This thesis considers the Shannon capacity of multiuser multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wireless communication systems. That is, the fundamental limit on the rates at which data can be reliably communicated. The focus is on scenarios in which the channel has long coherence times and perfect channel state information is available to both transmitters and receivers. The thesis considers two important design problems in multiuser MIMO wireless communication systems: the design of the sumrate optimal input distribution for the MIMO multiple access channel (MIMO MAC), and the design of the sum-rate optimal input distribution for the MIMO broadcast channel (MIMO BC). The thesis considers algorithms for solving these design problems that are based on the principle of iterative water-filling. The contributions of the thesis are twofold. First, a correct and rigorous proof of convergence of the family of water-filling algorithms is derived. This proof overcomes weaknesses in the previous attempts of others to prove convergence. Second, an efficient algorithm is presented for the water-filling procedure that lies at the heart of the iterative water-filling algorithm. This algorithm will open the door for further efficient utilization of the iterative water-filling algorithm. This novel algorithm is based on the principle of Fibonacci search, and iii since the iterative water-filling algorithm involves repeated water-filling procedures, the impact of this efficient algorithm is magnified. The outcomes of this research are that the iterative water-filling algorithms are mathematically validated for the above-mentioned design problems in multiuser MIMO wireless communication systems, and that the implementation of these algorithms is made more efficient through the application of the efficient Fibonacci search method for the underlying water-filling procedure.


One of the hottest trends today within distributed computing is Web Services. Basically, a Web Service can be described as an XML-based interface that can be used by a client application to invoke a computing service distributed in a network via standard Internet protocols. In order for Web Services to become a ubiquitous technique for program to program communication, however, there need to be a solid framework in place for how Web Services that utilizes the public Internet for transport can be properly protected and secured. As the situation appears today, most services are not publicly exposed but are often deployed inside a corporate, private network. This hampers the vision of Web Services that can be publicly published in directories which potential consumers can search in order to find a suitable service to satisfy their need. This paper describes what the general threats and challenges are in deploying secure Web Services over publicly available and insecure networks, as they are explained in the literature. It then continues to give an overview of some of the more known security standards that are beginning to emerge on the scene.


Background: CD73 is an ectonucleotidase regulating extracellular adenosine concentration and plays an important role in adenosine-mediated immunosuppressive pathways. The efficacy of CD73-targeted therapy depends on the expression levels of CD73; therefore, monitoring CD73 status in cancer patients would provide helpful information for selection of patients who would benefit from CD73-targeted therapy. Here, we evaluated the ability of 111In-labeled antibody 067-213, which has high affinity for human CD73, to act as a noninvasive imaging probe. Methods: Cell binding and competitive inhibition assays for 111In-labeled 067-213 were conducted using MIAPaCa-2 (high CD73 expression) and A431 (low CD73 expression) cells. For in vivo assessments, biodistribution and SPECT/CT studies were conducted in MIAPaCa-2 and A431 tumor-bearing mice. To estimate the absorbed dose in humans, biodistribution and SPECT/CT studies were conducted in healthy rats. Results: 111In-labeled 067-213 bound to MIAPaCa-2 and A431 cells in a CD73-dependent manner and the affinity loss after 111In-labeling was limited. Biodistribution and SPECT/CT studies with 111In-labeled 067-213 in mice showed high uptake in MIAPaCa-2 tumors and lower uptake in A431 tumors. In rats, the probe did not show high uptake in normal organs, including endogenously CD73-expressing organs. The estimated absorbed doses in humans were reasonably low. Conclusions: 111In-labeled 067-213 showed CD73-expression-dependent tumor uptake and low uptake in normal organs and tissues. Radiolabeled 067-213 holds promise as an imaging probe for noninvasive evaluation of CD73 expression levels in patients. Our data encourage further clinical studies to clarify a role for CD73 monitoring in patients receiving CD73-targeted immune therapy.


This article makes the case for addressing pedestrian visual diversity when planning artificial light for public spaces at night, by drawing upon original findings from an exploratory study where twenty-one open-ended interviews were conducted with experts in the fields of artificial lighting, urban planning and health studies. Specifically, this article provides (1) the introduction of the concept of pedestrian visual diversity, defined as the condition, capabilities and needs of visually impaired pedestrians, (2) a systematization of overlooked issues in the planning of artificial light for visual diverse pedestrians in public spaces and (3) the proposition of a participatory framework for the application of lightwalks as an experiential method for involving visual diverse pedestrians in the data collection on and analysis of artificial lighting in public spaces at night. In conclusion, it identifies five strands for further research at the nexus of pedestrian visual diversity, public space and night studies for inclusive light planning.


The phenomenon of displacement is a fundamental source of social, political and economic tensions in the contemporary world. Despite this centrality there has been relatively little sustained theoretical engagement with this phenomenon within the discipline of International Relations (IR). In this thesis I will therefore develop a phenomenological approach, drawing on the work of Emmanuel Levinas, in order to explore ways in which the placed experience of ethical proximity is disrupted through logics of spatial mediation. I will then apply this phenomenological approach to a reading of four fundamental narratives of displacement in the western philosophical tradition: Exodus, Odyssey, Crusade and Conquest. Through these narratives, I will argue, that we find a process of the subsumption of place within spatial totalities in which inter-personal relations are mediated in relation to the projects of the totality. Ultimately, I will suggest this process of totalisation has shaped the fundamental structure of modern international theory. I will also suggest, however, that the placidness of everyday life constantly disrupts this totalisation.


Deploying remote laboratories at a large scale is the next challenge in remote experimentation. It is referred as Massive Open Online Labs (MOOLs). Being able to sustain a massive number of users accessing a specific resource concurrently is a complex task. This paper presents technical solutions, currently deployed, to implement such a remote lab in a MOOC. The control system lab deployed in edX, where more that 200 students access concurrently a farm of 20 electrical drives, is used as an example. Gamification mechanisms which accommodate even more students are proposed.


In this article, we examine student performance on mandated tests in grades 3, 4, and 5 in one state. We focus on this interval, which we term "the fourth grade window," based on our hypothesis that students in grade four are particularly vulnerable to decrements in achievement. The national focus on the third grade as the critical benchmark in student performance has distracted researchers and policy makers from recognition that the fourth grade transition is essential to our understanding of how to promote complex thinking and reasoning that are built upon a foundation of basic skills that may be necessary, but are not sufficient, for the more nuanced learning expected in subsequent grades. We hypothesized that the basic skills that define a successful third grade performance do not predict successful performance in subsequent years. We examined student performance over time using two measures of student success: the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), a standards based test; and the Stanford 9 (SAT9), a norm-referenced test. Three groups of schools were included in these analyses. Schools were individually matched to the original sample of interest, which were schools serving students of poverty that received state funding to implement Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) models that emphasize continuity across grade levels. The first comparison sample includes schools that also serve students of poverty but did not receive CSR funding, "nonCSR" schools. The second comparison sample includes schools individually matched on all variables except economic status. These schools, which we term "ow poverty" schools, are the wealthiest public schools in the state, with less than 10% of attending students receiving free or reduced lunch. Student test scores in math, reading, and writing (AIMS) or language (SAT9) were analyzed for the years 2000-2003. These intervals allowed the analysis of two cohorts of the fourth grade window. Our results suggest that the reliance on third grade performance to label students and schools is untenable.


A woman in her sixties with a normal medical history was admitted to a general medical floor with Neuropathic pain symptoms such as a burning sensation throughout her body (head, back, spine, throat, and tongue with dry mouth, chest, abdomen, kidneys, thighs, toes), inability to eat, urinary incontinence, difficulty wearing clothing, and difficulty leaning on the back. There was a difficulty and delay in diagnosing the patient's condition, which was confirmed to have severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with no respiratory symptoms. The patient's pain did not respond to the covid-19's first-line medications, but it did respond to neuropathic medication with Pregabalin and Alprazolam. Our study shows that Pregabalin could be helpful in relieving the patient's pain and very effective for treating neuropathic pain with a safe profile, unlike Alprazolam, which interferes with the same stages of sleep, which made her sleep condition worse.


According to the conventional wisdom, rape is generally a case of 'one person's word against another's' and, in the absence of independent evidence, judgements regarding the truth or otherwise of an allegation are influenced by 'rape myths' and gender stereotypes. The meaning of 'one person's word against another's', however, and the extent to which it accurately describes the evidence in most rape cases, or usefully explains case disposal, are largely unexplored. This article subjects the conventional wisdom of rape as 'one person's word against another's', and the implicit claims and assumptions underpinning it, to close critical scrutiny. Drawing on original empirical data, I argue that the concept of 'one person's word against another's' is vague, ambiguous and uninformative. It tells us virtually nothing about what rape cases look like evidentially, still less about case progression, and presents a partial and misleading view of English criminal proceedings and the process of proof. If we are to better understand attrition in rape cases, we need to meaningfully engage with the contentious issue of witness credibility and reliability—not only in the absence of independent evidence that supports or corroborates a witness's account, but in the presence of evidence that undermines or contradicts it.


PURPOSE
To develop a high sensitivity L-shell x-ray fluorescence imaging system that locates and quantifies sparse concentrations of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) using a polychromatic benchtop x-ray source.

METHODS
An L-shell x-ray fluorescence imaging system was built with a benchtop polychromatic x-ray source and a Si-PIN detector. Water-filled cylindrical tubes (12 mm in diameter) loaded with GNPs at 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.05%, and 0.005% GNP by weight were served as calibration phantoms. An imaging phantom was created using the same cylindrical tube but filled with water-equivalent gel containing structures mimicking GNP-loaded blood vessel and 1 cc tumor. The phantoms were irradiated by a 3-mm diameter 65 kVp x-rays filtered by 1 mm aluminum. Fluorescence/scatter photons from the phantoms were detected at 90° with respect to the beam direction using a Si-PIN detector with a pin-hole collimation. For the imaging phantom, the detector was translated horizontally and vertically in 0.3-mm steps to create a 2-D fluorescence image of the phantom. The net L-shell fluorescence signal from GNPs was extracted from background, and then corrected for detector efficiency and in-phantom attenuation using a fluorescence-to-scatter normalization algorithm. The corrected signal from the calibration phantoms was used to create a calibration curve showing a linear relationship between corrected fluorescence signal and GNP mass per image voxel.

RESULTS
The results suggest that the current setup can detect a GNP mass of 500 ng (or 0.5 ppm) contained within each image voxel (0.0173 cc). The 2-D fluorescence image properly correlated the known spatial distribution and amount of GNPs within the imaging phantom.

CONCLUSION
L-shell fluorescence imaging can be a highly sensitive tool that has the capability of simultaneously imaging the spatial distribution and determining the local concentration of GNPs presented within ex-vivo samples and superficial tumors during pre-clinical small animal studies. Supported by NIH/NCI grant R01CA155446; NIH/NCI grant R01CA155446.


The design of multifunctional materials able to both selectively deliver a drug into cells in a targeted manner and display an enhanced propensity for biodegradation is an important goal. Here, graphene oxide (GO) is functionalized with the chemotactic peptide N‐formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine (fMLP) known to interact with the formyl peptide receptor, which is expressed in different cancer cells, including cervical carcinoma cells. This study highlights the ability of GOfMLP for targeted drug delivery and cancer cell killing and the subsequent degradation capacity of the hybrid. Biodegradation is assessed via Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that GOfMLP is susceptible to faster myeloperoxidase‐mediated degradation. The hybrid material, but not GO, is capable of inducing neutrophil degranulation with subsequent degradation, being the first study showing inducible neutrophil degradation by the nanomaterial itself with no prior activation of the cells. In addition, confocal imaging and flow cytometry using HeLa cells demonstrate that GOfMLP is able to deliver the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin faster into cells, inducing higher levels of apoptosis, when compared to nonfunctionalized GO. The results reveal that GOfMLP is a promising carrier able to efficiently deliver anticancer drugs, being endowed with the ability to induce its own biodegradation.


This thesis first presents a relatively straight forward approach for detecting galaxy clusters using
spectroscopic data. A friend-of-friends algorithm based on that of Huchra & Geller (1982) is
implemented with linking parameters that take into account selection effects on the the 2dF-SDSS
and QSO (2SLAQ) Luminous Red Galaxy Survey (Cannon et al. 2006). The linking parameters are
constrained using a mock halo catalogue. The galaxy groups and clusters found with this method
have an average velocity dispersion of \sigma v = 467:97 kms-1 and an average size of R clt = 0:78
h-1Mpc. Cluster masses are estimated using the cluster velocity dispersions and appear consistent
with values expected for genuine structures.
The spectroscopic cluster catalogue is then used to calibrate and compare with a more complex
method for detecting clusters using photometric redshifts based on the method of Botzler et al.
(2004). The spectroscopic cluster catalogue can be reproduced by around 38% and up to 80% if
matching is made only to groups and clusters with six or more members. This code is also applied
to the Megaz-LRG DR7 catalogue (Collister & Lahav 2004) producing two catalogues. One that
appears to have a good level of completeness relative to the 2SLAQ spectroscopic catalogue.
A spectroscopic follow up of some preliminary results from the photometric cluster finder was
made using the Anglo-Australian Telescope, which show that the majority of the clusters analysed
are genuine and approximate masses can be estimated from the cluster velocity dispersions.
Finally, some initials results from on going work in the Dark Energy Survey collaboration are
presented, which cover simulated galaxy photometric redshift and colour analysis as well as cluster
detection.


Mathematical models of plant growth are generally characterized by a large number of interacting processes, a large number of model parameters and costly experimental data acquisition. Such complexities make model parameterization a difficult process. Moreover, there is a large variety of models that coexist in the literature with generally an absence of benchmarking between the different approaches and insufficient model evaluation. In this context, this paper aims at enhancing good modelling practices in the plant growth modeling community and at increasing model design efficiency. It gives an overview of the different steps in modelling and specify them in the case of plant growth models specifically regarding their above mentioned characteristics. Different methods allowing to perform these steps are implemented in a dedicated platform PYGMALION (Plant Growth Model Analysis, Identification and Optimization). Some of these methods are original. The C++ platform proposes a framework in which stochastic or deterministic discrete dynamic models can be implemented, and several efficient methods for sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, parameter estimation, model selection or data assimilation can be used for model design, evaluation or application. Finally, a new model, the LNAS model for sugar beet growth, is presented and serves to illustrate how the different methods in PYGMALION can be used for its parameterization, its evaluation and its application to yield prediction. The model is evaluated from real data and is shown to have interesting predictive capacities when coupled with data assimilation techniques.


Solving large sparse linear systems is often the most computationally intensive component of many scientific computing applications. In the past, sparse multifrontal direct factorization has been shown to scale to thousands of processors on dedicated supercomputers resulting in a substantial reduction in computational time. In recent years, an alternative computing paradigm based on GPUs has gained prominence, primarily due to its affordability, power-efficiency, and the potential to achieve significant speedup relative to desktop performance on regular and structured parallel applications. However, sparse matrix factorization on GPUs has not been explored sufficiently due to the complexity involved in an efficient implementation and concerns of low GPU utilization. In this paper, we present an adaptive hybrid approach for accelerating sparse multifrontal factorization based on a judicious exploitation of the processing power of the host CPU and GPU. We present four different policies for distributing and scheduling the workload between the host CPU and the GPU, and propose a mechanism for a runtime selection of the appropriate policy for each step of sparse Cholesky factorization. This mechanism relies on auto-tuning based on modeling the best policy predictor as a parametric classifier. We estimate the classifier parameters from the available empirical computation time data such that the expected computation time is minimized. This approach is readily adaptable for using the current or an extended set of policies for different CPU-GPU combinations as well as for different combinations of dense kernels for both the CPU and the GPU.


Abstract Exploration of the theoretical morphospace of erect helical colony form in Bryozoa, created by McKinney and Raup (1982), reveals that only a small volume of the three-dimensional space of hypothetical form is occupied by actual colonies of the Paleozoic fenestrates (Class Stenolaemata) Archimedes and Helicopora, helical species of the cheilostome (Class Gymnolaemata) Bugula, and the cyclostome (Class Stenolaemata) Crisidmonea archimediformis. Actual helical-colony bryozoans are not found in regions of the morphospace characterized by colony geometries that possess the largest surface areas of filtration sheet. Examination of computer-simulated colonies in the theoretical morphospace reveals that, although possessing high surface areas, colonies in the empty region of high-surface-area morphospace possess other aspects of geometry that are unrealistic as filter-feeding geometries: the filtration-sheet whorls are held at small acute angles to the central colony axis and are deeply nested within one another, both of which are disadvantageous conditions for the system of filter feeding used by the extant cheilostome Bugula, and presumably by extinct helical-colony bryozoans as well. Even though actual bryozoans are found only in the low to intermediate surface-area regions of the theoretical morphospace, surface area of filtration sheet is a major determinant of form in these helical colonies, as is evidenced by a negative correlation in values of the parameters BWANG and ELEV exhibited by the colony data. Minimum values of BWANG are even further constrained by the apparent need of the Archimedes colonies to maintain filtration-sheet branching densities within the range of 20 to 50.


This paper presents a study on minimising the estimation error of forecasting the electricity consumption in Malaysia. A robust and accurate forecasts of electricity consumption are deemed crucial for the supplier to arrive on fair estimations of electricity supply optimally. Thus, identifying the best model to forecast the electricity consumption accurately may hinder energy wastage. This research aims to examine which model gives the least error in estimating the future electricity consumptions in Malaysia. Two models were tested namely Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Regression Methods. In analysing these models, this research applies the Microsoft Excel and SAS Enterprise Miner (SAS) software. The data were extracted from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), CEIC Data Company and The Statistics Portal. Results indicate that ANN produces least error as compared to the Regression Method as the former fits the data well whilst the latter overfits the data. The ANN model uses NNTool from MATLAB is used for forecasting future electricity consumption. The forecasted values (2020-2022) proved to provide more interpretable forecasts. This study may benefit the electricity supplier, consumers and also the Government of Malaysia, in particular the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. It may provide insights on estimating the optimum amount of energy to be generated. This will definitely increase the savings and reduce wastage from every angle. Ultimately, the environment is saved too.


Visual programming languages make software design accessible even to untrained programmers, but basic software engineering practices must still be followed to create a usable product. This paper describes the process by which software was developed to control sophisticated laboratory equipment for a radio frequency interference monitoring system (RFIMS). Development of requirements and specifications is discussed. It is shown that the product was improved by the use of extensive planning and user testing. In addition, the steps required for designing a clear and intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) are discussed. The GUI interface specifications, user panel templates, menu system hierarchy, and programmatically guiding the user are some of the tools that were successfully employed in the project development.


In recent decades, services sector has been identified as a new engine for economic transformation in both developed and developing countries. Services trade, in particular, is regarded as a new source of income, especially for developing countries. Even though services trade only represent 20.2 per cent (2010) to total world trade, interestingly, recent trend shows that the share for developing countries in services trade increased to 32 per cent (2010) as compared with only 20 per cent in 1990. In addition, the share of services exports to total exports is increasing from 18 per cent to 30 per cent for the period of 1990 and 2010. Although, most of the developing countries are still net importers for services, there is a widespread belief among scholars and policy makers that there is great potential for services exports to grow further as new source of income for developing countries.
 The main purpose of this study is to empirically examine the determinants of services export and its impact on economic growth by using panel data in selected Asian countries. To achieve the first objective, static linear panel data model is applied through fixed and random effects model. Meanwhile, the second objective was tested by using panel dynamic OLS (DOLS) to capture the dynamic linkages among the selected variables. Annual data covering the period from 1985 to 2012 was utilized. The selected Asian countries are China,Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
 Singapore, Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
 The findings indicates that services exports in Asian developing countries are influenced by exchange rate, foreign income, foreign direct investment (FDI),
 value added of services, and communication facilities. As for second objective,it can be concluded that all of the macroeconomic variables tested are cointegrated
 in the long run. A services export also has a significant and positive impact on economic growth. The findings implies that the Asian developing countries have the opportunity to compete in exporting services globally provided that these countries could exploit their potential especially through stable exchange rate, promotion of services sector and other sector which are using services as intermediate input and also by enhancing the communication facilities. Moreover, since services exports found to a significant determinants of economic growth, Asian developing countries should focus more on developing appropriate policy measures to increase the productivity of the services sector.


Purpose: The proper combination of the doses by separate brachytherapy fractions affects the estimation of the effectiveness of the treatment since the patient anatomy is not the same between the different brachytherapy fractions. The purpose of this study is to estimate the variation in the effectiveness of the interfractional HDR brachytherapy procedures using dosimetric and radiobiological measures. Methods: The treatment plans of 10 cervical cancer patients (stage III), who were treated with external beam radiotherapy and HDR brachytherapy (using tandem and ovoids), were evaluated. Dose‐volume indices for the cervix and organs‐at‐risk (OARs), along with radiobiological measures, were considered in determining the clinical effectiveness of each fractional dose distribution. The biological effective doses (BED), biologically effective uniform doses (BEUD) and generalized equivalent uniform doses (gEUD) were additionally obtained. Results: For a sample patient, the average physical and BED doses by the external radiotherapy were 46.9 Gy and 45.6 Gy for the target, 35.2 Gy and 30.7 Gy for the rectum, 46.0 Gy and 42.7 Gy for the bladder, respectively. Similarly, for the HDR brachytherapy, the average physical and BED doses were 42.3Gy (SD:1.8) and 65.4Gy (SD:4.6) for the target, 12.8Gy (SD:1.3) and 14.0Gy (SD:2.2) for the rectum, 11.7Gy (SD:1.3) and 12.4Gy (SD:1.8) for the bladder, respectively. The respective gEUD and BEUD values were 36.5Gy (SD:0.5) and 49.2Gy (SD:1.0) for the target, 6.9Gy (SD:1.7) and 35.6Gy (SD:5.8) for the rectum, 7.1Gy (SD:1.2) and 39.9Gy (SD:2.2) for the bladder, respectively. Conclusion: It is shown that the variation in the effectiveness of the different HDR brachytherapy fractions can vary considerably. The calculation of the total dose distribution should be performed by summing up the deformed fractional dose distributions.


Computer simulations provide an interactive and visual environment that promote and support conceptual change in physics education. They are tools that enable students to become actively engaged in their learning and encourage concept exploration and assist in developing their inquiry skills. One area that students consistently retain misconceptions is that of their understanding of Newtonian mechanics and the application of his three laws to motion problems. It is through the implementation of a series of inquiry based student activities that these simulations will be evaluated for their effectiveness in improving conceptual understanding. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods including summative exams, class observations, student surveys and interviews.


The Message Passing Interface(MPI) has become a de-facto standard for parallel programming. The ultimate goal of parallel processing is high performance and this brings a motivation for a highly optimized MPI - implementation. When an application calls an MPI communications routine, data is copied between user memory and the memory areas managed by the MPI library. The speed of this transfer depends on a multitude of factors, including the architecture, amount of data, data layout and whether the data is referenced right before or after a transfer. There are numerous ways to copy data from one location to another, and their characteristics combined with the data properties will yield different efficiency. The information needed to select the best way to copy data is only available during application execution. In this Master's Thesis, we present and implement a method to improve the performance of parallel applications by dynamically perform a close-to-optimal selection of intra-copy routines within an MPI implementation. Our method detect loops of MPI calls, and exploit loop predictability to time their performance while varying the routine selections. In order to obtain a good routine selection reasonably fast, a global optimization heuristic, simulated annealing, is used. In particular, our solution method is employed within Scali MPI Connect (SMC), an MPI implementation providing 35 different intra-copy routines. Through various benchmarks, it is observed that our method introduce low overhead and find a good selection fast, thus reducing the execution time of the given benchmark. In benchmarks where the difference between an optimal routine selection and the standard selection within SMC allows it, a bandwidth improvement of 40% is observed.


What role does politics play in financial crises and how does this affect economic outcomes? This thesis employs a political economy framework to examine the effect politics has on the causes, containment, and resolution of financial crises. The first paper examines the development of Irish financial regulation and supervision in the context of the politics of financial services policy. It argues that domestic politics prior to the crisis in Ireland played a significant contributing role in fostering a permissive banking environment which allowed the build up of financial imbalances. The second paper, with Christopher Gandrud, aims to understand why policymakers may end up choosing sub-optimal financial crisis containment
strategies when taking decisions under uncertainty. We develop a signalling model of financial crisis management to enhance our understanding of the interactions between bureaucrats and decision-makers and to show how asymmetries of information can have significant implications for policy choice. The third paper, with Alessio Terzi, uses cross-country econometric evidence to examine the impact that political and party systems have on the fiscal cost of financial sector intervention. The results of our empirical analysis suggest that there is a systematic relationship between political economy factors and the fiscal cost of financial sector intervention in banking crises. We find that governments in presidential systems are associated with lower fiscal costs when managing banking crises. Looking further at crisis containment strategies, we show that these governments are are less likely to employ costly bank guarantees and bank recapitalisations which expose the state to significant contingent and direct fiscal liabilities, and are more likely to impose losses on depositors. The fourth paper analyses reform of the framework for crises management in the EU from a political economy perspective, following the 2007 financial and subsequent sovereign debt crisis. It explains how the limits of coordination and unprecedented public support led to the proposal for the establishment of a harmonised framework for bank resolution across the EU. However, the distributional consequences of financial sector support and the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism led to deeper integration for euro area Member States and agreement on the Single Resolution Mechanism. It analyses in detail the negotiations on the financing structure for future resolution, decision-making procedures and crisis management tools and demonstrates how the power of certain Member States and distributive conflict with regard to legacy assets shaped the new architecture. It also highlights the important role the European Parliament played in the negotiations.
This thesis makes a number of substantive contributions to political economy. The new theoretical and empirical findings will help foster a better understanding as to how governments may react to future financial crises and show what factors lead to and shape reform. It also has a number of policy implications. It stresses the need for a robust regulatory and supervisory architecture which creates the appropriate incentives for bureaucrats to provide timely and accurate information to decision-makers. It also highlights the need for a more intrusive approach to supervision.


In this paper we reflect on land, language and law in Wiilman Noongar Boodjar (Country), which has recently become known as the Upper Blackwood River Catchment in the South West of Western Australia. By intertwining historical perspectives with Western science and Noongar katitjiny (knowledge and understandings, or rationality) we argue that this region is alive, that it does have a language and that there is a message to be heard. History shows that the voice of the land might be diminishing, but signs of a transformation are evident, where a conciliation of these voices enables real listening to ancient insights and deep participation with place.


We report the magnetic field and particle-concentration dependent steady-state shear-responses of rod shaped Li-Zn ferrite particle based magnetorheological fluids (MRFs). Rod-shaped soft ferrimagnetic Li-Zn ferrite (Li0.4Zn0.2Fe2.4O4) particles were synthesized using the combustion synthesis method. MRFs of three different particle-concentrations (φ = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4, in weight fraction) were prepared using silicone oil. Their yield strength and dynamic viscosity were studied at different applied magnetic fields (B). With an increase in B and φ, the yield strength (τY) of the MRFs increases. This behaviour is assigned to the formation of stronger columnar structures of the magnetically interacting particles which resist the flow (shear) of the MRF. For the MRF with φ = 0.4 and B = 1.2 T, we observed a maximum τY value of ∼1.25 kPa. Furthermore, we observed that, based on the on-state to off-state viscosity ratio (ηon/ηoff) at a particular operating B value, the optimum particle concentration required for energy- and cost-efficient operation of the MRFs can be chosen. The absence of a stabilizing-agent or de-agglomerating-coating, the low density, and the excellent oxidation- and corrosion-resistance of the soft ferrimagnetic rod-shaped Li-Zn ferrite particles make this MRF-system highly versatile and economical for many magneto-mechanical applications.


Seed germination is a crucial checkpoint for plant survival under unfavorable environmental conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) and its signaling play a vital role in integrating environmental information to regulate seed germination. MCM1/AGAMOUS/DEFICIENS/SRF (MADS)-box transcription factors are mainly known as key regulators of seed and flower development in Arabidopsis. However, their functions in seed germination are still poorly understood. Here we report that MADS-box transcription factor AGL21 negatively modulates seed germination and post-germination growth by controlling the expression of ABA-INSENSITIVE 5 (ABI5) in Arabidopsis. AGL21 responds to multiple environmental stresses and plant hormones. The AGL21-overexpressing plants are hypersensitive to ABA, salt and osmotic stresses during seed germination and early post-germination growth, whereas agl21 mutants are less sensitive. AGL21 positively regulates ABI5 expression in seeds. Genetic analyses reveal that AGL21 is epistatic to ABI5 in controlling seed germination. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays further demonstrate that AGL21 could directly bind to the ABI5 promoter in plant cells. Taken together, our results suggest that AGL21 acts as a surveillance integrator that incorporates environmental cues and endogenous hormonal signals into ABA signaling to regulate seed germination and early post-germination growth.


Public health emergencies can arise in a number of different ways. They can follow a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, and the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. They may be man-made, such as the September 11 attacks and the anthrax scare. They may also be infectious. While no pandemic flu had yet reached the severity of the 1918 flu, there have been several scares, including avian flu and most recently H1N1.Few questions are more ethically or legally loaded than determining who will receive scarce medical resources in the event of a widespread public health emergency. The answer will often mean the difference between life and death for affected Americans.Despite this reality, or perhaps because of it, there has been little guidance from the federal and state governments on how to prioritize distribution of those resources among individuals. To fill this gap, some public health and medical organizations promulgated protocols that set forth a hierarchy of resource allocation in response to the predicted H1N1 pandemic. Although these efforts at advance planning are to be lauded, they raise a number of troubling civil rights issues. Several of the protocols exclude some people with disabilities from receiving care even when their disabilities do not affect the likely success of the medical interventions at issue. Both the legality of such plans and the ethical implications of promoting the health of the community at the expense of people with disabilities are highly problematic.This Article explores the legality of the proposed allocation protocols under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. It also evaluates their compatibility with the ethical principles that guide public health decisions and discusses their implications for people with disabilities in the preplanning for public health emergencies.


A key question to all high-pressure research arises from the reliability of pressure standards. There is some indication and discussion of an uncertainty of 10–20 % for higher pressures in all standards. Independent and simultaneous investigation of the dynamical (ultrasonic interferometry of elastic wave velocities) and static (XRD-measurement of the pressure-induced volume decline) compressibility on a sample reveal the possibility of a standard-free pressure calibration and, consequently an absolute pressure measurement. Ultrasonic interferometry is used to measure velocities of elastic compressional and shear waves in the multi-anvil high-pressure device MAX80 at HASYLAB Hamburg enabling simultaneous XRD and ultrasonic experiments. Two of the six anvils were equipped with lithium niobate transducers of 33.3 MHz natural frequency. NaCl was used as pressure calibrant, using the EoS of Decker (1971), and sample for ultrasonic interferometry. From the ultrasonic wave velocity data we calculated the compressibility of NaCl as a function of pressure independent from NaCl-pressure calibrant. The results were compared with data of static compression experiments up to 5 GPa (Bridgman, 1940) and up to 30 GPa (Birch, 1986) using experimental data from Boehler & Kennedy (1980) and Fritz et al. (1971). At 1.2 GPa and 5.3 GPa the results of static compression data agree with our velocity-derived compressibility data. In the range between 2 and 4GPa our dynamical data have 1.5–3% higher values. The pressure revealed according to Decker (1971) is in accordance to our standard-free pressure calibration. Consequently, up to 8 GPa the NaCl pressure standard has a reliability of at least 1%. However, there is some evidence that at higher pressures the inaccuracy of the NaCl standard becomes ≫ 1%.


Introduction Bovine respiratory disease continues to be the most costly disease affecting productivity and profitability in the stocker segment. Despite their high cost, longer-acting, injectable therapeutic antimicrobials such as Draxxin (Tulathromycin; Pfizer Animal Health, New York, NY) can extend the window of treatment duration, thereby reducing the incidence and severity of bovine respiratory disease. Use of feed-based metaphylaxis programs, such as therapeutic administration of multiple 5-day pulses of Aureomycin (Alpharma, Inc., Bridgewater, NJ), in conjunction with an injectable metaphylaxis program may be a cost-effective way to improve bovine respiratory disease therapy without having to physically handle and stress cattle.


We introduce a solution theory for time-varying linear dierential-algeb raic equations (DAEs) E(t) _ x = A(t)x which can be transformed into standard canonical form (SCF), i.e. the DAE is decoupled into an ODE _ z1 = J(t)z1 and a pure DAE N(t) _ z2 = z2, where N is pointwise strictly lower triangular. This class is a time-varying generalization of time-invariant DAEs where the corresponding matrix pencil is regular. It will be shown in which sense the SCF is a canonical form, that it allows for a transition matrix similar to the one for ODEs, and how this can be exploited to derive a variation of constants formula. Furthermore, we show in which sense the class of systems transferable into SCF is equivalent to DAEs which are analytically solvable, and relate SCF to the derivative array approach, dierentiation index and strangeness index. Finally, an algorithm is presented which determines the transformation matrices which put a DAE into SCF.


We analyse whether migration is an adaptation that households employ to cope with climate in Ghana and Nigeria. If migration is part of the present adaptation portfolio of households in developing countries, it is reasonable to expect that it will also be an adaptation to future climate change. It is important to stress that we are interested in long-term climatic conditions rather than in short-term weather fluctuations. The data to test these predictions are drawn from two different household surveys: the Nigeria General Household Survey and the Ghana Living Standard Survey. We find a hill-shaped relationship between temperature in the dry season and the propensity to migrate in households that operate farms. We also find a significant hill-shaped relationship between precipitations in the wet seasons and the propensity to migrate in farm households. Climate has instead no significant impact on the propensity to migrate in non-farm households. Climate change scenarios generated by General Circulation model reveal that, ceteris paribus, migration may decline in Ghana and in Nigeria.


Health visitors have always been faced with change and challenge to their role, partly as a result of health visiting being underpinned by a set of 'soft' skills that are difficult to articulate. This article suggests that the relationship-building skills of health visitors can now be underpinned by evidence from developments in neuroscience. In this paper, the aspects of neuroscience behind many of the core interventions health visitors have always used are discussed and their relationship to managing emotions and stress are addressed. Neurohormones such as oxytocin, cortisol and dopamine are described in the context of health visitor–parent relationships and how this can benefit babies. This paper explains important brain structures and how health visitors can work with these.


steps: the first step involves therapy to get it into remission, and the second step involves therapy to prevent it from coming back. Over several decades our approach to the first step has largely remained the same, but our approach to the second step has evolved significantly. The fundamental clinical decision for the second step has become: is the prospect for durable control better with posttransplantation chemotherapy or with hematopoietic cell transplantation? Insights gathered incrementally from research have allowed us to tailor our therapies and avoid a "one size fits all" approach. Perhaps the most important insights for step 2 decision-making are the identification of biologic markers present at diagnosis before treatment and the characterization of minimal residual treatment after step 1 therapy. Recognition of the prognostic significance of clonal cytogenetic abnormalities has revolutionized the management of these patients; however, considerable variation in clinical response and survival remains, indicating molecular heterogeneity within each cytogenetic risk group. Molecular markers are now beginning to revolutionize the management of AML. Today, we have the ability to identify subgroups within the cytogenetic risk groups to further refine our treatment options. Identification of FLT3 and CEBPA mutations in patients who are otherwise cytogenetically normal have emerged as very strong negative and positive prognostic indicators. We now recognize that combinations of certain mutations add even more prognostic information. The World Health Organization classification for AML has recognized NPM1 and CEBPA as provisional entities and recommends that all patients be tested for FLT3. Both the NCCN and the European Leukemia Net guidelines recommend use of FLT3, NPM1, and CEBPA to categorize cytogenetically normal patients. Additionally, the increased sensitivity of these molecular tests or the use of flow cytometry allows us to detect small numbers of residual leukemic cells after treatment, even when the patient appears to be in a histological and cytogenetic remission, again providing prognostic significance. The challenge for molecular markers in the coming decade will be how best to use them in our patients to personalize our approach for each patient. Molecular markers are not mutually exclusive, and the prognostic impact of a particular molecular marker can vary in the presence or absence of another marker. New markers are constantly being identified, which further complicates the prognostic evaluation. Additionally, the impact of assessing molecular markers on the outcomes after stem cell transplantation remains an important unanswered question. This issue contains a review of a symposium that took place at the 2010 BMT Tandem Meeting in Orlando, FL. The topics review the current knowledge of molecular markers and their impact on treatment and outcome, minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring, and the status of transplantation in the era of molecular testing. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia: Meet Personalized Medicine


We study water flow computation on imprecise terrains. We consider two approaches to modeling flow on a terrain: one where water flows across the surface of a polyhedral terrain in the direction of steepest descent, and one where water only flows along the edges of a predefined graph, for example a grid or a triangulation. In both cases each vertex has an imprecise elevation, given by an interval of possible values, while its (x, y)-coordinates are fixed. For the first model, we show that the problem of deciding whether one vertex may be contained in the watershed of another is NP-hard. In contrast, for the second model we give a simple O(n log n) time algorithm to compute the minimal and the maximal watershed of a vertex, where n is the number of edges of the graph. On a grid model, we can compute the same in O(n) time.


This paper presents a framework aimed at the use of multimedia and web technologies to create an e-Ticketing system that allows users to virtually see their seat allocation and the viewing angle towards a theatre screen. This application combines multimedia elements present on web to produce and provide one of the most fascinating experiences to the end user. All the aspects of this interactive, innovative application are presented via a fictitious theatre company called Wide Angle Entertainment (WAE) throughout the paper. The concepts of WAE e-Ticketing system were developed in 2002 as an e-Commerce project. However, some features are still leading the area of e-Ticketing in 2007. In this paper, first Internet and online business associated with entertainment industry are reviewed. The proposed business model and system model are then given. Development and implementation of e-Ticketing system for WAE from a business point of view are also detailed. Finally conclusion and future direction are addressed. It is believed that the viewing angle concept will provides a better user experience and lead to more online ticket sales. It is expected that the viewing angle concept will be adopted by the entertainment industry next year or two.


As a prospective ophthalmic drug delivery device, contact lenses attract a lot of attention because of the improved drug residence time and bioavailability. Herein, we proposed and fabricated a molecular imprinted structural color contact lens for sustained timolol release which could self-report the release process by color change. The specific recognition of target timolol by molecular imprinted sites can not only increase the loading amount and the residence time of the drug but also endow the structure color of lens remarkable blue shift with the accumulative release of timolol. The fascinating contact lens can be further used for controlling release of a large number of ophthalmic drugs and has high potential to be a new generation of functional contact lenses.


Background: Spasticity is a major problem related to spinal cord injuries. Use of intrathecal baclofen with an implanted pump seems a very useful mode of therapy in patients in whom oral antispasmodic agents are either not effective or produce intolerable side-effects. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four patients with mean age 50 years (range 32-72 years) had intrathecal baclofen pump implanted for the severe spasticity of spinal origin. One patient died following implantation of pump due to natural causes and was not included in the study. The patients were followed up for mean 22 months (range, one to five years). Results: All 24 patients showed improvement in their spasm following the procedure. Improvement was noted in pain (12), sleep disturbance (20) and sphincter control (14). Patients had improvement in activities of daily living such as feeding ability (10), self care (10), indoor and outdoor mobility (19), and driving (4). One patient had catheter leakage immediately after the surgery and required change of catheter. The radio telemetry allows very good adjustment of the dose according the individual patients needs. Conclusion: Intrathecal baclofen pump improves the symptoms of spasm and also the quality of life. It helps the patient to live more independently. It is not an irreversible surgery for the patient and hence it is very useful in the changing the dynamics in this group of patients.


[1] Nonsynchronous rotation of Europa should result in a periodic change in stress azimuths at any given location, which may result in a corresponding change in crack azimuths. An early study seemed to provide evidence for such variation within a crack sequence in the northern trailing hemisphere. However, more recent work with higher-resolution imagery resulted in a more complete sequence of cracks in the region and showed that the azimuth variation with time was not systematic. Similar results were found in the southern leading region. Here we investigate whether the northern leading region contains a crack record, on the basis of crosscutting relationships, that is adequate to indicate nonsynchronous rotation. As in the previous studies of other regions, we find no clear evidence of nonsynchronous rotation within crack azimuth patterns. However, there are other lines of evidence in support of nonsynchronous rotation. Therefore the lack of a continuous pattern of azimuth change with time is likely due to only a few cracks forming per cycle, thus hiding any discernable signal from nonsynchronous rotation in those regions. In that case, the cracks would have formed over numerous cycles of nonsynchronous rotation. The study also reveals a distinctive distribution of crack azimuths, with gaps at certain values. This distribution may reflect a combination of observation selection due to illumination and less-favorable cracking orientations.


Voltage-dependent gating mechanisms of large conductance Ca2+ and voltage-activated (BK) channels were investigated using two-dimensional maximum likelihood analysis of single-channel open and closed intervals. To obtain sufficient data at negative as well as positive voltages, single-channel currents were recorded at saturating Ca2+ from BK channels mutated to remove the RCK1 Ca2+ and Mg2+ sensors. The saturating Ca2+ acting on the Ca2+ bowl sensors of the resulting BKB channels increased channel activity while driving the gating into a reduced number of states, simplifying the model. Five highly constrained idealized gating mechanisms based on extensions of the Monod-Wyman-Changeux model for allosteric proteins were examined. A 10-state model without coupling between the voltage sensors and the opening/closing transitions partially described the voltage dependence of Po but not the single-channel kinetics. With allowed coupling, the model gave improved descriptions of Po and approximated the single-channel kinetics; each activated voltage sensor increased the opening rate approximately an additional 23-fold while having little effect on the closing rate. Allowing cooperativity among voltage sensors further improved the description of the data: each activated voltage sensor increased the activation rate of the remaining voltage sensors approximately fourfold, with little effect on the deactivation rate. The coupling factor was decreased in models with cooperativity from ∼23 to ∼18. Whether the apparent cooperativity among voltage sensors arises from imposing highly idealized models or from actual cooperativity will require additional studies to resolve. For both cooperative and noncooperative models, allowing transitions to five additional brief (flicker) closed states further improved the description of the data. These observations show that the voltage-dependent single-channel kinetics of BKB channels can be approximated by highly idealized allosteric models in which voltage sensor movement increases Po mainly through an increase in channel opening rates, with limited effects on closing rates.


We developed new calcium phosphate bone substitute material, amorphous calcium polyphosphate. The new material is synthesized by a cement-like slif-setting reaction with calcium phosphate glass, basic materials and water. In this study, we prepared with CPG, Na2CO3 and NaOH solution. When they are mixed together, amorphous phase was precipitated. The precipitated amorphous phase consisted of polyphosphate chains condensed with Na ions released from Na2CO3 and NaOH. When the amorphous calcium polyphosphate dissolves, inorganic polyphosphates are released into the medium. The inorganic polyphosphates as the dissolution product inducted the calcification of the osteoblast cells. Therefore, in animal test, the new bone formation in rat calvarial defects treated with the new material was significantly higher than sham-surgery control group, especially in the initial stage. The amorphous calcium polyphosphate was biocompatible and bioresorbable and promoted the new bone formation.


This article presents results of research conducted in a cooperative of "pickers" of the Buenos Aires metropolitan area dedicated to recycling of waste, focusing on the analysis of the materiality of their practice. Ethnographic analysis of the paths of objects discarded as "rubbish" and its subsequent appropriation, my aim is to demonstrate the ways in which they are raised again in social life, charging new senses, holding and/or producing new social linkages. The movement of this objects discarded in transit results in a complex social process that not only (re)creates these things but also people who come into relationship with and through them. This article argues that waste was material and symbolically dense objects that far from representing the final stage of production/consumption processes, play an important role in shaping interpersonal ties that bind those involved in transfers.


This article gives a concise introduction to the 'tragedy of the anticommons.' The anticommons thesis is simple: when too many people own pieces of one thing, nobody can use it. Usually, private ownership creates wealth. But too much ownership has the opposite effect – it leads to wasteful underuse. This is a free market paradox that shows up all across the global economy. If too many owners control a single resource, cooperation breaks down, wealth disappears, and everybody loses. Conceptually, underuse in an anticommons mirrors the familiar problem of overuse in a 'tragedy of the commons.' The field of anticommons studies is now well‐established. Over a thousand scholars have detailed examples from across the innovation frontier, including drug patenting, telecom licensing, climate change, compulsory land purchase, oil field unitisation, music and art copyright, and post‐socialist economic transition. Fixing anticommons tragedy is a key challenge for any legal system committed to innovation and economic growth.


The ultimate goal of Industry 4.0 is to deliver real-time data to network-based information technology systems, which are always connected to machines, components, and ongoing work. They use machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze and obtain information from these big data and adjust processes automatically as needed. Statistical machine learning techniques are designed to extract information from existing data. Statistical machine learning is largely based on statistical optimization and forecasting techniques. As a result of the analysis of big data gathered by statistical techniques with statistical machine learning methods, both manufacturers and service sector companies using these new techniques and methods have higher competitive power compared to companies that cannot adapt to these new techniques. In this study, statistical machine learning in terms of Industry 4.0 and the effect of big data on the competitiveness of firms have been investigated.


Objective To examine the causal relevance of lifelong differences in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) for ischemic stroke (IS) relative to that for coronary heart disease (CHD) using a Mendelian randomization approach. Methods We undertook a 2-sample Mendelian randomization, based on summary data, to estimate the causal relevance of LDL-C for risk of IS and CHD. Information from 62 independent genetic variants with genome-wide significant effects on LDL-C levels was used to estimate the causal effects of LDL-C for IS and IS subtypes (based on 12,389 IS cases from METASTROKE) and for CHD (based on 60,801 cases from CARDIoGRAMplusC4D). We then assessed the effects of LDL-C on IS and CHD for heterogeneity. Results A 1 mmol/L higher genetically determined LDL-C was associated with a 50% higher risk of CHD (odds ratio [OR] 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32−1.68, p = 1.1 × 10−8). By contrast, the causal effect of LDL-C was much weaker for IS (OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.96−1.30, p = 0.14; p for heterogeneity = 2.6 × 10−3) and, in particular, for cardioembolic stroke (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.84−1.33, p = 0.64; p for heterogeneity = 8.6 × 10−3) when compared with that for CHD. Conclusions In contrast with the consistent effects of LDL-C-lowering therapies on IS and CHD, genetic variants that confer lifelong LDL-C differences show a weaker effect on IS than on CHD. The relevance of etiologically distinct IS subtypes may contribute to the differences observed.


Statistical similarities between earthquakes and other systems that emit cracking noises have been explored in diverse contexts, ranging from materials science to financial and social systems. Such analogies give promise of a unified and universal theory for describing the complex responses of those systems. There are, however, very few attempts to simultaneously characterize the most fundamental seismic laws in such systems. Here we present a complete description of the Gutenberg-Richter law, the recurrence times, Omori's law, the productivity law, and Båth's law for the acoustic emissions that occur in the relaxation process of uncrumpling thin plastic sheets. Our results show that these laws also appear in this phenomenon, but (for most cases) with different parameters from those reported for earthquakes and fracture experiments. This study thus contributes to elucidate the parallel between seismic laws and cracking noises in uncrumpling processes, revealing striking qualitative similarities but also showing that these processes display unique features.


The first mission had focussed on the Assessment of Needs and the development of a proposed Training Framework. Our second mission helped to develop the content of the training package and design the Training for Trainers workshop which was delivered on the third mission. This was also an opportunity to further align the package to local needs and to plan for its implementation across the country. Previous reports contain details of the work undertaken and the resources produced. This report focuses on the third mission


Introduction Two difficult conditions, with their attendant consequences, define the context of education that would be responsive to ecological concerns. First, human progress emphasizing the domination of nature has devastated many parts of the earth. (1) Modern civilization has created environmental conditions characterized by pollution, depletion of natural resources, climate change, threatened biodiversity, and diminishing wilderness. In the process, modern man has lost a sense of reverence toward the earth. Second, mainstream American education reform has embraced a standards and testing culture that tends to ignore the peculiarities of place, culture, and community in order to standardize the experiences of students. Consequently, local human and natural communities are not usually important parts of the school curriculum. (2) Education that ignores issues of ecology and community becomes complicit in their erosion. In American schools, curriculum is decontextualized and testing over-determines the content and methods of schooling. (3) Scientific management tools have produced schools designed for efficiency, social engineering, sorting of students and creation of uniform, easily measured outcomes. Learning often seems like a component of large-scale industrialization where efficiency and standardization are more important than imaginative and divergent thinking. High stakes testing creates pressure for schools to eliminate or diminish subjects that are not tested, including the arts. In the process, the scope and purposes of education have been narrowed so that issues of ecological or social responsibility are rarely considered (4) and the humanistic aims of developing compassion, social awareness and creative expression are neglected. This article examines critical place-based pedagogy as a response to educational practices that neglect important ecological social issues. A critical pedagogy of place creates a rigorous theoretical framework that combines the ecological focus of place-based education with the social focus of critical theory. (5) It disturbs standardized curriculum models and re-envisions educational purposes by valuing the peculiarities of the local. Many contemporary artists create work that is responsive to the ecology of local places and culture. These artists suggest ways that the educator might resist the isolation of the classroom from vital issues of community and ecology by focusing on the peculiarities of the local environment and culture. They assume a critical stance toward taken for granted assumptions about power, privilege, progress and our relationships with nature. Their work also resists the separation of art from science through its use of technology and scientific collaboration. As teaching becomes responsive to ecology and local culture, learning can be socially aware, multi-disciplinary, reflective, and transformational. The intersection of critical theory, place-based learning, science, technology, and contemporary art provides a robust framework for the practice of education that is concerned with ecological issues. Wilderness "In Wildness is the preservation of the World. Every tree sends its fibres forth in search of the Wild. The cities import it at any price. Men plough and sail for it. From the forest and wildness come the tonics and barks that brace mankind." (6) One of my earliest memories is camping in the Uintah Mountains with my father. I remember crouching behind him in the cold before the dawn while he attempted to capture on camera the behavior of nocturnal beavers. As I grew older, we took many long hikes into these mountains and traveled to distant lakes. My father was a biologist and taught me at an early age to value the beautiful and complex relationships of the natural world. I learned to prize the mountain wilderness, the quiet of the deep forest, and the adventure of the narrow path. The natural world became a sacred place for me. …


Introducing a posthumous collection of writings by Donald Barthelme, Thomas Pynchon says that the book in hand offers "the do-it-yourself hypertextualist … a chance to browse and recombine, often with striking results" (I xv). For those of us whose work in hypertext has been deeply informed by Pynchon's fiction, this statement in itself represents a pretty striking development, not to mention a huge thrill. For starters, it logs Pynchon's name on the very short list of artworld legends who have speculated that hypertext might be worth thinking about (see also Coover and Eno). It also bolsters our suspicion that writers like Acker, Burroughs, Coover, Dick, Pynchon, Reed, Rushdie and others have developed a narrative sensibility that resonates with–or, as they say in cultural studies, articulates to (see Grossberg) –certain late-breaking developments in communication technology. This should not be surprising. After all, Pynchon is the writer who gave us Tyrone [Jr.] and his fantasy of the "Electroworld".


Endowing software systems with self-adaptation capabilities has shown to be quite effective in coping with uncertain and dynamic operational environments as well as managing the complexity generated by non-functional requirements. Nowadays, a large number of approaches tackle the issue of enabling self-adaptive behavior from different perspectives and under diverse assumptions, making it harder for architects to make judicious decisions about design alternatives and quality attributes tradeoffs. It has currently been claimed that search-based software design approaches may improve the quality of resulting artifacts and the productivity of design processes, as a consequence of promoting a more comprehensive and systematic representation of design knowledge and preventing design bias and false intuition. To the best of our knowledge, no controlled experiments have been performed to provide sound evidence of such claim in the self-adaptive systems domain. In this paper, we report the results of a quasi-experiment performed with 24 students of a graduate program in Distributed and Ubiquitous Computing. The experiment evaluated the design of self-adaptive systems using a search-based approach, in contrast to the use of a style-based non-automated approach. The results show that search-based approaches can improve the effectiveness of resulting architectures and reduce design complexity. We found no evidence regarding the method's potential for leveraging the acquisition of distilled design knowledge by novice software architects.


Succession studies on artificial substrates in the Bay of Santa Marta, Colombian Caribbean showed Balanus trigonus (Darwin) as one of the more prominent members of the fouling community. This fact prompted the interest for a closer examination of its biology. Four aspects were touched upon: recruitment, growth and mortality rates, and orientation with respect to the horizon line. Two hypotheses were tested. First, that orientation of individuals was random within the orientation range observed during succession, and second, that there was no relationship between orientation and age of the individuals. Larvae settling was found to occur throughout the year but with a well delimited peak in the dry season (January to April). The availability of competent larvae is reflected in the abundance of the species during succession. Growth and mortality proceed rapidly. Maximal growth (6.2 mm average carino-rostral distance) is reached in 20 weeks after settlement. Mortality is substantial: 50% of recruits, on average, died after 3-4 weeks from settlement. Orientation at settlement was found to be not random: for instance, 64% of individuals orientated between 0°-60° from the horizon. With age the orientation patterns at settlement changed statistically. Biological and ecological implications of these findings are discussed and comparisons made with other studies. It is concluded that Balanus trigonus could act as a model species for latitudinal comparisons in view of its wide distribution, adaptability and sessile habit.


Due to the continually increasing levels of penetration of distributed generation the correct operation of Loss-Of-Mains protection is of prime importance. Many UK utilities report persistent problems relating to incorrect operation of the ROCOF and Vector Shift methods which are currently the most commonly applied methods for Loss-Of-Mains (LOM) detection. The main focus of this paper is to demonstrate the problems associated with these methods through detailed dynamic modelling of existing available relays. The ability to investigate the transient response of the LOM protection to various system events highlights the main weaknesses of the existing methods, and more importantly, provides the means of quantitative analysis and better understanding of these weaknesses. Consequently, the dynamic analysis of the protective algorithms supports the identification of best compromise settings and gives insight to the future areas requiring improvement.


Reproductive traits information about Pacific pomfret ( Brama australis ) is scarce or not have been updated. Through histological analysis, the type of reproduction, maturity length and different gonadal stages development in males and females were studied. Specimens from the central coast of Chile were analysed. The results confirmed that females exhibited an ovary with asynchronous development, which is a characteristic of partial spawners. The adjusted model indicated that females mature, in average at 37.7 cm of fork length. Data suggests that males mature at smaller sizes compared to females. Based on the absence of recent or imminent reproductive activity in this and other studies, the hypothesis that the reproductive process of the species takes place rather off-shore, beyond the fishing zones is discussed.


A previous study tested the validity of simulations of the appearance of a natural image (from different observation distances) generated by using a visual model and contrast sensitivity functions of the individual observers [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 13, 1131 (1996)]. Deleting image spatial-frequency components that should be undetectable made the simulations indistinguishable from the original images at distances larger than the simulated distance. The simulated observation distance accurately predicted the distance at which the simulated image could be discriminated from the original image. Owing to the 1/f characteristic of natural images' spatial spectra, the individual contrast sensitivity functions (CSF's) used in the simulations of the previous study were actually tested only over a narrow range of retinal spatial frequencies. To test the CSF's over a wide range of frequencies, the same simulations and testing procedure were applied to five contrast versions of the images (10–300%). This provides a stronger test of the model, of the simulations, and specifically of the CSF's used. The relevant CSF for a discrimination task was found to be obtained by using 1-octave Gabor stimuli measured in a contrast detection task. The relevant CSF data had to be measured over a range of observation distances, owing to limitations of the displays. © 2001 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 330.4060, 330.1800, 330.1880, 330.5000, 330.6100, 330.6110.


The main objectives of the EU environmental policy are environmental and public health protection, prudent and rational use of natural resources, and promoting international actions to solve the regional and global environmental problems. The EU policies implementation is performed by using specific tools as legislation, - notably Directives setting environmental quality standards (levels of pollution), rules for industrial procedures (emission standards, design and operational standards), products standards (concentration or emission limits for a product) - environmental protection action plans, and financial aid programs. This paper reviews some of the most important policies and actions promoted at European level in order to protect the environment and ensuring sustainable development.


This thesis concerns the disease situation for the three seal species that inhabit the Swedish coastal waters; the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), the ringed seal (Phoca hispida botnica) and the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). A severe decline of the populations of Baltic grey and ringed seals took place during the second half of the 1960s. It was suggested to be caused by the contamination by industrial chemicals, above all organochlorines such as PCB and DDT. High concentrations of these substances were found in the Baltic biota. The author has performed necropsy or examination of organ samples from animals, which were found dead on shore, by caught at fishery or killed by hunting during 1977-2002. Multiple chronic organ lesions were found most prominent in the female reproductive organs (uterine stenoses and occlusions), intestines (colonic ulcers) and adrenals (cortical hyperplasia). Severe lesions were present also in the skeleton, integument and kidneys. The character and distribution of the lesions was regular and the disease picture tentatively was named the Baltic Seal Disease Complex (BSDC). The changes in the female reproductive organs indicate that reproductive failure is an important factor behind the decline of the Baltic seal populations. Adrenocortical hyperplasia was a regular and striking component of the BSDC. It is a common feature of prolonged stress in animals and man. The animals in this study have suffered from severe inflammatory processes in connection with more or less advanced malnutrition due to hampered ingestion and digestion of food. This is in the author's opinion the most probable explanation of the adrenal changes. Inflammatory changes were most prominent in the intestines with deep ulcerations, in several cases leading to perforation of the intestinal wall. Bacteriological investigation revealed opportunistic or pathogenic micro-organisms but a common bacterial aetiology could not be suggested. The severity and wide dispersion of the lesions are interpreted as signs of a defective immune response. Minor lesions in the ileocaeco-colonic region caused by hookworms are regarded as the primary event of the ulcerous processes facilitating the establishment of secondary bacterial infections. Harbour seals showed less developed pathological changes but instead were victims of two Distemper epizootics with high mortality (c60%), during 1988 and 2002. During the 14- year-period after 1988 the Swedish harbour seal population gradually attained to the preepizootic size; a fast recover compared with the situation in Baltic grey and ringed seal populations suffering from the BSDC problems. A decrease in the prevalence of the lesions of the BSDC has been demonstrated concurrent with a decreased contamination of the Baltic biota towards the end of the 1900s. This is a strong indication of the role of pollutants as the main factor behind the BSDC. Other factors may also be involved, however, as indicated by the observation that the prevalence of intestinal ulcers still is high in Baltic grey seals.


The overall rate of major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation receiving warfarin therapy is approximately 4%. Among these 4% patients, spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage (SRH) is a rare but potentially lethal complication with a nonspecific presentation that can lead to missed or delayed diagnosis. The current literature provides little direction for diagnosis and management of such cases. Anticoagulation-related SRH is associated with a high mortality rate (approximately 20%). Despite the vague presentation, prompt diagnosis is crucial to reverse the anticoagulation and prevent further bleeding. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen is the imaging modality of choice in suspected cases. Patients with SRH require aggressive treatment with blood transfusions, interventional radiological procedures, percutaneous drainage or surgical evacuation of the hematoma. We report a case of warfarin-induced SRH from the renal vein in a patient who presented to our emergency department with acute, nonspecific abdominal pain and shock. We diagnosed the patient with warfarin-induced SRH on the basis of clinical suspicion and characteristic CT findings. We initially treated the patient conservatively, followed by embolization of the right renal artery during the late course of hospital stay, and he was discharged with good recovery. SRH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain, hypotension, and/or decreased hemoglobin levels in patients receiving anticoagulation therapy, especially in those with preexisting end-stage renal disease.


Abstract Purpose: In the current economic climate, young people's attitudes and habits related to money management seem to be of great interest. The primary purpose of this study is to advance the knowledge base in the area of personal finance education. Methodology: This survey was administered by English teachers to a convenience sample population of 326 high school seniors, representing seven small, medium, and large public high schools in a midwestern state. The survey gathered the students' perceptions related to purchasing decisions and courses they had taken. Results: Findings included the following: (1) students expect to equal or surpass their parents' standard of living; (2) the strongest influence on students' money management decisions was their own independent thinking; (3) a part-time job was their most important source of income, (4) the median amount students spent in a month was $115; (5) when spending money, males were more influenced than females by external factors such as movies or the Internet; (6) business classes provided more helpful money management information than other classes; and (7) the personal finance topic taught the least often was home mortgages. Conclusion: A major conclusion was that these high school seniors have a positive outlook on their future earning power, in fact, expecting to equal or surpass their parents' standard of living. Introduction Financial literacy is essential for all citizens, regardless of profession, because their money management decisions have an enormous impact on their economic security. The current economic recession is focusing greater attention on the role of financial planning in attainment of appropriate financial results. Unfortunately, the necessary financial acumen is not always present, causing serious financial complications in families' everyday lives. During this economic climate, it is especially important to determine how people, especially students, acquire relevant information concerning spending and saving alternatives and to determine the extent to which wise financial behaviors are actually practiced. According to a recent survey of financial literacy (NFCC, 2009), one-third of adults had no savings at all, and a similar percentage did not set aside any annual income for retirement purposes. Various studies, such as Norvilitis et al. (2006) and Jones (2005), emphasize the need to train students in the effective management of personal finances. To improve instruction in personal finance, it is important to understand students' perceptions of money management, financial services, and what they learn about these topics in high school. The present study is intended to provide that information. Background Perspectives Personal financial literacy and the ability to apply it when making personal economic decisions are important to individuals throughout their lives. Frequently, decisions made in early adulthood will impact a person's entire life, especially decisions that adversely affect credit and finances. With the recent economic crisis crippling millions of individuals, a renewed interest in personal financial literacy concepts being taught at the high school level has emerged. State legislatures and boards of education are more likely to consider legislation to assure students graduate from high school with some knowledge of basic financial literacy concepts. This knowledge may be in the form of courses required for graduation or policies to ensure students receive foundational understandings. Personal finance instruction has increased over the last few years. Results from the National Council on Economic Education (2009) survey concerning the state of economic and personal finance education indicated that personal finance was included in the education standards of 34 states in 2009 as compared to 28 states in 2007, and economics was included in the educational standards of 49 states. However, only 13 states require a personal finance course for high school graduation (up from seven in 2007); but some of those states required courses in economics that included personal finance concepts but did not require standalone personal finance courses. …


Gold mineralization in Mintom area, south Cameroon was studied in a tropical forest setting using X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP/AES) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) respectively for the mineralogical and chemical data. The mineralization occurs in quartz veins in the archean Ntem complex of the vast Congo Craton in Central Africa. Gold distribution patterns were vertically studied in the different horizons of the weathering profile and in the different grain-size fractions of the materials sampled in the pit on down slope of the interfluve where the mineralization exists. The weathering profile consists of an upper, thin loose sandy-clayey horizon (P6) covered by a light humic horizon, a nodular horizon with lateritic nodules or blocks (P5), a gravel horizon (P4), a thin spotted horizon (P3) and a saprolite (P2) up to 1.4 m thick. The specific geochemical signature of the bedrock is not recognized in each horizon of the weathering profile. Some groups of elements, e.g., high SiO2 and low REE characterize quartz vein while Cr-Ni characterizes a basic rock like gabbro. The residual gold is concentrated at the base of weathering profile. Its concentration increases from the saprolite up to the gravel horizon and decreases in the surface horizons. However, the evolution of visible Au distribution is not the same for all grain-size fractions: 1) in the finest fraction, the Au content is only regular in spotted and gravel horizons; 2) in the medium size fractions, the Au is in high content and greatly decreases from saprolite up to the spotted horizon and disappears in the upper horizons; 3) in the coarsest fraction, Au content is found in the saprolite and the maximum Au content of the weathering profile is found in this layer just above the mineralized quartz vein. This observation shows that the Mintom residual gold comes from the quartz vein.


In this work, the probabilistic methods have been used to produce a methodology capable to estimate the acceptable level of risk in a cost-benefit framework. The benefits and the costs are weighed against associated risks to aid the decision making process on risk acceptance, from both the individual and societal perspective. Thereafter, acceptable individual and societal risk levels are defined based on historical trend of non-voluntary deaths and overall national fatalities. An example is used to explore the practical application of the method to critical infrastructures such as petroleum pipelines. The results show that the cost-benefit risk framework provides a safety standard that is acceptable from both individual and societal perspectives.


This extensive literature review explores the research on teaching mathematical vocabulary in the middle level classroom. The first goal was to identify specific research about the most effective strategies for teaching mathematical vocabulary. The second goal was to find strategies to teach multiple-meaning mathematical words. The final goal was to uncover research-based strategies that help students make connections between mathematics vocabulary and their lives. The research indicates that reading and mathematics vocabulary needs to be taught differently due to the specificity of mathematical vocabulary. This paper presents a plethora of strategies for teaching mathematical vocabulary including ideas for teaching multiple-meaning words and ways of helping students make connections between mathematical vocabulary and their lives. This paper also includes some recommendations and resources for teachers looking to improve


In this paper, we prose to build a repository of events and event references from clusters of news articles. We present an automated approach that is based on the hypothesis that if two sentences are a) found in the same cluster of news articles and b) contain temporal expressions that reference the same point in time, they are likely to refer to the same event. This allows us to group similar sentences together and apply open-domain Information Extraction (OpenIE) methods to extract lists of textual references for each detected event. We outline our proposed approach and present a preliminary evaluation in which we extract events and references from 20 clusters of online news. Our experiments indicate that for the largest part our hypothesis holds true, pointing to a strong potential for applying our approach to building an event repository. We illustrate cases in which our hypothesis fails and discuss ways for addressing sources or errors.


In this article a new untraditional crime investigation method is presented – an offender profiling which is applied in criminal investigation practice in many countries. The article for the first time in Lithuania presents the offender profiling method and different stages of profiling are analyzed there: case analysis, which consists of six stages, and the offender profiling process. A criminal profile example has been presented. Application and organization of the offender profiling method of Germany, Austria and the United States of America is described in the article. Possibility of the application of the offender profiling method in Lithuania has been analised and some organising recommendations have been proposed.


Abstract
Background: Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) reduce malaria related mortality and morbidity significantly. Taking this into account, the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health has been distributing ITNs to malaria prone areas of the country through the support of the Global Fund.
Objective: To study distributional coverage and assess the knowledge and utilization of insecticide treated nets in Ethiopia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 17 malarious districts targeted for the first phase free distribution of long lasting insecticide treats nets (LLITNs) by the Ministry of Health in 9 administrative regions from October 2005 to September 2006. Region specific list of malarious districts where MOH distributed ITNs was used as the sampling frame for stratified random sampling of districts. One kebele (sub district) was selected from each of the selected districts using simple random sampling, and 15% of the total households in the selected kebeles were selected using systematic random sampling. Upon obtaining informed consent from the household head or the oldest person in the household the questionnaire was administered and information was recorded. Data were double entered using EpiData version 3 and analyzed using SPSS version 12.
Results: A total of 3131 households were visited, and 51.6% of the respondents were males. The overall ITN distribution and utilization were 97.6% and 81.6%, respectively. The majority of households (53.2%) owned a single net per family, highest in Dire Dawa (93.7%) and lowest in Afar (17.6%). Thirty eight percent of the respondents owned two nets per household. Most of the respondents (91.1%) cited that ITNs are useful to control malaria either through prevention of mosquito bites (60%) or prevention of the disease (39%).
Conclusion: ITN distribution, utilization, knowledge of users and its acceptability were good considering the recent introduction of the products. However, the person net ratio gap should be narrowed and emphasis needs to be given to vulnerable groups. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2008;22(3):268-274]


Abstract The application of oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) from freshwater bivalves as a proxy for river discharge conditions in the Rhine and Meuse rivers is investigated. We compared a dataset of water temperature and water δ18O values with a selection of recent shell δ18O records for two species of the genus Unio in order to establish: (1) whether differences between the rivers in water δ18O values, reflecting river discharge conditions, are recorded in unionid shells; and (2) to what extent ecological parameters influence the accuracy of bivalve shell δ18O values as proxies of seasonal, water oxygen isotope conditions in these rivers. The results show that shells from the two rivers differ significantly in δ18O values, reflecting different source waters for these two rivers. The seasonal shell δ18O records show truncated sinusoidal patterns with narrow peaks and wide troughs, caused by temperature fractionation and winter growth cessation. Interannual growth rate reconstructions show an ontogenetic growth rate decrease. Growth lines in the shell often, but not always, coincide with winter growth cessations in the δ18O record, suggesting that growth cessations in the shell δ18O records are a better age estimator than counting internal growth lines. Seasonal predicted and measured δ18O values correspond well, supporting the hypothesis that these unionids precipitate their shells in oxygen isotopic equilibrium. This means that (sub-) fossil unionids can be used to reconstruct spring-summer river discharge conditions, such as Meuse low-discharge events caused by droughts and Rhine meltwater-influx events caused by melting of snow in the Alps.


Neural crest cells arise in the dorsal aspect of the neural tube and migrate extensively to differentiate into a variety of neural and non-neural tissues. While interactions between neural crest cells and their local environments are required for the proper development of these tissues, little information is available about the molecular nature of the cell-cell interactions in cephalic neural crest development. Here we demonstrate that mice deficient for one type of endothelin receptor, ETA, mimic the human conditions collectively termed CATCH 22 or velocardiofacial syndrome, which include severe craniofacial deformities and defects in the cardiovascular outflow tract. We show that ETA receptor mRNA is expressed by the neural crest-derived ectomesenchymal cells of pharyngeal arches and cardiac outflow tissues, whereas ET-1 ligand mRNA is expressed by arch epithelium, paraxial mesoderm-derived arch core and the arch vessel endothelium. This suggests that paracrine interaction between neural crest-derived cells and both ectoderm and mesoderm is essential in forming the skeleton and connective tissue of the head. Further, we find that pharyngeal arch expression of goosecoid is absent in ETA receptor-deficient mice, placing the transcription factor as one of the possible downstream signals triggered by activation of the ETA receptor. These observations define a novel genetic pathway for inductive communication between cephalic neural crest cells and their environmental counterparts.


Radial basis function (RBF) approximation is an extremely powerful tool for representing smooth functions in non-trivial geometries, since the method is meshfree and can be spectrally accurate. A perceived practical obstacle is that the interpolation matrix becomes increasingly illconditioned as the RBF shape parameter becomes small, corresponding to flat RBFs. Two stable approaches that overcome this problem exist, the Contour-Pade method and the RBF-QR method. However, the former is limited to small node sets and the latter has until now only been formulated for the surface of the sphere. This paper contains an RBF-QR formulation for planar two-dimensional problems. The algorithm is perfectly stable for arbitrarily small shape parameters and can be used for up to a thousand node points in double precision and for several thousand node points in quad precision. A sample MATLAB code is provided.


Introduction: Aflatoxins are hepatogenic, teratogenic, immunosuppressive, and carcinogenic fungal metabolites found in feeds, nuts, wine-grapes, spices, and other grain crops. Humans are exposed to AFs through consumption of mycotoxin-contaminated foods. Aim: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of aflatoxin contamination in red chili samples collected at different locations in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: Aflatoxins were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction method using chloroform solvent. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of aflatoxins present in the samples was analyzed using thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques. Results and Discussions: Among the samples in the study, two samples S3 and S7 were not infected with aflatoxin producing fungi. In sample S5, aflatoxin G1, G2, and B2 were identified and G1 was found to be very high (21.32 ng/g). The high amount of aflatoxin B2 (34.02 ng/g) was observed in sample S2. Among the samples having aflatoxins, aflatoxin G2 was found in all the samples. Strict measures are necessary to produce high-quality red chilies. Red chili berry must be treated to reduce molds before the production of powders for consumption.


Methodological innovation is seen as a significant feature of UK social science research. This is also seen as a desirable and necessary part of ensuring the sustainability of UK social science within the contexts of global economic competition and an expanding knowledge economy. Furthermore, attention to methodological innovation is increasingly being made by the various funding agencies in the UK higher education system. This paper attempts to consider the role of innovation in social research and methodological practice in more detail. A key focus of this paper is on innovation of qualitative research methods, based largely on the authors' own experiences of the development of new methodological practices in qualitative research and related research capacity building activities. We offer a framework for how we might identify and define methodological innovation in qualitative research before considering the main challenges of innovative developments and/or practice, including the routinisation of methodological innovation, risk-taking, and, finally, research capacity building.


Purpose: This paper attempts to empirically examine the effect of auditor's ethics on litigation of audit results by using mediating variables of auditor quality. Design/methodology/approach: This study considers a sample of 220 auditors working in public accounting firms using random survey methods. The main technique for analyzing data is Structural Equation Modeling. Findings: The test results show that the auditor ethics has a positive and significant effect on audit quality, while auditor quality has a negative and significant effect on auditor's litigation. Practical implications: The findings emphasize the importance of the ethical aspects of auditors' in conducting their tasks. Originality/value: Audit quality in this study is able to strengthen the influence of auditor's ethics on auditor's litigation.