Meta-programs, which treat other computer programs as data, include compilers, editors, simulators, debuggers, and program transformers. Because of the wide ranging applications, meta-programming has become a subject of considerable practical and theoretical interest. This book provides the first comprehensive view of topics in the theory and application of meta-programming, covering problems of representation and of soundness and correctness of interpreters, analysis and evaluation of meta-logic programs, and applications to sophisticated knowledge-based systems.Harvey Abramson is Reader in Computer Science at the University of Bristol, England; M. H. Rogers is Professor of Computer Science, also at the University of Bristol. Meta-Programming in Logic Programming is in the series Logic Programming Research Reports and Notes, edited by Ehud Shapiro.


On December 26, 2004, a devastating earthquake occurred off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, creating seismic and tsunami waves felt by people who live around the Indian Ocean. This Sumatra-Nicobar-Andaman earthquake was one of the largest ever recorded with a moment magnitude of 9. It triggered a destructive tsunami that affected many coastlines around the Indian Ocean. The most severe damage occurred in low-lying coastal regions of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India. As days passed, the world was largely paralyzed by the unfolding disaster and the extent of the human toll estimated at over one-quarter million deaths. The tsunami destroyed much of what lay in its path, inflicting the heaviest tsunami casualty loss in recorded history and creating an international human tragedy. This paper reviews the investigation findings in coastal Thailand and discusses some of the lessons learned from this tragedy.


In contrast to most scientific disciplines, sports science research has been characterized by comparatively little effort investment in the development of relevant phenomenological models. Scarcer yet is the application of said models in practice. We present a framework which allows resistance training practitioners to employ a recently proposed neuromuscular model in actual training program design. The first novelty concerns the monitoring aspect of coaching. A method for extracting training performance characteristics from loosely constrained video sequences, effortlessly and with minimal human input, using computer vision is described. The extracted data is subsequently used to fit the underlying neuromuscular model. This is achieved by solving an inverse dynamics problem corresponding to a particular exercise. Lastly, a computer simulation of hypothetical training bouts, using athlete-specific capability parameters, is used to predict the effected adaptation and changes in performance. The software described here allows the practitioner to manipulate hypothetical training parameters and immediately see their effect on predicted adaptation for a specific athlete. Thus, this work presents a holistic view of the monitoring-assessment-adjustment loop.


Multidimensional poverty and inequality of opportunity are closely interconnected concepts. Equality of opportunity levels the playing field so that circumstances such as gender, ethnicity, geographical location or family background, which are beyond the control of a child, do not influence his or her life chances. This means that if equality of opportunity is achieved, a child will be able to overcome multidimensional poverty and deprivation. Using the information collected in Peru during the first two rounds of the Young Lives longitudinal study, we describe how multidimensional poverty and inequality of opportunity evolve as children get older. Results show that although scalar indices of multidimensional poverty, deprivations or inequality of opportunity may be quite useful as an advocacy tool, they may mask important heterogeneities.


Although research implicates lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in executive control and goal-directed behavior, it remains unclear how goals influence executive processes. One possibility is that goal-relevant information, such as expected rewards, could modulate the representation of information relating to executive control, thereby ensuring the efficient allocation of cognitive resources. To investigate this, we examined how reward modulated spatial working memory. Past studies investigating spatial working memory have focused on dorsolateral PFC, but this area only weakly connects with areas processing reward. Ventrolateral PFC has better connections in this regard. Thus, we contrasted the functional properties of single neurons in ventrolateral and dorsolateral PFC as two subjects performed a task that required them to hold spatial information in working memory under different expectancies of reward for correct performance. We balanced the order of presentation of spatial and reward information so we could assess the neuronal encoding of the two pieces of information independently and conjointly. Neurons in ventrolateral PFC encoded both spatial and reward information earlier, stronger and in a more sustained manner than neurons in dorsolateral PFC. Within ventrolateral PFC, spatial selectivity was more prevalent on the inferior convexity than within the principal sulcus. Finally, when reward increased spatial selectivity, behavioral performance improved, whereas when reward decreased spatial selectivity, behavioral performance deteriorated. These results suggest that ventrolateral PFC may be a locus whereby information about expected rewards can modulate information in working memory. The pattern of results is consistent with a role for ventrolateral PFC in attentional control.


A new iterative method is presented for numerical solution of nonlinear evolutionary problems. The convergence properties of the proposed method are analysed in abstract framework by using the concepts of consistency, stability and order. Both the φ-functions and semigroup properties are used to overcome the presence of unboundedness of the operator. In order to confirm the theoretical results, the method is applied to three benchmark problems from the literature. The numerical results are compared with traditional splitting methods and confirm that the proposed method is more accurate as well as more efficient than the traditional splitting methods.


Goodwill Impairment-Thorsten Sellhorn 2004 In 2001, goodwill amortization in the US was eliminated in favor of an impairment-only approach, which, according to critics, gives managers vast discretion and opportunities for earnings management. Prior research suggests that discretionary asset write-offs are associated with economic factors and managers_ financial reporting objectives. Based on a systematic literature review, this study investigates for a comprehensive sample of US firms the determinants of goodwill write-off behavior. Regression analysis shows that write-off behavior is significantly explained by firms_ economic properties. Only in large, high-profile firms, incentives appear to be significant determinants. These findings suggest that the impairment-only approach does capture goodwill impairment at least to some extent.


Colloidal particles with DNA "legs" that can bind reversibly to receptors on a surface can be made to 'walk' if there is a gradient in receptor concentration. We use a combination of theory and Monte Carlo simulations to explore how controllable parameters, e.g. coating density and binding strength, affect the dynamics of such colloids. We find that competition between thermodynamic and kinetic trends imply that there is an optimal value for both the binding strength and the number of "legs" for which transport is the fastest. Using available thermodynamic data on DNA binding, we indicate how directionally reversible, temperature-controlled transport of colloidal walkers can be achieved. In particular, the present results should make it possible to design a chromatographic technique that can be used to separate colloids with different DNA functionalizations.


In 1916, Albert Einstein published his famous general theory of relativity, which contains the rules of gravity and provides the basis for modern theories of astrophysics and cosmology. For many years, physicists, astrophysicists and mathematicians have striven to develop techniques for unlocking the secrets contained in Einstein's theory of gravity; more recently, computational science research groups have added their expertise to the endeavor. Because the underlying scientific project provides such a demanding and rich system for computational science, techniques developed to solve Einstein's equations will apply immediately to a large family of scientific and engineering problems. The authors have developed a collaborative computational framework that allows remote monitoring and visualization of simulations, at the center of which lies a community code called Cactus. Many researchers in the general scientific computing community have already adopted Cactus, as have numerical relativists and astrophysicists. In June 1999, an international team of researchers at various sites ran some of the largest such simulations in numerical relativity yet undertaken, using a 256-processor SGI Origin 2000 supercomputer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). Other globally distributed scientific teams are running visual simulations of Einstein's equations on the gravitational effects of colliding black holes.


Drs S ROGERS and K S JAMES (MRC Epidemiology Unit, Cardiff CF2 3AS) write: Dr P G Norris and colleagues (12 July, p 104) reported a beneficial effect of fish oils on the systolic blood pressure of patients with mild hypertension. We have also found a blood pressure lowering effect in a group of normal volunteers taking 10 g of Maxepa per day compared with controls taking olive oil. However, we do not believe that 16 g or even 10 g of Maxepa per day is a practical maintenance dose for long term treatment of mild hypertension. Some of us tried 16 capsules of Maxepa a day for two weeks before embarking on our study and found this a most inconvenient obsession. Ultimately we took the decision to ask our volunteers to take a "loading dose" of 16 capsules a day for one week followed by nine capsules a day for the remainder of the trial. But still, like the Chelmsford trial, this was an experiment in biology not in pragmatism. Maxepa is an unlikely answer to the problems of treating mild hypertension if it has to be given in such large quantities.


This thesis sets out to explore some important gaps in the sociological and feminist
understanding of the provision of maternity care and of women's health needs.
The research was concerned with an exploration of the implementation of proposals for
the provision of user-centred maternity care which emerged from the critiques of current
medicalised provision. It evaluates the effects of an attempt to provide user-centred
maternity care within the Primary Health Care sector (PHC) from both the women's and
workers' perspectives and experience.
The central questions addressed within the research have been: Firstly, to assess the
degree to which such models of service delivery provide a user centred approach.
Secondly, to identify the form of the relationship between the women users and providers
from the practices and to develop an understanding of the mechanisms of interaction
between them. Thirdly, to explore the extent to which the provision of such care is
appropriate to match women users' self identified needs. Finally, to assess the potential
of female health workers to adopt a form of provider and user relationship where the
balance of power is altered in the users' favour.
The main body of the research consisted of a qualitative study conducted in two general
practices. These were chosen as specific examples of innovative practices attempting to
provide a genuinely user-centred maternity service. The fieldwork consisted of three
methodological components:
Firstly, unstructured interviews were conducted with women users and workers. A
sample of 30 women who were pregnant for the first time were interviewed on three
occasions during their pregnancy and in the immediate post-natal period. In addition, 10
second time mothers were also interviewed post-natally. In terms of the workers', in depth interviews were conducted with midwives, GPs and practice nurses within the
PHC setting.
Secondly, observations were undertaken on the interactions between the women and
workers and between members of the PHC team during the course of the women's antenatal and post-natal care.
Finally, a structured questionnaire was used with a sample of women from one of the
practice's well woman clinic.
The research findings indicate the existence of a user-centred frame of reference held by
female health workers - especially the midwives - for the provision of health care to
women, which was opposed to the medical model. It explores the translation into
practice of this model of maternity care and identifies the way that it functioned to enable
women to exercise greater control over their health care and experience of pregnancy.
Within this model the traditional 'with woman' role of the midwife was found to be
central. Considerable convergence was found between the models held by the main
parties in the interaction - issues concerned with choice, control and the provision of
information were all found to be central to the care provided and to women's and
workers' models.
However, constraints on the effective implementation of the model were found in terms
of the influence of professionalism (particularly on the GPs) and the dominance of the
hospital system. These resulted in limits to the women workers' ability to meet the needs
of women users.


—Presence of a wetted edge during the period of seedfall was an effective predictor of suitable establishment (defined as germination and survival to the 1st autumn) locations for Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera, Salix amygdaloides, S. exigua, and Tamarix ramosissima seedlings during 3 successive years of a gravel pit revegetation project in Fort Collins, Colorado. At locations predicted to be suitable for establishment, position within the pit (possibly reflecting additional moisture provided by seepage) was a significant factor in determining whether establishment actually occurred. Cover of herbaceous species, which became established at the same time as, or after, woody seedlings, was positively related to probability of establishment for 8 of 11 species-year combinations, probably reflecting more favorable moisture conditions at certain locations. Herbaceous cover also was positively related to seedling height at the end of the 1st summer of growth for 9 of 11 species-year combinations. Neither establishment nor 1st-summer growth was consistently related to overall decline in the water table as estimated by the drop in surface-water level during the growing season. Flooding in the 1st spring after establishment was negatively related to subsequent survival for 5 of 8 species-year combinations. The 4 species established at different elevations in the pit, depending on location of the wetted edge during the period of seedfall, and there was no evidence that differential mortality subsequently altered their distribution along the elevation gradient. However, the primary objective in this study was to restore native woody species, and we attempted to maintain conditions conducive to meeting this objective. Differential postestablishment mortality may be more important in structuring the riparian community in more rigorous riverine environments.


Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the diseases related to restless leg syndrome (RLS). RLS often persists after positive airway pressure therapy (PAP) for OSA has been prescribed and can be the reason for lower adherence. The aim of this study was to evaluate residual RLS in patients on PAP therapy. Methods We prospectively recruited patients on PAP therapy. They filled the Restless Leg Syndrome Rating Scale. Adherence to PAP therapy was obtained from machines software and medical records were analyzed. Results 71 patients (21% women, age 56.6 ± 10.7 years, BMI 36.0 ± 9.1, ESS 11.4 ± 5.7) were recruited. Initial apnea hypopnea index (AHI) was 48.4 ± 22.3, mean AHI on PAP therapy was 5.1 ± 5.4, average usage was 5.2h ± 2.3h. 63% of patients were adherent to PAP therapy.65% patients had arterial hypertension (AH), 11% ischemic heart disease,27% diabetes mellitus (DM), 16%chronic heart failure, 6% atrial fibrilation, 17% had either asthma or COPD. Only 23 (33%) patients reported no symptoms of RLS, 20 (29%) complained of mild RLS, 16 (23%) of moderate, and 11 (15%) of severe RLS. Those with severe RLS had higher initial ESS (15.0 ± 2.4 vs. 10.8 ± 5.9, p=0.004), had more often DM (32% vs 10%, p=0.025), asthma (50% vs. 11%, p=0.004), and clinically significant insomnia (67% vs. 8%, p Conclusions RLS is common in patients with OSA on PAP therapy. Those with severe RLS have higher ESS when diagnosed with OSA, more often have diabetes mellitus, asthma, and clinically significant insomnia. AH is more common in patients with comorbid RLS.


The middle to late Cenozoic tectonic-magmatic evolution of the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic province south of the Tropic of Cancer is summarized and analyzed for the first time, based on new geologic and structural work and published information. In the eastern part of the study region (Mesa central physiographic province) silicic volcanism occurred in a short-lived episode culminating at ca. 30 Ma and was followed by crustal-scale extension between 30 and 27 Ma. In the western part of the study area (Sierra Madre Occidental physiographic province) a voluminous episode of ignimbrite volcanism at 24‐21 Ma was succeeded by east-west extension that produced regularly spaced grabens affecting only the upper crust. In the westernmost part of the study region, an andesitic to rhyolitic arc, formed between 17 and 12 Ma, was affected by crustal-scale, north-northwest‐trending, extensional faulting, leading to the formation of the Gulf of California. In the Mesa central the maximum extension was oriented approximately east-west and amounted to ~20%. In the eastern Sierra Madre Occidental physiographic province extension was only 8% and oriented approximately east-west. We observe that trenchward shifting of the climax of subduction volcanism and extension occurred during late Oligocene, early Miocene, and late Miocene time. Comparison with the offshore tectonics indicates that the first two tectonic-magmatic pulses coincide with periods of fast spreading at the Pacific-Farallon boundary, south of the Shirley fracture zone. We propose that increases in the spreading rate are related to periods of high subduction rate, which in turn correspond to episodes of retreating subduction. A retreating slab may have generated a flux of hotter asthenospheric material into the mantle wedge, producing widespread melting at the base of the crust as well as intraarc extension in the overriding plate. Boundary conditions (i.e., plate tectonics) ultimately determined timing, magnitude, and orientation of extension, whereas volcanic and tectonic styles are controlled by the internal structure of crustal blocks and by the gravitational and thermal effects of magmatism.


All bodies in the sublunary word are composed of mixtures of all the primary elements – fire, air, earth, and water. Aristotle argues for the primacy of these four elements in the constitution of objects in our word. He further develops an original theory of mixing of elements to explain the formation of uniform matter such as granite, flesh, or oil. His theory of mixing of elements has received much attention in the past decade, resulting in an exciting array of interpretations that have also generated contributions to contemporary philosophy. In what follows I offer an account of Aristotle's theory of elements and their mixtures, and survey the main alternative readings of his position.


Abstract. We present results of the first phase of an ongoing project to create a system for three-dimensional (3D) geomorphometric modeling of the Arctic Ocean submarine topography. In this phase, we developed a testing, lowresolution desktop version of the system. We utilized a small, 5-km gridded digital elevation model (DEM) extracted from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) version 3.0. From the smoothed DEM, we derived digital models of several morphometric variables: horizontal, vertical, minimal, and maximal curvatures, catchment and dispersive areas, as well as topographic and stream power indices. To construct and visualize 3D morphometric models, we applied an original approach for 3D terrain modeling in the environment of the Blender package, free and open-source software. Finally, we present a series of 3D morphometric models with perspective views from the Atlantic, Eurasia, the Pacific, and North America. The experiment showed that the approach is efficient and can be used for creating next, desktop and web versions of the system for visualizing 3D morphometric models of higher resolutions.


Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films are amorphous metastable carbon form that provide interesting mechanical and tribological properties. The role of film thickness influence upon wear and mechanical properties is of interest and not yet fully reported. In this study, two samples of previously plasma nitrocarburized, quenched and tempered H13 steel were duplex treated. First, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chromium nitride (CrN) layer was applied, followed by a top final diamond-like carbon layer applied by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). To evaluate thicknesses influence on mechanical and wear properties of coatings, samples were treated using two different thicknesses of both layers. In this study, the thickest CrN and DLC case presented higher hardness and better tribological properties, however, its failure occurs in brittle fashion.


A late-Holocene vegetation record is presented from the southwest coast of New Caledonia. Lac Saint Louis is a freshwater swamp at 3 m a.s.l. adjacent to the River Coulee delta. Pollen analysis, charcoal analysis, radiocarbon dating and stratigraphic analyses have been used to reconstruct the vegetation and sedimentary history of the swamp. The sediment record commences at 6000 BP and reflects rapid flood-plain development associated with postglacial sea-level rise. This rapid accumulation of sediment ceased around 5500 BP and the site became a freshwater swamp. From 5500 to 3000 BP the pollen record reflects several aspects of this coastal landscape; coastal forest, the swamp surface and the adjacent mangrove zone. At 3000 BP charcoal levels increase significantly in conjunction with abrupt changes in the pollen record. Mangrove pollen declines and pollen indicative of coastal forest is replaced by pollen indicative of coastal savanna. These changes coincide with the commencement of the archaeological record in New Caledonia and mirror similar changes in other late-Holocene records elsewhere on the island, and are interpreted as representing human impact. Yam terraces surrounding Lac Saint Louis may have been built around 2000 BP based on mineral magnetic measurements and charcoal accumulation. The decline in mangrove vegetation adjacent to site may be the result of a late-Holocene fall in sea level. Increased sediment accumulation along the coastal foreshore as a result of forest clearance in the River Coulee's catch-ment, however, is also considered.


The Internet of Things will influence how production systems of the future will work. An expected change is the increase in complexity when production system will start communicating with each other. This complexity can be managed by applying socio-technical approaches. This includes analyzing a production system regarding the domains: tasks, actors, technology, and structure. We identified three topics per domain that we think need further investigation, as they may influence complexity to a strong degree. For tasks we suggest looking into urgency, habituation, and strategies; for actors we suggest looking into skills, human factors, and user diversity. In the field of technology we find visualization, decision support, and interactions to be most pressing, while in the field of structure we see responsibility, delegation, and communication.


The causes and consequences of the intergenerational persistence of inequality are a topic of great interest among various fields in economics. However, until now, issues of data availability have restricted a broader and cross-national perspective on the topic. Based on rich sets of harmonized household survey data, we contribute to filling this gap computing time series for several indexes of relative and absolute intergenerational education mobility for 18 Latin American countries over 50 years, and making them publicly available. We find that intergenerational mobility has been rising in Latin America, on average. This pattern seems to be driven by the high upward mobility of children from low-educated families; at the same time, there is substantial immobility at the top of the distribution. Significant cross-country differences are observed and are associated with income inequality, poverty, economic growth, public educational expenditures and assortative mating.


In this paper, a baseband ASIC which supports receive diversity and soft-output Viterbi equalization for enhanced 2G networks is presented. It includes a transmitter and receiver with a symbol detector and a decoder with a dedicated incremental redundancy implementation, as well as the necessary control capability to autonomously communicate with the RF-IC. The ASIC is connected to an RF-IC to build a complete Evolved EDGE transceiver system. The transceiver system reaches a measured sensitivity close to -112 dBm for single-antenna GSM voice channels and achieves the reference interference performance for adjacent channels 11.4 dB above 3GPP requirements. It is the first reported solution which fulfills the most demanding 3GPP Downlink Advanced Receive Performance Phase 2 testcases specified for Rx-diversity. The ASIC occupies 6 mm 2 in 130 nm CMOS with a power consumption between 3.9 and 14 mW.


The elbow is a difficult joint to treat because of the subtle nuances involved in pathology, examination, and treatment. Patients experiencing the sequelae of recurrent elbow instability can lose substantial function in the affected upper extremity. Elbow instability comprises a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from valgus instability in the throwing athlete to traumatic recurrent rotatory instability to iatrogenic damage. For the orthopaedic surgeon to develop a systematic algorithm for treating elbow instability disorders, it is necessary to understand the basic elbow biomechanics and the alterations that occur in the unstable elbow. A thorough knowledge of the history, physical examination techniques, and imaging studies necessary to diagnose these injury patterns is also needed. Cutting-edge advances in the surgical reconstruction of the unstable elbow will allow those caring for patients with these difficult injuries to make the proper management decisions.


Memory latency becoming an increasing important performance bottleneck as the gap between processor and memory speeds continues to grow. While cache hierarchies are an important step toward addressing the latency problem but they are not a complete solution. To further reduce or tolerate memory latency problem, several techniques have been proposed and evaluated which is responsible to tolerating memory latency and cachemisses. Regarding to this problem, it has become necessary for us to have a better compiler optimization techniques. One of the techniques has recently used was Software Prefetching. Software prefetching relies on the programmer or compiler to insert explicit prefetch instructions into the application code for memory references that are likely to miss in the cache. Software prefetching has been shown to be effective in reducing memory stalls in array-based applications but not in pointer-based applications. This project investigates compiler-based prefetching for pointer based applications particularly those containing Recursive Data Structures (RDS) and designs the proposed algorithm. To designs this propose algorithm, there are two methodology used in this project that are comparative study and lab experiments in order to generates the hypothesis and quantitatively tested to measure the performance. There are three existing techniques that are selected for comparative study that are Greedy Prefetching, Jump History Pointer and Prefetch Array. The results from the comparative study and lab experiment give the best algorithm which is guide to design the proposed algorithm. This best algorithm consists of greedy prefetching and prefetch array algorithms. The proposed algorithm have been implemented and tested in the same environment as existing algorithms and the results shows the better improvement achieved compared from the best algorithm. This improvement results from the lab experiments shows this project have achieved the main objectives and gives better performance of compiler-based prefetching algorithm.


One of the most pressing problems in modern gynecology is the problem of chronic inflammation of the appendages. Every obstetrician-gynecologist has to deal with a complaint of pain in the lower abdomen in women every day. About 39% of women experience pelvic pain caused by inflammation of the uterine appendages periodically, while 12% of patients experience pain for at least 5 days every month, and another 12% suffer from persistent pelvic pain [2]. Chronic pelvic pain occupies a special place among the variety of clinical manifestations of gynecological diseases and is considered by most researchers as one of the leading symptoms of inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs: chronic salpingitis and oophoritis, pelvic peritoneal adhesions, chronic endometritis. However, the presence of a "routine" gynecological pathology cannot always explain the development of pain in the lower pelvis. Pelvic pain is an indication in 12% of all hysterectomies. For this reason, the aim of our study was to optimize the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases of the uterine appendages to improve the quality of life and prevention of pelvic pain. The object of the study was 100 women with chronic salpingoophoritis complicated by pelvic pain, who were divided into three groups according to the method of treatment. During the study, we used, along with general clinical research methods and examination for sexually transmitted infections, special research methods, such as: studying the intensity of pain on the VAS scale, bacterioscopic and bacteriological examination of vaginal contents, ultrasound scanning and Doppler studies, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, FSH, LH, DHEAS-S, TSH, prolactin and cortisol in the blood serum, the content of prostaglandins F2α, E2 and growth factors in the serum. In addition, the level of immunoglobulin A (IgA), the concentration of the main cytokines (IL 1β, IL6) in the blood serum were determined. The resulting material was subjected to automated statistical processing. After the examination, the patients received the necessary treatment, which included antibiotic-anti-inflammatory therapy (ceftriaxone, doxycycline, metronidazole), 20 procedures of pharmaco-physiotherapeutic intravaginal electrotherapy with the drug Glutoxim in an amount of 1 ml of 1% solution, intravaginal ultrasound therapy, synbiotic Bifiten. Based on the results of the data, the effectiveness of the use of the developed pharmaco-physiotherapeutic method (91%) was proved in comparison with intravaginal ultrasound therapy (74%) and, especially, drug therapy (40%).


Abstract Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have shown properties of inhibiting the progression of prostate cancer (PCa) in preclinical studies. However, epidemiological studies yield mixed results on the effectiveness of NSAIDs in PCa. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of NSAID use on clinical outcomes in PCa using systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Original articles published until the 1st week of October, 2016, were searched in electronic databases (Medline-Ovid, PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) for studies on NSAID use in PCa. The main clinical outcomes for the review were: PCa-specific (PCM) and all-cause mortality (ACM), biochemical recurrence (BCR), and metastases. Meta-analysis was performed to calculate the pooled hazard ratio (pHR) and their 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Heterogeneity between the studies was examined using I2 statistics. Appropriate subgroup analyses were conducted to explore the reasons for heterogeneity. Results: Out of 4216 retrieved citations, 24 observational studies and two randomized controlled studies with a total of 89,436 men with PCa met the inclusion criteria. Overall, any NSAID use was not associated with PCM, ACM, and BCR, with significant heterogeneity. Neither precancer treatment aspirin use (pHR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.83, 1.19, P = 0.97, 5 studies, I2: 51%) nor postcancer treatment aspirin use (pHR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.72, 1.23, P = 0.67, 8 studies, I2: 86%) was associated with PCM. Similar findings, that is, no significant association was observed for NSAID use and ACM or BCR overall, and in subgroup by types of NSAID use, and NSAID use following radiation or surgery. Conclusion: Although NSAID use was not associated with ACM, PCM, or BCR among men with PCa, significant heterogeneity remained in the included studies even after subgroup analyses.


In this study, the authors report the findings from a study of the contributory factors leading to slips, trips and falls (STFs) amongst elderly passengers at train stations and how these are likely to change in the future over the medium to long term (the period 2035–2050). Their data draws on: stakeholder interviews with rail personnel and elderly passengers; a set of station observations carried out across the UK; and, a survey of the views of station managers. The findings point to a set of 22 contributory factors covering aspects of organisational, station environment and passenger (individual) influence on STFs. Amongst the factors which most concern station managers at the present and over the next few decades are: rushing behaviour on train platforms; the consumption of alcohol by passengers; aspects of station design (e.g. flooring); and, training for station staff as regard the risks of STFs. The authors summarise their findings in the form of a systems model which highlights priorities with regard to STFs in terms of all of the stakeholders taking part in the study. A final section discusses a set of issues which might form the basis for a future agenda for research and practice in this area.


"Youth participation" is a popular buzzword in today's development lexicon. But when is it a practical instrument of development, and when is it mere window-dressing? What does it mean in today's rapidly changing societies – participation in change itself? This lively and provocative book draws together a host of experiences and views on the subject, from agencies and individuals in diverse fields. Perhaps the strongest message that emerges is that youth participation can be practiced in any setting, on any scale. But it rarely is. This prompts some contributors to ask, are young people the last group in society to suffer "legitimate" discrimination?


ABSTRACT The nucleotide sequence from the genome of Moraxella catarrhalis ATCC 43617 was annotated and used both to assess the metabolic capabilities and limitations of this bacterium and to design probes for a DNA microarray. An absence of gene products for utilization of exogenous carbohydrates was noteworthy and could be correlated with published phenotypic data. Gene products necessary for aerobic energy generation were present, as were a few gene products generally ascribed to anaerobic systems. Enzymes for synthesis of all amino acids except proline and arginine were present. M. catarrhalis DNA microarrays containing 70-mer oligonucleotide probes were designed from the genome-derived nucleotide sequence data. Analysis of total RNA extracted from M. catarrhalis ATCC 43617 cells grown under iron-replete and iron-restricted conditions was used to establish the utility of these DNA microarrays. These DNA microarrays were then used to analyze total RNA from M. catarrhalis cells grown in a continuous-flow biofilm system and in the planktonic state. The genes whose expression was most dramatically increased by growth in the biofilm state included those encoding a nitrate reductase, a nitrite reductase, and a nitric oxide reductase. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR analysis was used to validate these DNA microarray results. These results indicate that growth of M. catarrhalis in a biofilm results in increased expression of gene products which can function not only in energy generation but also in resisting certain elements of the innate immune response.


On June 2, 2016, the MacArthur Foundation announced a competition awarding $100 million to a single project that would contribute toward solving a significant societal problem. Six weeks later, in Nairobi, Kenya, the members of the annual meeting of the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools' World Forum unanimously passed a resolution requesting the submission of an application that utilized the resources of the global network of Jesuit business schools in addressing the inter-connected problem of global unsustainability, social injustice, and poverty. This article reports on the resulting 2016 application as well as on a possible 2019 version that builds upon it. The article emphasizes four aspects of innovation at the core of both these applications and the 2016 MacArthur Foundation competition. The four areas are: 1) the MacArthur Foundation's innovative approach to inspiring societal change; 2) innovation in teaching and research content—transforming teaching materials and research topics in business schools, both Jesuit and other; 3) innovation in the processes of organizational transformation—participating business schools transforming their teaching and research in an "impossibly" short time period of only three years; and 4) innovation in the processes of societal transformation—achieving collaborative transformation among business schools, the business community, governmental agencies, spiritual and religious organizations, social enterprises, and not-for-profits.


A new study of the lung structures of sectioned crocodiles and other reptiles has shown that they resemble the images of several flattened fossil dinosaurs from China. On page
 1267, this lung evidence is used to argue not only that dinosaurs were incapable of the high rates of gas exchange needed for warm-bloodedness, but also that their bellowslike lungs could not have evolved into the high-performance lungs of modern birds. The new evidence challenges two of the reigning hypotheses concerning dinosaurs: that they were warm-blooded, and that they gave rise to birds. Some call this report part of a "one-two punch to the dinosaur origins of birds hypothesis," but others still think there9s persuasive evidence that birds are descendants of dinosaurs.


Roots and Affixes is an investigation into the primitives of syntax. It focuses on the lexical projection and the categorial head. Accordingly, it consists of two parts. The first part argues that the features of lexical vocabulary items (such as light and kiss) are not an active part of the syntactic derivation. The author provides empirical support for the claim that vocabulary items are inserted post-syntactically, adopting the view that syntax operates on UG-features only. She argues that the root terminal node is a by-product of the operation Merge that is characterized by the mere absence of features. It is further shown that functional structure determines subcategories of lexical items. In the second part of the thesis it is argued that categorial heads do not exist. As a result, derivational affixes do not realize categorial heads. The author proposes instead that derivational affixes are lexical vocabulary items which realize root positions. It is shown that the abandonment of categorial heads does not lead to a loss of explanatory adequacy. The general conclusion is that lexical categorial features are not a primitive of syntax.


Abstract. This paper presents extensions of the IP model where part-machine assignment and cell formation are addressed simultaneously and part machine utilisation is considered. More specifically, an integration of inter-cell movements of parts and machine set-up costs within the objective function, and also a combination of machine set-up costs associated with parts revisiting a cell when the part machine operation sequence is taken into account are examined and an enhanced model is formulated. Based upon this model's requirements, an initial three stage approach is proposed and a tabu search iterative procedure is designed to produce a solution. The initial approach consists of the allocation of machines to cells, the allocation of parts to machines in cells and the evaluation of the objective function's value. Special care has been taken when allocating parts to machine cells as part machine operation sequence is preserved making the system more complex but more realistic. The proposed tabu search algorithm integrates short term memory and an overall iterative searching strategy where two move types, single and exchange, are considered. Computational experiments verified both the algorithm's robustness where promising solutions in reasonably short computational effort are produced and also the algorithm's effectiveness for large scale data sets.


The Egyptian Revolution comes amid a period of national and general regional growth of private higher education. Indeed, the Middle East is the last region to establish the private sector across the breadth of its countries. Apart from a few precursors such as the American University in Cairo, the private sector is basically a creation of the last two decades, and its share in Egypt is still small, though it is growing. On the one hand, the new minister says private universities should be distinctive, not "duplicating" public ones and thus offering new programs: on the other hand regulations about access cannot be ruled out nor can caps on the amount of tuition rises. Already evident is a public policy orientation to discourage for-profit private higher education.


The aim of this research is to illuminate the experience of vocational trainees, specifically trainee cooks, on work placement. Previous ethnographic research in vocational education has tended to converge on sociologically oriented concerns and link the provision of vocational education to the reproduction of social classes. This provided a rich but nonetheless limited understanding of the student experience in this education sector. Professional socialisation studies typically focused on students in higher education and newcomers working in white-collar settings; few studies were carried out with individuals joining vocational trades. Moreover non-sociological studies rarely involved participant observation in data collection and non-linguistic studies rarely emphasised local interactions and verbal exchanges between participants. Studies in blue-collar settings are equally rare. Through a linguistic ethnographic approach, this research offers a detailed picture of the everyday experience of trainee cooks on work placement in professional kitchens.

Data was collected through participant observation, fieldnotes, interviews and audio-recordings over a 16-week period involving more than 550 hours in nine professional kitchens. Constituted by physical action, kitchen work involved extensive engagement in doing and for trainees in particular, watching. Doing involved engagement in assigned tasks and working in the capacity of specific workers at their stations, here described as 'doing Nellie's work'. Watching was mandated by workers, treated as a mode of learning and gave trainees a legitimate presence in the kitchens. A third action termed as origination was also uncovered in this context. Origination is a self-directed voluntary action of bringing about work, carrying it out and contributing purposefully to work situations. Constituted by physical actions and the general physicality of work, task performance involved verbal interactions that were often minimal. Occasions of extended talk however showed the construction of particular relationships. These extended interactions provided important learning opportunities.

The study supports, reinforces and extends findings in workplace research. It also makes a theoretical contribution through the concepts of origination and legitimate presence, and illustrates the use of a linguistic-ethnographic approach in a minimal talk context. Its outcomes are useful for understanding the nature of work/learning at work placement and offer practical insights of value to professionals involved in work preparation programmes.


Over the past decade, a body of evidence has accumulated demonstrating that calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is prevalent in older adults and that the presence of calcific valve disease is associated with adverse clinical outcomes, even in the absence of left ventricular (LV) outflow tract obstruction. Stritzke et al. report for the KORA/MONICA study that degenerative (or calcific) aortic valve disease was present in 28% of a population-based sample of >900 adults with a mean age of ∼50 years.1 This finding parallels previous population-based studies such as the Helsinki Aging Study2 with a prevalence of aortic sclerosis of 21% in adults aged 55–71 years and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) with aortic sclerosis in 26% of adults age 65 years or older.3

Further, in the KORA/MONICA study, the presence of calcific valve disease was associated with age, active smoking, and elevated total cholesterol on a baseline evaluation carried out 10 years before the echocardiographic study.1 These findings support the concept that patients 'at risk' of CAVD can be identified based on these associated clinical factors. In addition to age, smoking, and hypercholesterolaemia, previous studies have convincingly shown that the presence of calcific valve disease is associated with hypertension, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome.3,4 Recent data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study indicated that the total cholesterol to HDL ratio is associated with an increased risk of CAVD across the entire age range (45–84 years), whereas LDL is associated with increased risk only in those <65 years of age.5

'At …

*Corresponding author. Tel: +1 206 685 1379, Fax: +1 206 616 4847, Email: cmotto{at}u.washington.edu


Air pollution was severe in many urban areas of the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, in part due to the burning of bituminous coal for heat. We estimate the effects of this bituminous coal consumption on mortality rates in the U.S. during the mid-20th century. Coal consumption varied considerably during the 20th century due to coal-labor strikes, wartime oil and gas restrictions, and the expansion of gas pipelines, among other reasons. To mitigate the influence of confounding factors, we use a triple-differences identification strategy that relies on variation in coal consumption at the state-year-season level. It exploits the fact that coal consumption for heating was highest in the winter and uses within-state changes in mortality in non-winter months as an additional control group. Our estimates suggest that reductions in the use of bituminous coal for heating between 1945 and 1960 decreased winter all-age mortality by 1.25 percent and winter infant mortality by 3.27 percent, saving 1,923 all age lives per winter month and 310 infant lives per winter month. Our estimates are likely to be a lower bound, since they primarily capture short-run relationships between coal and mortality.


The salient question to ask when evaluating a diagnostic test is "Does the use of this test lead to improved health outcomes?". Tests lead to improved health outcomes by identifying patients who will benefit from clinical action. Therefore, to improve health outcomes, a test must be able to distinguish between people with and without the disease of interest with a certain degree of accuracy. The current methodological framework for estimating diagnostic accuracy assumes that there is a "gold" reference standard to which the test(s) under study can be compared. This framework is often challenged by the fact that there is no such test or method that classifies disease status without error and that can be performed in all study participants.
The first of the two aims of this thesis is to explore and improve methods for dealing with the challenge of a lack of a "gold" standard in diagnostic accuracy research. We address this challenge by describing the corresponding methods to deal with it and, more importantly, by providing recommendations on their optimal use. We cover methods for dealing with imperfect reference standards, namely composite reference standards, panel diagnosis, and latent class analysis as well address the situation of not being able to perform the preferred reference standard in all study participants.
The ability to obtain unbiased estimates of test accuracy in a single study is foundational to answering the question whether a test leads to improved health outcomes. The next level of evidence comes from systematic reviews in which the results of multiple primary studies are summarized. Therefore, the second aim of this thesis is to explore and improve the study of diagnostic tests on an aggregate level. We focus on how variability in results between studies is currently being investigated and, based on these findings, provide further guidance.
 Although a precise and accurate estimate of test performance is often helpful in deciding whether to implement a test, it is not always essential. As we argue in the general discussion, failure to think outside the diagnostic accuracy framework can even lead to adverse clinical outcomes in some situations, particularly when evaluating new highly sensitive tests that challenge the existing reference standards. We conclude this thesis by summarizing alternative methods for evaluating the clinical benefit of such tests.


The application of counterpropagating, short, chirped laser pulses for the deflection and splitting of an atomic beam is investigated. A simple model is proposed to describe the case in which the pulses induce population transfer in the adiabatic-passage regime and in which the effects of spontaneous emission are negligible during the action of a single laser pulse. Spontaneous emission between the pulses is not neglected, however, and it is shown that it has a significant effect on the evolution of the average transversal velocity of the atoms, as well as the dispersion of the transversal velocity.


Temperature is a major environmental factor that determines the rate of plant development. Relation of thermal time to phenological development of peanut would provide a better understanding of this crop's response to temperature. Thermal time measured in day-degrees (°Cd) was used to determine peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) phenological development of a Spanish botanical-type culitvar, Pronto, and a Virginia botanical-type breeding line, OK-FH15. Peanuts were grown under field conditions, on a Teller sandy loam (fineloamy, mixed, thermic, Udic Argiustoll) in 1985, 1986, and 1987. Irrigation plus rainfall ranged from 840 mm in 1985 to 400 mm in 1987. At 12 d after planting (DAP) when >80% emergence had occurred, 136 ± 18 °Cd had accumulated. Pronto produced more mainstem nodes (vegetative stage) than did OK-FH15. Regression analyses indicated that both vegetative and reproductive development were highly correlated with °Cd for both genotypes. Incipient flowering (R1) began at 313 and 360 °Cd in 1985 and 1986, respectively. At 50% R1 in 1987, 410 and 498 °Cd had accumulated for Pronto and OK-FH15, respectively. Both vegetative and reproductive stage development were slower with less water. Although attainment of a high reproductive stage value (7 to 9) does not indicate a high yield per se, it does indicate the degree of crop maturity. Seasonal accumulation of °Cd in 1985, 1986, and 1987 was 1456,1672, and 1473, respectively. Crop yields (pods) for the fullirrigation treatment were 312, 325, and 288 g m−2 for Pronto and 358, 405, and 308 g m−2 for OK-FH15 in 1985, 1986, and 1987, respectively. Knowledge of °Cd accumulated can provide an estimate of harvest date as well as crop development stage.


Carotenoids are lipophilic compounds naturally occurring in plant species where they exert their main biological role as photosynthetic pigments. Due to their chemical structure, carotenoids have the ability to act as antioxidants primarily by scavenging reactive oxygen species. The antioxidant potential of carotenoids is of significant importance to human health and a carotenoidrich diet is recommended for the prevention of a number of chronic and age-related diseases. The bioaccessibily and bioavailabilty of carotenoids is not proportional to their relative abundance in the original food matrix. The structural integrity of the plant material in which they are embedded and their chemical interactions with other food components seem to be critical factors for their release from the food source and their subsequent uptake by cells at the intestinal epithelium. In addition to food microstructure, food processing is also important for carotenoid bioavailabilty. Heat treatment, acidification and exposure to light can induce isomerisation and oxidation of the phytochemical compounds. It is evident that the absorption of carotenoids in a biologically active form is a complex, multi-step process depending on many variables. In this context the aim of this review is to present and critically discuss evidence relating to the association between food processing and carotenoid bioavailability. Emphasis is given on the food matrix composition and the chemical properties of the individual phytochemicals for formulating conclusions on carotenoid availability from processed meals.


Even hardware-focused industries today develop products where software is both a large and important component. Engineers tasked with developing and integrating these products do not always have a software engineering background. To ensure quality, tools are needed that automate and support software testing while allowing these domain specialists to leverage their knowledge and experience. Search-based testing could be a key aspect in creating an automated tool for supporting testing activities. However, domain specific quality criteria and trade-offs make it difficult to develop a general fitness function a priori, so interaction between domain specialists and such a tool would be critical to its success. In this paper we present a system for interactive search-based software testing and investigate a way for domain specialists to guide the search by dynamically re-weighting quality goals. Our empirical investigation shows that objective re-weighting can help a human domain specialist interactively guide the search, without requiring specialized knowledge of the system and without sacrificing population diversity.


In this paper we study interdependencies between corporate foreign investment and the capital structure of banks. By committing to invest predominantly at home, firms can reduce the credit default risk of their lending banks. Therefore, banks can refinance loans to a larger extent through deposits thereby reducing firms' effective financing costs. Firms thus have an incentive to allocate resources inefficiently as they then save on financing costs. We argue that imposing minimum capital adequacy for banks can eliminate this incentive by putting a lower bound on financing costs. However, the Basel II framework is shown to miss this potential.


To turn big data into actionable knowledge, the adoption of machine learning (ML) methods has proven to be one of the de facto approaches. When elaborating an appropriate ML model for a given task, one typically builds many models and generates several data artifacts. Given the amount of information associated with the developed models performance, their appropriate selection is often difficult. Therefore, appropriately comparing a set of competitive ML models and choosing one according to an arbitrary set of user metrics require systematic solutions. In particular, ML model management is a promising research direction for a more systematic and comprehensive approach for machine learning model selection. Therefore, in this paper, we introduce a conceptual model for ML development. Based on this conceptualization, we introduce our vision toward a knowledge-based model management system oriented to model selection.


Literature and philosophy have long shared an interest in questions of truth, value, and form. And yet, from ancient times to the present, they have often sharply diverged, both in their approach to these questions and in their relationship to one another. Moreover, the vast differences among individual writers, historical periods, and languages pose challenges for anyone wishing to understand the relationship between them. This Introduction provides a synthetic and original guide to this vast terrain. It uncovers the deep interests that literature and philosophy share while offering a lucid account of their differences. It sheds new light on many standing debates and offers students and scholars of literary criticism, literary theory, and philosophy a chance to think freshly about questions that have preoccupied the Western tradition from its very beginnings up until the present.


The authors examine the complex history of the development of the Indus Basin and the challenges faced by Pakistan during the evolution of the Indus Basin Irrigation System and the country9s responses to date. The Indus river system must meet the multiple needs of agriculture, energy and flood security. Pakistan9s constitutional structure, in which the federation shares overall responsibility for the operation of the Indus with the provinces, poses unique management and implementation challenges. What are the institutional arrangements Pakistan needs to address the challenges to the Indus Waters Treaty it signed with India in 1960? How is the country going to regulate the use of over-abstraction in the basin with the increased reliance on groundwater to maintain agricultural productivity? What are the institutional mechanisms in place to manage increased river flow variations from glacial melt as a result of climate change and for coping with devastating floods? At the same time, is the country maintaining adequate environmental flows to its delta? Provincial mistrust and a lack of institutional capacity underpins the history of the Indus in Pakistan with the Interprovincial Water Accord 1991 serving as a ray of hope on which to build a new institutional architecture of cooperation.


Flow-replacement revascularization and/or flow augmentation surgery may be necessary for safe deconstruction of complex middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms. Roughly 1% to 2% of all MCA aneurysms have angiographic features prohibiting standard microsurgical or endovascular management. Consent was obtained from the patient for the production of this video. No International Review Board approval was required for the creation of this video. A 17-yr-old female presented at the age of 15 with headaches. At the time of initial presentation, the patient was found to have an MCA bifurcation aneurysm. Initially, the aneurysm was managed conservatively and followed. However, on follow-up imaging, the aneurysm was found to have grown and developed into a large, complex MCA bifurcation aneurysm. Patient underwent planned trapping and deconstruction of the aneurysm. An internal maxillary artery (IMAX) to MCA bypass was performed using a cephalic vein graph to a robust inferior MCA branch combined with an in Situ MCA to MCA bypass. Follow-up angiography showed complete occlusion of the aneurysm. Patient was neurologically intact at 1-yr follow-up. Microsurgery continues to be the best treatment option for complex MCA aneurysms. A surgeon trained in bypass is an absolute prerequisite for management of those lesions. The IMAX offers an ideal high flow donor vessel for subcranial to intracranial flow replacement, which was required for re-establishment of flow to the robust inferior MCA branch in this case. The superior branch of the MCA was less robust. Therefore, by recreating a more distal bifurcation, the in Situ side-to-side MCA-MCA bypass simplified the revascularization strategy.


We describe the application of the graph-theoretic property known as treewidth to the problem of finding efficient parsing algorithms. This method, similar to the junction tree algorithm used in graphical models for machine learning, allows automatic discovery of efficient algorithms such as the O(n4) algorithm for bilexical grammars of Eisner and Satta. We examine the complexity of applying this method to parsing algorithms for general Linear Context-Free Rewriting Systems. We show that any polynomial-time algorithm for this problem would imply an improved approximation algorithm for the well-studied treewidth problem on general graphs.


In District of Columbia v. Heller, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed a form of original popular understanding as its method of Constitutional interpretation. This method recognizes that, with a Constitutional provision, the critical question is not the intent of the body that proposed it, but the understanding of the people at large who ratified it.This article applies original public understanding analysis to the 14th Amendment. It is possible to apply this method in a way not possible with regard to the framing of the original constitution. Both the outlets and the circulation of American print media massively expanded between 1791 and 1866. In 1866, just the three largest newspapers had a circulation that would (in proportion to population) equal two million modern readers. Further, the style of reporting tended toward reprinting transcripts of legislative debates, rather than digesting and interpreting them.When original public understanding is applied to the 14th Amendment, the case for incorporation of the Bill of Rights via the Privileges or Immunities Clause appears exceptionally strong. A prime example is Senator Jacob Howard's floor speech, which specifically listed Bill of Rights liberties as meant to be within the Amendment's protection. Transcripts of his speech were carried on the front page of the New York Times and the New York Herald (then the largest newspaper in the United States). A transcript was also carried in the Philadelphia Inquirer, while smaller newspapers summarized it.


Woodward, Caroline. Singing Away the Dark. Illus. Julie Morstad. Vancouver: Simply Read Books, 2010. Print. Verse has always been present in texts for children, and it is a pleasure to read a modern children's book that employs verse effectively. Singing Away the Dark is a poem about a young girl traversing forest and field on a dark, winter morning to catch the bus to her rural school. Thematically, the journey is about a child's emotional resourcefulness in the face of the routine but intimidating challenge of walking alone through the dark countryside. The verse is spare, balanced, and evocative and flows nicely when read aloud. What elevates Singing Away the Dark above the text's potential for a reductionist, sentimental reading is the confluence of Woodward's verse and Julie Morstad's illustrations. Expressive, spacious, with a balance of stark and detailed representation, Singing Away the Dark 's illustrations look Canadian. The feeling they evoke along with the text speaks directly to a current conception of what childhood in this country contributes to our national sense of aesthetics and our place in the world. I came upon my four year old "reading" Singing Away the Dark independently. Noticing my presence, she said, haltingly, "Mom… the pictures in this book are very… beautiful." Her awe-struck reaction seemed to mirror a facet of the Canadian experience—being stunned, silent in the grip of the vast, rather uncanny beauty of the wilderness. Woodward and Morstad have succeeded in imbuing Singing Away the Dark with a nuanced emotional weight and a sensibility that speaks to something intrinsic in the experience of being Canadian. To encounter a beautiful and very personal example of Canadiana like Singing Away the Dark is thrilling. For it to be appealing to, and appropriate for, pre-schoolers, early readers, and older children interested in poetry is even better. Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta's metadata but children's illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda's super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.


This paper deals with the analysis of the tooth root stress in high transverse contact ratio (HCR) gearing. Based on the realistic load distribution on tooth pairs in mesh, which has been determined by using an own developed method, the tooth root stresses along the path of contact have been calculated for a series of HCR-gears pairs. A comparison of the results with the values that are obtained by using the DIN 3990-Standard HCR-gears calculation, shows that the DIN-Standard procedure gives averagely significant higher values of the tooth root stresses in HCR-gearing. The presented results can be accepted as reliable because the method used has been previously verified by experiments. HCR-gearboxes designed by the use of the presented improved calculation will not be oversized.


We explore the role of local intra and extra-regional product-specific capabilities in foster ing the introduction of new products by firms active in the Turkish manufacturing sector. We model firms' product additions to their product basket as dependent on extra and intra-regional knowledge. We find that regional "discoveries", that is newly introduced products never produced before in the region, are positively and significantly affected by external related knowledge spurring from foreign firms active in the same location as well as by firm internal capabilities. Technologically related intra-regional knowledge spillovers and extra-regional knowledge spilling from imported inputs do not play a relevant role. The former, however, matter when we extend the analysis to all new products introduced by firms, regardless of their previous presence in the regional production basket. We interpret this evidence as foreign affiliates bringing new and exclusive capabilities which are missing in the region where they locate, thus providing a stimulus for regional production diversification and upgrading. This hypothesis is validated by exploring the heterogeneous role of the different intra and extra-regional knowledge sources according to products' complexity.


In existing studies on causal relationships between savings and economic growth, the direction of causality remains unclear. This study surveyed empirical literature on the causal relationship between savings and economic growth from 1992 to 2014. A meta-analysis was performed on 214 sets of results extracted from 48 independent research articles published from 1992 to 2014 to examine the major factors for conflicting causality outcomes. These results were combined for analysis using a logistic regression model. The results revealed that model specification, the level of financial development, and the level of foreign capital inflows affect the savings-led growth (SLG) outcomes, while income level does not affect the outcomes. The Asian financial crisis was found to have reduced the likelihood of SLG.


A multi-level evaluation index system is established with farmland protection as the target layer, farmland quantity, farmland quality and farmland sustainable development as the criterion layer. And the index layer includes the quantity change of farmland, per capita farmland area, multiple cropping index, total grain yield, unit grain yield, per capita grain security coefficient, and unit machinery dynamical input. Both expert evaluation method and factor analysis method are used to determine the weight of index. According to the data in farmland area, grain yield and economic development in Urumqi—Changji Economic Zone in the years 1996-2007, a comprehensive evaluation model of intensive farmland use in Urumqi—Changji Economic Zone is established after data standardization. The overall implementation effect of farmland protection policy is analyzed by integrating the farmland quantity, farmland quality and sustainable development. Result shows that implementation effect of farmland protection shows an upward trend in general in Urumqi—Changji Economic Zone in the years 1996-2007, with a fluctuation in the years 2000-2003 and a stable rising phase from 2004 till now. The maximum value is 0.779 in the year 2007; the minimum value is 0.242 in the year 1996; and the mean value in the years 1996-2007 is 0.454. Farmland protection at first strictly controls the farmland quantity, then pays attention to farmland quality, and finally focuses on the sustainable use of farmland.


The present study tries to explore the effect of learning styles on the mathematical performance of secondary school students. In addition to environmental and individual variables, learning styles are also influenced by culture and gender. To this end, a descriptive correlational procedure was followed. The sample consisted of 300 individuals, half being males and half females. Cluster sampling was utilized as a part of this investigation. To assess the learning styles of the students, Kolb's learning style questionnaire [19] was utilized. In this study, we utilized the first semester grades of the students in the academic year 2012-2013 in mathematics to gauge their mathematical performance. Descriptive statistics including was used to analyze the data, expressive measurements strategy including standard deviation, frequency calculation, chart, average, and inferential statistics methods including Pearson's correlation coefficient, ANOVA, regression analysis, and post hoc tests were utilized. As the results showed, students' performance was significantly predicted by concrete experience and abstract conceptualization significantly predicted the performance of students in mathematics. A significant difference was also observed between boys and girls in reflective observation and active experimentation learning methods. These results can have applicable implications in school consultations and be used in designing appropriate strategies by considering gender and learning styles.


We establish upper and lower bounds for the influence of a set of nodes in certain types of contagion models. We derive two sets of bounds, the first designed for linear threshold models, and the second more broadly applicable to a general class of triggering models, which subsumes the popular independent cascade models, as well. We quantify the gap between our upper and lower bounds in the case of the linear threshold model and illustrate the gains of our upper bounds for independent cascade models in relation to existing results. Importantly, our lower bounds are monotonic and submodular, implying that a greedy algorithm for influence maximization is guaranteed to produce a maximizer within a (1 - 1/e)-factor of the truth. Although the problem of exact influence computation is NP-hard in general, our bounds may be evaluated efficiently. This leads to an attractive, highly scalable algorithm for influence maximization with rigorous theoretical guarantees.


PURPOSE
Although many articles have been published regarding chromosomal instability (CI) and microsatellite instability (MI) in endometrial adenocarcinoma, the relationship between prognostic factors and the biological mechanisms accounting for genetic instability in these tumors has not yet been precisely defined. To do that, it will be necessary to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in endometrial carcinogenesis.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
Tissue samples from 43 human primary endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinomas (EACs) were analyzed for CI and MI status using comparative genomic hybridization and 11 microsatellite loci, respectively. Methylation status of the promoter of MLH1 was also determined. We analyzed all three of these parameters in relation to each other and to clinicopathological factors.

RESULTS
Sixty-five percent of the EACs we examined had detectable CI. Frequent copy number gains were seen at 1q25-41 (23%), 8q11.1-q21.1 (23%), 8q21.3-qter (21%); 28% of these tumors exhibited high-frequency MI (MSI-H); Methylation of the MLH1 promoter was observed in 92% of EACs with MSI-H. Southern blotting showed amplification of MYCN in one tumor, which has been documented for the first time in a primary human EAC.

CONCLUSIONS
MSI-H was correlated with histological grade, International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) stage, myometrial invasion, and lymphonode metastasis. Our comparative genomic hybridization results demonstrated that the number of chromosomes involved in genomic alterations in EACs was distinctively fewer than those in other types of tumor. The carcinogenetic process leading to EAC appears to be highly complex; for example, MI and CI may act synergistically, whereas CI and/or MI are likely to be linked with tumor heterogeneity.


Background : Improving students' decision making and judgment skills becomes an essential part of nursing education. The purpose of this Quasi-experimental study was to assess nursing students' clinical judgment in high-fidelity simulation based learning using observational measures. Method : Based on Tanner's clinical judgment model, a single group repeated-measures design was used with a purposive sampling at one nursing school in Macao. A total of 113 baccalaureate nursing students (49 in year two, 64 in year three) completed five simulation sessions within a 36 hour period. Two tutors used the Clinical Judgment Rubric to assess s tudents' clinical judgment at the end of each simulation session. The inter-rater reliability for the sessions ranged from 0.833 to 0.910. Results: The scores for clinical judgment increased from the first simulation scenario to the last scenario. Compared with third-year students, second-year students had significantly higher scores of clinical judgment in scenarios two, three, four and five. The debriefing was essential to preparing students for improving their thinking and reasoning skills. Students perceived that simulation strengthened their theoretical knowledge and helped them to notice, interpret, and respond appropriately to contingencies and emergencies. Tutors' comments indicated that second-year students valued the newly learned knowledge and used it to analyze the simulated scenarios while third-year students presented less knowledge and skill preparation. Conclusions: High-fidelity simulation using a computer-controlled human patient simulator has potential to support the development of clinical judgment in nursing students. Tutors are challenged to enhance students' intrinsic motivation for learning, and encourage them to continue their efforts in learning. Further research is needed to explore whether senior students have better performance in clinical judgment than junior students.


How would competition policy be shaped if it were to explicitly favor Schumpeterian (dynamic) competition over neoclassical (static) competition? Schumpeterian competition is the kind of competition that is engendered by product and process innovation. Such competition does not merely bring price competition. It tends to overturn the existing order. A "neo-Schumpeterian" framework for antitrust analysis that favors dynamic competition over static competition would put less weight on market share and concentration in the assessment of market power and more weight on assessing potential competition and enterprise-level capabilities. By embedding recent developments in evolutionary economics, the behavioral theory of the firm, and strategic management into antitrust analysis, one can develop a more robust framework for antitrust economics. Such a framework is likely to ease remaining tensions between antitrust and intellectual property. It is also likely to reduce confidence in the standard tools of antitrust economics when the business environment manifests rapid technological change. It appears that the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has attempted to incorporate more dynamic analysis, but the result has been inconsistent across different mergers and different doctrinal areas of antitrust law. Moreover, a complicating factor in the transformation of the law is the fact that the federal courts have, by embracing the reasoning in the Merger Guidelines promulgated several decades ago by the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), caused antitrust case law to ossify around a decidedly static view of antitrust. Put differently, in the years since 1980, the Division and the FTC have successfully persuaded the courts to adopt a more explicit economic approach to merger analysis, yet one that has a static view of competition. The result is not a mere policy preference. It is law. To change that law to have a more dynamic view of competition will therefore require a sustained intellectual effort by the enforcement agencies (as well as by scholars and practitioners) that, once more, engages the courts to re-examine antitrust law, as they did in the late 1970s during the ascendancy of the Chicago School, when antitrust law became infused with its current, static understanding of competition. A necessary but not sufficient condition for that effort is a public process by which the Division and the FTC revisit and restate the Merger Guidelines in a manner that clarifies and defends the role of dynamic competition in antitrust analysis. We therefore applaud the announcement of the antitrust agencies in September 2009 to solicit public comment on the possibility of updating the Merger Guidelines. Assuming that the Division and the FTC decide to revise the existing Merger Guidelines, those revised guidelines (and useful complementary undertakings, such as generalized guidelines on market power and remedies) then will require leadership by the enforcement agencies to persuade the courts that antitrust doctrine should evolve accordingly. That neo-Schumpeterian process may take a decade or longer to accomplish, but it is a path that we believe the Roberts Court is willing to travel.


The ideal of individual self-realisation, which has become one of the fundamental values of Western societies, is likely to generate a non-inclusive vision of the social system, if not coupled with a strong idea of social integration. An inclusive welfare state protects against this risk of a social-darwinistic vision of the social system. The critical examination of the Italian Law 104/1992 (and subsequent modifications), often referred to as a good example of inclusive normative, shows a latent conception of the social system as an entity demanding a "functional" adaptation of individuals with disabilities: e.g. people with disabilities have to prove their capabilities or acquire skills to enter tasks in "normal" work situations. Instead, the authors contend that work situations, as well as other life-situations, are always adaptable to the needs of well-being of the individuals.


This article argues that in the rapidly changing world of today, it is strongly recommended that governments keep up with trends and that they  develop up-to-date policies for the constructive use of information and communication technology (ICT) platforms. These policies should be  informed by the needs of their citizens and aligned with the prescripts and universal values  entrenched in international law. It is argued that providing access to  technologies that enhance communication would provide citizens with a voice in matters ranging from national politics to local service delivery, thereby strengthening democratic practices, provided that people also feel that their voices are being heard. This article looks at examples of developments that have taken place in South Africa recently and touches upon the importance of using digital communication to promote political and civic participation and activism


I must differ with my colleague, Peter Spiro, and those who consider dual citizenship unproblematic or even progressive and a facilitator of immigrant integration. The devaluation of citizenship that widespread dual citizenship both reflects and worsens is in fact bad for those who need democracy and seek social equality. It is also another moment in which political power has yielded to market power. At the same time, making dual citizenship illegal, or even discouraging it, is a pointless effort since even after the current nationalist-populist wave passes, human mobility is highly likely to remain at high levels.


There hardly exists a buzzword today that fires everybody's imagination in the tech world like "artificial intelligence" (AI). But not only giants like Google, Facebook, Baidu or Alibaba are trying to overbid each other with new applications – also states around the globe have proclaimed to partake in a global AI race. Germany was rather late to the game. This article compares the strategies of France, the US and China and identifies their distinct approaches. What is common to them all: they count on AI as a driving force and problem solver no matter the field – environmental hazards, logistics, mobility, health or the brute force of arms.


The aim of the study was to develop a simple, open-ended, goal-oriented clinical tool which was able to record patient and carer priorities for conservative continence care and treatment. This patient-oriented outcome tool (POOT) was developed from both clinician and patient/carer focus groups. The final format was piloted over 15 weeks in a multidisciplinary continence service. Clients listed bladder or bowel continence management problems; these were self-rated for severity and frequency of bother on a 0-4 rating scale, prior to treatment (n=50) and again at interim stage of treatment (n=29) or at completion of treatment (n=15). The 50 participants listed 117 problems; these were of a psychosocial nature rather than physical. Comparison of the interim group data with the completion group data before treatment revealed no significant difference on either the severity nor frequency ratings of the problems they listed. Those patients who had completed their treatment demonstrated a greater improvement in severity rating than the interim group (p<0.001). In conclusion, despite this being a pilot study, the POOT has demonstrated its potential usefulness as an outcome measure and as a measurable tool to assist clinicians in directing management strategies that address patients' and carers' key issues. Further refinement and testing of the tool would be worthwhile to establish validity.


Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) has been shown to provide significant reductions of wastewater effluent organic matter (EfOM). While SAT can renovate wastewater effluent to levels commensurate with potable reuse, SAT represents only a single treatment barrier. Membrane filtration has been demonstrated to be an alternative treatment process for wastewater reclamation. However, the performance of membrane filtration is significantly constrained by membrane fouling, reducing membrane productivity in terms of flux decline. Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is used as a primary barrier in the reclamation system to remove a complex suite of chemical and biological contaminants in wastewater. This study of membrane filtration of SAT-source waters is intended to determine the benefits of the SAT system in terms of membrane fouling reduction with membrane filtration providing a secondary barrier. Membrane treatment df SAT-recovered water provides a multiple barrier exhibiting additional organic matter removal. Moreover, the SAT system also provides for storage of reclaimed water. The synergy between SAT and membrane treatment has led to the concept of an integrated SAT-membrane system for potable reuse.


Benford's phenomenological law gives the expected frequencies of the first significant digit (i.e., the leftmost non-zero digit) of any given series of numbers. According to this law, the frequency of 1 is higher than that of 2; this in turn appears more often than 3, and so on decreasing until 9. Similarly, Benford's law can also be applied to the first two significant digits (i.e., from 10 to 99), and so on. We applied Benford's law to sets of taxonomic data sets consisting of the number of taxa included in taxa of higher rank. We chose the angiosperms (Magnoliophyta) as a model case, because they are very diverse, are monophyletic, and a consensus on taxonomy of orders and families has been achieved (classification APG III), and we used as sets of data the number of species, genera, families, and orders. Only the number of species per family and per order are Benford's sets, but the remaining data sets do not obey Benford. Furthermore, in the case of the analysis of the first two significant digits of species per genus, the deviation from Benford was very large, but they fit to a power law. Given that the conformity to Benford's law is fulfilled for 'natural' taxonomic categories of angiosperms (i.e., species and family), but not for those with more artificiality (genus), we speculate, 'the more natural, the more Benford'.


The new constitution of Ecuador gives importance to the less privileged social sectors such as indigenous peoples having access to Higher Education, thus responding to the claims of these individuals and their leaders. However, the example of the Universidad Estatal Amazonica (UEA), a university of the Ecuatorian Amazonian region, suggests that a bias exists against the access of indigenous students, due to multiple factors. Results of an empirical study with recently admitted students of this university indicate that indigenous students have more difficulties in passing the admissions test known as the National Higher Education Exam (ENES by its Spanish acronym) of the Secretary of Higher Education (SENESCYT), due to a less than perfect knowledge of the Spanish language which generally is not their mother tongue, not having access to specific test preparatory materials focused on the main areas of this test (mainly language skills and mathematical-abstract skills), a lack of specific information technology skills necessary for this test, and an absence of a reliable IT infrastructure. In words of one student "many communities in the forest lack of material conditions and good level of education to have access to the University". Anxiety in situations of examination did not have significant effect on the exclusion of indigenous students. Beyond the biases which can be shown empirically, it is necessary to elucidate some basic questions about the access of indigenous people to Higher Education: Is it more important that young indigenous people have better access to Higher Education in order to access higher positions in mainstream society even when in conflict with their ancestral values, or is it more important that Higher Education leads to increased autonomy and strengthened indigenous communities?


Abstract The number of gas turbine- (GT-) based power plants is rapidly increasing to meet the world's power demands. Until a few years ago, fossil fuel, and specifically fuel oil, was considered the major energy source for gas turbine operation. Due to the high amount of pollution that fuel oil generates, natural gas has become a popular source of energy due to its lower emissions compared to fuel oil. As a result, many GTs have switched to natural gas as an alternative to fuel oil. However, pollutants expelled from GT-based power plants operating on natural gas impact surrounding air quality. The objective of this study was to examine the dispersion of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from a GT-based power plant located in the Sultanate of Oman. Supported by CALPUFF dispersion modeling software, six scenarios were investigated in this study. The first four scenarios considered a case where the GT-based power plant was operating on natural gas during winter and summer and for open and combined cycle modes. The remaining two scenarios considered, for both open and combined cycle modes, the case where the GT-based power plant was operating on fuel oil. Whether run by natural gas or fuel oil, CALPUFF simulation results for both seasons showed that NOx concentrations were higher when GTs were used in the combined cycle mode. The concentrations were still lower than the allowable concentrations set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) standards. In contrast, for the case where the power plant operated on fuel oil, the NOx one-hour average simulated results exceeded the allowable limits only when the combined cycle mode was activated.


Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the detailed mechanisms for the N-insertion reaction of phenyl azides with a hafnium hydride complex. This reaction involves an intermolecular hydride transfer from the hafnium center of complex 1 Cp2*HfH2 to the terminal nitrogen atom of a phenyl azide. Subsequently, a 1,3 hydrogen shift from the N1 atom to the N3 atom takes place, accompanied by cleavage of the N2–N3 bond to provide amido complex 3 Cp2*HfH(NHPh) and dinitrogen. A further reaction is related to the intermolecular hydride transfer from the hafnium center to the N1′ atom of a second phenyl azide, followed by the formation of the final product, bis(amido) complex 9 Cp2*HfH(NHPh)2via the liberation of the second dinitrogen, which is the rate-determining step with an overall barrier of 29.8 kcal mol−1. Frontier molecular orbital theory analysis shows that phenyl azides are activated by nucleophilic attack by the hydride ligand, which is consistent with our previous studies of N2O activation by other transition-metal hydride complexes.


The 1996 passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) has had a devastating impact on immigrants who are detained, indigent, and forced to face deportation proceedings without representation (pro se). In the past 20 years, immigration detention has grown exponentially and a criminal–immigration detention–deportation pipeline has developed as a central function of the immigration system. Despite the growing specter of the "criminal alien" in the American psyche, there is little public knowledge or scrutiny of the vast immigration detention and deportation machine. Enforcement of IIRIRA has effectively erased human stories and narrowed immigration debates to numbers and statistics. The five vignettes below tell the stories of individuals who have personally experienced the impact of IIRIRA. Part 1 describes the on-the-ground reality of a state public defender's obligations and struggles to defend immigrants from harsh consequences of criminal convictions. Part 2 provides the perspective of an indigent immigrant fighting his deportation pro se. Part 3 describes a nonprofit immigration attorney's challenges in providing legal services to detained immigrants. Part 4 is a glimpse into the brisk pace of an immigration judge's detained docket. Part 5 tells the story of a detained immigrant's family member and the many hoops she must jump through to ensure he has a fighting chance in immigration court. Collectively, these vignettes provide a realistic picture of the immigration detention experience, revealing the human cost of IIRIRA.


Part 1 Methodology: utilizing fuzzy logic in decision making - new frontiers, Kursheed Omer and Andre de Korvin fuzzy set theory and behavioural models for decision making under ambiguity, Awni Zebda. Part 2 Applying fuzzy-set theory to target costing in the automobile industry, Mohamed E. Bayou and Alan Reinstein quality contingent replenishment policies under fuzzy demand, Jess S. Boronico a fuzzy decision support for cost management systems design, Akhilesh Chandra and Surendra Agrawal knowledge acquisition and the development of decision rules - studying and evaluating internal control structure, Philip H. Siegel, Jerry Strawser and Andre de Korvin. Part 3 Inference: assessment of short term liquidity risk using fuzzy sets, Ashutosh Deshmukh and Sia Nassiripour a fuzzy set approach to client acceptance decision, Ashutosh Deshmukh, Jeffery Romaine and T.L.N. Tallaru fuzzy expert systems - the problem of validation, Michelle McEacharn, Awni Zebda and James Calloway uncertainty handling in accounting expert systems - a comparison of alternative approaches to knowledge representation, Ram S. Sriram and Patrick Wheeler. Part 4 Prediction: modelling ambiguity in both value and demand functions - the applications of fuzzy sets to stochastic modelling under uncertainty, Jess S. Boronico and Robert Kleyle assessment of capital budgeting sophistication - an application of fuzzy set theory, Pamela H. Church, J. David Spiceland and Carolyn R. George the audit risk model under the risk of fraud, Saurav Dutta, Keith E. Harrison and Rajendra P. Srivastava project cost control - a fuzzy logic approach to crashing project activity, Kursheed Omer, Margaret F. Shipley and Andre de Korvin the peer review process - a fuzzy decision model, Kursheed Omer et al. Part 5 Neural networks: a comparative analysis of artificial network algorithms - application to a bank financial risk model, Ram S. Sriram, R. Srikanth and Roy George improving artificial neural network performance through input variable selection, Ali Tahai, Steven Walczak and John Rigsby improved cash flows using neural network models for forecasting foreign rates, Steven Walczak, Ali Tahai and Khondar Karim.


Aim/Purpose: The main purpose is to study the experience of using virtual team building as a means of forming educational and research teams in the context of the development of online education and its effect among students and teachers of higher educational institutions.

Background: Methods ensuring effective engagement of students in learning are critical to the success of online education. The most obvious problems in higher educational institutions are procrastination, academic dishonesty due to easy access to electronic resources, decreased attendance, and insufficient interaction between teachers and students.

Methodology: The research methodology is based on an empirical approach, which is a research survey using a questionnaire to collect data based on closed-ended questions. For quantitative analysis, the independent sample t-test was used. The survey was conducted among students and teachers of two educational institutions in the Russian Federation.

Contribution: This study is of practical and scientific importance as it can contribute to the introduction of virtual team building in the modern education system.

Findings: Based on the analysis of the data obtained, it can be concluded that students and teachers approximately equally assess the impact of team building on the ability to get to know each other better, improve communication skills, and psycho-emotional intimacy. Despite the need and sometimes no alternative to virtual team building (for example, during a pandemic), half of the sample of students (50.8%) agreed that team building was more effective in an offline environment while 64.3% of teachers believe that the effectiveness could have been higher in the offline environment. The respondents assessed the positive effect of team building on their interest and motivation to study or work.

Recommendations for Practitioners: These findings can contribute to a broader and faster implementation of virtual team-building practices in the education system of the Russian Federation and other countries of the world. The results of this study can be applied by higher educational institutions that are interested in increasing team cohesion, interest, and motivation to study or work, as well as the creation of closer and trusting relationships, and an atmosphere of psycho-emotional safety.

Recommendation for Researchers: This topic requires more observations to verify the influence of student personality on the effectiveness of virtual team building in intelligent collaborative learning environments.

Impact on Society: The study highlights the importance of communication between the student and the teacher, as well as between students, as psycho-emotional well-being in the micro-society results in a better academic performance.

Future Research: Further research can be aimed at studying the difference in the effectiveness of team building in online and offline learning environments, as well as the impact of team building on the teaching staff.


The importance of the supply chain modeling and improving has long been recognized as one of competitiveness strategy in scientific research. However, most of the performed work has focused on designing supply chain modeling and improving in developed countries with fewer concerns for their partners in developing countries. The manufacturing industry in developing countries has experienced fierce competition for their product and consequently, a loss of market share. The Supply-Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) provides a standard description of supply chain processes, performance metrics, best practice and enabling technologies. It offers a comprehensive methodology to improve supply chain operations. It is designed by the Supply-Chain Council (SCC). It is widely acknowledged as the quasi–industry standard for supply chain management. This paper presents a literature review of published material so far relating to SCOR model adaptation. The results of SCOR model adaptation for six different application works are reviewed & discussed for future research.