The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive and cohesive description of the most recent version of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), and also to describe and discuss the overall method for developing the FSSD, elaborate on the general rational for and general benefits of a framework of this type, and validate benefits of the FSSD through examples of its application. The purpose is also to point to pertinent future work. In preparation of this paper, we have reviewed previous publications and other documents related to the FSSD and reflected on the 25-year learning process between scientists and practitioners. We conclude that the FSSD has proven to aid organizations in thoroughly understanding and putting themselves in context of the global sustainability challenge, and to move themselves strategically towards sustainability, i.e., to stepwise reduce their negative impacts on ecological and social systems at large while strengthening the own organization through capturing of innovation opportunities, including new business models, exploration of new markets and winning of new market shares, and through reduced risks and operation costs. Specifically, we conclude that the FSSD aids more effective management of system boundaries and trade-offs, makes it possible to model and assess sustainable potentials for various materials and practices before investments are made, and offers the possibility for more effective collaboration across disciplines and sectors, regions, value-chains and stakeholder groups. We also conclude that the FSSD makes it possible to prevent damages, even from yet unknown problems, and not the least, to guide selection, development and combination of supplementary methods, tools, and other forms of support, which makes it possible to increase their utility for strategic sustainable development. Finally, we have shown that the FSSD is useful for structuring transdisciplinary academic education and research. Several examples of ongoing FSSD related research, as well as ideas for future work, are given. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.


The aim of our study was to consider the efficiency of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis to show the differences between Rhododendron mutants and control plants. The mutant plantlets were selected due to their better In vitro shoot and root regeneration relative to control in both varieties. Six mutant plantlets from Alfred and seven mutant plantlets from Paars variety were selected from M1V2 generations. These mutants were selected from plantlets which were irradiated with doses 5 and 10 Gy. They were grown up In vitro conditions. The dendrogram shows one big cluster and the others to be distinguished. Genetic variability induced with gamma ray and RAPD methods were used to detect mutations at the Rhododendron shoot culture. Our results show that Rhododendron mutants were district from controls.


Despite being used repeatedly in different contexts, the term "narco-state" has never been satisfactorily defined or explained. In fact, the existence of the narco-state is almost always taken for granted. This article will argue, on the basis of a review of existing definitions and of selected case studies, that there is no such thing as a narco-state and that using the term tends to oversimplify if not mask the complex socio-political and economic realities of drug-producing countries. The narco-state notion will be debated and opposed in terms of politics, territory, and economics.


This essay focuses on the ways in which ideas popularly associated with the Enlightenment function as common sense in the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, which was formally approved by the Association of College and Research Libraries at the beginning of 2015. This essay begins with a close reading of the Framework for Information Literacy, followed by an analysis of its ideological underpinnings, specifically liberalism. I then use postcolonial and political theory to think through the role of historical difference in pedagogy generally and in the information literacy pedagogy articulated by the Framework more specifically. The hegemonic ideological liberalism of the Framework, its universality, narrative of progress, and disinterest in power, must be supplemented with historical difference in order to provide context for its truth claims and to inculcate responsibility to the other. This work could take the form of kairotic information literacy pedagogy, or local and contextual articulations of the Framework, or something else. The Framework is not worthless or useless, but it is also not the answer.


WITH the end of the Iran-Iraq War in the spring of 1988, the United States was confronted with a new strategic balance in the Persian Gulf. Iraq had replaced Iran as the military power in the region.(1)As President Ronald Reagan's final term drew to a close, the US government was still undecided about how it would deal with Iraq and President Saddam Hussein. By the spring of 1989, President George Bush's administration decided on a policy of constructive engagement with Iraq in the hopes that such a policy would lead to Saddam Hussein's moderation. By April of 1990, however, it became apparent that the policy had failed. At that time, the Bush administration decided to suspend the agricultural credit program, which had provided Iraq with approximately $1 billion of credit per year to purchase US commodities. Many in the administration, however, continued to hope for constructive engagement, and until the invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the US government remained publicly supportive of Hussein. In the aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, questions were raised about Bush's policy toward Iraq prior to August 1990. Most of these focused on allegations involving illegal loans underwritten by the Atlanta branch of the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL). Representative Henry Gonzalez (D-Tex.), chairman of the House Banking Committee, pursued the trail of Iraqi weapons procurement and claimed that the Bush administration had covertly armed Iraq in direct contravention to stated policy.(2) These allegations were echoed by William Safire in the New York Times, by Douglas Frantz and Murray Waas in the Los Angeles Times, and by Alan Friedman in the Financial Times, among others.(3) Much of what has been written on the Iraq policy before the Kuwait crisis has rested on a tenuous documentary foundation,(4) and the documentary record provides only circumstantial evidence that improprieties of the type alleged by Gonzalez occurred. As the record shows, however, and as this article will endeavor to prove, the policy of constructive engagement was ill-conceived and was based on a series of questionable assumptions. Furthermore, when it became clear in the spring of 1990 that Hussein was becoming even less moderate, the Bush administration continued to cling to hopes of rapprochement. The article also will show that, contrary to the claims of Bush administration officials,(5) there were alternative policies, and these might have yielded better results in the long run. US policy toward Iraq was developed in the context of the Iran-Iraq War (1980- 88). The Reagan administration, with its antipathy toward the fundamentalist regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, began to tilt toward Iraq after 1982, when it appeared that Iran might be winning.(6) Full diplomatic relations were restored with Iraq in 1984, and Iraq was given Export-Import Bank development loans and credits guaranteed by the Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The US tilt toward Iraq also entailed support for the conservative Gulf states, which were Iraq's primary financial backers, and in 1987, the US navy began escorting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf. Some in the Reagan administration were skeptical of Hussein,(7) and though policy dictated support, this support varied in intensity, depending on the ebb and flow of the battlefield. When Iraq seemed to be losing the war in 1982 and 1986-87, the administration tilted more heavily toward Iraq. When Hussein appeared to be winning, US ardor cooled off and aid levels decreased.(8) Indeed, throughout the war, there was sufficient distrust of both Iraq and Iran that the prevailing sentiment in Washington seemed to be "a plague on both of their houses."(9) Nonetheless, hostility toward Iran, shared by both Washington and the United States' allies in the Gulf--Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE--demanded that Hussein emerge from the war with his regime intact. …


Many events occurring to married or cohabiting individuals are the result of decisions made jointly by both partners. However, studies of life-course events usually take an individual or head-of-household perspective and so do not explicitly reflect the joint nature of these decisions. Household panel studies and population registers are a rich resource for the study of household events, but analyzing such data presents major analytical challenges. Models should ideally allow for the influence of both partners in a couple's decision making and be flexible enough to handle the facts that individuals can change their partners and have periods when they are not in coresidential unions. In this article, the authors propose two types of multilevel random-effects models to address some of these issues: a "multiple-membership" model in which the outcome depends on a weighted combination of the random effects for each decision maker and a random-coefficients model that allows different random effects for individuals when they are single and partnered. All methods are discussed in terms of a binary household outcome before describing more general discrete-choice models for nominal outcomes. The proposed methods are compared with previously used approaches in a simulation study and illustrated in analyses of residential mobility using data from the British Household Panel Survey.


Nigeria has a rich cultural heritage. Cultural practices include extended family; adequate care for new mothers for 40 days after delivery; prolonged breastfeeding; and respect for elders. Many negative practices exist most of them affecting the health of children and women. About 90% of babies are delivered by mostly untrained traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and healers. Child marriage is a common Nigerian practice. This deprives the girl of education and results in teenage pregnancy. Legislation does not seem to be very effective. It is hoped that will education girls will be allowed to remain in school until the age of 18. Female circumcision and vaginal mutilation and also common in Nigerian culture. TBAs and healers have stated that there is severe bleeding after circumcision sometimes so severe that it leads to death. Other harmful delivery practices include bathing in boiling water; gishiri cut a crude local symphysiotomy; and agurya cut--removal of the hymen loop on 7-day-old females. Bathing in boiling water results in many women being burned or disfigured; gishiri cut has resulted in vesicovaginal fistula in many young girls. Other harmful practices are purging of infants to get rid of impurities "they might have swallowed while in the uterus;" uvulectomy in infants and induction of postpartum hemorrhage to clear the uterus of impure blood. The list goes on and on. Women and children are exposed to many unhealthy practices in the name of tradition or culture.


Objective Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterised by an enduring predisposition to develop seizures. While most patients achieve seizure control with antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment, some develop refractory epilepsy. These patients have been known to present with important psychiatric comorbidity and to be negatively impacted by the disease in their quality of life. The reported prevalence of psychiatric disorders and assessment of quality of life in patients with refractory epilepsy varies greatly due to methodological differences between studies and the lack of use of adequate measurement instruments. Also, treatment efforts often focus on seizure control, when several other factors have been shown to significantly influence the quality of life of these patients. The aim of the present study is to determine the point-prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a homogenous group of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy and to analyse possible predictors of psychopathology and quality of life. Method This was a retrospective medical records review. The sample were adult patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis being considered for epilepsy surgery at the Hospital of Egas Moniz in Lisbon, from January 2014 to July 2016. Psychiatric diagnoses were based on the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview and health-related quality of life was assessed with the Quality-of-Life in Epilepsy Inventory. Point-prevalence ratios for each psychiatric diagnosis were calculated. Predictors of psychiatric comorbidity and of quality of life were analysed with multiple logistic regression models and stepwise, backward-elimination linear regression models, respectively. Results A total of 26 records were included. Point-prevalence ratio of psychiatric disorders was 31%. Absolute frequencies were: generalised anxiety disorder (3), agoraphobia (2), adjustment disorder (2), social phobia (1) and major depressive episode (1). No significant predictor of psychiatric comorbidity was identified. The female gender, AED polypharmacy and a diagnosis of a mood disorder were significant predictors of a lower overall quality of life. Seizure frequency only predicted lower scores in the seizure worry and social function scales, while right-sided hippocampal sclerosis predicted a better score in those domains. Conclusion Point-prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity was in line with previous research. The high prevalence of anxiety disorders, which are often under-recognised and undertreated, should alert clinicians to actively screen and treat these conditions. The concurrent association of various AED can lower the patient's overall quality of life, while seizure frequency showed only a modest impact on well-being. Therapeutic decisions should reflect this reality and not focus solely on seizure control. While the precise relationship between neuropathology and psychosocial variables remains elusive, the observed asymmetric effect of HS laterality on some of the quality of life domains should be further studied.


Since the 'Piper Alpha' disaster in 1988 the system of regulating occupational health and safety in the offshore oil and gas industry has been the subject of radical reorganization. During vacation employment in the Safety and Environment Department of a North Sea oil producer during 1993 the difficulties that can arise in identifying a particular regulation or in obtaining a specific document were experienced at first hand. Standard bibliographic tools do not identify sources of health and safety information specific to the industry and it was felt that further guidance would be beneficial.


This chapter surveys the career and scholarship of James S. Coleman. It tracks scholarly usage of his work, with attention to references after 1995 and the subject areas in which its use is concentrated. At base a scholar of problems in social organization, Coleman made influential contributions that range across the sociology of education, policy research, mathematical sociology, network/structural analysis, and sociological theory. Works from several phases of Coleman's career are cited widely by scholars in sociology, education, economics, business/management, and other social science fields; during the past decade his conceptual work on social capital has been most influential. Coleman's widely debated Foundations of Social Theory is receiving increasing attention and has helped to establish a stable if limited niche for rational choice analysis within sociology.


It is important to collect and analyze the usage data of electronic databases and periodicals in order to make policies regarding the composition, improvement and more extensive utilization of electronic resources of libraries. The aim of this study is to investigate how efficiently the full text accessible electronic resources of Hacettepe University Libraries are used. For this purpose the usage data obtained from COUNTER Software regarding the electronic databases to which Hacettepe University Libraries subscribed in 2007 were examined. Full-text access to 13,270 journals within 13 electronic databases was found to be 585.843 in 2007. ScienceDirect is the most frequently used database, accounting for 56.1% of all accesses. Some 1,575 journals appear in more than one database and 2,912 journals were never used. A great part of the core journals identified by the Bradford Law are included in the ScienceDirect database.


The idea of the Russian Bear has long been established in the European mind. The image of a huge, threatening and wild presence in the north is often juxtaposed against the placid and weightier European elephant. These images, despite their humour and even candour, in fact help us focus on the biggest uncertainty of the 21st century: the cohabitation of Europe and Russia. This study offers a conceptual framework to try to bring order into this complex and evolving EU-Russian relationship. The objective of the report is to set out the concepts, paradigms and to some extent the ideologies that are at play in this evolution of the Wider Europe.


A characteristic feature of vertebrate sensory cortex (and midbrain) is the existence of multiple two-dimensional map representations. Some workers have considered single-map classification (e.g. Kohonen 1984) but little work has focused on the use of multiple maps. We have constructed a multiple-map classifier, which permits abstraction of the computational properties of a multiple-map architecture. We identify three problems which characterize a multiple-map classifier: classification in two dimensions, mapping from high dimensions to two dimensions, and combination of multiple maps. We demonstrate component solutions to each of the problems, using Parzen-window density estimation in two dimensions, a generalized Fisher discriminant function for dimensionality reduction, and split/merge methods to construct a tree of maps for the multiple-map representation. The combination of components is modular and each component could be improved or replaced without affecting the other components. The classifier training procedure requires time linear in the number of training examples; classification time is independent of the number of training examples and requires constant space. Performance of this classifier on Fisher's iris data, Gaussian clusters on a five-dimensional simplex, and digitized speech data is comparable to competing algorithms, such as nearest-neighbor, back-propagation and Gaussian classifiers. This work provides an example of the computational utility of multiple-map representations for classification. It is one step towards the goal of understanding why brain areas such as visual cortex utilize multiple map-like representations of the world.


We transferred the frequency of an ultrastable laser over a 108-km-long urban fiber link comprising 22 km of an optical communication network fiber simultaneously carrying Internet data traffic. The metrological signal and the digital data signal were transferred over two different frequency channels in a dense wavelength-division multiplexing scheme. The metrological signal was inserted in and extracted from the communication network using bidirectional off-the-shelf optical add-drop multiplexers. The link-induced phase noise was measured and canceled with a round-trip technique using an all-fiber-based interferometer. The compensated link showed an Allan deviation of a few 10−16 at one second and below 10−19 at 10,000 s This work paves the way to a wide dissemination of ultrastable optical clock signals between distant laboratories via the Internet network.


The barriers to trade in developing countries constitute one of the major obstacles to economic development and growth. This study aims at addressing the issues surrounding the prevalence of informal trade barriers in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. While it appears to be logical that the strongest economies of Central Asia should increase trade volume with neighboring countries, in reality the potential for intensifying cross-border trade is barely being realized. This paper attempts to shed light on trade barriers in key industries in both countries, including manufacturing, transport, and agriculture. As can be seen from this study, these industries experience different types of restrictions and varying degrees of state intervention in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The paper places special emphasis on informal barriers and the tools companies use to overcome those barriers. The paper is based on a survey of a total of 108 companies in both countries and the output of a roundtable discussion in Kazakhstan with representatives of companies and other experts in the above-mentioned industries.


The purpose of this study was to identify which instructional design (ID) models are currently used in designing virtual world instruction and why. The goal was to identify specific ID elements being used to develop virtual world instruction that enable effective utilization of the technology to support desired learning experiences for students. A review of the literature revealed that there was limited current research about how ID models are being used to develop instruction in virtual world environments. Although previous research studies have focused on understanding how existing ID models are suitable for designing and developing web-based instruction, research was not found that explains how ID models are being used to develop instruction in virtual world environments. Through the study, it was discovered that analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) was the most commonly used process for the design of virtual world instruction. It was also deemed the most appropriate since ADDIE summarizes five phases of an ID process. Essential ID elements were also generated to design and develop virtual world instruction.


Locally distilled liquor (Akpeteshie) is a beverage which is widely consumed in Ghana. It is produced from different raw materials. The purpose of this research was to determine the presence and levels of certain contaminants in akpeteshie from the various sources and to determine effects of ambient temperature, refrigeration, pasteurization and pasteurization in combination with low temperature for the liquor stored for seven weeks. The contaminant microorganisms are spore forming gram positive Bacillus spp., responsible for converting alcohol to acetic acid. Total viable count (TVC) reached 25, 120 cfu/100 ml during the first week of storage, under room temperature in the most contaminated sample and thereafter, increased till the end of the storage period. Storage under the other conditions drastically retarded microbial growth. pH decreased from 5.0 to 2.7 at the end of storage period while the titrable acidity increased from 1.10 to 1.63. However, the pH and titrable acidity varied at slower rates in samples stored under other conditions. An increase from 0.02 to 0.04 was recorded for the acetic acid content of S2 (sample obtained from the second production site in the district; New Town). The presence of acetic acid, iron and copper metals were detected in all the samples. The study therefore concludes that the various storage conditions had an appreciable effect on the quality of akpeteshie in the order; storage at room temperature followed by the refrigeration, pasteurization, then pasteurization in combination with refrigeration in increasing order of effect and that akpeteshie pasteurized and refrigerated is the best for consumption.


The use of live oysters (Crassostrea virginica) for water quality mitigation and for oyster reef restoration has received considerable attention in the past decade. Oysters for such management efforts are routinely purchased from hatcheries or relocated from natural reefs with little consideration for the possibility that the oysters may exhibit local adaptation to the environmental conditions of their natal site. Local adaptation might influence oyster growth and survival following transplant, thus potentially reducing the benefits of these management approaches. This study examined oysters from two tidal creeks (Bradley Creek and Pages Creek) in New Hanover County, North Carolina, for evidence of local adaptation using reciprocal transplant and common garden strategies. Reciprocal transplants were conducted with growth and survival of oysters monitored for 3 months in the late summer (Transplant 1) and 8 months covering the fall and winter (Transplant 2). Stock origin had a significant effect on growth. The Bradley Creek stock had better relative growth than the Pages Creek stock in Transplant 2, regardless of site (Transplant 1 data did not exhibit any clear trends in growth). The Bradley Creek stock also had better overall survival rates than the Pages Creek stock in both transplants (Bradley: 49%, 48%; Pages: 34%, 30%). In both transplants, the Bradley Creek stock had higher survival at all three sites, including the common garden. Environment also had a significant effect on growth and survival and effected stocks similarly. Both stocks performed best in the same site, but that site differed between transplants. Growth and survival were highest for both stocks in Bradley Creek in Transplant 1, and were highest for both stocks in the common garden in Transplant 2. Each stock's performance was site dependent. However, the two stocks performed very differently from each other within each site, suggesting local adaptation (phenotypic differentiation that persists after common environmental conditions), likely a result of selective mortality. This study indicates that the source of brood stock for restoration or water quality mitigation may have significant impacts on project success.


PurposeThis study aims to examine how comprehensive performance measurement systems (CPMS) influence entrepreneurial orientation, market-focussed learning (MFL) and employees' perceptions of firm performance within a service-provision context. It also considers the moderating effect of low and high levels of perceived market-turbulence (low-turbulence environments [LMT] vs highly turbulent environments [HMT]) on the relationships between these concepts.Design/methodology/approachPLS-SEM was used to test the hypothesised relationships using survey responses from 198 employees of a leading multi-branch travel agency in Iran.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that CPMS positively influence MFL and, in doing so, have a positive effect on perceptions of firm performance. However, the findings also suggest that CPMS negatively influence entrepreneurial orientation, and therefore can also negatively influence perceptions of firm performance. Further, the relationships between CPMS, entrepreneurial orientation, MFL and firm performance are stronger for HMT when compared to LMT for all relationships.Practical implicationsIndustry managers should adapt their CPMS to include measures specific to intra-organisational entrepreneurship and innovation and should pursue greater understanding of changing customer preferences.Originality/valueThis study highlights the importance of MFL as a means of avoiding the negative impact of underdeveloped market research on performance in the turbulent Iranian context. Contrary to previous literature, it provides an example of how CPMS can negatively influence entrepreneurial orientation in such environments.


We study a cuboid tangible pen-like input device similar to Vogel and Casiez's Conté. A conductive 3D-printed Conté device enables touch sensing on a capacitive display, and orientation data from an enclosed inertial measurement unit (IMU) reliably distinguishes all 26 corners, edges, and sides. The device's size is constrained by hardware required for sensing. We evaluate the impact of size form-factor on manipulation times for contact-to-contact transitions. A controlled experiment logs manipulation times performed with three sizes of 3D printed mock-ups of the device. Computer vision techniques reliably distinguish between all 26 possible contacts, and a resistive touch sensor provides accurate timing information. In addition, a transition to touch input is tested, and a mock-up of a digital pen is included as a baseline comparison. Results show larger devices are faster, contact-to-contact transition time increases with distance between contacts, but transitions to barrel edges can be slower than some end-over-end transitions. A comparison with a pen-shaped baseline indicates no loss in transition speed for most equivalent transitions. Based on our results, we discuss ideal device sizes and improvements to the simple extruded-rectangle form-factor. Subsequently, we evaluate learning and recall of commands located on physical landmarks on the exterior of a 3D tangible input device in comparison with a 2D spatial interface. Each of the 26 contacts is a physical spatial landmark on the exterior of Conté. A pilot study compares command learning and recall for Conté with a 2D grid interface, using small and large commands sets. To facilitate novice learning, an on-screen model of Conté replicates the physical device's orientation and displays icons representing commands on the corresponding landmarks. Results show there is likely no difference between 2D and 3D spatial interface recall for a small command set and high recall is possible with large command sets. Applications illustrating possible use cases are discussed as well as possible improvements to the on-screen guide based on our results.


Piecewise linear transformation is a powerful technique for coping with the registration of images affected by local geometric distortions, as it is usually the case of high-resolution satellite images. A key point when applying this technique is to divide the images to register according to a suitable common triangular mesh. This comprises two different aspects: where to place the mesh vertices (i.e., the mesh geometrical realization) and to set an appropriate topology upon these vertices (i.e., the mesh topological realization). This paper focuses on the latter and presents a novel method that improves the registration of two images by an iterative optimization process that modifies the mesh connectivity by swapping edges. For detecting if an edge needs to be swapped or not, we evaluate the registration improvement of that action on the two triangles connected by the edge. Another contribution of our proposal is the use of the mutual information for measuring the registration consistency within the optimization process, which provides more robustness to image changes than other well-known metrics such as normalized cross-correlation or sum of square differences. The proposed method has been successfully tested with different pairs of panchromatic QuickBird images (0.6 m/pixel of spatial resolution) of a variety of land covers (urban, residential, and rural) acquired under different lighting conditions and viewpoints.


ABSTRACT The non-clay-mineral fraction of mudrocks is receiving increased attention. The heavy-mineral fraction in fine-grained rocks, however, has largely been neglected, partially because of the difficulty in separating heavy minerals from the host mudrock. We propose a technique that will separate some heavy minerals from a clay matrix. This method was developed initially by soil scientists for separating quartz and feldspar from clays, and later modified for mudrocks. The technique involves fusing the rocks with sodium bisulfate, making clay minerals soluble in basic solutions. We have tested this procedure on nine common heavy minerals: andradite, almandine, grossular, zircon, magnetite, schorl, apatite, rutile, and a gem variety of tourmaline. Each mineral was fused and the mass reductio and resultant chemical changes observed. Physical grain alterations were examined by SEM and chemical changes analyzed by electron microprobe. Almandine, grossular, and zircon survived the fusion process in high percentages and showed little chemical change. Andradite, although it showed small mass loss, was highly etched by the precess. Schorl, gem tourmaline, magnetite, and ruffle showed a high mass loss with some chemical change to the residue. Apatite was totally dissolved. The chemical resistance of several heavy-mineral species makes this technique useful for provenance studies of mudrocks, especially when combined with chemical studies of heavy minerals.


In many countries the calculation of habitable dwelling surface is characterised by a chaotic variety of calculation variants hardly comprehensible for the end user - sometimes not even reproducible for the expert. Therefore dossiers were analysed on the basis of a random choice in order to determine the method according to which the habitable dwelling surface was measured and to find out whether customers can scrutinize the calculations. The paper compares Sydney and Munich, where in both cases property prices are situated at the high end of the market.


We report on the ultrafast excited-state relaxation dynamics of the metastable photo-merocyanine (open-form) isomer of spiro-phenantroxazine, measured by pump and probe spectroscopy with sub-40-fs temporal resolution. We found that the photo-induced yield for ring-closure is negligible, and that the excited-state lifetime is only on the order of 300 fs. Relaxation leads to the non-adiabatic formation of a hot ground state (HGS). In this state, a coherent oscillation with 45 cm−1 frequency is present, showing strong anharmonicity. We attribute it to the motion (torsion/bending) of the molecular backbone attempting geometric relaxation to the close form. The strength of the coherent oscillation and the subsequent spectral relaxation in the HGS, together with the ultrashort lifetime, points to a crossing through a conical intersection (CI). We conclude that excited-states on the merocyanine form pass through a CI that is different from the one that would lead to ring-closure. We discuss design rules for the spiro-oxazine class, allowing for bidirectional switching avoiding this parasitic CI.


Objectives To determine the effect of structured exercise on overall mobility in people after hip fracture. To explore associations between trial-level characteristics and overall mobility. Design Systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression. Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Bone, Joint and Muscle Trauma Group Specialised Register and the Physiotherapy Evidence Database to May 2014. Study eligibility criteria, participants and interventions Randomised controlled trials of structured exercise, which aimed to improve mobility compared with a control intervention in adult participants after surgery for hip fracture were included. Data extraction and synthesis Data were extracted by one investigator and checked by an independent investigator. Standardised mean differences (SMD) of overall mobility were meta-analysed using random effects models. Random effects meta-regression was used to explore associations between trial-level characteristics and overall mobility. Results 13 trials included in the meta-analysis involved 1903 participants. The pooled Hedges' g SMD for overall mobility was 0.35 (95% CI 0.12 to 0.58, p=0.002) in favour of the intervention. Meta-regression showed greater treatment effects in trials that included progressive resistance exercise (change in SMD=0.58, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.98, p=0.008, adjusted R2=60%) and delivered interventions in settings other than hospital alone (change in SMD=0.50, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.93, p=0.024, adjusted R2=49%). Conclusions and implications Structured exercise produced small improvements on overall mobility after hip fracture. Interventions that included progressive resistance training and were delivered in other settings were more effective, although the latter may have been confounded by duration of interventions.


Although historically detached from the films of the so-called golden ages of Cebuano cinema in the 1950s and the 1970s, a new breed of Cebuano filmmakers have emerged in the 21st century. Through a series of interviews with Cebuano filmmakers, this article will map the alternative modes of distribution and exhibition in contemporary Cebuano cinema. In order to do this, the article begins with a discussion culled from a fresh interview with one of the brains behind the 1970s Cebuano blockbuster, Ang Manok ni San Pedro, Domingo Arong. Ang Manok provides a valuable roadmap for contemporary Cebuano filmmakers. In attempting to connect Ang Manok's mode of distribution and exhibition with that of the contemporary Cebuano filmmakers, this article hopes to describe Cebuano cinema's alternative modes of distribution and exhibition.


I. INTRODUCTION Currently, there are no uniform standards designed specifically to regulate lawyer communications on the Internet. Each state and each federal district court is free to promulgate its own rules of professional conduct. (1) Each federal court can adopt the rules of ethics for the state in which it is situated, develop its own set of rules or choose not to develop any local rules to govern professional conduct. (2) For example, without uniform standards, lawyers and law firms advertising through websites accessible to the general public risk violating ethics rules in numerous states, thereby becoming subject to civil and criminal penalties in multiple jurisdictions and possible disciplinary proceedings. (3) Even if the proposed Model Rules of Professional Conduct ("Model Rules") are adopted, it is very unlikely that each of the fifty states will adopt these Rules. The states that do adopt the Rules will likely do so with modifications. The following scenario demonstrates the need for clear uniform guidelines to govern lawyer communications on the Internet. Ms. Able, licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, launches an Internet (4) website to provide personal information, including her biographical profile, as well as professional information, such as her practice areas, office address, telephone number, and other information. Visitors to the website can communicate with Ms. Able through e-mail and real-time electronic communication, or "chat rooms." Ms. Able's website complies with Pennsylvania's ethics rules governing lawyer advertising. Among the visitors to the site are two non-lawyers: one who resides in Florida and one who resides in Minnesota. Both are in search of a lawyer to represent them in separate, unrelated personal injury actions in Florida and Minnesota. As these visitors are from Florida and Minnesota, should Ms. Able's website comply with Florida and Minnesota regulations governing lawyer advertising and solicitation? Does Ms. Able's website constitute an offer to render legal services to Florida and Minnesota residents? Since Ms. Able's website can be accessed from each of the fifty states, must the website comply with regulations governing lawyer advertising in each state? Is Ms. Able subject to sanction or civil and criminal penalties for failing to comply with ethical rules governing advertising, solicitation and the unauthorized practice of law in those jurisdictions where she is not admitted to practice law? No uniform guidelines specifically govern lawyer communications and conduct on the Internet. Consequently, Ms. Able's website may potentially violate regulations governing lawyer advertising, solicitation and the unauthorized practice of law in other jurisdictions, thereby subjecting her to civil and criminal penalties, and possible sanctions in Pennsylvania, the jurisdiction in which she is admitted to practice law. (5) A separate set of ethical issues is raised if Ms. Able communicates with non-lawyer potential clients using chat rooms. (6) Is such communication considered advertising, which is permissible, or is it considered solicitation, which is prohibited? (7) Generally, as discussed in Part III B, lawyer participation in real-time electronic communication is analogous to direct, in-person solicitation and, therefore is prohibited. This Article reviews some of the ethical issues raised by lawyer and law firm advertising via websites. In addition, the Article considers the extent to which such websites must comply with advertising rules governing lawyers in every jurisdiction in which the advertising may be accessed. Further, it also considers the potential for civil and criminal liability if the information contained on websites for lawyers and law firms fails to comply with state rules regulating lawyer advertising. Finally, the Article proposes uniform guidelines for lawyer and law firm websites. These guidelines should demonstrate good faith compliance with conflicting advertising regulations, thereby creating a "safe harbor" from sanctions for inadvertent and unavoidable violations of the various irreconcilable state rules governing lawyer advertising. …


As robots increasingly enter our everyday life, we envision a future in which robots are ubiquitous and interact with both ourselves and our environments. This paper introduces the concept of ubiquitous robotic interfaces (URIs), multi-robot interfaces capable of mobility, manipulation, sensing, display and interaction. URIs interact directly with the user and indirectly through surrounding objects. A key aspect of URIs is their ability to display information to users either by collectively forming shapes or through their movements. In this paper, we focus on the use of URIs to display information in ubiquitous settings. We first investigate the use of abstract motion as a display for URIs by studying human perception of abstract multi-robot motion. With ten small robots, we produced 42 videos of bio-inspired abstract motion by varying three parameters (7 x 2 x 3): bio-inspired behavior, speed and smoothness. In a crowdsourced between-subjects study, 1067 subjects were recruited to watch the videos and describe their perception through Likert scales and free text. Study results suggest that different bio-inspired behaviors elicit significantly different responses in arousal, dominance, hedonic and pragmatic qualities, animacy, urgency and willingness to attend. On the other hand, speed significantly affects valence, arousal, hedonic quality, urgency and animacy while smoothness affects hedonic quality, animacy, attractivity and likeability. We discuss how these results inform URI designers to formulate appropriate motion for different interaction scenarios and use these results to derive our own example applications using our URI platform, UbiSwarm.


The objective of this study was to obtain a better understanding of CO concentrations immediately upwind of urban roadways, the "local background" values, and how these concentrations depend upon the surrounding traffic and the general meteorology. Measurements were made at seven sites during the winter of 1993. Local background CO concentrations were characterized by an absence of short term fluctuations, a steady buildup during the period between 3:00 PM and 11:00 PM, and a lack of spatial gradients in the eight-hour average values. Distinctly different log-normal distributions of the eight-hour averages were observed for "trafficked" sites versus "urban park" sites, with mean values of 1.6 and 1.0 ppm, respectively. A simple regression model was developed to predict the local background CO. This regression model included distance from the roadway, average daily traffic on nearby roadways, and the frequency of low wind speeds (R-squared = 0.74; F = 170). A new CO sampler was also developed as a part of this project.


Timing jitter in soliton communication systems is studied, taking into account both soliton interaction and amplifier noise. Deviations from Gordon-Haus jitter for closely spaced solitons are observed. A new analytical model for the timing jitter is proposed. The model presented considers interaction in a random sequence of solitons and the effect of the amplified spontaneous emission noise added in each amplification stage. We obtain a good agreement between the new analytical model and simulation results for practical communication systems.


Membrane-bound proteases play a key role in biology by degrading matrix proteins or shedding adhesion receptors. MT1-MMP metalloproteinase is critical during cancer invasion, angiogenesis, and development. MT1-MMP activity is strictly regulated by internalization, recycling, autoprocessing but also through its incorporation into tetraspanin-enriched microdomains (TEMs), into invadopodia, or by its secretion on extracellular vesicles (EVs). We identified a juxtamembrane positively charged cluster responsible for the interaction of MT1-MMP with ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin) cytoskeletal connectors in breast carcinoma cells. Linkage to ERMs regulates MT1-MMP subcellular distribution and internalization, but not its incorporation into extracellular vesicles. MT1-MMP association to ERMs and insertion into TEMs are independent phenomena, so that mutation of the ERM-binding motif in the cytoplasmic region of MT1-MMP does not preclude its association with the tetraspanin CD151, but impairs the accumulation and coalescence of CD151/MT1-MMP complexes at actin-rich structures. Conversely, gene deletion of CD151 does not impact on MT1-MMP colocalization with ERM molecules. At the plasma membrane MT1-MMP autoprocessing is severely dependent on ERM association and seems to be the dominant regulator of the enzyme collagenolytic activity. This newly characterized MT1-MMP/ERM association can thus be of relevance for tumor cell invasion.


In this work we explore the task of authenticating and dating ancient manuscripts by capturing images of pages in nearinfrared (NIR) and modelling and then comparing the ink appearance of segmented text. We present a texture feature descriptor to characterize and recognize semi-transparent materials such as the inks found in manuscripts. These textural patterns are different in nature from perceptual entities such as textons, tokens, frequency or repeatability of textural elements. Our ink texture descriptor relates a set of ink features from various first and second-order statistics to semi-liquid and viscous image-based properties of inks. In particular, we propose eigen features from the joint gray-level probabilities and off-diagonal sums of co-occurrence matrices. We test the qualities of the features with a classifier trained with the ink descriptor to show how well it recognizes eight different inks of known composition. Presented with the very same task the human visual system would fail to spot the ink composition difference given the inks inter-class and intra-class distances are extremely short.


In this study, a novel conjugated polymer, denoted as ECPblack, is synthesized. ECPblack demonstrated a unique electrochromic behavior with an ultrahigh contrast ratio (over 80%) in most of the visible regions, boasting an ultrahigh integrated contrast ratio of 71.8% between 380 nm and 880 nm. The long conjugated pendant group (pyrene) in ECPblack enhances the absorption in the blue region in its second oxidized state and results in transmissive-to-black electrochromic switching between the neutral state and the oxidized state. The transmissive-to-black electrochromic switching polymer with an ultrahigh contrast ratio could be especially attractive for applications in electronic displays. In addition, when polytriarylamine/nanotube (SWNT/P2) dispersion is doped in ECPblack, the response time of its electrochemical and electrochromic behaviors is further reduced. The electrochromic switching and bleaching time of SWNT/P2/ECPblack decreased by 73% and 80%, respectively. The improvement is caused by the phase separation of the rigid SWNT and the flexible polymer, which generates a rough surface morphology and provides more pathways for faster diffusion of counterions (ClO4−). The polymer/SWNT doping technique provides a simple way to accelerate ion diffusion in anodically coloring materials.


Reflection and refraction of monochromatic light by an air-dielectric interface at an incidence angle below the Brewster angle can generate split beams of equal power and orthogonal polarizations under certain achievable conditions. Generation of photon streams of orthogonal polarizations, previously thought to be possible mainly by double refraction in anisotropic crystals, is achieved for an infinite set of input states that leads to a correspondingly infinite set of pairs of orthogonal output states. A bare substrate of PbTe is particularly suitable for this beam splitting function in the IR. However, use of a high-refractive-index quarter-wave layer on a low-refractive-index substrate extends the operating range of this interesting device to a much wider spectral range including the visible.


A well-known baseline result in the theory of public finance says that firm investment decisions are not distorted by income taxation when taxable income is reduced by net economic depreciation and net interest costs. This paper extends this result to the commonly encountered situation in which firms use capital to produce other capital that they, in turn, use to produce final output — as when a firm uses a truck to construct a plant, or a laboratory to generate intellectual property. In theory, the immediate deduction of net economic depreciation and net interest costs is still sufficient for the no-distortion result — provided, that is, that net economic depreciation is suitably (and somewhat unnaturally) redefined. The required definition of net economic depreciation renders the no-distortion result especially problematic in the case of nested capital. Given informational constraints facing the tax authority, the no-distortion result is arguably inapplicable outside the steady state of the firm's optimal investment path, which, in the case of nested capital, converges only asymptotically. In addition to establishing these results, the paper provides three interpretations of the non-distortive regime, and relates it to current law regarding interest capitalization and "depreciation cascading."


Key messagesAt national or subnational levels, low-emission development strategies (LEDS) are a key approach for planning and action towards integration of climate change mitigation and adaptation with development.REDD+ activities over the past decade have generated much information, institutional learning and on-the-ground experience that can provide valuable lessons for LEDS.In this brief, we examine two questions: What can be learned from REDD+ for LEDS? How can REDD+ be part of LEDS?REDD+ can be an essential part of LEDS in countries where forest-based carbon emissions are large. It will also be important where forest-based emissions are secondary. If countries chose to follow a socio-economic path based on low-emission development, REDD+ can focus on providing incentives for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, creating motivation for behavior change in forest management, and the incipient REDD+ monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) and safeguard systems can be expanded with relatively low effort beyond the forestry sector.


The Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov, a veritable human rights icon, maintained his whole life that the world's priority must be nuclear disarmament. But during the 1970s, the pursuit of nuclear disarmament was the hallmark of detente between the superpowers. Detente offended human rights activists because it appeared to legitimize the Soviet Union, notorious for its noxious treatment of dissidents. While Sakharov's actions demonstrated a fervent commitment to human rights, his rhetoric consistently— and paradoxically—prioritized nuclear disarmament. For their part, Soviet authorities evinced little concern for Sakharov's disarmament ideas but greatly feared his influence as a human rights activist. Sakharov never reconciled these conflicting goals, and although the human rights revolution he helped inspire played a part in bringing down the Soviet Union, it did not substantially challenge the nation-state system's dedication to


Robert Adams's Finite and Infinite Goods is one of the most important and innovative contributions to Christian ethics in recent memory. This article identifies two major flaws at the heart of Adams's theory: his notion of intrinsic value and his claim that 'excellence' or finite goodness is constituted by resemblance to God. I first elucidate Adams's complex, frequently misunderstood claims concerning intrinsic value and Godlikeness. I then contend that Adams's notion of intrinsic value cannot explain what it could mean for countless finite goods to be intrinsically valuable. Next, I articulate a criticism of his Godlikeness thesis altogether unlike those he has previously addressed: I show that, on Adams's own account of Godlikeness, a diverse myriad of excellences could not possibly count as resembling God. His theory thus fails to account for a whole world of finite goods. I defend my two criticisms against objections and briefly sketch a more Aristotelian and Christian way forward.


A model to predict B transport in calcareous soils is presented. The model considers one-dimensional, non-steady-state soil water flow, convective-dispersive solute transport of both noninteracting salts (i.e., Cl) and B. The model was designed to simulate field situations including infiltration, evaporation, transpiration, drainage, and water extraction by plant roots. Predlctions were compared with field B profiles and column leaching studies. The model accurately simulated B leaching from columns of B-contaminated soils under saturated and steady-state water flow conditions. Model simulations, under conditions of transient water flow and transient B concentrations in a column study, were in reasonable agreement with the measured values. Model predictions were also compared with evolving soil soluble-B profiles determined in a field study (5–7 yr) with repeated irrigation with saline, B-containing waters. Computed results of the B accumulation in the upper portion of the soil profile, and of the B front, were in good agreement with measured data.


Complex coacervate core micelles (C3Ms) are colloidal structures useful for encapsulation of biomacromolecules. We previously demonstrated that enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) can be encapsulated into C3Ms using the diblock copolymer poly(2-methyl-vinyl-pyridinium)41-b-poly(ethylene-oxide)205. This packaging resulted in deviating spectroscopic features of the encapsulated EGFP molecules. Here we show that for monomeric EGFP variant (mEGFP) micellar encapsulation affects the absorption and fluorescence properties to a much lesser extent, and that changes in circular dichroism characteristics are specific for encapsulated EGFP. Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy of encapsulated (m)EGFP established the occurrence of homo-FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer) with larger transfer correlation times in the case of EGFP. Together, these findings support that EGFP dimerizes whereas the mEGFP mainly remains as a monomer in the densely packed C3Ms. We propose that dimerization of encapsulated EGFP causes a reorientation of Glu222, resulting in a pKa shift of the chromophore, which is fully reversible after release of EGFP from the C3Ms at a high ionic strength.


The value of revitalising contaminated or brownfield sites has gained widespread acceptance. The efforts at remediation and eventual redevelopment of these sites involve several stakeholders, because the exercise directly impacts a number of different interests. The key issues to be resolved for the successful rejuvenation of brownfields are technical, legal, financial, future land use and community issues. Satisfactory resolution of these issues results in a happy confluence of interests working together to ensure the full exploitation of these underused assets. This paper fully discusses the issues and the attendant obstacles to redevelopment of brownfield sites, and examines some of the more successful approaches that have been employed.


INTRODUCTION Thick sequences of clastic deposits of Late Cretaceous age (1000–1500 m) are present offshore mid and north Norway. Dinoflagellate assemblages from these deposits have arctic affinities and are dominated by species of Chatangiella, Trithyrodinium and Isabelidinium. The First Appearance Datum (FAD) of Heterosphaeridium difficile is an important correlation point within this sequence and is equated with a Turonian age in most current zonal schemes. Our observations on the relative ranges of H. difficile, members of the Endoceratium dettmanniae–E. ludbrookiae plexus and other key index species in well materials offshore mid and north Norway are not consistent with ranges documented from European stratotypes and suggest a Cenomanian age for the correlation point. This note is intended as a basis for discussion pending a more detailed account of these deposits. OBSERVATIONS Three released offshore wells with good control from sidewall and core samples were selected for study. All of the well sections produced rich typical middle Cretaceous dinocyst assemblages with common H. difficile. At some levels typical forms of H. difficile with discrete processes intergrade with morphotypes having shorter, wider, coalescing processes, probably related to species in the Cyclonephelium membraniphorum complex. As recognized here, H. difficile is restricted to forms similar to the holotype, with discrete processes. Species of Endoceratium are present consistently in the lower part of the H. difficile range zone. There is gradation between forms close to E. dettmanniae and E. ludbrookiae to reticulate forms similar to E. lurneri. Well 35/3–5 is located about 190 km . . .


As Ronald Coase and others have shown, deducing the appropriate role of the government in the economy requires a comparative institutions approach. Trying to generalize from oversimplified specifications regarding transaction costs, according to whether exclusion is possible or not, is a futile exercise. An alternative to the Ostrom matrix is to distinguish private, club, and collective consumption goods according to their technical characteristics, specifically their degree of congestabiilty. The other box of the Ostrom matrix, "common pool" resources, can also be usefully analyzed from a club perspective. Spillover goods are spatial clubs. Lastly, a version of the Coase theorem is offered, which provides the foundation of comparative institutional analysis.


Numerous written, iconographic and archaeological sources suggest the importance of sound in the mythical and ritual context of Demeter. In Sicily, the discovery of statuettes of female players, who are single or in groups, in the sacred areas dedicated to the deity, seems related to the Demeter festivals and with the music and dance performed also during the Thesmophoria. We may now add, to these testimonies, those of auloi and of tympana and miniature bronze kymbala identified in contexts sacred to the goddess. The presence of percussion instruments in the Demeter sphere is reflected in the written sources: the use of kymbala and tympana may have taken place during the ritual repetition of Demeter is running in search of Kore to the sound of the sacred instruments.


Studies have been performed to characterize the flow of certain powders of pharmaceutical interest from a vibrating spatula. Lactose, cromolyn sodium, sodium chloride and charcoal powders were prepared by milling or sieving. Jet milling yielded micronized powder (1–10 μm), which was recovered from the product jar or metal cyclone. Particles in the larger size ranges were prepared by sieving. Photomicrograph images of the products were obtained by scanning electron microscopy. All of the powders were subjected to flow studies from vibrating beds to a top loading pan balance. Cumulative mass versus time, flow profiles were plotted. Bulk flow properties, as reflected in mass flow rates (Mi), were assessed. Irregular flow patterns were obtained for lactose, cromolyn sodium and charcoal, whereas sodium chloride was free flowing. The lengths of the lines depicting cumulative mass versus time, for samples of each material, were estimated using the inswing structured walk technique. Stride lengths (γ) of 1–100 mm were employed. Fractal dimensions were obtained from graphs of the logarithm of the cumulative mass versus time line length plotted against the logarithm of the stride length. Thus, flow irregularities were indicated by fractal dimensions (δ).

In all of the powders studied, mass flow rates increased as the particle size increased. Sodium chloride did not exhibit fractal behavior (δ ≤ 1.007), as there were no flow irregularities. Lactose, cromolyn sodium and charcoal did not appear to exhibit fractal behavior (δ ≤ 1.010) at large stride lengths (γ = 15–100 mm). At small stride lengths (γ = 1–10 mm) these materials did exhibit fractal behavior (δ equals; 1.029–1.059) indicative of flow irregularity. This method may be used to numerically quantify uniformity of flow from a vibrating spatula, and would be useful in a number of industrial processes.


We view sleep disruption as a contributory causal factor in the development of psychotic experiences. Clinical trials indicate that psychological interventions targeting insomnia result in improvements in both sleep and psychotic experiences. The aim of this study was to gain the perspective of young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis on their sleep problems and associated psychological treatment. Interviews were conducted with 11 patients, aged 15–22 years, at ultra-high risk of psychosis who had received a psychological sleep intervention. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. Disrupted sleep timing and a lack of routine were the characteristic hallmarks of participants' sleep problems. Sleep disturbance, psychological wellbeing, and functioning had a reciprocal relationship. There were negative expectations prior to therapy, however meaningful improvements occurred in sleep, mood, and functioning. The active implementation of therapy techniques was highlighted as important. These findings indicate that the treatment of sleep problems is highly valued and has a meaningful impact on wellbeing in young people at ultra-high risk of psychosis.


The dilemma in South African schools can be attributed to the lack of legitimacy created apartheid system and its policies during the previous dispensation. The apartheid school system was characterized by inequality: racially, regionally and in terms of gender (Department of Education 2000f:l). It was also administered by means of a top-down management system where principals and educators were at the receiving end. This means that the principals were accustomed to receiving instructions from departmental officials. This led to poor management and leadership and to a collapse of the culture of teaching and learning in the majority of schools. The South African Schools Act of 1996 places all South African Schools firmly on the road to a school based system of education management and leadership. Department of Education Task Team Report" Changing Management to Manage Change in Education" (1996), as well as the South African School Act of 1996, proposed that a new approach to leadership and management which is a process of decentralizing decision making about allocation of resources to school level, and a significant process of democratization in ways in which schools are governed and managed. The Department of Education (1996) also emphases that the implementation of these new policy trends require school principals who are able to work in democratic and participative ways to build relations and ensure efficient and effective delivery in schools. In this connection transformational style of leadership is essential as this style of leadership is regarded as being more suitable and appropriate for school effectiveness and improvement (see Coleman 1994). What is attempted is of the principal's leadership and its impact on this school; whether the principal's leadership style corresponds with the processes of transformational leadership advocated in the new education policy trends; and a special focus will be on whether there is any evidence of the existence of transformational leadership in this school. The main findings of this research exhibited that the principal's leadership at this school was transactional rather than being transformational. Although the principal at some stage would feel confident that she is carrying out his duties effectively toward promoting effective teaching and learning at this school, it was evident from the findings that she was not at all prepared to face the challenges of the new paradigm shift.


Image analysis techniques are applied to adaptive automatic vehicle navigation. The proposed image-based navigation system is made adaptive to follow any selected path embedded in a curve-type path network. This is achieved with three major capabilities of the proposed system: path network learning, reference path setup, and guided path navigation. The first capability enables the system to extract relevant information out of a given network map, and the second collects along-path reference data for a selected path from the extracted network information. During guided path navigation, consecutive path images are taken by a television camera on the vehicle and then analyzed for navigation control along path curves and for angular turning at path crossings. The control structure of the automatic navigation process is modelled as a Moore-type sequential machine in automata theory. Correct path navigation is ascertained by verifying each path crossing encountered on the road against the reference data by an image matching technique. Simulation of vehicle movement with a computer-controlled pantilt is also described. Simulation results show the feasibility of the proposed approach.


The pathogenesis of gentamicin (GM) nephrotoxicity has been shown to involve the generation of oxygen free radicals, and several free radical scavengers have been shown to ameliorate the nephrotoxicity. The seeds and oil of Nigella sativa are reported to possess strong antioxidant properties and was effective against disease and chemically-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Therefore, in the present work, we have tested whether oral treatment of rats with N. sativa oil (0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 ml/kg/day for 10 days) would ameliorate nephrotoxicity of GM (80 mg/kg/day given intramuscularly and concomitantly with the oil during the last 6 days of treatment). Nephrotoxicity was evaluated histopathologically with a light microscope and by measurement of concentrations of urea, creatinine and total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma and reduced glutathione (GSH) and TAS in kidney cortex. The results indicated that GM treatment caused moderate proximal tubular damage, significantly increased the concentrations of creatinine and urea, and decreased that of TAS and GSH. Treatment with N. sativa oil produced a dose-dependent amelioration of the biochemical and histological indices of GM nephrotoxicity that was statistically significant at the two higher doses used. Compared to controls, treatments of rats with N. sativa did not cause any overt toxicity, and it increased GSH and TAS concentrations in renal cortex and enhanced growth. The results suggest that N. sativa may be useful in ameliorating signs of GM nephrotoxicity in rats, and pending further experimentation to determine safety and efficacy, may be useful clinically.


Haematophagous, metazoan ectoparasites and protozoan blood parasites of intertidal fishes from Wales and South Africa formed the main focus of this study. The ectoparasites examined were largely juvenile isopods of the genus Gnathia, and specimens.of the leech, Zeylanicobdella arugamensis. These taxonomically distinct ectoparasites were suspected vectors of the blood protozoans, and the latter were mostly apicomplexans of the genus Haemogregarina and euglenozoans of the genus Trypanosoma. Knowledge of digestive tract anatomy in juvenile gnathiids is essential for assessing their role as potential vectors and this system was examined using histological, microscopical and computer-based techniques. Features that had been unreported, or insufficiently recorded, previously included several structures within the dorsal and ventral stomach chambers, a typhlosole-like formation in the anterior hindgut, haemozoin-like deposits in the digestive caeca of Gnathia africana and Gnathia pantherina, and an extensive gut flora. Connections between the stomach, anterior hindgut and digestive caeca were identified, salivary gland ducts were followed towards the mouthparts, and the digestive cycles of Gnathia maxillaris and G. africana juveniles were examined over a period of 30 days. The pathology associated with the attachment sites of G. africana and Gnathia sp A to teleosts, and with G. pantherina to an elasmobranch, was found to be considerable in the case of G. pantherina, while Gnathia sp A prompted the death of its host under experimental conditions. Oocyst stages, presumed to be those of Haemogregarina bigemina, were located in sections through the digestive caeca of G. africana, confirming the vector status of the isopod. Development stages of a new species, Haemogregarina curvata, were observed in the leech, Z. arugamensis, and within peripheral blood smears from several The life cycle oftrypanosomes found in Z. arugamensisand in fishes was also established, although interpreting the morphometries of these flagellates was challenging speciation proved difficult. Identical molecular sequences oftrypanosomes werefrom separate leech samples and these were close to published sequences for fish trypanosomes. Thus, both gnathiids and leeches were likely vectors of the fish protozoans. Finally, probable dual transmission of a haemogregarine and somes by a leech was illustrated, a rare event, reported infrequently in the literature.


Stefanova, M., D. Koleva and t. Ganeva, 2013. effect of plant growth regulators on chloroplast ultra structure in Lamium album plantlets. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 1208-1212 Lamium album l. stem nodal segments were grown on Murashige and Skoog's medium without growth regulators (control) and on media supplemented with 0.2 mg l-1 n6-benzyladenine, 0.5 mg l-1 indole-3-butyric acid or both plant growth regulators. the plastid apparatus of in vitro formed leaflets was studied by transmission electron microscopy. The cytokinin N6-benzyladenine negatively affected the chloroplast formation when was applied individually or in combination with the auxin indole-3butyric acid. on the contrary, IBa in concentration of 0.5 mg l-1 was appropriate for development of chloroplasts with regular shape and well organized internal membrane system thus providing for the regeneration capacity in vitro.


Network of neurons in the brain apply—unlike processors in our current generation of computer hardware—an event-based processing strategy, where short pulses (spikes) are emitted sparsely by neurons to signal the occurrence of an event at a particular point in time. Such spike-based computations promise to be substantially more power-efficient than traditional clocked processing schemes. However, it turns out to be surprisingly difficult to design networks of spiking neurons that can solve difficult computational problems on the level of single spikes, rather than rates of spikes. We present here a new method for designing networks of spiking neurons via an energy function. Furthermore, we show how the energy function of a network of stochastically firing neurons can be shaped in a transparent manner by composing the networks of simple stereotypical network motifs. We show that this design approach enables networks of spiking neurons to produce approximate solutions to difficult (NP-hard) constraint satisfaction problems from the domains of planning/optimization and verification/logical inference. The resulting networks employ noise as a computational resource. Nevertheless, the timing of spikes plays an essential role in their computations. Furthermore, networks of spiking neurons carry out for the Traveling Salesman Problem a more efficient stochastic search for good solutions compared with stochastic artificial neural networks (Boltzmann machines) and Gibbs sampling.


This article studies innovation in family firms ,fi lling in some gaps in existent literature. The research addresses the idea of shifting leadership, different mechanisms of facilitating communication, and the importance to the firm of technical progress, linking each to innovation. Shifting leadership is addressed through the longitudinal design. Communication mechanisms are monitored through two constructs: scope of information and timeliness of information. Technical progress is included in an environmental uncertainty factor technoeconomic uncertainty. The findings suggest that linkages between established family firms and innovation may be substantially stronger than currently assumed by many.


Ocean acidification has been called the 'evil twin' of climate change and has become
acknowledged as a serious risk to the marine environment. This thesis aims to explore
public perceptions of ocean acidification as there is limited work on how people
understand this emerging risk. It is important to engage the public because ocean
acidification will contribute to how carbon emissions are addressed. The mental models
approach was used to compare and examine public and expert perceptions of ocean
acidification to help inform future risk communications.
Many of the findings were similar to those of climate change; for example, it was not seen
as a personal risk but something which would impact on the environment. Results showed
that ocean acidification was unfamiliar to the public with low levels of knowledge and
awareness found. People could identify possible impacts of ocean acidification but they
were unsure about the main cause, stating that pollution from chemicals and industrial
waste was one of the main causes. Risk perceptions of ocean acidification were influenced
by factors other than knowledge about the risk such as affect, place attachment and
environmental identity. A key finding of this thesis was that people were concerned about
ocean acidification despite this being an unfamiliar risk issue, perceiving it as a highly
negative risk.
This exploratory thesis will help develop more effective risk communications around
ocean acidification with these findings in mind. Future work should test ocean
acidification frames; whether or not it should be framed as part of climate change. The
mental models approach allowed initial understandings of this unfamiliar risk to be
explored using mixed methods and helped examine how ocean acidification was
conceptualised through social representations theory. Public response to ocean
acidification may mean that there would be greater support for policies aimed at reducing
carbon emissions.


Nowadays, the organic farming sector is rapidly increasing in order to meet the increasing demand for organic products. However, the scarce availability of organic feed for monogastric animals together with the lack of organic fertilizers are challenging the development of this sector. In this context, a Danish project called Organofinery is focusing on developing a green biorefinery platform for the production of organic protein-rich feed for monogastric animals, of biogas and of organic fertilizer.
In the Organofinery concept, the freshly harvested green biomass is separated by a screw press into a green juice and a press cake. Soluble sugars contained in the green juice are fermented by specific lactic acid bacteria, leading to a drop of the pH and triggering protein precipitation. The resulting protein concentrate is purely organic and rich in non-denatured proteins, making it a high-value protein feed product for organic farming. The residual press cake and brown juice after protein extraction are tested to be used as feedstock for biogas production and subsequent use as organic fertilizer.
Protein extraction yields in the protein product were in the range of 15 to 23% for various green crops such red clover, clover grass or alfalfa. On average, the protein concentrates contained 18% dry matter and 35-40 % true protein (dry weight). Therefore, up to 10 kg dry protein product can be produced from 1 ton of fresh green biomass by the Organofinery process. Moreover, the organic protein concentrates showed high content of sulfur amino acids, which are regarded as important amino acids in diets for monogastric animals.
Protein processing will be tested in pilot scale in June 2016. Around 200 tons of freshly harvested clover grass will be processed in the Organofinery concept to produce 2 tons of dry protein product. Afterwards, a full feeding experiment with egg-laying hens will be performed in order to assess the safety and quality of the protein product as organic protein feed for monogastric animals.
The conducted experiments have shown the potential of the Organofinery concept and the imminent pilot scale experiment should proof its applicability to provide protein-rich feed for the farming sector.


Polymer membranes (PEMs) within fuel cells (FCs) act as separators and efficient proton conducting electrolytes. Established systems tend to microphase separation into hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions, making these materials prone to water loss at elevated temperatures. Therefore, recent approaches utilize porous materials, which promise stronger interactions between water molecules and the framework, while still providing efficient conductive pathways. Here we show, that the microporous polymer PAF-1 exhibits proton conductivities up to 10-1 S cm-1 under hydrous conditions, after post-synthetic sulfonation. Gas phase sulfonation turned out to be the essential step for introducing a sufficiently large amount of -SO3H groups and thus a high charge carrier concentration upon hydration. While the absolute conductivity of the sulfonated frameworks strongly depends on the water uptake, we found similar activation barriers for all relative humidities. Since water is homogeneously stored in micro- and mesoporous voids, the activation barrier of the interpore conductivity is decisive for the macroscopic properties.


Cognitive assistants, such as Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa, are increasingly becoming routine elements of our daily lives, yet the effects of such devices on the humans using them has been largely unstudied. While much research has proposed new intelligent systems for specific contexts, few studies have characterized the dynamics between cognitive assistants and humans. In an effort to address this gap, this research study investigates the effect of cognitive assistants on mental workload. Participants perform the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task while working with a fake cognitive assistant (Mary) and concurrently completing a secondary speed and accuracy test. Performance with the cognitive assistant was found to be higher but with no significant difference in mental workload. Participants working with the cognitive assistant were found to be less frustrated than those completing the task without it.


Background Oral cleft is the most common orofacial congenital anomaly among live births. This anomaly at birth is one of the main causes of children disability and mortality.  Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common anomalies in oral clefts.  This study aimed to assess the incidence of congenital heart diseases anomalies in newborns with oral clefts. Materials and Methods This study performed on 48,692 live born to estimate incidence of oral clefts from 1 st December 2013 to 31 th November 2015 from three general hospitals in Zahedan, The capital city of the Sistan & Baluchestan  province, Iran. All oral cleft patients were under echocardiography to diagnosis the incidence of CHD as associated anomaly. The collected data were processed using SPSS-16. Results The results of the analysis showed that the incidence of cleft lip was higher in boys than girls, while the cleft palate was higher in girls. Lip/palate cleft was higher for boys.  Oral clefts patients accounted of 102 (0.2%) with incidence rate of 2.095 per 1000 lives. Of 102 patients 19 (18.62%), 39(35.24%) and 44(43.14%) were oral lip, oral palate and both respectively. The incidence of CHD in patients with oral clefts was 26.5%, while the incidences for cleft lip, cleft palate and both were 15.79%, 20.51%, and 36.36% respectively. Conclusion From the study concluded that the rate of CHD among children with oral clefts was high compared with the healthy children.  Strongly is suggested the echocardiography for these patients to have early diagnostic of CHD to manage any life-threatening.


Extracted from text ... 32 VOL 42, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 2004 SAJS
Radiation Oncology for Cure and Palliation. By R. G.
Parker, N. A. Janjan, M. T. Selch. Pp. xii + 282. 35 figs.
Hardcover. US$ 149. Heidelberg: Springer, 2003. ISBN 3-
540-41401-0.
This is one of the rather useful series of books on medical
radiology published by Springer. Perhaps the most useful feature
of this book is its conciseness. This is not an indication of
a lack of substance. The title indicates the scope of the book
and it fulfils its promise well, with an emphasis on the role of
radiation in multidisciplinary treatment.
The authors select and cover the subject matter well, ..


This study sought to analyze the strategies school managers apply to improve academic performance of students in schools under free day secondary school education in Embu District, Embu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the Capital School Effectiveness and Improvement Theory based on various interrelated variables such as outcomes, leverage, intellectual capital and social capital. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. A combination of purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were utilized to draw 54 members of the Board of Management (BoM), 45 heads of departments and 36 members of Parents Teachers Association (PTAs) yielding to a sample size of 135 subjects to participate in the study. Mixed methods were used to collect quantitative data from teachers using questionnaires and qualitative data from heads of departments and members of PTA using interviews. It was established that school managers used various strategies to improve students' academic performance. The strategies included: inconsistent monitoring of instructional processes and student assessment; subsidizing Government funding through free day secondary education using income generating activities; and uncoordinated guidance and counseling programmes. Despite these efforts, the expected improved students' academic performance was not realized due largely to the fact that most school managers had not undergone management skill training. Hence, since managers who are conversant with management practices would be more worthwhile partners of the Government of Kenya in the implementation of policy, it was recommended that school managers should undergo intensive leadership training on all aspects of school management for enhanced students' academic performance to be realized (253 words).


Research data is a valuable resource and, with appropriate curation and management, it has much to offer learning, teaching, research, knowledge transfer and consultancy in the visual arts. However, very little is known about the curation and management of this data: none of the specialist arts institutions have research data management policies or infrastructure in place and evidence suggests that practice is ad hoc, left to individual researchers and teams with little support or guidance. In addition the curation and management of such diverse and complex digital and physical resources is challenging.

Led by the Visual Arts Data Service, a Research Centre of the University for the Creative Arts, in collaboration with the Glasgow School of Art; Goldsmiths, University of London; and University of the Arts London, and supported by JISC, the KAPTUR project (2011-2013) sought to address this lack of awareness and explore the potential of appropriate research data management in the visual arts, by:

• Uncovering the nature of research data in the visual arts
• Investigating the current state of management of research data
• Developing a model of best practice applicable to specialist arts institutions and arts departments in multidisciplinary institutions
• Applying, testing and piloting a model for best practice with the institutional partners

This paper shares the experiences that the Glasgow School of Art encountered while being part of the KAPTUR project.


Birds appear to be equipped with a light-dependent, radical-pair-based magnetic compass that relies on truly quantum processes. While the identity of the sensory protein has remained speculative, cryptochrome 4 has recently been identified as the most auspicious candidate. Here, we report on all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations addressing the structural reorganisations that accompany the photoreduction of the flavin cofactor in the European robin cryptochrome 4 (ErCry4). Extensive MD simulations reveal that the photo-activation of ErCry4 induces large-scale conformational changes on short (hundreds of nanoseconds) timescales. Specifically, the photo-reduction is accompanied with the release of the C-terminal tail, structural rearrangements in the vicinity of the FAD-binding site, and the noteworthy formation of an α-helical segment at the N-terminal part. Some of these rearrangements appear to expose potential phosphorylation sites. We describe the conformational dynamics of the protein using a graph-based approach that is informed by the adjacency of residues and the correlation of their local motions. This approach reveals densely coupled reorganisation entities, i.e. graph communities, which could facilitate an efficient signal transduction due to a high density of hubs. These communities are interconnected by a small number of highly important residues. The network approach clearly identifies the sites restructuring upon photo-activation, which appear as protrusions or delicate bridges in the reorganisation network. We also find that, unlike in the homologous cryptochrome from D. melanogaster, the release of the C-terminal domain does not appear to be correlated with the transposition of a histidine residue close to the FAD cofactor.


This paper extends the microeconomic empirical evidence on price-setting in emerging economies using micro price data and outlet survey data for Lesotho, a small lowincome landlocked economy in Southern Africa. The paper looks at how price-setting behaviour differs by outlet size, location and type. It also analyses the various sources of price changes and price rigidities, including the effect of competition on the frequency of price changes. Our results reveal many similarities and some important differences in pricesetting behaviour between outlets in Lesotho and those in advanced economies. The flexibility of prices in Lesotho is comparable to that of the US, but higher than in South Africa. Prices change more often in large outlets and less frequently in outlets where labour costs are an important component of costs. Implicit contracts with consumers and coordination failure in the setting of prices across competitors rank highly as sources of price rigidity, while menu costs and explicit contracts are found to be relatively unimportant. Cost shocks have a stronger influence on price increases than price decreases, while shocks to market conditions (demand and competitor's price) are more relevant for price decreases than for price increases. These results corroborate findings in advanced economies. However, contrary to theoretical expectations and other empirical findings, no consistent relationship between the frequency of price changes and the perceived competition in the market is found.


Dis-location considers the theory and empirical research behind the impact of school choice on residential segregation and educational inequality. One of the most vocal arguments against school choice is that the assertion that it increases segregation by lifting some and 'drowning' others. Is this assertion correct? This paper shows that the research is not clear-cut. When school choice measures do not depend on the proximity of pupils to their chosen schools, residential segregation actually decreases. In essence, allowing parents choice that is not based on the size of their wallet or their post-code has a positive impact on inequality. International evidence shows that school choice also decreases the influence of parental backgrounds on pupils' achievements. Other evidence suggests that pupils of all backgrounds benefit roughly the same from choice reforms. The report continues by making policy recommendations based on the research findings. Governments could increase school integration and equity by introducing lotteries for all over-subscribed schools, and by ensuring better transportation to schools in the form of school buses. Policy could also increase equity by expanding choice to more pupils and enabling more pupils to attend better schools. This could be achieved by introducing a profit motive in education, and perhaps also by introducing bonuses to school leaders to stimulate expansion when successful schools become over-subscribed. Other recommended policies include a national funding formula, to eradicate regional funding disadvantages, and improving information provision, as more disadvantaged parents benefit most from this.


PURPOSE
Recent evidence suggests that nitric oxide (NO) is a major messenger molecule regulating smooth muscle contractility. A role for NO in aqueous humor dynamics, and thus regulation of intraocular pressure, has been postulated. Recently, we described contractile properties of isolated bovine trabecular meshwork and ciliary muscle strips. To assess whether vasodilators contribute to the regulation of trabecular meshwork and ciliary muscle contractility, we measured the effect of various substances known to induce vasodilation by increasing intracellular cGMP production.

METHODS
Measurements of isometric tension were performed on isolated bovine ciliary muscle and trabecular meshwork strips using a custom-built electromagnetic force-length transducer. The effects of a membrane-permeable cGMP and an inhibitor of nitric oxide formation (L-nitroarginine = L-NAG) were investigated. Organic nitrate (isosorbide dinitrate = ISDN, isosorbide-5-mononitrate = 5-ISMN) and non-nitrate (sodium nitroprusside = SNP, S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine = SNAP) vasodilators were tested.

RESULTS
Isolated strips were precontracted by carbachol 10(-6) mol/l for 30 minutes (100% carbachol maximal contraction). 8-bromo-cGMP 10(-4) mol/l evoked a relaxation to 86.7% +/- 1.4% (n = 8) in ciliary muscle and 58.6% +/- 5.4% (n = 7) in trabecular meshwork. Inhibition of NO-synthase by L-NAG increased the carbachol-induced contraction. The organic nitrovasodilators ISDN and 5-ISMN produced significant relaxations. The non-nitrates SNP and SNAP were the most potent relaxants. SNP 10(-4) mol/l relaxed the isolated ciliary muscle to 55.5% +/- 3.5% and the trabecular meshwork to 38.6% +/- 3.6%. ISDN and SNP were also tested on isolated strips without carbachol-induced precontraction. Both vasodilators had significant relaxing activity under these conditions.

CONCLUSION
The data indicate that an increase of intracellular cGMP by application of cGMP and organic nitrate or non-nitrate vasodilators induces relaxation of the bovine trabecular meshwork and ciliary muscle. Thus, nitric oxide is a cotransmitter of smooth muscle relaxation in the chamber angle and may be involved in the regulation of aqueous humor dynamics.


A broad scope analysis of waterjet cutting systems has been developed using thermodynamics, life cycle analysis, and biological system comparison. The typical assessments associated with mechanical design include measures for performance and thermodynamic efficiency. Further analysis has been conducted using exergy, which is not typically incorporated into design practices. Exergy measures the effectiveness of a process with respect to a base state, usually that of the systems surroundings. Comparing Gibbs free energy of biological processes to exergy efficiency has served to illustrate the need for various levels of comparison. Each biological process used in this comparison correlates to a different type of mechanical process and level of complexity. Overall, biological processes display similar properties to mechanical systems in that simpler systems are more energy efficient. In order to determine accurate efficiency and effectiveness values for a mechanical process, in this case waterjet cutting, a set of thermodynamic models was vii established to account for energy uses. Various output force and velocity models have been developed and are used here for comparison to assess output efficiencies with "no loss" models used as a lossless base. Experimental testing was then conducted using a simple nozzle and a pressure washer with 2 other diameter nozzles. The most energy efficient system used a turbojet nozzle. It was also the most efficient sustained system with energy inputs. However, it had a much lower exergy efficiency compared to the other systems. This implies that it could be significantly improved by more adequately utilizing the energy provided. An effort to assess the green nature of pressurized water systems was done through use of an Economic Input/Output Life Cycle Analysis (EIO-LCA). The EIOLCA is designed to assess processes for greenhouse gas emissions and total power consumption across the life of a system. Calculations showed that increases in power consumption result in much higher greenhouse gas emissions per unit time than increases in water consumption. Financial cost however showed an opposite trend due to the much greater cost of water with regard to consumption rates in each system. The most "green" system used only a nozzle with no power consumption.


Variously used to describe a branch of knowledge, a system of rules of conduct or a method of practice, or a character trait associated with rigorous and controlled behaviour, the term 'discipline' is both widespread in its application and yet considerably under-examined in regard to its expectations and consequences. While the general field of design, or each of the various sub-fields thereof, is colloquially referred to as being a discipline – and unreflectively accepted as such – quite what constitutes and informs this disciplinarity remains unclear. Arguing that design problems are, to a significant extent, personally determined rather than neutrally provided; that, while highly informed in regard to their disciplinary practice(s), design agents are inescapably influenced, driven, and, to large measure, controlled by their specific theory choices and ideological commitments; that, rather than being a knowledge-generating discipline, the field of design generally constitutes a practice-based knowledge-utilization discipline, aimed at providing service to an external world; and thus that design is essentially normative rather than explanatory-descriptive; this paper explores the nature of design's disciplinarity, and avers that the above factors not only actively contribute to, but promote and prolong design's undisciplinarity. Design's very characteristics are thus the roots of its undiscipline, roots that go deep into design's psyche, and that support and feed an enterprise that is in need of serious self-examination.


Abstract. We describe a method of using the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) size distributions and complex refractive indices to retrieve the relative proportion of carbonaceous aerosols and free iron minerals (hematite and goethite). We assume that soot carbon has a spectrally flat refractive index and enhanced imaginary indices at the 440 nm wavelength are caused by brown carbon or hematite. Carbonaceous aerosols can be separated from dust in imaginary refractive index space because 95 % of biomass burning aerosols have imaginary indices greater than 0.0042 at the 675–1020 nm wavelengths, and 95 % of dust has imaginary refractive indices of less than 0.0042 at those wavelengths. However, mixtures of these two types of particles can not be unambiguously partitioned on the basis of optical properties alone, so we also separate these particles by size. Regional and seasonal results are consistent with expectations. Monthly climatologies of fine mode soot carbon are less than 1.0 % by volume for West Africa and the Middle East, but the southern African and South American biomass burning sites have peak values of 3.0 and 1.7 %. Monthly averaged fine mode brown carbon volume fractions have a peak value of 5.8 % for West Africa, 2.1 % for the Middle East, 3.7 % for southern Africa, and 5.7 % for South America. Monthly climatologies of free iron volume fractions show little seasonal variability, and range from about 1.1 to 1.7 % for coarse mode aerosols in all four study regions. Finally, our sensitivity study indicates that the soot carbon retrieval is not sensitive to the component refractive indices or densities assumed for carbonaceous and free iron aerosols, and the retrieval differs by only 15.4 % when these parameters are altered from our chosen baseline values. The total uncertainty of retrieving soot carbon mass is  ∼ 50 % (when uncertainty in the AERONET product and mixing state is included in the analysis).


The objective of research is to analyze about the influence of service delivery system to type C hospital image in Makassar. This analysis data used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to observe about interrelatedness between some variables.The population in this study is 225 persons of hospital medical patient in type C hospital in Makassar and spread to 75 hospital patients in Stella Maris hospital, 75 hospital patients in Akademis Jaury Yusuf Putra hospital, and 75 hospital patients in Grestelina hospital. The research result show that service delivery system composed of physical support and contact personal are significant and positif influence to type C hospital image in Makassar.