This paper explores the implications of the recent revival of Hegel studies for the philosophy of economics. We argue that Hegel's theory of Objective Spirit anticipates many elements of modern approaches in cognitive sciences and of the philosophy of mind, which adopt an externalist framework. In particular, Hegel pre-empts the theories of social and distributed cognition. The pivotal elements of Hegelian social ontology are the continuity thesis, the performativity thesis, and the recognition thesis, which, when taken together, imply that all mental processes are essentially dependent on externalizations, with the underlying pattern of actions being performative. In turn, performative action is impossible without mutual recognition in an intersubjective domain. We demonstrate the implications for economic theory in sketching an externalist approach to institutions and preferences.


American democracy is in trouble. Since the 2016 election, a sizable literature has developed that focuses on diagnosing and assessing the state of American democracy, most of which concludes that our system of government is in decline.[2] These authors point to the rise in party polarization, the increasingly bipartisan abandonment of the norms of the democratic process, the rise of populism, the degradation of the public sphere, and the proliferation of gerrymandered districts and voting restrictions to illustrate the breakdown. And while attributing varying levels of significance to these factors, a common theme is that American democracy, once stable, is now threatened. On closer observation, however, it is unclear that American democracy was ever really as healthy as it may have appeared. This Essay argues that the stability of the American system has always been built and dependent upon racial exclusion; over the course of our history, each major movement toward a more fully representative participatory democracy has prompted a backlash that was resolved only by the adoption of policies that worked to undermine the full citizenship of communities of color. The point of this reframing is not to suggest that the United States has made no progress over its history. Nor does it diminish the accomplishments of those who have advocated for equality over the course of our history or minimize the importance of working to repair our democratic institutions. Rather, this reframing is necessary to avoid romanticizing our democratic history and to inform the choices in this moment as we seek to stabilize our country.


OBJECTIVE Magnesium intake is inversely associated with risk of type 2 diabetes in many observational studies, but few have assessed this association in the context of the carbohydrate quality of the diet. We hypothesized that higher magnesium intake is associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in the context of a poor carbohydrate–quality diet characterized by low cereal fiber or high glycemic index (GI) or glycemic load (GL). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In the Nurses' Health Study (NHS; 1984–2012, n = 69,176), NHS2 (1991–2013, n = 91,471), and the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study (1986–2012, n = 42,096), dietary intake was assessed from food frequency questionnaires every 4 years. Type 2 diabetes was ascertained by biennial and supplementary questionnaires. We calculated multivariate hazard ratios (HRs) of magnesium intake and incident diabetes, adjusted for age, BMI, family history of diabetes, physical activity, smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, GL, energy intake, alcohol, cereal fiber, polyunsaturated fats, trans fatty acids, and processed meat, and we considered the joint associations of magnesium and carbohydrate quality on diabetes risk. RESULTS We documented 17,130 incident cases of type 2 diabetes over 28 years of follow-up. In pooled analyses across the three cohorts, those with the highest magnesium intake had 15% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those with the lowest intake (pooled multivariate HR in quintile 5 vs. 1: 0.85 [95% CI 0.80–0.91], P < 0.0001). Higher magnesium intake was more strongly associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes among participants with high GI or low cereal fiber than among those with low GI or high cereal fiber (both P interaction <0.001). CONCLUSIONS Higher magnesium intake is associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in the context of lower carbohydrate–quality diets.


Tim Cook's message to Apple customers, regarding Apple's refusal to provide the FBI with a backdoor to the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone, typifies the corporate appropriation of privacy rights discourse. In light of this appropriation, I propose a reconsideration of the sovereign subject presupposed by privacy rights discourse through a comparative approach to the US and EU's treatments of privacy rights. I then apply feminist theories of the non-sovereign subject, which challenge liberal democratic discourse's construction of the subject by emphasising social interdependence. I argue that critical scholars of surveillance and the digital economy need to address the fact that the digital economy is predicated on the subject's non-sovereignty, where individuals can be fragmented and combined into the mass collection of data. I conclude with a discussion of how the non-sovereignty of the subject under commercial surveillance could also provide the grounds for the socialized redistribution of big data profits.


This paper introduces a new metric for approximating structural instability in Bayer image data. We show that the metric can be used to identify and classify validity of color correlation in local image regions. The metric is used to improve interpolation performance of an existing state-of-the-art single pass linear demosaicing algorithm, with virtually no impact on computational GPGPU complexity and performance. Using four different image sets, the modification is shown to outperform the original method in terms of visual quality, by having an average increase in PSNR of 0.7dB in the red, 1.5dB in the green and 0.6dB in the blue channel respectively. Because of fewer high-frequency artifacts, the average output data size also decreases by 2.5%.


At a Western States Jewish Studies Association Conference in Tempe, Arizona a small group of Jewish and Christian scholars came together to discuss the implications of the release of the Vatican's Statement, Dominus Iesus (DI), in the year 2000. These papers continue to have significance even a few years after the original discussion. To these original papers we have added the response of the distinguished Catholic scholar, Dr. Eugene J. Fisher, Associate Director, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, U.S. Conference of Bishops. The first paper, written by Samuel Edelman, Director of Modern Jewish and Israel Studies at the California State University, Chico, was meant to offer the context of Christian/Catholic discussion over the last 60 plus years. This paper, "Supersessionism Rears Its Ugly Head," categorizes the Jewish-Catholic dialogue as one centered around ambiguity and ambivalence, pitting right-wing Catholic against left-wing Catholic in a behind-the-scene conflict in spite of the current Pope's public and positive embrace of Jews and Judaism in ways few in the Catholic Church have done since Pope John XXIII. Steven L. Jacobs, Aaron Aronov Chair of Judaic Studies at the University of Alabama, wrote the second paper. "Dominus Iesus: Why This? Why Now?" lays out in a logical and precise way the ironic twists and turns of Dominus Iesus. Jacobs argues persuasively that, "Given the advancing age and increasing physical infirmities of the incumbent Pope, John Paul II; the power of the conservative wing of the Roman Catholic Church in the person of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger...Dominus Iesus is an attempt by those in positions of power within the Church to reverse the seemingly more liberal progress made by the incumbent prior to the election of his successor, to undo, as it were, the perceived falsely relativistic position of the Church (i.e., "one among many") and restore it to its pre-Vatican II/Nostre Aetate understanding of "No salvation outside the Church." The third paper, "Church Faith and Religious Belief: A Reading of Dominus Iesus," by Peter Haas, Abba Hillel Silver Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Samuel Rosenthal Center for Judaic Studies at Case Western University, posits the argument that the authors of Dominus Iesus were using the cloak of the language of pluralism to attack pluralism. The Church having set into place 40 years of dialogue now seems bent on using "language that marks a clear retreat back to pre-Vatican II exclusivity." Using a close textual analysis of the text of Dominus Iesus, Haas concludes by saying: "What is likely going on here is just the surface manifestation of a much deeper and profound struggle over the future of the Church in the twenty-first century." The fourth paper, "Protestant Impressions of Catholic Statements," by the distinguished Protestant scholar, James F. Moore of Valparaiso University, provides us with a Derrida-like post-modern analysis of not only the Catholic text but also of the avid interest of Jewish Studies scholars in this Catholic text. His "claim is that the document is intended to restrict quite directly the scope of what these leading teachers can officially teach as Catholic theology." Yet, having said this, Moore begins to plumb the depths of both unintended and possibly intended consequences of Dominus Iesus. He concludes with singularly brilliant insight that "If the aim of such a theology is both to eliminate certain views about Jews and others from Catholic teaching and thus to reinstate a particular memory about Christianity, then this would mean that the impact of Jewish studies, that is, the views of Jews about various topics, would be dramatically reduced in those places that do Christian studies, that is, among those who would teach about the themes that Dominus Jesus addresses. Above all, we lose the long-standing effort to reaffirm the Jewish roots of Christianity at least in part, and we lose sight of the important gains we have made in thinking about the Jewish Jesus, like the efforts I have made to re-think Christianity by seeing Jesus as preeminently a Jewish teacher teaching from within the Jewish tradition. …


1 It has been claimed that, compared with plants grown without competition, plants competing for a common pool of soil‐based resources overproduce roots at the expense of reproduction (known as the tragedy of the commons). However, experiments on this phenomenon have manipulated not only the presence/absence of neighbours, but also substrate volume. Restricted substrate volume can itself affect plant growth, possibly through chemical self‐inhibition of root growth. We conducted an experiment with oats (Avena sativa) to examine whether the experimental design used in previous studies on the tragedy of the commons in root competition might have confounded the effects of detection of neighbours and substrate volume. 2 Six treatments combined two factors, namely the presence or absence of activated carbon, and either the presence of a plastic or a mesh partition, or the absence of a partition, between two plants in a pot. Activated carbon was used to adsorb root exudates and reduce their potential effects on root growth. In a seventh treatment, plants were grown alone in pots with half the substrate volume replaced by gravel, to fragment the distribution of available resources. 3 We observed no tragedy of the commons in a comparison of the performance of plants grown with and without partitions; plants performed equally well in the presence and absence of root competition. 4 In the treatment with gravel, plants displayed reduced tillering and shoot growth per unit root mass, and an earlier switch to reproduction. 5 Pot partitioning was associated with inhibition of root growth that was mediated by root exudates. When activated carbon was present, plants in partitioned pots performed better than plants growing with a root competitor. 6 We conclude that two processes could determine plant growth in the experimental design used in studies of the tragedy of the commons: (i) greater root self‐inhibition in the more limited space of partitioned pots, and (ii) inefficient root placement in larger substrate volumes in unpartitioned pots that are shared with roots of a competitor. These findings provide a new challenge for experimental designs attempting to demonstrate the role of self/non‐self discrimination in root competition.


Event streams provide temporal data that can be represented by networks. Here, we construct an interaction network from an event stream taken from the Twitter public API stream, where nodes represent users and edges represent activity between users. We characterize the network based on the component sizes and degree distribution and show both follows power-law distributions. We also measure its structural controllability based on the minimum driver node density. The construction and analysis of the network allows us to analyze an event stream structurally and provide insights that can only be derived from its network representation.


According to functional theories, the translation process is a specific and receiver-dependent action, the Skopos
 of which, however, does not always have to correspond to that of the source text. According to functionalism, the communicative
 function of a text can be different in the target culture, and the translation should be adapted accordingly to the new Skopos. In
 translating, the focus is no longer on equivalence but on the adequacy of the translation, although in the best case equivalence
 or consistency of function should be sought. Since this is rarely entirely feasible, the translators themselves should decide in
 the course of the translation process which text dimension they would give priority to: semantic (content), syntactic (form) or
 pragmatic (meaning). A text grammatical and text semantic analysis of the coherence and isotope in the translation of Georg
 Trakl's poems into Serbian aims to determine which dimension the translator Branimir Živojinović preferred. The study has shown
 that he almost completely achieves text equivalence, with few deviations in favour of form, which, however, do not disturb the
 coherence of the selected corpus.


Channel waveguides were formed on fused silica substrate by Ge-ion implantation with lithographically defined channels. Thermal poling was performed to form second order optical nonlinearity (SON) in the waveguides. Periodical photo masks were designed and fabricated on a mask glass. Periodical erasure of the SON in the channel waveguides by 266 nm UV light with the photo mask on the fused silica substrate produced periodical SON distribution in the waveguides. First order quasi-phase-matching second-harmonic generation from 1064 nm to 532 nm was demonstrated in the channel waveguides.


In the United Kingdom, government proposals for the introduction of an identity (ID) card have raised considerable privacy concerns. In the present research, opinions and attitudes about different ways of implementing ID cards are examined using an experimental methodology. Specifically, the level and type of compulsion and application process, and the use of a centralized database or trusted third party to hold personal information, are compared for attitudes towards ID cards. Moreover, the impact of implementation scenarios on people with different privacy concern profiles is examined. The results show that an implementation that combines high compulsion with a centralized database (the approach currently favoured by the UK Government) leads to the greatest negative shift in attitudes towards ID cards. Implementations proposed by others (e.g. the London School of Economics) show significantly less negative shift in attitudes. People's pre-existing privacy concerns also influence their evaluation of the different implementation scenarios.


The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between teen smoking behavior and insomnia. The method of this research was descriptive with cross sectional method. Research was at SMAN  9 Pekanbaru involving 81 respondents. The sampling technique used was quota sampling. The measuring tool used were questionnaires that have been modified and tested validity and reability. This research used chi-square test for bivariate analysis. The result showed that 34 respondents (42%) are light smokers and 69 respondents (85,2%) experience insomnia. There are sidnificant re;ationship between teen smokers behavior and insomnia (p value < 0,05). It is recommended for the school to conduct health promotion activities regarding the dangerous effect of smokers. Keywords : adult, cigarettes , insomnia Reference : 23(2002 – 2011)


Purpose
To determine the contribution of second- and third-order retinal neurons to the photopic electroretinograms (ERGs) after the degeneration of the rods in rhodopsin P347L transgenic rabbits (Tg).

Methods
Four wild-type (WT) rabbits and four Tg rabbits were studied at 18 months of age. The photopic ERGs elicited at stimulus onset and offset were analyzed. To block different retinal pathways, 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid (APB), 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2, 3 (1H,4H)-dione (CNQX), tetrodotoxin (TTX), and N-methyl-DL-aspartic acid (NMDA) were injected intravitreally. Digital subtraction of the postdrug ERGs from the predrug ERGs was used to determine the contributions of the ON-components blocked by APB, the OFF-components blocked by CNQX, and the third-order neurons blocked by TTX+NMDA.

Results
Contribution of the cone photoreceptors to the photopic ERGs in Tg rabbits was approximately 10% of that in WT rabbits. The amplitudes of the positive waves of the ON-components at stimulus onset in Tg rabbits were approximately one-half as large as those in WT. On the other hand, the amplitudes of the positive waves of the OFF-components at stimulus offset in Tg rabbits were approximately 1.4 to 2.3 times larger than those in WT. Transgenic rabbits had a positive wave at stimulus offset, which was reduced after the TTX+NMDA injection.

Conclusions
A reduced ON-component and an augmented OFF-component with abnormal responses of the third-order neurons contributed to the cone ERGs after the loss of rod function in Tg rabbits. Our results suggest a complex synaptic remodeling of the residual retinal cells in the advanced stage in Tg rabbits.


Gamification has the potential to improve the quality of learning by better engaging students with learning activities. Our objective in this study is to evaluate a gamified learning activity along the dimensions of learning, engagement, and enjoyment. The activity made use of a gamified multiple choice quiz implemented as a software tool and was trialled in three undergraduate IT-related courses. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data to gauge levels of learning, engagement, and enjoyment. Results show that there was some degree of engagement and enjoyment. The majority of participants (77.63 per cent) reported that they were engaged enough to want to complete the quiz and 46.05 per cent stated they were happy while playing the quiz. In terms of learning, the overall results were positive since 60.53 per cent of students stated that it enhanced their learning effectiveness. A limitation of the work is that the results are self-reported and the activity was used over a short period of time. Thus, future work should include longer trial periods and evaluating improvements to learning using alternative approaches to self-reported data.


This research looks at how the workplace reorganises through implementing broad participation by employees. The companies under research had no prior experience utilising broad participation, and are located in an area where both the Labour Party and the Unions traditionally played a minor role compared to most other areas in Norway. The foundation of this research is an action research project promoting broad participation in a group of companies over six years. For this dissertation, the degree of participation is "measured" by how much employees take part in the development processes and decision-making. "Broad participation" means that the employees to a high degree participate. In traditional Norwegian work life, the Industrial Relations System—the Trade Union (LO) and the Employers Confederation (NHO)—promotes broad participation at a national level; therefore, employee participation in decisionmaking is seen as good both by the LO and NHO. There are two forms of collaboration between LO and NHO. The first is conflict-based collaboration based on fight and is typically found in wage negotiations. The second is collaboration based on achieving mutual goals and is found in enterprise development projects. This latter form is defined as peaceful collaboration in this dissertation. In the actual companies, most of the employees are union members. The change project under study was organised by the local trade union (LO) and the local managers (NHO); one of the goals was to involve the employees in decision-making processes according to LO and NHO requirements. The employees also had no prior experience with broad participation. In this dissertation, it is argued that enabling implementation of broad participation in companies depends on multiple factors: Influence from the Industrial Relations System Organisational history Management's choice to allow employees to take part in decisionmaking The union's choice to accept an invitation to participate in decisionmaking Existing arenas for peaceful collaboration between management and employees These five elements comprise my theoretical model, and five sub-questions were developed and mapped to each element. These attempts to answer the overall research question of what enables or hinders broad participation in companies. The subquestions are: 1. How has the Industrial Relations System influenced the change process? 2. How have organisational routines influenced the implementation of broad participation? 3. To what degree does management choose to allow union involvement in a company's development work? 4. To what degree does the union choose to accept management's invitation to take part in peaceful collaborative work? 5. How do the dialogues between management and unions operate at the arenas for peaceful collaboration? It is argued that the answer for each of these five sub-questions answers the main research question on what enables or hinders implementation of broad participation in companies. The results are presented as a case study using thick description and analysed with qualitative research methods according to the theoretical model and the above sub-questions. The data is comprised of reports and reflections from dialogue conferences and action plans from the change project, and supplemented by interviews with union leaders and managers, and my reflections from the process. The first finding is that the local historical practise, where managers initially walked around the shop floor discussing issues, gave the employees a type of direct participation that influenced the organisational routines in the companies. This influence is still strong in the companies. The main findings show that it is the same factors that enables and hinders implementation of broad participation. If the factor has a "positive value" it enables broad participation, while a "negative value" hinders broad participation. There is asymmetry in what enables or hinders broad participation. Management can enable or hinder broad participation; the unions can enable, but not hinder implementation of broad participation. If the unions try to hinder implementation, management can collaborate directly with each employee without involving the union.


Finding suitable image representations for the task at hand is critical in computer vision. Different approaches extending the original Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM) model have recently been proposed to offer rotation-invariant feature learning. In this paper, we present an extended novel RBM that learns rotation invariant features by explicitly factorizing for rotation nuisance in 2D image inputs within an unsupervised framework. While the goal is to learn invariant features, our model infers an orientation per input image during training, using information related to the reconstruction error. The training process is regularised by a Kullback-Leibler divergence, offering stability and consistency. We used the $\gamma $ -score, a measure that calculates the amount of invariance, to mathematically and experimentally demonstrate that our approach indeed learns rotation invariant features. We show that our method outperforms the current state-of-the-art RBM approaches for rotation invariant feature learning on three different benchmark datasets, by measuring the performance with the test accuracy of an SVM classifier. Our implementation is available at https://bitbucket.org/tuttoweb/rotinvrbm.


The tilt angle of smectic C phases can be controlled by external forces of very different nature. In particular near a smectic A-smectic C transition, it is susceptible to temperature changes. It can be influenced with electric fields (electroclinic effect), and even mechanically by intra-layer stresses in elastomers. We show that capillary forces that act during the rupture of a free-standing smectic C film can trigger a smectic C to smectic A transition, which rapidly reduces the surface area of the films, concurrently increasing the film thickness. The effect occurs on the sub-millisecond scale, practically independent of film thickness and temperature. We propose that this mechanical effect could even trigger a ferroelectric to paraelectric transition in chiral phases.


One line (strain) of mouse has been selectively bred in our laboratory for 15 generations to exhibit a very high sensitivity to levorphanol-induced analgesia on the hot plate assay (HAR or high antinociceptive response line). Concurrently, a second line (LAR or low antinociceptive response line) has been bred in the opposite direction, i.e., to exhibit a very low sensitivity under the same conditions. This has resulted in a 7-fold difference in sensitivity between HAR and LAR mice as a result of changes in gene frequency. Receptor autoradiographic studies with 3H-DAGO were carried out in the central gray to find receptor populations differing greatly in density between HAR and LAR mice to parallel their in vivo sensitivity differences: such receptors would then be implicated in mediating in vivo analgesia. The caudal portions of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) showed 1.5- to 2-fold differences in density of mu sites, while the periaqueductal gray (PAG) showed relatively small differences. These results strongly suggest that mu receptors in a portion of the DRN are involved in mediating analgesia due to systemically administered opioids in this population of mice.


The European Union is a 60 year long collaboration between the European countries. It was born from the intention to ease trade and thereby reassure peace. Within the 60 years
EU has functioned it has developed and expanded further. In 1952 it evolved around the trade of coal and steel between six countries, today it includes 27 nations and oversees a
large number of topics such as foreign affairs, a common currency and regional politics.

EU has grown at several times, the latest expansion was the largest where 12 new countries became members. The unions of countries that only 60 years ago were at different sides
of a world war can be considered an accomplishment. Within the EU there are great economic and social differences. The aim is to even out those differences by Cohesion Policy and the structural funds. Every seventh year the union develop a long term budget which also includes the fi nancing, goals and structure of those funds. The total budget for the EU in between 2007-2013 is 862 billion euro,
approximately one third of that sum falls into the structural funds in order to fulfill the aim to decrease social differences. The structural funds are divided into three different funds, the ESF, ERDF and the Cohesion Fund. These so called funds are rather to be considered
different posts in the EU long term budget than actual funds. However they finance different fields with different goals. This thesis focuses on the goal aiming towards regional competitiveness and development and the ERDF fund.
Sweden is divided into eight different regions; every region has developed their own operational program that presents the regional goals and focus. The operational program is based on the regional development plans of the county's regional development plan. Every municipality in Sweden is a part of a county but also a region which implies that they are a part of a regional development plan as well as an operational program. In order to get projects approved and money granted by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth certain criteria given by the EU must be fulfi lled together with criteria decided on
the national level. The single municipality holds a large number of document and legislation to relate to in their daily work with planning.

The Swedish municipalities are affected both by the EU legislation and by the above mentioned national strategies and visions. The Swedish Association of Local Authorities
and Regions represent Sweden in the EU Regional committee. The committee is the arena where Sweden is given the opportunity to infl uence legislation and strategies. Sweden is however a small part of the union and long term planning is necessary in order to achieve change.

AIM
My aim is to investigate how comprehensive planning in Sweden is related to the economic infl uence of the EU by researching examples from different geographical areas
in Sweden. Through the thesis I want to develop my analytical skills as well as find a greater understanding for what authorities infl uence the planning process.

DELIMITATION
I compared the result of the applications to the EU fund in two regions, the middle part of Norrland, and the eastern part of mid-Sweden. I chose projects performed within the project period 2007-2013 that were completed. The planning documents I focused on in each municipality I studied where the goals, visions and comprehensive plans.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
My research questions were:
- Does the European regional development fund effect the comprehensive planning in Sweden and if so how is it visible?
- Is there any geographical difference in how the effect/impact of the structural fund is visible between regions?
- Are there any common trends to be seen in the projects that were given fi nancial support from the funds?

METHOD
I used two methods in order to answer the research questions, literate studies and interviews. The literature study holds three parts; articles and books, applications and final reports from projects that were granted funds from ERDF and finally comprehensive plans from the municipalities concerned with the projects. The interviews were performed with four persons who possess different connections to the effect of EU on Swedish comprehensive
planning. Goran Theolin is responsible for matters concerning EU at Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. Anders Risberg and Per Grangsjo are in charge of the
regions eastern Mid-Sweden and Mid-Norrland. Anna Carlsson is senior adviser for regional growth at the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications.

RESULT
The main part of the literature concerning the structural funds and their impact are found with different authorities. I considered the information reliable even though it is seldom screened in the same way as books or articles. Therefor I decided to perform a literature
study based on books and articles, on the growth and development of the structural funds, the expansion of EU and regional politics.

The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth gather all approved project applications available to the public. I used the delimitations in order to choose the projects
I wanted to research. Five of my research projects were found through the project database, the sixth was recommended to me in my interview with Anders Risberg. Both the applications and fi nal reports of the chosen projects were reviewed in order to fi nd out what impact the performed project could show on the development of the municipality.

To better understand how the municipalities concerned with the projects I reviewed aimed to develop I read their comprehensive plans with a focus on visions and goals. Since the comprehensive plans differ both in amplitude and content when it comes to visions and goals as well as the time of latest update I gathered the information I found in a table. By gathering all municipality goals and visions in the table I made it easier to compare them to one another. In order to conclude the visions and goals into a few sentences I had to make sure I had great understanding for the municipal intentions.

The visions and goals of the municipalities where then compared with the project impact to see if the project helped fulfi ll any part of the visions or the opposite. These comparisons showed both differences between the regions but also some difference between municipalities within a region. The most revealing difference was that projects performed in one single municipality more often fulfilled the goals and vision whereas projects involving several municipalities often, not always, fulfi lled some part of the municipality visions. One of the reasons that the common projects did fulfi ll parts of the visions is
probably due to the fact that most municipalities hold similar prerequisites and issues and express similar visions and goals as a result.

The interviews gave me information that would have been hard to come by in written sources. Even more important the interviewees provided me with fi rst hand views and opinions
on the structural funds. I also found answers to my research questions concerning regional differences and whether ERDF impacts Swedish comprehensive planning.

DISCUSSION
After completing this study I can declare that the EU structural funds do effect Swedish comprehensive planning. The possibility given to municipalities to apply for financial support to perform projects has meant that projects have been carried through faster than they
would have without additional funding. From what I have seen when studying comprehensive plans, fi nal reports, operational programs and interviewed people in different positions at the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth I can conclude that the municipalities are using the ERDF as means to carry out their goals and visions in several cases.

Through the literature I read I have received a clear image of how the structural funds affect the EU and the huge amounts of money the funds hold. The main goal; to even out
social and economic differences within the union are indeed positive but raises the question on whether or not the funds are the best way to achieve the goal and if the money ends up where they are best needed?

By choosing three projects from both regions I found understanding on how the funds impact the participating municipalities. My results are based on the comparison of the municipality goals and visions in the comprehensive plan and the described effects the chosen projects. These projects are only a small part of the total amount of projects that are performed with funding from the EU. A similar comparison between a different selection of projects in other areas and municipalities would maybe show a somewhat different result.


1. A protein factor promoting the binding of initiator tRNA to the 40S ribosomal subunit was purified to homogeneity (more than 2500-fold) from rat liver cytosol. It has a mol.wt. of 265000 and is composed of four subunits of identical molecular weight. 2. This factor directs the binding of methionyl-tRNAfMct and to a lesser extent also of N-acetylphenylalanyl-tRNA, but not of methionyl-tRNAM't or phenylalanyl-tRNA, to the smaller ribosomal subunit at high concentrations of GTP (8-10mM) with an optimum at pH4.0. As evidenced by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation, initiator tRNA becomes bound to the 40S subunit or to 80S ribosomes. 3. A deacylase activity specific for methionyltRNAfM"C is associated with the pure factor. The factor significantly stimulates the translation of natural message in systems containing polyribosomes and both purified peptide-elongation factors. 4. The factor binds initiator tRNA or GTP to form unstable binary complexes and forms a ternary complex with methionyl-tRNAfMet and GTP. This complex is relatively stable. 5. In the absence of any cofactors the factor forms a stable complex with 40S and 80S ribosomes. This preformed ribosomal complex binds efficiently initiator tRNA at pH7.5 and low concentrations of GTP (1-2mM). The ternary complex of the factor with methionyl-tRNAfMet and GTP may be liberated from this ribosomal complex. 6. A protein factor capable of promoting the binding and simultaneously the deacylation of initiator tRNA may apparently have a regulatory function in physiological gene translation by removing an excess of methionyl-tRNAfMet not required for translation.


type="main"> This study examines the cognitive processes involved in consumer investors' information processing of mutual fund characteristics. We tested whether consumer investors' limited processing abilities account for biased return perceptions, as reported in the literature. Consumer investors' processing abilities were manipulated by varying the duration of information exposure time to a mutual fund advertisement. Experimental results suggest that a longer time spent by consumer investors learning about mutual fund characteristics resulted in reduced reliance on prior fund performance as a heuristic cue, which in turn resulted in an unbiased processing of mutual fund characteristics. In contrast, when consumer investors spent less time learning about mutual fund characteristics, prior fund performance significantly affected subsequent return expectations and argument persuasiveness of the mutual fund advertisement. These findings suggest that disclaimers warning that past performance does not guarantee future results are ineffective when consumer investors have limited attention and lower processing abilities .


This paper summarizes the procedure for the economic evaluation of government projects and policy reforms. It begins with the social welfare function underpinnings of cost-benefit analysis including the role of distributive weights and the choice of numeraire. It then turns to the conduct of a social cost-benefit analysis using the net present value criterion. This includes the shadow pricing of market products and inputs affected by the project, indirect welfare effects, the opportunity cost of project finance, the evaluation of non-marketed inputs and outputs, and the opportunity cost of risk. Issues involved in selecting a discount rate are discussed, especially those arising from imperfect capital markets. Finally, since many public projects have long-term consequences, the principles that might be used to take account of effects of projects on future generations are outlined. Techniques for accounting for these effects, such as generational accounting, are summarized and its shortcomings highlighted.


The presented dissertation is concerned with anisotropic curvature motion of two-dimensional parametric surfaces as well as their application in surface fairing and surface restauration. Mainly the so called anisotropic mean curvature motion (AMCM) and the anisotropic Willmore-flow are being treated. These flows are generalizations of the classical mean curvature flow and the classical Willmore-flow, respectively. The anisotropies are induced by positive, 1-homogenous and convex functions, which can be regarded as support functions of convex bodies, so called Wulff-shapes. Being a method of fourth order of differentiation in the surface coordinates, the anisotropic Willmore-flow allows the prescription of boundary values for the position of the boundary itself as well as for the surface normals on the boundary of a surface patch under consideration. Hence it is an appropriate method for the reconstruction of partially destroyed surfaces. In this work a numerical scheme for the anisotropic Willmore-flow is presented, which is based on an operator splitting of the fourth order evolution equation into two weak equations of first order of differentiation, which is discretized using linear finite elements in space. In particular the discretization of the AMCM turns out to be one of these equations. Based on the AMCM a method for the fairing of surfaces with crystalline edges is developed. Modifications of the discrete AMCM are also used for surface modeling purposes. Schemes for the artificial aging and for virtual engraving of surfaces are presented. Further on a subdivision scheme based on the isotropic mean curvature motion is introduced. Finally, the isotropic as well as the anisotropic Willmore-flow is employed for the restauration of partially destroyed triangulated surfaces.


This paper investigates grammatical variation in the complementation of the verb provide. It describes the
 distribution of the four possible patterns with two internal arguments and the interaction between pattern choice and lexical
 choice. The study finds and documents significant differences in the preferred complementation patterns for American and British
 English as well as for spoken and written news genres. It also establishes the double object construction as a viable option for
 American English. Methodologically, this study is based on robust automatic syntactic annotation and computerized retrieval from a
 data-set comprising 2.5 billion words. It is this large amount of data that permits the observation of strong preferences in terms
 of pattern choice at the interface between grammar and lexis.


In this prospective study, we aimed to establish the value of volumetric assessment by prenatal brain MRI in determining the prognosis of fetuses with isolated VM. A total of 23 fetuses with isolated VM were included in the study. Supratentorial cerebral parenchyma volume (PV) and ventricular volume (VV) were measured, and supratentorial ventricular/parenchymal volume (VV/PV) ratios were calculated. Pregnancy and postnatal neurodevelopmental outcomes up to two years of age were obtained and correlated with the volumetric measurements. VV was found to be strongly and positively correlated with ventricular dimension. There was a statistically significant difference between the VV/ PV ratios of the good and poor prognosis groups into which the cases had been categorized. The fetuses with a poor prognosis had a significantly higher VV/PV ratio. Volumetric parenchymal and ventricular measurements obtained by fetal brain MRI may contribute to future clinical studies concerning the evaluation of fetuses with VM and provide an important indicator in cases where management dilemmas arise.


The User Manual of the Fisheries Resource Information System and Tools (FiRST) version 2000 documents the database system that was developed under ADB-RETA 5766. As envisioned, the database system contains extant trawl surveys and generic socioeconomic data, as well as catch and effort statistics. Basic analytical routines such as models to approximate biomasses have also been developed and made an integral part of FiRST. Analytical modules from other software needed for data analyses have been made accessible via the database system. To facilitate the use of these external softwares, modules have been developed to allow the saving of data in the required format.|The database system currently contains data on about 21,000 hauls/stations provided by the eight participating countries together with published data from Singapore, Myanmar and Pakistan. Data access protocols were agreed during the Inception Phase of the project. Countries providing the trawl data grant permission for the release of data provided by that country. The FiRST software has been distributed to the eight DMCs and copies of the software can be requested from the Center.|Substantive retrospective analysis of FiRST extant trawl survey data in the Resource and Socioeconomic Analyses Component of the project provided a better understanding of the biological status of the coastal fishery resources. With the development of this database system, the Center anticipates that FiRST will be extremely useful in providing solid foundations for appropriate strategies and action plans at the national and regional levels.


The primary objectives of this work were to design, construct, test and operate a novel ablative pyrolysis reactor and product recovery system. Other key objectives included the development of an ablative pyrolysis reactor design methodology, mathematical modelling of the ablation process and measurement of empirical ablation rate data at 500°C. The constructed reactor utilised a rotating blade approach to achieve particle ablation in a 258mm internal diameter reactor. By fulfilling the key requirements of high relative motion and high contact pressure, pine wood particles of maximum size 6.35 mm were successfully ablated.Sixteen experiments were carried out: five initial commissioning experiments were used to test the rotating blade concept and to solve char separation problems. Mass balances were obtained for the other eleven experiments with good closures. Based on ablatively pyrolysed dry wood, a maximum organic liquid yield of 65.9 wt% was achieved with corresponding yields of 12.4 wt% char, 11.5 wt% water and 9.2 wt% non-condensable gas. Reactor throughputs of 2 kg/h dry ablated wood were achieved at 600°C. The theoretical ablative pyrolysis reactor design methodology was simplified and improved based upon empirical data derived from wood rod ablation experiments. Yields of chemicals were qualitatively similar to those of other fast pyrolysis processes.The product recovery system, comprising hot char removal, liquids collection in two ice-cooled condensers followed by gas filtration and drying, gave good mass balance closures. The most significant problem was char separation and removal from the reactor. This was solved by using a nitrogen blow line. In general, the reactor and product collection systems performed well.Future development of the reactor would involve modification of the reactor feed tube to allow the reactor residence time to be reduced and testing of the rotating blade approach with different blade angles, configurations and numbers of blades.


In the present work, an attempt has been achieved to describe the effects of ageing and of water on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of chalks from underground quarries of northern Parisian basin. Physical and mechanical properties were obtained as a function of distances from the pillar face (horizontal core drillings, from the wall to the centre) and relative humidity (Hr) of air. It has been stated that physical and mechanical properties change with depth in the pillar: the density and compressive strength of chalk tend to decrease from the pillar face (at least 1m from the wall) to the centre, contrary to the classical observations on the ageing of geomaterials. Uniaxial and triaxial compression tests under controlled relative humidity put into light the sensitivity to water (and then relative humidity in the quarry) on the mechanical strength and deformability of chalks.


The goal of this workshop is to generate a manifesto around data equity. Data equity refers to the degree of fairness in responsibilities and benefits, opportunities trade-offs that all members of society experience as a result of civic datasets. As a range of civic datasets about the government, environment, education and others become increasingly available, it is important to understand how current technologically-mediated practices can be improved to achieve better data equity and accountability for all. We reflect on these datasets and technical practices through hands-on activities that have been specifically designed to expose the barriers that prevent individuals, communities, businesses, nonprofits and governments from engaging with data. We pay particular focus to the differentials based on sexism, racism and other forms of structural oppression that tend to go underexamined within such settings.


A generic model is introduced to describe the lasing characteristics of continuous-wave circular and racetrack-shaped ring Raman lasers based on micro- and nano-scale silicon waveguides. This model explicitly takes into account the effective Raman gain values for forward and backward lasing in the ring resonator, the presence of a bus waveguide in which the Stokes laser radiation coupled out from the ring undergoes additional Raman amplification, and the spatial gain variations for different polarization states in the ring structure. I show numerically that ring lasers based on micro-scale waveguides generate unidirectional lasing in either the forward or backward direction because of an asymmetry in nonlinear losses, whereas those based on nanowires yield only backward lasing due to a non-reciprocity in effective gain. Furthermore, the model indicates that backward lasing can yield a significantly higher Stokes output at the bus waveguide facets than lasing in the forward direction. Finally, considering a TE-polarized pump input for a (100) grown silicon ring Raman laser, I demonstrate numerically that the polarization state of the Stokes lasing radiation strongly depends on whether micro-scale or nano-scale waveguides are used.


This paper approaches the question of whether the styles of different prose genres (here referring to classifications such as fiction, newspaper reportage, learned journals, etc.) are partially characterized by differences in the co-variation of a number of common syntactic structures.Thirty-six syntactic variables are tabulated in sample sentences drawn from five genres. The variables are of several different sorts; for example, sentence types, some focus phenomena, elements of the verb structure, conjoined structures, and various modification and complementation structures. The co-variation of these syntactic variables is analysed by means of a discriminant function analysis. The analysis shows that the verbal styles of the specific genres considered are characterized by differential patterns of occurrence of the syntactic structures. The patterns appear to be primarily interpretable as artefacts of the common semantic denominator (or communicative purpose) of their genres.


Low rank matrix completion has been applied successfully in a wide range of machine learning applications, such as collaborative filtering, image inpainting and Microarray data imputation. However, many existing algorithms are not scalable to large-scale problems, as they involve computing singular value decomposition. In this paper, we present an efficient and scalable algorithm for matrix completion. The key idea is to extend the well-known orthogonal matching pursuit from the vector case to the matrix case. In each iteration, we pursue a rank-one matrix basis generated by the top singular vector pair of the current approximation residual and update the weights for all rank-one matrices obtained up to the current iteration. We further propose a novel weight updating rule to reduce the time and storage complexity, making the proposed algorithm scalable to large matrices. We establish the linear convergence of the proposed algorithm. The fast convergence is achieved due to the proposed construction of matrix bases and the estimation of the weights. We empirically evaluate the proposed algorithm on many real-world large-scale datasets. Results show that our algorithm is much more efficient than state-of-the-art matrix completion algorithms while achieving similar or better prediction performance.


In January 2012, Ellen Kullman, CEO and chairman of DuPont, must decide whether to retain or sell the company's Performance Coatings (DPC) division. This is an introductory case on valuing a leveraged buyout. The case focuses on a publicly listed corporation's decision to divest a large division and asks students to compare the division's value if it remains under DuPont's control or is sold to an outside party. The transaction size of approximately $4 billion is too large for potential strategic buyers in the industry, making private equity (PE) firms the most likely bidders. The case provides a base-case adjusted present value (APV) model of DPC as a stand-alone company and gives students specific assignments to adjust it to reflect the division's potential value under PE ownership (e.g., EBITDA growth, multiple arbitrage, and increased leverage).

The case is designed to illustrate and discuss the differences between a public company's valuation based on unlevered free cash flows and a PE sponsor's valuation based on residual (levered) cash flows.

This case has been successfully taught in a second-year elective course covering entrepreneurial finance and private equity and in an advanced undergraduate course on corporate finance. It is appropriate for use in classes on private equity, advanced corporate finance, or deal valuation.


Understanding causal relationships among key economic variables is crucial for policy makers, who wish to e.g. stimulate private R&D growth. To this end, we applied a technique recently imported from the Machine Learning community (Structural Vector Autoregressions (SVARs) identified using Independent Components Analysis (ICA)) to a set of the world's largest R&D investors. Our analysis highlights the key role of sales growth, rather than profits growth, in stimulating R&D growth. R&D growth appears at the end of the causal ordering of the growth process. Our results suggest that policies to increase private R&D would do better to target sales rather than profits.


This study analyzes characteristics of an important alkyl amine species, dimethylamine (DMA), in cloud water over the northwest Atlantic. Data were gathered from the winter and summer 2020 deployments of the Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western ATlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) on board the HU-25 Falcon. Thirty-eight out of 98 samples exhibited DMA above detection limits, with the overwhelming majority in the winter season (33, 52% of winter samples) compared to summer (5, 14% of summer samples). Higher levels of DMA were observed in the winter, especially during cold air outbreaks (CAOs), which was also the case for NO 3 − , NH 4+ , and non sea salt-SO 42 − . This is in part due to a combination of low temperatures and o ff shore fl ow enhanced with continental pollutants such as from agriculture, industry, urban activity, and biomass burning. Unlike the inorganic acidic anions, oxalate was signi fi cantly correlated to DMA in summer and the winter in both CAO and non-CAO conditions, with a presumed reason being biomass burning supported by the consistent correlation between DMA and nss-K + in each season. ACTIVATE data are compared to a cloud water dataset from the northeast Paci fi c, with the latter exhibiting much higher DMA levels due possibly to more abundant ocean biological emissions. The seasonal di ff erences and enhancement in DMA during CAO conditions relative to non-CAO winter days motivates continued research into the partitioning behavior of DMA and its sources as amines play an important role in carbon and nitrogen cycles in the marine environment


We investigate the thickness and seismic velocity structure of the Rukwa Rift crust by modeling seismograms from the 1994 Mw 5.9 Rukwa earthquake and teleseismic receiver functions recorded on a broadband seismic station at the southeastern end of the rift. Two methods have been used to model receiver functions, H-κ stacking and waveform inversion, yielding Moho depth estimates of 34 ± 2 km (H-κ stacking) and 38 ± 2 km (waveform inversion), and a crustal Poisson's ratio of 0.27 ± 0.01 (H-κ stacking). A 1D average velocity model for the rifted crust has been obtained by trial-and-error modeling of the Rukwa earthquake seismograms. The best fitting velocity model obtained has a 4.5 km thick near-surface low-velocity section over a 33 km thick middle-to-lower crustal section. The velocities and thickness of the near-surface layers are consistent with the known thickness and composition of the sedimentary basin fill. The middle-to-lower crustal section is characterised by a linear velocity gradient with shear wave velocities of 3.9 km/s or higher at depths > 20 km. Crustal Poisson's ratio in the model is 0.27. The Moho depth in the model (37.5 km) is similar to the Moho depth obtained from analysing receiver functions, suggesting that there has been little, if any, crustal thinning beneath the rift compared to the southeastern edge of the rift. The Poisson's ratio of 0.27, in combination with the high velocities in the middle and lower crust, indicate that a significant component of the rifted crust has a mafic composition. This finding is important for understanding the occurrence of lower crustal earthquakes in east Africa, because it suggests that at least some of the crust in east Africa could be sufficiently strong at mid- and lower crustal depths to support brittle deformation.


This paper investigates the problems that arise when application requirements dictate that autonomous spatial databases be integrated into a federated one. The paper focuses on the most critical issues raised by the integration of databases of different scales. A short presentation of approaches to interoperability and of the main steps composing the integration process is given first. Next, a general format is proposed for precisely defining correspondences between objects of two databases. The format can deal with a wide range of discrepancies in GIS data. Last, a solution is presented for aggregation conflicts which arise when one object of one database corresponds to a set of objects in the other database, a very frequent case when the databases are of different scales. The method is applied to excerpts of real cartographic databases.


The enormous need for well engineered ontologies is growing rapidly, as the need for ontologies is increasing in many application areas such as data integration, the semantic web, knowledge engineering, enhanced information retrieval, etc. Due to the central role ontologies are playing, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) developed the Web Ontology Language (OWL) as a language to author ontologies. However, OWL, like many other similar ontology languages, does not provide a practical and methodological means for ontology engineering. In addition, one is required to understand the logical foundation underpinning OWL, which is very difficult for domain experts. For an ontology language to be easily understood by domain experts it must be close to the natural language they speak and the 'logic' they use. Also, it should have a graphical notation to enable simple and conceptual modeling. The expressive, methodological, and graphical capabilities of Object-Role Modeling (ORM) make it a good candidate for use in ontology engineering. The modeling approach (ORM) selected here is one of the richest graphical modelling approaches and the knowledge and practice of it is easy to be acquired at a short period of time. The second version of OWL (OWL 2) is a recommended web ontology language from W3C which contains the majority of the constructs to be used for building any needed ontology. Many reasoners such as RacerPro 2.0, Pellet, Hermit, Fact++ and others support reasoning ontologies represented in OWL 2 which is created using the description logic SROIQ (characterized by expressivity and decidability). In this research, we (i) map the most commonly used ORM constructs to OWL 2 using SROIQ Description Logic and, on the other hand, we (ii) extend the ORM notation to cover all OWL 2 constructs not currently covered by ORM. By doing so, we combine the strengths of both ORM and the W3C-recommended Web Ontology Language (OWL). This creates a framework that allows one to engineer OWL ontologies graphically using ORM.


This dissertation examines a 2003 explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Kinston, North Carolina against the framework of both crisis communication theory and critical discourse analysis theory. In the wake of the explosion, the corporation that owned the plant engaged in communication that was widely viewed as positive by stakeholders and successful in terms of best practices in crisis communication. The communication is analyzed utilizing Timothy Coombs' Situational Crisis Communication Theory. The communication is also analyzed utilizing critical discourse analysis theory developed by Fairclough and Van Dijk to determine if the power balance between the pharmaceutical plant and the community it resided in impacted the ability of the company to frame the discourse surrounding the event and the ability of stakeholders to question that framing. This dissertation makes an argument for crisis communication theory to include aspects of critical discourse analysis in order to assess and balance the power relationship between organizations and their stakeholders.


The Environmental Protection Agency's Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study (DEARS) was a complex 3-year personal exposure study. The six geographically defined areas in the Detroit (Wayne County), Michigan, area used as study locations are ethnically diverse; the majority of the residents are African American or Hispanic. Each summer and winter season, the study solicited 40 adult nonsmoking study participants from these predefined areas. Participants were asked to allow home visits each morning for a week, to wear a personal exposure monitoring vest, and to complete an activity diary and follow-up questionnaire each day. Community action groups, recruitment staff, and environmental technicians coordinated the recruitment and environmental sampling activities. Although the study had an overall response rate of 19 percent, recruitment goals were met nearly every season in each geographic area. Over-recruitment was necessary to replace dropouts. Recruitment staff used face-to-face household recruitment to enroll 136 study participants. Among participants, 73 percent participated in two seasons. Details about the recruitment techniques used in exposure studies, as well as the lessons learned, rarely appear in the literature. This report delineates the lessons from the DEARS that may be beneficial to other researchers using similar study designs in lowincome, ethnically diverse urban areas.


Professor Gordon's Comment focuses on the substantial departures of Stewart Macaulay and Ian Macneil from the conventions of traditional contracts scholarship. He argues that the Macaulay-Macneil perspectives, different though they are, have challenged mainstream scholars in three ways: (I) in emphasizing continuing relations within a community rather than discrete transactions between autonomous individuals; (2) in recognizing the pervasiveness of coercion and dependence in nominally free marketplace relationships; and (3) in demonstrating the practical marginality of the legal rules comprising the core of most conventional scholarship. Professor Gordon concludes by outlining the dramatic changes that would be required in mainstream scholarship were the insights of Macaulay and Macneil to be taken seriously.


There are increasing numbers of private (nonprofit and for-profit) centers that carry out conserva - tion research and education in locations of environmental concern. Such centers generate revenue streams that directly support conservation programs and also sustain surrounding human communities. This paper assesses the size of the centers' economic impacts. We conducted separate studies of the economic impacts of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (Namibia) and (jointly) the Rowe Bird Sanctuary and Whooping Crane Trust (central Nebraska, USA). We collected data on direct expenditures and surveyed visitors and volunteers on their spending. For the Cheetah Conservation Fund, we estimate total economic impact using a Social Accounting Matrix developed for Namibia to determine appropriate multipliers. For the Rowe Sanctuary and the Whooping Crane Trust, we employ the IMPLAN Pro modeling software. We find that the Cheetah Conservation Fund generates a total economic impact of US$4.13 million per year and Rowe Sanctuary/Whooping Crane Trust generates US$3.80 million annu- ally; the former sustains 177 jobs and the latter creates 63 jobs. Are such impacts significant? Two considerations suggest they are. First, such centers tend to be located in remote, usually rural areas where even small impacts may be important in sustaining local human communities. Second, for Africa alone we identified some 352 active conservation centers (undoubtedly a large undercount), so if on average each had an economic impact equal to that of Cheetah Conservation Fund, their combined impact would total about $1.5 billion per year.


We explore a new type of malicious script attacks: the persistent parasite attack. Persistent parasites are stealthy scripts, which persist for a long time in the browser's cache. We show to infect the caches of victims with parasite scripts via TCP injection.Once the cache is infected, we implement methodologies for propagation of the parasites to other popular domains on the victim client as well as to other caches on the network. We show how to design the parasites so that they stay long time in the victim's cache not restricted to the duration of the user's visit to the web site. We develop covert channels for communication between the attacker and the parasites, which allows the attacker to control which scripts are executed and when, and to exfiltrate private information to the attacker, such as cookies and passwords. We then demonstrate how to leverage the parasites to perform sophisticated attacks, and evaluate the attacks against a range of applications and security mechanisms on popular browsers. Finally we provide recommendations for countermeasures.


Human centromeres are multi-megabase regions of highly ordered arrays of alpha satellite DNA that are separated from chromosome arms by unordered alpha satellite monomers and other repetitive elements. Complexities in assembling such large repetitive regions have limited detailed studies of centromeric chromatin organization. However, a genomic map of the human X centromere has provided new opportunities to explore genomic architecture of a complex locus. We used ChIP to examine the distribution of modified histones within centromere regions of multiple X chromosomes. Methylation of H3 at lysine 4 coincided with DXZ1 higher order alpha satellite, the site of CENP-A localization. Heterochromatic histone modifications were distributed across the 400–500 kb pericentromeric regions. The large arrays of alpha satellite and gamma satellite DNA were enriched for both euchromatic and heterochromatic modifications, implying that some pericentromeric repeats have multiple chromatin characteristics. Partial truncation of the X centromere resulted in reduction in the size of the CENP-A/Cenp-A domain and increased heterochromatic modifications in the flanking pericentromere. Although the deletion removed ∼1/3 of centromeric DNA, the ratio of CENP-A to alpha satellite array size was maintained in the same proportion, suggesting that a limited, but defined linear region of the centromeric DNA is necessary for kinetochore assembly. Our results indicate that the human X centromere contains multiple types of chromatin, is organized similarly to smaller eukaryotic centromeres, and responds to structural changes by expanding or contracting domains.


The mechanisms that drive density dependence are rarely studied in the applied context of population management. We examined the potential for competition for food and shelter and the resulting demographic density dependence to influence how well populations of the eastern king prawn Penaeus plebejus Hess can recover following marine stock enhancement programmes in which captive-bred juveniles are released into the wild. Specifically, manipulative laboratory experiments were used to quantify the differential effects of competition for food and competition for shelter on survival of wild and captive-bred P. plebejus as densities were increased and as each category of P. plebejus (wild or captive-bred) was supplemented with the alternate category. Increasing population densities when food and shelter were limited lowered survival for both categories. When food was limited, survival of both categories was unaffected by addition of the alternative category. Adding wild P. plebejus to their captive-bred counterparts when shelter was limited under laboratory conditions resulted in significantly higher mortality in captive-bred individuals. In contrast, adding captive-bred P. plebejus to wild individuals under these conditions did not affect wild P. plebejus. We conclude that if the current results can be extended to wild conditions, competition for shelter may lead to the loss of captive-bred P. plebe- jus, thereby reducing the intended outcomes of stock enhancement. This highlights the impor- tance of investigating interactions between wild and captive-bred animals prior to stock enhance- ment to predict long-term outcomes and identify situations where stock enhancement could be an effective response to the loss of populations or recruitment limitation.


ytogenetic profiles of five native freshwater gobies from Southern Luzon, Philippines namely, Glossogobius celebius (Velenciennes, 1837), Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822), Redigobius bikolanus (Herre, 1927), Redigobius dispar (Peters, 1868), and Giuris margaritacea (Valenciennes, 1837) were studied by using basic cytogenetic analysis. G. celebius chromosomes are all telocentric, with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 50 (FN = 50). Both G. margaritacea and G. giuris have telocentric chromosomes, diploid chromosome number of 2n = 46, and FN = 46. R. bikolanus and R. dispar both have metacentric (m), submetacentric (sm), and telocentric (t) chromosomes although they have different diploid numbers: R. bikolanus has 2n = 40 (10m + 28sm + 2t, FN = 78) while R. dispar has a modal chromosome number of 2n = 44 (24m + 16 sm + 4t, FN = 84). Based on the computed relative lengths of the chromosomes, G. celebius, and R. bikolanus have slightly asymmetrical karyotypes, while G. giuris and R. dispar have symmetrical karyotypes. Cytotaxonomically, the results suggest that G. celebius and R. dispar might be more ancestral than G. giuris and R. bikolanus, respectively. Genetic variation within and among populations was also analyzed by isozyme electrophoresis using seven enzymes and two proteins. Percent (%) polymorphism (20.00–64.71), heterozygosity (0.05–0.50), and average number of alleles (1.23–1.65) indicating high variation of the individuals within the population, were observed among individuals of G. celebius from Social Garden Molawin Creek, G. giuris from Lake Bato, R. dispar from Bulusan Lake, and R. bikolanus and Giuris margaritacea from Pansipit River. The dendrogram based on estimates of genetic identity (0.77– 0.86) and distance (0.15–0.26) showed that G. celebius populations from Laguna, G. giuris populations from Lake Bato and Talisay, and R. dispar populations from Bulusan and Manapao Lakes, were most related.


Abstract We have performed a systematic review and meta-analysis for evaluation of mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) alterations in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL), and tumor tissues of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancers. Analysis of the PBL demonstrated a significant decrease [OR: 0.6 (0.5, 0.8)] and increase [OR: 1.4 (1.1, 1.9)] prior to and following GIT cancer development, respectively. This trend was more evident in CRC, and GC subgroups. Analysis of tissue yielded high levels of heterogeneity. However, the mean difference for the CRC subgroup was statistically significant [1.5 (1.0, 2.2)]. Our analysis suggests mtDNA-CN deserves further investigations as a GIT-cancer screening tool.


Some protozoan infections such as Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium, and Plasmodium can be transmitted through stem cell transplantations. To our knowledge, so far, there is no study about transmission of Leishmania parasites in stem cell transplantation and interactions between parasites and stem cells in vitro. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between different species of Leishmania parasites and adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs). ADMSCs have been isolated, cultured, characterized, and infected with different species of Leishmania parasites (L. donovani, L. major, L. tropica, and L. infantum). Infectivity was examined by Giemsa staining, microculture, and polymerase chain reaction methods. As a result, infectivity of ADMSCs by Leishmania parasites has been determined for the first time in this study. According to our findings, it is very important that donors are screened for Leishmania parasites before stem cell transplantations in regions where leishmaniasis is endemic.


OBJECTIVES: Designing and proposing alternative models for municipal and Departmental malaria control programmes based on evidence obtained concerning the process of malaria on the Colombian Pacific Coast and regarding key problems in the malaria control programme before and following health system reform in 1993. METHODS: An evaluative study was carried out, comparing the situation before and following the 1993 reform; model design was also compared. Control programme is understood as being the institution, the human group and administration in charge of control activities. The study was carried out in 2002 and 2003, in the Departments along the Colombian Pacific Coast; the four departmental capitals, 28 malarial and 5 control municipalities were included primary and secondary information was obtained by means of surveys and semi-structured interviews, community meetings and reviewing documentation in the secretariats of health, the Vector-borne disease control programme-VBDC, the Expanded Immunisation Programme-EIP, Health Promoting Entities-HPE, Subsidised Regime Administrators-SRA and Service-Providing Entities-SPE. RESULTS: The following results were obtained: 1. Illustrating and analysing malarial tendencies in the country and on the Pacific Coast, and the corresponding institutional transformations in the programme; 2. Characterising the control programme which existed before 1993; 3. Characterising departmental modes of decentralising the programme; 4. Identifying the effects of reforming the system and characterising control programme problems; 5. Comparing the programme with the Expanded Immunisation Programme (EIP); 6. Comparative analysis of the programme and identifying current gaps in management capability; 7. Actors' perceptions regarding the control programme; 8. Values and challenges for an innovative control programme; and 9. Designing a model for up-dating/adapting the control programme. DISCUSSION: Malaria control programmes' problems and weaknesses are frequently and inarticulately attributed to the lack of knowledge and management skill of personnel working in such programmes, the lack of an information and communication system or weaknesses in the municipalities or personnel. These factors may well have had an effect; however, a global and institutional approach leads to locating the programmes within a social, political and cultural context. This allows interpreting control programmes' current problems, amidst decentralisation and reform processes, and linking this interpretation to modelling and opening a space for innovation in such programmes. The study's main limitations spring from particularities regarding Pacific Coast control programmes and weakness in health information systems.


Background There has been great interest in predictors of mortality in older cohorts in the international literature in recent years. The Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study is a longitudinal birth cohort study including adult family members with detailed baseline objective and subjective health and socio-demographic measures, including a means-tested measure of General Medical Services (GMS) eligibility and comprehensive mortality follow-up to 2014. One of the chief study objectives was to establish the influence of healthcare availability on health outcomes.1 Methods 1223 Lifeways grandparents in 631 families participated in the baseline recruitment questionnaire and/or health examination. Mortality follow-up was achieved using national death records from the General Registry Office. A generalised linear mixed model estimated between couple and between family variance in odds of death to be 0, thus standard logistic regression was used. Predictors that were significant at univariable level (p < 0.10) and for which data were available on >75% of participants were entered into the multivariable models, with age, sex, smoking status retained a priori. Analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS Statistics v.20. Results Mean age at baseline was 59.7 (37.2–89.7); 124 deaths were confirmed within the 10-year follow-up period. In univariable analysis, the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (in parentheses) for the significant (p < 0.10) variables were as follows: Socio-demographic factors: male sex, 2.043 (1.405–2.970); age, 1.149 (1.120–1.178); GMS eligibility, 4.579, (2.616–8.014) and being married, 0.486 (0.290–0.817). Clinical factors: worse mean self-rated health, 1.564 (1.149–2.129); waist circumference, 1.029 (1.013–1.045); total cholesterol, 0.749 (0.597–0.941); average systolic blood pressure (SBP), 1.010 (0.999–1.021); reported hypertension, 1.784 (1.221–2.605); reported diabetes, 4.373 (2.460–7.773); reported activity-limiting health condition, 2.470 (1.369–4.459) and frequency of moderate exercise, 0.857 (0.739–0.993). The following are the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of all variables in the final multivariable model (Nagelkerke R Square value of 0.340, n = 817, 77 deaths). Age, 1.166 (1.125–1.209); male sex, 1.242, (0.705–2.186); smoker, 2.940 (1.525–5.668), waist circumference, 1.034 (1.012–1.056); average SBP, 0.989 (0.975–1.004); total cholesterol, 0.882 (0.677–1.147), reported hypertension, 2.180 (1.219–3.897); and reported diabetes, 1.947 (0.854–4.438). Conclusion The analysis confirms clearly that conventional clinical health status variables are significant predictors of mortality at 10-year follow-up in this longitudinal cohort of older Irish adults (explaining approximately 34% of the variance). GMS eligibility is also strongly associated with mortality, which may be because those with established health needs register themselves in order to avail of comprehensive means-tested healthcare. This has policy implications for healthcare provision and accessibility. Acknowledgement Additional authors from the Lifeways Cohort Study Steering Group. Reference O'Mahony D, Fallon UB, Hannon F, Kloeckner K, Avalos G, Murphy AW, Kelleher CC; Lifeways Cross Generation Cohort Study Steering Group. The lifeways cross-generation study: design, recruitment and data management considerations. Ir Med J. 2007;100(8 Suppl):3–6


Relation extraction is the task of recognizing and extracting relations between entities or concepts in texts. A common approach is to exploit existing knowledge to learn linguistic patterns expressing the target relation and use these patterns for extracting new relation mentions. Deriving relation patterns automatically usually results in large numbers of candidates, which need to be filtered to derive a subset of patterns that reliably extract correct relation mentions. We address the pattern selection task by exploiting the knowledge represented by entailment graphs, which capture semantic relationships holding among the learned pattern candidates. This is motivated by the fact that a pattern may not express the target relation explicitly, but still be useful for extracting instances for which the relation holds, because its meaning entails the meaning of the target relation. We evaluate the usage of both automatically generated and gold-standard entailment graphs in a relation extraction scenario and present favorable experimental results, exhibiting the benefits of structuring and selecting patterns based on entailment graphs.


The importance of the developmental surveillance of children is generally accepted. One method which could be used in general practice is opportunistic surveillance, where the doctor makes use of contacts with children in the surgery to assess their development, and offer advice and health education to parents where appropriate. This study describes an audit of opportunistic developmental surveillance in one general practice. It was found that 95% of a cohort of 78 children had been assessed at least once by the time they were one year old. In addition, at two points in the study, after one and two years, it was found that 81% of children aged two years or less in the practice had had a recent assessment. This level of surveillance compares favourably with reported attendance rates in clinics.


BACKGROUND
Some studies reported similar effect estimates for the impact of maternal smoking in pregnancy and paternal smoking on childhood obesity, whereas others suggested higher effects for maternal smoking. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the effect of in utero exposure to maternal smoking and that of paternal or household smoking exposure in utero or after birth with mutual adjustment.

METHODS
Meta-analysis of observational studies identified in MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Knowledge published in 1900-2013. Study inclusion criterion was assessment of the association of maternal smoking during pregnancy and paternal or household smoking (anyone living in the household who smokes) at any time with childhood overweight and obesity. The analyses were based on all studies with mutually adjusted effect estimates for maternal and paternal/household smoking applying a random-effects model.

RESULTS
Data for 109,838 mother/child pairs were reported in 12 studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) for overweight 1.33 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23;1.44] (n=6, I2=0.00%) and obesity 1.60 (95% CI 1.37;1.88) (n=4, I2=32.47%) for maternal smoking during pregnancy were higher than for paternal smoking: 1.07 (95% CI 1.00;1.16) (n=6, I2=41.34%) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.10;1.38) (n=4, I2=14.61%), respectively. Similar estimates with widely overlapping confidence limits were found for maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood overweight and obesity: 1.35 (95% CI 1.20;1.51) (n=3, I2=0.00%) and 1.28 (95% CI 1.07;1.54) (n=3, I2=0.00%) compared with household smoking 1.22 (95% CI 1.06;1.39) (n=3, I2=72.14%) and 1.31 (95% CI 1.15;1.50)] (n=3, I2=0.00%).

CONCLUSIONS
Higher effect estimates for maternal smoking in pregnancy compared with paternal smoking in mutually adjusted models may suggest a direct intrauterine effect.


With about 250 species, the genus Blaps Fabricius, 1775 is one of the most diverse genera of darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Tenebrioninae: Blaptini: Blaptina). In this study, we provide new insights on the evolutionary relationships of Blaps species using a combined molecular and morphological dataset encompassing 69 distinct Blaps species and subspecies (105 specimens in total, all belonging to the subgenus Blaps ), four other representatives of the tribe Blaptini (from the subtribes Gnaptorina, Gnaptorinina and Prosodina) and 12 outgroup species. Five new species of Blaps are also described within the subgenus Blaps : B. effeminata sp. nov. from Libya, B. intermedia sp. nov. from Morocco, B. maldesi sp. nov. from Algeria, B. nitiduloides sp. nov. from Algeria and Tunisia and B. teocchii sp. nov. from Tunisia. The results of the phylogenetic analyses indicate that the genus Blaps is likely paraphyletic; the two highlighted clades are morphologically distinct and correspond to groups previously referred to as sections (I and II) within the subgenus Blaps . This suggests the need for more phylogenetic studies in order to clarify the status of the various genera and subgenera belonging to the tribe Blaptini.


From the perspective of consumers, marketing has made more accurate, diversified and personalized exploration of consumer behavior through the research methods and theories of cognitive environmental science. In order to study the deep application of cognitive environmental science in marketing. An empirical study of the ski resort is conducted one year after the operation. Studies have shown that the constraints of tourists participating in ski tourism can be grouped into nine categories. Sorted by importance are economic expenses, interpersonal communication, skiing sports, external stress, skiing awareness, ski tourism, skiing attribute, ski facility and family constraints.


The widespread use of wireless technologies has led to a tremendous development in wireless communication systems. Currently, an individual mobile user may carry multiple personal devices with multiple wireless interfaces, which can interconnect with each other to form a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) which moves with this user. These devices exist in a heterogeneous environment which is composed of various wireless networks with differing coverage and access technologies and also the topology, device conditions and wireless connections in the WPAN may be dynamically changing. Such individual mobile users require ubiquitous communications anytime, anywhere, with any device and wish content to be efficiently and continuously transferred across the various wireless networks both outside and inside WPANs, wherever they move. This thesis presents research carried out into how to implement ubiquitous communications for WPANs in such an environment. Two main issues are considered. The first is how to initiate content transfer and keep it continuous, no matter which wireless network is used as a user moves or how the WPAN changes dynamically. The second is how to implement this transfer in the most efficient way: selecting the most suitable transfer mode for a WPAN according to the user's and application's requirements. User-centric (personal-area-centric) and contentcentric mechanisms are proposed in this thesis to address these issues. A scheme based on a Personal Distributed Environment (PDE) concept and designed as a logical user-based management entity is presented. This is based on three mechanisms which are proposed to overcome the technical problems in practical scenarios, which cannot be solved by existing approaches. A novel mechanism is proposed to combine local direct and global mobile communications, in order to implement ubiquitous communications in both infrastructure-less and infrastructurebased networks. This enables an individual user's ubiquitous communications to be initiated in an infrastructure-less network environment and kept continuous when they move across infrastructure-based networks. Its advantages are evaluated by a performance analysis model and compared to existing solutions and verified by experiments. A cooperation and management scheme is also proposed for dynamic changes of multiple mobile routers and flexible switching of personal device roles in a WPAN while keeping ongoing ubiquitous communications continuous. This adopts a novel view of WPANs which solves the addressing problems caused by changes of mobile routers and makes these transparent to personal devices in the WPAN and external content sources. It provides an efficient method for changing the mobile router of a single WPAN or a WPAN merging with another moving network. Its benefits are demonstrated through performance analysis models. Finally, a novel user-centric and contentcentric mechanism for decision making, to select the most appropriate mobile router in a dynamically changing WPAN environment is proposed. This selects the most suitable content transfer mode for the WPAN to fulfil an individual user's various requirements. It has different strategies to suit various types of applications. Selection results are demonstrated to verify the proposed mechanism in multiple scenarios of changing user requirements, applications and WPAN conditions. Declaration of originality I hereby declare that the research recorded in this thesis and the thesis itself was composed and originated entirely by myself in the Institute for Digital Communications at the School of Engineering at The University of Edinburgh.


The field of corrections comprises three distinct areas of study: institutional corrections (jails and prisons), community corrections (probation and parole), and intermediate sanctions (community service, boot camps, intensive supervision programs, home confinement and electronic monitoring, halfway houses, day reporting, fines, and restitution). Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections is the first non-edited book devoted completely to intermediate sanctions systems and their individual programs. It begins with an overview of the background and foundation of intermediate sanctions programs and then describes in clear detail each program and its effectiveness. Caputo supports every point with thorough and up-to-date research. Jon'a Meyer, an expert on this field, contributes a chapter on home confinement. Aimed at students, scholars, and policymakers, Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections will be used in the many undergraduate criminal justice courses devoted to corrections and intermediate sanctions.


Knowledge of the stability of serum samples stored in large biobanks is pivotal for reliable assessment of hormone-dependent disease risks. We studied the effects of sample storage time and season of serum sampling on the stability of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) and androstenedione in a stratified random sample of 402 women, using paired sera from the Finnish Maternity Cohort. Serum samples selected were donated between 6 and 24 yr ago. The storage time did not affect serum 25-OHD and androstenedione levels. However, there was a significant mean difference in the 25-OHD levels of sera withdrawn during winter (first sample) vs. during summer (second sample; –18.4 nmol/l, P ≤ 0.001). Also at the individual level, there were significant differences in average 25-OHD levels between individuals with the paired sera taken at winter–winter compared with other alternatives (summer–winter, winter–summer, and summer–summer). The androstenedione levels showed no such differences. Long-term storage does not affect serum 25-OHD and androstenedione levels, but sampling season is an important determinant of 25-OHD levels. Stored serum samples can be used to study disease associations with both hormones. However, sampling season needs to be taken into account for 25-OHD by considering matching and stratification and, if possible, serial sampling.


Metallic magnetic calorimeters (MMC) are one of the most promising devices to provide very high energy resolution needed for future astronomical x-ray spectroscopy. MMC detectors can be built to large detector arrays having thousands of pixels. Position-sensitive magnetic (PoSM) microcalorimeters consist of multiple absorbers thermally coupled to one magnetic micro calorimeter. Each absorber element has a different thermal coupling to the MMC, resulting in a distribution of different pulse shapes and enabling position discrimination between the absorber elements. PoSMs therefore achieve the large focal plane area with fewer number of readout channels without compromising spatial sampling. Excellent performance of PoSMs was achieved by optimizing the designs of key parameters such as the thermal conductance among the absorbers, magnetic sensor, and heat sink, as well as the absorber heat capacities. Micro fab ri - cation techniques were developed to construct four-absorber PoSMs, in which each absorber consists of a two-layer composite of bismuth and gold. The energy resolution (FWHM full width at half maximum) was measured to be better than 5 eV at 6 keV x-rays for all four absorbers. Position determination was demonstrated with pulse-shape discrimination, as well as with pulse rise time. X-ray microcalorimeters are usually designed to thermalize as quickly as possible to avoid degradation in energy resolution from position dependence to the pulse shapes. Each pixel consists of an absorber and a temperature sensor, both decoupled from the cold bath through a weak thermal link. Each pixel requires a separate readout channel; for instance, with a SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device). For future astronomy missions where thousands to millions of resolution elements are required, having an individual SQUID readout channel for each pixel becomes difficult. One route to attaining these goals is a position-sensitive detector in which a large continuous or pixilated array of x-ray absorbers shares fewer numbers of temperature sensors. A means of discriminating the signals from different absorber positions, however, needs to be built into the device for each sensor. The design concept for the device is such that the shape of the temperature pulse with time depends on the location of the absorber. This inherent position sensitivity of the signal is then analyzed to determine the location of the event precisely, effectively yielding one device with many sub-pixels. With such devices, the total number of electronic channels required to read out a given number of pixels is significantly reduced. PoSMs were developed that consist of four discrete absorbers connected to a single magnetic sensor. The design concept can be extended to more than four absorbers per sensor. The thermal conductance between the sensor and each absorber is different by design and consequently, the pulse shapes are different depending upon which absorber the xrays are received, allowing position discrimination. A magnetic sensor was used in which a paramagnetic Au:Er temperature-sensitive material is located in a weak magnetic field. Deposition of energy from an x-ray photon causes an increase in temperature, which leads to a change of magnetization of the paramagnetic sensor, which is subsequently read out using a low noise dc-SQUID. The PoSM microcalorimeters are fully microfabricated: the Au:Er sensor is located above the meander, with a thin insulation gap in between. For this position-sensitive device, four electroplated absorbers are thermally linked to the sensor via heat links of different thermal conductance. One pixel is identical to that of a single-pixel design, consisting of an overhanging absorber fabricated directly on top of the sensor. It is therefore very strongly thermally coupled to it. The three other absorbers are supported directly on a silicon-nitride membrane. These absorbers are thermally coupled to the sensor via Ti (5 nm)/Au250 nm) metal links. The strength of the links is parameterized by the number of gold squares making up the link. For detector performance, experimentally different pulse-shapes were demonstrated with 6 keV x-rays, which clearly show different rise times for different absorber positions. For energy resolution measurement, the PoSM was operated at 32 mK with an applied field that was generated using a persistent current of 50 mA. Over the four pixels, energy resolution ranges from 4.4 to 4.7 eV were demonstrated.


Mantellid frogs present an extensive adaptive radiation endemic to Madagascar and Comoros, being the subfamily Mantellinae the most morphologically and ecologically diverse. The Mantellinae present key innovative evolutionary traits linked to their unique reproductive behavior, including the presence of femoral glands and a derived vomeronasal organ. In addition, previous studies pointed to size differentiation in playing an important role in species' dispersal capacities and shaping of their geographic ranges. Despite the high phenotypic variation observed in this clade, to date an exhaustive morphological analysis of their anatomy has still not been performed, much less in relation to internal structures. Here, we present a comprehensive skeletal description of a mantellid species, Blommersia transmarina, from the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, which has potentially undergone a process of moderate gigantism compared to other Blommersia species. We describe its intraspecific skeletal variation utilizing non-destructive volume renderings from μCT-scans, and characterize the presence of sexual dimorphism and size covariation in skeletal structures. Notably, we found numerous signs of hyperossification, a novel structure for mantellids: the clavicular process, and the presence of several appendicular sesamoids. Our findings suggest that skeletal phenotypic variation in this genus may be linked to biomechanical function for reproduction and locomotion.


The birth of rock 'n roll ignited a firestorm of controversy--one critic called it "musical riots put to a switchblade beat"--but if it generated much sound and fury, what, if anything, did it signify? As Glenn Altschuler reveals in All Shook Up, the rise of rock 'n roll--and the outraged reception to it--in fact can tell us a lot about the values of the United States in the 1950s, a decade that saw a great struggle for the control of popular culture. Altschuler shows, in particular, how rock's "switchblade beat" opened up wide fissures in American society along the fault-lines of family, sexuality, and race. For instance, the birth of rock coincided with the Civil Rights movement and brought "race music" into many white homes for the first time. Elvis freely credited blacks with originating the music he sang and some of the great early rockers were African American, most notably, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. In addition, rock celebrated romance and sex, rattled the reticent by pushing sexuality into the public arena, and mocked deferred gratification and the obsession with work of men in gray flannel suits. And it delighted in the separate world of the teenager and deepened the divide between the generations, helping teenagers differentiate themselves from others. Altschuler includes vivid biographical sketches of the great rock 'n rollers, including Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly--plus their white-bread doppelgangers such as Pat Boone. Rock 'n roll seemed to be everywhere during the decade, exhilarating, influential, and an outrage to those Americans intent on wishing away all forms of dissent and conflict. As vibrant as the music itself, All Shook Up reveals how rock 'n roll challenged and changed American culture and laid the foundation for the social upheaval of the sixties.