnam, the breakthrough with China, and the unfolding of Soviet-American detente. Here, too, are many other international crises of the period-the Indo-Pakistani War, the Yom Kippur War, the Angolan civil war-all set against the backdrop of Watergate. Along the way, Hanhimaki sheds light on Kissinger's personal flaws-he was obsessed with secrecy and bureaucratic infighting in an administration that self-destructed in its abuse of power-as well as his great strengths as a diplomat. We see Kissinger negotiating, threatening and joking with virtually all of the key foreign leaders of the 1970s, from Mao to Brezhnev and Anwar Sadat to Golda Meir. This well researched account brings to life the complex nature of American foreign policymaking during the Kissinger years. It will be the standard work on Kissinger for years to come.


J. BUTTERWORTH AND H.A. McCARTNEY. 1991. Advances in the techniques of genetic engineering have made possible the use of genetically manipulated micro-organisms (GMOs) for the control of pests and diseases. Before GMOs can be widely used in agriculture, however, their fate after release must be understood. Dispersal of released GMOs will have an important influence on their action or survival under field conditions. The object of this study was to quantify the efficiency of rain as a means of removing and disseminating such micro-organisms from foliar crop surfaces.

Spontaneous mutants of three species of bacteria (Pseudomonas syringae, Klebsiella planticola and Bacillus subtilis), resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin, were sprayed on two plant species, french bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, and oilseed rape, Brassica napus. The leaves from the plants were then exposed to artificial rain and splash droplets generated by the impact on the leaves were collected on selective nutrient agar in Petri dishes and in sterile glass 28 ml screw-capped bottles. The bacterial content of the splashed drops was assessed, as was the content of the water which ran off the leaf surfaces. Comparisons of the numbers of bacteria removed from the leaves with the numbers applied prior to splashing show that rainfall can be a very efficient means of removing bacteria from foliar surfaces, but that most of the removed bacteria run off to the soil. Only a small proportion was splashed relatively short distances from the source.


While an artfully crafted painting can evoke profound aesthetic experience, the same applies to a grand ballroom or sunset. Like fine art, everyday scenes contain aesthetic qualities, with some scenes preferred over others. The meaning or semantic label of a scene, known as scene gist, is extracted rapidly and automatically, with just a brief glance, computed mainly using low spatial frequencies (LSF) in the image. Although we can easily identify a scene, the question remains, if an accurate aesthetic impression can be formed from such rapid and coarse overall representation. We investigated the characteristics of scene gist to determine if aesthetic preference can be extracted with such short display durations. Furthermore, given that scene gist is based on an initial coarse representation, we asked whether LSF renderings of these scenes would elicit similar aesthetic judgments. Using a between-groups design, we found a significant positive correlation between aesthetic judgments on real-world scenes for images viewed for an unlimited amount of time and those viewed for only 45ms, but no significant correlation with the LSF set. This demonstrates that aesthetic judgments can be extracted rapidly and are relatively stable across display durations but do not survive image degradation, suggesting that image content outweighs structure. We performed the Implicit Associations Test by using aesthetically pleasing and non-pleasing images from the previous experiment paired with aesthetically pleasing and non-pleasing words, to examine whether these aesthetic judgments are also made automatically when they are irrelevant to the task. Participants made significantly more classification errors and were slower when pleasing scenes were paired with non-pleasing words. This suggests that participants could not help but make aesthetic judgments on real-world scenes. Additionally, we found that the most pleasing and non-pleasing scenes differed significantly on self-similarity and anisotropy, measures of image statistics relating to computational aesthetics. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.


An increase in students who enter higher education in Australia following their studies in the vocational education and training (VET) sector has led to heightened national interest in the transition experiences of these students. This paper reports on the experiences of students who, as a result of their VET studies, entered a relatively new, large, metropolitan university in 2009 and 2010 in the fields of Business and Law, Early Childhood and Nursing. The investigation elicited responses from students about a range of personal, administrative and academic experiences. A total of 529 students responded to a survey, 74 students were interviewed by telephone and 33 students attended focus groups. A major finding of the research was that many students saw the new learning context as a positive factor and responded to challenges with enthusiasm and resilience. Despite this, it seems that the transition period, particularly the first semester of study, is an unnecessarily stressful time for many students and that this could be mitigated by the provision of timely information about differences between institutional and learner expectations, workload, administrative processes and learning practices.


Residue analysis has become a frequently applied method for identifying prehistoric stone tool use. Residues adhering to the stone tool with varying frequencies are interpreted as being the result of an intentional contact with the worked material during use. Yet, other processes during the life cycle of a stone tool or after deposition may leave residues and these residues may potentially lead to misinterpretations. We present a blind test that was designed to examine this issue. Results confirm that production, retouch, prehension, hafting, various incidental contacts during use and deposition may lead to residue depositions that significantly affect the accurateness of identifications of tool-use. All currently applied residue approaches are concerned. We therefore argue for a closer interaction with independent wear studies and a step-wise procedure in which a low magnification of wear traces is used as a first step for selecting potentially used flakes in archaeological contexts. In addition, residue concentrations on a tool's edge should be sufficiently dense before linking them with use.


Although Congress and the majority of state legislatures have resisted enacting draconian gun control laws, the courts are the final bulwark in safeguarding our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Yet the courts of late have been the scene of unprecedented attacks on that right as gun control advocates have used the judiciary to make an end-run around the legislative process. Meritless litigation brought by government plaintiffs in multiple jurisdictions are just part of a scheme to force gun makers to adopt policies that legislatures have wisely rejected. Moreover, the suits are used by politicians to reward their allies -- private attorneys, many of whom are major campaign contributors -- with lucrative contingency fee contracts. Meanwhile, many of the same politicians have exploited a few recent tragedies to promote their anti-gun agenda. But gun controls haven't worked and more controls won't help. In fact, many of the recommended regulations will make matters worse by stripping law-abiding citizens of their most effective means of self-defense. Violence in America is due not to the availability of guns but to social pathologies -- illegitimacy, dysfunctional schools, and drug and alcohol abuse. Historically, more gun laws have gone hand in hand with an explosion of violent crime. Only during the past decade -- with vigorous law enforcement, a booming economy, and an older population -- have we seen dramatic reductions in violence, coupled with a record number of guns in circulation. Before we compromise constitutional rights expressly recognized in the Second Amendment, we ought to be sure of three things: first, that we've identified the real problem; second, that we've pinpointed its cause; and, third, that our remedy is no more extensive than necessary to fix the problem. The spreading litigation against gun makers fails all three tests as do the latest gun control proposals. Guns do not increase violence; they reduce violence. Banning or regulating firearms will not eliminate the underlying pathologies. And a less invasive remedy already exists: enforce existing laws.


First there was the Annual Report, then the triple bottom line of Sustainability Reporting was the flavour of the month. King III now stipulates Integrated Reporting. The forces behind this push for an alternate to the traditional Annual reports include government pressure, market pressure, competitive pressures, and social pressure. How many times have you thought: Yes, they spent that money, but how did it impact me? If it did not impact me, did it impact anyone in the community? When will I see the impact in my area?


"Fierce Heart" is the biography of a community and a portrait of its people. Although Makaha is a small, isolated town on the Western coast of Oahu, it has produced some of the most intriguing Hawaiians of the twentieth century: world-class surfers Buffalo Keaulana and his sons Rusty and Brian; beautiful skin diver and surfing pro Rell Sunn; and, larger than life singer and songwriter Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. What connects them is a love for their culture, their people, and various kinds of water sports. "Fierce Heart" combines stories of exciting big wave surfing competitions, dramatic water rescues, deep friendships, and touching family portraits with a look at the history and origins of one of the world's most thrilling extreme sports.


Medicinal mushrooms have an established history of use in traditional oriental therapies. Contemporary research has validated and documented much of the ancient knowledge. Over the last three decades, the interdisciplinary fields of science that study medicinal mushrooms has sprung up and has increasingly demonstrated the potent and unique properties of compounds extracted from a range of species. Currently, the field is being developed into a very fruitful area. Modern clinical practice in Japan, China, Korea and other Asian countries rely on mushroom-derived preparations. Mushrooms have been studied for nutritional and medical purposes for its various potential anti-tumoral and immunomodulatory componests like polysaccharides that have been identified. For medical purposes, mushrooms have been consumed to prevent cancer and cardiac diseases, to improve blood circulation and to reduce blood cholesterol level. Some of these mushrooms have also been used for the treatment of physical and emotional stress, osteoporosis, gastric ulcers and chronic hepatitis, for the improvement of the quality of life of patients with diabetes and especially for the stimulation of immunity. Shiitake has a history of medicinal uses. The mushroom is used as anticarcinogenic, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral as well as antithrombotic in cardiovascular disorders. This article has been written to throw some light on Shiitake mushroom which has many nutritional values. Many Shiitake preparations came in market containing the active ingredients which can replace many other marketed synthetic medicines and may prove to have promising results with fewer side effects. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjmb.v5i1.13428 Bangladesh J Med Biochem 2012; 5(1): 24-32


| Recent optical kerr effect (OKE) studies have demonstrated that orientational relaxation of rod-like nematogens exhibits temporal power law decay at intermediate times not only near the isotropic–nematic (I–N) phase boundary but also in the nematic phase. Such behaviour has drawn an intriguing analogy with supercooled liquids. We have investigated both collective and single-particle orientational dynamics of a family of model system of thermotropic liquid crystals using extensive computer simulations. Several remarkable features of glassy dynamics are on display including non-exponential relaxation, dynamical heterogeneity, and non-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the orientational relaxation time. Over a temperature range near the I–N phase boundary, the system behaves remarkably like a fragile glass-forming liquid. Using proper scaling, we construct the usual relaxation time versus inverse temperature plot and explicitly demonstrate that one can successfully define a density dependent fragility of liquid crystals. The fragility of liquid crystals shows a temperature and density dependence which is remarkably similar to the fragility of glass forming supercooled liquids. Energy landscape analysis of inherent structures shows that the breakdown of the Arrhenius temperature dependence of relaxation rate occurs at a temperature that marks the onset of the growth of the depth of the potential energy minima explored by the system. A model liquid crystal, consisting of disk-like molecules, has also been investigated in molecular dynamics simulations for orientational relaxation along two isobars starting from the high temperature isotropic phase. The isobars have been so chosen that the phase sequence isotropic (I)–nematic (N)–columnar (C) appears upon cooling along one of them and the sequence isotropic (I)–columnar (C) along the other. While the orientational relaxation in the isotropic phase near the I–N phase transition shows a power law decay at short to intermediate times, such power law relaxation is not observed in the isotropic phase near the I–C phase boundary. The origin of the power law decay in the single-particle second-rank orientational time correlation function (OTCF) is traced to the growth of the orientational pair distribution functions near the I–N phase boundary. As the system settles into the nematic phase, the decay of the single-particle second-rank orientational OTCF follows a pattern that is similar to what is observed with calamitic liquid crystals and supercooled molecular


It has been suggested that in foreign language learning and ELF situations, identity might not be implicated in any great extent. Focusing on the impact globalization has on identities, the purpose of this study is to consider whether identity might be involved in Swedish students' reasons for enrolling on an English-medium university program and, if so, the types of identities students construct. Analyses of data from interviews with 11 students revealed that identities do play a role in students' enrolment reasons. However, rather than the bicultural identities identified in previous motivational research, the identities emerging here appear hybrid in nature. Along with other recent research, the results indicate that in contexts where English has a prominent social/societal/cultural presence it is implicated in identity construction, and that there is a relationship between identity and ELF.


This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of tropical deciduous forest including dry dipterocarp forest (DDF) and mixed deciduous forest (MDF) and its phenological changes in responses to El Niño and La Niña during 2001–2016. Based on time series of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the start of growing season (SOS), the end of growing season (EOS), and length of growing season (LOS) were derived. In absence of climatic fluctuation, the SOS of DDF commonly started on 106 ± 7 DOY, delayed to 132 DOY in El Niño year (2010) and advanced to 87 DOY in La Niña year (2011). Thus, there was a delay of about 19 to 33 days in El Niño and an earlier onset of about 13 to 27 days in La Niña year. The SOS of MDF started almost same time as of DDF on the 107 ± 7 DOY during the neutral years and delayed to 127 DOY during El Niño, advanced to 92 DOY in La Niña year. The SOS of MDF was delayed by about 12 to 28 days in El Niño and was earlier about 8 to 22 days in La Niña. Corresponding to these shifts in SOS and LOS of both DDF and MDF were also induced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).


In this article, we discuss some issues that arise when ontologies are used to support corporate application domains such as electronic commerce (e-commerce) and some technical problems in deploying ontologies for real-world use. In particular, we focus on issues of ontology integration and the related problem of semantic mapping, that is, the mapping of ontologies and taxonomies to reference ontologies to preserve semantics. Along the way, we discuss what typically constitutes an ontology architecture. We situate the discussion in the domain of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. By its very nature, B2B e-commerce must try to interlink buyers and sellers from multiple companies with disparate product-description terminologies and meanings, thus serving as a paradigmatic case for the use of ontologies to support corporate applications.


The meaning of an idiomatic expression cannot be transparently worked out from the meanings of its constituent words due to its figurative and unpredictable nature. Consequently, the syntactic composition and the structural paradigm of an idiomatic expression are supposed to be the same in every context. However, this is not the case in the institutionalized second language varieties of English spoken around the world. In this regard, the present paper aims at showing that the input-oriented syntactic composition and structure of English idiomatic expressions undergo innovative processes such as substitution, addition, and deletion of lexemes or phrases in the grammar of L2 learners of English in Cameroon. This reveals that, the imageable ideas of English idioms do not call up the same conventional lexical and syntactic features in the minds of L2 learners. Every New English context has its rules of constructing English idiomatic expressions as the speakers strive to indigenize and domesticate the English language.


The underutilisation of mental health services within the Chinese population is well known and the low rates of access to these services can be understood by the barriers to accessing psychological help. It has been argued that the Western approaches to treating mental illness are underpinned by Western beliefs and philosophies, which are recognised as culturally unsuitable for individuals for an Eastern culture. In therapy, the facilitation of emotional expression is usually a part of the treatment process, and the expression of inner feelings is usually encouraged by the therapist. However, in the Chinese culture, the expression of intense emotions is associated with negative consequences to their physical and psychological well-being. Therefore, it is interesting to explore how they understand the process of reflecting on their emotions in therapy. This study used a qualitative approach to examine participants' subjective experience of emotional expression in therapy. A total of seven participants were recruited for the study. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted and the narratives formed the data, which was then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three superordinate themes emerged from the data analysis that highlighted how the participants made sense of their experience in expressing emotions in therapy.

The three key themes were: "challenges to sharing part of me", "attitudes towards expressing emotions", and "the therapeutic relationship." The findings of the study have implications for providing culturally sensitive therapies, particularly with the process of expression of difficult emotions.


Abstract The influence of physical and chemical properties of 20 species of imported wood on degradation of the wood by termites under field conditions was studied. The wood species studied were: Sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus L. (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) (from two countries), Camphor, Dryobalanops aromatic C.F.Gaertner (Malvales: Dipterocarpaceae), Beech, Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart (Fagales: Fagaceae), F. sylvatica L. (from two countries), Oak, Quercus robur L., Ash, Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl (Lamiales: Oleaceae), F. excelsior L., Padauk, Pterocarpus soyauxii Taubert (Fabales: Fabaceae), (from two countries), Jamba, Xylia dolabrifiormis Roxburgh, Shorea laevis Ridley (Malvales: Dipterocarpaceae), S. macoptera Dyer, S. robusta Roth, Teak, Tectona grandis L.f. (Lamiales: Lamiaceae) (from five countries), and rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis Müller Argoviensis (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae) from India. The termites present were: Odontotermes horni (Wasmann) (Isoptera: Termitidae), O. feae, O. wallonensis, and O. obeus (Rambur). A significant conelation was found between density, cellulose, lignin, and total phenolic contents of the wood and degradation by termites. The higher the density of the wood, the lower the degradation. Similarly, higher amount of lignin and total phenolic contents ensured higher resistance, whereas cellulose drives the termites towards the wood.


Literature review: This systematic review explored the existing research literature concerning the effectiveness of expressive writing interventions for children and young people. The review found that the expressive writing intervention was associated with a range of psychological and health benefits for studies that involved participants of secondary-or college-age. However, the research regarding the effectiveness of expressive writing interventions with primary-aged participants was less consistent. Analysis of the key features of the studies included in the review revealed that the discrepancy in findings could be due to the age differences of participants and the ability of the child to create the type of narrative associated with the well-being outcomes (i.e. a coherent, cohesive and emotionally disclosing narrative; Reynolds, Brewin & Saxton, 2000). It was therefore suggested that younger children may be better supported through more guided expressive writing interventions, such as therapeutic story writing (Waters, 2004), in which the child receives support from an adult to create more causal-explanatory and emotionally disclosing narratives (Fivush & Sales, 2006). Empirical paper: Researchers have suggested that anxious children may underperform at school because their worrisome thoughts reduce the capacity of their verbal working memory (Eysenck et al., 2007; Hadwin et al., 2005; Ng & Lee, 2010). It was therefore hypothesised that anxious children may benefit from interventions, such as therapeutic story writing (Waters, 2008), that provide the child with the opportunity to discuss their worries in a manner that reduces anxiety. A total of 26 participants, all experiencing anxious affect that was above the average range (T score > 50), took part in the study (7 females and 19 males, M= 10 years 2 months). A mixed measures design was conducted and the results suggested that the therapeutic story writing intervention was associated with a significant reduction in child-rated anxiety and a trend for an increase in verbal working memory capacity, but not an increase in reading or writing attainment when compared to the control group.


The excavation of a frozen grave on the Kizil site (dated to be 2500 years old) in the Altai Republic (Central Asia) revealed a skeleton belonging to the Scytho-Siberian population. DNA was extracted from a bone sample and analyzed by autosomal STRs (short tandem repeats) and by sequencing the hypervariable region I (HV1) of the mitochondrial DNA. The resulting STR profile, mitochondrial haplotype, and haplogroup were compared with data from modern Eurasian and northern native American populations and were found only in European populations historically influenced by ancient nomadic tribes of Central Asia.


In the context of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, health officials warn that vaccines must be uniformly distributed within and among countries if we are to quell the pandemic. Yet there has been little critical assessment of the underlying reasons for this warning. Here, we explicitly show why vaccine equity is necessary. We begin by drawing an analogy to studies showing how disparities in drug concentration within a single host can promote the evolution of drug resistance, and we then proceed to mathematical modeling and simulation of vaccine escape evolution in structured host populations. Perhaps counter-intuitively, we find that vaccine escape mutants are less likely to come from vaccinated regions where there is strong selection pressure for vaccine escape and more likely to come from a neighboring unvaccinated region where there is no selection for escape. Unvaccinated geographic regions thus provide evolutionary reservoirs from which vaccine escape mutants can arise and infect neighboring vaccinated regions, causing new local epidemics within those regions and beyond. Our findings have timely implications for vaccine rollout strategies and public health policy.


We study the implementation of operations strategy at six German manufacturers in mature businesses. Search theory argues that vertical coordination (i.e., unilateral top-down adjustment of lower-level search actions) balances stability against the improvement potential enabled by frontline search and also that horizontal coordination (i.e., bilateral adjustment among lower-level search actions) is required to ensure compatibility among the initiatives generated in various organizational subunits. Much less is known about how vertical and horizontal coordination interact in operations strategy implementation—that is the focus of this study. We first study how horizontal and vertical coordination affect the compatibility and creativity of distributed search, triangulating our cross-level interviews with data on the manufacturers' productivity gains and their strategic projects. We then examine whether and how vertical and horizontal coordination interact. Our case comparisons suggest that leaving either one of them "loose" and keeping the other one "tight" results in a useful balance between compatibility and creativity; in contrast, tightening both types of coordination suppresses creativity and loosening both types risks incompatibility of initiatives across units. These results lead to a theoretical framework that identifies vertical and horizontal coordination as partial substitutes for operations strategy implementation.


While there are both successes and challenges related to the use of interstate water compacts, in their most effective forms they allow states to take a comprehensive, holistic approach to water management. Successful compacts tend to encompass the natural hydrologic boundaries of the water basin. They are more likely to utilize a commission type governance structure with sufficient authority to carry out the mission and goals of the compacting agreement. Successful compacts are flexible and allow for future developments (including climate change) while being cognizant of the need to protect and enhance the environment. They are also sensitive to the needs and desires of various stakeholders, including federal, state, and local governments as well as non-governmental organizations. Water compacts also face a variety of challenges. They must answer to a wide and diverse constituent base, often with conflicting interests. Stronger states can and do attempt to "bully" other states, severely limiting or eliminating altogether the usefulness of the compact. Governance structures that fail to integrate the interests of all states into a single body simply make the compact into an arena where small scale water wars can be fought. To illustrate an area where interstate water compacts could make a significant contribution, this paper concludes with a case study highlighting South Carolina's transboundary water issues with North Carolina and Georgia. Recommendations for South Carolina include beginning negotiations toward the development of federal-interstate compacts as well as considering action in the Supreme Court in the event that these negotiations fail.


When a frog's gastrocnemius at 20° with active circulation is stimulated through its nerve by a single break induction shock, the individual muscle fibres contract synchronously within ±1σ throughout their entire length. The response of the whole muscle is, therefore, an accurate index course of contraction in the individual fibres.

The latent period of shortening may be divided into four phases, which in a gastrocnemius at 20°C. have the following characteristics :

1. Conduction Time in the Nerve.—With 3 cm. average conducting distance as in these experiments the interval would be 1σ (30 m. per sec.).

2. Delay at the End Plate.—An interval 4σ was observed between the stimulus and the muscle action current. The end-plate delay was therefore 3σ.

3. "True" Latency.—The interval after the beginning of the electrical response during which the mechanical conditions are unaltered.

This is the same whether thickening is recorded, or whether determined by the response of the tendon, and has an absolute value 1·5 to 2·0σ.

4. Rigidity. When a second response falls during the relaxation of response I., the muscle ceases to relax 1·5 to 2· 0σ after the active current, and becomes "rigid" 'for a period 4 to 5σ before shortening.

This accounts for the supposed difference between the latent period as determined by thickening and by shortening of the tendon. The duration of the rising phase of the muscle action current corresponds closely with the duration of the period of "true" latency as well as with the absolute refractory period.

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Professor Sherrington and to offer my thanks for his invaluable and kindly criticism.


Exercise has been demonstrated to influence susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) because various aspects of immune function including mucosal immunity are temporarily changed after exercise. Lower concentrations of salivary 19A (s-IgA) as a predominant immunoglobulin and component of saliva or a chronic deficiency in s-IgA have been associated with an increased frequency of URTI episodes. Previous studies of aerobic exercise have incorporated the performance of running or cycling. Responses of s-19A to intermittent exercise patterns as they occur in soccer remain to be resolved. A laboratory based soccerspecific intermittent exercise protocol was used within this thesis to mimic the physiological stress associated with soccer, characterised by highintensity activity as noted during soccer play. The aims of this thesis were to determine the s-IgA responses to a bout or repeated bouts of soccerspecific intermittent exercise and investigate the effects of carbohydrate ingestion on s-IgA when such exercise is performed in increased ambient temperature. Laboratory based soccer-specific intermittent exercise and continuous exercise at the same moderate exercise intensity evoked insufficient stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis to modify s-IgA responses. Changes in s-19A and cortisol did not differ between exercise types during or immediately following exercise, or 6 h, 24 h and 48 h afterwards. Physiological responses to intermittent exercise also conforming to the activity pattern of soccer match-play were similar to those for continuous exercise at the same average work-rate, despite the higher perceived exertion during intermittent exercise. Two bouts of soccer-specific intermittent exercise 48 h apart that were designed to provide a repeatable physiological stress comparable to strenuous soccer training induced s-19A responses that were similar following both bouts of exercise. Performing the second bout of exercise did not significantly suppress s-IgA concentration after 48 h recovery although a small progressive reduction in s-19A was observed. Performance of a second soccer-specific exercise bout in one day with a 2.25 h rest in between bouts elicited an increase in heart rate and perceived exertion, compared with a single session at the same time of day, but did not appear to suppress s-IgA outcomes. There was also no difference between responses of s-IgA concentration and secretion rate or salivary cortisol at the different times of day. Soccer can be played under hot environmental conditions and it is thought that addition of carbohydrate to fluids may prevent adverse changes in mucosal immune responses. Carbohydrate supplementation before and at regular intervals whilst performing soccer-specific intermittent exercise at 30°C, did not influence s-IgA responses or salivary cortisol when compared to placebo. In view of the failure of these experimental interventions to discern effects on s-IgA responses, a meta-analysis of the literature was conducted. The meta-analysis revealed an overall elevation in s-IgA concentration post acute exercise and following chronic exercise. In contrast, in term of s-IgA secretion rate, an overall significant decline after both acute and chronic exercise was a consistent finding. In conclusion, one exercise bout or repeated soccer-specific intermittent exercise in the present experiments did not induce compromises in s-IgA responses. There was no adverse effect upon s-IgA responses to intermittent exercise performance under conditions of heat stress with or without carbohydrate treatment. Although, 32 percent of studies included in the meta-analysis have indicated similar results, the disparity with overall findings may arise from differences in the exercise protocols used and/or bias for s-IgA changes in published studies.