Triatomine bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae)
are the
vectors
of
Chagas
disease
in South and Central America. Chagas disease
predominantly affects
poor
rural
communities with simply constructed housing susceptible to infestation
by triatomines.
Chagas disease is restricted to the Americas largely
due to the limited
distribution
of
triatomine bugs. The global diversity of triatomines is
-130
species,
of which
only
-10%
are known to occur outside the Americas, one species
(Triatoma
rubrofasciata)
is
tropicopolitan, and the others are concentrated on the Indian
subcontinent
(Linshcosteus
spp. ) and adjacent south east Asian island groups
(Triatoma
spp.
).
The main objectives of this PhD programme
were to:
a) assess the facility
of
morphometric approaches (measurement and
robust
statistical analysis
of
morphological
variation) in the study of population structure of
vector species
with proximal
domestic
and silvatic distributions to detect population
structure and give
information
on the
risk of
reinvasion, b) study interspecific and higher taxonomic level
relationships
of
New World
and Old World triatomine bugs. To these ends
geometric
morphometric
analyses
were
conducted in concert with molecular genetic analyses of mitochondrial
and
nuclear
DNA
sequences. The principal question being: Does the
relatively
low
cost
method
of
morphometrics reveal patterns consistent with
population
structure,
as
otherwise
determined by more expensive molecular genotyping
methods?
Or
are
such
patterns
disrupted by environmental effects and intraspecific convergent/divergent
morphological
evolution?
Combined morphometrics and molecular genetics
were used
to
study vector
populations
in three of the countries that continue to
be
most affected
by Chagas disease. In
Venezuela and Ecuador Rhodnius species (R.
prolixus and
R.
ecuadoriensis
respectively)
were studied, in areas where they occur in both domestic
and silvatic
environments,
and
in Paraguay T. infestans from a domestic and a
putative
silvatic
focus.
Head
and
wing
morphometrics were compared to mitochondrial
DNA
sequence
data to
assess the
population structure and disparity among
domestic
and silvatic samples
in
each
case.
The
results presented suggest that head shape variation
is
subject to
morphological
plasticity
and/or selective pressure and functional constraint
and
does
not
correlate
well with the
11 Abstract
phylogeny. However, in all examples, wing shape
was
found to
be
congruent
with the
phylogenetic patterns inferred from sequence analysis.
Consequently, it is
recommended
that wing shape and not head shape be used
in
morphometric
assessments
of
population
dynamics. It is also asserted here that if
population structure
is
suggested
by
morphometrics, it should be followed by
robust population
genetic
analysis.
As
such,
morphometrics could be used as a tool for
broad
surveillance to identify
areas of concern.
A further objective was to elucidate the
broader
phylogeny of
Triatominae
and their
relationships with other reduviid subfamilies.
To investigate the
debated
polyphyletic
origin of the Triatominae molecular approaches
were used.
Combined head and wing morphometric
and
molecular
genetic analyses
of
New
World
and Old World Triatominae have revealed patterns
of convergent
morphological
evolution (among New World and Old World Triatoma)
and
striking
examples
of
strongly divergent morphological evolution
(between
Old
World
Triatoma
and
Linshcosteus).
Applying a molecular clock based on the rate of
sequence
divergence for
a
fragment
of
ribosomal DNA (D2-28S), calibrated to the fossil
record and
vicariant
events
(the
divergence of ancestral lineages due to separation
by topographical
or ecological
barriers)
it has been possible to reconstruct a likely evolutionary
history for the
Triatominae
and
the Reduviidae as a whole.
The weight of evidence presented supports a
polyphylectic
origin
for blood-feeding for
the Triatominae. The apparent independent development
of
blood feeding
among the
main lineages of the Triatominae represented
by the
genera
Triatoma
and
Rhodnius
highlights a fundamental biological difference among
important
vector species.
This
difference is likely to become evident
in the
eventual post
genomic era
in
studies
of
vector/parasite interactions and it highlights the
importance
of sequencing
genomes
from
different vector genera.


This thesis examines the British art world in the period 1976-1981. The first section explores the crises in the artworld triggered by the International Monetary Fund Crisis of February 1976. Central to this analysis is the Labour and Conservative Party's ideological shift from culturalist paternalism to monetarist liberalism, the history and function of the Arts Council of Great Britain, the press scandals surrounding the Tate Gallery's purchase of Carl Andre's Equivalent VIII and the ICA's exhibition of COUM Transmission's Prostitution. The opportunist populist polemics of the 'crisis critics' (Richard Cork, Andrew Brighton, Peter Fuller and John Tagg) are then introduced alongside a discussion of the colossal changes in the British art press. This is followed by an analysis of Cork's defence of Conrad Atkison's work and of the Royal Oak murals. The second section looks at the postmodernism rejected by Cork and the populist crisis critics, namely, the scripto-visual work of John Hilliard, Victor Burgin, and John Stezaker. The influence of photoconceptualism on community artists and feminist artists is then examined. This is followed by an analysis of Art & Language's critique of 'Semio-Art'. This section concludes with an analysis of the 'new art history' in relation to the practices of Jo Spence and Terry Atkinson. The following section looks at 'conservative'/populist postmodernism as outlined in exhibitions such as The Human Clay (1976), Towards Another Picture (1978), Lives (1979) and Narrative Painting (1979). This includes extensive discussion of the work of David Shepherd, Peter Blake, Ron Kitaj, David Hockney, Steven Campbell, Women's Painting (Images of Men), and The School of London (The Hard Won Image). The final section opens with a lengthy examination of the agitational performances of COUM Transmissions, investigating their decision to abandon the publicly subsidised artworld in order to become the industrial band Throbbing Gristle. This is followed by an examination of British pro-Situationism, punk and new wave subcultures in the 1970s, relating them to the growth of the entrepreneurial art market of the early 1980s.


Homologies of digits in the avian hand have been debated for 150 years. Cladistic analysis nests birds with theropod dinosaurs. Theropod hands retain only digits I-II-III, so digits of the modern bird hand are often identified as I-II-III. Study of the developing manus and pes in amniote embryos, including a variety of avian species, shows stereotyped patterns of cartilage condensations. A primary axis of cartilage condensation is visible in all species that runs through the humerus into digit IV. Comparison to serially homologous elements of the hindlimb indicates that the retained digits of the avian hand are II-III-IV.


Abstract A core disruptive accident, considered a beyond-design-basis accident, for the 500-MW(electric) capacity Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is analyzed using the FUSTIN in-house computer code. In order to have a good understanding of the complicated loading mechanisms and sequences, the analysis studies the effects of introducing internals in the main vessel. Further, the structural integrity of heat exchangers—which are important for decay heat removal during postaccident conditions - was demonstrated with tests that were conducted on a 1/13th scaled-down mock-up; a suitable low-density explosive was developed and characterized to simulate nuclear energy release characteristics. The tests have indicated relatively smaller displacements and strains in the vessel, compared to numerical predictions, and the structural integrity of the decay heat exchangers including tubes was demonstrated. Thus, the reactor assembly components meet the safety criteria specified for PFBR with comfortable margins for the specified mechanical energy release of 100 MJ.


Loss of progesterone signaling in the endometrium may be a causal factor in the development of endometriosis, and progesterone resistance is commonly observed in women with this disease. In endometriotic stromal cells, the levels of progesterone receptor (PR), particularly the PR-B isoform, are significantly decreased, leading to a loss of paracrine signaling. PR deficiency likely underlies the development of progesterone resistance in women with endometriosis who no longer respond to progestin therapy. Here we review the complex epigenetic and transcriptional mechanisms leading to PR deficiency. The initial event may involve deficient methylation of the estrogen receptor (ER)beta promoter resulting in pathologic overexpression of ERbeta in endometriotic stromal cells. We speculate that alterations in the relative levels of ERbeta and ERalpha in endometrial tissue dictate E2-regulated PR expression, such that a decreased ERalpha-tauomicron-ERbeta ratio may result in suppression of PR. In this review, we propose a molecular model that may be responsible for changes in ERbeta and ERalpha leading to PR loss and progesterone resistance in endometriosis.


ABSTRACT This systematic literary review investigates if an association between Sami dietary habits and cardiometabolic outcomes exists, and examines the dietary characteristics and cardiometabolic status of the Sami population. Included were all articles assessing Sami dietary habits and cardiometabolic disease or risk factors. Embase, Medline and SweMed were searched on 26 September 2019 and articles were screened for eligibility in October 2019. Data were extracted according to Moose Guidelines and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess risk of bias. The initial search generated 4,195 articles in total. Nine articles met all inclusion criteria. Two were cohort studies and seven were cross-sectional. Rating by NOS ranked from 2/7 to 8/9 stars. The studies were largely descriptive and only few had results regarding a direct association between Sami dietary habits and cardiometabolic outcomes. The findings demonstrated no association between consumption of certain Sami food items and blood-lipids or mortality from CVD/CHD. A higher intake of fat, protein, reindeer-meat and coffee and a slightly lower blood pressure and mortality from CVD/CHD was seen among Sami compared with non-Sami. The limited amount and descriptive nature of the eligible articles indicate that resaerch within the fielt is limited. Thus, additional longitudinal studies are suggested.


This article analyzes whether President Bush's charitable choice executive orders, which permit religious organizations to apply for federal funds to deliver social services, are a permissible exercise of presidential power. Although Congress has enacted charitable choice provisions in some major statutes, including the 1996 welfare reform act, it debated but did not extend charitable choice throughout the entire federal human services bureaucracy, as do the President's executive orders. The core question the article examines is whether President Bush's charitable choice executive orders constitute permissible gap-filling of ambiguous statutes under the Chevron doctrine or impermissible exercises of executive lawmaking under Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer. This article analyzes possible statutory delegations to the executive branch, including human services statutes and federal procurement laws and concludes that they do not contain gaps that give policy-making discretion to the President. With regard to constitutional authority for the orders, recent Supreme Court case law makes clear that charitable choice programs are not constitutionally compelled. Article II of the Constitution, which gives the President the authority to take care that the laws are faithfully executed, is another possible source of authority, but its bounds are ill-defined. Fans of a strong executive argue that presidential policymaking best serves constitutional values of accountability and efficiency. This article tests these assumptions and finds that the charitable choice executive orders not only fail to further these values, but actually may undermine them. Accordingly, the article concludes that the charitable choice executive orders constitute an unlawful aggrandizement of executive power.


As part of the High Performance Commercial Building Systems program, LBNL has been working with the City of Oakland to understand the ongoing performance of the Oakland Administration Buildings. The primary objective of this research is to understand the performance targets and ongoing performance of two buildings that were the subject of a new construction performance contract. Secondary objectives include examining the building performance information systems developed as part of the new construction performance contract and evaluating the role of the energy management and control system (EMCS) as a data acquisition tool to provide recommendations for future new construction projects. We examine the results of the performance contract in detail, and provide additional performance metrics that go beyond what was required in the performance contract. We found that the energy cost intensities (ECI) linked to the project ranged from $1.08/ft 2 to $1.44/ft 2 . Changes in floor area, energy costs, rate schedules, and energy use complicate the evaluation of the performance because of the lack of tracking of underlying data and assumptions. Overall, Oakland has two large office buildings with relatively low-energy use (50 kBtu/ft 2 -yr site electricity and gas use). We compare this energy-use intensity with a number of related benchmarks. Additional end-use, HVAC performance, and diagnostics data are discussed.


We have investigated the high-pressure structural and vibrational behavior of the disordered kesterite-type Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 compound at ambient temperature. Our experimental and theoretical investigations have revealed a clear structural transition to a GeSb-type phase close to 15 GPa, a tetragonally distorted variant of the NaCl-type phase. The latter transformation is accompanied by a cationic coordination increase from fourfold to sixfold with respect to the sulfur anions. In addition, a change in the compressibility rate was detected at about 8 GPa within the pressure stability range of the disordered kesterite-type phase. Upon decompression, a disordered zinc blende/sphalerite structure is recovered. We discuss our findings in close conjunction with our recent high-pressure work on the ordered Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 modification.


The introduction of Enterprise Systems (ES) into the curriculum at Business and IS Faculties and Schools is for many universities a major challenge. However, this problem is in various aspects of special nature: the students' demand is enormous and in many cases productfocused, Enterprise Systems are typically very comprehensive and complex, and knowledge about ES is often missing. By the time textbooks of satisfying quality are available, there are new systems' upgrades and innovation cycles to deal with. The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is comprehensively using the market leading Enterprise System SAP R/3 within its curriculum and is also conducting research in this area. This paper briefly reports on the activities and experiences at QUT, which is now one of the few world-wide mySAP University Application Hosting Centers. The public demands a close cooperation between universities and companies in order to improve the quality of students' education and to speed up the transformation process from theoretical ideas to products. This paper describes a successful cooperation between a university research project and a company. We show that both partners of the cooperation have numerous benefits. The following case study is the point of reference for an analysis of an existing cooperation. A data warehouse research project for higher education at the University of Bamberg (CEUSHB) exemplifies the university's part of this cooperation. The business intelligence company Microstrategy is the other partner outlined in the paper. Oracle has introduced in 1998 the OAI program to tackle the IT labour crisis. Since then over 150,000 students have been involved in courses in over 40 countries. This paper describes the components of the program and the benefits for all sides. The program is finally reviewed from an academic perspective and cornerstones of a successful strategic partnership are defined. The availability of decision support and productivity software is providing the opportunities for smaller manufacturing or non-manufacturing companies to develop systems which utilize operations research models to support decision-making and address issues such as product mix, efficient production methods, network flow optimization, inventory and stock management, resource scheduling and capital allocation. The model of such a business decision support system, which incorporates linear and integer programming, is presented. The system is based on the SAS software which has been widely used in operations research area. The graphic user interface (GUI) is developed to assist users in making effective management decisions without requiring extensive technical training. Some decision making problems in an integrated production management context are pointed out and a simple example of product-mixed problem is shown to illustrate the usage of the decision support system in a practice.


Copyright © 2017 ISEC Press. Public tendering implies the free concurrence and competition of bidding companies that certify their solvency, so that those companies proposing the most attractive bid, both technically and economically, are awarded the contracts and carry them out according to the same terms and conditions that they proposed. Generally, there is high competition in public tendering, both concerning the number of bidders (constantly increasing), as well as the profit margin (constantly decreasing). On the other side, handling the procurement process, there is a contracting authority that spends public money while trying to fulfill a particular socio-economic objective. This paper will take the contracting authority's (auctioneer's) point of view which is in charge of devising and implementing the awarding criteria, as well as choosing the best bidder. Particularly, this paper will focus on some aspects of the Economic Scoring Formula (ESF) design. The ESF constitutes a set of mathematical expressions that transform the economic bids submitted by the bidders into scores, so that, eventually, the bidders can be ranked and the best one selected. We will conclude that, despite apparently simple, how ESF are configured eventually have profound consequences on bidding behavior and some bidding results, like a higher or lower bid dispersion.


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to analyze auditory brainstem response (ABR) waveforms of patients with tinnitus with normal hearing, according to tinnitus duration, and demonstrate the possible pathophysiological mechanisms of tinnitus.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
From January 2016 to December 2017, patients who presented to our hospital with tinnitus as their chief complaint were enrolled and reviewed retrospectively. Pure tone audiometry and ABR tests were performed. The patients were classified into three groups according to tinnitus duration: acute (<1 month), subacute (1-6 months), and chronic (>6 months). The amplitudes of waves I and V and the latencies of waves I, III, and V were evaluated. In this study, 177 ears of 128 patients with tinnitus with normal hearing were evaluated.

RESULTS
Wave V amplitude was significantly lower during the subacute phase than during the acute phase. The absolute latency value of wave V was greater during the subacute phase than during the acute phase. The interpeak latency I-V was significantly prolonged during the subacute phase compared with the acute and chronic phases. Wave V amplitude, wave V absolute latency, and interpeak latency I-V varied significantly between cases with a 1-month and 6-month tinnitus history.

CONCLUSION
The compensatory response to tinnitus decreased sharply after 1 month of symptoms. Early tinnitus identification and treatment initiation are recommended.


Compositional models provide an elegant formalism for representing the visual appearance of highly variable objects. While such models are appealing from a theoretical point of view, it has been difficult to demonstrate that they lead to performance advantages on challenging datasets. Here we develop a grammar model for person detection and show that it outperforms previous high-performance systems on the PASCAL benchmark. Our model represents people using a hierarchy of deformable parts, variable structure and an explicit model of occlusion for partially visible objects. To train the model, we introduce a new discriminative framework for learning structured prediction models from weakly-labeled data.


On June 20, 2009, during demonstrations to protest the contested and controversial Iranian presidential election, a young girl named Neda Agha-Soltan was shot to death in the streets of Tehran. Within hours, the video footage of her death, captured on a roving camera-phone, had circled the globe. It was also the moment of choice for Arash Hejazi - a writer who had originally trained as a doctor - who tried and failed to save Neda's life. Within days Hejazi left Iran to tell the world the story the government was denying: Neda had died at the hands of the pro-government militia. "The Gaze of the Gazelle" is Hejazi's personal story of how that tragedy came to be and how it will change the course of politics in Iran for a new generation. In a tale that mingles politics and the personal, mythology and history, Hejazi tries to answer the question: How did it come to this? His quest for an answer leads him through the story of the decades-long aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, when Ayatollah Khomeini was brought back from exile to drive the Shah from his throne and set up the Islamic Republic of Iran. Against the background of Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran and the prolonged war that followed, Hejazi skillfully interweaves his own story and those of his family and friends with the machinations of the mullahs and politicians who seek to control Iranian lives. This timely, moving, and eloquent book describes the determination of a new generation to recover hope in the name of Neda, who gave her life in pursuit of a freer and better world.


Trade facilitation should be viewed as a strategic issue rather than a technical one. While ASEAN has been successful in the phasing out of intra-regional tariffs, ASEAN's trade facilitation is not just about reducing cross-border transaction costs but also focusing on (i) rules of origin (RoOs), (ii) NTM (non-tariff measure) transparency, and (iii) NTM streamlining. The RoOs in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) have a relatively simple structure of which about 40 percent consists of RVC-40 or CTH. In spite of their apparent simplicity, ATIGA's RoOs seem to have substantial trade-inhibiting effects, with recent research putting their ad valorem equivalent at about 3.40 percent. In the case of NTMs, the costs imposed by NTMs on businesses are of three sorts: enforcement, sourcing, and process adaptation. The most important thing lies in the transparency of NTMs which rests on two pillars: accurate data, and open dissemination and dynamic disciplines. The underlying notion is that NTM streamlining should not be viewed as a trade-negotiation issue because NTMs are not pure trade policy instruments. Thus, what we propose is to take it back to the country level and promote the creation of an economic council with a mandate to review and improve key business-relevant regulations.


Affects---emotions and moods---have an impact on cognitive activities and the working performance of individuals. Development tasks are undertaken through cognitive processes, yet software engineering research lacks theory on affects and their impact on software development activities. In this paper, we report on an interpretive study aimed at broadening our understanding of the psychology of programming in terms of the experience of affects while programming, and the impact of affects on programming performance. We conducted a qualitative interpretive study based on: face-to-face open-ended interviews, in-field observations, and e-mail exchanges. This enabled us to construct a novel explanatory theory of the impact of affects on development performance. The theory is explicated using an established taxonomy framework. The proposed theory builds upon the concepts of events, affects, attractors, focus, goals, and performance. Theoretical and practical implications are given.


The flower morphology, receptivity and sexual compatibility between genotypes and species were determined in Western Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) and Indian sandalwood (S. album). The results showed that the stigma of both species became receptive at anthesis and reached a peak at 3 or 4 days after anthesis. Pollen tubes took 2 days to grow to the ovary when pollinated at anthesis, and 1 day when pollinated 2 or 3 days after anthesis. The egg apparatus matured at least 2 days after pollination and varied between genotypes. Fertilisation occurred 2 or 3 days following cross pollination. Although 10-40% of ovules were fertilised following intra-specific crosses of both species, the average initial fruit set was much lower: 4% in S. spicatum and 19% in S. album. Most immature fruit (75-80%) abscised following intra-specific pollination. The number of pollen tubes that grew in styles after self- and inter-specific pollination was lower than that for intra-specific pollination. Following serf and inter-specific pollination, growth of pollen tubes was arrested in the style, ovary and around the embryo sac; a few penetrated the embryo sac. Initial fruit set was low and developing fruit abscised prematurely. The results indicated that pre- and post-fertilisation mechanisms control self-incompatibility and inter-specific incompatibility between the sandalwood species.


During the latest decades the polymer pieces have been appearing in the different areas of the industry. Nowadays polymer and composite materials are used not only as covering but as the material of concrete mechanical elements as they have a wide workable and usability spectrum. The pieces made of polymer materials in the telecommunication industry take an honoured place. It is because they are good insulators, they are light, and cheaper than the metal materials. In the European Union it is a regulation that the most of the pieces must be recyclable. It means not only the reuse of the raw material but the recycle of the pieces. So the new and economical types of connection in the polymer pieces have appeared, and their examination have become important, too. Detailed technical literature is available for self-tapping screwed joints applied on thermoplastic polymers and duromers. The screwed joints' aspects (screw geometry, binding strength, parameters of assembly, possibilty of automatization) have been examined by way of experiments and by theoretical models. On the basics of these experimental investigations they have created application-oriented connections which give an important fact to the calibration of the self-tapping screwed joints and to the choice of the material. The aim of this essay is to make a basis for the further research by the comparison of known experience and theory so as to create a more developed, and extended model with more parameters.


While most modern theorists of nationalism emphasize the role of intellectuals "creating nations out of nationalism" (Gellner, 1983) or imagining the community of nations (Anderson, 1991), I argue that another role of intellectuals may also be equally as valid: the role of the poet as adapting existing communities, and the trappings of those communities, into the shape and appearance of a modern nation. Using the examples of the Montenegrin poet Petar II Petrovic Njegos and the Albanian poet Gjergj Fishta and their epics The Mountain Wreath (1847) and The Highland Lute (1939), I argue the continuation of their literary epics to the oral epic traditions which formed an important basis for Montenegrin and Northern Albanian communities.


Extensive Quaternary glacial cover and a lack of dense geophysical data within the Cook Inlet basin (CIB) of south-central Alaska make locating and determining the geometry of the Border Ranges fault system (BRFS), a major feature of the Alaska-Aleutian forearc region, difficult. We use recently collected gravity data, available aeromagnetic data, and other geophysical information as constraints to develop plausible two-dimensional cross-section models that better image the BRFS and related geologic structures of the CIB. Our integrated models show a thick sequence of late Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and the Peninsular terrane basement (6–20 km depth) overlying a serpentinized body at a depth of 16–34 km. The late Mesozoic rocks and serpentinite are interpreted as possible sources of the south Alaska magnetic high over the CIB. The eastern boundaries of the CIB are characterized by gravity and magnetic highs of the emplaced Border Range ultramafic and mafic assemblages (BRUMA). Formation of the BRUMA may be related to the serpentinized rocks that composed a Jurassic oceanic arc. Our models constrain the BRFS as a structural boundary between the overthrusted BRUMA and the Chugach terrane to the east. The BRFS dips 50°–70° toward the west-northwest and extends to at least 15 km. The BRFS may penetrate steeply or shallowly to a form a decollement at greater depths. A model that includes underplated sediments at the base of the accretionary complex (12–40 km) is consistent with the observed gravity low over the Chugach Mountains (Chugach terrane). The underplating may be associated with the subducting and shortening of the Yakutat microplate in south-central Alaska.


Dexmedetomidine (DEX) is a relativelyrecent a2-adrenergic agonist which provides sedation, anxiolysis and analgesia with much less respiratory depression than other sedatives. These characteristics have implemented the use of the drug in the ICUs in order to achieve the target of a "arousable sedation", thanks to its significant manageability. Its sedative-analgesic properties are also particularly suitable for use in burn ICUs, both adult and pediatric, which is why the current Guidelines have recognized a central role in the management of these categories of patients. Finally, DEX has showed significant anti-inflammatory effect both in animal models and in preliminary clinical trials, reducing vasopressor requirements and main mediators levels of the systemic inflammatory response involved in sepsis and similar processes, suggesting its use for improved outcome in ICU septic patients.


A "white-collar" exemption system is the system that exempts workers who are regarded as "white-collar" from overtime payments protection. This system has been employed in US since 19--. Recently, the introduction of this system becomes a controversial issue in Japan. Employers groups which intend to introduce this system insist that "in line with a performance-based payment system, creating a "white collar" exemption for certain employees would facilitate a shift towards compensating employees for the actual work that they do, not for the number of hours they spend at the work place". However, workers groups who oppose the proposal, insist that the system increases the incidences of "karoshi", a sudden death caused by excessive overtime working, because the system gives workers an incentive to work longer in order to get better wages. On this point, employers groups argue that the system would motivate "white-collar" workers to work more efficiently and productively. Unfortunately, there is no formal analysis of the effect of "white-collar" exemption system on working hours and workers' productivity. This present paper aims to fulfil this gap.
 In order to analyse an incentive system which can motivate workers to conduct more efficient work, the principal-agent model is widely used. The principal-agent model consists of objective functions of the principal and the agent. Let O(p,e) denote an expected output, where p is a productivity constant, e is a level of effort of the agent. Let I(m,e) denote internal utility function, where m is a constant of motivation toward the task. Let -C(e) denotes a cost function, f denotes fixed wages, and R(s, ) denotes a risk function, where is a standard deviation of external effects on the productivity constant s. The objective function of the agent under the performance-based wage system can be expressed as: V = sO(p,e)+f+I(m,e)-C(e)-R(s, ). The objective function of the agent under the work-hour system can be expressed as: V = T(e)+b+I(m,e)-C(e)-R(s, ), where T(e)is an overtime payment, b is a basic salary. The utility function of the principal under each system can be expressed as: U = (1-s)O(p,e) –f and U = O(p,e) – b - T(e), respectively.

 Moreover, under the current draft of the law, a labour-management agreement is required to introduce the "white-collar" exemption system. Therefore, the present paper employs the principal-agent model in conjunction with a non-cooperative game theory in extensive form. The players of the game are the principal and the agent. The principle has alternatives such as "propose the system" and "not propose the system". If the principal selects "not propose", the game reaches to a terminal end, which has the utility function of the principal and the agent under the work-hour system. If the principal selects "propose", then the game moves to the agent. The agent has alternatives such as "accept the proposal" and "reject the proposal". If the agent selects "accept", the game reaches a terminal end which has the utility functions under the "white-collar" exemption system. If the agent selects "reject", the game reaches to a terminal end which has the utility functions under the work-hour system.

 The present paper tries to find out the condition of e (effort level) and p (productivity constant) under which the strategy such that the principle selects "propose" and the agent selects "accept" constitute the sub-game perfect equilibrium of the game. In doing so, working hours and productivity of the agent under the exemption system can be obtained.


Abstract. As part of the LBA-SMOCC (Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia - Smoke, Aerosols, Clouds, Rainfall, and Climate) 2002 campaign, we studied the emission of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and aerosol particles from Amazonian deforestation fires using an instrumented aircraft. Emission ratios for aerosol number (CN) relative to CO (ERCN/CO) fell in the range 14-32 cm-3 ppb-1 in most of the investigated smoke plumes. Particle number emission ratios have to our knowledge not been previously measured in tropical deforestation fires, but our results are in agreement with values usually found from tropical savanna fires. The number of particles emitted per amount biomass burned was found to be dependent on the fire conditions (combustion efficiency). Variability in ERCN/CO between fires was similar to the variability caused by variations in combustion behavior within each individual fire. This was confirmed by observations of CO-to-CO2 emission ratios (ERCO/CO2), which stretched across the same wide range of values for individual fires as for all the fires observed during the sampling campaign, reflecting the fact that flaming and smoldering phases are present simultaneously in deforestation fires. Emission factors (EF) for CO and aerosol particles were computed and a correction was applied for the residual smoldering combustion (RSC) fraction of emissions that are not sampled by the aircraft, which increased the EF by a factor of 1.5-2.1. Vertical transport of smoke from the boundary layer (BL) to the cloud detrainment layer (CDL) and the free troposphere (FT) was found to be a very common phenomenon. We observed a 20% loss in particle number as a result of this vertical transport and subsequent cloud processing, attributable to in-cloud coagulation. This small loss fraction suggests that this mode of transport is very efficient in terms of particle numbers and occurs mostly via non-precipitating clouds. The detrained aerosol particles released in the CDL and FT were larger than in the unprocessed smoke, mostly due to coagulation and secondary growth, and therefore more efficient at scattering radiation and nucleating cloud droplets. This process may have significant atmospheric implications on a regional and larger scale.


This paper will outline and discuss the growth of anticipatory and interventionist practices in 'niches' where policy-as-usual is being modified. Four niches are described: initiating and achieving 'sustainability transitions'; industry adaptation and transformation strategies; governing emerging technologies to enable responsible innovation; and experimentation with planning and policy-making approaches for more uncertain futures (e.g. in climate change adaptation). Intervention by foresight practitioners in such developing niches is recommended. In doing so, the paper also outlines: 1) the rapidly evolving social context for applied foresight work; and 2) emerging methodological approaches, and associated action frameworks combining futures methods with prescriptions for interventionist actions, which are being developed. These approaches are argued to be responses to the increasing problematisation of the future generated by climate change and other important wicked problems. Such changes also make visible a potential shift away from technocratic, or 'modernist', styles of planning and policy towards a new 'anticipatory interventionist paradigm'.


Stephen Krashen believes that schools can counter the effects of poverty in at least one area: access to books. However, little research has been done to determine whether students living in poverty have access to school library services comparable to those attending schools with low concentrations of students living in poverty. We examined the school library access gap; namely, the differences in school library characteristics (staffing, books added to collection, schedule, and number of days closed) in schools with various concentrations of students living in poverty. Alarmingly, we found that the students in most need—those attending schools with the highest concentrations of students living in poverty—had the fewest school library resources to draw on. Findings suggest that if we hope to close achievement gaps between high and low socioeconomic groups, we must attend to the access gap in school libraries in high- and low-poverty schools.


The coal utilization in thermal power plants in Malaysia has increased significantly which produces an enormous amount of coal combustion by-product (CCBP) or coal ash and poses severe disposal problem. As each coal ash is distinct, this study presents the geochemistry of the coal ash, in particular fly ash, produced from the combustion of local coal from Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia. The geochemical composition of the ash showed a high amount of silica, alumina, iron oxides and alkalies which was found to be a convenient starting material for the hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites with the higher Na2O percentage being a positive factor for its alkaline activation; while the mineral phases are mainly quartz, mullite, calcium oxide, silica, and iron oxide hydrate. The geochemical changes upon alkali activation that can be predicted in a similar type of ash have been described in this paper. The result shows that this particular ash has a good potential for a high value industrial product like zeolites upon alkali activation. Keywords—Coal ash, chemical composition, mineralogical composition, alkali activation, SEM.


Throughout the last centuries, the manufacturing industry has experienced great improvements in efficiency and cost reductions, but the same improvements have not taken place in the construction industry. Based on the principles of mass customization that are known from the manufacturing industry, a case study of one of the largest construction companies in Northern Europe was carried out according to the principles of action research. This approach was used to clarify whether potential exists for using the principles of mass customization to improve efficiency and minimize costs connected with the construction of buildings; and if so, what they are. The main technical solutions used for residential and office buildings were analyzed using a top-down approach. These solutions were identified and their relations mapped using a Product Variant Master (PVM). When a satisfactory overview was achieved of the major technical solutions, a configuration system was made. Such a system is often used to communicate findings from the PVM to the user. Through the work of constructing the PVM and the configuration system, it was found that a great potential exists for implementa- tion. Based on the findings and experiences gathered throughout the process, the conclusion is that the principles of mass customization are best used in the construction industry if used with a top-down perspective.


Families at risk face many problems. Public opinion about these families usually is formed by mass media which not only provides information, but rather interprets social reality through information. Mass media is a strong tool in forming stereotypes which prevent some social groups from equal participation in mainstream society. By definition, stereotypes are statements that proceed specific stages and influence the stereotyped objects. Families at risk are one of the most vulnerable groups sensitive to the negative influence of stereotypes. The aim of the article is to find out what stereotypes about families at risk are formed by e-media in Lithuania. Two data collecting techniques were used. At the first stage a survey of public opinion was done. At the second stage—content analysis was used for the texts in e-media. Survey data revealed the respondents' opinion that e-media forms public opinion in general, and negatively affects specific social groups. Families at risk were in the second place among the social groups which are stereotyped in e-media. According to respondents, the most often prevailing stereotypes in e-media are: "families live in poverty," "have legal problems," "members of the family use alcohol and other drugs," "one or both parents are unemployed," "children are neglected." The most often used stereotypes in the texts of e-media are: "there is violence in the families," "members of the family use alcohol and other drugs," "children are neglected." Content analysis allowed finding out a combination of stereotypes in the e-media texts: usually more than one stereotypical statement is found in the same text. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis showed that information about families at risk in e-media proceeds three stages of stereotyping: levelling by separating specific traits from the object; strengthening by emphasising only these traits and neglecting others; assimilation by providing accumulating info of the stereotyped object. Thus e-media forms negative stereotypes about families at risk, which affects the position of this social group in mainstream society.


This chapter argues that there is a strong case for pension reform to be given higher priority in India's public policy agenda. The introduction of the National Pension Scheme (NPS), mandatorily covering civil servants, and providing a platform for voluntary pension saving, supervised by a statutory authority; and plans to use information technology more intensively, are steps in the right direction. However, more sustained initiatives are needed towards building a modern pension system which can meet the needs of nearly 300 million elderly projected by 2050. The chapter outlines several reform options that will help address the limitations in the design of the current pension arrangements. The chapter also suggests establishing a national ageing and pension research centre to help develop more robust databases and facilitate flow of new ideas from domestic and international sources into pension policy design, administration, and evaluation.


The present study has been conducted to investigate the effect of rib arrangements on flow and heat/mass transfer characteristics for an impingement/effusion cooling system with initial cwssflow. Two perforated plates of square hole array are placed in parallel and staggered arrangements with a gap distance of 2d and the crossflow passes between the injection and effusion plates. Both the injection and effusion hole diameters (d) are 10 mm and Reynolds number based on the hole diameter and hole-to-hole pitch are fixed at 10,000 and 6d, respectively. Square ribs of various rib arrangements and attack angles are installed on the effusion plate. With the initial crossflow, locally low transfer regions are formed and the level of heat transfer rate become lower as flow rate of the crossflow increases because wall jets are swept and the stagnation regions are affected by crossflow. With rib turbulators, the flow and heat transfer patterns are changed because the ribs protect near-wall flows including wall jets and generate secondary flow in a duct. For M ≥ 1.0, the overall heat transfer is promoted when ribs are installed on the effusion surface, and higher values are obtained with smaller pitch of ribs. But, the attack angle of the rib has little influence on the average heat/mass transfer. For low blowing ratio of M=0.5, the ribs have adverse effects on heat/mass transfer Pressure drop between the inlet and exit of the channel increases up to 20% of total loss when ribs are installed while it is only 5% of total pressure loss across the perforated plates without ribs.


Indonesia defined as tourist destination where the international and domestic tourists enjoy the tourist attractions. Prostitution existing in tourism place may increase the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. The incidence and spread of AIDS in many areas in West Java is a problem for tourism industry. These issues become acute in locations where sexual attraction is used as a determinant of tourist portability. The aim of this study was to determine relation between tourism and the incidence of HIV/AIDS in West Java. Non-reactive research design was used to collect secondary data from the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2016 from 26 districts/cities in West Java. This study was conducted in January - October 2016. Univariate and bivariate analysis methods with Spearman's statistical test and multivariate analysis (multiple logistic) were applied. Bivariate analysis results showed the number of star hotels had p value = 0.003, r = -0.552), visit to accommodation had p value = 0.009, r = 0.499) and average guest per day had p value = 0.022, r = 0.447. Results of multivariate analysis showed that accommodation visits had p value = 0.000). In conclusion, tourism determinants associated with the incidence of HIV/AIDS are the number of star hotels, visits to hotel, and the average guest per day.


Abstract This investigation was carried out to determine whether the adsorptive and ionexchange properties of faujasite (FAU) could be used to delivery locally the anticancer drugs gemcitanine hydrochloride (dFdU.HCl) and oxaliplatin (DACH-Pt). A soaking procedure was used for the determination of the maximum adsorption capacity of FAU and the mechanism described here was achieved. 274 mg dFdU.HCl/g FAU were adsorbed in 16 h, while 48 h were needed for the adsorption of 79.7 mg DACH-Pt/g FAU. Drug release studies were carried out by soaking the samples of loaded FAU in simulation body fluids (SBF). After only one hour 76% of dFdU.HCl was released while the release of DACH-Pt from the FAU was more normal since 38% of DACH-Pt was released in the first 24 h.


Abstract. The elemental composition of laboratory chamber secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from glyoxal uptake, α-pinene ozonolysis, isoprene photooxidation, single-ring aromatic photooxidation, and naphthalene photooxidation is evaluated using Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer data. SOA O/C ratios range from 1.13 for glyoxal uptake experiments to 0.30–0.43 for α-pinene ozonolysis. The elemental composition of α-pinene and naphthalene SOA is also confirmed by offline mass spectrometry. The fraction of organic signal at m/z 44 is generally a good measure of SOA oxygenation for α-pinene/O3, isoprene/high-NOx, and naphthalene SOA systems. The agreement between measured and estimated O/C ratios tends to get closer as the fraction of organic signal at m/z 44 increases. This is in contrast to the glyoxal uptake system, in which m/z 44 substantially underpredicts O/C. Although chamber SOA has generally been considered less oxygenated than ambient SOA, single-ring aromatic- and naphthalene-derived SOA can reach O/C ratios upward of 0.7, well within the range of ambient PMF component OOA, though still not as high as some ambient measurements. The spectra of aromatic and isoprene-high-NOx SOA resemble that of OOA, but the spectrum of glyoxal uptake does not resemble that of any ambient organic aerosol PMF component.


Abstract This article presents recent outcomes of the author's research on musical complex adaptive systems (CASs). The first part focuses on the concepts of adaptation and complexity within the framework of CASs and suggests a rigorous placing of the concepts within the musical domain. This analysis involves a distinction of the notions of context and information between the engineering field of information theory and the philosophical one of radical constructivism. I conclude this section by showing that, in this approach, information and context are mutually determining. Then, I introduce a technique related to the notion of evolvability in biology and genetic algorithms and that has significantly increased the complexity and long-term variety in music systems during autonomous evolutions. This technique distributes adaptation across higher levels and allows the system to reorganize the relationships among its agents and their structure circularly while interpreting and constructing its context. To conclude, an autonomous live performance piece from 2019–2020, "Constructing Realities (Homage to Heinz von Foerster)," which implements the theories mentioned above, is described, showing DSP processes and techniques that relate to evolvability, autopoiesis, fitness, and complexity through agent-based modeling. This article is accompanied by a companion article discussing the technical aspects of information processing algorithms, which are an essential part for the implementation of music CASs: "Time-Domain Adaptive Algorithms for Low- and High-Level Audio Information Processing."


In order to study the safety aspects connected with the permanent increase of the maximum steady state power of the IPR-R1 TRIGA Reactor of the Nuclear Technology Development Centre (CDTN) at Belo Horizonte (Brazil), experimental measures were performed with the reactor working in power steps from 'zero' power up to 265 kW. The experiments were performed with the pool forced cooling system turned off. A number of parameters were measured in real-time such as fuel and water temperatures, radiation levels, reactivity and influence of cooling system. This paper summarises the behaviour of the operational parameters and presents some of the recent results obtained. Information on all aspects of reactor operation was displayed on the Data Acquisition System (DAS) shown the IPR-R1 real-time performance. The DAS was developed to monitor and record all operational parameters. Information displayed on the monitor was recorded on hard disk in a historical database.


Aptitude and achievement tests have been under heavy attack in the courts and in academic literature for at least forty years. Griggs v. Duke Power (1971) and Ricci v. DeStefano (2009) are the most important judicial battle sites. In those cases, the Supreme Court decided the circumstances under which a test could be used by an employer to screen employees for promotion when the test had a negative racial impact on test takers.The related battles over testing for entry into the legal academy and from the academy into the legal profession have been no less fierce. The assault on testing is founded on an amalgam of postmodernist, industrial organizational, and diversity theory. Leading the charge is the Society of American Law Teachers, which rightly claims that the LSAT, bar exam, and related law school accreditation standards have the effect of disproportionately keeping minorities out of the profession.But if these tests do measure something useful and are abandoned, there will be consequences — and these are often ignored. They will affect not only parties vying for admissions and jobs but the nation as a whole.


The autonomic nervous system is a component of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary physiologic processes including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal. It contains three anatomically distinct divisions: sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric.The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) contain both afferent and efferent fibers that provide sensory input and motor output, respectively, to the central nervous system (CNS). Generally, the SNS and PNS motor pathways consist of a two-neuron series: a preganglionic neuron with a cell body in the CNS and a postganglionic neuron with a cell body in the periphery that innervates target tissues. The enteric nervous system (ENS) is an extensive, web-like structure that is capable of function independently of the remainder of the nervous system. It contains over 100 million neurons of over 15 morphologies, greater than the sum of all other peripheral ganglia, and is chiefly responsible for the regulation of digestive processes.Activation of the SNS leads to a state of overall elevated activity and attention: the "fight or flight" response. In this process, blood pressure and heart rate increase, glycogenolysis ensues, gastrointestinal peristalsis ceases, etc. The SNS innervates nearly every living tissue in the body. The PNS promotes the "rest and digest" processes; heart rate and blood pressure lower, gastrointestinal peristalsis/digestion restarts, etc. The PNS innervates only the head, viscera and external genitalia, notably vacant in much of the musculoskeletal system and skin, making it significantly smaller than the SNS. The ENS is composed of reflex pathways that control the digestive functions of muscle contraction/relaxation, secretion/absorption, and blood flow.Presynaptic neurons of both the SNS and PNS utilize acetylcholine (ACh) as their neurotransmitter. Postsynaptic sympathetic neurons generally produce norepinephrine (NE) as their effector transmitter to act upon target tissues, while postsynaptic parasympathetic neurons use ACh throughout. Enteric neurons have been known to use several major neurotransmitters such as ACh, nitrous oxide and serotonin, to name a few.


Abstract Although insect size and robustness often have been hypothesized to be factors that lead to taphonomic bias in the insect fossil record, no studies have examined how these factors directly affect an insect's preservation potential. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed on modern Coleoptera (beetles) to examine the importance of insect morphology on preservation potential. A rotary tumbling barrel was used to determine how insect size and robustness would influence sinking and disarticulation rates. Although size and robustness were not correlated directly, beetles that were larger and more robust were more resistant to disarticulation than smaller, less-robust beetles. Waterlogged specimens gained increased flexibility in their exoskeletons, and were difficult to puncture. Sinking and disarticulation rates were correlated, although it took fewer days for beetles to sink than it took to begin disarticulating. A white-colored film was apparent on all specimens within a few days of their introduction to the tumbling barrel; however, major disarticulation did not occur until the specimens sank to the bottom. An examination of the fossil-beetle literature also suggests the importance of hardness in preservation potential. Although often considered fragile, given the right physical characteristics and environmental conditions, insects can be resistant to disarticulation and decay.


This article primarily aims to understand how the Light-Rail Transport (LRT) pricing and infrastructural innovations from a Chinese context have been adopted to the Addis-Ababa city context. Secondly, it wishes to show what were the economic, social, and environmental effects of these adapted innovations on passenger service delivery and Multi-National Corporations (MNCs), and what effects the resident's proximity had on commercial activities along the LRT route. Thirdly, it identified re-adaptations to a more sustainable LRT with respect to the passengers, MNCs, and residents. This study has revealed economic, social, and environmental effects that may influence innovation adoption, such as the following: reduction in carbon emissions; fare evasion; inconvenience; affordability; less revenue; less proximity to commercial activities; and an increase in travel distances for pedestrians. A mixed method for a single case study was used, including semi-structured interviews with light-rail experts and a passenger survey. The results show that economic sustainability factors account for 12 out of 14 sustainability factors and 2 out of 14 social and environmental sustainability factors. The results are intended to be used as a decision support system for innovation adoption in other cities with similar context, in order to develop a sustainable approach to LRT planning.


A considerable number of journal publications using a range of qualitative synthesis approaches has been published. Mary Dixon-Woods and colleagues (Mary Dixon-Woods, Booth, & Sutton, 2007) identified 42 qualitative evidence synthesis papers published in health care literature between 1990 and 2004. An ongoing update by Hannes and Macaitis (2010)identified around 100 additional qualitative or mixed methods syntheses. Yet these generally lack a clear, detailed description of what was done and why (Greenhalgh et al, 2007; McInnes & Wimpenny, 2008) . Choices are most commonly influenced by what others have successfully used in the past or by a particular school of thought (Atkins et al, 2008; Britten et al, 2002). This is a substantive limitation. This book brings balance to the options available to researchers, including approaches that have not had a substantial uptake among researchers. It provides arguments for when and why researchers or other parties of interest should opt for a certain approach to synthesis, which challenges they might face in adopting it and what the potential strengths and weaknesses are compared with other approaches. This book acts as a resource for readers who would otherwise have to piece together the methodology from a range of journal articles. In addition, it should stimulate further development and documentation of synthesis methodology in a field that is characterized by diversity.


Those who work in agriculture often face the challenge of explaining their work to people outside of their field. Identifying what your audience cares about is the first step in formulating a story your audience will understand and value. This 3-page fact sheet also offers do's and don'ts for crafting a story for non-expert audiences. Written by Brandon Telg, Jaron Jones, and Ricky Telg, and published by the UF Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, July 2015. (Photo credit: monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock.com)
AEC554/WC216: Letting Them In: Sharing Your Story with People outside of Your Industry (ufl.edu)


University students can face numerous stressors which can contribute to the development of psychological distress shown to be associated with decreasing completion and retention issues throughout Australian universities (Willcoxson, Cotter, & Joy, 2011). A positive predictor and outcome of successful student coping and adjustment to university and retention outcomes is resilience, the ability to cope in difficult situations and bounce back from adversity. Mindfulness has also been shown to be promote resilience. The present study examined differences in psychological distress, mindfulness, and coping strategies (adaptive vs. maladaptive) in university students (N = 122) with high and low levels of resilience. The results of a one-way MANOVA were consistent with hypotheses, revealing higher resilience scores were associated with greater mindfulness, higher adaptive coping scores, lower maladaptive coping, and reduced psychological distress. Students in the low resilience group were also found to have significantly lower levels of mindfulness, higher levels of psychological distress, reduced use of adaptive coping, and greater use of maladaptive coping, when compared to students with high resilience levels. Overall, findings of the current study are consistent with previous research and highlight the potential benefit of mindfulness-based coping interventions to foster resilience in university students.


The rapid expansion of Internet use at the turn of the 21st century brought with it a new medium of commerce. As the Internet started to act as a substitute for traditional retail and service sectors, an important economic question has been the impact of this change on market structure in different industries. This dissertation examines the changing structure of two particular industries in this new era of the Internet: the banking industry and Yellow Pages advertising.
Chapter I examines whether bank branches are still important in attracting deposits from consumers. Despite their historic role in helping commercial banks to grow, branches may be decreasing in importance today due to the widespread use of Internet banking. The paper develops a structural dynamic model of consumer demand for bank deposits. The model is estimated using yearly bank level data for all commercial banks in Massachusetts from 2001 to 2009. Results show that branching still affects market shares significantly, however, the impact is declining over the sample period.
Chapter II analyzes consumer welfare in the banking industry. The purpose of the paper is to measure the impact of recent changes in bank characteristics on consumer welfare. Specifically, the goal is to examine how the increase in the number of branches and the decrease in the average distance of these branches to consumers have impacted consumer welfare. Average consumer welfare is found to be 4.2% higher in 2009 compared to 2001. Estimation of two counterfactuals reveals that both of the changes in bank characteristics have been beneficial to consumers.
Chapter III focuses on the Yellow Pages advertising market. The goal of the study is to estimate how the extensive use of Internet has affected prices and market structure in the Yellow Pages advertising market. In contrast to most of the recent empirical literature, this paper considers the impact of Internet use on prices in addition to market structure. The main finding is that an increase in Internet use in a given directory's coverage area is associated with an increase in printed advertising prices and a decrease in the number of publishers.


Production of yam is a labour intensive set of activities especially in the Tropics. In Eastern Nigeria this is done by small farmers at subsistent level due to inadequate and short supply of labour. This study examined labour-use efficiency by smallholder yam farmers in Abia State, Nigeria. A two-stage random sampling technique was used to select 120 smallholder yam farmers from Ikwuano and Umuahia North Local Government Areas of the state. Data were collected during a survey with a well-structured questionnaire administered by personal interview method with the farmers. The result revealed that farm households provided an average of 336 man-days used in yam production activities, with 36.66% using hired labour while family labour, share croppers, and exchange labour provided the balance labour (63.34%) required. The Cobb-Douglas functional form of labour-use frontier estimates shows that the quantity of harvested yam, size of cleared farm land and quantity of fertilizer applied significantly affected the amount of labour used in yam production at 10.0%, 5.0% and 1.0% level of significance respectively. The socio-economic determinants of labour use efficiency were age, education, farm size, gender, labour wage and household size which were statistically significant at 1.0% risk level except the coefficient of age which was significant at 5.0% risk level. The result showed that the estimated farm labour-use efficiency ranged from 0.20 to 0.97 with a mean labour-use efficiency value of 0.76. Policies aimed at increasing yam farmers' scale of operation through improved access to production inputs like fertilizer, agrochemical and capital are required for increasing labour use efficiency in the area.


This paper studies the reservation wages of unemployed persons and the wages offered them in Germany from 1987 to 1998, whereby special focus is placed on unemployment duration. The results of the study indicate that in contrast to reservation wages, offered wages decline considerably with duration of unemployment. This is the main reason that ratios of reservation wages to offered wages increase rapidly with duration of unemployment; on average, reservation wages begin to exceed offered wages after nine months of unemployment. Thus, the chance that long-term unemployed persons will receive a wage offer that is higher than their own reservation wage is extremely slight.


In the early phase of transition that started with the 1990s, Central and Eastern European Countries pursued economic restructuring of the enterprise sector that involved massive injections of state support. Also foreign investment from the West and facilitation of the development of a market economy involved massive injections of state support. With their accession to the European Union (EU), levels and forms of state aid came under critical review by the European Commission. This inquiry investigates whether the integration of the new member states operates on a level playing field with respect to state aid. Quantitative and qualitative analysis is relied upon to answer this key, as well as other, related questions. Findings suggest that in recent years a level playing field across the EU has indeed emerged. State aid in the new EU member countries is rather handled more strictly than laxer compared to the 'old' EU countries.


The latest domain name dispute in the sporting arena to come before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center (the Center), a UN specialized agency based in Geneva, Switzerland, involved the Manchester United and England footballer, Wayne Rooney, who was born in Liverpool in 1985. The domain name (internet address) in contention was waynerooney.com which was registered by the respondent in the case, a busy actor and ardent fan of Everton Football Club, with whom Rooney started his career as a fifteen year old in 2000, turning professional with them in 2003 and then moving on to 'ManU' the following year. In order to win, Rooney had to prove that, under the provisions of the ICANNI Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) (the Policy),Z approved on October 24, 1999 and administered by the Center, this was a case of so-called 'cybersquatting'. Under the Policy, cybersquatting involves the abusive registration of a domain name and the complainant, in order to obtain the transfer or cancellation of the offending domain name, must establish that the domain name concerned is: * identical or confusingly similar to a trademark of another; * registered by a party who has no rights or legitimate interest in that domain name; and * registered and used in bad faith (3). For the complainant to succeed, all three of these conditions must be satisfied. But, what, one may ask, is meant by the expression 'bad faith'? The Policy provides the following examples of acts, which prima facie may constitute evidence of bad faith: * an intention to sell the domain name to the trademark owner or its competitor; * an attempt to attract for financial gain internet users by creating confusion with the trademark of another; * an intention to prevent the trademark owner from reflecting his trademark in a corresponding domain name; and * an intention to disrupt the business of a competitor (4). It should be noted that this list is not exhaustive, but merely illustrative of the kinds of situations that may fall within the concept of bad faith. In practice, many of the disputes are not defended by the respondent to the complaint, and this fact, along with a failure to respond to any 'cease and desist' letter from the complainant issued before the WIPO proceedings were commenced, may constitute further evidence of bad faith on the part of the respondent. Likewise, the respondent may have been previously involved in registering disputed domain names that have been the subject of previous WIPO cases, in which those names have been found to be without legal justification and ordered to be transferred to the complainants. Again, this would constitute evidence of bad faith. As also would registering a fanciful or bizarre name, which happened in the so-called Pepsi case (5). In that case, an Italian Company, with the name of "Partite Emozionanti Per Sportivi Italian", which, in translation, stands for "Leave the Histrionics for Italian Sports Fans", and known for short as "P.E.P.S.I.", registered 70 domain names incorporating the famous soft drink trademark PEPSI in relation to an extensive range of sports, including 'pepsicricket.com', 'pepsigolf.com', 'pepsisoccer.com', 'pepsirugby.net', 'pepsisuperbike. net' and 'pepsivolleyball.net'. The sole panelist in this case held that there was "opportunistic bad faith" because the domain names were so obviously connected with such a well-known product with which the respondent had no connection (6). In the Rooney case, the domain name in contention had been registered before Rooney's trade mark rights in his name had 'matured' and this was one of the legal issues to be determined by the sole panelist appointed by the Center to decide the case. Likewise, in such circumstances, could the respondent be held to be acting in bad faith in registering and using the domain name? …


The Project Scheduling Problem has attracted the attention of researchers for years. Much of this research has been conducted in the Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP). The goal of this paper is to define new Genetic Algorithms Operators for a new a model of Resource Constrained Project Scheduling Problem with heterogeneous resources (operators). The model better resembles real-world projects and has more flexibility than previous models for manpower scheduling. Most RCPSP research uses Finish Time as a measure of the fitness of a solution. In this model the combination of Quality and Finish Time will be used. The goal will be to maximize the Quality and minimize the Finish Time. To solve the problem, the model will use Genetic Algorithms. New Crossover and Mutation operators will be implemented. These operators will attempt to create children with the same or higher Quality than their parents and will add the children the solution pool.


Non-Governmental Development Organizations have seen turbulent times over the decades; however, recent years have seen them grow to occupy high-profile positions in the fight against poverty. They are now seen as an important element of 'civil society', a concept that has been given increasing importance by global policy makers. This book has evolved during the course of that period to be a prime resource for those working (or wishing to work) with and for NGOs. The third edition of Non-Governmental Organizations, Management and Development is fully updated and thoroughly reorganized, covering key issues including, but not limited to, debates on the changing global context of international development and the changing concepts and practices used by NGOs. The interdisciplinary approach employed by David Lewis results in an impressive text that draws upon current research in non-pro?t management, development management, public management and management theory, exploring the activities, relationships and internal structure of the NGO. This book remains the first and only comprehensive and academically grounded guide to the issues facing international development NGOs as they operate in increasingly complex and challenging conditions around the world. It is the perfect resource for students undertaking studies of NGOs and the non-profit sector, in addition to being an excellent resource for development studies students more generally.


A nonfullerene electron acceptor (IEIC) based on indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene and 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydroinden-1-ylidene)malononitrile was designed and synthesized. IEIC exhibited good thermal stability, strong absorption in the 500–750 nm region with an extinction coefficient of 1.1 × 105 M−1 cm−1 at 672 nm, deep LUMO energy level (−3.82 eV) close to those of fullerenes, and a relatively high electron mobility of 2.1 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1. Fullerene-free polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on the blends of the IEIC acceptor and a low-bandgap polymer donor PTB7-TH, using a perylene diimide derivative as a cathode interlayer, showed power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of up to 6.31%, which is among the best PCEs reported for fullerene-free PSCs.


This article describes a revenue and distributionally neutral approach to reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that uses a carbon tax. The revenue from the carbon tax is used to finance an environmental earned income tax credit designed to be distributionally neutral. The credit is linked to earned income and helps offset the regressivity of the carbon tax. The carbon tax reform proposal is also revenue neutral and avoids conflating carbon policy with debates over the appropriate size of the federal budget. The article provides a distributional analysis of the proposal and also makes a number of political, economic, and administrative arguments in favor of a carbon tax and responds to the arguments that have commonly been made against using a tax-based approach to reducing U.S. emissions.


Networks and networking are challenging and replacing former hierarchical power structures and modes of organization on a worldwide scale. This fundamental aspect of the sometimes celebrated but more often demonized global transformational processes does of course have implications in the area of research and practice known as communication for development, development communication or communication for social change. In September 2005, in Los Banos, the Philippines, two new global networks were formally established under the aegis of the Communication for Social Change Consortium: one for practitioners, one for faculty and graduate students. It may sound solemn, but I am confident that I speak on behalf of all participants when I say that we felt that we were making history. The Los BaĖos University Network Statement drafted at the closure of one of the two meetings held, to be ratified by the twelve participating universities, surely marks a crucial moment in the development of this still young and emerging discipline -or, as I prefer to regard it, this by definition interdisciplinary field of study and practice. The field has undergone many changes through its short history and is now at a crossroads. After a period of threatening stagnation, we now experience a dynamic phase of renewal, both in terms of theoretical approaches and means of communication. Poverty persists, and some of the global divides of different kinds even tend to widen. But there is undoubtedly a growing awareness among development cooperation agencies -multilateral and bilateral– and the multitude of nongovernmental and civil society organizations and initiatives, that media and communication are indispensable for all development policies that aim at democratic participation, inclusion and lasting social change. Yet, as James Deane notes in his analysis of the present predicament of communication for social change, "the increasingly strong rhetoric and strategic dialogue on concepts of participation, voice and inclusion… is rarely matched with the application of those principles in practical development programming". Deane even suggests that "the institutional impediments to concerted implementation of good communication for development programming are becoming more, not less severe". This third issue of Globala Tider –soon to be reborn as Glocal Times– aims at inventorying the field at the present crossroads, with a focus on teaching and learning communication for development. In that spirit, we look into Canada and the Philippines, two countries with rich but quite diverse yet corresponding experiences in this area. We are especially happy and honored to present a contribution by Nora Cruz Quebral, one of the founding mothers of devcom –as it is called in the Philippines. Nora Quebral started her career in the mid 1950s at the Office of Extension and Publications at the then University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, which under her direction would evolve into an academic department and eventually today's full-fledged College of Development Communication. In her reexamining of development communication both as a concept and as a curriculum, developed shortly after September 11, 2001, she lucidly describes the communication challenges of the vulnerable, borderless world of globalization. "The irony of September 11", she says, "is that it succeeded in shoving in our face the harsh proof of our interconnectedness as no treatise or street protest ever could". Interconnectedness does not necessarily enhance understanding. On the contrary, it seems that the closer we get, the more important it becomes to manifest differing identities. This apparently paradoxical logic of simultaneous globalization and localization –glocalization, as Roland Robertson coined it– certainly implies a key role for intercultural and transcultural communication in the urgent call for global change and development. Yet, as James Deane notes, the value and importance of communication remain largely unrecognized, and its status is consequently marginal within most development agencies. The inspiring challenge for teachers, researchers and practitioners in this dynamic field is to move communication for development and social change to the centre of development thinking and practice. And I would add, to the centre of the contemporary cultural debate. One of the significant recent tendencies in the field is the interest in art and artistic means of communication, an area where theory and practice enter in dialogue and where potentially innovative research is only beginning to take place. In October 2005, in Istanbul, Turkey, another memorable event illustrated a fruitful convergence of art and academic research: the combined workshop and seminar "Towards a New Balkan Cultural Studies", which formed part of Malmo University's Master program in Communication for Development. Andrew Finkel, a British journalist based in Istanbul, gives us a report of the event –where truth and remembrance were key concepts. In the spirit of networking for the advancement of communication for development and social change, this issue of Globala Tider makes the symbolic journey from Los Banos, the Philippines, to Istanbul, Turkey. In our September 2006 issue, we shall extend the journey to Durban, South Africa, in accordance with the aims of the newly born Communication for Social Change and Development University Network to "support the strengthening of this interdisciplinary field throughout the world". There, between November 16 and 20, a combined seminar and workshop will take place as part of the on-going project "Memories of Modernity", in collaboration between Malmo University and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. This project, involving ComDev students and artists from Sweden and South Africa, will also result in art exhibitions in Durban and Malmo in 2007. But for now, enjoy the outcomes of Los Banos and Istanbul!


OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between exposure to Neospora caninum and abortion in dairy cows during their first, second, third, and fourth or later lactations and to establish the main mode of transmission in female calves from birth until their first pregnancy was terminated by abortion or parturition.

DESIGN
Prospective observational study.

ANIMALS
460 Holstein cows and 79 female calves.

PROCEDURE
Cows were classified as seropositive or seronegative to N caninum within 7 days after calving; incidence of abortion was compared between groups during different lactations. Blood samples were collected from female calves before ingestion of colostrum and every 6 months until their first pregnancy was terminated by abortion or parturition; number of seropositive calves was compared between seropositive and seronegative dams.

RESULTS
During the first pregnancy of their second lactation, risk of abortion for seropositive cows was 2.8 times that of seronegative cows. Among 10 calves born to seropositive cows, 4 were classified as seropositive at birth and thereafter. Among 69 calves born to seronegative cows, all were classified as seronegative at birth; 67 calves remained seronegative thereafter.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Exposure to N caninum alone was not significantly associated with abortion in cows during the first, third, and fourth or later lactations. Seropositive cows that have aborted previously may have subsequent abortions attributable to N caninum. Congenital infection was the main mode of N caninum transmission in a cohort of female calves.


Abstract. The new version of the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR v4.3.2) compiles gaseous and particulate air pollutant emissions, making use of the same anthropogenic sectors, time period (1970–2012), and international activity data that is used for estimating GHG emissions, as described in a companion paper (Janssens-Maenhout et al., 2017). All human activities, except large scale biomass burning and land use, land-use change, and forestry are included in the emissions calculation. The bottom-up compilation methodology of sector-specific emissions was applied consistently for all world countries, providing methodological transparency and comparability between countries. In addition to the activity data used to estimate GHG emissions, air pollutant emissions are determined by the process technology and end-of-pipe emission reduction abatements. Region-specific emission factors and abatement measures were selected from recent available scientific literature and reports. Compared to previous versions of EDGAR, the EDGAR v4.3.2 dataset covers all gaseous and particulate air pollutants, has extended time series (1970–2012), and has been evaluated with quality control and quality assurance (QC and QA) procedures both for the emission time series (e.g. particulate matter – PM – mass balance, gap-filling for missing data, the split-up of countries over time, few updates in the emission factors, etc.) and grid maps (full coverage of the world, complete mapping of EDGAR emissions with sector-specific proxies, etc.). This publication focuses on the gaseous air pollutants of CO, NOx, SO2, total non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), NH3, and the aerosols PM10, PM2.5, black carbon (BC), and organic carbon (OC). Considering the 1970–2012 time period, global emissions of SO2 increased from 99 to 103 Mt, CO from 441 to 562 Mt, NOx from 68 to 122 Mt, NMVOC from 119 to 170 Mt, NH3 from 25 to 59 Mt, PM10 from 37 to 65 Mt, PM2.5 from 24 to 41 Mt, BC from 2.7 to 4.5 Mt, and OC from 9 to 11 Mt. We present the country-specific emission totals and analyze the larger emitting countries (including the European Union) to provide insights on major sector contributions. In addition, per capita and per GDP emissions and implied emission factors – the apparent emissions per unit of production or energy consumption – are presented. We find that the implied emission factors (EFs) are higher for low-income countries compared to high-income countries, but in both cases decrease from 1970 to 2012. The comparison with other global inventories, such as the Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution Inventory (HTAP v2.2) and the Community Emission Data System (CEDS), reveals insights on the uncertainties as well as the impact of data revisions (e.g. activity data, emission factors, etc.). As an additional metric, we analyze the emission ratios of some pollutants to CO2 (e.g. CO∕CO2, NOx∕CO2, NOx∕CO, and SO2∕CO2) by sector, region, and time to identify any decoupling of air pollutant emissions from energy production activities and to demonstrate the potential of such ratios to compare to satellite-derived emission data. Gridded emissions are also made available for the 1970–2012 historic time series, disaggregated for 26 anthropogenic sectors using updated spatial proxies. The analysis of the evolution of hot spots over time allowed us to identify areas with growing emissions and where emissions should be constrained to improve global air quality (e.g. China, India, the Middle East, and some South American countries are often characterized by high emitting areas that are changing rapidly compared to Europe or the USA, where stable or decreasing emissions are evaluated). Sector- and component-specific contributions to grid-cell emissions may help the modelling and satellite communities to disaggregate atmospheric column amounts and concentrations into main emitting sectors. This work addresses not only the emission inventory and modelling communities, but also aims to broaden the usefulness of information available in a global emission inventory such as EDGAR to also include the measurement community. Data are publicly available online through the EDGAR website http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=432_AP and registered under https://doi.org/10.2904/JRC_DATASET_EDGAR.


A practical guide to developing and deploying Near Field Communication (NFC) applicationsThere has been little practical guidance available on NFC programming, until now. If you're a programmer or developer, get this unique and detailed book and start creating apps for this exciting technology. NFC enables contactless mobile communication between two NFC-compatible devices. It's what allows customers to pay for purchases by swiping their smartphones with Google Wallet, for example. This book shows you how to develop NFC applications for Android, for all NFC operating modes: reader/writer, peer-to-peer, and card emulation.The book starts with the basics of NFC technology, an overview of the Android OS, and what you need to know about the SDK tools. It then walks you through all aspects of NFC app development, including SE programming. You'll find all you need to create an app, including functioning, downloadable code and a companion website with additional content. Valuable case studies help you understand each operating mode in clear, practical detail.Shows programmers and developers how to develop Near Field Communication (NFC) applications for Android, including Secure Element (SE) programmingExpert authors are NFC researchers who have a deep knowledge of the subjectCovers app development in all NFC operating modes: reader/writer, peer-to-peer, and card emulationIncludes valuable case studies that showcase several system design and analysis methods, such as activity diagram, class diagram, UML, and othersProfessional NFC Application Development for Android offers the clear, concise advice you need to create great applications for this emerging and exciting technology.


The activation of Janus protein-tyrosine kinases (Jaks) and the subsequent phosphorylation and activation of latent signal transducers and activators of transcription (Stats) are common elements in signal transduction through the cytokine receptor superfamily. To assess the role and specificity of Jaks in Stat activation, we have utilized baculovirus expression systems to produce Stat1 and the Jaks. Co-expression of Stat1 with Tyk2, Jak1, or Jak2 resulted in the specific tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat1 at Tyr, the residue phosphorylated in mammalian cells stimulated with interferon . Alternatively, Stat1, purified to apparent homogeneity from insect cell extracts, was phosphorylated at Tyr in Jak immune complex kinase reactions. Phosphorylation of purified Stat1 was necessary and sufficient for the acquisition of DNA binding activity. The specificity in both systems was indicated by the inability of a Jak2 catalytically inactive mutant (Jak2-Glu) or the Tec protein-tyrosine kinase to phosphorylate Stat1. However, immune complex-purified epidermal growth factor receptor was capable of phosphorylating purified Stat1 at Tyr and activating its DNA binding activity in in vitro reactions.


This research project investigates the lives of three women, Louisa Anne Meredith, Anna Maria Nixon and Mary Morton Allport as protagonists in a narrative about feminine place within the history of Colonial British immigration to Tasmania. These three women who self recorded their lives, are intended to represent the many colonial women whose lives have never been recorded.
These women lived within a milieu of Victorianism, in which the contained genteel interior contrasted with the darkness and wildness beyond. The Tasmanian wilderness became an actual and symbolic place where longing and desire could be released and where the "feminine" iconography starts to take on an erotic nature, away from the closed concealment of the domestic. This erotic, sensual nature is identified in the project from the feminine perspective, rather than the feminine description prescribed by men as in the Victorian "woman's mission'; a climax of restraint and repression for women.
Through working with textiles, doilies, embroideries and other media that refer to what was historically 'woman's work', the project aims to conjure a window/mirror effect that reveals both constraint and concealment; and the process of relinquishing restraint to embrace the erotic/sensual and wilder self. These ideas have been realized through the construction of a thirty paneled work, embellished with decorative elements that allude to the concepts, and refer to my own work history as a fashion designer. A second work of ten larger panels refers to the concept of "the window", which was a pervasive theme in Victorian painting that described the confined feminine
experience to interiors, and is also intended to act as a device to look in and out and through time .This second work, of textile and mirror/glass, is less decorative than the first, and has a reflective relationship with the body.
Two collaborative projects by the artists Anne Ferran and Anne Brennan were of interest: the first Secure the Shadow (1995) at the Hyde Park Barracks, researching the fragments of evidence left behind of a group of Irish colonial migrants. The second project, Twice Removed (2004) referred to the "Lacemakers of Calais" and three connected dates through history, 1848, 1909 and 2004. Other works by Anne Ferran are also important to this project, most particularly a 'survey exhibition' the ground, the air, (2008) which dealt with concepts of how 'the past haunts the present' and the importance of addressing and 'locating the gaps and silences in recorded history' regarding feminine place. Sally Smart's installations utilizing felt cutouts were of great interest to this project, and to a lesser degree Kara
Walker's work. Kate Just's concepts, imagery and combination of materials provided some helpful connections. I also found inspiration in Joseph Cornell's earlier work with eclectic boxes, describing a feminine 'place' that dealt with issues of longing, desire and mystery.
Influential texts for the project are: The Sacred and the Feminine (2007) edited by Griselda Pollock and Victoria Turvey Sauron, 15 essays by various authors that assist in gaining an understanding of feminine place. On Longing ... (1993) by Susan Stewart, particularly the last chapter Objects of Desire, a semiotic and psychoanalytical analysis of the nostalgic object through time, and Birds, Cages and Women in Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite Art (1990) by Elaine Shefer which gives a fascinating insight into the position of women in Victorian society and therefore an understanding of the psyche of the colonial women.
Through the two works I have sought to create a feminine space that evokes a narrative of history, its constraints and repression, longings, hopes and desires; and an acknowledgement that through this unwrapping of secrets comes the recognition that although opportunities now exist in the external world for the female, her interior secret world still remembers the past. I have drawn on a background of fashion and painting to develop a language that describes aspects of the sacred and erotic feminine from the female perspective.


Designing an overlay network for publish/subscribe communication in a system where nodes may subscribe to many different topics of interest is of fundamental importance. For scalability and efficiency, it is important to keep the degree of the nodes in the publish/subscribe system low. It is only natural then to formalize the following problem: Given a collection of nodes and their topic subscriptions, connect the nodes into a graph that has least possible maximum degree in such a way that for each topic t, the graph induced by the nodes interested in t is connected. We present the first polynomial-time logarithmic approximation algorithm for this problem and prove an almost tight lower bound on the approximation ratio. Our experimental results show that our algorithm drastically improves the maximum degree of publish/subscribe overlay systems. We also propose a variation of the problem by enforcing that each topic-connected overlay network be of constant diameter while keeping the average degree low. We present three heuristics for this problem that guarantee that each topic-connected overlay network will be of diameter 2 and that aim at keeping the overall average node degree low. Our experimental results validate our algorithms, showing that our algorithms are able to achieve very low diameter without increasing the average degree by much.


Abstract In this paper, the role of Cu in the adsorption of the cationic pesticide chlormequat (CCC) on montmorillonite is studied. The adsorption of CCC was measured in various media, e.g. water and aqueous solutions of NaCl, CaCl2 and Ca(NO3)2 at the same ionic strength (I = 0.01 mol 1-1). The retention of CCC on montmorillonite in aqueous media is due principally to a cationic exchange process with inorganic cations which saturate the interlamellar positions on this mineral. However, the amount of inorganic cations liberated from montmorillonite was ~15% less than the amount of CCC adsorbed. This indicates that not all the pesticide was adsorbed through cation exchange. The adsorption of CCC in aqueous media decreased in the presence of a heavy metal, compared with metal-free treatment. This behaviour indicates competition between the two cations for interlamellar positions. The adsorption of CCC in the presence of Cu also decreased in electrolyte media with the effect being highest in the presence of Ca electrolytes. The maximum CCC diminution was ~30%. However, the isotherms derived in CaCl2 and Ca(NO3)2 media at different Cu concentrations were close to each other, indicating that Ca from background electrolyte exerts greater competition than Cu for montmorillonite planar positions.


This paper reviews changes in the use of statistics in medical journals during the 1980s. Aspects considered are research design, statistical analysis, the presentation of results, medical journal policy (including statistical refereeing), and the misuse of statistics. Despite some notable successes, the misuse of statistics in medical papers remains common.