Jim Cochran was born in Carlsbad, California in 1947. He came to UC Santa Cruz in the late 1960s as an undergraduate student to study child development and 19th century European intellectual history. As a student at Merrill College (one of the UC Santa Cruz residential colleges), he lived up the hill from the Chadwick Garden (Student Garden Project) and admired the organic food and flowers grown on that steep hillside. After he graduated, Cochran took a job as an assistant to organizers of Co-op Campesina, a farm worker-owned production co-op in the Pajaro Valley, California. He later helped several farmer co-ops in Central California with marketing and financial planning. This shaped his future role as founder of Swanton Berry Farm, famous as the first certified organic farm in the United States to sign a labor contract with the United Farm Workers (UFW). Swanton Berry Farm offers their workers low income housing on site, health insurance, vacation and holiday pay, a pension, and other benefits including an employee stock ownership program. In 2006 Cochran received the Honoring Advocates for Social Justice in Sustainable Agriculture (Justie) Award from the Ecological Farming Association. Cochran began Swanton Berry Farm in 1983 because he wanted to try to grow strawberries organically. He was the first (modern) commercial organic strawberry farmer in California, and in 1987 the California Certified Organic Farmers certified his farm. Cochran's methods became a resource for other organic strawberry growers, and in 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded him the Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for developing organic methods of growing strawberries that did not rely on the soil fumigant methyl bromide. A key component of Jim's success was his partnership with UC Santa Cruz agroecologists Steve Gliessman and Sean Swezey in on-farm research. Travelers along the North Coast of Santa Cruz County visit the Swanton farm stand on Highway One, where they pick strawberries by the sea, and savor the fabulous jams, truffles, strawberry pies, scones and other treats concocted in the kitchen. When no one is minding the store, customers pay on the honor system, a lesson in trust that Cochran encourages. A photo exhibit documenting the agricultural history of Santa Cruz County and of the United Farm Workers is displayed above long comfortable tables where customers sip coffee supplied by the Community Agroecology Network. Ever a visionary, Cochran joined the Roots of Change Council's Vivid Picture Project, which is "daring to dream up a comprehensive vision of a sustainable food system in California." He discusses all of these aspects of his career in this interview conducted by Ellen Farmer on December 10, 2007, at Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport, California.


The second edition of this popular text provides undergraduates with a quantitative yet accessible introduction to the physical principles underlying the collection and analysis of observational data in contemporary optical and infrared astronomy. The text clearly links recent developments in ground- and space-based telescopes, observatory and instrument design, adaptive optics, and detector technologies to the more modest telescopes and detectors that students may use themselves. Beginning with reviews of the most relevant physical concepts and an introduction to elementary statistics, students are given the firm theoretical foundation they need. New topics, including an expanded treatment of spectroscopy, Gaia, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and photometry at large redshifts bring the text up to date. Historical development of topics and quotations emphasize that astronomy is both a scientific and a human endeavour, while extensive end-of-chapter exercises facilitate the students' practical learning experience.


Objectives The way health literacy is understood (conceptualised) should be closely linked to how it is measured (operationalised). This study aimed to gain insights into how health literacy is defined and measured in current health literacy research and to examine the relationship between health literacy definitions and instruments. Design Systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Data sources The MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC and CINAHL databases were searched for articles published during two randomly selected months (March and October) in 2019. Eligibility criteria We included articles with a quantitative design that measured health literacy, were peer-reviewed and original, were published in the English language and included a study population older than 16 years. Data extraction and synthesis Six researchers screened the articles for eligibility and extracted the data independently. All health literacy definitions and instruments were considered in relation to category 1 (describing basic reading and writing skills, disease-specific knowledge and practical skills) and category 2 (social health literacy competence and the ability to interpret and critically assess health information). The categories were inspired by Nutbeam's descriptions of the different health literacy levels. Results 120 articles were included in the review: 60 within public health and 60 within clinical health. The majority of the articles (n=77) used instruments from category 1. In total, 79 of the studies provided a health literacy definition; of these, 71 were in category 2 and 8 were in category 1. In almost half of the studies (n=38), health literacy was defined in a broad perspective (category 2) but measured with a more narrow focus (category 1). Conclusion Due to the high degree of inconsistency between health literacy definitions and instruments in current health literacy research, there is a risk of missing important information about health literacy considered be important to the initial understanding of the concept recognised in the studies. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020179699.


Abstract The NW African continental margin is well known for the occurrence of large-scale but infrequent submarine landslides. The aim of this paper is to synthesize the current knowledge on submarine mass wasting off NW Africa with a special focus on the distribution and timing of large landslides. The described area reaches from southern Senegal to the Agadir Canyon. The largest landslides from south to north are the Dakar Slide, the Mauritania Slide, the Cap Blanc Slide, the Sahara Slide and the Agadir Slide. Volumes of individual slides reach several hundreds of cubic kilometres; run-outs are up to 900 km. In addition, giant volcanic debris avalanches are widespread on the flanks of the Canary Islands. All headwall areas are complex with clear indications of multiple failures. The most prominent similarity between all investigated landsides is the existence of widespread glide planes that follow the stratigraphy, which points to weak layers as most important preconditioning factor for the failures. Landslides with volumes larger than 100 m3 are close to being evenly distributed over time, contradicting previous suggestions that landslides off NW Africa occur at periods of low or rising sea level. The risk associated with the landslides off NW Africa, however, is relatively low due to their long recurrence rates.


"The purpose of this project is to present composer Seth Colaner's compositional process, as well as his personal motivation for creating an opera. This project will also establish criteria for his vision in the conception of opera composition as they relate to his work and compositional voice. The thesis includes an informal description of the process of conceiving a specific work, the dramatic and musical properties of the completed work, and the process of producing the opera for a public performance. The informal use of language stems from the nature of the thesis, which is a commentary on the experiences of Seth Colaner as he conceived, wrote, and produced He Cried Uncle. He Cried Uncle is a one-act opera scored for six voices, saxophone quartet, and percussion, and electronic media. The percussion parts consist of crotales, temple blocks (5), brake drums (2), cymbal, snare, conga, and bass drum. The electronic media consists of eight-channel computer playback. He Cried Uncle is divided into five scenes, each preceded by incidental music that accompanies a pantomime. The plot follows a young man's attempt to gain control over his life, his business, and his own mind. The thesis also includes the musical score and a DVD documenting the thirty-minute premier performance."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.


In this paper we present a computational approach to simulate the steady-state aeroelastic deformation of a ram-air kite for airborne wind energy applications. The approach is based on a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver that is two-way coupled with a finite element (FE) solver. All components of the framework, including the meshing tools and the coupling library, are available in open source. The flow around the wing is described by the steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations closed by an SST turbulence model. The FE model of the cellular membrane structure includes a wrinkling model and uses dynamic relaxation to find the deformed steady-state shape. Each simulation comprises four distinct steps: (1) generating the FE mesh of the design geometry, (2) pre-inflation of the wing, applying a uniform pressure on the inside, (3) generating the CFD mesh around the pre-inflated wing, and (4) activating the exterior flow and two-way coupling iterations. We first present results for the aerodynamics of the pre-inflated rigid ram-air wing and compare these to similar results for a leading edge inflatable (LEI) tube kite. Both wings are characterized by a high anhedral angle and low aspect ratio which induce spanwise flows that reduce the aerodynamic performance. The comparison shows a better performance for the LEI wing which can be attributed to its higher aspect ratio. The aeroelastic deformation of the ram-air wing further improves the aerodynamic performance, primarily because of the increasing camber which in turn increases the lift force. A competing aeroelastic phenomenon is the formation of bumps near the leading edge which increase the drag.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether information and communication technologies (ICTs) can move people from the informal to the formal sector. ICTs being multipurpose technologies can provide people with information about education, employment opportunities and government services that may potentially allow them to migrate to the formal sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The model includes variables that researchers have found to contribute to the growth of informality, such as the state of the economy, the impact of excessive taxes, the impact of regulation, the level of poverty and, of course, ICT metrics, specifically access to both cell phones and broadband as the main two mechanisms through which individuals in the informal sector can obtain information. The analysis relies on a multiple indicators and multiple causes statistical model, to evaluate the hard-to-measure informal economy. A panel data set of 170 countries covering a period of five years was used.

Findings

It was found that ICTs empower people, but such empowerment is not always positive for society. So, while mobile phones reduce transaction costs of informal business, this leads to their growth, as they are only a coordination technology. The empowerment that comes from broadband, meaning greater and deeper access to information and resources, can help reduce this sector of the economy and potentially improve these individuals' lives as well.

Research limitations/implications

Measurement of the informal sector is a challenge to researchers precisely because it is hidden. This, like other work in this area, relies on estimates from indirect measures of the informal sector. The results are to be interpreted with caution. In addition, given that this research relies on country-level data, any specific policy decision will have to take particular circumstances into consideration to adapt these results to a specific context.

Practical implications

This study is important because of the more nuanced effect found between narrow and broadband technologies with respect to the informal economy and because of its policy implications. Given the results, governments should consider broadband as an additional tool to help individuals make the transition from the informal to the formal sector.

Social implications

Once an individual who works in the informal sector begins to realize the advantages of moving to the formal sector, it with the help of ICTs. This awareness could potentially lead to a slow but steady migration away from the informal economy that can improve the economic conditions of the population in these countries.

Originality/value

Scholars up to this point have been quite enthusiastic about the benefits of ICTs. In this paper, it was found that the effects are not always positive; a mobile does not help people move away from poverty and, in fact, supports the informal sector. It was found that only broadband can help these entrepreneurs move into the formal sector.


In this paper the authors discuss the challenges and rewards of building a graduate level Managerial Communication course around an experiential communication audit project. The purpose of the project was to provide MBA (Master of Business Administration) students with exposure to the real world responsibilities and demands of working in a complex organization while simultaneously demonstrating the crucial role that good communication plays in any organization. In this service-learning project, student teams collaborated with non-profit organizations to analyze communication effectiveness and offer suggestions for improvement. Participating students acknowledged their increased skills in the areas of communication, teamwork, interviewing, research and analysis. These students will be very marketable graduates who will become highly valued employees.


The article presents a response to James White's article, "Maiming the Cubs," which expressed Professor White's skepticism of the conclusions reached in Kennon Sheldon's and Lawrence Krieger's study, "Does Legal Education Have Undermining Effects on Law Students? Evaluating Changes in Motivation, Values and Well-Being." This article views Professor White's critique as a perfect example of the kind of "thinking like a lawyer" that Krieger and Sheldon describe as a major source of stress in law students. The article presents the author's own vision of what "thinking like a lawyer" should entail, including teaching and emphasizing empathy, concern for others, self-examination, and personal responsibility.


This paper discusses the significance of reducing postharvest losses as a vehicle for making more food available and thus reduce hunger and poverty. Food losses have become a big challenge and a serious threat to attaining food security. Increasing the availability of food consists of two parts namely increasing production levels and reducing the losses after production. Postharvest losses (PHL) of crops are conservatively estimated to be between 10 to 50% with the perishables incurring the highest losses. For instance, according to evidence generated in the Postharvest Loss Global Scale Solutions, and Relevance to Ghana, Carlotta et al (2018) 14% of maize, 13.5% of rice, 31.4% of yam and up to 45% of mangoes are lost after harvesting. On the average 20 – 25% of the estimated 20 million metric tonnes of foodstuffs produced is lost through postharvest losses. The introduction and implementation of sound policies to drive the reduction of postharvest losses and the adoption of new and innovative technologies to reduce losses is the panacea to reduce food losses and thus help in the attainment of food security. The paper also looks at some Government policies and their possible impact on addressing postharvest losses.


Title of Dissertation THE NATURE OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY IN TWO URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSROOMS Michelle Harris Bondima, Doctor of Philosophy, 2004 Dissertation directed by Professor J. Randy McGinnis Department of Curriculum & Instruction This ethnographic in nature study explores how two middle school science teachers who have classes populated by urban African Americans teach their students and how their students perceive their teaching. Since urban African American students continue to perform lower than desired on measures of science achievement, there is an urgent need to understand what pedagogical methodologies assist and hinder urban African American students in achieving higher levels of success in science. A pedagogical methodology that theorists posit assists subordinated school populations is culturally responsive pedagogy. Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined as a teaching methodology concerned with preparing students to question inequality, racism, and injustice. Teachers who use culturally responsive pedagogy respect the culture students bring to the class, and require that the teachers willingly do whatever is necessary to educate students (Nieto, 2000). The teacher participants were two female African Americans who were identified by their school supervisors as being highly effective with urban African American students. The researcher presented the teachers in separate case studies conducted over a data collection period of nine months. Data were collected by participant observation, interviews, and artifact collection. Data were analyzed by application of grounded theory techniques. Findings of the teachers' (and the students') beliefs about pedagogy that both assisted and hindered the students' performance in science were reported in a rich and nuanced storytelling manner based on multiple perspectives (teachers'; students', and the researcher's). Pedagogical methodologies that the teachers used that assisted their students were the use of cultural metaphors and images in science and applications of motivational techniques that encouraged a nurturing relationship between the teacher and her students. Pedagogical methodologies that hindered students varied by teacher. Metaphorically, the teachers differed vividly. One was a nurturing mother, sister, and friend who assisted her students to cross the cultural line between the science classroom and their home and community. The other was a stern disciplinarian who painted a picture of order and hard work as keys for her students' success in school science. The researcher, who promotes a social justice ideology, made implications and recommendations for science teacher education and public policy. THE NATURE OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY IN TWO URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSROOMS


Web mail search is an emerging topic, which has not been the object of as many studies as traditional Web search. In particular, little is known about the characteristics of mail searchers and of the queries they issue. We study here the characteristics of Web mail searchers, and explore how demographic signals such as location, age, gender, and inferred income, influence their search behavior. We try to understand for instance, whether women exhibit different mail search patterns than men, or whether senior people formulate more precise queries than younger people. We compare our results, obtained from the analysis of a Yahoo Web mail search query log, to similar work conducted in Web and Twitter search. In addition, we demonstrate the value of the user's personal query log, as well as of the global query log and of the demographic signals, in a key search task: dynamic query auto-completion. We discuss how going beyond users' personal query logs (their search history) significantly improves the quality of suggestions, in spite of the fact that a user's mailbox is perceived as being highly personal. In particular, we note the striking value of demographic features for queries relating to companies/organizations, thus verifying our assumption that query completion benefits from leveraging queries issued by ``people like me". We believe that demographics and other such global features can be leveraged in other mail applications, and hope that this work is a first step in this direction.


Dead wood dependent (saproxylic) insects have been identified as vulnerable to the effects of modern forestry practices. We examined the effects of variable retention harvesting on saproxylic beetle assemblages. Variable retention of living green trees seeks to leave more forest structure on the landscape with the goal of maintaining ecosystem function and biodiversity. Ninety flight-intercept traps were divided between recently dead natural snags and snags killed by gir- dling in three replicated forest stands with 10%, 20%, 50%, and 75% residual structure and in uncut control stands. Beetles were collected and identified during the second and third summers post harvest and grouped for analyses as (i) wood- and bark-borers, (ii) fungivores, and (iii) predators. Harvesting intensity explained a relatively small amount of the variability in the beetle assemblages. However, all groups responded strongly to coarse woody debris variables and especially to snag decay class during the third postharvest summer, suggesting that factors associated with coarse woody debris quality and quantity determine the initial responses and successional trajectories of saproxylic beetle assemblages. The main effects of variable retention on saproxylic assemblages are expected to be mediated through differences in amount of coarse woody debris expected to materialize with the death and decay of green trees left as residual elements.


Stationarity is a critical assumption in the eddy-covariance method that is widely used to calculate turbulent fluxes. Many methods have been proposed to diagnose non-stationarity attributed to external non-turbulent flows. In this paper, we focus on intrinsic non-stationarity (IN) attributed to turbulence randomness. The detrended fluctuation analysis is used to quantify IN of CO2 turbulent fluxes in the downtown of Beijing. Results show that the IN is common in CO2 turbulent fluxes and is a small-scale phenomenon related to the inertial sub-range turbulence. The small-scale IN of CO2 turbulent fluxes can 5 be simulated by the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process as a first approximation. Basing on the simulation results, we find that the flux-averaging time should be greater than 27 s to avoid the effects of IN. Besides, the non-stationarity diagnosis methods that do not take into account IN would possibly make a wrong diagnosis with some parameters. Copyright statement. TEXT


Bioluminescence tomography (BLT) is used to localize and quantify bioluminescent sources in a small living animal. By advancing bioluminescent imaging to a tomographic framework, it helps to diagnose diseases, monitor therapies and facilitate drug development. In this paper, we establish a direct linear relationship between measured surface photon density and an unknown bioluminescence source distribution by using a finite-element method based on the diffusion approximation to the photon propagation in biological tissue. We develop a novel reconstruction algorithm to recover the source distribution. This algorithm incorporates a priori knowledge to define the permissible source region in order to enhance numerical stability and efficiency. Simulations with a numerical mouse chest phantom demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed BLT algorithm and reveal its performance in terms of source location, density, and robustness against noise. Lastly, BLT experiments are performed to identify the location and power of two light sources in a physical mouse chest phantom.


This report summarizes an appraisal of input utilization and marketing in Mozambique, focusing on the following research questions: (1) what are current smallholder yields for major commodities, and what is the potential for increasing yields through the use of improved technologies? (2) to what extent are improved technologies already being used by smallholders, and is the use of improved technologies profitable? (3) how are improved seeds, fertilizer and pesticides currently produced and distributed? and (4) what are the key constraints and opportunities for increasing the use of improved technologies by smallholders?


Background Septins are conserved GTPases that form filaments and are required in many organisms for several processes including cytokinesis. We previously identified SEPT9 associated with phagosomes containing latex beads coated with the Listeria surface protein InlB. Methodology/Principal Findings Here, we investigated septin function during entry of invasive bacteria in non-phagocytic mammalian cells. We found that SEPT9, and its interacting partners SEPT2 and SEPT11, are recruited as collars next to actin at the site of entry of Listeria and Shigella. SEPT2-depletion by siRNA decreased bacterial invasion, suggesting that septins have roles during particle entry. Incubating cells with InlB-coated beads confirmed an essential role for SEPT2. Moreover, SEPT2-depletion impaired InlB-mediated stimulation of Met-dependent signaling as shown by FRET. Conclusions/Significance Together these findings highlight novel roles for SEPT2, and distinguish the roles of septin and actin in bacterial entry.


Objective: To determine if Tocilizumab treatment in patients hospitalized with laboratory confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent COVID-19 disease provides short-term survival benefit. Design: Case-control, observational study that includes an observation period from arrival to discharge or inpatient death. Both Cox proportional hazards and average treatment effects models were used to determine survival and treatment benefits. Setting: Three Cone Health acute care hospitals including one COVID dedicated facility. Patients: Patients admitted with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 from March 16, 2020 through April 22, 2020. Exposure: Tocilizumab dosed at either 400 mg fixed dose or 8 mg/kg weight-based dose with maximum single dose of 800mg. Measurements and Main Results: Overall, 86 patients were admitted during the observation period with confirmed COVID-19 disease. Of these, 21 received Tocilizumab during the hospital stay. Both the Cox model and treatment effects models showed short-term survival benefit. There was an associated 75% reduction in the risk of inpatient death when treated (HR 0.25; 95% CI 0.07-0.90) in the Cox model. This association was confirmed in the treatment effects model where we found a 52.7% reduced risk of dying while hospitalized compared to those not treated (RR 0.472; 95% CI 0.449-0.497). In both models, we show short-term survival benefit in patients with severe COVID-19 illness.


Abstract: This article traces the provenance and migration of a painting by Jan van Goyen (1595–1656), River Landscape with a Swineherd, from the Jacques Goudstikker Collection and now in Gdańsk Muzeum Narodowe. After the "red-flag sale" of the Goudstikker Collection in July 1940 to German banker Alois Miedl, and then to Hermann Göring, this painting—after its sale on Berlin's Lange Auction in December 1940 to Hitler's agent Almas-Dietrich—was returned to Miedl-Goudstikker in Amsterdam. Miedl then sold it (with two other Dutch paintings) to the Nazi Gauleiter of Danzig, Albert Forster, among many wartime Dutch acquisitions for the Municipal Museum (Stadtmuseum). Evacuated to Thuringia and captured by a Soviet trophy brigade, it thus avoided postwar Dutch claims. Returned to Poland from the Hermitage in 1956, it was exhibited in the Netherlands and the United States (despite its Goudstikker label). Tracing its wartime and postwar odyssey highlights the transparent provenance research needed for Nazi-era acquisitions, especially in former National Socialist (NS) Germanized museums in countries such as Poland, where viable claims procedures for Holocaust victims and heirs are still lacking. This example of many "missing" Dutch paintings sold to NS-era German museums in cities that became part of postwar Poland, raises several important issues deserving attention in provenance research for still-displaced Nazi-looted art.


Swelling of spatially patterned gel films promises many new opportunities for understanding and exploiting differential growth as a means to define three-dimensional (3D) configurations of thin sheets. Here, we consider the swelling-driven deformation of sheets patterned with alternating parallel strips of material with high and low equilibrium extents of swelling, and the dependence of this process on film thickness, strip width, and swelling contrast. Temperature-responsive, photo-crosslinkable hydrogels are prepared from poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAm) copolymers with pendent benzophenone groups that allow the degree of crosslinking to be programmed by the dose of UV light. Photo-patterned multi-strips deform by rolling around the axis perpendicular to the interface between high- and low-swelling regions, due to a balance between stretching energy in the transition region and bending of the entire sheet. However, when the strip width falls below a critical size proportional to the film thickness, the patterned sheets instead remain flat, undergoing greater expansion along the direction normal to the interfaces than in the direction parallel. This configuration suggests possibilities for patterning anisotropic growth, and also provides fruitful information on the contrast in modulus between the regions.


The global 'financial' crisis at the turn of the decade has accelerated changes in the relative standing of major regions. As both the US and Eurozone economies have confronted a series of setbacks and struggles to find their second breath, so Asia, Latin America and even Africa have picked up the slack and have been able to maintain high levels of growth. The resilience of the Global South questions whether we are witnessing an evolution towards a regional rebalancing or even global restructuring. This responding volume has four interrelated topics. It explores the transformation taking place in/with regard to the financing of development in the Global South and the apparition of new players in the field. The emergence of 'New Regionalisms' in the South and the usefulness of these experiences for comparative studies of regional relationship is explicated. It turns its attention to new forms of transnational governance that are emerging and the role that a novelty of actors play in this 'new multilateralism'. Finally, it looks into the implications of this trio of novel directions and players for analyses and policies.


In this paper, we analyze some Path constructions that apparently go against Talmy's (1991, 2000) typological predictions concerning Romance languages. Drawing on Hale & Keyser's (2000) analysis of so-called 'P-cognation', we argue that the formation of Italian phrasal verbs (e.g., mettere giu 'put down' or buttare via 'throw away') involves a lexical-syntactic pattern where the directional particle specifies the Path element that has already been conflated in the verb: that is, the verb itself encodes or involves a directional meaning which is further specified through a P(ath) particle. We argue that Romance languages like Italian or Catalan have verb particle constructions involving 'P-cognation' but lack those ones involving a lexical-syntactic subordination process whereby an independent root is merged with a null verb (e.g., John worked the night away ). As predicted by Talmy's typology, the latter are found in 'satelliteframed languages' like English but not in 'verb-framed languages' like Italian or Catalan.


This paper interrogates the common assumption that a large part of the so-called 'feminisation of poverty' in recent decades is due to the progressive 'feminisation of household headship'. Its specific aims are three-fold. The first is to summarise how and why women-headed households have come to be widely equated with the 'poorest of the poor' in development discourse. The second is to trace the evolution of challenges to this stereotype from a growing and increasingly diverse body of macro- and micro-level research. The third is to explore some of the implications and outcomes of competing constructions of female household headship, especially in relation to policy. At one end of the spectrum, what kinds of attitudes and actions flow out of the mantra that female-headed households are the 'poorest of the poor'? At the other extreme, what happens when the links between the 'feminisation of poverty' and the 'feminisation of household headship' are disrupted? In particular, I am concerned to reflect on the potential consequences of acknowledging that the epithet 'women-headed households are the poorest of the poor' may be more 'fable' than 'fact'.


This essay reads Byron's personal and historical reflections in Manfred and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage through Nietzsche's meditations on memory and forgetting in Untimely Meditations. These poetic recollections are explored as moments of wilful erasure. Central to Nietzsche's thoughts "On the Use and Disadvantages of History for Life" is how single moments are forgotten only to be unwillingly recalled at some future present historical moment. Byron's desire to forget biography and history, paradoxically, produces a capacity to remember. Byron's meditations on historical ruins become his own imaginative reflections on both the impulse to, and impossibility of, recovering historical and personal origins or securing an authorial posthumous reputation.


Though literature on educational leadership is expansive, most of it is related to the social and organisational structure of educational systems in the western world, thereby giving an impression that western models of leadership are universal. Hence, there is need to study school leadership in non-western countries because perspectives of educational leadership have been taken almost exclusively from western literature and practice. Women in educational leadership are in a minority in Pakistan and Kenya, as is the case in many parts of the world. Whilst a number of writers have attempted to identify and categorise some of the internal and external barriers to the progress of women's careers in educational leadership, little discourse has occurred in both Pakistan and Kenya concerning how women experience leadership and even less about the role of gender in educational leadership. This paper, therefore, sets out to share findings of two studies on Pakistani and Kenyan women in educational leadership. It presents the similarities and differences between the women educational leaders' experiences from a gender perspective, in the two countries and discusses the implication of the findings in the provision of education, especially in light of the Education for All (EFA) targets of both Kenya and Pakistan. The Pakistan study was a narrative inquiry based on several individual interviews with 4 the research participants and sought. A narrative approach was felt best suited to find out how the women have experienced and continue to experience gender in their positions of leadership. The Kenyan study, which is still currently going on, has employed the use of a life history approach as well as some ethnographic methods such as observations and document analysis. It has engaged 12 participants, though this paper presents findings from the first phase of the study which looked at how the personal and professional experiences of 6 women leaders have impacted on their leadership practices. For purposes of this paper, gender has been used as the dominating factor of analysis to frame the women's stories.


The structures of pyroxenes can be described as cell-twins based on a common module (a layer) consisting of half the unit cell of the P 2 1 / c polymorph. Atomic models of the different polymorphs are computed and the close similarity between the models and the corresponding experimental structures is shown. The cell-twin operations building the structures of pyroxenes are partial operations belonging to a special case of space groupoid which was called "twinned space group" in the pioneering studies by Ito started in 1935. The groupoid analysis of clino-, proto- and orthoenstatite is presented and the special place occupied by pyroxenes in the category of polytypes is discussed.


The results from a study of different doses of cannabis and the influence on driving and driving related skills are reported. The study required participants who were male, drivers and regular cannabis users to undertake a variety of different tasks. The participants were given cannabis to smoke, either in the form of a prepared grass-based cannabis cigarette or were asked to prepare a typical joint to smoke using supplied cannabis resin. The prepared 'grass' based cannabis cigarettes were supplied by NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) and varied in active THC content to give a placebo, a low dose and a high dose. Each participant attended four test sessions where they were given a different cannabis dose, the dose ordering was fully randomised for the NIDA cigarettes. The participants drove the TRL simulator on a motorway, a 'figure of eight' and a dual carriageway with traffic light controlled junctions. Various measures of their driving skill were taken. They also took a test of their hazard perception and a compensatory tracking task. They also underwent sobriety testing 10-15 minutes after dosing and completed a mood questionnaire at different times during their test session. Three blood samples and four saliva samples were taken. On arrival urine was screened for polydrug use and a breathalyser test was administered to exclude recent alcohol consumption. The blood and saliva samples were analysed for different components of cannabis. (A)


We propose a novel variant of conjugate gradient based on the Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) inner product. An analysis of the algorithm suggests it enjoys better performance properties than standard iterative methods when applied to learning kernel machines. Experimental results for both classification and regression bear out the theoretical implications. We further address the dominant cost of the algorithm by reducing the complexity of RKHS function evaluations and inner products through the use of space-partitioning tree data-structures.


ABSTRACT Cell replication is a fundamental attribute of growth and repair in multicellular organisms. Pancreatic beta-cells in adults rarely enter cell cycle, hindering the capacity for regeneration in diabetes. Efforts to drive beta-cells into cell cycle have so far largely focused on regulatory molecules such as cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). Investigations in cancer biology have uncovered that adaptive changes in metabolism, the mitochondrial network, and cellular Ca2+ are critical for permitting cells to progress through the cell cycle. Here, we investigated these parameters in the replication-competent beta-cell line INS 832/13. Cell cycle synchronization of this line permitted evaluation of cell metabolism, mitochondrial network, and cellular Ca2+ compartmentalization at key cell cycle stages. The mitochondrial network is interconnected and filamentous at G1/S but fragments during the S and G2/M phases, presumably to permit sorting to daughter cells. Pyruvate anaplerosis peaks at G1/S, consistent with generation of biomass for daughter cells, whereas mitochondrial Ca2+ and respiration increase during S and G2/M, consistent with increased energy requirements for DNA and lipid synthesis. This synchronization approach may be of value to investigators performing live cell imaging of Ca2+ or mitochondrial dynamics commonly undertaken in INS cell lines because without synchrony widely disparate data from cell to cell would be expected depending on position within cell cycle. Our findings also offer insight into why replicating beta-cells are relatively nonfunctional secreting insulin in response to glucose. They also provide guidance on metabolic requirements of beta-cells for the transition through the cell cycle that may complement the efforts currently restricted to manipulating cell cycle to drive beta-cells through cell cycle.


Problem. This study explored the function of adages in intergenerational value transmission in an Ecuadorian family. Drawing on the richness of Hispanic culture, the study documents a method used by parents and grandparents to pass on their wisdom to younger generations. The transmission of values to younger generations has always been of special interest to parents, teachers, and religious educators. While the role of the family in the transmission of values has been researched, the use of adages, long practiced as a traditional parenting method in Ecuadorian families, had not been studied. Method. The ethnographic method, as proposed by Spradley (1979), provided a structured approach to this qualitative research. The process included ethnographic interviews of three generations of women in an Ecuadorian family. A four-level analysis of the data produced extensive data that permitted hypotheses to be tested and confirmed. Findings. The results unveiled the world of adages, confirming research on the sources of adages and their classification. Findings also corroborated previous research on intergenerational value transmission. This study has combined the study of the two fields, while uncovering groundbreaking theory on the effective, traditional parenting method of teaching values through adages. Mothers are portrayed as the main value transmitters in the family, frequently using common adages in teaching moments during early childhood. Some of the values transmitted through adages were: diligence, justice, faith, work, respect, gratitude, love. Based on their new awareness of the effectiveness of adages, the informants made a conscious decision to continue using adages. The granddaughter decided to use them with her children when she becomes a mother. The findings of this study support adages as a useful tool in value transmission to new generations. Therefore, recommendations include (1) a larger study with families of other cities in Ecuador, which might permit generalizations about the use of adages in the intergenerational transmission of values in the whole country; (2) similar studies in other cultures for comparison of data; and (3) the sharing of these findings with clergy and educators to enhance curricula with this important Hispanic tradition.


Dendritic cells (DCs) represent a heterogeneous set of antigen presenting cells linking the innate and adaptive immune systems. DCs are referred to as professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) with regards to their ability to activate naive T cells. In this study, the role that DCs play in the pathogenesis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) was initially examined. We utilized an experimental model that allowed for the generation of bone marrow derived-dendritic cells (BM-DC) subsets that exhibit either a DC type 1 (DC1) or DC2 phenotype. We define DC1 as cells capable of producing high levels of IL-12 and inducing naive CD4+ T cell differentiation into T helper 1 (Th1) cells while DC2 are cells that produce low levels of IL-12 and induce Th2 cell differentiation. During the course of this study we also utilized several toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands to activate DC function. In addition, we tracked the migration of DCs in vivo utilizing a novel perfluoropolyether (PFPE) contrasting agent in conjunction with a modified magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instrument. With this methodology we tested the hypothesis that NOD DCs were predisposed to adopt a DC1 phenotype that contributed to the pathogenesis of T1D. The results from our experiments show that NOD BM-DCs induced into a DC1 or DC2 functional phenotype exhibit no significant intrinsic differences in their production of IL-10 or IL-12, in comparison to wild type mice. Additionally, NOD BM-DCs expressed similar levels of CD80, CD86, CD40, and MHC class II in comparison to wild type BM-DC. Our analysis did show that the production by BM-DCs of IL-10, induced by CpG ODN, is negatively regulated by IFN-gamma. The suppressed production of IL-10 may have implications for the development of T helper cell type 1 (Th1) and Th2 cells. Altogether our study has shown that, 1) NOD BM-DCs are not intrinsically skewed towards a DC1 phenotype, 2) IFN-gamma negatively regulates the production of IL-10 in BM-DCs, and 3) NOD BM-DCs can be successfully imaged in vivo using a novel PFPE labeling/MRI detection technique.


Background: Diabetes mellitus type 1 is one of the most common disease among children in Sweden. So far the disease are uncureble and it is known that the disease have influence on daily life of the whole family. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe parents' experiences after their child get the diagnos diabetes mellitus type 1.Method: A literature review was used for this study, five qualitative and five quantitative studies were analyzed. The analysis lead to three main themes; Need for new knowledge, Changes in daily life, and Changes in responsibilities within the family.Results: The results showed that the first time after the child's diagnosis of DT1 was hard on the parents and they described it as overwhelming. They experienced good nursing care but also lack of some information. Mothers mainly felt a need to be in control after the child's diagnosis which led to an assisting role for the fathers.Conclusion: Parents felt the time after diagnosis as overwhelming and missed some information because they were not able to recall the information that had been told to them. Overall they felt that they missed some information about specific topics and to resolve that the nurse had to have knowledge about the topic to be able to discuss this topics with the parents. Another conclusion was that the nurses had to involve both parents from the beginning to create an equal relationship.


A regional model of the western Pacific Ocean with 1/6o resolution is used to investigate possible effects of reduced Yangtze River discharge on the circulation of surrounding seas. To the extent of data availability, the model is mostly driven by monthly climatological winds and inflows/outflows through open-ocean boundaries. With climatological discharge rate, the Yangtze River plume disperses to the northeast in summer but follows the China Coastal Current (CCC) to the south in winter. While a substantial amount of the summer plume is retained in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea until the arrival of winter northerly monsoon, the winter Yangtze River discharge is able to escape freely to the south through advection by the CCC. The source water of the CCC is mainly comprised of winter discharge from Yangtze River, remnants of Yangtze River plume water retained in areas northeast of the river mouth from the preceding summer, Yellow Sea water and even some of the Bohai water. The effect of reduced Yangtze River discharge is highly asymmetric between summer and winter. Summer reduction produces an expansive, positive salinity anomaly northeast of the Yangtze River mouth. The response is rather swift and directly proportional to the reduction of freshwater supply. Winter reduction of freshwater discharge from the Yangtze River leads to higher salinity in the CCC south of the river mouth. The winter insensitivity of the CCC to reduced Yangtze outflow arises because the CCC is fed by multiple sources, some of which are not related to winter discharge from Yangtze River. In the highly unlikely event that the Yangtze River discharge is terminated for multiple years, the source water of the CCC will be dominated by the Yellow Sea and even Bohai waters.


A novel active vibration absorption technique, the Delayed Resonator, has been introduced recently as a unique way of suppressing undesired oscillations. It suggests a control force on a mass-spring-damper absorber in the form of a proportional position feedback with a time delay. Its strengths consist of extremely simple implementation of the control algorithm, total vibration suppression of the primary structure against a harmonic force excitation and full effectiveness of the absorber in a semi-infinite range of disturbance frequency, achieved by real-time tuning. All this development work was done using the absolute displacements of the absorber in the feedback. These measurements, however, may be difficult to obtain and for some applications impossible. This paper deals with the operating and design repercussions caused by the substituting of an easier measurement: the relative motion of the absorber with respect to the primary structure. Although the proposition sounds like a trivial extension to the prior work it gives rise to important concerns such as system stability. Theoretical foundations for the Delayed Resonator (DR) are briefly recapitulated and its implementation on a single-degree-of-freedom primary structure disturbed by a harmonic force is discussed utilizing both absolute and relative position measurement of absorber mass. Methods for stability range analysis and transient behavior are presented as design tools. Properties observed for the same system with these two different feedbacks are compared. Another important advantage of the relative position feature is is to decouple the operation of the absorber from the primary structure entirely.


Vast changes in technologies and geopolitics have produced a wholesale shift in the way states and other powerful entities think about the production and retention of popular loyalties. Strategic communication has embraced these changes as stakes increase and the techniques of information management become more pervasive. These shifts in strategic communication impact free speech as major players, in a global context, rhetorically embrace a world of transparency, all the while increasing surveillance and modes of control, turning altered media technologies and traditional media doctrines to their advantage. Building on examples drawn from the Arab Spring, the shaping of the Internet in China, Iran's perception of foreign broadcasting and Russia's media interventions, this book exposes the anxieties of loss of control, on the one hand, and the missed opportunities for greater freedom, on the other. "New" strategic communication arises from the vast torrents of information that cross borders and uproot old forms of regulation. Not only states but also corporations, nongovernmental organizations, religious institutions and others have become part of this new constellation of speakers and audiences.


The focus of this book is broadband telecommunications: both fixed (DSL, fiber) and wireless (1G-4G). It uniquely covers the broadband telecom field from technological, business and policy angles. The reader learns about the necessary technologies to a certain depth in order to be able to evaluate and analyse competing technologies. The student can then apply the results of the technology analysis to business (revenues and costs, market size, etc) to evaluate how successful a technology may be in the market place. Technology and business analyses lead to policy analysis and how government deal with rolling out of broadband networks; content (such as text, audio and video) delivered over them. Furthermore, how government may ensure a competitive and fair environment is maintained for service provision. The book is unique in its approach as it prepares the student to evaluate products from three different viewpoints of technology-business and policy. The book provides a unified vision for broadband communications, offering the required background as well a description of existing broadband systems, finishing with a business scenario. The book breaks new ground by discussing telecommunication technologies in a business and policy context.


The rising popularity of physical activity tracking devices and online social networks has seen them touted as potential tools to positively affect physical inactivity. These systems have found favour with a broad spectrum of users, from serious, competitive athletes to people trying to become more active, lose weight and boost wellbeing. To help determine their suitability to potentially assist with community health issues it's vital that we learn more about how they are used in practice, the exercise outcomes that accrue and how users relate with one another online. We need to understand how these systems are designed to target specific, positive exercise behaviours and determine how they might accommodate health behaviour change theories to act as agents of health change. The studies that comprise this thesis examine features of a population of users of an exercise tracking system known as movescount.com and the role the characteristics of these people and the design of the system may play in exercise outcomes and online interactions.
The first study involved an initial demographic and anthropometric analysis of the user population of the Suunto Movescount database of twenty thousand users. The results revealed users are predominantly male (89%) and list running as their main exercise (28%) with only 16% of them operating an external social media account. They were also quite lean with an average BMI (Body Mass Index) less than 25 and fit with a mean system-based Fitness Index Score of 5.7 (showing above average fitness). A classification and regression tree analysis was performed to find a group of attributes that classified users as persistent or non persistent. This work showed the fitter users used the system more frequently and of the least fit, those with an active Twitter account persisted with exercise for longer than their equivalent peers. Users with lower BMI scores and greater numbers of followers tended to login to the activity tracking system more often.
An examination of the system's equivalent to Facebook likes function revealed 75% of users positively self-affirmed their own exercise. Those that published their moves not only to the activity tracking system but also to Twitter persisted in using the system for longer, logging into the tracking system 13.2 more times and uploading their moves 5.1 times more than the average user.
The second study focused on the persuasive elements of the Suunto system. An online survey was administered to a subset of users of the system using questions to determine exercise status and device use. The survey incorporated a validated scale based on the Behaviour Change Support System (BCSS) theory, which was modified by incorporating two other standardised scales that measure relatedness to others in offline physical activity (ROPAS), (Lehto et al., 2012) and the online sociability sub scale of the Brief Test of Online Behaviour (BTOB) by (Johnson & Kulpa, 2007. A factorial analysis of the results found the intention to continue using the system was determined by the users' perceptions of the effectiveness of the system, the effort required to use the system, the credibility of the system and the social support offered by the system. It was also revealed that any individual who perceives high levels of relatedness to others during physical activity in the real world and identifies strongly with the online community of fellow digital exercise system users will likely feel they receive high levels of social support from the system, thereby positively affecting their use of the system. Structural equation modelling shows that an increase in age and being single brings statistically significantly lower ROPAS. This implies that as users age and live as singles their relatedness to others in physical activity declines and with it a propensity to engage with the systems social support functions may follow.
The third study engaged a panel of five experts experienced in the theoretical aspects and practical application of BCSS to the design, development and deployment of health behaviour change systems to complete an independent evaluation of the Suunto movescount system. They found that the system rates strongly for primary task support and social support but only satisfactory for systems dialogue and credibility. The panellists also indicated it was deficient in Reminders and Suggestions, design cues regarded as crucial for persuasiveness in apps. Further, the lack of adequate Simulation and Rehearsal functions may impinge on the planning and execution of user exercise; (Holmes & Calmels, 2008). The panel found the system lacked in ideal levels of praise and reward for user exercise efforts, a feature considered important in health apps design; (Baranowski, Thompson, Buday, Lu, & Baranowski, 2010; Thompson et al., 2010) A recommendation from these findings is that product development teams engage with behavioural scientists during the development phase to make best use of health behaviour change and persuasive systems practices.
The final study investigated if individuals who tweet their exercise efforts from the movescount.com system exercised differently according to their online social influence. A quantitative analysis of a sample of such users was conducted. This determined if there was anything out of the ordinary by way of exercise volume, frequency and type and whether or not an independent measure of their online social influence furbished by the KLOUT.com service could reveal if those who scored highly There was no relationship between exercise session duration or intensity and online social influence.
The thesis identifies an activity tracking system as an effective technology for persuading individuals to maintain exercise behaviour. It has identified that those users that score highly on a measure of relatedness to others in physical activity in the real world and identify strongly with the online community of peers will indicate they receive high levels of social support from the system and are more likely to continue using the system for longer. These findings may have implications for designers of activity tracking systems through the inclusion and exclusion of social networking functions by user profile as determined by a programmatic operationalization of the validated scale created by this thesis.


For the first time in the agenda of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, during the 36th Ordinary Session (2004), the death penalty was one of the issues discussed. Commissioner Chirwa initiated debate on the death penalty in Africa, urging the commission to take a clear position on the subject. She recommended that in view of the international and human rights developments and trends, it is necessary for the continent to initiate constructive debate on the question of the death penalty in Africa. It is against this background that this article is written, with the aim of showing that there is a need for constructive debate on the death penalty in Africa. Considering that the African Commission is encouraging such a debate, the article begins with an examination of its stance on the subject. This is followed by a brief evaluation of the use of the death penalty in Africa, highlighting some areas of concern. The death penalty in Africa is then considered from a human rights perspective, focusing mainly on the possibility of relying on constitutional provisions on the right to life and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment to challenge the death penalty.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
The pancreatic acinar cell is known to regulate exocytosis, total protein synthesis, and secretory protein transport in response to a secretory stimulus. Whether secretory vesicle formation also is regulated is unclear. In this study, we determined whether agonist stimulation induces morphologic alterations in the acinar cell Golgi apparatus, and we evaluated the role of the vesicle severing protein dynamin.

METHODS
Changes in Golgi structural integrity by examining the distribution of various Golgi and TGN lipid and protein markers in live and fixed cells on stimulation with cholecystokinin were noted in a primary pancreatic acinar cell model. Multiple dynamin reagents were used to examine the distribution and function of this molecular pinchase in resting and stimulated cells.

RESULTS
Regulated secretion in acinar cells induced (1) marked fragmentation of the trans-Golgi network (TGN) that corresponded temporally with an increase in cytoplasmic calcium whereas pre-TGN compartments of the Golgi and regions of the TGN involved in the generation of constitutively trafficking vesicles were unaffected by agonist, and (2) significant recruitment of dynamin to the acinar cell Golgi apparatus that appeared to potentiate fragmentation of the TGN.

CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the TGN is a dynamic organelle that fragments in response to cholecystokinin stimulation, a process that may contribute to zymogen granule formation.


Amorphous matrices, composed of sugars, are markedly plasticized by moisture uptake, which results in physical instability. Our previous studies, in the compression pressure range ≤443 MPa, indicated that when a matrix is compressed, the amount of sorbed water at given relative humidities (RHs) decreases, whereas the glass transition temperature (T(g)) remains constant. Herein, the effect of higher compression pressures than those used previously was explored to investigate the feasibility of using compression to improve the physical stability of amorphous sugar matrix against water uptake and subsequent collapse. Amorphous sugar samples were prepared by freeze-drying and then compressed at 0-665 MPa, followed by rehumidification at given RHs. The physical stability of the amorphous sugar sample was evaluated by measuring T(g) and crystallization temperature (T(cry)). The amounts of sorbed water, different in the interaction state, were determined using an FTIR technique. It was found that the compression at pressures of ≥443 MPa decreased the amount of sorbed water, which is a major factor in plasticization and crystallization, and thus markedly increased the T(g) and T(cry) relative to that for the uncompressed sample. Hence, the compression at several hundreds MPa appears to be feasible for improving the physical stability of amorphous sugar matrix.


This paper considers the problems facing decision-makers using econometric models in real time. It identifies the key stages involved and highlights the role of automated systems in reducing the effect of data snooping. It sets out many choices that researchers face in construction of automated systems and discusses some of the possible ways advanced in the literature for dealing with them. The role of feedbacks from the decision-maker's actions to the data generating process is also discussed and highlighted through an example. JEL classification: C51, C52, C53.


Purpose: The Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), including the PG-SGA Short Form (SF, aka 'abridged'), was originally developed in the mid 1990's as a scored, patient self-report, paperbased instrument and has been widely validated. The PG-SGA (SF) has been used for screening, assessment and monitoring, triageing for multimodal intervention and for evaluation of clinical and health economic outcomes. There have been ad hoc translations, often with permission of the originator (FDO) but broad international use requires consistent, medically accurate, and certified translations. Although the PG-SGA (or SF) is known to be quick and easy, current advances in technology could further improve and facilitate quick and easy use of global patient screening and assessment, standardized scoring algorithms, limiting inter-observer variability, and global collaboration and communication. We aimed to develop a user friendly, cross-culturally validated, multilingual digital app and resources to support the clinical and research applications of the PG-SGA (SF) and Pt-Global app in the context of a global centralized database and research consortium. Methods: After completion of a Dutch PG-SGA cross-cultural adaptation project, a digital app based on the English and Dutch PG-SGA was developed. Steps included: 1) development and testing of standardized scoring and decision-making algorithms based on the validated PG-SGA scoring system; 2) compatibility with iOS, Android and WindowsPhone platforms; 3) development and pilot testing of prototype by an international test panel (n=35; professionals testing the app on patients as part of routine care process, researchers, and lay persons) from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands and USA, evaluating the app on lay-out, user friendliness, relevance and time of completion; 4) improvement based on input; 5) launch of app and supportive website at www.pt-global.org on 12 Jun 2014, including complimentary introductory use; 5) international education activities; 6) digital presence through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube; 7) launch of web-based version on 15 September 2014. Results: 15 professionals (Pros; 11 dietitians, 1 doctor, 1 physiotherapist) and 2 lay persons participated in the pilot testing. Included settings were: 9 hospitals, 4 cancer centers, 2 nursing homes, 3 research. 8/15 had experience with the PG-SGA, 7/15 PG-SGA were naive. 5 Pros tested on 1-5 patients, and 9 on 6-10 patients. 88% rated layout (very) good with feedback: calm, professional, clear, intuitive, easy; 88% rated good for user friendliness. 75% rated flow/user interface (very) good. In 88% Patient screens were completed by Pros. Reported time to complete Patient screens was: 65% in 0-5 minutes, 29% in 5-10 min; 6% (n=1) >10 minutes. Interestingly, patients started completing the app spontaneously. Some issues with concerns about touch screen were expressed. 87% completed the professional section in


Kv11.1-induced cardiotoxicity has emerged as an unanticipated adverse effect of many pharmacological agents and has become a major obstacle in drug development over the past decades. In this thesis, allosteric modulation of the Kv11.1 channel has been extensively explored, and negative allosteric modulators were shown to relieve the proarrhythmic effects of structurally and therapeutically diverse Kv11.1 blockers. The most potent modulators may be developed as a new class of antiarrhythmic medications in the future. On the other hand, kinetic binding parameters of a wide range of Kv11.1 blockers at the channel have been thoroughly investigated in this thesis. Association and dissociation rates or residence times are strongly suggested to be integrated with equilibrium affinity values into the future paradigms for a better and more comprehensive evaluation of Kv11.1 liability of drug candidates. The "kon-koff-KD" kinetic map provides a first and promising classification of Kv11.1 blockers, which could be beneficial and indicative for drug researchers to design compounds with less Kv11.1-mediated cardiac side effects in the early stage of drug development. Hopefully, all findings in this thesis have brought new insights into Kv11.1-induced cardiac arrhythmias, and will offer opportunities for restoring or preventing this kind of arrhythmias in the near future.


T he scientist Ahmed Zewail (1946–2016) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999 for his contributions to femtochemistry, the field that studies chemical changes on the time scales on which atoms move—femtoseconds (fs). Femtochemistry experiments follow the electronic or structural dynamics of a molecule by first exciting it with a femtosecond "pump" laser pulse, and then observing it using a delayed "probe" pulse [1]. Most femtochemistry experiments, however, probe molecules through indirect observables: They rely on the fact that the chemical dynamics are accompanied by changes in the molecule's absorption spectrum. Two independent groups now use more direct approaches to the visualization of atomic motions, recording molecular "movies" by time-resolved x-ray diffraction [2] and time-resolved electron diffraction [3], respectively. Both experiments image, in real time, the changes of the distance separating the two atoms in a vibrating iodine (I2) molecule. The results represent important progress in our ability to record ultrafast molecular movies with increasing spatial and temporal resolution without relying on complex models.


Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with cirrhosis is recommended but may not be performed. The extent and determinants of HCC surveillance are unknown. We conducted a population‐based United States cohort study of patients over 65 years of age to examine use and determinants of prediagnosis surveillance in patients with HCC who were previously diagnosed with cirrhosis. Patients diagnosed with HCC during 1994‐2002 were identified from the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End‐Results registry–Medicare databases. We identified alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) and ultrasound tests performed for HCC surveillance, and examined factors associated with surveillance. We identified 1,873 HCC patients with a prior diagnosis of cirrhosis. In the 3 years before HCC, 17% received regular surveillance and 38% received inconsistent surveillance. In a subset of 541 patients in whom cirrhosis was recorded for 3 or more years prior to HCC, only 29% received routine surveillance and 33% received inconsistent surveillance. Among all patients who received regular surveillance, approximately 52% received both AFP and ultrasound, 46% received AFP only, and 2% received ultrasound only. Patients receiving regular surveillance were more likely to have lived in urban areas and had higher incomes than those who did not receive surveillance. Before diagnosis, approximately 48% of patients were seen by a gastroenterologist/hepatologist or by a physician with an academic affiliation; they were approximately 4.5‐fold and 2.8‐fold, respectively, more likely to receive regular surveillance than those seen by a primary care physician only. Geographic variation in surveillance was observed and explained by patient and physician factors. Conclusion: Less than 20% of patients with cirrhosis who developed HCC received regular surveillance. Gastroenterologists/hepatologists or physicians with an academic affiliation are more likely to perform surveillance. HEPATOLOGY 2010


We give a denotational semantics to a type and effect system tracking reading and writing to global variables holding values that may include higher-order effectful functions. Refined types are modelled as partial equivalence relations over a recursively-defined domain interpreting the untyped language, with effect information interpreted in terms of the preservation of certain sets of binary relations on the store.
 The semantics validates a number of effect-dependent program equivalences and can thus serve as a foundation for effect-based compiler transformations.
 The definition of the semantics requires the solution of a mixed-variance equation which is not accessible to the hitherto known methods. We illustrate the difficulties with a number of small example equations one of which is still not known to have a solution.


This thesis analyses the fundamental causes of economic growth in Latin America. Growth determinants can be distinguished between proximate and fundamental. Variables such as technology, investments in human and physical capital are considered to be proximate growth determinants. Better technology and greater accumulation of capital are related to greater growth, but in order to fully understand what causes growth, we need to explain why some countries invest more in technology and capital than others. This requires the analysis of more fundamental sources of growth. The focus of this thesis lies on institutions as fundamental cause of Latin American growth. The reasons for this are provided in Chapter 2. In particular, three different analyses show the relevance of institutions for the region's growth. First, a qualitative analysis that replicates Glaeser et al.'s work [2004] shows that institutions are more fundamental than human capital. Second, in a Barro-regression applied to a Latin American panel data, institutional variables are statistically significant. Finally, institutions are also crucial in explaining episodes of rapid growth in the region. However, even if fundamental, institutions are endogenous to the growth process (i.e. these improve with higher levels of income), and we need to explain what determines the character of these institutions. The rest of the thesis unveils how Latin American institutions originate and evolve. Chapter 3 analyses the colonial origins of institutions. The results show that, although some colonial factors have affected the evolution of institutions in Latin America, they are not the ones typically highlighted in the literature (e.g. European settler mortality). The origins of Latin American institutions are better explained by British colonial rule and colonial resource endowments. There is also no evidence that current institutions reflect early ones (there is weak correlation between early and current institutions). Chapter 4 takes up this challenge by examining how institutions have evolved since independence. The evolution of Latin American institutions is explained by using a two equation model for the interrelationship between inequality and institutions. The results show that inequality is an outcome of the colonial resource endowment, and that the discovery of oil and gas negatively affects the evolution of political institutions in the region. Finally, there is a bilateral causality between inequality and institutions in Latin America: poor institutional quality results in higher degree of inequality and institutions are negatively affected by inequality so that these two variables reinforce each other.


This Note explores the current status of gender diversity disclosures under the SEC's 2009 Proxy Disclosure Enhancements. It draws on data compiled from the 2012 Fortune 50's most recent proxies in its analysis of corporate compliance under the SEC's revised rule and female representation in America's most influential boardrooms. In a detailed empirical analysis of Fortune 50 proxy diversity statements, this Note reveals that three years after implementation of the SEC's proxy disclosure amendments, over half of the diversity disclosures among the Fortune 50 fail to fully comply with the rule's requirements. The Note chronicles the lack of change in female board representation that coincides with this non-compliance, contrasting the U.S.'s stagnation with significant growth abroad in countries that have experimented with gender quotas. While dismissing the implementation of similar quotas in this country, the Note proposes that the SEC must issue enhanced guidance on the required comprehensiveness of diversity disclosures under its proxy disclosure rule via a detailed Staff Report distributed to all public companies. By singling out both inadequate and exemplary corporate disclosures, the SEC will not only increase the odds of regulatory compliance, but will also provide investors with the information required to make informed decisions regarding board composition.


By moving away from a model of ritual that focuses on magic and fantasy worlds, this article seeks to broaden the discussion of ritual actions, performances, and objects in first- and third-person video games. Ritual will be understood through the idea of a "ritual logic" that enables the wider associations of ritual in the virtual as opposed to the real world to be analyzed, and through the key element of repetition in game play. In part derived from the intertextuality of video game genres and associated popular culture artifacts such as films and novels, ritual logic contributes to the players' knowledge and understanding of what ritual is and what ritual does in the game, and how ritual can be used to progress its narrative and play trajectories.


First, second, and third force psychologies were described in detail by Ernest Hilgard. First force was based on "Conditioning Theory" and is no longer used with human beings. Second force is based on Freud's psychoanalytic theory and is presently used in this connection throughout the world. Third force psychology is "Person Centered" and is based on Roger's and Maslow's theories. It was developed in the 1960s and is used throughout the world today. ********** As a student of Ernest Hilgard of Stanford University for a number of years, and then in 1976 I did a feature on his theory in Education, and later I did a second feature on a friend Publisher of Hilgard, and learned to know him as a friend .He insists that today there are clearly three distinct and independently organized theories of psychology, and that each one of those is directly related to the indepenedence demonstrated by individuals involved. First Force Psychology First Force Psychology was developed in large part by B.F. Skinner (1969), and it is typically imposed by persons external to individuals involved. It employs a hypothetico-deductive method using behaviorism and a stimulus-response theory that is essential on a continuing bases for effectiveness. It is no longer used for human beings except for persons in a "Closed" Neuro-Psychiatric Ward, or for prisoners in Solitary Confinement, because people never become fully cognitive in their general orientation through operant conditioning. Second Force Psychology Second Force Psychology is the theory underlying the use of psychoanalysis throughout the health care facilities of the world today (Taylor, 1992). It derives directly from the early work of Sigmund Freud in the 1880s, and where "free association" is used to reveal areas and nature of "hurts" lying deep in one's unconscious that serve to demobilize one's full capacity. In theory when one becomes fully aware of the location and nature of such unconscious hurts, they can reconcile them in a reasoning and logical manner. Second Force Psychlogy is typically used with Neuro-Psychiatric patients, or with addicted individuals with psychiatric problems evident. The Cognitive Dissonance Test (Cassel & Chow) is designed to reveal the area and nature of such unconscious hurts. A Psychologist or Counselor can then help the indivdual deal with each hurt individually. Scientific Approach Using Cognitive Dissonance It was Leon Festinger of Stanford University (1957) who introduced "Cognitive Dissonance" as a substitute for "Free Association" as used by Freud, and defined it as "feelings of unpleasantness" which an individual possesses lying deep in the unconscious, and where the individual seldom if ever realizes the reasons for such feelings. The Cognitive Dissonance Test was developed based on the Festinger theory to serve as a means for helping individuals discover the areas and nature of "cognitive dissonance;" so that on a conscious level they might help to plan for ways to eliminate such hurts. The Psychologist and even the Guidance Counselor are capable of employing the same theory being used by the Psychiatrist in Psychoanalysis, but in a much more simplified manner. Four of the eight part scores are included within the Internal and Personal areas of life; while the other four are from the External and Impersonal areas of one's life space. A Confluence Score (CON) is included to insure that the items on the DISS test are really read and understood. I. Internal & Personal: 1. Home & Family-HOM 2. Emotional Development-EMO 3. Moral Development-MOR 4. Health & Well-being-HEA 5. School & Learning-SCH Part I Total-IPTOT II. External & Impersonal: 6. Social Affiliation-SOC 7. Survival & Power-SUR 8. Racial & Social Class-RAC Part II Total-EITOT DISS Total Score-DISTOT Confluence Score-CON Eight Part Scores Home & Family--the period involving the early rearing of the child and the support system that is involved in that period of life. …


Annual recruitment of the NewZealand longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) hasdecreased by 75 per cent since significant levels of commercial fishing began in the early 1970s. This motivates application of a multiple-cohort bioeconomic model to a New Zealand longfin eel fishery to investigate its optimal management and ascertain the suitability of existing regulatory policy. The use of historical harvest to calculate total allowable catch is asserted to be unsustainable based on recovery dynamics. In addition, individual transferable quota systems are argued to be fundamentally flawed for the protection of longfin fisheries because of high-grading, low-surplus production and a current lack of effective stock-assessment procedures. Area closure and the spatial definition of harvest rights are attractive alternatives given the territoriality of longfins and high larval spillover. The importance of unfished reserves is reinforcedwhen significant uncertainties regarding population strength, harvest intensity and growth dynamics are considered. Restriction of exploitation to older cohorts in fished areas is demonstrated to maximise economic yield.


In cultural markets, for books, music or movies, sales are concentrated on a small number of highly successful products. One explanation for the skewness of sales is incomplete information: consumers are poorly informed about most products, because only a small proportion of them are visible and promoted in the offline world. With digitization, as suggested by the Long Tail hypothesis, the increasing visibility of niche products could improve consumer information, and thus reduce sales concentration. In this paper, we study whether, in the music industry, online promotion improves the visibility of "underdog" artists or that of "stars". We use an original and large dataset of indicators for visibility, both offline (i.e., press coverage) and online (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, or LastFm), for about 1,000 artists over a 6-month period following a new album release. First, we investigate the extent to which the Internet democratizes access to visibility, and we examine the online promotional actions taken by artists and their fans to overcome a potential lack of visibility. We find that, while the most popular and visible artists offline are also the most visible online, audiences of underdog and debut artists are more strongly engaged to support their promotion efforts. Then, we use a panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model to explore the interplay between artists' broadcasting activities (artist-generated content), fans' activities (user-generated content), artists' online reputation (number of fans) and a free form of online consumption (music streaming), according to the artist's visibility in the traditional media channels. Our main results suggest that the promotion supported by online audiences has a positive effect on music streaming only for underdog artists, whereas artists' broadcasting activities in social media have no direct impact on music streaming.


ABSTRACT Despite an increase in studies investigating morphological knowledge in dyslexia, the connection between morphological and semantic knowledge is still unclear. This study investigated the effect of semantic information on the performance of Hebrew-speaking, high-achieving adults with and without dyslexia in two auditory tasks: a primed-lexical decision task and a morphological awareness tasks. We manipulated the level of semantic relatedness between stimuli and targets and assessed participants' accuracy and response times. Finding from the first tasks indicate that although semantic information assisted both groups in increasing accuracy, it resulted in a reduction of response time only for the dyslexic participants. Findings from the second task indicate that although typically developing adults did not present any accuracy difference between the conditions, in the dyslexic group, accuracy was higher when primes and targets were semantically related. Overall, the present study suggests that dyslexics are assisted by semantics when processing morphologically complex words.


In 2011, Italy introduced gender quotas for boards of directors of companies listed on its stock market. Comparing before and after the reform within firms, we find that quotas are associated with a higher share of female board directors, higher levels of education of board members, and a lower share of older members. We then use the reform period as an instrument for the share of female directors and find no significant impact on firms' performance. Interestingly, we find that the share of female directors is associated with a lower variability of stock market prices. We also run event studies on the stock price reaction to the introduction of gender quotas. A positive effect of the quota law on stock market returns emerges at the date of the board's election. Our results are consistent with gender quotas giving rise to a beneficial restructuring of the board, which is positively received by the market.


Psychological interest in the impact of mental states on biological functioning is growing rapidly, driving a need for new methods for inducing mental states that last long enough, and are sufficiently impactful, to have significant effects on physical health. The many traditions of meditative practice are one potential pathway for studying mind-body interactions. The purpose of this review is to introduce personality and social psychologists to the field of meditation research. Beginning with a brief introduction to meditation and the heterogeneity of meditative practices, we showcase research linking meditative practice to changes in immune and cardiovascular functioning and pain perception. We then discuss theoretical and empirical evidence that meditation works by inducing changes in psychological capacities such as emotion regulation and self-regulation or through repeated induction of specific mental states such as love or meta-cognitive awareness. At the frontier of the science of meditation is the need to empirically test whether meditation-driven changes in cognitive and affective processes are the cause of improvements in physical health. Emerging challenges in meditation research include a need for large studies using randomized controlled and dual-blind designs with active control groups and an increased focus on measuring mechanisms of action as well as outcomes. Meditation represents a potentially powerful tool for generating new knowledge of mind-body interactions.


Through content analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on Twitter, this study examines how the country's top and largest corporations in each of the main industries portray CSR on Twitter. The study investigates the agenda-setting potential of the CSR tweets based upon the variables examined, including (a) CSR dimension, (b) CSR topic, (c) tone, (d) stakeholders, (e) Twitter attributes, and (f) Twitter interactivity. The results indicate that CSR tweets predominantly portray the discretionary level of CSR, regardless of industry, predominantly include topics of public philanthropy, especially service-producing industries, and positive tone was used most frequently across industries. The community was the predominantly addressed stakeholder in both industries, and goods-producing industries tended to rank higher for reputation. For Twitter attributes, the common adoption rate was six years, a majority of accounts had the standard account template with a name, photo, link, and bio, and the goods-producing industries were more likely to have verified status, but a large percentage of accounts overall were verified. For Twitter interactivity, goods-producing industries has a consistent, large number of followers. Tweets predominantly had internal links, were most likely to have zero references, and tended to have one to ten retweets, regardless of industry. The goods-producing industries were more likely to have one or more hashtags and pictures, while videos were overall uncommon in tweets. These variables were evaluated to identify the agenda-setting power of each variable and draw conclusions about the power of Twitter to potentially create and transfer an agenda using CSR tweets from company to followers.


The low price of allowances has been a frequently noted featured of the implementation of the sulfur dioxide emissions market of the U.S. Acid Rain Program. This paper presents theoretical and numerical analyses that explain the gap between expected and observed allowance prices. The main contributing factors appear to be expectation errors augmented by the presence of irreversible investments.


Hash aggregation is an important data processing primitive which can be significantly accelerated by modern graphics processors (GPUs). Previous work derived heuristics for GPU-accelerated hash aggregation from the study of a particular GPU. In this paper, we examine the influence of different execution parameters on GPU-accelerated hash aggregation on four NVIDIA and two AMD GPUs based on six different microarchitectures. While we are able to replicate some of the previous results, our main finding is that optimal execution parameters are highly GPU-dependent. Most importantly, execution parameters optimized for a specific GPU are up to 21x slower on other GPUs. Given this hardware dependency, we present an algorithm to optimize execution parameters at runtime. On average, our algorithm converges on a result in less than 1% of the time required for a full evaluation of the search space. In this time, it finds execution parameters that are at most 1% slower than the optimum in 90% of our experiments. In the worst case, our algorithm finds execution parameters that are at most 1.29x slower than the optimum.


The Bleckley County Health Department reported that three households near Cochran, Georgia tested positive for fecal coliforms in their wells. Fecal coliforms are bacteria that are a measure of fecal contamination and are typically found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, including humans. We were asked to isolate one bacterial species of these fecal coliforrns, Escherichia coli, and to determine the source of the isolates by ribotyping. Ribotyping is a method to identify a subspecies of a bacterium by comparing differences in their DNA. We quantified the number of E. coli in water samples from one pond, two streams, a sinkhole, and three household wells and their accompanying septic systems. The pond, streams, and sinkhole are all connected. We ribotyped 51 E. coil isolates. Twelve different ribotypes were observed among the water sources and the household wells with their accompanying septic systems. Two ribotype patterns were observed from the septic systems, ten patterns among the pond, sinkhole, and two streams, and six patterns among the three ho.usehold wells. At 100% similarity, all the ribotype patterns of E. coli from the household wells were associated with patterns from the pond, sinkhole, or two streams. The similarity of E. coil ribotype patterns from the household wells with the septic systems were only 80 and 86%. The results suggest that the point source of the E. coil contamination was the pond, sinkhole, or two streams, and not the septic systems.


Over the last decade, intensive research has been carried out all over the world to explore the huge potential of microalgae for biofuel production, which could be coupled to the use of industrial flue gas to enhance CO2 fixation as a greenhouse gas mitigation strategy and to remove pollutants from various wastewaters. However, large-scale microalgae production for such purposes is not yet technically and economically feasible. Challenges are thus to increase the efficiency of both algae production and conversion into biofuel. The following parameters are critical for sustainable microalgal biomass cultivation: CO2 concentration; possible use of wastewater streams; light intensity and quality; photobioreactor design; batch, fed-batch or continuous growth conditions. The objective of our research was thus to assess the influence of these parameters on the quantitative and qualitative production of biomass, lipids and added-value chemicals, taking into account the probable antagonism between biomass and lipid production, often depending on the nitrogen supply. Several microalgal species were grown at laboratory scale to compare the yield of biomass and lipid production. In addition to the potential use of oil for biodiesel production, we are currently working towards demonstrating the technical feasibility of an innovative process, for syngas production via hydrothermal processing of microalgae. The process is envisioned as a closed-cycle with respects to nutrients, water and CO2, that are separated and reused for microalgae growth. The possible effect of increasing injection of CO2 in the growth medium was also investigated, with the aim to recycle CO2 from flue gas and enhance biomass production. On the other hand, to achieve the economical and ecological sustainability of algal biofuel production, it will be necessary to integrate it with the extraction of high-value products in a biorefinery process. Carotenoids have been proposed as added-value compounds that could contribute to make microalgal biofuel production economically feasible. Therefore, the viability and sustainability of extracting carotenoids before the hydrothermal treatment of the remaining biomass to produce syngas were investigated. Finally, harvesting and dewatering microalgae cells remains a technical challenge and typically contributes to 20-30% of biomass production costs and can represent up to half of the total cost of algal biofuels. The potential of co-culture of filamentous fungal species with microalgae in a lichenization process as a strategy to reduce the cost and energy consumption of harvesting and of the whole process seems promising and was thus investigated. In submerged cultures, filamentous microorganisms actually aggregate and grow as loosely packed pellets or compact granules. Microalgae cells were immobilized in these pellets and easily removed as an aggregate with the fungal cells. Pellet formation is strain specific and highly dependent on operational conditions during cultivation. This study was especially focused on lichen pellet formation during the co-culture of Chlorella sorokiniana and of an unidentified filamentous fungus, which was eventually characterized. While algae growth was optimal between pH 6 and 10, the highest pellet formation was observed in the pH range of 4-7, thus requiring a strict control of pH during the whole cultivation. The dense formed pellets did sediment in submerged cultures when the agitation was stopped and were easily harvested. The effect of such a co-cultivation on the production of added-value chemicals like carotenoids and on the biofuel potential of the remaining biomass is under evaluation, and will be compared to results obtained with cultivation of microalgae only. The proposed strategies may significantly reduce energy demands with regards to harvesting and dewatering of microalgal biomass and improve the sustainability of the whole process, but should be assessed at larger scale. Acknowledgements: The research was supported by the Swiss Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, in the framework of COST Action CM0903 (Utilisation of biomass for sustainable fuels and chemicals).


This report investigates the behaviour of composite steel concrete beams at elevated temperatures using the finite element program SAFIR. The finite element analysis carried out in this repmi is two dimensional and investigates the effects of an envelope of support conditions under varying thermal exposure. Composite steel concrete construction is a common and popular form of construction used around the world. It is well understood that this form of construction has good inherent fire resistance. At this stage, it is not well understood how the fire resistance mechanisms work and how changes in material properties influence the behaviour of the composite beam. It is the intention of this repmi to provide some detail on single span, two dimensional, beam behaviour in relation to material prope1iies, support conditions and thermal exposure. The analysis of this report was conducted using SAPIR, a non-linear finite element program developed at the University of Liege, Belgium. A 610 UB 101 steel beam with a 120mm thick composite concrete floor slab is exposed to three sided heating to simulate the effects of a compa1iment fire. The composite beams with moment and axial restraint perform poorly in comparison to beams with only moment restraint, axial restraint or no restraint in linear heating rates. In the ISO 834 fire, the beams with axial restraint performed poorly in comparisqn to those without axial restraint due to the high axial forces experienced because of thermal elongation. The axially restrained moment resisting case performed poorly in both scenarios due to high compression stresses in the steel section caused by thermal bowing and the1mal elongation. It was also found that when the EC3 Proportional and EC3 Yield Limit stresses were reached in the steel section, that displacements, axial force and bending moments along the section were affected.


An instrument for measurement of the profiles of optically rough surfaces is described. The sensor is a robust and compact Fizeau interferometer, in which one reflection is derived from the test surface. A laser-diode source and a photodetector communicate with the sensor through an optical fiber. The optical output is demodulated with a phase-stepping algorithm, achieved by frequency modulating the source. The measured horizontal resolution was 7 μm, and the noise-limited vertical resolution was 0.3 nm/Hz.