Compared to constraint-based causal discovery, causal discovery based on functional causal models is able to identify the whole causal model under appropriate assumptions [Shimizu et al. 2006; Hoyer et al. 2009; Zhang and Hyvärinen 2009b]. Functional causal models represent the effect as a function of the direct causes together with an independent noise term. Examples include the linear non-Gaussian acyclic model (LiNGAM), nonlinear additive noise model, and post-nonlinear (PNL) model. Currently, there are two ways to estimate the parameters in the models: dependence minimization and maximum likelihood. In this article, we show that for any acyclic functional causal model, minimizing the mutual information between the hypothetical cause and the noise term is equivalent to maximizing the data likelihood with a flexible model for the distribution of the noise term. We then focus on estimation of the PNL causal model and propose to estimate it with the warped Gaussian process with the noise modeled by the mixture of Gaussians. As a Bayesian nonparametric approach, it outperforms the previous one based on mutual information minimization with nonlinear functions represented by multilayer perceptrons; we also show that unlike the ordinary regression, estimation results of the PNL causal model are sensitive to the assumption on the noise distribution. Experimental results on both synthetic and real data support our theoretical claims.


Advancements in information and communications technologies (ICTs) have expanded the possibilities for trade in modern services and many Asian emerging and developed economies are increasingly participating in these new trade activities. This study examines the export performances of emerging and developed Asian economies in selected modern services—computer and information, business and professional, and telecommunications—using a stochastic frontier gravity model. Estimation results show that the performances of emerging economies in South Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in terms of realization of export potential, are considerably weaker than those of developed economies in North America and Europe. The results also show that the number of graduates and the quality of ICT infrastructure in emerging countries are among the key factors in realizing services export potential. These findings suggest that emerging economies need to remove "behind-the-border" constraints and adopt advanced technologies in order to catch up with high-performing developed countries.


Background/Aim: Mathematical models have long been considered as important tools in cancer biology and therapy. Herein, we present an advanced non-linear mathematical model that can predict accurately the effect of an anticancer agent on the growth of a solid tumor. Materials and Methods: Advanced non-linear mathematical optimization techniques and human-to-mouse experimental data were used to develop a tumor growth inhibition (TGI) estimation model. Results: Using this mathematical model, we could accurately predict the tumor mass in a human-to-mouse pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) xenograft under gemcitabine treatment up to five time periods (points) ahead of the last treatment. Conclusion: The ability of the identified TGI dynamic model to perform satisfactory short-term predictions of the tumor growth for up to five time periods ahead was investigated, evaluated and validated for the first time. Such a prediction model could not only assist the pre-clinical testing of putative anticancer agents, but also the early modification of a chemotherapy schedule towards increased efficacy.


Abstract Most academic and development policy discussions about microentrepreneurs focus on credit constraints and assume that subject to those constraints, the entrepreneurs manage their business optimally. Yet the self-employed poor rarely have any formal training in business skills. A growing number of microfinance organizations are attempting to build the human capital of microentrepreneurs in order to improve the livelihood of their clients and help further their mission of poverty alleviation. Using a randomized control trial, we measure the marginal impact of adding business training to a Peruvian group lending program for female microentrepreneurs. Treatment groups received thirty- to sixty-minute entrepreneurship training sessions during their normal weekly or monthly banking meeting over a period of one to two years. Control groups remained as they were before, meeting at the same frequency but solely for making loan and savings payments. We find little or no evidence of changes in key outcomes such as business revenue, profits, or employment. We nevertheless observed business knowledge improvements and increased client retention rates for the microfinance institution.


A facile, environmentally friendly one-step reaction for the preparation of luminescent N-doped graphene quantum dots (GQDs) involving a hydrothermal reaction between citric acid and 2-aminoethylphosphonic acid has been designed. Graphene quantum dots have been characterized by UV-visible absorption, FTIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques. Furthermore, the biological activity of the GQDs has been studied. UV-visible spectroscopy studies of the interactions between the GQDs and calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) showed that the compound interacts with CT-DNA via intercalative binding. DNA cleavage study showed that the GQDs cleaved DNA oxidatively. In addition, antioxidant activity of N-doped GQDs was measured using the DPPH method. As the concentration of the compound increased, the antioxidant activity also has increased. According to cell viability analyses results, the N-doped GQDs showed cell viability (70%) when the concentration reaches 228 μg/mL for A549, 200 μg/mL for MDA-MB-231 and 140 μg/mL for NIH-3T3 cell lines with 24 h incubation.


This article deals with the approximate method used to solve the Poincare boundary value problem for nonlinear elliptic equations of sec- ond order in unbounded multiply connected domains. This type of boundary value problems are known to have applications in many fields such as mechanics and physics. We first present a formulation of the boundary value problem and the corresponding modified well-posedness. Then we obtain the representation theorem and a priori estimates of so- lutions for the modified problem. Finally by the estimates of solutions and the continuity method, we obtain the solvability results and er- ror estimates of approximate solutions of the modified problem for the nonlinear elliptic equations of second order.


Abstract Spatial augmented reality (SAR) technology allows one to change the appearance of objects by projecting directly onto their surface without the requirement of wearing glasses, and therefore can be used in many practical applications. In this article, we present a human–subject study, which investigates the research question whether it is possible to use SAR to change one's perception of depth and spatial relationships among objects and humans in a real-world environment. Such projected illusions could open up new possibilities, for example, supporting people who suffer from poor depth perception by compensating distance and size misperceptions. We present three monoscopic projection-based techniques that we adapted from visual arts: (i) color temperature, (ii) luminance contrast, and (iii) blur, and show that each of them can significantly change depth perception, even in a real-world environment when displayed with other distance cues. We discuss practical implications and individual differences in the perception of depth between observers, and we outline future directions to influence and improve human depth perception in the real world.


The article describes an innovative approach to educating law students about the legal issues and the role of lawyers in negotiating international business transactions. It is based on our experiences in developing and teaching a course that is built around a semester-long simulation exercise and taught in counterpart classes at two law schools. The students in these classes represent the opposing parties and negotiate a cross-border business transaction involving a joint venture agreement, a licensing agreement and a long-term supply contract. The students, who attend either the American University Washington College of Law or the Centre for Energy Mineral and Petroleum Law and Policy at the Dundee University in Scotland, utilize written communications, video-conferencing and teleconferencing in their negotiations. In the paper we discuss the value the course adds to the education of our students, the challenges and pleasures of teaching the course, the response of students to the innovative approach to teaching, and ways in which the course could be adapted and enriched.


Volume 9 Issue 1 Publisher Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Abstract A primary lesson that I was taught aircraft life sciences mishap investigation training was to resist jumping to a solution until the evidence took me to a solution. Several plausible scenarios could explain JFK Jr.'s mishap. This writing should not be construed in any way to suggest a solution to this mishap; the solution will only be possible after the physical evidence (wreckage) is collected and analyzed by trained mishap investigators. Rather, this is a technical explanation of how Spatial Disorientation, as one possible cause of this mishap, can occur. Scholarly Commons Citation Leland, R. A. (1999). Night VFR... An Oxymoron?. Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 9(1). Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/jaaer/vol9/iss1/3  Download


Geographically widely spread species can cope with environmental differences among habitats by genetic differentiation and/or phenotypic flexibility. In marine crustaceans, intraspecific variations in life-history traits are pervasive along latitudinal clines. Replicated latitudinal clines are of evolutionary interest because they provide evidence of the occurrence of natural selection. If the means of traits along the latitudinal gradient are expected to be the result of natural selection, there is no reason why variances and covariances will not also be subject to selection, since selection is essentially a multivariate phenomenon. We studied life-history changes in means, variances, and covariances (i.e. P matrix) in 6 populations of the endemic crab Cyclograpsus cinereus (Decapoda: Grapsidae) along a latitudinal gradient over 19° on the Chilean coast. Trait means differed among localities for all traits analyzed (i.e. female size, number and size of eggs, and reproductive output), and the variation displayed a clinal pattern. In general, the main result that emerged from planned comparisons of P matrices is that, when detected, differences between localities mainly reflect differ- ences in the magnitude of phenotypic variation (i.e. eigenvalues), rather than in the relationships between traits (i.e. eigenvectors). Sea-surface temperature was only correlated with the covariance between egg numbers and reproductive output. Matrices comparisons for Flury and jackknife meth- ods were highly linked, with limits of biogeographic provinces described for the coast of Chile. Our study strongly highlights the importance of estimating the P matrix, not only mean values, in order to understand the evolution of life-history traits along a latitudinal gradient. Furthermore, the study of the variation in the P matrix might provide important insights into those evolutionary forces acting on it.


What makes private property valuable, desirable, or workable? This book focuses on the social and economic dimensions of private property in Azerbaijan after the agrarian reforms of 1996. It looks at the kinds of land and cultivation strategies emerging in the decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, and it examines why rural households are often unwilling to cultivate the privatized land shares they have received for free, despite the threat and existence of rural poverty. Consideration is given to households that engage in cultivation and households that do not - including households of internally displaced persons who were formally excluded from privatization, but were nevertheless successful and eager cultivators. The book asks, how far does private property thrive on its own, without the support of lucrative markets or the implementation of state-sponsored economic policies? Through the lens of economic anthropology, it chronicles the historical legacy of authoritarian state structures and the contemporary micro- and macro-economic struggles that mark a politics of property after socialism. (Series: Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Eurasia - Vol. 24)


The priority view has become very popular in moral philosophy, but there is a serious question about how it should be formalized. The most natural formalization leads to ex post prioritarianism, which results from adding expected utility theory to the main ideas of the priority view. But ex post prioritarianism entails a claim which is too implausible for it to be a serious competitor to utilitarianism. In fact, ex post prioritarianism was probably never a genuine alternative to utilitarianism in the first place. By contrast, ex ante prioritarianism is defensible. But its motivation is very different from the usual rationales offered for the priority view. Given the untenability of ex post prioritarianism, it is more natural for most friends of the priority view to revert to utilitarianism.


Integral to the application of Access Management is the road classification system. Road classification in urban areas boils down to defining the higher order mobility routes (Classes 1 to 3) and then managing access provision to be commensurate with the classification. These higher order routes tend to define the urban form, as they have larger road reserves, more lanes and can end up as some form of barrier. They are also crucial for the functioning of cities (provision of mobility) as they are carrying the highest numbers of vehicles and consequently the highest vehicle-kilometre of travel. One objective of this paper is to evaluate the spacing of these higher order roads in some real world cities, in view of the ideal spacing guidelines. The existing density of higher order routes in Cape Town (South Africa) has been determined and compared (on strategic level) with four major cities in other parts of the world (Berlin, Melbourne, Dallas, and Shanghai). A further objective is to investigate the consequences of access spacing guidelines on real world situations. Issues with respect to real situations experienced in Cape Town are illustrated and compared with local and international standards. An approach to implementing the ideal standards is suggested, also in view of the guidance provided in the access management manual.


Abstract The ITER high-frequency (HF) magnetic sensor is currently intended to be a conventional, Mirnov-type, pickup coil, designed to provide measurements of magnetic instabilities with magnitude as low as [vertical bar]δB[vertical bar] [approximately] 10-4 G at the position of the sensors and up to frequencies of at least 300 kHz. Previous prototyping of this sensor has indicated that a number of problems exist with this conventional design that are essentially related to the winding process and the differential thermal expansion between the metallic wire and the ceramic spacers. Hence, a nonconventional HF magnetic sensor has been designed and prototyped in-house in different variants using low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology, which involves a series of stacked ceramic substrates with a circuit board printed on them with a metallic ink (silver in our case). A method has then been developed to characterize the electrical properties of these sensors from the direct-current range up to frequencies in excess of 10 MHz. This method has been successfully benchmarked against the measurements for the built sensors and allows the electrical properties of LTCC prototypes to be predicted with confidence and without the need of actually building them, which therefore significantly simplifies future research and development (R&D) activities. When appropriate design choices are made, LTCC sensors are found to meet in full the volume occupation constraints and the requirements for the sensor's electrical properties that are set out for the ITER HF magnetic diagnostic system. This nonconventional technology is therefore recommended for further R&D and prototyping work, particularly for a three-dimensional sensor, and possibly using materials more suitable for use in the ITER environment, such as palladium and platinum inks, which could remove the perceived risk of transmutation under the heavy neutron flux that we may have with the Au (to Hg, then to Pb) or the Ag (to Cd) metallic inks currently used in LTCC devices.


Chirped-pulse upconversion (CPU) enables the detection of mid-infrared spectra using a silicon CCD camera by sum-frequency mixing a mid-IR field with a highly chirped near-IR (800 nm) field. Although the substantial chirp limits the spectral broadening and phase distortions caused by the inherent cross-phase modulation, the exquisite phase fidelity needed to measure a fully absorptive two-dimensional IR spectrum demands the correction of the phase distortions. We demonstrate how to correct all of the phase distortions involved in recording an absorptive 2DIR spectrum including delay stage calibrations as well as the requisite nonlinear signals. Besides the extra experimental step of the upconversion process itself, the phase correction procedure requires only the knowledge of the spectral or temporal phase of the chirped pulse. The method is demonstrated in a metal carbonyl complex, Mn2(CO)10, in n-hexane and methanol solvents showing that the method operates well in cases of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening.


Subspace learning seeks a low dimensional representation of data that enables accurate reconstruction. However, in many applications, data is obtained from multiple sources rather than a single source (e.g. an object might be viewed by cameras at different angles, or a document might consist of text and images). The conditional independence of separate sources imposes constraints on their shared latent representation, which, if respected, can improve the quality of a learned low dimensional representation. In this paper, we present a convex formulation of multi-view subspace learning that enforces conditional independence while reducing dimensionality. For this formulation, we develop an efficient algorithm that recovers an optimal data reconstruction by exploiting an implicit convex regularizer, then recovers the corresponding latent representation and reconstruction model, jointly and optimally. Experiments illustrate that the proposed method produces high quality results.


Vaccination against COVID-19 with the recently approved mRNA vaccines BNT162b2 (BioNTech/Pfizer) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) is currently underway in a large number of countries. However, high incidence rates and rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 variants are concerning. In combination with acute supply deficits in Europe in early 2021, the question arises of whether stretching the vaccine, for instance by delaying the second dose, can make a significant contribution to preventing deaths, despite associated risks such as lower vaccine efficacy, the potential emergence of escape mutants, enhancement, waning immunity, reduced social acceptance of off-label vaccination, and liability shifts. A quantitative epidemiological assessment of risks and benefits of non-standard vaccination protocols remains elusive. To clarify the situation and to provide a quantitative epidemiological foundation we develop a stochastic epidemiological model that integrates specific vaccine rollout protocols into a risk-group structured infectious disease dynamical model. Using the situation and conditions in Germany as a reference system, we show that delaying the second vaccine dose is expected to prevent deaths in the four to five digit range, should the incidence resurge. We show that this considerable public health benefit relies on the fact that both mRNA vaccines provide substantial protection against severe COVID-19 and death beginning 12 to 14 days after the first dose. The benefits of protocol change are attenuated should vaccine compliance decrease substantially. To quantify the impact of protocol change on vaccination adherence we performed a large-scale online survey. We find that, in Germany, changing vaccination protocols may lead to small reductions in vaccination intention. In sum, we therefore expect the benefits of a strategy change to remain substantial and stable.


The physical and chemical processes that occur typically within and around an oil sand fragment are considered when the fragment is suddenly introduced into a hot, low-uniform velocity, gaseous oxidizing stream. In this analytical study, the extent of bitumen volatilization was obtained from a consideration of the simultaneous heat and mass transfer within spherical oil sand fragments combined with a simplified cracking scheme of the heavy oil and asphaltene into coke and distillate. The resulting system of equations together with the boundary conditions arising from subjecting the fragments to hot convective streams were solved using Laplace transformation. The transient concentrations of bitumen and temperature within the fragments were then obtained under a wide range of operating conditions. The similarity of the expression obtained for the extent of bitumen volatilization to the expression derived from simplified analysis, based on a dropletlike model, was demonstrated for cases where the transient effects within the fragments were considered to be negligible. The results of the theoretical analysis show relatively good agreement with their corresponding experimental values at high stream temperatures, while they showed relatively inferior agreement at low temperatures.


Photovoltaic (PV) converters on the centimeter scale are considered to be the most promising energy supplier for energy-autarkic microsystems in indoor applications, i.e., to power wireless sensor nodes in automated buildings. We provide the first systematic discussion of the optimum material and efficiency limits of indoor photovoltaics. The limiting efficiency η of an ideal photovoltaic converter for various indoor radiation sources and two calculation models ranges between 46% for a fluorescent tube and a bandgap Eg = 1.95 eV and 67% for a sodium discharge lamp and Eg = 2.10 eV. The optimal bandgap for typical narrow-band artificial light sources is 1.90-2.00 eV. For Eg = 2.25 eV, i.e., matched to the photon energy of a monochromatic source emitting at 555 nm, η calculated from the detailed balance model reaches 72.98%. The performance when irradiated by indoor Planckian radiators, such as incandescent bulbs and halogen tubes, is always less than under any solar irradiance. The experimental efficiencies of 11 sample groups with a maximum efficiency of 16%, which were measured with a radiometric indoor characterization setup especially developed for this study, support the theoretically predicted changes in efficiency when compared with efficiencies under the conditions of IEC 60904-3.


The commitment to generating a blended value is increasingly spreading in the business sector. At the forefront of this movement, impact ventures are organizations born to produce value for the society, i.e. social impact, while engaging in commercial activities to sustain their operations. On the other end, we have observed an increased emphasis on more responsible, sustainable practices that traditional for-profit businesses have been called to establish. Accounting for and reporting on social impact has become increasingly of interest to a range of institutions and sectors, with the result that many competing methodologies, approaches, guidelines and standards have been introduced. The chapter performs a comprehensive review of existing approaches for impact measurement and management implemented by socially-oriented ventures (both not for profit organizations and for-profit businesses) focusing on both methodological, governance and operational barriers and enabling factors of the practices. Then, it drafts a framework which helps any ventures to structure a process and methodology to measure its blended performance. The research not only contributes to the scant literature on impact entrepreneurship but impact ventures might offer a compelling laboratory to disentangle the obstacles posed by the combined achievement of financial and social objectives and how organizations might address these challenges.


Considerable attention goes to whether there is a "first-mover advantage" among organizations. Technical mechanisms have been considered for this advantage, such as learning and occupancy of preferred market segments. We argue that first movers may also benefit from a social identity advantage because being identified as "the original" in a market implies authenticity. When first-mover advantage is based on such an identity, market memory is important. Initially, audiences distinguish the originality of the first mover, but as time passes, such differences are less recognizable. We find evidence of this pattern----and that organizations are constrained from expanding beyond where their identity is established. The results suggest the usefulness of a sociological approach to understanding the first-mover strategy. Copyright 2013 The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.


BICEP is a bolometric polarimeter designed to measure the inflationary B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at degree angular scales. During three seasons of observing at the South Pole (2006 through 2008), BICEP mapped ∼ 2% of the sky chosen to be uniquely clean of polarized foreground emission. Here we present initial results derived from a subset of the data acquired during the first two years. We present maps of temperature, Stokes Q and U , E and B modes, and associated angular power spectra. We demonstrate that the polarization data are self-consistent by performing a series of jackknife tests. We study potential systematic errors in detail and show that they are sub-dominant to the statistical errors. We measure the E-mode angular power spectrum with high precision at 21 ≤ ` ≤ 335, detecting for the first time the peak expected at ` ∼ 140. The measured E-mode spectrum is consistent with expectations from a ΛCDM model, and the B-mode spectrum is consistent with zero. The tensor-to-scalar ratio derived from the B-mode spectrum is r = 0.03+0.31 −0.27, or r < 0.73 at 95% confidence, the first meaningful constraint on the inflationary gravitational wave background to come directly from CMB B-mode polarization. Subject headings: cosmic microwave background polarization, cosmology, inflation, bolometers


Parallel prefix adder is used for speeding up the logical operation of the system. Implementation of parallel prefix adder's structure in VLSI have effective performance. The different types of parallel prefix adder structures are Kogge-Stone , Brent-Kung, Sparse Kogge-Stone adder etc. have been proposed previously. Among them KoggeStone adder is the fastest adder structure. Sparse Kogge-Stone adder is the sub-type of Kogge-Stone adder in which it uses less black cells and grey cells as compared with the Kogge-Stone adder and final sum is calculated through ripple carry adder. In this paper, firstly Basic Sparse Kogge Stone adder is implemented and secondly, implementation of the Sparse Kogge-Stone adder using carry select logic is performed that result in reduction in critical path delay and increase in speed. On verifying its synthesis report it is observed that it requires 72 of its total numbers of slices with minimum path delay of 18.830 ns and a maximum frequency of 53.10 MHz of modified Sparse Kogge-Stone adder. On comparing with Basic Sparse KoggeStone adder and previous reference paper, it is observed that the modified design shows the improvement in speed with considerable reduction in delay.


The concluding part of this paper extends the concepts presented in Part One and provides a century by century view of how the transformation of Harappan India to post-Harappan India took place with maps so that readers can evaluate for themselves how different aspects of Indian culture were formed. We revisit the age-old controversies about the relationship between Sanskrit and Prakrit after taking into account the views of some other scholars and examine how this can be explained from our model. Our assessment: Current theories explaining the origin of Indo-Aryan (IA) languages are gross over-simplifications and need rethinking. We, therefore, propose a completely new model as a replacement for the classical theory explaining the origin of IA languages. We propose that IA languages were derivatives of the languages spoken in the Indus and were only heavily transformed by Sanskrit. Thus, this issue is studied as an evolving interplay between two language groups: Sanskrit spread in a part of India, died out as a spoken language, and became a liturgical language, and popular as a lingua franca of the elite. The speakers of Indo-European (IE) languages then took on the languages of the descendants of the Indus for everyday speech because of the transfer of populations to the Ganga-Yamuna doab. Sanskrit then re-influenced the languages of the region, in a process that continues to this day even after it disappeared as a spoken language. Much more importantly, this paper argues that progress in Indology can come not from the decipherment of the Indus script, though small groups of scholars may still study this script if required, but from India-specific research strategies. This would be the cornerstone of all meaningful progress. This model shows how easy it is to derive and even partly reconstruct the languages spoken in the Indus from this model, thus opening a window to the long-forgotten world of the Harappans.


Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important mediators of cell-cell communication due to their cargo content of proteins, lipids, and RNAs. We previously reported that small EVs (SEVs) called exosomes promote directed and random cell motility, invasion, and serum-independent growth. In contrast, larger EVs (LEVs) were not active in those assays, but might have unique functional properties. In order to identify protein cargos that may contribute to different functions of SEVs and LEVs, we used isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-liquid chromatography (LC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS) on EVs isolated from a colon cancer cell line. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that SEVs are enriched in proteins associated with cell-cell junctions, cell-matrix adhesion, exosome biogenesis machinery, and various signaling pathways. In contrast, LEVs are enriched in proteins associated with ribosome and RNA biogenesis, processing, and metabolism. Western blot analysis of EVs purified from two different cancer cell types confirmed the enrichment of cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesion proteins in SEVs. Consistent with those data, we found that cells exhibit enhanced adhesion to surfaces coated with SEVs compared to an equal protein concentration of LEVs. These data suggest that a major function of SEVs is to promote cellular adhesion.


Dear Sir

After a career in international banking, I began the study of medicine at age 40 and later established a small family-funded Eye Foundation. I have practised basic surgical ophthalmology in Latin America on a day-to-day basis for the past eleven years. In addition, I have been able to observe and follow the successes and failures of the fifteen projects our Foundation assists in Latin America, Haiti, Africa and Asia.

I am deeply concerned and disturbed by the widespread administrative and organisational failings which lead to unnecessary obstacles being placed in the paths of the blind poor. It appears that we are making enormous technical progress while ignoring the administrative and management skills required to reach the poor more effectively. The following are examples of some of these shortcomings.

Failure to 'triage' (priority of need and treatment) arriving patients, thereby focusing our limited resources on the more serious, treatable cases.

Turning away the blind due to often trivial and petty bureaucratic policies, e.g., registration cards are not available after 8:00a.m.

Insistence on useless laboratory and medical examinations for procedures carried out under local anaesthesia.

Cancellation of surgeries, often due to insignificantly raised blood pressure, coughing, anxiety and nervousness, lack of co-operation, etc. Almost all of these cases can be completed uneventfully and safely with the use of minor medications along with a small amount of patience and support.

Tying up a surgeon'stime and energy with endless, routine clinical examinations.

Failing to allocate operating room time, bearing in mind that cataract surgery (and trichiasis procedures in trachoma endemic areas) have greater value and effectiveness in the developing world than all other eye procedures combined.

The direct material costs of good quality cataract surgery with IOL are now approximately $15. Ineffective charity programmes routinely charge the poor up to seven or eight times this amount.

Keeping uncomplicated post-operative patients more than one to two days, thereby reducing the beds available for new patients.

An insistence on large, comfortable US-style hospital beds and accommodation, thereby reducing available ward space. The blind patient is more than happy to spend one or two nights under almost any conditions. His or her real concern and fear is to be sent away untreated due to a lack of available beds.

An insistence on unnecessary follow-up. Our own approach in an uncomplicated case is to send the patient who is far from home away with an eye shield and have him return if there is a problem, or if he or she desires to do so. If there is a noticeable loss of vision later, we recommend a return visit for a possible YAG or needle capsulotomy.

A frequent lack of empathy and courtesy towards the poor. We don'treally have to make an effort to be accommodating if the patient has no other treatment possibilities.

It is worth noting that virtually none of these factors or attitudes are found in such highly effective, superbly organised hospitals as Aravind (India), CBM-Lahan (Nepal) and SEVA-Lumbini (Nepal).

The blind poor make tremendous sacrifices to reach surgical treatment centres. A significant factor in the success of the above three hospitals is found in the confidence and knowledge of the poor that once these sacrifices are made they will not be turned away untreated.

Thank you for the opportunity to express these impressions and concerns.


Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosed by Rotterdam criteria, is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. The criteria of polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) are subject to operator variability and technological advances. Serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level has been proposed as a more reliable alternative to antral follicle count. There is a paucity of data on use of AMH for diagnosis of PCOS in Indian women. Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine a cutoff level for AMH that could facilitate diagnosis of PCOS and its phenotypes in women of Indian origin using the automated (Roche) assay and to compare the competence of oocytes in PCOS and non-PCOS women undergoing in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI). Materials and Methodology: A total of 367 women undergoing treatment at our fertility center between February 2017 and August 2017 were prospectively enrolled in this study. Of these, 133 were diagnosed with PCOS, 69 had isolated PCOM, and 165 (controls) had normal ovaries on ultrasound examination. Serum AMH levels were assessed using the fully automated Roche Elecsys® immunoassay. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist protocol was used for IVF-ICSI in all patients. Statistical Analysis Used: Quantitative variables were compared using the Mann–Whitney test. Qualitative variables were correlated using the Chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Mean AMH concentrations in women with PCOS was higher (7.56 ± 4.36 ng/mL) in comparison to PCOM and controls. Serum AMH concentration >5.03 ng/mL could facilitate diagnosis of PCOS (area under the curve = 0.826); sensitivity –70.68%, specificity of 79.91%. There was no difference in the ratio of mature to total oocytes retrieved in the three groups (P > 0.05). Mean number of mature oocytes was lower in controls than PCOS and PCOM (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Serum AMH concentration >5.03 ng/mL could be used as cutoff value for the diagnosis of PCOS in women of Indian origin.


Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) has both antiproliferative and hypertrophic effects on mesangial cells (MC). However, it is not known if these processes are independent or if they share common signaling pathways. Proliferation and hypertrophy are regulated by specific cell-cycle regulatory proteins, where the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors inhibit target cyclin-CDK complexes. This study examined whether the growth regulatory effects of TGF-beta were determined by the CDK inhibitors p21 and p27. Accordingly, cultured MC from wild type (+/+) and single and double null (-/-) p21 and p27 mice were grown in 5% serum in the presence or absence of TGF-beta1 (2 ng/ml). Proliferation ([(3)H]-thymidine incorporation, cell number, cell cycle) and hypertrophy ([(3)H]-leucine incorporation, total protein content, forward light scatter) were measured after 24 h, 48 h, and 96 h. TGF-beta inhibited proliferation in +/+ and p21/p27 double -/- MC to a similar extent. TGF-beta induced hypertrophy in +/+ MC (18.0% increase at 48 h), and to lesser extent in p21 -/- (12.8%) and p27 -/- MC (11.5%) measured by forward light scatter analysis. In p21/p27 double -/-, the hypertrophic effects of TGF-beta were significantly reduced (3.9% at 48 h). Similar results were obtained by measuring hypertrophy by total protein and [(3)H]-leucine incorporation. In conclusion, the CDK inhibitors p21 and p27 are not required for the antiproliferative effects of TGF-beta. However, the hypertrophic growth effects of TGF-beta are reduced in the absence of both p21 and p27. These data suggest that the regulation of the antiproliferative and hypertrophic effects of TGF-beta may be distinct processes.


Predicting behaviors of a population from location-oriented log data from smartphones, i.e., urban population dynamics, has become more common in mobile and pervasive computing. A bilinear representation approach has been proposed to improve the prediction accuracy of urban population dynamics by adding contexts such as geographical information and day of the week. However, this approach has a strong limitation in that additional contexts can not be directly utilized in this representation with a unified manner. To resolve this issue, we propose a new predictive model for urban population dynamics based on multilinear Poisson regression so as to handle multiple contexts in a systematic manner. The model is parameterized using a tensor and can be optimized by using an efficient convex optimization with a sequence of matrix parameter optimizations. An empirical evaluation with large-scale smartphone location data showed that our model outperforms conventional approaches.


In this minithesis a systematic review of all of the available contemporary literature on post-breast cancer lymphoedema was undertaken. The purpose of this systematic review was to search for, collate, synthesize and thereby provide the reader with a comprehensive, evidence-based account of all the available research published between 1988 and 2008 on the treatment of post-breast cancer lymphoedema with natural medicine.Because the large number of articles published every year across a plethora of biomedical journals makes it incredibly di cult for practitioners to keep up-todate within their specialized areas, systematic reviews are particularly useful as they summarize high quality, contemporary scienti c knowledge on a topic in one place (Antman, Lau, Kupelnik, Mosteller & Chalmers, 1992). One such topic on which many health practitioners have a paucity of information regarding management and risk reduction is lymphoedema (Radina, Armer, Culbertson & Dusold,2004) The primary objective of this research project was to assess the e ects of natural medicine on post-breast cancer lymphoedema in regard to 1) life style improvement including any signs and symptoms related to the condition such as heaviness, tightness, pain, ache, itch, mobility of the a ected arm, skin texture as well as psychological symptoms like distress;2) arm volume changes of the a ected limb; 3) adverse e ects; and 4) modi cation or cessation of treatment.Several online databases were searched for articles that contain the term lymphoedema, lymphedema, limb swelling or "linfedema" (Spanish and Portuguese); thereby including all possible spellings in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Relevant information was extracted and recorded in tabular format. The quality of each study was analysed using a checklist,which was drawn up by the primary researcher and study supervisor based on the CONSORT guidelines (Altman, 1996).To ensure quality, only randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized controlled trials or clinical trials that met the inclusion or exclusion criteria, reporting bene ts or adverse e ects of natural medicines for the treatment of post-breast cancer lymphoedema were included. In addition,studies had to focus on natural medicine versus placebo or routine treatment or no treatment as types of intervention; and participants had to include women of all ages that had been diagnosed with post-breast cancer lymphoedema.The relevant data from included studies was entered into Review Manager 5 (Revman 5) software for meta-analysis. The primary studies included in this systematic review generally su ered from small sample sizes, varied somewhat in their operationalisation of outcomes and the format for presenting results, making meta-analysis very difficult. However, results suggest that sodium selenite taken orally and CYCLO 3 FORT also taken orally are effective in the reduction of limb volume. The results also suggested that aromatherapy using an intervention cream containing wheat germ oil and essential oils of fennel, sage, geranium, black pepper and juniper; and vitamin E plus pentoxifylline taken orally are not e ective.Seeing as these results are drawn from single studies with heterogeneous outcome variables, they should be seen as tentative until they are con rmed by replication. Gaps in the literature regarding natural medicine as a treatment for post-breast cancer lymphoedema were identi ed, and recommendations for further research are proposed. URI http://hdl.handle.net/11394/3345 Collections Magister Curationis MCur [146] DSpace 5.5 | Ubuntu 14.04 | Copyright © University of the Western Cape Contact Us | Send Feedback Theme by A systematic review of post-breast cancer lymphoedema and its treatment with natural medicine


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To determine core competencies in cancer genetics for advanced practice nurses (APNs) in oncology.

DESIGN
Survey.

SAMPLE
Expert panel of 9 nursing educators or researchers, 9 general genetics experts, 9 genetics experts with specialties in oncology, and 10 oncology APN nurse consumers (N = 37).

METHODS
Utilizing the Delphi Technique, two rounds of surveys were conducted. Round 1's survey required open-ended responses to identify skills, attitudes, and competencies specific to cancer genetics. Round 2 requested ranking of the importance of identified competencies.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Skills, attitudes, and competencies specific to cancer genetics.

FINDINGS
Recommended genetics competencies and knowledge for oncology APNs were identified for the categories of direct caregiver (6 items), coordinator (6 items), consultant (7 items), educator (6 items), researcher (8 items), and professional attitudes (16 items).

CONCLUSIONS
Identified competencies provide a foundation and direction for development of the education curriculum recommended for all practicing oncology APNs.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Integrating genetic concepts into clinical practice is essential. Oncology APNs must have an expanded knowledge base in genetics to enable them to incorporate advances in genetics into practice to ensure quality outcomes. Development of genetics education is crucial to ensure future competency. Research that determines the impact of such education is warranted


The noise characteristics of four-wave mixing between short optical pulses in semiconductor optical amplifiers are investigated, with the effects of fast gain saturation taken into account. An approximate simplified expression for the power spectral density of the amplified spontaneous emission noise under the injection of a sequence of short optical pulses is derived, in which the spatial dependence of the inversion factor is included. The dependence of the signal-to-noise ratio of the output four-wave mixing signal on the input pump and signal powers is also investigated.


Many theorists have attempted to explain the lack-lustre performance of the United Nations (UN) and other international development bodies in their work to reduce global poverty. Furthermore many of these initiatives have been largely unresponsive to a growing body of criticism from a variety of discourses. The work of contemporary French philosopher Michael Foucault has been used extensively to problematize and thereby lay open for examination the hidden assumptions and mechanisms behind the West's ongoing development agenda. Such works draw heavily on Foucault's theories of Knowledge and Power and Biopower. This research attempts to demonstrate that Foucault's earliest work, "The History of Madness", provides an inclusive and far reaching framework from which to critique development initiatives. In his theory, Foucault analyses the history of madness and details the emergence of a psychiatric movement whose role was not to cure but to reinterpret madness in order to contain and control it. This research draws links between the key elements of Foucault's theory and the capitalist, neoliberal history of international development. It begins with linking the concept of the Noble Savage with the Divine Fool and continues by comparing Foucault's Doctor/patient relationship with the development "expert," and the creation of the early asylum with the activities of UN operations in developing nations. The discussion is supported through the analysis of a series of photographs taken from the UN website in which these similarities are foregrounded. The research concludes with the assertion that if we apply Foucault's theory of madness to UN development activities, the knowledge and expertise of the development experts is illusory, and experts serve only as "rational" representatives of Western capitalist ideals. The relationship of the expert with developing nations remains static and functions purely as a mechanism to label and control. This theory highlights the importance of maintaining unequal power relations and precludes the possibility of transformation. It is hoped that creating an awareness of this dynamic will allow practitioners to reassess the assumptions behind their own programs and encourage the consideration of more fundamental development needs such as affordable healthcare.


Long sea level records with high temporal resolution are of paramount importance for future coastal protection and adaptation plans. Here we discuss the application of machine learning techniques to some regression problems commonly encountered when analyzing such time series. The performance of artificial neural networks is compared with that of multiple linear regression models on sea level data from the Swedish coast. The neural networks are found to be superior when local sea level forcing is used together with remote sea level forcing and meteorological forcing, whereas the linear models and the neural networks show similar performance when local sea level forcing is excluded. The overall performance of the machine learning algorithms is good, often surpassing that of the much more computationally costly numerical ocean models used at our institute.


To say that law firms and lawyers are restricted by the norm of client choice does not mean they are not without options in structuring their relationships in ways that may affect their positions as opposing parties should litigation or disputes develop because of breakups and lawyer mobility. This article explores risk management opportunities with a particular emphasis on avoiding litigation or, if that is not possible, affecting the outcome of litigation. It discusses the role of the partnership agreement and limitations on law firm partnership agreements, including difficulties of negotiating and amending agreements, centralized management as an agreement substitute, past practices as agreement waivers, and challenges to enforcement of agreements. Particular attention is given to five issues that often are inadequately addressed in law firm partnership agreements; these include intellectual property rights, departure process, partner removals and dequitizations, winding up, and dispute resolution.


A general model of two-period duopoly is set up to show how inventories can serve a strategic purpose, enabling the firm to commit to raise its latter-period output. The strategic effect of inventories depends on the convexity of the cost function, on the cost of storage, and on the slopes of each firm's individual supply schedules. Our analysis encompasses general up-sloping supply schedules, with horizontal Bertrand supply schedules and vertical Cournot supply schedules as the two polar cases, via one continuous parameter which has a straightforward one-to-one correspondence with what has been broadly known as the conjectural variation parameter. A closed form of the strategic inventories is then established for a parametrised two-period n-firm linear oligopoly, which can be treated as a user-friendly package for empirical estimation as well as for regulatory policy making.


This article offers the first analysis to date of national data evaluating whether defense of marriage acts (mini or super-DOMAs) preserve and stabilize the family. After finding that they do not—just as same sex marriage does not appear to destabilize families—the article analyzes what variables are, in fact, associated with family stability. Specifically, those variables are: families below the poverty line; men and women married three or more times; religiosity; percent conservative versus liberal in a state; disposable income; percent with bachelor's degree; and median age of first marriage. Next, the article applies the sociological concepts of moral entrepreneurism and moral panic, defined, respectively, as the practice of political groups labeling certain behavior as deviant, and the reframing of a social phenomenon in moral terms to create an exaggerated sense of fear. These concepts serve as the theoretical explanation for mini-DOMAs continued attraction, even in the face of a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision that is likely to command the coexistence of same sex marriage and same sex marriage bans for some time to come. Finally, the article offers pragmatic recommendations for achieving family stability in light of mini-DOMA's inability to succeed in this goal.


A well-established empirical literature suggests that individual wages are persistent. Several theoretical arguments support this empirical finding. Yet, the standard approach to the estimation of schooling returns does not account for this fact. This paper investigates the consequences of disregarding earnings persistence. In particular, it shows that the most commonly used static-model estimators of schooling coefficients are subject to an omitted-variable bias which can be named "persistence bias".


This study aims to shed some light on the academic debate about the validity of CAPM and whether systematic risk is the only factor that is priced in the markets. The fact that other factors have proved to offer return premiums in the capital markets is presented in the finance literature as anomaly. The firm size has been shown by a plethora of studies to be negatively related with returns, a phenomenon that is called small firm effect. However, recent empirical studies have claimed that the small firm effect has come to an end globally in the late 1980s. This paper comes to fill that gap and examine whether the presented size effect in the Athens Stock Exchange for the 1970s and early 1980s has still been strong in the recent years. The results show that size is negatively related to returns in the period 1990-2001 and in all of the specific market conditions studied, with various beta estimates being incapable of explaining the risk – return relationship even when thin trading is taking into account. Standard deviation as a measure of total risk proves to explain partially the constant superior returns of small firms since it is implied that these returns could be a compensation for the higher volatility involved.


This article expands upon important and growing dialogue around how non-Indigenous peoples can work in solidarity with Indigenous peoples to support their nationhood and sovereignty in the wake of ongoing white settler colonialism in Canada. In particular, this article centralizes queer organizations and implicates their investments in white queerness as sustaining contemporary colonial projects. While queer organizations work toward social change surrounding all things queer and trans, their connections to white supremacy and settler colonialism routinely go unexamined. In an effort to bring light to queer organizations' and workers' complicities in white settler colonialism, this paper makes use of the narratives of 41 non-Indigenous lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) service providers who voluntarily participated in in-depth interviews. By paying attention to their stories of deflections of responsibility in ongoing white supremacist and settler colonial projects, this article considers the extent to which white service providers and service providers of colour can address and embed decolonization within queer organizations in Canada. Together, these non-Indigenous LGBTQ service providers, organizers, and activists carry the potential to utilize their own experiences and understandings of complicity to shape their relationships with Indigenous peoples in ways that support their nationhood and sovereignty.


During the preschool years, children must learn the skills necessary to attend kindergarten "ready to learn," however, many preschool children exhibit problems with attention and activity regulation that interfere with this developmental goal. In fact, 2 to 3% of the preschool population is estimated to meet criteria for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD; Lavigne et al., 1996). Although most children with AD/HD are not diagnosed until elementary school, parents typically report the onset of symptoms during the preschool years (Barkley, 1998). Reporting on a prospective follow-up of hard-to-manage 3-year- old children, Campbell (1987) found that at age 6 about half of the children had persistent overactivity and externalizing behavior problems; this study illustrates that difficult to manage preschool children are at increased risk for AD/HD and externalizing behavior problems, and a significant portion of children with symptoms will improve. Pierce, Ewing, and Campbell (1999) have followed parent-referred hard-to-manage preschool children into early adolescence and found that a high proportion of identified children are later diagnosed with an emotional or behavior disorder. In fact, manifestation of symptoms prior to age 7 is required for diagnosis of AD/HD (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2000). Thus, parents' anecdotal retrospective reports of symptoms in preschool children and longitudinal research point to the need for early identification and treatment of preschool behavior problems. However, diagnosing AD/HD among preschool children is especially challenging because of the unique developmental features of early childhood. Features often used to describe a child with AD/HD, such as overactive, aggressive, stubborn, or noncompliant are often characteristic of typically developing preschool children. In addition, other features common to AD/HD such as carelessness, failure to complete tasks, or difficulties following instructions may apply to a number of behavioral issues among preschool children besides AD/HD. Finally, a preschool age child with developmental delay may appear distractible or overactive simply as a result of the child's developmental level, and not because of a condition such as AD/HD. Given the wide variations and changes in behavior that are typical of the preschool developmental period, diagnosing a preschool child with AD/HD, or even at-risk for AD/HD, must include consideration of the consistency, severity, duration and intensity of the target behaviors, as well as the child's overall developmental status. Behavioral consistency may be particularly important in considering AD/HD among preschool children. For example, Campbell found that those hard-to-manage 3 year olds who showed no short-term change in behavioral symptoms were those children who continued to present with behavior difficulties at age 6. In fact, 67% of those children with no symptom change by age 6 met DSM-III criteria for an externalizing disorder at age 9 (Campbell, 1987; Campbell & Ewing, 1990). Identifying preschool age children at risk for AD/HD is critical so that early preventative intervention may reduce secondary problems. Children with AD/HD are at risk for developing problems in the areas of learning, behavior, social skills and emotional regulation. Research conducted with school aged children diagnosed with AD/HD has revealed a variety of problems not only with inhibition and persistence but with executive functions, such as organization, planning, goal directed behavior, verbal fluency, problem solving, and the capacity to shift response sets during tasks (Barkley, 1998; Barkley, Grodzinsky & DuPaul, 1992; Goodyear & Hynd, 1992). In addition, children with AD/HD have also been found to be deficient in academic achievement, and are found to be slightly less competent intellectually, often scoring 7 to 15 IQ points below scores of children without AD/HD (Cantwell & Satterfield, 1978; Fischer, Barkley, Edelbrock & Smallish, 1990; Frick et al. …


Along the Jurassic escarpment of Monte Kumeta (western Sicily), the opening of neptunian dikes is related either to extensional tectonics or to dilatation due to down-slope sliding. Crosscutting relationships coupled with biostratigraphic data indicate that at least three generations of fractures formed from Early to Middle Jurassic times. Orientation of dikes similar to the strike of coeval faults, and occurrence of fitted breccia are all considered to be evidence of coeval extensional tectonics, whereas box-shaped cavities are indicative of gravitational down slope sliding of detached rock blocks. During Late Jurassic times anastomosed cracks indicating surficial extension due to downslope creeping of semilithified deposits, suggest gravity as an important controlling factor at that time.


The aim of this research is to study the usefulness of the New Jersey Digital Highway (NJDH, www.njdigitalhighway.org) and its portal structure. The NJDH intends to provide an immersive and user-centered portal for New Jersey history and culture. The research recruited 145 participants and used a Web-based questionnaire that contained three sections: for everyone, for educators, and for curators. The feedback on the usefulness of the NJDH was positive and the portal structure was favorable. The research uncovered several reasons why some collections did not want to or could not participate. The findings also suggested priorities for further development. This study is one of the few on the evaluation of cultural heritage digital library.


The influence of a supporting matrix in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been investigated. The support matrices were conventional TLC plates onto which Ag colloidal hydrosols mixed with the dye pararosaniline had been deposited. The protocol of preparation of the Ag sol as well as the type of TLC plate had a profound effect upon the intensity of the SERS signals of pararosaniline. The Ag sol and the TLC plate that resulted in the maximum SERS intensities yielded a detection limit of ∼ 108 femtomols (33 pg) of dye deposited onto the TLC plate. Deposition of the dye/sol mixture onto the supporting matrix also resulted in stable SERS signals for extended periods of time, in contrast to the solution-phase case, where the signal is only transient in nature. In order to obtain the SERS spectra, a remote sensing Raman spectrometer was constructed and is described.


Introduction. 1. Orientation to Personality. 2. Data, Methods, and Tools. Part I The Trait-Dispositional Level. 3. Types and Traits. 4. The Expressions of Dispositions. Part II The Biological Level. 5. Heredity and Personality. 6. Brain, Evolution, and Personality. Part III The Psychodynamic-Motivational Level. 7. Psychodynamic Theories: Freud's Conceptions. 8. Psychodynamic Applications and Processes. 9. Post-Freudian Psychodynamics. Part IV The Behavioral-Conditioning Level. 10. Behavioral Conceptions. 11. Analyzing and Modifying Behavior. Part V The Phenomenological-Humanistic Level. 12. Phenomenological-Humanistic Conceptions. 13. The Internal View. Part VI The Social Cognitive Level. 14. Social Cognitive Conceptions. 15. Social Cognitive Processes. Part VII Integration of Levels: The Person as a Whole. 16. The Personality System: Integrating the Levels. 17. Self-Regulation: From Goal Pursuit to Goal Attainment. 18. Personality in its Social Context and Culture.


1: Introduction: Jobs and Economic Development in Minority Communities Realities, Challenges, and Innovation (Ong, P. and Loukaitou-Sideris, A.) Part I: The Context 2: Metropolitan Dispersion and Diversity: Implications for Community Economic Development (Blumenberg, E.) 3: Impacts of the New Social Policy Regime (Houston, D. and Ong, P.) Chapter 4: The Regional Nexus: The Promise and Risk of Community-Based Approaches to Metropolitan Equity (Pastor, M., Benner, C., and Matsuoka, M.) Part II: Labor Market Development 5: Workforce Development in Minority Communities (Stoll, M.) 6: Employment Opportunities Beyond the 'hood: African American and Hispanic Applicants in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia (Zonta, M.) 7: Economic Development in Latino Communities: Incorporating Marginal and Immigrant Workers (Valenzuela, A) Part III: Business Development 8: The Role of Black-owned Businesses in Black Community Development (Boston, T.) 9: New York City's Asian Immigrant Economies: Community Development Needs and Challenges (Hum, T.) 10: Indian Gaming as Community Economic Development (Jojola, T. and Ong, P.) Part IV: Complementary Strategies 11: Social Networks and Social Capital: Latinos in Pico Union (Loukaitou-Sideris, A. and Hutchinson, J.) 12: Linking Housing to Community Economic Development with Community Benefits Agreements: The Case of the Figueroa Corridor Coalition for Economic Justice (Leavitt, J.) 13: Synchronizing Social Services with Labor Market Participation: Implications for Community Economic Development in Minority Neighborhoods (Takahashi, L) 14 Conclusion: Lessons for Community Economic Development (Loukaitou-Sideris, A. and Ong, P.)


Author stylized rewriting is the task of rewriting an input text in a particular author's style. Recent works in this area have leveraged Transformer-based language models in a denoising autoencoder setup to generate author stylized text without relying on a parallel corpus of data. However, these approaches are limited by the lack of explicit control of target attributes and being entirely data-driven. In this paper, we propose a Director-Generator framework to rewrite content in the target author's style, specifically focusing on certain target attributes. We show that our proposed framework works well even with a limited-sized target author corpus. Our experiments on corpora consisting of relatively small-sized text authored by three distinct authors show significant improvements upon existing works to rewrite input texts in target author's style. Our quantitative and qualitative analyses further show that our model has better meaning retention and results in more fluent generations.


The Dynamics of Currency Crashes and Fundamental Reversions Bjarni Kristinn Torfason This dissertation is composed of three chapters. In Chapter 1 I look at the role of real exchange rates in the asset pricing of currencies. I construct portfolios based on signals about the real exchange rate and analyze the returns of these portfolios as they relate to traditional asset pricing factors and especially how they correlate with carry trade portfolios. Deviations from long term averages of real exchange rates are found to be predictors of crash risk. I also show that there is significant information in real exchange rate signals that does not seem to be priced. In addition to demonstrating this in outright currency markets I provide evidence suggesting that this is also the case in options markets. A relationship between real exchange rates and the VIX volatility over long periods is also demonstrated. The distribution of returns depends on state variables. For currencies an important variable is the deviations of real exchange rates from their long run means and for stocks the market-to-book ratio serves a similar purpose. Chapter 2 introduces a variant of a mixture of normals that allows for dependence of this kind. The model is estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo. The results clearly indicate conditionality on the state variables and how high prices of assets predict negative skewness (large losses) for as well as negative returns. The Icelandic financial collapse, which occurred in the fall of 2008, is without precedent. Never before in modern history has an entire financial system of a developed country collapsed so dramatically. Chapter 3 describes the country's path towards financial liberalization and the economic background that lead to an initially flourishing banking sector. In doing so the paper elaborates on the economic oversights that were made during the financial build-up of the country and how such mistakes contributed to the crash. The focus is thus on identifying the main factors that contributed to the financial collapse and on drawing conclusions about how these missteps could have been avoided. Also summarized are the mistakes that followed in the attempted rescue phase after the disaster had struck. The paper discusses these issues from a general perspective in order to provide an overview of the pitfalls that any fast growing market may be exposed to. The paper concludes that the economic collapse was primarily home-brewed and a consequence of an unbound, riskseeking banking sector and ineffective (or non-existent) actions of the Icelandic authorities.


There are several validated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires designed to record patient-derived outcomes in head and neck cancer. None deals specifically with oral rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to pilot a new questionnaire, the Liverpool Oral Rehabilitation Questionnaire (LORQ). The questionnaire consists of 25 items about oral function and denture satisfaction. A four-point Likert scale is used. Sixty-one consecutive patients attending oral rehabilitation clinics completed the LORQ in combination with the University of Washington Head and Neck questionnaire version 3 (UW-QOL) and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer H and N quality of life questionnaire (EORTC H and N 35). Forty-two patients received questionnaires at baseline, whereas the rest were provided with the questionnaires at various stages of oral rehabilitation. For each item on the questionnaire, a full range of possible responses were given by patients. Kappa coefficients of agreement for test-retest data indicated moderate to very good agreement between repeat questionnaires. There were significant correlations (P < 0.001) between items in the LORQ and those in the UW-QOL and EORTC HN questionnaires. The LORQ also identified differences in responses between non-cancer and cancer groups of patients undergoing oral rehabilitation. This study of the LORQ is encouraging, although data on its responsiveness over time and to intervention is awaited.


Religion Snapshots is a new feature with the Bulletin for the Study of Religion blog, where a number of contributors are asked to briefly comment on popular news items or pressing theoretical issues in the field, especially those topics relating to definitions, classification and method and theory in the study of religion more generally. Below is one such roundtable discussion, focusing on the problematic notion of "data" in the study of religion. The editors of the Bulletin encourage readers to follow Religion Snapshots on our blog (and, of course, we welcome responses to the topics discussed by other scholars).


While model-based deep reinforcement learning (RL) holds great promise for sample efficiency and generalization, learning an accurate dynamics model is often challenging and requires substantial interaction with the environment. A wide variety of domains have dynamics that share common foundations like the laws of classical mechanics, which are rarely exploited by existing algorithms. In fact, humans continuously acquire and use such dynamics priors to easily adapt to operating in new environments. In this work, we propose an approach to learn task-agnostic dynamics priors from videos and incorporate them into an RL agent. Our method involves pre-training a frame predictor on task-agnostic physics videos to initialize dynamics models (and fine-tune them) for unseen target environments. Our frame prediction architecture, SpatialNet, is designed specifically to capture localized physical phenomena and interactions. Our approach allows for both faster policy learning and convergence to better policies, outperforming competitive approaches on several different environments. We also demonstrate that incorporating this prior allows for more effective transfer between environments.


Abstract In the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, China and India immediately sent relief teams. The relief efforts in Nepal showcase a competitive aspect of the two major regional powers, as China seeks to gradually increase its influence in South Asia. This article analyses how these two governments utilised relief efforts to increase influence in Nepal, within the wider context of the contentious Sino–Indian relationship. The Chinese and Indian relief responses after the Nepal earthquakes are extrapolated to assess their strategic utility.


This paper proposes a novel method for deblurring facial images to recognize faces degraded by blur. The main problem is how to infer a point spread function (PSF) representing the process of blur. Inferring a PSF from a single facial image is an ill-posed problem. To make this problem more tractable, our method uses learned prior information derived from a training set of blurred facial images of several individuals. We construct a feature space such that blurred faces degraded by the same PSF are similar to one another and form a cluster. During training, we compute a statistical model of each PSF cluster in this feature space. For PSF inference we compare a query image of unknown blur with each model and select the closest one. Using the PSF corresponding to that model, the query image is deblurred, ready for recognition. Experiments on a standard face database artificially degraded by focus or motion blur show that our method substantially improves the recognition performance compared with state-of-the-art methods. We also demonstrate improved performance on real blurred images.


The OECD-G20 project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) is the largest reform of the international tax architecture in decades. The BEPS project aims to ensure that multinationals pay their taxes in the jurisdictions where they create value and where their economic activity takes place. When it is fully implemented, it will substantially alter the global governance architecture for taxation. This is a commendable goal, yet the BEPS project can be criticized for not sufficiently tailoring to the specific needs of developing countries. While it has made a laudable attempt to be more attentive towards developing countries with the creation of the BEPS inclusive framework, this concerns the implementation phase of BEPS. The agenda-setting and decision-making process only included the G20 and OECD countries. Against this background, it is unclear how and if the BEPS project considered the specific needs of developing countries, especially in light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper will examine this issue by addressing the following questions: (i) Were the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the interests of developing countries to attract investment considered throughout the BEPS Process? (ii) What issues of international taxation, beyond BEPS, should be addressed to fulfill developing countries' domestic resource mobilization needs to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We conclude with a set of recommendations to the international global tax governance architecture to be more inclusive and responsive to development countries' needs.


New data suggest that the eastern margin of the Argentine Precordillera terrane comprises Grenvillian basement and a sedimentary cover derived from it that were together affected by Middle Ordovician deformation and metamorphism during accretion to the Gondwana margin. The basement first underwent low pressure/temperature ( P/T ) type metamorphism, reaching high-grade migmatitic conditions in places (686 ± 40 MPa, 790 ± 17 °C), comparable to the Grenvillian M2 metamorphism of the supposed Laurentian counterpart of the terrane. The second metamorphism, recognized in the cover sequence, is of Famatinian age and took place under higher P/T conditions, following a clockwise P-T path (baric peak: 1300 ± 100 Mpa, 600 ± 50 °C). Low-U zircon overgrew detrital Grenvillian cores as pressure fell from its peak, and yields U-Pb SHRIMP ages of ca. 460 Ma. This is interpreted as the age of ductile thrusting coincident with early uplift; initial accretion to Gondwana must have occurred before this. The absence of late Neoproterozoic detrital zircons is consistent with a Laurentian origin of the Argentine Precordillera terrane.


The paper describes the combination of a Honeywell LASERNAV II ring laser gyro inertial navigation system (INS) and Trimble SSE GPS receivers. A software package for the strapdown system was developed using common terrestrial zero velocity (ZUPT) and coordinate update (CUPT) techniques. An Integrated GPS inertial position and attitude control system (IGIPACS) is built up in different levels. The first level is a separate operation of the GPS receivers and the INS. Here the INS-system is supported by GPS positions with an update rate of at the most 2 Hz. The GPS positions are evaluated by various types of applications (rapid-static, kinematic) with cm-accuracy. The INS is used to interpolate the positions between the update points with a rate of 50 Hz. In the second level the GPS positioning is supported by the INS system during losses of lock using the Kalman filter technique (cascade integration). Within this algorithm differential GPS is applied using double difference code solutions. Numerous tests were made using a station wagon, sometimes with an array of three or four antennas, as well as an aircraft supporting the determination of a digital terrain model with laser scanner and radar altimeter. Problems and differences in terrestrial and airborne applications are outlined. The accuracy of the system, its potential and further steps are discussed.<<ETX>>


Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV) E2 protein eukaryotic expression plasmid pVAXE2 was constructed. The plasmid pVAXE2 was transformed into Salmonella choleraesuis C500 (S. C500) attenuated vaccine strain by electroporation to generate Salmonella choleraesuis engineering strain S. C500/pVAXE2. The characterization of S. C500/pVAXE2 in morphology, growth, biochemistry and serology indicated that it retained the same properties as its original strain S. C500 with exception of kanamycin resistance originated from the plasmid pVAXE2. The plasmid stable in the bacteria after 15 passages. Kunming mice and rabbits were vaccinated three times at two weeks interval with S. C500/pVAXE2 in oral and intramuscular routes at the dosage of 1 x 10(8) CFU for mice and 2 x 10(9) CFU for rabbits each time. The specific antibody response against CSFV and Salmonella choleraesuis was detected by ELISA. Two weeks after the third boost the immunized rabbits were challenged with 20 ID50 of hog cholera lapinized virus (HCLV), followed by a virulent strain of Salmonella choleraesuis two week later than HCLV challenge. The results showed that all immunized mice and rabbits produced significant antibodies against CSFV and Salmonella choleraesuis, and the immunized rabbits demonstrated the effective protection against the challenge of HCLV and virulent Salmonella choleraesuis. These results indicated the potential of developing multiplex swine DNA vaccine by using this bacteria as the vector.


During the past few decades, the landscape of the world economy has changed. New trade patterns reflect the globalization of the supply chain and intra-industry trade, and increasing flows between neighboring countries and trading blocs with similar factor endowments. Similarly, the approach to production, trade, and transportation has evolved incorporating freight logistics as an important value-added service in the global production. This integrated approach have become essential, and as such, both the trade agenda and freight logistics are beginning to converge providing an unparalleled opportunity for countries to deepen their integration with neighboring countries and their national performance for transport related services. Consequently, developing countries are finding themselves hard-pressed to adjust their policy agendas to take into account costs not covered in past rounds of trade negotiations.


Technological practitioners and observers often depict hacking cultures as fast-evolving spaces for social, political, technological and cultural innovation. While interest in hackerspaces is growing in terms of technological innovation, limited attention has been paid to building inclusive collective real-world spaces for hacking. This dissertation addresses this lacuna in two ways: First, this study looks into the forms of inclusion and exclusion found in traditional hacking spaces, exploring in detail the invisible boundaries formed in and around such spaces. Second, this study foregrounds feminist hacker practices and the alternatives they offer to such limited traditional hacking spaces. It argues that traditional hackerspaces, while empowering a few, encourage segregation within the hacker movement and enforce unwritten norms that relegate a large number of hackers (female, queer, transgender among others) to the margins or even the outside. To this end, this thesis examines two case studies in the city of Montreal: Foulab, a traditional hackerspace, and Femhack, a feminist hacker collective. As a hacker, a feminist and a researcher, I chose to study these communities through an Ethnographic Action Research Methodology, a methodology which helped me to document, contextualize and analyze the local expressions of the hacker movement, while theorizing its real and potential approaches to space, community-building, and learning through technology. By using the advantage of my insider position, this research assesses the democratic limits and possibilities of hackerspaces in Montreal and beyond. It offers four takeaways: 1) The traditional hackerspace model reproduces patriarchal structures that create barriers for women and other minorities, due to an overemphasis on technology and individual achievement. 2) Feminist hackerspaces welcome participants and are actively inviting, not just welcoming in theory. Choosing to invite marginalized hackers in is more powerful than just "leaving the door open" for them. 3) Broadening the definition of hacking to include areas in which men are not already the default experts, creates a more just, diverse, and equitable hacker field of expertise, thus breaking hierarchies and power relationships in this technological field. 4) Feminist pedagogies stressing on collaborative learning and applying in the hacker practice open the barriers set in traditional hackerspaces, creating spaces respectful of participants' differences and needs. In a nutshell, I suggest that the ideals and practices of the feminist hackerspace examined in this thesis could be the beginning of a movement from a DIY (do-it-yourself) toward a DIT (do-it-together) hacking culture focused on more connected local communities, encouraging sustained engagement and more inclusive participation in the hacker movement.


Is the United Kingdom really as united as its name might suggest? For many people in the uk, increasing nationalism in Scotland raises serious questions about what the UK is, and where its future lies. In The Road to Independence?, now available in a revised and expanded Second Edition, Murray Pittock not only gives an account of modern Scottish nationalism, but explains what Scotland's role in Britain has been historically and why it has changed radically in the last 50 years, with the debate about independence coming to the fore. The book now features a Foreword by First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, which describes the debate surrounding the Scottish referendum on independence from the uk, due to take place in September 2014. Pittock gives a lively account of the rise of modern Scottish nationalism and the reasons for it, the recent history and differing character of Scotland's cities and cultural industries, the impact of multiculturalism on Scottish as distinct from British society, and the changes wrought by devolution, including the reasons for the election of Scotland's first ever nationalist government in 2007. The Road to Independence? is the only history of Scotland available with a truly contemporary focus. In dealing with everything from political structures to modern painting it is remarkably comprehensive; in explaining the rise of modern nationalism it is of fundamental importance to policymakers and the wider public. It will be of interest to students of politics, history, law and social science, and to all who want to understand the rapidly changing face of the UK.


This book explores the phenomenon of pole dancing as an increasingly popular fitness and leisure activity for women. It moves beyond previous debates surrounding the empowering or degrading nature of pole dancing classes, and instead explores the complexities of these concepts and highlights that women participating in this practice cannot be seen as one dimensional. Femininity, Feminism and Recreational Pole Dancing explores the construction, negotiation and presentation of a gendered and classed identity and self through participation in pole dancing, the meaning of pole dancing as a fitness practice for women, and the concepts of community and friendship as developed through classes. Using empirical research, the book uncovers the stories and experiences of the women who participate in these classes, and examines what the mainstreaming of this type of sexualised dance means for the women who practice it. Pole dancing is shown to be a practice in which female identities are negotiated, performed and enacted and this book positions pole dancing as an activity which both reinforces but also presents some challenge to ideas of feminism and femininity for the women that participate. Women's participation in pole dancing is described in a discourse of choice and control, yet this book argues that the decision to participate is somewhat constructed by the advertising of these classes as enabling women to create a particular desirable self, which is perpetuated throughout our culture as the 'ideal'. Exploring the ways in which women attempt to manage impressions and present themselves as 'respectable', the book examines how women wish to dis-identify with both women who work as strippers and women who are feminist, seeing both identities as contradictory to the feminine image that they pursue. The book explores the capacity of these classes to offer women some feelings of agency but challenges the idea that participating in pole dancing can offer collective empowerment. The book ultimately argues that women's participation can be viewed both in terms of their active engagement and enjoyment of these classes and in terms of the structures and pressures which continue to shape their lives. This timely publication explores the complexity of the pole dancing phenomenon and highlights a range of questions surrounding this activity as a leisure form. It will be a valuable contribution to those interested in women's and gender studies, cultural studies, feminism, sociology and leisure studies.


Even today, despite the surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, gliomas prognosis is still poor. There is a great need to develop new therapies. The understanding of the structural and functional characteristics of mitochondrial network (MN) and mitochondriaassociated membranes (MAM) in gliomas is essential for the design of future therapeutic strategies. A huge range of ultrastructural findings is observed in MN and MAM in the human gliomas. These findings imply that a majority of glioma cells are incompetent to produce an adequate amount of energy by means of oxidative phosphorylation and compensatory increases in glycolytic ATP production. Regarding MAM, a "MAM-rich" cell (well-differentiated glioma cells) and "MAM-deficient" cells (glioma like-stem cells) exist. The quantity of MAM could be linked to the functional or metabolic state of the different glioma cells. MAM-resident mTORC2 is a major regulator tumor growth and drug resistance. If sufficient nutrients are present, glioblastoma cells maintain mTORC2 signaling to drive cell proliferation and survival. Consequently, the replacement of fermentable fuels like glucose with non-fermentable fuels like ketone bodies becomes a logical approach. The vision must be targeting the cellular signaling pathways and metabolic reprogramming. Whatever the modality, a holistic and feasible approach must be developed.


Women play a pivotal role in agriculture, but their contribution is not given due recognition. Women's role as a farmer is hardly recognised as a result of which they have limited access to productive resources, decision-making and markets relating to agriculture. Owing to this ground reality, special efforts are being undertaken by civil society organisations under agriculture and livelihood programmes to respond to gender and equity concerns.


[1] During the operational phase of the ICARTT field experiment in 2004, the regional air quality model STEM showed a strong positive surface bias and a negative upper troposphere bias (compared to observed DC-8 and WP-3 observations) with respect to ozone. After updating emissions from NEI 1999 to NEI 2001 (with a 2004 large point sources inventory update), and modifying boundary conditions, low-level model bias decreases from 11.21 to 1.45 ppbv for the NASA DC-8 observations and from 8.26 to 0.34 for the NOAA WP-3. Improvements in boundary conditions provided by global models decrease the upper troposphere negative ozone bias, while accounting for biomass burning emissions improved model performance for CO. The covariances of ozone bias were highly correlated to NOz ,N Oy, and HNO3 biases. Interpolation of bias information through kriging showed that decreasing emissions in SE United States would reduce regional ozone model bias and improve model correlation coefficients. The spatial distribution of forecast errors was analyzed using kriging, which identified distinct features, which when compared to errors in postanalysis simulations, helped document improvements. Changes in dry deposition to crops were shown to reduce substantially high bias in the forecasts in the Midwest, while updated emissions were shown to account for decreases in bias in the eastern United States. Observed and modeled ozone production efficiencies for the DC-8 were calculated and shown to be very similar (7.8) suggesting that recurring ozone bias is due to overestimation of NOx emissions. Sensitivity studies showed that ozone formation in the United States is most sensitive to NOx emissions, followed by VOCs and CO. PAN as a reservoir of NOx can contribute to a significant amount of surface ozone through thermal decomposition. Citation: Mena-Carrasco, M., et al. (2007), Improving regional ozone modeling through systematic evaluation of errors using the aircraft observations during the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D12S19, doi:10.1029/2006JD007762.


Two major controls of the eukaryotic cell cycle exist in the G1/S and G2/M transitions. In an attempt to understand the molecular basis of the G1/S regulatory pathway, biochemical characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC7 protein has been carried out. The temperature sensitive cdc7 mutation arrests yeast cells at the G1/S phase boundary, after the completion of START and prior to the initiation of DNA synthesis. START is defined as the point of commitment to DNA replication in yeast. The open reading frame encoding CDC7 protein contains the 11 catalytic domains characteristic of protein kinases. That CDC7 protein indeed has protein kinase activity was demonstrated by incubating CDC7 immune complexes with histone H1. Kinase activity was elevated more than 10-fold in strains carrying the wild-type CDC7-overproducing plasmid. Overproduction of thermolabile cdc7 protein gave rise to overproduction of thermolabile kinase. In vivo _(32)P-labeling of yeast cells revealed that CDC7 protein itself was a phosphoprotein. In addition, indirect immunofluorescence and biochemical fractionation studies showed CDC7 was located mainly in yeast nuclei. The cell cycle-specific roles of CDC7 at the G1/S border were explored by following the phosphorylation state and kinase activity of CDC7 protein throughout the cell cycle. CDC7 was not active as a histone H1 kinase, nor was it phosphorylated in cells arrested by a cdc28 mutation. Furthermore, phosphorylation of CDC7 protein was required for its activity. CDC28 encodes the budding yeast homolog of the highly conserved p34^(cdc2)/MPF kinase subunit and its function is crucial to passage through START. The possibility that CDC7 is a substrate of the CDC28 kinase was tested using CDC28 immune complexes and bacterially produced, inactive CDC7 kinase. The CDC28 kinase specifically phosphorylated the CDC7 protein. which in tum led to activation of the CDC7 kinase. CDC28 and CDC7 could interact in vivo as well since CDC7 hyperexpression suppressed the inviability of a cdc28 mutation at 33°C but not at 36°C. Finally, possible mechanisms of action of CDC7 protein kinase in the initiation of DNA synthesis were examined by searching for endogenous substrates among yeast replication proteins. The 34 kDa subunit of yeast replication protein-A (RP-A) is a substrate of both CDC7 and CDC28 kinases. In conclusion, the biochemical evidence indicates that there is a phosphorylation cascade operating between START and the initiation of DNA replication involving yeast CDC28, CDC7, and RP-A.


Once rare, presidential transitions at institutions of higher education now command the attention of about one-quarter of the nation's colleges and universities at any given time. Though they occur frequently, transitions at this level are hardly routine, and American higher education has not developed a tradition of managing this process proactively. Here, James Martin and James E. Samels bring together a distinguished group of higher education professionals to provide the first comprehensive guidebook to managing change at the top. Presidents, administrators, trustees, faculty, and others involved in a change in leadership will benefit from this wide-ranging discussion of the issues combined with specific action plans for the busy professional. The volume's contributors address proactive management, best practices for sudden transitions, and how campuses can turn challenges into opportunities. Also addressed are executive search firms, the interim president, boards of trustees, presidential spouses, and public relations. Contributors: Lee J. Betts, Frederick (MD) Community College; Charles Brown, Stanford University; Jean A. Dowdall, Whitt-Kieffer; E. K. Fretwell Jr., University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation; Allen E. Koenig and Thomas H. Langevin, The Registry for College and University Presidents; Steven Muller, The Johns Hopkins University; Arthur Padilla, North Carolina State University; John Ross, George Dehne & Associates Integrated Services; Patricia Stanley, Frederick (MD) Community College; Thomas J. and Scottie Trebon, Carroll College; William A. Weary, Fieldstone Consulting, Inc.; Nancy L. Zimpher, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.


With the help of model transformation, it is possible to generate target models from source models. A possible way to face iterative development process with frequent modifications is to use not only a single transformation but also frequent model synchronization. In this paper, we propose a relational approach to model transformation using Query/View/Transformations (QVT) Relations language that also provides model synchronization mechanism based on the version of the models. The proposed framework uses a Platform-Independent Business Model (PIM-BM) and a Platform-Specific Business Component Model (PSM-BC) via the extension of the UML metamodel and MOF at different levels of abstraction, which sufficiently describe both the structural and behavioral properties of generic Web applications. Also we present the typical model mapping rules between PIM-BMs and PSM-BCs using QVT Relations. Finally the model synchronization based on the version of models is provided for the above model transformation approach.


The New Keynesian framework has emerged as the workhorse for the analysis of monetary policy and its implications for inflation, economic fluctuations, and welfare. It is the backbone of the new generation of medium-scale models under development at major central banks and international policy institutions, and provides the theoretical underpinnings of the inflation stability-oriented strategies adopted by most central banks throughout the industrialized world. This graduate-level textbook provides an introduction to the New Keynesian framework and its applications to monetary policy.
 Using a canonical version of the New Keynesian model as a reference framework, Jordi Gali explores issues pertaining to the design of monetary policy, including the determination of the optimal monetary policy and the desirability of simple policy rules. He analyzes several extensions of the baseline model, allowing for cost-push shocks, nominal wage rigidities, and open economy factors. In each case, the implications for monetary policy are addressed, with a special emphasis on the desirability of inflation targeting policies.

 The most up-to-date and accessible introduction to the New Keynesian framework available Uses a single benchmark model throughout Concise and easy to use Includes exercises An ideal resource for graduate students, researchers, and market analysts


Experienced-based methods are growing in popularity and are increasingly being utilized in a variety of research programs and investigations. They enable researchers and participants to co-design research strategies and outcomes and subsequently propose solutions to potential problems in the partnership. By applying an experience-based methods lens, we sought to augment traditional qualitative interviewing methodologies by using a novel method we named "one-sentence, one-word" (1S1W). To apply our 1S1W method, we used a phenomenological study that examined the relationship between the risk of falling and the desire of master athletes to engage in competitive sports. Participants reflected and recorded their subjective experiences in the form of one-sentence and one-word responses, at the beginning and end of the interview, respectively. Half of all participants associated the risk of falls with negative words; however, all participants used positive sentences to describe their experience as master athletes. Considering other qualitative findings, this method, while brief and relatively simple, gave a very rich and accurate depiction of participants' overall experiences (e.g., themes). The 1S1W data collection method complements traditional qualitative approaches and encourages participant reflection; we believe our method has applicability across the research process. In one word, it isolates the ESSENCE.