In most viral metagenomic studies, genetic material from a diversity of organisms is sampled from the environment and sequenced using Sanger or 454 sequencing. This process typically results in DNA-fragments that need to be assembled into contigs and annotated before any inferences or conclusions can be drawn from the data in hand. However, one problem subsists: both the relatively short length of the sequenced DNA-fragments and the high level of diversity present in a viral community result in a large number of unassembled and unannotated DNA-fragments. This problem limits our capability to better understand the viral community under study. We present the preliminary results of a new annotation method, targeting the virus sequences highly likely to be left unannotated by conventional methods. The resulting system, called Anacle, gives a taxonomic annotation for virus sequences excluded by a pre-screening with BLAST. Anacle uses an automated method relying a) on the Markov clustering (MCL) of all protein sequences belonging to the same taxon and b) on constructing each taxon's genetic variations (skeletons) using Hidden Markov Model (HMM) profiles. The taxonomic annotation consists of comparing each unannotated DNA-fragment to all the skeletons, and labeling them as belonging to the taxon associated with the best similarity score. We have evaluated Anacle's performance on a simulated metagenomes dataset with 100 and 700 base pairs. The results show that Anacle can taxonomically annotate viruses DNA-fragments with high precision and specificity. It indicates that the proposed method can provide valuable taxonomic information about DNA-fragments that could be left unannotated by other methods. We also present Anacle's performance on a small Sargasso Sea dataset.


The scope of this paper is to propose a system for the automatic derivation of a human curved walking trajectory from the analysis provided by its synthetic vision module. The study context is a planar environment with still and sparse foothold locations. A general methodology associates the two low-level modules of vision and walking with a planification module which establishes the middle term path from the knowledge of the visualized environment. The planification is made under the constraint of minimizing the distance, the speed variation and the curvature cost. Moreover, the planification may trigger the alternate walking motion whenever the decreasing in curvature cost is higher than the associated increasing in speed variation cost due to the corresponding halt and restart. Finally, the characteristic of the next step location is derived in the context of a constant velocity walking motion along a circular trajectory.<<ETX>>


BACKGROUND
The meningococcal group B vaccine 4CMenB is a new, recombinant protein-based vaccine that is licensed to protect against invasive group B meningococcal disease. However, its role in preventing transmission and, therefore, inducing population (herd) protection is uncertain.

METHODS
We used cluster randomization to assign, according to school, students in years 10 to 12 (age, 15 to 18 years) in South Australia to receive 4CMenB vaccination either at baseline (intervention) or at 12 months (control). The primary outcome was oropharyngeal carriage of disease-causing Neisseria meningitidis (group A, B, C, W, X, or Y) in students in years 10 and 11, as identified by polymerase-chain-reaction assays for PorA (encoding porin protein A) and N. meningitidis genogroups. Secondary outcomes included carriage prevalence and acquisition of all N. meningitidis and individual disease-causing genogroups. Risk factors for carriage were assessed at baseline.

RESULTS
A total of 237 schools participated. During April through June 2017, a total of 24,269 students in years 10 and 11 and 10,220 students in year 12 were enrolled. At 12 months, there was no difference in the prevalence of carriage of disease-causing N. meningitidis between the vaccination group (2.55%; 326 of 12,746) and the control group (2.52%; 291 of 11,523) (adjusted odds ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.31; P = 0.85). There were no significant differences in the secondary carriage outcomes. At baseline, the risk factors for carriage of disease-causing N. meningitidis included later year of schooling (adjusted odds ratio for year 12 vs. year 10, 2.75; 95% CI, 2.03 to 3.73), current upper respiratory tract infection (adjusted odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.63), cigarette smoking (adjusted odds ratio, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.29 to 2.83), water-pipe smoking (adjusted odds ratio, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.30 to 2.54), attending pubs or clubs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.28 to 1.86), and intimate kissing (adjusted odds ratio, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.33 to 2.05). No vaccine safety concerns were identified.

CONCLUSIONS
Among Australian adolescents, the 4CMenB vaccine had no discernible effect on the carriage of disease-causing meningococci, including group B. (Funded by GlaxoSmithKline; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03089086.).


The neural-related genes Sox2, Pax6, Otx2, and Rax have been associated with severe ocular malformations such as anophthalmia and microphthalmia, but it remains unclear as to how these genes are linked functionally. We analyzed the upstream signaling of Xenopus Rax (also known as Rx1) and identified the Otx2 and Sox2 proteins as direct upstream regulators of Rax. We revealed that endogenous Otx2 and Sox2 proteins bound to the conserved noncoding sequence (CNS1) located ≈2 kb upstream of the Rax promoter. This sequence is conserved among vertebrates and is required for potent transcriptional activity. Reporter assays showed that Otx2 and Sox2 synergistically activated transcription via CNS1. Furthermore, the Otx2 and Sox2 proteins physically interacted with each other, and this interaction was affected by the Sox2-missense mutations identified in these ocular disorders. These results demonstrate that the direct interaction and interdependence between the Otx2 and Sox2 proteins coordinate Rax expression in eye development, providing molecular linkages among the genes responsible for ocular malformation.


This paper considers several alternative explanations for the fact that households with higher levels of lifetime income ('the rich') have higher lifetime saving rates (Dynan, Skinner, and Zeldes (1996); Lillard and Karoly (1997)). The paper argues that the saving behavior of the richest households cannot be explained by models in which the only purpose of wealth accumulation is to finance future consumption, either their own or that of heirs. The paper concludes that the simplest model that explains the relevant facts is one in which either consumers regard the accumulation of wealth as an end in itself, or unspent wealth yields a flow of services (such as power or social status) which have the same practical effect on behavior as if wealth were intrinsically desirable.


MANAGEMENT IN WOMEN-OWNED ENTERPRISES According to recent statistics, women are starting small businesses at twice the rate of men, and women-owned enterprises (WOEs) now account for 25 percent of all small businesses. Survival rates are comparable to those of male-owned ventures. It should be useful, therefore, to gain a better understanding of the factors that explain the success of these ventures. Previous research suggests that success of an enterprise is a function of the "fit" between seven strategic elements: shared values, strategies, structures, systems, staff, skills, and styles. The strategic fit is determined by the organizational properties of the enterprise and the external environment in which it functions. One organizational property has been neglected by researchers: the sex of the owner. This paper explores the configuration of the seven strategic elements in eight WOEs examined via case studies. BACKGROUND Business literature provides conflicting views regarding the nature of strategic management in successful women-owned enterprises (WOEs). For example, many writers have concluded that women entrepreneurs behave differently from men and that several factors unique to women determine their success or failure. The implication is that women enter business for different reasons than male entrepreneurs and that their personality characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses as business leaders are different. Consequently, the strategic management of WOEs tends to be distinctly feminine. Other researchers, however, maintain that the behaviors of women and men as entrepreneurs are very similar. This research suggests that strategic management in WOEs is similar to that in male-controlled enterprises. According to this line of reasoning, the entrepreneurial characteristics of male and female entrepreneurs are similar. A growing venture would pose similar challenges, problems, and opportunities for all entrepreneurs; hence, to succeed, male and female entrepreneurs need to respond similarly. Two contrasting models of strategic management in WOEs can thus be derived, following the logic of current research on women and leadership in organizations. These divergent traditions can be identified as the feminine mode and the entrepreneurial mode. The feminine mode suggests that women behave differently as entrepreneurs and managers. As such, strategic management in WOEs would be quite distinct from that seen in a typical successful small firm, and would generally correspond with the previously identified "feminine" leadership style. In contrast, the entrepreneurial mode is derived from the assumption that female and male leaders are similar. This suggests that female entrepreneurs tend to manage their ventures in much the same way that successful male entrepreneurs do. The salient strategic management features that characterize the two modes are summarized in table 1. This article has two primary objectives: (1) to provide a brief review of the literature describing the two conflicting models of strategic management in women-owned enterprises; and (2) to test, in a preliminary way, the accuracy of these models in describing real-world situations. An analysis in depth is made of eight women-owned enterprises as a means of accomplishing the second objective. In this analysis, actual behavior with regard to the seven elements of strategic management (shared values, strategies, structures, systems, staff, skills, and styles) will be compared to the behavior suggested by each of the competing models. THE FEMININE MODEL OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT This view is based primarily on the negative experience of women in corporate managerial careers. Corporate women often find themselves excluded from positions of authority and leadership. The reasons are many, one of the most important being the stereotype that they lack leadership qualities. …


Monitoring Land Use Land-use decisions are based largely on agricultural market values. However, such decisions can lead to losses of ecosystem services, such as the provision of wildlife habitat or recreational space, the magnitude of which may overwhelm any market agricultural benefits. In a research project forming part of the UK National Ecosystem Assessment, Bateman et al. (p. 45) estimate the value of these net losses. Policies that recognize the diversity and complexity of the natural environment can target changes to different areas so as to radically improve land use in terms of agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions, recreation, and wild species habitat and diversity. The value of using land for recreation and wildlife, not just for agriculture, can usefully factor into planning decisions. Landscapes generate a wide range of valuable ecosystem services, yet land-use decisions often ignore the value of these services. Using the example of the United Kingdom, we show the significance of land-use change not only for agricultural production but also for emissions and sequestration of greenhouse gases, open-access recreational visits, urban green space, and wild-species diversity. We use spatially explicit models in conjunction with valuation methods to estimate comparable economic values for these services, taking account of climate change impacts. We show that, although decisions that focus solely on agriculture reduce overall ecosystem service values, highly significant value increases can be obtained from targeted planning by incorporating all potential services and their values and that this approach also conserves wild-species diversity.


Hantaviruses cause serious human diseases, Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), depending on the virus type. Currently no vaccine exists and the existing drug therapy for hantavirus infections is mainly supportive. MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. They play important roles in many biological processes, including cell differentiation, development and diseases like cancer. miRNAs have also been found to be involved in viral infections. The aim of this project was to investigate the miRNA expression during Hantavirus infection, and analyze the difference in miRNA expression between pathogenic hantaviruses (Hantaan virus), non-pathogenic (Prospect Hill virus), and mock-infected cells. Aberrantly expressed miRNAs could have potential as therapeutic targets. Focus assay was used to quantify the virus, and a stay in Berlin was organized to get instructions from Dr. Rang. However, the optimization of the assay was not successful, and quantification of the virus was not achieved. Next-generation sequencing revealed miR-340 as the candidate miRNA with the greatest expression variation in HTNV infected vs. PHV infected or mock-infected cells. Validation by qRT-PCR has not been successful and should be pursued further. It would also be interesting to investigate whether miR-340 is involved in increased endothelial cell permeability, as found by Pepini et.al (2010) in Andes Virus infections.


OBJECTIVEDespite evidence of its safety and effectiveness, the use of lumbar disc arthroplasty has been slow to expand due in part to concerns about late complications and the risks of revision surgery associated with early devices. More recently, FDA approval of newer devices and improving reimbursements have reversed this trend in the United States. Additional long-term data on lumbar disc arthroplasty are still needed. This study reports the 5-year results of the FDA investigational device exemption clinical trial of the Medtronic Spinal and Biologics' Maverick total disc replacement.METHODSPatients with single-level degenerative disc disease from L4 to S1 were randomized 2:1 at 31 investigational sites. In the period from April 2003 to August 2004, 405 patients received the investigational device and 172 patients underwent the control procedure of anterior lumbar interbody fusion. Outcome measures included the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), numeric rating scales (NRSs) for back and leg pain, the SF-36, disc height, interbody motion, heterotopic ossification (investigational device), adverse events (AEs), additional surgeries, and neurological status. Treatment was considered an overall success when all of the following criteria were met: 1) ODI score improvement ≥ 15 points over the preoperative score; 2) maintenance or improvement in neurological status compared with preoperatively; 3) disc height success, that is, no more than a 2-mm reduction in anterior or posterior height; 4) no serious AEs caused by the implant or by the implant and the surgical procedure; and 5) no additional surgery classified as a failure.RESULTSCompared to that in the control group, improvement in the investigational group was statistically greater according to the ODI and SF-36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) at 1, 2, and 5 years; the NRS for back pain at 1 and 2 years; and the NRS for leg pain at 1 year. The rates of heterotopic ossification increased over time: 1.0% (4/382) at 1 year, 2.6% (9/345) at 2 years, and 5.9% (11/187) at 5 years. Investigational patients had fewer device-related AEs and serious device-related AEs than the control patients at both 2 and 5 years postoperatively. Noninferiority of the composite measure overall success was demonstrated at all follow-up intervals; superiority was demonstrated at 1 and 2 years.CONCLUSIONSLumbar disc arthroplasty is a safe and effective treatment for single-level lumbar degenerative disc disease, resulting in improved physical function and reduced pain up to 5 years after surgery.Clinical trial registration no.: NCT00635843 (clinicaltrials.gov).


Topological cyclic homology is a refinement of Connes--Tsygan's cyclic homology which was introduced by Bokstedt--Hsiang--Madsen in 1993 as an approximation to algebraic $K$-theory. There is a trace map from algebraic $K$-theory to topological cyclic homology, and a theorem of Dundas--Goodwillie--McCarthy asserts that this induces an equivalence of relative theories for nilpotent immersions, which gives a way for computing $K$-theory in various situations. The construction of topological cyclic homology is based on genuine equivariant homotopy theory, the use of explicit point-set models, and the elaborate notion of a cyclotomic spectrum.
The goal of this paper is to revisit this theory using only homotopy-invariant notions. In particular, we give a new construction of topological cyclic homology. This is based on a new definition of the $\infty$-category of cyclotomic spectra: We define a cyclotomic spectrum to be a spectrum $X$ with $S^1$-action (in the most naive sense) together with $S^1$-equivariant maps $\varphi_p: X\to X^{tC_p}$ for all primes $p$. Here $X^{tC_p}=\mathrm{cofib}(\mathrm{Nm}: X_{hC_p}\to X^{hC_p})$ is the Tate construction. On bounded below spectra, we prove that this agrees with previous definitions. As a consequence, we obtain a new and simple formula for topological cyclic homology.
In order to construct the maps $\varphi_p: X\to X^{tC_p}$ in the example of topological Hochschild homology we introduce and study Tate diagonals for spectra and Frobenius homomorphisms of commutative ring spectra. In particular we prove a version of the Segal conjecture for the Tate diagonals and relate these Frobenius homomorphisms to power operations.


This paper demonstrates the extent to which the media and belonging in Africa are torn between competing and often conflicting claims of bounded and flexible ideas of culture and identity. It draws on studies of xenophobia in Cameroon and South Africa, inspired by the resilience of the politicization of culture and identity, to discuss the hierarchies and inequalities that underpin political, economic and social citizenship in Africa and the world over, and the role of the media in the production, enforcement and contestation of these hierarchies and inequalities. In any country with liberal democratic aspirations or pretensions, the media are expected to promote national citizenship and its emphasis on large-scale, assimilationist and territorially bounded belonging, while turning a blind eye to those who fall through the cracks as a result of racism and/or ethnicity. Little wonder that such an exclusionary articulation of citizenship is facing formidable challenges from its inherent contradictions and closures, and from an upsurge in the politics of recognition and representation by small-scale communities claiming autochthony at a historical juncture where the rhetoric espouses flexible mobility, postmodern flux and discontinuity.


Prompted by our discovery of a new class of conformationally-locked indeno[2,1-c]quinolines as anti-mycobacterials, compounds 2a and 3a (Fig. 1; MIC < 0.39 mg mL and 0.78 mg mL, respectively) with a freely rotating C2-imidazolo substituent, we herein describe the synthesis of pentacyclic azole-fused quinoline derivatives 4 and 5, in which we have restricted the rotation of the C2-imidazolo moiety by fusing it to the adjacent quinoline-nitrogen to give a five-membered fused azole heterocycle. The idea of locking the flexibility of the system by conformational constraint was simply to reduce its entropy, thereby reducing the overall free-energy of its binding to the target receptor. Out of 22 different azole-fused indeno[2,1-c]quinoline derivatives, seven structurally distinct compounds, 9, 15, 17, 25, 27, 28 and 29, have shown 79–99% growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv at a fixed dose of 6.25 mg mL. The efficacies of these compounds were evaluated in vitro for 8/9 consecutive days using the BACTEC radiometric assay upon administration of single dose on day one. Of these, two compounds, 9 and 28, inhibited growth of M. tuberculosis very effectively at MIC < 0.39 mg mL (0.89 mM and 1 mM, respectively). These active compounds 9, 15, 17, 25, 27, 28 and 29 were screened for their cytotoxic effect on mammalian cells (human monocytic cell line U937), which showed that the human cell survival is almost unperturbed (100% survival), except for compound 25, hence these new compounds with new scaffolds have been identified as potent anti-mycobacterials, virtually with no toxicity. Thus these "hit" molecules constitute our important "leads" for further optimization by structure–activity relationship against TB.


This study analyses and presents accounting academics' experiences in six universities in Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia to adapt to the swift change to the remote virtual classroom delivery model forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, while also gaining valuable lessons from this unique situation. In this study, autoethnography's basic principles were used. The main results suggest that the universities' combined current information and communication technologies, learning management systems, blended learning experiences, training, and supports, although not without hitches, were able to accommodate the shift to a remote virtual classroom model quite effectively. However, the move to fully online assessment has been conceded to likely increase the embedded risk of student cheating. The availability of reliable internet connection for students is also crucial in ensuring access equality and effective remote virtual classroom delivery.


At the April 2003 meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committees, it was decided to further encourage the contractual approach to smoothing the process of sovereign debt restructuring by encouraging the more widespread use of collective action clauses (CACs) in international bonds. This decision was shaped partly by Mexico's successful launch of a bond subject to New York law but featuring CACs, and by subsequent issues with similar provisions from other emerging market countries. This paper reviews the developments leading up to that event, its implications, and prospects for the future. It asks whether we can expect to see additional issuance by emerging markets of bonds featuring CACs, whether such a trend would in fact help to make the world a safer financial place, and what additional steps might be taken to further enhance modalities for crisis resolution. JEL Classification Numbers: F33, F34


Models that assess aerosol effects on regional air quality and global climate parameterize aerosol sources in terms of amount, type, and injection height. The multiangle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) aboard NASA's Terra satellite retrieves total column aerosol optical thickness (AOT), and aerosol type over cloud-free land and water. A stereo-matching algorithm automatically retrieves reflecting-layer altitude wherever clouds or aerosol plumes have discernable spatial contrast, with about 500-m accuracy, at 1.1-km horizontal resolution. Near-source biomass burning smoke, volcanic effluent, and desert dust plumes are observed routinely, providing information about aerosol amount, particle type, and injection height useful for modeling applications. Compared to background aerosols, the plumes sampled have higher AOT, contain particles having expected differences in Angstrom exponent, size, single-scattering albedo, and for volcanic plume and dust cloud cases, particle shape. As basic thermodynamics predicts, thin aerosol plumes lifted only by regional winds or less intense heat sources are confined to the boundary layer. However, when sources have sufficient buoyancy, the representative plumes studied tend to concentrate within discrete, high-elevation layers of local stability; the aerosol is not uniformly distributed up to a peak altitude, as is sometimes assumed in modeling. MISR-derived plume heights, along with meteorological profile data from other sources, make it possible to relate radiant energy flux observed by the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), also aboard the Terra spacecraft, to convective heat flux that plays a major role in buoyant plume dynamics. A MISR climatology of plume behavior based on these results is being developed.


Reluctant Nation deals with a vital period in the history of the modern world as the Second World War spread into the Pacific, engulfing the European empires and dragging the United States into the war. The present political geography of the Pacific was established during these years as the Allies fought Japan while keeping a wary eye on each other as they jostled for post-war dominance. Despite repeated assurances by Churchill, Britain fought a limited war in the Pacific as she sought to limit the political fall-out from the Singapore disaster of 1942 and to recover her Far East empire. In the final analysis, though, she chose to maximize her reconstruction effort at home rather than to fulfil commitments to the war against Japan. Australia had imperial dreams of her own. Australia soon found that her grandiose ambitions outran her limited capacity to achieve them. As with Britain, the political attractions of domestic reconstruction overshadowed her territorial ambitions. Even the United States, the new power-broker in the Pacific, found that her ability to shape the region according to her own design was limited. Based on an extensive use of private diaries and confidential papers, David Day has written a wide-ranging reinterpretation of the Pacific War that deserves to be read by all those seeking to understand these explosive events.


High rates of anxiety symptoms have been reported in early or late perimenopausal women. The objective
of this study was to determine the efficacy of 12-week Hatha yoga on state and trait anxiety score in
perimenopausal women and to compare it with physical exercise (control) group. 247 women aged between
40 and 60 years experiencing perimenopausal symptoms were recruited, after 12.5 % loss to follow up, 216
women participated either in a yoga group (n=111) or a physical exercise group (n=105). The intervention in
the yoga or control group consisted of a lecture, demonstration and practice session of 45 minutes each day
for 12 weeks. State and trait anxiety was assessed using STAI inventory. State and trait anxiety was reduced
significantly in the yoga group but not in the control group. Yoga intervention is effective in reducing state
and trait anxiety than the physical exercise in women experiencing perimenopausal symptoms.


Raia Prokhovnik makes the case that clarifying the relation between leadership and sovereighty is central to understanding the role of political leadership in politics, and to comprehending and redressing the neglect of political leadership in mainstream strands of democratic theory. As a first step, Prokhovnik analyses the 'three faces' of leadership and explains how traditional ideas of political leadership are under threat, through challenges to the identity of the state, to the identity of the political process, and to the identity of international politics. For Prokhovnik the democratic tradition fails to integrate the concept of leadership into its theory and is unable to enhance our understanding of its meanings and functions. The mainstream notion of sovereignty as 'ruler sovereignty', and the traditional dichotomy between legal and political sovereignty, do not capture our political experiences and add little to understanding and rethinking political leadership. According to Prokhovnik, the effectiveness of political leadership in all its faces can be enhanced by recognising the way in which 'the political property' of sovereignty operates. Prokhovnik explains how the political property of sovereignty that she outlines links with - and differs from - the dominant notion of political culture. Finally she emphasises its strong normative dimension.


An investigation was made of the laser action in compensated gallium arsenide doped with donors (Te or Sn) and acceptors (Zn). Such doping reduced considerably the threshold current density and the working voltage of electron-beam-pumped lasers. The lowest values of the threshold were 0.1 A/cm2 at T≈85°K and 1.5 A/cm2 at T≈300°K. The maximum efficiency reached 30% at T≈85°K and 21% at T≈300°K. A waveguide resonator structure ensured that these values of the threshold current and the efficiency were not affected when the electron energy was reduced from 50 keV to ~25 keV. A further redution of the electron energy to 9 keV caused the threshold current density to rise to 1.5 A/cm2 at T≈85°K.


Cotton made the fortune of the Fuda family, Egyptian landed gentry with peasant origins, during the second part of the nineteenth century. This story, narrated and photographed by a family member who has researched and documented various aspects of her own history, goes well beyond the family photo album to become an attempt to convey how cotton, as the main catalyst and creator of wealth, produced by the beginning of the twentieth century two entirely separate worlds: one privileged and free, the other surviving at a level of bare subsistence, and indentured.The construction of lavish mansions in the Nile Delta countryside and the landowners' adoption of European lifestyles are juxtaposed visually with the former laborers' camp of the permanent workers, which became a village ('Izba), and then an urbanized settlement. The story is retold from the perspective of both the landowners and the former workers who were tied to the 'Izba. The book includes family photo albums, photographs of political campaigns and of banquets in the countryside, documents and accounting books, modern portraits of the peasants, and pictures of daily life in the village today. This is a story that fuses the personal and emotional with the scholar's detached ethnographic reporting-a truly fascinating, informative, and colorful view of life on both sides of a uniquely Egyptian socio-economic institution, and a vanished world: the cotton estate.


Presents a survey of the concepts and empirical evidence of the effects of Organizational Learning (OL) and Learning Organizations (LO). Theories, empirical studies, and practical implications from 4 main research perspectives are summarized and compared: information processing, knowledge management, strategic management, and organizational culture. The information processing perspective regards learning as a reaction to deviations from expected outcomes. The perspective of knowledge management focuses on methods by which organizations spread explicit information systematically by using information technology tools. The organizational culture perspective addresses the question of how OL is influenced by specific national cultures, as well as the attributes that characterize an organizational learning culture. From a strategic point of view, learning reveals its value by enabling a firm to excel over its competitors. The discussion of these research agenda shows a lack of empirical foundation concerning the theories and concepts presented. Finally, because much of the literature seems too optimistic about the possibilities of learning within organizations, the authors stress the importance of integrating concepts like power, interests, and politics into the debate on OL and LO. The ideal of an open and free information exchange (which often tacitly is assumed in the OL literature) is criticized as politically naive.


The crux of bankruptcy law is giving debtors a fresh start by discharging their debts. Yet society has recognized that some debts should not be discharged because they either have a high level of societal importance or derive from a debtor's culpable conduct. One of these exceptions from discharge is for defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity. The legal meaning of defalcation has been unclear for 172 years, ranging from a breach of trust by one who has charge of money to the misappropriation of money in one's keeping. A three-way federal circuit split developed on whether a state of mind was required for defalcation and if so, how culpable. In May 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the circuit split in Bullock v. BankChampaign by establishing a new, heightened mental standard based on the Model Penal Code's definition of "recklessly." Bullock's holding is significant because it did not adopt any of the tests from the circuit split. Bullock's new test is challenging for three reasons. First, applying a Model Penal Code culpability to civil fiduciary law is awkward because the various sources of fiduciary duties rarely contain a mental state requirement. Second, the Model Penal Code's recklessly definition is abstract and difficult to apply. For example, instead of focusing on the breach of a fiduciary duty, it concentrates on the risk that a fiduciary duty will be breached. Further, some elements of recklessly must be evaluated from a subjective standard while others require an objective one. Finally, in delineating the new recklessly test, Bullock parenthetically grafted in the separate criminal law doctrine of willful blindness. This synthesis of recklessness and willful blindness, which are two completely different tests, results in a seemingly unworkable standard that does not make sense. This Article explores each element of the new recklessly standard and identifies pitfalls to avoid. It also suggests an approach to reconcile the troubling analytical problems resulting from combining recklessness and willful blindness. This Article concludes by establishing an analytical framework to apply Bullock's new test.


How do gender relations affect the practice of journalism? Despite the star status accorded to some women reporters, and the dramatic increase in the number of women working in journalism, why do men continue to occupy most senior management positions? And why do female readers, viewers and listeners remain as elusive as ever?

'News, Gender and Power' addresses the pressing questions of how gender shapes the forms, practice, institutions and audiences of journalism. The contributors, who include John Hartley, Pat Holland, Jenny Kitzinger and Myra Macdonald, draw on feminist theory and gender-sensitive critiques to explore media issues such as:

ownership and control;

employment and occupation status;

the representation of women in the media;

the sexualization of news and audience research.

Within this framework the contributors explore media coverage of:

the trial of O. J. Simpson;

British beef and the BSE scandal;

the horrific crimes of Fred and Rosemary West;

child sexual abuse and false memory syndrome;

the portrayal of women in TV documentaries such as 'Modern Times' and 'Cutting Edge'.


We find a significant discontinuity in the pooled distribution of monthly hedge fund returns: The number of small gains far exceeds the number of small losses. The discontinuity is present in live and defunct funds, and funds of all ages, suggesting that it is not caused by database biases. The discontinuity is absent in the 3 months culminating in an audit, suggesting it is not attributable to skillful loss avoidance. The discontinuity disappears when using bimonthly returns, indicating a reversal in fund performance following small gains. This result suggests that the discontinuity is caused at least in part by temporarily overstated returns. Copyright (c) 2009 the American Finance Association.

http://www.iamgroup.ca/doc_bin/Do Hedge Fund Managers Misreport Returns_Evidence from the Pooled Distribution.pdf


A body of literature has examined the understanding adults with intellectual disabilities have of their disability, their awareness of stigma and experiences of stigmatised treatment. The findings across these studies have however been difficult to reconcile. While a number of researchers reported that participants did not appear to be aware of their disability, others found that participants were aware of their disability and were sensitive to the stigmatised treatment they received from others as a result. The methods used by previous researchers have been largely verbal and it is suggested that such methods may have placed constraints on the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities to express themselves. Thus, the mixed findings may in part be accounted for by the reliance on verbally based methods of enquiry.

As a result of the previous research having been carried out with adults, little is known about the perceptions children with intellectual disabilities have of their disability or their awareness of social stigma. It is important to know about children's perceptions because early self-perceptions may have an enduring impact on a young person's mental well-being. Further, gaining insight into how the self-perceptions of children with intellectual disabilities develop during childhood may help to inform interventions designed to target the development of positive self-perceptions in children with intellectual disabilities.

This thesis will focus on children with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder and one of the most common causes of intellectual disability (Carr, 1995). People with Down syndrome have distinctive facial features, which make them immediately identifiable to others and may mean that people with Down syndrome identify themselves as different from others.

The key questions addressed by the present research are: Are children with Down syndrome aware of Down syndrome and do they hold particular feelings about it? The present study was conceptualised as an exploration of children's rudimentary awareness of their disability and the social stigma attached to it. In order to explore children's perceptions, a mixed method approach was chosen.

The quantitative component of the study developed pictorial methods to investigate the awareness and views children with Down syndrome hold of Down syndrome. Children completed three experimental 'tasks' that involved colour illustrations and photographs of unfamiliar children, some of which depicted children with Down syndrome and some in which children had no visible disability.

Twenty-eight children with Down syndrome took part. There were two age groups; a younger group aged 8 to 12 years old (n= 10) and an older group aged 13 to 17 years old (n=18). The purpose of the two age groups was to explore potential differences in awareness shown by participants with different amounts of social experience. A comparison group of children with no disability allowed the researcher to investigate whether having Down syndrome led to differences in task performance. However, since children with Down syndrome have at least some degree of intellectual impairment, it was necessary to control for cognitive development and age separately. A cognitive ability control group enabled the researcher to ensure, as far as possible, that any differences in task performance that did occur could not be attributed to differences in participants' cognitive ability. The chronological age control group was used to help ensure that potential influence of social experience and learning, acquired with age, were also controlled for. Therefore, two groups of non-disabled participants were recruited; one group were the same chronological ages as participants with Down syndrome and the other were younger in chronological age, in the hope that their verbal ability would match that of participants with Down syndrome. However, despite their younger age, the non-disabled children scored consistently higher than participants with Down syndrome on the measure of verbal ability. Consequently, a verbal ability control group was unfortunately not achieved. Instead, the non-disabled participants were split into three age groups. The first group were younger in age and their verbal ability was closer to that of participants with Down syndrome (n=14). Although not matched on verbal ability, they were still at an earlier developmental stage and served a useful comparison group in this respect. The second group were aged 8 to 12 years old (n= 27) and the third group aged 13 to 17 years (n= 26). These groups served as chronological age-matched controls. The proportion of males and females in the Down syndrome and non-disabled groups were roughly equal.

For the qualitative phase of the study, the researcher interviewed a subsample of the children's mothers' to examine what they thought about their child's understanding of Down syndrome and the social stigma attached to it. Ten mothers of children with Down syndrome took part in 1:1 semi-structured interviews. The transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

The responses of children with Down syndrome on the picture tasks indicated that they discriminated between the photographs of children with and without Down syndrome, they preferred to share social activities with the photographed children with no disability, they identified themselves as similar to the photographs of non-disabled children and they had less positive views about the photographed children with Down syndrome than those with no disability. Participants with no disability also demonstrated a similar bias in favour of non-disabled children during the tasks. Both participants with Down syndrome and non-disabled participants had positive views of themselves, although those with Down syndrome were slightly less positive about themselves than their non-disabled peers. The key finding from the experimental studies was the bias shown by all children in favour of photographs of children with no disability.

A contrasting picture emerged from the interviews with mothers. They expressed deep concerns regarding their child's growing distance from non-disabled peers as they grew older. Nevertheless, the mothers believed their children were oblivious to their disability or, at most, were aware of it but viewed it as inconsequential. Mothers reported waiting for their child to take the lead with regards discussing Down syndrome but most reported that their children rarely asked questions related to their disability and, as a result, it was rarely a topic of conversation. A sense of responsibility to talk to their children about their disability was accompanied by deep anxiety over what was best for their children regarding when and how to tell them about Down syndrome.

This research has highlighted that children with Down syndrome may be more aware of their disability and how Down syndrome is viewed socially than has been appreciated. It underscores the importance of giving children with communication difficulties a way of expressing their views. Future research should investigate the development of children's self-perceptions in relation to disability and inform ways of investigating children's growing awareness disability and related social attitudes. Such research could have an important role to play in fostering more positive ways of thinking about Down syndrome and equip them to deal with social stigma.


Anthropogenic (man-made) noise is a global problem in aquatic and terrestrial environments. In the shallow seas around many countries, including the UK, large windfarms are being constructed using pile driving to create a solid base for the turbines. Offshore pile driving creates pulsating noises and vibrations of very high intensities, which has been shown to be deleterious to a variety of aquatic species.
Using a hydrodynamic model that predicts the propagation of underwater noise while taking into account bathymetry, tidal movements and currents, we integrated a numerical behavioural tool that models fish behaviour in response to noise. Using agent based modelling, scientifically published data and parameters obtained from carefully controlled experiments, we modelled the impact of noise on European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) as they encountered pile driving during migration from the ocean to a spawning site close to the shore. Taking our empirical experiments into account - which showed a negative impact of noise on feeding behaviour and increased oxygen consumption - the model predicts that the fish took significantly longer to arrive at the spawning site.
This effect could have important implications at a population level, as fish would use more energy to reach the site and might desynchronize spawning behaviour, which in turn would influence larval survival and life history processes that reduce fitness. This tool not only shows the value of using numerical models to predict animal behaviour in a complex environment, but also highlights the merit of using such models to predict anthropogenic impacts that would otherwise be difficult or too costly to obtain.


Poverty is one of the most challenging socio-economic problems in South Africa. Though poverty rates have been substantially reduced in the post-apartheid period, many South Africans remain poor. Available evidence also indicates a substantial gender gradient to the prevalence of poverty in the country. A standard indicator of gendered power structures is the gender of the household head. We examine the effect of transitioning from a maleto a female-headed household over time (relative to remaining in a male-headed household) on changes in the probability of transitioning into poverty from a non-poor state over a twoto six-year period. This type of longitudinal analysis is largely lacking in South Africa, where most previous studies have largely focused on cross-sectional and repeated cross-sectional analyses. The results indicate that transitioning from a maleto female-headed household is associated with an increase in the probability of falling into poverty from a previous non-poor state. The results hold true across all poverty lines and also indicate that the effect of gender-based transitions is not significant in the short term (i.e. for the one-period transitions), but over more persistent transitions.


The dynamic interaction between a Linear Induction Motor primary, modeled as a spring-mass-damper element, and its secondary-rail, modeled as a prestressed, continuously supported, infinitely long beam, is studied theoretically. The existence of two transition speeds is established. At the lower transition speed, the frequency and damping ratio of the coupled system response attain their minimum and maximum values, respectively. The system is unstable at speeds higher than the second transition speed. Using a rotating annular disk to simulate the secondary rail, measured values of the frequency and damping ratio confirm the validity of the mathematical model for speeds up to nearly the lower transition speed.


About the book:
While the artistic traditions of the various countries of East, Southeast and South Asia display distinctive aesthetic features, this volume examines the qualities of each area, and seeks commonalities that define the aesthetics of a broader Asian civilisation. Contributors include specialists in philosophy, literature, art history, religion and the comparative study of cultures. Some of them are writing from within their own cultural traditions while others approach their subjects as outside observers.
The book is divided into five sections, dealing with Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian aesthetics. Individual chapters provide in-depth investigations of specific traditions, embracing both classical as well as modern aesthetic forms. The authors suggest that Japanese culture is characterised by an openness to diverse cultural influences, Korean culture by "peninsularity", Chinese culture by parallels with the West, Indian culture by "rasa" (a kind of "cosmic" feeling that is distinct from the one who feels), and Southeast Asian culture by dilemmas of modernisation. The volume as a whole integrates these studies, clarifying essential elements of each aesthetic culture and drawing on this material to characterise an Asian civilization that transcends individual countries and cultures.


In body area networks (BANs), a node placed near the hub has a significant signal strength advantage. This issue, known as near-far problem, indicates that a near node may serve as a relay for a far node. Currently, the established orthogonal multiple access (OMA) requires the allocation of a specific resource block to a single node. In contrast, the emerging non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) allows simultaneous transmissions and uses successive interference cancellation (SIC) to recover the signals. For the first time in the literature, we introduce NOMA in BANs, to allow simultaneous transmissions from two nodes at a time, with distinguishable power levels. The crucial part of this technique is the dynamic pairing of the nodes by the hub. First, we review the fundamentals of uplink NOMA and we propose an access protocol in compliance with IEEE 802.15.6-2012, which combines random OMA with scheduled NOMA. Next, we propose three node pairing strategies, namely a random, a correlative and a conditional one, to meet the requirements of several applications. These strategies are evaluated with packet level simulations in OMNeT++. Our results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the basic OMA scheme at high packet rates and provides a feasible direction for novel relay-based applications.


The exhibition was a collaboration with psychologist Dr Josie Butcher. The research was in response to a long term Government directive to develop the communication skills of professional health workers in particular to patients living with the impact of cancer on their sexuality. The work is form of art activism that is being used by the NHS to challenge the social and political power of professionals in relation to their patients. The language of textiles supports common understandings of purpose and also allows new readings and challenges through the context of presentation. The evaluations from the experiential workshop will contribute to future international conferences.

The work exhibited shows familiar objects reconfigured to deny their function. 'Distancing' or 'alienating' chairs through long extended arm-rests signifies discomfort. Boundaries are redefined by such restructuring, as in the human body after surgery for sexual cancers. The properness and tradition interwoven in the piece belies the difficulties of engaging with the objects. It functions as a metaphor for the way in which the properness of clinical spaces and health professionals can deny the communication of pain and embarrassment that follows surgery.

The research included a paper delivered at the Royal College of Art in the Design History Department that analysed the ideas relating to textiles and feminism in the making of the piece.

The work was a collaborative piece with Cheshire & Wirral partnership NHS foundation Trust and The Christies Hospital. A catalogue accompanied the exhibition published by the Trust, 24 pages, 14 colour illustrations


"The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles" is art critic Martin Gayford's account of the tumultuous nine weeks in which the famous nineteenth century artists Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin shared a house in the small French town of Arles. Two artistic giants. One small house. From October to December 1888 a pair of at the time largely unknown artists lived under one roof in the French provincial town of Arles. Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh ate, drank, talked, argued, slept and painted in one of the most intense and astonishing creative outpourings in history. Yet as the weeks passed Van Gogh buckles under the strain, fought with his companion and committed an act of violence on himself that prompted Gauguin to flee without saying goodbye to his friend. "The Yellow House" is an intimate portrait of their time together as well as a subtle exploration of a fragile friendship, art, madness, genius behind a shocking act of self-mutilation that the world has sought to explain ever since. "Gayford's fascinating depiction of the Odd Couple of art history is both moving and riveting". ("Daily Mail"). "Masterly...a wonderfully alert and moving portrait". ("Mail on Sunday"). "Profoundly absorbing. Gayford has reconstructed these tumultuous weeks...the reader lives them day by day, almost minute by minute. Delightful, utterly fascinating". ("Independent on Sunday"). Martin Gayford is a celebrated art critic and journalist who has written for the "Spectator" and the "Sunday Telegraph" and is the current Chief European Art Critic for Bloomberg. In his other book, "Constable in Love: Love", Landscape, Money and the Making of a Great Painter", Gayford tells the true story of Romantic painter John Constable's life and loves.


The oceans are covering most of the earth. The noise levels in the oceans are high, even though most people are ignorant to the fact. Through the increase in anthropogenic noise in the oceans, the ambient noise level is rising. Low-frequency sound can propagate over large distances, and is therefore omnipresent. This is the cause of the concern that humans pollute the oceans not only with plastic and rubbish, but pollute with oceanic sound emissions as well. This has, to a large extent unknown consequences for marine life. There are several anthropogenic noise sources that contribute to the increase of the ambient sound level. The shipping industry together with seismic explorations are two of those that have the largest impact. Seismic explorations have excessive noise levels, but relative to ships, they are rare. Ships on the other hand yield lower noise levels, but are outnumbering the seismic explorations. The emitted noise can harm, disturb and confuse marine life. The literature is more focused on marine mammals, such as wales. However, fish are also affected. This study focuses on analysis of ship noise. DNV-GL has put forward a standard related to ship noise with specific noise levels that are acceptable for different kinds of ships in different conditions. Ecoxy in collaboration with Jens Hovem have developed a measurement procedure and EcoNoise, a computer program that enables processing of the recorded files with a given structure following a procedure according to this standard. Data from several field trials of measuring fishing vessels conducted by Ecoxy AS were made available for this thesis. The acoustic data which has been processed as part of this thesis stems from these measurements. EcoNoise, the computer program, has been the basis of the data analysis which will be presented in this thesis. The functions have been changed to find the wanted metrics used for analysis. Different components of the acoustic emissions have been studied, such as the audible range of the noise for fish radiated from the ships as well as suggesting a possible procedure to measure the directivity of the vessels. A graphical user interface has also been developed for EcoNoise as a part of this thesis. The interface combines all the functionality of EcoNoise in an interface which is easy to use. This has been done to make the program more user friendly and make it more available for people without too much programming knowledge. This is important to enable for example the fishermen themselves to use the program while at sea. Vibration measurements of the hull of the ferry MF Glutra have been performed. This was done as preparation for measuring the vibration of the hull of one of the fishing vessels, but these measurements were not done due to the ship's schedule. Through established formulae for calculating vibration, the vibration in plates with different characteristics was calculated. Through these simulations, it was found


Privacy has joined one of many areas of law understandable only by reference to the results of overlapping and conflicting national agendas. What has emerged as the de facto international regime is complex. Yet based on a few simplifying principles, we can nonetheless do much to understand it and predict its operation. First, the idea that self-regulation by the internet community will be the driving force in privacy protection must be laid to rest. The experience of the last decade shows that nation-states, powerful nation-states in particular, drive the system of international privacy. The final mix of privacy protection that the world's citizens receive is disproportionately dictated by the choices and preferences of powerful nation-states and their respective effects on giant and small targets. Second, traditional conflicts analysis can help explain and predict the future course of privacy analysis. Privacy regulation can be understood as a species of information regulation to which companies and individuals will respond in predictable ways. The analysis here shows an international privacy system that has fractured into three distinct regulatory patterns. Mainstream privacy, or transactional privacy, has become dominated by the rule of the most restrictive state, a pattern familiar to other areas like the world's regulation of competition (antitrust). Conversely, the problem of information theft has been pushed by the international system toward a kind of a race to the bottom, or to the least restrictive rule. Most akin to international piracy (the kind on boats), it is a familiar problem to international law that will nonetheless take considerable political will to reverse. And finally, while there is a potential for the international system to influence how governments handle the privacy information of their own citizens, the direct collision of interests have limited the extent to which governments police one another.


The traditional concerns of UNESCO as they impinge on culture can perhaps be summarized by education, communication and heritage. Naturally, in a development context education has always had pride of place. Education is of course a basic human right, but in relation to culture it is the key that opens up a door to ones own, and community histories as well as those of others.

The tools to enable education are both the recording of memories and the expression and communication of these understandings. Hence, the important UNESCO concern with developing communications technologies and the relative access of them by citizens: from books, to film and TV, telephones and the internet; and, the languages that are used, and the literacy attained. These are at once the tools and the expressions of our cultures. Recently these have been celebrated and contextualized in our attempts to archive and curate culture, as expressed in museums and archives, in tangible and intangible means. The network of world heritage sites, and creative cities, are examples of the recognition and the protection which we have sought to afford culture.

As an aid to the concrete actions of UNESCO to support such initiatives through programs and technical support efforts have been made to document, catalogue and monitor progress, as well as highlighting continuing challenges. In recent years we can note a shift, or development, of emphasis. I want to point to two developments which I think help to frame the current and future challenges in this field and illustrate contemporary debate about the relationship between sustainable development and culture.


A major challenge for core facilities is determining quantitative protein differences across complex biological samples. Although there are numerous techniques in the literature for relative and absolute protein quantification, the majority is nonroutine and can be challenging to carry out effectively. There are few studies comparing these technologies in terms of their reproducibility, accuracy, and precision, and no studies to date deal with performance across multiple laboratories with varied levels of expertise. Here, we describe an Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) Proteomics Research Group (PRG) study based on samples composed of a complex protein mixture into which 12 known proteins were added at varying but defined ratios. All of the proteins were present at the same concentration in each of three tubes that were provided. The primary goal of this study was to allow each laboratory to evaluate its capabilities and approaches with regard to: detection and identification of proteins spiked into samples that also contain complex mixtures of background proteins and determination of relative quantities of the spiked proteins. The results returned by 43 participants were compiled by the PRG, which also collected information about the strategies used to assess overall performance and as an aid to development of optimized protocols for the methodologies used. The most accurate results were generally reported by the most experienced laboratories. Among laboratories that used the same technique, values that were closer to the expected ratio were obtained by more experienced groups.


This paper presents estimates of the effects of unions on the wages of young black and white males who are both union and nonunion workers. It also presents estimates of union effects on employment for these groups, as well as their union membership rates. While unions have a very substantial, positive effect on the wages of young union workers, particularly for young blacks, they have a negative effect on the wages of young blacks who are not unionized. The effects of unions on employment are negative for both groups and especially for blacks. As for the relative access to unionized employment, young blacks within the labor force have membership rates that are roughly comparable to those of young whites. However, rates for young blacks appear to be somewhat lower after accounting for differences in rates of labor force participation between young blacks and whites. Young blacks also continue to be under-represented in the crafts and construction industries, which are heavily unionized, while being overrepresented in the relatively nonunionized, low-wage service sector. These results suggest that increasing the access of young blacks to unionized employment would improve their positions in the labor market.


About the book: This book provides an essential resource for both practitioners in youth justice as well as those who are studying the subject as part of their training or an academic course. Its central aim is to equip practitioners in youth justice and the wider children's workforce with an understanding of key theoretical concepts from a range of disciplines that might inform and enhance their work

The Handbook aims to encourage a critical interrogation of the ideas that underpin practice, examining such concepts as 'child development', 'crime' and 'punishment', and also provides a descriptive account of current practice in areas such as community corrections and incarceration – examining the evidence base for this and suggesting alternative strategies where appropriate. A key objective is to provide both students and practitioners in youth justice with the confidence to critically reflect on the ideas and current debates that influence work undertaken with young people.


Diaspora knowledge networks (DKN) deeply changed the way highly skilled mobility used to be looked at. They conceptually subverted the traditional "brain drain" migration outflow into a "brain gain" of expatriates' skills circulation by converting the loss of human resources into a remote though accessible asset of expanded networks. Doubts and scepticism recently arose due to the novelty of the DKN phenomenon and the lack of historical perspective to assess experience and results. The critiques essentially bear on two aspects: the consistency and the efficiency of the networks. As a new social object and research area, DKN indeed required new tools, methodology and concepts to explore theoretical as well as empirical issues. This paper addresses the critiques by displaying the research process surrounding DKN. Systematically searching through the internet has been a major part of the research exercise, especially during recent years. The evidence definitely proves the ongoing activities of numerous DKN. The consistency of such networks is thus confirmed. Their specific features and their members' identification processes at work with new information and communication technologies are explained.


Members of all political parties represented in the Swedish Parliament have during the past decades repeatedly stressed the necessity of directing military activities by using strategies. When focus in now shifting from participating in international military operations far from Sweden to addressing security challenges in Sweden's neighbourhood the needs for a new military strategy is obvious. The aim of this article is to explore whether potential shortcomings in the decisionsmaking process regarding the Swedish security and defence policy can explain why the Government does not seem to guide the Armed Forces with strategies.


In Contemporary Metaphor Theory (CMT) research has predominantly focused on the English language with few studies of others and even less systematic comparative work. This volume focuses on the discourse domain of LEARNING (formal, technical and informal aspects) and brings together a variety of language perspectives, some specifically comparative, on aspects of learning from historical transformations in metaphoric language use through contemporary social values and classroom discourse to planning for the future in educational policy to see how conceptual metaphoric patterns and conventional metaphors with related figurative language impact on social values and culturally conditioned perspectives in learning. Most papers reflect Lakoffian conceptual metaphoric research including critical evaluation of analytical issues. Languages included are Arabic, Chinese, English, Hungarian, Japanese, Malay, Polish, Russian and the South African language area. Most papers utilize extensive data including such genre as technical writing, essays, conversational interaction, newspaper corpus and proverbs.


ZGAJNAR, J. and S. KAVCIC, 2010. Efficiency of risk reduction on Slovenian livestock farms: whole-farm planning approach. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 16: 500-511 This paper deals with whole farm planning problem under stochastic conditions caused by production and price risk. Exposition to risk and efficiency of risk reduction was studied on five livestock farms in Slovenia. For this purpose linear and quadratic risk programming modeling paradigm has been applied. Linear program assumes that farmer maximizes expected gross margin subject to a set of constraints related to farm's limited resources, while quadratic risk programming is based on E,V efficient rule, minimizing total variance. Risk performance of livestock case farms has been analyzed in E-V efficient set. Efficiency of diversification strategies for all farms has been estimated with risk gradient value.


Many industrial combustion systems, especially power generation gas turbines, use fuel-lean combustion to reduce NOx emissions. However, these systems are highly susceptible to combustion instability, the coupling between combustor acoustics and heat release rate oscillations of the flame. It has been shown in previous work by the authors that a precessing vortex core (PVC) can suppress shear layer receptivity to external perturbations, reducing the potential for thermoacoustic coupling. The goal of this study is to understand the effect of combustor exit boundary condition on the flow structure of a swirling jet to increase fundamental understanding of how combustor design impacts PVC dynamics. The swirling jet is generated with a radial-entry, variable-angle swirler, and a quartz cylinder is fixed on the dump plane for confinement. Combustor exit constriction plates of different diameters are used to determine the impact of exit boundary condition on the flow field. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to capture the velocity field inside the combustor. Spectral proper orthogonal decomposition, a frequency-resolved eigenvalue decomposition that can identify energetic structures in the flow, is implemented to identify the PVC at each condition in both energy and frequency space. We find that exit boundary diameter affects both the structure of the flow and the dynamics of the PVC. Higher levels of constriction (smaller diameters) force the downstream stagnation point of the vortex breakdown bubble upstream, resulting in greater divergence of the swirling jet. Further, as the exit diameter decreases, the PVC becomes less energetic and less spatially defined. Despite these changes in the base flow and PVC coherence, the PVC frequency is not altered by the exit boundary constriction. These trends will help inform our understanding of the impact of boundary conditions on both static and dynamic flame stability.


Objectives: To compare the antimicrobial efficacy of sodium hypochlorite, Triphala, Withania somnifera, combination of Triphala & Withania somnifera against Enterococcus faecalis (E faecalis) biofilm in extracted human teeth. Methods: Total of 40 human extracted teeth were collected & 10 were assigned under 4 groups (n=10 in each group). E. faecalis was cultured, inoculated in Brain Heart Infusion medium & incubated for 45days along with the teeth for biofilm formation. After incubation for 45days, teeth were subjected to irrigation. They were irrigated with sodium hypochlorite (Group I), Triphala (Group II),Withania somnifera (Group III) and Triphala + Withania somnifera (Group IV). After the irrigation , teeth were analyzed for E faecalis colony forming units. 2 teeth from each group were subjected for qualitative observation under laser scanning confocal microscopy.Results:Teeth irrigated with sodium hypochlorite showed mean E faecalis colony count of 3.6± 0.19 3 lakhs which is significantly less when compared to colony counts in Group II and Group III which were 4.6±.003 (P<0.001) & 3.9 ±0.004 (P<0 .001) lakhs respectively. However, combination of Triphala + Withania somnifera group showed mean E faecalis colony count of 3 . 7 ±0.004 lakhs which was not significantly different from that of group I. All the 4 experimental groups showed marked decrease in the E faecalis colony count when compared to the initial colony count of 10 ± 0.21 lakhs. Conclusion: Sodium hypochlorite, Triphala and Withania somnifera failed to eliminate bacteria completely. But, considerable reduction in growth of E. faecalis was seen in herbal extract groups. Considering the non - toxic nature and other physiological benefits of these herbal extracts, further studies need to be carried out to consider them as an alternative for sodium hypochlorite at least in the initial stages of bacterial infection.


Ethics is a philosophical discipline and present set of customs, habits and norms, by which people of one community manage their actions and their overall behavior. Ethical behavior and ethical norms have a great impact on scientific publications, and the goal of each magazine, especially the Editorial Board of journal, and Editors themselves, are to follow the ethical behavior principles in all steps of publishing (from the design of the study to the final process of publication). The list of authors is written below the title, along with the statement who is the corresponding author.


The blind source separation problem is to extract the underlying source signals from a set of linear mixtures, where the mixing matrix is unknown. This situation is common in acoustics, radio, medical signal and image processing, hyperspectral imaging, and other areas. We suggest a two-stage separation process: a priori selection of a possibly overcomplete signal dictionary (for instance, a wavelet frame or a learned dictionary) in which the sources are assumed to be sparsely representable, followed by unmixing the sources by exploiting the their sparse representability. We consider the general case of more sources than mixtures, but also derive a more efficient algorithm in the case of a nonovercomplete dictionary and an equal numbers of sources and mixtures. Experiments with artificial signals and musical sounds demonstrate significantly better separation than other known techniques.


The Pleistocene sediment infill of elongated glacial incisions of the southern North Sea (SNS) is often referred to as tunnel valleys (TVs). The depositional environment is not yet fully understood and the present study addresses this challenge from the perspective of clay-mineral transformation (illite to illite-smectite) reported from the largest Elsterian TV of the SNS. Material acquired from the K14-12 borehole in the Dutch offshore was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy, electron microprobe, and laser particle-size analysis. Illite and illite-smectite (I-S) appeared as dominant clays along with minor amounts of kaolinite, kaolinite-smectite, and chlorite. The largest amount of I-S is recognized in the main TV portion, while in pre-glacial and uppermost deposits, I-S is less abundant. The XRD peak fitting and deconvolution suggest that I-S consists of several intermediates — ordered (well crystallized illite + R3 I-S) and disordered (R0 I-S + R0 I-SS). Given the average particle sizes (>2 µm) and Kübler index values (0.415–0.341°Δ2θ), illite as well as chlorite and kaolinite were interpreted as detrital. On the basis of the distinctive distribution, grain sizes, and compositional variations of I-S, formation by means of early diagenetic in situ smectitization of illite under a cold climate is proposed. The process operated via a series of mixed-layer intermediates derived from an illite component being converted progressively to low-charged smectite. The reaction is marked by a significant net loss of K and Al with replacement by Si in a tetrahedral coordination. Layer-charge imbalance is accommodated by Fe(III) and Mg entering an octahedral sheet, whereas Ca partly fills the interlayer sites. Smectitization rates were controlled by illite grain sizes. The results of the present study support strongly the existence of an ice-marginal freshwater depositional environment at the glacial maximum in the SNS in which early diagenesis at low temperatures resulted in incomplete conversion of illite to smectite.


This article presents an excerpt from a theory of lexicographic texts which deals particularly with dictionary articles. Almost all characteristics of dictionary articles considered as typically lexicographic may be regarded as results of textual condensation processes. A theory of textual condensation in lexicography thus makes it possible to analyse the lexicographic textual condensation from a uniform perspective; it allows us to calculate exactly the degree of textual condensation, it contributes to the construction of a scientific predicate user-friendlier as, and gives us insights which will make the formulation of dictionary articles more teachable. The theory consists of two parts: a partial theory of inner and a partial theory of outer textual condensation. The first part explains in which way textual condensation may be understood as a process leading from a full text (a text showing complete cohesion and explicit syntax) to a condensed article text (with addressing as syntax substitute and dependence on a metatext). With respect to a monosemous lemma sign, the textual condensation process goes through only one stage, to be exemplified here. With respect to a polysemous lemma sign, there is a second stage, including shifts to the left. Certain article types with certain microstructures such as the annexed microstructures may go through a third stage of textual condensation, accompanied by shifts to the right. The second part of the theory deals with the condensation processes which regard the carriers of the guiding element and which, inter alia, lead to reference articles and lemma clusters. Finally, attention is drawn to a different form of textual condensation regarding the proportion of printed characters in relation to the total printed matter.


Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) is a rare zoonotic organism that is found in the feces of grazing animals and in farm soil. It typically causes pulmonary disease, but it can also cause extrapulmonary disease. Immunocompromised patients are at a higher risk of developing the infection, but it has been reported in individuals with competent immune system as well. We present a unique case of infectious endocarditis (IE) due to a R. equi infection in an immunocompetent patient. A 77-year-old male with a history of coronary artery disease, prior myocardial infarction, systolic heart failure, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, aortic stenosis, and benign prostatic hypertrophy was evaluated by cardiothoracic surgery for coronary and valvular heart disease. His transesophageal echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization demonstrated severe aortic stenosis and multivessel coronary artery disease. The patient underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and simultaneous aortic valve replacement. Intraoperatively, there was exudative material covering his aortic valve, which was sent for tissue culture. Tissue culture was positive for R. equi and Enterococcus faecium. R. equi endocarditis is a rare presentation of this organism. R. equi endocarditis is a very challenging diagnosis due to its varying presentation compared to typical IE. Detailed history taking and physical exam are extremely important to determine if further evaluation is needed. Prolonged oral and intravenous antibiotics are recommended for effective treatment.


Houston Baker maintains that black American culture, grounded in a unique historical experience, is distinct from any other, and that it has produced a body of literature that is equally and demonstrably unique in its sources, values, and modes of expression. He argues that black American literature is rooted in black folklore- animal tales, trickster slave tales, religious tales, folk songs, spirituals, and ballads- and that a knowledge of this tradition is essential to the understanding of any individual black author or work. To deomonstrate the continuity of this tradition, Baker examines themes that appear in folklore and persist throughout contemporary black literature. "Freedom and Apocalypse," for example, traces the idea that black Americans are a chosen people who will, by some violent means, overthrow the white man's tyranny.The essays culminate in an examination of the life and work of Richard Wright. Baker's treatment of Wright as a black American artist who recorded the black man's shift from an agrarian to an urban setting places Wright and the tradition of black literature and culture in a fresh perspective.


To test the hypothesis that body size and activity levels are negatively genetically correlated, we conducted an artificial selection experiment for increased voluntary wheel-running activity in house mice (Mus domesticus). Here, we compare body masses of mice from control and selected lines after 14 generations of selection. In both groups, beginning at weaning and then for 8 weeks, we housed half of the individuals with access to running wheels that were free to rotate and the other half with wheels that were locked to prevent rotation. Mice from selected lines were more active than controls at weaning (21 days) and across the experiment (total revolutions during last week: females 2.5-fold higher, males 2.1-fold higher). At weaning, mice from selected and control lines did not differ significantly in body mass. At 79 days of age, mice from selected lines weighed 13.6 % less than mice from control lines, whereas mice with access to free wheels weighed 4.5 % less than 'sedentary' individuals; both effects were statistically significant and additive. Within the free-wheel-access group, individual variation in body mass of males was negatively correlated with amount of wheel-running during the last week (P<0.01); for females, the relationship was also negative but not statistically significant (P>0.40). The narrow-sense genetic correlation between wheel-running and body mass after 8 weeks of wheel access was estimated to be -0. 50. A negative genetic correlation could account for the negative relationship between voluntary wheel-running and body mass that has been reported across 13 species of muroid rodents.


The quench characteristics of second generation (2 G) YBCO Coated Conductor (CC) tapes are of fundamental importance for the design and safe operation of superconducting cables and magnets based on this material.
Their ability to transport high current densities at high temperature, up to 77 K, and at very high fields, over 20 T, together with the increasing knowledge in their manufacturing, which is reducing their cost, are pushing the
use of this innovative material in numerous system applications, from high field magnets for research to motors and generators as well as for cables.
The aim of this Ph. D. thesis is the experimental analysis and numerical simulations of quench in superconducting HTS tapes and coils. A measurements facility for the characterization of superconducting tapes and coils
was designed, assembled and tested. The facility consist of a cryostat, a cryocooler, a vacuum system, resistive and superconducting current leads and signal feedthrough. Moreover, the data acquisition system and the software
for critical current and quench measurements were developed.
A 2D model was developed using the finite element code COMSOL Multiphysics R . The problem of modeling the high aspect ratio of the tape is tackled by multiplying the tape thickness by a constant factor, compensating the heat
and electrical balance equations by introducing a material anisotropy. The model was then validated both with the results of a 1D quench model based on a non-linear electric circuit coupled to a thermal model of the tape, to literature measurements and to critical current and quench measurements made in the cryogenic facility.
Finally the model was extended to the study of coils and windings with the definition of the tape and stack homogenized properties. The procedure allows the definition of a multi-scale hierarchical model, able to simulate the
windings with different degrees of detail.


Summary: Microcoleus chthonoplastes is a filamentous, nonheterocystous cyanobacterium which fixes gaseous nitrogen in axenic culture under aerobic conditions. Growth on agar plates reflects the benthic habit observed in the natural environment, and in liquid culture clumps or aggregates are produced. Scanning electron microscopy suggests that these aggregates are primarily the result of random movement of trichomes against one another. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether aggregation or any intracellular differentiation might be important in protection of the oxygen-labile nitrogenase in this species. Observations using light and transmission electron microscopy revealed no cellular or intracellular differentiation, and tetrazolium labelling experiments provided no evidence that a proportion of cells might act in a heterocyst-like fashion. The results presented suggest that nitrogen fixation in M. chthonoplastes is unlikely to be enhanced in oxygen-deficient microsites formed as a result of aggregation.


The Visual Voice is an ongoing collaborative research project between Frank Millward and John Rubin. The work seeks to represent emotive vocal utterances as abstracted 3D moving images and seeks to understand how we interpret complex emotive interactive exchanges between human and machine, sound and image, vocal quality and perceived emotive intent.

The research has spawned many performance works. The most recent From Anger To Sadness is an exploration of wordless, emotive utterances – seen as nasendoscopy, spectrographic and abstracted moving images – and how these images influence our perception of them.

Is there a relationship between emotive utterance, vocal quality and perceived emotive intent?

Using examples found in From Anger To Sadness this paper examines how these issues have been addressed in a performance context and seeks to theorise and understand how we interpret complex emotive interactive exchange.


The purpose of this research was to answer the following central questions: 1) How accurate are human observers at predicting the behavior of cyclists as the cyclists approached a crossing? 2) If the accuracy is reliably better than chance, what cues were used to make the predictions? 3) At what distance from the crossing did the most critical cues occur? 4) Can the cues be used in a model that can reliably predict cyclist intent? We present results that show a number of indicators that can be used in to predict the intention of a cyclist, i.e., future actions of a cyclist, e.g., "left turn" or "continue forward" etc. Results of empirical studies show that humans are reasonably good at this type of prediction for a majority of the situations studied. However, some situations seem to contain conflicting information. The results also suggested that human prediction of intention is to a large extent relying on a single "strong" indicator, e.g., that the cyclist makes a clear "head movement". Several "weaker" indicators that together could be a strong "combined indicator", or equivalently strong evidence, is likely to be missed or too complex to be handled by humans in real-time. We suggest this line of research can be used to create decision support systems that predict the behavior of cyclists in traffic.


This article takes the reception of the opening concert of the 1951 Bayreuth festival – a performance of Beethoven's IX symphony under Wilhelm Furtwangler - as a prism through which to examine the political culture of the early Federal Republic. It examines the main traditions of Beethoven reception in the first half of the twentieth century, and in Bayreuth in particular, stressing that the discourse surrounding the event was rooted in critical traditions overwhelmingly associated with the nationalist right in German politics. Secondly, it examines the place of Furtwangler in the reception of the concert, arguing that he can best be seen as the representative of a residual Wilhelmine nationalism distinct from the Third Reich but also capable of surviving inside it, which made the brief transition into the Federal Republic before fading in the 1950s. This provides the key to what gave the concert its significance for contemporaries. Finally, it contrasts this concert with another, equally illuminating, but entirely forgotten one given at the same festival two years later, when the former modernist exile Paul Hindemith conducted the same symphony. The reception of this concert underlines that the early 1950s were a period in which not only the residual traces of Wilhelmine nationalism lingered, but also one through which more immediate memories of the conflicts of the 1920s and 1930s resonated profoundly . The events surrounding this concert also demonstrate that the liberalising impulses associated with the late 1950s were manifesting themselves earlier and in the unlikeliest of places.


Abstract Objective To determine patient, institution, and machine characteristics that contribute to variation in radiation doses used for computed tomography (CT). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Data were assembled and analyzed from the University of California San Francisco CT International Dose Registry. Participants Standardized data from over 2.0 million CT examinations of adults who underwent CT between November 2015 and August 2017 from 151 institutions, across seven countries (Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Israel, and Japan). Main outcome measures Mean effective doses and proportions of high dose examinations for abdomen, chest, combined chest and abdomen, and head CT were determined by patient characteristics (sex, age, and size), type of institution (trauma center, care provision 24 hours per day and seven days per week, academic, private), institutional practice volume, machine factors (manufacturer, model), country, and how scanners were used, before and after adjustment for patient characteristics, using hierarchical linear and logistic regression. High dose examinations were defined as CT scans with doses above the 75th percentile defined during a baseline period. Results The mean effective dose and proportion of high dose examinations varied substantially across institutions. The doses varied modestly (10-30%) by type of institution and machine characteristics after adjusting for patient characteristics. By contrast, even after adjusting for patient characteristics, wide variations in radiation doses across countries persisted, with a fourfold range in mean effective dose for abdomen CT examinations (7.0-25.7 mSv) and a 17-fold range in proportion of high dose examinations (4-69%). Similar variation across countries was observed for chest (mean effective dose 1.7-6.4 mSv, proportion of high dose examinations 1-26%) and combined chest and abdomen CT (10.0-37.9 mSv, 2-78%). Doses for head CT varied less (1.4-1.9 mSv, 8-27%). In multivariable models, the dose variation across countries was primarily attributable to institutional decisions regarding technical parameters (that is, how the scanners were used). Conclusions CT protocols and radiation doses vary greatly across countries and are primarily attributable to local choices regarding technical parameters, rather than patient, institution, or machine characteristics. These findings suggest that the optimization of doses to a consistent standard should be possible. Study registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03000751.


Every international intervention comes with its own security regulations, which contribute in turn to structure the political geography of the intervention, delimiting areas of interaction between interveners and local population and shaping the political economy of intervention. The securitization of the everyday in Haiti took the form of colour-coded security zones (green, yellow and red), with distinct security regulations for each. This article will analyse the specific everyday ramifications of the security mapping in Haiti, focusing particularly on the vast yellow zone that covers residential areas in Port-au-Prince and the downtown area in dire need of investment after the earthquake. Based on interviews conducted in Port-au-Prince in 2017 and 2018, the article will make three distinct arguments, underscoring the ramifications of mapping as a spatial practice of securitization. First, by channelling expatriates to specific locations in the capital, and by preventing them from occupying other zones in Port-au-Prince, the securitization practices contribute to the gentrification process around the Pétion-Ville area, contributing in their own way to the deep-rooted social segregation process in play in Port-au-Prince. Second, it will analyse how these logics of securitization are linked to an 'imagined geography' of the capital, where actual security risks matter less than logics of disassociation from areas perceived as having no interest for international actors. Finally, the article will look at how security mapping is reappropriated and resisted by local actors, displaying a mix of resilience and self-help strategies. This article makes a distinct contribution by linking critical cartography and international relations, especially the colour-coding and security mapping discussion with the securitization and intervention literature.


State universities charging out-of-state tuition prices through the use of durational residency requirements is unconstitutional in violation of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV for students who come into a state in order to attend school there because the practice hinders the operation of a system of higher education within the nation as a whole by allowing states to confer the privilege of in-state tuition upon residents that people coming into the state from other states do not receive. Additionally, the practice of using durational residency requirements in determining who is eligible for in-state tuition violates the right to travel as protected under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to travel is violated because the requirements create discriminatory classifications among newer residents and long-term residents that penalize the right of a citizen to be treated the same in his new state of residence as those who have already lived there for the period of time specified by the durational residency requirement. Furthermore, the practice of charging out-of-state tuition rates to students who come into the state from external states poses serious policy concerns through unfair application of durational residency requirements. This practice places a significant obstacle in the way of students who wish to obtain a higher education at a university in another state in the form of exponentially higher tuition rates. In Section I, this Note first looks at residency as states define it for tuition purposes and how states use durational residency requirements to determine whether a student qualifies for in-state tuition rates or not. In Section II, this Note discusses the history of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV in order to provide a background for how this issue fits within the protections of the clause, taking a look at its origins and its evolution. In Section III, this Note discusses the constitutional implications of a state conferring the benefit of in-state tuition on its residents to the detriment of students coming from out of state under the purview of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV. In Section IV, this Note discusses the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to see how these protections apply to the states and, more specifically, how out-of-state tuition prices infringe upon the right to travel as protected under this clause. In Section V, this Note's primary argument outlines how the practice of imposing durational residency requirements for in-state tuition purposes violates the right to travel under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.


The Gaia theory of James Lovelock proposes that the Earth is a self-regulating system, or super-organism, maintaining conditions hospitable to contemporary planetary biota. Objections to this theory, concerning its alleged untestability and circularity, are considered and countered. Favourable evidence includes Lovelock's Daisyworld model of a planet regulating its own temperatures and thus maintaining homeostasis, and his discoveries of actual regulatory mechanisms such as the biological generation of dimethyl sulphide, which removes sulfur from the oceans and seeds clouds whose albedo reduces solar radiation (a negative feedback mechanism). After some decades of scepticism, sections of the scientific community have partially endorsed Gaia theory, accepting that the Earth system behaves as if self-regulating. Whether or not this theory is acceptable in full, it has drawn attention to the need for preserving planetary biological cycles and for the planetary dimension to be incorporated in ethical decision-making, and thus for a planetary ethic.

Key Concepts

James Lovelock hypothesises that the planetary physical and biological system is a self-regulating super-organism.
There were precedents before Lovelock for ascribing life either to the planet or to the universe.
James W. Kirchner presents Gaia hypotheses as either unoriginal or untestable.
Lovelock demonstrates that Gaia theory is both original and testable, albeit indirectly.
Lovelock's theory can readily escape the charge of circularity.
Predictions of Gaia theory include the existence of biologically generated mechanisms of planetary regulation.
Lovelock's discovery of dimethyl sulphide discloses such a mechanism for the regulation of oceanic sulfur.
Both atmospheric oxygen and atmospheric nitrogen turn out to be biologically generated and maintained.
Philosophers such as Stephen Clark and Mary Midgley have made Gaia a symbol for the planetary thinking currently needed.
The Amsterdam Declaration of planetary scientists (Moore et al., 2001) accepted aspects of Gaia theory, without explicitly accepting the theory's planetary goal.

Keywords:

Daisyworld model;
dimethyl sulphide;
feedback mechanisms;
Gaia;
homeostasis;
Lovelock, James;
planetary ethic;
self-regulating system;
super-organism;
testability


We investigated the effects of calcium supplementation and physical practice on the bone ultrasound properties and trabecular microarchitecture in children. 160 children aged 8-11 were randomly allocated to active or nonactive groups and to receive either a calcium-phosphate or a placebo powder for 6 months. Skeletal status was assessed using an ultrasound technique, which measures the speed of sound (Ad-SoS, m/s) at the phalanx. Bone microarchitecture was characterized by fractal analysis measured on calcaneus radiographs and the result expressed as the Hmean parameter, that has been shown to a good reliability of the bone texture quality. After 6 months, the calcium group had significantly gained Ad-SoS compared to the placebo group (P = 0.01) and Hmean increase was greater in the active than the nonactive group (P < 0.05). Exercise and calcium supplementation had a differential effect on the bone tissue, calcium being rather linked to a systemic effect whereas exercise has acted better onto the skeletal stressed site.


Four cases of posterior dislocation of the shoulder at birth in association with obstetric brachial plexus palsy are presented. Review of the literature suggests that this association is not generally recognised. All cases were diagnosed late; two were treated by open reduction, one by humeral osteotomy and one managed conservatively