Control of the COVID-19 pandemic requires a detailed understanding of prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the population. Case-based surveillance is necessarily biased towards symptomatic individuals and sensitive to varying patterns of reporting in space and time. The real-time assessment of community transmission antigen study (REACT-1) is designed to overcome these limitations by obtaining prevalence data based on a nose and throat swab RT-PCR test among a representative community-based sample in England, including asymptomatic individuals. Here, we describe results comparing rounds 1 and 2 carried out during May and mid June / early July 2020 respectively across 315 lower tier local authority areas. In round 1 we found 159 positive samples from 120,620 tested swabs while round 2 there were 123 positive samples from 159,199 tested swabs, indicating a downwards trend in prevalence from 0.13% (95% CI, 0.11%, 0.15%) to 0.077% (0.065%, 0.092%), a halving time of 38 (28, 58) days, and an R of 0.89 (0.86, 0.93). The proportion of swab-positive participants who were asymptomatic at the time of sampling increased from 69% (61%, 76%) in round 1 to 81% (73%, 87%) in round 2. Although health care and care home workers were infected far more frequently than other workers in round 1, the odds were markedly reduced in round 2. Age patterns of infection changed between rounds, with a reduction by a factor of five in prevalence in 18 to 24 year olds. Our data were suggestive of increased risk of infection in Black and Asian (mainly South Asian) ethnicities. Using regional and detailed case location data, we detected increased infection intensity in and near London. Under multiple sensitivity analyses, our results were robust to the possibility of false positives. At the end of the initial lockdown in England, we found continued decline in prevalence and a shift in the pattern of infection by age and occupation. Community-based sampling, including asymptomatic individuals, is necessary to fully understand the nature of ongoing transmission.


Breadth-first ray tracing is based on the idea of exchanging the roles of rays and objects. For scenes with a large number of objects, it may be profitable to form a set of rays and compare each object in turn against this set. By doing so, thrashing, due to disk access, can be minimized. We present ways to combine breadth-first methods with traditional efficient algorithms, along with new schemes to minimize accessing objects stored on disk. Experimental analysis, including comparisons with depth-first ray tracing, shows that large databases can be handled efficiently with this approach.


Purpose:  Understanding the relationship between CSR communication on corporate websites and the financial performance of Catalan meat companies. Design/methodology/approach:  Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the CSR communication variables of corporate websites identifying the companies with the best CSR web communication's practices, and economic and financial comparative analysis. It also modelled the financial returns to determine whether CSR communication, as an independent variable, affects the net profit generated in relation to the investment of the stakeholders.  The analysis covered a sample of 130 Catalan meat companies. Findings:  The report provides a diagnosis of the CSR web communication and also of the financial health of the companies in the period analyzed. The study contributes to the discussion on the relationship between CSR and financial performance. Research limitations/implications:  It would be desirable extended periods of economic and financial analysis, and a more in depth study of online communication strategy incorporating the views of those responsible for the strategy and stakeholders. Practical implications:  The analysis provides a better understanding of current corporate web communication and the economic and financial situation of the companies analyzed. It has practical benefits in making strategic decisions to improve the relationship with stakeholders and allows us to assess the forecast that has been made for this sector in Catalonia in the period analyzed. Social implications:  The results of the study allow the industry to see the future prospects of this sector and to make the necessary changes. The results lead to improved transparency and responsible behavior. Originality/value:  The analysis allows the stakeholders of the meat industry to evaluate the company's social behavior, to assess the financial health and to take appropriate future actions.


Background: Patient satisfaction is multidimensional. The clinician's perspective of a good outcome and the patient's experience of a satisfactory service are often two different end-points. The primary aim of our study was to assess the perioperative experience of patients undergoing procedural sedation. A secondary aim was to create a postoperative questionnaire which could be used as a measurement tool. The questions could also be used as an audit to assist with adherence to quality assurance and clinical governance. Method: A questionnaire was compiled to attempt to assess the perioperative aspects of procedural sedation. Five hundred consecutive patients undergoing procedural sedation for dental-related outpatient procedures were asked to complete a questionnaire. Patients who didn't complete it were excluded. Ninety-eight per cent of the patients returned the questionnaire and 489 questionnaires were evaluated. Results: A total of 489 patients were included. Ninety-three per cent of the patients expressed a good (7+/10) overall experience of procedural sedation, and 92.6% indicated that they would recommend it to others. Conclusion: Our study population showed a high level of satisfaction with their sedation experience. It is suggested that the devised questionnaire could be used successfully in future as an assessment tool or audit of patient satisfaction following procedural sedation for ambulatory surgery.


In order to justify the expenditure for capital equipment such as a microwave receiver, it must be shown that the instrument provides the best value to the user. The best value for a microwave receiver for measuring today's complex microwave antennas dictates that the receiver be versatile enough to adapt and operate over a diverse set of applications and performance specifications. Some important characteristics to consider when evaluating a microwave receiver's value is measurement speed, frequency agility, number of measurement channels, remotability, dynamic range, ease of operation, and system integration. This paper addresses the development and important characteristics of a high speed microwave receiver that was designed to provide users with maximum productivity, and therefore, the best value for a microwave antenna measurement receiver. Receiver characteristics such as acquisition speed, frequency agility, number of measurement channels, controls, interfacing, and versatility are discussed.


A vast number of studies have demonstrated a remarkable role for the gut microbiota and their metabolites in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Recent studies in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model of MS, have revealed that modifying certain intestinal bacterial populations may influence immune cell priming in the periphery, resulting in dysregulation of immune responses and neuroinflammatory processes in the central nervous system (CNS). Conversely, some commensal bacteria and their antigenic products can protect against inflammation within the CNS. Specific components of the gut microbiome have been implicated in the production of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and subsequent generation of Th17 cells. Similarly, commensal bacteria and their metabolites can also promote the generation of regulatory T‐cells (Treg), contributing to immune suppression. Short‐chain fatty acids may induce Treg either by G‐protein‐coupled receptors or inhibition of histone deacetylases. Tryptophan metabolites may suppress inflammatory responses by acting on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in T‐cells or astrocytes. Interestingly, secretion of these metabolites can be impaired by excess consumption of dietary components, such as long‐chain fatty acids or salt, indicating that the diet represents an environmental factor affecting the complex crosstalk between the gut microbiota and the immune system. This review discusses new aspects of host–microbiota interaction and the immune system with a special focus on MS as a prototype T‐cell‐mediated autoimmune disease of the CNS.


The joy of sex education . BFI anthology 1910-70, DVD released 2009. ISBN/EAN: 5035673007624

Sex education is no laughing matter: lives depend on it, quite literally. Yet laughter, too often suppressed, is how most of us tend to remember our sex education lessons at school. Too little, too late, too allusive, too coy, somehow always out of touch: young as we were, feigning innocence or feigning experience, we needed to save our own faces by embarrassing the teacher.

Laughter and embarrassment might still be responses to the BFI's double DVD set of historical sex education films spanning over 65 years (1917 to 1973). Laughter, embarrassment and despair too: it's not just the dated content and presentation that are arresting, but the human suffering and distress they reveal through their stories—and the glaring lacunae, the information withheld. An agnotological look at these films is salutary—studying, that is, the way that they sustained sexual ignorance, and the implications of such knowledge-brokering.

Sex education has always been a contested field—moralists against liberals, church against social organisations, parents against school policy—as Tim Boon illustrates in the excellent multi-authored accompanying booklet. Time was wasted, and lives broken, while public bodies argued over the right to know, …


OF DISSERTATION THE IMPACT OF OWNER PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECT SAFETY PERFORMANCE Construction sites are dangerous work environments. One traditional assumption prevails in the construction industry that construction safety should be the sole responsibility of the contractor. However, some safety researchers gradually begin to challenge this assumption. The elementary research in this field try to validate the existence of relationship of the owner's practices and safety performance, which indicates that the involvements of the owner have a positive impact on improvement of safety performance. Therefore, the owner can and should take a responsibility of the project safety. Some subsequent research focus on collecting and summarizing the best safety practices and procedures of the owner. Other research efforts are directed to laying out rules or principles for the owner to play a positive role in construction safety. However, relevant issues are still under-researched. Rare research is undertaken to quantify the impacts of the owner practices and procedures on safety performance. To explore and improve the involvement of the owner in the safety issues, the research in this dissertation develops a systematic and effective model to rate the impacts of the owner practices and procedures on project safety. The model is entitled the Owner's Role Rating Model (ORRM), which can yield a score to evaluate the owner's safety performance. Operational Excellence (OE) will be embedded into the establishment to enhance the effectiveness, and also serves as the fundamental theory. OE is borrowed from the chemical processing industry. OE can be defined as doing the right thing, the right way, every time – even when no one is watching. The essence of OE is that culture drives behavior and behavior sustains culture. Good Operational Excellence results in effective reinforcement of appropriate safety systems, and significantly reduces the rate of unsafe behaviors (AIChE, 2011). ORRM will be structured as a Critical to Safety (CTS) Tree beginning with the owner's role in safety. The model will have four components: Safety Driver, CTS, Critical to Expectations (CTE) and Specification/Measurement (S/M). Through an extensive literature review, comprehensive lists of CTS and CTE elements are developed. CTE-specific S/Ms are also developed for measurement. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is utilized to obtain weights of CTS elements, which aims to quantify the relative importance of CTS elements. An empirical validation of 20 projects is conducted by using ORRM to verify its effectiveness and efficiency. ORRM could be used to assess the degree of the owner's involvement in the safety process, and present a final score to evaluate owner's overall performance in safety management. Also, the result of evaluation can indicate the direction for owners to improve their performance. ORRM will also serve as a prototype that can be used for the similar studies in the future.


Roe is an important product of the Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) industry. About 31% of the value for all pollock products comes from roe, yet roe is 5% of the weight of the fish. Currently, the size (weight), color, and maturity of the roe are subjectively evaluated. The objective of this study was to develop methods to predict the weight of Alaska pollock roe based on its view area from a camera and to differentiate between single and double roes. One hundred and forty-two pollock roes were picked from a processing line in a Kodiak, AK plant. Each roe was weighed, placed in a light box equipped with a digital video camera, images were taken at two different angles from one side, then turned over and presented at two different angles again (four images for each roe). A reference square of known surface area was placed by the roe. The following equations were used to fit the view area (X) versus weight (Y) data: linear, power, and second-order polynomial. Error rates for the classification of roes by weight decreased significantly when weight prediction equations for single and double roes were developed separately. A "turn angle" method, a "box" method, and a "modified box" method were tested to differentiate single and double roes by image analysis. Machine vision can accurately determine the weight of pollock roe. Practical Application Abstract: An image analysis method to accurately determine if pollock roe is a single or a double was developed. Then view area versus weight correlations were found for single and double roes that reduced incorrect weight classification rates to half that of human graders.


Abstract Financial markets witness high levels of activity at certain times but remain calm at others. This makes the flow of physical time discontinuous. Therefore, to use physical time scales for studying financial time series runs the risk of missing important activities. An alternative approach is to use an event-based time scale that captures periodic activities in the market. In this paper, the authors use a special type of event, called a directional-change event, and show its usefulness in capturing periodic market activities. The study confirms that the length of the price-curve coastline, as defined by directional-change events, turns out to be a long one.


A paper-based platform was developed and tested for studies on basic cell culture, material biocompatibility, and activity of pharmaceuticals in order to provide a reliable, robust and low-cost cell study platform. It is based upon a paper or paperboard support, with a nanostructured latex coating to provide an enhanced cell growth and sufficient barrier properties. Wetting is limited to regions of interest using a flexographically printed hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane layer with circular non-print areas. The nanostructured coating can be substituted for another coating of interest, or the regions of interest functionalized with a material to be studied. The platform is fully up-scalable, being produced with roll-to-roll rod coating, flexographic and inkjet printing methods. Results show that the platform efficiency is comparable to multi-well plates in colorimetric assays in three separate studies: a cell culture study, a biocompatibility study, and a drug screening study. The color intensity is quantified by using a common office scanner or an imaging device and the data is analyzed by a custom computer software without the need for expensive screening or analysis equipment.


Naming strategies in Andre P. Brink's Duiwelskloof and Devil's Valley: A comparative perspective Andre P. Brink, celebrated Afrikaans novelist in South Africa, often translates or reworks his own work into English. In 1998 he published the Afrikaans novel Duiwelskloof, as well as the English version with the title Devil's Valley. This contribution describes and analyses Brink's strategy regarding naming in both novels. The context of the novel and the typical Afrikaans naming strategies in the original Afrikaans highlight the challenges any translator faces when dealing with names that are embedded in language and culture, often "meaningful" and full of connotations and associations. Any attempt at anglicising the striking Afrikaans names in the English version is probably doomed to failure. Nevertheless, Brink manages reasonably well and the novel as a whole is still successful in English, but the onomastic content in the English version is not as successful as in the Afrikaans because of the impossible challenge of finding suitable equivalents for the particularly apt Afrikaans names. Brink employed various strategies, with varying measures of success, in trying to overcome these obstacles.


We analyze the optimal control of an electromagnetic process in type-II superconductivity. The PDE-constrained optimization problem is to find an optimal applied current density, which steers the electromagnetic fields to the desired ones in the presence of a type-II superconductor. The governing PDE system for the electromagnetic fields consists of hyperbolic evolution Maxwell equations with a nonlinear and nonsmooth constitutive law for the electric field and the current density based on the Bean critical-state model. Through the use of the Maxwell theory, the semigroup theory, Helmholtz decomposition, and results on maximal monotone operators, we develop a mathematical theory including an existence analysis and first-order necessary optimality conditions for the nonsmooth PDE-constrained optimization problem.


In recent years, ›wicked problems‹ have gained widespread attention both in academic and political discourses. The term is typically used to describe constellations in which long-term strategies are needed in order to cope with complex cause-and-effect-relationships, time is pressing due to self-enforcing dynamics, and well-established techniques of knowledge acquisition seem no longer valid. Therefore, time is obviously of particular importance for the identification of wicked problems. However, in the literature these temporal features are treated as naturally given, which obscures the social practices through which wickedness as a ›complex‹, ›uncertain‹ and ›urging‹ socio-political condition is constituted. To problematize this perspective, this article makes use of phenomenological sociology and systems theory to show how time is not objectively given but emerges from individual sense-making processes and communicative operations respectively. With these anti-naturalist perspectives on time it becomes possible to critically analyze the political implications that accompany the discourse on wicked problems.


This chapter revisits customary international law (hereafter CIL) as a source of international criminal law (hereafter ICL) in the era of the International Criminal Court (hereafter ICC). Most contemporary reflections on the role of CIL in ICL and most observations regarding creative judicial identification processes still tend to zero in on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (hereafter ICTY). True, the 1990s were a decade-long experiment or perhaps indeed an extended "Grotian Moment." In any event, it was a period of accelerated, and at times artificial, CIL-creation on a variety of ICLissues by the ad hoc Tribunals. The ICTY's innovative methodologies nourished theories about the fragmentation of sources and ensuing claims regarding the existence of autonomized regimes. Being predominantly based on ICTY experiences, these claims may well have become outdated. The coming into operation of the ICC Statute has gradually engendered a new momentum that is best described as the "Codified Moment." In this new ICC-era, CIL plays a much less prominent role.This chapter explores the decline of CIL in ICL. It begins by delimiting the concept of "international criminal law" and highlights some consequences of this delimitation for a discussion on the role of CIL. It argues that the essence of this area of law is its judicial application as part of a process to determine guilt and to impose a sentence. Hence, only judicial agents truly apply ICL. By implication, ICL does not operate in a traditional interstate setting, a feature that also has consequences for CIL-formation and identification.The chapter then presents the causal claim that this decline is a direct consequence of the introduction of the ICC Statute and the move towards a universal and more consent-based regime. As will be demonstrated, the ICC Statute's design reflects the drafters' explicit resolve to marginalize CIL. Subsequently, this chapter argues that the move away from CIL in ICL can itself be explained by the difficulties inherent in grounding rules of ICL in CIL. This normative claim is developed through an analysis of different types of rules, i.e., procedural rules, substantive rules regarding the definition of crimes, and rules regarding modes of liability. In doing so, this chapter sheds light on the distinct methodological challenges that may arise in attempts to construe a customary basis for such rules.


Abstract. The primary and most important oxidant in the atmosphere is the hydroxyl radical (OH). Currently OH sinks, particularly gas phase reactions, are poorly constrained. One way to characterize the overall sink of OH is to measure directly the ambient loss rate of OH, the total OH reactivity. To date, direct measurements of total OH reactivity have been either performed using a Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) system ("pump-and-probe" or "flow reactor") or the Comparative Reactivity Method (CRM) with a Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS). Both techniques require large, complex and expensive detection systems. This study presents a feasibility assessment for CRM total OH reactivity measurements using a new detector, a Gas Chromatographic Photoionization Detector (GC-PID). Such a system is smaller, more portable, less power consuming and less expensive than other total OH reactivity measurement techniques. Total OH reactivity is measured by the CRM using a competitive reaction between a reagent (here pyrrole) with OH alone and in the presence of atmospheric reactive molecules. The new CRM method for total OH reactivity has been tested with parallel measurements of the GC-PID and the previously validated PTR-MS as detector for the reagent pyrrole during laboratory experiments, plant chamber and boreal field studies. Excellent agreement of both detectors was found when the GC-PID was operated under optimum conditions. Time resolution (60–70 s), sensitivity (LOD 3–6 s−1) and overall uncertainty (25% in optimum conditions) for total OH reactivity were similar to PTR-MS based total OH reactivity measurements. One drawback of the GC-PID system was the steady loss of sensitivity and accuracy during intensive measurements lasting several weeks, and a possible toluene interference. Generally, the GC-PID system has been shown to produce closely comparable results to the PTR-MS and thus in suitable environments (e.g. forests) it presents a viably economical alternative for groups interested in total OH reactivity observations.


Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a powerful technique that is now commonly used in many research and clinical laboratories. Although it allows precise quantification of specific DNA sequences, it is often not used at its full potential. A number of data collection and processing strategies have been described for the implementation of quantitative PCR. However, they can be experimentally cumbersome, their relative performances have not been evaluated systematically, and they often remain poorly validated statistically and/or experimentally. Highly sophisticated mathematical models have also been proposed to decipher the PCR intimate process, but most of them were never validated. Often poor knowledge of the underlying mechanisms lead to inaccurate results and misinterpretation. Our first objective has been to measure by qPCR chromatin accessibility that was probed by a DNA adenine methylase. Results showed that 2-fold variations in relative accessibility could be assessed. However, the variability of the measures lead us to question the reproducibility of the qPCR. Placing our work in a robust statistical frame work, we proceeded with the evaluation of the parameters influencing PCR efficiency. Performance of known methods were also evaluated in terms of sensitivity, precision and robustness; and compared with various improved models, based on individual or averaged efficiency values. Our results show that when accurate quantification is required, single reaction efficiencies need to be measured and averaged for a given sample and primer. Furthermore, we show that well designed primers can hold the assumption of equal efficiency and therefore that the ∆Ct model is valid for measurement of 5-fold induction of a gene expression, at the least. Finally, we tried, as much as we could, to produce an exhaustive list of pitfalls qPCR users could stumble upon and proposed solutions. Our results allow the precise evaluation of minute amount of DNA, with a predictable and realistic number of measures.


The conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS, widely used in optoelectronic devices, exhibits improved conductivity upon post-treatment, but the mechanism of this improvement is difficult to fully ascertain. The effects of thermal annealing and DMSO post-treatment on PEDOT:PSS, from the nano- to mesoscale, are studied using single-particle absorption spectroscopy. An average decrease in size and apparent increase in rotational order of individual particles are observed with both treatments, including unexpected correlations between change in rotational order and initial properties. Simulation of these transformations and correlations occurring during the annealing process reveal that the effects of DMSO-post treatment can be explained by oligomer depletion and do not explicitly require conformational changes including oligomer rotation.


The gypsy retrotransposon of Drosophila melanogaster causes mutations that show temporal and tissue-specific phenotypes. These mutant phenotypes can be reversed by mutations in su(Hw), a gene that also regulates the transcription of the gypsy element. Gypsy encodes a full-length 7.0-kb RNA that is expressed in the salivary gland precursors and fat body of the embryo, imaginal discs and fat body of larvae, and fat body and ovaries of adult females. The su(Hw)-binding region inserted upstream of the promoter of a lacZ reporter gene can induce beta-galactosidase expression in a subset of the embryonic and larval tissues where gypsy is normally transcribed. This expression is dependent on the presence of a functional su(Hw) product, suggesting that this protein is a positive activator of gypsy transcription. Flies transformed with a construct in which the 5' LTR and leader sequences of gypsy are fused to lacZ show beta-galactosidase expression in all tissues where gypsy is normally expressed, indicating that sequences other than the su(Hw)-binding site are required for proper spatial and temporal expression of gypsy. Mutations in the zinc fingers of su(Hw) affect its ability to bind DNA and to induce transcription of the lacZ reporter gene. Two other structural domains of su(Hw) also play an important role in transcriptional regulation of gypsy. Deletion of the amino-terminal acidic domain results in the loss of lacZ expression in larval fat body and adult ovaries, whereas mutations in the leucine zipper region result in an increase of lacZ expression in larval fat body and a decrease in adult ovaries. These effects might be the result of interactions of su(Hw) with activator and repressor proteins through the acidic and leucine zipper domains to produce the final pattern of tissue-specific expression of gypsy.


This paper presents modeling and simulation of a photovoltaic (PV) module employs with maximum power point tracker (MPPT) used as a learning device in Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). This model is based on mathematical equations and is described through an equivalent circuit including a photocurrent source, a diode, a series resistor and a shunt resistor. The modelling, simulations and MPPT algorithm of the system will be modeled and simulated using MATLAB script using actual irradiance data. Simulation results will be presented in term of comparisons of the PV module characteristics between the manufacturers graph and MATLAB model and also its performance such as total output power produced between the sunniest and cloudiest day using perturb & observe (P&O) method


Parliaments are guardians of human rights due to their role of representing the people in the management of public affairs. The activities of parliaments cover the entire spectrum of human rights and have an immediate impact on the enjoyment,   protection andpromotion of rights. In South Africa, the Constitution requires parliament to scrutinise and oversee government actions, thus providing it with the opportunity to promote human rights. In addition, a number of principles guide the South African parliament in carrying out its mandate. These include advancement of human rights, human dignity, equality, social justice, accountability, responsiveness and openness. This article considers the (potential) role of the South African parliament in promoting constitutional rights through ensuring compliance with IHRL. A key obligation in various IHRL treaties is the obligation to adopt laws and other measures to give effect to the rights in the treaties. As the legislative arm of government, parliament has a significant role to play in ensuring compliance with this obligation.


First Advisor unknown College Regis College Degree Name BA School Regis College Senior Honors Program Document Type Thesis Open Access Number of Pages 233 pages Date of Award Spring 2017 Location (Creation) Denver, Colorado Copyright © Jessica Otero Rights Statement All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the "fair use" standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations. Recommended Citation Otero, Jessica Wilkerson, "Restoring Order to Catechesis: A Practical Guide to the Implementation of the Restored Order of the Sacraments" (2017). All Regis University Theses. 815. https://epublications.regis.edu/theses/815  Download


There is a plethora of literature to support the importance of student engagement in the wider university experience as a measure of value and contribution to success. Various reports have acknowledged that students who engage with the wider Higher Education experience (beyond their core discipline) are more likely to succeed in their studies, develop resilience and the skills/attributes to sustain them in their future careers and are less likely to leave their studies. It is for this reason that increasing opportunities for engagement is deemed core to most Higher Educational institutional missions and values. Engagement is a key element of institutional competitiveness and contributes enormously to a positive learning experience. Yet this is a complex and wicked problem in itself as; the diversity of the student population widens, pressure from external stakeholders intensifies to enhance graduate attributes, and student expectations (and those of their families) increase. Understanding engagement in the context of both the internal and external environment is a critical factor to enriching student learning and developing a sense of belonging; and as a creative sector we need to explore and share innovative approaches which enhance engagement in the broadest sense.
A case study is presented for integrating design challenge-led learning into the UG experience based on evidence gathered during 2012-2017 at University of Huddersfield. The underlining and guiding principle of the case study are based upon the values of experiential learning and the Chinese proverb – "Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand". Engagement is defined as designing learning opportunities to develop: a sense of belonging, integration with studies and wider HE experience, feeling of value and identity, networks and friends, confidence in working beyond discipline, skills to succeed beyond course. It was recognised that in today's global economy and in society as a whole we are faced with many complex challenges which require new ways of working and the development of advanced skills and attributes. Interdisciplinary challenge-led learning is presented as a new mode of knowledge production, it focuses on building intellectual capacity through creating sustainable networks to co-create knowledge and develop learning communities to equip graduates to deal with and provide solutions to complex challenges. Two contrasting frameworks are presented for introducing complex global challenges and commercial challenges into an interdisciplinary context to increase engagement opportunities within the students learning journey. The presentation provides a synthesis of impact from the university, external stakeholders and student's perspective.
This presentation will be of interest to all design academics who wish to transcend disciplines and develop new epistemological approaches. Providing opportunities for development of problem solving, teamwork, self-awareness and interpersonal communication skill whilst extending their students' professional network. It will also be of interest to HE leaders who wish to explore mechanisms for embedding learning communities, enhancing knowledge co-creation and developing commercial awareness to build a sense of belonging within the academic community and the wider HE network to improve engagement.


Title of Document: THE RELATIONS OF CHILDREN'S PERCEIVED SUPPORT FOR RECREATIONAL READING FROM PARENTS AND FRIENDS TO THEIR MOTIVATION FOR READING Susan Lynn Lutz Klauda, Ph.D., 2008 Directed By: Professor Allan Wigfield, Department of Human Development This study investigated children's perceived support for their recreational reading from their mothers, fathers, and friends in relation to their reading motivation and habits. Models from the reading domain, including the engagement model of reading (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000) and McKenna's (1994) model of reading attitude acquisition guided the study, as well as theories from the broader study of motivation, including selfdetermination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000a) and expectancy-value theory [Eccles (Parsons) et al., 1983]. The study focused on children in the upper elementary grades, as relatively little research has examined the role that socialization agents play in this age group's reading motivation and activity. Participants, who included 130 fourth-graders and 172 fifth-graders, completed the newly developed Reading Support Survey (RSS) and surveys of their reading motivation and habits. Scores on three reading achievement indicators were obtained. Seven hypotheses were tested, six of which were partially or fully substantiated. Paired sample comparisons that examined individual RSS items indicated that children perceived greater reading support from their mothers than their fathers and friends in several regards. Factor analysis demonstrated the multidimensionality of perceived reading support. Four dimensions were apparent, but differed from those predicted in that support type was an organizing element as much as support source. Girls perceived greater friend support than boys, and fourth-graders reported receiving more books as presents than fifth-graders. Girls and fourth-graders showed somewhat more positive profiles of reading motivation and frequency. Each of the four dimensions of reading support correlated significantly with at least three of five reading motivation dimensions and three of four reading frequency variables studied. Moreover, multiple regression analyses indicated that parent and friend support contributed uniquely to the prediction of reading motivation and frequency, controlling for reading achievement, gender, and grade level. Additionally, cluster analysis indicated that participants could be grouped into five clusters based on their profiles of reading support; further analyses showed how these clusters differed in reading motivation and frequency. THE RELATIONS OF CHILDREN'S PERCEIVED SUPPORT FOR RECREATIONAL READING FROM PARENTS AND FRIENDS TO THEIR MOTIVATION FOR READING


Governance/control is one of the most important functions of government. Therefore, automation of control processes based on information computer technology's introduction is an urgent problem of creating an electronic government. The article proposes a methodological approach to the control functions of public authorities' implementation in e-government concept framework. The approach is based on the principle of selective control. The expediency is conditioned upon the impossibility of total control due to limited resources. Optimization of control processes is based on using appropriate models of mathematical programming. The combined application of the selectivity principle and optimization model reduces the state's expenditures for implementation of control functions while ensuring the required quality control. In whole, the methodological approach considered in this paper forms a basis for specific models and methods, formation ensuring the introduction of computer technologies into the control processes of egovernment.


ABSTRACT Five species of sea turtles, including leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), were found in the waters east and south of mainland China and the associated islands. Decades of harvesting and habitat degradation have led to a drastic decline in the sea turtle population in the last century. Many foraging grounds and nesting sites have been degraded or have disappeared as a result of human activities. Nowadays, there are only a few nesting sites and even fewer foraging grounds for sea turtles in China. Fishery bycatch is also believed to have been a major cause of sea turtle mortality in recent years. There is an urgent need for more efforts to be focused on the conservation of sea turtles in the region. However, limited information is available, which has impeded the formulation of effective conservation measures. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview on the current population and conservation status of sea turtles, as well as recommendations for their effective management in China.


Research has established locus of control as a strong trait-level predictor of health and well-being and indicates that individuals with a greater sense of internal control benefit from healthier outcomes across a broad range of domains. To date, however, little research has investigated the potential malleability and state-level functioning of locus of control. Drawing from social learning theories, it was predicted that locus of control would vary on a daily basis and further that this variation would be influenced by daily hassles and anxiety. Additionally, an individual's trait-level of internal locus of control was expected to moderate this association. The current study consists of 58 couples expecting their first child. Couples were asked to independently complete three weeks of daily diaries during their third trimester. Diaries assessed daily feelings of control, anxiety, and number of hassles encountered. Once reliable daily variation of locus of control was established, within-person analyses revealed a negative relationship such that on a day when an individual reported more anxiety or more hassles, that individual also reported feeling less control than on an average day. Further analyses revealed that an individual's trait-level of internal control influenced this association such that, overall, those individuals with a higher trait-level of internality maintained higher levels of daily control in the face of hassles and anxiety. These findings extend prior research by providing a better understanding of locus of control and suggest important implications for efforts aimed at improving health and well-being.


Ezra-Nehemiah is widely recognized as stressing the separation of Judeans repatriated from Babylonian exile from those they found living in and around Judah at their return. A related theme has received little attention, namely, the on-going relationship between the repatriates and their parent community in the Babylonian-Elamite diaspora. The present article highlights features of this relationship, noting that as a colony of the Babylonian exiles, the community of repatriates remained dependent on the diaspora for leadership and for instruction in religious culture and practice. It is suggested that in tandem with the emphasis on separatism, this view of diaspora-homeland relations reflects a concern current in the mid- to late-fourth century Judah to articulate a Judean identity that reinforced the connection of the Babylonian diaspora to the homeland. In its view of diaspora-homeland relations, Ezra-Nehemiah displays certain features in common with other late-Persian and Hellenistic biblical texts such as Esther and Daniel i-vi.


Background: Hypertension (HT) is a public health challenge due to its high prevalence, and being a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. HT is a multifactorial disorder with genetic and environmental interactive factors. Aim: This study aims to evaluate association of angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism (I/D) with blood pressure among Egyptian patients with essential hypertension and the interrelationship with other clinical parameters. Subjects and methods: Eighty four patients with essential hypertension were included in this cross sectional descriptive study. Venous blood samples were withdrawn for DNA extraction, determination of different genotypes of ACE gene (I/D) polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and measuring serum ACE levels, lipid profile, blood sugar and creatinin. Results: The frequency of different ACE genotypes were; 41.7% homozygous (DD), 45.2% heterozygous (ID) and 13.1% homozygous (II) indicating that (D) allele is significantly associated with essential hypertension. Also serum ACE level was significantly correlated with ACE (I/D) polymorphism (p=0.001). Patients with DD genotype had the highest serum ACE level followed by patients with ID genotype and patients with II genotype had the lowest serum ACE level. Conclusion: ACE (I/D) polymorphism is associated with increased serum ACE activity and consequently with increased risk for essential hypertension and its complications.


A new organic–inorganic two-dimensional hybrid compound, [CuMoO4(C2H8N2)], has been hydrothermally synthesized at 443 K. The unit cell contains layers composed of CuN2O4 octahedra and MoO4 tetrahedra. Corner-sharing MoO4 and CuN2O4 polyhedra form CuMoO4 bimetallic sites that are joined together through O atoms, forming an edge-sharing Cu2Mo2O4 chain along the c axis. The one-dimensional chains are further linked through bridging O atoms that join the Cu and Mo atoms into respective chains along the b axis, thus establishing layers in the bc plane. The ethylenediamine ligand is coordinated to the Cu atom through its two N atoms and is oriented perpendicularly to the two-dimensional –Cu—O—Mo– layers. The average distance between adjacent layers, as calculated by consideration of the closest and furthest distances between two layers, is 8.7 Å. The oxidation states of the Mo and Cu atoms of VI and II, respectively, were confirmed by bond-valence sum calculations.


Using a recent survey of immigrants to France, we provide a detailed analysis of the educational attainment and labor market performance of various sub-population groups in France. Our results indicate that immigrants to France are less educated than the native born and that these differences can be tracked down to differences in socioeconomic background for most groups of immigrants. Similarly, there is a significant wage gap between immigrant and native-born workers, but this is reduced and sometimes disappears after correcting for selection into employment. In most cases the remaining differences in education and labor market outcomes seem related to the area of origin of the immigrant as well as where the education of the immigrant is obtained.


Despite an abundance of research on Arabic syntax and phonology as separate domains, there is as yet relatively little research at the syntax-phonology interface in Arabic. This paper begins by providing an overview of what we know so far, in an effort to identify reasons for the lack of work at the interface to date. The paper then presents a review of prior work on the syntax-phonology mapping in Egyptian Arabic (EA) – set in the context of developments in the wider syntaxphonology literature – in order to show that interface work requires expertise in both phonetics/phonology and syntax. Some early results are then presented from a pilot study which compares for the first time the basic syntaxphonology mapping patterns in two dialects of Arabic – EA, and Jordanian Arabic (JA) – and explores whether dialect-internal, inter-speaker variation, previously observed in EA, is also found in JA.


Diet-induced obesity deteriorates the recovery of cardiac function after ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. While mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key mediator of energy metabolism, the effects of cardiac mTOR in ischemic injury under metabolic syndrome remains undefined. Using cardiac-specific transgenic mice overexpressing mTOR (mTOR-Tg mice), we studied the effect of mTOR on cardiac function in both ex vivo and in vivo models of I/R injury in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. mTOR-Tg and wild-type (WT) mice were fed a HFD (60% fat by calories) for 12 wk. Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance induced by the HFD were comparable between WT HFD-fed and mTOR-Tg HFD-fed mice. Functional recovery after I/R in the ex vivo Langendorff perfusion model was significantly lower in HFD-fed mice than normal chow diet-fed mice. mTOR-Tg mice demonstrated better cardiac function recovery and had less of the necrotic markers creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase in both feeding conditions. Additionally, mTOR overexpression suppressed expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-6 and TNF-α, in both feeding conditions after I/R injury. In vivo I/R models showed that at 1 wk after I/R, HFD-fed mice exhibited worse cardiac function and larger myocardial scarring along myofibers compared with normal chow diet-fed mice. In both feeding conditions, mTOR overexpression preserved cardiac function and prevented myocardial scarring. These findings suggest that cardiac mTOR overexpression is sufficient to prevent the detrimental effects of diet-induced obesity on the heart after I/R, by reducing cardiac dysfunction and myocardial scarring.


The appearance of industrial emissions and the degradation of scenic vistas are two
characteristics of air pollution that humans object. Reduction in visibility suggests
worsening pollution levels. Visibility is characterized by either its visual range, or by
opacity. The emissions from mobile source and stationary source are the major source of
air pollutions contribution in Malaysia. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) and
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are the predominant pollutants from these two sources exhaust
smokes. Increasing the amounts of combustion product, gases carbon dioxide (CO2) in
the atmosphere also create an effect of blanket layer to increase retention of particulate
matter and vapour near the earth before releasing to the space. The consequence of
increasing the concentration, the particulate matter dissolves with vapour and grows into
droplets when the humidity exceeds approximately 70%. The saturated particulate matter acts as nuclei to scatter sun rays that will impair visibility and causing opaque
situation know as haze.
The study of dispersion particulate matter from palm oil mill serves as a purpose of
modeling the transport of particulate matter for obtaining permits and prevention of
significant deterioration (PSD) to the environment. Gaussian Plume Model from a point
source, subject to various atmospheric conditions is used to calculate particulate matter
concentration then display the distribution of plume dispersion using geographic
information system (GIS). Mixing height is determined to forecast potential haze
occurrence. Dispersion of particulate matter from palm oil mill is following Gaussian
Model and its concentration is normally distributed. The calculated particulate matter
concentration is evaluated using Transilient Matrix function. Atmospheric Stability,
mixing height, wind direction, wind speed, natural and artificial features play an
important role in dispersion process. High concentration area exhibits immediately
under prevailing wind direction.


COVID-19 has affected 213 countries around the world, killing more than 484,000 and infecting more than 9.5 million by June 25, 2020 (worldometer.info). Bangladesh, a South Asian low-middle-income economy, has experienced a demographic and epidemiological transition with rapid urbanization and a gradual increase in life expectancy. It is the seventh most populous country in the world and population of the country is expected to be nearly double by 2050. The increasing burden of communicable diseases in Bangladesh can be attributable to rapid urbanization and nearly 50% of all slum dwellers of the country live in Dhaka division. In 2017, National Rapid Response Team of IEDCR investigated 26 incidents of disease outbreak. The joint survey of the Power and Participation Research Centre and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development reveals that per capita daily income of urban slum and rural poor drops by 80% due to present countrywide shutdown enforced by the government to halt the spread of COVID-19. 40%-50% of these population took loans to meet the daily expenses. However, the country has just 127,000 hospital beds, 91,000 of them in government-run hospitals. Researchers say, the country's economy is losing BDT 33 billion every day from its service and agriculture sectors during the nationwide shutdown.


As incredible as it seems, at least to me, I have completed more than half of my active term as Editor of Personal Relationships (PR) and my team's first issue has still not been published! By the time you receive this newsletter, you will have surely received PR Volume 14, Issue 1. Sometime in June, you will receive Volume 14, Issue 2. The tables of contents for both of these issues are printed at the end of this article. I am very pleased with their content and the diversity of countries and disciplines the authors represent. Note that in my editor's prefaces to these issues, I discuss how we are working to achieve my editorial team's goal for PR to become more international and interdisciplinary and the importance of placing personal relationships in structural and cultural context. I would urge potential authors to read these prefaces, because they provide insight into the types of issues that might be raised as a manuscript is reviewed.


In this essay, I examined the significance of graphic novels as polyvalent texts that hold the potential for creating an aesthetic sense of flow for readers and consumers. In building a justification for the rhetorical examination of comic book culture, I looked at Kenneth Burke's critique of art under capitalism in order to explore the dimensions between comic book creation, distribution, consumption, and reaction from fandom. I also examined Victor Turner's theoretical scope of flow, as an aesthetic related to ritual, communitas, and the liminoid. I analyzed the graphic novels Green Lantern: Rebirth and Y: The Last Man as case studies toward the rhetorical significance of retroactive continuity and the somatic potential of comic books to serve as equipment for living. These conclusions lay groundwork for multiple directions of future research.


In intensive salmon farming, it is common practice to spread the feed over a large surface area, assuming that spreading of the feed increases feed intake in the fish. However, the impact on the feed pellets during spreading results in feed loss due to pellet breakage. In this study, feed intake, growth and signs of aggressive behavior was compared in salmon fed without or with spreading of the feed on the surface area of the tanks. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) with initial body weight 0.6 kg were kept in 3.3 m 3 tanks supplied with sea water (salinity 32 %, mean temperature 11 °C) for one month. The salmon were fed one meal daily, either by dropping the feed from one point, or by spreading the feed over the water surface. Feed intake and growth was measured. Fin damage was given a score at termination of the trial as a measure of competitive behavior during feeding. The relative feed intake (i.e. percent of body weight per day) in salmon fed without spreading or with spreading of the feed was 0.63±0.05 and 0.64±0.02 %, respectively. The growth rate was identical in salmon fed without or with spreading of the feed, and no significant difference in variance in final weight was found. No difference in fin damage for salmon fed without or with spreading of the feed was revealed. The data showed that for the conditions used in this trial, spreading of feed had no influence on feed intake or growth of salmon.


This study gives an overview of interannual variations of total ozone and 50 hPa temperature. It is based on newer and longer records from the 1979 to 2001 Total Ozone Monitoring Spectrometer (TOMS) and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) instruments, and on US National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalyses. Multiple linear least squares regression is used to attribute variations to various natural and anthropogenic explanatory variables. Usually, maps of total ozone and 50 hPa temperature variations look very similar, reflecting a very close coupling between the two. As a rule of thumb, a 10 Dobson Unit (DU) change in total ozone corresponds to a 1 K change of 50 hPa temperature. Large variations come from the linear trend term, up to −30 DU or −1.5 K/decade, from terms related to polar vortex strength, up to 50 DU or 5 K (typical, minimum to maximum), from tropospheric meteorology, up to 30 DU or 3 K, or from the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO), up to 25 DU or 2.5 K. The 11-year solar cycle, up to 25 DU or 2.5 K, or El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), up to 10 DU or 1 K, are contributing smaller variations. Stratospheric aerosol after the 1991 Pinatubo eruption lead to warming up to 3 K at low latitudes and to ozone depletion up to 40 DU at high latitudes. Variations attributed to QBO, polar vortex strength, and to a lesser degree to ENSO, exhibit an inverse correlation between low latitudes and higher latitudes. Variations related to the solar cycle or 400 hPa temperature, however , have the same sign over most of the globe. Variations are usually zonally symmetric at low and mid-latitudes, but asymmetric at high latitudes. There, position and strength of the stratospheric anticyclones over the Aleutians and south of Australia appear to vary with the phases of solar cycle, QBO or ENSO.


In Between Facts and Norms, Habermas articulates a system of rights, including human rights, within the democratic constitutional state. For Habermas, while human rights, like other subjective rights have moral content, they do not structurally belong to a moral system; nor should they be grounded in one. Instead, human rights belong to a positive and coercive legal order upon which individuals can make actionable legal claims. Habermas extends this argument to include international human rights, which are realised within the context of a cosmopolitan legal order. The aim of this paper is to assess the relevance of law as a mechanism for securing human rights protection. I argue that positive law does make a material difference to securing individual human rights and to cultivating and augmenting a general rights culture both nationally and globally. I suggest that Habermas' model of law presents the most viable way of negotiating the tensions that human rights discourse gives rise to: the tensions between morality and law, between legality and politics, and between the national and international contexts of human rights protection.


Patrick Ciapciak Social media is now a widely accepted and important medium of evidence in court. Yet Snapchat, a new and popular image messaging app among the youngest generation of smartphone users threatens to upend the field of social media evidence. Snapchat is unique among social media platforms because it functions to avoid permanence. Such is the appeal to today's teenagers: a normal "snap" (a picture or video captured through the app) can only be viewed for a maximum of ten seconds before it deletes. Users may also choose to upload a snap to their "Story," which posts the picture or video for all their contacts to view multiple times within a twenty-four hour period. The deleting function unique to Snapchat presents inherent difficulty in saving images taken through the app. In fact, recipients of snaps are left with only one method of saving the images they see: the "screenshot." A screenshot is a smartphone function not related to Snapchat which captures what the viewer sees on their phone screen at that moment and can be saved. While it has been these screenshots which have allowed Snapchat to enter the world of admissible evidence, it is now use of the app itself as evidence which have signaled courts' acceptance of Snapchat and its greater value to justice in the near future.


Differences in governance relationships and community efforts to remove an exotic, rapidly spreading invasive plant, the-mile-a-minute weed ( Mikania micrantha ), are explored in five case study community forests in the subtropical region of Chitwan, Nepal. An institutional analysis informs an examination of the de jure (formal) versus de facto (on the ground) institutions and actor relationships relevant to Mikania removal efforts. Contrary to the expectations set by the de jure situation, we find heterogeneous governance relationships and norms related to Mikania management across community forests. Content analysis of interview data illuminates reoccurring themes and their implications for social and ecological outcomes in the communities. Complex governance relationships and regular discussion of distrust of government and non-government officials help explain collective action efforts and management decisions. The content analysis suggests that Mikania is impacting people's daily lives but the degree of severity and the response to the disruption varies substantially and is heavily affected by other problems experienced by community forest members. Our results indicate that understanding how the de facto, or on the ground situation, differs from the de jure institutions may be vital in structuring successful efforts to manage invasive species and understanding collective action problems related to other social-ecological threats. We present data-informed propositions about common pool resource management and invasive species. This study contributes to a better scientific understanding of how institutions mediate social-ecological challenges influencing common pool resources more broadly.


Cotton is the most widely used natural fiber for textiles but its innate capacity to absorb moisture, retain oxygen, and high specific surface area make it more prone to microbial contamination, becoming an appropriate medium for the growth of bacteria and fungi. In recent years, the incorporation of silver nanoparticles in textile products has been widely used due to their broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and low toxicity towards mammalian cells. The aim of the current study is to synthesize and characterize a nanocomposite based on silver nanoparticles and carboxymethyl chitosan (AgNPs-CMC), which was utilized to provide a functional finish to cotton fabric. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) to produce a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) image showed that the nanocomposite presents AgNPs with a 5–20 nm size. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the presence of silver nanoparticles. The concentration of silver in the functionalized fabric was evaluated by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), which reported an average concentration of 13.5 mg of silver per kg of functionalized fabric. SEM showed that silver nanoparticles present a uniform distribution on the surface of the functionalized cotton fabric fibers. On the other hand, by infrared spectroscopy, it was observed that the functionalized fabric variation (compared to control) had a displaced peak of intensity at 1594.32 cm−1, corresponding to carboxylate anions. Similarly, Raman spectroscopy showed an intense peak at 1592.84 cm−1, which corresponds to the primary amino group of carboxymethyl chitosan, and a peak at 1371.5 cm−1 corresponding to the carboxylic anions. Finally, the physical and mechanical tests of tensile strength and color index of the functional fabric reported that it was no different (p ˃ 0.05) than the control fabric. Our results demonstrate that we have obtained an improved functionalized cotton fabric using green chemistry that does not alter intrinsic properties of the fabric and has the potential to be utilized in the manufacturing of hospital garments.


We have developed a Fourier-deconvolution-based linewidth-deduction method for nonlinear optical spectroscopy with transform-limited light pulses. The phase-retrieval problem involved in this method was solved with a phase-retrieval procedure based on the maximum-entropy model. Our proposed method can also help one to surpass the resolution limit set by the uncertainty principle when the amplitude line-shape function of the laser source can be fully predetermined.


This study examines the relations between the media personalities and their audiences. Its broad interest is with the implications for contemporary social experience of the fact that modern communication and culture involve mediated interaction. Its focus is on broadcasting's use of personality presenters to interact with viewers and listeners and on audiences' experiences of this. This thesis explains that broadcasting has developed a personality system to relate to audiences and discusses the characteristics of this system. It considers the importance of genre in determining the type of presenter used and the significance of their personality. It is argued that an awareness of the construction of personae has undermined broadcasting's traditional personality system where sincerity is crucial. The fact that nowadays professional personalities operate as commodities in a competitive marketplace is highlighted and the role played by management companies in their careers is explored. This research project provides a case study of the media personality Phillip Schofield. His role as a presenter and his place within popular culture are elaborated. His persona is examined in detail and shown to be consistent with the discourses of broadcasting's personality system. This study proceeds to investigate the consumption of the personality system. It reviews the existing literature on para-social interaction and the mediated relationships of intimacy at a distance that develop between persenters and their audiences. It contributes to this knowledge by presenting the findings from qualitative research into viewers' relationships with a media personality. This empirical study involved conducting in-depth interviews with four of Phillip Schofield's fans and spending time with the fan community these interviewees belong to. The formation of this group is outlined and the fact that sociability is an important aspect of fandom is stressed. Concentrating on the subjects' responses to Schofield, this research demonstrates that one form of fandom is rooted in the intensive cultivation of a para-social relationship.


Over the last decade, the mobile device has become a ubiquitous tool within everyday life. Unfortunately, whilst the popularity of mobile devices has increased, a corresponding increase can also be identified in the threats being targeted towards these devices. Security countermeasures such as AV and firewalls are being deployed, however, the increasing sophistication of the attacks requires additional measures to be taken. This paper proposes a novel behaviour-based profiling technique that is able to build upon the weaknesses of current systems by developing a comprehensive multilevel approach to profiling. In support of this model, a series of experiments have been designed to look at profiling calling, device usage and Bluetooth network scanning. Using neural networks, experimental results for the aforementioned activities' are able to achieve an EER (Equal Error Rate) of: 13.5%, 35.1% and 35.7%.


The presidential election of 19 March 2006, which Alyaksandr Lukashenka won, played an important role in developing the dictatorial political regime in Belarus. In order to ensure Lukashenka's victory, the authorities employed repressive and undemocratic methods, which since then have become permanent elements of the political system in Belarus. They included legal and administrative measures to limit the citizens' freedom, arbitrary ways of applying these measures, actions by the state security institutions intended to intimidate the public, a large-scale state propaganda campaign, and restrictions on civil liberties and freedom of speech. The presidential election strengthened Alyaksandr Lukashenka's political position, as the president extended his rule by another five years to 2011. It also reinforced the repression apparatus, consolidated the ruling group and ensured that the democrats remained marginalised. This has ensured the stability of the Belarusian regime and preserved the country's specific political and economic system.This report aims to present the situation in Belarus since the presidential election in March 2006.

Part I, devoted to the internal situation, is a description of the internal political scene, i.e. the ruling camp and the opposition. It also includes a section on the prevailing moods in Belarusian society. Another section presents the economic situation in Belarus and the government's economic policy.Part II examines the foreign relations of Belarus, and consists of two sections: the first describes the Belarusian government's relations with Russia, its single most important foreign partner, and the second its relations with Western countries, i.e. the EU member states and NATO countries. Finally, the last part contains predictions of future developments in Belarus.


The study is the first to examine the relationship between the 'big five' personality traits and the descriptors of servant leadership of medium sized or-ganisation offering transportation services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The findings support a strong, positive and significant relationship between servant leadership behaviours and the personality traits of agreeableness, conscientious-ness, openness to experience and extraversion. As expected, neuroticism (nega-tive affectivity) showed a negative relationship with every dimension of servant leadership, suggesting that in order to maintain and promote a pleasant work environment, organisations should avoid hiring and or promoting managers who score high on negative affectivity. Direction for future research and practical im-plications for leadership and business approaches are discussed.


The writings of Sergei Bulgakov (1871-1944), like those of other major social thinkers of Russia's Silver Age, were obliterated from public consciousness under Soviet rule. Discovered again after eighty years of silence, Bulgakov's work speaks with remarkable directness to the postmodern listener. This outstanding translation of Philosophy of Economy brings to English-language speakers for the first time a major work of social theory written by a critical figure in the Russian tradition of liberal thought. What is unique about Bulgakov, Catherine Evtuhov explains in her introduction to this book, is that he bridges two worlds. His social thought is firmly based in the Western tradition, yet some of his ideas reflect a specifically Russian way of thinking about society. Though arguing strenuously in favour of political and social liberty, Bulgakov repudiates the individualistic basis of Western liberalism in favour of a conception of human dignity that is compatible with collectivity. His economic theory stresses the spiritual content of life in the world and imagines national life as a kind of giant household. Bulgakov's work, with its singularly postmodern balance between Western and non-Western, offers fascinating implications for those in the process of reevaluating ideologies in post-Soviet Russia and in America as well.


Abstract. To investigate if the LI-COR humidity sensor can be used as a replacement of the Lyman-alpha sensor for airborne applications, the measurement data of the Lyman-alpha and several LI-COR sensors are analysed in direct intercomparison flights on different airborne platforms. One vibration isolated closed-path and two non-isolated open-path LI-COR sensors were installed on a Dornier 128 twin engine turbo-prop aircraft. The closed-path sensor provided absolute values and fluctuations of the water vapour mixing ratio in good agreement with the Lyman-alpha. The signals of the two open-path sensors showed considerable high-frequency noise, and the absolute value of the mixing ratio was observed to drift with time in this vibrational environment. On the helicopter-towed sensor system Helipod, with very low vibration levels, the open-path LI-COR sensor agreed very well with the Lyman-alpha sensor over the entire frequency range up to 3 Hz. The results show that the LI-COR sensors are well suited for airborne measurements of humidity fluctuations, provided that a vibrationless environment is given, and this turns out to be more important than close sensor spacing.


Summary One of the predominant factors for accelerated corrosion in electronics is the intrinsic contamination on Printed Circuit Board Assemblies (PCBAs) originating from the soldering process used for component mounting. However, the amount, distribution, and morphology of flux residue vary considerably with specific soldering process and parameters, while most important factors are the flux chemistry and its decomposition characteristics. Active parts of the flux residue can cause increased water absorption due to their hygroscopic nature and in solution they will increase leakage current and corrosion such as electrochemical migration resulting in intermittent or permanent failures. This paper summarizes the investigations on decomposition of some typical no-clean flux systems (WOA based) which are used today for the electronic manufacturing. The change in flux chemistry was studied as a function of temperature (simulating the manufacturing process) using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Ion Chromatography (IC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), and an aggressivity test method using a patented gel method. Effect of flux residue on the corrosion reliability was investigated by exposing the contaminated PCBA parts to varying humidity and measuring the resulting leakage current. Results revealed a significant influence of flux chemistry including the amount of WOAs, while aggressiveness of the residue seems to vary with content and type of WOAs, and their nature of decomposition.


The main mammalian circadian pacemaker is located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus. Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and its receptor (BB2) are synthesized by rodent SCN neurons, but the role of GRP in circadian rhythm processes is unknown. In this study, we examined the phase-resetting actions of GRP on the electrical activity rhythms of hamster and rat SCN neurons in vitro. In both rat and hamster SCN slices, GRP treatment during the day did not alter the time of peak SCN firing. In contrast, GRP application early in the subjective night phase-delayed, whereas similar treatment later in the subjective night phase-advanced the firing rate rhythm in rat and hamster SCN slices. These phase shifts were completely blocked by the selective BB2 receptor antagonist, [d-Phe6, Des-Met14]-bombesin 6–14 ethylamide. We also investigated the temporal changes in the expression of genes for the BB1 and BB2 receptors in the rat SCN using a quantitative competitive RT-PCR protocol. The expression of the genes for both receptors was easily detected, but their expression did not vary over the diurnal cycle. These data show that GRP phase-dependently phase resets the rodent SCN circadian pacemaker in vitroapparently via the BB2 receptor. Because this pattern of phase shifting resembles that of light on rodent behavioral rhythms, these results support the contention that GRP participates in the photic entrainment of the rodent SCN circadian pacemaker.


Do firms react to data breaches by investing in cybersecurity talent? We assemble a unique dataset on firm responses from the last decade, combining data breach information with detailed firm-level hiring data from online job postings. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that firms indeed increase their hiring for cybersecurity workers. While this effect is statistically significant, the economic magnitude is small, which is consistent with firms' lack of incentives to improve their cybersecurity infrastructure. Further, we collect data from the MIT MediaCloud and Google Trends to measure media and public attention following breach events. We find that firms with greater media and search attention after a breach are three times as likely to post a cybersecurity job. This provides evidence of market failure in cybersecurity investment that can be attributed to information asymmetries, and suggests additional scrutiny can ameliorate this market failures. With an increase in both the value of data as well as the number of cyberattacks, our research provides important insight into how media coverage and public attention can provide proper incentives for firms to make substantive, instead of symbolic, IT investments to safeguard their customer data.


The Congress shall have Power ... To regulate Commerce ... among the several States. --U.S. Constitution, Art. I, [section] 8, cl. 3 I. INTRODUCTION In the wake of the American Revolution, neither the Continental Congress nor the States acting on their own could respond effectively to the external and internal trade disputes that threatened the new country's prosperity and peace. "It may be doubted," wrote Chief Justice John Marshall, "whether any of the evils proceeding from the feebleness of the federal government, contributed more to that great [constitutional] revolution which introduced the [modern constitutional] system, than the deep and general conviction, that commerce ought to be regulated by Congress." (1) Accordingly, although the federal government was to be limited to exercising only enumerated powers, those powers included the power to regulate commerce, thus remedying this deficiency in the Articles of Confederation. Regrettably, but perhaps inevitably, "[t]he ink was not yet dry on the Constitution when its revision began." (2) Almost immediately, Congress began pressing beyond specifically enumerated powers granted it in Article I. As a result, today, Americans encounter a national government far more expansive than the Framers and men of their generation could ever have imagined. Despite this expansion of federal power, however, certain actions and policies of the several States increasingly threaten the free flow of goods and services in interstate commerce; we still face the problem that led to the creation of the federal Constitution. Unsure about the scope of the federal commerce power and, accordingly, the appropriate limits on state interference with interstate commerce, the courts, executives, and legislatures, at the federal and state level alike, are often at a loss about how to approach the problem. Uncertainty stems, in part, from the recognition that the scope of the commerce power has expanded so far beyond the original understanding of that power's boundaries that any attempt to adhere strictly to its original meaning today would likely be futile and inappropriate. This Article attempts to provide direction to those who, although fully aware of these significant and enduring changes, seek nonetheless to assess the propriety of federal and state legislation with an eye toward respecting the original purpose of the enumeration of congressional power and, therefore, to effect a proper balance between the national and state government. There is no possibility, today, of adhering completely to the original constitutional design. Such a daring plan would require overturning the New Deal, the Great Society, and almost all of the vast network of federal legislation and regulation put in place in the last two-thirds of the twentieth century. It appears that the American people would be overwhelmingly against such a change and no court would attempt to force it upon them. Moreover, as Edward Banfield has argued, the attempt to define the outer limits of national power, as Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does, was likely a flawed enterprise, doomed to failure from the very beginning: Nothing of importance can be done to stop the spread of federal power, let alone to restore something like the division of powers agreed upon by the framers of the Constitution. The reason lies in human nature: men cannot be relied upon voluntarily to abide by their agreements, including those upon which their political order depends. There is an antagonism, amounting to an incompatibility, between popular government--meaning government in accordance with the will of the people--and the maintenance of limits on the sphere of government. (3) Orginalists thus face a particularly difficult task in trying to find a way to give current effect to the original philosophy that animated the adoption of the Commerce Clause and other limited federal powers. …


In the decade since 2010, successes in artificial intelligence have been at the forefront of computer science and technology, and vector space models have solidified a position at the forefront of artificial intelligence. At the same time, quantum computers have become much more powerful, and announcements of major advances are frequently in the news.
The mathematical techniques underlying both these areas have more in common than is sometimes realized. Vector spaces took a position at the axiomatic heart of quantum mechanics in the 1930s, and this adoption was a key motivation for the derivation of logic and probability from the linear geometry of vector spaces. Quantum interactions between particles are modelled using the tensor product, which is also used to express objects and operations in artificial neural networks.
This paper describes some of these common mathematical areas, including examples of how they are used in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in automated reasoning and natural language processing (NLP). Techniques discussed include vector spaces, scalar products, subspaces and implication, orthogonal projection and negation, dual vectors, density matrices, positive operators, and tensor products. Application areas include information retrieval, categorization and implication, modelling word-senses and disambiguation, inference in knowledge bases, decision making, and and semantic composition. Some of these approaches can potentially be implemented on quantum hardware. Many of the practical steps in this implementation are in early stages, and some are already realized. Explaining some of the common mathematical tools can help researchers in both AI and quantum computing further exploit these overlaps, recognizing and exploring new directions along the way.This paper describes some of these common mathematical areas, including examples of how they are used in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in automated reasoning and natural language processing (NLP). Techniques discussed include vector spaces, scalar products, subspaces and implication, orthogonal projection and negation, dual vectors, density matrices, positive operators, and tensor products. Application areas include information retrieval, categorization and implication, modelling word-senses and disambiguation, inference in knowledge bases, and semantic composition.
Some of these approaches can potentially be implemented on quantum hardware. Many of the practical steps in this implementation are in early stages, and some are already realized. Explaining some of the common mathematical tools can help researchers in both AI and quantum computing further exploit these overlaps, recognizing and exploring new directions along the way.


This paper presents the results of petromagnetic studies on Pliocene key sections of Crimea, Georgia, the Apscheron Peninsula and the North Cis-Caspian Region. Scalar magnetic characteristics of sedimentary rocks reflects the conditions they have been formed in the eastern Para-Tethys. The Pliocene activation is recorded by increased rock magnetism in the middle Pliocene. The dependence of petromagnetic variations upon tectonic factors allows to correlate the marine Pliocene succession from the Ponto-Caspian District.


This paper examines the graph-theoretical concepts of consecutive prime labeling and highly total prime labeling. These are variations on prime labeling, introduced by Tout, Dabboucy, and Howalla in 1982. Consecutive prime labeling is defined here for the first time. Consecutive prime labeling requires that the labels of vertices in a graph be relatively prime to the labels of all adjacent vertices as well as all incident edges. We show that all paths, cycles, stars, and complete graphs have a consecutive prime labeling and conjecture that all simple connected graphs have a consecutive prime labeling. This paper also expands on work introduced by Ramasubramanian and Kala on total prime graphs in 2012 and Gnanajothi and Suganya on highly total prime graphs in 2016. We extend previous results by showing that no wheel graph or hypercube graph has a highly total prime labeling. We also show that no star graph with 8 or more vertices has a highly total prime labeling. In addition, we introduce millipede graphs, a new subfamily of caterpillar graphs, and show that certain millipede graphs do not have a highly total prime labeling.


Each year, more than 73 million sharks are killed for their fins. In response to declining populations, the United States, has passed federal regulations to ban the finning of sharks within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Many states have taken the ban further to restrict the, sale, trade, possession and distribution of fins. While many legislators, politicians and conservationists believe these bans will protect shark species, others believe that it discriminates against the ancient traditions of serving shark fin soup. This project analyzes shark fin soup consumption and its significance in Chinese culture. It then examines the status of shark populations, shark fin as an economic driver and current international management to explain the importance of shark conservation. As the U.S. is the eighth largest shark finning country in the world, federal and state regulations on shark finning is reviewed to provide a legal basis for the practice in question. Opinions of U.S. citizens on shark finning and cultural traditions are shared as this is the foundation for why this project was chosen. An ethnographic pilot survey disseminated to Chinese, Hong Kongese and Taiwanese Americans in San Francisco, CA, New York, NY and Washington, D.C. offers evidence towards understanding the importance of shark fin in the modern day cultural practices. Survey results found that many respondents hold similar opinions about decreasing shark fin soup consumption. Out of the 77 surveys, 39% of respondents have significantly decreased their consumption. The highest response for the reduction in consumption was for environmental reasons. Additionally, many respondents believe that serving shark fin soup is not as important to them as it is for their family. These results and their comments indicate that this tradition may be diminishing. Opinions from survey material, publications, and personal communication are correlated with peer reviewed science in order to provide policy recommendations. Suggestions for the most appropriate policy alternatives are offered with the desire to come to a nexus of feasible regulation, effective management and cultural acceptance.


Background: The application of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy in liver fibrosis treatment has been increasingly investigated in recent years. MSCs obtained from a variety of sources (e.g. bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and adipose tissue) have been studied and have achieved remarkable results. In this study, we compared the effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSC) transplantation with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) transplantation in a mouse model of liver fibrosis, induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4).
Methods: Eight-week old mice were treated with CCl4 for 11 weeks to induce liver fibrosis then 5x105 cells were transplanted into mice via the tail vein.
Results: After 21 days of transplantation, the results showed that the stem cell treated groups ameliorated better than the placebo group. MSC treated groups showed reduced AST and ALT levels, down-regulated expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes, and improved liver histopathology. Both sources of MSCs (bone marrow and adipose tissue) were effective in the mouse model of liver fibrosis.
Conclusion: Our results also indicated that AD-MSC transplantation in mice accelerated liver regeneration better than BM-MSC transplantation.


Gastrointestinal cancer is thought to be primarily a disease of stem cells, whereby a
tumorigenic stem cell clone can expand within an individual colonic crypt and then
within the epithelium to form an adenoma - the pre-malignant lesion of the colon.
However, data demonstrating stem cell populations and the dynamics of clonal
expansion in human intestinal crypts is lacking. Naturally occurring, somatic clonal
mutations in mitochondrial DNA were used to identify the progeny of a putative single
stem cell lineage within crypts; this allowed the visualization of putative stem cell
clones arising and expanding within human colon and small bowel crypts.
Immunohistochemistry for lineage specific markers, to confirm multi-potentiality, and
in-situ hybridisation for stem cell markers was then performed to phenotype clones
further and to demonstrate a single stem cell lineage and their direct progeny within the
human crypt. By combining clonal somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA with
methylation signatures, the dynamics of clonal expansion within normal colon crypts
and the epithelium was studied, and using mathematical modeling the time course of
these events was able to be estimated. By applying the same techniques, in addition to
studying genomic mutations, the dynamics of human adenoma growth was investigated;
this suggested that adenomas appear to grow in a punctuated manner, with episodes of
rapid clonal expansion being followed by periods of relative quiescence.


Zinc-nickel-SiO2 electrodeposition was done using an acid sulfate bath to examine the effects of an insoluble anode on SiO2 co-deposition behavior and the corrosion resistance of plating. The presence of SiO2 nanoparticles in the plating bath apparently changes the alloy deposition behavior and improves the macrothrowing power of plating. At an early stage of electrodeposition, the SiO2 nanoparticle apparently acts as a nucleus of precipitation. The SiO2 amount co-deposited in the plating film by the iridium oxide electrode was greater than that by the platinum electrode. Furthermore, these SiO2 nanoparticles did not disperse uniformly in a plating film, but instead distributed only in the SiO2 rich layer formed beneath the surface. Therefore, the anticorrosive performance of the plating film with much SiO2 co-deposited amount by the iridium oxide electrode was superior to that obtained using a platinum electrode. For the curtailment of zinc use, results show that an iridium oxide electrode is preferable to a platinum electrode as an anode for zinc-nickel-SiO2 electrodeposition.


The lack of specialist mental health care in rural areas necessitates an innovative approach to service delivery. Consultation liaison (CL) psychiatry has evolved to address the high rate of mental health problems presenting in primary health care for both adults and children. The CL model has particular application in rural areas where general health services (either primary or secondary level services) rather than specialist mental health services are more likely than urban areas to be the setting for treatment of children with mental health problems and their families. However traditional CL models deliver discrete services to specific age populations rather than encompassing the whole life span. This paper describes a model of CL child psychiatry designed to break down such barriers in order to meet the needs of children and adolescents in rural general health care settings. Recommendations are proposed to facilitate the roll out of the model to address much needed health services for smaller communities.


To the Editor,

I read the recent article by Zaid et al. (1) with great interest. Recent research has shown that tualang honey may have a number of systemic benefits in addition to its protective effect on bone structure in post-menopausal animal models.

Tualang honey has considerable potential as an anti-cancer agent. For example, it exerts anti-proliferative activities against breast cancer tissue, attenuating tumor growth in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines (2). These anti-neoplastic effects are mediated by caspase 2 and caspase 9 activation and a reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential in cancer cells, reflecting an increase in apoptosis. Tualang honey administration also produces early apoptosis in osteosarcomas in a dose-dependent manner (3) and attenuates proliferation in HeLa cell lines (2). Apoptosis is also enhanced in oral squamous cell carcinomas following exposure to tualang honey (3).

Furthermore, tualang honey reduces photo-carcinogenesis secondary to ultraviolet B radiation exposure (4). These anti-carcinogenic effects are mediated by an attenuation of PGE-2 synthesis and inhibition of the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in keratinocytes. Methanol extracts of tualang honey also decrease proliferation in keloid fibroblasts and may thus be of clinical use in the dermatological treatment of keloids (5). Interestingly, gamma radiation enhances the anti-oxidant potential of tualang honey (6).

Tualang honey is considered by some to be the natural equivalent of "hormone replacement therapy". For example, short-term memory is improved in post-menopausal women following the administration of tualang honey (7), which is comparable to the increase in short-term memory observed after the administration of estrogen/progesterone combination therapy. The administration of tualang honey also attenuates atrophy in uterine tissue and increases vaginal epithelium thickness (8). It is also associated with a lower post-menopausal increase in body weight.

Tualang honey also decreases the wound size of burns and provides enhanced control and containment of burn infections, especially by bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9). Tualang honey also exerts anti-oxidant activities against pancreatic cells, thus reducing hyperglycemia in diabetic models (10).

The above examples clearly illustrate the various potential uses of tualang honey and the need for further studies to fully elaborate the extent of its properties.


In the last two decades there has been a burst of financial and other liberalization in the world economy. There have also been a number of crises - mostly misleadingly called financial crises. Some association has been made between the crises and the increasing freedom. An examination of these issues in the historical record of the last 150 years suggests caution before any such conclusion is drawn. This paper brings historical perspective to the issues and argues that there have been successful periods of freedom without serious problems.


A complex heating and cogeneration plant including two 3.9 MWth ammonia heat pumps and two 3 MWel gas turbines with heat recovery boilers and three storage tanks of 66 GJ has been in operation since 1986. The heating surface is actually about 280'000 m2 and is still increasing. It is divided into two parts, a medium and low-temperature district heating network. To optimise on the best possible performance from the heat pumps, the network water is delivered directly to the radiators of the building without intermediate heat exchangers. This plant is still a pioneer installation for many of its characteristics. This report is a result of an experimental evaluation during the eleventh season of heating. Energy balances of the whole plant throughout the season are discussed as well as the performances of one fully instrumented heat pump. Results confirm the interest of this type of technology combination even if the performances of the heat pump exhibit a decrease of COP from an everage of 5 to about 4.4. This drop is mainly attributed to a drop in compressor performance, fouling in the evaporator, and the presence of inert gases.


CERRO PARANAL, CHILE-- By the time it is fully operational in 2001, the Very Large Telescope (VLT) will be the largest in the world. To get the best possible viewing conditions for the $800 million instrument, its builder, the European Southern Observatory, has sited it on this 2632-meter peak in the arid Atacama desert of northern Chile. Using a clutch of new ultrasensitive optical and infrared cameras and spectrometers, researchers plan to use the VLT to probe the riddle of the origin of cosmic structure, to help answer the question of how the first generation of galaxies came into being, and to unveil the true nature of the dark matter permeating the universe.


In an unprecedented act of peaceful, albeit contentious, statesmanship, the 1707 Treaty of Union joined Scotland and England into one sovereign country. Now governed by the Parliament of Great Britain, Scotland was allowed forty-five parliamentary members divided between the country's counties and burghs. Relinquishing its own Parliament, Scotland was obligated to adapt and to accept a seismic shift in the political management of its government. Not only were Scottish politics affected by this shift at a national level, but local elections were also significantly impacted by this change. Due to its physical size, peculiar demographics, and politically-active gentry, the county of Fife has proven to be an ideal subject for studying this process. By providing a comprehensive examination of the impact of the Union on the local government and electoral politics of one Scottish county, this study shows that while the Union fundamentally altered the manner in which local politics functioned, the localities not only adapted to the new electoral procedures, but party politics in particular were allowed to grow and flourish. Fife's county records have proven to be a particularly rich and underused resource for this study. The minute books of town council meetings for each of Fife's major royal burghs, covering the years 1707-1747, have been examined, along with a complete set of minutes from the Commissioners of Supply, the county body responsible for the collection of the land tax and, crucially, for determining electoral qualification. Correspondence, in the form of letters and memoranda from Fife's leading politicians, has allowed the reconstruction of several important elections which in tum provide evidence for the argument that party politics in Scotland not only survived after Union but also thrived in an era of unparalleled electoral competition. Partially owing to the reduction in parliamentary representation at Westminster, the political parties in Scotland experienced tremendous growth. Contrary to recent historiography, however, no significant evidence of corruption was found in the operations of the county franchise from the first Fife elections held in 1708 through to 1747, the end of the present study's span. The burgh electoral structure, conversely, both permitted and experienced gross manipulation by the parties competing for the few parliamentary seats now allocated to the Scottish burghs. This study demonstrates that political parties thrived in the new era of Scottish partisan politics ushered in by Union. Fife, in particular, adapted creatively to the new order. This suggests that an increasingly vibrant culture oflocal political competition and argument in the early eighteenth century was actually a likely consequence at the local level of Scotland's national integration into the new state of Great Britain.