Iron–sulfur clusters rank among the most versatile protein cofactors. Proteins using Fe–S clusters intervene in many cellular processes in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Fe–S cluster biogenesis has been a research area of intensive investigations in the past decade. The success of Fe–S cluster-based biology during evolution is indicated by the myriad of processes that depend on Fe–S cluster-containing proteins. These include basic metabolic, bioenergetics and genetic information-related processes. Conserved multiprotein systems, called ISC and SUF, have been identified in most living organisms, from bacteria to plant and mammals. They catalyse assembly of clusters and their delivery to the many apoproteins, the activity of which depends on the acquisition of clusters. Recently, their role in bacterial pathogenicity and bacterial resistance to antibiotics was brought to light.

Key Concepts

Fe–S clusters are versatile and ubiquitous cofactors.
Fe–S cluster biogenesis is catalysed by multiprotein systems.
ISC and SUF Fe–S biogenesis systems are conserved in bacterias and eukaryotes.
The IscR regulator controls Fe–S cluster homeostasis.
The IscR regulator allows bacteria to adapt to various environmental conditions and hosts.
Iron external levels modify aminoglycoside resistance of E. coli via its influence on Fe–S biogenesis.

Keywords:

iron–sulfur;
oxidative stress;
iron metabolism;
protein homeostasis;
bacteria;
antibiotic;
pathogenicity


The WAM traditionally optimizes for lists in two ways: by a list-specialized instruction set (LSIS) and by a list-specialized data representation (LSDR). These are partly orthogonal and their relative merit is unknown. In this paper, we perform an experiment within hProlog, which compares the schemas (LSIS+LSDR), (LSIS) and (). If no LSDR is used, it means that lists are treated as the syntactic sugar they stand for: terms with principal functor ./2. By not using LSDR, the implementation becomes more uniform and thereby invites more generally applicable optimizations. This leads to almost no performance loss, except in a couple of artificial benchmarks. Anyone attempting to just implement Prolog form scratch, should seriously consider not using LSDR. LSIS was found to be less effective than anticipated. What if [a] really equals .(a,[]) ? Bart Demoen ∗ Phuong-Lan Nguyen †


During the micro electrical discharge machining (micro EDM) process, the dielectric property of narrow interelectrode gap is transiently changing. With the hysteretic servo motion of spindle, the effective discharge ratio (EDR) between electrodes is low. In this research, a pulsed power supply superposed with the radio-frequency (RF) oscillating wave of controllable frequency and amplitude is proposed in order to induce interelectrode continuous discharge, so that the machining efficiency and accuracy are improved simultaneously. The experimental results of micro-hole machining shows that under the oscillating frequency of 160 MHz and amplitude of ±10 V, the machining efficiency is increased by 35%, the tool electrode wear rate (TWR) remains almost unchanged, and the taper error of micro-hole is reduced by 43%. Furthermore, the process of relatively enlarging discharge gap range and increasing number of discharges after superposition is discussed, and the proper superposed oscillating amplitude is identified.


The study investigates peer acceptance and victimization of immigrant and Swiss children in kindergarten classes. Our first aim is to compare peer acceptance and victimization of Swiss and immigrant children. Secondly, we explore the role of their local language competences (LLCs). The sample was drawn from kindergartens in communities in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. A representative sample of 568 boys and 522 girls (mean age 5.8 years) took part in the research. Teachers completed questionnaires on children's victimization, bullying, and LLC. The nationality background of parents was indicated by teachers and parents. To assess peer acceptance, a peer nomination method was used. Immigrant children showed less acceptance by peers and were more often victimized than their Swiss peers. There was a significant interaction effect for LLC and national background of mothers, showing that LLC was positively associated with peer acceptance for children of an immigrant background but not for Swiss children. Furthermore, peer acceptance mediated the effect of national background of mothers on victimization. Results are discussed in terms of the need to improve immigrant children's LLC.


This study was conducted to examine morphometric and meristic characteristics alongside pigmentation patterns of bream larvae, Abramis brama orientalis, in four stages of larval development. Morphological characters including total length (TL), standard length (SL), notochord length (NL), head length (HL), head depth (HD), eye diameter (ED) and mouth width (MW) were examined from hatching time through 30 days after hatching (DAH). The results showed morphometric variations in the different larval stages. Growth and development of fins occurred mainly at the Post Flexion stage with the completion of caudal fin at 9 mm TL and pelvic fin at 13.33 mm TL. At all larval stages, the highest concentration of pigments was seen on dorsal, ventral and somewhat on the lateral sides of body in descending order. The highest density of melanophores at larvae yolk sac stage was observed on the yolk sac and the back of head zone, while at preflexion and flexion stages melanophores were dominant on the back of head and on the skin folds which resulted from yolk absorption. At post flexion stage, high density of melanophores was found on the back of the head, bases of fins and caudal fin, while less concentrations of these cells were evident on the lateral sides of fish' body. In conclusion, a clear change in the growth and main morphological characters were observed in postflexion stage. This may be due to the main development of fins, which would suggest enhanced swimming capabilities and also prey capture efficiencies.


We propose a new method of testing stochastic dominance which improves on existing tests based on bootstrap or subsampling. Our test requires estimation of the contact sets between the marginal distributions. Our tests have asymptotic sizes that are exactly equal to the nominal level uniformly over the boundary points of the null hypothesis and are therefore valid over the whole null hypothesis. We also allow the prospects to be indexed by infinite as well as finite dimensional unknown parameters, so that the variables may be residuals from nonparametric and semiparametric models. Our simulation results show that our tests are indeed more powerful than the existing subsampling and recentered bootstrap.


The purpose of this study is to investigate how Irish SMEs socialise non-Irish-nationals into their workforces. Levels of immigration into Ireland have increased significantly in recent years, caused by improved economic conditions in Ireland and the expansion of the European Union in 2004 and 2007. Due to this increase in immigration levels, Irish Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have to adapt to operating with a heterogeneous workforce as opposed to a homogenous one.

Previous research has suggested that the early stages of the employment of culturally diverse workers with an organisation are particularly crucial. According to McMilan- Capehart (2005) the methods which an organisation uses to assist the socialisation of culturally diverse employees will play a significant role in determining whether those employees will be able to adapt to that organisation or not. For this reason, this research focuses on the organisational socialisation of non-Irish-nationals into Irish SMEs. As far as this researcher is aware, the organisational socialisation of culturally diverse organisational entrants into small businesses has not been previously investigated in an Irish context.

The current study's primary research methodology was qualitative. The primary data used in the study was gathered through a series of semi-structured interviews of owner/managers or operations managers of SMEs in the South East of Ireland. This research method allowed the researcher to engage with the respondents and gain an indepth understanding of how these SMEs are approaching the task of socialising non- Irish-national entrants.

A number of noteworthy findings emerged from this research. Firstly, it was found that the SMEs surveyed have altered their induction methods to meet the requirements of non-Irish-nationals entering their organisations, albeit in sometimes quite small ways. Secondly, the owner/manager or operations managers of the organisations surveyed played an important role in the socialisation process particularly in the early stages when the influence of the organisation over the entrants was at its strongest. Thirdly, the roles played by established employees were found to be extremely important.

Unexpectedly, it was discovered that the role played by non-Irish-national employees was of greater significance than that played by Irish employees. In all organisations surveyed, non-Irish-national employees were relied upon to assist in the recruitment process by recommending further potential employees. They also provided considerable levels of support to the entering non-Irish- nationals thereby playing a significant role in their socialisation.

Finally, the outcomes of the socialisation processes seemed to be somewhat mixed in terms of the integration of the non-Irish-national entrants on a social levels. While the non-Irish-national employees displayed exemplary adaptability and role proficiency in all cases, there were signs that non-Irish-nationals had not integrated completely with the established workforce. The workforces in some of the organisations surveyed had instead separated into two groups; Irish and non-Irish-national. This separation had been caused largely by cultural and language barriers.

The outcomes of this research may have implications for HRM practitioners, entrepreneurs, owner/managers and operations managers of SMEs, academics and policy makers.


Once again, the United States and other members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been asked to address the adequacy of IMF financial resources and the distribution of voting power in the Fund. Observers are justified in thinking that they just witnessed this drama. IMF members completed an agreement on the size of IMF quota resources and governance—or voting power—reform in November 2010. As part of that agreement on the 14th general review of IMF quotas, members committed to bring forward the completion of the 15th general review of quotas to January 2014. The target was not met because the United States delayed approving the 2010 agreement until December 2015, which was necessary for the implementation of the 14th review. As a result, in December 2016, the governors of the IMF freshly resolved to complete the 15th review by the spring of 2019 or the fall of 2019 at the latest. Consequently, the US administration must develop a position on the 15th general review in the next several months. This Policy Brief argues that the United States should support a significant increase in IMF quotas and further reform of IMF governance through the redistribution of IMF quota shares and, therefore, voting shares. At a minimum, total IMF quotas and the standing New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) should be increased by enough to replace the roughly $450 billion in ad hoc bilateral borrowing arrangements that expire in 2020. This would leave the Fund's current lending capacity essentially unchanged for the next decade.


AIM
The aim of this study is to review the methodology that has been adopted in previous economic evaluations of alcohol treatment and offer research recommendations with a view to enhancing the consistency and harmonization of economic evaluations in the alcohol field.

METHODS
Published full economic evaluations of alcohol treatment were retrieved using a systematic search. The studies were analysed in terms of the identification, measurement and valuation methods used to assess the society-level consequences and the methods used to carry out the analysis of individual-level consequences and costs of the intervention. A taxonomy of alcohol-related consequences was developed and used as a framework for the methodology extraction.

RESULTS
Twenty- seven studies were selected. Almost half of the studies did not include society-level consequences in their analysis. Some consequences of alcohol treatment at a societal level, such as the impact of treatment on health-related quality of life of family and friends of the drinker, have never been considered in the economic analysis. There was no agreement regarding the individual health consequences used in the evaluations. Measures capturing life years and morbidity have not been extensively used in the alcohol field. The level of reporting treatment costs on the reviewed studies is generally well detailed.

CONCLUSION
The literature is still rather sparse in this area and further research is required to fulfil the gaps. If a common methodology is adopted in future economic evaluations of alcohol treatment, more stable cost-effectiveness estimates will be produced and informed decisions for resources allocation to alcohol treatments will be possible.


Objectives: Rehabilitation strategies play a pivotal role in reliving the inappropriate behaviors and improving children's performance during school. Concentration and visual and auditory comprehension in children are crucial to effective learning and have drawn interest from researchers and clinicians. Vestibular function deficits usually cause high level of alertness and vigilance, and problems in maintaining focus, paying selective attention, and altering in precision and attention to the stimulus. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between vestibular stimulation and auditory perception in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Methods: Totally 30 children aged from 7 to 12 years with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder participated in this study. They were assessed based on the criteria of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. After obtaining guardian and parental consent, they were enrolled and randomly matched on age to two groups of intervention and control. Integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test was carried out as a pre-test. Those in the intervention group received vestibular stimulation during the therapy sessions, twice a week for 10 weeks. At the end the test was done to both groups as post-test. Results: The pre-and post-test scores were measured and compared the differences between means for two subject groups. Statistical analyses found a significant difference for the mean differences regarding auditory comprehension improvement. Discussion: The findings suggest that vestibular training is a reliable and powerful option treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder especially along with other trainings, meaning that stimulating the sense of balance highlights the importance of interaction between inhabitation and cognition .


We develop a steady-state fluid-mechanical analysis describing the effect of strain partitioning on viscous energy dissipation. As observed in experimental studies of shear deformation of partially molten rocks, strain partitions when melt segregates because viscosity is reduced in regions of elevated melt fraction. The equations derived here are based on parameters measured in experiments, describing the evolution of melt distribution and rheological properties. We find that the dissipation depends strongly on the configuration of the melt-rich network of shear zones, including the average angle, volume fraction of melt and amplification of strain rate in the melt-rich bands. Minima in energy dissipation as a function of band angle develop, corresponding to configurations of melt networks that minimize the difference in mean stress between the band and the non-band regions. We propose that the organization of band networks occurs by the interplay between strain localization and viscosity variations associated with melt segregation. The band networks maintain a steadystate angle during shear by continuously pumping melt through the network. The development of strain partitioning in melt-rich networks will modify the energetics of melting and melt transport by efficiently extracting melt and reducing effective viscosity.


Maternal and child malnutrition in low-income and middle-income countries encompasses both under nutrition and a growing problem with overweight and obesity. Low body-mass index, indicative of maternal undernutrition, has declined somewhat in the past two decades but continues to be prevalent in Asia and Africa. Prevalence of maternal overweight has had a steady increase since 1980 and exceeds that of underweight in all regions. Prevalence of stunting of linear growth of children younger than 5 years has decreased during the past two decades, but is higher in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa than elsewhere and globally affected at least 165 million children in 2011; wasting affected at least 52 million children. Deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc result in deaths; deficiencies of iodine and iron, together with stunting, can contribute to children not reaching their developmental potential. Maternal undernutrition contributes to fetal growth restriction, which increases the risk of neonatal deaths and, for survivors, of stunting by 2 years of age. Suboptimum breastfeeding results in an increased risk for mortality in the first 2 years of life. We estimate that undernutrition in the aggregate—including fetal growth restriction, stunting, wasting, and deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc along with suboptimum breastfeeding—is a cause of 3·1 million child deaths annually or 45% of all child deaths in 2011. Maternal overweight and obesity result in increased maternal morbidity and infant mortality. Childhood overweight is becoming an in creasingly important contributor to adult obesity, diabetes, and non-communicable diseases. The high present and future disease burden caused by mal nutrition in women of reproductive age, pregnancy, and children in the first 2 years of life should lead to interventions focused on these groups.


Purpose: The study aims to shed light on the growth and development of open repositories of the UK based on six parameters i.e. repository type, language, software usage, subject coverage, content type, and operational status. Methodology: Directory of Open Access Repositories (Open DOAR) was consulted to extract the data on the selected parameters. As on 23 January 2019, a total of 278 repositories were indexed by Open DOAR. OpenDOAR is the quality-assured global directory of academic open access repositories which enables the identification, browsing and search for repositories, based on a range of features, such as location, software or type of material held (OpenDOAR, 2019). All identified repositories were thoroughly analyzed to collect data to answer the laid-down objectives and repository websites were personally visited in order to ascertain the operational status. Findings: The results reveal that most of the repositories are institutional with English as the preferred language interface. In terms of software used by the corresponding repositories, Eprints stays a preference. Most repositories are found to be multidisciplinary in nature. Content-wise information shows that the majority of the repositories archive journal articles and the majority of the repositories are operational in nature. Research implications: The study will be of help to the repository administrators across the UK to know the actual position of repositories used for content management. It will reveal the actual position and help in eradicating the lacunae present in the repositories. Future research: The study can be extended to know the use of the content of the repositories dotting the UK.


Valuing the First Voice of Pacific Women is a valuable publication providing the intellectual and political framework for analysing and understanding regional intergovernmental policy development. It has elucidated a strong standpoint that the voices of Pacific Islander women are critical in any governance framework to ensure measurable and sustainable outcomes in all forms of development. This book is about people and how the experience of people can contribute to the making of policy and processes that advances their living standards, creates new opportunities for inclusiveness, and ensures that the rights and wellbeing of people are respected and indeed honoured. It is about women, and in particular, it is about Pacific Islander women's experiences of inclusion or exclusion in regional policy-making processes. The future Sustainable Development Goals and the UN post 2015 Development Agenda must take a more integrated approach to the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States, with the support of the international community and all stakeholders. In doing so, gender equity must be an outcome that is driven by the First Voice of women in the Pacific.


Dido9s Epicureanism is as complex and problematic as Aeneas9 much-discussed Stoicism. This paper argues that Virgil9s allusions to Lucretius form a consistent pattern: Dido embodies the ironies inherent in Epicureanism as practiced by Virgil9s contemporaries, mouthing apparently Lucretian sentiments even as she comes to personify a Lucretian exemplum malum. Yet her fall is largely due to the pervasive supernatural machinery of the Aeneid-divine intervention which Lucretius declares impossible. In Book 1, Virgil employs Lucretian allusions in distinctly un-Lucretian contexts to suggest in Dido a disjunction between words and actions. There is a Lucretian flavor in the description of her initial equanimity, in her injunction to the Trojans to put away fear and cares, and in the scientific rationalism of the song of Iopas. These passages contrast with the sensualism evident in her lavish court and her growing passion for Aeneas-excesses of luxury and love described in words that Lucretius used to condemn them. In Book 4, Virgil more directly refutes Lucretian doctrine about the mortality of the soul and the indifference of the gods. The sarcastic questions of Anna and Iarbas are implicitly answered in such a way as to refute the Epicurean stance. Dido points to the gods9 indifference a few seconds before she invokes their aid, and her final submission to Fate occurs in words that Lucretius used to deny its existence. Finally, the departure of Dido9s soul recalls Lucretius9 atoms of "heat and wind," in ironic contrast to the immortality of her Shade.


Recently, different hybrid GNSS/cellular methods combining GNSS measurements with cellular network measurements have been proposed. These methods are designed to improve the availability (and accuracy) of position determination in situations where few satellite signals can be received, such as in urban canyons or even indoor environments. In order to get some interesting insights into the performance of these hybrid GNSS/cellular methods under various conditions and system geometry configurations, we present in this paper a detailed analytical and numerical performance analysis. Our analysis is based on the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) theory for deterministic and random parameters, as well as an analytical asymptotic expression for the location mean-square error (MSE). Based on this theoretical framework, we investigate analytically and using Monte-Carlo simulations how the positioning accuracy of different hybrid systems is affected by the relative geometry and the type and number of measurements between the mobile station (MS), the cellular base stations (BSs), and the satellites. The effect of important biased cellular network measurement errors (such as due to multipath and non line of sight (NLOS) propagation) are also considered.


The Internet is a semicommons. Private property in servers and network links coexists with a shared communications platform. This distinctive combination both explains the Internet's enormous success and illustrates some of its recurring problems.Building on Henry Smith's theory of the semicommons in the medieval open-field system, this essay explains how the dynamic interplay between private and common uses on the Internet enables it to facilitate worldwide sharing and collaboration without collapsing under the strain of misuse. It shows that key technical features of the Internet, such as its layering of protocols and the Web's division into distinct "sites," respond to the characteristic threats of strategic behavior in a semicommons. An extended case study of the Usenet distributed messaging system shows that not all semicommons on the Internet succeed; the continued success of the Internet depends on our ability to create strong online communities that can manage and defend the infrastructure on which they rely. Private and common both have essential roles to play in that task, a lesson recognized in David Post's and Jonathan Zittrain's recent books on the Internet.


Stereoscopic three-dimensional (3-D) services do not always prevail when compared with their two-dimensional (2-D) counterparts, though the former can provide more immersive experience with the help of binocular depth. Various specific 3-D artefacts might cause discomfort and severely degrade the Quality of Experience (QoE). In this paper, we analyze one of the most annoying artefacts in the visualization stage of stereoscopic imaging, namely, crosstalk, by conducting extensive subjective quality tests. A statistical analysis of the subjective scores reveals that both scene content and camera baseline have significant impacts on crosstalk perception, in addition to the crosstalk level itself. Based on the observed visual variations during changes in significant factors, three perceptual attributes of crosstalk are summarized as the sensorial results of the human visual system (HVS). These are shadow degree, separation distance, and spatial position of crosstalk. They are classified into two categories: 2-D and 3-D perceptual attributes, which can be described by a Structural SIMilarity (SSIM) map and a filtered depth map, respectively. An objective quality metric for predicting crosstalk perception is then proposed by combining the two maps. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed metric has a high correlation (over 88%) when compared with subjective quality scores in a wide variety of situations.


This article explores various ethical issues pertaining to negotiation interactions. Model Rule 4.1 proscribes material misrepresentations, but permits puffing and embellishment during bargaining encounters. This is based upon the fact that statements pertaining to one's settlement intentions and subjective values are considered to involve non-material information. It is thus imperative for negotiators to distinguish carefully between such accepted deceptive practices and clearly improper misrepresentations involving material information. The article also discusses the use of assertive tactics that might offend some persons. It points out how negotiators can be assertive without resorting to truly offensive behavior that would be unlikely to advance their underlying interests.


To increase spectrum efficiency, researchers envision a device-to-device (D2D) communication system in which a closely located mobile device pair may share the same spectrum with a cellular user. By opportunistically choosing the frequency, the D2D pair may increase the spectrum efficiency in terms of data rate per Hertz, at the price of additional interference to that cellular user. In previous models, users either stop cellular transmission and switch to D2D transmission or vice versa. However, if the cell is fully loaded, a D2D pair will not be able to switch back to the conventional mode because no extra resource is available. In this paper, we propose a D2D assisted model, where a D2D link is enabled to assist transmission, while keeping the conventional cellular transmission. In this way, the D2D link can be turned on and off according to the link quality. We also propose a PHY-layer study for the transmission scheme in such a way that the system throughput and the video reception quality is always improved compared to a conventional link.


Bus bunching affects transit operations by increasing passenger waiting time and variability. To tackle this phenomenon, a wide range of control strategies has been proposed. However, none of them have considered station and interstation control together. In this study station and interstation control were tackled to determine the optimal vehicle control strategy for various stops and traffic lights in a single service transit corridor. The strategy minimized the total time that users must devote to making a trip, taking into account delays for transit and general traffic users. Based on a high-frequency, capacity-constrained, and unscheduled service (no timetable) for which real-time information about bus position (GPS) and bus load (automated passenger counter) is available, this study focused on strategies for traffic signal priority in the form of green extension considered together with holding buses at stops and limiting passenger boarding at stops. The decisions on transit signal priority were made according to a rolling horizon scheme in which effects over the whole corridor were considered in every single decision. The proposed strategy was evaluated in a simulated environment under different operational conditions. Results showed that the proposed control strategy achieves reductions in the excess delay for transit users close to 61.4% compared with no control, while general traffic increases only by 1.5%.


In this paper the new Schrodinger equation for brain waves is proposed and solved for quantum well with infinite boundaries. The spectra of the alpha, beta theta delta and gamma photons are calculated and agreement of the calculated spectra and electroencephalography human brain is rather good. The width of the quantum well − source of the brain waves is of the order of 10 −6 nm i.e., is the order of the nucleus radius. The brain photons are emitted as quantum of the quantum string, i.e., with angular frequency ω n where quantum number n =1,2,3,4,5 respectively.

NeuroQuantology | September 2012 | Volume 10 | Issue 3 | Page 453-461


Consistent with recent theoretical models where binding capital constraints lead to sudden liquidity dry-ups, we find that negative market returns decrease stock liquidity, especially during times of tightness in the funding market. The asymmetric effect of changes in aggregate asset values on liquidity and commonality in liquidity cannot be fully explained by changes in demand for liquidity or volatility effects. We document interindustry spillover effects in liquidity, which are likely to arise from capital constraints in the market making sector. We also find economically significant returns to supplying liquidity following periods of large drops in market valuations. Copyright (c) 2009 the American Finance Association.


The Supreme Court's ruling in Stern v. Marshall has signaled a need to alter the bankruptcy courts' jurisdictional structure. In Stern, the Supreme Court ruled that bankruptcy judges, who lack the life tenure and salary protection of Article III, cannot issue final rulings in bankruptcy proceedings previously believed to be within their core jurisdiction. In response to the constitutional challenge raised by Stern, and in recognition that bankruptcy court's jurisdictional limits represent a long-standing problem, many argue for a long-term solution: the restructuring of the system to create specialized Article III bankruptcy courts. This paper evaluates this proposal in light of classic principles of system restructuring, namely, that any proposed restructure should stem from the underlying goals or strategy for that system. The creation of a specialized Article III bankruptcy court is consistent with the view of bankruptcy as a method of distribution, but not with bankruptcy as a procedural mechanism to deal with collective default. In recognition of this tension, the paper promotes an alternative solution to the Stern problem, one that harmonizes other strategic approaches and promotes uniformity in bankruptcy. This solution would replace bankruptcy courts with an administrative agency subject to the review of non-specialized district courts.


Qualitative reasoning formalisms are an active research topic in artificial intelligence. In this survey we present a model-theoretic perspective on qualitative constraint reasoning and explain some of the basic concepts and results in an accessible way. In particular, we discuss the significance of omega-categoricity for qualitative reasoning, of primitive positive interpretations for complexity analysis, and of Datalog as a unifying language for describing local consistency algorithms.


Year after year, consultants, trainers, and human resource professionals have come to rely on the Annuals to provide them with the most current and quality tools on a wide variety of topics. In this book, editor Elaine Biech and contributors to the Annuals have honed in on the important theme of team building to create the first topic-specific book in the Annuals series. The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Team-Building Tools includes an innovative ten-block model for building a high-performance team and draws on the best-on-the-topic articles from thirty-five years of Annuals volumes. Open the pages of The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Team-Building Tools and you will find: A Stellar Panel of Contributors including Julie O'Mara, Patrick Doyle, Laurence C. Porter, Robert C. Preziosi, Anthony J. Reilly, John E. Jones, Leonard D. Goodstein, and Karen Vander Linde A Toolbox Loaded with activities, surveys, and information that you can put in place to build high-performing teams A Complete Team-Building Kit that includes a model for determining a team's strengths and weaknesses "I cut my training teeth on The Pfeiffer Annuals, and I've been a faithful advocate of these peerless guides ever since the first one. I'm just beside myself with glee to have a collection of the 'classic team-building tools' all in one place! Elaine Biech has done a masterful job of bringing together the all-time favorites and organizing them into a practical model. You've just got to have this book on your shelf, within easy reach. Buy it now! I know you're going to use it often." -James M. Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart, chairman emeritus, Tom Peters Company


In previous research, the detection of network problems was performed using an appropriate subset of Management Information Base (MIB) variables. The changes in the behaviour of the MIB variables were detected using different change detection algorithms; this change gives a clear image about any problem that might occur in the network domain. This paper is concerned with the problem of change detection in network traffic using the most popular change detection online methods. A detailed review of the methodology of these techniques and their advantages and disadvantages are given in this research. Examples of interesting applications that use these methods include network fault management, security management and performance management.


For rehabilitation of concrete pavements, resurfacing with a bonded concrete overlay (BCO) may provide significantly longer life and reduced maintenance costs. Two important issues are bonding and rapid reopening of resurfaced sections. The project objective was to determine a method or methods for constructing a bonded concrete overlay under extreme weather conditions in El Paso, Texas, that would ensure early opening to traffic and achieve design requirements for long-term performance, and to investigate methods of detecting and mapping delaminations nondestructively. A BCO test slab was designed and constructed for a full-scale test of feasible design and construction alternatives. The month of June was selected for the test because severe environmental conditions were expected. The experimental variables encompassed in eight test sections were reinforcement of concrete (plain, polypropylene fiber reinforced, and steel fiber reinforced), use of shear connectors (nails and anchors), reinforcement, surface preparation, and day or night construction. A weather station was used to record air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. By combining these data with concrete temperatures, evaporation rates could be calculated. Several nondestructive testing methods were used to detect and map delaminations. The results developed from the test are presented in terms of observations during construction, weather and slab temperatures, coring and pull-off testing, delamination detection, cracking, and slab loading. The early-age behavior and long-term performance of BCOs is reviewed, along with materials selection and mix design criteria. Recommendations are made for construction and quality control ofBCOs for early opening to traffic.


This paper demonstrates that financial transmission rights allow their owners to capture at least a portion, and sometimes all, of the congestion rents. This extends work in this area by Shmuel Oren which was limited to the case in which generators could not purchase financial transmission rights. One form of financial rights, Transmission Congestion Contracts (TCCs), is shown to be so effective in reducing market power that as few as two generators facing a demand curve with zero elasticity may be forced to sell at marginal cost. The extent to which market power is limited depends on the extent to which total generation capacity exceeds export capacity and on the size of individual generators. A relationship is derived that determines when TCCs will eliminate market power. In the case of a three line network, it is shown that the reduction in market power that can be accomplished with {open_quotes}active transmission rights{close_quotes} can also be accomplished with simple contracts for differences.


On 6 April 2010 the long-awaited nuclear posture review report was released, "fulfilling a promise from Prague," as the White House blog proclaimed.1 A year earlier, in Prague, President Barack Obama had pledged that the United States would take concrete steps towards a world without nuclear weapons. On the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty in March 2010, Obama pledged that the forthcoming review would "move beyond outdated Cold War thinking" and reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons in US strategy.2 The administration clearly saw the review as a key element of the positive narrative regarding US nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament policy that it wanted to convey prior to the Washington nuclear security summit in April and the nonproliferation treaty review conference in New York in May. Now that these major multilateral events have successfully been held and the anniversary of the review's release has passed, it is worth considering its real impact on the international strategic environment. Did the review represent a genuine reform of US nuclear policy or was it more of a public relations exercise designed to position the US favourably in the context of a major meeting of the nonproliferation treaty parties? This article will consider the review from an international perspective, and in particular how its content responds to the obligations of states party to the treaty and the decisions of its quinquennial review conferences. The review, as an authoritative policy statement of the world's leading nuclear power, was addressed to a foreign as much as a domestic audience. The nature and timing of the review was intended to influence states active in international nuclear affairs in a manner coincident with US policy objectives. Issued a month before the opening of the May 2010 review conference of the nonproliferation treaty, and after a decade of difficulties for this core international security treaty, the nuclear posture review was undoubtedly going to have an impact on the perceptions of participating states as well as on the atmosphere of the conference itself.Despite the timing of its release and its deployment as a public diplomacy vehicle in the lead-up to the US -hosted nuclear security summit and treaty review conference, the nuclear review was nevertheless very much a home-grown product. It had domestic roots as a congressionally mandated review of all aspects of US nuclear weapons policy and posture, as well as the related infrastructure of the nuclear weapons complex. An early decision was taken to issue the review solely in an unclassified form, thus ensuring full transparency of the results to the public, both domestic and foreign. The Obama administration was not going to repeat the mistake of the previous administration, which conducted a classified nuclear posture review in 2001 and saw excerpts of it leaked, including controversial text on nuclear deterrence and preemption that provoked international consternation. The 2010 review was designed to be viewed as a progressive statement on US nuclear weapons policy that would complement the administration's foreign policy aims of strengthening the treaty and enlisting international support in shoring up the global nonproliferation regime. At the same time, it was also meant to send a reassuring message to US allies and partners who rely on extended deterrence that American commitments are as solid as ever. Finally, it was intended to placate various domestic constituencies with vested interests in the continuation of nuclear forces and the associated nuclear weapons complex. Given the inherent tensions, if not downright incompatibility, among these various aims, it is not surprising that in the end the review delivered a rather mixed message to the international audience.The salient issues of the review from an international perspective were the definition of the role for nuclear weapons in US strategy; the nature of the security assurances the US was prepared to give to non-nuclear weapons states; what action the US would take on outstanding nuclear disarmament commitments; what would be done to strengthen nonproliferation and nuclear security; and how the US would approach relations with other nuclear weapons-possessing states. …


While nature is often claimed to be a space of harmonized balance or an antidote to the chaos of the modern world, we need a more grounded assessment of nature as endlessly changing and much less predictable than we like to assume. In this essay, I explore Karen Traviss' provocative exploration of unbalanced nature and unbounded bodies in her wess'har series with the guidance of two ecocritics who reject the concept of balanced nature, Dana Phillips and Ursula Heise. Additionally, I turn to the environmental philosopher Val Plumwood for insights regarding Traviss' spurious yet rather standard vision of an unlimited technological panacea. Traviss' series portrays how the boundaries and limits that we perceive as solid are often much less so than we believe, yet she also reveals—inadvertently, it seems—how easily we blindly ignore other, more solid limits.


• Frances Louise Lightsey Marshall Rice University In this thesis the nature of the market for physicians' services has been examined and the implications of its characteristics have been analyzed for the three basic systems of payment: fee-for-service, capitation, and salary. Because of the fact that the services provided are not homogeneous, the presence of external economies, and the infor¬ mational inequality between patient and doctor, the market diverges significantly from that of the perfectly competitive model. A model was developed for the determination of the physician's equilibrium income under a fee-for-service system. Further analysis showed that the doctor will act as'a market divider and will practice price discrimination among individual patients in the specialist market. His ability to affect the level of demand for his services leads to the greatest increase in his welfare when he performs inefficiently with respect to society as a vjhole, performing only those services whose price is greater than his estimate of the satisfaction he would derive in the future if the service were not performed. As a result, the price will increase and this price increase will spread through the system as a whole. The physician will innovate if and only if the cost of innovation is less than or equal to the expected increase in his income minus the amount of income necessary to compensate for the expected increase in disutility involved. If a third party provides part or all of Ike remuneration, Ike effects of the docror's ability to induce de¬ mand are greatly magnified. A second model was developed to show the physician's equilibrium income under a capitation system. In this system, the quantity of services demanded is only minimally related to the price, and the doctoi''s marginal revenue for performing any given service is zero with respect to the present income period and patient list. Some limits must be set on the patients' ability to change doctors. Pres¬ sure also arises for a classification of patients and graduated levels of capitation payments; the system tends to become more closely related to a fee-for-service system. In addition, some patients must be assigned to physicians, and enforcement of minimum standards of care may be necessary if competition among doctors is weak. Referral of patients and use of related health facilities V7ill.be encouraged unless specific limits are placed upon them. Finally, the salaried system was analyzed in relationship to the capitation and fee-for-service systems. The salaried system alone necessarily involves an employer-employee relationship, and development of bargaining strength becomes the dominant financial goal of the doctor. His ability to induce demand will be used as it was in the capitation system. The incentive to utilize related services, to perform research, to innovate, and, iirdeed, to perform with respect to almost all other criteria will depend upon the emphasis placed upon these items by the employer. Because of differences in the perspectives of the physician, thq third party, and the patient, a salaried system implies the need for machinery to resolve differences among the three perspectives. The three systems were then compared with respect to the risks and the accounting costs involved. For the physician, the level of total income becomes more certain with prepayment of fees, still more so with capitation payments, and most of all with a salary. In contrast, as this becomes more certain, uncertainty as to the amount of disutility under¬ gone for any particular level of income is increased. Minimal accounting costs are incurred in a salaried system, and these costs increase for capitation, and especially for fee-for-service. Total cost may be made predictable within each system, but only with greater administrative costs in the capitation and especially the fee-for-service systems.


Master the art of building successful reports and dashboards with this comprehensive guide About This BookVisualize and create advanced level reports and dashboards using Salesforce.comTake advantage of accessing reports and dashboards in the Salesforce mobile app, updated with Spring '15 releaseA concise and informative guide to solve all your reporting woesWho This Book Is ForThis book is intended for all Salesforce usersadministrators, managers, business analysts, or report writers who are new to creating reports or dashboards within Salesforce. Basic knowledge of the Salesforce platform is required. In Detail Salesforce.com is the leading CRM platform. It offers cloud functionality even at the enterprise level. One of its most powerful features is the ability to build reports and dashboards without code and get a result in minutes. This feature is useful for multinational companies as well as small-scale ones.Salesforce Reporting and Dashboards provides practical information for system administrators to understand, control, and manage permissions related to the report folder, report, and dashboard management. This book starts with an overview of the entire Salesforce technology and then moves on to the more important topics of allocating permissions and choosing the correct reports to improve efficiency.The book then explores reportscreation, editing, navigation, and deletion. You will also learn which report is essential to which type of users. The next topic introduced is the dashboard feature, its main uses, and functionality.


Nowadays, small asteroids are catching the space community's attention and interest. Instead of planning expensive missions to planets, missions to small asteroids (<100m) are of interest both because of their lower costs and scientific value. Small asteroids are extremely faint objects that are serendipitously discovered while they are extremely close to the Earth. After a period of only a few days, a newly discovered small object moves far enough from the Earth so that its brightness falls below the detectability threshold of current telescopes. If the length of time that the asteroid has been visible from Earth is not long enough, the uncertainty on its ephemerides may still be high. When a transfer is planned, the spacecraft is sent to a blind point since the asteroid cannot be seen from Earth. It becomes visible only the last days of the rendezvous trajectory. To ensure the meeting between the spacecraft and the object, only asteroids with very accurate ephemerides are targeted. The aim of the project is to gain an insight into optimal approach trajectories in order to ensure that a small object is detected or, failing a total certainty, maximizing the probability to detect it during the close approach. With this aim, the relative motion dynamics in the Hill coordinate frame will be studied and Matlab simulations will be performed


Healthy brain aging and cognitive function are promoted by exercise. The benefits of exercise are attributed to several mechanisms, many which highlight its neuroprotective role via actions that enhance neurogenesis, neuronal morphology and/or neurotrophin release. However, the brain is also composed of glial and vascular elements, and comparatively less is known regarding the effects of exercise on these components in the aging brain. Here, we show that aerobic exercise at mid-age decreased markers of unhealthy brain aging including astrocyte hypertrophy, a hallmark of brain aging. Middle-aged female mice were assigned to a sedentary group or provided a running wheel for six weeks. Exercise decreased hippocampal astrocyte and myelin markers of aging but increased VEGF, a marker of angiogenesis. Brain vascular casts revealed exercise-induced structural modifications associated with improved endothelial function in the periphery. Our results suggest that age-related astrocyte hypertrophy/reactivity and myelin dysregulation are aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle and accompanying reductions in vascular function. However, these effects appear reversible with exercise initiated at mid-age. As this period of the lifespan coincides with the appearance of multiple markers of brain aging, including initial signs of cognitive decline, it may represent a window of opportunity for intervention as the brain appears to still possess significant vascular plasticity. These results may also have particular implications for aging females who are more susceptible than males to certain risk factors which contribute to vascular aging.


Purpose – This paper aims to document changes in values of young Indian consumers over a 10-year period from 2004 to 2014. Given increases in per-capita income and living standards and, particularly, the tremendous increase in exposure to global products and ideals via media advertising, and greater one-to-one interaction with Americans and other English-speaking people from individualistic cultures (India has over 250 million Internet users who communicate in the English language), it was proposed that young Indian consumers would adopt values associated with self-enhancement and individualism, forsaking self-transcendence-related ideals such as benevolence and universalism. Design/methodology/approach – Data pertaining to the Rokeach value scale (RVS) were collected in New Delhi in 2004 and 2014 and tested using MANOVA. Findings – The results strongly support the contentions, save a couple of surprises. Implications of this dramatic change in values in a relatively short period are discussed from a mark...


The article discusses some of the content motivational theories, examining their applicability in military organisation. The purpose of the report is to analyse the theories of McGregor, Aldelfer and Murray rather than indicate the best approach for motivation. The results of the analysis will contribute to a clearer understanding of military motivation and provide guidance that commanders and chiefs could use to enhance their own motivational style.


Nucleic acids are responsible for the storage of genetic information and directly participate in gene replication, transcription and expression, and thereby the control of nucleic acids leads to the regulation of genetic information flow and gene expression. Meanwhile, many non-coding RNAs are involved in signal transduction directly. Moreover, nucleic acid-based therapeutic strategies have been lead to drug candidates and are effective tools in drug discovery and disease study at the molecular level as well as the genetic level. Consequently, the 3D crystal structure study and related functional research on natural and unnatural nucleic acids have become very popular area, expanding their potential application in medicinal and biological chemistry. Since oxygen, sulfur, selenium and tellurium are in the same elemental family (VIA) in the periodic table, we anticipate that oxygen atoms in nucleic acids can most likely be replaced with the other chalcogen atoms without causing significant perturbations. Owing to the special K edge and unique properties of selenium, our lab has completed the chemical and enzymatic synthesis of unnatural nucleic acids with selenium substitutions at various positions. The selenium functionality in nucleic acid is essential for nucleic acids' structural determination at the atomic level. Additionally this novel elemental feature (atomic size and electronic nature) provides nucleic acids with unique properties. In addition, the selenium derivatization can facilitate crystal growth. Other chalcogen elements are applicable as well to modify nucleic acid, generating some special biofunctions, like the application of phosphorthioate oligonucleotide in gene therapy. This dissertation will outline the chalcogen elements (especially selenium) modifications of nucleic acids, including syntheses strategies, structure studies and potential therapeutic applications. Our research work here tries to show that (1) Selenium functionality is able to facilitate the crystal structure determination, by both helping solve phase problem and accelerating crystal growth; (2) Selenium functionality can generate special capability to nucleic acids, like improved base pair fidelity, novel atomic interactions and feasibility to be biological chemistry probe; (3) Selenium derivatized oligonucleotides are extraordinary good candidates for gene therapy discovery, considering its stability under nuclease environment. In general, these atom-specific replacements generate a new paradigm of nucleic acids. INDEX WORDS: Nucleic acid, Selenium, X-ray crystal structure, Biofunction, Therapeutics STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION STUDIES OF SELENIUM SUBSTITUTED NUCLEIC ACIDS


Potato is one of the main crops which is suffering from the great losses in storage and the most conventional method of its tuber rot is using hazardous chemicals. Using antimicrobial potential of lichens can be one of the safe, green, environment friendly methods for plant diseases management. In this study, antimicrobial activity of acetone, methanol, chloroform extracts of Ramalina capitaat, Xanthoparmelia stenophylla, Umbilicaria cylindrical, Rhizoplaca crysoleuca and Anamylopsora pulcherrima were evaluated against two potato rot agents vic. Fusarium equiseti and Pectobacterium carotovora pv. carotovora in laboratory and storage conditions. Bioassay tests were disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory and bactericide concentration methods. Dimethyl sulfoxide solvent on paper disc was used as negative control. Positive controls were considered as %0.2 benomyl and gentamicin antibiogram discs for fungus and bacterium, respectively. There were no effect of lichens extract on fungus. R. chrysoleuca especially methanol and chloroform extracts of had remarkable bactericide and bacteriostatic effect on bacterium. The study with selected extracts in storage condition showed preventive effect of 80% of extracts on bacterium. The most protective effect was observed in methanol extract of R. chrysoleuca. Therefore, lichen extract would be promising biological product would be a potential replacement instead of chemicals.


The thesis compares the business activities of a particular type of British overseas trading company, the Agency House, in two former British colonies, Malaysia and Nigeria. The thesis charts the commercial and political circumstances that heralded the arrival of the Agency House in each colony and the companies' rapid business growth thereafter while trading under the relative security offered by the British Empire. The thesis then examines the firms' development in the aftermath of empire as the selected companies struggled to survive in independent nations. Here, each of the London-domiciled boards faced a very different set of commercial conditions overseas, which were largely shaped by politics both home and abroad. Each firm was forced into tough decisions on trade strategy to safeguard interests overseas and thereafter placate an increasingly hostile host regime. After independence, the Agency House, as obvious and symbolic reminders of imperialism, became targets for punitive legislation aimed at redressing imbalances in the private sector and achieving the repatriation of corporate wealth in each of the selected nations.

The commodity trade was the basis for the development of the Agency House in each former colony. In Malaysia, a British-financed estate industry spread rapidly in response to escalating demand for rubber at the start of the 20th century. By the 1950s, for a number of reasons, the estate industry moved from rubber to oil palm cultivation, which quickly became a catalyst for a huge expansion in the plantation industry, the evidence of which is etched across the nation's topography today. In Nigeria, the production of (although not trade in) commodities always remained the remit of indigenes only which was enshrined in law, both colonial and nationalist, despite the lobbying by resident British traders. This was one of a number of factors examined in the thesis to understand why trade there could not keep pace with the British estate development taking place in Malaysia and despite Nigeria's long history in the export of commodities like palm oil. Examining the commodity trade of each nation helps to explain the growth of the British Agency House to become commercial powerhouses in each nation. The thesis therefore looks at the strategy of each firm, the trade they were engaged in and thereafter how each attempted to survive when confronted by increasingly hostile nationalist legislation. It will also explain why only one of the Agency Houses examined here continues to trade today.


During 2008, Birmingham City University (BCU) began to develop approaches to enable students to have a greater ownership of the enhancement of learning and teaching at the university in order to break down some of the real and perceived barriers between students and staff. This work led to the development of the Student Academic Partners scheme which employs students to work in collaboration with staff on educational development projects spanning across the university. At a time when a number of institutions are considering student employment following the HEFCE funded project in 2009, this paper considers opportunities for student engagement in educational development and provides a case study of student employment at BCU as a cross-institutional approach to embedding collaboration between students and staff for learning and teaching development. Locating the scheme within the literature, practice and evaluation, we offer four principles for facilitating an institutional culture of collaborative educational development and evaluate the impact of the investment on students, staff and the institution as a whole.


Beginning with an evolution of the concept of Mathematics and reality in the course of history, we try to specify the
contemporary meaning of this concept within the school framework. We consider various questions which permit a later
reflection that allows us to define some basic objectives. Finally, we propose some illustrative resources that put this
educational practice into context


Since the Named Data Networking (NDN) data plane requires name-based lookup of potentially large tables using variable-length hierarchical names as well as per-packet state updates, achieving high-speed NDN forwarding remains a challenge. In order to address this gap, we developed a high-performance NDN router capable of reaching forwarding rates higher than 100 Gbps while running on commodity hardware. In this paper we present our design and discuss its tradeoffs. We achieved this performance through several optimization techniques that include adopting better algorithms and efficient data structures, as well as making use of the parallelism offered by modern multi-core CPUs and multiple hardware queues with user-space drivers for kernel bypass. Our open-source forwarder is the first software implementation of NDN to exceed 100 Gbps throughput while supporting the full protocol semantics. We also present the results of extensive benchmarking carried out to assess a number of performance dimensions and to diagnose the current bottlenecks in the packet processing pipeline for future scalability enhancements. Finally, we identify future work which includes hardware-assisted ingress traffic dispatching, dynamic load balancing across forwarding threads, and novel caching solutions to accommodate on-disk content stores.


With the emergence of 'knowledge economies' across the industrialised world, transitions from school to work have generally become more complex and uncertain. Nonetheless, such developments vary between countries, as young people form aspirations which align with their individual preferences, academic abilities and the economic, cultural and social capital to which they have access. Previous research emphasises the positive influence social capital received from parents and school networks has on young people's developing aspirations. Meanwhile, the social capital young people generate for themselves through 'out-of-school' activities is often construed as either irrelevant or problematic. In this paper, we examine the relationship between this latter dimension of social capital and the educational aspirations of young people in Australia (aged 14/15; n = 3586) and Germany (aged 14/15; n = 2517). Both countries have distinct institutional settings with varied school-to-work transition regimes. Our results show that youth-derived social capital, generated through participation in out-of school extra-curricular activities, mediates the association between parental background and educational aspirations in both countries. We suggest that, by exposing young people to broader sets of values, skills and resources not accessible within the family and the school context, such involvement may be important for promoting educational aspirations and attainment.


We characterize the geometry of the Hamiltonian dynamics with a conformal metric. After investigating the Eisenhart metric, we study
the corresponding conformal metric and obtain the geometric structure of the classical Hamiltonian dynamics. Furthermore, the equations for the conformal geodesics, for the
Jacobi field along the geodesics, and the equations for a certain flow constrained in a family of conformal equivalent nondegenerate metrics are obtained. At last the conformal curvatures,
the geodesic equations, the Jacobi equations, and the equations for the flow of the famous models, an N degrees of freedom linear Hamiltonian system and the Henon-Heiles
model are given, and in a special case, numerical solutions of the conformal geodesics, the generalized momenta, and the Jacobi field along the geodesics of the Henon-Heiles model
are obtained. And the numerical results for the Henon-Heiles model show us the instability of the associated geodesic spreads.


Background Exercise referral schemes (ERS), involving health professional referral to a community exercise facility, are common in the UK. While an increasing number of randomised controlled trials report on the impacts of ERS on physical activity, few have investigated the mechanisms through which increases in physical activity are produced. This study examines whether a National ERS in Wales led to improved autonomous motivation, self-efficacy and social support, and whether changes in physical activity were mediated by these psychosocial processes. Methods The study was a pragmatic randomised controlled trial across 12 Local Health Boards in Wales. Patients were recruited from 12 local health boards across Wales using opportunistic referral by a range of health professionals. Questionnaires measured demographic data and physical activity at baseline. Participants (N=2160) with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) risk factors or anxiety/depression were referred by health professionals and randomly assigned to control or intervention. At six months psychological process measures were collected by questionnaire. At 12 months physical activity was assessed by Seven Day Physical Activity Recall telephone interview. Regressions tested intervention effects on psychosocial variables and physical activity before and after adjusting for mediators and socio-demographic patterning. The main trial indicated effects on physical activity only for patients referred for CHD risk, mediational analyses were limited to this subsample. Results Significant intervention effects were found for autonomous motivation and social support for exercise at 6 months. The data supports partial mediation of the intervention effect by autonomous motivation. Analysis of moderators showed significant improvements in relative autonomy in all subgroups. The greatest improvements in autonomous motivation were observed among patients who were least active at baseline. Conclusion The present study offered key insights into psychosocial processes of change in an exercise referral scheme, with effects on physical activity partially mediated by autonomous motivation. The nature of the study as a pragmatic policy trial means that the findings are directly reflective of real world practice. Findings support the use of self-determination theory as a framework for ERS. Further research is required to explain socio-demographic patterning in responses to ERS, with changes in motivation occurring among all sub-groups of participants, though not always leading to higher adherence or behavioural change. This highlights the importance of socio-ecological approaches to developing and evaluating behaviour change interventions, which consider factors beyond the individual, including conditions in which improved motivation does or does not produce behavioural change.


The purpose of this study was to comparison degree of hypochondriacal thought in patients with anxiety disorders and depression.

 Materials & Methods : In this study, 156 patients with anxiety disorders and depression were selected by convenience sampling method. Illness attitude scales (IAS) was administrated to them. Data analysis was done using covariance and post hoc test.

 Results : The findings indicated that whereas patient with generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression disorder experience hypochondriacal thought but these symptoms are significantly less pronounced than among those with panic disorder.

 Conclusion : The finding discussed in this article helps to formulate a more precise conceptualization and treatment planning of panic disorder and other anxiety disorders.


Data center power is a scarce resource that often goes underutilized due to conservative planning. This is because the penalty for overloading the data center power delivery hierarchy and tripping a circuit breaker is very high, potentially causing long service outages. Recently, dynamic server power capping, which limits the amount of power consumed by a server, has been proposed and studied as a way to reduce this penalty, enabling more aggressive utilization of provisioned data center power. However, no real at-scale solution for data center-wide power monitoring and control has been presented in the literature. In this paper, we describe Dynamo -- a data center-wide power management system that monitors the entire power hierarchy and makes coordinated control decisions to safely and efficiently use provisioned data center power. Dynamo has been developed and deployed across all of Facebook's data centers for the past three years. Our key insight is that in real-world data centers, different power and performance constraints at different levels in the power hierarchy necessitate coordinated data center-wide power management. We make three main contributions. First, to understand the design space of Dynamo, we provide a characterization of power variation in data centers running a diverse set of modern workloads. This characterization uses fine-grained power samples from tens of thousands of servers and spanning a period of over six months. Second, we present the detailed design of Dynamo. Our design addresses several key issues not addressed by previous simulation-based studies. Third, the proposed techniques and design have been deployed and evaluated in large scale data centers serving billions of users. We present production results showing that Dynamo has prevented 18 potential power outages in the past 6 months due to unexpected power surges, that Dynamo enables optimizations leading to a 13% performance boost for a production Hadoop cluster and a nearly 40% performance increase for a search cluster, and that Dynamo has already enabled an 8% increase in the power capacity utilization of one of our data centers with more aggressive power subscription measures underway.


This text will be an essential reference to those interested in aspects of the facial nerve. The strength of the authors and the quality of the illustrations should make this one of the leading books on the topic for years to come. -- Doody's Enterprises, Inc . The Facial Nerve is a concise yet comprehensive guide to the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of facial nerve disorders. Addressing important facial nerve problems such as congenital disorders and Bell's palsy, this text provides physicians with the most up-to-date medical and surgical treatment recommendations. Key Features: * Pairs clinical practice guidelines with relevant research on the chapter topic * Includes a discussion of rehabilitation for patients with permanent facial paralysis* Contains full-color, high-quality illustrations and photographs throughout* Written by premier authorities on the management of facial nerve diseases This book succinctly covers the essential aspects of facial nerve management and is a must-have reference for otolaryngologists, neurosurgeons, neurologists, facial plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists, and physical therapists caring for patients with facial nerve disorders. Thieme eOtolaryngology is the premier online resource for otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. For a free trial, go to: thieme.com/eototrial


Proximity-based applications are becoming fast growing markets suggesting that device-to-device (D2D) communications is becoming an essential part of the future mobile data networks. We propose scalable admission and power control methods for D2D communications underlay cellular networks to increase the reuse of frequency resources and thus network capacity while maintaining QoS to all users. In practice, as D2D communications will generate a new layer of interference, it is essential to take D2D interference into account in inter-cell interference coordination for multi-cell communications. The aim of the proposed methods is to maximize the number of D2D links under QoS constraints, therefore maximizing network frequency reuse in a practical 5G multi-cell environment. Different schemes are designed for applications that have different levels of complexity and availability of channel state information. Numerical results show that by using D2D and the proposed multi-cell interference coordination and low power transmission method, the network spectral efficiency can be increased by as much as ten times, while low outage probability can be assured to provide QoS for all users.


The proposed homogenization theory—a major extension of the recently
 published methodology [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B28, 577
 (2011)]—yields an extended second-order material
 tensor consolidating the usual 36 local material parameters and additional ones that
 rigorously quantify nonlocality. The local part of the tensor relates the mean
 values of pairs of coarse-grained fields, while the nonlocal part relates the mean
 values to variations of the fields. The theory is based on a direct analysis of
 fields in a lattice cell rather than on an indirect retrieval of material parameters
 from transmission/reflection data. There are no heuristic assumptions and no
 artificial averaging rules. Nontrivial magnetic behavior, if present, is a logical
 consequence of the theory. The approximations involved and the respective errors are
 clearly identified. Illustrative examples of resonant structures with
 high-permittivity inclusions are given.


Computer-Assisted Cognitive Remediation (CACR) interventions are reliable and efficacious to improve the cognitive deficit in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (PSZ). Aim of this study was to investigate the illness duration effect on CACR efficacy. We divided a sample of 32 PSZ in those with a Short Duration of Disease (SDD; n = 12) and those with a Long Duration of Disease (LDD; n = 20). In the whole sample of 32 PSZ, cognitive, insight and functioning indices improved at the end of CACR intervention, as well as 3 and 6 month after the end of CACR program. No significant difference of cognitive, insight and functioning indices emerged between SDD and LDD during the 6-month follow-up period. Findings from this preliminary report revealed that CACR is an efficacious strategy to improve cognition, and consequently insight and functioning, in PSZ both in early-stage and chronic disorder.


This guide is suitable for all levels of photographers, 100 Ways to Take Better Nature and Wildlife Photographs features 100 practical and inspiring tips on every aspect of the genre.Guy Edwardes' breath-taking pictures accompany his eas-to-follow advice on a wide range of subjects from capturing the actions of large mammals to snapping wild birds and flowers in the garden.With tips on everything from technique to composition, coping with extreme field conditions to Photoshop software manipulation, this is an invaluable guide for anyone with a passion for photography of the natural world.


Nitrogen mineralization and immobilization following manure application are critical processes influencing plant N supply and offsite N losses. We conducted laboratory experiments to examine the influence of these two processes in addition to N oxide gas production on N availability for 180 d following manure addition. A Tara loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, frigid Aquic Hapludoll) and a Webster clay loam (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquoll) amended with liquid dairy (Bos taurus) manure (LD) were incubated at 25 and 10°C, while Tara soil amended with solid dairy manure (SD) and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) manure (T), and Webster soil amended with liquid hog (Sus scrofa) manure (H), were incubated at 25°C. Maximum net N immobilization was 14 and 40% of the initial NH 4 + concentration in H and LD, respectively, and persisted for 35 to 180 d. In LD-, H-, and T-amended soils, net manure N mineralization was not apparent, and there was good agreement between initial NH 4 + content and available inorganic N from the manure. These data suggest that, for these manure types, estimates of first-season available N would be improved by measuring manure NH 4 + . In contrast, in soil amended with SD, which had the lowest initial NH 4 + content, 22% of organic N was mineralized. Gaseous N losses were <1% of the added N in all treatments. The previously developed model NCSOIL was used to predict plant N availability and NO 3 - leaching potential with various manure incorporation dates. Under climate conditions typical of the Upper Midwest, no clear advantage of late fall compared with spring incorporation of manure with regard to N availability could be shown, but NO 3 - leaching potential seemed high with early fall incorporation.


Several recent maritime accidents suggest that modern technology sometimes can make it difficult for mariners to navigate safely. A review of the literature also indicates that the technological remedies designed to prevent maritime accidents at times can be ineffective or counterproductive. To understand why, problem-oriented ethnography was used to collect and analyse data on how mariners understand their work and their tools. Over 4 years, 15 ships were visited; the ship types studied were small and large archipelago passenger ships and cargo ships. Mariners and others who work in the maritime industry were interviewed. What I found onboard were numerous examples of what I now call integration work. Integration is about co-ordination, co-operation and compromise. When humans and technology have to work together, the human (mostly) has to co-ordinate resources, co-operate with devices and compromise between means and ends. What mariners have to integrate to get work done include representations of data and information; rules, regulations and practice; human and machine work; and learning and practice. Mariners largely have to perform integration work themselves because machines cannot communicate in ways mariners see as useful. What developers and manufacturers choose to integrate into screens or systems is not always what the mariners would choose. There are other kinds of 'mistakes' mariners have to adapt to. Basically, they arise from conflicts between global rationality (rules, regulations and legislation) and local rationality (what gets defined as good seamanship at a particular time and place). When technology is used to replace human work this is not necessarily a straightforward or successful process. What it often means is that mariners have to work, sometimes very hard, to 'construct' a cooperational human-machine system. Even when technology works 'as intended' work of this kind is still required. Even in most ostensibly integrated systems, human operators still must perform integration work. In short, technology alone cannot solve the problems that technology created. Further, trying to fix 'human error' by incremental 'improvements' in technology or procedure tends to be largely ineffective due to the adaptive compensation by users. A systems view is necessary to make changes to a workplace. Finally, this research illustrates the value problem-oriented ethnography can have when it comes to collecting information on what users 'mean' and 'really do' and what designers 'need' to make technology easier and safer to use.


Introduction
 Front-line treatment for patients with active chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) often includes an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. However, treatment with anti-CD20 therapy has the potential to reactivate latent hepatitis B virus (HBV). Thus, in 2015 an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) panel advised screening all patients for HBV infection before starting anti-CD20 therapies. Both Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) testing are required for proper screening. In addition, the ASCO panel recommended testing for both IgM and IgG isotypes of HBcAb, as patients with remote HBV infection may have undetectable levels of HBcAb IgM. We evaluated guideline adherence for HBV testing in a large, real-world cohort of patients with CLL.
 Methods
 This retrospective analysis leveraged data derived from electronic health records (EHRs) in the Flatiron Health database. The database included 7,795 patients with CLL who received at least one order for an antineoplastic treatment between January 1, 2011 and May 31, 2018. We included only patients who received an anti-CD20 therapy (rituximab, ofatumumab, obinutuzumab) and excluded patients whose start of CLL treatment (as captured through chart abstraction) was >30 days before the start of structured EHR data (N=4,288). Using structured EHR data (based on Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes [LOINC]), we evaluated the frequency of HBsAg and HBcAb testing, including a separate analysis of HBcAb IgM and IgG testing.
 Results
 Of 4,288 patients in the cohort treated with anti-CD20, 2,034 (47%) had evidence of HBV testing at any point during their care, and 1,765 (41%) had evidence of HBV testing at any point prior to and up to 90 days following anti-CD20 therapy initiation. Over time, the proportion of HBV infection testing up to 90 days following anti-CD20 treatment initiation increased steadily, from <15% in early 2011, reaching as high as 70% in 2017 (Figure). Following the ASCO guideline publication in 2015, the proportion of patients tested for both HBsAg and HBcAb increased by 33%, while the proportion of HBsAg-only tested patients dropped by 35% (Table). However, even if unspecified HBcAb tests are assumed to represent testing for both IgG and IgM isotypes, in the most recent timeframe nearly half (46%) of the patients who were tested did not receive the requisite screening tests (i.e., for both isotypes). Additionally, nearly 20% received only one test (HBsAg or HBcAb) and another 25% received both tests but the HBcAb test was for the IgM isotype alone (Table).
 Discussion
 In this real-world cohort of patients with CLL treated with anti-CD20 therapies, overall HBV testing increased throughout the study period, in accordance with ASCO guidelines. Although the most recent data points may not yet capture testing up to 90 days following treatment initiation, and HBV testing information for some patients may not be captured in the EHR, our findings suggest that a sizable proportion of patients are not receiving appropriate screening for HBV. In addition, a significant proportion (25%) of patients were tested for both HBsAg and HBcAb, but the HBcAb test was for the IgM isotype alone, which could result in a false negative test and missed cases of latent HBV. These findings suggest a need for additional quality improvement efforts. Further research is needed to determine demographic and clinical characteristics of tested versus untested patients, and whether testing is associated with reduced risk of liver failure in patients undergoing anti-CD20 therapy.

 Hooley: Flatiron Health: Employment. Chen:MedCyclops LLC: Equity Ownership; Nootrobox: Consultancy; Flatiron Health: Employment. Maignan:Flatiron Health: Employment. Carson:Roche: Consultancy; Washington University in St. Louis: Employment; Flatiron Health: Employment.


Kibbutzim were a pure missionary organization known for their egalitarian—communal lifestyle. However, like many other organizational forms, the kibbutz model has been subjected to significant pressures to become more market oriented. This challenges the existence of kibbutzim in many ways. Stressing ideological homogeneity as a key predictor of change, this study also examines the effect of crisis as assessed by financial distress, demographic depletion, and type of manufacturing industry, on change intensity. Using a sample of 171 kibbutzim over a 7 year-period, the findings indicate consistent effects of ideology, crisis intensity, demographic depletion, and organizational size on change intensity. Theoretical implications for atypical organizations are discussed.


Objective The efficacy of parecoxib as pre-emptive analgesia still remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate how pre-emptive analgesia with parecoxib affected postoperative pain trajectories over time in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting A single medical centre in Taiwan. Participants We collected 515 patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery at a tertiary medical centre between September 2016 and August 2017. Interventions Pre-emptive parecoxib before surgery. Primary and secondary outcome measures Daily numeric rating pain scores in the first postoperative week. Results A total of 196 (38.1%) of the recruited patients received parecoxib preoperatively. The latent curve analysis revealed that woman, higher body weight and postoperative use of parecoxib were associated with increased baseline level of pain scores over time (p=0.035, 0.005 and 0.048, respectively) but epidural analgesia and preoperative use of parecoxib were inclined to decrease it (both p<0.001). Regarding the decreasing trends of changes in daily pain scores, older age and epidural analgesia tended to steepen the slope (p=0.014 and <0.001, respectively). Preoperative use of parecoxib were also related to decreased frequency of rescue morphine medication (HR=0.4; 95% CI 0.25 to 0.65). Conclusions Pre-emptive analgesia with parecoxib was associated with decreased baseline pain scores but had no connection with pain decreasing trends over time. Latent curve analysis provided insights into the dynamic relationships among the analgesic modalities, patient characteristics and postoperative pain trajectories.


This monograph is devoted to the aquatic organisms inhabiting the different kinds of bodies of water present in Bialowieza National Park. The publication offers the results of the 2015 inventorying of the aquatic habitats and organisms in the park. It marks the first time the Park's waters have been studied by such a large team of specialists hailing from various scientific centres across Poland. The result is a valuable documentation of the current state of this area's aquatic ecosystems, offering the reader a full depiction of the wealth of hydrobionts and diversity of environments they inhabit.


Traditional service-level agreements (SLAs), defined by average delay or packet loss, often camouflage the instantaneous performance perceived by end-users. We define a set of metrics for service availability to quantify the performance of Internet protocol (IP) backbone networks and capture the impact of routing dynamics on packet forwarding. Given a network topology and its link weights, we propose a novel technique to compute the associated service availability by taking into account transient routing dynamics and operational conditions, such as border gateway protocol (BGP) table size and traffic distributions. Even though there are numerous models for characterizing topologies, none of them provide insights on the expected performance perceived by end customers. Our simulations show that the amount of service disruption experienced by similar networks (i.e., with similar intrinsic properties such as average out-degree or network diameter) could be significantly different, making it imperative to use new metrics for characterizing networks. In the second part of the paper, we derive goodness factors based on service availability viewed from three perspectives: Ingress node (from one node to many destinations), link (traffic traversing a link), and network-wide (across all source-destination pairs). We show how goodness factors can be used in various applications and describe our numerical results.


Prior research suggests that predicting defect-inducing changes, i.e., Just-In-Time (JIT) defect prediction is a more practical alternative to traditional defect prediction techniques, providing immediate feedback while design decisions are still fresh in the minds of developers. Unfortunately, similar to traditional defect prediction models, JIT models require a large amount of training data, which is not available when projects are in initial development phases. To address this flaw in traditional defect prediction, prior work has proposed cross-project models, i.e., models learned from older projects with sufficient history. However, cross-project models have not yet been explored in the context of JIT prediction. Therefore, in this study, we empirically evaluate the performance of JIT cross-project models. Through a case study on 11 open source projects, we find that in a JIT cross-project context: (1) high performance within-project models rarely perform well; (2) models trained on projects that have similar correlations between predictor and dependent variables often perform well; and (3) ensemble learning techniques that leverage historical data from several other projects (e.g., voting experts) often perform well. Our findings empirically confirm that JIT cross-project models learned using other projects are a viable solution for projects with little historical data. However, JIT cross-project models perform best when the data used to learn them is carefully selected.


E-voting implantation is happening at a slower pace than anticipated. A plethora of technical and social challenges hinder a deeper implementation. In this article, the problem is addressed by applying a practical evaluation framework to two of the most relevant e-voting tools: Helios Voting and iVote from Scytl. The framework is strongly based on the technical requirements issued by the Council of Europe in 2017. The authors believe it can constitute a useful source of information for election officials, researchers and even voters. The final purpose is contributing to a gradual, secure and protocolized expansion of e-voting in Europe; more so in the present times, with mounting geo-political challenges and tensions.


In recent years, a flurry of interest has been shown for a relatively old technology called magneto-rheological fluids, or MR fluids. Multiple types of devices have been designed to implement this versatile fluid, including linear dampers, clutches, work-piece fixtures, and polishing machines. The devices have been used in automobiles, washing machines, bicycles, prosthetic limbs, and even smart structures. This thesis focuses on another application of MR dampers, involving super-sport motorcycles. This paper introduces the topics of MR dampers and motorcycle suspensions, and why the two would be a good combination. A detailed history of MR fluids, MR dampers, and motorcycle suspension technologies is given next. After a broad outline of MR dampers and motorcycle suspensions, the method of designing and manufacturing MR dampers is discussed. The damper design for this research is presented in detail, along with the design procedure used to make it. Next, laboratory testing for it is covered, including the test equipment, test procedure, and the laboratory test results. Upon laboratory test completion, the field test setup and procedure are presented. The results of field tests with stock dampers and MR dampers with a variety of control systems is discussed. The MR dampers provided a more stable ride than that of the OEM dampers. By reducing suspension displacement, settling time, and suspension oscillations, the MR dampers were able to reduce suspension geometry instability. Lastly, concluding remarks are made on the research presented. Design flaws are discussed, as well as recommendations for future work in the same area.


Taken from his bestselling biography "Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis", Ian Kershaw's "The Luck of the Devil: The Story of Operation Valkyrie" is a brilliant account of the German plot to assassinate Hitler. The July 1944 plot to kill Adolf Hilter was a desperate attempt by a group of senior officers, most famously Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, to redeem Germany's honour and end the Second World War. They were heroic because they knew their chances of success were slight and that the result of their failure would undoubtedly be a terrible death. They wanted to leave a message for later generations: that there were Germans who understood the evils of Nazism and were willing to act against it. This extraordinary story is the basis for Bryan Singer's film "Valkyrie", starring Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh. "The Luck of the Devil" recounts those fateful days at Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters, when his opponents came s close to assassinating one of the modern era's most terrible figures. Richard Overy has spent much of his distinguished career studying the intellectual, social and military ideas that shaped the cataclysm of the Second World War, particularly in his books "1939 - Countdown to War", "Why the Allies Won", "Russia's War" and "The Morbid Age". Overy's "The Dictators: Hitler's Germany", "Stalin's Russia" won the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hessell Tiltman Prize.


Molecular recognition, particularly enantiomeric specificity of biological molecules is a key consideration in designing drugs, pharmaceutical intermediate and in industrial production of chirally active intermediate. Although the molecular bases of many enzymes stereospecificity are not completely delineated, a number of protein engineering studies were able to enhance and even in some cases invert the stereospecificity of various enzymes. Herein, we review the current understanding on enzymes stereospecificity, and the effects of mutations to the stereospecific pockets due to enzymes engineering to improve stereospecificity.


We present improvements to the telescope and the Adaptive Optics (AO) upgrades that will be installed in 2018 to the 1.5m GREGOR solar telescope. An exchange of the telescope's secondary mirror has improved the contrast in the AO wavefront sensor (WFS). The repair of the telescope building's faulty facade plates will result in better dome/building seeing. The daytime (solar) wavefront sensor camera will be replaced by a high full well capacity model, enabling the AO to lock on granulation and faculae close to the solar limb during bad seeing conditions. A 2x2 guide region ground layer AO (GLAO) mode will provide a 10" FoV with a much flatter PSF as compared to conventional AO. A change of the night-time wavefront sensor camera will result in a larger WFS FoV, improving the AO tracking of the large solar system planets like Jupiter and Saturn. A new AO mode of operation will allow the tracking of of solar prominences using a narrow-band H-alpha filter.


Abstract A kaolin clay was activated with 1.0 ᴍ H2SO4 solution at minimum liquid to solid ratio (L/S) using microwave heating. The optimum experimental conditions for activation were L/S ratio 3.0 mL 1 ᴍ H2SO4 per gram kaolin, microwave input power 500-600 W, and heating time 5-10 min. Activation at L/S < 3.0 mL/g using 1.0 ᴍ H2SO4 was not efficient, indicating the influence of solvent for absorbing microwaves more intensively and thus improving activation. Significant physicochemical changes were observed by the proposed procedure with smaller volumes of activator compared to the conventional heating method. Microwave input power and heating time have a strong influence on the quality of the final material; activation at high input power (>700 W) and longer heating times (>10 min.) are not recommended since they cause dissolution of kaolinite structure. Microwave-heated kaolin manifested better adsorption for tartrazine dye due to improvements in textural and chemical properties of kaolinite. Moreover, irradiation of used kaolinite has significantly improved dye desorption, increasing the importance of microwaves in regeneration/recycling studies. Detailed dielectric measurements of kaolin-acid mixtures recorded at frequencies much lower than 2.45 GHz revealed that absorption of radiation is highly dependent on the activator solution in the mixture. For 3.0 mL/g mixtures, high dielectric constant Ɛ' 5223, dielectric loss factor Ɛ'' 5083, tangent loss tan δ 1.30, penetration depth dp 0.57 cm at (103 Hz), and AC-conductivity σ 0.032 Ωm-1 were determined at 105 Hz. Filling the pores of kaolin by acid solution increased the microwave absorption and hence de-alumination of kaolinite.


Despite increased awareness of the health threat posed by tobacco use, Latin America continues to experience high smoking rates. Argentina is no exception, where an estimated 22.1% of adults were smokers in 2012.1 Prior to 2011, few limitations were placed on the advertisement of tobacco products in Argentina, and any restrictions were largely self-imposed by the tobacco companies.2

On 14 June 2011, Argentina enacted the 'National Law of Tobacco Control: Law 26.687'. This law provides 42 articles that address tobacco advertising, packaging, product composition, sale/distribution, secondhand smoke, and preventive education. Notably, it largely prohibits all forms of tobacco advertisements except for those indoors at the point of sale (PoS) (table 1).3 Unfortunately it is unclear how many convenience stores are compliant with its provisions.

View this table:

Table 1
Compliance with Tobacco Advertising Legislation in 137 convenience stores, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2014

To investigate the compliance with the new restrictions, we surveyed all convenience stores (n=137) found in an 8 by 7 block area of Buenos Aires from July to August of 2014. This area was selected due …