The drive to enhance audit quality after the cascade of audit failures in the final decades of the last century and first two years of the new century resulted in a new structure for the oversight of public accounting firms. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was established with the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This Board was given the authority to inspect all public accounting firms who provide audits to publicly-owned companies reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such public accounting firms were required to register with the PCAOB. Accounting firms who audit more than 100 clients per year are required to undergo a yearly inspection; firms who audit 100 or fewer clients undergo inspections at least once every three years and are referred to as triennial firms. No firms that are inspected yearly have to date received a deficiency free inspection report. However, some of the triennial firms have had deficiency free reports. It is this sub population of registered companies -the triennial firms -that is the topic of this paper. Furthermore, the interest here is limited to inspection of the auditing process of the firm; there is no attention to quality control, which constitutes a separate assessment and conclusion. A simple, relatively brief survey inquiry questionnaire was designed to obtain the opinions of a key person in the sample of firms chosen at random. Questions asked for reasons for their deficiency-free inspections, opinions related to the value of inspections, the role of the PCAOB, and their interest in increasing the number of SEC reporting clients they serve. The questionnaire was accompanied by a covering letter. Executives of 41 (35.6 percent) of the 115 to whom requests were mailed responded. Among the findings were: A. Factors perceived critical for achieving no-deficiency audits accepted by the respondents were: 1. Systematic, timely and thorough review process; 2. Level of knowledge/skill of the total audit team and; 3. audit partner's skill in team leadership. B. A majority of respondents concurred the reasons for deficiencies were 1. inadequate review process, 2. weaknesses in knowledge of relevant GAAP and 3. audit partner leadership skills inadequate. Other conclusions are included in the report.


Leadership for Health Professionals: Theory, Skills, and Applications concentrates on leadership as a subject of study and enables students to apply and practice the theories, models, and responsibilities of leadership within a health organization context. This thorough, well-organized text includes practical cases from leaders in various health professions, presenting leadership principles with an emphasis on enabling and empowering students and professionals to become better leaders in practice, develop an efficacious personal leadership model, and improve health outcomes through better leadership. Leadership for Health Professionals: Theory, Skills, and Applications provides students with the fundamentals of leadership theory and bridges the gap between theory and practice with an emphasis on practical application. With exercises and discussion questions to reinforce key concepts and create critical thinking opportunities, Leadership for Health Professionals combines theoretical foundations with practical applications and is the ideal text to prepare students and professionals for leadership opportunities. Instructor Resources Include: Instructor's Manual, TestBank, Exercises, PowerPoint Slides and Exercises


This study explored teacher perceptions of information and communication technologies in one secondary school in Samoa, in order to gain insight into recent government initiatives to introduce computers and other ICTs in schools. Phenomenology as an approach was deemed appropriate to the focus of this research in that it provided the framework for an in-depth exploration of how teachers view themselves within a particular event in the development of education in Samoa: the integration of ICTs in schools. Underpinning this study were assumptions about the nature of knowledge as being socially constructed as well as contextually situated. The research sought understanding of the phenomenon from the perspective of one group of participants. Data was gathered using lengthy semi-structured interviews in the Samoan language which were then translated into English for the purpose of data analysis. Significant findings include: lack of clarity amongst teachers regarding ICT in education policies, government rationale and strategies to achieve policy; teacher rationale for the introduction of ICT in schools included improvement of teaching and learning, student future employment and improved student access to technology. Teacher perceptions of ICT were mostly positive noting that its use contributed to higher levels of student interest, engagement, independent learning and motivation. As well, ICTs were mainly used to support teacher-centred pedagogies and contributed to the efficiency of teacher preparation. While teachers were keen to use ICTs in their classes, they were hindered by lack of ICT skills and insufficient pedagogical knowledge. Teachers perceived several obstacles to effective integration of ICTs in classrooms, which included: insufficient student and teacher access to computers; timetabling restrictions; a user pays system; maintenance and running costs; student plagiarism from the web and access to inappropriate sites as well as inadequate teacher professional development for the use of ICTs. ii


Caveolae are plasma membrane invaginations that may play an important role in numerous cellular processes including transport, signaling, and tumor suppression. By targeted disruption of caveolin-1, the main protein component of caveolae, we generated mice that lacked caveolae. The absence of this organelle impaired nitric oxide and calcium signaling in the cardiovascular system, causing aberrations in endothelium-dependent relaxation, contractility, and maintenance of myogenic tone. In addition, the lungs of knockout animals displayed thickening of alveolar septa caused by uncontrolled endothelial cell proliferation and fibrosis, resulting in severe physical limitations in caveolin-1–disrupted mice. Thus, caveolin-1 and caveolae play a fundamental role in organizing multiple signaling pathways in the cell.


From laboratory measurements, we determined the spectral mass‐specific absorption, ap*(λ), and scattering, bp*(λ, coefficients for terrigenous mineral‐rich particulate assemblages suspended in seawater. The samples were derived mostly from surface soils in different locations and consisted of small particles (,10 mm). Both ap*(λ and bp*(λ showed large variability associated with variations in particle size distribution (PSD) and origin of samples. Variations in ap*(λ produced by changes in PSD are consistent with the package effect, in that samples with a higher percentage of small‐sized particles have higher ap*(λ. The variability among the samples is also associated with composition of particulate matter. For example, ap*(λ at blue wavelengths varied from ~0.05 m2 g−1 for organic‐dominated soil dust to ~0.1‐0.5 m2 g−1 for mineral‐dominated samples. The effects of particulate composition are reflected in a broad range of imaginary refractive index of particles, which in the blue can exceed 0.2‐0.3 for mineral‐dominated samples rich in iron oxides. The patterns of the variability in the scattering coefficient among the samples are quite intricate because of the effects of PSD and composition. In general, bp*(λ ranged from about 0.5 to 1.5 m2 g−1, and the spectral behavior varied from nearly flat spectra to the spectral dependency ~l2 λ with a slope λ as high as ~1.3 for the sample with the largest contribution of small particles.


Computer networks like the Internet provide a novel infrastructure bearing new possibilities for the realisation of service platforms, while raising new requirements as well. Suppliers, brokers, and consumers of goods and services profit from their flexibility and dynamics as well as from the independency of time and location. To benefit from this potential, the open, distributed, and heterogeneous character of the networks needs to be utilised by new technologies. A promising approach are software agents, which are able to act and interact as autonomous specialists in the networks. CASA is an architecture for multi-agent systems that offers a modular structure and agents with a high degree of flexibility and interoperability. Thus, it provides a suitable basis for the realisation of service platforms in computer networks. CASA is divided into three design levels for agent composition, agent control, and agent societies, which are completed by the formal language CAL for agent specification. Individual agents are assembled from reusable components depending upon their tasks. Even at run-time, components can be reconfigured as well as added, removed, or exchanged without affecting the current work of the agent. Thus, agents are created and adapted to changing tasks easily. Agent control empoys a knowledge-based control scheme that integrates reactive, deliberative, and interactive behaviour. Formal knowledge structures provide an abstract layer for the specification and analysis of agents and form the basis of a flexible, autonomous behaviour control. In addition, formal knowledge is utilised as the content of communications and to describe the interactive capabilities of agents, thereby enabling the interoperability required by agent societies. Interactions are represented as service acts provided and used by agents in order to delegate tasks. In combination with an agent infrastructure that administers agents and services, the service scheme allows flexible and dynamic collaborations among agents and the integration of interactions into the behaviour control. The agent description language CAL is a combination of formal logic and programming language concepts. It covers all aspects of the representation, use, and communication of knowledge by agents. CASA is an open and scalable architecture to build flexible, dynamic multi-agent systems that supports modularity and interoperability at all architectural layers.


This phase 2 trial was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the chimeric monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab in patients with relapsed lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma or other CD20(+) subtypes of Hodgkin disease (HD). Eligibility criteria required expression of the CD20 antigen on more than 30% of malignant cells. Fourteen patients were treated with 4 weekly intravenous infusions of rituximab (375 mg/m(2)). All patients had at least one prior chemotherapy (median, 2). The median time from first diagnosis was 9 years. Adverse events, such as rhinitis, fever, chills, and nausea, were usually transient and of mild to moderate grade, allowing outpatient treatment in most cases. All patients completed treatment and were eligible for a response. The overall response in 14 assessable patients was 86%, with 8 complete remissions and 4 partial remissions, and 2 patients with progressive disease. At a median follow-up of 12 months, 9 of 12 responders were in remission. The median duration of response has not been reached yet (20+ months). We conclude that rituximab is both safe and effective in a subgroup of CD20(+) patients with HD.


The tourism sector indeed is a resourceful sector to be developed into one source of local regional revenue. Therefore, the development of tourism becomes the objective of the Government of Indonesia at this time. This research aims to explain the integrated marketing communication strategy undertaken by the Provincial Tourism Office of Banten in promoting Banten tourism. Qualitative research utilizes the primary data obtained through interviews. The outcomes of this research indicate that in conducting integrated marketing communication strategy, Provincial Tourism Office of Banten uses tools in integrated marketing strategy. First, Provincial Tourism Office of Banten acts as a determinant of tourism policy and as a facilitator in Banten province. In the promotion of tourism, the government employs personal sales through exhibition and exhibition activities, advertisements with media above-the-line and below-the-line, and interactive marketing through social media. Second, branding tourism through Banten 7 Wonders that is divided into 7 leading tourist destinations in Banten and use the #ExcitingBanten and #AyoKeBanten hashtag in social media. Third, the Department of Tourism cooperates with the youth communities of Banten and stakeholders engaged in tourism. Involving the community becomes a means to attract millennial generations to travel to Banten.


Objective: The prognostic impact for ovarian cancer treatment of employing a systematic para-aortic and pelvic lymphadenectomy is still poorly defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of adding a para-aortic lymphadenectomy (PA) to the pelvic lymphadenectomy (PL), as compared with solely the pelvic lymphadenectomy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of patient outcomes was conducted of ovarian cancer patients who underwent optimal debulking surgery, concurrent with either PA + PL or PL alone, between 2000 and 2009 at our Osaka General Medical Center. Results: One hundred twenty-one patients with ovarian cancer underwent surgery. Forty-four patients (36%) underwent optimal debulking surgery (all residual disease was 1 cm) concurrent with lymphadenectomy. Seventeen patients underwent PA + PL (PA group), and 27 patients underwent PL alone (PL group). There were no significant differences in terms of overall survival (OS; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.13 to 1.82; p = 0.29) and progression-free survival (PFS; HR = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.19 to 2.00; p = 0.40) between the PA group and the PL group. Both OS and PFS also failed to show significant differences, even when comparing them among 26 cases of FIGO stage I cases. Conclusions: Our data failed to show any prognostic improvement for ovarian cancer by adding para-aortic lymphadenectomy to the standard pelvic lymphadenectomy regimen.


Abstract
 The presence of Dianthus roseoluteus Velen. species in Turkey is based on specimens collected from Antalya province. After the publication of Flora of Turkey, many specimens have been collected from Thrace (Kırklareli and Edirne provinces) that belong to this species. A comparison of the specimens collected from Antalya and Thrace revealed that they were morphologically different. The literature survey verified that the specimens collected from Thrace were Dianthus roseoluteus. The species collected from Antalya province is a new species, Dianthus macroflorus Hamzaoglu, and its description, pictures, distribution, habitat, and threatened categories are given. Its general morphology and seed micromorphology are compared with the related species, Dianthus roseoluteus. In addition to phylogenetic relationships between some closely related Dianthus species that belong to section Dentati in Turkey, Dianthus macroflorus and 13 additional Dianthus species sequences obtained from GenBank were examined with DNA sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal ITS region. These analyses were supported with morphological data.


In recent years the borders of Europe have been perceived as being besieged by a staggering refugee and migration crisis. The contributors to The Borders of "Europe" see this crisis less as an incursion into Europe by external conflicts than as the result of migrants exercising their freedom of movement. Addressing the new technologies and technical forms European states use to curb, control, and constrain what contributors to the volume call the autonomy of migration, this book shows how the continent's amorphous borders present a premier site for the enactment and disputation of the very idea of Europe. They also outline how from Istanbul to London, Sweden to Mali, and Tunisia to Latvia, migrants are finding ways to subvert visa policies and asylum procedures while negotiating increasingly militarized and surveilled borders. Situating the migration crisis within a global frame and attending to migrant and refugee supporters as well as those who stoke nativist fears, this timely volume demonstrates how the enforcement of Europe's borders is an important element of the worldwide regulation of human mobility.

Contributors. Ruben Andersson, Nicholas De Genova, Dace Dzenovska, Evelina Gambino, Glenda Garelli, Charles Heller, Clara Lecadet, Souad Osseiran, Lorenzo Pezzani, Fiorenza Picozza, Stephan Scheel, Maurice Stierl, Laia Soto Bermant, Martina Tazzioli


In this paper, we quantitatively analyze to what extent a benevolent government should issue debt in a model where households are subject to idiosyncratic productivity shocks, insurance markets are missing and borrowing is restricted. In this environment, issuing government bonds facilitates saving for self-insurance. Despite this, we find that in a calibrated version of the model that is consistent with the skewed wealth and earnings distribution observable in the U.S., the government should buy private bonds, and not issue public debt in the long run. The reason is that in the U.S., a large fraction of the population has almost no wealth or is even in debt. The wealth-poor, however, do not profit from an increase in the interest rate following an increase in public debt. Instead, they gain from higher wages that result from a reduction in debt. We show that even when the short run costs of higher capital taxation are taken into account, it still pays off to reduce government debt on overall. Moreover, we find that endogenizing household's borrowing constraints by assuming limited commitment leads to even higher asset levels being optimal in the long run.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the policy debates surrounding the commercial reuse of public sector information. It aims to provide an overview of these discussions in the light of the 2003 EU Directive on this matter and the UK's implementation in the form of the 2005 Reuse of Public Sector Information Regulations. It also aims to argue that there is an inherent conflict of interest between the UK policy of making public sector information more freely available and the financial targets imposed by government on some of the key producers of this information.Design/methodology/approach – The discussions presented in this paper draw on secondary academic and commercial research carried out in Europe and the USA. Primary analysis of the financial accounts of public bodies is also utilised to consider the potential conflicts of interest between revenue generation and information dissemination.Findings – The evidence presented suggests that the sale of information collected by a numb...


In most Dutch scientific and popular books dealing with Polychaeta, the common amphictenid of the Dutch North Sea shore is indicated with the name Pectinaria belgica (Pallas, 1766). In preparing a revision of the Dutch Polychaeta, one of us (J. A. W. L.) studied the extensive collections of Dutch representatives of the family Amphictenidae present in the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie at Leiden and the Zoological Museum at Amsterdam, as well as newly collected material from the Dutch beaches. Comparing these specimens with the account by Fauvel (1927:218225) of the Amphictenidae in the Faune de France, all of the Dutch specimens (with the single exception of a specimen of Pectinaria (Amphictene) auricoma collected in the former Zuiderzee) proved to be identical with what Fauvel named Pectinaria (Lagis) koreni (Malmgren), and not with his Pectinaria belgica (Pallas). A closer study of the status of both the generic and specific name of the Dutch species lead to rather unexpected results. GENERIC NAMES The name Pectinaria was first published by Lamarck (1818:348). Its type-species is Nereis cylindraria belgica Pallas, 1766, by subsequent selection by Hartman (1959:479). According to Malmgren (1866:355), the generic name Pectinaria does not date from Lamarck (1818), but from Lamarck (1812). In the latter publication, Lamarck (1812:95,96) divided the "Annelides" into two orders, the second of which, "Annelides Gymnobranches", is again divided into two sections, (1) the "Gymn[obranches] libres ou vagabondes" and (2) the "Gymn[obranches] tubicolaires". In the latter, again, two groups were


The idea of stochastic sediment transport models emerged in the 1930s, notably with the doctoral work of Hans A. Einstein (1936). Einstein's seminal work gave impulse to several stochastic models, which usually led to thin-tailed or bounded distributions for the particle-transport rate. Experimental observations together with field surveys suggest that particle-transport rate exhibits frequent and large fluctuations, in particular at low flow rates (i.e., when the bottom shear just exceeds the threshold of incipient motion), which cannot be described using classic distributions used so far for modelling bedload transport (e.g., Hamamori's distribution). The existence of these large and frequent fluctuations could offer a wide field of applications to fractional-derivative theory. Alternative approaches exist as well: in this talk, we explore the potentialities of a birth-death Markov model to model sediment transport within a fixed volume of control. Under steady-uniform-flow conditions, the model predicts that the number of moving particles inside the control volume follows a negative binomial distribution. Although this probability distribution does not enter the family of heavy-tailed distributions, it may give rise to large and frequent fluctuations. We investigate the consequences of these fluctuations on bed dynamics, more especially on the features (growth rate and probability distribution) of nascent bedforms that develop on initially planar beds as a result of intermittent bedload transport.


This paper sought to investigate a possible grammar for a practical theological voice. The paper begins by reflecting on the different grammars currently dominating the voice of theology in South Africa and seeking a way beyond such dominating grammars towards a more playful grammar that is acutely aware of the incompletion and thus vulnerability of the play as there are unheard voices still to join it. In an attempt to interpret such a space I have made use of Derrida's understanding and use of Khōra and brought to this interpretation a specifically Second Testament and kingdom image of the table. The 'table' is a place of invitation, celebration, sharing, hospitality and expectation. By bringing these two together, Khōra and table, I sought to describe the space of practical theology, as an open vulnerable grammar, that gives voice to a local theology, which seeks global harmonies and offers prophetic discord in the global dialogue.


Traditional analyses of retirement decisions focus on the age, from birth, of the individual making choices about how much to work, consume, and save for old age. However, remaining life expectancy is arguably a better way of examining these issues. As mortality rates decline, people at a given age now have more remaining years of life expectancy than they did in the past. If participation rates at older ages remain constant (or decline), then average time spent in retirement will increase. Additionally, because health status and mortality are correlated, adults with more expected years of life are generally in better health (and better able to work) than those with fewer years of remaining life.


The software development market continues to grow worldwide. As projects become more complicated and the pressure to do more with less becomes the rule of thumb, the need for software managers to be well-versed with project management best practices becomes even more critical. Ultimately, every software development leaders primary responsibility is to lead their organization to deliver quality products on time and under budget, but until now, there hasnt been a concise set of principles for managers to follow to ensure these goals are met. "Principles of Software Development Leadership: Applying Project Management Principles to Agile Software Development" successfully integrates principles outlined by PMI in its Project Management Body of Knowledge with software leadership best practices. It provides all levels of software management, from program managers and project managers to software executives, with a set of best practices that will collectively create successful outcomes, and in turn will motivate software teams to deliver quality products on time. Especially important in todays fast-paced environment, Principles of Software Development Leadership also shows software managers how to deliver quality products on time through the management of the relationship between planning, process, and people.Tips are presented on how to run software development like a business, master scheduling, track improvement, find and retain talent, and much more.


Various studies have found that portrayals of ethnic minorities in media programming affect racial attitudes and prejudice in the audience. However, studies investigating the long-term effects of media representations of minorities are scarce. The present study examines how frequency of exposure to different news genres affects the development of both negative and positive attitudes toward immigrants in Germany. Two panel studies from different periods showed that frequent exposure to news outlets that portray immigrants in a negative light (e.g., tabloid newspapers, news shows on commercial television) increased negative racial attitudes in the German public. By the same token, frequency of exposure to news that frames immigrants more positively (e.g., quality newspapers, news shows on public broadcasting) decreased racial prejudice over time.


The aim of this text is to summarise the key changes in the situation of vocational education graduates on the labour market in the last 25 years in Poland. It presents the main changes in vocational education and the sources of the observed problems, while discussing possible systemic solutions. The authors note that problems concern predominantly basic vocational schools rather than technical secondary schools. The most important, although not the only problem is poor alignment of the structure and quality of education with the structure of demand for labour. The authors emphasise that it is not only necessary to improve the quality of strictly vocational education, but also of general education. Vocational school graduates need to have basic skills which will enable them to acquire new qualifications and adapt to changes in labour demand in the future. The text argues with the proposal to popularise vocational education in Poland in the German fashion.


The noradrenergic (NA) projections arising from the locus ceruleus (LC) to the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis have been implicated in the formation of emotional memory. Since NA neurons in the LC (LC-NA neurons) abundantly express orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) and receive prominent innervation by orexin-producing neurons, we hypothesized that an OX1R-mediated pathway is involved in the physiological fear learning process via regulation of LC-NA neurons. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examined the phenotype of Ox1r−/− mice in the classic cued and contextual fear-conditioning test. We found that Ox1r−/− mice showed impaired freezing responses in both cued and contextual fear-conditioning paradigms. In contrast, Ox2r−/− mice showed normal freezing behavior in the cued fear-conditioning test, while they exhibited shorter freezing time in the contextual fear-conditioning test. Double immunolabeling of Fos and tyrosine hydroxylase showed that double-positive LC-NA neurons after test sessions of both cued and contextual stimuli were significantly fewer in Ox1r−/− mice. AAV-mediated expression of OX1R in LC-NA neurons in Ox1r−/− mice restored the freezing behavior to the auditory cue to a comparable level to that in wild-type mice in the test session. Decreased freezing time during the contextual fear test was not affected by restoring OX1R expression in LC-NA neurons. These observations support the hypothesis that the orexin system modulates the formation and expression of fear memory via OX1R in multiple pathways. Especially, OX1R in LC-NA neurons plays an important role in cue-dependent fear memory formation and/or retrieval.


Neuronal and vascular responses due to finger movements were synchronously measured using dc-magnetoencephalography (dcMEG) and time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy (trNIRS). The finger movements were monitored with electromyography (EMG). Cortical responses related to the finger movement sequence were extracted by independent component analysis from both the dcMEG and the trNIRS data. The temporal relations between EMG rate, dcMEG, and trNIRS responses were assessed pairwise using the cross-correlation function (CCF), which does not require epoch averaging. A positive lag on a scale of seconds was found for the maximum of the CCF between dcMEG and trNIRS. A zero lag is observed for the CCF between dcMEG and EMG. Additionally this CCF exhibits oscillations at the frequency of individual finger movements. These findings show that the dcMEG with a bandwidth up to 8 Hz records both slow and faster neuronal responses, whereas the vascular response is confirmed to change on a scale of seconds.


Currently, inspection of wheat in the United States for grade and class is performed by human visual analysis. This is a time consuming operation typically taking several minutes for each sample. Digital imaging research has addressed this issue over the past two decades, with success in recognition of differing wheat classes, and distinguishing wheat from non-wheat species. Detection of wheat kernel defects, either by damage or disease, has been a greater challenge. A study has been undertaken that uses high-speed black and white imaging at 10-bit photometric resolution to detect damaged kernels one kernel at a time. The system, composed of hardware (camera, lighting, power supplies, and data acquisition card), software (LabVIEW and MATLAB), and analytical (MATLAB and SAS) components, is designed to a) capture images of free-falling kernels at opposing angles through the use of optical grade mirrors, b) parameterize the images and, c) perform classification. The system operates with a 1/30,000 second exposure time though with restrictions on image transfer rate (60 Hz) and image processing routines for feature extraction (currently conducted offline). Fifty samples of hard red and white wheat subjected to weather related damage during plant development were used in this study. Parametric (linear discriminant analysis) and non-parametric (k-nearest neighbor) classification models were tested to determine the image features that best foster recognition of the damage conditions of mold, sprout, and black tip. The morphological features used in classification included area, projected volume, perimeter, elliptical eccentricity, and major and minor axis lengths. Textural features from calculated gray level co-occurrence matrices (including contrast, correlation, energy, and homogeneity), are also under consideration though not reported herein. So far, our results indicate that with as few as three image parameters, classification (damaged vs. sound) levels approach 85 to 90 percent accuracy. Information learned from this study is intended to lead to the streamlining of feature extraction in image-based high speed sorting.


It has been hypothesized that one of the main reasons evolution has been able to produce such impressive adaptations is because it has improved its own ability to evolve -- "the evolution of evolvability". Rupert Riedl, for example, an early pioneer of evolutionary developmental biology, suggested that the evolution of complex adaptations is facilitated by a developmental organization that is itself shaped by past selection to facilitate evolutionary innovation. However, selection for characteristics that enable future innovation seems paradoxical: natural selection cannot favor structures for benefits they have not yet produced, and favoring characteristics for benefits that have already been produced does not constitute future innovation. Here we resolve this paradox by exploiting a formal equivalence between the evolution of evolvability and learning systems. We use the conditions that enable simple learning systems to generalize, i.e., to use past experience to improve performance on previously unseen, future test cases, to demonstrate conditions where natural selection can systematically favor developmental organizations that benefit future evolvability. Using numerical simulations of evolution on highly epistatic fitness landscapes, we illustrate how the structure of evolved gene regulation networks can result in increased evolvability capable of avoiding local fitness peaks and discovering higher fitness phenotypes. Our findings support Riedl's intuition: Developmental organizations that "mimic" the organization of constraints on phenotypes can be favored by short-term selection and also facilitate future innovation. Importantly, the conditions that enable the evolution of such surprising evolvability follow from the same non-mysterious conditions that permit generalization in learning systems.


Smartphone vendors are using multiple methods to kill processes of Android apps to reduce the battery consumption. This motivates developers to find ways to extend the liveness time of their apps, hence the name diehard apps in this paper. Although there are blogs and articles illustrating methods to achieve this purpose, there is no systematic research about them. What's more important, little is known about the prevalence of diehard apps in the wild. In this paper, we take a first step to systematically investigate diehard apps by answering the following research questions. First, why and how can they circumvent the resource-saving mechanisms of Android? Second, how prevalent are they in the wild? In particular, we conduct a semi -automated analysis to illustrate insights why existing methods to kill app processes could be evaded, and then systematically present 12 diehard methods. After that, we develop a system named DiehardDetector to detect diehard apps in a large scale. The experimental result of applying DiehardDetector to more than 80k Android apps downloaded from Google Play showed that around 21 % of apps adopt various diehard methods. Moreover, our system can achieve high precision and recall.


This thesis aims to increase the knowledge and capacity of Canadian communities and their small businesses in order to enable their transition towards sustainability. This was accomplished through interviews with Canadian Community Economic Development (CED) experts, and surveys from Small Business (SB) operators in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. We suggest the potential roles for CED proponents and SB operators include: (1) Shared development of community vision; (2) Local business networks for sustainability; (3) Community capacity building through dialogue.


The use of polymeric power cables for high voltage direct current HVDC has become increasingly popular for renewable power sources such as offshore wind farms. The long term reliability of polymeric cables operating under DC conditions is still unknown and therefore of concern to the industry. However, there is no an explicit consideration of how the injected charges can cause effects to the prediction of the life-time. Thus, it is important to develop an ageing model can assist of understanding the effect of these charges on the insulating material. Regarding to the polymeric material that are used as an electrical insulation, the presence of space charges could be the consequence of material degradations that are thermally activated and accelerated by the presence of electric field. The dynamics of space charge, therefore, can be potentially used to characterise the material. In this direction, an ageing model in which parameters have clear physical meanings has been developed and applied to the material to extrapolate the lifetime. The kinetic equation has been established based on charge trapping and detrapping of the injected charge from electrodes. The local electromechanical energy stored in the region surrounding the trap reduces the trap depth with a value related to the electric field. At a level where the internal electric field exceeds the detrapping field in the material, an electron can be efficiently detrapped and the released energy per detrapped charge can cause a weak bond or chain scission i.e. material degradation. The model has been applied to the electro-thermally aged low density polyethylene LDPE film samples. To evaluate the damages structure during ageing process, a simulation work was performed on the developed ageing model to investigate the susceptibility of such parameters that can cause an explicit effect to the ageing process. The simulation work is performed on a two-dimensional square grid that is assumed to represent a part of the insulating material. The mesh structure is divided using the finite element method. Based on the nature of polyethylene, its structure is semi-crystalline with a spatially varying morphology. Consequently, each bond in the grid is assigned a set of parameter values. One of these parameters is the critical fraction of trapped charges C*, which needs to be reached in order to fail a bond. It is chosen at random values from a range centred on the characteristic value obtained from the experimental results. This indicates that the insulation life at varying parameter C* is lower than its characteristic value.


Background Streptococcus pneumoniae is still one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The prevalent serotype distribution had shown variation along different studies conducted at different time intervals. In order to efficiently assess the epidemiology of the diseases for effective preventive and treatment strategies, serotype prevalence need to be periodically reassessed. Objectives Conducting a reassessment of the prevalent S. pneumoniae serotypes in Egypt as an essential step in the search for a regional vaccine. In addition, monitoring the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of pneumococcal strains currently causing infections as an evaluation of therapeutic strategies applied. Materials and Methods A total of 100 specimens of different sources were collected in Cairo, Egypt, from 2011 to 2013, representing almost all different types of diseases caused by S. pneumoniae such as meningitis, pneumonia, otitis media and sinusitis. Conventional and molecular identification methods were performed, the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were assessed and serotyping was done using PCR assays to identify the most prevalent types. In addition, detection of certain virulence genes for the most prevalent serotypes was carried out. Results Our results revealed that in Egypt, currently, the most prevalent serotypes were serogroup 6 and serotype 19F as they represented 58% of all isolates. High rates of resistance were found to different antibiotic classes. The lytA and psaA genes were found to be more sensitive for S. pneumoniae identification than ply. Conclusions Our study illustrates the importance of constantly monitoring the prevalent serotypes in any region in order to aid in the development of more effective vaccines.


Severe lesions in the facial nerve may have extensive axonal loss and leave isolated stumps that impose technical difficulties for nerve grafting. Methods: We evaluated bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) in a silicone conduit for rat facial nerve regeneration from isolated stumps. Group A utilized empty silicone tubes; in groups B–D, the tube was filled with acellular gel; and, in groups C and D, undifferentiated BMSC (uBMSC) or Schwann‐like cells differentiated from BMSC (dBMSC) were added, respectively. Compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) were measured, and histology was evaluated. Results: Groups C and D had the highest CMAP amplitudes. Group C had shorter CMAP durations than groups A, B, and D. Distal axonal number and density were increased in group C compared with groups A and B. Conclusions: Regeneration of the facial nerve was improved by both uBMSC and dBMSC in rats, yet uBMSC was associated with superior functional results. Muscle Nerve 48: 423–429, 2013


The question of the origin of the cosmic radiation is a fundamental problem in high energy astro physics, this thesis is concerned with one particular aspect of this question namely, whether or not the cosmic ray sources are Galactic or Extragalactic. This problem is Investigated through the results of Galactic Gamma-ray astronomy. The main mechanism for gamma ray production are discussed. The observational results of Galactic Gamma ray astronomy are described. Theories about the Galactic cosmic ray sources and the distribution of these sources are described and related to the resulting distribution of cosmic rays in various propagation models. The distribution of gas in the galaxy is described. Calculations are presented which indicate that the role of Inverse Compton Scattering in producing the observed Galactic Gamma ray intensity is small. The reason for the disagreement of this result with earlier results is analysed. The distribution of cosmic rays in the inner Galaxy (0-10 kpc from the Galactic Centre) is determined from a comparison of the distribution of Gamma ray emissivity and the hydrogen distribution, this Is found to follow the distribution of sources between 6 - 10 kpc. The penetration of dense molecular clouds by cosmic rays is investigated. It is concluded that the uncertainties in the hydrogen distribution do not permit us to rule out an Extragalactic origin, from the inner Galaxy data . The distribution of gamma ray intensity in the Galactic anticentre is modelled on Galactic and Extragalactic theories and the predictions of the Galactic model are found to be in excellent agreement with observation. The cosmic ray distribution is found to be consistent with the origin in Supernovae or their remnants. It is concluded that there is rather strong evidence for the majority of cosmic ray nuclei between 1 and 10 GeV having been produced within the Galaxy.


The emergence of online social networks (OSNs) and the accompanying availability of large amounts of data, pose a number of new natural language processing (NLP) and computational challenges. Data from OSNs is different to data from traditional sources (e.g. newswire). The texts are short, noisy and conversational. Another important issue is that data occurs in a real-time streams, needing immediate analysis that is grounded in time and context. In this paper we describe a new open-source framework for efficient text processing of streaming OSN data (available at www.trendminer-project.eu). Whilst researchers have made progress in adapting or creating text analysis tools for OSN data, a system to unify these tasks has yet to be built. Our system is focused on a real world scenario where fast processing and accuracy is paramount. We use the MapReduce framework for distributed computing and present running times for our system in order to show that scaling to online scenarios is feasible.We describe the components of the system and evaluate their accuracy. Our system supports easy integration of future modules in order to extend its functionality.


Human-operated and driverless trucks often collaborate in a mixed work space in industries and warehouses. This is more efficient and flexible than using only one kind of truck. However, since driverless trucks need to give way to trucks, a reliable detection system is required. Several challenges exist in the development of an obstacle detection system in an industrial setting. The first is to select interesting situations and objects. Overhanging objects are often found in industrial environments, e.g. tines on a forklift. Second is choosing a detection system that has the ability to detect those situations. The traditional laser scanner situated two decimetres above the floor does not detect overhanging objects. Third is to ensure that the perception system is reliable. A solution used on trucks today is to mount a 2D laser scanner on the top of the truck and tilt the scanner towards the floor. However, objects at the top of the truck will be detected too late and a collision cannot always be avoided. Our aim is to replace the upper 2D laser scanner with a 3D camera, structural light or time-of-flight (TOF) camera. It is important to maximize the field of view in the desired detection volume. Hence, the placement of the sensor is important. We conducted laboratory experiments to check and compare the various sensors' capabilities for different colors, used tines and a model of a tine in a controlled industrial environment. We also conducted field experiments in a warehouse. The conclusion is that both the tested structural light and TOF sensors have problems to detect black items that is nonperpendicular to the sensor and at the distance of interest. It is important to optimize the light economy, meaning the illumination power, field of view and exposure time in order to detect as many different objects as possible.


The recent rise of Instant Messaging systems as a centerpiece of online communication has brought with it many questions about the role this new medium will play in the communicative sphere. As the medium has evolved, it has grown to subsume many traditional communication technologies, merging their individual capabilities. In this chapter, a cross-section of popular and established technologies is examined and a strata of affordances introduced, describing the media's capacity for tasks enabled through their message transport. Through this framework the modern medium of Instant Messaging is compared against these other technologies in terms of the affordances offered by each and the argument presented that IM is evolving to subsume many of the traditional communicative mediums into a single communications hub, or hypermedium.


Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) combined with plasmon nanofocusing is a powerful nano-analytical tool due to its attractive feature of efficient background suppression as well as light energy compression to the nanoscale. In plasmon nanofocusing-based NSOM, the metallic tip plays an important role in inducing plasmon nanofocusing. It is, however, very challenging to control plasmonic properties of tips for plasmon nanofocusing with existing tip fabrication methods, even though the plasmonic properties need to be adjusted to experimental environments such as the sample or excitation wavelength. In this study, we propose an efficient tip design and fabrication which enable one to actively control plasmonic properties for efficient plasmon nanofocusing. Because our method offers flexibility in the material and structure of tips, one can easily modify the plasmonic properties depending on the requirements. Importantly, through optimization of the plasmonic properties, we achieve almost 100% reproducibility in plasmon nanofocusing in our experiments. This new approach of tip fabrication makes plasmon nanofocusing-based NSOM practical and reliable, and opens doors for many scientists working in related fields.


American state parentage laws have evolved significantly in the past half century in response to changes in both reproductive technologies and human conduct. Yet further evolution, if not a revolution, seems inevitable. In particular, American state laws increasingly recognize parenthood by consent for a nonbiological and nonadoptive parent-like figure in an intimate or familial relationship with a child's biological or adoptive parent. Lawmakers, especially state legislators, will need to consider who may be granted standing as parents to seek court-ordered childcare, including former stepparents, former boyfriends and girlfriends, and present and former grandparents. As well, they must ponder whether standing should be granted to three or more possible parents; how consent to a new parent might be given outside of formal adoption by both a recognized parent and by an intended parent, including whether a formal declaration should be required, as via a voluntary acknowledgment or guardianship; and, whether household residence or a particular length of actual childcare activities should be demanded.Given the likely continuing changes in human conduct (as with more same sex marriages) and technologies (as with prebirth paternity testing), American parentage laws will undoubtedly continue to be further (r)evolutionized, presenting further challenges for American state lawmakers.


South Africa has inherited the British adversarial system, which is party centred: lawyers for both the state and defence play a dominant role in the pursuit of procedural justice. The common law recognises as fundamental the right of the individual to legal advice and legal representation. It is also a fundamental principle of our law that an accused person is entitled to a fair trial. There is a practical and logical nexus between legal representation and a fair trial. The accused must be properly and promptly be informed of this right in order to be afforded a reasonable opportunity of securing it. The position on legal representation under the interim and final Constitutions is addressed. The entitlement of an accused person to legal representation at state expense where substantial injustice would otherwise result, as well as effective assistance by counsel, are important principles which are also discussed.


Traditionally, the assessment of upper limb (UL) motor function in neurorehabilitation is carried out by clinicians using standard clinical tests for objective evaluation, but which could be influenced by the clinician's subjectivity or expertise. The automation of such traditional outcome measures (tests) is an interesting and emerging field in neurorehabilitation. In this paper, a systematic review of systems focused on automation of traditional tests for assessment of UL motor function used in neurological rehabilitation is presented. A systematic search and review of related articles in the literature were conducted. The chosen works were analyzed according to the automation level, the data acquisition systems, the outcome generation method, and the focus of assessment. Finally, a series of technical requirements, guidelines, and challenges that must be considered when designing and implementing fully-automated systems for upper extremity functional assessment are summarized. This paper advocates the use of automated assessment systems (AAS) to build a rehabilitation framework that is more autonomous and objective.


As soon as one realizes that the act of seeing leads to self-conscious apprehension of spaces, distances, subjects, others, subjects as others, and others as subjects, this type of act raises questions concerning the connections between one's gaze and one's desire and between one's gaze and one's sex.(1) Versions of the Griselda story by Petrarch, Chaucer, and Christine de Pizan present an opportunity to investigate these kinds of connections, for (obviously), one account has a female author and narrator, while the other two have male authors and narrators. The various retellings of this legend have often been compared, often in great detail;(2) however such studies tend to investigate the non-Chaucerian versions as possible sources for the Clerk's Tale, a process that leaves out Christine, and very few critics have examined the particulars that distinguish acts of gazing one from another in these three versions of essentially the same story.(3) These differences provide the basis for my discussion of the Clerk's Tale and are in one respect remarkably predictable: through descriptions of gazing (and through other means) Christine offers a more feminist account of the events than her male counterparts. Nevertheless, Chaucer's complex portrayal of gazing as a strategy within both narrative and language in the Clerk's Tale allows him to both promote and undercut the typical male gaze, and to present his version of Grisilde as an unexpectedly aggressive gazer who works from a superior vantage-point and who is surprisingly able to defeat the gazes of characters, narrators, and readers. All of the authors/translators that I discuss here feel free to alter their sources, often broadly, and Christine de Pizan, taking Petrarch's Epistolae seniles 17.3 as her chief source,(4) radically changes entire gazing situations--even gazing possibilities. For instance, her account of Gliselidis in Le Livre de la cite des dames, as one might expect in a composition that polemically defends women against anti-feminist literature,(5) makes fewer references to the heroine's beauty than the versions with male narrators, though it is still there. Correspondingly, Christine omits most of the moral qualities that Valterius has in Petrarch's Epistola, yet she retains the observation that the marquis is bel de corps, "good looking" (2.50.1, 900). Christine's narrator introduces Gliselidis by her singularity, her age, and her service to her father through work (901), whereas Petrarch's account introduces her by her desirability: unica illi ... Griseldis nomine, forma corporis satis egregia (260), "an only daughter ... called Griseldis, remarkable enough in physical beauty." The Petrarchan narrator's discriminating eye for feminine beauty asserts his masculinity and assumes the cooperation of a male audience (who presumably would know how much beauty is enough). Valterius then joins this community of masculine gazers when his assessment of Griseldis matches the narrator's in its superior attitude: he In hanc virgunculam ... quandoque oculos non iuvenili lascivia sed senili gravitate defixerat (260) "upon the girl ... had sometimes glanced with his eyes, not with the lust of youth, but with the more serious considerations of a mature man."(6) Christine reduces but does not eliminate the idea of seeing in the marquis's action when Gualtier comes into her version of the story "perceiving," avise firstly Gliselidis's "virtue and honesty," les bonnes meurs et l'onnestete (2.50.1, 901) and secondly her beauty. As opposed to Petrarch, Christine mentions no gaze as the story begins; in fact, instances of gazing are so vastly reduced as to be almost nonexistent after the marquis's initial assessment of his future bride. In contrast, Petrarch's (and Chaucer's) versions use the separation between the narrator's, the public's, and Valterius's gaze as a major theme of the tale: the discriminating ability of the marquis overshadows the surface assessments of the populace (260), the testing of his wife takes place under his nearly constant scrutiny (276, 286), and the story's distinct gazing communities are at last reunited in the communal appreciation of the beauty of his children (284-86), who represent (among other things) a mingling of the public and private "virtUes" of both parents. …


Build a Next-Generation Enterprise Digital Platform with Portals and UXP A Complete Guide to Portals and User Experience Platforms provides in-depth coverage of portal technologies and user experience platforms (UXPs), which form the key pillars of a modern digital platform. Drawing on his experience in various roles in numerous portal engagements, the author gives you different perspectives of the same technology platform. The first section introduces portal through multiple viewpoints to cater to a wide audience, including business, operations, development, integration, performance, and architecture views. The book details many novel and practically proven models and frameworks, such as portal value realization framework, portal assessment framework, portal evaluation model, portal infrastructure planning techniques, and portal integration techniques. You also learn about effective digital program strategies, including portal roadmap strategy, collaboration strategy, portal security planning, portal testing strategy, SEO, and analytics planning concepts. The second section dives into UXP and advanced topics. It elaborates on UXP design concepts, including UXP reference architecture, customer touch point analysis, user experience mapping, and responsive web design. It also looks at advanced topics, such as next-generation portals, portal trends, portal user experience strategy, omni-channel strategy, portal KPI, portal pitfalls and best practices, portal security, portal governance, digital program management, and portal performance engineering. In the third section, the book presents four case studies related to intranet portals, retail portals, customer service portals, and portal content management. It discusses business drivers, challenges, portal solutions, and solution benefits for each of the case studies. Written by a seasoned practitioner, this book balances the core topics of modern portals along with emerging technologies in the digital space. Suitable for the entire digital technology community, including IT managers, digital architects, developers, and testers, it provides you with a practical guide for successfully building best practices-based digital platforms with forward-looking features.


Recent research has established that households learn from professional forecasters as they form their inflation expectations. Professionals forecasts are transmitted, or 'absorbed', throughout the population slowly but eventually. This provides the microfoundations for 'sticky information expectations'. The present paper considers whether absorption rates take place heterogeneously amongst households. We consider whether various segments of the population absorb the professional's forecasts at different rates. Using a unique survey-based dataset covering various segments of the UK population we identify 'active' and 'passive' learners in the population. 'Active' and 'passive' learners are identified and distinguished by their respective absorption rates. The present analyses also consider whether these absorption rates are non-linear.


Field Instructors Extending EBP Learning in Dyads (FIELD) has been crafted in consideration of the social work profession's need for innovative and collaborative models with field education that further evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation efforts. FIELD is driven by the continuing education interests of field instructors and the availability of local expertise, and it embraces the complementary strengths of students and field instructors. Herein, we provide the background for the development of such a curricula model and delineate model components. FIELD may offer a viable curricula option for synchronizing academic and field efforts toward sustainable social work workforce improvements.


The focus of this thesis is the area of staling of Arabic flat bread (or pita bread). The
reductions in shelf life due to bread staling cause significant economic losses in the
Middle East where preservatives are not permitted. The aim was to investigate whether
processing solutions could solve this problem.
A commercial bread produced in Kuwait was initially studied. The industrial baking
process was monitored closely, and the products analyzed for moisture content in
Kuwait after storage at 4 and 20 °C. Representative samples were ground and freezedried
in Kuwait, and transported to the UK for analysis by Differential Scanning
Calorimetry (DSC). The findings from this study showed moisture content variations
between different bread formulations after baking, however the DSC analysis was
inconclusive due to possible changes in the freeze dried bread.
The industrial process was thus replicated as closely as possible at Loughborough
University so that the bread could be analysed immediately after baking and after up to
3 days storage. It was also found that high pressure stainless steel pans produced
better DSC baseline stability compared to aluminium pans due to suspected leakage of
the latter (used in literature studies), and were thus used for the rest of the study.
Attention was also paid to the possibility that different parts of the bread receive
different radiant heating intensities during baking as evidenced by the different degrees
of brown coloration. This showed that whilst almost complete gelatinisation initially
occurs, the highest levels of subsequent retrogradation occurred in an area
intermediate between the centre and outside of the pita bread. This coincided with the
region with the highest moisture content immediately after processing (and likely to
receive the least amount of heat). A parallel study using DSC which subjected dough
samples to a temperature profile similar to that found in baking also found that lower
heating rates (with albeit higher heat exposure) produced greater amounts of
retrogradation. In each case moisture contents during storage were comparable
between samples, thus indicating that heating rates during processing is a key
parameter governing subsequent retrogradation, and also that future studies should
identify the sampling position within the bread when performing analyses.
Thermocouple studies showed that the temperatures in the steam pocket that develops
during puffing were close to that of the boiling point of water. Consequently, a further
study was also performed in which Arabic flat bread samples were baked at different
pressures (up to 2 bar) in a novel high pressure oven. The motivation was that
changing pressure to increase baking temperatures could be a way of using processing
rather than formulation methods to extend shelf life. Whilst applying pressure was
found to retard subsequent retrogradation, it did result in breads becoming firmer
during storage which was not the desired effect. However, this may be a consequence
of the slightly lower moisture contents found in the bread baked at higher pressure.


The influence of running speed and sex on running economy is unclear and may have been confounded by measurements of oxygen cost that do not account for known differences in substrate metabolism, across a limited range of speeds, and differences in performance standard. Therefore, this study assessed the energy cost of running over a wide range of speeds in high-level and recreational runners to investigate the effect of speed (in absolute and relative terms) and sex (men vs women of equivalent performance standard) on running economy. To determine the energy cost (kcal · kg-1 · km-1) of submaximal running, speed at lactate turn point (sLTP), and maximal rate of oxygen uptake, 92 healthy runners (high-level men, n = 14; high-level women, n = 10; recreational men, n = 35; recreational women, n = 33) completed a discontinuous incremental treadmill test. There were no sex-specific differences in the energy cost of running for the recreational or high-level runners when compared at absolute or relative running speeds (P > .05). The absolute and relative speed-energy cost relationships for the high-level runners demonstrated a curvilinear U shape with a nadir reflecting the most economical speed at 13 km/h or 70% sLTP. The high-level runners were more economical than the recreational runners at all absolute and relative running speeds (P < .05). These findings demonstrate that there is an optimal speed for economical running, there is no sex-specific difference, and high-level endurance runners exhibit better running economy than recreational endurance runners.


This study examined the relationship between the involvement of the human resource management function in formulating corporate governance mechanisms and the quality of their implementation. It also looked at the relationship between the quality of implementation of corporate governance mechanisms and performance. Of interest were two governance mechanisms: strategic plan elements and behavioral control practices. This study was based agency theory, institutional theory, and the resource-based view of the firm. The results revealed that quality of implementation resulted in higher performance. Specifically, quality of implementation of strategic plan elements not only explained performance but also served as an important enabler of quality of implementation of behavioral control policies. The importance of HR involvement, however, was realized in its impact on quality of implementation.


Reversing cocaine-evoked behavior in mice Therapeutic optogenetic protocols are highly effective at reversing symptoms in animal models of neuropsychiatric disease. However, translating these protocols into the clinic is challenging because we have not yet made the technical leap required to perform effective optogenetic stimulation in primates. Creed et al. tested whether it would be possible to circumvent these challenges by avoiding the problem altogether. They adjusted an existing therapeutic approach—deep brain stimulation—to mimic an effective optogenetic stimulation protocol to treat a mouse model of cocaine addiction. Science, this issue p. 659 Activating metabotropic glutamate receptors in identified neurons has beneficial effects in a mouse model of addiction. Circuit remodeling driven by pathological forms of synaptic plasticity underlies several psychiatric diseases, including addiction. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been applied to treat a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions, although its effects are transient and mediated by largely unknown mechanisms. Recently, optogenetic protocols that restore normal transmission at identified synapses in mice have provided proof of the idea that cocaine-adaptive behavior can be reversed in vivo. The most efficient protocol relies on the activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors, mGluRs, which depotentiates excitatory synaptic inputs onto dopamine D1 receptor medium-sized spiny neurons and normalizes drug-adaptive behavior. We discovered that acute low-frequency DBS, refined by selective blockade of dopamine D1 receptors, mimics optogenetic mGluR-dependent normalization of synaptic transmission. Consequently, there was a long-lasting abolishment of behavioral sensitization.


Altogether 16,539 sputum specimens were examined microbiologically from 1980 to 1984. Out of these 12,588 were screened by Ziehl-Neelsen's staining technique and 782 were (6.3%) found AFB-positive. Age and sex distributions of the AFB-positive individuals were statistically significant (at 0.05), incidence being most prevalent among those 20 years and above (90.2%) and among males (61.2%). From other specimens cultured, non-AFB organisms were isolated at the following frequencies: coliform-like organisms (15.1%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (55.5%). Klebsiella pneumoniae (5.3%), Streptococcus pyogenes (3.9%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.4%), Haemophilus influenzae (3.0%). Proteus Spp. (0.7%) and Escherichia coli (0.5%). The antibiogram of these isolates revealed a high incidence of multiple antibiotic resistance, a situation that has most probably arisen from the high degree of antibiotic misuse in Nigeria.


A new design approach is presented in this study for tuning of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller parameters in a DC–DC buck converter utilizing a hybrid whale optimization algorithm (WOA) with simulated annealing (SA), namely the WOASAT algorithm, which uses a tournament selection mechanism. The proposed algorithm's efficacy ensures that the optimum PID controller parameters are tuned quickly and that the quality of tuning is high. A time domain performance index is utilized to validate the proposed WOASAT-based PID controller's performance. In addition, from the comparative results of statistical analysis, frequency response analysis, transient response analysis, disturbance rejection analysis, and performance indices analysis, the proposed WOASAT-PID controller was found to be more efficient than the SA-PID controller and WOA-PID controller in enhancing the buck converter's transient response.


Wilderness in the Bible: Toward a Theology of Wilderness, by Robert Barry Leal. Studies in Biblical Literature 72. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2004. 357 pp. $76.95. Leal wishes to address the growing ecological crisis in the West through a study of the wilderness theme in the Hebrew Bible and its reflex in New Testament literature. The aim of the study is to construct an "ecotheology," which addresses the Australian context. Nine chapters are organized into three sections: "The Context of a Biblical Study of the Wilderness," "Biblical Attitudes Towards Wilderness," and "Towards a Theology of Wilderness." "The Context of a Biblical Study of the Wilderness" includes a review of the current research and debate surrounding the relationship of the Judeo-Christian tradition and the natural world. Chapter 1 is a helpful overview of recent literature that criticizes the anthropocentric focus of the Judeo-Christian tradition (e.g. Lynn White) as well as the emerging voices that are seeking to reclaim a natural theology within the biblical tradition (e.g., Sallie McFague, Max Oeschlaeger, P. Santmire, J. Nash, N. Habel, D. Tracey). Chapters 2-3 explore the biblical language of the wilderness, focusing in particular on the Hebrew word, midbar, translated as "desert, wilderness, steppe." Leal provides a helpful caution for readers by distinguishing the biblical view of the wilderness from current western perspectives (chap. 2) and by noting the fluidity of meaning in the Hebrew Bible surrounding the term midbar (chap. 3). Wilderness is viewed both positively and negatively. It can be a place of testing, revelation, and nurture, as well as of rebellion and destruction. The important role of the wilderness theme in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament literature is indicated by its wide distribution and its diversity of meaning. "Biblical Attitudes Towards Wilderness" is the heart of the book. Leal provides a broad overview of the theme of the wilderness throughout the diverse literature of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Chapter 4 is a catalogue of the negative views of the wilderness as a place of chaos, destruction, and rebellion. Chapter 5 examines the instances where the wilderness is the setting for encountering God. This tradition begins with Hagar (Genesis 16, 21), continues through the story of Moses (Exodus 3), to the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19). Chapter 6 explores the instances where the wilderness is the setting for divine acts of grace. The story of Hagar returns as an instance of grace in the wilderness along with the prophet tradition of the remnant (e.g., Isaiah, Hosea, Amos) and the transfiguration story of Jesus (e.g., Matthew 17). Chapter 7 explores the idealization of the wilderness as God's good creation. Leal advocates a modified form of the wilderness or nomadic ideal first suggested by K. Budde and developed further by J. W. Flight. He concludes: "The tradition of the wilderness idyll persists, albeit in fragmentary form, into the sixth century" (p. …


The book offers a broad overview of asset management processes for different utilities, with a special emphasis on energy and water. It provides readers with important practical considerations concerning the development of new competitive structures and procedures for guaranteeing a sufficient supply of energy and water in a regulated environment, using clearly defined technical and economic cornerstones. On the one hand asset owners expect suitable interests from their investment and business growth; on the other hand regulators focus more on a reliable and cost-effective customer supply. This book shows how to take into consideration these different perspectives in the process of designing new structures and how to guarantee organizational transparency. Based on the major tasks of an asset manager, it describes essential principles and boundary conditions for ensuring the optimal use of resources in a network, such as investment and maintenance strategies, equipment service life, investment and operational costs, etc. Moreover, it points out their impact on the organization of the company, including the necessary IT landscape and computer programs. The book is the English translation of Asset Management fr Infrastrukturanlagen - Energie und Wasser1, written by the same authors and published by Springer in 2014.


Telepresence systems have the potential to assume an important role in on-orbit servicing scenarios. Compared to manned missions, these systems offer a safer and less expensive way to operate in outer space. One of the main goals of telepresence research is to determine whether immersive telepresence systems are able to achieve a level of efficiency which is equal to that of astronauts in tasks that require fine motor movement and dexterity. In addressing this question, it is of relevance that astronauts' fine-motor skills are restricted by a range of factors including weightlessness and space suits. In order to compare in future studies the efficiency of a telepresence system and suited astronauts in performing fine-motor tasks, a testbed was developed with typical on-orbit servicing tasks which were designed to guarantee maximum external validity. An experimental study showed that the testbed is a valid measure of fine-motor skills. Two follow-up studies examined the potentially debilitating influence of a range of factors on fine-motor performance in extravehicular activities, such as a restricted field of view, a destabilized body posture, restricted mobility, and reduced haptic feedback. The results of these studies offer a basis for comparisons between the performance of common extravehicular activities and telepresence systems on fine-motor tasks.


Soft Systems Methodology is a tool that is especially useful in diagnosing and addressing organisational problems and designing new systems in cultures that are characterised by pluralistic views and values. This paper demonstrates how SSM workshops in a large government agency resulted in a high level of creativity. SSM is then proposed as a methodology which could enhance group creativity in organizational design contexts.


Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) are important warm-season grasses in livestock production systems in the central and eastern USA. The objectives of this study were to quantify the morphological development of 'Trailblazer' switchgrass and 'Pawnee' big bluestem and to evaluate day of the year (DOY) and growing degree day (GDD) as predictors of switchgrass and big bluestem morphological stage. Pure stands of each species were sampled at weekly intervals in 1990 and 1991 at Mead, NE, and classified as to mean stage count (MSC) and mean stage weight (MSW). Prediction equations for MSC and MSW were developed based on DOY and GDD. The validation study was harvested at 2-wk intervals in 1992 and 1993 at Mead, NE, and Manhattan, KS, and classified as to MSC and MSW. Switchgrass and big bluestem MSC and MSW were related linearly in all environments. Linear DOY calibration equations accounted for 96% of the variation in switchgrass MSC across four environments, which indicates that switchgrass development was related to photoperiod and that general management recommendations could be based on DOY in the central Great Plains. Quadratic GDD calihration equations accounted for 83% of the variation in big bluestem MSC across four environments, which indicates that big bluestem development is more difficult to predict and management recommendations in the central Great Plains should be based on morphological development (which is best predicted by GDD). The comprehensive growth staging system gave repeatable results for quantifying the morphological development of switchgrass and big bluestem. The morphological development of switchgrass and big bluestem can be reliably predicted for adapted cultivars in the central Great Plains during years with near-normal precipitation using DOY and GDD because of the determinate growth habit of these grasses.


This article puts forward the strategy of supply chain strategy for small and medium enterprises (called SMEs) in developing the network during their business period which network is needed and will change from time to time. Successful implementation of supply chain management (SCM) can give SMEs an advantage over their competitors. Problems that occur for SMEs in Indonesia and other developing countries face problems in the implementation of SCM due to lack of resources and direction. To compete effectively in global markets, SMEs must have effective supply chain management and thus require comprehensive strategic planning in an effort to develop the SME business group itself. This research methodology used qualitative approach through interview approach and field study to group members of Women Interfaith Among Religious (PAUB), Malang city. The results of field studies show that integrated small and medium enterprise (SME) supply chain strategy planning contribute to the success of SMEs for PAUB members of Malang city. The supply chain strategy planning process that SMEs need has stages like "source," "create," and "deliver". Thus, when implemented it will connect with various supply chain cycles such as "ordering," "procurement," "production," "distribution," and "customer" for SME groups.


INTRODUCTION
The second author in 1959 and 1960 collected aphids in the Netherlands.
Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Southeastern France, Israel and Iran, concentrating on Phyllaphidine ("Callipterine") aphids. Many species were reared and used for small experiments. In the Netherlands, Austria, and during the period of 22 August 1959 to 13 September 1959 in Southern France, the first author took part in the aphid hunt. The resulting material was handed to the first author for preliminary identification.
A considerable number of undescribed species was discovered. Rather than merely publish the descriptions we have decided to write a more comprehensive paper. The study of some species, e.g., Therioaphis ononidis (Kaltenbach), over their territory gave us an insight into their intraspecific variability and this knowledge could then be applied to such controversial species as Therioaphis trifolii (Monell).
THE HISTORY OF THE GENUS THERIOAPHIS WALKER, 1870 F. Walker very briefly described the genus and indicated Aphis ononidis Kaltenbach, 1846, as the type. As according to Doncaster (1961), Aphis ononidis Kaltenbach is still present among Walker's slides, no confusion about the type is possible. Borner (1949) erected the new genera Triphyllaphis, Pterocallidium and Myzocallidium which will have to be discussed in some detail.
Triphyllaphis Borner, 1949, type Triphyllaphis luteola Borner, 1949, is distinguished from the other genera by the presence of pleural hairs in first instar larvae and adults, and the conical shape and absence of notable pigmentation of the hair-bearing processi in apterae. We can confirm the


Fluorescence lifetime sensing using time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) is a key analytical tool for molecular and cell biology research, medical diagnosis and pharmacological development. However, commercially available TCSPC equipment is bulky, expensive and power hungry, typically requiring iterative software post-processing to calculate the fluorescence lifetime. Furthermore, the technique is restrictively slow due to a low photon throughput limit which is necessary to avoid distortions caused by TCSPC pile-up. An investigation into CMOS compatible multimodule architectures to miniaturise the standard TCSPC set up, allow an increase in photon throughput by overcoming the TCSPC pile-up limit, and provide fluorescence lifetime calculations in real-time is presented. The investigation verifies the operation of the architectures and leads to the selection of optimal parameters for the number of detectors and timing channels required to overcome the TCSPC pile-up limit by at least an order of magnitude. The parameters are used to implement a low power miniaturised sensor in a 130 nm CMOS process, combining single photon detection, multiple channel timing and embedded pre-processing of the fluorescence lifetime, all within a silicon area of < 2 mm2. Single photon detection is achieved using an array of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) arranged in a digital silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) architecture with a 10 % fill-factor and a compressed 250 ps output pulse, which provides a photon throughput of > 700 MHz. An array of time-interleaved time-to-digital converters (TI-TDCs) with ≈ 50 ps resolution and no processing dead-time records up to eight photon events during each excitation period, significantly reducing the effect of TCSPC pile-up. The TCSPC data is then processed using an embedded centre-of-mass method (CMM) pre-calculation to produce single exponential fluorescence lifetime estimations in real-time. The combination of high photon throughput and real-time calculation enables advances in applications such as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and time domain fluorescence lifetime activated cell sorting. To demonstrate this, the device is validated in practical bulk sample fluorescence lifetime, FLIM and simulated flow based experiments. Photon throughputs in excess of the excitation frequency are demonstrated for a range of organic and inorganic fluorophores for minimal error in lifetime calculation by CMM (< 5 %).


Solar system is an abstract phenomenon that needs to understand by junior high school students. The phenomenon cannot be observed directly in the classroom. In this research, the role-play model is first proposed to provide analogical phenomenon combined by Stellarium as an astrophysical virtual laboratory to give better visualization of Solar System Model. Role-play is a part of psychodrama used as a learning method to help students understand some aspects of science. However, the best strategy on this approach needs to be further investigated. The research attempts to improve students' understanding on learning solar system. The role-play model is applied before or after using Stellarium virtual observatory as pre and post role-play learning designs, respectively. This research employed quasi-experimental method. The method used in this research is experimental with pretest-posttest design. There are three types of instrument used in this research. There are objective test, rubric, and questionnaire. The quantitative data of this research was collected by objective test (pretest-posttest), while the qualitative data is used to describe students' performance and students' responds in role-play. The result shows that there are statistically significant between pre role-play and post role-play. The N-gain of students' understanding improvement on post role-play was 0.40 and pre role-play was 0.18. The result is confirmed by students' performance and responds implying that students need learning concept previously so that they can perform role-play effectively.


This paper reports a picosecond pulse receiver based on a three-stage divide-by-8 injection-locked frequency divider. The receiver operates for pulses with center frequency of 77 GHz and locks its output to the 9.6-GHz repetition rate with an effective locking range of 142 MHz. This receiver, which consumes 42 mW dc power, is used to demonstrate wireless clock synchronization with a 0.29ps RMS timing jitter and indicates an estimated sensitivity of −65.5 dBm in detecting picosecond pulses.


Multifractionation isoeffect data are commonly analysed under the assumption that cell survival determines the observed tissue or tumour response, and that it follows a linear-quadratic dose dependence. The analysis is employed to derive the alpha/beta ratios of the linear-quadratic dose dependence, and different methods have been developed for this purpose. A common method uses the so-called Fe plot. A more complex but also more rigorous method has been introduced by Lam et al. (1979). Their method, which is based on numerical optimization procedures, is generalized and somewhat simplified in the present study. Tumour-regrowth data are used to explain the nonparametric procedure which provides alpha/beta ratios without the need to postulate analytical expressions for the relationship between cell survival and regrowth delay.


A detailed quantitative microstructural study coupled with cathodoluminescence and geochemical analyses on marbles from Naxos demonstrates that the analysis of microstructures is the most sensitive method to define the origin of marbles within, and between, different regions. Microstructure examination can only be used as an accurate provenance tool if a correction for the second-phase content is considered. If second phases are not considered, a large spread of different microstructures occurs within sample sites, making a separation between neighbouring outcrops difficult or impossible. Moreover, this study shows that the origin of a marble is defined more precisely if the microstructural observations are coupled with cathodoluminescence data.


We introduce a deep neural network for automated sarcasm detection. Recent work has emphasized the need for models to capitalize on contextual features, beyond lexical and syntactic cues present in utterances. For example, different speakers will tend to employ sarcasm regarding different subjects and, thus, sarcasm detection models ought to encode such speaker information. Current methods have achieved this by way of laborious feature engineering. By contrast, we propose to automatically learn and then exploit user embeddings, to be used in concert with lexical signals to recognize sarcasm. Our approach does not require elaborate feature engineering (and concomitant data scraping); fitting user embeddings requires only the text from their previous posts. The experimental results show that our model outperforms a state-of-the-art approach leveraging an extensive set of carefully crafted features.


Nettle, Urtica dioica L., is frequently used by humans for medicinal purposes and has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties. As no data were available on the effect of nettle extract on the synthesis of proinflammatory agents in hepatocytes treated with fluoride, we decided to investigate this. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of nettle fruit clusters were prepared, after lyophilisation and homogenisation, and added to hepatocytes from HepG2 cell line, with and without NaF. After incubation, the concentrations of the pro-inflammatory end products of 15-LOX activity in hepatocytes (15-HETE, 12-HETE, 9-HODE, and 13HODE) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and apoptosis, necrosis, and mitochondrial superoxide generation were measured using immunohistochemical methods. Adding NaF increased the 15-LOX proinflammatory end products and these effects were decreased by both the ethanol and aqueous nettle extracts. Similarly, the ethanol extracts reduced the increased apoptosis, necrosis, and mitochondrial superoxide synthesis caused by NaF suggesting that nettle extracts may have hepatoprotective properties in fluoride intoxication.


The clinical efficacy of anthracyclines (e.g., doxorubicin and daunorubicin) in cancer therapy is limited by their severe cardiotoxicity, the etiology of which is still not fully understood. The development of anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy has been found to correlate with myocardial formation and accumulation of anthracycline secondary alcohol metabolites (e.g., doxorubicinol and daunorubicinol) that are produced by distinct cytosolic NADPH-dependent reductases. The aim of the current study is to identify chemical compounds capable of inhibiting myocardial reductases implied in anthracycline reductive metabolism in an attempt to decrease the production of cardiotoxic C-13 alcohol metabolites. Among the variety of tested compounds (metal chelators, radical scavengers, antioxidants, β-blockers, nitrone spin traps, and lipid-lowering drugs), ebselen, cyclopentenone prostaglandins, nitric oxide donors, and short-chain coenzyme Q analogs resulted in being effective inhibitors of both doxorubicinol and daunorubicinol formation. In particular, ebselen (as well as ebselen diselenide, its storage form in the cells) was the most potent inhibitor of cardiotoxic anthracycline alcohol metabolites with 50% inhibition of doxorubicinol formation at 0.2 mol Eq of ebselen with respect to doxorubicin concentration. The high efficacy, together with its favorable pharmacological profile (low toxicity, lack of adverse effects, and metabolic stability) portends ebselen as a promising cardioprotective agent against anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity.


The tectonic and paleoceanographic setting of the Great Australian Bight (GAB) and the Mentelle Basin (MB; adjacent to Naturaliste Plateau) offered an outstanding opportunity to investigate Cretaceous and Cenozoic climate change and ocean dynamics during the last phase of breakup among remnant Gondwana continents. Sediment recovered from sites in both regions during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 369 will provide a new perspective on Earth's temperature variation at sub-polar latitudes (60°–62°S) across the extremes of the mid-Cretaceous hot greenhouse climate and the cooling that followed. The primary goals of the expedition were to • Investigate the timing and causes for the rise and collapse of the Cretaceous hot greenhouse climate and how this climate mode affected the climate-ocean system and oceanic biota; • Determine the relative roles of productivity, ocean temperature, and ocean circulation at high southern latitudes during Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events (OAEs); • Identify the main source regions for deep-water and intermediate-water masses in the southeast Indian Ocean and how these changed during Gondwana breakup; • Characterize how oceanographic conditions at the MB changed during the Cenozoic opening of the Tasman Passage and restriction of the Indonesian Gateway; • Resolve questions on the volcanic and sedimentary origins of the Australo-Antarctic Gulf and Mentelle Basin and provide stratigraphic control on the age and nature of the prebreakup successions. Hole U1512A in the GAB recovered a 691 m thick sequence of black claystone ranging from the early Turonian to the early Campanian. Age control is primarily based on calcareous nannofossils, but the presence of other microfossil groups provided consistent but low-resolution control. Despite the lithologic uniformity, longand short-term variations in natural gamma ray and magnetic susceptibility intensities show cyclic alternations that suggest an orbital control of sediment deposition that will be useful for developing an astrochronology for the sequence. Sites U1513–U1516 were drilled between 850 and 3900 m water depth in the MB and penetrated 774, 517, 517, and 542 meters below seafloor (mbsf ), respectively. Under a thin layer of Pleistocene– upper Miocene sediment, Site U1513 cored a succession of Cretaceous units from the Campanian to the Valanginian. Site U1514 sampled an expanded Pleistocene–Eocene sequence and terminated in the upper Albian. The Cenomanian–Turonian interval at Site U1514 recovered deformed sedimentary rocks that probably represent a detachment zone. Site U1515 is located on the west Australian margin at 850 m water depth and was the most challenging site to core because much of the upper 350 m was either chert or poorly consolidated sand. However, the prebreakup Jurassic(?) sediments interpreted from the seismic profiles were successfully recovered. Site U1516 cored an expanded Pleistocene, Neogene, and Paleogene section and recovered a complete Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval containing five layers with high total organic carbon content. Recovery of well-preserved calcareous microfossil assemblages from different paleodepths will enable generation of paleotemperature and biotic records that span the rise and collapse of the Cretaceous hot greenhouse (including OAEs 1d and 2), providing insight to resultant changes in deep-water and surface water circulation that can be used to test predictions from earth system models. Paleotemperature proxies and other data will reveal the timing, magnitude, and duration of peak hothouse temperatures and any cold snaps that could have allowed growth of a polar ice sheet. The sites will also record the mid-Eocene–early Oligocene opening of the Tasman Gateway and the Miocene–Pliocene restriction of the Indonesian Gateway; both passages have important effects on global oceanography and climate. Understanding the paleoceanographic changes in a regional context provides a global test on models of Cenomanian–Turonian oceanographic and climatic evolution related both to extreme Turonian warmth and the evolution of OAE 2. The Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks and underlying Jurassic(?) sediments cored in different parts of the MB provide information on the timing of different stages of the Gondwana breakup. The recovered cores provide sufficient new age constraints to underpin a reevaluation of the basin-wide seismic stratigraphy and tectonic models for the region.


We have used fluorescence in situ hybridisation to wild-type and rearranged mitotic chromosomes to map the Drosophila melanogaster dodecasatellite sequence. It is located at a unique site, within the pericentric heterochromatin of the right arm of the third chromosome, closely linked to the primary constriction. In polytene chromosomes, dodecasatellite is found as one or a few dots in the central region of the chromocentre. In untreated diploid cells, dodecasatellite sequences are found as one or two dots throughout the cell cycle. This distribution can be altered in a cell cycle-dependent manner in two ways. Firstly, in interphase cells, hypotonic shock promotes the decondensation of the genomic region containing this satellite, resulting in a string-like structure. Secondly, some of the precociously separated sister chromatids produced by colchicine treatment show dodecasatellite within the intervening space connecting the main dodecasatellite signals of each chromatid. The distribution of dodecasatellite seems to be rather constant between individuals of the same species, as indicated by the lack of any detectable variations in its pattern amongst individuals from six geographically distant strains of D. melanogaster. On the other hand, the distribution of dodecasatellite shows a remarkable degree of variation amongst closely related species of the melanogaster subgroup ranging from a non-detectable signal in Drosophila yakuba and Drosophila teissieri, to staining in the X, second and third chromososomes of Drosophila mauritiana.


Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths globally. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution and clonal type variability of three potential vaccine antigens: Pneumococcal serine-rich repeat protein (PsrP), Pilus-1, and Pneumococcal choline binding protein A (PcpA) among pneumococcal isolates from children with invasive pneumococcal disease and healthy nasopharyngeal carriers. We studied by Real-Time PCR a total of 458 invasive pneumococcal isolates and 89 nasopharyngeal pneumococcal isolates among children (total = 547 strains) collected in Barcelona, Spain, from January 2004 to July 2010. pcpA, psrP and pilus-1 were detected in 92.8%, 51.7% and 14.4% of invasive isolates and in 92.1%, 48.3% and 18% of carrier isolates, respectively. Within individual serotypes the prevalence of psrP and pilus-1 was highly dependent on the clonal type. pcpA was highly prevalent in all strains with the exception of those belonging to serotype 3 (33.3% in serotype 3 isolates vs. 95.1% in other serotypes; P<.001). psrP was significantly more frequent in those serotypes that are less apt to be detected in carriage than in disease; 58.7% vs. 39.1% P<.001. Antibiotic resistance was associated with the presence of pilus-1 and showed a negative correlation with psrP. These results indicate that PcpA, and subsequently Psrp and Pilus-1 together might be good candidates to be used in a next-generation of multivalent pneumococcal protein vaccine.


Silver iodide-silver metaphosphate glasses xAgI·(1 - x)AgPO3 (x = 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) have been prepared using the usual melt quenching method. Differential scanning calorimetry has been used to determine the glass transition temperature of the samples. Impedance spectroscopy spanning wide temperature (20 K to 200 K) and frequency (10-1 Hz to 106 Hz) ranges has been employed to investigate the ion dynamics. At high temperatures, below the glass transition temperature and down to around 120 K, the dynamics show the usual behavior of dc and dispersed conductivity due to the random and correlated motion of the ions. The dc conductivity of the glasses varies dramatically and it increases with the AgI content as expected. At the lowest temperatures investigated, however, the conductivity of the glasses was indistinguishable. Hence, the low temperature dynamics are identical irrespective of the amount of AgI and the structure of the glass. In addition, a nearly constant loss behavior, independent of the temperature and composition, was attained at the lowest temperatures.


"We analyze the evolution of Sub-Saharan Africa's agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) over the past 40 years, looking for evidence of recent changes in growth patterns using a nonparametric Malmquist index. Our TFP estimates show a remarkable recovery in the performance of Sub-Saharan Africa's agriculture during the 1984–2003 period after a long period of poor performance and decline. That recovery is the consequence of improved efficiency in production resulting from changes in the output structure and an adjustment in the use of inputs, including an overall net reduction in fertilizer use but increased fertilizer use in most of the best-performing countries. Policy changes African countries conducted between the mid-1980s and the second half of the 1990s together with technological innovations available at that time appear to have played an important role in improving agriculture's performance. As TFP growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is mainly a result of catching up to the frontier, we expect growth to slow in the coming years unless African countries accelerate the incorporation of innovations into the production process and increase the speed of technical change." from authors' abstract