We study static correlation and delocalisation errors and show that even methods with good energies can yield significant delocalization errors that affect the density, leading to large errors in predicting, e.g., dipole moments. We illustrate this point by comparing existing state-of-art approaches with an accurate exchange correlation functional based on a generalised valence-bond ansatz, in which orbitals and fractional occupations are treated as variational parameters via an optimized effective potential (OEP). We show that the OEP exhibits step and peak features which, similar to the exact Kohn-Sham potential of DFT, are crucial to prevent charge delocalization. We further show that the step is missing in common approximations within reduced density matrix functional theory resulting in delocalization errors comparable to those found in DFT approximations. Finally, we explain the delocalization error as coming from an artificial mixing of the ground state with a charge-transfer excited state which is avoided if occupation numbers exhibit discontinuities.


The future prospects of higher education are increasingly seen as linked to the future prospects of creativity. However, much prevailing discourse on creativity and higher education sees both in narrowly instrumental terms. The literary critic and educationalist F. R. Leavis (1895–1978) provides a searching critique of this discourse. This critique reflects a world-view rooted in Leavis's exposure to the conditions of technologised warfare while serving as a nursing orderly in the First World War. This world-view is later given shape by the cultural programme of Cambridge English and finally expressed at its most adventurous during his association with York University.
Leavis's critique can be analysed using a framework of creativity as 'person, process and purpose', devised from existing models of creativity and organisational research. Viewed through this systemic framework, Leavis offers a set of conceptual tools relating to the creative self ('selfhood', 'identity'), the dynamics of creativity (Ahnung, 'nisus') and creative purpose (telos, 'telic'). These tools have various literary and philosophical sources but all share the basic assumption that creativity is a capacity over which humanity cannot exert complete transmuting control. The belief to the contrary, Leavis contends, stultifies our capacity for creativity and adaptive learning. However, Leavis falls short of pursuing certain of his own insights to their logical conclusions. These are appropriately supplemented by additional concepts drawn from other systemic perspectives.
How can higher education foster creativity? Answers proliferate but tend to address matters of function rather than purpose. Leavis's concepts deepen our understanding of the key questions of creativity, including those relating to academic self-identity, pedagogy and institutional purpose. Leavis's thought and practice encourage us to make sense of creativity in more systemic, imaginative ways and to advance the notion that re-conceiving creativity is one of higher education's most pressing commitments.


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A partial Butson matrix is a matrix $H\in M_{M\times N}(\mathbb Z_q)$ having its rows pairwise orthogonal, where $\mathbb Z_q\subset\mathbb C^\times$ is the group of $q$-th roots of unity. We investigate here the counting problem for these matrices in the "thin" regime, where $M=2,3,\ldots$ is small, and where $N\to\infty$ (subject to the condition $N\in p\mathbb N$ when $q=p^k>2$). The proofs are inspired from the de Launey-Levin and Richmond-Shallit counting results.


Silicon carbide (SiC)-based semiconductor electronic devices and circuits are presently being developed for use in high-temperature, high-power, and high-radiation conditions under which conventional semiconductors cannot adequately perform. Silicon carbide's ability to function under such extreme conditions is expected to enable significant improvements to a far-ranging variety of applications and systems. These range from greatly improved high-voltage switching for energy savings in public electric power distribution and electric motor drives to more powerful microwave electronics for radar and communications to sensors and controls for cleaner-burning more fuel-efficient jet aircraft and automobile engines [1–7]. In the particular area of power devices, theoretical appraisals have indicated that SiC power MOSFET's and diode rectifiers would operate over higher voltage and temperature ranges, have superior switching characteristics, and yet have die sizes nearly 20 times smaller than correspondingly rated silicon-based devices [8]. However, these tremendous theoretical advantages have yet to be widely realized in commercially available SiC devices, primarily owing to the fact that SiC's relatively immature crystal growth and device fabrication technologies are not yet sufficiently developed to the degree required for reliable incorporation into most electronic systems. This chapter briefly surveys the SiC semiconductor electronics technology. In particular, the differences (both good and bad) between SiC electronics technology and the well-known silicon VLSI technology are highlighted. Projected performance benefits of SiC electronics are highlighted for several large-scale applications. Key crystal growth and device-fabrication issues that presently limit the performance and capability of high-temperature and high-power SiC electronics are identified.


We argue that frequent sampling of the fraction of infected people (either by random testing or by analysis of sewage water), is central to managing the COVID-19 pandemic because it both measures in real time the key variable controlled by restrictive measures, and anticipates the load on the healthcare system due to progression of the disease. Knowledge of random testing outcomes will (i) significantly improve the predictability of the pandemic, (ii) allow informed and optimized decisions on how to modify restrictive measures, with much shorter delay times than the present ones, and (iii) enable the real-time assessment of the efficiency of new means to reduce transmission rates. Here we suggest, irrespective of the size of a suitably homogeneous population, a conservative estimate of 15000 for the number of randomly tested people per day which will suffice to obtain reliable data about the current fraction of infections and its evolution in time, thus enabling close to real-time assessment of the quantitative effect of restrictive measures. Still higher testing capacity permits detection of geographical differences in spreading rates. Furthermore and most importantly, with daily sampling in place, a reboot could be attempted while the fraction of infected people is still an order of magnitude higher than the level required for a relaxation of restrictions with testing focused on symptomatic individuals. This is demonstrated by considering a feedback and control model of mitigation where the feed-back is derived from noisy sampling data.


Bacterial biofilms can generate propagating waves of potassium ions. Different regions of Bacillus subtilis biofilms undergo periodic cycles of proliferation. Cells at the periphery of a biofilm consume a lot of glutamate as they proliferate, thus starving cells in the interior of the biofilm of glutamate. Without glutamate, the interior cells produce less ammonium ions. Without the ammonium ions from the interior cells, the peripheral cells stop dividing and consuming glutamate. As glutamate becomes available to the interior cells, these cells resume proliferating and producing ammonium ions, which releases the peripheral cells from growth arrest, and the cycle begins anew. Membrane potential controls the uptake of glutamine and the retention of ammonium ions. Using a microfluidic device and a voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye, Prindle et al. demonstrated that oscillations in membrane potential across B. subtilis biofilms correlated with metabolic oscillations. Voltage clamp experiments showed that these changes in membrane potential correlated with potassium ion (K+) efflux from cells within the biofilm and depended on the presence of the K+ channel YugO, a protein required for biofilm formation. Removing glutamate from the growth medium caused wild-type, but not yugO mutant, cells to release K+. YugO was also required for propagation of the K+ wave across biofilms. Mathematical modeling revealed that such K+ waves could drive the membrane potential oscillations characterized by the microfluidics experiments. These findings demonstrate that bacteria can generate electrical signals that propagate across a biofilm and suggest that electrical signals may coordinate metabolism across the biofilm. Beagle and Lockless note that electrical signaling could also control other bacterial social behaviors or perhaps even mediate communication between bacterial communities and their eukaryotic hosts. A. Prindle, J. Liu, M. Asally, S. Ly, J. Garcia-Ojalvo, G. M. Süel, Ion channels enable electrical communication in bacterial communities. Nature 527, 59–63 (2015). [PubMed] S. D. Beagle, S. W. Lockless, Electrical signalling goes bacterial. Nature 527, 44–45 (2015). [PubMed]


Digital cities are moving well beyond their original conceptions as entities representing the way computers and communications are hard wired into the fabric of the city itself or as being embodied in software so the real city might be manipulated in silico for professional purposes. As cities have become more 'computable', capable of manipulation through their digital content, large areas of social life are migrating to the web, becoming online so-tospeak. Here we focus on the virtual city in software, presenting our speculations about how such cities are moving beyond the desktop to the point where they are rapidly becoming the desktop itself. But a desktop with a difference, a desktop that is part of the web, characterized by a new generation of interactivity between users located at any time in any place. We first outline the state of the art in virtual city building drawing on the concept of mirror worlds and then comment on the emergence of Web 2.0 and the interactivity that it presumes. We characterize these developments in terms of virtual cities through the virtual world of Second Life, showing how such worlds are moving to the point where serious scientific content and dialogue is characterizing their use often through the metaphor of the city itself.


The here presented combination of stereo imaging and elemental mapping with soft X-ray microscopy reveals the spatial arrangement of naturally aqueous colloidal systems, e.g. iron oxides in soil colloid clusters. Changes in the spatial arrangement can be induced by manipulating the sample in-situ and thus be investigated directly and as a function of time.


Since centralized control of urban networks with detailed modeling approaches is computationally complex, developing efficient hierarchical control strategies based on aggregate modeling is of great importance. The dynamics of a heterogeneous large-scale urban network is modeled as R homogeneous regions with the macroscopic fundamental diagrams (MFDs) representation. The MFD provides for homogeneous network regions a unimodal, low-scatter relationship between network vehicle density and network space-mean flow. In this paper, the optimal hybrid control problem for an R-region MFD network is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problem, where two types of controllers are introduced: 1) perimeter controllers and 2) switching signal timing plans controllers. The perimeter controllers are located on the border between the regions, as they manipulate the transfer flows between them, while the switching controllers influence the dynamics of the urban regions, as they define the shape of the MFDs and as a result affect the internal flows within each region. Moreover, to decrease the computational complexity due to the nonlinear and nonconvex nature of the optimization problem, we reformulate the problem as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem utilizing piecewise affine approximation techniques. Two different approaches for transformation of the original model and building up MILP problems are presented, and the performances of the approximated methods along with the original problem formulation are evaluated and compared for different traffic scenarios of a two-region urban case study.


This thesis investigates the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in 15 post-Soviet states with a primary focus on Ukraine over the time period 1991-2013. First, panel unit root tests are applied to the time series for energy use and GDP for each post-Soviet country, then cointegration tests are run to identify the relationship between the variables. The empirical strategy of the panel data analysis is based on a neoclassical growth model specification, which includes the gross capital formation and total labor force of each country as additional explanatory variables for economic growth, along with energy inefficiency, % fossil fuel use, liberalization of the energy sector, and several other variables. The dataset is analyzed using Pooled OLS, Fixed Effects and Random Effects models, with Fixed Effects being identified as the optimal estimator. The results of the analysis show that there is a positive, bidirectional causality relationship between economic growth and energy consumption for Ukraine (the "Feedback Hypothesis"). In addition, the results of the panel data analysis suggest that reducing energy inefficiency, increasing "own production" of energy (including renewable energy), and liberalizing the energy sector of Ukraine could all be valuable strategies for increasing the country's economic growth. JEL Classification C12, C23, N70, O40, Q43


Extracted from text ... The viability of any health care delivery system hinges
heavily on health care promotion and disease prevention.
Recognition and application of this basic principle have
been shown to be of benefit to a whole spectrum of economies,
ranging from socialist to capitalist. The old dictum,
prevention is better than cure, still holds - centuries since
its coinage. The family physician, as the first-line defence in
health care, remains the custodian of primary health care.
His/her role is demonstrated in a variety of conditions,
including hypertension. This issue of CME is dedicated to
hypertension and related matters in the context of ..


Although Decision Trees are widely used for classification tasks, they are typically not used for agent control. This paper presents a novel technique for agent control in a complex multiagent domain based on the confidence factors provided by the C4.5 Decision Tree algorithm. Using Robotic Soccer as an example of such a domain, this paper incorporates a previously-trained Decision Tree into a full multiagent behavior that is capable of controlling agents throughout an entire game. Along with using Decision Trees for control, this behavior also makes use of the ability to reason about action-execution time to eliminate options that would not have adequate time to be executed successfully. This multiagent behavior represents a bridge between low-level and high-level learning in the Layered Learning paradigm. The newly created behavior is tested empirically in game situations.


Theorists of free labor have argued that users produce value directly for capital through unwaged participation in online social media platforms. I argue that this interpretation of value is misguided. I begin with a brief overview of the labor theory of value as it has been developed by political economists in the context of new media. I then use Marxian crisis theory to demonstrate the limitations of the concept of free labor. I also elaborate how value is created within media markets through a complex set of interactions among media firms, market researchers, advertisers, finance capital, and unwaged content producers. I conclude with a discussion of the consequences of free labor theory for Marxian politics.


Adverse drug reactions to azathioprine (AZA), the pro-drug of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), occur in 15% to 28% of patients and the majority are not explained by thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) deficiency. Inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase (ITPase) deficiency results in the benign accumulation of the inosine nucleotide ITP. 6-MP is activated through a 6-thio-IMP intermediate and, in ITPase deficient patients, potentially toxic 6-thio-ITP is predicted to accumulate. The association between polymorphism in the ITPA gene and adverse drug reactions to AZA therapy was studied in patients treated for inflammatory bowel disease. Sixty-two patients with inflammatory bowel disease suffering adverse drug reactions to AZA therapy were genotyped for ITPA 94C>A and IVS2 + 21A>C polymorphisms, and TPMT*3A, *3C, *2 polymorphisms. Genotype frequencies were compared to a consecutive series of 68 controls treated with AZA for a minimum of 3 months without adverse effect. The ITPA 94C>A deficiency-associated allele was significantly associated with adverse drug reactions [odds ratio (OR) 4.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-11.5, P = 0.0034]. Significant associations were found for flu-like symptoms (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.2-18.1, P = 0.0308), rash (OR 10.3, 95% CI 4.7-62.9, P = 0.0213) and pancreatitis (OR 6.2,CI 1.1-32.6, P = 0.0485). Overall, heterozygous TPMT genotypes did not predict adverse drug reactions but were significantly associated with a subgroup of patients experiencing nausea and vomiting as the predominant adverse reaction to AZA therapy (OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.4-21.3, P = 0.0206). Polymorphism in the ITPA gene predicts AZA intolerance. Alternative immunosuppressive drugs, particularly 6-thioguanine, should be considered for AZA-intolerant patients with ITPase deficiency.


The United States has long been an urban country, but it is fast becoming a metropolitan one. Population and economic activity are now concentrated in cities and their surrounding regions. The largest twenty of these city-regions accounts for almost fifty-two percent of total U.S. GDP. This "metropolitan revolution" represents a fundamental challenge to our current federalism. The old federalism assumed that capital and labor are fully mobile and that sub-national governments — in this case, states — will engage in competitive efforts to attract desirable investment while the federal government will assume the bulk of redistributive spending. The new federalism rejects the notion that economic growth can be attributed to interstate competition or that only central governments can effectively engage in social welfare redistribution. As economic activity becomes concentrated in cities, those cities become capable of engaging in forms of regulation and redistribution that standard models of fiscal federalism had deemed impossible.

Our current state-based federalism, however, fails to appropriately align capabilities with responsibilities. Instead of empowering cities, states are increasingly seeking to defund, defang, and delegitimize them. The mismatch between the prevailing sites of productive economic activity and the location of regulation and redistribution has subverted the values conventionally associated with federalism. State power is being deployed to undermine accountability, limit experimentation, and prevent the effective exercise of local self-government. One consequence of the gap between state and city power is increased political polarization. Another consequence may be an institutional restructuring that better reflects the new geography of production and population.


A detailed analytical traffic model for all-optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) photonic packet-switched networks is presented and the requirements for buffer size and link dimensions are analyzed. This paper shows that due to the topology, packets may generate traffic bottlenecks produced by a tendency of the routing scheme to send packets with different destinations through preferred paths. This effect increases the traffic load and, hence, the probability of blocking at the output links of specific routers in the network and, therefore, a large buffer depth or an increment in the number of fibers per link is required. Three router architectures are analyzed and it is shown that WDM all-optical router architectures with shared contention resolution resources are the best candidates to reduce hardware volume and cost of all-optical networks. It is shown that routers with a bank of completely shared wavelength converters (WCs) require a fraction of WCs compared to router architectures that use a WC per wavelength. This fraction depends on the location of the router, the network topology, and the traffic load in the network. However, in general terms, about 50% to 90% of WCs can be saved by architectures with shared wavelength-conversion resources. Also, it is shown that limited wavelength conversion degrees d=8 and d=10 in packet-switching routers with 16 and 32 wavelengths give the same probability of packet loss performance as full wavelength conversion.


Markov random fields (MRF's), or undirected graphical models, provide a powerful framework for modeling complex dependencies among random variables. Maximum likelihood learning in MRF's is hard due to the presence of the global normalizing constant. In this paper we consider a class of stochastic approximation algorithms of the Robbins-Monro type that use Markov chain Monte Carlo to do approximate maximum likelihood learning. We show that using MCMC operators based on tempered transitions enables the stochastic approximation algorithm to better explore highly multimodal distributions, which considerably improves parameter estimates in large, densely-connected MRF's. Our results on MNIST and NORB datasets demonstrate that we can successfully learn good generative models of high-dimensional, richly structured data that perform well on digit and object recognition tasks.


This paper focuses on the claim by Schneider and Butcher (2000) that it makes little sense to criticise the use of performance-enhancing drugs as 'dehumanising' (as, for example, Hoberman does (1992)) because we are unable to give a satisfactory account of what it is to be human. Schneider and Butcher (2000, 196) put this as follows: 'The dehumanisation argument is interesting but incomplete. It is incomplete because we do not have an agreed-upon conception of what it is to be human. Without this it is difficult to see why some practices should count as dehumanising.' The paper begins by considering J.L. Austin's (1962) treatment of the word 'real'. By transposing ideas from Austin to the terms 'dehumanise' and 'human' I argue that (a) In the pair 'dehumanise' and 'human', the term 'dehumanise' is dominant; (b) We cannot understand 'dehumanise' and 'human' independently of either the context of their use or the contrast that is drawn in their use; (c) Either one of these is sufficient to understand the terms; (d) 'Dehumanise', 'human' and their cognates are not univocal; we can have no recourse to exceptionless accounts of the meaning of such terms. The importance of context is developed further by consideration of an example from the work of Charles Travis (2005), and the issue of exceptionless accounts of the meaning of words is addressed through an application of Gordon Baker's (2004) characterisation of Wittgenstein's uses of the term 'metaphysical' to Miah's (2004) treatment of human-ness. I argue that Miah's conception of human-ness exhibits all the forms of metaphysical use of terms (in this case the term 'human') outlined by Baker (2004). The article attempts to clarify some objections to the use of performance-enhancing drugs and the prospect of genetic modification of athletes by sketching an overview of possible concrete uses of 'dehumanise'. The focus of the paper, however, is on 'making sense of what we (are inclined to) say … [rather than] making explicit what underlies what we say' (McFee, 1993/4, 115).


This dissertation analyzes the visibility of hunger in film—from the Cinema Novo movement of the 1960s to contemporary productions. It follows the discursive transformations of hunger as a key trope in the development of Brazilian cinema, highlighting hunger's role as a central motif—not only as the subject of specific films, but also as a place of reflection on the processes of the representation of marginality. I call hunger a trope to stress that it has not simply been the topic of films, nor an ethereal metaphor to rhetorically describe a socially committed cinema. Instead, the term hunger delineates a complex semantic field that includes several discursive strategies and artistic/political practices: it is a concept as well as a metaphor, a material reality, and an aesthetic principle.

Although it seems extremely easy to define something that we all, in different ways, have experienced, I argue that hunger is not a transparent reality, but a flexible notion shaped through a series of discourses and representations that respond to specific needs and interests. In contrast to our ingrained belief in the univocal nature of the term hunger, this word actually designates a complex network of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, and even aesthetic realities. I propose that a series of films throughout the history of Brazilian cinema have preserved that ambiguous and irreducible character of hunger instead of having transformed it into a digestible topic. Through the trope of hunger, Brazilian cinema has created a way to think of that that cannot be digested: the reality of hunger, misery and underdevelopment in Brazil.


delta 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive constituent of marijuana, is rapidly transferred from lungs to blood during smoking. Oxidative metabolism of THC yields the active metabolite, 11-hydroxy-delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-THC), and the inactive metabolite, 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THCCOOH). Characterization of THC's absorption phase is important because of the rapidity with which THC penetrates the central nervous system to produce psychoactive effects. This study incorporated a highly automated procedure to sample blood and to capture rapid drug level changes during and following smoking. Human subjects smoked one marijuana cigarette (placebo, 1.75%, or 3.55% THC) once a week according to a randomized, crossover, double-blind Latin square design. Samples were analyzed by GC/MS for THC, 11-OH THC, and THCCOOH. THC levels increased rapidly, peaked prior to the end of smoking, and quickly dissipated. Mean peak 11-OH-THC levels were substantially lower than THC levels and occurred immediately after the end of smoking. THCCOOH levels increased slowly and plateaued for an extended period. The mean peak time for THCCOOH was 113 min and a correspondingly longer time course of detection was observed. This study provides the first complete pharmacokinetic profile of the absorption of THC and appearance of metabolites during marijuana smoking. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying the performance-impairing effects of marijuana, as well as for aiding forensic interpretation of cannabinoid blood levels.


In this essay, Professor Siegel examines efforts to reform racial and gender status law in the nineteenth century in order to raise questions about the ways antidiscrimination law operates today. The essay demonstrates how efforts to dismantle an entrenched system of status regulation can produce changes in its constitutive rules and rhetoric, transforming the status regime without abolishing it. Part I illustrates this reform dynamic in the nineteenth century, a period when protest movements were demanding the abolition of slavery and reform of marital status law. Legislatures and courts responded by eliminating some of the more overtly hierarchical features of marital status law, yet adopted gender-biased policies governing domestic labor and domestic violence that were justified as promoting family privacy, rather than marital hierarchy. Similarly, in the aftermath of the Civil War, legislatures and courts granted the newly emancipated slaves "civil" rights, yet denied them "social" rights, rationalizing miscegation laws and segregation as preserving associational liberty, rather than racial hierarchy. As these examples illustrate, the rules and reasons the legal system employs to enforce status relationships evolve as they are contested. Part II of the essay uses this dynamic model of status regulation to analyze the operations of equal protection law today. We know that doctrines of heightened scrutiny have disestablished overtly classificatory forms of race and gender status regulation dating from the nineteenth century. Yet the doctrine of discriminatory purpose currently sanctions facially neutral state action that perpetuates race and gender stratification, so long as such regulation is not justified in discredited forms of status-based reasoning. Once we recognize that the rules and reasons the legal system employs to enforce status relations evolve as they are contested, we ought to scrutinize justifications for facially neutral state action with skepticism, knowing that we may be rationalizing practices that perpetuate historic forms of stratification, much as Plessy v. Ferguson once did.


The metal nanocrystals (NCs) embedded-NiN-based resistive random access memory cells are demonstrated using several metal NCs (i.e., Pt, Ni, and Ti) with different physical parameters in order to investigate the metal NC's dependence on resistive switching (RS) characteristics. First, depending on the electronegativity of metal, the size of metal NCs is determined and this affects the operating current of memory cells. If metal NCs with high electronegativity are incorporated, the size of the NCs is reduced; hence, the operating current is reduced owing to the reduced density of the electric field around the metal NCs. Second, the potential wells are formed by the difference of work function between the metal NCs and active layer, and the barrier height of the potential wells affects the level of operating voltage as well as the conduction mechanism of metal NCs embedded memory cells. Therefore, by understanding these correlations between the active layer and embedded metal NCs, we can optimize the RS properties of metal NCs embedded memory cells as well as predict their conduction mechanisms.


This article provides a detailed set of coding rules for disaggregating electoral volatility into two components: volatility caused by new party entry and old party exit, and volatility caused by vote switching across existing parties. After providing an overview of both types of volatility in post-communist countries, the causes of volatility are analysed using a larger dataset than those used in previous studies. The results are startling: most findings based on elections in post-communist countries included in previous studies disappear. Instead, entry and exit volatility is found to be largely a function of long-term economic recovery, and it becomes clear that very little is known about what causes 'party switching' volatility. As a robustness test of this latter result, the authors demonstrate that systematic explanations for party-switching volatility in Western Europe can indeed be found.


A system for measuring liquid level in multiple tanks using optical fiber technology has been developed. Oil field service industry or any sector requiring liquid level measurements in inflammable atmospheres can be benefited from this intrinsically safe technology. Three different models considering various effects have been derived and tested on two prototypes. The first model use punctual emitters and divergence, the second model use finite emitters with paraxial approach, and the third model use a constant power rays distribution in the emitters using with each one of the rays the Snell's law, to take in count the optical aberrations. A Monte-Carlo method is used to fit the experimental data and obtain the models parameters. The simplest model is demonstrated to be accurate enough for a proper correlation between the experimental data and the fitted curve in a range of 2 m.


Environmental justice scholars and activists coined the terms "environmental racism" to describe the disproportionate concentration of environmental hazards in neighborhoods populated by racial and ethnic minorities. Having exhausted domestic legal remedies (or having concluded that these remedies are unavailable), communities of color in the United States are increasingly turning to international human rights law and institutions to challenge environmental racism.
However, the United States has ratified only a handful of human rights treaties, and has limited the domestic application of these treaties through reservations and declarations that preclude judicial enforcement in the absence of implementing legislation. Indeed, the U.S. has generally resisted scrutiny of its human rights record by domestic or international institutions on the basis of "American exceptionalism" -- the belief that the U.S. is unique in its commitment to freedom and equality and provides more robust protection of human rights than international law. What historical events triggered this resistance to international human rights law? What are the implications for human rights-based approaches to environmental protection?
This article explains how the struggle for racial justice in the United States at the height of the Cold War shaped U.S. attitudes to international human rights law. Using Mossville Environmental Action Now v. United States as a case study (currently pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights), the article argues that international human rights law is far superior to U.S. domestic law as a means of addressing environmental injustice. However, its utility is constrained by legal doctrines developed over time but reinforced during the Cold War that restrict the enforcement of international human rights law in U.S. courts. Nevertheless, a victory for the Mossville petitioners would be immensely useful as part of a larger strategy to name and shame the United States, to bridge the gap between international law and domestic law, and to educate government officials and the public at large about the relationship between environmental protection and human rights.


Languages like F#, C#, and recently also Scala, provide "async" extensions which aim to make asynchronous programming easier by avoiding an inversion of control that is inherent in traditional callback-based programming models (for the purpose of this paper called the "Async" model). This paper outlines a novel approach to integrate the Async model with observable streams of the Reactive Extensions model which is best-known from the .NET platform, and of which popular implementations exist for Java, Ruby, and other widespread languages. We outline the translation of "Reactive Async" programs to efficient state machines, in a way that generalizes the state machine translation of regular Async programs. Finally, we sketch a formalization of the Reactive Async model in terms of a small-step operational semantics.


In the spring of 1933 Gertrude Elion graduated from high school and that summer she had to select a major subject before she could begin her freshman year at Hunter College. This posed a quandary for the future Nobel Prize recipient, as well as holder of 45 patents, 23 honorary degrees, and a long list of other honours: she had liked all her school subjects, making it difficult to select just one. 'Iloved to learn everything, everything in sight and I was never satisfied that I knew everything there was to know in each of my courses.'Fatefully, that summer her grandfather, whom she loved dearly, died of cancer. 'I watched him go over a period of months in a very painfulway, and it suddenly occurred to me that what I really needed to do was to become a scientist, and particularly a chemist, so that I would goout there and make a cure for cancer.' (All quotations in this memoir are from the author's taped 1997 interview with G. B. Elion.)


The methodological research is devoted to the substantiation of the composition, structure, functions, content filling and features of interpretation and usage by the scientist-thinker the categorical matrix of theoretical psychology as an original world of metatheoretical self-reflexive thought-activity. At the same time the cyclical-deed organizational scheme to achieve this goal is purposefully implemented, which focuses on four interdependent fundamental perspectives-stages of cognitive creativity development: a) in the frameworks of outstanding achievements of the most influential scientific schools of domestic and foreign time-space of the XX-th century concerning the creation of a categorical system of psychological science in general and theoretical psychology in particular from different worldviews (situational component); b) in the format of the author's definition of segments or dimensions of the subject field of this relatively new and so far little elaborated by intellectuals direction of modern psychology development (psychological cognition as a thought activity, fundamental problems of psychology, methodological principles and approaches, tasks, problem and versions of creation of psychology's categorical order – motivational component); c) in a logically reasoned set of interdependent conditions, regularities, procedures and characteristics of implementation of a typological approach as an accurate, perfect and at the same time multi-module and multifunctional tool of professional methodological work (active component); d) in the complementarity of metatheoretization and reflexive methodologization, when analytical-synthetic mastering is subject to both available in psychological discourse conceptual and categorical definitions and formulations, and the canonical model of theoretical psychology, which essentially appears as an aspect of human existence and in a taxonomically perfect composition of harmonized between each other themes and categorical definitions (post-action component). For the transition from a naturalistic approach in cognition of mental reality and hence from numerous theories of mental and self-sufficient object-centered thinking to self-reflexive directed metatheoretization of psychological science over one's own achievements on the historical canvas of humankind cultural development by actualizing universal resources of methodological thinking and, therefore, to the heights of theoretical psychology, the author substantiates a five-module methodological optics of the study of its categorical order, covering a functionally level-by-level set of lenses-tools of methodologization at the levels: s p e c i f i c – is a quaternary or quintet thought-scheme as a basic material-means of methodological activity implementation; s i n g u l a r – the construction of a categorical matrix, which allows the creation of 12 systematic taxa of categorical quaternity, semantically presenting theoretical psychology as a separate newly emerging conscious layer of human existence; s p e c i a l – a typological approach in the dialectical mosaic of its categories, principles, norms, procedures, parameters and intellectual means, which allows to obtain a perfect typology in its optimal invariant - the categorical matrix; g e n e r a l – the sphere of professional methodologization-as-practice, which is a dialectical continuation and thought-deed concretization of the world of methodology-as-teaching in its central link – methodological thinking; u n i v e r s a l – a vitacultural methodology that not only enriches the semiotic completeness of culture and expands the existential horizons of consciousness, but also enables the thought-active and thought-deed practice of high perfection. It is proved that, unlike numerical tables, categorical matrices on construction, semantic attachment, internal combination of elements, methodological purpose and functional field of influence on multiplication of ideal forms of thinking-thought activity of human conscious ability make original and heuristic, though supercomplicated tool of cognition and methodologization, and therefore characterize the latest stage in the evolution of rational-humanitarian knowledge in its core – the categorical genesis of both individual sciences and interdisciplinary directions of cognitive creativity. Five advantages of this self-sufficient author's tool are rubriced and argued in the work: fundamentality of epistemic content filling, logicity of form and way of obtaining categorical ensemble, optimality of structure and internal balance of taxonomic categories configuration, ideality of constructed and designed as a theoretical model of a holistic picture of categories in their harmonious synthesis, practicality in the broadest sense of freedom of metatheoretization, methodologization, thinking action and self-reflection with categories and taxa of the matrix. The optimal architectonics of this matrix was found, which in the central (inner) part contains a systematics of 16 mutually agreed and in certain hierarchical combinations of grouped taxonomic categories, organized into eight taxa, and its outer contour, which forms two (horizontally and vertically) equally named, however different in aspects of consideration of the multidisciplinary object of metatheoretization, chains of dialectical categories "general – special – singular – specific – universal", which are named as two mutually penetrated thematic bases, that receive the resulting boundaries below and above – generalization of the top achievements of theoretical psychology. In this way 12 categorical taxa were obtained, each of which can be subjected to a detailed study. Taking into account the advantages of the categorical matrix, its five main functions are substantiated and meaningfully characterized – structural-systemic, logical-cognitive, organizational-synthesizing, thought-communicative and instrumental-methodological, as well as, accordingly, has been pointed out on vitacultural, typological, taxonomic, system-thought-action and cyclically-deed approaches that implement these approaches, and on a number of principles that specify each of these approaches. With regard to the essential content filling of the categorical matrix proposed for the first time to the scientific society, it is comprehensively highlighted that behind each of the 12 quintetly ordered taxa of categories (five horizontally and vertically and two diagonally) there is either a direction or a school of theoretical psychology development or a methodological principle or approach in psychology, or a certain system or epistemic organization of psychological cognition or theoretical creativity. It is proved that the stated model of the matrix makes it possible for a psychologist-thinker to achieve a personified (motivated and comprehended) canvas of the categorical order of theoretical psychology, not only in revealing hitherto unknown and little understood dimensions-aspects of human existence, but also in curbing the emotional saturation, vagueness and organic spontaneity of actualized concepts of thinking as a life-giving core of lace of psychological categories, which realizes self-reflexive progress in the bosom of increasing the mental potential of one's own conscious ability to learn and create psycho-spiritual in all possible forms and markers of its phenomenal manifestation. At the same time, it is concluded that the world of theoretical psychology is the most thoroughly founded and the most meaningfully enriched by the creative scientific achievements of the outstanding Ukrainian intellectual and worthy person Volodymyr Roments. In particular, his multi-volume author's presentation of the history of world's psychology, which implements the fundamentals, regularities and norms of the deed's principle in psychology from ancient times to the end of the twentieth century, contains that extremely important vitacultural material which not only appears as a product of psychological cognition and from which previously unseen horizons of the field of historical-psychological research are mentally spread, but also which can be subjected to repeated self-reflection of psychological science by its individual and collective subjects of creativity. This means that in the future the final philosophical-psychological field of reflection will be subject to renewal, which according to the deed principle is canonically constructed by the talent of Academician Romenets and which requires further methodological comprehension. At the same time, canonical psychology and its derivative epistemic formations (the procedure of canonization of psychological systems, the concept of psychological canon, etc.) in unity with psychosophy of the deed as a methodology of cognition of the sources and essence of human existence are specific cultural patterns of self-reflexively performed metatheoretization, which is implemented with the help of personally well-developed principles, postulates and means of philosophical methodologization (especially the deed principle and the method of action dialectics). In general, a new categorical matrix solves one of the most important tasks of theoretical psychology – provides analytically reasoned selection-construction of the optimal typology of categories by four main criteria: a) by a methodological substantiationess of research tools and instruments of its construction, structure, content, interpretation and usage, b) by a conceptual-conscious completeness of psychological thinking about the mental and psycho-spiritual as separate aspects of human life in the socio-humanitarian sphere, c) by a horizon of conceptual-terminological complementarity of the fields of categories and themes involved, d) by a quantitative set and structural-functional invariance of categorical taxa. Finally, it is reasonably stated that the quintessence of the categorical composition of theoretical


The main purpose of this study was to understand the nature of knowing for women
headteachers in leadership and decision-making. The study was carried out through
three research questions. They include: (1) what are the characteristics of knowing
events for women headteachers as experienced by them? (2) what are the influences
that shape women headteachers' knowing? (3) what are the specific ways of knowing
that women headteachers engage in? These questions aimed to determine the
characteristics, factors that influence, and structure of the knowing phenomenon
among women headteachers in leadership and decision-making.
The phenomenological approach was selected since it was deemed the most
appropriate for the study of a phenomenon of this nature. Data were gathered from
nine women headteachers in primary and secondary government schools. The
participants were selected from excellent and successful women headteachers through
purposeful sampling. The data collection methods employed were mainly in-depth
interviews with the participants. Each interview was taped recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed. In addition, informal observation and review of accessible
official documents were also carried out. The validity of the study was ensured
through clarifying the researcher's biases at the outset of the study, triangulation,
member checks, peer examination and rich, thick description of results. The reliability
was furthered ensured through stating the researcher's position, triangulation and
maintaining an audit trail.
The findings yielded characteristics of knowing events as experienced by the women
headteachers, influences that shape their knowing, ways of knowing women
headteachers engaged in. The knowing events represent the phases that every woman
headteacher in the study had passed through from accession or entry into headship to
refocusing of values in the securely established state. The influences that shape
knowing began in the formation years and occur throughout headship. In addition it
also represents the development of knowing from a dependency on authorities to
autonomy of self, knowledge as abstract and objective to being relative and
subjective, and the cognitive process of receiving knowledge to one of generating
knowledge. The study concludes that the knowing practiced among the women
headteachers in leadership and decision making is unique to the participants of this
study. The findings are conceptualized into a thematic portrayal of knowing. Specific
recommendations for further research are also suggested.


Flexible Thermoelectric Generators on Silicon Fabric Galo Andres Torres Sevilla In this work, the development of a Thermoelectric Generator on Flexible Silicon Fabric is explored to extend silicon electronics for flexible platforms. Low cost, easily deployable plastic based flexible electronics are of great interest for smart textile, wearable electronics and many other exciting applications. However, low thermal budget processing and fundamentally limited electron mobility hinders its potential to be competitive with well stablished and highly developed silicon technology. The use of silicon in flexible electronics involve expensive and abrasive materials and processes. In this work, high performance flexible thermoelectric energy harvesters are demonstrated from low cost bulk silicon (100) wafers. The fabrication of the microharvesters was done using existing silicon processes on silicon (100) and then peeled them o↵ from the original substrate leaving it for reuse. Peeled o↵ silicon has 3.6% thickness of bulk silicon reducing the thermal loss significantly and generating nearly 30% more output power than unpeeled harvesters. The demonstrated generic batch processing shows a pragmatic way of peeling o↵ a whole silicon circuitry after conventional fabrication on bulk silicon wafers for extremely deformable high performance integrated electronics. In summary, by using a novel, low cost process, this work has successfully integrated existing and highly developed fabrication techniques to introduce a flexible energy harvester for sustainable applications.


Periodic outbreaks of anti-Jewish hostility testify to the continuing presence of anti-Semitism in America. Based on the most extensive research ever conducted on the subject, "Anti-Semitism in America, "now in a new paperback edition, provides us with the often surprising facts about the enduring form of bigotry and sheds new light on the nature of prejudice in general. The authors draw their conclusions from a specially designed nationwide survey on anti-Semitism conducted by the Survey Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and by other public opinion polls.


The distinctiveness of the European Galerina marginata and the American G. autumnalis is tested with analyses of DNA sequences from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of the nuclear ribosomal repeat and RFLP analysis of the entire ITS region. European and North American material from six taxa described in Galerina subgenus Naucoriopsis are included along with out-group material of six taxa representing two other subgenera of Galerina. The results do not indicate any genetic difference between species by Smith & Singer (1964) referred to the two 'stirpes' Marginata and Autumnalis of Naucoriopsis , i.e. G. autumnalis, G. marginata, G. oregonensis, G. pseudomycenopsis, G. unicolor , and G. venenata and all except G. pseudomycenopsis are considered later synonyms of G. marginata. Galerina badipes (syn. G. cedretorum var. bispora of 'stirps' Cedretorum is well supported as a distinct species. Subgenus Naucoriopsis appears as a distinct infrageneric unit well separated from the infrageneric units represented by the out-group species.


Aim: To assess basic trends in epidemiology of congenital heart defects (CHDs). Method: Population based prospective observational study. Material: CHDs in infants born alive in a Norwegian county 1982-2011. Results: In 828/71 217 infants (12 per 1000) a CHD was diagnosed. The prevalence increased from 8 to 12 per 1000 after introduction of early echocardiography in newborns with suspected CHD from 1986 (p = 0.0001). Ventricular septal defect (VSD) was the dominating CHD (474; 57%). In 222 (27%) the CHDs were missed and diagnosed after discharge from hospital after birth. Twelve critical CHDs (causing death or requiring invasive procedures before 28 days of life) were missed. Prenatal diagnosis of critical CHDs increased from 4/67 (6%) born 1997-2006 to 4/11 (36%) born 2007-2011 (p = 0.01). In 177 (21%) a syndrome or extracardial defect occurred. The occurrence of CHDs associated with chromosomal disorders (60/73 (82%) trisomies) more than doubled from the cohort born in the first 10-year period 1982-1991 (0.6 per 1000) to the last 2002-2011 (1.4 per 1000) (p < 0.0001) in parallel with increasing births in women ≥ 35 years old in the population. 237 (29%) underwent therapeutic procedures (203 (86%) surgery, of whom 16 after initial catheter intervention, and 34 (14%) catheter intervention alone). 39/237 (16%) died, 101 (43%) were repaired and 97 (41%) had some minor residual defect. The death rate declined significantly from 65/532 (12%) born 1982-2001 to 11/296 (4%) born 2002-2011 (p = 0.0001). 37/76 (49%) deaths occurred within 28 days after birth. Conclusions: The rate of detection of CHDs increased substantially after introduction of echocardiography in newborns with suspected CHD, especially VSDs. Some critical CHDs were overlooked. The prenatal detection rate of such defects increased. The prevalence of CHDs with associated chromosomal disorders increased in parallel with increasing maternal age in the population. Most deaths occurred during the neonatal period. Increasing survival increases the load on long-term follow-up programmes.


The charge on an aggregate immersed in a plasma environment distributes itself over the aggregate's surface; this can be approximated theoretically by assuming a multipole distribution. The dipole‐dipole (or higher order) charge interactions between fractal aggregates lead to rotations of the grains as they interact. Other properties of the dust grains also influence the agglomeration process, such as the monomer shape (spherical or ellipsoidal) or the presence of magnetic material. Finally, the plasma and grain properties also determine the morphology of the resultant aggregates. Porous and fluffy aggregates are more strongly coupled to the gas, leading to reduced collisional velocities, and greater collisional cross sections. These factors in turn can determine the growth rate of the aggregates and evolution of the dust cloud. This paper gives an overview of the numerical and experimental methods used to study dust agglomeration at CASPER and highlights some recent results.


The world natural gas markets are analysed, with a special focus on the countries of Northeast Asia (NEA). The natural gas demands of China, Japan and South Korea, until the year 2020, is projected, considering a possible share of Russian gas. The resource potential of natural gas from the Siberian platform and the Sakhalin shelf is given as a sound basis for fuelling Russia's position in the natural gas market of NEA countries. Development of the powerful gas industry in the East of Russia faces some particular conditions that can decrease the effectiveness of investments. The eastern geopolitical direction is very important for Russia and the necessity to create a favourable political and economic environment for oil and gas export is of prime interest, as stressed in Energy Strategy for Russia till the Year 2020. In this context, the long-term market for natural gas in East Siberia and the Far East of Russia is investigated. Possible routes of natural gas export from Russia to NEA countries include three main directions: to the west of China with connection to the "West-East gas pipeline", a route through and/or round Mongolia and, finally, a route along the Trans-Siberian or Baikal-Amur railroads to Russian ports in the Far East. As a result of complex studies, three stages in the creation of the unified gas pipeline system are suggested. Evaluation of the investments required for construction of such a natural gas pipeline system, expected gas volumes and prices on the markets show its high economic efficiency. In conclusion, the most valuable ideas are stressed.


The physical and biological environment of Cape Barren Island is described, the human environment
outlined in terms of past and present patterns of land use, and land use issues are detailed, The island has important
biological and historical features, and reservation of certain areas seems warranted. Agricultural developments on the island are severely constrained by the poor soils and isolation from markets, but alternative developments such as
aquaculture and wilderness conservation appear feasible. Tasmanian Aboriginals at present claim extensive land rights on the island and the resolution of these claims is necessary if a land management plan for the island is to be
successtully implemented.


Measures of movement variability have been linked to task performance, adaptability, and injury risk. Further understanding variability in running could help explain training adaptations and injury risks of the sport. This study investigated the variability of vertical, antero-posterior, and medio-lateral ground reaction forces and muscle activity of the medial gastrocnemius (Gn), tibialis anterior (TA), rectus femoris (RF), and biceps femoris (BF) between experienced runners (EXP), recreational runners (REC), and non-runners (NON) at different speeds. It was hypothesized that running experience would affect the amount of variability in all ground reaction force (GRF) components and muscle activation at different speeds. This effect between group and speed did not reach significance for any variables. All groups had less variability as speed increased for all GRF components. This was also true for pre-contact activation of the Gn. Aside from the BF, we found that EXP and REC runners did not have different variability for GRF or electromyography (EMG) measures. Unexpectedly, the pre-contact variability of the RF increased with speed. This highlights the complex nature of EMG variability during running. Though we found consistent variability trends for ground reaction forces, the interactions between EMG variability with speed and group appear to be more complex.


Manage your Java and JEE project dependencies with ease with this hands-on guide to Maven Overview Improve your productivity by efficiently managing dependencies. Learn how to detect and fix dependency conflicts Learn how to share transitive relations and to visualize your dependencies In Detail Managing dependencies in a multi-module project is difficult. In a multi-module project, libraries need to share transitive relations with each other. Maven eliminates this need by reading the project files of dependencies to figure out their inter-relations and other related information. Gaining an understanding of project dependencies will allow you to fully utilize Maven and use it to your advantage. Aiming to give you a clear understanding of Maven's functionality, this book focuses on specific case studies that shed light on highly useful Maven features which are often disregarded. The content of this book will help you to replace homebrew processes with more automated solutions. This practical guide focuses on the variety of problems and issues which occur during the conception and development phase, with the aim of making dependency management as effortless and painless as possible. Throughout the course of this book, you will learn how to migrate from non-Maven projects to Maven, learn Maven best practices, and how to simplify the management of multiple projects. The book emphasizes the importance of projects as well as identifying and fixing potential conflicts before they become issues. The later sections of the book introduce you to the methods that you can use to increase your teams productivity. This book is the perfect guide to help make you into a proud software craftsman. What you will learn from this book Learn how to use profiles, POM, parent POM, and modules Increase build-speed and decrease archive size Set, rationalize, and exclude transitive dependencies Optimize your POM and its dependencies Migrate projects to Maven including projects with exotic dependencies Approach An easy-to-follow, tutorial-based guide with chapters progressing from basic to advanced dependency management. Who this book is written for If you are working with Java or Java EE projects and you want to take advantage of Maven dependency management, then this book is ideal for you. This book is also particularly useful if you are a developer or an architect. You should be well versed with Maven and its basic functionalities if you wish to get the most out of this book.


This article analyses the up-scaling of territorial governance in the two Swiss agglomerations of Zurich and Bern. It focuses on the evolution, over the last half century, of the governance schemes established to manage a territorial network crucial to the functional integration of urban regions in Switzerland : urban public transport. Historical data is used to demonstrate that a shift in the territorial scope of urban public transport management has indeed taken place during the time period under scrutiny. However, specific political configurations as well as infrastructural settings have led to remarkable differences in the territorial management of urban public transport between the two agglomerations. This is especially striking, given the similarities of the initial governance scheme, as well as the dynamics of territorial restructuring that are comparable across the two places. We conclude that, while an up-scaling of territorial governance has occurred in both agglomerations, the different trajectories are the result of a process in which infrastructural pre-conditions combine with political conflicts to produce diverging forms of area-wide territorial governance.


Aftershocks are often triggered by static- and/or dynamic-stress changes caused by mainshocks. The relative importance of the two triggering mechanisms is controversial at near-to-intermediate distances. We detected and located 48 previously unidentified large early aftershocks triggered by earthquakes with magnitudes between ≥7 and 8 within a few fault lengths (approximately 300 kilometers), during times that high-amplitude surface waves arrive from the mainshock (less than 200 seconds). The observations indicate that near-to-intermediate-field dynamic triggering commonly exists and fundamentally promotes aftershock occurrence. The mainshocks and their nearby early aftershocks are located at major subduction zones and continental boundaries, and mainshocks with all types of faulting-mechanisms (normal, reverse, and strike-slip) can trigger early aftershocks.


New Jazz Conceptions: History, Theory, Practice is an edited collection that captures the cutting edge of British jazz studies in the early twenty-first century, highlighting the developing methodologies and growing interdisciplinary nature of the field. In particular, the collection breaks down barriers previously maintained between jazz historians, theorists and practitioners with an emphasis on interrogating binaries of national/local and professional/amateur. Each of these essays questions popular narratives of jazz, casting fresh light on the cultural processes and economic circumstances which create the music. Subjects covered include Duke Ellington's relationship with the BBC, the impact of social media on jazz, a new view of the ban on visiting jazz musicians in interwar Britain, a study of Dave Brubeck as a transitional figure in the pages of Melody Maker and BBC2's Jazz 625, the issue of 'liveness' in Columbia's Ellington at Newport album, a musician and promoter's views of the relationship with audiences, a reflection on Philip Larkin, Kingsley Amis and Eric Hobsbawm as jazz critics, a musician's perspective on the oral and generational tradition of jazz in a British context, and a meditation on Alan Lomax's Mr. Jelly Roll, and what it tells us about cultural memory and historical narratives of jazz.


The focus of this research study was to gain needed information on the older adult population in the United States who have diabetes. The research method was quantitative retrospective study of American diabetes obtained from the National Health Interview Survey database from 2001 through 2010. The study results confirmed more than one-third of the U.S. diabetics are aged 65 and older. More than 75% of the older diabetic population report clinical limitations or comorbidities. Based on surrogate markers of education, it appears the older diabetic cohort did receive more preventative care visits than did the older nondiabetic population; however, the difference was not robust. I found a slight negative trend between age and emergency room visits in the older diabetic population; in addition, there was a negative association between age and smoking in this population. There continues to be a need for scientific research in this population. Greater numbers need education and more clinical trials specific to the older diabetic should be encouraged.


This paper develops and operationalizes the Integrated Economic-Environmental Modelling (IEEM) platform which integrates environmental data organized under the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting with a powerful economy-wide modelling approach. IEEM enables the ex-ante economic analysis of public policies and investment on the economy and the environment in a quantitative, comprehensive and consistent framework. IEEM elucidates the two-way interrelationships between the economy and environment, considering how economic activities depend on the environment as a source of inputs and as a sink for its outputs. In addition to standard economic impact indicators such as gross domestic product, income and employment, IEEM generates indicators that describe policy impacts on the use of environmental resources, wealth and environmental quality which together determine prospects for future economic growth and well-being. To illustrate the analytical capacity of IEEM, the model is calibrated with Guatemala's environmental-economic accounts and applied to analysis of its forest and fuelwood sector where negative health and environmental impacts arise from inefficient household fuelwood use.


This book, published in collaboration with ERSAR, presents a unique account of governance and regulatory methods used by different countries, states and municipalities that will help regulators and governments all over the world to improve their regulatory approaches. It is the first book to compile such an amount of data about regulatory processes of a wide number of countries from the five continents. It discusses how the characteristics of water and wastewater services call for regulation and how different countries apply distinct regulatory methods.

By showing 18 country case-studies, the book offers an interesting perspective as the regulatory models adopted vary immensely depending on geographical location, nature and strength of institutions and governments, political ideology, features and level of development of the countries. In addition, it provides examples of best practices that may be important for policy-makers to enhance the regulatory processes adopted in each country. It looks closely at rules imposed by state and local governments concerning regulatory issues and how they are being applied.

Regulation of Water and Wastewater Services covers the fundamental and practical concepts and issues regarding the regulation of water and wastewater services. It describes and compares the regulatory methods adopted in several countries and provides a global overview on regulation.

There is detailed coverage of topics such as quality of service regulation, economic regulation and public service obligations. This book is suitable for regulators, academic researchers and students, consultants, operators and managers, policy-makers and other stakeholders.

ISBN: 9781843393412 (Print)

ISBN: 9781780401492 (eBook)


We found that human malignant melanoma cells had varying thermal sensitivity and that some exhibited natural thermal resistance, a heretofore unrecognized phenomenon. Samples of 73 melanoma cell suspensions were heated at 42 degrees C for 1 hour before plating in the soft agar clonogenic assay or the thymidine assay for proliferating cells. We observed greater than 75% cell kill after hyperthermia in 39 (53%) tumors. Native thermal resistance was apparent in 17 (23%) tumors and growth enhancement in 17 (23%) at this temperature and exposure time. We postulated that prostaglandin, known to protect stomach mucosa against thermal injury, has a role in stabilizing the tumor cell membrane exposed to heat. Three melanoma cell lines known to be thermosensitive were heated to 42 degrees C without and with exogenous prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The survival of colony-forming cells was increased in all three lines in the presence of 30 microM PGE2. A naturally thermoresistant cell line was exposed to 1 microgram/ml indomethacin for 24 hours before hyperthermic treatment. The survival of colony-forming cells was significantly decreased compared to cells not treated with indomethacin. The addition of 30 microM of exogenous PGE2 to indomethacin-treated cells reestablished thermal resistance. These preliminary data suggest that some tumor cells synthesize prostaglandins to render the cell thermoresistant. Treatment with indomethacin blocks prostaglandin synthesis and induces thermosensitivity. These discoveries may have important clinical applications for hyperthermia treatment of human cancers.


There were realized numerous geographical, sociological and economic studies with special regard to land use change on the territories around Bucharest Municipality. Our paper is focused on the dynamics of the spatial patterns of land use types in the postsocialist period at the level of first tier of administrative-territorial units (towns and rural communes). The boundaries of the study area were defined from the viewpoint of the rural-urban fringe approach. We applied methods of multivariate statistics and hierarchical agglomerative clustering in order to identify changes in the distribution and use of land resources. Our findings confirm previous achievements about uneven development of the Bucharest's outskirts and provide more details with regard to changing land use patterns. Thus, we identified and confirmed the opposition between north and south, different spatial patterns of land use distribution between internal and external periphery of the study area. We believe that reducing these differences through a balanced economic development policy would generate development opportunities for both the capital city and settlements in its suburban area. In order to obtain better results, each of the resulted land use cluster requires tailoring of the general economic development policy to its specific needs.


OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence of antenatal stroke in the United Kingdom and to describe risk factors associated with stroke during pregnancy, management, and outcomes. METHODS: A population-based (nationwide) cohort and nested case–control study was conducted using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System between October 2007 and March 2010. We investigated the potential factors associated with antenatal stroke using a logistic regression analysis to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Thirty cases of antenatal stroke were reported giving an estimated incidence of 1.5 cases per 100,000 women delivering (95% CI 1.0–2.1). The incidences of nonhemorrhagic and hemorrhagic stroke were 0.9 (95% CI 0.5–1.3) and 0.6 (95% CI 0.3–1.0) per 100,000 women delivering. Factors associated with increased risk of antenatal stroke were history of migraine (adjusted OR 8.5, 95% CI 1.5–62.1), gestational diabetes (adjusted OR 26.8, 95% CI 3.2–∞), and preeclampsia or eclampsia (adjusted OR 7.7, 95% CI 1.3–55.7). There was wide variation in the use of pharmacologic, surgical, and organized stroke unit care. There were six stroke-related maternal deaths giving a case-fatality rate of 20% of all strokes, 50% of hemorrhagic strokes, and a mortality rate of 0.3 (95% CI 0.1–0.6) per 100,000 women delivering. CONCLUSION: The risk of a stroke during pregnancy is low; however, the poor outcomes in terms of morbidity and mortality and variations in care highlight the importance of such women receiving specialist stroke care. Clinicians should be aware of an association with a history of migraine, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia or eclampsia. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II


Abstract Rectorite (REC) was modified with dodecyl benzyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (1227) to form an organic-modified rectorite, termed OREC. The OREC was used as a filler additive to modify gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) which consisted of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), propylene carbonate (PC) and LiClO4. Studies of ionic conductivity and viscosity of liquid electrolytes and pure PC, respectively, clearly showed that these properties are greatly influenced by temperature and the amount of OREC added; a consequence of the interactions between the components of CPEs. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results indicated that there were two kinds of interaction: namely (1) a strong hydrogen bond between Si-OH and C=O of PC and (2) a weak interaction between Li+ and C=O. Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) research supported the FTIR interpretation, indicating that the two interactions exist and that the H bond is the stronger of the two. In CPEs, the polymer matrix of PMMA merely supports the active components and does not influence the interactions between them. The OREC greatly increased the crucial plasticizer maintenance property when the amount of clay added was optimum.


Background & Aim: Peripheral cannabinoid and glycine receptors are involved in food intake regulation. This study was conducted to investigate the possible interaction between these two receptors in regulating food intake. Methods: This is an experimental study which was conducted on forty male Wistar rats. In the first phase of the experiment, the rats simultaneously received intraperitoneal injections of arachidonyl-2'-chloroethylamid (ACEA), CB1 cannabinoid receptor agonist (1 mg/kg) and glycine (100 mg/kg). In the second phase, the effect of intraperitoneal pretreatment with strychnine hydrochloride (post synaptic glycine receptor antagonist) with a dose of 0.01 mg/kg on ACEA, induced feeding was investigated. In the third phase, the impact of intraperitoneal pretreatment with AM281 with a dose of 0.5 mg/kg (CB1 receptor antagonist), glycine induced feeding behaviors was surveyed. Finally, in the fourth phase, the interaction effect of AM281 and strychnine hydrochloride was evaluated.  Results: In the first step, intraperitoneal injection of glycine significantly increased food intake. Also, following the administration, food intake significantly increased (p˂0.05). Co-injection of glycine and ACEA had no significant effect on food intake compared to the sole injection of each agent (p˃0.05). In the second step, intraperitoneal pretreatment with strychnine hydrochloride had no significant effect on ACEA-induced hyperphagia. Furthermore, intraperitoneal pretreatment with AM281 did not affect glycine induced feeding. In the fourth phase, co-administration of AM281 and strychnine hydrochloride significantly decreased cumulative food intake compared to the sole administration of each agent (p˂0.05).  Conclusion: The interaction between peripheral CB1 cannabinoid receptors and glycine receptors has not been investigated so far. In the present study, despite some synergistic effects, it seems that glycine and cannabinoid receptors can cause hyperphagia through independent neuronal pathways.


The oxidation of some α-hydroxy acids like glycolic, lactic and mandelic acids by tripropylammonium fluorochromate (TriPAFC) have been studied in aqueous acetic acid medium. The oxidation leads to the formation of the corresponding oxo acids. The reaction is first order with respect to TriPAFC, hydroxy acids and (H + ) and the reaction is catalyzed by hydrogen ions. The reaction has been studied in different percentage of acetic acid-water mixture. A suitable mechanism has been proposed.


Isolated vessel rings from the proximal and distal ends of the bovine anterior descending coronary artery were mounted in tissue baths for the measurement of isometric contraction. These rings were pre-exposed to phenoxybenzamine to block tissue catecholamine uptake and alpha adrenoceptors. They were then contracted with high potassium, and beta adrenergic agonist dose-relaxation response curves were obtained in the presence and absence of beta antagonists. The orders of agonist potency in the arterial rings were the same as that in spontaneously beating guinea pig atria: isoproterenol (ISO) greater than norepinephrine (NE) greater than fenoterol (FE) greater than salbutamol (SA) and differed from that in the guinea pig trachea: ISO greater than FE greater than SA greater than NE. Schild analysis yielded propranolol pA2 values in the coronary artery rings which did not differ between the four agonists studied or between the proximal and distal ends of the coronary artery. Similar results were obtained with practolol and butoxamine with the exception that in the case of butoxamine, a higher pA2 value was obtained against ISO in the distal ring preparations. The practolol and butoxamine pA2 values in the artery rings matched the respective--log KB values obtained in the guinea pig atria using NE as the agonist but were the reverse of those obtained in the guinea pig trachea using either FE or SA as the agonist. It is concluded that the proximal and distal ends of the bovine anterior descending coronary artery possess a homogeneous population of beta-1 adrenergic receptors.


We develop a model that links tax evasion, corruption, and public good provision. In our model, citizens pay or evade taxes into the public fund, which a corrupt governor redistributes. Each citizen forms expectations about the amount of public goods the governor should provide. After observing the actual level of public goods, a citizen punishes the governor if this level is below his expectations. We describe three types of equilibria: tax evasion, efficient public good provision, and symmetric mixed-strategy. We show that the highest expectations can lead to no free riding (tax evasion) and the efficient level of public good provision even with the corrupt governor and without punishment for tax evasion.


The feasibility of processing composite prepared from oil palm empty fruit
bunch (EFB) /polypropylene (PP) using injection moulding was investigated.
The physical! chemical, and thermal characteristics of EFB fibre were
studied.
The effects of fibre size, fibre content, levels of melt flow rate and various
concentration of maleated polypropylene (MAPP) on the mechanical,
physical, rheological and thermal properties of EFBIPP composites were
studied. The effects of types and concentrations of reactive additives (RA)
on the irradiated EFBlPP composites were also investigated especially to the
rheological behaviour and dynamic mechanical thermal characteristics.
The EFBlPP composites were prepared from thermomechanically pulped
EFB fibre and PP resin. The internal mixer was used to mix and the injection
moulding machine was employed to form the specimen accordance to the ASTM standards. Electron beam was used to irradiate the EFBIPP
composite in order to investigate the effect on dynamic mechanical thermal
properties and rheological behaviour. The rheological behaviour was studied
using the rheostress viscometer and the results were compared to the melt
flow index. Dynamic mechanical thermal properties were measured using a
Triton model dynamic mechanical analyser.
The EFB fibre size and fibre content significantly affected the mechanical
and physical properties of EFBIPP composites. However the effect of type
and concentration of MAPP only affected the tensile and shrinkage
properties of the moulded composites.
The rheology of PP showed pseudoplastic behaviour and the viscosity was
constant at low shear rate. The changes in fibre size marked different
viscosity condition with fine fibre showed viscosity curve away from the
matrix curve particularly at very low shear rate. However the 0.1-0.2 mm
fibre size revealed the viscosity trend close to the matrix. When MAPP
additives were added in the EFBIPP composites the viscosity curve was
changed depending on type and concentration level. 2 % of both types of
MAPP produced slightly increase in viscosity but 6% of MAPP dropped down
the viscosity. The irradiated EFBIPP significantly decrease the viscosity
however the composites treated by trimethylol propane triacrylate (TMPTA)
showed increase in viscosity but decrease when hexanediol diacrylate or
1,6-hexadiol diacrylate (HDDA) was used.The dynamic mechanical thermal properties of EFBIPP composites showed
that the storage modulus (E') decreases with increase in temperature. The E'
also increases with increase in the fibre loading in the composite. However
the E' was not affected by the fibre size. The EFBIPP composite showed the
glass transition temperature (T,) of the composite was shifted to lower
temperatures than the T, of the pure PP.
The MAPP treatment resulted in a remarkable increase in E' and loss
modulus (E"). However the damping property (tan 6) is less affected. Type of
MAPP showed significant different with MAPP 'A' gives a better performance
of E' compare than MAPP 'B'.
The E' and E" increased with the addition of reactive additives compared to
those without RA and the T, reduces to low temperature as compared to the
irradiated EFBIPP without RA. The tan 6 for the irradiated EFBIPP with RAs
also changed with the percentage of RA concentrations


Cancer is often referred to as being "immortal" because of high telomerase activity in these cells, which allows
them to divide an infinite amount of times. BIBR-1532, (2-{[(2E)-3-(2Naphthyl)-2-butenoyl]amino}benzoic acid) is a
known telomerase inhibitor that has undergone preclinical trials for the treatment of cancer. Based on the structure
of BIBR-1532, three novel N- cinnamoyl substituted anthranilic acid derivatives (2-{[(2E)-3-(4 " X " phenyl)-2-
propenoyl]amino}benzoic acids), similar to BIBR-1532 were synthesized. Their efficacies were tested against
proliferative activity in metastatic prostate cancer cells, along with the known telomerase inhibitor BIBR-1532.
Telomerase Repeat Amplification Protocol (TRAP) assays were performed on the compounds to confirm their antitelomerase
activity. The results showed all three newly synthesized cinnamic derivatives have antiproliferative
qualities equivalent to or better than BIBR-1532 (p=0.027) and overall all compounds were significantly lower than
the control (p<0.0001). TRAP assays further confirmed that the compounds also exhibited anti-telomerase activity
like BIBR-1532. The newly synthesized cinnamic acid derivatives of BIBR- 1532 all showed antiproliferative and antitelomerase
activity. While these compounds were all tested against metastatic prostate cancer cells, these potential
treatments have application in all types of cancers demonstrating high telomerase activity.


In this thesis we investigate current sheets in the solar corona. The well known 1D model for the tearing mode instability is presented, before progressing to 2D where we introduce a non-uniform resistivity. The effect this has on growth rates is investigated and we find that the inclusion of the non-uniform term in η cause a decrease in the growth rate of the dominant mode. Analytical approximations and numerical simulations are then used to model current sheet formation by considering two distinct experiments. First, a magnetic field is sheared in two directions, perpendicular to each other. A twisted current layer is formed and we find that as we increase grid resolution, the maximum current increases, the width of the current layer decreases and the total current in the layer is approximately constant. This, together with the residual Lorentz force calculated, suggests that a current sheet is trying to form. The current layer then starts to fragment. By considering the parallel electric field and calculating the perpendicular vorticity, we find evidence of reconnection. The resulting temperatures easily reach the required coronal values. The second set of simulations carried out model an initially straight magnetic field which is stressed by elliptical boundary motions. A highly twisted current layer is formed and analysis of the energetics, current structures, magnetic field and the resulting temperatures is carried out. Results are similar in nature to that of the shearing experiment.


Extracting a motion signal for a two-dimensional contour requires the human visual system to derive a velocity vector from the spatially limited receptive fields of motion sensitive cortical cells. An individual cell's response may not specify the contour's true velocity. Models of motion often combine the outputs of different classes of receptive fields to generate a reliable motion signal. Their efficacy was tested by comparing their predictions with human psychophysical performance. The perceived speed of co-linear inclined line segments in horizontal translation was subject to a bias in favour of the local components of the contour. Single tilted lines were also subject to a bias in perceived speed. Experiments investigated the effects of grouping, co-linearity, eccentricity, terminator proximity and stimulus uncertainty on perceived speed and clearly showed that the perceived velocity of line segments is not obtained by a simple averaging process of local velocity signals and veridical velocity signals of line terminators. Variation of the spatial position of terminators was sufficient to abolish the bias in perceived speed of horizontally drifting inclined lines. Neither "vector-average" nor "winner-take-all" rules are sufficient to account for this. The method of integration of one-dimensional components into two-dimensional plaid patterns was explored in two experiments recording thresholds for perceived rotation of drifting plaids. Type II plaids are not subject to the oblique effect found for rotation discrimination thresholds for type IS plaids. Plaid rotation induced by a speed change in one of the components showed that direction perception does not follow a strict interpretation of the "intersection of constraints rule". As current models of motion integration fail to provide a full account of the perceived speed and direction of two-dimensional patterns; higher-order attentional processes should be incorporated into models of motion perception.


I. INTRODUCTION The unprecedented explosion of the Internet has singularly induced "the most profound transformation a technology has brought since the capture of fire."' A review of the exponential growth surrounding the Internet reveals some dizzying figures. In 1981 less than 300 computers were connected to the Internet.2 Eight years later the number had only grown to about 90,000.3 But by 1996 an estimated 9,000,000 computers worldwide were linked to the Internet.4 The most staggering figure of all, however, is the estimated 200,000,000 computers which will be tapped into this remarkable global mine of information by the year 1999.5 Recently, traffic on the Internet has been doubling every 100 days.' Such expansive growth has created significant ramifications in the legal field. Among the hottest legal issues to roll off the information superhighway is the question of personal, or territorial, jurisdiction over Internet users. District courts across the country are being inundated with cases in which plaintiffs seek to use Internet-related activity as a basis for personal jurisdiction. Naturally, Internet users are "entitled to the [full] protection of the Due Process Clause, which mandates that potential defendants be able to `structure their primary conduct with some minimum assurance as to where the conduct will and will not render them liable to suit."'7 As recently observed in a Wall Street Journal article, however, Internet users are finding that this right is being trampled on. The article notes that several years ago "the Net's freewheeling, new-frontier style" made it "the kind of place where entrepreneurs could make deals, launch products and grow with a minimum of headaches."' But with the rise in litigation over cyberspace, "[t]he fear of lawsuits is turning the World Wide Web into a world of warnings."9 This problem highlights the vital need of Internet users to know when and where their Internet activities will render them liable to suit. Is merely placing an informational web page on the Internet sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction? What about creating a web site which solicits business and allows users interactively to exchange information? And how should the jurisdictional issue be resolved in the case of a person actively conducting business over the Internet? Further complicating the answers to these questions is the fact that cyber-jurisdiction cases rarely involve Internet contacts alone. Typically in these cases the defendant commits acts and makes contacts in addition to those made via the Internet. How should these additional contacts be factored into the jurisdictional equation? Thus far, the "development of the law concerning the permissible scope of personal jurisdiction based on Internet use is in its infant stages."lo The decisions reached by the courts in response to such questions will thus have a profound impact on the continued development of the Internet-particularly the burgeoning financial activity being transacted there"1-either by impeding or by fostering it. A September 1997 decision of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Weber v. Jolly Hotels, developed an analytical model for addressing cases involving cyber-jurisdiction.l2 It proposed a three-tiered classification based upon a qualitative analysis of a defendant's contacts made over the Internet. This Note examines Weber and concludes that for the most part the court correctly interpreted and applied International Shoe and its progeny in adopting the three-tiered model. However, the Weber scheme is an inadequate yardstick for determining personal jurisdiction in cyberspace. Although the Weber model provides some help in analyzing the jurisdictional question, by itself it is incomplete and fails to provide sufficiently detailed criteria to enable a court applying it to distinguish between the differing types and the varying degrees of cyber-contacts. Part II of this Note discusses the backdrop of the personal jurisdiction framework against which the issues of cyberspace jurisdiction must be resolved. …


Mandatory shareholder approval of equity issuances varies considerably across and within countries. In the United States and a few other countries, management typically needs the approval of only its board of directors to issue common stock. In most countries, however, by law or stock exchange rule, shareholders must vote to approve equity issuances when using certain methods or contemplating offers that exceed a specified fraction of outstanding shares. In some countries, shareholders must approve all equity issuances. Even in the United States, shareholder approval is mandatory under certain circumstances. The differences in the stock market reaction to shareholder‐approved equity issuances and to issues undertaken unilaterally by management are strikingly and consistently large. When shareholders approve stock issuances, whether public or rights offerings, or private placements, the average announcement returns are significantly positive, on the order of 2%. But when managers issue stock without shareholder approval, as in the case of U.S. public offerings, returns are significantly negative and 4% lower, on average, than for shareholder‐approved issues. What's more, the closer in time the shareholder vote is to the issue date, and the greater the required plurality (say, two‐thirds instead of half the vote required for approval), the more positive is the market reaction to the issue—and these findings hold for each of the three main kinds of offerings that take place in all 23 countries in the author's sample. Also telling, in countries where shareholder approval is required, such as Sweden and Malaysia, rights offers predominate over public issues. But in countries like the U.S. and Japan, where managers may generally issue stock without shareholder approval, public offers predominate over rights issues. These findings suggest that agency problems—the tendency of corporate managements to put their own interests before their shareholders'—play a major role in equity issuances. Such findings are also largely inconsistent with the adverse selection, market timing, and signaling explanations that currently dominate academic thinking about equity issuances by public corporations.


OBJECTIVE To investigate why, in spite of a vast variety of treatment agents, the alleviation of pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy is difficult. Previous studies have not used a treatment algorithm based on anatomic site and neuropathophysiological source of the neuropathic pain. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A model that categorizes the types of pain into three groups (superficial, deep, and muscular) was applied in 75 diabetic patients with chronic (> 12 mo) painful distal symmetrical polyneuropathy in a controlled case series. Twenty-two patients were untreated and 53 patients were treated with imipramine ± mexiletine for deep pain, capsaicin for superficial pain, and stretching exercises and metaxalone ± piroxican for muscular pain. Each type of pain was scored separately on a scale of 0 (none) to 19 (worst), and the total of all three types was used as an index of overall pain. Ability to sleep through the night was scored by a scale of 1 (never) to 5 (always). RESULTS No significant differences were observed in initial pain scores, sleep scores, demographics, biochemistries, or physical findings between the two groups. After 3 mo a significant improvement in scores was noted in the treated but not the untreated patients. In addition, a significant difference was found in the change of scores between the treated and untreated patients: total pain (−18 ± 2 vs. 0 ± 2), deep pain (−7 ± 1 vs. 0 ± 1), superficial pain (−5 ± 1 vs. 0 ± 1), muscular pain (−6 ± 1 vs. 0 ± 1), and sleep (1.2 ± 0.2 vs. 0.2 ± 0.2), all P < 0.0001. In treated patients 21% became pain-free (total pain < 2), 66% had improvement (decrease in total pain > 5, but not total elimination of painful symptoms), and 13% were considered treatment failures (a decrease in total pain of < or = 5). This compares with 0 (P < 0.02), 10 (P < 0.0001), and 90% (P < 0.0001), respectively, in the untreated patients. CONCLUSIONS This study presents a new rationale and hypothesis for the successful treatment of chronic painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy. It uniquely bases the treatment algorithm on the types and sources of the pain.


We consider the problem of regular refraction (where regular implies all waves meet at a single point) of a shock at an oblique planar contact discontinuity separating conducting fluids of different densities in the presence of a magnetic field aligned with the incident shock velocity. Planar ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations indicate that the presence of a magnetic field inhibits the deposition of vorticity on the shocked contact. We show that the shock refraction process produces a system of five to seven plane waves that may include fast, intermediate, and slow MHD shocks, slow compound waves, 180 ◦ rotational discontinuities, and slow-mode expansion fans that intersect at a point. In all solutions, the shocked contact is vorticity free and hence stable. These solutions are not unique, but differ in the types of waves that participate. The set of equations governing the structure of these multiple-wave solutions is obtained in which fluid property variation is allowed only in the azimuthal direction about the wave-intersection point. Corresponding solutions are referred to as either quintuple-points, sextuple-points, or septuple-points, depending on the number of participating waves. A numerical method of solution is described and examples are compared to the results of numerical simulations for moderate magnetic field strengths. The limit of vanishing magnetic field at fixed permeability and pressure is studied for two solution types. The relevant solutions correspond to the hydrodynamic triple-point with the shocked contact replaced by a singular structure consisting of a wedge, whose angle scales with the applied field magnitude, bounded by either two slow compound waves or two 180 ◦ rotational discontinuities, each followed by a slowmode expansion fan. These bracket the MHD contact which itself cannot support a tangential velocity jump in the presence of a non-parallel magnetic field. The magnetic field within the singular wedge is finite and the shock-induced change in tangential velocity across the wedge is supported by the expansion fans that form part of the compound waves or follow the rotational discontinuities. To verify these findings, an approximate leading-order asymptotic solution appropriate for both flow structures was computed. The full and asymptotic solutions are compared quantitatively.