Filter feeding bivalves, such as the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica and the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis are valued for their role in the marine nitrogen cycle; specifically, their ability to facilitate the process of denitrification (reduction of nitrate to an inert N2 gas), and thereby the removal of reactive nitrogen from the system. Historically, these organisms have been victim of overharvesting along much of the east coast, however Rhode Island has undergone a vast expansion of oyster production through the development of a prosperous aquaculture industry within the state, potentially contributing to the restoration of this valuable ecosystem service. However, the success of all of Rhode Island oyster populations (wild, resorted, cultured) are threatened by anthropogenic stressors, such as warming waters and increased nitrogen loads into coastal habitats, which many interrupt and/or alter the rates at which C. virginica and M. edulis are able to perform the process of nitrogen removal. Of particular concern is incomplete processes of denitrification that may lead to an accumulation of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas with global warming potential nearly 300 times more powerful than that of carbon dioxide. Warming waters are also known to favor common oyster pathogens such as Haplosporidium nelsoni, H. costale and Perkinsus marinus. The combination of high temperature and nitrogen loads is likely to cause physiological stress to these organisms, leading to increased susceptibility of the organisms to pathogens and, therefore, further impacting the environmental benefits provided by bivalves. The goal of this study was to investigate how the combination of current and projected temperatures and nitrogen loads may impact the health status, rates of nitrogen removal (N2 production), and rates of N2O production of C. virginica and M. edulis. This was accomplished through separate studies conducted on C. virginica and M. edulis. Two types of experiments were performed with C. virginica: Experiment 1, which was a controlled, laboratory-based study, in which organisms were maintained in a gradient of ammonium nitrate levels (20μM, 40μM, 70μM, 100μM), crossed by contrasting temperatures (18°C, 24°C) (i.e. 8 combinations total). Organisms were maintained in these conditions for 3 months, and rates of denitrification and N2O production were measured at 3 time points over the incubation period in order to determine how these gas productions may change with time of exposure to experimental conditions. Upon completion, prevalence of three common oyster pathogens listed above was determined in a subsample of oysters from each treatment. A similar mesocosms experiment was performed with blue mussels with slightly different experimental conditions (5μM, 10μM, 1.5μM, 25μM and 18°C, 21°C), selected based on biological and ecological differences between oysters and mussels. With the realization that C. virginica tolerates much more variation in environmental conditions within their habitat than just temperature and nitrogen, Experiment 2 was performed, and consisted of two (2016 & 2017), 3-month field manipulations in which oysters where maintained in contrasting ends of the estuarine gradient of Point Judith Pond, in Narragansett, RI were performed. At each location, organisms were deployed in experimental setups and left at either ambient or enriched (20μM) conditions. Oyster growth and mortality and water quality measurements were made at selected time points over the 3 month period and, upon completion, experimental organisms were brought back to the laboratory for a single incubation at ambient conditions (18°C, unenriched site water) in Year 1 (2016), and at contrasting temperatures and high nutrient levels (18°C, 24°C, and 100μM) in Year 2 (2017). The goal was to reveal how previous exposure of oysters in the field to different environmental factors (salinity, pH, chlorophyll-a, oxygen, temperature, and nutrient loading) may have impacted the rates of gas production (N2 and N2O) under high temperature and nitrogen loading. In 2017, a random subset of experimental organisms were sacrificed and analyzed for the prevalence of common oyster pathogens. The major hypotheses for this study included: (1) Temperature will initially increase rates of denitrification of both C. virginica and M. edulis. (2) Increased nitrogen loads will increase rates of denitrification and nitrous oxide production of both C. virginica and M. edulis; (3) The combination of warming and high nitrogen levels over long terms will compromise the health of the organism, causing physiological stress for both C. virginica and M. edulis, and higher nitrous oxide accumulation (possibly via incomplete denitrification). Several major conclusions emerged from this study. Based on both mesocosms and field experiments, temperature appeared to be an initial driver of denitrification for C. virginica, however long-term exposure may act as a stressor, possibly inhibiting the process, indicated by the greater level of mortality within warmer laboratory treatments, over time (F48,71=4.80, p=0.001), and general lack of enhanced rates in association with temperature for both experiments. Additionally, increased temperature may lead to increased N2O production, indicated by the field study (F=-2.76, p=0.014). The combination of nitrogen loading and warming appears to promote N2 consumption, as opposed to denitrification (N2 production), (F16,23=5.21, p=0.011; F=-2.92, p=0.010; lab and field study respectively) as well as increased N2O production of C. virginica over time (F16,23= 4.10, p=0.024; lab study). M. edulis generally supported net denitrification (nitrogen removal) in all tested scenarios of nitrogen availability and temperature (average rate across treatments: 28.01 (+/23.93) mmol m day), which indicates a greater role of N removal than previously reported, as most past studies have focused solely on sedimentary denitrification. Nitrous oxide production was greatest in the cooler treatments (F48,71=5.17, p=0.027) throughout the M. edulis examination. However, with only 1⁄4 of the nitrogen availability, M. edulis produced N2O similar in range of C. virginica. Finally, in most conditions, both species produce N2 at several orders of magnitude greater than N2O, indicating that environmental benefits of filtering feeding bivalves, at this time, greatly outweigh the negative effects caused by the tested anthropogenic stressors.


This article proposes a new legal standard for predatory pricing, predatory bidding, and possibly other forms of exclusionary pricing - the welfare/economic sense standard. Under this standard, the plaintiff would have to show that the challenged conduct was not only profitable to the defendant but harmful to the long-run welfare of consumers or suppliers. Moreover, even if the plaintiff made that showing, the defendant would escape liability if it proved that its conduct made economic sense without regard to its anticompetitive effects. The article argues that the new standard is superior to the below-cost/recoupment standard of Brooke Group and Weyerhaeuser for two principal reasons. First, the new standard would reach above-cost predation, a significant concern given recent cases in the airline and timber industry. Second, the new standard would generally be as workable - for businesses and courts - as the Brooke Group/Weyerhaeuser tests because in a predation case (as opposed to a raising rivals cost case), the defendant could avoid liability simply by showing that the conduct increased profits in the short run. The new standard, in short, is likely to generate fewer false negatives and no more false positives than existing law.


During World War II, the Japanese earned the reputation for cruelty toward their prisoners which surpassed the treatment accorded to POWs held by Germany and Italy. The conduct exhibited by the Japanese soldier was the result of a combination of ancient social and religious traditions made manifest by twentieth century documents. Through constant inculcation of ancient myths nurtured by a national religion, the Japanese believed that their holy mission was world domination. Believing themselves to be of divine origin, they treated all other races as inferior; therefore, the POWs suffered cruelties as sub-humans. The Japanese inflicted punishment and torture in the name of their emperor, believing that they did so through divine instruction. This study reveals how they arrived at this conviction.


In the present study, a borrowing function has been estimated in order to identify the relevant factors affecting the borrowings of the farm families living under different topographical conditions. The major determinants of the agricultural borrowing are found to be capital expenditure, family expenditure and value of assets. The study, as discussed later, revealed that the total variation in the magnitude of borrowed amount due to unit change in capital expenditure and family expenditure is remarkably different between Khopasi (Hills) and Anandaban (Terai).


The aim of this paper is to engage with, and develop the literature on teamwork and employee resistance by examining the use of teamwork as a means of work organisation and as a distinctive forum for employee resistance. We emphasise how employees, at times of heightened conflict, first of all re-evaluate their group memberships and group loyalties (including membership of teams and other competing groups and sub-groups), and second, take action in line with the groups most suitable to helping them attain beneficial outcomes. Drawing on an ethnographical mode of inquiry, we explored what turned out to be an incompatible application of teamworking to counter the typically busy and chaotic nature of front-line hotel restaurant employment. The resistance that emerged varied from individual forms of resistance and misbehaviour to overt collective forms involving the joined up efforts of team members and team leaders. Subsequent analysis confirmed the value of using a social identity approach as a means to explain workplace behaviour. However, additional work is required in considering a broader range of research methods and team-related variables in order to verify these insights and develop knowledge on teams and resistance.


The recent years have seen a flurry of new activities particularly in the field of computers and communications. The power of mainframes of yesteryears are now available on our desktops, thanks to VLSI technology that makes it all possible in the first place. With the proliferation of new and more powerful computers for more and more sophisticated applications, there is a need to network them together to share resources and to port our softwares around hence to reduce development time. This paper will describe some of the new technologies that has been procured and how they are being integrated with some of the 'dinosaurs' still surviving in the Faculty. A discussion of how various computer systems are networked together are also made. Finally, the paper will end with a discussion on the development of a prototype Packet Voice Terminal which will allow voice communication over the packet based Ethernet Local Area Network. Data and voice has a completely conflicting characteristics : voice is real time and contains a lot of redundancies therefore it cannot tolerate delays but can tolerate some losses of speech segments, whereas data is the complete opposite-it can tolerate delays but not errors and losses. A compromise will have to be made to accomodate the two kinds of traffic.


Abstract Introduction District (community) hospitals play an important role in the delivery of health services at community level, especially in rural areas. These hospitals provide comprehensive level-one health services to their communities, and serve as a resource for the whole health district. Most district hospitals are situated in rural areas, with medical services in these hospitals being rendered by generalist medical practitioners. The education and training of generalist practitioners for rural practice needs specific attention. Firstly, the unique nature of rural practice makes it necessary for doctors to undergo relevant and focused instruction. Rural family practice requires that doctors have the knowledge and skills to practise in settings where high technology and specialist resources are not available, while at the same time requiring that they be able to perform a wide range of advanced functions and procedures. Secondly, it is argued that appropriate education and training for rural practice can positively influence the recruitment and retention of medical practitioners in rural areas.5 The teaching of the knowledge and skills required for rural practice should take place in an appropriate setting that promotes interest in rural practice and familiarises the student with its particular challenges. There is a paucity of data in South Africa on medical practitioners staffing district hospitals, especially in terms of their knowledge and skills levels. Such information is critical if rural hospitals are to deliver equitable and quality health services, and also for guiding appropriate undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional education for rural practice. With this as background, health service managers in the Western Cape requested a skills audit of medical officers in district hospitals to identify a possible gap in competencies that may impact on service delivery. The aim of this study was thus to identify the knowledge and skills of medical practitioners delivering these services in the Western Cape and to compare them with service needs in order to make recommendations for education and training. This article reports on the results of the knowledge and skills gap analysis, while the results of the district hospital performance data and in-depth interviews are reported elsewhere. Method The competencies of medical practitioners working in 27 district hospitals were explored by using a self-administered questionnaire containing a competency rating of proxy markers. The data were analysed using the SAS statistical package. Variables were examined for statistically significant differences. Results A response rate of 75% (110/147) was achieved. Part-time (older) medical officers regarded themselves as more experienced and more competent than full-time (younger) employees in most areas, except when managing problems relating to HIV/AIDS. Termination of pregnancy was the procedure most frequently not performed despite practitioners being competent to do so. A substantial need for supervision was identified for managing less common emergency conditions, as well as for some outpatient problems, including preventative, promotive and rehabilitation activities. Conclusions The knowledge and skills gaps varied considerably according to the individuals' education, training and experience, as well as their circumstances and working conditions. The superior competencies of the older practitioners reinforce the importance of the recruitment and retention of more experienced practitioners. The uneven skill and knowledge base in aspects of HIV/AIDS management should be addressed urgently by initiatives such as the internet-based course on HIV/AIDS developed by the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FaMEC). Departments of Family Medicine should urgently re-orientate their curricula to meet the training needs for level-one hospital practice.


This special feature provides an overview on how the ecosystem service concept has been and can be incorporated into the science, practice, and policies of ecological restoration (ER) and evidence-based land-use. It includes an edited selection of eleven invited and peer-reviewed papers based on presentations given during the 9th European Conference on Ecological Restoration in 2014. The focus is on Europe, but many contributors also make appraisals and recommendations at the global scale. Based on the contributors' papers, and our own overview of the promise of ecological restoration in the existing international treaties, coalitions, and conventions, we propose that the following actions could contribute to the positive impacts of ER on biodiversity maintenance, ecosystem functioning, progressive mainstreaming the concepts of both ER and ecosystem services, significant mitigation and offsetting of anthropogenic climate change, and lasting enhancement of both ecosystem and human health: ! ER should be incorporated into land use planning, wherever needed, and the synergies and trade-offs of different land use scenarios should be assessed in terms of their impacts on ecosystem services. ! The discourse of ER should be enlarged, wherever it is needed, to include multifunctional land use that simultaneously supports sustainable production systems, built environments, and the quality and quantity of diverse ecosystem services. This approach will generate ecological, social, and economic benefits in the long run. ! Monitoring and evaluation of ER projects should be a continuous process involving careful selection of indicators chosen with the full range of stakeholders in mind, and a sufficiently long-term perspective to catch the progress of long-term or highly dynamic ecosystem processes. ! Scientists should actively participate in policy and land management discussions in order to give their views on the potential outcomes of decisions. ! Greater cooperation and exchanges are needed within the EU and globally in order to accelerate the upscaling, improvement, and mainstreaming of both large-scale ER and the science and application of the ecosystem services concept.


One of the main concerns about the mechanization process of the sugar cane harvest is its direct and indirect impact over the employment. To study such an impact, it was: a) constructed an interregional input-output model, for the Brazilian economy for 1997, at the level of its 5 macro regions, with specific details for the sugar cane, alcohol, and sugar sectors; b) estimated the employment level, for the sectors in the model, by the qualification level of the workforce, i.e., by years of study (less than 1 year, 1 to 3 years, 4 to 7 years, 8 to 10 years, 11 to 14 years, and greater than 15 years); c) construct 3 possible scenarios for the mechanization process. The results are rather stressing, from the estimated 510,651 people working in the sugar cane harvest in 1997, one has that, depending on the scenario being considered, the total workforce will be reduced somewhere between 243,211 to 316,288 people, mainly in the lower qualification levels and in the Northeast and Southeast regions. This also has an impact over the employment generate indirectly, which is estimated through the use of the interregional input-output model constructed.


Wage or employment subsidies have been used in both developed and developing countries to raise employment levels. Various advisers to the South African government have endorsed wage subsidies as a policy measure to deal with this country's massive unemployment problem. This paper takes stock of the international literature and conducts an economywide macro-micro analysis to obtain insights into wage subsidy design and implementation issues facing developing countries. It also investigates whether this policy measure is appropriate in dealing with South Africa's particular sources of unemployment. We argue that although wage subsidies may be successful at creating jobs in South Africa, they should not be seen as the primary or dominant policy instrument for dealing with the broader unemployment problem. To enhance the effectiveness of wage subsidies, they should preferably be linked to structured workplace training, be targeted to industries where employment will be responsive to changes in labor costs, and be focused on the youth. In the long run, addressing unemployment in South Africa requires policies that improve economic growth and the economy's employment absorption capacity, that raise skills of new labor market entrants, that reduce labor market rigidities, and that promote effective job search, especially among the youth.


Many biological datasets such as microarrays, metabolomics, and proteomics involve observations (or subjects) in rows, and attributes (or genes, metabolites, proteins) in columns. Often simultaneous grouping of rows and columns, i.e. biclustering, is desired. Each bicluster consists of a group of observations highly correlated in a group of attributes. Despite great efforts on developing biclustering algorithms, a proper visualization seems to be lacking in the literature. A visualization tool helps practitioners to understand how biclusters evolve. Here we provide this tool using forestogram. Forestogram combines rows or columns iteratively towards constructing a forest over a collection of dendrograms with a common root. We develop a simple strategy for extracting natural biclusters by cutting the forest using a simple information criterion. The effectiveness of our technique is tested on simulated data, and on real data.


This study was carried out with the main objective of establishing somatic embryo production in Carica papaya cv. Eksotika that can be used for further genetic improvement of the crop. The study included induction of somatic embryogenesis from immature zygotic embryos and anatomical study of the embryo development, establishment of plant regeneration from the somatic embryo, and establishment of cell suspension culture from embryogenic callus.

The specific objective of the study on induction of somatic embryogenesis from zygotic embryos was to study the effect of growth regulators on the induction of somatic embryos with or without monthly subculture. The combination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) at various concentrations were assessed. The experiment was conducted in a Randomized Completely Block Design.

In the experiment without subculture, MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L 2,4-D induced the highest percentage (100 %) of somatic embryo formation on the second and third month of culure. At higher 2,4-D concentrations (6-8 mg/L) the percentage of callus formation increased. Monthly subculturing delayed the maturation of somatic embryos and increased callus formation. The percentage of somatic embryo formation was highest (97.5 %) on MS medium supplemented with 5, 6 and 8 mg/L 2,4-D by the third subculture.

The specific objectives of the study on plant regeneration from somatic embryos were to determine suitable plant growth regulators, as well as medium formulation on regeneration of somatic embryos. The combination of BAP and NAA at various concentrations were assessed. Different medium formulations evaluated were MS medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962), LS medium (Linsmair & Skoog, 1965) and B5 medium (Gamborg, 1968) either at full strength or half strength in macronutrients. All experiments were conducted and arranged in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD).

MS medium without plant growth regulator induced the highest percentage (59.3 %) of regeneration from the somatic embryos. It was observed that the higher the concentration of BAP and NAA either alone or in combination, the lower the percentage of regeneration and the higher the percentage of callus formation. In the experiment on effect of different medium formulations on regeneration, MS full strength medium produced the highest percentage of regeneration of the somatic embryos.

The third study was the establishment of cell suspension culture from embryogenic callus of papaya cv. Eksotika. Four weeks after the transfer of embryogenic callus into liquid medium, single cells were released and after eight weeks pro-embryogenic masses (PEMs) were formed. The highest mean number of cells per ml (56.9) was obtained on liquid MS medium containing 2 mg/L 2,4-D. Maturation of somatic embryos was achieved on transferring the globular or heart-shaped somatic embryos to liquid MS medium without growth regulator. Germination of somatic embryos occurred following transfer of cotyledonary embryos from liquid MS medium onto solid hormone-free MS medium.


The complexity of computer systems, networks and applications, as well as the advancements in computer technology, continue to grow at a rapid pace. Mathematical analysis, modeling and optimization have been playing, and continue to play, an important role in research studies to investigate fundamental issues and tradeoffs at the core of performance problems in the design and implementation of complex computer systems, networks and applications.


Capabilities of laser ablation coupled to a time of flight ICP-MS ('icpTOF', Tofwerk) for direct isotopic analysis of U micrometric reference particles deposited on carbon disks were demonstrated. Thanks to the very high temporal resolution which allows quasi simultaneous measurement of all nuclides, the icpTOF is well-suited for the acquisition of the very short transient signals produced by laser ablation of μm-sized particles. With appropriate corrections of the background due to high peak tailing of the 238U isotope and selection of signals within the detector's linear range, excellent internal and external precisions (0.2–0.4%) for measurement of the 235U/238U ratios were obtained in the most favorable cases (same abundances for the two isotopes). These precisions are better than the values reported until now in the literature, even with laser ablation coupled with multi-collector ICP-MS (MC-ICP-MS). For particles from other reference materials with low abundances of 235U, equal or close to the one of natural U, precisions for 235U/238U ratio measurements (4–5%) were not as good as the ones reported for MC-ICP-MS, but better than the ones obtained with single collector ICP-MS. Minor isotope ratios (234U/238U and 236U/238U) were also successfully measured, although with limited precision and accuracy when the abundances of the minor isotopes are very low, in the 10−5 range. This work shows that laser ablation coupled to ICP-TOF-MS has a great potential for ultra-precise isotope ratio measurements provided that the ablated area contains enough analyte and that abundances between isotopes are of the same order of magnitude.


We consider a frictional two-sided matching market in which one side uses public cheaptalk announcements so as to attract the other side. We show that if the first-price auction is adopted as the trading protocol, then cheap talk can be perfectly informative, and the resulting market outcome is efficient, constrained only by search frictions. We also show that the performance of an alternative trading protocol in the cheap-talk environment depends on the level of price dispersion generated by the protocol: If a trading protocol compresses (spreads) the distribution of prices relative to the first-price auction, then an efficient fully revealing equilibrium always (never) exists. Our results identify the settings in which cheap talk can serve as an efficient competitive instrument, in the sense that the central insights from the literature on competing auctions and competitive search continue to hold unaltered even without ex ante price commitment. JEL Codes: C72, D82, D83.


Narrative research has been the focus of investigation for many years and has provided insights in to communication, the development of society, individual identity, and psycholinguistics. In recent years, interest in the narrative abilities of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has developed and the field has advanced rapidly. This thesis investigates the abilities of high-functioning individuals with ASD with regard to narrative structure in the context of inclusive practice within mainstream schooling in England. It is motivated by the implementation of inclusive education policies and focuses on using the abilities of children and young adults with ASD to overcome their weaknesses. This positive view of ASD forms the ethos of this thesis and the data it presents. The discussion encompasses research from the fields of Education, Psychology and Linguistics to develop the initial investigation into the level of structural narrative abilities in high-functioning individuals with ASD. Through an investigation which uses Labov's (1997) framework of analysis, these initial studies identify impairments in the narrative structure produced by these individuals. In addition, this initial analysis identifies the potential impact of elicitation techniques on the narrative data yielded. These results are discussed in relation to the existing research, to inclusive practice, and their implications for the intervention study undertaken as part of the current research. The intervention presented in the second part of this thesis aimed to provide teaching staff with an additional tool in order to meet the needs of high-functioning individuals with ASD in mainstream, inclusive education. As such, the intervention design is unobtrusive and flexible in its application. The results of case study analyses for five high-functioning individuals with ASD are inconclusive but nonetheless highlight the importance of individualising interventions where possible. They reveal that whilst three individuals benefit from the intervention, two do not. Further discussion identifies several areas for the development and further research of the techniques used. In particular, it is suggested that more discrete task levels reflecting more discrete ability levels would enable the intervention to remain applicable in inclusive classrooms whilst providing additional support at a variety of levels. These conclusions are related to inclusive practice, and recommendations and implications for future research are highlighted.


These electronic essays discuss Remedies that potentially are available following breaches of contract. After making some important points about remedies generally, the essays discuss non-court remedies for breach, remedies that include Requests for Assurance of Performance, Accords/Satisfactions, Cure, and Reciprocal Non-Performance. The essays also discuss court remedies for breach of contract and discuss money-debt remedies and specific performance (a kind of injunction). There are about thirty individual electronic essays in this overall set of electronic essays, and about thirty accompanying graphics-only versions of these e-essays. The electronic essays themselves are .swf files and can be watched/listened to on Windows PC's or Macs. These files, which are 10-15 megs in size, are filled with media, including music and narration. The graphics only versions of the essays are ppt files. They too can can be viewed on Windows PC's or Macs. These ppt files are 2-3 megs in size. This set of electronic essays on Remedies in Contract Cases coordinates with other sets of lessons in an overall group of electronic essays on selected topics in USA Business law. A copy of this electronic lesson can be found online.


The Inter-American Dialogue is the leading U.S. center for policy analysis, exchange, and communication on issues in Western Hemisphere affairs. The Dialogue brings together public and private leaders from across the Americas to address hemispheric problems and opportunities. Together they seek to build cooperation among Western Hemisphere nations and advance a regional agenda of democratic governance, social equity, and economic growth. The Dialogue's select membership of 100 distinguished citizens from throughout the Americas includes political, business, academic, media, and other nongovernmental leaders. Twelve Dialogue members served as presidents of their countries and more than two dozen have served at the cabinet level. Dialogue activities are directed to generating new policy ideas and practical proposals for action, and getting these ideas and proposals to government and private decision makers. The Dialogue also offers diverse Latin American and Caribbean voices access to U.S. policy debates and discussions. Based in Washington, the Dialogue conducts its work throughout the hemisphere. A majority of our Board of Directors are from Latin American and Caribbean nations, as are more than half of the Dialogue's members and participants in our other leadership networks and task forces. Since 1982—through successive Republican and Democratic administrations and many changes of leadership elsewhere in the hemisphere—the Dialogue has helped shape the agenda of issues and choices in inter-American relations.


This editorial introduces this special responsive issue on "platform surveillance." We develop the term platform surveillance to account for the manifold and often insidious ways that digital platforms fundamentally transform social practices and relations, recasting them as surveillant exchanges whose coordination must be technologically mediated and therefore made exploitable as data. In the process, digital platforms become dominant social structures in their own right, subordinating other institutions, conjuring or sedimenting social divisions and inequalities, and setting the terms upon which individuals, organizations, and governments interact. Emergent forms of platform capitalism portend new governmentalities, as they gradually draw existing institutions into alignment or harmonization with the logics of platform surveillance while also engendering subjectivities (e.g., the gig-economy worker) that support those logics. Because surveillance is essential to the operations of digital platforms, because it structures the forms of governance and capital that emerge, the field of surveillance studies is uniquely positioned to investigate and theorize these phenomena.


Bias in estimating recreational values may result if congestion is ignored in the demand model specification. Theoretical and empirical considerations pertaining to recreation congestion are summarized. Empirical results for camping in Western Massachusetts are presented which demonstrate the potential degree of bias from demand model misspecification. The results indicate that recreational values may be strongly influenced by congestion effects and that camping areas with relatively low densities may have a higher economic value than high density areas with similar facilities.


Fibre Bragg grating based acoustic emission measurement technique is employed to monitor crack activity in civil engineering structures and sites. The feasibility and effectiveness of using fibre optic methods for crack activity monitoring is demonstrated with three example cases (a) railway ballast breakage (b) cold crack monitoring in welding (c) crack activity monitoring in rock samples. The successful laboratory demonstration results of the method shows the potential of using fibre optic acoustic emission method to monitor crack activities that can ensure the structural integrity of civil engineering structures. This will lead further large scale testing and validation of the technique.


Orconectes neglectus chaenodactylus, the gapped ringed crayfish, is an uncommon and poorly-known, stream-dwelling crayfish that is endemic to the central White River basin of Arkansas and Missouri. This study surveyed a semi-random selection of stream sites in the Arkansas portion of this range in order to characterize the crayfish communities and evaluate the status of O. n. chaenodactylus in Arkansas. Collections of a total of 1,107 individual crayfish specimens were made at 45 sites, including 497 O. n. chaenodactylus from 21 sites. Orconectes punctimanus was the crayfish species most commonly associated with O. n. chaenodactylus, occurring at 71% of sites occupied by O. n. chaenodactylus. Orconectes n. chaenodactylus was found in streams not significantly different from the median characteristics of streams sampled in the study. It is our opinion that O. n. chaenodactylus is uncommon in Arkansas, and of only moderate concern due to its limited distribution in the state.


A major part of the problem of providing high-quality welfare and social protection to the members of a society lies in the issue of how to distribute the responsibility for these services within the society -a problem referred to in this paper as the "care dilemma". Different historical junctures and forms of social organization have witnessed different responses to this dilemma. Strictly speaking, the solution is a variable that depends on culture, level of institutional development, the distribution of the resources of power in a society and the ability of the different relevant stakeholders to mobilize those resources. Although these factors have given social subsystems such as the State, the market and various associative communities a significant role to play in care and welfare, much of the burden has always fallen on the family, even in today's developed societies. Behind this fact lies an important gender basis which has significant implications for the status of women in society, for when the family is the principal provider of care and welfare services, women must either remain outside the labour market or face the difficulties of reconciling their productive and reproductive roles -difficulties that men do not face in this context. One major consequence of this has been that women's rights, both symbolically and in practice, have been closely tied to welfare and social protection for the family. When society does not adequately recognize the functional necessity of these services -i.e., when they are provided in a highly informal fashion- the tasks that women perform in providing them are considered "natural" to them as women, and the recipients of care are seen as requiring, or legitimately deserving, the services. For care and welfare to receive significant recognition -i.e., to become formal, in any sense of the word- three necessary but not always sufficient associated phenomena must come together. The first is a cultural change in the perception of the care recipient, who is no longer seen as needy or as an object of charity, but as a holder of entitlements. In other words, social citizenship is institutionalized. The second factor is that the development of social citizenship in the complex modern environment requires that care functions be transferred to selfregulating systems: the State and/or the market. Finally, in order for social citizenship to materialize, eligibility requirements must be defined, or the defining conditions of citizenship itself must be established. In some cases, merely being a member of a national community confers entitlement, while in other cases participation in the labour market is the determining factor. However, social citizenship for women has always been a function of interdependent family relationships and reproductive roles, regardless of how society distributes caregiving responsibilities. This paper shows how this is reflected in Latin America. It provides a broad analysis of the ways in which caregiving functions have been distributed historically and considers their gender implications. It focuses primarily on the comparative analysis of the gender-related features of pension benefits in modern care structures; i.e., those in which care is highly formalized and where, as a result, entitlements deriving from social citizenship are guaranteed. The analysis shows that, despite profound (though not radical); changes in the systemic distribution of care as a result of pension reform, the distribution of caregiving responsibilities in society has not changed in the least. Hence, public policy and pension law continue to consider that women are directly or indirectly responsible for these tasks, and the family remains the locus where they become citizens. Finally, this paper points out the policy dilemmas that can arise in any attempt to achieve equality of citizenship between the sexes under the new pension systems. The paper concludes that the most effective policy is one that aims to ensure and facilitate women's access to the labour market and remove the obstacles they face in that regard. As a precondition, gender inequalities in the labour market must be eliminated.


Mosh (mobile shell) is a remote terminal application that supports intermittent connectivity, allows roaming, and speculatively and safely echoes user keystrokes for better interactive response over high-latency paths. Mosh is built on the State Synchronization Protocol (SSP), a new UDP-based protocol that securely synchronizes client and server state, even across changes of the client's IP address. Mosh uses SSP to synchronize a charactercell terminal emulator, maintaining terminal state at both client and server to predictively echo keystrokes. Our evaluation analyzed keystroke traces from six different users covering a period of 40 hours of real-world usage. Mosh was able to immediately display the effects of 70% of the user keystrokes. Over a commercial EV-DO (3G) network, median keystroke response latency with Mosh was less than 5 ms, compared with 503 ms for SSH. Mosh is free software, available from http://mosh.mit.edu. It was downloaded more than 15,000 times in the first week of its release.


Three-dimensional (3D) surface topographic analysis, measurement, and assessment techniques have raised great interest not only among researchers but also among industrial users. Many industrial processes and applications are directly influenced by the small-scale roughness of surface finishes. This paper describes the development and implementation of a noncontact, three-dimensional, microtopography measuring system. The instrument is formed by combining a modified light-sectioning microscope subsystem with a computer subsystem. In particular, optical system characteristics of the light-sectioning microscope are investigated, and a textured steel sheet is measured to demonstrate good practical outcomes. Details of measuring processes and image processing algorithms are provided, such as procedures for measurement, image edge extraction, and 3D topography reconstruction. After the 3D topography of the measured surface has been reconstructed, the topography field description parameters are calculated. A standard roughness block was used for calibration of the surface microtopography measuring system. Results obtained showed the measurement method output has good agreement with the actual asperity (unevenness or roughness) of the surface. The computer subsystem is used to process and control asperity measurements and image generation, and for image acquisition and presentation.


Policy implementation involves translating the goals and objectives of policy into action. Although seen as an integral part of the policy cycle, substantial research has not yet been carried out in this area. This paper examines the state and status of policy implementation as a discipline and the factors associated with implementation performance, based on a review of the literature and analysis by researchers. The assessment in this study confirms the dearth of theoretical development of this subject as a major concern for this discipline and a barrier for perfect execution. It was also found that multiple factors are linked to poor policy performance, such as a lack of coordination, funding, commitment, capabilities among implementers and top-down support. Finally, by critically looking into loopholes associated with performance in policy implementation, five theoretical models were developed for improving performance. These respectively had a rational, organisational, political, bureaucratic and management basis. It is expected that the application of these standards would help to overcome issues, leading to successful policy performance.


AC circuit breaker's controlled switching is a popular method to reduce dielectric and thermal stresses during switching of transformers, transmission lines, reactor and shunt capacitors. The magnitude of inrush current often reaches five to nine times of rated magnetizing current and thus it affects the network stability. Particularly, it affects the superconductivity of HTS transformer. Moreover, a residual flux is developed in HTS transformer due to high inrush current. The amount of flux may increase to a very high value that has direct impact to have a very high transient inrush current. This paper presents inrush current mitigation phenomena in a single-phase HTS transformer by controlled switching of HTS breaker arc model. The inrush current phenomenon is modeled for a single-phase HTS transformer in this paper. The mitigation of inrush current is restrained to a lower level by the reclosing of a new type of arc model named HTS breaker arc model and the residual flux also minimized. The calculating method is established on the investigation of fast switching timing and characteristics of the HTS breaker arc model.


This document defines a YANG RPC and a minimal datastore tree required
to retrieve attestation evidence about integrity measurements from a
composite device with one or more roots of trust for reporting.
Complementary measurement logs are also provided by the YANG RPC
originating from one or more roots of trust of measurement. The module
defined requires at least one TPM 1.2 or TPM 2.0 and corresponding
Trusted Software Stack included in the device components of the
composite device the YANG server is running on.


Following the introduction of Puccinia jaceae var. solstitialis to California for biological control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis, Asteraceae), teliospores, pycnia, and multiple urediniospore generations have been observed in the field. Because urediniospores have a relatively short life span in the field, functioning teliospores are expected to be necessary for the permanent establishment of P. jaceae var. solstitialis in California. To determine if conditions in California were conducive to this, teliospore emergence and priming were evaluated in the field. A factorial experiment in the laboratory with five incubation times and three incubation temperatures was used to determine teliospore priming requirements. Teliospore production coincided with plant senescence in August and September at two sites in 2 years; fewer teliospores were produced in 2006, suggesting inconsistent teliospore production may limit population growth and contribute to local extinctions in some areas. When teliospores were primed in the field, germination was low through the fall and abruptly peaked in January during both years. In the laboratory, teliospore germination increased as incubation time increased from 2 to 6 weeks and temperatures decreased from 12 to 4 degrees C. A degree-hour model derived from laboratory data accurately predicts when teliospores are primed for germination in the field. Based on the results obtained in this study, it is apparent that teliospore germination can occur over a range of priming conditions. However, lower temperatures and longer incubation periods are superior in breaking teliospore dormancy.


Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum G4 has been recently identified as a safe probiotic for incorporation into functional food for human consumption. Preliminary investigations showed that the probiotic candidate B. pseudocatenulatum G4 strain possesses the required criteria for a being successful probiotic microorganism. Further enhancement of these criteria was undertaken by studying the adherence and inhibition properties potential of this probiotic candidate. Human colon carcinoma epithelium cell line HT-29 was used to evaluate the adherence of B. pseudocatenulatum G4, in simulated environmental factors of the colon, namely pH, calcium ions, and cholic acid. The effect of this strain on enhancing intestinal tract resistance to pathogenic Escherichia coli and Clostridium infections was examined. Three different assays were used in order to differentiate between the competition, exclusion, and displacement of the pathogens by B. pseudocatenulatum G4.
The adherence ability of B. pseudocatenulatum G4 to HT-29 cell line was investigated as in vitro model. In addition the morphology observation of the organism was done by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of human colon environmental factors on the adhesion quality was studied. The results showed that the highest adhesion was in the ascending and transverse acidic regions of the colon. Calcium was shown to increase, while cholic acid was shown to decrease the adhesion of B. pseudocatenulatum G4 to HT-29. The inhibitory effect of B. pseudocatenulatum G4 on the adherence of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Clostridium scindens and Clostridium hiranonis was demonstrated. A decrease in the number of adhering pathogens was observed.


The paper focuses on body weight gain among immigrants in the US. The emphasis is on disentangling different time lines that are relevant in the context of immigration and acculturation, namely length of exposure to the high obesity culture, age at immigration, year of immigration and aging. Using data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), we find that (1) acculturation is associated with higher BMIs for the 1st generation, but not the 1.5 generation; (2) immigration at an early age (before 12) facilitates acculturation progress and drives BMI convergence to natives; (3) the effect of sojourn length in the host country is unstable across model specifications; (4) BMI differences between Asian and Latino immigrants are partly due to effect size differences in the acculturation variables.


Whoever wishes to investigate medicine properly, should proceed thus: In the first place to consider the seasons of the year, and what effects each of them produces (for they are not at all alike, but differ much from themselves in regard to their changes). Then the winds, the hot and the cold, especially such as are common to all countries, and then such as are peculiar to each locality. We must also consider the qualities of the waters, for as they differ from one another in taste and weight, so also do they differ much in their qualities. In the same manner, when one comes into a city to which he is a stranger, he ought to consider its situation, how it lies as to the winds and the rising of the sun; for its influence is not the same whether it lies to the north or the south, to the rising or to the setting sun. These things one ought to consider most attentively, and concerning the waters which the inhabitants use, whether they be marshy and soft, or hard, and running from elevated and rocky situations, and then if saltish and unfit for cooking; and the ground, whether it be naked and deficient in water, or wooded and well watered, and whether it lies in a hollow, confined situation, or is elevated and cold; and the mode in which the inhabitants live, and what are their pursuits, whether they are fond of drinking and eating to excess, and given to indolence, or are fond of exercise and labor and not given to excess in eating and drinking. From these things he must proceed to investigate everything else. For if one knows all these things well, or at least the greater part of them, he cannot miss knowing, when he comes into a strange city, either the diseases peculiar to the place, or the particular nature of common diseases, so that he will not be in doubt as to the treatment of the diseases, or commit mistakes, as is likely to be the case, provided one had not previously considered these matters. And in particular, as the season and the year advances, he can tell what epidemic diseases will attack the city, either in summer or in winter, and what each individual will be in danger of experiencing from the change of regimen.


Meniscus is a fibrocartilaginous anatomical structure that realizes complicated biomechanical functions in the knee joint. However, no comparative morphology studies have been done on different species and conditions regarding the meniscus. Thus, the aim of our pilot study was to compare the morphology of traumatized and aged human and healthy deer meniscus to reveal the tissue ground, growth, degeneration, cell death and inflammation factors.
The study included surgery materials from one deer and two humans. Biotin-streptavidin immunohistochemistry was performed for detection of tissue TGFβ1, MMP2, MMP9, collagen I, caspase, Il-1, Il-6, Il-10. The results were evaluated semiquantitatively. An abundant number of Collagen I positive cells were detected in the disordered human meniscus but not in the deer one. TGFβ1 was seen in numerous to abundant number of cells in all the three cases. MMPs and caspase were distributed with numerous to abundant cells in both human and deer meniscus. Numerous to abundant cells of traumatized and aged human menisci showed IL-1 and IL-6, while the deer meniscus demonstrated cytokine expression in a moderate number of cells only in limited zones. The traumatized human meniscus possessed an abundant number of IL-10 positive cells, while the deer and the aged human meniscus showed mainly a moderate number of IL-10 cells with some elevation of cytokine in superficial and deepest layers of the meniscus.


Crystalline d-tubocurarine has been isolated in good yield from curare prepared from a single plant species, namely, Chondodendron tomentosum. This result establishes with certainty the botanical origin of this compound and substantiates the supposition that it is this species which furnishes the active constituent in certain types of curare. The extract from this plant furthermore yielded two new tertiary alkaloids which could be converted into physiologically active quaternary bases. Methylation of the phenolic hydroxyl groups in the quaternary bases resulted in a 3-9-fold increase in physiological potency.


Since the introduction of the expression "communicative competence" by Hymes in 1972, programs for the teaching and testing of English as a second or foreign language have increasingly been evaluated in terms either of their ability to promote communicative competence or of their sensitivity to a communicative view of language competence and performance. Unfortunately, despite this evident trend, there is no consensus on the nature of the communicative competence construct(s), nor has sufficient empirical support been provided for the various explanatory models proposed.

The present study was conducted to survey the theoretical literature related to communicative competence; to identify major variables said to comprise the construct(s); to test for the comparative presence and measurability of such variables in typical native/nonnative speaker university academic communication; to propose a tentative model of communicative competence as- a synthesis of these variables; and to examine the relationship of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of Spoken English (TSE), and Test of Written English (TWE) scores with the various elements of the tentative model. Accordingly, a schema was devised for the systematic elicitation of academic communicative language performance and this schema was applied in the assessment of the 79 adult, English-as-a-second language students who were chosen for the study. In all, 158 hours of video-recorded language-interaction episodes and 12 communicative writing samples were gathered by trained interlocutors, and observations on 40 communicative competence variables (21 in an oral modality, and 19 in a written modality, of which 18 in each modality are reported here) were rated by trained evaluators. Variables were examined for reliability and correlation with subtest and total scores of the TOEFL, TSE, and TWE examinations.

Results provide information about the comparative contributions of some theory-based communicative competence variables to domains of linguistic, discourse, sociolinguistic, and strategic competencies. In turn, these competency domains were investigated for their relation to components of language proficiency as assessed by the TOEFL, TSE, and TWE tests. Twelve oral and twelve written communication tasks were also analyzed and rank ordered for suitability in eliciting communicative language performance.


The New Perspective on Paul cleared Judaism contemporary to Paul of the accusation that it was a religion based on works of righteousness. Reactions to the New Perspective, both positive and critical, and sometimes even strongly negative, reflect a more fundamental problem in the reception of this paradigm: the question of continuity and discontinuity between Judaism and Christianity and its assumed implications for Jewish-Christian dialogue. A second key problem revolves around Pauls understanding of salvation as exclusive, inclusive or pluralist. The contributions in the present volume represent at least six approaches that can be plotted along this axis, considering Pauls theology in its Jewish context. William S. Campbell and Thomas R. Blanton consider Pauls Covenantal Theology, Michael Bachman provides an exegetical study of Paul, Israel and the Gentiles, and Mark D. Nanos considers Paul and Torah. After this chapters by Philip A. Cunningham, John T. Pawlikowski, Hans-Joachim Sander, and Hans-Herman Henrix give particular weight to questions of Jewish-Christian dialogue. The book finishes with an epilogue by pioneer of the New Perspective James D.G. Dunn.


Taxonomy is the discipline responsible for charting the world's organismic diversity, understanding ancestor/descendant relationships, and organizing all species according to a unified taxonomic classification system. Taxonomists document the attributes (characters) of organisms, with emphasis on those can be used to distinguish species from each other. Character information is compiled in the scientific literature as text, tables, and images. The information is presented according to conventions that vary among taxonomic domains; such conventions facilitate comparison among similar species, even when descriptions are published by different authors. There is considerable uncertainty within the taxonomic community as to how to re-use images that were included in taxonomic publications, especially in regard to whether copyright applies. This article deals with the principles and application of copyright law, database protection, and protection against unfair competition, as applied to images. We conclude that copyright does not apply to most images in taxonomic literature because they are presented in a standardized way and lack the creativity that is required to qualify as 'copyrightable works'. There are exceptions, such as wildlife photographs, drawings and artwork produced in a distinctive individual form and intended for other than comparative purposes (such as visual art). Further exceptions may apply to collections of images that qualify as a database in the sense of European database protection law. In a few European countries, there is legal protection for photographs that do not qualify as works in the usual sense of copyright. It follows that most images found in taxonomic literature can be re-used for research or many other purposes without seeking permission, regardless of any copyright declaration. In observance of ethical and scholarly standards, re-users are expected to cite the author and original source of any image that they use.


In this article we study the impact of real effective exchange rate misalignments, based on determinants, including different types of foreign capital inflows, on GDP growth in the EU. This can provide a useful contribution to understanding the causal link between inflows, real effective exchange rate disequilibria and GDP growth during both the boom and the crisis period. For this analysis, we use a panel of 27 EU countries for the period 1994–2012, with annual frequency. We find that the core countries have been mostly undervalued from the crisis onwards, while the periphery (excluding Ireland) were overvalued starting from 2003–2004, as expected. Concerning the new Member States, these are persistently overvalued for the entire time span. The results seem to be generally driven by the inflows of banking loans more than by FDIs or portfolio investments. In the second stage, we study the influence of exchange rate misalignments and volatilities on growth. We argue that the real effective exchange rate misalignments associated with the inflows have been a further cause for decline in GDP, in a long-run perspective, while they do not play a role in the short run. The exchange rate volatilities and the undervaluation dummy are not robust in affecting GDP growth, while spillovers and global factors seem to matter in all the specifications both in the short and long run. | T H E A U S T R A L I A N N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y


This survey reviews the recent literature on the double-dividend hypothesis of environmental taxes and discusses some extensions of the standard model such as the distributional consequences and the importance of the non-separability assumption between consumption goods and environmental quality for the optimal design of environmental policies. Turning to a model with imperfect labour markets we then show under which circumstances environmental taxes on polluting inputs in production and on polluting consumption goods can reap a second dividend in the form of an employment dividend and discuss the welfare implications. Finally, we turn to international aspects of environmental taxation. When environmental problems are tied to the use of exhaustible resources, resource-consuming countries can appropriate resource rents at the cost of resource-owning countries by levying environmental taxes strategically.


Ancient paintings are complex materials in terms of chemical analysis because they are usually made of organic/mineral, amorphous/crystallized, major/minor mixtures, evolving with time, and organized in micrometric multi-layered arrangements. In this context, synchrotron micro-imaging techniques offer a powerful analytical platform to reveal the two dimensional atomic, molecular and structural compositions of such complex systems, at a micrometre resolution. The two selected examples illustrate the two main concerns of restorers and conservators: looking backwards, to get insight into ancient artistic practices (in particular through the identification of pigments and binders in Bamiyan Buddhist mural paintings); and looking forward, to preserve works of art as long as possible (through a better understanding of cinnabar blackening in Medieval Spanish paintings). From the analytical chemistry point of view, they also illustrate the relevance of combining micro X-ray fluorescence, micro X-ray absorption spectroscopy, micro X-ray diffraction, and micro-FTIR for the complete analysis of painting cross-sections (binders and pigments).


Managerial attention to exploitation and exploration has a strong influence on organizational performance. However, there is hardly any knowledge about whether senior managers need to adjust their distribution of attention to exploitation and exploration in response to major changes in demand patterns in their industry. Drawing on the analysis of a panel data set of 86 firms in the information technology industry exposed to an economic recession and recovery, we find that successfully navigating an economic downturn demands more managerial attention to exploration, while leveraging the subsequent upswing requires more attention to exploitation. As such, this study contributes to the literature by providing a dynamic perspective on ambidexterity: that is, senior managers need to redistribute their attention to exploration and exploitation to effectively meet the changing environmental demands over time. JEL classification: C01 L1 L2 L86.


1.Polyphemus chases were video-recorded in a laboratory tank, and the positions and orientations of the chaser and target were digitized at 100-ms intervals. 2. Analysis of the resulting track reveals three main phases: chaser pauses, shadowing prey at a constant distance, and rapid leaps onto prey. Chases do not all end in contact — they are sometimes terminated by the chaser peeling off. 3. Pauses are triggered by rapid image expansions, and persist for as long as the image continues to expand. 4. The shadowing phase includes intermittent sudden forward movements, which could provide visual information about the absolute size of the prey, using a triangulation method. Chasers are successful in avoiding contact with very large and very small prey.


Objectives To examine the acceptability and feasibility of narrative text messages with or without financial incentives to support weight loss for men. Design Individually randomised three-arm feasibility trial with 12 months' follow-up. Setting Two sites in Scotland with high levels of disadvantage according to Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Participants Men with obesity (n=105) recruited through community outreach and general practitioner registers. Interventions Participants randomised to: (A) narrative text messages plus financial incentive for 12 months (short message service (SMS)+I), (B) narrative text messages for 12 months (SMS only), or (C) waiting list control. Outcomes Acceptability and feasibility of recruitment, retention, intervention components and trial procedures assessed by analysing quantitative and qualitative data at 3, 6 and 12 months. Results 105 men were recruited, 60% from more disadvantaged areas (SIMD quintiles 1 or 2). Retention at 12 months was 74%. Fewer SMS+I participants (64%) completed 12-month assessments compared with SMS only (79%) and control (83%). Narrative texts were acceptable to many men, but some reported negative reactions. No evidence emerged that level of disadvantage was related to acceptability of narrative texts. Eleven SMS+I participants (31%) successfully met or partially met weight loss targets. The cost of the incentive per participant was £81.94 (95% CI £34.59 to £129.30). Incentives were acceptable, but improving health was reported as the key motivator for weight loss. All groups lost weight (SMS+I: −2.51 kg (SD=4.94); SMS only: −1.29 kg (SD=5.03); control: −0.86 kg (SD=5.64) at 12 months). Conclusions This three-arm weight management feasibility trial recruited and retained men from across the socioeconomic spectrum, with the majority from areas of disadvantage, was broadly acceptable to most participants and feasible to deliver. Trial registration number NCT03040518.


N ucleic acid chemistry at the material science interface has rapidly gained importance as chemists develop new strategies for nucleic acid array-based detection systems. The fabrication of DNA microarrays requires attachment of both biologically and chemically derived nucleic acids to a variety of surfaces. Surface-attached nucleic acids can be modified in ways that will allow optical or electrical detection of hybridization, extension, or other nucleic acid–based transformations. The chemistries of nucleic acid surface attachment and modification are also related to efforts to develop nucleic acids as material for fabrication of nanostructures. Their highly specific self-assembling properties, coupled with their potential for synthetic remodeling, provide the opportunity to use nucleic acid–related substances as scaffolds as well as functioning components of mechanical, electronic, or photonic devices. This chapter will provide a means to highlight advances in the field and provide detailed protocols for some of the potentially more useful applications.


Uncertainty is an inherent characteristic of biological and geospatial data which is almost made by measurement error in the observed values of the quantity of interest. Ignoring measurement error can lead to biased estimates and inflated variances and so an inappropriate inference. In this paper, the Gaussian spatial model is fitted based on covariate measurement error. For this purpose, we adopt the Bayesian approach and utilize the Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms and data augmentations to carry out calculations. The methodology is illustrated using simulated data.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the incidence, risk factors, and maternal and neonatal outcome of pregnancies with abnormal placentation at a single center.

STUDY DESIGN
A retrospective review of the medical records of the deliveries in 1999-2003 at the Department of Obstetrics, University Hospital Zurich, was conducted with respect to abnormal placentation, and the incidence, risk factors and outcomes were observed.

RESULTS
Thirty-one women with abnormal placentation were identified. They represented 0.31% of deliveries during the 5-year period. The significant factors associated with abnormal placentation were previous uterine curettage (OR = 19.3, 95% CI 11.6-32.3), previous uterine surgery other than cesarean sections (OR = 49.6, 95% CI 24.3-102.3) and coexistent placenta previa (OR = 16.1, 95% CI 4.7-43.7). No case of maternal death occurred, and 1 neonatal death due to uterine rupture occurred in the study group.

CONCLUSION
The most important risk factor in abnormal placentation was a previous uterine intervention.


In Vietnam, many government announcements have gathered negative
receptions from the public. Among them, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Vietnam Minister
of Health, has received more of it. Through the case study of Ms. Kim Tien's many
scandals during the 2013-2014 period, this study is interested to see if the health
scandals eventually elevated into a government crisis, how they affected the minister's
reputation, and what she could have done to better respond to the public. This study
examined news articles on such health scandals to confirm whether the health scandals
indeed escalated to be a government crisis. It also identified the advantages and
disadvantages of Ms. Kim Tien's responses in restoring her reputation to the public to
understand what factors contributed to public dissatisfaction toward the minister. This
study concluded that poorly-managed health scandals eventually elevated into a
government crisis and greatly affected the minister's reputation. It is suggested that PR
is what the government needs to deal with such situations. The research also leaves
room for a quantitative approach to the case to increase the result's validity and
representativeness. Until now, as the health issues and the resignation appeals are still
needed, the crisis management effort should get more attention from the government,
and such study is needed to better understand the situation.


The aim of this study is to increase children's social-emotional development using project approach
on early childhood environmental education. The researcher uses applied classroom action research
method to explore the project approach on environmental education as multidimensional approach.
The project approach is in-depth investigation to a topic which has three phases; 1) planning and
getting started, 2) developing project, and 3) reflection and conclusion. This study involved
collaborators and 15 children organized in two cycles. The findings are as follows. The children's
social-emotional development has been increasing by the end of cycle-2, their social-emotional
development level especially in giving respect to others and borrowing or lending toys has been
increasing significantly as well as their capability on taking part in large program or agenda. Another
finding in this study is the instructional activities during the project approach on early childhood
environmental education has been giving children opportunities to interact actively with people
around since these are the basic of social-emotional development.


OBJECTIVE
To assess relationships among serum N-terminal procollagen type III concentration, urinary aldosterone-to-creatinine concentration ratio (UAC), and clinical variables in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and healthy dogs.

ANIMALS
162 dogs with MMVD and 24 healthy control dogs of comparable age and body weight.

PROCEDURES
Blood and urine samples were collected from each dog. Dogs with MMVD underwent echocardiography and ECG. Ventricular diameter measurements were normalized for body weight. Serum N-terminal procollagen type III and urinary aldosterone concentrations were measured via radioimmunoassay. Each dog was examined on 1 to 3 occasions. Examinations were repeated at approximately 6-month intervals.

RESULTS
Serum N-terminal procollagen type III concentration decreased with increasing severity of MMVD and was negatively associated with age and left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters. The UAC increased with prior percentage change in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter per month, subsequent percentage change in left ventricular end-systolic diameter per month, and treatment with diuretics and was negatively associated with age. Both UAC and serum N-terminal procollagen type III concentration were higher in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels than in other breeds when other measured variables were controlled for.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In dogs with MMVD, echocardiographic indicators of left ventricular remodeling appeared to be associated with a decrease in serum concentration of a marker of collagen type III turnover and an increase in urinary aldosterone concentration.


Background In the 2000s, the Baltic countries experienced unprecedented credit-driven economic growth that was followed by a deep recession. This study examined the impact of profound macroeconomic changes on population mental health in Estonia in 2004–2016. Methods Data on 17 794 individuals in the 20–64 age group were obtained from seven nationally representative cross-sectional surveys. The prevalence of past 30-day depression was calculated for men and women further stratified by sociodemographic characteristics. Multivariable regression analysis was used to assess whether these characteristics were associated with the yearly variation in depression. Results In 2006, the adjusted prevalence ratio for depression was 0.77 (95% CI 0.64 to 0.93) for men and 0.85 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.97) for women as compared with 2004; in 2010, the prevalence ratio as compared with 2008 for both men and women was 1.22 (95% CIs 1.04 to 1.43 and 1.09 to 1.37, respectively). Among men, the increase in the prevalence of depression in 2008–2010 was statistically significant for 35–64 year olds, ethnic Estonians, those who were married, mid-educated or were employed, whereas among women, a significant increase was observed in 50–64 year olds, Estonians and non-Estonians, those who were not-married, were highly educated or mid-educated, in the mid-income group or were employed. Conclusions Population mental health is responsive to macroeconomic changes. In less wealthy high-income countries, the greater impact of recession on depression among advantaged groups may relate to a higher debt burden coupled with job insecurity.


This anthology prints twelve papers from a Pynchon conference held in London in June 1998. Taken together, the papers represent a turn toward the "more overtly political readings" that have characterized Pynchon criticism "[s]ince the early 1990s," a trend identified by John M. Krafft in the volume's Forward (10). Indeed, what these essays have in common is an emphasis on gender, race, class, sexuality and nation in Pynchon's works; hence the subtitle, Reading from the Margins, which calls attention to these critics' writings about Pynchon's writings about groups marginalized in white male heterosexual ruling-class America. The book is organized into two sections of six essays each, a fairly rough division between "the body" and "the body politic" as these are represented in Pynchon. The editor, Niran Abbas, has provided an Introduction with a capsule summary of each essay, which can help guide readers to the particular subjects of most interest to them. This is a smart and stimulating group of essays, and in what follows I will try to give some sense of the arguments they broached and the questions they provoked in me. I take it as one sign of a book's success that its ideas are intriguing enough to incite a response from the reader.


Recently, the applications of Blockchain technology have begun to revolutionise different aspects of supply chain (SC) management. Among others, Blockchain is a platform to execute the smart contracts in the SC as transactions. We develop and test a new model for smart contract design in the SC with multiple logistics service providers and show that this problem can be presented as a multi-processor flexible flow shop scheduling. A distinctive feature of our approach is that the execution of physical operations is modelled inside the start and completion of cyber information services. We name this modelling concept 'virtual operation'. The constructed model and the developed experimental environment constitute an event-driven dynamic approach to task and service composition when designing the smart contract. Our approach is also of value when considering the contract execution stage. The use of state control variables in our model allows for operations status updates in the Blockchain that in turn, feeds automated information feedbacks, disruption detection and control of contract execution. The latter launches the re-scheduling procedure, comprehensively combining planning and adaptation decisions within a unified methodological framework of dynamic control theory. The modelling complex developed can be used to design and control smart contracts in the SC.


Daoist mysticism is a subfield in academic areas of study including comparative mysticism, Chinese religions, and Daoist studies. Methodologies employed in it often adopt and adapt different definitions, categories, and theories formulated in contemporary Western scholarship on the subject of "mysticism" for the purpose of analyzing Daoist thinkers, texts, practices, and traditions throughout the religion's history. Important topics examined in scholarly works on Daoist mysticism include, first, Daoist views of the human self, both as it exists in its problematic state of degeneracy—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and morally—and in the natural and optimal condition it can and should embody. A point of emphasis regarding the latter condition is the self's experience or consciousness of, conformity to, and unity with that which is of ultimate significance for Daoists: the "Way" (Dao/Tao). Daoist mystics, by understanding themselves to be microcosmic embodiments of the world and its processes, grasp that they are inherent constituents of the Dao and are unified with the totality of existence that it encompasses. Second, there is an array of Daoist self-cultivation techniques that are combined into training regimens aimed at cultivating and actualizing this awareness. Methods range from practices relating to the optimal setting and lifestyle to adopt for training, proper preparation and maintenance of the body, qi/ch'i cultivation, ethical observances, visualizations, and other meditative techniques. Third, successful training in them achieves the mystical aims, experiences, and transformations that practitioners seek, including physical vigor to aid the body's functioning and longevity, moral integrity, profound visions, true and omniscient insight, correct and effective conduct, self-divinization, and immortality. Fourth, the scholarship also identifies both notable continuities and intriguing innovations in comparing ancient Daoist mystical ideas, practices, and goals to later expressions and elaborations of them.
 Studying Daoist mysticism has also reciprocally contributed to Western scholarly inquiries into theories of mysticism and comparative mysticism, not only in providing a wealth of material that is relevant to these fields, but also in offering both additional perspectives on debated issues and new trajectories for future research. For example, recent scholarship has contributed to the debate between, on the one hand, Essentialist and Decontextualist theorists and, on the other, Contextualists concerning the subject of mystical experience. Scholars of Daoist mysticism have also underscored the distinctiveness of the content and the literary form of its mystical writings, as well as the vital role the practitioner's body plays in its theories and practices, and how these defining features distinguish Daoist mysticism from some of the world's other mystical traditions.


The subject of this dissertation is Richard Hooker's defence of the royal headship of the church in the final book of his treatise Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie . His treatment of this political question is remarkable for its depth of theological analysis. Hooker approaches the issue of the royal headship from three main theological angles: first, from the standpoint of the crucial distinction of Reformation soteriology between the so-called 'Two Realms' or 'Two Kingdoms'; secondly, according to the categories and distinctions of basic systematic doctrine, notably Chalcedonian Christology and Trinitarian dogma; and thirdly, he applies the magisterial reformers' test of ecclesiological orthodoxy. Modern students of Hooker's political thought have been very reluctant to bridge the gulf between the theological and political realms of his discourse. As a result, the theological matrix of Hooker's doctrine of the Royal Supremacy has been quite neglected. The erection of such a bridge is indispensable to our understanding of the alien mentalite which underlies this important Elizabethan controversy. We shall attempt to demonstrate that Hooker's employment of theological argument in defence of the Royal Supremacy was central to his ultimate apologetic purpose. He wrote the Lawes with a view to 'resolving the consciences' of the Disciplinarian-Puritan critics of the Elizabethan Settlement. He sought to convince these opponents by the most compelling mode of argument they knew - theological argument - that the royal headship was wholly consistent with the cardinal principles of the ecclesiology and political theory of the magisterial Reformation. In the first chapter there is a consideration of the methodological difficulties of modern Hooker scholarship. This is followed by an examination of Hooker's apologetic intention and a division of the chief theological elements of the controversy over the Royal Supremacy. Chapter two explores the soteriological foundations of Hooker's doctrine of the Two Realms and Two Regiments as well as his relation to the authority of the magisterial reformation. Chapter three examines Hooker's ecclesiology as the pivotal link between his soteriological 'first principles' and his political theory. Finally, in chapter four, the considerations of the previous chapters will be applied directly to the interpretation of Hooker's theology of the royal headship as presented by him in Book VIII of the Lawes .


Joint Preprocesser-Based Detectors for One-Way and Two-Way Cooperative Communication Networks Abdulrahman Issam Taher Abuzaid Efficient receiver designs for cooperative communication systems are becoming increasingly important. In previous work, cooperative networks communicated with the use of L relays. As the receiver is constrained, channel shortening and reducedrank techniques were employed to design the preprocessing matrix that reduces the length of the received vector from L to U . In the first part of the work, a receiver structure is proposed which combines our proposed threshold selection criteria with the joint iterative optimization (JIO) algorithm that is based on the mean square error (MSE). Our receiver assists in determining the optimal U . Furthermore, this receiver provides the freedom to choose U for each frame depending on the tolerable difference allowed for MSE. Our study and simulation results show that by choosing an appropriate threshold, it is possible to gain in terms of complexity savings while having no or minimal effect on the BER performance of the system. Furthermore, the effect of channel estimation on the performance of the cooperative system is investigated. In the second part of the work, a joint preprocessor-based detector for cooperative communication networks is proposed for one-way and two-way relaying. This joint preprocessor-based detector operates on the principles of minimizing the symbol error rate (SER) instead of minimizing MSE. For a realistic assessment, 5 pilot symbols are used to estimate the channel. From our simulations, it can be observed that our proposed detector achieves the same SER performance as that of the maximum likelihood (ML) detector with all participating relays. Additionally, our detector outperforms selection combining (SC), channel shortening (CS) scheme and reduced-rank techniques when using the same U . Finally, our proposed scheme has the lowest computational complexity.


"The Venture of Islam" has been honored as a magisterial work of the mind since its publication in early 1975. In this three-volume study, illustrated with charts and maps, Hodgson traces and interprets the historical development of Islamic civilization from before the birth of Muhammad to the middle of the twentieth century. This work grew out of the famous course on Islamic civilization that Hodgson created and taught for many years at the University of Chicago. In this concluding volume of "The Venture of Islam," Hodgson describes the second flowering of Islam: the Safavi, Timuri, and Ottoman empires. The final part of the volume analyzes the widespread Islamic heritage in today's world. "This is a nonpareil work, not only because of its command of its subject but also because it demonstrates how, ideally, history should be written."-"The New Yorker "


In this paper we propose a method that identifies and extracts keywords within URLs, focusing on the Greek Web and especially on URLs containing Greek terms. Although there are previous works on how to process Greek online content, none of them focuses on keyword identification within URLs of the Greek web domain. In addition, there are many known techniques for web page categorization based on URLs but, none addresses the case of URLs containing transliterated Greek terms. The proposed method integrates two components; a URL tokenizer that segments URL tokens into meaningful words and a Latin–to–Greek script transliteration engine that relies on a dictionary and a set of orthographic and syntactic rules for converting Latin verbalized word tokens into Greek terms. The experimental evaluation of our method against a sample of 1,000 Greek URLs reveals that it can be fruitfully exploited towards automatic keyword identification within Greek URLs


The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of debating on the perception of students' critical thinking disposition. The participants were members in one of my Cornerstone Classes at Florida SouthWestern State College that was randomly selected. The data collected during this study were student surveys, student interviews, researcher observations, and pre and post of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. The researcher provided explicit instruction, conducted a pre-post California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, and facilitated two debates. The data collected included pre and post California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) test, observations, course evaluation, survey, and interviews. The overall results of the study showed that students benefited from the exercise of debating particularly when debating opposing points of view. Students' disposition to be critical thinkers improved as a result of debating. Debating, regardless of the topic, help enhance students' overall openmindedness, inquisitiveness, analyticity, systematicity, and confidence of reasoning.


Today, New York City's Roosevelt Island stands as living proof that the public sector can produce a mixed-income and mixed-race neighborhood from scratch. Its successes contrast with typical perceptions of government housing failure and indicate that with determined leadership, stable funding, and a good location, the public sector can create healthy, heterogeneous neighborhoods. This article examines the process of designing and constructing Roosevelt Island to illustrate how and why local actors took advantage of favorable conditions and made important political choices to achieve their commitments, even as political and financial support for such developments deteriorated. In light of the often dismal reputation of government housing policy in the United States, Roosevelt Island's success—unique in its mixed-income legacy—offers lessons about effective city governance in the face of dwindling national support.


This paper examines various implications of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), namely Customs Unions (CUs) and Free Trade Areas (FTAs), in the context of a multi-country general equilibrium model based on comparative advantage considerations. We calibrate the model to represent countries with symmetric endowments, and compare the impact of those agreements with free trade and a non-cooperative Nash equilibria. Utilizing aggregate and disaggregate welfare change measures, we quantify the welfare effects of trade arrangements. In particular, we develop a numerical approximation procedure to decompose the welfare changes into two components associated with the variations in terms of trade and volume of trade. The results of our analysis indicate that FTAs are better than CUs on welfare grounds for the world as a whole since both member and nonmember economies enjoy welfare benefits in an FTA. Further, we show that, for certain endowment distributions, upon formation of an FTA, nonmember economies get larger welfare benefits than member economies do. Nonetheless, member economies have larger welfare gains in CUs than in FTAS. Our welfare decompositions suggest that a significant fraction of the welfare changes in both member and nonmember countries is explained by the volume of trade effect for both types of PTAS. This implies that, having free access to larger markets, along with greater market power are both important aspects of PTAS. Comparison across endowment distributions indicates that as countries become more divergent in their endowments, the volume of trade effect gets more pronounced for CUs as well as for FTAS. The absence of policy coordination between the members of FTAs decreases the market power of the member economies and induces welfare losses that are associated with the terms of trade effect. However, the ten-ns of trade effect results in significant welfare gains for the members of CUs since they jointly determine their tariff rates.


Abstract The HYLIFE-II conceptual design uses arrays of high-speed oscillating and stationary slab jets, or turbulent liquid sheets, to protect the reactor chamber first walls. A major issue in thick liquid protection is the hydrodynamic source term due to the primary turbulent breakup of the protective slab jets. During turbulent breakup, drops are continuously ejected from the surface of turbulent liquid sheets and convected into the interior of the cavity, where they can interfere with driver propagation and target injection. Experimental data for vertical turbulent sheets of water issuing downwards from nozzles of thickness (small dimension) δ = 1 cm into ambient air are compared with empirical correlations at a nearly prototypical Reynolds number Re = 1.2 × 105. A simple collection technique was used to estimate the amount of mass ejected from the jet surface. The effectiveness of boundary-layer cutting at various "depths" into the flow to reduce the source term and improve surface smoothness was evaluated. In all cases boundary-layer cutting was implemented immediately downstream of the nozzle exit. Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) was used to visualize the free-surface geometry of the liquid sheet in the near-field region up to 25δ downstream of the nozzle exit. Large-scale structures at the edges of the sheet, typically observed for Re < 5.0 × 104, reappeared at Re = 1.2 × 105 for sheets with boundary-layer cutting. The results indicate that boundary-layer cutting can be used to suppress drop formation, i.e. the hydrodynamic source term, for a well-conditioned jet but is not a substitute for well-designed flow conditioning.


In finance,various items with heterogeneous characteristics are often auctioned simultaneously. This is the case when a financial institution attempts to raise a certain amount of liquidity by auctioning a large portfolio of securities with different characteristics. In a previous paper (Armantier, Holt, and Plott 2013) we proposed an auction design in which the bids submittedare normalized by "reference prices" reflecting the seller's estimate of the value of each item. When the reference prices are accurate this design promotes competition and provides protection against adverse selection.When the reference prices are notaccurate estimations of the items' values, however, the performance of the auction may be negatively impacted. In this paper, we conduct a series of experiments to explore how the seller can protect itself against inaccurate reference prices. In particular, we study how the seller can "endogenize" reference prices by using information contained in the bids submitted to revise its initial value estimate for each item. Our experiments suggest that this approach is effective as it increases the seller's profit.


The aim of the thesis is to investigate the rhetorical dimensions of selected Markan controversy dialogues (2.15-17, 18-22, 23-28; 3.22-30; 7.1-23; 11.27-33) in light of their redaction, form, and transmission histories. Specifically, I shall evaluate scholarly claims that these dialogues are examples of the Hellenistic literary form called the chreia. Consequently, the thesis is a formal analysis, though certain historical conclusions will emerge. I shall structure the thesis in three main sections and twelve chapters. The first section will present an overview of the history of the investigation of the controversy dialogues from Dibelius to the present day and will conclude that the specific type of rhetorical criticism which I shall evaluate and traditional historical criticism can be mutually beneficial when used together. The second section will describe rhetoric as understood in antiquity and outline the definitions, classifications, and elaborations of the chreia given in the ancient handbooks known as the Progymnasmata. The final section will bring together the insights of historical criticism and rhetorical analysis in the study of the six Markan pericopes. The most important conclusion which I propose is that the primitive form of these dialogues was modelled after the chreia form. This suggests that they emerged not from some anonymous collectivity but were consciously formed by individuals with some education and knowledge of a pagan literary form. They were conceived in a unitary fashion. I further argue that the rhetorical situation from which the dialogues emerged was the synagogue where the followers of Jesus were arguing for a less strict religious observance and were being opposed by a more rigorist, Pharisaic party. During the process of transmission the form decayed as more material was added, and there is no evidence that either the tradition or Mark himself knew the form or moulded the materials in imitation of the form. Although these pericopes do show an intensification of polemic, they do not reveal any laws of transmission, at least from the rhetorical point of view. Finally, the arguments used in the original dialogues are based on human wisdom and common values, and do not refer to the Jewish law or the traditions. Jesus is depicted as a teacher of wisdom who, like a Greek philosopher- teacher, calls pupils to himself.


We present an approach that enables detecting intention levels of subjects in response to task difficulty utilizing an electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interface (BCI). In particular, we use linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to classify event-related synchronization (ERS) and desynchronization (ERD) patterns associated with right elbow flexion and extension movements, while lifting different weights. We observe that it is possible to classify tasks of varying difficulty based on EEG signals. Additionally, we also present a correlation analysis between intention levels detected from EEG and surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals. Our experimental results suggest that it is possible to extract the intention level information from EEG signals in response to task difficulty and indicate some level of correlation between EEG and EMG. With a view towards detecting patients' intention levels during rehabilitation therapies, the proposed approach has the potential to ensure active involvement of patients throughout exercise routines and increase the efficacy of robot assisted therapies.