As part of DOE/NETL's Carbon Sequestration Program, we are developing an integrated, multi-pollutant modeling framework to evaluate the costs and performance of alternative carbon capture and sequestration technologies for fossil-fueled power plants. The model calculates emissions, costs, and efficiency on a systematic basis at the level of an individual plant or facility. Both new and existing facilities can be modeled, including coal-based or natural gas-based combustion or gasification systems using air or oxygen. CO2 storage options include various types of geologic formations, as well as ocean and terrestrial sinks. A key feature of the integrated modeling framework is the explicit characterization of uncertainties in model inputs and results using a probabilistic (stochastic simulation) capability. This capability provides quantitative estimates of the technological and economic risks associated with alternative CO 2 capture and sequestration technologies. This paper reviews the goals and scope of this project and presents preliminary results for the case of carbon capture from coal combustion.


One of the fundamental tasks robots have to perform is planning their motions while avoiding collisions with obstacles in the environment. This is the central topic of the thesis. We restrict ourselves to motion planning for two- and three-dimensional rigid bodies and articulated robots moving in static and known virtual environments. This thesis has been divided into two parts. The first part deals with comparing and analyzing sampling-based motion planning techniques, in particular variants of the Probabilistic Roadmap Method (PRM). The PRM consists of two phases: a construction and a query phase. In the construction phase, a roadmap (graph) is built, approximating the motions that can be made in the environment. First, a free random sample is created. Such a sample describes a particular placement of the moving object (robot) in the workspace. Then, a simple local planner is employed to connect the sample to some neighbors. Samples and connections are added to the graph until the roadmap is dense enough. In the query phase, the start and goal samples are connected to the graph. The path is obtained by a Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm. Many variants of the PRM have been developed over the past decade. Using both time-based as well as reachability-based analysis, we compare some of the most prominent techniques. The results are surprising in the sense that techniques often perform differently than claimed by the designers. In addition, contrary to general belief, the main challenge is not getting the free space covered but getting the nodes connected, especially when the problems get more complicated, e.g. when a narrow passage is present. By using this knowledge, we can tackle the narrow passage problem by incorporating a more powerful local planner, a refined neighbor selection strategy and a hybrid sampling strategy. The analysis also shows why the PRM successfully deals with many motion planning problems. The second part deals with quality aspects of paths and roadmaps. A good path is relatively short, keeps some distance (clearance) from the obstacles, and is smooth. We will provide algorithms that increase path clearance. A big advantage of these algorithms is that high-clearance paths can now be efficiently created without using complex data structures and algorithms. We also elaborate on algorithms that successfully decrease path length. Then, we introduce the Reachability Roadmap Method which creates small roadmaps for two- and three-dimensional problems. Such a small roadmap has many advantages over a roadmap that is created by the PRM. In particular, the method assures low query times, low memory consumption, and the roadmap can be optimized easily. The algorithm also ensures that a path is always found (if one exists) at a given resolution. We unify the techniques to create high-quality roadmaps for interactive virtual environments. That is, we use the Reachability Roadmap Method to create an initial roadmap. We add useful cycles to provide alternative routes and short paths, and we add clearance to the roadmap to obtain high-clearance paths in real-time.


It is often assumed that: (a) in his early dialogues Plato uses the character of Socrates to present some of his own views concerning the search for definitions in ethics, and (b) starting with the middle dialogues Plato's interests shift radically; in them he seems to be concerned with ontology, i.e. the theory of forms. Hence an exegetical puzzle arises: What exactly is the connection between the project of the early dialogues, the quest for Socratic definitions, and the emergence of the theory of Forms in the middle dialogues? In his early dialogues Plato often refers to what has come to be known as the "Principle of the Priority of Definitional Knowledge". However, If we accept G. Matthews' thesis that we ought to adopt an aporetic reading of the passages where this principle is referred to, the aforementioned exegetical problem can be readily resolved.


In March 2005, excavations were undertaken by Glasgow University Archaeological Research
Division (GUARD) at the Craig Tara Holiday Park, Dunure Road, Ayr in advance of proposed
development. Two main archaeological sites were examined.
The first, a flat cist cemetery covered by an earthen mound, comprised 23 separate burial features
of varying morphology from two separate phases of burial, including cists, pits and what has been
interpreted as a 'boat-shaped' setting. Nine cremations and four possible inhumations were recovered
from within the burial features as well as a range of material culture including Food Vessels, flint
artefacts and a bone pin. Dating of cremated bone from the cists indicated that activity at the site
stretched from the late third to the early second millennium bc.
The second site, a demolished or fallen standing stone, was located some 35m to the north and east
of the first. Although the sequence of monument construction and demolition is clear, the reasons for
the demolition of the stone are less so. However, a rare opportunity to date the stone was presented
with the identification of a cremation deposit within the construction pit backfill. This indicated that
the stone was constructed in the last quarter of the second millennium bc, suggesting a continuum of
activity in the area late into the second millennium bc.


Development of the immature stages of Culex (Culex) saltanensis Dyar (Diptera, Culicidae) under laboratory conditions. Culex (Culex) saltanensis Dyar, 1928 is becoming frequent and abundant in natural and artificial breeding sites in urban and rural areas of Brazil. This study contributes to the knowledge of the biology of a Brazilian strain of C. saltanensis. The development of specimens reared individually or grouped was observed. The study was conducted at a constant temperature of 27 ± 2°C, 14L:10D photoperiod and 80 ± 5% relative humidity. The immature stages were observed every 6 hours until adult emergence, which occurred in 12.29 days among individually reared specimens and in 13.12 days among group-reared specimens. Egg rafts for the experiment were obtained from the laboratory and field. Eggs hatched at a rate of 97.48 ± 2.32%. More eggs per egg raft were obtained from the field than from the laboratory. Males from individually reared specimens emerged in 12.29 ± 1.11 days and females in 13.12 ± 1.58 days. The male-female ratio was 1:1. Larval survival rate was higher than 85% for larvae reared isolated and higher than 95% for group-reared larvae. The Culex saltanensis life cycle was completed within 12 to 14 days, where larval instars I and IV took the most time to develop and the pupae, the shortest.


Legal education reform has reached the first year of law school. Reform of the first year of law school is vital because it lays the foundation for the second and third years, as well as legal practice. Of course, changes to the first year must be done properly, following the latest research in how students learn. You can't just add a few skills experiences to the first year and hope that will work. The first year must start with the basics so that students are ready to solve more advanced problems. In other words, the first year needs to emphasis the legal reasoning process, how it is applied, and simple problem solving. An important part of reforming the first year is to adopt text books that have been written with the new purpose of the first year in mind and that are based on general learning theory. This article discusses the lessons I learned about writing texts for first-year students from writing an experiential torts text, A Companion to Torts: Think Like a Torts Lawyer (2015). I believe that the keys to writing a first-year text are to 1) start the students out slowly and explicitly, 2) break legal reasoning (thinking like a lawyer) into its essential parts (deductive reasoning, reasoning by analogy, distinguishing, synthesis, and policy-based reasoning) and have students do exercises in each of these types of legal reasoning, 3) teach students how to apply law to facts, and 4) have the students solve increasingly harder problems using these skills.The first half of this paper will present the theoretical basis for the exercises I used in my torts text. Part II will discuss the neurobiology of learning, which must be the foundation for any effective approach to education. Part III will examine the effectiveness of particular learning techniques in relation to the neurobiology of learning. Part IV will lay out "Bloom's Taxonomy," a description of the six stages of cognitive learning. The second half of this paper will then present how I wrote my torts text, based on the theory of the first half. Part V will discuss how to organize the text. Part VI will give the types of exercises that should be included in such a book. These exercises comprise retrieval exercises, issue-spotting exercises, legal reasoning exercises on rule-based reasoning, analogical reasoning, distinguishing cases, rule synthesis, and policy-based reasoning, reflection exercises, metacognitive exercises, professionalism and professional identity exercises, and extended problem-solving exercises.


A new digital Cobalt-60 combined stereotactic radiotherapy and radiosurgery system, termed as the GyroKnife, was developed in Shanghai, China in 2004. The equipment integrates advantages of previous generations of gamma radiosurgery techniques and linear accelerators. The technology has the capacity for non-invasive whole-body stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy and single high-dose radiosurgery as well. Using a triple focussing method, high isocenter accuracy (0.5~1.0 mm) and minimal skin (550:1) or normal tissue irradiation dose were achieved with 4 various sizes of collimator sets (5, 15, 25, 50 mm). The first GyroKnife Center in Kang Da Hospital, Xiang Fan, China, has already treated 100 cases with different tumours in the brain and body since November 2006. The technical details of the system will be presented, and the preliminary clinical results will also be discussed.


During the 2013 growing season.the trial was carried out in the experimental field of University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest to explore the potential for quinoa growing in climatic conditions of South Eastern Romania. Four quinoa varieties provided by the University of Copenhagen were evaluated for seed yield and some morphological traits. Under irrigated conditions, with nitrogen fertilization, seed yield ranged from 1.70 to 2.96 t/ha Jason Red showing the lowest yield (1.70 t/ha).Highest seed yield was exhibited by Jacobsen 2 (2.96 t/ha), followed by Mixed Jacobsen (2.53 t/ha) and Jorgen 37 (1.84 t/ha). Out of four quinoa varieties, only two showed above average seed yield (2.25 t/ha). These two varieties Jacobsen 2 and Mixed Jacobsen also exhibited above average performance for all morphological traits: plant height, maturity, dry weight and harvest index. All morphological traits showed significant positive association with seed yield. The agronomic performances recorded by these varieties suggest that can be extended commercial cultivation of quinoa in the Romania.


OBJECTIVE
The aim is to provide guidelines for the evaluation and management of adults with hypoglycemic disorders, including those with diabetes mellitus.

EVIDENCE
Using the recommendations of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system, the quality of evidence is graded very low (plus sign in circle ooo), low (plus sign in circle plus sign in circle oo), moderate (plus sign in circle plus sign in circle plus sign in circle o), or high (plus sign in circle plus sign in circle plus sign in circle plus sign in circle).

CONCLUSIONS
We recommend evaluation and management of hypoglycemia only in patients in whom Whipple's triad--symptoms, signs, or both consistent with hypoglycemia, a low plasma glucose concentration, and resolution of those symptoms or signs after the plasma glucose concentration is raised--is documented. In patients with hypoglycemia without diabetes mellitus, we recommend the following strategy. First, pursue clinical clues to potential hypoglycemic etiologies--drugs, critical illnesses, hormone deficiencies, nonislet cell tumors. In the absence of these causes, the differential diagnosis narrows to accidental, surreptitious, or even malicious hypoglycemia or endogenous hyperinsulinism. In patients suspected of having endogenous hyperinsulinism, measure plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and circulating oral hypoglycemic agents during an episode of hypoglycemia and measure insulin antibodies. Insulin or insulin secretagogue treatment of diabetes mellitus is the most common cause of hypoglycemia. We recommend the practice of hypoglycemia risk factor reduction--addressing the issue of hypoglycemia, applying the principles of intensive glycemic therapy, and considering both the conventional risk factors and those indicative of compromised defenses against falling plasma glucose concentrations--in persons with diabetes.


Debates about marriage currently capture much public attention. Scholars have pushed beyond the question of whether gays are worthy of marriage to ask whether marriage is worthy of gays. The present moment of questioning marriage in its current form may be brief. Thus, we should take this opportunity to imagine the widest possible range of alternatives to our current marriage regime - what I call countermarriage regimes. This Essay draws on two unlikely sources of legal innovation to expand our thinking about marriage alternatives: literature and anti-gay law. Literature offers an array of countermarriage regimes, including exploding marriage, three-strikes marriage, line marriage, renewable marriage, and exculpatory marriage. Anti-gay law, if we reimagine it as applying to everyone, prompts us to consider a world without marriage or indeed without any contracts between intimate partners. In addition to opening our minds to countermarriage possibilities, this Essay shows some overlooked affinities between law and literature, in particular how both law and literature may serve as unlikely sources of regulatory innovation.


Junctional modifications of T cell receptor (TcR) and immunoglobulin (Ig) gene joining regions provide great diversity to respective protein repertoires. The addition of non-germ-line-encoded nucleotides (N-regions) in the V-J gamma junction is one such modification which is developmentally regulated, rarely evident in the fetal animal, but common in the adult. A question has recently arisen as to whether developmentally patterned N-region additions in V-J gamma joins are a reflection of T cell progenitors which are committed to particular types of rearrangement prior to the event, or of changing environmental influences on uncommitted cell populations. To address this question with regard to the V gamma 3-J gamma 1 join, T cells were examined in the fetal thymic organ culture (FTOC), a system with which the environment of early progenitor cells could be deliberately altered. At various times following FTOC initiation, cells were isolated for examination by the polymerase chain reaction, cloning and sequencing. V gamma 3-J gamma 1 sequences within genomic DNA as well as cDNA were evaluated. Data from these studies revealed frequent N-region additions within V-J gamma joins among day 14 fetal thymocyte populations, a situation dissimilar from that in vivo. Also dissimilar from the in vivo situation was the degree of exonuclease activity evident in FTOC. The canonical V gamma 3-J gamma 1 join (a frequent junction lacking N-region addition) was recognized in all experiments, but was least common among DNA versus cDNA sequences. Results illustrate that early progenitor cell populations are not programmed to exclude junctional modifications from V gamma 3-J gamma 1 joins.


Aim: This study was designed to investigate the effects of virtual reality (VR) through Kinect on both gross and fine motor functions and independence in daily living activities in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP). Materials and Methods: This study was designed as a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial. Sixty children with USCP were randomized and split equally between the VR intervention group (10 females and 20 males with a mean age of 10.5 ± 3.62 years) and the traditional occupational therapy (TOT) intervention group (13 females and 17 males with a mean age of 10.06 ± 3.24 years). Both groups were evaluated in terms of motor functioning via the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form (BOTMP-SF) and were assessed in accordance with independence in daily activities via the WeeFunctional Independence Measure (WeeFIM). Interventions were conducted for 8 weeks with the main objective of improving motor functions and independence in daily activities. Results: Total motor functions and total independence in daily lives in both groups improved after 8 weeks of intervention. A comparison between groups revealed significantly greater improvements in both gross and fine motor functions and daily activities in the VR group than in the TOT group (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The Kinect-based VR intervention approach is important to improving motor functions and independence in daily activities of children with USCP.


Food Materials Science and Engineering covers a comprehensive range of topics in relation to food materials, their properties and characterisation techniques, thus offering a new approach to understanding food production and quality control. The opening chapter will define the scope and application of food materials science, explaining the relationship between raw material structure and processing and quality in the final product. Subsequent chapters will examine the structure of food materials and how they relate to quality, sensory perception, processing attributes and nutrient delivery. The authors also address applications of nanotechnology to food and packaging science. Methods of manufacturing food systems with improved shelf-life and quality attributes will be highlighted in the book.


In the scientific collaborations among different institutions at least two types of distance may be identified: spatial and institutional. We talk about spatial distance if the institutions are located in different places; about institutional distance if the collaborating institutions are of a different kind. Given that there are both barriers and incentives to overcome such distances, the specific focus of this paper is on the way the institutions involved in the collaboration deal with them. We are interested in studying which characteristics, on the point of view of spatial and institutional distance, have the more occasional and more stable collaborations. We also aim to study also what kind of dependencies exist among these types of distance, if there is a trade-off among them, or a relation of complimentarity. We also take the content of the research, if basic or applied, into account. The phenomenon of collaborations among different institutions (firms, universities, hospitals and research centres) is seen through the lens of co-autorship of scientific publications in the Italian ?red? biotech sector. As empirical tools, we adopt some indexes built in the context of the social network analysis (the E-I index and the equivalence coefficient) but previously used in different applications. This kind of analysis may shed more light on the way knowledge flows among innovative agents and should be taken into consideration by the policy maker that aims to promote research collaboration between different institutions.


Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is an important tool in data analyses, particularly in social science. Usually four steps are carried out which contain a large number of options. One important option is the number of factors and the association of variables with a factor. Our tools aim to visualize various models with different numbers in parallel of factors and to analyze which consequences a specific option has.We apply our method to data collected at the School of Business and Economics for evaluation of lectures by students. These data were analyzed by Zhou (2004) and Reichelt (2007).


In the context of the UK Government's ambitious programme of medical school expansion, it is important to have an understanding of how the medical school admissions process works, and with what effects. The issue is also relevant for the Schwartz Review (2004) into higher education admissions. Using individual-level data for two entire cohorts of medical student applicants in UK universities and exploiting the panel structure of the applicant-medical school information, we estimate models to analyse the probability that an individual student receives an offer of a place. We find that prior qualifications, school type, gender, age, social class and ethnic background are major influences on whether a student receives an offer from a medical school. We also find that the probability of receiving an offer from a particular medical school is influenced by the identity of other medical schools applied to. Finally, we find evidence that certain groups of applicants are particularly disadvantaged the later they apply within the application process.


The Cape river crab, Potamonautes perlatus, is widely distributed in streams and rivers of the Western Cape where it exhibits considerable morphological variation. Recent genetic work on populations in the Olifants River system has demonstrated the existence of a new cryptic species of river crab, while populations of P. perlatus in the nearby Berg River system remained uninvestigated. Six populations of P. perlatus were collected from along the length of the Berg River system (125 km) and the genetic structure was investigated using allozyme electrophoresis. Results from 14 allozyme loci showed that the populations were genetically invariant across the river system. It is suggested that gene flow may be responsible for the poor genetic differentiation amongst populations in the Berg River system. The implication for future management of the system is briefly discussed.


"God with us": Faithfully reflected on Scripture The theme of the article is a revisiting of the understanding of Holy Scripture from a dogmatic viewpoint. It is the author's conviction that the point of departure for such an exposition is revelation, which, of course, has to be deconstructed. The epistemological dilemma is that although revelation has ontological priority, it is only noetically accessible. Therefore, it is evident that Scripture has to be regarded as testimony, which puts it on the same level as tradition, except for the accord of the faith community. The application of the thesis is dedicated to the reception of revelation. Scripture then, is the accorded sediment of the reciprocity of the speaking God and a responding people. The conclusion is that the Bible does not have an intrinsic principle, but that referential meaning is given to it by the faith community. This ectopic center can only be ascribed to the work of the Spirit. This creates space for a scientific theology where an extra-systemic understanding of reality corresponds with an intra-systemic coherence.


Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This study investigates the relation between CEO turnover and firm performance in China's listed firms. The study examines how the sensitivity of CEO turnover to firm performance is moderated by the private control of firms, the presence of a majority shareholder and the presence of independent directors on the board. Research Findings/Insights: Using a panel of about 1200 Chinese firms per year from 1999 to 2006 we find significant changes in the ownership and control of firms. The private control of firms and the fraction of independent directors on the board have increased considerably over time. The study finds a significant negative association between CEO turnover and firm performance consistent with the agency model. There is evidence that the CEO turnover sensitivity for poor performance is greater in firms that are privately controlled, or have a majority shareholder, or have a greater fraction of independent directors on the board. Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study provides empirical support for the agency model and the importance of internal corporate governance to attenuate agency costs. It provides important insights into firm governance in transition economies. Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study offers insights to policy makers interested in enhancing the design of internal corporate governance within transition economies.


Based on an analysis of a nationally representative rural household survey and various sources of aggregate statistics, we explore patterns of residential energy use in rural China within the conceptual framework of the energy transition. We find that residential energy consumption varies tremendously across geographic regions due to disparities of access to different energy sources, prices, climate, income and urbanisation level. Household demographic characteristics, in particular household size, have an important impact on residential energy use. Aggregate time series data show that the transition from biomass to modern commercial sources is still at an early stage, and cross-sectional data suggest that incomes may have to rise substantially in order for absolute biomass use to fall. We also find that energy use patterns as a function of net income, rather than total expenditure, are more consistent with the energy transition model in rural China.


In one of his final works (Voyous, 2003), Jacques Derrida expresses in a playful aside his admiration for the craft of the potter, and he compares the potter's work to that of the philosopher. This essay attempts to develop Derrida's aside in the same playful spirit, following the theme or trope of the potter and his products in Western literature (from Homer to Wallace Stevens), religion (from Genesis to Romans), and philosophy (from Plato through Heidegger). ********** (Ah, the wheel [le tour]! Let me confide in you here ... (1) On the threshold, on the cusp, on the lip of what I had hoped to be a singular, incomparable testimony, a unique offering--though I now have no illusions, for the lid is already ajar, the gift inexorably doubled and doomed--I too would like to begin with a parenthetical word of confidence or confession: Jacques Derrida has been so many things to so many of us--instructor and inspiration, master and mentor, philosopher and friend--and he has written so much on so many subjects (I won't even begin to enumerate) that it seems ill-advised, even indecent, to try to reduce him here to any one of these figures or to focus on any one of these subjects. My sole consolation in what follows will thus be that the single figure or conceit I have chosen, the single representation of Jacques Derrida to which I shall limit myself, is one for which Derrida himself expressed an avowed preference in one of his very last works. Near the beginning of Rogues, Derrida confides this image to us in an aside: ("Ah, the wheel [le tour]! Let me confide in you here how much I love this image of the potter, his art, the turns of someone who [...]" [13]). Derrida the potter, then, Derrida "at the wheel," not driving along by turning the wheel, as he also loved to do, but more or less immobile, "at his wheel" as one would speak of a philosopher "at his desk," a philosopher a son tour or, rather, philosopher and potter tour a tour, that is, by turns philosopher and potter, philosopher as potter. Throughout Rogues, Derrida likens himself to someone who has been bound, stretched, tortured on the wheel by being pulled in opposite directions by contrary imperatives, and while that image works well for that context, a more appropriate image is, for me here today at least, Derrida not on but at the wheel, driven rather than driving, driven but immobile at the centre of a spinning disk, a master craftsman at his wheel, spinning his materials at the centre of a turning machine: ("[...] how much I love this image of the potter, his art, the turns of someone who, on his wheel, makes a piece of pottery rise up like a tower by sculpting it, moulding it, but without subjecting himself, or herself, to the automatic, rotating movement, by remaining as free as possible with regard to the rotation, putting his or her entire body, feet and hands alike, to work on the machine [...]"). Derrida at the wheel, then, a creator or demiurge moving and shaping the four elements, moulding and fashioning bits of earthen clay by spinning them through the air, mixing in water to make them smooth and pliable, and then firing and vitrifying the sculpted pots, jugs, and urns to be exported to the four corners of the globe. Imagine him, then, Derrida at the wheel ... I am thinking, for example, of that writing desk in the sunroom in Ris-Orangis, Derrida surrounded by his materials, books and articles, dictionaries and lexicons, the Apple at the center of the wheel being worked on, manipulated with both hands, a text moulded and shaped over the course of a morning. Or, better, I think of him at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes on the Boulevard Raspail, teaching, educating, exercising, in truth, the craft of a master potter before a couple hundred students or apprentices who have come not to sit at the master's feet but to learn at his hands ("[...] putting his or her entire body [...] cultivating the art of a sculptor but also that of an architect and composer who imposes on or rather grants to matter differences in height, changes in color and tone, variations in rhythm, accelerations or decelerations [allegro or presto, adagio or lento], in a space as sonorous in the end as a sort of musical transposition or discreet word. …


It is ironic that at a time when biodiversity is seriously threatened by habitat destruction and other human activities, biochemical and genetic ("biogenetic") resources discovered in nature make a huge contribution to the global economy. Yet only a minimal share of the benefits accrue to the countries providing these resources. Why is this? This paper seeks reasons in the ways that biogenetic resources are accessed and utilised by firms developing new high value-added products such as pharmaceuticals. It is suggested that developing countries can expect few substantial benefits from exporting plants and other biogenetic material. Rather, they need to upgrade their science and technology capacities to add value to their biological endowments. It is very much in the interests of developed countries concerned about biodiversity loss to provide financial and technical assistance to achieve this.


Changes in body's energetic conditions were measured by the AMI (Apparatus for Meridian Identification) through the three sessions of the Reconnective Healing performed on a subject who had lower limbs emaciated and had been unable to walk for 6 months prior to this study. Before the healing trial, significant Qi-energy deficiencies and left/right imbalances were detected in the subject's lower body, suggesting a condition in which substantial Qi had shifted to the upper body (+23%) and consequently the Qi in the lower body had been depleted. Similar upper/lower imbalances were detected in the autonomic nervous system function and the body's protective function, indicating that their activity levels in the lower body were significantly diminished. As the healing sessions progressed, both the Qi-energy deficiencies and left/right imbalances in the lower body were corrected and the normal balance of Qi-energy distribution in the subject's meridian system was restored. This restoration of Q-energy balance seems to have been realized by redistributing the subject's own Qi-energy. Concurrently with this replenishment of Qi in the subject's lower body, the activity levels of both the autonomic nervous system function and the body's protective function in the subject's lower body were increased. These results strongly suggest that the functional revitalization in the subject's body system took place particularly in the lower body as a result of the healing. This study provides support for the reality of Qi-energy adjustment in the so called Non-Touch Energy Healing, despite the absence of the physical interaction between the subject and the healer.


This article seeks to contribute to the existing critical debates on money and debt by advancing three main arguments. First, largely due to such debates' tendency for description, the article argues that in in the heterodox literature on money and debt there is no convincing critical theory of money creation. For this reason the authors introduce the theory of capital as power and how it can help us theorize the consequences of present money creation. Second, the authors demonstrate how the capitalization of money creation by a minority of investors not only leads to the political chase for unsustainable economic growth, but also how there is a differential distribution of interest upwards that helps generate greater economic inequality in the United States. Third, they argue that in an era of declining growth, dominant owners of capital seek to recapture their expected return on investments by extracting a greater share of the national income from the vast majority of citizens through a fiscal politics of austerity.


The key research problem is to investigate the current newspaper industry and the eventual scope for a free newspaper company for building business and the advertize market in Bangladesh. The main purpose of our research is to present the actual situation of the newspaper industry and all branches of the industry in Bangladesh. Also the goal is to figure out the real situation of the advertisement market which is the most important building block for a free newspaper. We have tried to explore the exact state of the newspaper industry in Bangladesh and if there is any scope or feasibility to start a free newspaper company. We tried to find out the growth of the advertising market in print media especially and also focused on readership tendency among the different age groups. After all the analysis we found Bangladesh has a prospective market for starting a free news paper company in the future.


Angle-independent colours have enormous potential in buildings, displays and sensors. Here, we have demonstrated angle-independent full-colour films by spray-coating monodispersed silica nanoparticles (NPs) of different sizes (100–340 nm in diameter). Ethanol and isopropanol with low surface tension and medium volatility were selected as solvents to spray-coat nanoparticles, forming quasi-amorphous arrays on various substrates. The angle-resolved reflection and scattering measurements showed that the real sample colour matched the colour from interference of reflected light at the specular angle but did not match the scattering peak position. Further study and colour fitting suggests that the observed colour of the spray-coated nanoparticle assembly arose from a combination of constructive interference and Rayleigh scattering. Moreover, we attempted to enhance the colour saturation by replacing air with water between the black background and the coating, in order to suppress reflection from the background.


Objective: Hoarding is commonly defined as the acquisition of and failure to discard possessions of little use or value, and is included as a symptom in the diagnostic criteria for obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). However, it has also been observed in other clinical syndromes including schizophrenia. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and clinical presentation of hoarding behaviour in schizophrenia among Xhosa patients. Method: The sample consisted of 102 patients, recruited as part of a larger genetic study in the Cape Town metropole between November 2004 and January 2005, diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-IV ) criteria. They were screened for clinically significant hoarding symptoms. If these were present, additional information on the phenomenology was obtained by means of a structured questionnaire. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) (screen and full version), the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) Checklist, Y-BOCS, Clutter Image Rating Scale (CIRS) and a structured questionnaire on hoarding were administered. Results: Only four patients with schizophrenia were classified as hoarders. Although their clinical presentation resembled that of hoarders described elsewhere in the literature, they had low Y-BOCS scores and did not report other obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Conclusion: Our results suggest that hoarding behaviour is not common in Xhosa patients with schizophrenia. Further investigation of protective factors for hoarding behaviour in the Xhosa population is warranted.


The thesis presents an analysis of strategic plan-making in the metropolitan county councils during the 1970s, principally through a case study of local authority activity in South Yorkshire between 1973 and 1978. In addition to the detailed case study some original empirical material and secondary analysis was undertaken in the other metropolitan county councils (apart from London) in order to draw comparisons between planning processes and public participation. The research employed a variety of methods/ techniques including non-participant observation of many formal and informal meetings within local government, secondary analysis of published and internal documentation from local authorities in South Yorkshire and the other metropolitan areas, interviews with samples of members and officers in the five South Yorkshire local authorities and with selected planning officers in the other five metropolitan county councils. A small survey of local groups and voluntary organisations in South Yorkshire was undertaken towards the end of the time period under study. In addition, the close involvement of the researcher with the planning process gave many opportunities for informal discussion with key personnel. Towards the end of the planning period the examination in public was covered in full by attendance and recording of all sessions, together with secondary analysis of all submitted documentation and the DOE day summaries. A context is provided in the early sections, not only to the strategic planning process and planning participation but to the democratic roots of participation in politics. The empirical material is present in three sections, namely, the strategic planning process and public participation, relationships between local authorities in the two-tier system of local government in the metropolitan areas, and central-local relations. The main findings under these three heads show, respectively, that; a) professional planning staff and local councillors held distinctively different views on the nature of the planning process, on the role and nature of public participation in planning, and ultimately, on what was felt to be a justifiable and acceptable set of strategic planning policies for the county; b) the split in town planning responsibilities and functions between the two tiers of local government in the metropolitan areas led to tension and confrontation at both the technical and political level. This tension was exacerbated by the rationalistic and comprehensive approach to plan making favoured by the professional officers in the country; c) the role of central government in moulding the structure plan towards an outcome favoured by the centre (ministers and civil servants) overrode the distributional and interventionist strategy favoured by the county council leaving a trend-following, market oriented framework in place as the approved plan. A number of broader observations based on the findings conclude the study.


We report on infrared supercontinuum generation extending over more than one octave of bandwidth, from 850 nm to 2.35 μm, produced in a single spatial mode from a robust, compact, composite chalcogenide glass nanotaper. A picosecond laser at 1.55 μm pumps a high-index-contrast, all-solid nanotaper that strongly confines the field to a 480 nm diameter core, while a thermally compatible built-in polymer jacket lends the nanotaper mechanical stability.


Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networking have a lot of practical applicability's over the years. File storage and resource sharing are few key areas among the others where such peered network architecture is widely successful. The common building block for P2P networking is to store or locate an identifiable resource, for which there are basically 3 approaches namely (1) local storage/broadcast search (2) global storage/local search (3) distributed storage/distributed search. With the development of mobile hardware and wireless technology, it further became feasible to use mobile devices in these P2P networks. This computing architecture is widely used in Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) for building content sharing applications. Search algorithm and file transfer schemes are the basic components of such content sharing systems. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the resource discovery approaches for peer-to-peer file sharing applications over MANET. We analyze and classify the search techniques into 4 broad schemes, mainly the flooding-based schemes, Distributed Hash Table (DHT) based schemes, advertisement-based schemes, and social network-based schemes. The pros and cons of each technique is summarized. Further, a one-to-one comparison is done across the classes for quick interpretation. We also outline the various issues, and complications that should be taken into consideration while designing any resource discovery algorithm. Further, we briefly discuss the security threats, and present state-of-the-art countermeasures for it. Also, we highlight some important guidelines that need to be focused while designing efficient file sharing applications and services in Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) enabled networks. Comprehensive and in-depth assessments of the related approaches are presented providing clear insights for the future research directions.


Inhibitory interneurons are the "shush"-ers of the brain—their output causes a reduction in the output of other neurons. Inhibitory interactions play a critical role in the olfactory bulb, where they shape olfactory representations that guide behavior. However, the mechanisms by which interneuron activation improves olfactory function remain debated. In particular, the relative importance neural activity over short periods of time (~tens of milliseconds) versus long periods of time (hundreds to thousands of milliseconds) has provoked significant debate.

Granule cells are inhibitory interneurons in the olfactory bulb that can respond and influence olfactory bulb activity across a wide range of timescales. The first part of this dissertation investigates the physiological mechanisms driving the timing of granule cell recruitment. We found that the specific timing of recruitment depends on the timing of synaptic excitation delivered from tufted cells. Tufted cells (unlike the more commonly studied mitral cells) are able to fire at long latencies due to intrinsic membrane properties that allow them to integrate weak inputs slowly while responding rapidly to strong inputs. Computational modeling revealed that the long-latency inhibition generated by this mechanism can improve performance on stimulus discrimination tasks.

The second portion of this dissertation focuses on the downstream effects of granule cell recruitment. Highly correlated spiking can be advantageous for propagating information. However, these same correlations limit encoding by introducing redundancy. We investigated how granule cell recruitment altered correlations between mitral cell pairs across timescales. We found that granule cell recruitment increased fast timescale correlations (i.e. synchronous spiking) while simultaneously decreasing slow timescale correlations (i.e. firing rate similarity). Using computational modeling, we show that timescale-dependent correlation changes are functionally advantageous because they can circumvent the tradeoff between propagation and encoding.

Taken together, these studies extend our understanding of olfactory bulb physiology by providing a mechanistic description of how inhibitory circuits shape activity across timescales. Our results indicate that granule cell recruitment requires dynamic and stimulus-dependent interactions between mitral, tufted, and granule cells, and that the inhibition recruited by this mechanism works at multiple timescales to effectively encode and propagate stimulus information.


This paper focuses on the PLEIADES fuel performance software environment and its application to the modeling of pellet-cladding interaction (PCI). The PLEIADES platform has been under development for 10 yr; a unified software environment, including the multidimensional finite element solver CAST3M, has been used to develop eight computation schemes now under operation. Among the latter, the ALCYONE application is devoted to pressurized water reactor fuel rod behavior. This application provides a three-dimensional (3-D) model for a detailed analysis of fuel element behavior and enables validation through comparing simulation and postirradiation examination results (cladding residual diameter and ridges, dishing filling, pellet cracking, etc.). These last years the 3-D computation scheme of the ALCYONE application has been enriched with a complete set of physical models to take into account thermomechanical and chemical-physical behavior of the fuel element under irradiation. These models have been validated through the ALCYONE application on a large experimental database composed of approximately 400 study cases. The strong point of the ALCYONE application concerns the local approach of stress-corrosion-cracking rupture under PCI, which can be computed with the 3-D finite element solver. Further developments for PCI modeling in the PLEIADES platform are devoted to a new mesh refinement method for assessing stress-and-strain concentration (multigrid technique) and a new component for assessing fission product chemical recombination.


In India, poverty reduction is one of the major objectives of economic development programmes. Though, India was the first country in the world to define poverty as the total per capita expenditure of the lowest expenditure class, which is required to ascertain a minimum intake of 2400 kcal/day in rural and 2100 kcal/day in urban areas. There exists a substantial interstate and urban rural differential in the cost of goods and services.
The present study envisages analysing the nature, extent and severity of rural poverty across different household classes at selected villages in the state of Jharkhand. It also attempts to find out the determinants of poverty in the villages under study with the help of data obtained from four village's viz. Dubaliya, Hesapiri, Dumariya and Durgapur under the project entitled "Tracking change in rural poverty in household and village economies in Eastern India."
For this study, we used a method known as FGT index to measure the incidence of poverty (headcount ratio), intensity of poverty (poverty gap ratio) and severity of poverty (squared poverty gap ratio). To find out the determinants of poverty, affecting the probability of an individual being poor, we estimated a Probit model using poverty as a dependent factor-a binary (poor-1 and non-poor-0) and a set of agricultural and socio-economic variables as explanatory variables.
The severity of poverty was least (0.9%) in Dubaliya village, whereas it was highest in Durgapur village (15.4%) of Jharkhand where incidence and depth of poverty were also comparatively high. Even in case of poverty severity, labour class households and large farm households appears to be comparatively less affected than that of small and medium classes. However, in general, the pattern of severity is apparently mixed here.
Among various determinants of poverty, obtained by estimating a probit model, considering poor as 1 and non-poor 0, it was found that length of education and number of earning members in family had significant poverty reducing effect, implying that for taking a poor household out of poverty promotion of education and creation of more employment opportunities to provide employment to a large number of household members are essential. It also emanates that big family size and increased dependency on agriculture would induce poverty and it is therefore imperative that family planning policies and alternative non-farm employment programme should receive due priority in any poverty alleviation programme in the state.


The Effect of Foot Strengthening Exercise on Dynamic Function of the Medial Longitudinal Arch in Runners: A Preliminary Report Jarom Bridges Department of Exercise Sciences, BYU Master of Science Therapeutic exercise has previously been shown to alter the static height of the medial longitudinal arch (MLA). It is still unknown, however, if these effects carry over into dynamic activities. PURPOSE: To determine if an 8-week foot strengthening exercise program increases static arch height and reduces vertical deformation of the MLA during mid-stance in running. METHODS: Thirty-four recreational runners (17 males, 17 females) have completed this ongoing study (age 24.06 ± 3.61 years, body mass 68.63 ± 12.95 kg, and height 173.34 ± 9.54 cm). To date, 22 subjects have been assigned to the control group (8 weeks of normal running) and 12 to the foot strengthening group (8 weeks of foot strengthening, along with normal running). Static arch height (SAH) and dynamic arch drop (DAD) were measured at baseline and following the 8-week intervention using Vicon motion analysis. Reflective markers were placed on the proximal and distal ends of the 1st and 5th metatarsals. These 4 markers were recorded in static double leg stance to estimate SAH, and in single leg mid-stance to give a measure of DAD during treadmill running at a self-selected pace. Ten-second trials were recorded at minutes 3 and 4 during running and DAD was evaluated for right and left feet by comparing arch height in mid-stance to the SAH. Following the intervention, data for SAH and DAD were compared across time points and statistical analysis performed to identify differences in the amount of change in SAH and DAD between groups. RESULTS: There was no difference noted in DAD between the groups as a whole, but the change in DAD from baseline to the end of week 8 was statistically significant for those in the foot strengthening group with an initial DAD of ≥ 3.80 mm (p < .028). There was also a statistically significant increase in SAH in the foot strengthening group compared to the control group (p = .013). CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data suggest that the foot strengthening intervention was effective in increasing SAH compared to the control group. The intervention was most effective at decreasing DAD in those with the largest amount of DAD at baseline. At this time it is unknown whether this decrease in arch drop is associated with performance benefits or decreased injury risk in the recreational runner, and further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings.


Most medical researchers, whether clinical or non-clinical, receive some background in statistics as undergraduates. However, it is most often brief, a long time ago, and largely forgotten by the time it is needed. Furthermore, many introductory texts fall short of adequately explaining the underlying concepts of statistics, and often are divorced from the reality of conducting and assessing medical research.

Practical Statistics for Medical Research is a problem-based text for medical researchers, medical students, and others in the medical arena who need to use statistics but have no specialized mathematics background.

The author draws on twenty years of experience as a consulting medical statistician to provide clear explanations to key statistical concepts, with a firm emphasis on practical aspects of designing and analyzing medical research. The text gives special attention to the presentation and interpretation of results and the many real problems that arise in medical research


The need for concurrency in modern software is increasingly fulfilled by utilizing the message passing paradigm because of its modularity and scalability. In the message passing paradigm, concurrently running processes communicate by sending and receiving messages. Asynchronous messaging introduces the possibility of message ordering problems: two messages with a specific order in the program text could take effect in the opposite order in the program execution and lead to bugs that are hard to find and debug. We believe that the engineering of message passing software could be easier if more is known about the characteristics of message ordering problems in practice. In this work, we present an analysis to study and quantify the relation between ordering problems and semantics variations of their underlying message passing paradigm in over 30 applications. Some of our findings are as follows: (1) semantic variations of the message passing paradigm can cause ordering problems exhibited by applications in different programming patterns to vary greatly; (2) some semantic features such as in-order messaging are critical for reducing ordering problems; (3) modular enforcement of aliasing in terms of data isolation allows small test configurations to trigger the majority of ordering problems.


Previous research has shown that fundamentalist religious beliefs and affiliations are associated with conservative gender attitudes. This study expands upon previous research by examining both the individual and contextual effects of conservative Protestantism on gender attitudes. Multilevel analysis of data from the General Social Surveys (1985-96) reveals a significant relationship between the proportion of fundamentalists in a state and conservative gender attitudes of white individuals within that state even after controlling for the individuals' own religious affiliation, beliefs, and practices.


This paper describes a graphical editor designed to enable a soccer coach, without any computer science knowledge, to specify team strategies for RoboCup. The team strategy is compiled into separate agents that play according to the strategy. In an attempt to make the use of the editor natural for a coach, the design is based on the idea of a coach drawing a strategy on a whiteboard to show human players how to play during a game. The strategies that can be expressed include the formations of the players at diierent situations and how they move the ball within and between those formations.


Adulthood has been traditionally viewed as a sequential acquisition of markers that signify maturity (Blatterer, 2007). A debate exists among researchers regarding the timing and significance of these markers of adulthood. Some researchers argue that young adults are choosing to delay entry into adulthood (Arnett, 2007), while others argue it is due to economic circumstances and the inability of young people to successfully transition into stable employment (Arnett, 2007). This research examined how job stability affects subsequent markers of adulthood, and provided information that will advance the debate regarding the nature of the transition to adulthood. Through secondary analysis of a U.S. based dataset, Add Health (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health) this research utilized duration analysis to examine job stability among young people, and the relationship between job stability and marriage. The sample consisted of 6,504 participants ranging from age 25 to 34. The pattern of results that emerged in this study suggested that job stability among young people is a complex area of research that requires further exploration.


Abstract. Chemical reactions of dissolved gases in the liquid phase play a key role in atmospheric processes both in the formation of secondary atmospheric compounds and their wet removal rate but also in the regulation of the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere. The behavior of gaseous species and their chemical transformation in clouds are difficult to observe experimentally given the complex nature of clouds. During a winter field campaign at the summit of the Puy de Dome (central France, 1465 m a.s.l), we have deployed an experimental set-up to provide a quantification of phase partitioning of both organic (CH3COOH, HCOOH, H2C2O4) and inorganic (NH3, HNO3, SO2, HCl) species in clouds. We found that nitric and hydrochloric acids can be considered close to Henry's law equilibrium, within analytical uncertainty and instrumental errors. On another hand, for NH3 and carboxylic acids, dissolution of material from the gas phase is kinetically limited and never reaches the equilibrium predicted by thermodynamics, resulting in significant sub-saturation of the liquid phase. On the contrary, SIV is supersaturated in the liquid phase, in addition to the presence of significant aerosol-derived SVI transferred through nucleation scavenging. Upon droplet evaporation, a significant part of most species, including SIV, tends to efficiently return back into the gas phase. Overall, gas contribution to the droplet solute concentration ranges from at least 48.5 to 98% depending on the chemical species. This is particularly important considering that aerosol scavenging efficiencies are often calculated assuming a negligible gas-phase contribution to the solute concentration. Our study emphasizes the need to account for the in-cloud interaction between particles and gases to provide an adequate modeling of multiphase chemistry systems and its impact on the atmospheric aerosol and gas phases.


Foraging strategies must be tuned to the availability and distribution of resources in the environment. This can occur over generations and lead to genetic differences in foraging behavior, or it can occur on shorter time scales within an individual's life span. Both genetic and experience-based strategies must be implemented by neural circuits that respond to environmental cues and track internal states, and the analysis of such circuits provides insight into the neural basis of complex decision making. In C. elegans, between-strain genetic differences and within-strain plasticity in foraging has been observed. Most individual changes in foraging are short-term, based on experience over several hours. Here, we tested if developmental experience could permanently alter foraging. We found that in wild strains that are normally highly exploratory, early-life starvation leads to "cautious" foraging behavior in which exploration is reduced. We characterize the behavioral bases for these strategies and identify changes in the dynamics of a locomotory circuit involved in navigation. Overall, we show that some C. elegans strains exhibit adaptive tuning of their foraging behavior based on early-life experience, and this is associated with changes in a core navigation circuit.


Photo-irradiation reduction of graphene oxide to produce graphene is a simplified, rapid, energy efficient and poisonous material free alternative to the most commonly used chemical reduction method. This process not only can be used to produce large quantities of high quality graphene for large-size supercapacitors usable in automotive and stationary energy storage, but also can be used to prepare small amount of graphene used for printable, portable and flexible supercapacitors. The main advantage of the photo-irradiation process is that it does not rely on the use of chemicals or high temperature. Specifically, it can shorten the reaction time from several hours to a few minutes. In addition, photo-irradiation reduction has significant advantages for the design and fabrication of graphene-based micro-devices since graphene layers can be structured by direct patterning of graphene oxide films. With the rapid progress of photo-irradiation reduction methodology, low cost and high volume industrial production of graphene by this method could become a vital process. In this paper, the recent advances of using the photo-irradiation reduction process to produce graphene will be reviewed. The paper will also describe the characteristics of photo-reduced graphene and its performance when it is used as the active electrode materials for supercapacitors.


Meteorites are the only significant source of material from other planets and asteroids, and therefore are of immense scientific value. Antarctica's frozen and pristine environment has proven to be the best place on earth to harvest meteorite specimens. The lack of melting and surface erosion keep meteorite falls visible on the ice surface in pristine condition for thousands of years. In this article, we describe the robotic technologies and field demonstration that enabled the first discovery of Antarctic meteorites by a robot. Using a novel autonomous control architecture, specialized science sensing, combined manipulation and visual servoing, and Bayesian classification, the Nomad robot found and classified five indigenous meteorites during an expedition to the remote site of Elephant Moraine in January 2000. This article first overviews Nomad's mechatronic systems and details the control architecture that governs the robot's autonomy and classifier that enables the autonomous interpretation of scientific data. It then focuses on the technical results achieved during field demonstrations at Elephant Moraine. Finally, the article discusses the benefits and limitations of robotic autonomy in science missions. Science autonomy is shown as a capable and expandable architecture for exploration and in situ classification. Inefficiencies in the existing implementation are explained with a focus on important lessons that outline future work.


Tracing the evolution of Atlantic City from a miserable hamlet of fishermen's huts in 1854 to the nation's premier seaside resort in 1910, The Social Anxieties of Progressive Reform chronicles a bizarre political conflict that reaches to the very heart of Progressivism. Operating outside of the traditional constraints of family, church, and community, commercial recreation touched the rawest nerves of the reform impulse. The sight of young men and women frolicking in the surf and tangoing on the beach and the presence of unescorted women in boardwalk cafs and cabarets translated for many Progressives, secular and evangelical alike, into a wholesale rejection of socio-sexual restraints and portended disaster for the American family. While some viewed Atlantic City as a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah, others considered the resort the triumph of American democracy and a healthy and innocent release from the drudgery and regimentation of industrial society. These conflicting currents resulted in a policy of strategic censorship that evolved in stages during the formative years of the city. Sunday drinking, gambling, and prostitution were permitted, albeit under increasingly stringent controls, but resort amusements were significantly restricted and shut down entirely on Sunday. This policy also segregated blacks from the beach and the boardwalk. By 1890, more than one in five residents of Atlantic City was black, a uniquely high ratio among northern cities. While the urban economies of the north depended on immigrant labor, the resort economy of Atlantic City rested on legions of black cooks, waiters, bellmen, and domestic workers. Paulsson's description of African-American life in Atlantic City provides a vivid and comprehensive picture of life in the North during the decades following the Civil War. Paulsson's work, and his focus on changing social values and growing racial tensions, brings to light an ongoing crisis in American society, namely the chasm between religion and mass culture as embodied by the indifference to the sanctity of the Sabbath. In Atlantic City, churches mounted a nationwide effort to preserve the Christian Sunday, a movement that grew steadily after the Civil War. Paullson's account of modern Sabbatarianism provides fresh insights into the nature of evangelical reform and its relationship to the Progressive movement. Filled with over forty delightful historical photographs that vividly depict the evolution of the resort's architecture, political scene, and even swimwear, The Social Anxieties of Progressive Reform is must reading for anyone interested in American mass culture, Progressivism, and reform movements. Paulsson has illustrated the story with over forty delightful historical photographs that vividly depict the evolution of the resort's architecture, political scene, and even swimwear.


This paper proposes a rethinking of 'radicalisation' as a process with no definite beginning or inevitable end-point. Reflecting on empirical research which engaged with radical Islamist and far-right activists and supporters, it argues that we should not focus the concept of radicalisation on the moment in which an individual or group moves from legal to illegal activity, or from non-violent to violent, as this is only one part of a longer journey. Thus, the term radicalisation should encompass any movements towards greater conflict, both commonplace and rare, small and large, driven by a potentially infinite range of motives, encompassing all political outlooks, and made by individuals, groups, societies and states. Using this conceptualisation instead allows us to examine how small conflicts escalate through 'reciprocal radicalisation', and how big radicalisations arise from microradicalisations. This, we argue, provides a more equitable basis for policy and practice that aims to avoid, prevent or combat the most problematic radicalisations, or otherwise resolve political conflict. To achieve this, however, also means not hyping everyday radicalisations into a threat to the existence of the nation state.


One of the most controversial uses of prosecutorial discretion in plea bargaining concerns cases involving weak evidence of guilt. When a prosecutor bargains about the charges or even the facts in a case with weak evidence, at least three problems may arise. First, if the charge bargain is generous, it may coerce an innocent defendant to plead guilty. Second, such a bargain may let a guilty defendant off too easily, thus disserving the public and victim's interests. Third, if the parties bargain about the facts, the result may distort the truth of the case. In this book chapter, I examine how three major legal systems - those of the United States, Germany, and Japan - approach these potential problems. To do so, I discuss how prosecutors in these systems would resolve a hypothetical criminal case involving weak evidence. I have chosen to compare the United States, Germany, and Japan because of their distinct approaches to both plea bargaining and prosecutorial discretion. In the United States, prosecutors have largely unfettered discretion in both charging and plea bargaining. Germany allows a form of sentence bargaining that involves both the prosecutor and the judge, but sharply limits prosecutorial discretion with respect to charging and prohibits charge and fact bargaining. Japan does not allow any explicit bargaining, but gives prosecutors broad discretion to refrain from filing charges. After describing the relevant differences in the prosecutors' role in these countries, I raise several questions about the proper approach for prosecutors in evidentially weak cases. While none of the systems I discuss has a perfect solution to the problem of factually weak cases, the comparison may encourage us to rethink three key features of American-style plea bargaining: our practice of aggressive charge bargaining, particularly in cases where the evidence is weak; the lack of limits on plea discounts; and the limited external and internal review of prosecutorial charge bargaining decisions.


We report our investigation on the even-parity autoionization (AI) resonances of atomic uranium in the energy region 52,850–53,350  cm−1, using the three-color optogalvanic spectroscopy technique in a U–Ne hollow cathode discharge lamp with three pulsed dye lasers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of observation of even-parity AI states in atomic uranium lying more than 2000  cm−1 above the ionization limit. We have used four different excitation schemes, starting from the lowest metastable state of uranium at 620  cm−1 (K505). We have identified 102 new even-parity AI resonances in atomic uranium and assigned probable total angular momentum (J) values to these resonances. By observing 25 out of these 102 AI resonances through more than one excitation pathway, the ambiguity in the assignment of their J values has been reduced considerably.


Title of Dissertation: ADJUSTMENT IN VICTIMS OF SEPTEMBER 11: REACTIONS TO A LARGE-SCALE CIVILAN TRAUMA Stacey Elizabeth Holmes, Doctor of Philosophy, 2004 Dissertation directed by: Professor Mary Ann Hoffman Department of Counseling and Personnel Services This study sought to examine reactions to the September 11 terrorist attacks and identify factors that could affect those reactions. Subjective well-being (SWB), impact of traumatic event, and job satisfaction served as the means of assessing adjustment to 9/11/01. It was predicted that those with better health perceptions, more positive psychological characteristics, and more social support would report better overall adjustment to the traumatic events experienced on September 11, 2001. While few hypotheses related to job satisfaction and impact of events were significant, both the psychological variables of resiliency and optimism were predictive of SWB before, two weeks after, and one year after 9/11/01, indicating that people in this sample who perceived themselves as more resilient and optimistic also reported higher levels of SWB or seemed to be happier and have a higher quality of life. Cluster analysis was also used to examine changes in SWB over time (before the event to two weeks after to one year after). The participants in this sample were found to cluster into four groups. The first group's levels of SWB stayed the same, and the second's declined. The third group's SWB increased after 9/11 and eventually returned to baseline, and the fourth group's SWB increased. Resiliency and optimism were found to relate to group membership. While many studies have demonstrated the maladaptive reactions that people have to trauma, this study provides evidence that some people actually report a higher level of SWB following a traumatic event. This study suggests that people who are more optimistic and who have higher levels of resiliency, particularly more feelings of determination and willingness to seek meaning, and fewer feelings of helplessness, will also report a higher level of subjective well-being after dealing with a traumatic event. This study is important because it provides evidence that people, specifically who are directly exposed to a traumatic event, do respond in very different ways. While some people are unaffected or negatively impacted by trauma, many others have positive outcomes (posttraumatic growth) that lead them to a greater appreciation for and more satisfaction with their lives than before the traumatic experience. ADJUSTMENT IN VICTIMS OF SEPTEMBER 11: REACTIONS TO A LARGESCALE CIVILAN TRAUMA by Stacey Elizabeth Holmes Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2004 Advisory Committee: Professor Mary Ann Hoffman, Chair Professor Charles Gelso Professor Gregory Hancock Professor Clara E. Hill Professor Dennis Kivlighan © Copyright by Stacey Elizabeth Holmes 2004


Project planning is widely thought to be an important contributor to project success. However, does the research affirm its impact and give guidance as to how much effort should be spent planning? The literature in project management, and to a lesser extent in general management, is reviewed to find the reported link between planning and project success. Overall, the literature points to a strong link between planning and project success. A summary of the available studies shows unexpectedly consistent empirical results for the correlation of planning quality and success. The literature appears to be generally consistent showing an average value of R 2 = .33 correlation with efficiency and R 2 = .34 for overall project success. This indicates a significant impact if compared to the reported approximate 20-33% recommended planning effort.


A method that characterizes two-mode waveguides whose modes cannot be selectively excited (such as buried waveguides) is presented and demonstrated. The theoretical results are presented for N modes, although for the sake of simplicity, only the two-mode case is developed. The values of the optical mode fields are recovered from several images of the waveguide exit face, where both modes interfere with different relative intensity in each image. From these mode fields, both the squared index distribution, except in an additive constant, and the effective index difference can be obtained by inverting the Helmholtz equation. As in the case of the standard monomode intensity method, the relative values of effective indices and index distributions become absolute if the modes are retrieved in a point of known index, for instance, in the substrate. The method can also be applied to multimode guides if only two modes are excited. In fact, an inexpensive setup is proposed to excite the first two modes of a multimode buried waveguide. This waveguide was fabricated by ion exchange in glass and buried by electromigration. The shape of the squared refractive index recovered by the proposed method agrees with that reported in the literature.


Recently GPUs have risen as one important parallel platform for general purpose applications, both in HPC and cloud environments. Due to the special execution model, developing programs for GPUs is difficult even with the recent introduction of high-level languages like CUDA and OpenCL. To ease the programming efforts, some research has proposed automatically generating parallel GPU codes by complex compiletime techniques. However, this approach can only parallelize loops 100% free of inter-iteration dependencies (i.e., DOALL loops). To exploit runtime parallelism, which cannot be proven by static analysis, in this work, we propose GPU-TLS, a runtime system to speculatively parallelize possibly-parallel loops in sequential programs on GPUs. GPU-TLS parallelizes a possibly-parallel loop by chopping it into smaller sub-loops, each of which is executed in parallel by a GPU kernel, speculating that no inter-iteration dependencies exist. After dependency checking, the buffered writes of iterations without mis-speculations are copied to the master memory while iterations encountering mis-speculations are re-executed. GPUTLS addresses several key problems of speculative loop parallelization on GPUs: (1) The larger mis-speculation rate caused by larger number of threads is reduced by three approaches: the loop chopping parallelization approach, the deferred memory update scheme and intra-warp value forwarding method. (2) The larger overhead of dependency checking is reduced by a hybrid scheme: eager intra-warp dependency checking combined with lazy inter-warp dependency checking. (3) The bottleneck of serial commit is alleviated by a parallel commit scheme, which allows different iterations to enter the commit phase out of order but still guarantees sequential semantics. Extensive evaluations using both microbenchmarks and reallife applications on two recent NVIDIA GPU cards show that speculative loop parallelization using GPU-TLS can achieve speedups ranging from 5 to 160 for sequential programs with possibly-parallel loops. Keywords-GPGPU; Speculative Loop Parallelization; ThreadLevel Speculation (TLS); GPU-TLS


This paper calls for a new breed of lightweight systems - dynamic data management systems (DDMS). In a nutshell, a DDMS manages large dynamic data structures with agile, frequently fresh views, and provides a facility for monitoring these views and triggering application-level events. We motivate DDMS with applications in large-scale data analytics, database monitoring, and high-frequency algorithmic trading. We compare DDMS to more traditional data management systems architectures. We present the DBToaster project, which is an ongoing effort to develop a prototype DDMS system. We describe its architecture design, techniques for high-frequency incremental view maintenance, storage, scaling up by parallelization, and various key challenges to overcome to make DDMS a reality.


The 'deconstruction exercise' aims to give non-Indigenous health profession students the ability to recognise language that is imbued with power imbalance, so as to avoid the perpetuation of racialised ways of interacting with Indigenous peoples in the health system. Informed by Ngarrindjeri and Malak Malak perspectives, this is a measured anti–racism strategy, one able to address unexamined, racist language in a manner that avoids the emotive or combative nature of unstructured discussions around the impacts of racism. ISSN: ISSN 1837-0144 © International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies 29 We argue that once a health care professional is able to exhibit decolonised language, together with a re-orientation towards decolonised practice, a door opens; one vital for the development of a more-effective, culturally-safe practitioner. In an academic setting, this 'Ngarrindjeri way' has shaped the deconstruction exercise, which ensures that students are 'having the hard conversations' in a pragmatic manner that challenges 'whiteness', whilst honouring each student's dignity, on a learning journey that is informed by Indigenous methodologies.


In this work, we describe a new deep learning based method that can effectively distinguish AI-generated fake videos (referred to as {\em DeepFake} videos hereafter) from real videos. Our method is based on the observations that current DeepFake algorithm can only generate images of limited resolutions, which need to be further warped to match the original faces in the source video. Such transforms leave distinctive artifacts in the resulting DeepFake videos, and we show that they can be effectively captured by convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Compared to previous methods which use a large amount of real and DeepFake generated images to train CNN classifier, our method does not need DeepFake generated images as negative training examples since we target the artifacts in affine face warping as the distinctive feature to distinguish real and fake images. The advantages of our method are two-fold: (1) Such artifacts can be simulated directly using simple image processing operations on a image to make it as negative example. Since training a DeepFake model to generate negative examples is time-consuming and resource-demanding, our method saves a plenty of time and resources in training data collection; (2) Since such artifacts are general existed in DeepFake videos from different sources, our method is more robust compared to others. Our method is evaluated on two sets of DeepFake video datasets for its effectiveness in practice.


This study was aimed at investigating the chronic effect of the artificial sweetener aspartame on oxidative stress in brain regions of Wistar strain albino rats. Many controversial reports are available on the use of aspartame as it releases methanol as one of its metabolite during metabolism. The present study proposed to investigate whether chronic aspartame (75 mg/kg) administration could release methanol and induce oxidative stress in the rat brain. To mimic the human methanol metabolism, methotrexate (MTX)-treated rats were included to study the aspartame effects. Wistar strain male albino rats were administered with aspartame orally and studied along with controls and MTX-treated controls. The blood methanol level was estimated, the animal was sacrificed and the free radical changes were observed in brain discrete regions by assessing the scavenging enzymes, reduced glutathione, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and protein thiol levels. It was observed that there was a significant increase in LPO levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, GPx levels and CAT activity with a significant decrease in GSH and protein thiol. Moreover, the increases in some of these enzymes were region specific. Chronic exposure of aspartame resulted in detectable methanol in blood. Methanol per se and its metabolites may be responsible for the generation of oxidative stress in brain regions.


A VLSI macrocell for edge-preserving video noise reduction is proposed in the paper. It is based on a nonlinear rational filter enhanced by a noise estimator for blind and dynamic adaptation of the filtering parameters to the input signal statistics. The VLSI filter features a modular architecture allowing the extension of both mask size and filtering directions. Both spatial and spatiotemporal algorithms are supported. Simulation results with monochrome test videos prove its efficiency for many noise distributions with PSNR improvements up to 3.8 dB with respect to a nonadaptive solution. The VLSI macrocell has been realized in a 0.18m CMOS technology using a standard-cells library; it allows for real-time processing of main video formats, up to 30 fps (frames per second) 4CIF, with a power consumption in the order of few mW.


It has often been argued that research in teaching and learning has only a weak link to practice. Much educational research is criticised for having little relevance to the day-to-day learning experience of students in K-12 and higher education. This criticism is particularly relevant in relation to educational technology research. In this field, many researchers conduct studies that are designed to test the effectiveness of the delivery medium—to prove that one medium is better than another—rather than exploring ways to improve instructional approaches and tasks. With the current proliferation of exciting and innovative technologies that are likely to become more and more common in classrooms (such as cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices), research needs to move beyond simple comparisons of these devices with each other, or with the 'traditional' approach. In this presentation, I will argue that educational technology research has largely failed to change educational practice and outcomes because of the predominant aim of such research to prove rather than improve. Online and mobile technologies afford the design and creation of truly innovative authentic learning designs, where the technology is both a tool and a platform for presentation of genuine products, and the focus is on learning with technologies rather than from them. Instead of comparative research, a more powerful and appropriate approach is design-based research, where researchers and practitioners work hand in hand to iteratively refine innovations until they get the results they seek. A description of the characteristics of design-based research will be given, together with an argument for the more widespread adoption of this approach to enhance the quality and impact of research in teaching and learning.


Background Assessment of prevalence and consequences of shoulder pain problems in youth handball is an integral first step towards injury prevention, but the literature is scarce. Objective To evaluate prevalence and impact of shoulder pain problems among youth handball players. Design Pilot cohort study with 3 months of weekly SMS-based injury registrations based on the OSTRC Overuse Injury Questionnaire. Setting Danish youth handball. Participants Danish 109 male and 90 female aged 14–16 years (age group U16) and 16–18 years (age group U18) players recruited as a convenient sample from 5 handball schools in Denmark. Risk factor assessment Gender and age group differences in shoulder pain prevalence were assessed. Main outcome measurements Current and previous shoulder pain registered at baseline via the Fahlstrøm questionnaire. A weekly average severity score (0–100) for the 3-month period was calculated for those with current shoulder pain. Results At baseline, 14% and 33% players reported current and previous shoulder pain, respectively. Of all reported shoulder pain, 56% had gradual onset. There were no significant differences between gender (P=.783) and age groups (P=.187). For players with current or previous pain, 70% had changed their training habits and 30% had missed games. Seventy-eight percent suffered from shoulder pain in their throwing (dominant) arm. Of the players reporting present pain, 41%, 15%, 11%, and 15% had pain durations of >0–4, >4–12, >12–26 and >26–52 weeks, respectively, while 19% had pain duration of more than one year. Thirty percent of these players reported problems more than 8 weeks in the registration period with a median severity score of 48, which is defined as substantial problems. Conclusions Shoulder pain problems poses a significant burden to Danish youth handball players, with a negative impact on both training and game participation. Further studies to identify risk factors in this population are needed to develop injury prevention strategies.


If the average person has heard of a Tarot deck at all, he is likely to associate it with dark rooms full of cheesecloth ectoplasm, old women who make a practice of sticking pins in wax dolls, or one of the various seedy attempts to exploit the occult which, for all their impressive trappings, move the modern man to pity rather than to terror. If he had the further misfortune to read one of the many books written on the interpretation of Tarot cards, he would have the further impression of a very old and impressively historical set of symbolic pictures whose meanings are as clear and arbitrary as the language of flowers and, while admiring the quaintness and charm of their design, would look on their use for a serious purpose as an idiocy or, at best, a parlor game. The truth is quite different. Fortune-telling is an unexplored parascience. Its relation to the science of prediction (or statistics, to take it in its narrower form) is quite the same as the parasciences of telepathy and


Abstract: Unlike the actual text for the proposed Common European Sales Law (CESL), which is based on extensive preparatory work by academics, the regime for opting into the instrument, which is set out in the main text of the proposed regulation, is entirely of the European Commission's own making. The approach adopted by the Commission is innovative and generally convincing, although there is still room for improvement. Characterizing the optional instrument as a second national regime rather than as a 28th regime has the important advantage of neutralizing the effect of Article 6 Rome I in B2C contracts, which makes the instrument sufficiently self-standing to become an attractive alternative. At the same time, this choice is acceptable politically and constitutionally (Article 114(3) TFEU) as long as the level of consumer protection within the common sales law remains as high as it is in the current proposal. In business-to-business (B2B) contracts, it is misguided for the regulation to suggest, as it does in the proposal, that a choice for the CESL would imply ipso facto the opting out of the CISG, since the question of what amounts to an exclusion of the CISG is a matter of interpretation of the parties' intentions under the CISG alone. Having said that, in most cases, it will not be very difficult for a court to deduce an implicit opting out of the CISG from an explicit opting into the CESL. Nevertheless, especially in the case of a partial choice for the CESL, which the proposal allows for B2B, interpretative difficulties may arise. The duty for sellers in B2C contracts to draw the consumer's attention to the intended application of the CESL by providing the consumer with a Standard Information Notice (SIN) is not likely to bring consumers much extra protection while the proposed sanction will bring undue legal uncertainty and should, therefore, be reconsidered. It also sends the wrong message, as if this new European law were something dangerous that consumers have to be warned about. The terminological choices of the proposal are not always felicitous. For example, it is not clear what is meant by the expression that the parties 'may use' the law. Of course, the proposed CESL does not fit neatly with any of the received dichotomies of international versus national contracts, Member State versus Union law, direct versus indirect applicability, and substantive versus conflict-of-laws choice of law. In some respects, therefore, the CESL may have to be regarded as sui generis. This is not at all surprising in light of the fact that the European Union (EU) itself is a sui generis legal order. However, the European legislator should try to make it as clear and foreseeable as possible for contracting parties what exactly will be the consequences if they opt into the CESL.


Assessment methods for adult English language learners (ELL) are integral parts of the learning cycle. For assessment to promote learning and inform teaching, better understanding the students' perspectives of effective assessment methods is critical. When ELL students have access to quality teaching, curriculum and assessment, they are more likely to become motivated to improve English language learning, and reach their full potential. Adopting contextually relevant formative assessment approaches in adult ELL education can enhance learning the English in authentic situations. However, some types of assessment related issues may hinder learning and cause students frustration. This qualitative study explores adult ELL students' perceptions of formative assessment strategies that support their learning. It aims to identify effective formative assessment practices in adult ELL classrooms. Data was collected using several observations of two ELL classrooms, two semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire with a range of adult ELL students. The two interviews were conducted with a group of fourteen adult ELL students who came from different backgrounds and ethnicities. The study uncovered some effective strategies that could be implemented to enhance English language learning when using formative assessment. These include maintaining a positive atmosphere, using a variety of formative assessments, along with acknowledging individual and cultural differences. These were identified by the adult students as major factors that can affect their English language learning. Results also indicated that using formative assessment is a valued means to enhance ELL adult students' English language learning. However, some students stressed the importance of practising summative assessment as well as formative assessment. The effectiveness of formative assessment, according to students' perceptions, is associated with enhancing a positive atmosphere and being motivated and valued as individuals. Additionally, my research findings suggest the need for professional development in the use of 6 contextually related formative assessment practices as a means of ongoing assessment for adult English language learners.


It has been argued that the wide-scale provision of artificial surface water in semi-arid savannas may result in homogenisation of foraging habitats, compromising biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. This study looks at the distribution of mammals around two waterholes namely Rhino vley and Marabou vley in Northern Botswana Savuti, Chobe National Park. This is explored by examining consistencies within and differences between distribution patterns of herbivore feeding groups on the different soil types and distances from the waterholes. In this study I used tracks and dung counts plus visual observations to look at the distribution of species around the two artificial water wholes using ordinations to show the distribution patterns. Multivariate analysis and Canonical analysis was used to to treat the data. The results in this paper (from the ordinations) show that animals densities decreased with increasing distance from the water holes and that body size plays a major role in the distribution of species around artificial water holes as obseved in other studies. A similiar study should be done in the dry season in Savuti to have more precision on the assemblages of different species around the artificial waterholes, in order for management implications to be taken in consideration if need be.


Anthem Press, 2019, ForthcomingWorld trade and investment law is in crisis: new and progressive ideas are needed. Rules that facilitated globalization and supported global economic growth are being challenged. A system of global governance that once seemed secure is now at risk as the US ignores the rules while developing countries struggle to escape restrictions. Some want to tear global institutions and agreements down while others try desperately to maintain the status quo. Rejecting both options, we convened a group of trade and investment law experts from 10 countries South and North who have proposed ideas for a new world trade and investment law that would maintain global growth while distributing costs and benefits more fairly. This essay frames the issues and introduces the volume. We look at the impact of trade and investment law on the global distribution of resources, and pay special attention to those who have suffered from trade dislocation and to restrictions that have hampered innovative growth strategies in developing countries. This perspective shapes a progressive trade and investment law agenda that is outlined in the book and summarized here. We suggest new ways to link trade with protection for labor; measures to ensure that gains from trade are used to offset losses; new rules that can protect foreign investments without hamstringing developing governments or harming local communities; innovative procedures to allow developing countries freedom to try innovative growth strategies; and methods to cope with new products like cannabis.


Injuries and straining of the motor system as a result of professional or recreational sports activity constitute an important problem for both the sufferer and medical personnel involved in treatment. The most common injuries involve traumas of joints and muscles as well as straining of the motor system. Modern competitive sports force the sportsmen and sportswomen who were injured to return to the contest arena as quickly as possible. The aim of this article is the presentation of the method enhancing the therapy applied in sports medicine and known as Kinesio Taping®. This treatment method using cotton tapes of large elasticity (Kinesio Tex®) is used for the injuries of the upper and lower limbs as well as strains of the motor system. The method suggested by Dr Kenzo Kase, enhancing the rehabilitation process regulates blood and lymph circulation and decreases their concentration in the region of tissues deformed as a result of an injury or straining.This paper presents application Kinesio Text® for treatment in ankle sprain, epicondylalgia of brachial biceps muscle, inflammatory condition of long head of brachial biceps muscle, syndrome of tightness of the tibia front and lateral fascial compartment and inflammation of the plantar aponeurosis. Clinical observations after the application of KT® have indicated that in all injured persons pain decreased and visible oedema resorption occurred. Tapes were well tolerated and no allergic reactions were observed. The results from published papers confirm the author's observations that the application of KT® tapes: 1. reduces the levels of pain suffered, 2. increases the functional capabilities of the patient, 3. constitutes a good method supplementing a regular physiotherapeutic treatment. Author's Contribution