Critical realism is a movement in philosophy and the human sciences most closely associated with the work of Roy Bhaskar. Since the publication of Bhaskars A Realist Theory of Science, critical realism has had a profound influence on a wide range of subjects. This reader makes accessible, in one volume, key readings to stimulate debate about and within critical realism. It explores the following themes: * transcendental realist * the theory of explanatory critique * dialectics * Bhaskar's critical naturalist philosophy of science.


This research commissioned by the Historic Vehicle Research Institute assessed the economic impact of the 2014 'Festival of Speed' held between June 26–29 at Goodwood, West Sussex. The research revealed that the event brought over £25 million business to the economy of the study area; generated over 26,000 person-nights' accommodation for local hotels and guest houses; provided direct temporary employment for over 600 people; caused a further 18,000 person-nights for hotels and guest houses outside the area; was responsible for a further £35.5 million turnover for the national economy net of VAT and contributed over £8.5 million in VAT to government revenue.


This book was not commissioned, nor was the author assigned the task of writing a history of the School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. The idea to write this history arose after I read the critique of a grant request to the National Institutes of Health, which gave my proposal an unfundable priority score. The reviewers' criticisms of the proposed experiments were so contrary to concepts that I thought lead to great discoveries that I wondered what factors are involved in making scientific advances. Realizing that a number of important advances in medical science had been made from time to time by my colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, I decided to examine systematically how these scientists' ideas originated and their advances were made. What I thought would be a relatively easy task soon became a complex one, for I soon found that, in addition to the many scientific contributions made by the faculty, the School of Medicine had a history that was richer and more distinguished than I or anyone I talked with realized. To my surprise, my investigations uncovered the fact that, even before the end of the eighteenth century, the faculty of the Medical "Department" had begun original experimentation and, within a short time, had made discoveries equaling those of their colleagues in Europe. As the new country developed, the Medical Department made every effort within its often meager means to improve its teaching, rebuild its facilities, and meet the medical challenges of a growing nation. Comments All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of scholarly citation, none of this work may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. For information address the University of Pennsylvania Press, 3905 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112. Reprinted from Innovation and Tradition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: An Anecdotal Journey, by David Y. Cooper III and Marshall A. Ledger (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990). This book is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/penn_history/6 Innovation and Tradition 01 tllf' ['nil'crsi(I' (!/ Pel/l1.\:'rluol/ia Schoo! of' ,l!pdiciIlP


Development Islamic economy in Indonesia is currently very rapid. Based on data from Bank of Indonesia in 2012, The islamic banking market share of the national banking sector increased by 0,6%. That it requires human resources who are capable for managing it. However, at this time has not fully insert Islamic economy in economic learning in senior high school and process of economic learning need insert islamics economy in teaching material. This study describes student interest in Islamic economics inserts economic subjects throughout East Java. The research method used was a survey using interest questionnaires to students and interviews with teachers. Samples were taken using purposive sampling technique, namely schools that have an science majoring in economic interest. Sample consisted of 20 student randomly selected in Surabaya 10 Public High School at East Java. The results showed that 55% of students were very interested and 45% of students were of moderate interest to learn more about these subjects. This shows that the response of students is very good if these economic subjects are included in Islamic economics. Whereas from the results of interviews with teachers it was concluded that Islamic economic inserts should not be included in local content but included in the national curriculum on economic. In the future there will be a source of economic teaching materials insert Islamic economy, that will produce experienced human resources in Islamic economy.


A photonic power system using a silicon or germanium based device as a photonic power converter was proposed. The properties of each device were investigated to determine the optimum structure, design, configuration and efficiency for power conversion. These included, but were not limited to, device geometry, doping concentration and the wavelength of the incident beam. Relevant inferences were made from the results obtained and compared to previous work. Currently, research into photovoltaic power converters is focused on the efficiencies of complex heterostuctures made from gallium-arsenide compounds. Here, the properties of a silicon device were investigated in detail as the predicted efficiency under monochromatic light is comparatively high, much more than solar generated power, which will therefore reduce the cost of optically powered systems. The results show that an optimised silicon based photovoltaic micro-cell can produce optical to electrical power conversion as high as 43% under illumination of 980nm light. We have shown that the wavelength of the incident light determines the depth of the optimised device. The peak doping concentrations of the emitter and base regions should be as high as lx10cmand 3x10cm-, respectively, for maximum power conversion efficiency. The results also show that germanium-based hom:ojunction cells can produce power conversion efficiencies as high as 36% when illuminated by 1550nm light. The validity of a completely optical network is discussed, as experiments with multiple sources propagating along a single optical fibre have been performed. Three separate signals, one for communication, one for sensing and one for power generation, can utilise the same optical fibre will no significant loss to information or power. This research is the basis for a more comprehensive study. of the highest attainable efficiency of a silicon photovoltaic power converter under illumination of monochromatic light and the feasibility of a completely photonic network.


The leakage of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes from cementitious barriers at disposal sites can pose long-term environmental threats. In this study, cementitious materials were modified with hematite nanoparticles at 1.0%, 3.0%, and 5.0% by mass to enhance uranium immobilization for the first time. After curing the specimens for 28 days, leaching experiments were carried out at 90 °C up to 28 days. The leached uranium and sodium ions in solutions were quantified, and the effects of hematite nanoparticles on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of cementitious materials were studied. The experimental results revealed that the addition of 1.0%, 3.0% and 5.0% hematite nanoparticles all significantly reduced uranium leaching, which is partially due to uranium adsorption onto hematite nanoparticles. Interestingly, the slowest uranium leaching was found in the specimens with 1.0% hematite nanoparticles. The leaching results were complemented by isothermal calorimetry measurements, mercury intrusion porosimetry, chemical analysis, and compression tests, which showed that hematite nanoparticles increased the cement hydration rate and degree, affected cementitious material pore structure development, decreased leachability, and increased compressive strength. These effects were found to be the strongest in specimens containing 1.0% hematite nanoparticles. This study provides new insights into the modification of cementitious materials with hematite nanoparticles for enhanced cement hydration and uranium immobilization. It suggests an economical strategy for the long-term disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes.


During the first lockdown, the decision of the Diocese of Hereford to initiate discussions entitled, 'Racial Justice and the Church', as a response to the re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement was heartening. As a priest in the Church of England, who came to Craven Arms, a small agricultural town in the Hereford Diocese, after over thirty-six years' stipendiary ministry in urban and inner-city ministry in diverse communities and congregations, it was encouraging to realise that less diverse communities were addressing the same issues. The third of these sessions was with Dr Joel Edwards and called for the creation of safe spaces where white people could be set free from 'White liberal nervousness of getting things wrong'. I write as a white liberal with plenty of experience of getting things wrong. I write as a Christian involved in interfaith relations for many years and am aware that issues of intolerance and racism are encountered within and across different faiths, not least the long history of anti-Semitism within the Church. These comments and reflections on my personal journey explore a vision of a safe space.


In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be up and running with Visual Basic 2008. Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds upon a real-world foundation forged in both technology and business matters, allowing you to learn the essentials of Visual Basic 2008 from the ground up. Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common questions, issues, and tasks. The Q&A section, quizzes, and exercises help you build and test your knowledge. By the Way notes present interesting pieces of information. Did You Know? tips offer advice or teach an easier way to do something. Watch Out! cautions advise you about potential problems and help you steer clear of disaster. Learn how to Use the powerful design environment of Visual Studio 2008 Design feature-rich interfaces using components such as tree views and tabs Create robust applications using modern error-handling Draw fast graphics using GDI+ Build a database application using ADO.NET Distribute a Visual Basic 2008 Application Manipulate the Windows Registry Create, read, and write text files Use event-driven techniques to build responsive applications DVD Includes: Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition On the Web: Register your book at informit.com/title/9780672329845 for access to author code, examples, updates and corrections as they become available.


Abstract. The main topic of this work focuses on the semantic, historical and spatial documentation of Minor Historical Centres (MHC) with a focus on (semi-abandoned alpine) hamlets. The key point is the possibility to standardise spatial information in the domain of MHC and their related cultural, architectural, built and landscape heritage. This work analyses the notions of historical centre and ancient area, which took different meanings and evolved over the centuries. MHC are historical part of cities, villages and hamlets (urban, rural, minor or abandoned) with cultural, social and economic values. Thus, MHC need to be preserved, documented and safeguarded. The spatial and semantic documentation is a fundamental tool for increasing their knowledge. In these places, many actors and stakeholders are involved in different activities, and for this reason, they need to share common knowledge and use a unique language. In this regard, spatial ontology is of relevant interest and usability. Ontologies are conceptual structures that formalise specific knowledge and create a unique and standard thesaurus that ensures semantic interoperability. This paper is part of a PhD research targeted at developing an ontology containing helpful information to manage, share and collect data on MHC due to the lack of an interoperable structure to formalise such knowledge. The main aim is to populate and enrich the already developed ontological structure with data of a mountain semi-abandoned hamlet: Pomieri. The methodological workflow is validated, enriching and populating the ontology, adding classes and instances with information and unstructured data of a real data case study.


textabstract Mixability is a property of a loss which characterizes when
 constant regret is possible in the game of prediction with expert
 advice. We show that a key property of mixability generalizes, and
 the $\exp$ and $\log$ operations present in the usual theory are not as
 special as one might have thought.
 In doing so we introduce a
 more general notion of $\Phi$-mixability where $\Phi$ is a general
 entropy (\ie, any convex function on probabilities). We show how a property
 shared by the convex dual of any such entropy yields a natural
 algorithm (the minimizer of a regret bound) which, analogous to the
 classical Aggregating Algorithm, is guaranteed a constant regret
 when used with $\Phi$-mixable losses.
 We characterize which $\Phi$ have non-trivial $\Phi$-mixable losses and
 relate $\Phi$-mixability and its associated Aggregating
 Algorithm to potential-based methods, a Blackwell-like
 condition, mirror descent, and risk measures from finance.
 We also define a notion of ``dominance'' between different
 entropies in terms of bounds they guarantee and
 conjecture that classical mixability gives optimal bounds, for which we
 provide some supporting empirical evidence.


The moral essence of climate change relates to causing/suffering harm. In particular, carbon emissions that threaten the stability of climate systems, and the consequent harm inflicted by altered climatic dynamics on present and future generations are the moral facets of climate change. Moral cognitive neuroscience indicates that up close and personal harm triggers deontological moral reasoning, whereas harm originating from impersonal moral violations, like those of climate change, prompts consequentialist moral reasoning. Consequently, climate ethics should abandon common, unreliable, moral deontological intuitions and be based on welfare-improving consequentialist approaches. Because consequentialism is in line with the indications of moral cognitive neuroscience on moral processes and judgments, it is, in fact, closer to the inner nature of the morality of human beings in regard to climate change. Therefore, an approach inspired by it can ultimately prove more morally acceptable and politically feasible in this context, notwithstanding its apparent counter-intuitiveness.


Under current law, most new affordable housing is constructed by private entities employing a variety of federal, state, and local subsidies. Developers and residents must choose which among various, sometimes conflicting goals their project will emphasize. In this paper, the authors analyze the differing goals subsidized housing projects can serve, the trade offs that different goals may present, and the means to achieve goals and minimize conflicts. Goals identified include the provision of physically decent housing, building residents' wealth, social integration in the larger community, urban vitality, training, social engagement, institution building, and efficient use of public funds. The authors also examine leading federal and state housing programs, including traditional public housing, Section 8, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and inclusionary zoning to identify how they promote or frustrate achievement of these goals.


Knowledge is a commodity which universities deal with. As such, they are concerned with its generation dissemination and management. The extent to which they handle these responsibilities determines their effectiveness in meeting the expectations of the society. This study investigated the relationship between knowledge management and university lecturers' job performance in Cross River State. To achieve the purpose, two hypotheses were formulated. Ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. The sample for the study comprised two hundred (200) university lecturers selected through stratified simple random sampling technique from a total population of 1,313. 1,060 of the sampled population is from the University of Calabar while 253 is from Cross River State University of Technology. Data collection was carried out with the use of researchers' constructed instrument titled 'Knowledge Management and Lecturers' Job Performance Questionnaire' (K.M.L.J.P.Q). The reliability of (K.S.M.L.J.Q.) was established through a trial test using cronbach coefficient obtained ranged from 0.67 to 0.91. These figures are a confirmation that the instrument is reliable in achieving the objectives of this research study.   Data collected were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Results obtained revealed that a significant relationship existed between knowledge management in terms of sharing, mapping and lecturers' job performances. Based on the findings and discussion, conclusions were made. It was recommended that Heads of departments should encourage knowledge sharing by organizing strategies for lecturers to share knowledge among themselves. Key Words: Knowledge Management, Sharing, Mapping, Job Performance, University Lecturers.


It has been proposed that supporting cells may be the progenitors of regenerated hair cells that contribute to recovery of hearing in birds, but regeneration is difficult to visualize in the ear, because it occurs deep in the skull. Hair cells and supporting cells that are comparable to those in the ear are present in lateral line neuromasts, and in axolotl salamanders these cells are accessible to microscopic observation in vivo. After amputation of a segment of the tail that contains neuromasts, cells from the posteriormost neuromast on the tail stump divide rapidly and form a migratory regenerative placode. The cells of the regenerative placode represent a lineage that eventually produces both hair cells and supporting cells in replacement neuromasts. We sought to identify the progenitors of the regenerative placode by using differential interference contrast microscopy combined with time-lapse video recording in living axolotl salamanders. In response to amputation, the mantle-type supporting cells at the posteroventral edge of the neuromast that is nearest to the wound increased their frequency of cell division, and gave rise to the first cells of the placode. The increase in mitotic activity of mantle-type supporting cells was accompanied by an unexplained decrease in the frequency of divisions in the same neuromast's population of internal supporting cells. The time-lapse records suggested that the changes in the mitotic activity of supporting cells might have been linked to the presence of phagocytic leukocytes in the vicinity of the neuromast that was nearest to the wound. Leukocytes were evenly distributed around control neuromasts, but during regeneration leukocyte activity increased significantly in the vicinity of the posterior half of the posteriormost neuromast. The redistribution of leukocytes occurred early in the regenerative response, but a causal role for the leukocytes has not been conclusively established. It is possible that the leukocytes could contribute to the formation of the regenerative placode at that location by breaking down the glycocalyx that ensheaths the outermost cells of the neuromast, or through the secretion of mitogenic growth factors.


This paper describes our research and the methodology used to design musical instruments and interfaces aimed at providing auditory enrichment for grey parrots living in captivity. Based on the cognitive, physiological, and acoustic abilities of grey parrots, and their intrinsic interest in acoustic and physical interactions, we have developed and tested various interactive instrument prototypes from an animal-centered design perspective. In a previous study, we analyzed the physical and musical skills of a group of grey parrots, and here we present our design results for auditory enrichment in the context of Animal Computer Interaction (ACI) and artistic research. Our investigation should lead to a better understanding of how grey parrots interact with technological mediators, respond to sound devices, and create "parrot music," with potential benefits for their wellbeing while living in captivity.


The regulation of sleep and metabolism are highly interconnected, and dysregulation of sleep is linked to metabolic diseases that include obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Furthermore, both acute and long-term changes in diet potently impact sleep duration and quality. To identify novel factors that modulate interactions between sleep and metabolic state, we performed a genetic screen for their roles in regulating sleep duration, starvation resistance, and starvation-dependent modulation of sleep. This screen identified a number of genes with potential roles in regulating sleep, metabolism, or both processes. One such gene encodes the auxiliary ion channel UNC79, which was implicated in both the regulation of sleep and starvation resistance. Genetic knockdown or mutation of unc79 results in flies with increased sleep duration, as well as increased starvation resistance. Previous findings have shown that unc79 is required in pacemaker for 24hours circadian rhythms. Here, we find that unc79 functions in the mushroom body, but not pacemaker neurons, to regulate sleep duration and starvation resistance. Together, these findings reveal spatially localized separable functions of unc79 in the regulation of circadian behavior, sleep, and metabolic function.


The Federal Transit Administration's Elderly and Persons with Disabilities Program (§5310), in place since 1975, has been particularly important for states trying to fill gaps in accessible transportation services where existing transportation is "unavailable, insufficient, or inappropriate." This article provides a baseline review and analysis of §5310 State Management Plans. It shows the similarities and differences in the approaches states have taken in the kinds of policies they enact, what they emphasize, and how transportation services are organized, planned, designed, and carried out to meet the special needs of elderly individuals and people with disabilities.


The proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) over the past two decades has highlighted the need to look closely at the relationships between regional and WTO rules or disciplines. A major obstacle to advancing understanding of RTAs is the absence of detailed information about their contents. This has limited the debate between those who view RTAs as discriminatory instruments hostage to protectionist interests and those who see them as conducive to multilateral trade opening. This book provides detailed analysis of RTA rules in six key areas – market access, technical barriers to trade, contingent protection, investment, services and competition policy – across dozens of the main RTAs in the world. The analysis helps to provide new insights into the interplay between regional and multilateral trade rules, advances understanding of the economic effects of RTAs and contributes to the discussion on how to deal with the burgeoning number of RTAs.


This thesis presents data on the psychological correlates of long term imprisonment for a representative sample of men serving either indeterminate or determinate sentences of ten years or over in a number of English prisons. Four groups of prisoners matched for age but differing in mean length of total imprisonment served were tested on a battery of cognitive tests, comprising tests of reaction time, the Gibson Spiral Maze, the General Aptitude Test Battery Form Matching subtest, the Wechsler Memory Scale Associate Learning and Visual Reproduction subtests, the Purdue Pegboard and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The 154 men left from the initial sample of 175 prisoners after a mean interval of 19.08 months were retested, thus permitting two cross-sectional analyses and a longitudinal analysis of the results. The results indicated no straightforward relationship between test performance and length of imprisonment; there was no decline in general intellectual capacity, but there was a reduction in perceptual-motor speed. In addition, there was evidence of an increased reliance on verbal skills. These results were discussed in relation to showing similarities to those derived from studies of ageing. A number of possible moderating variables which could provide alternative explanations for the results found were also investigated, and it was found that the results could not be accounted for in terms of differential release on parole, differential use of prison educational or other facilities, or differences between the groups in terms of their offence category or criminal history. The quantitative approach used in this study was also critically analysed, and compared to an alternative qualitative approach to the same area, it being concluded that both methods were of use in the study of the effects of long term imprisonment.


Cyanoketene dithioacetal are known to undergo cyclocondensation with 2-amino pyridyl amines to give pyrimidine derivatives. The aim of the present investigation has been to examine the versatility of cyanoketene dithioacetal in the synthesis of substituted pyrido [1,2-a] pyrimidine and pyrimido [4,5-d] pyrimidine derivatives from 2-aminopyridines. Cyanoketene dithioacetal (1) on reaction with variously substituted 2 -aminopyridine derivatives (2a-f) formed 2-ethoxy-3-cyano-4- oxo-4 –H-pyrido [1,2-a] pyrimidine (3a-f) and 2-ethoxy-(2-methylthio)-3-cyano-4-oxo-4 –H-pyrido [1,2-a] pyrimidine derivatives (4a-f) in high yields. Subsequent reactions of (4) with (i) primary amines (ii) hydrazine hydrate (iii) hydroxyl amine (iv) acetamidine hydrochloride afforded the corresponding pyrimidine derivatives (5-6a-f), pyrazole derivatives (7a-f), isoxazole derivatives (8a-f) and pyrimido [4,5-d] pyrimidine derivatives (9a-f), respectively in good yields.


Language teacher cognition has been an area of research interest for
more than three decades, diversifying in recent years into a wide range of
academic areas such as teacher development, initial teacher education, grammar
teaching, literacy instruction, task-based learning, phonology, testing, technology,
and classroom research. Much of this research, however, has been based in
private language institutes or universities in developed countries, especially
English-speaking ones, and has focused on identifying and describing individual
teacher cognitions mostly in novice native-speaker practitioners. The present
study aims to help redress this tendency by examining the cognitions and
experiences, and the relationships among them, of two experienced non-native
speaker teachers of English working at a state secondary school in Argentina.
Using multi-methods such as semi-structured interviews, autobiographical
accounts, classroom observation, stimulated recall, teacher diaries, and a
grammaticality judgement task, this research project explores the teachers' prior
language learning experiences, knowledge about grammar, and grammar-related
pedagogical knowledge in relation to their actual grammar teaching practices. In
addition, there is a focus on the role which contextual factors play in shaping the
application of these experiential and cognitive constructs, and on the interplay
among these factors to help define the teachers' grammar pedagogical decisions
and actions. The findings reveal that experiential and cognitive factors appear to
account for the major differences between these teachers' teaching theories,
practices, and rationales; whereas context-bound influences explain the
similarities between their classroom instructional actions. They also show that
language teacher cognition is informed by different sources (the teachers'
personal and prior educational history, their professional education, and their
accumulated experience) and that teachers construct a context, instantiated by
the interaction between their language teacher cognition and the contextual
factors inside and around the classroom, which mediates between their
cognitions and practice. These results carry direct implications for those involved
in teacher cognition, language teacher research, teacher education, and
materials design.


Although it is well known that persons with addictions to illicit substances often develop a variety of mental health and physical health conditions, the epidemiological associations between physical illness and addiction to illicit substances are poorly understood. This book comprehensively surveys recent literature to critically review the relationships between physical illness and drugs of abuse, describing the association between each of the principal classes of illicit drugs (cocaine, marijuana, opioids, and common hallucinogens and stimulants) and the major categories of physical illness. Clear summary tables accompany detailed discussions, providing the reader with a quick reference guide. Physical Illness and Drugs of Abuse will be essential reading for all health professionals, students, practising clinicians and policy makers with interests in mental health, public health and epidemiology.


Narratives about the history of collecting are commonly absent from the interpretation of natural history collections. In this paper, we argue this absence – particularly in relation to colonial histories – perpetuates structural racism within modern society by whitewashing a history where science, racism, and colonial power were inherently entwined. This misrepresentation of the past is problematic because it alienates non-white audiences. Using examples from a single natural history collection – the Natural History Museum, London (NHM) – we will demonstrate how an existing collection retains these colonial ideologies and narratives, and, as such, can be used at the centre of decolonial approaches to interpreting natural history collections. We propose that publicly acknowledging difficult pasts is an important first step in creating less racist museum interpretation in natural history museums.


Dynamic Digital Maps (DDMs) are computer programs that manage the display and distribution of high-quality color maps, digital images, movies, analytical data, and explanatory text, including field guides. They do this in a cross-platform format that opens associated files of maps, images, and movies either from a local device (e.g., a hard drive) or from a web source (server). DDMs are intuitive to use, can be easily and quickly searched for sample and image sites and analytical data, and require no additional software such as web browsers or readers to operate. DDMs fill a niche between the extremes in the digital mapping world that range from a simple digital copy of a paper map to the highly linked geographic information system (GIS) product. A DDM enables one to create an integrated study that confines its focus on a specific map, unlike other interfaces. They offer an ideal way to present, for example, premeeting or postmeeting field trips, so they can be pre-run or revisited, enriching the experience. All DDM maps and images can be saved to disk for printing, and data saved to tab-delimited files. DDMs are made using the open-source DDM-Template, written in the cross-platform programming environment Runtime Revolution, as assisted by videos, tutorials, and the DDM-Cookbook. The DDM of the Springerville volcanic field, the example used here to demonstrate these capabilities, was made from this template. The template is highly extensible, and ongoing modifications and updates are available, as are more than 20 other examples of DDMs.


Randomized smoothing is one of the most promising frameworks for certifying the adversarial robustness of machine learning models, including Graph Neural Networks (GNNs). Yet, existing randomized smoothing certificates for GNNs are overly pessimistic since they treat the model as a black box, ignoring the underlying architecture. To remedy this, we propose novel gray-box certificates that exploit the message-passing principle of GNNs: We randomly intercept messages and carefully analyze the probability that messages from adversarially controlled nodes reach their target nodes. Compared to existing certificates, we certify robustness to much stronger adversaries that control entire nodes in the graph and can arbitrarily manipulate node features. Our certificates provide stronger guarantees for attacks at larger distances, as messages from farther-away nodes are more likely to get intercepted. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on various models and datasets. Since our gray-box certificates consider the underlying graph structure, we can significantly improve certifiable robustness by applying graph sparsification.


The research goal is to measure the suitability of ceramics as a material for manufacturing sign prototypes and support components of the signage system for the Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Antarctic Station, Brazil's main base in the Antarctic region. The latter represents an environment with particular characteristics, having unique rules of occupation and material extraction and disposal, which demands a special approach when inserting any kind of foreign body to it. The methodology of tests management and suitability proofing of ceramics to the harsh Antarctic landscape conditions are split into four stages, bearing in mind that this study considers the results of the stages I and II: Stage I: identification of the ceramics properties in regard to its resistance, review of literature resources on the Antarctic environment's specificities and identification of logistic specificities concerning the Antarctic Brazilian Program (PROANTAR); Stage II: information management (feasibility, environmental impact, maintenance, and suitability of logistics); clay choice, project launching, prototype drafts, clay baking and finally manufacturing of the first prototype. According to our findings, ceramics proves to be an adequate material in the manufacturing of the component for the Keller Peninsula Signage System. The installation of a prototype in that region is scheduled for November 2012 and the test period lasts one year. After that it will be possible to draw the final conclusions and/or work on necessary adjustments.


Set off on the eternal trail of the Beat experience in the city that inspired many of Jack Kerouac's best-loved novels including On the Road, Vanity of Duluoz, The Town and the City, and Desolation Angels. This is the ultimate guide to Kerouac's New York, packed with photos of the Beat Generation and filled with undercover information and little-known anecdotes. Eight easy-to-follow walking tours guide you to: Greenwich Village bars and cafes where Kerouac and his friends Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, William Burroughs, Diane di Prima, Gregory Corso, Hettie and LeRoi Jones, John Clellon Holmes, Joyce Johnson, and others read poetry, drank, turned-on, and talked all night long. The Chelsea-district apartment where Jack wrote On the Road. Midtown clubs where Beat poets mingled with artists Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning and listened to jazz and blues greats Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Billie Holiday. Times Square, a magnet for Kerouac and the Beats. Columbia University, where the original Beats first met and began a revolution in American literature and culture. Each tour includes a map of the neighborhood, subway and bus information, and an insider's angle on Jack Kerouac's life in New York. A must for Beat enthusiasts and critics. Bill Morgan is a painter and archival consultant working in New York City. His previous publications include The Works of Allen Ginsberg 1941-1994: A Descriptive Bibliography and Lawrence Ferlinghetti: A Comprehensive Bibliography. He has worked as an archivist for Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman, and Timothy Leary.


The present study deals with the synthesis and characterisation of C2-symmetrical chiral Fe(III)(porphyrin)(OMe) catalysts; these catalysts display a totem structure, where each section is assigned to have a specific catalytic activity. The chiral portions of the porphyrin ligand are constituted by amino acid residues, which form a chiral cavity by surrounding both faces of the porphyrin plane, as clearly displayed by the X-ray structure of a free-base porphyrin. The Fe(III)(porphyrin)(OMe)-catalysed cyclopropanation of α-methylstyrene by diazo compounds occurred with excellent diastereoselectivities and a modest enantiocontrol. Thus, the obtained catalytic results have been rationalised by performing a DFT investigation and will be fundamental in the future modification of the molecular structure of chiral ligands to improve their catalytic performance.


Historical tipping of vast quantities of colliery spoil at various foreshore locations in NE England has changed the morphology and sedimentology of large areas of the shoreline and nearshore sea bed, and has impacted adversely upon the ecology and amenity use of the area. Tipping started early in the 20th Century, well before statutory controls to regulate impacts of activities on the marine environment came into force in the UK in 1974, and ended with the closure of the last colliery in 2005. The spoil tipping acted as a form of artificial sediment recharge to the foreshore, akin to conventional beach recharge schemes that use sand or shingle to replenish foreshores for coastal defence and amenity purposes, but creating a legacy of contaminated beaches and prograding (advancing) shores. Since closure of the collieries, however, the foreshores have received no artificial supply of material, and the shoreline in all former tipping areas has since been in retreat due to natural erosion. This has caused problems where assets are present at the rear of the spoil beaches, requiring coastal defence structures for their protection. As well as collating and analysing historical maps, records, literature and data relating to colliery spoil tipping, the coastal changes that have occurred since its cessation have been assessed by reference to more recent maps, literature, aerial photographs and new and up-to-date beach profile transect survey data from contemporary coastal monitoring programmes. It is envisaged that where sea cliffs are protected by colliery spoil beaches, and hence currently are dormant, they could become re-activated by erosion and start to retreat at short term rates of several metres per year and longer-term rates of up to 0.3 m/year in the foreseeable future.


Obviously Sir Francis Bacon's phrase "Knowledge is Power" refers not only to natural science and technology, aiming at understanding natural phenomena and obtaining material wealth, but also to social sciences and technologies, concerning social ideals and seeking harmonious and sustainable development in society. Innovation and entrepreneurship based on natural sciences and technologies have facilitated science and technology parks in the past; however, innovation and entrepreneurship based on social sciences and technologies are now laying the foundations for the concept of a "social innovation park". The distinctive characteristics of social innovation parks and how social academic entrepreneurship is fostered by them through strategy and policy-making at local, national and global levels are explored in this study.


Researchers from across the social sciences have found consistent deviations from the predictions of the canonical model of self-interest in hundreds of experiments from around the world. This research, however, cannot determine whether the uniformity results from universal patterns of human behavior or from the limited cultural variation available among the university students used in virtually all prior experimental work. To address this, we undertook a cross-cultural study of behavior in ultimatum, public goods, and dictator games in a range of small-scale societies exhibiting a wide variety of economic and cultural conditions. We found, first, that the canonical model – based on self-interest – fails in all of the societies studied. Second, our data reveal substantially more behavioral variability across social groups than has been found in previous research. Third, group-level differences in economic organization and the structure of social interactions explain a substantial portion of the behavioral variation across societies: the higher the degree of market integration and the higher the payoffs to cooperation in everyday life, the greater the level of prosociality expressed in experimental games. Fourth, the available individual-level economic and demographic variables do not consistently explain game behavior, either within or across groups. Fifth, in many cases experimental play appears to reflect the common interactional patterns of everyday life.


Human mitochondrial long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have not been described to date. By analysis of deep-sequencing data we have identified three lncRNAs generated from the mitochondrial genome and confirmed their expression by Northern blotting and strand-specific qRT-PCR. We show that the abundance of these lncRNAs is comparable to their complementary mRNAs and that nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins involved in RNA processing regulate their expression. We also identify the 5' and 3' transcript ends of the three lncRNAs and show that mitochondrial RNase P protein 1 (MRPP1) is important for the processing of these transcripts. Finally, we show that mitochondrial lncRNAs form intermolecular duplexes and that their abundance is cell- and tissue-specific, suggesting a functional role in the regulation of mitochondrial gene expression.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To explore and describe the experiences of Taiwanese nurses who care for dying patients in hospices, a relatively recent healthcare option in Taiwan.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Qualitative, hermeneutic, phenomenologic approach.

SETTING
Six hospices in central and southern Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS
14 Taiwanese hospice nurses.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH
Interviews were audiotaped and analyzed with Colaizzi's guidelines.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Caregiving experiences of Taiwanese hospice nurses.

FINDINGS
Four main themes emerged from the analysis: entering the hospice specialty, managing everyday work, living with the challenges, and reaping the rewards. Three subthemes of managing everyday work were providing holistic, meaningful care through close relationships; confronting and managing negative beliefs about hospice; and managing the dying process.

CONCLUSIONS
The fundamental structure of the caregiving experiences of Taiwanese hospice nurses is a dynamic, multidimensional process that evolved over time. The hospice nurses demonstrated how they achieved balance in their daily nursing practice within the Taiwanese cultural context.

INTERPRETATION
Improved end-of-life education for the Taiwanese public, nurses, and other healthcare professionals that includes hospice concepts is needed. Administrators should provide adequate support to encourage and empower their nursing staff in hospice settings.


At present, large research infrastructures using high energy and high beam intensity accelerator have been almost realized as examples of SINQ, J-PARC and SNS. In the design study of such accelerator facilities, it is required to seek the best neutronic performance and assure engineering feasibilities such as heat removal from the target and its surroundings, material selection to have enough life-time under radiation environment for reasonable operation duration. It is also important to design sophisticated maintenance scheme including remote handling to treat highly activated components, and optimal radiation shield around them. The roles of nuclear data to these aspects and perspectives are reviewed through the design of J-PARC spallation neutron source.


Superlight blockchain clients learn facts about the blockchain state while requiring merely polylogarithmic communication in the total number of blocks. For proof-of-work blockchains, two known constructions exist: Superblock and FlyClient. Unfortunately, none of them can be easily deployed to existing blockchains, as they require consensus changes and at least a soft fork to implement. In this paper, we investigate how a blockchain can be upgraded to support superblock clients without a soft fork. We show that it is possible to implement the needed changes without modifying the consensus protocol and by requiring only a minority of miners to upgrade, a process termed a "velvet fork" in the literature. While previous work conjectured that superblock clients can be safely deployed using velvet forks as-is, we show that previous constructions are insecure, and that using velvet techniques to interlink a blockchain can pose insidious security risks. We describe a novel class of attacks, called "chain-sewing", which arise in the velvet fork setting: an adversary can cut-and-paste portions of various chains from independent temporary forks, sewing them together to fool a superlight client into accepting a false claim. We show how previous velvet fork constructions can be attacked via chain-sewing. Next, we put forth the first provably secure velvet superblock client construction which we show secure against adversaries that are bounded by 1/3 of the upgraded honest miner population. Like non-velvet superlight clients, our approach allows proving generic predicates about chains using infix proofs and as such can be adopted in practice for fast synchronization of transactions and accounts.


Rancheros are presented as a distinct subgroup of Mexican campesinos 'peasants' who enact a liberal individualist ideology that centrally values private property, especially land, and hard work as the legitimate route to el progreso 'progress'. Both male and female rancheros are tough and independent "ranch" people who construct their identities in contrast to indigenas 'Indians' on the one hand (whom rancheros view as communally-oriented), and catrines 'city people' (whom rancheros see as fancily-dressed, and acting, "dandies") on the other. A history of frontier isolation and mobility in la sociedad ranchera 'ranchero society' facilitated the development of both autonomy and strong ties of reciprocity for mutual support in hostile conditions, as well as common ways of living, dressing, and speaking. This valuing of both autonomy and affiliation undermines the often-invoked dichotomy between "Mexicans" and "North Americans" as being communal, or group-oriented, and individualistic, or self-oriented, respectively. Rather than predominantly one or the other, rancheros value both autonomy and affiliation. This historically constructed identity is enacted in a particular way of speaking, franqueza 'frankness', direct, straightforward, candid language that goes directly to a point. Informal verbal performances by members of these families within their homes, both in Chicago and Mexico, are analyzed for their construction of ranchero identity through franqueza.


This research aims to describe and analyze the process of writing in Portuguese as a second language, undertaken by deaf participants in context of interactional and dialogical workshops, from a collective rewriting work of an adventure story, reflecting on interdiscursive interactions between sign language and written Portuguese. The rewrite was placed in this work as the object of reflection on practices and discursive formations which focused on learning of deaf participants. The discussions on this theme were guided by Bakhtin assumptions from the enunciative-discursive conception of language. This design allows us to understand the subjects in their discursive constitution through social relations in which they participate, incorporating the different social voices. For this purpose the workshops were videotaped as the intention to focus dialogic aspects of the interaction between the subjects. The episodes that make up the corpus of analysis were selected from the workshops developed in the course of the years 2013 and 2014, considering the communicative context. The excerpts of the episodes whose enunciations presented significant in relation to production strategies, review and language reflection collectively were transcribed from sign language (Libras) to Portuguese writing. The data was treated from three axes of analysis: interaction between deaf peers and between educators and listeners; language skills and written evidence. The axes analyzed allowed the establishment of qualitative values of the demanding language working by deaf people in writing workshop activities. Regarding the education of deaf people, this study points to the necessity of having the Portuguese language effectively treated as a second language, where its teaching and learning process is mediated by the sign language. Thus, the spaces that support the education for this portion of the population must be organized so as to ensure the verbal interaction, through Libras, as a written language development condition.


A deployment of the Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication technology according to ETSI is in preparation in Europe. Currently, a Public Key Infrastructure policy for Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe is in discussion to enable V2V communication. This policy set aside two classes of keys and certificates for ITS vehicle stations: long term authentication keys and pseudonymous keys and certificates. We show that from our point of view the periodic sent Cooperative Awareness Messages with extensive data have technical limitations and together with the pseudonym concept cause privacy problems.


The Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides a mechanism for the vice president's assumption of the presidency when it is determined that the president "is unable to discharge the powers and duties of office."

Many instances of U.S. presidential or vice presidential incapacity have happened. Unbeknownst to the public and much of the governmental leadership at the time, for seventeen months wife Edith Wilson, with the assistance of the president's physician and personal secretary, kept the true state of President Woodrow Wilson's disabling health conditions secret from the American people. Wilson's day-to-day duties had been abandoned or overseen largely by ill-equipped wife Edith, who served as the sole conduit between the president and the outside world. It is now clear that other past presidents have hidden their impaired physical and mental condition from the American public. What would have happened if John F. Kennedy or any of the other presidents, who have died in office, had continued to live for a prolonged period of time while unable to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the presidency? It was the death of President John F. Kennedy that prompted the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to gain ratification in 1967, "in part to establish a method to fill the vice presidency if it became vacant".

On Saturday morning September 22, 2018, readers of The New York Times awoke to read a page-one story about how the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein had previously advocated the secret White House recording of President Trump, "to expose the chaos consuming the administration, and he discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for being unfit." Given this recent controversy, it seems timely and opportune to take a fresh look at the twenty-fifth Amendment, its history and purpose, how it works, and potential application.


Abstract Background Maternal effects contribute to adaptive significance for shaping various phenotypes of many traits. Potential implications of maternal effects are the cause of expression diversity, but these effects on mRNA expression and alternative splicing (AS) have not been fully elucidated in hybrid animal. Results Two reciprocal cross hybrids following hybridization of Megalobrama amblycephala (blunt snout bream, BSB) and Culter alburnus (topmouth culter, TC) were used as a model to investigate maternal effects. In a comparison of BSB and TC homoeolog expression from the two reciprocal cross hybrids, we identified 49–347 differentially expressed BSB-homoeologous genes and 54–354 TC-homoeologous genes. 2402, 2959, and 3418 AS events between the two reciprocal cross hybrids were detected in Illumina data of muscle, liver, and gonads, respectively. Moreover, 21,577 (TC-homoeologs) and 30,007 (BSB-homoeologs) AS events were found in the 20,131 homoeologous gene pairs of TBF 3 based on PacBio data, while 30,561 (TC-homoeologs) and 30,305 (BSB-homoeologs) AS events were found in BTF 3 homoeologous gene pairs. These results further improve AS prediction at the homoeolog level. The various AS patterns in bmpr2a with belonged to the bone morphogenetic protein family was selected as an AS model to investigate expression diversity and their potential effects to body shape traits. Conclusions The distribution of differentially expressed genes and AS in BSB- and TC-subgenomes exhibited various changes between the two reciprocal cross hybrids, suggesting that maternal effects are the cause of expression diversity. These findings provide a novel insight into mRNA expression changes and AS under maternal effects in lower vertebrates.


Interpreting time series models is uniquely challenging because it requires identifying both the location of time series signals that drive model predictions and their matching to an interpretable temporal pattern. While explainers from other modalities can be applied to time series, their inductive biases do not transfer well to the inherently challenging interpretation of time series. We present TimeX, a time series consistency model for training explainers. TimeX trains an interpretable surrogate to mimic the behavior of a pretrained time series model. It addresses the issue of model faithfulness by introducing model behavior consistency, a novel formulation that preserves relations in the latent space induced by the pretrained model with relations in the latent space induced by TimeX. TimeX provides discrete attribution maps and, unlike existing interpretability methods, it learns a latent space of explanations that can be used in various ways, such as to provide landmarks to visually aggregate similar explanations and easily recognize temporal patterns. We evaluate TimeX on eight synthetic and real-world datasets and compare its performance against state-of-the-art interpretability methods. We also conduct case studies using physiological time series. Quantitative evaluations demonstrate that TimeX achieves the highest or second-highest performance in every metric compared to baselines across all datasets. Through case studies, we show that the novel components of TimeX show potential for training faithful, interpretable models that capture the behavior of pretrained time series models.


Efficacy of verbal self-regulation and in vivo exposure, as compared to placebo treatments, was tested in reduction of water avoidance in aguaphobic children. Forty-seven aguaphobic subjects were assigned to one of five conditions: 1) Self-talk with imaginal exposure (ST); 2) Self-talk with ^n vivo exposure (ST/E); 3) Attention Control with imaginal exposure (AC); 4) Attention Control with in vivo exposure (AC/E); 5) No Treatment Control (NTC). Children in the ST/E and AC/E groups demonstrated the greatest gains in reduction of avoidance, while those in the ST and ST/E groups showed greater gains in swim proficiency. As compared to the NTC, all treatment groups improved significantly in water approach behavior. Supplementary findings revealed low internal locus of control and a greater number of verbalizations of fear and avoidance to predict reduced improvement in reduction of avoidance. No significant predictors of swim proficiency were found. Self-rated motivation and efficacy were not predictive of improvement. Descriptive data based on parental report revealed males to be more fearful and sensitive than a normative sample, but less so than a phobic sample. Females were described as more fearful and sensitive than normals, but not less than phobics. It was concluded that self-talk and in vivo exposure can be of value when used as an adjunct to swim instructions and that measures of locus of control and subjective story responses can be effectively used as a screening tool to predict response to swim instruction.


This case study explores the way in which farmers organisations in Mali have responded to sharp and rapid changes in their institutional environment. It shows how institutional reform (especially when urged or required by donors and other external agents) needs to be carefully sequenced, and based on a comprehensive understanding of existing economic, political and social arrangements and the interrelations between institutional levels. Otherwise, it runs the risk of disrupting economic activity, provoking political reaction and resistance, and compromising the purpose of reform. This case study of the institutional reforms of Mali's Office du Niger (ON) and the Compagnie Malienne pour le Developpement des Fibres Textiles (CMDT) dramatically illustrates these dangers. These reforms have been made without adequate consultation, clear communication of the intent and content of the reforms, or appropriate regard for the implications of high-level reform on local organisations and vice-versa. The response of farmers' organisations, already overburdened with responsibilities beyond their capacity, and threatened with further changes in their own legal character, has been negative and has not contributed to the design of new institutions. Understanding and anticipating the politics of organisational response to institutional change is at the heart of effective institutional reform.


To suit a wide variety of space mission profiles, different designs of ion thrusters were developed, such as the High‐Efficiency‐Multistage‐Plasma thrusters (HEMP‐T). In the past, the optimization of ion thrusters was a difficult and time‐consuming process and evolved experimentally. Because the construction of new designs is expensive, cheaper methods for optimization were sought‐after. Computer‐based simulations are a cheap and useful method towards predictive modelling. The physics in HEMP‐T requires a kinetic model. The Particle‐in‐Cell (PIC) method delivers self‐consistent solutions for the plasmas of ion thrusters, but it is limited by the high amount of computing time required to study a specific system. Therefore, it is not suited to explore a wide operational and design space. An approach to decrease computing time is self‐similarity scaling schemes, which can be derived from the kinetic equations. One specific self‐similarity scheme is investigated quantitatively in this work for selected HEMP‐Ts, using PIC simulations. The possible application of the scaling is explained and the limits of this approach are derived.


Creativity techniques are one-off tools that can be used to induce the creative potential of an individual or a group of individuals for the purpose of solving problems or generating ideas in the development of new products and services. In this article, a mapping of the scientific production about the techniques of creativity was carried out in 56 scientific publications, from the search metabase Portal of Periodical Capes and Google Scholar. After analyzing the publications, we found 120 creative techniques described in the literature. Among the techniques identified, the one with the highest prevalence of citations was Brainwriting, followed by Brainstorming and Synectics. The United States, Germany and the United Kingdom concentrate the world scientific production with 70% of the publications on the subject. Regarding the methodological approach of the studies, 63% are classified as qualitative, 29% as quali-quantitative and 10% as quantitative. It was verified that more research is needed to investigate the applicability of these tools, besides the critical factors that allow the induction of the creative potential of the participants.


Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the embryonic precursors of the germ cell lineage that form sperm and egg cells. It is of great importance to preserve the germline from DNA damage and potentially from epimutations in order to ensure the survival of future generations. Recent research highlights the role of the protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) as an important player in DNA protection during germline development in the mouse (Kim et al, 2014 & Li et al, 2015).


The availability of microblogging, like Twitter and Sina Weibo, makes it a popular platform for spammers to unfairly overpower normal users with unwanted content via social networks, known as social spamming. The rise of social spamming can significantly hinder the use of microblogging systems for effective information dissemination and sharing. Distinct features of microblogging systems present new challenges for social spammer detection. First, unlike traditional social networks, microblogging allows to establish some connections between two parties without mutual consent, which makes it easier for spammers to imitate normal users by quickly accumulating a large number of "human" friends. Second, microblogging messages are short, noisy, and unstructured. Traditional social spammer detection methods are not directly applicable to microblogging. In this paper, we investigate how to collectively use network and content information to perform effective social spammer detection in microblogging. In particular, we present an optimization formulation that models the social network and content information in a unified framework. Experiments on a real-world Twitter dataset demonstrate that our proposed method can effectively utilize both kinds of information for social spammer detection.


In greenhouse culture, in addition to increasing the quantity and quality of crop production in comparison with traditional methods, the agricultural inputs are saved, too. Recently, using new methods, designs and materials, and higher automation in greenhouses, better management has become possible for enhancing yield and improving the quality of greenhouse crops. The constructed and evaluated central controller unit (CCU) is a central controller system and computerized monitoring unit for greenhouse application. Several sensors, one CCU, several operators, and a datacollection and recorder unit were the major components of this system. The operators included heating, cooling, spraying, ventilation and lighting systems, and the sensors are for temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, oxygen and light in inside and outside the greenhouse. Environmental conditions were measured by the accurate sensors and transmitted to the CCU. Based on this information, the CCU changed variables to optimize the greenhouse environmental conditions to predetermined ranges. This system was totally made of local instruments and parts and had the ability to integrate with the needs of the client. The designed and implemented CCU was tested in a greenhouse located in Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center of Khuzestan Province during summer season of 2011. The CCU was operated successfully for controlling greenhouse temperature in the range of 22-29 C, relative humidity of 35-55%, artificial lighting in the case of receiving radiation of less than 800 Lux and turning on the ventilation units if the concentration of carbon dioxide was more than 800 mg/L.


The morphological diversity of land plants is astounding. However, what we see mostly is the sporophytic phase that is dominant in the majority of land plants. In contrast, the diversity of the secret gametophytic phase is unseen and rather uninvestigated. Recently, evidence has accumulated that the so-called MIKC* group of MADS-domain transcription factors is important for the proper functioning of the Arabidopsis male gametophyte (pollen). Already earlier, MIKC* genes were identified in the moss Physcomitrella patens, which has a dominant gametophytic phase. MADS-domain proteins are well known for the roles they have in flower development and thus for the establishment of the sporophytic body plan. That MIKC* genes have a similar role in the gametophytic phase is not granted, but a tempting hypothesis. To study the function of MIKC* genes and their possible role in land plant gametophyte development and its evolution, they were isolated from a broad variety of vascular land plants, namely, the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii, the fern Ceratopteris richardii, the basal eudicot Eschscholzia californica, the monocot Oryza sativa and the basal angiosperm Aristolochia fimbriata. Sequence comparison showed that MIKC* MADS-box genes probably evolved from classical MIKCc genes by a duplication event in the Keratin-like domain. Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that 2 phylogenetic subclades emerged early in the evolution of vascular plants and indications were found for a recent subfunctionalization of one of the subclades in angiosperms. MIKC* genes from different, remote, plant lineages were heterologously expressed in an Arabidopsis MIKC* mutant and it could be shown that they were able to perform the same function as Arabidopsis MIKC* genes. This information plus the results that were gathered by performing expression and yeast-2-hybrid interaction studies, were unified in a hypothesis concerning the function of MIKC* genes during land plant evolution.


Conversion of the Danube river floodplains through dyke construction for farming and other development has cut off 95, 75 and 28% of the floodplains of the upper Danube, the lower Danube and the Danube delta, respectively. Together with channelization, this has exacerbated flood peaks. Anthropogenic climate change is anticipated to bring more frequent flooding and reduced water quality. In assessing ongoing floodplain restoration work that commenced in 1993, this paper finds the following. (a) Along the lower Danube River, restoration of floodplains by decommissioning under-performing flood protection infrastructure has provided many benefits. The benefits of these adaptation measures include improved natural capacity to retain and release floodwaters and remove pollutants, enhanced biodiversity, and strengthened local economies through diversification of livelihoods based on natural resources. (b) The drivers for more successful adaptation measures in the Danube included EU expansion, legal mechanisms, and local desire to improve livelihoods. The support of non-governmental organizations (WWF and partner organizations) for basin- and regional-level planning for more effective water resource management has also been a powerful driver of policy change in the lower Danube countries.


There is a great deal of enthusiasm about the prospects for Big Data held in health care systems around the world. Health care appears to offer the ideal combination of circumstances for its exploitation, with a need to improve productivity on the one hand and the availability of data that can be used to identify opportunities for improvement on the other. The enthusiasm rests on two assumptions. First, that the data sets held by hospitals and other organizations, and the technological infrastructure needed for their acquisition, storage, and manipulation, are up to the task. Second, that organizations outside health care systems will be able to access detailed datasets. We argue that both assumptions can be challenged. The article uses the example of the National Health Service in England to identify data, technology, and information governance challenges. The public acceptability of third party access to detailed health care datasets is, at best, unclear.


Abstract. Aerosol sulfate is a major component of submicron particulate matter
(PM1). Sulfate can be present as inorganic (mainly ammonium sulfate,
AS) or organosulfate (OS). Although OS is thought to be a smaller fraction
of total sulfate in most cases, recent literature argues that this may not
be the case in more polluted environments. Aerodyne aerosol mass
spectrometers (AMSs) measure total submicron sulfate, but it has been
difficult to apportion AS vs. OS as the detected ion fragments are similar.
Recently, two new methods have been proposed to quantify OS separately from
AS with AMS data. We use observations collected during several airborne
field campaigns covering a wide range of sources and air mass ages (spanning
the continental US, marine remote troposphere, and Korea) and targeted
laboratory experiments to investigate the performance and validity of the
proposed OS methods. Four chemical regimes are defined to categorize the
factors impacting sulfate fragmentation. In polluted areas with high
ammonium nitrate concentrations and in remote areas with high aerosol
acidity, the decomposition and fragmentation of sulfate in the AMS is
influenced by multiple complex effects, and estimation of OS does not seem
possible with current methods. In regions with lower acidity (pH > 0) and ammonium nitrate (fraction of total mass < 0.3), the proposed
OS methods might be more reliable, although application of these methods
often produced nonsensical results. However, the fragmentation of ambient
neutralized sulfate varies somewhat within studies, adding uncertainty,
possibly due to variations in the effect of organics. Under highly acidic
conditions (when calculated pH < 0 and ammonium balance < 0.65), sulfate fragment ratios show a clear relationship with acidity. The
measured ammonium balance (and to a lesser extent, the
HySOx+ / SOx+ AMS ratio) is a promising indicator of rapid estimation of aerosol pH < 0, including when gas-phase
NH3 and HNO3 are not available. These results allow an improved
understanding of important intensive properties of ambient aerosols.


The International Conference on Computational Intelligence, Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CIRAS) will be held in Bristol, UK in August 2012 under the auspicious of FIRA RoboWorld Congress 2012. CIRAS aims to bring together the international community of researchers and practitioners to discuss and review the latest advancements and future directions in the areas of computational Intelligence, Robotics and Autonomous Systems. The conference welcomes original, peer reviewed papers and contributions describing innovations and advances in Intelligence in automation systems from researchers, practitioners and students. Papers describing new discoveries and improvements, as well as novel applications on the latest fundamental advances in the core technologies that from the backbone of intelligent control, real time control, fuzzy logic systems, neuro-computing, DNA computing, neural networks (NN), humanoids, cooperative robotics, autonomous systems, embedded systems, and studies on genetic algorithm, hybrid CI algorithms and evolutionary computation are most welcome.


To say that positive political theory (PPT) scholarship on the hierarchy of justice is theory rich and data poor is to make a rather uncontroversial claim. For over a decade now, scholars have offered intriguing theoretical accounts aimed at understanding why lower courts defy (comply with) higher courts. But only rarely do they subject the accounts to rigorous empirical interrogation. The chief obstacle, it seems, is the lack of a reliable and valid measurement strategy for placing judges of lower courts and justices of higher courts in the same policy space. Without such a strategy, we can systematically test few, if any, hypotheses flowing from PPT models of the judicial hierarchy. With such an approach not only can we investigate the implications of these models, we can assess many others flowing from the larger PPT program on judging, as well. It is to the challenge of scaling judges and justices (as well as legislatures and executives) that we turn in this article. We begin by explicating our measurement strategy, and then by explaining its advantages over previous efforts. Next we explore the results of our approach and provide a descriptive look at data it yields: a Judicial Common Space (JCS) score for all justices and judges appointed since 1953. The last section offers three applications designed to shore up the suitability and adaptability of the JCS for a range of positive projects on the courts.


We extend to more than one spatial dimension the semiclassical full-wave vector Maxwell-Bloch equations for the purpose of achieving an adequate and rigorous description of ultrashort pulse propagation in optical waveguides containing resonant nonlinearities. Our considerations are based on the generalized pseudospin formalism introduced by Hioe and Eberly [Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 838 (1981)] for treatment of the resonant coherent interactions of ultrashort light pulses with discrete-multilevel systems. A self-consistent set of coupled curl Maxwell-pseudospin equations in two spatial dimensions and time for the special case of a degenerate three-level system of quantum absorbers is originally derived. Maxwell's curl equations are considered to be coupled via macroscopic medium polarization to the three-level atom model for the resonant medium. Two distinct sets of pseudospin equations are obtained corresponding to the TE- and TM-polarized optical waves. For the case of TM polarization, the electromagnetic wave is polarized in a general direction in the plane of incidence inducing two dipole transitions in a degenerate three-level system by each E-field component along the propagation axis and in transverse direction. We introduce a dipole-coupling interaction Hamiltonian allowing Rabi flopping of the population difference along and perpendicular to the propagation axis with frequencies depending on the corresponding field components. The relationship between the induced polarization and the state vector components that describe the evolution of the discrete-level system is derived in order to couple the quantum system equations to the Maxwell's curl equations. The pseudospin equations are phenomenologically extended to include relaxation effects by introducing nonuniform decay times corresponding to the various dipole transitions occurring in a three-level system. The system has been discretized using finite differences on a Yee grid and solved numerically by an iterative predictor-corrector finite-difference time-domain method. Self-induced transparency soliton propagation through a degenerate three-level quantum system of absorbers in two spatial dimensions and time is demonstrated in planar parallel-mirror waveguide geometries.


Non-destructive measurement of leaf area (LA) is preferred in growth analysis and plant physiological studies. Many regression-based models have been developed for estimating LA using leaf length (L), leaf width (W), or imaginary rectangle of L x W (LW) as predictor or independent variable. Objective of this study was to develop and validate appropriate regression models for estimating snap bean trifoliate LA using easily measured L, W, or calculated LW. Snap bean used in this research was PV072 cultivar. Trifoliate-leaf samples were purposively collected from different individual plants, to represent wide range of leaf sizes, from the smallest leaf with fully open blade to the largest available leaf. Snap bean trifoliate leaf consists of three leaflets. The sampled leaves were alternately divided into two subgroups, based on length of terminal leaflet, for developing and validating LA estimation models. Linear, quadratic, and power regressions were evaluated for their appropriateness to be used for estimating LA. Intercept (a) was forced to zero to make the models more geometrically realistic. Results of this research indicated that: (1) zero-intercept quadratic and power regression models performed well for length of leaflet (Lt) or width of leaflet (Wt) was used as predictor, whereas zero-intercept linear model was appropriate and geometrically-sound if imaginary rectangular Lt x Wt (LtWt) was used for estimating surface area of both terminal and side leaflets (LtA); (2) for a practical, fast, and accurate estimation of LA, LtWt of terminal leaflet was the recommended option among other single or combination of predictors; and (3) recommended empirical model for LA estimation of snap bean trifoliate leaf is LA = 1.5198 LtWt.


⎯ Professional engineers work as experts who influence the work of others. They rarely have direct contact with the products of an enterprise. They work with analogues such as graphs, algorithms and simulations, and engage in discussions in specialized languages, which develop alongside the technological changes they promote or oppose. The engines of linguistic development are metaphors and analogies, however there is no system for creating them. Some metaphors and analogies become so familiar that they are treated as literal terms or literal explanations and become embedded in engineering language games. The field of electrical engineering offers hosts of examples. Students wishing to practice in engineering will need to become fluent in the language games of the profession. The haphazard evolution of language games offer students little help. As with acquisition of any language, repeated rehearsal is vital and practice in playing specialised language games is a primary part of engineering education. Index Terms ⎯ Metaphor, Analogy, Language, Education


Metagenomics can unveil the genetic content of the total microbiota in different environments, such as food products and the guts of humans and livestock. It is therefore considered of great potential to investigate the transmission of foodborne hazards as part of source-attribution studies. Source-attribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has traditionally relied on pathogen isolation, while metagenomics allows investigating the full span of AMR determinants. In this study, we hypothesized that the relative abundance of fecal resistome components can be associated with specific reservoirs, and that resistomes can be used for AMR source-attribution. We used shotgun-sequences from fecal samples of pigs, broilers, turkeys- and veal calves collected across Europe, and fecal samples from humans occupationally exposed to livestock in one country (pig slaughterhouse workers, pig and broiler farmers). We applied both hierarchical and flat forms of the supervised classification ensemble algorithm Random Forests to classify resistomes into corresponding reservoir classes. We identified country-specific and -independent AMR determinants, and assessed the impact of country-specific determinants when attributing AMR resistance in humans. Additionally, we performed a similarity percentage analysis with the full spectrum of AMR determinants to identify resistome signatures for the different reservoirs. We showed that the number of AMR determinants necessary to attribute a resistome into the correct reservoir increases with a larger reservoir heterogeneity, and that the impact of country-specific resistome signatures on prediction varies between countries. We predicted a higher occupational exposure to AMR determinants among workers exposed to pigs than among those exposed to broilers. Additionally, results suggested that AMR exposure on pig farms was higher than in pig slaughterhouses. Human resistomes were more similar to pig and veal calves' resistomes than to those of broilers and turkeys, and the majority of these resistome dissimilarities can be explained by a small set of AMR determinants. We identified resistome signatures for each individual reservoir, which include AMR determinants significantly associated with on-farm antimicrobial use. We attributed human resistomes to different livestock reservoirs using Random Forests, which allowed identifying pigs as a potential source of AMR in humans. This study thus demonstrates that it is possible to apply metagenomics in AMR source-attribution.


Vehicle-induced turbulence can be an important factor of pollutant dispersion in urban areas, especially under conditions of low wind speeds which are typical for street canyons. An experimental concept (Plate, 1982) for modelling the effects of vehicle-induced turbulence was applied in the present study. The movement of vehicles was simulated in a boundary-layer wind tunnel by small metal plates mounted on two belts moving along a modelled street canyon. The scaling factor was based on the ratio of turbulence production by cars to that by wind flow. The traffic was represented by the velocity, density, frontal area and drag coefficients of the vehicles. The velocity and traffic density were varied, and the influence of the vehicle-induced turbulence on concentration patterns at the canyon walls was studied. It was found that concentration decreases with an increasing ratio of vehicle to wind velocity and with an increase of traffic density. A dimensionless combination of vehicle to wind-velocity ratio and density factor was proved to be a universal parameter describing the dependence of the concentration on vehicle-induced turbulence. The wind tunnel measurements were compared with predictions by the numerical Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM; Hertel and Berkowicz, 1989a). Differences between the wind tunnel and numerical results regarding effects of vehicle-induced turbulence are discussed. The comparison revealed general agreement between wind tunnel and numerical data. Turbulence and concentration measurements in a street canyon in Copenhagen have been additionally employed for analysis of the model results.


Smaller organizations are prime targets for hackers and malware, because these businesses lack cybersecurity plans and the resources to survive a serious security incident. To exploit this market opportunity, cybersecurity solution providers need to leverage the power of downstream channel members. We investigate how a supplier's digital channel marketing can encourage value-added resellers to sell that supplier's cybersecurity solutions. Our analysis of survey data from 109 value-added resellers of a multinational supplier shows that resellers are more committed to stock and sell cybersecurity products and services if the supplier's digital channel marketing provides tools that help them sell the solutions to end customers. This support is likely needed because cybersecurity offerings are technologically complex and systemic by nature, as supported by the finding that value-added resellers pay little attention to supplier's campaigns and price discounts. Thus, cybersecurity suppliers should maintain trusted and informative relationships with their resellers and provide them with hands-on sales tools, because a reseller's commitment to selling cybersecurity solutions is linked with their ability to understand the offering and with the extent of their supplier relationship. These findings are in line with previous literature on the challenges perceived by salespeople in selling novel and complex technology. Why kick the man downstream who can't put the parts together because the parts really weren't designed properly?


One of the main requirements of cognitive radio (CR) systems is the ability to perform spectrum sensing in a reliable manner in challenging environments that arise due to propagation channels which undergo multipath fading and non-Gaussian noise. While most existing literature on spectrum sensing has focused on impairments introduced by additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), this assumption fails to model the behavior of certain types of noise found in practice. In this paper, the use of a non-parametric and easily implementable detection device, namely the polarity-coincidence-array (PCA) detector, is proposed for the detection of weak primary signals with a cognitive radio equipped with multiple antennas. Its performance is evaluated in the presence of heavy-tailed noise. The detector performance in terms of the probabilities of detection and false alarm is derived when the communication channels between the primary user transmitter and the multiple antennas at the cognitive radio are AWGN as well as when they undergo Rayleigh fading. From the numerical results, it is observed that a significant performance enhancement is achieved by the PCA detector compared to that of the energy detector with AWGN as well as fading channels as the heaviness of the tail of the non-Gaussian noise increases.


Aoun, Benmamoun, and Sportiche (1994) propose that first conjunct agreement in Arabic is derived from clausal conjunction. This article shows that the clausal account of first conjunct agreement is empirically inadequate because it fails to distinguish clearly between syntactic and semantic agreement. It argues that an analysis of coordination as adjunction proposed in Munn 1992, 1993 accounts both for the Arabic facts and for the fact that first conjunct agreement is dependent on head government. It also shows that there are asymmetries between governed agreement and specifier-head agreement that are independent of coordination, lending support to a unified analysis of first conjunct agreement in terms of government or its equivalent.


It has been demonstrated that the disclosure of events and in particular traumatic events for most people is therapeutic (Frattaroli, 2006). Connecting emotions, language processing, and cognition (Pennebaker & Francis, 1996) has led to research to determine the psychological effects of writing on emotions (Pennebaker, 1997). The act of writing has been associated with enhancing positive emotional processing and has been found to be therapeutic (Bootzin, 1997; Esterling, Abate, Murray, & Pennebaker, 1999; Kloss, & Lisman; 2002; Marlo,& Wagner, 1999). Studies have provided evidence of the positive effects of writing on stress (Cameron & Nicholls, 1998; Francis & Pennebaker, 1992) trauma (Greenberg & Stone; 1992; Park,& Blumberg, 2002; Smyth, True & Souto, 2001), intrusive thoughts and depression (Lepore, 1997), working memory (Klein & Boals, 2001), and coping with job loss (Spera, Buhrfeind, & Pennebaker, 1994). Furthermore, the processing of emotions to enhance the well being of individuals and clients has its roots in the emergence of the theoretical perspective of emotional intelligence. Expressive Writing Research Results The efficacy of disclosure and expressive writing has been researched (Frattaroli, 2006). However, the construct has been recognized to be complex (Smyth & Pennebaker, 2008). Whereas therapeutic gain has been evidenced, some studies have had negative outcomes (Gidron, et al., 2002). Men with post traumatic stress disorder had increased illness-related doctor's visits. Some participants in disclosure research have found the experience to be counter-productive even objectionable (Frattaroli, 2001). Short-term increases in negative affect by focusing on stressful experiences have been reported, but long-term exacerbation of symptoms have been rare (Horowitz, 2008). Other studies (Frisina, Borod, & Lepore, 2004) found no significant increases in positive outcomes, e.g., participants with severe psychological issues (Bird, 1992), negative body image (Earnhardt, Martz, Ballard & Curtin, 2002), primary insomnia (Mooney, Espie & Broomfield, 2009) and suicidal tendencies (Kovac & Range, 2002). Hence it has been posited that there may be different explanations for positive outcomes for expressive writing (Frattaroli, 2006). Smyth and Pennebaker (2008) suggested a cognitive-processing theory, whereby people who gain from writing about emotions try to make sense of the events they are disclosing, gain insight into the events, and organize and integrate the experiences into their self-schema. The aforementioned activities are related to emotional intelligence. Historical Emergence of Emotional Intelligence Traditionally intelligence has been measured by verbal, abstract, visual, and quantitative reasoning along with memory (Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986). Wechsler (1997) constructed his intelligence test to measure verbal and performance constructs. Subsequent factor analysis of the Wechsler IQ test identified verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, freedom from distraction and processing speed as underlying constructs (Kamphaus, Benson, Hutchinson, & Platt, 1994). However, it has been recognized by the Wechsler that non-intellective factors need to be taken into account when assessing intelligence. These factors included inclination, affect, personality, drive, persistence, and goal awareness. Howard Gardner (1983) conceived of intelligence as consisting of multiple abilities not typically measured by the various well-known intelligence tests. He posited that seven constructs existed: visual/spatial, musical, verbal, logical/mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and bodily/kinesthetic. Interpersonal intelligence was defined as communication and understanding others' feelings and motives. Accordingly, intrapersonal intelligence was defined as awareness of one's own feelings and self-motivation. …


Doctors make mistakes--preventable medical mistakes--that kill or seriously injure patients. The best way to reduce these preventable errors is through a medical peer review process typically referred to as a "morbidity and mortality conference." However, over the past twenty years, federal and state courts, state legislatures, and state voters have effectively gutted the morbidity and mortality conference (M+M) as a remedial and preventative tool, resulting in tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths every year. Doctors need our help restoring the effectiveness of M+Ms. Congress has created the means to do so; now, all the courts need do is use it. Otherwise, what has been happening over the last two decades will continue--physicians will fear the M+M, will either not participate in M+Ms or not participate fully, medical errors will not be thoroughly investigated and corrected, and the same preventable medical mistakes will continue to occur because physicians are scared if they admit during an M+M that they committed an error then, in a subsequent medical malpractice lawsuit, their admission will be used against them to prove negligence and liability. Part I of this essay summarizes the extent of the problem--many call it a crisis--of preventable deaths plaguing U.S. hospitals. Part II explains peer review, both in the context of physician credentialing/hiring and M+Ms, and the legal protections afforded under the provisions of immunity, confidentiality, and privilege. Part III discusses how federal and state court decisions, state legislative enactments, and voter initiatives have weakened existing protections for peer review, especially regarding M+Ms. Part IV describes the PSQIA and how it can--and should--be the solution to preventable hospital deaths. Part V concludes with a summation of the argument that courts employ the PSQIA privilege to protect M+Ms, and that physicians and hospitals do their part by fulfilling the requirements of the PSQIA such that they may invoke the privilege therein contained.


The morphology and dynamics of Lake Sevan, Armenia, have abruptly changed on several occasions during the Holocene.
Arguably the most significant events took place about 4000 years BP, when a phase of aridity greatly reduced the size of the lake
and about 2100BPwhen the combined effect of an episode of volcanic activity that dammed the single outlet to the basin and the initiation
of a wetter climatic phase, culminated in the development of the modern lake. Archaeological evidence indicates the extent of the first
event, while the development of aquatic communities and increase in diversity of, for example, ostracods, characterises the second. Recent
environmental stress, caused by a significant drop in water level due to human activity has resulted in changes in the ecosystem and
food chain, resulting in a decline in ostracod diversity compared to both the earlierHolocene and sub-Recent. The living fauna is characterised
by abundant Candona neglecta and Cyprideis torosa, common sexually reproducing Limnocythere inopinata, and less common
Fabaeformiscandona caucasica, Candona candida, Cyclocypris ovum, Cypria ophthalmica and Darwinula stevensoni


In August 2013, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the case of United States v. Vilar denied extraterritorial application of the criminal law antifraud provisions contained in the Securities and Exchange Act. The specific object of this paper is to criticize this decision and negate its premises. After delving in depth into the notion of extraterritoriality, the paper offers a dynamic interpretation of the 1922 Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Bowman, which is still the governing precedent on extraterritorial application of criminal laws. Furthermore, the paper criticizes the application of the 2010 Supreme Court's decision in Morrison v. National Australia Bank to criminal cases, and explains the Dodd-Frank Act's failed attempt to overrule it. The paper undertakes a detailed analysis of each of U.S. v. Vilar's supporting arguments, using the German criminal law model to identify some of this decision's significant shortcomings. It begins with discussion of the extent and significance of the U.S. v. Bowman exception to the presumption against extraterritoriality in light of the need to protect the integrity of a delocalized capital market. Next, the paper interprets section 32(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act in accordance with modern developments of criminal law theory. Consequently, the paper analyzes the significant distinctions between criminal law and civil law, in contrast with their equation by the Vilar court. The discussion ultimately leads to a justification of the Act's extraterritorial enforcement through a contextual and dynamic interpretation of section 32(a), taking into consideration the transnational nature of market integrity and public wealth values protected by this provision.


A liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method has been applied to the analysis of the osmolyte glycine betaine and its biosynthetic precursor choline from marine particulates containing natural assemblages of marine plankton. The limits of detection (5.3 and 4.6 pg injected on column, for glycine betaine and choline, respectively), far exceeded that obtained by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet (UV) detection (47 ng injected on column) used previously to quantify glycine betaine in microalgal cultures and marine coastal particulates. The increased sensitivity of detection obtained using an electrospray ionization (ESI) LC/MS approach vastly reduces the sampling volume required to detect glycine betaine and choline in seawater particulates, enabling studies in less productive waters. In addition, the LC/MS mobile phase composition is compatible with commonly used glycine betaine extraction solvents, which simplifies and shortens the extraction process. The LC/MS method also avoids reliance on the nonspecific UV absorbance at 195 nm for osmolyte detection, characteristic of commonly used high performance liquid chromatography methods, resulting in increased confidence in peak identification.


For the first time, the Middle Passage-the experience of slaves on the trans-Atlantic ships-receives a full reference treatment in an encyclopedia. This A-to-Z reference consists of 226 signed entries arranged alphabetically, exhaustively covering the Middle Passage from a variety of perspectives for student research and browsing. Each essay entry concludes with suggestions for further reading. The encyclopedia includes an introductory overview of the trans-Atlantic slave trade as well as illustrations, bibliography, and chronology. As a handy ready-reference, the Encyclopedia of the Middle Passage is the first of its kind. As schools continue to incorporate slavery in their curriculums, the volume will prove to be an essential reference for high school reports and research in History and Social Studies, as well as for college students and general readers. Its subject is of continuing interest, as evidenced by the extraordinary popularity of the film Amistad and the recent HBO special, The Middle Passage. Sample entries: Abolitionism, Asante, Barracoons, Black Sailors, Cargoes, Christianity, Credit and Finance, Door of No Return, Eric Williams Thesis, Gold Coast, Import Records, Islam and Muslims, Museums, Oral History, Rape and Sexual Abuse, Seasoning, Suicide, Triangular Trade, William Wilberforce, Women


The presence of rock fragments in soil can have a great impact on solute transport processes, as well as on soil bulk density, soil structure, and water storage properties. In the laboratory, we studied the effects of different gravimetric rock fragment contents (Rc) and different rock fragment sizes (Rs) on the solute transport processes in soil columns. Using CaCl2 as a tracer, the solute transport processes were accurately described by both the convection–dispersion equation (CDE) and a two‐region model, although the latter model fitted the experimental data slightly better than the CDE. Smooth breakthrough curves were obtained, even for a large Rs or Rc, although the presence of rock fragments impeded solute transport to different degrees depending on the content and size of fragments in the columns. The two models produced the same trends in dispersivity, but the values determined by the two‐region model were smaller than those from the CDE. The Rc and Rs values had a significant effect on the mobile–immobile partition coefficient and the mass transfer coefficient.