Neighborhood land use composition influences the geographical patterns of property crime. Few studies, however, have investigated if, and how, the relationships between land use and crime change over time. This research applies a Bayesian spatio-temporal regression model to analyze 12 seasons of property crime at the small-area scale. Time-varying regression coefficients estimate the seasonally varying relationships between land use and crime and distinguish both time-constant and season-specific effects. Seasonal property crime trends are commonly hypothesized to be associated with fluctuating routine activity patterns around specific land uses, but past studies do not quantify the time-varying effects of neighborhood characteristics on small-area crime risk. Results show that, accounting for sociodemographic contexts, parks are more positively associated with property crime during spring and summer seasons, and eating and drinking establishments are more positively associated during autumn and winter seasons. Land use is found to have a more substantial impact on spatial, rather than spatio-temporal, crime patterns. Proposed explanations for results focus on seasonal activity patterns and corresponding spatio-temporal interactions with the built environment. The theoretical and analytical implications of this modeling approach are discussed. This research advances past cross-sectional spatial analyses of crime by identifying built environment characteristics that simultaneously shape both where and when crime occurs.


Molybdenum cluster chemistry is one of the richest series of cluster-based materials with nuclearities of up to 40. Among them, molybdenum chalcogenides are promising materials for high-temperature thermoelectric applications due to their intrinsic, extremely low thermal conductivities. In this paper, we studied the electronic transport properties of three selenides based on octahedral Mo6 and bioctahedral Mo9 motifs using band structure calculations and a semi-classical approach. The electronic structure of these materials is governed by the cluster units. Unlike the electronic conductivity, the computed thermopower hardly depends on the structural details suggesting that such a computational approach may be useful to identify new interesting candidates for thermoelectric applications among cluster-based materials.


Creativity is more than an inborn talent; it is a hard-earned skill, and like any other skill, it improves with practice. Graphic Design Thinking: How to Define Problems, Get Ideas, and Create Form explores a variety of informal techniques ranging from quick, seat-of-the-pants approaches to more formal research methods for stimulating fresh thinking, and ultimately arriving at compelling and viable solutions. In the style with which author Ellen has come to been known hands-on, up-close approach to instructional design writing brainstorming techniques are grouped around the three basic phases of the design process: defining the problem, inventing ideas, and creating form. Creative research methods include focus groups, interviewing, brand mapping, and co-design. Each method is explained with a brief narrative text followed by a variety of visual demonstrations and case studies. Also included are discussions with leading professionals, including Art Chantry, Ivan Chermayeff, Jessica Helfand, Steven Heller, Abott Miller, Christoph Niemann, Paula Scher, and Martin Venezky, about how they get ideas and what they do when the well runs dry. The book is directed at working designers, design students, and anyone who wants to apply inventive thought patterns to everyday creative challenges.


Following the 15-year civil war that started in 1975, Lebanon's government began the difficult task of economic stabilization and confidence building, on the one hand, and postwar reconstruction and development, on the other. The government led the reconstruction effort by formulating programs that aimed to rapidly rehabilitate the country's severly damaged infrastructure in preparation for private-sector-led growth over the medium term. At the same time, Lebanon introduced an exchange-rate-based nominal anchor policy to stabilize expectations and cut inflation. This paper analyzes the government's progress with the policies adopted.


Author(s): Breck, Stewart; Poessel, Sharon; Bonnell, Mary Ann | Abstract: Human-coyote conflict in urban environments is a growing issue in cities throughout the United States with the primary problem being the development of problem individuals that are overly bold and aggressive with people and pets. Little research has focused on management options to deal with this conflict. We better define lethal and non-lethal management strategies associated with proactive and reactive management of coyotes, with an emphasis on management of problem individuals. We then provide data from research in the Denver Metropolitan Area (DMA) that focused on reactive lethal removal of problem coyotes and reactive non-lethal hazing (i.e., community-level hazing). The primary lethal management strategy being used in the DMA is to remove problem coyotes only when severe conflict (primarily threats to people) occurs. From 2009-2014, there were 27 removal events (4.5/year) with the average number of coyotes removed per event being 2.1 (range 1-11) and the average number of coyotes removed per year being 9.3. The estimated percentage of coyotes removed per year from the population was between 1.0 and 1.8%. We also measured recurrence of conflict (i.e., length of time until another severe conflict occurred in the vicinity of a removal event) as a measure of efficacy. Of the 27 removals, there were nine with recurrence with an average of 245 days (range 30-546) between removals, and 18 events without recurrence and with a mean time since conflict event of 1,042 days (range 1332,159). For our community-level hazing experiment, we used wildlife cameras to record activity of both people and coyotes at four sites (two treatment and two control). At treatment sites with prior history of conflict, we educated and encouraged people to haze visible coyotes and hypothesized that hazing would decrease the activity overlap between people and coyotes on treatment sites. We recorded over 50,000 independent sightings of people and coyotes and found activity overlap between humans and coyotes to be either similar or greater on treatment sites compared to control sites. Our results indicate that reactive non-lethal hazing as conducted in this study was ineffective. However, due to a variety of reasons we detail below, we encourage readers to interpret the hazing results with caution. We conclude that reactive lethal removal of problem individuals is an effective means of managing conflict. We also maintain that proactive non-lethal strategies are critical and justify both conclusions.


Real estate has been at the forefront of the financial crisis, with the intransparency of securitized products, such as MBS, CMBS, and CDOs, playing a critical role. Real estate equity investments have received less attention during the crisis. Listed property companies (REITs) offer an interesting perspective on the behavior of institutional investors in the real estate equity market. In this chapter, we study the influence of the recent crisis on the relation between corporate governance and the performance of listed property companies in the U.S. We first investigate the effect of corporate governance structures on abnormal stock returns during the pre-crisis period, and then address the effects of the financial crisis on this relationship, during the recent period of economic distress. We find that firm-level corporate governance did not influence performance of real estate equity investments before the crisis, but the structure of corporate governance has become an important performance driver of real estate equity investments during and after the market downturn. One of the interpretations is that institutional investors have just started to recognize the importance of transparency in real estate equity investments during the recent crisis, which is fully consistent with the herd investments in securitized debt products, where opacity of the investments was so blissfully ignored.


Persistence of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum is a major problem to management and control malaria in endemic areas. The focus of this thesis was to study the dynamics of resistant P. falciparum parasites. The study was performed in two African countries: 1) Sudan: Asar village in eastern Sudan, here we examined the persistence of drug sensitive and resistant P. falciparum genotypes among individuals with single-clone and multiple clones infection during the dry season. We genotyped microsatellite loci in the vicinity of the dihydrofolate reductase gene (dhfr) and the dihydropteroate synthase gene (dhps). Microsatellite investigation showed that asymptomatic parasitemia persisted in some patients for several months throughout the dry season and into the next transmission season. In some samples mixed infections were detected, and we noted several cases where the microsatellite haplotype varied from month to month, suggesting turnover of different parasite populations in the blood. This demonstrates that even during asymptomatic infections there can be dynamics within the parasite population in an individual. In addition, we calculated the parasite density throughout the dry season to the next transmission season by using allele-specific quantitative PCR. Parasite density during the dry season fluctuated, but was generally lower than in the first transmission season. A significant difference (P 0.05). 2) Ethiopia: West Arsi zone, one of the malaria endemic zones of the Oromia region. In the first study we determined the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria carriages from November-December 2012. According to PCR the prevalence of sub-microscopic P. falciparum carriage was 19.2%, microscopy-based prevalence was 3.7% while the prevalence was 6.9% using RDT. Based on this, PCR was considered a better tool for measuring Plasmodium prevalence than microscopy and RDT. A second study addressed the genetic diversity of chloroquine resistance (CQR) in P. falciparum by analysing four microsatellite markers in and around the pfcrt gene. Although CQ was withdrawn for more than a decade, 100% of the parasites still carried the Pfcrt K76T mutation. Only the CVIET haplotype was identified. Based on combinations of MS markers, seven different Ethiopian CQR variants (E1-E7) were identified. Both intronic and MS flanking the pfcrt gene showed low levels of diversity.


The most important factors in evaluating use of a computer to write specifications are: the frequency with which a spec section is repeated; and the changes needed to go from master spec to project spec. If there are no special additions to the master spec (deletions are very inexpensive), a computer system may be the least costly way to produce the spec. Word processing equipment is slower than a line printer. But, if there are numerous additions to the master spec, it can produce the spec at a lower cost. Traditional typing is usually the most expensive approach up to the point where about half the material is unique. If an organization already has suitable terminals and is close to a computer, the cost of computer aided spec writing can be quite low. The greatest cost, though, is in the preparation of the master spec.


abstract:Recent studies have produced a variety of advances in the investigation of genetic similarities and differences among human populations. In this reprinted article, originally published in Human Biology in 2011 (vol. 83, no. 6, pp. 659–684), I pose a series of questions about human population-genetic similarities and differences, and I then answer these questions by numerical computation with a single shared population-genetic data set. The collection of answers obtained provides an introductory perspective for understanding key results on the features of worldwide human genetic variation. A new foreword discusses the original article in light of the research that has followed.


We seem, or so it seems to some theorists, to experience a rich stream of highly detailed information concerning an extensive part of our current visual surroundings. But this appearance, it has been suggested, is in some way illusory. Our brains do not command richly detailed internal models of the current scene. Our seeings, it seems, are not all that they seem. This, then, is the Grand Illusion. We think we see much more than we actually do. In this paper I shall (briefly) rehearse the empirical evidence for this rather startling claim, and then critically examine a variety of responses. One especially interesting response is a development of the so-called 'skill theory', according to which there is no illusion after all. Instead, so the theory goes, we establish the required visual contact with our world by an ongoing process of active exploration, in which the world acts as a kind of reliable, interrogable, external memory (Noe, Pessoa and Thompson (2000), Noe (2001). The most fully worked-out versions of this response ( Noe and O'Regan (2000), O'Regan and Noe 2001) tend, however, to tie the contents of conscious visual experience rather too tightly to quite low-level features of this ongoing sensorimotor engagement. This (I shall argue) undervalues the crucial links between perceptual experience, reason and intentional action, and opens the door to a problem that I will call 'sensorimotor chauvinism': the premature welding of experiential contents to very specific details of our embodiment and sensory apparatus. Drawing on the dual visual systems hypothesis of Milner and Goodale (1995), I sketch an alternative version of the skill theory, in which the relation between conscious visual experience and the low-level details of sensorimotor engagement is indirect and non-constitutive. The hope is thus to embrace the genuine insights of the skill theory response, while depicting conscious visual experience as most tightly geared to knowing and reasoning about our world.


»Diskurs-Innovationen: Der Fall der Indigenenbewegung in Ecuador«. Discursive development is fluid and continuous, making it hard to determine the concrete moment of discursive change or innovation. The disruptive moment of the introduction, disappearance or reformulation of a central political concept can allow a closer definition of this moment of change, its context and its direction. The analysis of political concepts within a given discourse can contribute to the definition of discursive actors, specific texts that introduce the concept in question and its trajectory within a social movement or the society as such. This is exemplified in the indigenous movement in Ecuador. This movement underwent a considerable discursive change in the 1970s and 1980s, a renovation that still forms the basis for its central position in national politics today. With this discursive shift, the movement began to understand the indigenous peoples as nationalities with state-like structures that would allow selfdetermination and give them a right to autonomy. This innovation led to a radical discursive shift with demands for a plurinational and – subsequently – intercultural reorganization of society and state. The new discourse and the political concepts introduced by the movement not only gave it a position to speak from, but also changed the discourse of society and state in Ecuador.


The French Law of evidence is at the crossroad between procedural law and civil law. As part of the procedural law, it is governed by general principles set out by the Code de procédure civile, such as the contradictory principle, the principle of public hearing or the free disposition principle, which means that the parties define the framework of the proceeding and that the judge cannot base his decision on facts that were not put forward by the parties themselves. It is also the Code de procédure civile that organises the respective roles of the judge and the parties for the taking of evidence: since 1976, it imposes a – rather complex – balance between adversarial and inquisitorial principles. Other general principles were set by case law, e.g. the principle that no one can pre-constitute evidence in his own favour or the principle of fair evidence. On the other hand, more substantive rules are to be found in the Code civil. These rules mix two systems, the system of the preuve morale, applicable in some specific litigation, and the system of the preuve légale, which is clearly dominant in civil litigation. In the first system, evidence is in principle free, which means not only that any mode of proof is admissible, but also that assessment of evidence by the judges is free. In the second one, only determined means of evidence are admissible and their probative force is often set out by law. A majority of evidence rules derive more or less directly from this summa divisio. In fact, the predominance of the preuve légale system has made the French system of evidence rather rigid, in particular regarding the exaggerated importance of written evidence.


Monospecific aggregates of 2–7 individuals of the Silurian acritarch Dilatisphaera laevigata Lister are described. Each generally consists of a central collection of vesicles surrounded by elongate, radiating processes. Acritarchs could aggregate by chance during sample processing, or they may have formed within a sporangia-like structure, although such structures are considered unlikely for D. laevigata. Analogies with modern algae suggest that the aggregates of D. laevigata could have formed by faecal pelletization in the surface waters, or by coagulation of individuals during phytoplankton blooms. In this latter instance the baculate/spinose vesicle ornament and digitate-like branching of the processes may have increased the chances of adhesion. It is also plausible that the aggregates may represent a morphological defence against predation or parasitic infection.


Aluminum alloy sheets are typically manufactured from cast slabs by multi-step rolling and annealing process. This process is very energy intensive, especially in the homogenization process after casting, which usually is conducted at 480 to 580 ℃ for up to 48 h. To reduce the processing steps and energy, a shear-based single-step deformation process, large strain extrusion machining (LSEM), was used to create strips from AA6013-T6 with and without preheating of the workpiece. Continuous strips were obtained from this alloy with low workability. Flow patterns through the thickness of the strips exhibited primary shear with grains inclined steeply to the faces of the strips, modified to varying degrees by secondary shear from friction with the tools at the surfaces. Through control of the deformation parameters (strain, strain rate and temperature), a wide range of microstructure could be achieved. In high-temperature LSEM, dynamic recrystallization occurs at lower temperatures than in commercial hot rolling processes. LSEM was performed directly on the as-cast AA6013 without homogenization. By appropriate combination of strain and strain rate, continuous strips were obtained in a single step without preheating directly from the as-cast workpiece. The highly deformed LSEM strip has enhanced workability. It can be cold rolled with at least 73% reduction in a single step without cracking. The strips were characterized by strong shear texture with partial {111} and fibers. After annealing, a mixed texture containing simple shear texture and other texture develops. The annealed strips are expected to have better formability than commercial ones made by rolling.In comparison, multi-step warm-rolling and cold rolling were performed on the as-cast AA6013. The as-cast material was preheated to 300 ℃ and rolled with 12% reduction per pass till the same effective strain as the LSEM. The warm-rolled strips were then cold-rolled with the same reductions as those on LSEM strips. The results showed that during warm rolling process, cracking occurs on the strips before reaching the same effective strain and the warm-rolled strips can only be further cold rolled with reduction less than 26% before cracking, compared with 73% reduction without cracking for LSEM strips.Based on the simple shear LSEM process, a novel way to produce aluminum strip/sheet material is introduced. The alloys are cast into disk-shape workpiece and then transferred to the LSEM line. In this line, continuous strips/sheets are obtained in a single step at room temperature. The materials are then coiled if needed and cold rolled to the final gauge. Finally, the strips/sheets are solution treated for further deformation processing. In this method, the conventional homogenization and hot rolling, including reversing and multi-stand hot rolling, are replaced by a single-step LSEM process at room temperature.


Experiments are held to investigate the effect of zinc oxide nano particles on the rheological properties of cement slurry. The main purpose of this study is to improve the rheological properties of cement slurry by nano zinc oxide. The objective of designing cement slurry for extreme and deep environment (HPHT wells) is to develop high performance cement system in well bore to achieve zonal isolation. The primary objective of cement slurry is to improve rheological properties and displacement efficiency of cement system.


Purpose of reviewTo present recent findings on the pathogenesis of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) myocarditis based on animal models, with a focus on the role of T helper (Th) immune responses in disease progression. Recent findingsAcute CVB3 myocarditis is known to be increased by Th1 immune responses, but recent findings indicate that Th1-type immunity protects against acute myocarditis by reducing viral replication and prevents the progression to chronic myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) by inhibiting Th2 responses. Th2 responses reduce acute myocarditis by inhibiting Th1 responses via regulatory T cells and anti-inflammatory cytokines, but can be deleterious when they induce acute cardiac remodeling leading to chronic myocarditis/DCM. Th2-skewed immune responses allow resistant strains of mice to progress from myocarditis to DCM. In contrast, Th17 responses are elevated during acute and chronic myocarditis and have been found to contribute to cardiac remodeling and DCM. SummaryRecent data indicate that elevated Th2 and Th17 responses during acute CVB3 myocarditis are critical for the progression from myocarditis to DCM and heart failure because of their ability to induce cardiac remodeling. Th1 responses protect against CVB3 myocarditis by inhibiting Th2 responses and viral replication, but increase acute inflammation.


Stock indexes are passive 'value-weighted' portfolios and should not have alphas which are significantly different from zero. If an index produces an insignificant alphan, then significant alphas for equity funds using this index can be attributed solely to manager performance. However, recent literature sugests that US Stock indexes can demonstrate significant alphas, which ultimately raise questions regarding equity fund manager performance in both the US and abroad. in this paper, we employ the Carhart four-factor model and newly available Asian-Pacific risk factors to generate alphas and risk factor loadings for eight Australian stock indexes from January 2004 to December 2012. We ifnd that the initial full sample period analysis does not provide indication of significant alphas in the indexes examined. However, by carrying out 36-month rolling regressions, we discover at least four significant alphas in seven of the eight indexes and factor loading variability. As previously reported in the US, this paper confirms similar issues with the four-factor model using Australian stock indexes and performance benchmarking. In effectively measuring Australian equity fund manager performance, it is therefore essential to evaluate a fund's alpha and risk factors relative to the alpha and risk factors of the appropriate benchmark index.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the utility and possible increased sensitivity of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images for the detection of tubers in patients with tuberous sclerosis, compared with standard T2-weighted images, and to evaluate whether the tubers are correlated with neurologic symptoms.

METHOD
We examined the number, size, and location of tubers in five tuberous sclerosis patients using T2-weighted and FLAIR images. Their intelligence quotients, ages at the onset of the first seizure, seizure types, and epileptic severity also were studied retrospectively.

RESULTS
The number of tubers observed ranged from 4 to 17 on T2-weighted images, and from 10 to 33 on FLAIR images. All the tubers, other than the myelination line on T2-weighted images, were remarkably demonstrated as high-intensity lesions on FLAIR images. No correlation was found between the neurologic outcome and the number, size, or location of tubers on FLAIR images.

CONCLUSION
FLAIR images were very sensitive for the detection of tubers, especially small subcortical ones, the number, size, and location of which are not related to the neurologic symptoms.


The implementation of photoinduced linkage isomerism in molecular-based optical materials represents a promising approach for the synthesis of high-contrast, high-resolution photosensitive materials that are necessary for high-density (holographic) data storage and/or real-three-dimensional (holographic) displays. The unsolved task of embedding a photofunctional coordination complex into a matrix like polymer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with photoinduced isomerism of a SO-bond in the sulfoxide compound [Ru(bpy)2OSO]PF6 is addressed. This approach allows to preserve the spectral properties within the solid dielectric environment, with an impact of PDMS on population and relaxation dynamics. All data are discussed in the framework of photofunctionality, storage, and display applications.


This paper is an intervention in the debate on Big Data or the digital. Recognising the importance of engaging with what has become known as Big Data, I seek to re-situate the Big Data issue in a different perspective and to disrupt the debate around it. The paper shows that the call to fully and inventively engage with the digital, or Big Data, is a strategic response which can be construed as a wager for the survival of academic sociology, and that underpinning such a wager there lies a rather coherent, but essentially unstated, vision which involves ontological and epistemological assumptions, and a whole stance. Once such assumptions are brought out through an ontological analysis, the paper is able to spell out the political stance within which the 'politics of method' advocated by many participants in the debate has to be situated, as well as to show how such politics overlooks the political economy of social data and displaces theory and critique. Even more importantly, the paper seeks to expound an alternative view. Thus, to the temporality of running after an endlessly changing time, it opposes the temporality of subjectivation. To the emphasis on method, it opposes a praxis, or a conduct of life – a praxis encompassing and appreciative of method and methodological inventiveness, but subordinating it to theory and more in particular to a Machiavellian social theory. Thus, to the risk of falling into resignation in view of the inevitability implied in the aforementioned ontology, the paper is also a call for a more combative social theory – one which is still able to feel disquiet in view of what is happening in our present times, but never abandons hope. Only such capacity for disquiet, for wonder and astonishment, it is argued, can provide the impulse for a renewal of social theory – the impulse which was at the origin of the discipline and has to be at the core of its renewal. The paper is thus an invitation to widen the Big Data debate and to seriously consider so far unexamined perspectives and possibilities.


The 'turn to the East' proclaimed by Russia in 2010 has failed to bring about a fundamental breakthrough in her relations with Asian countries, nor has it produced impulses for the economic modernization of Russia's Far Eastern territories. Although the energisation of Russian policy towards Asia which has taken place under this slogan has diversified Russian foreign policy somewhat, this diversification has two weak points: Firstly, it has occurred only in the political sphere. The share of Asian countries in Russia's foreign economic relations has not risen significantly in comparison with the share of European and North American countries. Secondly, the 'turn to the East' has turned out primarily to be a turn towards China. In all spheres – diplomatic, economic, energy and military – it is Beijing that has become the most important Asian partner for Moscow. The result is that the policy that aimed to limit the excessive – in the Kremlin's view – dependence of Russia on the West is likely to turn Russia into a 'junior partner' of the People's Republic of China.


In the past few years, micro-blogging platforms, such as twitter, are becoming most popular online social networks. Different opinions and news can be shared about various aspects and occasions using these micro-blogging platforms. Twitter is therefore considered as a rich source of data and it can be used for different text analysis and decision making tasks. The main focus of sentiment analysis is about text classification into positive/negative/neutral feelings based on the polarity of text. The opinions and thoughts on twitter feeds can be expressed in any language. Previous techniques have some limitations in the field of sentiment analysis such as low accuracy, sarcasm, and incorrect classification of tweets. The proposed research focuses on the existing difficulties and complications and presents a framework, for the sentiment detection of twitter feeds, which results in high accuracy and real time performance. There are various pre-processing steps that are applied on twitter feeds to refine them before feeding for sentiment classification. The pre-processing removes slangs and abbreviations with complete words. Three different classification techniques are then used; emoticon analysis, Bag of words and SentiWordNet. The experimental evaluation confirms that the proposed algorithm dynamically increases the precision, recall, f-measure and most importantly accuracy when compared with other similar techniques.


The purposes of the study reported herein were to identify the common mistakes in geometry made by junior secondary school students in Hong Kong, and to compare the students' performance in geometry with their results in a logic test. A geometry test and a logic test were developed and administered to a sample of 554 students aged between 13 and 14. The students in schools with a higher level of academic achievement were found to obtain higher scores in the geometry test. In addition, a strong correlation was found between students' achievement in geometry and their fundamental logical reasoning ability. The findings offer grounds for reflection on the geometry curriculum currently in place in junior secondary schools in Hong Kong.


Islamic inheritance system is usually explained within the conceptual and mechanistic framework of faraid, bequest and gift (hibah). In Islam, there is no limitation on the transfers of wealth during the lifetime, but the disposal of estates upon the death is strictly subject to faraid and bequest rules. The salient feature of faraid implies that inheritance is subject to pre-determined quantum of shares of the eligible heirs. Bequest, on the other hand, is limited up to one-third of the estates value and only allowed to be given to the non-heirs. Considering Islamic estate planning and Islamic inheritance system within the same framework renders a new dimension as part of the Islamic economics and finance that calls an urgent investigation. Making a wasiyyah (will) is the most crucial part of such a system. In referring to the conflict of laws in defining the meaning and contents of wasiyyah, this study, however, selected wasiyyah which carries the meaning of a will and, secondly, bequest as the main concepts to research in this debate.

The main aim of this research, thus, is to explore the perception of Malaysian Muslims towards wasiyyah and bequest from financial planning and economics points of view within the Islamic estate planning framework. Wasiyyah, hence, was analysed in terms of the Malaysian Muslims' awareness and practice. Bequest, was examined in terms of their attitudes to leaving a bequest based on the life-cycle, altruism and dynasty bequest models with integration of the Islamic theory of wealth. This research further aims at analysing the perception of the wasiyyah writing providers with the objective of locating their opinions on various related issues.

In responding to the research questions, primary data were collected through questionnaire with a sample of Malaysian Muslims to identify the demand side related issues, while semi-structured interview schedule used to assemble data from wasiyyah writing providers representing the supply side of the practice. In analysing the data, multiple analysis techniques were employed. In investigating the wasiyyah related issues, descriptive statistics, mean value and chi-square were used. Findings imply that the awareness level of wasiyyah was low reflecting their inadequate exposure of the wasiyyah ruling, professional means of wasiyyah writing and the importance of wasiyyah in estate planning. Thus, wasiyyah practice was a minority activity. Other findings reflect making a wasiyyah by means of traditional methods either handwritten by themselves or verbal wasiyyah were common practices, but, Malaysian people have gradually accepted the professional means of making a wasiyyah especially with ARB due to its credibility and its status as a government institution. Several factors were identified to be significant to the wasiyyah practice namely age, employment status, monthly income, amount of inheritance received previously, health status, having children, having adopted children, having grandchildren, knowledge, institutional factor and inheritance law. Other findings show that mass media were the main sources of their knowledge and to increase their awareness. The study also found that there was a conflict of interest in wasiyyah writing providers in terms of increasing awareness, educating people and profit maximization. They also differed in their perception on the ability of wasiyyah alone solving the estate problem comprehensively and showing their concerns over the manipulation of several estate planning instruments to avoid faraid.

Investigation on the attitudes to leaving a bequest using multinomial logit model implies that such attitudes were influenced by several factors namely age, ethnicity, education, having grandchildren, employment status, monthly income, total assets value, importance of bequest, religiosity and inheritance law. Bequest motives were also examined by cross checking the findings from the types of bequest, verbatim responses and results obtained from the multinomial logit. To sum up, life-cycle, altruism and dynasty model co-existed in their bequest making with some of them observed the Islamic theory of wealth. Other additional finding shows that people did not utilize the bequest allocation especially those who had non-Muslim family members.


Sophisticated institutional investors have a growing interest in factor investing, a disciplined approach to portfolio management that is broadly meant to allow investors to harvest risk premia across and within asset classes through liquid and cost-efficient systematic strategies without having to invest with active managers. Although it is now well accepted that the average long-term performance of active mutual fund managers can to a large extent be replicated through a static exposure to traditional long-only risk premia, an outstanding question remains with respect to the best possible approach for harvesting alternative long–short risk premia. The focus of this article is to empirically analyze (1) whether systematic rules-based strategies based on investable versions of traditional and alternative factors allow for satisfactory in-sample and out-of-sample replication of hedge fund performance, and more generally (2) whether suitably designed risk allocation strategies may provide a cost-efficient way for investors to get attractive exposure to alternative factors, regardless of whether they can be regarded as proxies for any particular hedge fund strategy. The main findings can be summarized as follows. On one hand, the authors find that replication models for hedge funds strategies generally achieve a relatively low out-of-sample explanatory power, regardless of the set of factors and the methodologies used. On the other hand, they find that heuristic allocation strategies, such as risk parity strategies, applied to alternative risk factors could be a better alternative to hedge fund replication for efficiently harvesting alternative risk premia.


Computer vision algorithms build on 2D images or 3D videos that capture dynamic events at the millisecond time scale. However, capturing and analyzing transient images at the picosecond scale—i.e., at one trillion frames per second—reveals unprecedented information about a scene and light transport within. This is not only crucial for time-of-flight range imaging, but it also helps further our understanding of light transport phenomena at a more fundamental level and potentially allows to revisit many assumptions made in different computer vision algorithms. In this work, we design and evaluate an imaging system that builds on single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensors to capture multi-path responses with picosecond-scale active illumination. We develop inverse methods that use modern approaches to deconvolve and denoise measurements in the presence of Poisson noise, and compute transient images at a higher quality than previously reported. The small form factor, fast acquisition rates, and relatively low cost of our system potentially makes transient imaging more practical for a range of applications.


Species interactions, ranging from antagonisms to mutualisms, form the architecture of biodiversity and determine ecosystem functioning. Understanding the rules responsible for who interacts with whom, as well as the functional consequences of these interspecific interactions, is central to predicting community dynamics and stability. Species traits sensu lato may affect different ecological processes determining species interactions through a two-step process. First, ecological and life-history traits govern species distributions and abundance, and hence determine species co-occurrence, which is a prerequisite for them to interact. Second, morphological traits between co-occurring potential interaction partners should match for the realization of an interaction. Moreover, inferring functioning from a network of interactions may require the incorporation of interaction efficiency. This efficiency may be also trait-mediated, and can depend on the extent of matching, or on morphological, physiological or behavioural traits. It has been shown that both neutral and trait-based models can predict the general structure of networks, but they rarely accurately predict individual interactions, suggesting that these models may be predicting the right structure for the wrong reason. We propose to move away from testing null models with a framework that explicitly models the probability of interaction among individuals given their traits. The proposed models integrate both neutral and trait-matching constraints while using only information about known interactions, thereby overcoming problems originating from under-sampling of rare interactions (i.e. missing links). They can easily accommodate qualitative or quantitative data, and can incorporate trait variation within species, such as values that vary along developmental stages or environmental gradients. We use three case studies to show that they can detect strong trait matching (e.g. predator-prey system), relaxed trait matching (e.g. herbivore-plant system) and barrier trait matching (e.g. plant-pollinator systems). Only by elucidating which species traits are important in each process, i.e. in determining interaction establishment, frequency, and efficiency, can we advance in explaining how species interact and the consequences for ecosystem functioning.


Preface. Acknowledgments. IPA Transcription Key. 1. What is a word?. 1.1 Explaining word in words. 1.2 Language is a secret decoder ring. 1.3 Wordhood: the whole kit and caboodle. 1.4 Two kinds of words. 1.5 The anatomy of a listeme. 1.6 What don't you have to learn when you're learning a word?. 1.7 A scientific approach to language. 2. Sound and fury: English phonology. 2.1 English spelling and English pronunciation. 2.2 The voice box. 2.3 The building blocks of words I: Consonants in the IPA. 2.4 Building blocks II: Vowels and the IPA. 2.5 Families of sounds and Grimm's law: a case in point. 3. Phonological words: Calling all Scrabble players!. 3.1 Guessing at words: The Scrabble problem. 3.2 Building Blocks III: The Syllable. 3.3 Phonotactic restrictions on English syllables. 3.4 From a stream of sound into words: Speech perception. 3.5 Syllables, rhythm, and stress. 3.6 Using stress to parse the speech stream into words. 3.7 Misparsing the speech stream, mondegreens and allophones. 3.8 Allophony. 3.9 What we know about phonological words. 4. Where do words come from?. 4.1 Getting new listemes. 4.2 When do we have a new word?. 4.3 New words by 'mistake': back-formations and folk etymologies. 4.4 New words by economizing: clippings. 4.5 Extreme economizing: acronyms and abbreviations. 4.6 Building new words by putting listemes together: affixation and compounding. 4.7 Compounding clips and mixing it up: Blends. 4.8 New listemes via meaning change. 4.9 But are these words really new?. 5. Pre- and suf-fix-es: Engl-ish Morph-o-log-y. 5.1 Listemes. 5.2 Making up words. 5.3 Affixal syntax: Who's my neighbor?, Part I. 5.4 Affixal phonology: Who's my neighbor? Part II. 5.5 Allomorphy. 5.6 Closed-class and open-class morphemes: Reprise. 6. Morphological idiosyncrasies. 6.1 Different listemes, same meaning! Irregular suffixes. 6.2 Root irregulars. 6.3 Linguistic paleontology: fossils of older forms. 6.4 Why some but not others?. 6.5 How do kids figure it out?. 6.6 Representing complex suffixal restrictions. 6.7 Keeping Irregulars: Semantic clues to morphological classes. 6.8 Irregulars III: Suppletion. 6.9 Keeping Irregulars: Producing words on the fly. 6.10 Productivity, blocking and Bushisms. 7. Lexical semantics: The structure of meaning, the meaning of structure. 7.1 Function meaning vs. Content meaning. 7.2 Entailment. 7.3 Function words and their meanings. 7.4 Content words and their meanings. 7.5 Relationships and Argument Structure: Meaning and grammar. 7.6 Argument Structure. 7.7 Derivational morphology and argument structure. 7.8 Subtleties of argument structure. 7.9 Function vs. content meanings: the showdown. 7.10 How do we learn all that?. 8. Children learning words. 8.1 How do children learn the meanings of words?. 8.2 Learning words for middle-sized observables. 8.3 When the basics fail. 8.4 Morphological and syntactic clues. 8.5 Learning words for non-observables. 8.6 Syntactic frames, theta roles and event structure. 8.7 Agent-Patient Protoroles. 8.8 Functional listemes interacting with content listemes. 8.9 Simple co-occurrence? Or actual composition?. 8.10 Yes, but where do the words come from in the first place?. 9. Accidents of history: English in flux. 9.1 Linguistic change, and lots of it. 9.2 Layers of vocabulary and accidents of history. 9.3 A brief history of England, as relevant to the English vocabulary. 9.4 55 B.C. to 600 A.D. : How the English came to England. 9.5 600-900 A.D. The English and the Vikings. 9.6 1066-1200: Norman Rule. 9.7 1200-1450: Anglicization of the Normans. 9.8 1450-1600 The English Renaissance. 9.9 1600 -1750: Restoration, Expansion. 9.10 1750-modern day. 9.11 The rise of prescriptivism: How to really speak good. 9.12 English orthography: The Roman alphabet, the quill pen, the printing press and the Great Vowel Shift. 9.13 Summary. List of Works Consulted. Glossary. Words Consulted. Index.


For over three decades (1979 to 2015), China has comprehensively implemented the "one-child" policy, consequently the number of "one-child" families has increased. Due to being spoiled by their parents and the lack of companionship from siblings, the "one-child" policy has exerted adverse effects on the mental health development of only children. Using the survey data of the Rural–Urban Migration in China from 2008 to 2009, self-esteem, mental stress, and depression were employed in the study as indicators to measure mental health. An empirical analysis was conducted to determine the influence of the "one-child" policy on the mental health of the first generation of only children. Results demonstrate that compared with non-only children, only children born under the "one-child" policy are inclined to avoid difficulties and problems. In addition, they have low confidence, suffer from mental stress, exhibit a high depression trend, and have low happiness and sense of security. However, after further controlling the quantity of children in each family, we find that under conditions with limited resources, the case that larger families are better than one-child families is not true. As the number of sibling increases, the mental health indicators of children initially increase and then decline. This trend shows that having only one child or too many children in the family can both adversely affect the improvement of population quality. The results obtained in the study are beneficial for promoting the mental quality of the population, improving the quality of life, significantly optimizing the family structure.


This working paper aims to present the progress in the construction of a survey instrument for validating the results of a simulation model for organizational knowledge creation. Azevedo et al. (2010) developed a computer simulation model based on the contributions of March (1991), and incorporating aspects of Nonaka & Takeuchi's (1997) SECI model to measure the knowledge generated in an organization. The model uses seven parameters to analyze knowledge generation: (i) the speed of socialization of the individual with the code of the organization; (ii) the effectiveness of the organization to learn; (iii) the turnover; (iv) the existence of market turbulence; (v) the adhesion of an individual to the code of the organization before he is hired; (vi) the influence of the market; and (vii) the influence of one individual to another. Based on the model, a survey instrument is being developed in order to evaluate the parameters in an organization and to compare the results of scenarios generated by the simulation with data from organizations. At this stage of the research, the discussion focuses on the different constructs that compose a parameter and the sets of statements that can express those constructs.


Fragmentation of stages of the production process is determined by international cost differences and by the benefits of co-location of related stages. The interaction between these forces depends on the technological relationships between these stages. This paper looks at both cost minimising and equilibrium fragmentation under different technological configurations. Reductions in trade costs beyond a threshold can result in discontinuous changes in location, with relocation of a wide range of production stages. There can be overshooting (off-shoring that is reversed as costs fall further) and equilibrium may involve less off-shoring than is efficient.


The coupled differential recurrence equations for the corrections to the paraxial approximation solutions in transversely nonuniform refractive-index media are established in terms of the perturbation method. All the corrections (including the longitudinal field corrections) to the paraxial approximation solutions are presented in the weak-guidance approximation. As a concrete application, the first-order longitudinal field correction and the second-order transverse field correction to the paraxial approximation of a Gaussian beam propagating in a transversely quadratic refractive index medium are analytically investigated.


Barents Sea capelin (Mallotus villosus) year class strength is thought to be determined during the first months after egg hatching. The now widely accepted Hamre's hypothesis states that young herring (Clupea harengus) present in the southern Barents Sea potentially may cause poor capelin recruitment. This hypothesis was presently tested through model scenarios, by simulating a realistic spatio-temporal overlap between young herring and capelin larvae in the Barents Sea during the 2001 2003 summer seasons. Herring totally consumed 10.6 % (2001), 0.06 % (2002) and 25.2 % (2003) of the capelin larvae populations, and up to 2.36 % of the capelin larvae populations were consumed day. Hamre's hypothesis is therefore supported. Considering the high capelin larvae abundance in June 2002 and the low herring abundance in the Barents Sea that summer, the capelin 2002 year class became unexpectedly weak. Capelin recruitment is thus probably threatened by other factors than predatory herring as well. Nevertheless, it is presently suggested that predation from herring on capelin larvae strongly contributed to the poor capelin recruitment and abundances in the years 2003 – 2006. The choice of capelin spawning ground location is highly variable and is presently suggested to be important regarding the capelin recruitment successfulness. Western spawning grounds may lead to prolonged capelin larvae drift periods along the northern coasts of Norway and Russia, where the predatory herring often are abundant. Yet the capelin larvae originating from western spawning areas often become widely dispersed, while the capelin larvae spawned at eastern spawning grounds experience a rapid drift into the eastern Barents Sea. The present study shows that capelin larvae spawned at western locations might be advected northwards, ultimately ending up in the central or north-western Barents Sea. Survey programs and model studies are characterized by uncertainties and weaknesses. The present study will shed light on such problems and suggest possible enhancements.


ABSTRACT No development in international politics is attracting as much attention as the emergence of China as a great power. But many questions and uncertainties attend China's rise. What are the long-term goals of Chinese power? Does Beijing view the international system as fundamentally beneficial to its goals or as an impediment to them? Will China emerge as a more open, prosperous, just and sustainable society or less so? As China's paramount leader Xi Jinping is the single-most powerful individual shaping his country's answers to those questions. It is therefore important to illuminate and understand the forces which are likely to affect his thinking and his responses to them. With that in mind, this essay will delve into Xi's background, his stated vision for China's future and the challenges which confront that vision. From there, the essay concludes with an assessment of how these factors are likely to play out in Chinese domestic and foreign policy in the years ahead.


This paper shows that, in the absence of a complete set of risk markets, prices provide incorrect signals for guiding production decisions. Even if all individuals have rational expectations concerning the distribution of prices which will prevail on the market next period, the market allocation is, in general, not a constrained Pareto optimum. Essentially the only conditions under which, for all technologies, the market equilibrium is a constrained Pareto optimum are those in which risk markets are redundant. We derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for redundancy of risk markets, which turn out to be extremely restrictive.


The break on immune tolerance is a common point between autoimmune diseases and the uncontrolled effector immune responses against allo-antigens in transplantation. Among the past years, several approaches to restore a suppressive immune state have included the targeting of co-stimulatory/inhibitory molecules on immune cells, the promotion or blockade of pivotal cytokines, and the extensive study on how to isolate and expand suppressive cells with the purpose to re-infuse them in patients. To date, the availability of new technologies has permitted to learn, in a more detailed way, the immune mechanisms carried out by suppressive lymphocytes, together with the identification of new potential candidates to target in our quest for immune tolerance. For example, the attractive concepts of lymphocyte plasticity and function stability, supported by the finding of new transcription factors, have opened a new window in the understanding of T cell differentiation, effector cell commitment and immune regulatory function. On the other hand, the discovery of new members of the Ig superfamily ligand, VISTA; the intriguing role of modulatory molecules like Retinoic Acid, Neuropilin-1, Fc gamma receptors, or cytokines such as IL-33, among others, are revealing new possibilities in the development of new strategies to conquer our obsession: immune tolerance. Here, we gather the latest information regarding new targets and cellular processes, including an update on current cellular therapies and the exciting coming approaches to cure autoimmunity and permit transplant acceptance.


A preterm baby boy was born in good condition at 31+5 weeks gestation with a birth weight of 1956 g, following a precipitous labour with no prolonged rupture of membranes and no opportunity for administration of antenatal steroids to mother. Following admission to the neonatal unit, he developed respiratory distress and was commenced on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) of 6 cm of water. At 24 hours of age, he developed a left-sided tension pneumothorax (figure 1), requiring endotracheal intubation and insertion of a chest drain. He received two doses of surfactant and was extubated onto CPAP on day 3. There was reaccumulation of the pneumothorax on day 4, which was subsequently drained. He remained self-ventilating in air in the second week of life. From day 15 to day 30, he required humidified high flow nasal cannula oxygen (fractional inspired oxygen up to 0.4), in view of marked subcostal and intercostal recession, intolerance to handling and a compensated respiratory acidosis on capillary blood gases. Figure 2 is the chest radiograph undertaken in the third week of life. Figure 1 Chest radiograph (supine anteroposterior) on day 1. Figure 2 Chest radiograph (supine anteroposterior) in week 3. Questions What is the most likely diagnosis in this case? Congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) Respiratory distress syndrome Pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE) Pneumatocoele Congenital diaphragmatic hernia Which of the following is not an effective option for treatment of this condition? Corticosteroid therapy Lateral decubitus with affected side down High frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) Selective main bronchial intubation of contralateral lung (which is not affected) Chest physiotherapy Which of the following statements is false about this condition? Complications can include other air leak syndromes Most neonates presenting with this condition have been mechanically ventilated Diagnosis is usually made on a chest radiograph Surfactant therapy has been associated with an increase in this condition Air embolism can be a fatal complication Answers can be found on page 2


This thesis investigates the use of satellite altimetry techniques for measuring surface elevation changes of ice caps. Two satellite altimeters, Radar Altimeter 2 (RA-2) and Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) are used to assess the surface elevation changes of three Arctic ice caps. This is the first time the RA-2 has been used to assess the elevation changes of ice caps targets much smaller than the ice sheets which are the instrument's primary land ice targets. Algorithms for the retrieval of elevation change rates over ice caps using data acquired by RA-2 and GLAS are presented. These algorithms form a part of a European Space Agency (ESA) glacier monitoring system GlobGlacier. A comparison of GLAS elevation data to those acquired by the RA-2 shows agreement between the two instruments. Surface elevation change rate estimates based on RA-2 are given for three ice caps: Devon Ice Cap in Arctic Canada (−0.09± 0.29 m/a), Flade Isblink in Greenland (0.03± 0.03 m/a) and Austfonna on Svalbard (0.33 ± 0.08 m/a). Based on RA-2 and GLAS measurements it is shown that the areas of Flade Isblink below the late summer snow line have been thinning whereas the areas above the late summer snow line have been thickening. Also GLAS observed dynamic thickening rates of more than 3 m/a are presented. On Flade Isblink and Austfonna RA-2 measurements are compared to surface mass balance (SMB) estimates from a regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2. The comparison shows that SMB is the driver of interannual surface elevation changes at Austfonna. In contrast the comparison reveals areas on Flade Isblink where ice dynamics have an important effect on the surface elevation. Furthermore, RACMO2 estimates of surface mass budget at Austfonna before the satellite altimeter era are presented. This thesis shows that both traditional radar and laser satellite altimetry can be used to quantify the response of ice caps to the changing climate. Direct altimeter measurements of surface elevation and, in consequence volume change of ice caps, can be used to improve their mass budget estimates. This work has been undertaken as part of the ESA GlobGlacier project (21088/07/I-EC) http://globglacier.ch/


We propose a new randomized coordinate descent method for a convex optimization template with broad applications. Our analysis relies on a novel combination of four ideas applied to the primal-dual gap function: smoothing, acceleration, homotopy, and coordinate descent with non-uniform sampling. As a result, our method features the first convergence rate guarantees among the coordinate descent methods, that are the best-known under a variety of common structure assumptions on the template. We provide numerical evidence to support the theoretical results with a comparison to state-of-the-art algorithms.


Rolling bearings are an important part of most machines with rotating parts. Therefore, their technical diagnostics is an essential condition for ensuring the safe operation of the machine. This article focuses on the assessment of the condition of bearings using one of the methods of technical diagnostics vibration diagnostics. In our case it is determination of the value of diagnostic variables of rolling bearings with a subsequent prediction of their condition based on the evaluation of time series analysis. Theoretical knowledge and practices are verified based on measurement data obtained from single-row ball bearings of type 3208A in the manufacturer test room.


The relationships between shelterbelt (tree windbreak)-induced microclimate and muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) growth and development were investigated at the Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Nebr., during the 1992 and 1993 growing seasons. Wind speed, wind direction, air and soil temperatures, relative humidity, and soil moisture were monitored in both sheltered and nonsheltered areas. Plant growth parameters (plant height, vine length, plant dry weight, and leaf area) were measured at various stages of development. Shelterbelts provided improved growing conditions for muskmelon transplants. Direct wind damage and duration of higher wind speeds were reduced 47% to 56% in sheltered areas. Air temperatures in sheltered areas were slightly higher during daytime and slightly lower at night, and significantly so early in the growing season. Relative humidity was increased significantly in sheltered areas in 1992 and, while higher in 1993, the difference was nonsignificant. Soil moisture content was not affected significantly by wind protection. Sheltered plants exhibited earlier development and faster growth. The first female flower appeared 2 days earlier in sheltered areas in both years. The first fruit set, as indicated by fruit swelling and retention on the vine, occurred 6 days earlier and matured 5 and 6 days earlier in sheltered areas in 1992 and 1993, respectively. Leaf areas and dry-matter accumulation of sheltered plants were greater than those of exposed plants. The shoot relative growth rate of sheltered plants increased earlier in the growing season, but decreased slightly later in the growing season. The earlier development and faster growth of sheltered plants were related mainly to the reduction of wind speed, higher total accumulated air temperatures during the daylight hours (sum of daily average daytime air temperatures based on hourly averages), and higher soil temperature in sheltered areas. Total yields were not affected significantly in either year; however, early yields were significantly greater in sheltered areas in 1993. If earlier maturity and increased yield are possible in large sheltered fields, this practice would provide an economic benefit to producers.


A novel bat alphaherpesvirus, Pteropus lylei-associated alphaherpesvirus (PLAHV), was isolated from urine of the fruit bat Pteropus lylei in Vietnam. The whole-genome sequence was determined and was predicted to include 72 open reading frames in the 144,008-bp genome. PLAHV is circulating in a species of fruit bats, Pteropus lylei, in Asia. This study expands the knowledge on bat-associated alphaherpesvirology. ABSTRACT Herpesviruses exist in nature within each host animal. Ten herpesviruses have been isolated from bats and their biological properties reported. A novel bat alphaherpesvirus, which we propose to name "Pteropus lylei-associated alphaherpesvirus (PLAHV)," was isolated from urine of the fruit bat Pteropus lylei in Vietnam and characterized. The entire genome sequence was determined to be 144,008 bp in length and predicted to include 72 genes. PLAHV was assigned to genus Simplexvirus with other bat alphaherpesviruses isolated from pteropodid bats in Southeast Asia and Africa. The replication capacity of PLAHV in several cells was evaluated in comparison with that of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1). PLAHV replicated better in the bat-originated cell line and less in human embryonic lung fibroblasts than HSV-1 did. PLAHV was serologically related to another bat alphaherpesvirus, Pteropodid alphaherpesvirus 1 (PtAHV1), isolated from a Pteropus hypomelanus-related bat captured in Indonesia, but not with HSV-1. PLAHV caused lethal infection in mice. PLAHV was as susceptible to acyclovir as HSV-1 was. Characterization of this new member of bat alphaherpesviruses, PLAHV, expands the knowledge on bat-associated alphaherpesvirology. IMPORTANCE A novel bat alphaherpesvirus, Pteropus lylei-associated alphaherpesvirus (PLAHV), was isolated from urine of the fruit bat Pteropus lylei in Vietnam. The whole-genome sequence was determined and was predicted to include 72 open reading frames in the 144,008-bp genome. PLAHV is circulating in a species of fruit bats, Pteropus lylei, in Asia. This study expands the knowledge on bat-associated alphaherpesvirology.


Abstract Objective: Acid suppression with histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is recommended for children with persistent gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms. In this retrospective, observational postauthorization study, we aimed to assess and compare safety outcomes in pediatric first-time users of esomeprazole, other PPIs or H2RAs. Methods: Data on children (aged 0–18 years) first dispensed esomeprazole, other PPIs or H2RAs between September 2008 and August 2011 was obtained from the Dutch PHARMO Database Network. Hospitalizations for seven predefined safety outcomes were evaluated (maximum follow-up: 18 months). Rate ratios were calculated using Poisson regression adjusted for baseline imbalances. Discharge letters were reviewed for event occurrence confirmation. Results: Of 23,470 included children, 2820 (median age: 3 years) were prescribed esomeprazole, 13,818 (median age: 15 years) other PPIs and 6832 (median age: 5 years) H2RAs. In total, 504 (2%) children were hospitalized for 762 predefined events: gastroenteritis (246); convulsion/seizure (200); pneumonia (154); failure to thrive (119); acute interstitial nephritis (19); thrombocytopenia (23); and angioneurotic edema (1). Significant differences between cohorts were observed only for failure to thrive, with adjusted rate ratios (95% confidence interval) for esomeprazole of 6.1 (2.4–15.7) vs. other PPIs and 6.1 (2.9–12.8) vs. H2RAs among current users. Occurrence was confirmed for 74% of assessable events. Confirmation rates were highest for pneumonia (81%) and lowest for failure to thrive (40%). Conclusions: Hospitalization rates for predefined outcomes were low and mostly similar in pediatric first-time users of PPIs and of H2RAs. Trial registration: NCT01338363.


Report presents the results of an investigation conducted to determine some of the effects of airfoil section and washout on the experimental and calculated characteristics of 10-percent-thick wings. Three wings of aspect ratio 9 and ratio of root chord to tip chord 2.5 were tested. One wing had NACA 64-210 sections and 2 degree washout, the second had NACA 65-210 sections and 2 degree washout, and the third had NACA 65-210 sections and 0 degree washout. It was found that the experimental characteristics of the wings could be satisfactorily predicted from calculations based upon two-dimensional data when the airfoil contours of the wings conformed to the true airfoil sections with the same high degree of accuracy as the two-dimensional models.


The area investigated includes the type section of the Humber Arm series along Humber Arm, as well as an area east of Blow Me Down Brook on the south shore of the Bay of Islands, the south shore of Middle Arm, and Woods and Eagle Islands. Five newly named formations can be recognized in the sedimentary part of the sequence. Graptolites found in the third youngest formation indicate a Tremadocian age and the series as a whole probably ranges in age from Middle Ordovician to Lower Cambrian. The youngest rocks are volcanic flows and associated basic and ultrabasic intrusions, which form the Bay of Islands Igneous Complex. They were not investigated. The Humber Arm series has been much deformed. The main folded structure is the Humber Arm synclinorium. Associated with this fold are dislocations ranging in magnitude from major reverse faults or thrusts, to strain-slip cleavage. High angle faults cut these structures. The stratigraphy is locally disrupted by zones of chaotic deformation which also mark the junction between the Humber Arm series and the main carbonate sequence to the east of the area. This sequence is a contemporaneous facies of the Humber Arm series but underlies it. The best explanation of the geological setting of the Humber Arm series is that it is allochthonous, being emplaced as a klippe during Taconic times, thus accounting for the superposition of older Humber Arm rocks on the youngest rocks of the main carbonate sequence, the facies contrast between the Ordovician parts of the two sections, and the geology of the Rattler Block. This block is interpreted as an anticlinal window through which a lower tectonic slice of the Humber Arm series is seen. The chaotic zones are interpreted as rubble zones produced during the gravitational gliding of the klippe. Three structural units within the klippe are recognized; a lower slice seen through the Rattler window, the main Humber Arm slice and a slice containing the Bay of Islands Igneous Complex with some associated sediment. Differential movements within the klippe are thought to have produced these units.


This provocative book, which accompanies an exhibition of the same name, explores the forces that bifurcate our society along gender lines. In its quest for balance-or, at minimum, an understanding of where cultural imbalances exist- Finding Balance draws upon literary discourse and the works of eleven internationally acclaimed artists: Jim Baker, Robert Brinker, Monica Chau, Linda Girvin, Jody Guralnick, Pamela Joseph, Charmaine Locke, Brad Miller, Brian Reid, Barbara Sorensen, and James Surls. The twenty-six featured works range from traditional ceramics to lenticular photography. The critical essays by James Surls, Charmaine Locke, and noted author and scholar Leonard Shlain evoke a series of questions: Has the gender imbalance of our era been resolved? What are the implications of a patriarchal society on contemporary culture? What role does the artist play in advancing discourse and reconciliation? Curator Surls has selected artists whose works are evocative in their diversity of scale, medium, and motivation. Collectively they expand the boundaries of the conscious and unconscious, equalizing the balance of opposite forces.


Here we present, for the first time, an extension of spatially offset Raman spectroscopy to thin (tens of micrometers thick), highly turbid stratified media such as those encountered in paintings. The method permits the non-destructive interrogation of painted layers in situations where conventional Raman microscopy is not applicable due to high turbidity of the top layer(s). The concept is demonstrated by recovering the pure Raman spectra of paint sub-layers that are completely obscured by paint over-layers. Potential application areas include the analysis of paintings in art preservation and restoration avoiding the cross-sectional analysis used currently with this type of samples. The technique also holds promise for the development as a non-destructive subsurface tool for in situ analysis using portable instruments.


Residue cover influences temperature and water gradients in the soil profile. Changes in the physical environment of the soil influence NH₃ volatilization from urea-containing fertilizers. Field and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of residue-cover-induced changes in soil water and temperature on NH₃ volatilization as impacted by urea treatment with a nitrification and urease inhibitor. Fertilizer treatments were urea, urea plus dicyandiamide (DCD), urea plus N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), and urea plus NBPT and DCD. Following fertilizer application, the soil was either left bare or covered with corn (Zea mays L.) residue. Every 3 h over a 4-d period, water potential, soil temperature, CO₂ production, and NH₃ volatilization were measured. The influence of fertilizer treatments on soil pH was determined in a laboratory incubation experiment conducted over 8 d under controlled environmental conditions. Treatments were similar to the field experiment, with NH₃ volatilization, pH, and CO₂ production measured daily. The NH₃-volatilization rate in the field was highest 2 d after urea application at a time that corresponded with daily maximum soil temperature and decreasing soil water content. Residue cover reduced NH₃ volatilization. Volatilization of NH₃ as a result of urea application was not increased when urea was treated with DCD. Ammonia volatilization as a result of urea treatment with NBPT was reduced by 100 times over untreated urea. During an incubation experiment, soil pH increased from 6.5 to 7.2 in the urea-NBPT, and from 6.5 to 9.0 in the urea and urea-DCD treatments. Associated with the pH increase in the urea-NBPT treatment was a reduction in CO₂ production when compared with the untreated soil.


Recent concerns about a shortage of capacity for statistical and numerical
analysis skills among social science students and researchers have prompted a range
of initiatives aiming to improve teaching in this area. However, these projects have
rarely re-evaluated the content of what is taught to students and have instead
focussed primarily on delivery. The emphasis has generally been on increased use of
complex techniques, specialist software and, most importantly in the context of this
paper, a continued focus on inferential statistical tests, often at the expense of other
types of analysis. We argue that this 'business as usual' approach to the content of
statistics teaching is problematic for several reasons. First, the assumptions
underlying inferential statistical tests are rarely met, meaning that students are being
taught analyses that should only be used very rarely. Secondly, all of the most
common outputs of inferential statistical tests – p-values, standard errors and
confidence intervals – suffer from a similar logical problem that renders them at best
useless and at worst misleading. Eliminating inferential statistical tests from statistics
teaching (and practice) would avoid the creation of another generation of
researchers who either do not understand, or knowingly misuse, these techniques. It
would also have the benefit of removing one of the key barriers to students'
understanding of statistical analysis.


It is known that some local anesthetics inhibit the growth of budding yeast cells. To investigate the pathway of local anesthetics' action, we isolated and characterized mutants that were hyper-sensitive to tetracaine, and at the same time, temperature-sensitive for growth. They were collectively called las (local anesthetic sensitive) mutants. One of the LAS genes, LAS24, was found to be identical to KOG1, which had been independently discovered as a member of the TOR complex 1 (TORC1). Las24p/Kog1p is a widely conserved TOR binding protein containing the NRC domain, HEAT repeats and WD-40 repeats, but its function remains unknown. Like the tor mutants, the las24 mutants were found to have a defect in cell wall integrity and to show sensitivity to rapamycin. Furthermore, Las24p is required not only in TORC1-mediated (rapamycin-sensitive) pathways such as translation initiation control and phosphorylation of Npr1p and Gln3p, but also for the normal distribution of the actin cytoskeleton, which has been regarded as a TORC2-mediated event. Intriguingly, the temperature-sensitivity of the las24 mutant was suppressed by either activation of Tap42/PPase or by down-regulation of the RAS/cAMP pathway. Suppressors of the temperature-sensitivity of the las24-1 mutant were found not to be effective for suppression of the tetracaine-sensitivity of the same mutant. These observations along with the facts that tetracaine and high temperature differentially affected the las24-1 mutant suggest that Las24p/Kog1p is not a target of tetracaine and that the tetracaine-sensitive step may be one of downstream branches of the TORC1 pathway. Consistent with the broad cellular functions exerted by the TOR pathway, we found that Las24p was associated with membranes and was localized at vacuoles, the plasma membrane and small vesicles.


During the twentieth century, German government and industry created a highly skilled workforce as part of an ambitious program to control and develop the country's human resources. Yet, these long-standing efforts to match as many workers as possible to skilled vocations and to establish a system of job training have received little scholarly attention, until now. The author's account of the broad support for this program challenges the standard historical accounts that focus on disagreements over the German political-economic order and points instead to an important area of consensus. These advances are explained in terms of political policies of corporatist compromise and national security as well as industry's evolving production strategies. By tracing the development of these policies over the course of a century, the author also suggests important continuities in Germany's domestic politics, even across such different regimes as Imperial, Weimar, Nazi, and post-1945 West Germany.


Thermoelectricity is a key technology with the potential to improve the efficiency of energy conversion processes, which may strongly benefit from advances in the field of nanotechnology. Nanostructured materials are very appealing for thermoelectric applications, but the full development of their potential requires precise control of their properties at the nanoscale. Bottom-up assembly of nanoparticles provides access to a three-dimensional composition control at the nanoscale not attainable in any other technology. In particular, colloidal nanoheterostructures are especially interesting building blocks for the bottom-up production of functional nanomaterials. In the present work, we use PbTe@PbS core-shell nanoparticles as building blocks for the bottom-up production of PbTe-PbS nanocomposites. We used a ligand exchange strategy and a hot press process to promote the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite and to increase its density. These two approaches allowed us to improve the performance of b...


OBJECTIVE
Diacerein has proved to be effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the precise action mechanism of diacerein on OA is not yet fully understood. Therefore, we investigated the effects of rhein, an active metabolite of diacerein, on the production of promatrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) in rabbit articular chondrocytes.

DESIGN
Confluent rabbit chondrocytes were treated for 24 or 48 h with rhein, naproxen or dexamethasone in the presence of recombinant human IL-1alpha (rhIL-1alpha). ProMMP-9/progelatinase B in the culture medium was monitored by gelatin zymography, and proMMP-1/procollagenase 1, proMMP-3/prostromelysin 1, proMMP-13/procollagenase 3 and TIMP-1 were analysed by Western blot analysis. The steady-state levels of proMMP mRNAs were examined by Northern blot analysis. Total MMPs activity was also determined using FITC-labeled casein.

RESULTS
Rhein suppressed the rhIL-1alpha-induced production of proMMPs-1, -3, -9 and -13 in a dose-dependent manner (0.1-30 microM). The suppressed production of proMMPs-1 and -3 was accompanied by a decrease in the steady-state levels of their mRNAs. Interestingly, rhein increased the production of TIMP-1. These observations were further supported by the fact that rhein decreased the apparent total activity of MMPs in the culture medium.

CONCLUSION
We have demonstrated that rhein, an active metabolite of diacerein down-regulates the gene-expression and production of proMMPs and up-regulates the TIMP-1 production. The therapeutic effects of diacerein on OA may be due, at least in part, to the chondroprotective effect of rhein, its active metabolite.


The hardware Trojan threat has motivated development of Trojan detection schemes at all stages of the integrated circuit (IC) lifecycle. While the majority of existing schemes focus on ICs at test-time, there are many unique advantages offered by post-deployment/run-time Trojan detection. However, run-time approaches have been underutilized with prior work highlighting the challenges of implementing them with limited hardware resources. In this paper, we propose innovative low-overhead approaches for run-time Trojan detection which exploit the thermal sensors already available in many modern systems to detect deviations in power/thermal profiles caused by Trojan activation. Simulation results using state-of-the-art tools on publicly available Trojan benchmarks verify that our approaches can detect active Trojans quickly and with few false positives.


"Dickensian" has become a buzzword in recent TV criticism not only because the term connotes a large character ensemble, but also because it connotes a diffuse ensemble. In TV series such as The Sopranos, The Wire, and Breaking Bad, many characters live and work so far apart from each other—whether in different neighborhoods of a city or different regions of the globe—that they fail to recognize how their actions affect each other. Through its wide spatial scope, this type of macroscopic "stranger narrative" explores a type of ethical confusion that is a byproduct of globalization. Namely, these narratives reveal to readers or viewers how they might be connected to and responsible for people they don't even know.


Acid Red206 (C40H20CaN4O8S2) is a textile dye with global usage which is found in sewage of textile manufacturing industries in large quantity. In this research the reaction of Acid Red206 (AR206) in photocatalytic analysis was carried out in water with use of Taguchi method, Qualitek-4 software and catalyst suspension ZnFe2O4/Bentonite and UV light radiation. To identify prepared catalyst, SEM image and XRD diffraction pattern were used. Based on Taguchi method the test results displayed the maximum photo catalytic activity. From kinetic view the reaction was first order and study of reaction rate was carried out with the use of first order kinetic equation and Acceptable results were gained in this consideration. The effect of factors in photo catalytic analysis such as pH, the amount of photo catalyst and hydrogen peroxide and temperature of reaction, were examined and the most efficiency in optimum conditions (pH=5, hydrogen peroxide=1ml, nonophotocatalyst=75ppm and temperature=293K) was observed. According to these results, a method was obtained for photo catalytic analysis with the use of ZnFe2O4/Bentonite catalyst and UV light radiation, which by its development in an industrial form; it can be used for analyzing the wastewater in loom or other industries.


A proposed method of design and fabrication of vacuum-packaged microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and of individual microelectromechanical devices involves the use of multiple internal seal rings (MISRs) in conjunction with vias (through holes plated with metal for electrical contacts). The proposed method is compatible with mass production in a wafer-level fabrication process, in which the dozens of MEMS or individual microelectromechanical devices on a typical wafer are simultaneously vacuum packaged by bonding a capping wafer before the devices are singulated (cut apart by use of a dicing saw). In addition to being compatible with mass production, the proposed method would eliminate the need for some complex and expensive production steps and would yield more reliable vacuum seals. Conventionally, each MEMS or individual microelectromechanical device is fabricated as one of many identical units on a device wafer. Vacuum packaging is accomplished by bonding the device wafer to a capping wafer with metal seal rings (one ring surrounding each unit) that have been formed on the capping wafer. The electrical leads of each unit are laid out on what would otherwise be a flat surface of the device wafer, against which the seal ring is to be pressed for sealing. The resulting pattern of metal lines and their insulating oxide coverings presents a very rough and uneven surface, upon which it is difficult to pattern the sealing metal. Consequently, the seal is prone to leakage unless additional costly and complex planarization steps are performed before patterning the seal ring and bonding the wafers.


Photon counting detectors are of growing importance in medical imaging because they enable routine measurement of photon energy. Detectors such as Medipix2 and Medipix3 record the energy of incident photons with minimal loss of spatial resolution. Their use is being investigated for both pre-clinical and clinical applications of X-ray CT. The Medipix3 detector has 256 x 256 55 μm pixels and a silicon or cadmium telluride detector layer, giving a spatial resolution comparable to mammographic film. Each Medipix pixel can be seen as an individual spectral detector. The logic circuits for each pixel (some 1300 transistors) can analyze incoming events at megahertz rates, comparing the charge of the electron-hole cloud with preset levels, giving a resolution of about 2 keV across the range of 8 - 140 keV. A prototype CT scanner has been developed for laboratory animals and excised specimens. Applications under investigation include: K-edge imaging: Using spectral information to measure heavy elements (e.g., preparations of iodine, barium, and gadolinium) and Soft tissue contrast: Dual energy systems have shown that image contrast for soft tissue can be improved, e.g., distinguishing between iron and calcium within vascular plaques.


Abstract. With the increasing emphasis on the conservation of cultural relics, the renovation work of historic buildings has become more and more important. Basically, most of the ancient buildings in China are wooden structure. Wood is a flexible material which could resist deformation in the earthquake. The drawback, however, is that they are susceptible to temperature, humidity and other external influences (which will lead to rot, cracks, tilt, foundation settlement, etc.), and poses a hidden danger to entire architecture. Besides, after years of use, the decline in mechanical properties could affects their bearing capacity. Moreover, traditional renovation methods, determining renovation and demolition in the absence of accurate and effective detection and evaluation methods, like eyeballing, knocking, which are simple and depend largely on manual experience and lacks of accuracy, will cause the loss of historical information of ancient construction. Also, Traditional way of stylobate repairing can only be qualitative analysis which are visually or empirically, deciding partial repair or comprehensive replacement. Internal damage remains unclearly and inaccurately that often result in the loss of historical information and over-repair of heritage. Paper aims to interpret with two typical example in Mukden Palace, where located in the temperate sub-humid continental climate, with a huge temperature difference between day and night, one is the stone stylobate of Dazheng Hall, the palace used for holding ceremonies, the other is the wooden structure of Ancestral Temple. Both faced with varying degrees of damage, such as foundation broken, frieze panel inclined and pillar cracked. Non-destructive Testing (NDT) Technology using in those two projects includes 3D scanning, ground penetrating, concrete ultrasonic testing and mineral element analyzing that can collect data more comprehensive than just using traditional methods, especially for internal damage. Then generating the quantitative analysis of damage category. Furthermore, discussing cause of damage and moderately protection methods of the stone stylobate and the wooden structure on the basis of testing. As well as providing references of repairing project of traditional Chinese stony heritage.


This study analyses the evolution of sustainability reporting in Italian listed companies taking into account some differences between 2002 and 2011 reporting practices. The analysis is aimed at showing the presence of normative and mimetic isomorphic pressures towards sustainability reporting and the use of GRI guidelines, and also at highlighting the presence of an improvement in reporting practices. The research adopts a common framework of report characteristics to compare practices in two different periods, while content analysis is used to classify the purposes of sustainability reporting and to measure the relevance of different categories of stakeholder, in terms of space occupied in the report. The analysis shows that sustainability reporting in Italian listed companies has increased between 2002 and 2012, and has been associated with the increase in the use of GRI guidelines. Data also show a general enhancement in the practices of reporting, measured on three main areas: improvement in the reports, better embedding of reporting into management practices and enhancement of accessibility, communication and stakeholder considerations.


In this paper, the authors describe research led by Educopia Institute regarding the preservation needs for digitized and born-digital newspapers. The 'Chronicles in Preservation' project, builds upon previous efforts (e.g. the U.S. National Digital Newspaper Program) to look more broadly at the needs of digital newspapers in all of their diverse and challenging forms. This paper conveys the findings of the first research phase, including substantive survey results regarding digital newspaper curation practices.


Building Maintenance starts the day the buider leaves
the site. Design, materials, workmanship, function,
use, safety and their interrelationship, will determine
the amount of maintenance required during the life
span of the building.
Initial cost of building continue to rise year after
year and it is becoming very important to maintain the •
present standing buildings to the best standard possible.
To achieve this goal, effective maintenance plays an
important role, besides appreciation from the community
user themselves.
Micro study in building maintenance deals with the
sources that leads to the existence of building maintenance, revealing the common problems and suggesting solutions. Emphasis is given to the academic buildings at MARA Institute of Technology, Shah Alam with case study on the School of Architecture, Planning and Surveying. It has been brought up that the maintenance of the school has not reached the schools desired standard ever since its establishment in the year 1967* No research has yet been carried out in this problem. Hence it is the objective of this dissertation to study into the problems and work out solutions and recommendation in relation to the building structures an& facilities, building user and; the
construction industry Designer, Builder and Maintenance
organisation.
It is the aim of the aim of the study to develop a
better learning condition and upgraded maintenance standard within the governing policy and available resources
to the academic buildings of MIT to form one of the
factors contributing to the achievement of high productivity and best quality graduates from MIT as a whole.


VIOLENCE AND THE FORTHCOMING APOCALYPSE Scholars have paid increasing attention to McCarthy's extensive use of allegory, myth, and existentialism in his fiction. From the early recognition of his pastoral vision, to Cant's analysis of his conceited approach to the dangers of the gnosis or Lincoln's understanding of his novels as canticles of visionary hyperrealism, McCarthy is now understood as a writer of universal themes. This essay links some notions frequently analyzed by trauma studies to McCarthy's use of storytelling as an ambiguous response to the hard conditions experienced by his protagonists in No Country for Old Men and The Road. The mistrust of storytelling, the ethic ambivalence existing between passive melancholic protagonists and active violent ones, and the understanding of life as a traumatic experience tie the two books in a sole literary project that warns readers about the human capacity to generate violence while also questioning the role of storytelling to soothe traumatic pain. The beginning of the twenty-first century brought about collective anxieties that pointed again to the old fears about a nuclear disaster, a central motif that clearly connects the two novels. In this sense, I understand No Country for Old Men as the novel in which McCarthy directly points to widespread human violence as the main reason for the present sociopolitical situation and The Road as the book that describes the effects of what might eventually happen if things remain unchanged. The traumatic portrayal of the main characters in both novels, Sheriff Bell and the man, and the writer's characteristic use of conventional narrative genres are basic devices in his literary presentation of a reality where passivity and human will are explored as antithetic means to cope with the current situation. NARRATIVE, MELANCHOLIA, AND THE HERO'S CHOICE In McCarthy's fiction there are a few issues that offer an indication that the perspective provided by trauma studies may provide a better understanding of his views and of the roles that storytelling and trauma play in his works. The reiterative importance attributed to memories, the anxious condition of his protagonists, or the insistent intertextual links the author establishes with biblical sources and with writers like T. S. Eliot clearly point to a description of life in traumatized terms. In a period significantly characterized by the posttraumatic collective sense that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks and by ecological fears concerning global warming, McCarthy has written two novels framed in different narrative genres using very distinct styles. A comparative analysis, however, also reveals important coincidences between the two books. Both novels retake the process of historical revisionism especially noticeable since the publication of Blood Meridian in 1985. They also warn readers about the necessity of questioning the power of storytelling, and above all they offer an understanding of the individual self and our civilization as structurally traumatized, with the implication that some moral issues should be reconsidered if the human species is to survive. Although violence has always been a reiterative theme in McCarthy's fiction, in the two novels under scrutiny the topic is openly connected to collective devastating results. Unremitting violence is the destructive force that results in the tragic end of civilization, as predicted in No Country for Old Men, but, paradoxically, violence also becomes the necessary tool to survive in the post-apocalyptic context of The Road. The issue offers also a clear link with trauma theory. This particular framework diagnoses violence as the main concondition for the manifestation of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, as reported in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed.), published by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980. An individual or collective psychical trauma is motivated by one or several violent events or experiences so overwhelming that the victim(s) cannot assimilate them on a conscious level. …


Author(s): Weaver, Richard A.; Sitton, Larry | Abstract: The California Department of Fish and Game studied depredation by mountain lions on livestock from 1971 through 1977 to determine the scope of the problem. Information was needed on the physical characteristics of a stock killer, the frequency and trend of predation, the livestock types preyed upon, and the geographic distribution of incidents. Department of Fish and Game verified 134 incidents of mountain lion predation on livestock which occurred between April 1971 and December 1977. Forty-five mountain lions (28 males and 17 females) were killed on depredation during this time. Approximately 42 percent of the predation incidents involved sheep, 22 percent goats and 16 percent cattle, with horses, pigs, poultry and pets composing most of the remaining prey. California's south coast region from Santa Clara to Ventura County reported 44 percent of the predation incidents, 28 percent from the Sierra Nevada, 20 percent from the north coast from Napa and Sonoma counties to Humboldt County and nearly 8 percent from southern California. There does not appear to be a stock-killer profile of common sex, age or health factors. Present depredation policy appears adequate to handle the problem, but efficiency could be increased by coordinating incident verification investigations and available depredation resources, such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and county predator control agents.


This paper explores the acceptability of transitive variants for a number of seemingly internally caused verbs of change of state in Romanian, i.e. the verbs express change of state events and lack transitives. To this effect, we designed a linguistic questionnaire which tested the acceptability of transitive counterparts of these verbs, in which we varied the denotation of the subject argument, i.e. natural force vs. agent. The overall results obtained from the 33 participants in the survey revealed the influence of semantic factors on transitive acceptability. The respondents marginally accepted the transitives with natural force subjects, while they rejected the transitives with agent subjects. On the other hand, transitive acceptability varies with the age of the participants, the low scores assigned to the transitives put to the test, irrespective of the denotation of the subject argument, by the youngest group points towards the maintenance of the current valence of these verbs.


Drawing on theories and methods in linguistic anthropology, this paper examines the ways in which circulating stereotypes of Asian Americans emerge as resources in conversations among Asian Americans. Specifically, this paper analyzes two video-recorded interactions at a videomaking project in Philadelphia's Chinatown to trace how Asian American teen participants invoke Asian American stereotypes, orient to them in various ways, and reappropriate them to: 1) position the self and other relative to stereotypes; 2) construct stereotyping as an oppressive practice to resist or as an interactional resource to celebrate; and 3) bring about interactional effects from widely circulating stereotypes (e.g., Asian storeowner) that are different from those from locally circulating typifications (e.g., Asian minivan driver), what I call widespread typifications and local typifications, respectively. By interrogating the very notion of stereotype as a performative resource, this paper illustrates how Asian American stereotypes can be creatively reappropriated by Asian American teens to accomplish meaningful social actions.


With PHP for the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide, readers can start from the beginning to get a tour of the programming language, or look up specific tasks to learn just what they need to know. This task-based visual reference guide uses step-by-step instructions and plenty of screenshots to teach beginning and intermediate users this popular open-source scripting language. Leading technology author Larry Ullman guides readers through the latest developments including use and awareness of HTML5 with PHP. Other addressed changes include removal of outdated functions and more efficient ways to tackle common needs. Both beginning users, who want a thorough introduction to the technology, and more intermediate users, who are looking for a convenient reference, will find what they need here--in straightforward language and through readily accessible examples.